The wives of two Ukrainian soldiers holed up in a steel factory in Mariupol met Pope Francis on Wednesday and asked him to help arrange the evacuation of the troops before Russian soldiers overrun the sprawling factory.
Yuliia Fedusiuk, who met the Pope at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, said the mill had run out of food and water, some soldiers were wounded and dead and the survivors were ready to leave. to lie down their arms. But they want to be evacuated to a third country, afraid they would be tortured and killed if they surrendered to the Russians.
“You are our last hope. We hope you can save their lives, Kateryna Prokopenko said, crying as she greeted Francis. “Please don’t let them die.”
The plea came a day after the US House of Representatives passed a package of about $40 billion in urgently needed aid for Ukraine, $7 billion more than Congressional President Joe Biden requested.
“The additional funds included in this bill will allow us to send more weapons, such as artillery, armored vehicles and ammunition, to Ukraine,” press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Tuesday evening. “And they will help us replenish our supplies and support US forces on NATO territory.”
The bill now goes to the Senate — and Biden urged passage as soon as possible, saying he is “nearly using up” existing aid money for Ukraine.
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Latest developments:
►British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited Sweden, promised to support his country if Sweden or Finland were attacked. Both countries are expected to announce whether they will join NATO this week.
►World Unite for Ukraine has announced it will stream a benefit concert featuring music from Pink Floyd, AJR, Crash Test Dummies and other bands on June 16. Organizers hope to raise $10 million to alleviate Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis.
►Leonid Kravchuk, who led Ukraine to independence during the collapse of the Soviet Union and served as its first president, died Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said. He was 88.
►Lt. Gene. Scott Berrier, who heads the Defense Intelligence Agency, said on Tuesday that eight to 10 Russian generals were killed in the war in Ukraine.
Russian soldier in Ukrainian custody faces first trial for war crimes
A 21-year-old Russian soldier allegedly killed an unarmed civilian riding a bicycle in a village in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine on Feb. 28 becomes the first person to face charges of war crimes since the beginning of the Ukrainian Attorney General Iryna Venediktova announced on Wednesday.
Vadim Shishimarin, a prisoner of war, is accused of firing a Kalashnikov machine gun through the open window of a car at a 62-year-old resident of Chupakhivka village. If found guilty of first degree murder, Shishimarin could face up to life in prison. A trial date is expected to be announced this week, Venediktova’s office told USA TODAY. Ukrainian authorities released their first war crimes charges late last month linked to alleged incidents in Bucha, a suburb of Kiev, in March.
Sanctions slow down Russia’s ability to replenish precision weapons
Sanctions preventing Russia from acquiring electronic parts have taken a “bite” on its ability to supplement precision-guided weapons, a Pentagon official said. The official, who is not authorized to speak publicly about intelligence assessments, said there are signs that Russia’s stockpiles of precision weapons are dwindling, forcing Russians to rely on older bombs that are not guided to their targets by satellites or lasers, the official said. officer. †
So-called “dumb bombs” are dropped in Mariupol, killing hundreds of civilians and destroying homes and businesses.
Russia could annex the Ukrainian city of Kherson
Russia-appointed authorities in the southern Ukraine city of Kherson said on Wednesday that they will ask President Vladimir Putin to annex the region. Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the regional military-civilian administration, said there were no plans to create a separate republic like the one sought in the eastern Donbas region. He also said that a bank for converting money into Russian rubles will start operating in the region by the end of May and will eventually be integrated into the Bank of Russia.
Kherson, a port city on the Black Sea with nearly 300,000 inhabitants, is one of the few major cities in Ukraine under Russian control.
“There will be no referendums,” Stemousov said. “It will be a decree based on an appeal from Kherson’s regional leaders to the Russian president.”
Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak rejected the plan, suggesting that those appointed by Russia request to join “Mars or Jupiter”.
“The Ukrainian army will liberate Kherson, whatever word games the occupiers come up with,” Podoliak said.
US, Europe condemn Russian cyber attack ahead of invasion
The United States, the European Union and Britain jointly blamed Russia for a cyber attack on Ukraine that took place just an hour before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 24 invasion. The cyber attack disrupted satellite communications used by the Ukrainian military and also hit European countries, an EU statement released Tuesday.
“Cyber attacks targeting Ukraine, including against critical infrastructure, could spread to other countries and cause systemic effects that endanger the security of European citizens,” the statement said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Tuesday that the cyber attack was just one in a series that began in mid-January. Russia’s digital attacks on Ukraine include stolen and deleted data, disrupted telecommunications and attempts to cut power.
Contributions: The Associated Press