This Article is From Apr 09, 2022

Russia-Ukraine War Highlights: 50 Killed In Ukraine Station Attack, EU Top Official Visits Mass Grave

Russia-Ukraine War Highlights: The train station attack comes on a day European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was in the Ukraine, where she visited the mass grave site in Bucha.

Russia-Ukraine War Highlights: 50 Killed In Ukraine Station Attack, EU Top Official Visits Mass Grave

Ukraine War: Russia said it was shutting down offices of a number of international organisations (File)

New Delhi:

A rocket attack on a train station in Ukraine's Kramatorsk city on Friday killed at least 50 people, including five children, said the local governor of Donetsk. Ukraine has blamed Russia for the attack, but Moscow has denied the accusation. This comes on a day European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was in the country, where she visited the mass grave site in Bucha.

Meanwhile, Russia said it was shutting down the local offices of a number of international organisations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, due to "violations of the current legislation of the Russian Federation,"

Russia was yesterday suspended from the UN Human Rights Council as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine. Of the 193 members of the UN General Assembly, 93 voted in favour of suspension while 24 voted against and 58 abstained.

Ukraine has warned residents in the east that they have a "last chance" to flee before a major Russian offensive expected in the Donbas region. However, trains evacuating residents were halted by Russian strikes on the only line still under Kyiv's control.

Here are the Highlights on Russia-Ukraine War:

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Apr 09, 2022 04:33 (IST)
Ukrain War Live: Ukraine demands tough global response to train station missile strike
Ukraine called for more weapons and harsher sanctions after it blamed Russia for a missile attack that killed at least 52 people at a train station packed with women, children and the elderly fleeing the threat of a Russian offensive in the east.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the strike in Kramatorsk in the eastern region of Donetsk a deliberate attack on civilians. The city's mayor estimated about 4,000 people were gathered there at the time.

Apr 09, 2022 02:30 (IST)
Ukraine War Live: Russia's ruble stages rebound despite Western sanctions
After a historic collapse in the wake of Russia's military offensive in Ukraine, the ruble has staged a spectacular bounceback, supported by strict capital controls and energy exports.

But analysts say that success is in many ways artificial and does not bode well for the health of the Russian economy.

The February 24 military operation triggered unprecedented Western sanctions on Moscow, sending the ruble into free-fall and accelerating already high inflation.
Apr 09, 2022 01:21 (IST)
Ukraine War Live: EU publishes sanctions against Putin's two daughters
The EU blacklisted Russian President Vladimir Putin's two adult daughters and more than 200 other people as part of its latest sanctions package over Moscow's war in Ukraine, according to an official list published late Friday.

Those on the list, which additionally included 18 companies, face asset seizures and travel bans in the 27-nation European Union.
Apr 09, 2022 00:30 (IST)
Ukraine War Live: Moscow shutting down Amnesty, Human Rights Watch in Russia
Russia said on Friday it was shutting down the local offices of more than a dozen international organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Fifteen organisations have been taken off Russia's registry of international organisations and foreign NGOs due to "violations of the current legislation of the Russian Federation," the justice ministry said in a statement without providing further details.
Apr 08, 2022 23:16 (IST)
Ukraine War Live: Russian Currency Stages Rebound Despite Western Sanctions
After a historic collapse in the wake of Russia's military offensive in Ukraine, the ruble has staged a spectacular bounceback, supported by strict capital controls and energy exports. But analysts say that success is in many ways artificial and does not bode well for the health of the Russian economy. The February 24 military operation triggered unprecedented Western sanctions on Moscow, sending the ruble into free-fall and accelerating already high inflation. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 23:06 (IST)
Ukraine War Live: France Calls Ukraine Station Attack "Crime Against Humanity"
A strike blamed by Ukraine on Russia against a railway station in the east of the country that left at least 50 people dead can be classified as a crime against humanity, France said on Friday. "They hit a station where there are refugees, civilians and so this can be seen as a crime against humanity," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France 5 television, calling for experts to head to the scene in Kramatorsk to gather evidence so the perpetrators can be held to account. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 23:02 (IST)
Ukraine LIVE: UN Says New Ukraine Refugees Fleeing Dire Conditions
The flow of people escaping Russia's war in Ukraine has slowed but those now fleeing have often spent weeks in dire conditions, the United Nations said on Friday. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 4,382,316 Ukrainians had fled the country since the war began on February 24. The total is up 62,822 on Wednesday's figures, including 22,957 who have headed to Russia since March 29, following updated numbers from Moscow. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 23:00 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Czechs Ship Tanks, Rocket Launchers, Artillery To Ukraine, Says Report
The Czech Republic has delivered tanks, multiple rocket launchers, howitzers and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine among military shipments that have reached hundreds of millions of dollars and will continue, two Czech defence sources said. Ukraine has repeatedly called on the West to urgently supply more weapons, especially heavy equipment, as Russian forces regroup in the country's east for new offensive after withdrawing from around the capital Kyiv and other regions. (Reuters)
Apr 08, 2022 22:59 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Russia Says Belarus Should Become Security Guarantor For Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today that Belarus should provide security guarantees for Ukraine in the future, once Kiev affirms its neutral status. "At the request of the Ukrainian side, its neutral, non-bloc, non-nuclear status should be accompanied by security guarantees," Lavrov said. "We proposed that the Republic of Belarus should, of course, be among such guarantor countries." (Reuters)
Apr 08, 2022 22:58 (IST)
LIVE: EU Chief Promises Speeded Up Process For Ukraine To Seek Membership
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged today to offer Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a speedier start to Ukraine's bid to become a member of the European Union. Handing Zelensky a questionnaire which will form a starting point for the EU to decide on membership for Kyiv, she said: "It will not as usual be a matter of years to form this opinion but I think a matter of weeks." Zelensky said he would come back with answers in a week. (Reuters)
Apr 08, 2022 22:47 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Russia Says Shutting Down Amnesty, Human Rights Watch Offices
Russia said today it was shutting down the local offices of a number of international organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The organisations have been taken off Russia's registry of international organisations and foreign NGOs due to "violations of the current legislation of the Russian Federation," the justice ministry said in a statement.  (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 22:46 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Biden Thanks Slovakia For Giving Ukraine Air Defense System
US President Joe Biden todau thanked Slovakia for giving Ukraine a Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft air defense system, adding the US would reposition a Patriot missile system to replace it. "I want to thank the Slovakian government for providing an S-300 air defense system to Ukraine, something President Zelensky has personally raised with me in our conversations," Biden said in a statement. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 22:45 (IST)
Ukraine War Live: Russian Shoppers Feel Pinch As Inflation Tops 16%
Russia's inflation rate reached 16.7 per cent year-on-year in March, the state statistics agency said today, a level not seen since 2015, while food prices have risen even more steeply. Prices in March --- the first full month since Moscow began its military campaign in Ukraine in late February -- were up 7.5 per cent on the previous month, according to Rosstat statistics agency. The Russian central bank sets a target for inflation of 4 per cent, but as the economy has been hit by unprecedented Western sanctions, the latest year-on-year figure is more than four times higher. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 22:41 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Biden Accuses Russia Of "Horrific Atrocity" At Ukraine Train Station
US President Joe Biden today accused Russia of carrying out a "horrific atrocity," after a rocket attack on a train station packed with conflict evacuees in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk left at least 50 dead. "The attack on a Ukrainian train station is yet another horrific atrocity committed by Russia, striking civilians who were trying to evacuate and reach safety," Biden said on Twitter. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 22:06 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Ukraine Begins Excavation Of Bucha Mass Grave
Ukrainian investigators began to exhume a mass grave in Bucha on Friday, opening the early stages of what police say will be a war crimes case targeting Russian troops who occupied the Kyiv commuter town. The grave -- a long deep trench in the mud behind a gold-domed church -- was used by Ukrainians to bury neighbours they claim were killed at the hands of Russian armed forces which arrived on February 26. On Friday, crews wearing white forensic overalls were using a flatbed lorry fixed with a mechanical crane to remove corpses from the ditch. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 21:14 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Weekend Curfew In Ukraine's Odessa Over "Missile Strike Threat"
Ukraine's southern city of Odessa imposed a weekend-long curfew today over a "missile strike threat" from Russia, after the shelling of a train station that killed dozens in the eastern city of Kramatorsk. "A curfew will be introduced in Odessa and Odessa region from 9 pm on April 9 to 6 pm April 11," Odessa's regional military administration said on Facebook. The decision was taken "given events in Kramatorsk" and "threat of a missile strike on Odessa", it said. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 20:31 (IST)
Ukraine Live: UK PM Says Sending Ukraine More Anti-Aircraft, Anti-Tank Missiles
Britain is sending Ukraine more Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles and 800 anti-tank missiles after an "unconscionable" attack on a train station, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said today. The supplies of the "high-grade military equipment" are worth 100 million pounds ($130 million, 120 million euros), PM Johnson said. The attack at Kramatorsk "shows the depths to which (Vladimir) Putin's once-vaunted army has sunk", he told reporters alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said the Russian strike was "atrocious". (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 20:29 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Russia Says Its Operation In Ukraine Could End "In Foreseeable Future"
The Kremlin said today that what it calls Russia's "special operation" in Ukraine could end in the "foreseeable future" since its aims were being achieved and work was being carried out by both the Russian military and Russian peace negotiators. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said Moscow understood that some countries that had tried to adopt a balanced position had been subjected to pressure to vote on Thursday to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council. (Reuters)
Apr 08, 2022 20:21 (IST)
Ukraine Live: UK Minister Priti Patel Voices "Frustration" Over Ukraine Refugee Delays
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel today voiced her "frustration" at the slow process of rehousing Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian conflict. The Indian-origin minister was speaking with reference to the latest UK Home Office figures, which show the government has granted 41,000 visas to Ukrainians fleeing the war zone but of those only around a quarter at 12,500 have reached the UK. "I'll be very candid, it has taken time. Any new scheme takes time, any new visa system takes time," Patel told the BBC. (PTI)
Apr 08, 2022 20:18 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Ukraine's Zelensky Urges "Molotov Cocktail" Sanctions On Russia
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky today asked the West to impose "Molotov cocktail" sanctions on Moscow, including a ban on Russian gas, and appealed for more weapons as he addressed Finnish MPs. Scolding "those who are making us wait, wait for the things that we need badly, wait for the means of protecting our lives," Zelensky called on Western leaders to impose a "sanctions cocktail" against Russia that "would be remembered just like Molotov cocktails". Molotov cocktails are improvised incendiary devices popularised by the Finns in their war against the Soviet Union during World War 2. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 20:11 (IST)
Ukraine Live: European Commission Chief Visits Ukraine Mass Grave Town: Report
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday visited a mass grave in Bucha, a town outside Kyiv where Russian forces are accused by Ukraine's allies of carrying out atrocities against civilians. An AFP journalist reported that von der Leyen was in the town north of the capital as part of a trip to shore up support for Ukraine alongside the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 19:57 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Ukraine Says Death Count In Train Station Attack Rises To 50
At least 50 people, including five children, were killed in strikes on a train station in the east Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, the local governor said today. "Fifty dead, five of them children. This is the death toll at this hour after the strike by Russian occupational forces on the train station in Kramatorsk," Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, said on Telegram. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 19:56 (IST)
Ukraine Live: France's Macron Condemns "Abominable" Ukraine Train Station Attack
French President Emmanuel Macron today denounced an "abominable" airstrike on a train station in eastern Ukraine, saying that France would "support the investigations so that justice is done." "Ukrainian civilians fleeing to escape the worst. Their weapons? Prams, toy dolls, baggage. This morning at the station in Kramatorsk, families who were leaving experienced horror. Deaths by the dozens, hundreds injured. Abominable," Macron said in a tweet. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 19:33 (IST)
Tamil Nadu Will Support Ukraine Returnee Students Pursue Education, Says Minister
The Tamil Nadu government said it is committed to support all the 1,890 medical students, who returned from the war-torn Ukraine, to pursue their studies either in the country or places where the syllabus is similar to the one followed in the eastern European nation, Medical and Family Welfare Minister Ma Subramanian told the Assembly on Friday. "Chief Minister M K Stalin had conveyed this to the Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar who informed Parliament that India was in touch with Hungary, Romania, Kazakhstan and Poland and other countries to enable the students continue their studies," he said. (PTI)
Apr 08, 2022 19:32 (IST)
Ukraine War Live: Russia Expels 45 Polish Diplomats In Tit-For-Tat Move
Moscow is expelling 45 Polish diplomats, Russia's foreign ministry said Friday, in a tit-for-tat move after Warsaw last month expelled the same number of Russian diplomats for espionage. The ministry said it was declaring "persona non grata" 45 employees of the Polish embassy in Russia and of Polish consulates in the cities of Irkutsk, Kaliningrad and Saint Petersburg "as a response to Poland's unfriendly actions". (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 19:24 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Ukraine's Zelensky Says Russia An "Evil With No Limits"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Russia as an "evil with no limits" after a rocket attack on an east Ukraine train station killed at least 39 people. "They are cynically destroying the civilian population. This is an evil that has no limits. And if it is not punished, it will never stop," Zelensky said in a statement on social media after the strikes on a hub that has been used by many civilians in recent days to flee an anticipated Russian advance. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 18:19 (IST)
LIVE: Turkey Says Russia, Ukraine "Willing To Hold Talks" Despite Bucha
Russia and Ukraine are willing to move forward with talks. despite images of bodies found in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, but there are "issues pending", a Turkish official said today. "Both Russia and Ukraine are willing to hold the talks in Turkey but they are far away from agreeing on a common text," the official said. There are "some issues pending" including the status of the Donbas and Crimea regions as well as security guarantees, according to the official, who added there was no date fixed for the next round of negotiations. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 18:16 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Ukraine Says 700 People Killed In Chernigiv Since Start Of War
Some 700 people have been killed in the Ukrainian city of Chernigiv, including both military and civilians, since the start of Russia's invasion in February, the mayor told Unian news agency. "I can give you an approximate figure -- 700 people. This includes military and civilians," Vladyslav Atroshenko said, adding that two-thirds of the pre-war population of 300,000 people had fled. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 17:36 (IST)
Ukraine War Live: Russia Claims Ukraine Staged Train Station Attack
Russia today accused Kyiv of carrying out a deadly attack on a railway station in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine that claimed at least 39 lives. "The purpose of the Kyiv regime's attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk was to disrupt the mass exodus of residents from the city in order to use them as a 'human shield' to defend the positions of Ukraine's Armed Fores," the defence ministry said in a statement. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 17:34 (IST)
LIVE: Russians' Spending On Food Doubles After Ukraine War, Says UN Agency
Russian citizens are spending on average 40 per cent of their disposable income on food - about twice as much as they did before the Russia-Ukraine war, the director of the UN food agency's Russia liaison office told Reuters. Russian government data shows annual food inflation hit 18.75 per cent on April 1 as the economy reels from Western sanctions imposed on Moscow following its February 24 invasion of Ukraine. Oleg Kobiakov of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said many Russian households are now resorting to crisis coping strategies as much of their income goes towards basic needs like food. (Reuters)
Apr 08, 2022 17:33 (IST)
Ukraine Live Updates: Ukraine Says Russia Fired "Cluster Munitions" At Train Station
The governor of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region has accused Russian forces of firing cluster munitions at a rail station in Kramatorsk city in an attack that killed at least 39 people. Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko published a photograph online showing several bodies on the ground beside piles of suitcases and other luggage, but did not share what evidence he had of the type of weapon used for the attack. Reuters was not immediately able to verify his allegation. "If at the beginning they exclusively... targeted railway tracks, then now it's not only tracks, but also firing a missile containing cluster munitions which are meant for people. This is absolute confirmation that this (strike) was intended against civilians," Kyrylenko said in an online briefing. (Reuters)
Apr 08, 2022 17:12 (IST)
Ukraine War Live Updates: Slovakia Says It Gave S-300 Air Defence System To Ukraine
Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger on Friday said the EU member had given Ukraine an S-300 air defence system, adding that it did not mean Slovakia had joined the conflict with Russia. "I can confirm that the Slovak Republic has donated the S-300 air defence system to Ukraine, following Ukraine's request for assistance," Heger posted on Facebook. "The donation of the system does not mean that the Slovak Republic has become a part of the armed conflict in Ukraine," he added. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 17:07 (IST)
Ukraine Live: EU Says Frozen 30 Billion Euros So Far In Russian, Belarusian Assets
The EU has so far frozen nearly 30 billion euros in assets from blacklisted Russian and Belarusian individuals and companies under sanctions imposed for Moscow's war in Ukraine, it said Friday. A total of 29.5 billion euros ($32 billion) "including assets such as boats, helicopters, real estate and artwork" have been seized and another 196 billion euros of transactions have been blocked, the European Commission said in a statement. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 17:04 (IST)
Ukraine Live: EU Adopts New Russia Sanctions Including Coal Import Ban
The European Union today formally adopted its fifth package of sanctions against Russia, including bans on the import of coal, wood, chemicals and other products. The measures also prevent many Russian vessels and trucks from accessing the EU, further crippling trade, and will ban all transactions with four Russian banks, including VTB. The ban on coal imports will be fully effective from the second week of August. No new contracts can be signed from Friday, when sanctions are to be published in the EU's official journal. (Reuters)
Apr 08, 2022 16:56 (IST)
Ukraine Live: EU Commissioner Says War Crimes In Ukraine Must Not Go Unpunished
It is important to collect evidence of war crimes in Ukraine from fleeing refugees so acts will not go unpunished, European Union Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said on Friday. "It is so important that these war crimes will not go unpunished," she said at a news conference in Prague alongside the interior minister of the Czech Republic, a country that has taken in more than 300,000 refugees. (Reuters)
Apr 08, 2022 16:42 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Denmark To Set Up "Ukrainian Villages" For Refugees
Denmark plans to house Ukrainian refugees in temporary "Ukrainian villages" set up in former schools and hospitals, a cabinet minister said Friday as the country prepares to receive up to 100,000 people fleeing the war. The approach breaks with normal practice in the Scandinavian kingdom, which has for decades followed very restrictive migration policies, and where asylum seekers and refugees are placed among the country's population of 5.8 million. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 16:40 (IST)
Ukraine Live: UN Plans Aid Convoys For Ukraine's Rebel Regions Of Luhansk, Donetsk
The UN humanitarian office (OCHA) plans aid convoys to the Ukrainian rebel regions of Luhansk and Donetsk next week as it seeks to shift aid as fighting moves east, a spokesperson told a press briefing on Friday. "We have in our planning convoys to go there I understand already next week. Whether that happens or not depends on the security situation," Jens Laerke said. (Reuters)
Apr 08, 2022 16:37 (IST)
Ukraine Live: Taiwan Tech Firm Acer Suspends Business In Russia
Taiwan tech firm Acer said today it was halting all business in Russia after Taipei expanded sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Taiwan has been watching the conflict in Ukraine closely and swiftly joined the international sanctions against Russia.  The invasion has heightened fears that China might one day follow through on threats to annex its smaller neighbour. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 16:31 (IST)
Ukraine Live: EU Targets Crypto Wallets In Latest Round Of Russia Sanctions
The European Union today targeted crypto wallets, banks, currencies and trusts in its fifth package of sanctions on Russia in a bid to close potential loopholes which could allow Russians to move money abroad. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, EU-based crypto exchanges were required to apply sanctions that bar transactions from targeted individuals, but there were concerns that loopholes remained. The EU on Friday said it was extending the prohibition to deposits to crypto-wallets. (Reuters)
Apr 08, 2022 16:28 (IST)
Ukraine Live: EU Accuses Russia Of "Horrifying" Attack On Ukraine Train Station
EU Council chief Charles Michel today accused Russia of a "horrifying" rocket attack on a train station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, saying Moscow was cutting off an escape route for civilians. "Horrifying to see Russia strike one of the main stations used by civilians evacuating the region where Russia is stepping up its attack," Michel said on Twitter. "I strongly condemn this morning's indiscriminate attack...by Russia," EU foreign policy Josep Borrell said in a separate tweet. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 16:27 (IST)
Ukraine War Live News: Japan To End Russian Coal Imports, Expels Diplomats
Japan said today it will end imports of Russian coal and announced the expulsion of eight of Moscow's diplomats over "war crimes" in Ukraine. The move comes as Ukraine's allies step up pressure on Moscow after allegations that Russian troops killed civilians in areas around Kyiv. "Russian troops have killed civilians and have attacked nuclear facilities, gravely violating international humanitarian law. These are war crimes that can never be forgiven," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. (AFP)

Apr 08, 2022 16:25 (IST)
Ukraine Live: EU Leaders Head To Ukraine Capital To Meet President Zelensky
The European Commission chief and the EU's top diplomat will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv today to offer financial and moral support in a capital gradually reawakening after Russian forces withdrew from its outskirts. Travelling by train from Brussels to Kyiv, Josep Borrell, the European Union's chief diplomat, told reporters the visit was a signal that "Ukraine is in control of its territory" and the government was still in charge. (Reuters)
Apr 08, 2022 15:44 (IST)
Ukraine War Live News: Russia Denies Attack On Ukraine Train Station
Russia's defence ministry said today it did not launch an attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine, which a local rescue worker said killed at least 35 people. "All statements by representatives of the Kyiv nationalist regime about the 'rocket attack' allegedly carried out by Russia on April 8 at the railway station in the city of Kramatorsk are a provocation and are absolutely untrue," the ministry said in a statement. (AFP)
Apr 08, 2022 14:56 (IST)
Russia-Ukraine War: 35 Killed, 100 Injured In Ukraine Train Station Rocket Attack
At least 35 people were killed and over 100 were wounded in a Russian rocket strike in east Ukraine today as civilians tried to evacuate to safer parts of the country, the state railway company said.
Apr 08, 2022 14:20 (IST)
Russia-Ukraine War: Japan Says Expelling Eight Russian Diplomats, Officials
Japan said Friday it will expel eight Russian diplomats and officials, calling Moscow's actions in Ukraine "categorically unacceptable" and a violation of international law.

The expulsions come after a wave of similar moves in Europe as Ukraine's allies pile pressure on Moscow following allegations of war crimes by its troops in areas around Kyiv.

"As a result of our country's comprehensive judgment, we have requested the expulsion of eight diplomats from the Russian Embassy in Japan and officials from the Office of the Trade Representative of the Russian Federation," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hikariko Ono said.

She said Russia's ambassador to Tokyo Mikhail Yurievich Galuzin had been informed of the decision in a meeting with Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori.

Apr 08, 2022 13:59 (IST)
Ukrainian Girls Cutting Hair To Avoid Being Raped By Russians: Official
Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials revealed death and destruction in Bucha, another city near the capital.
Apr 08, 2022 12:30 (IST)
Russia-Ukraine War: EU President, Diplomatic Chief Say They Are En Route To Ukraine's Capital

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Friday that she was en route to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, along with the bloc's diplomatic chief Josep Borrell.

"Looking forward to Kyiv," Von der Leyen wrote on Twitter accompanied by a picture of her with Borrell and Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger. The EU foreign chief meanwhile wrote on the platform that he was, "going to Kyiv".

Apr 08, 2022 11:39 (IST)
Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine Presses On With Efforts To Evacuate Trapped Civilians
Ukraine said it aimed to establish up to 10 humanitarian corridors to evacuate trapped civilians on Friday, but civilians trying to flee besieged Mariupol will have to use private vehicles.
Apr 08, 2022 11:14 (IST)
Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine Villagers Say Russian Soldiers Used Them As "Shields"
In the village of Obukhovychi, neighbours say Russian forces dug in around their houses, using them as a "shield" to discourage counter-attacks by Ukrainian armed forces.
Apr 08, 2022 10:25 (IST)
Russia-Ukraine War: "Didn't Know What To Take": Spring Brings Grief For Ukraine's Displaced

Outside a shelter for the displaced in western Ukraine, 84-year-old retired schoolteacher Veronika recounts how she and her family had to travel more than 1,000 kilometres to safety.

They fled Russian fire on their city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas region by bus and by train this week, as she turned 84.

"For my birthday, I left," she said.

Just hours after arriving during the night in the city of Lviv, Veronika sat in the spring sun, clutching a plastic cup of warm tea.

She had spent part of the morning sheltering in a cold basement after an air raid siren went off, and was trying to warm up again. Read more

Apr 08, 2022 09:12 (IST)
Russia-Ukriane War: Fox News Reporter Benjamin Hall Wounded In Ukraine Says "Pretty Damn Lucky" To Be Alive
A Fox News correspondent who was wounded in Ukraine during an attack that killed two of his colleagues said on Thursday that he had sustained serious injuries but felt "pretty damn lucky" to have survived.
Apr 08, 2022 08:39 (IST)
Why India Abstained From UN Vote To Remove Russia From Human Rights Council
India has abstained again from voting in the United Nations General Assembly on a draft resolution to suspend Russia from Human Rights Council after the civilian killings in Ukraine's Bucha that triggered shock and horror across the world.
Apr 08, 2022 07:44 (IST)
Russia-Ukraine War: No Money, No Economy, No Invasion: US' Starve Russia's "War Machine" Plan

The United States is ramping up sanctions against Russia to deprive Moscow's "war machine" of money and components needed to sustain its invasion of Ukraine, but curbing a main source of funding, Russian energy exports, will take time, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told Reuters on Thursday.

The United States and its allies have "a lot more that we can and we will do" to punish Moscow if Russia fails to halt its invasion, Adeyemo told Reuters in an interview. Read more

Apr 08, 2022 07:19 (IST)
Russia-Ukraine War: Pink Floyd's First Song Since 1994 "Hey, Hey, Rise-Up!" Is For Ukraine
Pink Floyd have written their first new song in almost 30 years to support Ukrainians, the band announced on Thursday.
Apr 08, 2022 07:08 (IST)
Russia-Ukraine War Updates
Here are updates on this story from yesterday.
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