TOP HEADLINES

• Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced Russian "beasts" after a video appeared to show the beheading of a Ukrainian prisoner, prompting international outrage. The emergence of the disturbing footage, which AFP was unable to independently verify, sparked fury in Ukraine, with Kyiv saying Russia is "worse than ISIS" - the Islamic State jihadist group.

• The World Bank announced a grant of $200 million toward repairing Ukraine's energy infrastructure, as officials met with financial institution leaders in Washington. READ MORE BELOW

• A Moscow court fined the Wikimedia Foundation, owner of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, 2 million roubles ($24,525) for failing to remove what the court termed "fake information" about Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, Interfax reported.

• Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said he had asked his Spanish counterpart to supply air defenses, including F-16 jets, and more ammunition to fend off Russia's military. 

• The person behind a leak of highly sensitive U.S. government documents worked on a military base and shared the material in a private online group, The Washington Post newspaper reported. The breach includes classified information about Ukraine's battle against Russian forces, as well as secret assessments of U.S. allies.

• Russia's deputy foreign minister acknowledged that detained U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich had not been granted consular access, two weeks after his arrest. The U.S. State Department has said it has sought consular access to Gershkovich since his arrest.

• Foreign aid rose to a record $204 billion last year as governments spent more on support for refugees and Ukraine following Russia's offensive, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said. 

• Hundreds of cemeteries near frontlines will be closed to Ukrainians wanting to pay their respects at graves of their relatives for Orthodox Easter this weekend due to the danger of landmines and unexploded ordnance.

• Alexei Moskalyov, a Russian man jailed for "discrediting the Russian army" after his daughter Masha drew anti-war pictures at school, has been extradited from Belarus to Russia, state-owned news agency RIA reported, citing a Belarusian official.

IN DETAIL

The World Bank announced a grant of $200 million for repairs to Ukraine's energy infrastructure, as officials met with financial institution leaders in Washington.

Russia damaged more than 50 percent of Ukraine's power infrastructure in attacks on its neighbor over the autumn and winter months, the global lender said.

It noted that Ukraine's east, where fighting is fiercest, has been particularly hard hit.

The funds were provided by the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund (URTF), with a goal of up to $300 million in additional funding from partners "as the project expands its scope," the Bank said.

The project will target emergency repairs to electricity and heating infrastructure.

"Energy infrastructure has suffered $11 billion in damages over the last year and is one of the most critical areas where Ukraine needs urgent support," said World Bank Managing Director of Operations Anna Bjerde.

The World Bank has mobilized more than $23 billion in financing for Ukraine since Russia invaded in February last year, with $20 billion disbursed so far.

The announcement came just ahead of a roundtable on Ukraine at the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), held during the crisis lender's spring meetings.

During the event, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked partners via videolink for their support and urged further backing.

"By rebuilding what has been ruined, we defeat the goal of terror, we return to normal life," he said, reiterating a call for Russian assets to be put towards Ukraine's reconstruction. 

The IMF announced on March 31 that it had approved a $15.6 billion support package for Ukraine, forming the fund's portion of a $115 billion overall support package comprising debt relief, grants and loans by multilateral and bilateral institutions.

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