It is day 416 of the war in Ukraine. Follow the latest news about the war and all its aftermath in this live blog.
China’s new defense minister goes to Russia
10:15 am | China’s new Defense Minister Li Shangfu will travel to Russia on Sunday for his first official overseas trip since being appointed in March. Li is expected to hold global and regional security talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu during his three-day visit.
Ukraine takes home 130 soldiers in Easter prisoner exchange
10:04 am | About 130 Ukrainian POWs were released and returned home in a “big Easter exchange”. This was stated on Sunday, the day of Orthodox Easter, by a senior Ukrainian presidential official.
Ukrainian and Russian troops have regularly exchanged prisoners during the 14-month invasion of Moscow, Reuters reports.
“We are bringing back 130 of our people. That (the exchange) happened in stages over the past few days,” President Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on messaging app Telegram. It is unclear how many Russians were sent to the other side.
Yermak said those who returned home included military personnel, border guards, national guard members, sailors and state border guard employees. The Guardian was unable to independently verify the claims.
The swap was the second major prisoner swap of the past week. On Monday, Russia and Ukraine said they conducted a major prisoner swap, freeing 106 Russian POWs in exchange for 100 Ukrainians.
Boss Wagner: Russia can declare victory in Ukraine
09:59 | Russia may declare victory more than a year after invading Ukraine, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday. According to Prigozhin, the Kremlin can claim to have achieved the goals of the “special military operation” in Ukraine, as the Russian army has already taken “a good chunk” of the territory.
Special military operation is the term Russia has consistently used since its invasion of the neighboring country to describe its military presence in Ukraine. We are not talking about war.
“The ideal scenario is to end the special military operation and tell everyone that Russia has achieved the expected results,” the leader of the Wagner Group mercenary army said in a message posted on Telegram. “What we have to do now is hold on to the territories we’ve already conquered.”
Prigozhin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, said he supported “a fair fight” and instead wanted to avoid a deal.
Kiev: ‘unprecedented’ bloody battles for Bachmut
08:00 | Ukrainian and Russian forces are engaged in extraordinarily bloody fighting in the devastated eastern city of Bachmut, but pro-Kiev forces continue to hold out, the Ukrainian military said.
Reuters reported that Russia’s defense ministry said on Saturday that fighters from the Wagner mercenary group had captured two more areas of Bachmut, the main target of Moscow’s offensive in eastern Ukraine.
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
