Donetsk governor says Russian artillery has killed civilians at aid point, while Russian governor claims border guards were fired at
- Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates
The governor of the self-proclaimed republic in Donetsk said at least two civilians were killed and five wounded on Wednesday when Russian artillery fire struck a humanitarian aid distribution point in the town of Vuhledar.
The governor of Russia’s Kursk region has claimed that border guards were fired on from Ukraine on Tuesday. Ukraine’s military claimed to have no knowledge of the alleged incident.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said that a total of 11 humanitarian corridors have been agreed for Wednesday. The Luhansk governor, Serhiy Gaidai, told civilians to “evacuate while it is safe”.
Russian soldiers have committed sexual violence against Ukrainian women and men, including elderly people, and children , Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, has alleged.
Pope Francis has condemned what he called “the massacre of Bucha” and held up a Ukrainian flag sent from the town at his weekly audience in the Vatican’s auditorium. He described the war on Ukraine as “cruelty that is increasingly horrendous”.
The US and its allies are preparing to impose new sanctions on Moscow over civilian killings in Ukraine, as the west makes a fresh attempt to cripple Vladimir Putin’s economy and war effort.
Ukraine’s minister for foreign affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, has commented on the latest tranche of EU sanctions against Russia, saying that he appreciates the strengthening of the package. However, he called on his European neighbours to go further, saying “difficult times require difficult decisions”.
Putin’s ally Dmitry Medvedev has said Russia will use lawsuits to fight western attempts to expropriate Russian property overseas.
Hungary’s foreign ministry has summoned Ukraine’s ambassador over what it called his offensive statements on Hungary’s stance regarding the war.
The European Council president, Charles Michel, has said EU countries should think about ways to offer asylum to Russian soldiers willing to desert Ukraine battlefields.
The UK’s foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has announced the country is to donate some NHS ambulances to Ukraine.
A driver died after ramming his car into the gate of the Russian embassy in Bucharest early on Wednesday, police in the Romanian capital said in a statement.
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