Ukraine-Russia war LIVE – Zelensky warns Putin’s invasion is the BEGINNING & Moscow aim to ‘capture other countries’

Russia investigates media report on presence of British SAS in Ukraine

Russia’s top state investigative body said yesterday that it was looking into a Russian media report alleging that sabotage experts from Britain’s SAS special forces have been deployed to western Ukraine.

The Special Air Service is an elite military force trained to conduct special operations, surveillance and counter-terrorism.

Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency yesterday quoted a Russian security source as saying about 20 SAS members had been sent to the Lviv region.

In a statement, the Investigative Committee said it would follow up the report that they had been sent in “to assist the Ukrainian special services in organizing sabotage on the territory of Ukraine”.

The British Ministry of Defence had no immediate comment on the Russian investigation in response to a Reuters request.

Women and children beg for help in Azovstal

Video footage has emerged from inside the besieged Azovstal steel factory in Mariupol where women and children beg for help and say they “running out of strength”.

In the footage, filmed on Thursday, an unnamed woman says that food and water have almost run out, with people “on the edge of hunger”.

She continues: “All the provisions we brought with us are running out. Soon we won’t even have enough food for the children.

“We are here and need help. We are at the epicentre of events and we can’t get out. My child needs to be evacuated to a peaceful area and others too. We beg for guarantees of safety for our kids.”

Two child actresses killed in Mariupol

Ukraine’s foreign ministry shared photographs of two young girls yesterday, saying they were killed in Mariupol. 

Yelyzaveta and Sonia had played the character of Lucy in a production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the Mariupol Theatre. 

The theatre was used as a shelter for civilians.

Lviv regional governor announces curfew starting on Orthodox Easter night

Lviv regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy has cited “new intelligence,” and said that a curfew would be imposed in the city – running from 11pm Saturday to 5am Sunday, and then every day between those hours until further notice.

“Unfortunately, the enemy doesn’t have such a concept as a major religious holiday,” Mr Kozytskyy wrote.

“They are so beastly that they don’t understand what Easter is.”

Mr Kozytskyy said the church leadership is in support of the decision.

Summary of news

Thank you for reading my coverage this evening. My colleague, Louis Allwood will be back with you tomorrow morning.

Before I log off, I’ll leave you with a summary of the biggest news from today:

• Volodymyr Zelensky has said there’s “no justice or logic” in the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, visiting Russia before Ukraine
• Zelensky has said he will have a meeting with the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken tomorrow
• UK confirms supply of vehicles, drones & anti-tank weapons to Ukraine following Boris Johnson’s conversation with Zelensky today
• An attempted Ukrainian evacuation of civilians from the shattered city of Mariupol was “thwarted” by Russian forces today, according to a city official
• Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has condemned a Russian missile strike on a residential apartment in Odesa today
  • The Odesa missile strike death toll has risen to eight
• Lviv regional governor has announced a curfew starting on Orthodox Easter night
  • It will run from 11 pm Saturday to 5 am Sunday, and then every day between those hours until further notice
• British diplomats will start returning to Kyiv from next week after fleeing Russia’s brutal assault in February

OSCE says members have been ‘deprived of their liberty’

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has said it is working to secure the release of a number of Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) members who have been detained in eastern Ukraine.

“The OSCE is extremely concerned that a number of SMM national mission members have been deprived of their liberty in Donetsk and Luhansk.

“The OSCE is using all available channels to facilitate the release of its staff,” it said, adding it was unable to give more details at this stage.

Zelensky: ‘Illogical’ for UN Secretary-General to visit Russia before Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said there’s “no justice or logic” in the UN Secretary-General visiting Russia before Ukraine.

“Is he coming to pass the message from Russia to us,” said Mr Zelensky.

He added: “If you want to end the war, you have to know exactly what’s happening. What will he see there [Russia]? He will not see any dead bodies.”

He continued to say: “It would be logical to come here first and see what they’ve done here, the consequences of this war and this occupation, and to take this experience and knowledge to Russia and discuss with them.”

Odesa missile strike death toll rises to eight

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his press conference that eight people are now known to have been killed in the Russian missile strike on the southern city of Odesa.

The dead include a three-month old child, he said.

Zelensky: All those who issued ‘shameful orders’ will face a tribunal

During his press conference this evening, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was also asked if he would like Vladimir Putin to face a tribunal.

Within this question, he was also asked what the threat would be if the US and UK stopped providing Ukraine with weapons.

“It’s not that I want the Russian leader to stand trial, but all those who issued those shameful orders, they will all face a tribunal, I am convinced of this,” said President Zelensky.

He added: “It takes years but we will wait, if someone like me doesn’t live long enough, our children will live long enough.”

He continued: “I don’t consider it an option that our partners [the US and UK] won’t hand over the weapons that they have promised to us.

“I don’t consider such a possibility – they have no alternative.”

Zelenksy urges Russians to step out of ‘virtual reality’

Sky News’ security and defence editor Deborah Haynes spoke to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky today.

Haynes asked the president about comments he made where he said Russians need to learn the truth about their country’s behaviour domestically and on the world stage.

Zelensky replied: “A human being who wants to know the truth will find the truth… that person will find the answers… when we don’t just sit with our eyes glued to Russian propaganda TV.”

He added: “If they want to find out the truth they have to accept the truth.”

Mr Zelenksy continued: “They have to leave this computer game which is life in the Russian Federation, it’s virtual reality, they have to step out of it, they have to remove their 3D glasses and return to the civilised world.”

Zelenksy to meet Blinken tomorrow

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will have a meeting with the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken tomorrow.

Zelensky has added that he is grateful for help from the US and the UK.

He said the US must influence other European countries to supply weapons to Ukraine and he would like it to happen faster.

Zelensky: Kyiv to quit talks if its soldiers killed in Mariupol

Kyiv will pull out of talks with Moscow if Ukrainian soldiers holed up at a vast steel works in Mariupol are killed by Russian troops, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said today.

“If our men are killed in Mariupol and if these pseudo-referendums are organised in the (southern) region of Kherson, then Ukraine will withdraw from any negotiation process,” Zelensky told a news conference in Kyiv.

Turkish air space closed to planes carrying troops from Russia to Syria

Turkish air space has been closed to military and civilian planes carrying troops from Russia to Syria after talks with Moscow, Turkey’s state broadcaster TRT Haber cited Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying today.

It said he made the comments to reporters on a plane on a trip to Uruguay.

UK confirms supply of vehicles, drones & anti-tank weapons to Ukraine

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, today to confirm Britain will supply fresh weaponry to support Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion.

“The Prime Minister confirmed that the UK is providing more defensive military aid, including protected mobility vehicles, drones and anti-tank weapons,” a readout of the call published by Johnson’s office said.

Mariupol evacuation ‘thwarted’ by Russian forces

An attempted Ukrainian evacuation of civilians from the shattered city of Mariupol was “thwarted” by Russian forces today, a city official said.

“The evacuation was thwarted,” Mariupol city official Petro Andryushchenko said on Telegram, adding that around 200 residents had gathered at the evacuation meeting point announced by Kyiv,

He claimed others were told to board buses headed to Dukuchayevsk, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north, which is controlled by Russia.

“The people did not have the right to leave the bus,” he said.

Russian forces blamed “firing by (Ukrainian) nationalists at the evacuation point” for changing the destination, he added.

“Once again the Russians have disrupted an evacuation.”

Ukraine foreign minister condemns Odesa strike

Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has condemned a Russian missile strike on a residential apartment in Odesa today, in which Kyiv officials claim has killed five people and left 18 people injured.

“The only aim of Russian missile strikes on Odesa is terror. Russia must be designated a state sponsor of terrorism and treated accordingly. No business, no contacts, no cultural projects.

“We need a wall between civilization and barbarians striking peaceful cities with missiles,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

PM spoken to Zelensky about ‘new phase’ of military aid

The UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have spoken about a “new phase” of military aid for Ukraine.

According to Mr Zelenskyy’s deputy chief of staff Andriy Sybiga, they also talked about further financial support, and the provision of heavy weapons.

Reports have suggested the UK will be giving armoured anti-aircraft vehicles to Ukraine.

Russia investigates media report on presence of British SAS in Ukraine

Russia’s top state investigative body has said today that it was looking into a Russian media report alleging that sabotage experts from Britain’s SAS special forces have been deployed to western Ukraine.

The Special Air Service is an elite military force trained to conduct special operations, surveillance and counter-terrorism.

Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency today quoted a Russian security source as saying about 20 SAS members had been sent to the Lviv region.

In a statement, the Investigative Committee said it would follow up the report that they had been sent in “to assist the Ukrainian special services in organizing sabotage on the territory of Ukraine”.

The British Ministry of Defence had no immediate comment on the Russian investigation in response to a Reuters request.

The footage has been verified by the BBC.

Russia has not yet commented on the attack.

Kyiv: At least five dead in Russian strike on Odessa

A Russian strike killed at least five people, including a baby, and wounded 18 others in Ukraine’s Black Sea city of Odessa on Saturday, Kyiv said, warning the toll would likely rise.

“Five Ukrainians killed and 18 wounded. And those are only the ones that we were able to find. It is likely that the death toll will be heavy,” the head of Ukraine’s presidential office Andriy Yermak said on Telegram.

“A three-month-old baby was among those killed.”

Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: “The only aim of Russian missile strikes on Odessa is terror.”

Ukraine’s air force said its defence systems intercepted two Russian TU-95 missiles that it said were fired from the Caspian Sea.

Women and children beg for help in Azovstal

Video footage has emerged from inside the besieged Azovstal steel factory in Mariupol where women and children beg for help and say they “running out of strength”.

In the footage, filmed on Thursday, an unnamed woman says that food and water have almost run out, with people “on the edge of hunger”.

She continues: “All the provisions we brought with us are running out. Soon we won’t even have enough food for the children.

“We are here and need help. We are at the epicentre of events and we can’t get out. My child needs to be evacuated to a peaceful area and others too. We beg for guarantees of safety for our kids.”

Attempt to evacuate civilians from Mariupol fails

Ukrainian officials today said they were planning to evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol.

However, it appears the attempt has failed.

An aide to Mariupol’s mayor blamed Russian forces.

They said that 200 residents had gathered to be evacuated, but were told by the Russian military there could be possible shelling. 

Two child actresses killed in Mariupol

Ukraine’s foreign ministry has shared photographs of two young girls who it said were killed in Mariupol. 

Yelyzaveta and Sonia had played the character of Lucy in a production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the Mariupol Theatre. 

The theatre was used as a shelter for civilians.

Explosion heard near Dnipro

Sky News’ correspondent Mark Stone is in Dnipro and has just reported on Twitter that he heard an explosion just south of the city. 

Footage shows smoke billowing from the direction of the airport – which was hit just over a week ago. 

Currently it is unclear what the cause of the explosion was. 

90 children deported from Mariupol

Petro Andryushchenko, the advisor to the city’s mayor of Mariupol has claimed that ore than 300 people, including 90 children, were forcibly deported to Russia from Mariupol.

In a post to Telegram, Andryushchenko said that 308 people were taken to Vladivostok on 21 April.

Vladivostok is over 9,000 kilometres east of Mariupol.