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Former Georgian president predicts Ukraine victory, labels Zelenskyy 'new Churchill'

Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia who fought and lost a short war against Russia to reclaim renegade regions, says Ukraine will defeat Moscow and has hailed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a "new Churchill".

Saakashvili, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, lost control of around one-fifth of Georgian territory during a 2008 war in which Russian forces garrisoned two breakaway regions.

Saakashvili, who has worked with Zelenskyy in the past, was sentenced in Georgia to six years in prison in absentia in 2018 for abusing his office during his presidency.

He is currently on trial for illegally entering Georgia after returning to the country. His defence has dismissed all charges against him as politically motivated.

Explosions rock Kyiv after Guterres meeting

At least two explosions were heard on Thursday evening in the Ukrainian capital shortly after a meeting between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The explosions, which sent plumes of black smoke into the air, came shortly after the two leaders held a press conference in which Guterres condemned the atrocities committed in towns like Bucha, where evidence of mass killings of civilians was found after Russia retreated.

"This says a lot about Russia's real attitude towards international institutions, about the efforts of Russian leaders to humiliate the UN and everything the organisation stands for," Zelenskyy said in a video posted on his Telegram channel.

The explosions caused fires in at least two high-rise buildings. In footage released by the Ukrainian presidency, Guterres walked across a courtyard and met Zelenskyy outside before their meeting.

Guterres and his team were "safe" but "shocked", UN spokesperson Saviano Abreu told reporters in a message.

Kyiv has largely escaped the heavy shelling Russian forces have inflicted on other areas of Ukraine.

Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians return home after prisoner exchange with Russia

Russia has handed over 33 Ukrainian soldiers, including 13 officers, in an exchange of prisoners of war with Ukraine, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Thursday.

"We are also bringing home 12 civilians," Vereshchuk wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Five of the troops exchanged on Thursday had been wounded, she said.

Vereshchuk did not say how many Russians were involved in the exchange.

UN Security Council failed to prevent war in Ukraine, secretary-general says

The UN Security Council has "failed to prevent and end" the war in Ukraine, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a news conference in Kyiv on Thursday.

"The Security Council has failed to do what it can to prevent and end this war," Guterres said alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling it "a source of great disappointment, frustration and anger".
 

Ukraine's prosecutor identifies 10 suspects accused of Bucha atrocities

Ukraine’s prosecutor on Thursday identified 10 Russian soldiers she accused of atrocities in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, one of the war’s major flashpoints that helped galvanise Western support of Ukraine.

Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said on Facebook that the 10 soldiers in Russia’s 64th Separate Motorized Rifle Ground Forces Brigade who occupied Bucha were “involved in the torture of peaceful people.”

She did not specifically say that her office had filed criminal charges and appealed to the public to help develop evidence.

The 10 suspects included officers as high as a general, as well as privates. The Russian government denies it targets civilians.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently honoured the brigade’s work, and Venediktova said he bears responsibility for the soldiers’ actions as their commander-in-chief.

“During the occupation of Bucha, they took unarmed civilians hostage, killed them with hunger and thirst, kept them on their knees with hands tied and eyes taped, mocked and beat them,” Venediktova said.

She added that the Russian soldiers threatened to shoot the hostages and looted houses.

Biden: Proxy war claims 'not true' 

US President Jow Biden has rejected the idea that NATO is waging a proxy war against Russia, as the country's FM has claimed. 

He said at the White House on Thursday that the idea of a larger proxy war was concerning but “not true," while promising an additional $33 billion in military aid to Ukraine. 

“Instead of saying that the Ukrainians, equipped with some capability to resist Russian forces, are doing this, they’ve got to tell their people that the United States and all of NATO is engaged,” Biden said.

Russia’s foreign minister has accused Nato of fighting a proxy war by supplying military aid to Ukraine, as defence ministers gathered in Germany on Tuesday for US-hosted talks on arming Ukraine. 

“Nato, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy," said Sergei Lavrov.

"War means war.”

UK nationals killed in Ukraine 

The UK government has announced that a British national has been killed in Ukraine, while another is missing. 

The Foreign Office said Thursday it was supporting the family of a UK citizen killed in Ukraine, saying it was "urgently seeking further information" on another whose whereabouts are currently unknown. 

No further details were provided by the government. 

The Britons were believed to have been fighting with Ukrainians against Russian forces, reported Sky News. 

British volunteers - alongside those from around the world - have travelled to fight in Ukraine, despite being warned not to do so by their governments. 

(AP)

Spain tries to cushion itself from Ukraine war

Spain's parliament has approved a €16 million relief package to cushion the impact of soaring energy prices amid the war in Ukraine.

The new bill was only narrowly approved by MPs, with 176 votes in favour and 172 against.

Thirteen lawmakers from the Republican Left of Catalonia -- which normally supports the Spanish government -- voted against the motion.

Russian nuclear threats are 'irresponsible' and 'desperate', says Biden

US president Joe Biden has said Russia's nuclear warnings are "irresponsible" and "show a sense of desperation."

Speaking on Thursday, Biden called Vladimir Putin's threats to deploy nuclear weapons "empty comments", adding that "it's responsible" to suggest using them. 

"It shows the sense of desperation that Russia feels in the face of its miserable failure to achieve its original goals," he added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has previously said in an interview CNN that Russia would use nuclear weapons if its very existence were threatened.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, Putin put the country's nuclear forces on high alert. 

'More than 8,000 cases' of war crimes identified by Ukrainian prosecution, official claims

Ukrainian investigators have identified "more than 8,000 cases" of alleged war crimes since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine's chief prosecutor Iryna Venediktova said Thursday.

"We now have more than 8,000 cases," she said in an interview with German media outlet Deutsche Welle.

German MPs approve sending heavy weapons to Ukraine

German lawmakers have voted in favour of sending heavy weapons to Ukraine, a symbolic decision that reflects the government's change of course on the issue.

Thursday's non-binding motion — with 586 lawmakers in favour, 100 against and seven abstentions — received support from governing parties and the main opposition Union bloc of ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Germany had initially refused to send any offensive weapons to Ukraine and later balked at sending heavy equipment such as armoured vehicles.

Under pressure domestically and from allies, Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government agreed recently to let Ukraine purchase German armaments and support weapons swaps with allies who in turn are sending heavy gear to Ukraine.

Germany has already sent about 2,500 anti-aircraft missiles, 900 bazookas, and millions of rounds of ammunition, hand grenades and mines to Ukraine, the dpa news agency reported.

It now plans to give armored vehicles to Slovenia to replace Soviet-era tanks the country is sending to Ukraine, send mortars directly to Ukraine and let Kyiv purchase mothballed self-propelled armoured anti-aircraft guns from Germany.

German companies have also asked to send 88 Leopard tanks, 100 Marder armoured vehicles and 100 howitzers to Ukraine, permission for which has yet to be granted. (AP)

Moscow warns of Europe security threat after UK call for Russia to exit Ukraine

It comes after the UK's top diplomat called for Russian forces to be "pushed out" of Ukraine. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the West must "double down" on arms supplies to Ukraine and "prepare for the long-haul."

The Kremlin said European security is threatened by Western arms supplies, and the "tendency to pump weapons" into Ukraine threatens security and provokes instability.

Read the full story here:

Moscow warns of security risk after UK call for Russia to exit Ukraine

The Kremlin says European security is threatened by Western arms after UK call to push Russia out of 'whole of Ukraine'. #EuropeNews

Chancellor Scholz defends Germany's fuel purchases from Russia 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is defending his country’s ongoing purchase of gas and other fossil fuels from Russia.

Speaking during a visit to Japan on Thursday, Scholz said that “it is a challenge that many European countries, including Germany, are dependent on imports of fossil resources from Russia.”

Scholz said his government aims to end imports of Russian coal and oil this year. He said that “the same will happen for gas, but that is a process that will require more time.”

Asked whether he was concerned Russia might stop shipping gas to Germany, like it did this week for Poland and Bulgaria, Scholz acknowledged that “any interruption would have consequences for the economic situation.”

He said this was also the reason why there no sanctions have so far been imposed on energy supplies from Russia, adding this had been decided “in close cooperation with our partners who themselves are energy exporters and therefore in a different starting position, such as the United States.”

Scholz said: “Whether and what decisions the Russian government takes in this regard one can only speculate, but it makes little sense to do so.”

(AP)

UN preparing for Mariupol evacuation attempt

The UN coordinator in Ukraine said she is preparing an attempt to evacuate the besieged city of Mariupol.

The port city is almost entirely controlled by Russian forces after weeks of constant bombardment, but it is thought there are still thousands of civilians still living there, including a thousand trapped inside a vast steel plant which is the last holdout of Ukrainian resistance.

“I am going to Zaporizhzhia to prepare for hopeful evacuation of Mariupol” Osnat Lubrani wrote on Twitter.

"The UN is fully mobilized to help save Ukrainian lives and to assist those in need" she said.

On Wednesday, the Mariupol 36th Marine Brigade Commander Sergei Volynsky appealed for help again, saying he had 600 wounded soldiers and hundreds of civilians with him.

The UN said on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin had accepted "in principle" the involvement of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the evacuation of civilians stranded in the steel plant. 

(AFP)

UN: Almost 5.4 million Ukrainians have fled the country since war began

Nearly 5.4 million Ukrainian refugees have fled their country since the invasion by Russian troops on 24 February, according to new figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) published on Thursday.

While the flow has slowed markedly since March, the UN expects there to be three million more refugees by the end of the year.

According to the UNHCR, as of 27 April some 5,372,854 Ukrainians had left their country since the start of the Russian invasion. That's 55,635 more than the day before.

Women and children represent 90% of these refugees, as men aged 18 to 60 who could be mobilised into the military don't have the right to leave. 

Almost two-thirds of Ukrainian children have had to flee their homes, including those still in the country.

More than 7.7 million people have left their homes but are still in Ukraine, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Prior to the Russian invasion, Ukraine had a population of 37 million people in areas under its government's control. This figure excludes Crimea which was annexed in 2014 by Russia, and the eastern regions controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

(AFP)

Bulgarian PM wants to send military aid to Ukraine

Bulgaria's Prime Minister Kiril Petkov says he hopes lawmakers will agree next week to send military assistance to Ukraine.

He made the comments on Thursday during a visit to the Ukrainian town of Borodianka. 

Petkov was due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv later Thursday. After viewing damage caused to Borodianka during the initial Russian advance, Petkov said “we cannot be indifferent. We cannot say that this is a Ukrainian problem, we cannot say some people are dying but we are not interested in that.”

He criticised the argument of some politicians in Bulgaria that denying military aid to Ukraine would bring about a faster peace.

Petkov said: “If this is the price of peace, if the Russian state continues to fire and no one can defend himself -- is this the peace we want?”

(AP)

Russian cyber attacks aggressively targeting Ukranian society

Digital assaults by Russia against Ukraine have focused on data collection, with potentially chilling consequences, writes AP. 

On the eve of Russia's invasion, Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs, which oversees the police, national guard and border patrol, was breached. 

Experts say this hack, alongside another on Ukraine's automobile insurance database, gave Russia rich information on large swathes of Ukraine's population, which it can use to locate and potentially target Ukrainians likely to resist their occupation. 

Auto insurance data is “fantastically useful information if you’re planning an occupation,” Jack Watling, a military analyst at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute.

“The idea was to kill or imprison these people at the early stages of occupation,” Victor Zhora, a senior Ukrainian cyber defence official, alleged. 

Serhii Demediuk, deputy secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said to AP via email that personal data continues to be a priority for Russian hackers as they attempt more government network breaches: “Cyberwarfare is really in the hot phase nowadays.”

There is little doubt political targeting is a goal. Ukraine says Russian forces have killed and kidnapped local leaders where they grab territory.

(AP)

'Deadly danger' to Mariupol civilians, as UN attempts evacuation

Authorities are alarmed about the "danger" posed by near-apocalyptic conditions in the battered city of Mariupol, with the UN saying it is preparing an evacuation attempt.

On Telegram, Mariupol City Council warned on Thursday that “deadly epidemics may break out in the city due to the lack of centralised water supply and sewerage, the decomposition of thousands of corpses under the rubble, [and] a catastrophic shortage of drinking water and food.”

These medieval conditions were threatening to ravage the 100,000 remaining residents in Mariupol with diseases like cholera and dysentery, it said. The besieged port city was once home to some 450,000 people. 

These warnings come as the UN coordinator in Ukraine announced Thursday she was heading to the south of the country to help prepare an evacuation attempt in Mariupol, which is now almost entirely controlled by Russian forces.

“The invaders are not able to provide the remaining population with food, water and medicines -- or are simply not interested in that," read the city council's Telegram post, citing Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko. 

“Living conditions in the ruined Mariupol are now medieval," it read. "An immediate and complete evacuation is needed.”

(AFP/AP)

Stop 'trying our patience', Russia FM warns west 

The Russian Foreign Ministry has warned the west that it must stop "trying our patience" over Ukrainian cross-border strikes. 

"We would like Kyiv and western capitals to take seriously the statement by the Russian ministry of defence that further provocation prompting Ukraine to strike against Russian facilities will be met with a harsh response from Russia," said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign affairs ministry. 

"Advisors from Western countries staying in Ukraine’s decision-making centres will not necessarily be a problem for Russia’s response measures," she added in her Thursday press briefing, which was directed particularly at the UK. 

"We do not advise you to continue trying our patience." 

Zakharova cited comments by the UK armed forces minister James Heappey, who said on Tuesday it would be "entirely legitimate" for Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia. 

This was seen by Russia as a call for Ukraine to take action, she said. 

Heappey was "effectively calling for Kyiv to use weapons provided by NATO countries," according to Zakharova.

UN Secretary General visits site of atrocities in Bucha

UN Secretary General António Guterres called on Moscow on Thursday to "agree to cooperate" with the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into possible war crimes perpetrated in Ukraine.

He made the comments during a visit to the suburb of Bucha, which has become a symbol of the atrocities committed since the start of the Russian invasion.

"When we see this horrible site, I see how important it is to have a full investigation and to establish accountability," Mr Guterres said. "I call on Russia to agree to cooperate with the ICC," he added.

The Ukrainians accuse the Russians of having massacred civilians in Bucha, Borodianka, and other suburbs of Kyiv that Russian troops occupied in March before withdrawing.

For his first visit to Ukraine since the start of the conflict on 24 February, Mr Guterres visited Bucha and Borodianka on Thursday morning.

"I imagine my family in one of these now destroyed and blackened houses," he said earlier in front of ruined dwellings in Borodianka. "I see my granddaughters running in panic. War is nonsense in the 21st century, no war is acceptable in the 21st century," he added.

Before returning to Kyiv where he was to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the afternoon, Mr Guterres continued his visit to Irpin, where the fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces was particularly bloody.

“Everyone should always remember one thing: in any war, it is always the civilians who pay the highest price,” he said, in front of a partially destroyed apartment building. by the bombings.

(AFP)

NATO: Finland and Sweden 'could join quite quickly'

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says that Finland and Sweden would be embraced with open arms should they decide to join the 30-nation military organization and could join quite quickly.

Stoltenberg’s remarks Thursday come as public support in Finland and Sweden for NATO membership grows in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. Media speculation in the two countries suggests the two might apply in mid-May.

Stoltenberg says that “it’s their decision. But if they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be warmly welcomed, and I expect that process to go quickly.”

He gave no precise time frame, but did say that the two could expect some protection should Russia try to intimidate them from the time they apply until they formally join.

Stoltenberg says he’s “confident that there are ways to bridge that interim period in a way which is good enough and works for both Finland and Sweden.”

NATO’s collective security guarantee ensures that all member countries must come to the aid of any ally under attack. Stoltenberg added that many NATO allies have now pledged or provided a total of at least $8 billion in military support to Ukraine.

(AP)

Russian forces intensify attack on Mariupol steel mill

Satellite photos show Russian fire is intensifying on a steel mill that is the last Ukrainian-held area in the city of Mariupol.

The images by Planet Labs PBC shot Wednesday show that concentrated attacks have greatly damaged a central facility at the Azovstal steelworks.

An estimated 1,000 civilians are sheltering along with about 2,000 Ukrainian fighters in the steelworks, a massive Soviet-era complex with a warren of underground facilities built to withstand airstrikes.

Mariupol, a strategic port city on the Sea of Azov, is viewed as crucial for the Russians in the war.

The new images come as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visits Ukraine and plans to speak to Ukraine’s president about his efforts to negotiate with Moscow for a corridor for people to leave the besieged area.

(AP)

IAEA chief wants access to Europe's largest nuclear power station

The International Atomic Energy Agency's director-general says the level of safety at Europe’s largest nuclear plant, currently under Russian occupation in Ukraine, is like a “red light blinking” as his organization tries in vain to get access for work including repairs.

Grossi said that the IAEA needs access to the Zaporizhzhia plant in southern Ukraine so its inspectors can, among other things, reestablish connections with the Vienna-based headquarters of the UN agency. And for that, both Russia and Ukraine need to help.

The plant requires repairs, “and all of this is not happening. So the situation as I have described it, and I would repeat it today, is not sustainable as it is," Grossi said. “So this is a pending issue. This is a red light blinking.”

(AP)

Russia increasing the pace of eastern offensive 

Ukraine’s General Staff says Russia is increasing the pace of its offensive in the east of the country, the goal of which is to take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and have a land corridor to Crimea.

The Russian forces “are exerting intense fire” in almost all directions, the General Staff said in their Thursday morning update, with the “greatest activity observed in Slobozhanske and Donetsk directions.”

Strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, continue, the update said, and more forces have been moved to the city of Izyum. In the Donetsk direction, the Russian troops are focusing on encircling the Ukrainian forces.

Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian forces have repelled six attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the General Staff said.

(AP)

Germany the biggest buyer of Russian energy since war began

An independent research group says Germany was the biggest buyer of Russian energy during the first two months since the start of the war in Ukraine.

A study published by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air calculates that Russia earned $66.5 billion from fossil fuel exports since Russian troops attacked Ukraine on 24 February. 

Using data on ship movements, real-time tracking of gas flows through pipelines and estimates based on historical monthly trade, the researchers reckon Germany paid Russia about €9.1 billion for fossil fuel deliveries in the first two months of the war.

The German government says it can’t comment on estimates and declines to provide any figures of its own.

(AP)

Survey: Majority of Americans concerned about Russian misinformation on Ukraine

A majority of US adults say misinformation around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a major problem, and they largely fault the Russian government for spreading those falsehoods.

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows 61% of Americans say the spread of misinformation about the war is a major problem, with only 7% saying it's not a problem. Older adults were more likely to identify the wartime misinformation as an issue, with 44% of those under 30 calling it a problem, compared with 65% of those 30 and older.

About three-quarters of the American public fault the Russian government for advancing misinformation around the war, while many also blame social media users, tech companies and the news media. Far fewer place a great deal of blame on the Ukrainian or US governments.

“Russia’s reach is broad,” said Darren Linvill, a Clemson University professor who studies disinformation. “They have a lot of different outlets that they use -- everything from state media, in Russian, English and especially Spanish.”

The poll shows a majority of Americans -- about 57% -- say they think Putin has directed Russian troops to commit war crimes, while 6% say they think he has not done so. An additional 36% say they don’t know enough to say.

(AP)

UK Ministry of Defence: Despite losses, Russian navy still a threat

Britain's Ministry of Defence is warning that despite losses, Russia's navy is still a threat to Ukraine in the Black Sea. 

In its latest intelligence update published Thursday morning, the MoD says there are around 20 Russian Navy vessels operating in the Black Sea, including submarines. 

"Despite the embarrassing losses of the landing ship Saratov and cruiser Moskva, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet retains the ability to strike Ukrainian and coastal targets."

Poll: Increased support for NATO membership in Finland

A new public opinion poll published by the main daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat on Thursday shows an increase in support for NATO membership. 

The poll finds 65% in favour of joining NATO; 13% against joining; and 22% still undecided.

A previous survey by the newspaper earlier in April found 59% in favour of joining the military alliance. Until the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, only around 25% of Finns actively supported NATO membership, a number that had changed very little in polling over the past two decades.  

Just over a thousand people took part in the new poll, which was carried out over the last seven days. It found that 59% of women and more than 70% of men are in favour of Finland's NATO membership.

Support is highest among older people, and lower among young people -- but more than half of those aged 30 are already in favour of joining NATO.

When it comes to support across political lines, a clear majority of Social Democrat, Centre Party and Greens -- the three main red-green government coalition parties -- are in favour of joining. There's also a clear majority of support among the two biggest opposition parties: the centre-right National Coalition Party and the far-right Finns Party. 

(Euronews)

Explosions knock Kherson television channels off air

In the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, a series of explosions boomed near the television tower late Wednesday and at least temporarily knocked Russian channels off the air, Ukrainian and Russian news organizations reported.

The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said missiles and rockets were fired at the city from the direction of the Ukrainian forces to the northwest.

Kherson has been occupied by Russian forces since early in the war.

Ukrayinska Pravda, an online newspaper, said the strikes set off a fire and knocked Russian television channels off the air.

RIA Novosti said the broadcast later resumed. It said Russian channels began broadcasting from Kherson last week.

Russia has been determined to strengthen its control over the city, but residents have continued to come out onto the streets to protest the occupation.

(AP)

Zelenskyy: Russia uses energy exports as "weapons" 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Russia had launched a "new round" of "blackmail" against Europe after cutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.

In his daily address, Zelenskyy said Moscow sees energy exports and trade as "weapons" with which to pursue its military and political aims.

"The sooner everyone in Europe acknowledges that its trade can't depend on Russia, the sooner it will be possible to guarantee the stability of European markets," Zelenskyy said.

The cutoff by Russia's state-controlled energy company came after President Vladimir Putin said “unfriendly” countries would need to start paying for gas in rubles, Russia's currency, which Bulgaria and Poland refused to do.

Zelenskyy also praised the European Commission's proposal to remove all tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian exports to the EU for a year.

(AP)

Canada's parliament condemns "genocide" by Russia against Ukraine

Canadian MPs on Wednesday passed a motion condemning Russia's "acts of genocide against the Ukrainian people" and acknowledging that there is "clear and abundant evidence of systematic and massive war crimes and crimes against humanity."

“The House of Commons has passed a motion regarding acts of genocide against the Ukrainian people,” the lower house of parliament announced on Twitter.

The text was adopted unanimously.

The motion states that there "is clear and abundant evidence of systematic and massive war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against the people of Ukraine by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin." .  

These "crimes" include in particular torture, "mass atrocities in Ukrainian territories", the "forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russian territory", or even "large-scale cases of physical, mental violence and rape ".

By validating this text, the House of Commons "recognizes that the Russian Federation is committing acts of genocide against the Ukrainian people", according to the document.

The adoption of this text comes about ten days after the Ukrainian Parliament passed a similar resolution.

In mid-April, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau had for the first time mentioned a "genocide" in Ukraine, after US President Joe Biden, a term deemed "unacceptable" by the Kremlin.

(AFP)