Russia-Ukraine live news: Ukraine urges Easter truce for Mariupol
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asks for peace during an Easter Sunday address.
- Senior Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak urges Moscow to agree to a “real Easter truce” to evacuate civilians from Mariupol.
- Ukraine’s president criticises a decision by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to visit Moscow on Tuesday before heading to Kyiv.
- Zelenskyy says Ukraine hopes to secure heavy weapons at talks with the US secretaries of state and defence in Kyiv on Sunday, but reiterated calls for a meeting with Putin to “end the war”.
- A series of cruise missile attacks killed at least eight people in Ukraine’s Odesa region, including a three-month-old baby.
EU’s von der Leyen in India with Ukraine on agenda
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will press India over its neutral stance on the Ukraine war after arriving in the country for trade, security and climate talks.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has not openly condemned the Kremlin or backed a United Nations Security Council vote that deplored Moscow’s “aggression”.
Von der Leyen’s itinerary began with visits to local climate change initiatives, where she praised India for its “ambitious” renewable power target and said the Ukraine war had thrown energy security issues into the spotlight.
Pope Francis has appealed again for a truce in Ukraine over the Orthodox Easter weekend, “to ease the suffering of exhausted people”.
“Instead of halting, the war has become worse,” the leader of the Roman Catholic Church said as the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine flew among the faithful gathered on St Peter’s Square.
“It is sad that on these most holy and solemn days for Christians we hear more of the murderous noise of weapons than that of the bells announcing the resurrection” of Christ.
“I renew the appeal for an Easter truce, the smallest tangible sign of a willingness for peace,” he pleaded.
Erdogan tells Zelenskyy Turkey ready to assist in negotiations
Turkey is ready to give all possible assistance during the negotiation process between Ukraine and Russia, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Zelenskyy during a telephone call, the Turkish presidency has said.
Erdogan said the evacuation of the wounded and civilians in Ukraine’s Mariupol must be ensured, adding that Turkey viewed the guarantor issue positively in principle. Ukraine has sought security guarantees from various countries during talks.
