Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:
– Seven killed in Lviv strikes –
Five “powerful” Russian missiles hit the western city of Lviv, killing at least seven people and wounding eight, local officials say.
The attack comes as Russia hits targets across the country ahead of an expected campaign in the east.
– Tycoon at centre of prisoner exchange –
Russian state television broadcasts video of two men it says are captured Britons, who ask to be exchanged for Viktor Medvedchuk, a wealthy Ukrainian tycoon who has for years been close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and who was captured recently.
Moments later, Ukraine’s security services put out a video of Medvedchuk asking to be exchanged for the Ukrainian civilians and soldiers trapped in the strategic besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol.
– Civilian evacuation paused for second day –
Ukraine says it is halting for a second day in a row the evacuation of civilians from the frontline towns and cities in the east of the country.
“Unfortunately, today, April 18, there will be no humanitarian corridors,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says in a statement on social media. “In violation of international humanitarian law, the Russian occupiers have not stopped blocking and shelling humanitarian routes.”
– Russia seeking to ‘destroy’ Donbas: Zelensky –
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is seeking to destroy the region of Donbas, the country’s industrial heartland, and vows to defend it, including Mariupol where patches of Ukrainian forces are trapped in the port’s giant industrial parks.
“Russian troops are preparing for an offensive operation in the east of our country in the near future. They want to literally finish off and destroy Donbas,” Zelensky says in an evening statement.
– Mariupol will ‘fight to the end’ –
Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal tells ABC’s “This Week” that Mariupol “has not fallen” — adding the encircled forces defending the city from Russian attack will “fight to the end”.
– Macron invited to see evidence of ‘genocide’ in Ukraine –
Zelensky says he has invited his French counterpart to visit Ukraine to see for himself evidence that Russian forces have committed “genocide” — a term President Emmanuel Macron has avoided.
“I talked to him yesterday,” Zelensky tells CNN.
“I just told him I want him to understand that this is not war, but nothing other than genocide. I invited him to come when he will have the opportunity. He’ll come and see, and I’m sure he will understand.”
– Loaned Russian paintings stuck –
Dozens of paintings by renowned Russian artists including Wassily Kandinsky are stuck in Seoul after an exhibition because of sanctions imposed on Russia over its war in Ukraine.
The exhibition at the Sejong Museum of Art wrapped up on Sunday, but the paintings are stuck in the South Korean capital as all available flight options have been shut down by the sanctions.
— 200,000 in Moscow risk job losses —
Some 200,000 employees of foreign companies in Moscow could lose their jobs due to sanctions over Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, the city’s mayor says.
Sergei Sobyanin says authorities had last week approved a $41-million programme to support employment in the Russian capital.
