Russia

The Kremlin denies that Russian troops are storming the Azovstal factory in Mariupol, which Ukrainian sources previously reported.   The steel mill is the last Ukrainian stronghold of resistance in the southern Ukrainian city. "The order to call off the attack was given publicly," a Kremlin spokesman said. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on April 21 that he ordered the siege of the steel plant and a halt to the attack. According to the mayor of Mariupol, about 200 civilians are still trapped in the underground facilities of Azovstal. There are also reportedly several thousand Ukrainian soldiers there. The first civilians were evacuated last weekend.

A meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia still seems out of sight. Ukrainian presidential adviser Michailo Podoljak, chief negotiator at the peace talks, says the countries have not yet reached an agreement. In Kyiv, there has been a desire to enter into direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin for some time. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky called on Saturday to meet with Putin to "end the war". Turkey is trying to arrange this meeting as a mediator. Zelensky also wanted to meet Putin before the Russian invasion, but his efforts were in vain. The Russian president demanded that Zelensky resolve the conflict with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Despite pressure from Russia, Ukrainian authorities refused to engage in talks with the militias wi...

Near the port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, besieged by Russian troops, satellite images indicate a possible mass grave, according to several media.   The American satellite company Maxar released images showing several excavated graves in the suburb of Manhuch, west of Mariupol. Local authorities say thousands of civilians are buried there. Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky previously spoke of tens of thousands of deaths in the port city, which has been under siege for weeks. The Ukrainian figures could not be independently verified. Zelensky has not yet publicly commented on the suspected mass grave. Instead, the information comes from Mariupol City Council and Mayor Vadym Boichenko. They speak of graves for "9,000 bodies" but are no longer on site. A satellite ...

The evacuations in Ukraine will resume on Thursday after they were halted on Wednesday due to violations of the agreements. Russia and Ukraine have agreed on nine evacuation routes in the east of the country.   The so-called corridor in the east of Luhansk cannot open until Russia stops bombing, says Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk. Other essential routes are in the cities of Mariupol, Berdyansk, Tokmak and Enerhodar. The evacuation routes give people the option to leave regions where there is heavy fighting. According to Ukraine, Russia has already violated the agreements about the routes several times, including by temporarily ceasing fire in the region.