A 50-year-old man and his 11-year-old daughter were killed after Russian forces struck a residential building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia early on Sunday, authorities said. Edward Baran reports.
The United States said it will soon start training Ukrainian troops to use its Abrams tank and Germany announced a deal to establish a hub in Poland to repair tanks deployed in Ukraine.
* NATO chief Stoltenberg has invited Ukrainian President Zelenskiy to the Western military alliance’s summit in July while emphasising the need to support Ukraine’s battlefield logistics.
* A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said NATO wanted to defeat Russia and was keeping Ukraine motivated by promising membership after the war ended. She described such statements as dangerous for Europe’s security.
* Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned of an “uncontrollable” arms race and said Moscow needed to build up its tactical missile capabilities including in its Kaliningrad territory that borders Poland and Lithuania, the RIA news agency said.
* The Kremlin said it was monitoring reports of a possible ban on exports to Russia by Western countries, and that new sanctions would hit the global economy.
* A Moscow court ordered the arrest in absentia of Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev, whose reporting for the Bellingcat news outlet has angered Russia, RIA news agency said.
* A Ukrainian former deputy defence minister and another ministry official have been served with “notices of suspicion” accusing them of wrongdoing over contracts for food purchases for the army, the state anti-corruption agency said.
* Britain imposed sanctions on a Russian judge and four others linked to the arrest of British-Russian Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza who was jailed for 25 years this week.
* A deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain could start winding down next week after Russia said it will not approve any new vessels unless their operators guarantee the transits will be done by May 18 – “the expected date of … closure.”
* Ukraine’s prospects of unblocking grain shipments to eastern Europe improved as Romania opted against a unilateral ban on food imports, but there was no progress on extending a deal on Black Sea exports.
* Ukraine said Russian forces had made some advances in fierce fighting for the eastern city of Bakhmut but that the situation was under control. Russia said earlier its troops were fighting in the last part of the city still held by Kyiv’s forces.
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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visits the Wall of Remembrance to pay tribute to killed Ukrainian soldiers, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine April 20, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg attends a joint press statement with Czech President Petr Pavel at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron
Commercial vessels including vessels which are part of Black Sea grain deal wait to pass the Bosphorus strait off the shores of Yenikapi during a misty morning in Istanbul, Turkey, October 31, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas//File Photo
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, commander of the Dnieper Group of Forces, during his visit to the headquarters of the “Dnieper” army group in the Kherson Region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, in this still image taken from handout video released on April 18, 2023. Kremlin.ru/Handout via REUTERS
From left, European Union Deputy Secretary General and Political Director of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, and Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, pose for a photo during the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at The Prince Karuizawa hotel in Karuizawa, Japan April 17, 2023. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS
Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is accused of treason and of discrediting the Russian army, appears on a screen in a court building during a video link to a hearing in Moscow, Russia. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu attend a meeting in Moscow, Russia, April 16, 2023. Sputnik/Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via REUTERS
Ukrainian servicemen return from heavy fighting amid Russia?s attack on Ukraine, close to Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 15, 2023. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
A Ukrainian serviceman looks on as he returns from heavy fighting amid Russia?s attack on Ukraine, close to Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 15, 2023. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Emergency workers and volunteers work at the site of an apartment building damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, Ukraine April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Anna Kudriavtseva
Volunteers work at the site of a residential building damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, Ukraine April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Anna Kudriavtseva
Ukrainian artillery fires towards the frontline during heavy fighting near Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 13. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Smoke is seen during a shelling on the outskirts of the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 10, 2023. REUTERS/Oleksandr Klymenko
A Ukrainian serviceman clears a trench at the front line near Donetsk, Ukraine, April 8. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
FILE PHOTO; A police officer inspects remains of a Russian missile which hit a residential area, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine April 9, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer
Serhii (35), a Ukrainian sniper with the 1st Tank Brigade, is fully disguised as he tests his weapon prior to a mission amid Russia?s attack on Ukraine at the frontline near Donetsk, Ukraine, April 8, 2023. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Ukrainian service member from 28th mechanised brigade launches an RPG at the frontline, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine in the region of Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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