Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow troops focus on south, east Ukraine; peace talks in danger of collapse, and more

Wives of Mariupol defenders appeal for soldiers’ evacuation

Two Ukrainian women whose husbands are defending a besieged steel plant in the southern city of Mariupol are calling for any evacuation of civilians to also include soldiers, saying they fear the troops will be tortured and killed if left behind and captured by Russian forces.

“The lives of soldiers matter too. We can’t only talk about civilians,” said Yuliia Fedusiuk, 29, the wife of Arseniy Fedusiuk, a member of the Azov Regiment in Mariupol. “We are hoping that we can rescue soldiers too, not only dead, not only injured, but all of them.”

Yuliia Fedosiuk (first from left) and Kateryna Prokopenko (third from left), along with other army wives, pose for a picture in Rome, Italy, April 29, 2022. (Reuters)

She and Kateryna Prokopenko, whose husband, Denys Prokopenko, is the Azov commander, made their appeal in Rome on Friday for international assistance to evacuate the Azovstal plant, the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in the strategic and now bombed-out port city.

Ukraine says Russia stole ‘several hundred thousand tonnes’ of grain

Russian forces have stolen “several hundred thousand tonnes” of grain in the areas of Ukraine they occupy, Ukraine’s deputy agriculture minister said on Saturday. Speaking to Ukrainian national TV, Taras Vysotskiy expressed concern that most of what he said was 1.5 million tonnes of grain stored in occupied territory could also be stolen by Russian forces. Ukraine’s foreign ministry accused Russia on Thursday of stealing grain in territory it has occupied, an act it said increased the threat to global food security.

Britain says Russia forced to merge, redeploy depleted units

Russia has been forced to merge and redeploy depleted and disparate units from failed advances in northeast Ukraine, a British military update said on Saturday.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 30 April 2022

Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/TU1DzgHpEu

🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/mfMgJGMqAL

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 30, 2022

“Shortcomings in Russian tactical coordination remain. A lack of unit-level skills and inconsistent air support have left Russia unable to fully leverage its combat mass, despite localised improvements,” the military tweeted. “Russia hopes to rectify issues that have previously constrained its invasion by geographically concentrating combat power, shortening supply lines and simplifying command and control,” it said.

Here are the key updates on the war and its impact across the world.

➡️ French President Emmanuel Macron has conveyed to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy his “wish to actively work to re-establish the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine during his second mandate,” in coordination with allies, the presidential Elysee Palace says.

➡️ Ukraine carried out a prisoner exchange with Russia on Saturday, with seven soldiers and seven civilians coming home, deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a online posting. One of the soldiers was a woman who is five months’ pregnant, she added. She did not say how many Russians had been transferred.

➡️ Russia was attacking the entire Donetsk front in the east with rockets, artillery, mortar bombs and aircraft to prevent the Ukrainians from regrouping, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said.

➡️ More than 1 million people have been evacuated from Ukraine into Russia since February 24, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in remarks published early on Saturday. They include 1,20,000 foreigners and people evacuated from Russian-backed breakaway regions of Ukraine, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. (Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)

➡️ US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday she hopes to pass Biden’s $33 billion aid package “as soon as possible.”

➡️ The governor of Russia’s western Kursk region said several shells were fired on Saturday at a checkpoint near its border from the direction of Ukraine. Speaking in a video posted on his Telegram channel, governor Roman Starovoit said that there were no casualties or damage.

(Compiled from Reuters and Associated Press updates)