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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops in southern Ukraine have been carrying out torture and kidnappings, and he called on the world Sunday to respond, The Associated Press reported. “Torture chambers are built there,” Zelenskyy said in an evening address to the nation. “They abduct representatives of local governments and anyone deemed visible to local communities.”
Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov, criticizing Russian forces for not letting up its bombing campaign on Orthodox Palm Sunday, urged all citizens who could find shelter to do so, The Associated Press reported. He added that if they were able to leave, they should, saying the city would help them relocate.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly address that Russia's shelling on Kharkiv has been constant. "This is nothing but deliberate terror: mortars, artillery against ordinary residential quarters, against ordinary civilians," Zelenskiy said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about Ukraine's financial stability and the country's post-war reconstruction, according to a Reuters report. He tweeted: "Discussed with IMF Managing Director Georgieva the issue of ensuring Ukraine's financial stability & preparations for post-war reconstruction. We have clear plans for now, as well as a vision of prospects. I’m sure cooperation between the IMF & Ukraine will continue to be fruitful.”
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said he would attend the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington this week and will seek more financial assistance for Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Ukraine has filled out a questionnaire to receive European Union candidate status, according to Ihor Zhovkva, a deputy chief of staff for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, . Now the European Union is expected to decide on giving candidate status to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CBS news there have not been any recent diplomatic communications between Russia and Ukraine at the level of their foreign ministries and that the situation in Mariupol, which he described as "dire", may be a "red line" in the path of negotiations.
Russia is worried about increased activity of NATO forces in the Arctic and sees risks of "unintended incidents" occurring in the region, TASS news agency cited Russian ambassador-at-large Nikolai Korchunov as saying.
Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that the EU is not considering an outright ban on Russian oil, as it would only lead to shortages, rising market prices, and “ultimately strengthen Putin.” The Kyiv Independent quoted Von der Leyen as saying the EU is “developing smart mechanisms that will allow oil to be included in the next sanctions package.”
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir Service reports it has spoken with Ukrainians from Mariupol and activists in Astrakhan in southern Russia, who say that they were brought to the country by force. Ukraine has accused Russian forces of transporting thousands of civilians from devasted Ukrainian cities, seizing their documents and placing them in “filtration camps" established in separatist-controlled areas, RFE/RL .
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Sunday that his country is running a $5 billion-a-month deficit and needs financial support. "We are so grateful to American people, especially to President Bident for support of Ukraine," Schmyhal told ABC News’s “This Week.” "We need more sanctions from our West partners,” Schmyhal said. “We need more ammunition to protect our country and European borders. We need more finances to support our people, our refugees, our internally displaced persons."
Reuters reported that Ukraine has asked G7 nations for $50 billion in financial support and is also considering issuing 0% coupon bonds to help it cover a war-linked budget deficit over the next six months. Speaking on national television Sunday, the president's economic adviser Oleh Ustenko said these options were being actively discussed.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the world must be prepared for the possibility that Russia could resort to using nuclear weapons in its fight for Ukraine. "We should not be afraid but be ready,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper Friday in an interview that aired Sunday. “For them, the life of the people is nothing.”