UKRAINE WRAP | Governor of Russia's Belgorod says village hit by Ukraine, one wounded

April 19 2022 - 08:34

Ukraine mayor describes 'hard' interrogation by Russian captors

A Ukrainian mayor described hours of "hard" interrogations when held for almost a week by Russian forces last month and said he had appealed to the pope for help to stop a war that had wrecked swathes of his city in southern Ukraine.

"It was a dangerous six days because I understood that for Russians my life and the lives of civilians were worth zero," Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol which is now under Russian control, said in Rome on Sunday, a month after his release.

Ukraine said Fedorov was abducted on March 11 after Russian forces seized Melitopol, which lies west of the besieged city of Mariupol in a southern region that Russia seeks to control. Kyiv announced Fedorov's release in a prisoner exchange on March 16.

April 19 2022 - 08:00

World Bank says war to cut global growth, boosts financing target

The World Bank is reducing its global growth forecast for 2022 by nearly a full percentage point, to 3.2% from 4.1%, due to the impacts from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, World Bank President David Malpass said on Monday.

Malpass told reporters on a conference call that the World Bank was responding to the added economic stresses from the war by proposing a new, 15-month crisis financing target of $170 billion, with a goal to commit about $50 billion of this financing over the next three months.

April 19 2022 - 07:45

Ukraine says Russia begins push in east, killing civilians; 7 die in Lviv

Ukraine said on Monday that Russia had started an anticipated new offensive in the east while a Russian missile attack killed seven people in Lviv, the first civilian victims in the western city about 60 km (40 miles) from Poland.

Ukrainian officials said Russian shelling killed four people in the eastern Donetsk region on Monday, while a man and a woman were killed in Kharkiv when shells hit a playground near a residential building.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address that Russian forces had begun the "Battle of Donbas" after senior officials said Moscow had begun a new offensive push along most of Ukraine's eastern flank.

April 19 2022 - 07:20

Zelenskyy: Ukraine could become EU candidate within weeks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally submitted a completed questionnaire on European Union membership to an envoy on Monday and said he believed this step would lead to his country gaining candidate status within weeks.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen handed the questionnaire to Zelenskyy during a visit to Kyiv on April 8, pledging a speedier start to Ukraine's bid to become a member of the EU following Russia's invasion of the country.

Zelenskyy submitted the completed document to the EU's envoy to Ukraine, footage released by his government of the meeting showed.

April 19 2022 - 07:00

Russian invasion damaged up to 30% of Ukraine's infrastructure, says minister

Russia's invasion has damaged or destroyed up to 30% of Ukraine's infrastructure at a cost of $100 billion, a Ukrainian minister said on Monday, adding reconstruction could be achieved in two years using frozen Russian assets to help finance it.

Ukraine has not previously outlined the specific impact on infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, although officials say the total bill for damage to everything from transport to homes and other buildings runs to about $500 billion so far.

April 19 2022 - 06:34

Governor of Russia's Belgorod says village hit by Ukraine, one wounded

 Ukrainian forces have struck a village near Russia's border with Ukraine, wounding one resident, the governor of the Russian province of Belgorod said on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear whether the strike referred to by governor Vyacheslav Gladkov in posts on messaging app Telegram was carried out by artillery, mortars, missiles or was an aerial attack.

-Reuters