- Russian forces continue to deploy closer to Kyiv, according to satellite images
- US accuses Russia of violating nuclear safety principles in Ukraine
- Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of hindering evacuations by continuing shelling
Catch up on Friday’s developments in the Ukraine-Russia crisis here.
This article was last updated at 01:45 UTC/GMT
Zelenskyy: Kidnap of city mayor ‘crime against democracy’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded the release of the mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol.
The Ukrainian parliament earlier said civic leader Ivan Fedorov was seen being taken away by Russian soldiers occupying the city.
Fedorov had reportedly refused to cooperate with the occupying forces.
Zelenskyy confirmed the abduction, calling Fedorov “a mayor who bravely defends Ukraine and the members of his community.” He said it revealed Russian weakness, and was a crime against democracy.
“This is obviously a sign of weakness of the invaders… They have moved to a new stage of terror in which they are trying to physically eliminate representatives of legitimate local Ukrainian authorities,” he said.
“The capture of the mayor of Melitopol is, therefore, a crime, not only against a particular person, against a particular community, and not only against Ukraine. It is a crime against democracy itself.
“The acts of the Russian invaders will be regarded like those of ‘Islamic State’ terrorists,” he said.
Russian forces captured Melitopol, home to 150,000 people, on February 26.
Mariupol under siege
Zelenskyy has also accused Russia of not allowing people to leave the besieged city of Mariupol, claiming that Moscow was torturing its residents.
The Ukrainian president said there would be a fresh effort to deliver aid to Mariupol on Saturday, although the Russians were refusing to allow supplies in.
“Russian troops have not let our aid into the city and continue to torture our people …tomorrow we will try again, try again to send food, water and medicine,” he said.
Zelenskyy said a total of 7,144 people were evacuated from four other Ukrainian cities on Friday, a sharp drop on each of the two previous days.
In the same address, Zelenskyy called on the mothers of Russian soldiers to prevent their sons from being sent to fight in the war in Ukraine.
“I want to say this once again to Russian mothers, especially mothers of conscripts. Do not send your children to war in a foreign country,” he said.
“Ukraine never wanted this terrible war. And Ukraine does not want it. But it will defend itself as much as necessary,” he added.
Satellite images show Russian military units inching closer to Kyiv
Maxar Technologies, a private US-based company, said satellite images taken on Friday showed that Russian military units were continuing to deploy closer to the Ukrainian capital.
According to Maxar, Russian forces were firing artillery toward residential areas, leaving multiple homes and buildings on fire and causing widespread damage in the northwestern town of Moschun.
US slams Russia’s ‘reckless actions’ over nuclear safety
Washington has accused Russia of violating nuclear safety principles in Ukraine, slamming Moscow’s “reckless actions.”
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said radiation monitors in much of Ukraine were still functioning, but raised concerns over lack of data from safeguards monitors at Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia.
The two sites have been seized by Russian forces, but are still being operated by Ukrainian staff.
“We remain concerned about Russia’s reckless actions and violations of nuclear safety principles,” Granholm wrote on Twitter.
“We are monitoring reports of damage to a research facility in Kharkiv. Near-term safety risk is low, but the continued Russian firing on nuclear facilities must cease,” she said.
Summary of events in Ukraine-Russia crisis on Friday
Russia has widened its offensive in Ukraine, striking airfields in the west for the first time.
Russian airstrikes also targeted for the first time the eastern city of Dnipro, a major industrial hub and Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, on the Dnieper River.
Until now, Russian forces have made the biggest advances on cities in the south and east, while stalling in the north and around Kyiv.
New satellite photos also appeared to show that the massive Russian convoy outside the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, had fanned out.
The 40-mile (64-kilometer) line of tanks and other vehicles had massed outside the city early last week. The Russian military is widely expected to try to encircle Kyiv.
President Zelenskyy said his country has reached a strategic turning point in its war with Russia. But he cautioned that time and patience were still needed until victory is achieved.
At least 1,582 civilians have been killed in Ukraine’s southeastern city of Mariupol as a result of Russian shelling and a 12-day blockade, the city council said in an online statement.
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Friday said its offensive, led by fighters from the separatist-held Donetsk region, was further squeezing Mariupol, which lies on the Sea of Azov that runs into the Black Sea.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said some 2.5 million people have now fled Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24.
Europe has earmarked another €500 million ($550 million) in military aid to Ukraine, European Council President Charles Michel said at the end of the meeting of EU leaders at Versailles, France.
The leaders also said they were ready to impose harsher economic sanctions on Russia and might give Ukraine more funds for arms. But they rejected Ukraine’s request to join the bloc.
US President Joe Biden said the G7 industrialized nations would revoke Russia’s normal trade status and announced a US ban on imports of Russian seafood, alcohol and diamonds.
US lawmakers also passed a huge spending bill that includes almost $14 billion (about €12.7 billion) in humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine.
rc/fb (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
Ukraine demands release of ‘abducted’ mayor — live updates
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