Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said it was absurd that Russia had assumed the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council, adding this showed the institution's "total bankruptcy". Earlier in the day, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu promised to increase the supply of ammunition to Russian forces in Ukraine during a visit to the headquarters of Moscow's troops fighting in the country. Read our live blog to see how all the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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9:07pm: Zelensky says Russian UN Security Council presidency is absurd
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said it was absurd that Russia had assumed the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council, adding this showed the institution's "total bankruptcy".
"Unfortunately, we ... have some obviously absurd and destructive news," Zelensky said in an evening video address, adding that Russian shelling had killed a five-month-old boy on Friday.
"And at the same time Russia is chairing the UN Security Council. It's hard to imagine anything that proves more the total bankruptcy of such institutions," he said.
The Kremlin said on Friday it planned to "exercise all its rights" in the role.
3:45pm: Russia Security Council presidency a 'slap in the face', Ukraine FM says
Russia's presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of April is "a slap in the face to the international community", Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Saturday.
"I urge the current UNSC members to thwart any Russian attempts to abuse its presidency," Kuleba said on Twitter on the first day of the month in which Russia will hold the body's rotating presidency.
2:57pm: North Korea accuses Ukraine of having nuclear ambitions, KCNA reports
North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, accused Ukraine of calling for nuclear weapons, state media KCNA reported on Saturday, basing her assertion on an online petition that has made the rounds in Ukraine and accumulated under 1,000 signatures so far.
Kim said this kind of petition could be a political plot by President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, but did not provide any evidence for the assertion.
Following Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement last week that Moscow plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, a public petition was filed to the Ukrainian presidential office's website on Thursday, calling for Ukraine to host nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory, or for it to be armed with its own nuclear weapons.
By Saturday afternoon, the petition had gained only 611 signatures, far short of the 25,000 needed for a response from Zelensky. Kyiv officials have not commented on the petition so far.
12:58pm: Kyiv says Russian UN Security Council presidency is 'symbolic blow'
A top Ukrainian official on Saturday criticised the "symbolic blow" of Russia assuming the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council.
"It's not just a shame. It is another symbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations," Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, wrote in English on Twitter.
On Saturday Russia took over the presidency of the UN's top security body, which rotates every month. The last time Moscow held the post was in February 2022, when its troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
12:44pm: Kyiv orders 100 armoured vehicles from Poland, PM says
Ukraine has ordered 100 Rosomak multi-purpose armoured vehicles, which are made in Poland under a Finnish license, Poland's prime minister said on Saturday.
"I bring an order placed yesterday by (Ukrainian) Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal for 100 Rosomaks that will be fabricated here," Mateusz Morawiecki said during a visit to the Rosomak manufacturing site in the southern Polish town of Siemianowice Slaskie.
The order will be financed through funds that Poland has received from the European Union and US funds that Ukraine has received, he said, without providing details or the overall cost of the contract.
The United States and its allies have provided Ukraine with a host of funding and weapons after Russia invaded its pro-Western ex-Soviet neighbour in February 2022.
The Rosomak is an 8x8 multi-purpose armoured vehicle manufactured under the license from Finland's Patria.
12:40pm: Tennis-Kvitova says Russians, Belarusians should not be allowed back at Wimbledon
Twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova opposed the grasscourt Grand Slam's decision to lift its ban on Russian and Belarusian players ahead of this year's tournament, saying she felt for Ukrainians amid Moscow's ongoing invasion of their country.
Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam to bar players from Russia and its ally Belarus, said on Friday it would allow them to compete as "neutral" athletes, reversing the ban it imposed after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Kvitova, a Czech who won Wimbledon titles in 2011 and 2014, said players from Russia and Belarus should also be banned from the Paris Olympics next year.
11:33am: Russia's Shoigu promises increased munitions supplies in visit to Ukraine headquarters
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu promised to boost munitions supplies to Russian forces in Ukraine during a visit to the headquarters of Moscow's troops fighting in the country, according to footage published by the Defence Ministry on Saturday.
In video published by the ministry on Telegram, Shoigu is shown presiding over a meeting with senior military officers, including General Valery Gerasimov, Russia's most senior soldier.
In the footage, Shoigu is shown telling colleagues that Russia would take steps to boost the supply of munitions to troops at the front. He says: "the volume of supplies of the most demanded ammunition has been determined. Necessary measures are being taken to increase them". Shoigu has in recent months come under bitter criticism from hardline advocates of Russia's campaign in Ukraine – including Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group – who have accused him of failing to supply sufficient munitions to troops on the frontline.
7:00am: Germany's military gaps cannot be fully bridged by 2030, defence minister says
Germany's military cannot completely fill its existing gaps by 2030, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was quoted as saying, as Berlin seeks to revamp its armed forces after Russia's invasion of Ukraine following decades of neglect.
"We all know that the existing gaps cannot be completely closed by 2030 ... It will take years. Everyone is aware of that," Pistorius said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag newspaper published on Saturday.
Already worn down by decades of underinvestment since the end of the Cold War, the Bundeswehr is in even worse shape than a year ago given weapons and munitions donated to Ukraine have mostly not yet been replaced, say experts. Pistorius rejected further arms deliveries to Ukraine from the Bundeswehr stocks beyond the announced commitments.
3:49am: IMF approves $15.6 billion Ukraine loan, part of $115 billion in global support
The International Monetary Fund said on Friday its executive board approved a four-year $15.6 billion loan programme for Ukraine, part of a global $115 billion package to support the country's economy as it battles Russia's 13-month-old invasion.
The decision clears the way for an immediate disbursement of about $2.7 billion to Kyiv, and requires Ukraine to carry out ambitious reforms, especially in the energy sector, the Fund said in a statement.
The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan is the first major conventional financing program approved by the IMF for a country involved in a large-scale war.
1:00am: Biden tells Russia to release US reporter
President Joe Biden on Friday called for Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is being held on espionage charges, while rebuffing a call from the paper's editorial board to expel Russian journalists from the United States.
Asked by White House reporters what his message was to Russia regarding Gershkovich, a US citizen, Biden said: "Let him go".
The Wall Street Journal's board of opinion editors called in a piece published Thursday afternoon for the expulsion of Russia's ambassador to the United States, as well as "all Russian journalists working here," describing the move as "the minimum to expect".
12:00am: Medvedev happy at end to Wimbledon's Russia ban
World number five Daniil Medvedev welcomed Wimbledon's decision on Friday to allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete in this year's tournament.
Medvedev reached his fifth straight ATP final with a three-set victory over fellow Russian Karen Khachanov in the semi-finals of the Miami Open, just hours after the decision from the All England Club.
"I'm happy to know about this. I always said that if I can play Wimbledon, I will be really happy to be there," Medvedev said.
"That's a tournament I love. That's the only slam where I haven't been in quarters yet. And I cannot say I hate grass at least. I kind of like it. So I really want to do well there. It's a beautiful tournament. And I'm happy that I have the chance to play this year," he added.
Wimbledon last year banned players from Russia and Moscow-allied Belarus after the invasion of Ukraine and the LTA also barred players from other events.
>> Read our live blog for all of yesterday's developments as they unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
