- Zelenski insists on an oil embargo, looking for weapons
- Satellite images show the convoy heading south
- The grave of civilians was found near Kyiv, the official said
- Nine trains have been released for evacuation to the east, the governor said
Kyiv / BUZOVA, Ukraine, April 10 (Reuters) – Ukraine said Sunday it was seeking a new round of European Union sanctions against Moscow and more military aid from its allies as it prepares for a major Russian offensive in the east.
Russia has failed to capture any major cities since the invasion began on February 24, but Ukraine says it is gathering forces in the east for a major attack and has called on people to flee.
President Vladimir Zelenski said on Twitter that he had spoken to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the phone about additional sanctions, as well as more defense and financial support for his country. Zelensky also discussed with Ukrainian authorities Kyiv’s proposals for a new package of EU sanctions, his office said.
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In a video message late Saturday, Zelensky renewed his call for a total ban on Russian energy products and more weapons for Ukraine.
The EU on Friday banned imports of Russian coal, among other products, but has not yet touched on oil and gas imports from Russia. Read more
Rising civilian casualties have sparked widespread international condemnation and new sanctions, particularly over hundreds of deaths in the city of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, which was occupied by Russian forces just over a week ago.
A grave with at least two civilian bodies has been found in the village of Buzova near Kyiv, a Ukrainian official said, the latest such discovery since Russia’s withdrawal from areas north of the capital.
Taras Didic, leader of the Dmitrovka community, which includes Buzova, had previously spoken of dozens of bodies when speaking to Ukrainian television.
“As we speak, we are digging up the bodies of two villagers who were killed,” Didic told Reuters by telephone.
“There are other people we can’t find. They may be in different places, but that doesn’t reduce the pain of losing loved ones.”
Reuters was unable to confirm the report immediately.
Moscow has denied allegations of war crimes by Ukraine and Western countries. She denied targeting civilians in what she called a “special operation” to demilitarize and “denationalize” her southern neighbor. Ukraine and Western countries have dismissed this as an unfounded pretext for war.
Russia is seeking to create a land corridor from Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and the eastern region of Donbass, which is partly held by Moscow-backed separatists, the British Ministry of Defense said.
Natalia Titova, 62, reacted while showing her house, which was destroyed by Russian shelling during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Chernihiv, Ukraine, on April 9, 2022. Natalia and her family were staying in the basement, “When the missile hit our house, we ran out into the street, it was very scary, “she said. REUTERS / Zohra Bensemra
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Satellite images released by the US private firm Maxar on April 8 show armored vehicles and trucks in a military convoy heading south to Donbass through a town about 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Kharkiv.
Some cities in the east are under heavy fire, and tens of thousands of people cannot be evacuated.
Recent visits by senior EU officials, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nechamer and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who have promised more military and financial aid and new sanctions, have shown a return to a degree of normalcy for the capital. Read more
NINE TRAINS
But in the east, calls by Ukrainian authorities for civilian escape have become more urgent after a rocket strike struck a train station in the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region on Friday, which was full of people trying to leave.
Ukrainian authorities say more than 50 people have been killed.
Russia has denied responsibility, saying the missiles used in the attack were used only by the Ukrainian army. The United States believes that Russian forces are responsible.
Reuters was unable to verify the details of the attack.
Residents of the Luhansk region will have nine trains on Sunday to get off, the region’s governor Sergei Gaidai wrote in the Telegram news service.
In a sermon on Palm Sunday, Pope Francis called for an Easter truce in Ukraine and, in an obvious reference to Russia, questioned the value of placing a banner of victory “on a pile of rubble.” Read more
The Russian invasion forced about a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million people to flee their homes, turning cities into ruins and killing or wounding thousands.
On the battlefield, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its armed forces had used British Starstreak MANPAD missiles for the first time and destroyed a Russian Orlan-10 drone.
Russia’s Defense Ministry says it has destroyed the launch sites of Ukraine’s S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems at Chukhuev Airport and near the village of Starobogdanovka in the Nikolaev region of southern Ukraine.
Reuters was unable to verify these reports.
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Reuters Bureau Report Written by Michael Perry and Tomasz Janowski Edited by Robert Bircel and Francis Carey
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