Zelenskyy braces for ‘hard battle’, UK’s Johnson visits with aid
- Death toll from train station bombing in Kramatorsk rises to 52.
- Russia denies responsibility saying missiles responsible for the attack were only used by Ukraine’s military.
- Ukraine says more than 4,500 people have been evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors.
- Russian shelling killed five civilians and wounded five others in two east Ukrainian cities, official says.
- YouTube has blocked Duma TV that broadcasts from Russia’s lower house of parliament.
Here are the latest updates:
Kyiv suburb’s residents line up for food
Civilians remaining in Bucha are lining up for food donated by the local church in the battered Kyiv suburb where Ukrainian forces and journalists reported evidence of war crimes after Russian soldiers withdrew.
Volunteer Petro Denysyuk told The Associated Press that he and fellow church friends started providing food, with a wide array of basic foodstuffs and hot meals.
“We have gathered together with the youth from our church and prepared food for the needy,” Denysyuk said. “We prepared pilaf, boiled eggs, prepared meat, sausages, noodles.”
Russia’s ‘imperial illusions’ must be defeated: Ukraine
Ukranian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak says President Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not meet until after the country defeated Russia in the east, which would bolster its negotiating position.
“We are paying a very high price. But Russia must get rid of its imperial illusions,” he said, according to the Interfax Ukraine news agency.
Ukrainian officials have urged civilians in the east of the country to flee. On Friday, officials said more than 50 people were killed in a missile strike on a train station in city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, where thousands of people had gathered to evacuate.
‘Never bullied again’, says UK PM, offering weaponry
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has offered financial and military support during a surprise visit to Ukraine.
At a meeting in Kyiv, Johnson told President Zelenskyy that Britain would provide armoured vehicles and anti-ship missile systems, along with additional support for World Bank loans.
The support aims to ensure “Ukraine can never be bullied again, never will be blackmailed again, never will be threatened in the same way again,” Johnson said.
‘Hard battle’ coming, Ukraine president warns
Ukraine is ready for a tough battle with Russian forces amassing in the east of the country, Zelenskyy says.
The Ukrainian leader met Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Kyiv, warning in a joint news conference while the threat to the capital had receded, it was rising in the east.
“This will be a hard battle, we believe in this fight and our victory. We are ready to simultaneously fight and look for diplomatic ways to put an end to this war,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine says 4,532 people evacuated from cities
A total of 4,532 people have been evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Saturday, fewer than the 6,665 who escaped on Friday, according to a senior official.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, made the announcement in an online post.
Five killed in east Ukraine shelling: Donetsk governor
Russian shelling has killed five civilians and wounded five others in two east Ukrainian cities, the local governor has said on Telegram.
“Today, five people were killed after Russian shelling in the region of Donetsk,” the Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko posted on Telegram. Four of them died in the city of Vuhledar, and one in the town of Novomykhalivka, he added.
YouTube blocks Russian parliament channel
YouTube has blocked Duma TV which broadcasts from Russia’s lower house of parliament, drawing an angry response from officials who said the world’s most popular streaming service could face restrictions in response.
On Saturday, a message on YouTube said the Duma channel had been “terminated for a violation of YouTube’s Terms of Service”.
YouTube, owned by Alphabet Inc’s GOOGL.O, has been under pressure from Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor and officials were quick to respond.
Find the news updates from April 9 here.
