Seventeenth day of conflict in Ukraine.
Russian troops are stepping up bombing in several cities , not only in the east, but also in the west, about a hundred kilometers from the borders of the European Union.
Moscow's forces are also advancing on the capital Kiev, targeting suburbs and even infrastructure, including Vasylkiv Air Base.
French President Macron and German Chancellor Scholz asked, in the course of a phone call with Vladimir Putin, for an "immediate truce" to attempt the path of diplomacy. And an appeal for a ceasefire came again from Pope Francis, who asked for the war to stop "to stop making children suffer".
In addition to that on the ground, the economic and financial war also continues. In these hours, the Kremlin has announced that soon there will be sanctions for Western countries, in response to the sanctions that have hit Russia , which will affect several nations, including the United States.
"The West has openly declared economic war on Russia," said Moscow Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.
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Here are the updates by the hour:
7.15 pm - Moscow wants to create a people's republic in Kherson
Russia is preparing a referendum in the port city of Kherson, in southern Ukraine, with the aim of creating a "people's republic" like those created in 2014 and 2015 in the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk. This was reported by some media citing local authorities.
The Russians "are calling the deputies of the Kherson regional council asking if they are ready to cooperate," Serhiy Khlan, a deputy of the Kherson regional government and former members of the Ukrainian parliament, said on Facebook.
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7 pm - Di Maio: "Small signs from the negotiations"
"There are small signs from the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine: this pushes us to pursue a diplomatic solution that can lead us to peace". Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio writes on Facebook.
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6.33 pm - EU evaluates corridors for refugees
European corridors linking all Member States to facilitate the influx of people into
escape from Ukraine. She is European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Valean, by the transport ministers of Poland, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, and by the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Economy.
"For the states that are at the forefront of reception there is a problem related to transport" for this reason "we discussed the tools" to be put in place to provide European corridors for those fleeing the war and want to go elsewhere in Europe ", Valean explained.
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5.45 pm - Interior Ministry: "34,851 refugees arrived in Italy"
34,851 refugees have entered Italy from the beginning of the conflict to date: 17,685 women, 3,040 men and 14,126 minors. The data is communicated by the Interior Ministry. Yesterday 31,287 refugees arrived: 15,830 women, 2,781 men and 12,676 minors.
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5.15 pm - Zelensky: "Moscow has changed its attitude in the negotiations"
In recent negotiations a "fundamentally different approach" has emerged on the part of Moscow, which previously did nothing but "put ultimatums", while now "we have begun to talk". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this at a press conference in Kiev, adding that he was "happy to have a signal from Russia".
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16.50 - Moscow announces: "New talks with Kiev via videoconference"
Russia and Ukraine are holding new videoconferencing talks. This was stated by the spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Interfax.
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16.35 - Elisha: "Putin gives no signs of wanting to stop the war"
In today's phone call from President Emmanuel Macron with Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the leader of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, the latter "did not give any signal of the will to suspend the war": Elysée sources reported. "We - the Elysée continued - draw a consequence: Putin must take note of even heavier sanctions".
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3.45 pm - Zelensky: "Cruel invasion"
"This war was not started by us, this is the cynical and cruel invasion by Russia, it is the war against the Ukrainian people". This was stated by Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, speaking in a video link with the Eurocities demonstration in Florence.
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3 pm - Melitopol, the organizer of the march for the mayor kidnapped
The Russian forces that occupied Melitopol, in southern Ukraine, stopped and took Olga Gaisumova, organizer of a protest held this morning to demand the release of the mayor of the city, Ivan Fedorov, who was kidnapped yesterday, to an unknown place. Ukrainska Pravda reports this, citing the activist's Facebook page.
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14.50 - Scholz and Macron to Putin: "Immediate truce and diplomacy"
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, in a phone call, pressed Russian leader Vladimir Putin, demanding an immediate truce in Ukraine. The spokesman for the chancellor, Steffen Hebestreit, says so. "The talk is part of the ongoing international efforts to end the war in Ukraine."
In 75 minutes, the two leaders also called for "the beginning of a diplomatic solution to the conflict". "On other contents of the interview - reads the press release - silence was agreed".
Scholz also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Putin instead accused the Kiev forces of "flagrant violations" of international humanitarian law and asked the leaders of France and Germany to "exert their influence" on local authorities to put an end to it. Tass reports it.
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2.20 pm - Abramovich disqualified from the Premier League
Roman Abramovich was disqualified as Chelsea president. This was announced by the Premier league. The press release also specifies that the club will be able to complete the current season. The UK government has reiterated its openness to granting a waiver of restrictions to allow the club to be sold. On Thursday the London government had sanctioned the
owner for his alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
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13.30 - The Pope: “Enough war! Think of the children "
“Never the war! Think above all of the children, who are deprived of the hope of a worthy life: dead, wounded, orphaned children; children who have remnants of war as toys ... In the name of God, stop! "Pope Francis says this in a tweet asking to pray for Ukraine. The message is spread, as well as in the nine official languages of the Pope's account, also in Russian and Ukrainian.
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12.46 - The Zaporizhzhia power plant "is no longer of Ukraine"
The Russian occupiers announced to the staff of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, that the plant no longer belongs to Ukraine and that from now on it will have to operate under the control of Moscow and in compliance with the rules of Rosatom, the Russian state atomic energy company. The Kyiv Independent reports this, quoting the head of Energoaton, the Ukrainian nuclear company. Moscow has already sent 11 of its engineers to the site.
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12.26 - Vatican: "Stopping the havoc"
"War is madness, it must be stopped". Thus the cardinal secretary of state Pietro Parolin to the Vatican media on the war escalation in the heart of Europe and states: "We must have a heart of stone to remain impassive and allow this destruction to continue, rivers of blood and tears continue to flow" . "Unfortunately, it must be recognized that after the fall of the Berlin Wall we have not been able to build a new system of coexistence between nations, which goes beyond military alliances or economic convenience. The ongoing war in Ukraine makes this defeat is evident ", he adds.
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12.20 - New Macron-Scholz-Putin phone call
A new phone call on the situation in Ukraine is underway between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sources of the Elysée make it known.
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12.10 - Moscow: "US weapons possible target"
Moscow warns Washington: convoys with weapons sent to Ukraine could be a "legitimate target" of the Russian armed forces. This was stated by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, adding that "the reckless transfer of anti-aircraft and anti-tank systems will lead to serious consequences".
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12 noon - Moscow: "Consequences if Sweden and Finland in NATO "
"The possible accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO would have serious military and political consequences and would require Russia to take retaliatory measures". This was stated by the director of the second European department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Belyayev "It is obvious that their accession to the Alliance, which is primarily a military organization, would have political and military consequences that would require the need to review relations with these countries and take retaliatory measures, "Belyayev told Interfax.
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11.40 am - In Italy 700 million frozen to the Russians
The Guardia di Finanza, as part of the economic sanctions decided after the invasion of Ukraine, froze the Russians' assets for "over 700 million euros". Economy Minister Daniele Franco said this, congratulating the Fiamme Gialle for the work done in this "delicate situation", during the oath of the official students of the Gdf in Bergamo.
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11.10 am - An air base bombed
An air base near Vasylkiv, in the province of Kiev, was hit and destroyed by Russian missile attacks. This was stated by Mayor Nataliia Balasynovych, quoted by the Kyiv Independent. According to the mayor's complaint, the raid also hit an ammunition depot.
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10.48 - Moscow: "Sanctions against the West"
"Russia will soon announce sanctions against Western countries, including the United States. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Serghei Ryabkov told TASS". "The list is ready - he added - and will be published soon".
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10.02 am - Bombed mosque that housed 80 civilians in Mariupol
A mosque in Mariupol that housed 80 civilians was bombed. This was reported by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
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9 am - "The ISS station risks falling due to sanctions"
Russia says sanctions could result in the downfall of the International Space Station (ISS). This was stated by Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian space agency Roscomos, asking for its revocation. According to Rogozin, the sanctions could disrupt the operation of the Russian spacecraft supplying the ISS, consequently affecting the Russian segment of the station which helps, among other things, to correct its orbit. The risk is therefore that of a ditching or a landing of the station on the earth.
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8.38 am - 5 bodies recovered near Kharkiv, including 2 children
The bodies of five people, including two children, were recovered by emergency services in the rubble of a residential building in the Ukrainian village of Slobozhanske, just outside Kharkiv, following the Russian bombing of the city. Operators checked 40 sites in the area to clear the area of unexploded ordnance.
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7.58 am - Bombing east of Kiev, a depot hit
A frozen food warehouse in the Kiev region caught fire this morning due to bombing. Images posted online show rescuers heading to the area to extinguish a huge fire in what appears to be a one-story warehouse, as sky-high, dense flames rise from the facility. At the moment the firefighters are still on site to put out the fire. No casualties have been reported so far.
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7.46 am - Explosions in several cities, at least two in Dnipro
Explosions were heard earlier today in the cities of Nikolaev (in the south), Dnipro and Kropyvnytskyi (in the center of the country).
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7.18 am - In Lviv the alarm lasted 2 hours, never so long
After two hours, the air alarm ceased this morning in Lviv, the city in western Ukraine until now considered relatively safe and awakened by alarm sirens before dawn, around 5.30. It is the first time since the war in Ukraine that the alarm in Lviv has lasted so long.
