Ukrainian General Staff said that the troops had managed to drive out the Russian army The second city of Kharkiv in the northeast of Ukraine – a priority target for Moscow.
Meanwhile, Russia rejected Ukraine’s claim that it had damaged a modern naval logistics ship in the Black Sea and what it said was a ship with no signs of damage.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that the situation in the Donbass region remains very difficult, adding that Russian forces are still trying to demonstrate some sort of victory.
The conflict began to intensify on February 21, 2022, after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized separatist territory Deployed troops to eastern Ukraine and in a peacekeeping role.
Read more news about the Russia-Ukraine crisis here.
Here are the latest updates:
Ukraine
Ukrainian band Kalash Orchestra wins Eurovision amid war
Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest in the early hours of Sunday, going beyond music in an apparent show of popular support for a war-ravaged nation.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Ukraine’s third victory since the start of the 2003 Eurovision, saying that “we will do our best” to host next year’s competition in the hot city of Mariupol. Underlining the “Ukrainian Mariupol”, he said: “Free, peaceful, rebuild!”
Finland
Finland wants to reassure Russia about NATO bid
Finland sought to allay Moscow’s fears about its bid to join NATO on Saturday, as fierce fighting broke out in Ukraine’s east, slowing the Russian advance.
Moscow has warned Finland, with which it shares a 1,300-kilometre (800 mi) border, that it will take “reciprocal steps”.
Finland’s grid operator said Russia halted power supplies overnight, although Finnish officials said electricity supplied by Sweden had made up for the loss.
Ahead of talks with NATO members in Berlin, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Havisto said she was “confident that in the end we will find a solution and Finland (and) Sweden will become a member of NATO”.
Earlier, in a phone call initiated by Helsinki, President Saulie Niinisto had a “straight and direct” conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Avoiding stress was considered important,” Niinisto’s office said.
The Kremlin said, however, that Putin told them that Finland joining NATO would be a “mistake”, emphasizing that Russia “poses no threat to Finland’s security”. AFP
Russia
Russia denies damaged naval ship in Black Sea to Ukrainian army
Russia on Saturday rejected Ukraine’s claim that it had damaged a modern naval logistics ship in the Black Sea and what it said was a ship with no signs of damage.
Military officials in the southern Odessa region said on Thursday that Ukrainian naval forces attacked Vsevolod Bobrov and set him on fire.
In an online post, the Russian Defense Ministry published photos it said were taken from the ship in the Crimean Black Sea port of Sevastopol on Saturday.
“It is now clear from the photographs that the ship is not damaged at all,” it said. Reuters
Ukraine
Zelensky: The situation in the Donbass region remains very difficult
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that the situation in the Donbass region remains very difficult, adding that Russian forces are still trying to demonstrate some sort of victory.
“It sounds especially crazy on the 80th day of a full-scale invasion, but they are not stopping their efforts,” he said in a late night video address. Reuters
Kharkiv, Ukraine
Russia withdraws from Kharkiv, fighting continues in the east: Ukraine army
Russian troops are withdrawing after weeks of bombing Ukraine’s second-largest city, the Ukrainian military said on Saturday, as forces from Kyiv and Moscow engage in a grinding battle for the country’s eastern industrial zone.
Ukraine’s General Staff said the Russians were pulling back from the northeastern city of Kharkiv, launching mortars, artillery and airstrikes in eastern Donetsk province “to destroy Ukrainian forces and fortifications” and guarding supply routes. were concentrating.
G7
G-7 warns of Ukraine grain crisis, asks China not to help Russia
The Group of Seven major economies warned on Saturday that the war in Ukraine was provoking a global food and energy crisis that threatens poorer countries, and that urgent measures are needed to clear the grain reserves that Russia has kept from leaving Ukraine. is stopping.
In a statement issued at the end of a three-day meeting on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast, the G-7 nations called on China not to help Russia, including by easing international sanctions or justifying Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. .