Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a show of support from European leaders over the weekend as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer made visits to Kyiv.
The visits came as the European Union also announced it will be restoring its diplomatic presence in Ukraine now that Russian forces have retreated from areas around the capital.
Johnson said Britain and its partners “are going to ratchet up the economic pressure … not just freezing assets in banks and sanctioning oligarchs but moving away from use of Russian hydrocarbons.” Johnson also pledged additional military equipment to the Ukrainian military, including 120 armored vehicles and anti-ship missile systems.
Zelenskyy also thanked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday for a global fundraising event that raised more than 10 billion euros for Ukrainians who have had to flee their homes.
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Latest developments:
► At least 176 children have been killed and 324 injured since the Russian invasion into Ukraine began, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said Saturday.
►Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said that 4,532 Ukrainians were evacuated by humanitarian corridors on Saturday, but said Russian forces would not allow people on buses from Berdyansk, Tokmak and Energodar to leave despite a previously agreed-upon route.
► In his nightly address to the nation, Zelenskyy thanked the European leaders for their support and again asked for a total embargo on Russian oil and gas. An oil embargo on Russia as a first step from “the entire civilized world” would “be an argument for them to seek peace, to stop the senseless violence.”
► Italy and Austria both announced Saturday they plan to reopen their respective embassies in Kyiv. The moves come one day after the European Union returned its ambassador to Kyiv.
Zelenskyy hopes for peace despite ‘war crimes’
In interviews released over the weekend, Volodymyr Zelenskyy simultaneously condemned Russia and its leader for atrocities against Ukrainian civilians while looking toward a peaceful resolution to the war.
Zelenskyy told The Associated Press in an interview Saturday that he believes Ukrainians will accept peace despite the horrors they have witnessed.
He said no one wants to negotiate with people who tortured their nation — “as a man, as a father, I understand this very well.” But he said “we don’t want to lose opportunities, if we have them, for a diplomatic solution.”
He also told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that everyone who made a decision or carried out an order involving attacks on Ukrainian civilians must face consequences for war crimes. That includes Putin, he said.
Residents still in Bucha line up for food donated by church
BUCHA, Ukraine — Civilians remaining in Bucha lined up Saturday for food donated by the local church in the battered Kyiv suburb where Ukrainian forces and journalists reported evidence of war crimes after Russian soldiers withdrew.
With other civilians fleeing in the wake of Russia’s invasion, most of the people remaining in Bucha were elderly, poor or unable to leave loved ones. Russian troops withdrew more than a week ago.
Volunteer Petro Denysyuk told The Associated Press that he and fellow church friends started providing food, with a wide array of basic foodstuffs and hot meals.
Ukrainian forces and journalists that went into Bucha saw bodies strewn in the streets, evidence of summary executions and the remains of people who could not have threatened soldiers. Russia has denied accusations of war crimes and accused Kyiv of staging them.
-The Associated Press
Displaced Ukrainian soccer club opens tour
ATHENS, Greece — A Ukrainian soccer club on Saturday opened a series of charity games on a government-backed “Global Tour for Peace” wearing the names of heavily bombarded cities on its jerseys.
The tour by the Shakhtar Donetsk club aims to raise money for Ukraine’s military in the war against Russia, and also help Ukrainian refugees displaced by the war.
Its first game Saturday was a 1-0 loss to Greek league leader Olympiakos.
Soccer clubs around Europe have been offering to play games against Ukrainian clubs and host youth players after soccer in the country was shut down when Russia invaded in February.
Shakhtar already was displaced from its home of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Playing in the Athens area on Saturday, Shakhtar players replaced their names on the back of their jerseys with those of cities bombarded by Russian forces, including Mariupol.
-The Associated Press
Contributing: The Associated Press
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