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Pope Francis made a strong call for a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine in his Easter sermon.
The pontiff delivered a heartfelt prayer for peace in his annual summary of global crises delivered from St. Peter’s Square.
This year, Francis said his mind was especially with the other peoples of Ukraine and Gaza and with all those facing the war, especially young people who, he said, had “forgotten how to smile. “
He said: “In calling for respect for the principles of foreign law, I express my hope for a general exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine: all for that of all. “
He also called for the “swift” release of prisoners captured in Israel on Oct. 7, a swift ceasefire in Gaza and humanitarian assistance for Palestinians.
Russia is “taking new preventive and defensive measures” in the Black Sea, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in its latest update.
In its report, the ministry said four barges were in front of the Black Sea Fleet’s facilities in the seaport of Novorossiysk.
He said this to “strengthen the defenses of the port” against Ukraine.
“The port of Novorossiysk now plays the role of hosting the most valuable assets of the Black Sea fleet,” the ministry said.
Most likely, the vice admiral of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was seeking to improve the chances of survival of Russian ships “by adopting more preventive and defensive measures, including cutting off access to port facilities. “
The families of those killed in Bucha remembered them at a ceremony.
Mourners piled up with flowers at the city’s cemetery to pay their respects.
What about Bucha?
Bucha is a city about 26 km northwest of Kyiv, in the Greater Kyiv region.
Following the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kyiv and the surrounding region, the scale of civilian casualties was highlighted, with corpses and mass graves appearing there.
The Bucha photographs drew foreign condemnation.
A Russian cruise missile strike on infrastructure in Ukraine’s western Lviv region killed one man, he said.
The attack destroyed a building and sparked a fire, Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi wrote on Telegram.
Rescue operations continue.
In the Kharkiv region, an airstrike killed a 19-year-old after a shell hit a fuel station.
Meanwhile, thousands of people in Ukraine’s Odesa region are temporarily without strength after debris from a downed Russian drone sparked a fire at a force facility.
Governor Oleh Kiper said 170,000 homes faced power outages as a result of the attack.
Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure in recent days, causing extensive damage in several regions.
France will deliver shipments of old armored cars and new surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said.
In an interview with La Tribune Dimanche, Lecornu said President Emmanuel Macron, after his talks with Volodymyr Zelensky, had asked him to prepare a new aid plan, which would include old but still functional French equipment.
“The Ukrainian army has to protect a very long front line, which requires armored vehicles; this is surely for the mobility of troops and is part of Ukraine’s demands,” he said.
He said France plans to supply frontline troop transport cargoes this year and early 2025.
Lecornu added that France is also preparing to launch a new batch of surface-to-air missiles.
He added: “Ukraine urgently wants greater surface-to-air defense. Russia is intensifying its attacks, especially against civilians and civilian infrastructure. “
The Russian Air Force carried out an attack on energy and fuel services in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.
The ministry used “long-range, high-precision aerial weapons” and drones.
“As a result of this strike, the operation of defence industry enterprises in the manufacture and repair of weapons, apparatus and ammunition was interrupted,” the ministry said.
“All the objectives of the attack have been met. The allotted points were reached. “
Russia today carried out an anti-terrorism operation in southern Dagestan and arrested three people, the country’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee reported.
Russia is on high alert following the mass shooting at a Moscow concert hall on March 22, the deadliest attack in the country in 20 years, with at least 144 people killed.
“The security services arrested three bandits who were planning various terrorist crimes,” the commission said today.
“During the inspection of the places where the criminals were detained, automatic weapons, ammunition and an improvised explosive device were found in a position of use. “
Ukrainian troops fired self-propelled howitzers at Russian forces in southern Ukraine.
Lately the fighting has been stagnant and Russian forces have made small territorial gains.
The head of Ukraine’s largest power company, DTEK, said five of its six plants had been broken down or destroyed and that 80% of its generation capacity had been lost after two weeks of Russian attacks.
Russian missile and drone strikes hit thermal and hydroelectric plants in central and western Ukraine on Friday night.
And last night, Volodymyr Zelenskiyy said Russia was conducting “despicable attacks” aimed at causing a “hemorrhage” of Ukrainian energy.
DTEK CEO Dmytro Sakharuk said today that the waves of attacks on March 22 and 29 affected thermal and hydropower generation “in all regions” and that distribution services were destroyed.
“To be more specific, five of our six stations were severely damaged, some equipment was destroyed, others were reduced to 50 or more,” he said.
He added that maintenance could last up to 18 months.