What has happened in the last hours in Ukraine
On the 53rd day of the war initiated by Russia against Ukraine, these are the key data at 2:00 p.m. this Sunday, April 17:
Mariupol Fate Earrings. The deadline announced by the Russian Army for the surrender of the Ukrainian defenders of the port city on the Sea of Azov, where, according to the kyiv authorities, more than 100,000 people are still trying to survive, has ended. The mayor of the city has assured in his Telegram account that “the defenders continue to resist” despite the Russian demands. Moscow has affirmed that it is “the last chance”, while the president, Volodímir Zelenski, has warned that the death of the Mariupol resistance would mean the end of the peace negotiations with Russia.
The United Kingdom assures that Russia continues to move combat forces to eastern Ukraine. The UK Ministry of Defense has assured this Sunday, in its latest intelligence report, that Russia continues to move troops from Belarus to eastern Ukraine. The towns of Kharkov and Severodonetsk are two to which the Kremlin is directing part of the combat material, says London.
A missile hits Brovary, on the outskirts of kyiv. The authorities of the kyiv region have reported this Sunday the explosion of a missile in the town of Brovary, on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, which has caused damage to its infrastructure. The Russian Ministry of Defense has assured, for its part, that the target was an ammunition factory, which “was destroyed”.
Ukraine claims there will be no humanitarian corridors this Sunday. The Ukrainian deputy prime minister, Irina Vereschuk, has stated on her Telegram account that humanitarian corridors will not be opened this Sunday, “since they cannot agree with the occupants [rusos] a ceasefire on the evacuation routes.” “We are working to get these corridors back up and running as soon as possible,” he added.
The European Commission announces an additional €50 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Moldova. The European Commission announced this Sunday an additional 50 million euros to finance humanitarian projects in Ukraine and Moldova as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These funds, part of the package of 1,000 million announced by the Community Executive at the global conference of donors last week, brings to 143 million what has been contributed so far by the EU in humanitarian aid since the start of the war.
The Pope laments the war on Easter Sunday: “Let there be peace for the tormented Ukraine”. Pope Francis has once again lamented the war in Ukraine during the apostolic blessing on Easter Sunday in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome. The pontiff has affirmed that this “Easter of war” “fills our hearts with fear and anguish”. “It is hard for us to believe that Jesus has risen,” Francis said. The Pope has asked “that there be peace for the tormented Ukraine, severely tested by the violence and destruction of the cruel war in which it has been dragged”.
In the photo by Alexei Alexandrov, for AP, a building destroyed by fire in Mariupol.
