Dozens of civilians on Wednesday boarded a small convoy of buses in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol. /Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
TOP HEADLINES
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia has successfully tested the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, saying the next-generation capable of carrying nuclear charges will make Kremlin's enemies "think twice".
• The United Nations said on Wednesday the number of people who have fled Ukraine since Russia began its military operation on February 24 had exceeded five million. More than half are children.
• Dozens of civilians on Wednesday boarded a small convoy of buses in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, before departing from a planned evacuation point to Ukraine-controlled territory, two Reuters news agency witnesses said.
• Ukraine said it had so far held off an assault by thousands of Russian troops attempting to advance in what Ukrainian officials call the Battle of the Donbas.
• United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has asked to meet with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine in their respective capitals, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.
• EU chief Charles Michel vowed that the bloc will do all it can to ensure Ukraine can win the war against Russia. "You are not alone. We are with you," Michel said at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to Kyiv.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said that "illegal" restrictions on Russian companies by Western states ran counter to World Trade Organization rules and told his government to update Russia's strategy in the WTO.
• President Vladimir Putin called for structural changes in Russia's metallurgical industry to counter western sanctions.
• Israel's defense minister authorized the supply of helmets and vests to Ukrainian rescue services after speaking with his Ukrainian counterpart, an official Israeli statement said.
• Tennis players from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to compete at this year's Wimbledon due to Moscow's military offensive in Ukraine, the Grand Slam's organisers said in a statement on Wednesday. The decision by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has been slammed as "unfair" by men's tour organisers the ATP.
This combination of pictures created on April 20, 2022 shows shrapnel pieces and an AK47 bullet recovered by surgeons from the bodies of wounded Ukrainian soldiers at a military hospital in Zaporizhzhia. /Ed Jones/AFP
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in a phone call on Wednesday that the outcome of talks with Ukraine completely depended on Kyiv's readiness to take into account Russia's demands.
• India's largest steelmaker (by revenue) Tata Steel, said it will stop doing business with Russia, making it the latest global company to cut ties with the country.
• Germany will stop importing oil from Russia by the end of the year, said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock after a meeting with her Baltic counterparts on Wednesday.
• The Russian ruble firmed past 77 to the dollar in volatile trade on Wednesday, while stock indexes reversed earlier losses.
• German auto supplier Continental said it had restarted production in Russia after local employees were threatened with "severe criminal consequences" if the company refused to serve local demand.
• Finland inched closer to joining NATO on Wednesday after its major parliamentary groups expressed support for some form of a military alliance as a response to Russia's military action in Ukraine.
• Ukraine has received fighter planes and aircraft parts to bolster its air force, the Pentagon said Tuesday, declining to specify the number of aircraft or their origin.
• U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to announce a new military aid package about the same size as last week's $800 million one in the coming days, sources told Reuters.
• The United States, Canada and Britain said they would send Ukraine more artillery, while Norway said it had shipped Ukraine 100 Mistral air defence missiles.
Michel is the latest foreign leader to head to Kyiv in a show of support for the pro-western authorities. /Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
IN DETAIL
EU chief: 'History will not forget war crimes' in Ukraine
EU chief Charles Michel said on Wednesday that there must be justice for war crimes committed in Ukraine as he toured the devastated town of Borodianka on a visit to the country.
"In Borodianka. Like Bucha and too many other towns in Ukraine. History will not forget the war crimes that have been committed here. There can be no peace without justice," European Council head Michel wrote on Twitter.
Michel is the latest foreign leader to head to Kyiv in a show of support for the pro-western authorities as they battle Moscow's forces.
Western nations are aiding Ukrainian and international efforts to probe alleged crimes committed by Russia's forces in areas they occupied.
Moscow's troops withdrew from towns such as Borodianka and Bucha near Kyiv at the end of March as the Kremlin refocused efforts on the east of the country.
Local authorities have said that over 1,200 bodies have been found in the Kyiv region so far. Russia denies targetting civilians.
More than five million Ukrainians flee the conflict
More than five million Ukrainians have now fled their country since the start of the conflict, the United Nations said on Wednesday, in Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 5,034,439 Ukrainians had left since Russia started its military offensive on February 24, an increase of 53,850 over Tuesday's total.
"Eight weeks into the conflict, we are at five million and counting, with five million unique stories of loss and trauma," said deputy UNHCR chief Kelly T. Clements.
The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) says more than 218,000 third-country nationals, largely students and migrant workers, have also escaped to neighboring countries. This means more than 5.25 million people in all have fled Ukraine since the conflict began.
Women and children account for 90 percent of those who fled, with men aged 18 to 60 eligible for military call-up and unable to leave.
Nearly two-thirds of all Ukrainian children have been forced from their homes, including those still inside the country.
Women and children account for 90 percent of those who fled, with men aged 18 to 60 eligible for military call-up and unable to leave. /Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
"While the sheer scale and speed of displacement is immense, we must not lose sight of what these figures mean," Clements told the UN Security Council from Hungary on Tuesday.
"Women, children, and the aged, have left their homes, their lives, their sons, their fathers and husbands. Each one of the millions of displaced are forced to make impossible, heartbreaking decisions and have left everything, almost everything, they hold dear."
More than 2.8 million Ukrainian refugees have fled to Poland. Three-quarters of a million have reached Romania.
Clements paid tribute to the humanity shown towards refugees in host countries, with communities and individuals rallying to provide food, shelter, medicine and transportation.
"This inspiring response is surpassed only by the strength and composure of refugees themselves, who continue to exude both courage and resilience," she said.
UNHCR figures show nearly 645,000 Ukrainians fled in February, with nearly 3.4 million doing so in March and just shy of a million leaving so far this month.
Beyond the refugees, the IOM estimates 7.1 million people are displaced within in Ukraine.
The bulk of the international military aid Kyiv has received since autumn of last year has come from the U.S. /Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP
U.S. preparing new $800m military aid package for Ukraine
The United States is set to approve another $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, less than a week after announcing a package of the same amount, U.S. media reported on Tuesday.
Details of the new package are still being worked out, according to CNN, which cited three senior officials in President Joe Biden's administration.
NBC News reported that the new assistance is expected to include more artillery and tens of thousands of shells as fighting escalates in the east of Ukraine.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that Biden and other world leaders had participated in a call during which they discussed providing additional ammunition and security aid to Ukraine.
Biden had unveiled an $800 million package of equipment for Kyiv on April 13, including helicopters, howitzers and armored personnel carriers.
On Monday, the Pentagon said the first shipments of this package had already arrived at Ukraine's borders to be handed over to its military.
The bulk of the international military aid Kyiv has received since autumn of last year has come from the U.S.
More than $3.2 billion in security assistance has been provided to Ukraine under President Biden, not including the anticipated new package.