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Also: The European Commission will pledge 1 billion euros to support Ukraine and countries receiving refugees fleeing the war; Ukraine prisoner exchange with Russia brings 12 soldiers and 14 civilians home

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Ukrainian soldiers carry the coffin of a fallen comrade toward Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church for the funerals of military personnel Ruslan Koval, 49; Viacheslav Ubyivovk, 44; and Liubomy Gudzeliak, 37, in Lviv, Ukraine, on April 6, 2022.MAURICIO LIMA/The New York Times News Service

Here are the latest updates on the war in Ukraine:

  • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $100-million in additional humanitarian funding for Ukrainian refugees on Saturday, alongside new measures to make it easier for Ukrainians to come to Canada at a global conference Saturday.
  • The European Commission will pledge 1 billion euros to support Ukraine and countries receiving refugees fleeing the war following Russia’s invasion, the president of the EU’s executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Saturday.
  • Ten humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from Ukraine’s besieged regions have been agreed for Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
  • Ukraine carried out a prisoner exchange with Russia on Saturday, the third such swap since the start of the war, and 12 soldiers are coming home, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in an online post.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Kyiv on Saturday, Ukrainian and British officials say.

3:00 p.m. ET

Zelensky says he remains committed to peace, renews plea for more weapons

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) speaking with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (L) during their meeting in Kyiv, April 9, 2022.STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Associated Press on Saturday that he is committed to seeking peace despite Russian attacks on civilians that have stunned the world.

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.”

Zelensky said he’s confident Ukrainians would accept peace despite the horrors they have witnessed in the war. But meanwhile, Russian troops are regrouping for an expected surge in fighting in eastern Ukraine, including the besieged port city of Mariupol that Ukrainian defenders are battling to retain.

So Zelensky renewed his plea for countries to send more weapons. He says they have to fight for life — not “for dust when there is nothing and no people. That’s why it is important to stop this war.”

– The Associated Press


1:45 p.m. ET

12 soldiers and 14 civilians coming home after Ukraine prisoner exchange with Russia, official says

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Ukraine's Deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk speaks to media about security violations in Stanytsia Luhanska Ukraine, Feb 19, 2022.ANTON SKYBA/The Globe and Mail

Ukraine carried out a prisoner exchange with Russia on Saturday, the third such swap since the start of the war, and 12 soldiers are coming home, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in an online post.

Vereshchuk also said that as part of the deal, 14 civilians were returning to Ukraine. She did not say how many Russians had been released.

– Reuters


1:30 p.m. ET

Trudeau announces $100-million in additional aid for Ukrainian refugees

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to members of the Ukrainian Community at the Ukrainian National Federation of Hamilton in Hamilton, Ont. on Friday, April 8, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Pete PowerPeter Power/The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $100-million in additional humanitarian funding for Ukrainian refugees on Saturday, alongside new measures to make it easier for Ukrainians to come to Canada at a global conference Saturday.

Mr. Trudeau announced the new supports at an event held by the international advocacy organization Global Citizen.

Saturday’s announcement means Canada has now committed a total of $245-million in humanitarian assistance around the war in Ukraine.

The government says the money will help provide emergency health services and necessities such as shelter, water and food in Ukraine and neighbouring countries where refugees are fleeing.

Canada’s contribution is part of $12.4-billion in total pledged by international communities, including the European Union.

Some of the new measures Canada is implementing for refugees include targeted charter flights from Ukraine to Canada, short-term income support and up to two weeks of hotel accommodation for Ukrainians that flee to Canada.

Earlier this week, Canada also proposed to assist Ukraine’s economy through a $1-billion pledge that would keep the country’s war-ravaged government operating.

Salmaan Farooqui


1:10 p.m. ET

European Commission pledges 1 billion euros to support Ukraine

The European Commission will pledge 1 billion euros to support Ukraine and countries receiving refugees fleeing the war following Russia’s invasion, the president of the EU’s executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Saturday.

“Six hundred million of those will go to Ukraine, to the Ukrainian authorities and partially to the United Nations,” von der Leyen said at a fundraising event for Ukraine in Waraw, Poland.

“And 400 million euros will go to the front line states that are doing such an outstanding job and helping the refugees that are coming,” she said.

– Reuters


12:45 p.m. ET

IMF creates secure way to funnel Ukraine aid

The International Monetary Fund has created an account to give donor countries a secure way to funnel financial assistance directly to war-ravaged Ukraine.

The multilateral lender said in a statement Friday that it’s launching the account at the request of several member countries.

The goal is to help Ukraine meet its payment obligations and help stabilize its economy using loans or grants from pooled resources.

The IMF says Canada has proposed routing up to 1 billion Canadian dollars ($795 million) to Ukraine through the new account.

Two weeks after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, the IMF approved a $1.4 billion emergency loan to Ukraine.

– The Associated Press


11:50 a.m. ET

S&P downgrade indicates Russia headed for historic default on external loans

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People walk past a currency exchange office screen displaying the exchange rates of U.S. Dollar and Euro to Russian Rubles in Moscow, on Feb. 28, 2022.Pavel Golovkin/The Associated Press

The credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded its assessment of Russia’s ability to repay foreign debt, signalling rising prospects that Moscow will soon default on external loans for the first time in more than a century.

S&P Global Ratings issued the downgrade to “selective default” late Friday after Russia arranged to make foreign bond payments in rubles on Monday when they were due in dollars. It said it didn’t expect Russia to be able to convert the rubles into dollars within the 30-day grace period allowed.

S&P said in a statement that its decision was based partly on its opinion that sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine “are likely to be further increased in the coming weeks, hampering Russia’s willingness and technical abilities to honour the terms and conditions of its obligations to foreign debt-holders.”

While Russia has signalled that it remains willing to pay its debts, the Kremlin also has warned that it would do so in rubles if its overseas accounts in foreign currencies remain frozen.

– The Associated Press


10:30 a.m. ET

Britain’s Johnson visits with aid as Zelensky braces for ‘hard battle’ in Ukraine

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (L) is welcomed by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Presidential Palace, in Kyiv on Feb. 1, 2022.PETER NICHOLLS/AFP/Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Kyiv on Saturday, Ukrainian and British officials said.

Johnson’s visit had begun with a one-on-one meeting with Zelensky, Andriy Sybiha, deputy head of the Ukraine president’s office, said on Facebook.

Johnson met Zelensky “in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.

“They will discuss the UK’s long-term support to Ukraine and the PM will set out a new package of financial and military aid.”

Johnson’s visit to the Ukrainian capital was not announced in advance, and comes as Russia is amassing troops in the east of the country.

“The U.K. will send more defensive weapons to Ukraine and will work with G7 partners to target every pillar of the Russian economy to ensure Putin fails,” Johnson tweeted earlier on Saturday.

– Reuters


10:20 a.m. ET

Warsaw fundraising event seeks pledges for Ukraine

The head of the European Union’s executive branch is leading a fundraising event in Warsaw for Ukraine and people who have fled the country.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was joined at the event by Polish President Andrzej Duda and – remotely – by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Saturday’s pledging event is being held in Warsaw because more than 2.5 million of the 4.4 million people who have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began entered Poland. Many have stayed though some have moved on to other countries.

Convened jointly by von der Leyen and Trudeau, it is meant to prompt political leaders and global celebrities to provide funding and other donations for the people of Ukraine.

– The Associated Press


9:30 a.m. ET

Italy to reopen embassy in Kyiv after Easter

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People walk outside the embassy of Italy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 13, 2022, almost two weeks before the Russian invasion.VALENTYN OGIRENKO/Reuters

Italy’s foreign minister has reportedly told staff that Italy will reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital after Easter.

News agency ANSA quoted Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Saturday as telling his ministry’s crisis unit that Italy “will be among the first to return” to Kyiv.

He called it “another gesture to demonstrate support for the Ukrainian population, a concrete way to affirm that diplomacy must prevail.”

Di Maio said the return would be co-ordinated with other European Union nations.

The EU itself announced the return of its ambassador on Friday. On Saturday, EU ambassador Matti Maasikas tweeted a picture of an EU flag atop a flagpole with the words “First things first.”

– The Associated Press


9:00 a.m. ET

More civilians flee east Ukraine after deadly station strike kills at least 52

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A Ukrainian police walks by calcinated cars outside a train station in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, that was being used for civilian evacuations, after it was hit by a rocket attack.FADEL SENNA/AFP/Getty Images

Civilian evacuations moved forward in patches of battle-scarred eastern Ukraine a day after a missile strike killed at least 52 people at a train station where thousands were waiting to leave the increasingly vulnerable region before an expected Russian onslaught.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded a tough global response to Friday’s train station attack in Kramatorsk, calling it the latest sign of war crimes by Russian forces and hoping to prod Western backers to step up their response to help his country defend itself.

“All world efforts will be directed to establish every minute of who did what, who gave what orders, where the missile came from, who transported it, who gave the command and how this strike was agreed,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address, his voice rising in anger.

Russia denied it was responsible and accused Ukraine’s military of firing on the station to try to turn blame for civilian slayings on Moscow. A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman detailed the missile’s trajectory and Ukrainian troop positions to bolster the argument. Western experts and Ukrainian authorities insisted that Russia launched the missile.

– The Associated Press


8:50 a.m. ET

Putin may cite Ukraine war to meddle in U.S. politics, intelligence officials say

Russian President Vladimir Putin may use the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine as a pretext to order a new campaign to interfere in American politics, U.S. intelligence officials have assessed.

Intelligence agencies have so far not found any evidence that Putin has authorized measures like the ones Russia is believed to have undertaken in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections in support of former President Donald Trump, according to several people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive findings.

But given Putin’s antipathy toward the West and his repeated denunciations of Ukraine, officials believe he may see the U.S. backing of Ukraine’s resistance as a direct affront to him, giving him further incentive to target another U.S. election, the people said. It is not yet clear which candidates Russia might try to promote or what methods it might use.

The assessment comes with the U.S. electoral system already under pressure. The American public remains sharply divided over the last presidential election and the insurrection that followed at the U.S. Capitol, when supporters of Trump tried to stop the certification of his loss to President Joe Biden. Trump has repeatedly assailed intelligence officials and claimed investigations of Russian influence on his campaigns to be political vendettas.

– Reuters


8:40 a.m. ET

Russia’s actions appear to be war crimes, EU’s von der Leyen says

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other officials stand next to a mass grave as they visit the town of Bucha, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 8, 2022.VALENTYN OGIRENKO/Reuters

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday that Russian forces appeared to have committed war crimes by targeting civilians in Ukraine, but she said lawyers must investigate the alleged incidents.

Leaving Ukraine after a visit, she said she had seen with her own eyes on Friday the destruction in the town of Bucha near Kyiv. A forensics team began exhuming a mass grave on Friday containing the bodies of civilians who local officials say were killed while Russians occupied the town.

“My instinct says: If this is not a war crime, what is a war crime, but I am a medical doctor by training and lawyers have to investigate carefully,” von der Leyen told reporters on board a train leaving Ukraine on Saturday.

“I saw the photos, (Ukrainian prime minister) Denys Shmyhal showed me: Killing people as they are walking by. We could also see with our own eyes, that the destruction in the city is targeted into the civilian lives. Residential buildings are no military target,” she said, referring to Bucha.

– Reuters


8:30 a.m. ET

More evacuations needed from Ukraine’s Luhansk as shelling increases, governor says

More people need to evacuate from the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine as shelling has increased in recent days and more Russian forces have been arriving, Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai said on Saturday.

He said that some 30 per cent of residents still remain in cities and villages across the region and have been asked to evacuate.

“They (Russia) are amassing forces for an offensive and we see the number of shelling has increased,” Gaidai told public television.

Ukraine has increasingly been warning that Russia plans intensified attacks in the country’s east and south after withdrawing its troops from areas to the north of the capital, Kyiv.

The United States said this week that Moscow probably plans to deploy tens of thousands of soldiers in eastern Ukraine.

– Reuters


8:20 a.m. ET

Ukraine says 10 humanitarian corridors agreed for Saturday

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Daryna Kovalenko, 19 , holds her dog Tim, while arriving at Kyiv's train station after leaving her home in Chernihiv, Ukraine, through a humanitarian corridor, March 21, 2022.Rodrigo Abd/The Associated Press

Ten humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from Ukraine’s besieged regions have been agreed for Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

The planned corridors include one for people evacuating by private transport from the city of Mariupol, Vereshchuk said.

– Reuters


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