No truce, not even on Easter days, in Ukraine, where troops from Kiev and Moscow have been fighting for almost two months now. After the expiry of the ultimatum of the Russian forces to the last defenders of Mariupol, barricaded in a steel mill, the definitive attack of the Kremlin army is expected to conquer the port city.

“Given the desperate situation that has arisen in the Azovstal metallurgical plant, and guided by humanitarian principles, the Russian armed forces offer the militants of the nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries to stop hostilities and lay down their weapons. In exchange they will be spared their lives ”, General Mikhail Mizintsev, who commands the siege of Mariupol, declared in a statement.

At this moment, Moscow says "400 foreign mercenaries are surrounded in the Azovstal steel plant", where members of the Azov battalion are also reported to have taken refuge. And Kiev raises the alarm, defining a Russian landing as "possible" in the next few hours.

Zelensky defines the situation in the city as "inhuman", accuses Putin of genocide and asks the West for an act of force: "Either our partners immediately give Ukraine all the heavy weapons and aircraft it needs or a negotiation path is needed in which also the role of the partners is decisive ".

On the diplomatic front, however, the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich would have traveled to Kiev in an attempt to resume peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, informed sources say.

But Zelensky reiterated again, in an interview with CNN: The battle for Donbass is very important for us and we will not give up that part of the territory because doing so could affect the course of the war. "" I don't trust the army and the leadership. Russians, "continued the Ukrainian leader." That's why we can't lose this battle. "

News in sight also on the Moscow sanctions front: the EU is preparing to launch the sixth package, which will target - said Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen - oil and banks.

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Here is the news by the hour.

Killed the commander of the Ukrainian marines

Volodymyr Baranyuk, commander of the 36th Ukrainian Marine Brigade, was found dead in Mariupol. This was announced by the number two of the self-proclaimed separatist republic of Donetsk Eduard Basurin, according to reports from Tass. "In the night between 11 and 12 April, a group of soldiers from the 36th Ukrainian Navy Brigade attempted a sortie from the Ilyich steel plant. But the action was thwarted by the special forces of the DPR", the militias separatists.

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Kiev: "Application to join the EU completed"

The Ukrainian government has completed the questionnaire to obtain the status of candidate country for EU membership. This was announced by Igor Zhovkva, number two of the bureau. "We now expect a positive recommendation from the Commission, and then the ball will pass to the Member States. A European Council meeting will be held in June, where we expect Ukraine to get candidate status," he added.

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A church bombed in the Lugansk region

A church in the eastern Ukrainian city Severodonetsk was hit by Russian bombs today, Palm Sunday for the Orthodox according to the Julian calendar. This was reported by the head of the military administration of the Lugansk region Sergiy Gaidai, quoted by the CNN.

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Moscow: "Default Russia will lead to EU default"

The vice president of the Security Council and former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warns that "the default of Russia could lead to the default of Europe". Tass reports it. "Anti-Russian sanctions can cause hyperinflation in Europe," he added.

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5.15 pm - The city of Mylolaiv under fire

Since this morning there have been continuous rocket attacks in the city of Mykolaiv and the surrounding areas. The governor of the Ukrainian region told the BBC. "This morning the rockets damaged the power lines that feed one of the areas of our city," said Vitaliy Kim, adding that despite the attacks, the Russian army has not yet moved the front line.

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Zelensky: "I invited Macron to Ukraine"

"I spoke to Emmanuel Macron and told him that I would like him to understand that this is not a war but a genocide." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with CNN when answering a question about the fact that the French president did not use the word "genocide" to define Russia's atrocities in Ukraine, as Biden did. "I invited him to come when he gets the chance. He will come and see and I'm sure he will understand then," said the Ukrainian leader.

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Shoot the boys near Kherson

In the village of Gavrylivka, in the southern region of Kherson, Russian soldiers shot at a group of teenagers who were going to buy bread, one was killed. This was reported by the journalists of the News of Novovorontsov quoted by the UNIAN Agency.

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"Mariupol did not fall"

The city of Mariupol has not "fallen yet" because the soldiers who defend it "will fight to the end". Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Smihal said this in an interview with ABC.

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Children killed by Russian mines and traps

Five Ukrainian children were killed by mines and traps left by Russian soldiers in the city

of Trostianets, in the Sumy region, in the north-east of the country. Mayor Yurii Bova reports this in a comment to Channel 24, quoted by a correspondent for Ukrinform.

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Zelensky: "We will not sell the Donbass"

"The battle for the Donbass is very important for us". Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with CNN recorded a few days ago, stressing that Kiev "will not give up that part of the territory because doing so could affect the course of the war" .

"I don't trust the Russian army and the Russian leadership," he continued. "This is why we cannot lose this battle" for the east, he stressed.

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3 pm - Raid in the center of Kharkiv, at least 5 dead

The Russian army bombed the center of Kharkiv, killing five people. And there are also 13 injured. This was reported by the Department of Health of the second city of Ukraine, in the east of the country, according to local media reports. The raid took place this afternoon, when residents began reporting loud explosions downtown.

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Nato exercises in the Arctic, Moscow: "Risk of accidents"

Moscow is concerned about NATO military exercises in northern Norway, which increase the risk of "unintentional accidents" in the Arctic. Russian Ambassador Nikolay Korchunov, chairman of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Arctic Council, told TASS.

"The recent increase in NATO activity in the Arctic is cause for concern," he said, citing a "large-scale military exercise of the alliance in northern Norway." Such maneuvers "increase the risk of unintentional accidents, which, in addition to safety risks, can also cause damage to the Arctic ecosystem".

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Zelensky publishes photos of destroyed cities: "Never again"

Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelensky posted photos of the destruction caused by Russian bombing in the country's cities on Facebook and a post stating: "The occupiers will be responsible for everything they did in Ukraine."

They will be responsible, he added, "for everything they did against the Ukrainians. They will be responsible for Bucha, Kramatorsk, Volnovakha, Okhtyrka. For Gostomel and Borodyanka. For Izyum, for Mariupol and all the other cities and communities of Ukraine" attacked. "." Never again ", he concluded.

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Mariupol, civilians forced to ask for permits to move

Russian soldiers are forcing Mariupol residents to apply for permits to move around the city or even just to go out on the street. This was reported by the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andryushchenko, quoted by the UNIAN Agency.

Passes are issued only in one place, on the premises of the Left Bank Tax. "Hundreds of citizens are forced to queue to get a pass, without which next week it will be impossible not only to move between areas of the city, but also to be on the street," said Andryushchenko.

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Moscow to soldiers in the steel mill: "Drop your weapons or you will be eliminated"

"If they continue to resist, they will all be eliminated." This is the message of the Russian Defense Ministry to the Ukrainian resistance barricaded in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, after the expiry of the ultimatum for surrender. This was reported by the Russian agency Interfax, citing the spokesman for the ministry Igor Konashenkov. "The group of Ukrainian forces, encircled and locked in the steel plant, was offered to voluntarily lay down their arms and surrender to save their lives" but Kiev forbade the Azov regiment to negotiate surrender, Konashenkov added according to Interfax. , citing some intercepted radio conversations.

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Cluster bomb removed, three dead in Kharkiv

Three explosives specialists from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine were killed and four seriously injured during the removal of cluster munitions near Kharkiv in the east of the country. This was written on Telegram, quoted by Ukrinform, the head of the regional military administration Oleh Syniehubov.

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Over a thousand civilians killed in the Kiev region

In the Kiev region, after the Russian retreat, the dramatic death toll of civilians worsened, with over a thousand bodies found. This was reported by the UNIAN agency citing the data of the local police chief, Andriy Nebytov.

"These are civilians killed, most of them with small arms", he said, also speaking of at least 200 missing: "There are children, even small ones, and adolescents, I had to take part in the exhumation".

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"Kharkiv bombed 23 times in 24 hours"

Russia has bombed Kharkiv 23 times in the past 24 hours, killing 3 civilians. This was announced by the governor of Kharkiv Oblast, Oleh Synehubov, according to reports from the Kyiv Independent. Synehubov added that 31 people were injured, including four children, from attacks by Russian forces on multiple neighborhoods in Kharkiv.

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Kiev: "Possible landing of the Russians in Mariupol"

Russian forces may be busy at this time in "preparations" for a landing in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. In an update on the situation on the ground, the Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister, Hanna Malyar, said today that her department is "verifying" information received in Kiev on "enemy preparations for a naval landing operation" in the besieged city. Ukrinform reports it.

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Borodyanka, extracted 41 bodies from the rubble

In Borodyanka, in the Kiev region, the bodies of 41 people were pulled out from under the rubble. This was announced by the Ukrainian emergency service, quoted by Ukrinform.

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Moscow: "400 foreign mercenaries encircled in the steel mill"

Up to 400 foreign mercenaries fighting alongside Ukrainian forces have been encircled at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, said today. Interfax reports it.

As is well known, the large steel plant - which with its vast network of tunnels allows you to escape from enemy assaults - has become the base of the nationalist Azov battalion.

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Moscow: "Military factory destroyed in Brovary"

Russian forces bombed a military factory on the outskirts of Kiev last night, the defense ministry said. "During the night, high-precision aircraft-launched missiles destroyed an ammunition factory near Brovary in the Kiev region," the ministry said in a message posted on its Telegram channel.

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Kiev calls for humanitarian corridors for Mariupol's civilians

"We ask once again the opening of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians, especially women and children, from Mariupol". This is the appeal launched on Telegram by the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, who also asks "the occupiers, also through the competent international structures, to open a special corridor for the evacuation of wounded soldiers" from the Ukrainian martyr city.

The Deputy Prime Minister had announced the suspension today of the humanitarian corridors due to the impossibility of reaching an agreement with Moscow on the ceasefire and therefore guaranteeing the safety of civilians.

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Kiev: "20,300 Russian soldiers killed"

At least 20,300 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the invasion began: the Kiev Army announced today on its Twitter account. In its latest update on the losses suffered by Moscow so far, the Ukrainian army also indicates that after 53 days of conflict there are also 165 downed fighters, as well as 146 helicopters and 148 drones.

In addition, Kiev forces claim to have destroyed 773 Russian tanks, 376 artillery pieces, 2,002 armored personnel carriers, four short-range ballistic missile systems, 127 missile systems, eight ships, 1,471 vehicles, 76 refueling tankers, 66 anti-aircraft defense units and 27 special equipment units.

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Humanitarian corridors suspended for today

Ukrainian authorities have announced the suspension of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians from eastern Ukraine, due to the lack of a ceasefire agreement with the Russian army. "This morning we failed to negotiate a ceasefire on the evacuation routes with the occupiers. That is why, unfortunately, we will not open humanitarian corridors today," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Telegram.

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Mattarella to the Pope: "Peace founded on justice"

"The Easter spirit renews in the conscience the invitation to keep hope alive and a firm commitment to a peace founded on justice, while the message that Your Holiness tirelessly spreads in defense of the dignity of the person constitutes for all, believers and non-believers, a fruitful source of inspiration for commitment to and towards the other ". It is a passage from the message that the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, sent to Pope Francis for Easter.

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"Putin will collaborate in the investigation into war crimes"

Vladimir Putin "will collaborate in the international investigation" on war crimes committed according to the international community by Russian forces in Ukraine: the Russian president himself told the Austrian Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, during their meeting in Moscow on 11 April. Interviewed by NBC, Nehammer further reported that Putin "does not trust the Western world. So this will be the problem in the future," he added.

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Explosions in Kiev

Explosions were heard this morning in the Ukrainian capital Kiev: the BBC reports. The rockets hit the suburb of Brovary. According to the mayor, Ihor Sapozhko, reports the CNN, infrastructure has been damaged and now Brovary risks the interruption of electricity and water.

(Unioneonline)

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