KYIV, Ukraine – Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi said six people were killed and another 11, including a child, were injured by Russian attacks in the western Ukrainian city.
Plumes of thick black smoke were seen over the city when multiple explosions were believed to have been caused by rockets, according to AP Lviv personnel.
Maksym Kozytskyy, the regional governor of Lviv, said there were four Russian missile strikes, three on military infrastructure facilities and one on a tire shop. He said emergency services were putting out the fires caused by the strikes.
Oleksandr Kamyshin, the chairman of the Ukrainian railway service, said the strikes hit near railway facilities. He said train traffic has resumed with some delay, and he promised to repair the damaged network.
Lviv and the rest of western Ukraine have been less affected by the fighting than other parts of the country and are considered a relatively safe haven.
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IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAN WAR:
— ‘No surrender’: Ukrainians fight on at Mariupol . steel plant
— Russia renews attacks on Ukrainian capital, hits other cities
— Mother, grandmother crying over 15-year-old killed in shelling of Kharkiv
Follow all AP stories about the Russian war against Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
LONDON – The British Ministry of Defense says the ongoing siege of Mariupol is capturing Russian forces and slowing the advance ahead of a planned major offensive in eastern Ukraine.
In a daily intelligence update, the British military says that “joint Ukrainian resistance has severely tested Russian forces, diverting people and equipment, slowing Russia’s advance elsewhere.”
The port city of Sea of Azov has been devastated in weeks of Russian beech. Britain says “large areas of infrastructure have been destroyed” and there are “significant” civilian casualties.
Britain accuses Russia of using similar tactics of all-out war against civilian areas it has deployed in Chechnya and Syria, despite Russian claims at the start of its invasion “that Russia would not attack any cities nor threaten the Ukrainian population”.
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LVIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops have carried out torture and kidnappings in southern Ukraine, and he called on the world to respond on Sunday.
“Torture chambers have been built there,” Zelenskyy said in an evening address to the nation. “They are kidnapping representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities.”
Zelenskyy said humanitarian aid has been stolen, causing famine.
In the occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions, he said, the Russians are creating separatist states and adopting the Russian currency, the ruble. In the past four days alone, 18 people have been killed and 106 injured, Zelenskyy said.
“This is nothing but deliberate terror. Mortars, artillery against ordinary residential areas, against ordinary civilians,” he said.
He said a planned Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine “will begin in the near future”.
Zelensky again called for tougher sanctions against Russia, including the entire banking and oil industry. “Everyone in Europe and America is already seeing Russia openly using energy to destabilize Western societies,” Zelenskyy said. “All this requires more speed from Western countries in preparing a new, strong package of sanctions.”
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WASHINGTON – Ukraine’s foreign minister describes the situation in Mariupol as dire and heartbreaking, saying Russia’s continued attacks could form a “red line” ending all attempts to reach peace through negotiations.
Dmytro Kuleba tells CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the remaining Ukrainian soldiers and civilians in the port city are essentially surrounded by Russian forces.
He says that the Ukrainians are “continuing their struggle”, but that the city basically no longer exists due to mass destruction.
Kuleba says his country has held “expert-level” talks with Russia in recent weeks in hopes of reaching a political solution for peace. But referring to the significance of Mariupol, he echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by saying that the elimination of Ukrainian troops there could be a “red line” halting peace efforts.
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WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden says he prays at Easter for those who live in the “dark shadow” of war, persecution and poverty.
Biden released an Easter message Sunday in which he says he also prays for peace, freedom and fundamental dignity and respect for all of God’s children.
Biden did not say what war he had in mind, but the president has been heavily involved in efforts to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The US president says he is grateful that the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic has enabled many people around the world to celebrate by attending religious services and in-person family gatherings. He also acknowledges that the holiest day on the Christian calendar “strikes a heavy heart for those who have lost loved ones and for those of us who live in the dark shadow of war, persecution and poverty”.
