Zelenskyy called on “the democratic world” to ban Russian oil. As US lawmakers and US President Joe Biden have enacted such a ban, Europe is becoming more dependent on Russian energy supplies and the US is working to prevent India from ramping up its use of Russian energy.

The governor of Lviv region in western Ukraine reported airstrikes in the region on Saturday morning.

Maksym Kozytskyy said on the Telegram messaging app that Russian Su-35 planes took off from Baranovichi airfield in Belarus and carried out missile strikes in Lviv.

Ukraine’s air defense system shot down four cruise missiles, Kozytskyy said.

He gave no details of any casualties or damage.

Main developments of the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022

Washington: Ukraine is sending top officials to Washington for next week’s spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, where discussions will focus on the Russian invasion and its impact on the global economy.

Atlanta: CIA Director William Burns said no one “can take lightly” the threat that Russia might use tactical or low-yield nuclear weapons, but he saw no “practical evidence” to suggest that it is imminent.

Speaking to an audience Thursday at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Burns said the “potential desperation” of Russian leaders to portray a victory in Ukraine increases the risk of nuclear weapons being used.

“None of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons,” Burns said. “We don’t.”

Rome: The war in Ukraine loomed over the traditional Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum because the Vatican’s choice of a Russian woman as one of the cross-bearers angered Ukrainians.

On Friday evening, participants in the solemn torchlight procession in the old bullring took turns carrying a simple, tall and thin cross as part of the commemoration of the suffering and death of Jesus by crucifixion.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican and the archbishop of kyiv earlier this week denounced the Vatican’s plan to have a Ukrainian woman and a Russian woman carry the cross during the procession. They objected to projecting what they saw as the idea of ​​reconciliation as Ukraine is ravaged by war unleashed by Russia.

The Vatican did not respond to the protests. Pope Francis denounced the February 24 invasion and attacks on Ukraine as “sacrilege,” but refrained from naming Russia as the aggressor.

Other worshipers applauded the decision to pair the two women. They work together in a palliative care section of a hospital in Rome and are friends.

Kyiv: Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in an online post that Kyiv was hit early on Saturday in the capital’s eastern Darnytskyi district, saying there had been “explosions”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that existing sanctions against Russia are “painful” but not yet enough to stop the Russian military.

Zelenskyy called on “the democratic world” to ban Russian oil. As US lawmakers and US President Joe Biden have enacted such a ban, Europe is becoming more dependent on Russian energy supplies and the US is working to prevent India from ramping up its use of Russian energy.

“In general, the democratic world has to accept that Russia’s money for energy resources is actually money for the destruction of democracy,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to his nation.

He also said: “The sooner the democratic world recognizes that the oil embargo against Russia and the complete blockade of its banking sector are necessary steps towards peace, the sooner the war will end.”.

Elsewhere in southern Ukraine, he said Russian troops occupying areas around Kherson and Zaporizhzhia were terrorizing civilians and searching for anyone who had served in the army or government.

“The occupiers believe that this will make it easier for them to control this territory. But they are very wrong. They are wrong,” Zelenskyy said.

He added: “The problem with the occupiers is not that they are not accepted by certain activists, veterans or journalists. Russia’s problem is that it is not accepted — and never will be accepted — by all Ukrainian people. Russia has lost Ukraine forever.

Outraged by what it called Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory and following the stunning loss of its Black Sea flagship, Moscow threatened further missile attacks on kyiv, where authorities said the bodies of more than 900 civilians had been found outside the capital. Most had been shot, according to the police, and probably “merely executed”.

Russian forces prepared for a new offensive in eastern Ukraine, and fighting also continued in the southern port city of Mariupol, where residents reported seeing Russian troops digging up bodies. In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, a shelling of a residential area killed seven people, including a 7-month-old child, and injured 34, according to regional governor Oleh Sinehubov.

Early Saturday, Darnytskie district in eastern Kyiv was hit, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in an online post. He said lifeguards and paramedics were on the scene. He warned residents who fled the capital not to return for their safety.

In towns around Kyiv, said Andriy Nebytov, who heads the region’s police force, bodies were left on the streets or given temporary burials. He cited police data indicating that 95% died from gunshot wounds.

“Therefore, we understand that under the (Russian) occupation, people were simply executed in the streets,” Nebytov said.

More and more bodies are being found every day under the rubble and in mass graves, he added, with the largest number being found in Bucha, more than 350. According to Nebytov, utility workers gathered and buried bodies on the outskirts of kyiv while it remained under Russian control. Russian troops, he added, had “hunted down” people who expressed strong pro-Ukrainian views.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian troops occupying parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in the south of terrorizing civilians and driving out anyone who has served in the Ukrainian military or government.

“The occupiers believe that this will make it easier for them to control this territory. But they are very wrong. They are wrong,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. “Russia’s problem is that it is not accepted – and will never be accepted – by all Ukrainian people. Russia has lost Ukraine forever.

Officials believe 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers died during the war, Zelenskyy told CNN in an interview. He said around 10,000 people were injured and it is “difficult to say how many will survive”. More violence could be in store for Kyiv after Russian authorities accused Ukraine of injuring seven people and damaging around 100 residential buildings with airstrikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Authorities in another region bordering Russia also reported Ukrainian shelling on Thursday.

“The number and scale of missile attacks against objects in Kyiv will be intensified in response to the nationalist regime in Kyiv committing terrorist attacks or hijackings on Russian territory,” the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said. , Igor Konashenkov.

Russia used missiles to destroy a missile system repair and production facility in Kyiv, Konashenkov said. Ukrainian state arms maker Ukroboronprom said Russian forces struck one of the missile workshops at the Vizar factory, located near Kyiv’s Zhuliany airport.

Ukrainian officials have not confirmed any striking targets in Russia, and the reports could not be independently verified.