Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukrainian officials begin urging evacuations amid reports of new attacks in east

Washington Post Pentagon and national security reporter Karoun Demirjian explains the difficulties of deciding which weapons to send Ukraine. (Video: Joshua Carroll/The Washington Post, Photo: The Washington Post)Yesterday at 1:09 a.m. EDT|Updated today at 8:35 p.m. EDTYesterday at 1:09 a.m. EDT|Updated today at 8:35 p.m. EDTOfficials in Ukraine began urging people living in the eastern part of the country to evacuate Wednesday as new attacks on civilians were reported in areas where Russia is expected to step up offensives after withdrawing from Kyiv.A 10-story building in Severodonetsk caught on fire amid mass shelling and at least five civilians died in the Donetsk region, local officials said. In a television broadcast, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, “You have to evacuate, if this is possible. And this is possible.”The attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded a tougher E.U. response Wednesday and criticized leaders who “still think war crimes are not as horrific as financial losses.” The Biden administration announced new sanctions that will target two of Russia’s largest banks and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adult daughters. NATO foreign ministers are gathering in Brussels for discussions on Ukraine.Here’s what to knowThe U.S. Justice Department has indicted Konstantin Malofeyev, the first criminal charges against an oligarch since the invasion of Ukraine began.The Red Cross said it was “impossible to enter” the southern port of Mariupol after its team tried over five days to reach thousands of people trapped in the devastated city.Greece and Norway said Wednesday that they would expel Russian diplomats, and Moscow vowed to retaliate — the latest sign of a tit-for-tat downgrading of diplomatic relations between Russia and its European neighbors.The Kremlin described the withdrawal of troops from around Kyiv as “a gesture of goodwill” for negotiations, while its forces shifted to eastern Ukraine, where officials reported intensifying attacks.The Post has lifted its paywall for readers in Russia and Ukraine. Telegram users can subscribe to our channel for updates.UNDERSTANDING THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICTFinland seizes Russian artwork worth $46 million under sanctions Return to menuFinnish Customs has seized artwork en route to Russia as part of sanctions imposed by the European Union. The paintings, sculptures and antiquities are worth 42 million euros ($46 million), the agency said.Last weekend, Finnish Customs stopped three shipments headed to Russia at the Vaalimaa border crossing, the agency said in a news release. The artwork was on loan from Russia to museums and galleries in Japan and Italy.Sami Rakshit, director of Finnish Customs’ Enforcement Department, did not specify the number of works or give details about the artists in response to queries from The Washington Post.Russia’s Culture Ministry was quoted by the Russian news agency Moskva as saying that the artwork had been loaned to Italy from St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum and Tsarskoye Selo state museum and Moscow’s State Tretyakov Gallery, according to Reuters. The Hermitage Museum did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.Ukraine’s ‘Lego boy’ overwhelmed by donations after Facebook appeal Return to menuAn 11-year-old boy who fled Ukraine — and his precious Lego collection — for safety in Ireland has been building for seven days straight after an appeal on social media from his father sparked a flurry of “nonstop” donations.“We left all our Lego in Ukraine. We need any Lego, any size and colour, in any quantity,” Andrey’s father, Igor Sidorov, posted in the “Help Ukrainians in Ireland” Facebook page on March 28. “Help me please!”Sidorov described his eldest son as “very clever” and wrote that Andrey is “engaged in the creation and construction of various Lego toys on a semi-professional level with out instruction.”The donations poured into the Galway hotel where the family is staying.More than 5,500 Ukrainian refugees have entered Ireland since Russia invaded in late February. The country swiftly lifted checks and lengthy visa requirements to make it easier to help those evacuating.“Our primary impulse is to assist those fleeing war,” Micheál Martin, the country’s prime minister, told the BBC last month.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to address Ireland’s Parliament on Wednesday.“He’s very happy. Seven days nonstop he’s built Lego,” Sidorov told the BBC’s “Good Morning Ulster” program.Andrey shared his appreciation on the Instagram account where he shows off his creations, with a note reading, “Thanks to this great and incredibly friendly country! Thanks to all these wonderful and very kind people with very big hearts!”Next to it was a photo of a Lego Irish flag.Ukrainian refugees vow to return home — even if it’s never the sameReturn to menuUnder an Irpin bridge moments before she fled, Olga Gdulia stood in silence.Gdulia and others were waiting for Ukrainian soldiers to signal that it was safe to head toward buses that would take them away from her besieged hometown. Failure to heed the commands could mean death at the hands of Russian forces.She had hugged her mother and stepfather tightly and forced herself to memorize their faces in case it would be the last time her eyes would take them in. The childhood images of her late father stayed in the photo albums left at her home. She knew the place that nurtured her for most of her 37 years of life might never look the same.She could only focus on getting from one place to the next.Gdulia is among the more than 10 million Ukrainians who have fled their homes because of Russia’s invasion, leaving behind their communities and crossing hundreds of miles — some on foot — to find refuge with few vestiges of the lives they left. Many yearn to return home, even if it’s not the same.These women fled besieged Ukrainian cities. Here’s what they brought.Return to menuThe explosions lit the early morning sky — and pushed Olya Khrystoliubova to leave Kyiv.Within 15 minutes, she packed her luggage with necessary documents, food for her cat and clothes for herself, then embarked on a days-long journey with her mother.Khrystoliubova, 36, is among millions of Ukrainians who left their homes in fear as Russia invaded and laid siege to their cities. Figuring out what to bring was a matter of necessity and a surrender to the fact that the pieces of the lives they built could not fit in a backpack. The Washington Post spoke with some Ukrainians about what they brought — and what they left.Co-chair of House Ukraine Caucus says NATO membership would have prevented invasionReturn to menu“It would have prevented this war. Prevented it, not just ended it… Vladimir Putin would not have invaded a NATO country, I don’t believe… That’s precisely why all the work I did in Ukraine as an FBI agent was helping them meet their NATO metrics. They desperately want to be a part of the West, they desperately want to be part of the E.U.” – Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) (Video: Washington Post Live, Photo: Washington Post Live)The co-chair of the congressional Ukraine Caucus said Wednesday that the Russian invasion would not have happened if Ukraine had been a member of NATO.“It would have prevented this war — prevented it, not just ended it,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who appeared virtually at a Washington Post Live event. “Vladimir Putin would not have invaded a NATO country, I don’t believe.”Ukraine has for years expressed interest in joining the NATO military alliance, along with the European Union, but U.S. and European leaders have at times opposed the former Soviet state’s membership, wary of provoking tensions with Russia. In recent weeks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged that joining NATO appears to be out of the question for now.Fitzpatrick, who served in Ukraine as an FBI agent, has been a vocal critic of Russia and President Vladimir Putin since his election to the House in 2016. In the Wednesday interview, Fitzpatrick said Putin is “drowning in his own propaganda.”“Everything inside Vladimir Putin’s brain is a lie. … He’s not of sound mind right now,” Fitzpatrick said.The lawmaker has also pushed for the United States to accept Ukrainian refugees, and he said he would personally take in a family from Ukraine.The latest on Ukraine’s key battlegrounds and retaken citiesReturn to menu Russian-held areas and troop movement BELARUS RUSSIA POL. Chernihiv Separatist- controlled area Kyiv Lviv Kharkiv UKRAINE Mariupol Odessa ROMANIA 200 MILES Control areas as of April 6 Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project, Post reporting THE WASHINGTON POST Russian-held areas and troop movement BELARUS RUSSIA Chernihiv POLAND Chernobyl Kyiv Sumy Lviv Kharkiv UKRAINE Separatist- controlled area Odessa Mariupol Berdyansk ROMANIA Kherson Crimea Annexed by Russia in 2014 100 MILES Active nuclear power plants with power-generating capabilities Black Sea Control areas as of April 6 Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project, Post reporting Russian-held areas and troop movement BELARUS RUSSIA Chernihiv POLAND Chernobyl Kyiv Sumy Lviv Kharkiv Separatist- controlled area UKRAINE Mykolaiv Mariupol Berdyansk Kherson ROMANIA Odessa Kherson Crimea Annexed by Russia in 2014 Active nuclear power plants with power-generating capabilities Control areas as of April 6 100 MILES Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project, Post reporting Mariupol: At least 5,000 residents of the port city have died in the war, including 210 children, Mayor Vadym Boychenko said Wednesday on Telegram. More than 100,000 people are trapped there, according to Boychenko. The International Committee of the Red Cross suspended its efforts in the area after days of unsuccessful attempts to evacuate residents because of security conditions, the agency said Wednesday.Kharkiv region: Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk and local officials said Wednesday that residents in the eastern region are in danger and should consider evacuating as Ukrainian leaders brace for new assaults in the east.Borodyanka: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the death toll in this settlement outside of Kyiv may be even higher than that of Bucha, the suburb where Ukrainian officials say Russian troops killed more than 300 civilians. Ukraine’s forces have retaken the city, and photos from local media show widespread destruction.Bucha: Ukrainian citizens and soldiers are surveying the damage and possible war crimes in this town 15 miles northwest of Kyiv.Chernihiv: The largest city besieged by Russian troops and retaken by Ukrainians, Chernihiv saw more than half of its 300,000 residents flee and hundreds more killed, the mayor said. The toll remains unclear, but survivors have described atrocities that echo those that have emerged from other cities Russia has occupied.Russia has withdrawn from Kyiv and Chernihiv, Pentagon saysReturn to menuRussian forces have withdrawn from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and the city of Chernihiv to its north, the Pentagon said Wednesday, as Moscow concentrates its invading forces in the eastern part of the country.“We are assessing that all of the Russians have left,” said a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the Pentagon. The Defense Department had confirmed the full departure in the past day, this person said Wednesday afternoon, cautioning that Russian forces may have left mines that would need to be cleared.U.S. and European intelligence officials have been tracking for days Russia’s reorientation after encountering fierce resistance — and suffering thousands of casualties — in northern Ukraine. Moscow has greater support in the east, where Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists have been locked in a grinding conflict for many years.But while Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine’s capital region appears to be complete, with many units retreating through Belarus, the Pentagon has yet to see those personnel reenter eastern Ukraine, the senior defense official said Wednesday.Parents of Marine veteran detained in Russia fear ‘something terrible has happened’Return to menuThe parents of a Marine Corps veteran who has been jailed in Russia for more than 2½ years said Wednesday that they have lost contact with their son, whose health had been rapidly declining, and that they are “worried that something terrible has happened.”Trevor Reed, 30, was detained in Moscow in 2019 on charges of attacking police officers — allegations that Reed, his family and U.S. officials have denounced as false, politically motivated and “ridiculous.” He has been in and out of solitary confinement, and as his health deteriorated he has been denied medical care, his parents have said. In November, he declared a hunger strike to protest violations of his rights in prison.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its subsequent arrest of WNBA star Brittney Griner drew renewed attention to Reed’s case, which his family has been vocal about for years, appealing to diplomats, lawmakers and the White House. In the Wednesday statement, Joey and Paula Reed said the last time Russia provided them proof that their son was alive was Friday.“It has now been five days without any updates at all on Trevor’s rapidly declining health and with each passing hour, we are more and more worried that something terrible has happened,” Reed’s parents said.They renewed their calls for the Biden administration to do “whatever it takes” to get Reed out of Russia, including a prisoner swap.“Our son is out of time,” they said before mentioning an American student who died after being detained in North Korea. “With each passing day lost to ‘deliberations’ the risk of our son becoming the next Otto Warmbier grows significantly.”Oil prices tumble, stocks edge lower as investors zero in on rate hikesReturn to menuStocks moved lower and crude prices fell Wednesday as investors fretted about rate hikes and inflation, and Russia was hit with more sanctions.The Dow Jones industrial average lost 144.67 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 34,496.51. The broader S&P 500 shed 43.97 points, or 1 percent, to settle at 4,481.15. But it was the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index that lost the most ground, falling 315.35 points, or 2.2 percent, to land at 13,888.82.Markets have been unsettled in recent days after Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard hinted that larger interest rate hikes might be needed to tame inflation. Minutes from the Fed’s March meeting released Wednesday revealed that several board members favored a more aggressive rate hike in March but that they ultimately held back, given the high uncertainty tied to the war.Meanwhile, the Biden administration imposed new sanctions against Moscow amid growing alarm over civilian deaths in Ukraine, targeting two of Russia’s largest banks as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adult children in a bid to increase the nation’s economic isolation.Oil prices tumbled after the International Energy Agency — whose 31 member states include the United States, most of Europe, Mexico and others — announced that it would release oil from reserves in tandem with the United States in a continuing effort to contain prices. Oil prices have been volatile since Russia, which is one of the world’s largest energy suppliers, invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, fell 4.9 percent to around $97 per barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 4.3 percent to $102. The national average for a gallon of gas dipped to $4.16, according to AAA. It’s fallen 8 cents since last week but is still 16 cents higher than a month ago and $1.29 more than a year ago.Mariupol mayor says 5,000 residents, including 210 children, have diedReturn to menuAt least 5,000 residents have died in the month since Russian forces laid siege to and heavily bombarded the city of Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boychenko said Wednesday on Telegram, citing preliminary estimates. Boychenko said that about 210 children are among the dead.The Washington Post was unable to confirm those tallies.Boychenko cited a hospital that had been bombed and the shelling of the port city’s drama theater, where hundreds of people were hiding — attacks he called the “deliberate destruction of the civilian population of Mariupol.”The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Wednesday suspended efforts to evacuate residents after days of unsuccessful attempts, saying security conditions had made entering the city “impossible.” The ICRC, however, reported that it helped 1,000 Mariupol residents escape on their own to the town of Zaporizhzhia. In his Telegram update, Boychenko said about 90 percent of Mariupol’s infrastructure had been destroyed.Apple restores Russian opposition app to its App StoreReturn to menuApple has resumed allowing Russians to download an app run by supporters of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny after criticism that it was acceding to unreasonable government demands for censorship.As reported by The Washington Post last month, law enforcement agents had repeatedly threatened the top Apple and Google officials in Russia with arrest in September unless they removed Navalny’s Smart Voting app, which included more than 1,000 endorsements of candidates for seats in Russia’s legislature.Those demands came as voting was about to begin, and both companies complied. Google later reinstated the app for Android phones soon after the election, while Apple did not.That changed this week, according to independent researchers and Navalny’s chief of staff, Leonid Volkov.Apple spokesmen declined to comment on the decision.The reversal comes amid escalating tensions between Russia and outside companies, many of which have withdrawn from the market or curtailed activities there since Russia invaded Ukraine. But civil liberties groups and American officials are pushing the other way, arguing that Apple and other tech companies provide ordinary Russians with the means to find independent news sources and to connect to activists and nonprofit organizations opposed to the war in Ukraine.Apps are an especially critical form of communication in Russia now because the country’s censorship apparatus has not been able to block or modify content flowing from installed apps to users’ phones.10 high-rise buildings catch fire in Severodonetsk amid shellingReturn to menuTen high-rise buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk caught fire amid “mass shelling,” according to a local military leader.It is unclear how many people were injured or killed during the strike, regional military governor Serhii Haidai wrote Wednesday afternoon on Facebook. Volunteers working in a nearby storage area for humanitarian cargo were injured, Haidai later said in an interview with the Ukrainian TV channel Inter.Video published April 6 shows people fleeing from shelling in a residential area in Severodonetsk. (Video: Facebook, Photo: Facebook)Haidai shared a video, which was verified by The Washington Post, showing a small crowd of pedestrians on Tankistiv Street crouching and running for cover in a grocery store. Seconds later, an onslaught of shelling kicks up dirt and damages a business in view of the camera.The strike comes as Ukrainian officials have warned of a Russian offensive in the eastern region and told people in the Luhansk oblast to escape while they can.In nearby Papasnoye, people have been unable to evacuate amid intense artillery fire, Haidai told Inter. Strikes in Rubezhnoye on Wednesday killed one, while seven people remain missing.Ukrainian officials urging people in eastern part of country to leaveReturn to menuBy David L. Stern3:10 p.m.MUKACHEVO, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials urged people living in the eastern part of the country to be prepared to evacuate Wednesday and in some case recommended that they start to depart, as indications grow that Russia is preparing a major assault on Ukraine’s eastern regions.In comments posted on her official webpage, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk called for residents of eastern Ukraine to “follow closely” announcements by local officials, and in the case of an announcement of an evacuation, to “listen to them.”Vereshchuk said the areas where residents are in particular danger are Donetsk, Luhansk and parts of Kharkiv regions.Vereshchuk’s statement was posted on the webpage of the ministry she heads, the Ministry for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories — a reference to the breakaway portions of Donetsk and Luhansk under Russian control.The post on the page also reprinted comments that she made Wednesday during a Ukrainian television broadcast, which took a more urgent tone.“You need to make a decision immediately,” she said, addressing the residents of the eastern Ukraine. “You have to evacuate, if this is possible. And this is possible.”If people waited, she said, then later they might not be able to escape.“You need to do it because later people will be under fire. They will be shot at, and they won’t be able to do anything,” she said. “And we won’t be able to help them.”Vereshchuk’s comments come as Western and Ukrainian officials warn that Russia is withdrawing its forces from around Kyiv and other areas to focus its operations in the east of the country.The Kharkiv regional governor, Oleh Synyehubov, also said Wednesday that local authorities “recommended” that residents evacuate from the towns of Barvinkove ​​and Lozova, south of the city of Kharkiv, near the Donetsk region.Synyehubov said that authorities were not carrying out “centralized evacuation procedures” for the city of Kharkiv at the moment.Lithuanian Olympic champ swims through blood-red pond for UkraineReturn to menuLithuania’s most decorated Olympic swimmer has returned to the water to show support for Ukraine.Ruta Meilutyte, 25, titled her action “Swimming Through,” a performance she began Wednesday as she swam through the pond outside the Russian Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, which had been dyed a symbolic blood-red.Meilutyte on Twitter described the swim as a call for action in support of the Ukrainian people, who she said are facing genocide by Russian forces. The act of swimming through the bloodlike water “symbolizes the need for continuous effort to fight through,” she wrote.Swimming ThroughThe performance “Swimming Through” is a call for action in support of the Ukrainian people who are facing genocide committed by Russia. pic.twitter.com/LuXRFms2c4— Rūta Meilutytė (@MeilutyteRuta) April 6, 2022 “It is important not to get numb to the horrific images of mass killings of Ukrainians and their pain. The seemingly never-ending horrors imposed by Russia on the Ukrainian land must not become the norm,” Meilutyte wrote.She added that it “makes it hard to remain hopeful” when countries fail to impose harsher sanctions on Russia and choose “money over people.”“Therefore it’s crucial that we keep acting — spreading truthful information, volunteering, protesting, donating, and pressuring our governments to take action,” she wrote.A 37-second clip of the performance is set to music by artist Viktoras Urbaitis, Meilutyte wrote. The performance itself was conceived by Lithuanian activists, artists and journalists, she said.The pond sits on a site known as Boris Nemtsov Square. The parkland was renamed in 2018 for Nemtsov, a Russian opposition activist and outspoken critic of Putin who was assassinated in Moscow in 2015.