Summary
Thank you for joining us for today’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
It’s 2am in Kyiv and we will be pausing our live reporting overnight and returning in the morning.
You can read our comprehensive summary of the day’s events below.
- Ukraine’s defence ministry on Saturday urged citizens in Enerhodar, a key area seized by Russia, to reveal where Russian troops were living and who among the local population was collaborating with the occupying authorities. “Please let us know as a matter of urgency the exact location of the occupying troops’ bases and their residential addresses…and the places of residence of the commanding staff,” it said, adding that exact coordinates were desirable.”
- The governor of the Zaporizhizhia has said that Russia is keeping 170 people captive in the Zaporizhizhia oblast, the Kyiv Independent reports. According to governor Oleksandr Starukh, Russian forces have abducted at least 415 people in the southern region since February 24 - the day Russian forces invaded Ukraine - and at least 170 individuals are still being kept captive.
- The US Secretary of State has condemned the Russian attack against Odesa, accusing Russia of deepening the global food shortage. “In a statement posted on Twitter, Anthony Blinken said, “The United States strongly condemns Russia’s attack on the port of Odesa today. It undermines the effort to bring food to the hungry and the credibility of Russia’s commitments to the deal finalized yesterday to allow Ukrainian exports.”
- 3.7 million Ukrainian refugees have received temporary protection status in the European Union, according to the UNHCR. In a new report released Friday, the UNHCR cited that 3.7 million Ukrainians have registered for Temporary Protection or similar national protection schemes in Europe.
- Video footage has emerged of a powerful explosion that took place in the Russian-occupied territory of Horlivka on Saturday in the Donetsk Oblast, Euromaidan reports. Emerging reports from outlets have been claiming that Ukrainian armed forces have hit a Russian ammunition depot.
- The former deputy secretary of Ukraine’s Security Council has been suspected of high treason, the Kyiv Independent reports. According to a report released on Saturday by the Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigations, Volodymyr Sivkovych is suspected of collaborating with Russian intelligence services and managing a network of agents in Ukraine that spied on behalf of Russia.
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Germany has delayed defense weapon delivery to Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent reports.The outlet, sourcing German media organization German Welt, cites that anonymous Ukrainian officials have reported that Ukraine’s application for eleven IRIS-T air missile defense systems is currently being held up by Germany’s Federal Security Council.
- Hungary’s nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban Saturday called for US-Russian peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, lashing out at the European Union’s strategy on the conflict. In a speech in Romania, the 59-year-old ultra-conservative leader also defended his vision of an “unmixed Hungarian race” as he criticised mixing with “non-Europeans.” Orban has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, but maintains an ambiguous position on the conflict.
Updated
Two US citizens recently died in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, CNN reported on Saturday, citing a U.S. State Department spokesperson.
Reuters reports:
The spokesperson, not named in the report, did not provide any details about the individuals or the circumstances of their deaths but said the US administration was in touch with the families and providing “all possible consular assistance,” according to CNN.
“Out of respect to the families during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by CNN.
The State Department did not respond to emailed queries from Reuters on Saturday.
Ukraine has been under siege by Russia for nearly five months in what Moscow calls a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and rid it of anti-Russian nationalism fomented by the West. Kyiv and the West say Russia launched an unprovoked war.
Several Americans have volunteered to fight alongside Ukrainian forces despite warnings not to take up arms. A US citizen was killed in combat in May after he joined thousands of foreign fighters who have volunteered to help Ukraine fend off Russian forces.
