Updates on Russia's war on Ukraine: Fifty staff members at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine, who had been on the job since the plant was seized by Russian forces Feb. 24, have been rotated out and replaced, the plant's management said.
LVIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian survivors of one of the most brutal sieges in modern history were in the final minutes of their train ride to relative safety.
Mariupol authorities say nearly 10% of the city’s population of 430,000 have fled over the past week.WASHINGTON — China’s ambassador to the U.S. is defending his country’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, contending such a rebuke will do nothing to stop the violence. On Sunday, Qin said China is not providing any military assistance to Russia. He insisted that China remains “against a war” and “will do everything” -- short of condemnation -- “to deescalate the crisis.”JERUSALEM — Ukraine’s president called on Israel to take a stronger stand against Russia as he compared the invasion of his country to atrocities committed by Nazi Germany during World War II.
Dean of St. Paul’s David Ison said he hoped Ukrainians would “find comfort in this act of solidarity.” He said “we continue to pray for strength and safety for the many people affected by the conflict, and for peace in Ukraine and around the world.” Since Russia attacked Ukraine more than three weeks ago, over 3.38 million people have fled the country, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Most have escaped to neighboring Poland, Romania or Moldova, but as the war continues many are moving further west.BERLIN — More than 8,000 people are attending an open-air concert in the German capital to express their support for Ukraine.
“The occupiers are forcing people to leave Ukraine for Russia. Over the past week, several thousand Mariupol residents have been taken to the Russian territory,” the city statement said. The besieged city of Mariupol, which has suffered under heavy Russian forces’ shelling, has been cut off from food, water and energy supplies.WARSAW, Poland — Officials in Poland say that trucks headed for Belarus are backed up for 40 kilometers while they wait to reach the Koroszczyn border point as a group of protesters is blocking the road there. The protesters are calling for a ban on trade with Russia and its ally Belarus.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called on the European Union to halt all land and sea trade with Russia.DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Germany’s economy minister is visiting the tiny, energy-rich state of Qatar to discuss improving stability in the energy market as Russia’s war in Ukraine sends gas prices to new highs.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia last week in a bid to convince the countries to pump more oil after prices spiked dramatically on supply disruption concerns. Speaking on Sunday in Antalya, Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey was in touch with negotiators on both sides and was acting as a “mediator and facilitator.” He said he could not divulge details but that there was “momentum.”
Lebanon is divided by a Western-backed coalition and another by groups supported by Iran and Assad’s government.VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has denounced Russia’s “repugnant war” against Ukraine as “cruel and sacrilegious inhumanity.” The pope said that “above all, defenseless life should get respected and protected, not eliminated.” That priority “comes before any strategy,” Francis said, before leading those in the square in a moment of silent prayer.BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovakia’s Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad says the first multinational NATO units with the Patriot air defense systems have been moving to his country.Germany and the Netherlands have agreed to send their troops armed with the Patriots to Slovakia.
Nad previously has said his country will be willing to provide its S-300 long-range air defense missile system to Ukraine on condition it has a proper replacement. The strategic city has been encircled by the Russian troops and faced a relentless Russian bombardment for three weeks, coming to symbolize the horror of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Local authorities have said the siege has cut off food, water and energy supplies, and killed at least 2,300 people, some of whom had to be buried in mass graves.
The governor of the northeastern Sumy region, Dmytro Zhyvytskyy, said Sunday that 71 infants have been safely evacuated via a humanitarian corridor. Zhyvytskyy said on Facebook that the orphans will be taken to an unspecified foreign country. He said most of them require constant medical attention. Konashenkov noted that the Kalibr cruise missiles launched by Russian warships from the Caspian Sea were also involved in the strike on the fuel depot in Kostiantynivka. He said Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea were used to destroy an armor repair plant in Nizhyn in the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine.