By The Associated Press
RIYADH — Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on Saturday, their second name because the begin of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Saudi Press Agency mentioned the 2 mentioned bilateral relations and “ways of enhancing them in all fields.”
The Saudi readout of the decision mentioned the crown prince affirmed assist for efforts that may result in a political answer to the disaster in Ukraine. The kingdom lately introduced $10 million in humanitarian help for Ukrainian refugees.
The Kremlin’s assertion added the 2 additionally mentioned the continuing battle in Yemen, the place a Saudi-led coalition has been at conflict for years, in addition to their joint work on an oil output settlement, often known as OPEC+. The oil pact has saved a cautious lid on manufacturing by main producers, supporting oil costs.
Ukraine has urged nations all over the world to chop their dependency on Russian oil imports that it says finance Russia’s navy conflict on Ukraine.
___
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
— Ukraine conflict removed from over as Russia renews strikes in Kyiv
— ‘We pray for you’: Ukrainian Jews mark Passover, if they’ll
— Ukraine’s port of Mariupol holds out towards all odds
— War Crimes Watch: The girl who would make Putin pay
— Ukrainian mother’s ache at watching daughter’s burial on cellphone
— Go to https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine for extra protection
___
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces shelled an oil refinery within the Ukrainian metropolis of Lysychansk on Saturday, and a big hearth erupted, a regional governor reported.
Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai mentioned it wasn’t the primary time the refinery was focused and accused the Russians of attempting to “exhaust” native emergency providers. He underlined there was no gasoline on the refinery on the time of the assault and “the remains of oil sludge” have been burning.
Ukraine’s presidential workplace reported Saturday that missile strikes and shelling over the previous 24 hours occurred in eight areas: Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv within the east, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Kirovohrad within the central Ukraine and Mykolaiv and Kherson within the south. The strikes underlined that the entire nation remained underneath risk regardless of Russia’s pivot towards mounting a brand new offensive within the east.
In Kharkiv, 9 civilians have been killed and greater than 50 have been wounded on Friday, whereas within the wider area two have been reported useless and three wounded, based on the report.
The southern Mykolaiv area was battered Friday and Saturday. According to the presidential workplace, airstrikes Friday killed 5 and wounded 15. The head of regional legislature, Hanna Zamazeyeva, mentioned Saturday that 39 folks have been wounded up to now 24 hours.
Zamazeyeva mentioned the targets included a number of residential blocks “where there are no military facilities.”
The besieged Ukrainian port metropolis of Mariupol remains to be holding out, however the scenario there may be vital.
____
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk mentioned in televised remarks on Saturday that 700 Ukrainian troops and greater than 1,000 civilians — greater than half girls — are presently being held captive by the Russians.
Vereshchuk mentioned Kyiv intends to swap the captive troopers, since Ukraine holds about the identical variety of Russian troops however calls for to launch the civilians “without any conditions.”
____
FORT IRWIN, Calif. __ U.S. Army trainers are utilizing classes realized from the Russian conflict towards Ukraine as they put together troopers for future fights towards a serious adversary equivalent to Russia or China. T he role-players on this month’s train at a coaching heart in California’s Mojave Desert converse Russian and the enemy power is utilizing a gradual stream of social media posts to make false accusations towards the American brigade getting ready to assault. In the approaching weeks, the deliberate coaching state of affairs for the following brigade coming in will give attention to find out how to battle an enemy prepared to destroy a metropolis with rocket and missile hearth so as to conquer it.
____
ROME — Italy is barring all Russian ships from its ports beginning Sunday, as a part of expanded EU sanctions introduced earlier this month. Ships already in Italian ports should go away instantly “after finishing their business exercise,″ based on a discover despatched to port authorities all through the nation.
____
BERLIN — Peace activists took half Germany’s conventional Easter marches on Saturday, calling for an finish to the conflict in Ukraine but in addition in at the very least some instances opposing serving to Ukraine defend itself with weaponry.
A Berlin occasion drew 400 folks and one in Hannover 500, the dpa information company reported, citing police. Marches befell in cities together with Munich, Cologne, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Duisburg. Banners included “End the war in Ukraine” and “He who sends weapons reaps war.”
The nation’s vice chancellor, Greens politician Robert Habeck, warned demonstrators towards sending the incorrect message, saying “there will only be peace when Putin stops his war of aggression.” He mentioned in an interview with the Funke media group that it was “clear who the aggressor is who and who are defending themselves in an emergency and whom we must support, also with weapons.”
Ukrainian officers say Germany has despatched anti-tank and antiaircaft weapon in addition to evening imaginative and prescient tools, physique armor and machine weapons.
The regionally organized peace marches date again to the times of the Cold War and give attention to points equivalent to disarmament and abolition of nuclear weapons.
____
KYIV, Ukraine — Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko mentioned that one particular person died and several other extra have been wounded within the Saturday morning airstrikes on the Darnytski district of the capital, as Russian forces resumed scattered assaults on the capital in western Ukraine.
“Our air defense forces are doing everything they can to protect us, but the enemy is insidious and ruthless,” Klitschko mentioned on the Telegram messaging app.
The assaults, which the Russian Defense Ministry mentioned focused an armored automobile plant within the Ukrainian capital, was an explosive reminder to Ukrainians and their Western supporters that the entire nation stays underneath risk regardless of Russian forces pivot to the east, the place a brand new offensive is feared.
Klitschko urged Ukrainians to not return to Kyiv simply but in televised remarks Saturday, warning that strikes on the capital are probably proceed and its suburbs are rigged with explosives. “We’re not ruling out further strikes on the capital,” Klitschko mentioned. “We can’t prohibit, we can only recommend. If you have the opportunity to stay a little bit longer in the cities where it’s safer, do it.”
The mayor of Kyiv added that due to the mines, Kyiv residents are barred from visiting parks and forests within the northeastern areas that border with liberated territories previously occupied by Russians.
____
MOSCOW — Russia has barred the UK prime minister and a dozen different prime British officers from getting into the nation in response to British sanctions imposed on Russia over its navy operation in Ukraine.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry introduced the transfer that targets Boris Johnson, a variety of British ministers and former prime minister Theresa May, on Saturday.
The ministry’s assertion cited “unprecedented hostile actions of the British government, expressed, in particular, in the imposition of sanctions against top officials” in Russia.
“The Russophobic course of action of the British authorities, whose main goal is to stir up negative attitude toward our country, curtailing of bilateral ties in almost all areas are detrimental to the well-being and interests of the residents of Britain. Any sanctions attack will inevitably backfire on their initiators and receive a decisive rebuff,” the assertion mentioned.
On Friday night, the ministry introduced the expulsion of 18 European Union diplomats from Moscow, in retaliation for the bloc’s declaring 19 diplomats from the Russian mission to the EU and to the European Atomic Energy Community persona non-grata.
The European Union mentioned the expulsions have been groundless, and that EU diplomats focused have been working within the framework of the Vienna conference on diplomatic relations.
___
KYIV, Ukraine — Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko mentioned in an internet posting that Kyiv was struck early Saturday within the Darnytskyi district within the japanese a part of the capital, saying there have been “explosions.”
He mentioned rescuers and paramedics have been on the scene and that victims’ particulars could be launched later.
Klitschko urged residents to heed air raid sirens and warned those that have fled the capital to not return for now for his or her security.
Thick smoke rising from the location on the japanese facet of Kyiv may very well be seen from components of downtown close to the Dnipro River.
___
WASHINGTON — Ukraine is sending prime officers to Washington for subsequent week’s spring conferences of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the place dialogue will give attention to the Russian invasion and its impression on the worldwide financial system.
Coming to the gathering are Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and central financial institution governor Kyrylo Shevchenko, based on a World Bank official who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of the go to had not been formally introduced.
___
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned Friday that present sanctions on Russia are “painful” however not but sufficient to cease the Russian navy.
Zelenskyy known as for “the democratic world” to ban Russian oil. While U.S. lawmakers and U.S. President Joe Biden have enacted such a ban, Europe depends extra closely on Russian power provides, and the U.S. has been working to maintain India from stepping up its use of Russian power.
“In general, the democratic world must accept that Russia’s money for energy resources is in fact money for the destruction of democracy,” Zelenskyy mentioned in his nightly video handle to his nation.
He additionally mentioned: “The sooner the democratic world recognizes that the oil embargo against Russia and the complete blockade of its banking sector are necessary steps towards peace, the sooner the war will end.”
___
TIJUANA, Mexico — A Russian man and Ukrainian girl have been married within the Mexican border metropolis of Tijuana after they have been unable to journey collectively to the U.S.
Daria Sakhniuk was allowed to enter the U.S. as a Ukrainian refugee however her associate, Semen Bobrovski, was unable to journey there following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They left Ukraine because the conflict started.
Bobrovski informed El Sol de Tijuana that he believed the wedding Thursday would bolster his possibilities of getting into the U.S. together with his new spouse. The U.S. permits solely Russian nationals with relations within the U.S. to enter the nation.
“Without it, we won’t be able to cross because, still to the official American government, we are strangers to each other,” he mentioned.
___
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned he mentioned the destiny of the besieged port metropolis of Mariupol in a gathering Friday with the nation’s navy leaders and the heads of its intelligence companies.
“The details cannot be made public now, but we are doing everything we can to save our people,” Zelenskyy mentioned in his nightly video handle to the nation.
Elsewhere in southern Ukraine, he mentioned Russian troops who occupy areas round Kherson and Zaporizhzhia have been terrorizing civilians and on the lookout for anybody who had served within the military or the federal government.
“The occupiers think this will make it easier for them to control this territory. But they are very wrong. They are fooling themselves,” Zelenskyy mentioned.
He added: “The occupiers’ problem is not that they are not accepted by some activists, veterans or journalists. Russia’s problem is that it is not accepted — and never will be accepted -– by the entire Ukrainian people. Russia has lost Ukraine forever.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”
