The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that the Russian army "will forever go down in world history as perhaps the most barbaric and inhumane army in the world."
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Russia's Defense Ministry issued a new proposal to Ukrainian soldiers stationed at the Azovstal steel plant to lay down their weapons on Wednesday, adding that no Ukrainian soldiers had accepted the same offer today.
"Russian troops will respect the cease-fire in the Azovstal region, while the proposal is in effect on April 20," the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense added.
Russia must finally listen to UN Secretary General António Guterres and end the war against Ukraine or at least allow a humanitarian pause, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
"Let me remind you that in this war there is only one aggressor and invader - Russia. Ukraine has always been and remains ready to seek peace," added Kuleba.
Earlier today, Guterres called for a four-day truce before the Orthodox Easter, in order to enable the safe passage of civilians from the conflict area and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the hard-hit areas.
Russian shelling and strikes on the Donbass control line continued to intensify on Tuesday, but Ukrainian forces managed to repulse numerous attempts by the Russian army to advance, according to a British military report, Reuters reports.
"Russia's ability to advance continues to be affected by the environmental, logistical and technical challenges it has faced so far, combined with the resilience of the highly motivated Ukrainian armed forces," the British military added.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, called for a four-day truce before the Orthodox Easter, in order to enable the safe passage of civilians from the conflict area and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the hard-hit areas.
Guterres said the United Nations was submitting detailed plans and was ready to send humanitarian aid convoys to Mariupol, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk from Maundy Thursday to Sunday - the date of the Orthodox Easter, celebrated by most Ukrainians and Russians.
The United States will send more artillery to Ukraine, US President Joe Biden said, Reuters reports.
Germany will continue to support Ukraine militarily and financially, even though it has practically used up the weapons it can supply from its own stocks, so it will provide the necessary money for its purchase, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, as reported by Reuters.
"The goal is to strengthen the Ukrainian army so that it can repel the Russian attack," Soltz added.
Asked whether Germany would supply Ukraine with Leopard tanks, he said that Berlin, as well as its Western allies, had come to the conclusion that it made sense to supply weapons that the Ukrainians already knew how to use.
The families of sailors from the ship Moskva are looking for answers...
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Canada has announced that it has imposed targeted sanctions against 14 Russian citizens, including two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Reuters reports.
Earlier this month, the United States and Great Britain announced sanctions against Putin's daughters - Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova - because they are believed to be hiding Putin's wealth.
At least three people were killed and 16 wounded in the shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, regional governor Oleh Sinehubov said on the Telegram messaging app, Reuters reports.
The goal of the new Russian offensive in the east of Ukraine is to capture all areas of Lugansk and Donetsk, establish a land connection between those territories and Crimea and destroy the Ukrainian armed forces, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced, reports Reuters.
Russia has handed over 60 soldiers and 16 civilians to Ukraine in a prisoner of war exchange, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said on Tuesday.
"This was the fifth exchange of prisoners of war. A total of 76 people," Vereschuk said in a statement, Reuters reports.
"Exchange involved 10 Ukrainian officers".
Moscow is expelling 15 Dutch diplomats after the Netherlands told 18 Russian diplomats to leave last month, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, Reuters reports.
The ministry said in a separate statement that Russia is also expelling some Belgian diplomats in retaliation.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it had opened a corridor for Ukrainian forces who wanted to accept Russia's offer to lay down their arms and safely leave the Azovstal plant in the besieged port of Mariupol, Reuters reports.
The Russian siege of the city of Mariupol has further complicated the negotiation process in the war in Ukraine and it is difficult to say when direct negotiations could resume, Ukrainian negotiator Mihail Podolyak told Reuters.
Podoljak said in a written response to Reuters' questions that he believes Russia is counting on strengthening its positions through the new offensive it has launched in eastern Ukraine.
"Obviously, against the backdrop of the tragedy in Mariupol, the negotiation process has become even more complicated," he said of the southern port city where Russia gave the last Ukrainian defenders holed up in a factory an ultimatum to surrender by noon.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov will lead the Russian delegation at this week's meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of 20 major economies, the Russian Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday.
G20 host Indonesia said last week that Siluanov confirmed that he plans to attend the April 20 G20 meeting virtually, Reuters reports.
Russian forces have taken control of the city of Kremin in eastern Ukraine, and Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the city, regional governor Sergei Gaidai said.
"Kremina is under the control of the 'Orks' (Russians). They have entered the city," said the governor of the Luhansk region, Sergey Gaidai, at a briefing, reports Reuters.
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In a picturesque town on the northern edge of Ukraine's Donbas region, people can hear shelling approaching. The Russian army is only ten kilometers to the north.
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Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Russian region of Chechnya and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Russian forces would fully take over the Azovstal factory where Ukrainian defenders are being held in the besieged port of Mariupol.
"Today, with God's help... we will completely take over Azovstal," Kadyrov said in an audio message on his Telegram channel, Reuters reports.
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