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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will meet Sunday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The White House, National Security Council and State Department have declined to comment on Zelenskyy's remarks about the meeting. The Pentagon will not speak to the claim, according to two defense officials.
Eight people were killed, including a 3-month-old girl, and 18 wounded in a missile attack Saturday on the port city of Odesa on the Black Sea, Zelenskyy said in his evening address.
On Friday, what appeared to be another mass grave was discovered in the village of Vynohradne near Mariupol, according to Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the besieged southern city’s mayor.
Satellite images from U.S. defense contractor Maxar appeared to show what the firm described in a statement as several parallel trenches measuring roughly 131 feet that “are/will likely become” new gravesites. The trenches started to appear in late March, Maxar said. Russian officials did not immediately comment on the allegations.
Moscow's attempts to fully capture Mariupol have been slowed by Ukrainian resistance, according to an intelligence briefing from the U.K.’s defense ministry early Saturday.
Russian command post in Kherson destroyed, Ukrainian military says
KYIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian military said Saturday it destroyed a Russian command post in Kherson, a southern city that fell to Russian forces early in the war.
The Ukrainian military intelligence agency posted a statement saying the command post was hit on Friday and two generals were killed and one was critically wounded.
Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in an online interview that 50 senior Russian officers were in the command center when it came under attack. He said their fate was unknown.
The Russian military did not comment on the claim, which could not be confirmed.
8 killed in missile attack on Odesa, Zelenskyy says
Eight people were killed and at least 18 others were wounded in a missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Odesa on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“Ordinary peaceful people. Among those killed was a 3-month-old baby girl. How did she threaten Russia?” Zelenskyy said in an address, an English version of which was posted on the Ukrainian president’s website.
Video in the aftermath of the missile strike in the southern port city showed rescuers rappelling down the side of a damaged apartment building in the search for survivors or the wounded.
Poland, Ukraine sign agreement aimed at maintaining trade exchange
WARSAW, Poland — Poland and Ukraine have signed an agreement increasing cooperation in the railway transport sector, aiming to help Ukraine maintain its trade exchange with foreign countries as the Russian invasion affects its ports.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Poland’s premier, Mateusz Morawiecki, met on Saturday in Krakow, Poland.
Morawiecki said on Facebook that they both agreed that current sanctions on Russia are insufficient, which can be seen by the condition of the “Russian currency, bonds or inflation.” They appealed to the international community for tougher steps that would stop Russia’s aggression on Ukraine and for more military aid to help Ukraine.
Morawiecki drew special attention to the plight of civilians seeking protection in a steel plant in Mariupol, as he called for the assistance.
“In Mariupol soldiers — or rather Russian criminals want to make women and children starve to death. They are waiting until they run out of water. What kind of strategy is that? This is not war. This is genocide.”
Ukrainian official announces country-wide curfew for the night of the Orthodox Easter
KYIV, Ukraine — A top Ukrainian official has announced a country-wide curfew for the night of the Orthodox Easter.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said in a video address Saturday that in the regions most affected by the invasion -- Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson -- the curfew will run from 7 p.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. Sunday.
In others regions, including Kyiv, Odesa, Chernihiv and Lviv, the curfew will run from 11 p.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. Sunday.
Blinken, Austin to visit Ukraine, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed Saturday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Ukraine on Sunday. Zelenskyy made the announcement during a news conference in Kyiv.
“US Secretary of State Blinken and US Secretary of Defense will arrive in Ukraine tomorrow,” he said.
The White House, National Security Council and State Department have declined to comment on the remarks. The Pentagon will not speak to the claim from the Ukrainian president, according to two defense officials.
British, Ukrainian leaders discuss support
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone on Saturday afternoon, the latest chat between the two leaders who talk to each other regularly.
Johnson confirmed to Zelenskyy that the U.K. would reopen its embassy in Kyiv next week. He also updated the Ukrainian leader on new U.K. sanctions designations against members of the Russian military and told him the British government was helping to collect evidence of war crimes.
The British leader told Zelenskyy that the United Kingdom is sending more defensive weaponry including vehicles, drones and anti-tank missiles. The two also discussed the U.K.’s work on long term security solutions and financial support with international partners.
“The Prime Minister ended by reiterating the UK’s unwavering support for the people of Ukraine and committed to continue working with international partners to provide the assistance necessary to help Ukraine defend itself,” Downing Street said in a statement.
Missile strike on Ukraine’s Odesa caused casualties, says regional spokesperson
There are casualties in Ukraine’s Odesa as a result of a missile strike on the southern port city on Saturday, regional spokesperson Serhiy Bratchuk said on national television.
“There are casualties — killed and wounded,” he said, adding that the exact toll was still being determined.
