We will be pausing our live coverage of the war in Ukraine and returning in a few hours to bring you all the latest developments. You can find a summary of where things stand here.
Summary
It’s 2am in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:
- A Ukrainian paramedic has been released from Russian captivity, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Saturday. Zelenskiy said that Ukraine has been able to secure the release of Yulia Payevska, a civilian parademic who was captured by Russian forces in Mariupol on March 16.
- The Biden administration’s plan to sell four large, armable drones to Ukraine has been paused on the fear its sophisticated surveillance equipment might fall into enemy hands, according to two people familiar with the matter. The objection to the export of the drones arose due to concerns the radar and surveillance equipment on the drones could create a security risk for the United States if it fell into Russian hands.
- Viktoria Apanasenko, a civic volunteer from Chernihiv, Ukraine has been chosen to represent the country at the 2022 Miss Universe pageant. “Victoria helps the capital Naíve [a Kyiv-based restaurant] cook food for battalions of the Armed Forces and the elderly. She and her friend are engaged in addressing food, medicine and hygiene products for children, the elderly and internally displaced people,” said a statement by Ukraine’s Miss Universe organization.
- Dozens of Ukrainian civilians performed military exercises on Friday in fortified positions left by Russian troops in Bucha, a town synonymous with war crimes blamed on Moscow’s forces. “Most of those who are here aren’t soldiers. They’re just civilians who want to defend their country - 50 percent of them have never held a weapon until today,” said a sergeant known as “Ticha”.
- Ukraine has received a $733 million loan from Canada. In a statement released on Friday, Ukraine’s finance ministry said that funds, which were “raised in accordance with the loan agreement between Ukraine and Canada”, will be “directed to the state budget to finance priority expenditures, in particular, to ensure priority social and humanitarian expenditures.”
- German chancellor Olaf Scholz said that it is “absolutely necessary” for leaders to speak directly with Russian president Vladimir Putin in attempts to end the war. Speaking to German news agency DPA on Friday, Scholz said, “It is absolutely necessary to speak to Putin, and I will continue to do so – as the French president will also.”
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Russian media has supposedly shown images of two US citizens captured in Ukraine. On Friday, the Izvestia newspaper showed footage of what it said was an interview with Andy Huynh, 27. The Russian channel RT also posted a photo of a man that it identified as Alexander Drueke, 39.
- A group of international investigators and experts have visited war-torn areas near Kyiv, including a burnt-out school, as part of Ukraine’s ongoing investigation into alleged war crimes. “The scale of these crimes, the systematic nature of them, it very clearly appears to be crimes against humanity ... it runs the whole gamut of violations of international humanitarian law,” one expert told Reuters.
That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as I hand over the blog to my colleagues in Australia, who will bring you the latest updates. I’ll be back tomorrow, thank you.
