A Ukrainian serviceman looks as smoke rises after a Russian troops shelling, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Luhansk Region, Ukraine April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Serhii Nuzhnenko
May 1 (Reuters) – Around 50 Ukrainian civilians reached the relative safety of a temporary camp in Russian-held territory after being evacuated from a ruined steelworks in Mariupol, and the United Nations said a “safe passage operation” was in progress.
* Russia’s defence ministry said it had carried out a missile strike on a military airfield near the port city of Odesa, destroying a runway and a hangar containing weapons and ammunition. On Saturday, Ukraine said Russian missiles had knocked out a newly constructed runway at Odesa’s main airport. It was unclear if the two sides were referring to the same incident.
Reuters could not immediately verify reports of battlefield developments.
* Dozens of civilians were evacuated from Mariupol’s Azovstal steel works in a convoy with vehicles bearing United Nations symbols, signalling a deal had been struck to ease the ordeal of the most destructive siege in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
* Pelosi said she had met Zelenskiy to send the message that the United States stands firmly with Ukraine as it battles “Putin’s diabolic invasion”.
* Britain’s Foreign Office said Russia is using a troll factory to spread disinformation about the war on social media and target politicians across a number of countries including Britain and South Africa.
* Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected criticism that Germany was not showing leadership in Western efforts to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons, saying that he’d rather be cautious than make hasty decisions.
* The European Union is leaning towards a ban on imports of Russian oil by the end of the year, two EU diplomats said, after talks between the European Commission and EU member states this weekend.
* Russia should confiscate property owned by Westerners in response to a proposal by U.S. President Joe Biden to transfer the frozen assets of Russia’s elite to Ukraine, Russia’s most senior lawmaker said.
* “I suffer and cry thinking of the suffering of the Ukrainian population, in particular the weakest, the elderly, the children,” Pope Francis, speaking to thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square.
* “They must be in shock … I know how trauma affects children, I know just having somebody show how much they matter, how much their voices matter, I know how healing that is for them,” Angelina Jolie, actress and a special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency, speaking about children displaced by war during a visit on Saturday to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
Compiled by Frances Kerry
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