Here are the latest updates on the war in Ukraine:
Russian forces struck the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Kharkiv on Wednesday as the West prepared more sanctions against Moscow in response to so-called war crimes. Some 160,000 people are still trapped in Mariupol, where evacuation efforts have largely failed amid a near-continuous military bombardment. Ukrainian President Zelensky has called for tougher sanctions, warning that Western leaders will be severely punished if Russia can continue as usual.
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In a rift with the EU, Hungary says it is ready to pay for Russian gas in rubles
Hungary said on Wednesday it was ready to pay rubles for Russian gas, breaking ties with the European Union, which has sought a united front in opposition to Moscow’s demand for a currency payment. Hungary will pay for the shipment in rubles if Russia so requests, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a news conference on Wednesday, when asked by Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Europe that it risks cutting gas supplies unless it pays in rubles, as it seeks revenge for Western sanctions on Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. As the weeks go by before the bills are paid, the European Commission has said that those who have contracts that require payment in euros or dollars should abide by this. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said earlier that EU authorities had “no role” in the gas supply agreement with Russia, which was based on a bilateral agreement between units of the Hungarian state-owned MVM and Gazprom. Hungary was one of the few EU member states to reject energy sanctions against Moscow in response to what Russia calls a “special military operation.” -Reuters 9 a.m. ET
Car ramps gate of Russian embassy in Romania, driver dead
Romanian police forces secure the area around the Russian embassy in Romania in Bucharest on April 6, 2022, after a man hit his car at the gates of the diplomatic mission, then set himself on fire inside the vehicle and died, according to police.DANIEL MIHAILESCU / AFP / Getty Images A car carrying containers of flammable materials crashed into the gate of the Russian embassy in the Romanian capital early Wednesday, was engulfed in flames and the driver was killed, police said. The sedan entered the gate at around 6am on Wednesday, but did not enter the Bucharest embassy. The video from the aftermath shows the car engulfed in flames as security personnel crossed the area. According to police, firefighters who arrived at the scene managed to extinguish the fire but the driver died on the spot. The prosecutor in the case who arrived at the scene told reporters that several containers of flammable substances were discovered inside the car, which will be examined by medical examiners. The accident was under investigation and an autopsy-necropsy will be performed, said the prosecutor, Bogdan Staikou. In a statement issued after the incident, the Russian embassy said no staff member was injured and expressed condolences to the driver’s family, adding: “There is no doubt that he committed this act under the influence of anti-Russian hysteria in connection with a city of Bucha “. The Romanian Foreign Ministry, however, responded to a statement saying it “rejects any attribution of context or political significance to this tragic incident” and called on the Russian embassy to “show maximum restraint in providing any interpretation” before the inquiries are completed. – The Associated Press 8:26 a.m. ET
Russian bombing kills 10 high-rise buildings in Sivierodonetsk, Ukraine, governor says
Ten high-rise buildings are burning in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sivierodonetsk after Russian forces bombed the city on Wednesday, the governor of the eastern Luhansk region said in an online post. He said there was no immediate word on casualties. Sievierodonetsk is the interim seat of the regional authorities, as the city of Luhansk has been controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. -Reuters 8:17 a.m. ET
More Western sanctions will hit Russia after Bhutto’s assassination
The United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) on Wednesday prepared to impose new sanctions on Russia, including a ban on any new investment in the country and an EU coal embargo, following evidence of torture and killings in recent days. city outside Kyiv. Videos and images of corpses in the streets of Bukha after it was recaptured by Russian forces have sparked a wave of outrage among Western allies, who have imposed new sanctions in response. The European Commission’s proposed ban on coal imports will be the first EU sanctions aimed at Russia’s lucrative energy industry over the war in Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that energy is the key to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war funds. “One billion euros is what we pay Putin every day for the energy he has provided us since the beginning of the war. We gave him 35 billion euros. “Compare that to the one billion we gave Ukraine in arms and ammunition,” Borrell said. After several European countries announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats, the European Commission proposed a fifth package of sanctions, including a ban on coal imports that could only be approved on Wednesday, after being approved unanimously by the 27-nation bloc ambassadors. The United States and its Western allies plan to impose a ban on all new investment in Russia. – The Associated Press 7:25 a.m. ET
Zelensky says some in the West fear economic loss more than war crimes
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the screens via video link, at a joint meeting of both Dail and Seanad Eireann (House of Oireachtas, Irish Parliament) in the Dail Hall of Leinster House, Dublin, Ireland, 6 April 2022. MAXWELLS DUBLIN / Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday accused some Western leaders of considering financial losses worse than war crimes, saying he could not tolerate indecision about the rigid new Russian sanctions. “When we hear new rhetoric about sanctions … I can not tolerate any indecision after all that the Russian troops have done,” he said in a speech to the Irish parliament on Wednesday. “The only thing we lack is the approach of the authorities of some leaders – political leaders, businessmen – who still believe that war and war crimes are not as horrible as financial losses,” he added, speaking through an interpreter. Western gained some momentum for more sanctions this week after dead civilians who were shot at close range were found in the town of Bucha after a Russian withdrawal. However, Europe has so far not imposed restrictions on Russian gas imports, on which the countries of the region depend to a large extent. Zelensky called on Dublin to persuade its European Union partners to introduce “stricter” measures against Moscow. -Reuters 6:49 a.m. ET
The Relief House in Warsaw provides refugees from Mariupol with shelter and a place to start from scratch
Sofia Rakitskaya, 36, and her son Mark, 13, at the HumanDoc Relief House in Babice Nowe, near Warsaw, which opened last week to house families who have left Mariupol. Anna Liminowicz / The Globe and Mail At first glance, the spacious house on the outskirts of Warsaw looks like the perfect family environment. There is a large courtyard with a fish pond, a large barbecue deck and a road large enough for at least three cars. Inside, the place is buzzing with activity. On Tuesday, four women chatted casually as they prepared a lunch of borscht and salad, while a young girl sat at the table painting and three boys ran down the aisle laughing. But the homely atmosphere belies the grief and pain that is just below the surface. All the people living here – six mothers, one grandmother and six children – arrived from Mariupol, Ukraine last week. And now everyone is trying to find their way to a new country while struggling with the death and destruction they have left behind. Each of them spent weeks living underground in shelters, hearing bombs fall on neighborhoods they loved and wondering how many other friends and relatives would be killed. Read the whole story. –Paul Waldie of The Globe 6:38 a.m. ET
Russian artillery kills two at Ukrainian aid depot: Governor of Donetsk
The governor of Ukraine’s Donetsk region said at least two civilians were killed and five wounded Wednesday when Russian artillery fire hit a humanitarian aid distribution point in the city of Vukhledar. In an online post, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko shared photos of the alleged attack showing two women lying on the ground, one with a serious leg injury and another with a bloodied leg being assisted in a rescue vehicle. “It is known at the moment that two people were killed and five were injured. “We record all the crimes committed by the Russian Federation on our land,” Kyrylenko wrote. Russia has denied targeting civilians since invading Ukraine on February 24. Reuters could not immediately verify Kyrlyenko’s account of the incident. -Reuters 6:01 a.m. ET
Russian forces hit Mariupol, with thousands more trapped
Locals cook in a courtyard during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine, April 5, 2022. ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO / Reuters Russian artillery pounded the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Kharkiv on Wednesday as the West prepared more sanctions against Moscow in response to the killing of civilians by Kyiv and its allies as war crimes. The besieged southern port of …
