Biden to discuss ‘additional’ Russia sanctions with G7 leaders

US President Joe Biden said he would discuss slapping further sanctions on Moscow this week as the European Commission called for a gradual ban on Russian oil imports in a move resisted by EU member Hungary. On the ground, the mayor of the destroyed Ukrainian city of Mariupol said he had lost contact with Ukrainian forces holed up in the Azovstal steel plant amid fierce battles with Russian troops. Follow FRANCE 24’s liveblog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

7:25pm: Zelensky shares blame for Ukraine war, says Brazil’s Lula

Brazilian presidential front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has suggested Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin bear equal responsibility for the war in Ukraine, putting the leftist icon at odds with Western powers.

“I see the president of Ukraine, speaking on television, being applauded, getting a standing ovation by all the (European) parliamentarians,” Lula, Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2010, told Time magazine on Wednesday.

“This guy (Zelensky) is as responsible as Putin for the war,” he added.

Lula, 76, said Zelensky should have yielded to Russian opposition to Ukraine’s moves to join NATO and held negotiations with Putin to avoid a conflict. He also had criticism for US President Joe Biden.

“Biden could have taken a plane to Moscow to talk to Putin. This is the kind of attitude you expect from a leader,” he said.

Lula, who leads President Jair Bolsonaro in the polls for October’s elections, was a key player on the international stage during his two terms as president, building Brazil’s diplomatic clout.

Portraying himself as a bridge-builder, he maintained friendly ties with counterparts as disparate as George W. Bush of the US and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran.

7:15pm: Biden to discuss further Russia sanctions with G7 leaders

US President Joe Biden says he will speak to other leaders of the Group of Seven advanced economies this week about possible additional sanctions against Moscow.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has welcomed talk of an EU ban on Russian oil imports, though renewing Kyiv’s plea for more aggressive steps to starve Russia’s war machine.

“Don’t get me wrong, we welcome that, but for six more months the EU countries will pay Russia billions of euros that will be invested in the Russian war machine,” he told Austrian TV channel Puls 4 in an interview.

“My position is simple: every euro paid to Russia for gas, oil or other goods ends up as rounds of ammunition in Ukraine to kill my compatriots,” he said, while calling for modern tanks and multiple launch rocket systems to protect territory.

6:05pm: Why Hungary is pushing back against Russian oil ban

Hungary has warned it cannot support the proposed EU ban on Russian oil in its current form, claiming it would “completely destroy” its energy supply security. FRANCE 24’s Florence La Bruyère reports from Budapest.

4:20pm: More bodies found in Kyiv region

The bodies of another 20 civilians have been found in the past 24 hours in the Kyiv region, police say, raising the total number found there so far to 1,235.

Kyiv regional police chief Andriy Nebytov says the latest discoveries were found in Borodianka and the surrounding villages, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Bucha, the town near Kyiv now synonymous with allegations of Russian war crimes.

>> FRANCE 24 in Bucha: Residents look for loved ones after massacre of civilians

4:15pm: ‘It is our European duty to help Moldova’

Earlier today, European Council President Charles Michel pledged to increase EU military aid to Moldova, Ukraine’s neighbour that has seen a series of attacks in a pro-Moscow separatist region.

“This year we plan to significantly increase our support to Moldova by providing its armed forces with additional military equipment,” Michel told a press conference with Moldova’s President Maia Sandu during a visit to the country.

Michel said the EU will up support in the “field of logistics, of cyber defence” and will seek to provide “more military-building capacities” to Moldova, without going into further detail.

“The EU stands in full solidarity with you, with Moldova. It is our European duty to help and to support your country,” Michel said, adding that the bloc will help Moldova “cope with the consequences of the spillover from the Russian aggression in Ukraine”.

4:05pm: EU readying sanctions on Russian Patriarch Kirill

The European Commission has proposed freezing the assets of Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, a diplomat has said.

The Patriarch, a staunch Putin ally, has been added to a draft blacklist that already includes hundreds of military officers and businessmen close to the Kremlin whom the EU accuses of supporting the war in Ukraine.

2:45pm: ‘Heavy fighting’ at Azovstal, contact ‘lost’ with Ukraine forces

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko says fighting is continuing at the steel works where the last Ukrainian forces are holed up with scores of civilians who were unable to evacuate the sprawling facility.

Boichenko says contact with the last Ukrainian fighters at Azovstal has been lost. The report comes as Ukraine’s defence ministry says Russia is attempting to increase the tempo of its offensive in the east of the country.

Defence Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk gave few details but said Moscow had conducted nearly 50 air strikes on Tuesday alone.

He said Russian strategic bombers had fired 18 rockets from airspace above the Caspian Sea at targets in Ukraine “with the aim of damaging our country’s transport infrastructure.”

1:00pm: Ukraine says Russia planning WWII parade in Mariupol

Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of planning to hold a military parade in the captured city of Mariupol on May 9 to celebrate victory over the Nazis in World War II.

Kyiv said an official from Russia’s presidential administration had arrived in the strategic southern port city, which has been largely destroyed in Russia’s more than two-month invasion of Ukraine, to oversee plans for the Victory Day parade.

“Mariupol will become a centre of ‘celebration,'” Ukraine’s military intelligence said in a statement on social media.

“The central streets of the city are urgently being cleaned of debris, bodies and unexploded ordnance,” it added.

Mariupol is among the most battered cities in Ukraine. A group of Ukrainian forces are still holding out in its Azovstal steel plant.

“A large-scale propaganda campaign is under way. Russians will be shown stories about the ‘joy’ of locals from meeting the occupiers,” the military intelligence statement said.

11:23am: Hungary says Russia oil ban lacks energy security ‘guarantee’

Hungary on Wednesday said it saw no guarantee for its energy security in a proposed EU ban on Russian oil.

“We don’t see any plan or guarantee on how even a transition could be managed on the basis of the current proposals, and what would guarantee Hungary’s energy security,” the Hungarian government’s press office said in a statement sent to AFP.

Asked if this meant Hungary outrightly rejected the EU’s proposal, the press office did not immediately answer.

11:10am: Russia bars entry to 63 Japanese, including PM

Russia’s foreign ministry on Wednesday announced sanctions against 63 Japanese officials, journalists and professors for engaging in what it called “unacceptable rhetoric” against Moscow.

The list includes Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi, among other officials

The sanctions bar the targeted individuals from entering Russia indefinitely, the ministry said.

10:56am: Russia warns NATO: transport carrying weapons in Ukraine is a ‘target’

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday the Russian military would consider NATO transport carrying weapons in Ukraine as targets to be destroyed, RIA news agency quoted him as saying.

Shoigu also said that the Ukrainian fighters holed up in the sprawling Azovstal plant in Mariupol were kept under secure blockade after President Vladimir Putin ordered that they be hermetically sealed off.

10:39am: EU vows to ‘significantly increase’ military support for Moldova

European Council President Charles Michel on Wednesday pledged to increase EU military aid to Moldova, Ukraine’s neighbour that has seen a series of attacks in a pro-Moscow separatist region.

“This year we plan to significantly increase our support to Moldova by providing its armed forces with additional military equipment,” Michel told a press conference with Moldova’s President Maia Sandu during a visit to the country.

Michel said the EU will up support in the “field of logistics, of cyberdefence” and will seek to provide “more military-building capacities” to Moldova, without going into more detail.

“The EU stands in full solidarity with you, with Moldova, it is our European duty to help and to support your country,” Michel said, adding that the bloc will help Moldova “cope with the consequences of the spillover from the Russian aggression in Ukraine”.

“We will continue to deepen our partnership with you to bring your country closer to the EU,” Michel said.

9:55am: Hungary, Slovakia can continue to buy Russian crude oil until end of 2023

Hungary and Slovakia will be able to continue buying Russian crude oil until the end of 2023 under existing contracts, an EU source told Reuters on Wednesday, benefitting from exemptions from an oil embargo proposed by the European Commission.

The EU executive proposed on Wednesday to ban imports of Russian crude oil within six months, and refined oil products by the end of the year.

In a bid to convince reluctant countries not to veto the proposal, Brussels has proposed a longer period to implement the embargo for Hungary and Slovakia, the source said.

Slovakia wants a three-year transition period for it to phase in the European Union’s proposed oil embargo on Russia, Economy Minister Richard Sulik said on Wednesday.

Slovakia, highly reliant on Russian crude supplies, supported the EU’s sanctions, Sulik said, but was still seeking an exemption to give it time to secure alternative oil supplies.

9:39am: EU leader calls for Russian oil ban in new set of sanctions

The European Union’s chief executive is proposing that the bloc ban oil imports from Russia over its war on Ukraine, and target the country’s biggest bank and major broadcasters in a new round of sanctions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers Wednesday that the sanctions should involve “a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined.”

She says the aim is to “make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimizes the impact on global markets.”

The sanctions proposals are to be debated by the 27 EU member countries. Hungary and Slovakia have already said they would not take part. The two are landlocked and heavily dependent on Russia for their energy supplies.

Banks are also in the EU executive arm’s sights, and notably the giant Sberbank. Von der Leyen says the aim is to “de-SWIFT Sberbank”, as well as two other banks. SWIFT is the major global system for financial transfers.

Von der Leyen says those alleged to be spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine should be targeted, notably three big Russian state-owned broadcasters. She did not identify any of the outlets.

8:29am: Ukraine, UN and Red Cross make new effort to evacuate civilians from Mariupol

A convoy of buses left Mariupol on Wednesday in a new attempt by Ukraine, the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to evacuate civilians from the southern Ukrainian city, the regional governor said.

The buses were heading for the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said. He did not make clear whether any more civilians had been evacuated from a vast steel works in Mariupol where the city’s last defenders are holding out against Russian forces. FRANCE 24’s Luke Shrago reports from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

8:28am: Russia-linked superyacht owners to appeal Fiji seizure order

A company registered as the owner of a Russia-linked superyacht has applied to prevent Fiji from seizing it under a US warrant, pending an appeal against the move.

A High Court judge in Fiji’s capital Suva had granted an order on Tuesday for the seizure of the Amadea, which is reportedly owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

The US warrant for its seizure was filed with the High Court last month.

The Amadea, with an estimated value of more than US$300 million, has been berthed at Lautoka in western Fiji since mid-April.

It has been linked in some reports to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, a target of US and European Union sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

6:50am: Belarus says surprise army drills no threat to neighbours

The armed forces of Belarus began sudden drills on Wednesday to test their combat readiness, the TASS news agency cited the defence ministry of Ukraine’s neighbour as saying.

“It is planned that the (combat readiness) test will involve the movement of significant numbers of military vehicles, which can slow down traffic on public roads,” the Belarusian ministry said in a statement.

Against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ministry said the exercise posed no threat to its neighbours or the European community in general.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko spoke to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and the two discussed the Russian operation in Ukraine, among other issues, according to official statements.

Areas of Ukraine adjacent to Belarus, including its capital Kyiv, came under Russian assault in the initial stage of the invasion, but now Russia has focused its attacks on Ukraine’s eastern and southeastern regions.

4:15am: Russia to boycott UN Security Council meeting with EU committee

In a rare move, Russia will boycott a UN Security Council meeting Wednesday with the EU’s Political and Security Committee (PSC), diplomats said, a further sign of deteriorating relations between Moscow and its United Nations partners.

According to a Russian diplomatic source speaking anonymously Tuesday, Moscow’s decision is linked to the situation in Ukraine.

A Western diplomat told AFP they had no memory of Russia boycotting a Security Council meeting since it invaded Ukraine on February 24.

The annual informal meeting between the council and the PSC has not been held since 2019 due to the Covid pandemic. Wednesday’s meeting is expected to address the EU’s interaction with the UN in countries where both organizations are conducting operations.

Russia, which is one of the five permanent members on the Security Council, has been ousted from several UN bodies, including the human rights council.

At a press conference Tuesday, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, whose country will assume the Security Council presidency in May, said the council has been “extraordinarily successful” in “isolating Russia” since the end of February.

“Russia is isolated in the Security Council, and every time we have a discussion in the Security Council as it relates to Russia, they are on the defensive and we will continue to keep them on the defensive until they end their brutal attack on the Ukrainian people,” she told reporters.

2:44am: European Council chief ‘confident’ EU will adopt embargo on Russian oil, despite pushback

“Our goal is simple, we must break the Russian war machine,” said European Council president Charles Michel on Tuesday. “I am confident that the council will imminently impose further sanctions, notably on Russian oil.”

Such an embargo could far-reaching impacts, as the EU imports one-third of its oil from Russia, and accounts for two-thirds of the country’s oil exports. FRANCE 24’s Alison Sargent explains:

May 4, 12:21am: Russia strikes Lviv, other parts of western Ukraine

Russian strikes hit several regions across Ukraine on Tuesday, including the western hub of Lviv and a mountainous region bordering Hungary which was targeted for the first time, officials said.

The mayor of Lviv, near the Polish border, said the strikes caused power outages in parts of the city.

“As a result of the rocket strike (on Lviv), two power substations were damaged. A part of the city doesn’t have electricity,” Andriy Sadoviy said on Twitter, adding that one person was wounded.

Authorities also reported strikes in the central region of Kirovograd and the southwestern region of Vinnytsia.

The mountainous region of Transcarpathia, which borders Hungary and Slovakia and which has so far been spared attacks, was also hit Tuesday.

“Services are working on the spot, we are clarifying information about injuries and possible victims,” the head of the region’s military administration Viktor Mykyta said on Telegram.

Ukrainian media said it was the first time the region was hit since the Russian invasion in late February.

While Russia has focused its invasion on Ukraine’s eastern regions, it has also targeted western areas, with the Kremlin warning it will target flows of Western weapons into the country.

FRANCE 24’s Nadia Massih reports from Kyiv:

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)

Originally published on France24