Day 45 of Russia-Ukraine crisis: As it happened

Italian Minister Di Maio confirmed to local news agencies

By Team KT

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Reuters
Reuters

Published: Sat 9 Apr 2022, 6:47 AM

Last updated: Sat 9 Apr 2022, 11:54 PM

The United States, the European Union and Britain condemned a missile attack on a Ukraine train station packed with women, children and the elderly fleeing the threat of a Russian offensive in the east. Officials said at least 52 people were killed.

Russia’s defence ministry was quoted by RIA news agency as saying the missiles said to have struck the station were used only by Ukraine’s military and that Russia’s armed forces had no targets assigned in Kramatorsk on Friday.


Ukraine now expects an attempt by Russian forces to gain full control of Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk in the east, both partly held by Moscow-backed separatists since 2014.

Britain added Vladimir Putin’s daughters to its sanctions list, mirroring moves by the United States, in what it said was an effort to target the lifestyles of those in the Russian president’s inner circle.


Here are the latest updates for April 9:


11.45pm: Global pledging event raises 10.1 bn euros for Ukraine

A global pledging event for Ukrainian refugees called “Stand Up for Ukraine” has raised 10.1 billion euros ($11 billion), European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in Warsaw on Saturday.

“The ‘Stand Up For Ukraine’ campaign has raised 9.1 billion euros for people fleeing bombs, inside and outside Ukraine, with an additional billion pledged by EBRD (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development),” von der Leyen said.

The event, convened by the EU and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was to raise money for internally displaced people in Ukraine and refugees from the war-ravaged country, organisers said.

More than 4.4 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24.

Most of them have headed to EU countries including neighbouring Poland, which has taken in more than 2.5 million refugees so far.


9.45pm: Ukraine exchanges prisoners with Russia, 12 soldiers coming home

Ukraine carried out a prisoner exchange with Russia on Saturday, the third such swap since the start of the war, and 12 soldiers are coming home, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in an online post.

Vereshchuk also said that as part of the deal, 14 civilians were returning to Ukraine. She did not say how many Russians had been released.


9.22pm: Bucha killings have 'permanently polluted' Putin's reputation: Johnson

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on a visit to Kyiv Saturday that the discovery of civilian bodies in Ukrainian towns have "permanently polluted" Russian President Vladimir Putin's reputation.

"What Putin has done in places like Bucha and Irpin is war crimes that have permanently polluted his reputation and the reputation of his government," Johnson said, standing next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, referring to towns in the Kyiv region where bodies have been discovered.


8.26pm: UK PM visits Ukraine after deadly railway station attack

CHANGES dateline, RECASTS with Johnson visit, Borrell quote, aid pledge, ICC meeting Sunday

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid an unannounced visit to Kyiv Saturday in a "show of solidarity" with Ukraine a day after a missile strike killed dozens at a railway station in the country's east.

Six weeks into Russia's invasion, Moscow has shifted its focus to eastern and southern Ukraine after stiff resistance ended plans to swiftly capture the capital.


8.55pm: IMF creates secure way to funnel Ukraine aid

The International Monetary Fund has created an account to give donor countries a secure way to funnel financial assistance directly to war-ravaged Ukraine.

The multilateral lender said in a statement Friday that it’s launching the account at the request of several member countries.

The goal is to help Ukraine meet its payment obligations and help stabilize its economy using loans or grants from pooled resources.

The IMF says Canada has proposed routing up to 1 billion Canadian dollars ($795 million) to Ukraine through the new account.

Two weeks after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, the IMF approved a $1.4 billion emergency loan to Ukraine.


6.13pm: Boris Johnson meets with Zelensky in Kyiv

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Kyiv on Saturday, an aide to the Ukrainian leader said.

"Boris Johnson's visit in Kyiv began just now with a tete-a-tete meeting with President Zelensky," presidential aide Andriy Sybiha said on Facebook, posting a photo of the pair.

More details here


3.20pm: Italy to reopen embassy in Kyiv

"We will reopen our embassy in Kiev immediately after Easter".

2.54pm: Civilian deaths in Ukraine’s Bucha were war crimes, Germany’s Scholz says

“We cannot overlook that this is a crime. These are war crimes we will not accept... those who did this must be held accountable.”


11.35am: More evacuations needed from Luhansk as shelling increases

More people need to evacuate from the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine as shelling has increased in recent days and more Russian forces have been arriving, Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai said on Saturday.

He said that some 30 per cent of residents still remain in cities and villages across the region and have been asked to evacuate.

More details here


10.41am: 10 humanitarian corridors agreed for Saturday

Ten humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from Ukraine’s besieged regions have been agreed for Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

The planned corridors include one for people evacuating by private transport from the city of Mariupol, Vereshchuk said.


9.48am: UK says Russia continues to hit Ukrainian non-combatants

Russia continues to hit Ukrainian non-combatants, such as the civilians killed in Friday’s rocket strike on Kramatorsk railway station in eastern Ukraine, British military intelligence said on Saturday.

“Russian operations continue to focus on the Donbas region, Mariupol and Mykolaiv, supported by continued cruise missile launches into Ukraine by Russian naval forces,” the Ministry of Defence said, adding that Russia’s ambitions to establish a land corridor between Crimea and the Donbas continue to be thwarted by Ukrainian resistance.


10.02am: Ukraine seeks tough reply after missile kills 52 at station

"Like the massacres in Bucha, like many other Russian war crimes, the missile attack on Kramatorsk should be one of the charges at the tribunal that must be held."


9.35am: UK says Russia continues to hit Ukrainian non-combatants

Russia continues to hit Ukrainian non-combatants, such as the civilians killed in Friday’s rocket strike on Kramatorsk railway station in eastern Ukraine, British military intelligence said on Saturday.

“Russian operations continue to focus on the Donbas region, Mariupol and Mykolaiv, supported by continued cruise missile launches into Ukraine by Russian naval forces,” the Ministry of Defence said, adding that Russia’s ambitions to establish a land corridor between Crimea and the Donbas continue to be thwarted by Ukrainian resistance.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.


8.34am: EU to resume diplomatic presence in Kyiv

The European Union will resume its diplomatic presence in Ukrainian capital Kyiv, after temporarily moving it to Poland after Russia’s attack of Ukraine, the bloc said on Friday.

Matti Maasikas, head of the EU delegation in Ukraine, joined top EU officials visiting the country on Friday and will remain in Kyiv to reopen the delegation and assess conditions for staff to return, the bloc’s diplomatic service said.

More details here


6.42am: Attack on train station was a war crime, says Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country’s security service has intercepted communications of Russian troops that provide evidence of war crimes.

Zelensky said “everyone who made a decision, who issued an order, who fulfilled an order” is guilty of a war crime. Asked whether he held Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible, he said: “I do believe that he’s one of them.”

There are soldiers talking with their parents about what they stole and who they abducted. There are recordings of prisoners of war who admitted killing people. There are pilots in prison who had maps with civilian targets to bomb. There are also investigations being conducted based on the remains of the dead.


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