Ukraine News Russian Oil Ban Key Step To Peace

KIEV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that existing sanctions on Russia were “painful” but not enough to stop the Russian military.
Zelensky called on the “democratic world” to ban Russian oil.  While US lawmakers and US President Joe Biden have enacted such a ban, Europe relies more on Russian energy supplies and the US is working to prevent India from stepping up its use of Russian energy.
“In general, the democratic world must accept that Russia’s money for energy resources is in fact money for the destruction of democracy,” Zelensky said in his overnight video address to his nation.
He added: “The sooner the democratic world recognizes that the oil embargo against Russia and the complete closure of its banking sector are necessary steps towards peace, the sooner the war will end.”
—–
KIEV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed the fate of the besieged port city of Mariupol in a meeting Friday with the country’s military leaders and intelligence chiefs.
“The details cannot be made public now, but we are doing everything we can to save our people,” Zelensky said in his overnight video address to the nation.
Elsewhere in southern Ukraine, he said, Russian troops occupying areas around Kherson and Zaporizhia were terrorizing civilians and looking for anyone who had served in the military or government.
“The occupiers believe that this will make it easier for them to control this territory. But they are very wrong. They are making fun of themselves,” Zelensky said.
He added: “The problem of the occupiers is not that they are not accepted by some activists, veterans or journalists. Russia’s problem is that it is not accepted – and will never be accepted – by the whole Ukrainian people. Russia lost Ukraine forever. “
——
ATLANTA – CIA Director William Burns says no one can take lightly the threat that Russia could use regular or low-efficiency nuclear weapons, but has seen no “practical evidence” that it’s imminent.
Speaking to an audience at the Georgia Institute of Technology on Thursday, Burns said “potential despair” by Russian leaders about portraying a victory in Ukraine increases the risk of using nuclear weapons.
“None of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential recourse to regular nuclear weapons or low-efficiency nuclear weapons,” Burns said.  “We do not.”
——
ROME – The war in Ukraine erupted over the traditional Good Friday procession at the Colosseum in Rome, as the Vatican’s choice of a Russian as one of the crusaders angered Ukrainians.
Participants in the festive torchlight procession at the ancient arena on Friday night took turns taking a simple, tall and thin cross as part of the commemoration of Jesus’ suffering and death from the crucifixion.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican and the archbishop of Kiev earlier this week denounced the Vatican’s plan to bring a Ukrainian and a Russian woman with the cross during the procession.  They opposed the projection of what they saw as the idea of ​​reconciliation, while Ukraine is being destroyed by the war being unleashed by Russia.
The Vatican has not responded to the protests.  Pope Francis has denounced the February 24 invasion and attacks on Ukraine as “sacrilege”, but has avoided naming Russia as an attacker.
Other believers applauded the decision to pair the two women.  They work together in a palliative care unit at a hospital in Rome and are friends.
——
BELGRADE, Serbia – Hundreds of protesters rallied in support of Russia, holding pictures of Vladimir Putin and T-shirts symbolizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A rally in central Belgrade on Friday was held to protest Serbia’s vote last week at the United Nations in support of Russia’s expulsion from the UN Human Rights Council.
Serbia remains the only country in Europe that has not imposed sanctions on Russia, but right-wing groups are angry that Belgrade voted against Moscow at the UN.
Local media reported that masked protesters lit flares and smoke bombs outside the offices of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during the demonstration and placed a Russian flag on the presidency building.
Several similar demonstrations have taken place in Serbia since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Many Serbs remain loyal to Russia, convinced that Moscow was provoked by the West to launch an invasion.
Anti-Western sentiment in Serbia stems from the 1999 NATO airstrikes that forced Belgrade to relinquish control of the province of Kosovo.  Belgrade enjoyed Russian support in trying to maintain a territorial claim to Western-backed independence in 2008.
——–
The governor of the Kharkiv region says seven people, including a seven-month-old child, have been killed in bombings in a residential neighborhood in the city.
Oleh Sinehubov told the Telegram on Friday that another 34 people had been injured.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, has been hit hard by bombings and rocket attacks during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  The location of the city about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Russia and 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of the separatist eastern regions of Ukraine gives it significant strategic importance.
——
A senior U.S. defense official says the United States believes that a Russian guided missile that sank in the North Black Sea on Thursday was hit by at least one Ukrainian anti-ship missile, according to the Kiev government.
Pentagon officials had previously said they could not confirm the Ukrainian allegation, but also did not deny it.  A senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an intelligence assessment, said Moskva had been hit by at least one, and possibly two, Neptune rockets on Wednesday, setting the ship on fire.
The official did not give further details than that the US believes that the Russians suffered a number of casualties on board.
——
LVIB, Ukraine – The bodies of more than 900 civilians were found in the Kiev region after the withdrawal of Russian forces, the regional police chief said in a statement on Friday.
Andriy Nebytov, head of the Kiev regional police force, said the bodies had been abandoned on the streets or temporarily buried.  He cited police figures showing that 95% of the victims had died from sniper fire and gunshot wounds.
“Consequently, we understand that under (Russian) occupation, people were simply executed on the streets,” Nebitov said.  “The number of dead civilians has exceeded 900 – and I emphasize, these are citizens, whose bodies we discovered and handed over for forensic examination.”
He added that more bodies were found every day, under the rubble and in mass graves.
“Most of the victims were found in Bucha, where there are more than 350 bodies,” he said.
According to Nebytov, employees of utilities in Bucha were collecting and burying corpses in the suburbs of Kiev, while it remained under Russian control.  Nebitov added that Russian troops “locate” people who expressed strong pro-Ukrainian views.
——
KIEV, Ukraine – Two civilians were killed by shrapnel wounds after a rocket fired near the southern Ukrainian city of Kakhovka, according to a Facebook post posted by Kakhovka municipal authorities the same day.
“It was not a calm morning in Kakhovka. Five people with injuries were admitted to Kakhovka Municipal Hospital. Two dead, three injured (one of them is in critical condition in intensive care, two have moderate injuries),” Kakhovka Municipal wrote in the Territorial Community.
The municipality added that all five were hit by shrapnel after leaving their homes to see the remains of a rocket being dropped over the nearby town of Tavriisk.
It was not immediately clear which of the warring parties had fired the gun and which had shot it down.
The post continued urging locals to stay inside and stay away from windows if they hear gunshots or explosions.
——
The website of France’s state broadcaster, RFI, appeared unavailable in Russia on Friday after the country’s media and internet watchdog added one of its pages with critical coverage of the Ukraine war to its list of excluded of its websites.
The communications agency, Roskomnadzor, restricted access to news sites this week by a decision by Russia’s attorney general on Tuesday banning stores that publish “information that incites mass unrest, extremist activity or participation in mass (public) activities.” riots and unreliable information of public importance “.
According to the Roskomnadzor registry, authorities blocked an RFI article referring to a report in the French magazine Le Figaro claiming that Russian soldiers raped women in Ukraine, but the station said its entire website was down. in Russia.
Earlier on Friday, Roskomnadzor apparently cut off access to the Russian-language site of Russia’s leading independent English-language news agency, The Moscow Times, citing the same decision.
On Wednesday, Russian state media also reported that the agency had ordered a Russian streaming platform to remove all podcasts published by the BBC, whose Russian-language website was shut down in March along with those of US and German news agencies.
——
MOSCOW – The wife of a Ukrainian politician detained by Kyiv for treason has accused Ukrainian security services of torturing her husband and plotting his escape from house arrest in a press …

title: “Ukraine News Russian Oil Ban Key Step To Peace " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-16” author: “James Headrick”

KIEV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that existing sanctions on Russia were “painful” but not enough to stop the Russian military.
Zelensky called on the “democratic world” to ban Russian oil.  While US lawmakers and US President Joe Biden have enacted such a ban, Europe relies more on Russian energy supplies and the US is working to prevent India from stepping up its use of Russian energy.
“In general, the democratic world must accept that Russia’s money for energy resources is in fact money for the destruction of democracy,” Zelensky said in his overnight video address to his nation.
He added: “The sooner the democratic world recognizes that the oil embargo against Russia and the complete closure of its banking sector are necessary steps towards peace, the sooner the war will end.”
—–
KIEV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed the fate of the besieged port city of Mariupol in a meeting Friday with the country’s military leaders and intelligence chiefs.
“The details cannot be made public now, but we are doing everything we can to save our people,” Zelensky said in his overnight video address to the nation.
Elsewhere in southern Ukraine, he said, Russian troops occupying areas around Kherson and Zaporizhia were terrorizing civilians and looking for anyone who had served in the military or government.
“The occupiers believe that this will make it easier for them to control this territory. But they are very wrong. They are making fun of themselves,” Zelensky said.
He added: “The problem of the occupiers is not that they are not accepted by some activists, veterans or journalists. Russia’s problem is that it is not accepted – and will never be accepted – by the whole Ukrainian people. Russia lost Ukraine forever. “
——
ATLANTA – CIA Director William Burns says no one can take lightly the threat that Russia could use regular or low-efficiency nuclear weapons, but has seen no “practical evidence” that it’s imminent.
Speaking to an audience at the Georgia Institute of Technology on Thursday, Burns said “potential despair” by Russian leaders about portraying a victory in Ukraine increases the risk of using nuclear weapons.
“None of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential recourse to regular nuclear weapons or low-efficiency nuclear weapons,” Burns said.  “We do not.”
——
ROME – The war in Ukraine erupted over the traditional Good Friday procession at the Colosseum in Rome, as the Vatican’s choice of a Russian as one of the crusaders angered Ukrainians.
Participants in the festive torchlight procession at the ancient arena on Friday night took turns taking a simple, tall and thin cross as part of the commemoration of Jesus’ suffering and death from the crucifixion.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican and the archbishop of Kiev earlier this week denounced the Vatican’s plan to bring a Ukrainian and a Russian woman with the cross during the procession.  They opposed the projection of what they saw as the idea of ​​reconciliation, while Ukraine is being destroyed by the war being unleashed by Russia.
The Vatican has not responded to the protests.  Pope Francis has denounced the February 24 invasion and attacks on Ukraine as “sacrilege”, but has avoided naming Russia as an attacker.
Other believers applauded the decision to pair the two women.  They work together in a palliative care unit at a hospital in Rome and are friends.
——
BELGRADE, Serbia – Hundreds of protesters rallied in support of Russia, holding pictures of Vladimir Putin and T-shirts symbolizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A rally in central Belgrade on Friday was held to protest Serbia’s vote last week at the United Nations in support of Russia’s expulsion from the UN Human Rights Council.
Serbia remains the only country in Europe that has not imposed sanctions on Russia, but right-wing groups are angry that Belgrade voted against Moscow at the UN.
Local media reported that masked protesters lit flares and smoke bombs outside the offices of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during the demonstration and placed a Russian flag on the presidency building.
Several similar demonstrations have taken place in Serbia since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Many Serbs remain loyal to Russia, convinced that Moscow was provoked by the West to launch an invasion.
Anti-Western sentiment in Serbia stems from the 1999 NATO airstrikes that forced Belgrade to relinquish control of the province of Kosovo.  Belgrade enjoyed Russian support in trying to maintain a territorial claim to Western-backed independence in 2008.
——–
The governor of the Kharkiv region says seven people, including a seven-month-old child, have been killed in bombings in a residential neighborhood in the city.
Oleh Sinehubov told the Telegram on Friday that another 34 people had been injured.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, has been hit hard by bombings and rocket attacks during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  The location of the city about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Russia and 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of the separatist eastern regions of Ukraine gives it significant strategic importance.
——
A senior U.S. defense official says the United States believes that a Russian guided missile that sank in the North Black Sea on Thursday was hit by at least one Ukrainian anti-ship missile, according to the Kiev government.
Pentagon officials had previously said they could not confirm the Ukrainian allegation, but also did not deny it.  A senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an intelligence assessment, said Moskva had been hit by at least one, and possibly two, Neptune rockets on Wednesday, setting the ship on fire.
The official did not give further details than that the US believes that the Russians suffered a number of casualties on board.
——
LVIB, Ukraine – The bodies of more than 900 civilians were found in the Kiev region after the withdrawal of Russian forces, the regional police chief said in a statement on Friday.
Andriy Nebytov, head of the Kiev regional police force, said the bodies had been abandoned on the streets or temporarily buried.  He cited police figures showing that 95% of the victims had died from sniper fire and gunshot wounds.
“Consequently, we understand that under (Russian) occupation, people were simply executed on the streets,” Nebitov said.  “The number of dead civilians has exceeded 900 – and I emphasize, these are citizens, whose bodies we discovered and handed over for forensic examination.”
He added that more bodies were found every day, under the rubble and in mass graves.
“Most of the victims were found in Bucha, where there are more than 350 bodies,” he said.
According to Nebytov, employees of utilities in Bucha were collecting and burying corpses in the suburbs of Kiev, while it remained under Russian control.  Nebitov added that Russian troops “locate” people who expressed strong pro-Ukrainian views.
——
KIEV, Ukraine – Two civilians were killed by shrapnel wounds after a rocket fired near the southern Ukrainian city of Kakhovka, according to a Facebook post posted by Kakhovka municipal authorities the same day.
“It was not a calm morning in Kakhovka. Five people with injuries were admitted to Kakhovka Municipal Hospital. Two dead, three injured (one of them is in critical condition in intensive care, two have moderate injuries),” Kakhovka Municipal wrote in the Territorial Community.
The municipality added that all five were hit by shrapnel after leaving their homes to see the remains of a rocket being dropped over the nearby town of Tavriisk.
It was not immediately clear which of the warring parties had fired the gun and which had shot it down.
The post continued urging locals to stay inside and stay away from windows if they hear gunshots or explosions.
——
The website of France’s state broadcaster, RFI, appeared unavailable in Russia on Friday after the country’s media and internet watchdog added one of its pages with critical coverage of the Ukraine war to its list of excluded of its websites.
The communications agency, Roskomnadzor, restricted access to news sites this week by a decision by Russia’s attorney general on Tuesday banning stores that publish “information that incites mass unrest, extremist activity or participation in mass (public) activities.” riots and unreliable information of public importance “.
According to the Roskomnadzor registry, authorities blocked an RFI article referring to a report in the French magazine Le Figaro claiming that Russian soldiers raped women in Ukraine, but the station said its entire website was down. in Russia.
Earlier on Friday, Roskomnadzor apparently cut off access to the Russian-language site of Russia’s leading independent English-language news agency, The Moscow Times, citing the same decision.
On Wednesday, Russian state media also reported that the agency had ordered a Russian streaming platform to remove all podcasts published by the BBC, whose Russian-language website was shut down in March along with those of US and German news agencies.
——
MOSCOW – The wife of a Ukrainian politician detained by Kyiv for treason has accused Ukrainian security services of torturing her husband and plotting his escape from house arrest in a press …

title: “Ukraine News Russian Oil Ban Key Step To Peace " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-19” author: “Karen Medley”

KIEV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that existing sanctions on Russia were “painful” but not enough to stop the Russian military.
Zelensky called on the “democratic world” to ban Russian oil.  While US lawmakers and US President Joe Biden have enacted such a ban, Europe relies more on Russian energy supplies and the US is working to prevent India from stepping up its use of Russian energy.
“In general, the democratic world must accept that Russia’s money for energy resources is in fact money for the destruction of democracy,” Zelensky said in his overnight video address to his nation.
He added: “The sooner the democratic world recognizes that the oil embargo against Russia and the complete closure of its banking sector are necessary steps towards peace, the sooner the war will end.”
—–
KIEV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed the fate of the besieged port city of Mariupol in a meeting Friday with the country’s military leaders and intelligence chiefs.
“The details cannot be made public now, but we are doing everything we can to save our people,” Zelensky said in his overnight video address to the nation.
Elsewhere in southern Ukraine, he said, Russian troops occupying areas around Kherson and Zaporizhia were terrorizing civilians and looking for anyone who had served in the military or government.
“The occupiers believe that this will make it easier for them to control this territory. But they are very wrong. They are making fun of themselves,” Zelensky said.
He added: “The problem of the occupiers is not that they are not accepted by some activists, veterans or journalists. Russia’s problem is that it is not accepted – and will never be accepted – by the whole Ukrainian people. Russia lost Ukraine forever. “
——
ATLANTA – CIA Director William Burns says no one can take lightly the threat that Russia could use regular or low-efficiency nuclear weapons, but has seen no “practical evidence” that it’s imminent.
Speaking to an audience at the Georgia Institute of Technology on Thursday, Burns said “potential despair” by Russian leaders about portraying a victory in Ukraine increases the risk of using nuclear weapons.
“None of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential recourse to regular nuclear weapons or low-efficiency nuclear weapons,” Burns said.  “We do not.”
——
ROME – The war in Ukraine erupted over the traditional Good Friday procession at the Colosseum in Rome, as the Vatican’s choice of a Russian as one of the crusaders angered Ukrainians.
Participants in the festive torchlight procession at the ancient arena on Friday night took turns taking a simple, tall and thin cross as part of the commemoration of Jesus’ suffering and death from the crucifixion.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican and the archbishop of Kiev earlier this week denounced the Vatican’s plan to bring a Ukrainian and a Russian woman with the cross during the procession.  They opposed the projection of what they saw as the idea of ​​reconciliation, while Ukraine is being destroyed by the war being unleashed by Russia.
The Vatican has not responded to the protests.  Pope Francis has denounced the February 24 invasion and attacks on Ukraine as “sacrilege”, but has avoided naming Russia as an attacker.
Other believers applauded the decision to pair the two women.  They work together in a palliative care unit at a hospital in Rome and are friends.
——
BELGRADE, Serbia – Hundreds of protesters rallied in support of Russia, holding pictures of Vladimir Putin and T-shirts symbolizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A rally in central Belgrade on Friday was held to protest Serbia’s vote last week at the United Nations in support of Russia’s expulsion from the UN Human Rights Council.
Serbia remains the only country in Europe that has not imposed sanctions on Russia, but right-wing groups are angry that Belgrade voted against Moscow at the UN.
Local media reported that masked protesters lit flares and smoke bombs outside the offices of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during the demonstration and placed a Russian flag on the presidency building.
Several similar demonstrations have taken place in Serbia since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Many Serbs remain loyal to Russia, convinced that Moscow was provoked by the West to launch an invasion.
Anti-Western sentiment in Serbia stems from the 1999 NATO airstrikes that forced Belgrade to relinquish control of the province of Kosovo.  Belgrade enjoyed Russian support in trying to maintain a territorial claim to Western-backed independence in 2008.
——–
The governor of the Kharkiv region says seven people, including a seven-month-old child, have been killed in bombings in a residential neighborhood in the city.
Oleh Sinehubov told the Telegram on Friday that another 34 people had been injured.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, has been hit hard by bombings and rocket attacks during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  The location of the city about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Russia and 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of the separatist eastern regions of Ukraine gives it significant strategic importance.
——
A senior U.S. defense official says the United States believes that a Russian guided missile that sank in the North Black Sea on Thursday was hit by at least one Ukrainian anti-ship missile, according to the Kiev government.
Pentagon officials had previously said they could not confirm the Ukrainian allegation, but also did not deny it.  A senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an intelligence assessment, said Moskva had been hit by at least one, and possibly two, Neptune rockets on Wednesday, setting the ship on fire.
The official did not give further details than that the US believes that the Russians suffered a number of casualties on board.
——
LVIB, Ukraine – The bodies of more than 900 civilians were found in the Kiev region after the withdrawal of Russian forces, the regional police chief said in a statement on Friday.
Andriy Nebytov, head of the Kiev regional police force, said the bodies had been abandoned on the streets or temporarily buried.  He cited police figures showing that 95% of the victims had died from sniper fire and gunshot wounds.
“Consequently, we understand that under (Russian) occupation, people were simply executed on the streets,” Nebitov said.  “The number of dead civilians has exceeded 900 – and I emphasize, these are citizens, whose bodies we discovered and handed over for forensic examination.”
He added that more bodies were found every day, under the rubble and in mass graves.
“Most of the victims were found in Bucha, where there are more than 350 bodies,” he said.
According to Nebytov, employees of utilities in Bucha were collecting and burying corpses in the suburbs of Kiev, while it remained under Russian control.  Nebitov added that Russian troops “locate” people who expressed strong pro-Ukrainian views.
——
KIEV, Ukraine – Two civilians were killed by shrapnel wounds after a rocket fired near the southern Ukrainian city of Kakhovka, according to a Facebook post posted by Kakhovka municipal authorities the same day.
“It was not a calm morning in Kakhovka. Five people with injuries were admitted to Kakhovka Municipal Hospital. Two dead, three injured (one of them is in critical condition in intensive care, two have moderate injuries),” Kakhovka Municipal wrote in the Territorial Community.
The municipality added that all five were hit by shrapnel after leaving their homes to see the remains of a rocket being dropped over the nearby town of Tavriisk.
It was not immediately clear which of the warring parties had fired the gun and which had shot it down.
The post continued urging locals to stay inside and stay away from windows if they hear gunshots or explosions.
——
The website of France’s state broadcaster, RFI, appeared unavailable in Russia on Friday after the country’s media and internet watchdog added one of its pages with critical coverage of the Ukraine war to its list of excluded of its websites.
The communications agency, Roskomnadzor, restricted access to news sites this week by a decision by Russia’s attorney general on Tuesday banning stores that publish “information that incites mass unrest, extremist activity or participation in mass (public) activities.” riots and unreliable information of public importance “.
According to the Roskomnadzor registry, authorities blocked an RFI article referring to a report in the French magazine Le Figaro claiming that Russian soldiers raped women in Ukraine, but the station said its entire website was down. in Russia.
Earlier on Friday, Roskomnadzor apparently cut off access to the Russian-language site of Russia’s leading independent English-language news agency, The Moscow Times, citing the same decision.
On Wednesday, Russian state media also reported that the agency had ordered a Russian streaming platform to remove all podcasts published by the BBC, whose Russian-language website was shut down in March along with those of US and German news agencies.
——
MOSCOW – The wife of a Ukrainian politician detained by Kyiv for treason has accused Ukrainian security services of torturing her husband and plotting his escape from house arrest in a press …

title: “Ukraine News Russian Oil Ban Key Step To Peace " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-11” author: “Celeste Myers”

KIEV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that existing sanctions on Russia were “painful” but not enough to stop the Russian military.
Zelensky called on the “democratic world” to ban Russian oil.  While US lawmakers and US President Joe Biden have enacted such a ban, Europe relies more on Russian energy supplies and the US is working to prevent India from stepping up its use of Russian energy.
“In general, the democratic world must accept that Russia’s money for energy resources is in fact money for the destruction of democracy,” Zelensky said in his overnight video address to his nation.
He added: “The sooner the democratic world recognizes that the oil embargo against Russia and the complete closure of its banking sector are necessary steps towards peace, the sooner the war will end.”
—–
KIEV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed the fate of the besieged port city of Mariupol in a meeting Friday with the country’s military leaders and intelligence chiefs.
“The details cannot be made public now, but we are doing everything we can to save our people,” Zelensky said in his overnight video address to the nation.
Elsewhere in southern Ukraine, he said, Russian troops occupying areas around Kherson and Zaporizhia were terrorizing civilians and looking for anyone who had served in the military or government.
“The occupiers believe that this will make it easier for them to control this territory. But they are very wrong. They are making fun of themselves,” Zelensky said.
He added: “The problem of the occupiers is not that they are not accepted by some activists, veterans or journalists. Russia’s problem is that it is not accepted – and will never be accepted – by the whole Ukrainian people. Russia lost Ukraine forever. “
——
ATLANTA – CIA Director William Burns says no one can take lightly the threat that Russia could use regular or low-efficiency nuclear weapons, but has seen no “practical evidence” that it’s imminent.
Speaking to an audience at the Georgia Institute of Technology on Thursday, Burns said “potential despair” by Russian leaders about portraying a victory in Ukraine increases the risk of using nuclear weapons.
“None of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential recourse to regular nuclear weapons or low-efficiency nuclear weapons,” Burns said.  “We do not.”
——
ROME – The war in Ukraine erupted over the traditional Good Friday procession at the Colosseum in Rome, as the Vatican’s choice of a Russian as one of the crusaders angered Ukrainians.
Participants in the festive torchlight procession at the ancient arena on Friday night took turns taking a simple, tall and thin cross as part of the commemoration of Jesus’ suffering and death from the crucifixion.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican and the archbishop of Kiev earlier this week denounced the Vatican’s plan to bring a Ukrainian and a Russian woman with the cross during the procession.  They opposed the projection of what they saw as the idea of ​​reconciliation, while Ukraine is being destroyed by the war being unleashed by Russia.
The Vatican has not responded to the protests.  Pope Francis has denounced the February 24 invasion and attacks on Ukraine as “sacrilege”, but has avoided naming Russia as an attacker.
Other believers applauded the decision to pair the two women.  They work together in a palliative care unit at a hospital in Rome and are friends.
——
BELGRADE, Serbia – Hundreds of protesters rallied in support of Russia, holding pictures of Vladimir Putin and T-shirts symbolizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A rally in central Belgrade on Friday was held to protest Serbia’s vote last week at the United Nations in support of Russia’s expulsion from the UN Human Rights Council.
Serbia remains the only country in Europe that has not imposed sanctions on Russia, but right-wing groups are angry that Belgrade voted against Moscow at the UN.
Local media reported that masked protesters lit flares and smoke bombs outside the offices of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during the demonstration and placed a Russian flag on the presidency building.
Several similar demonstrations have taken place in Serbia since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Many Serbs remain loyal to Russia, convinced that Moscow was provoked by the West to launch an invasion.
Anti-Western sentiment in Serbia stems from the 1999 NATO airstrikes that forced Belgrade to relinquish control of the province of Kosovo.  Belgrade enjoyed Russian support in trying to maintain a territorial claim to Western-backed independence in 2008.
——–
The governor of the Kharkiv region says seven people, including a seven-month-old child, have been killed in bombings in a residential neighborhood in the city.
Oleh Sinehubov told the Telegram on Friday that another 34 people had been injured.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, has been hit hard by bombings and rocket attacks during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  The location of the city about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Russia and 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of the separatist eastern regions of Ukraine gives it significant strategic importance.
——
A senior U.S. defense official says the United States believes that a Russian guided missile that sank in the North Black Sea on Thursday was hit by at least one Ukrainian anti-ship missile, according to the Kiev government.
Pentagon officials had previously said they could not confirm the Ukrainian allegation, but also did not deny it.  A senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an intelligence assessment, said Moskva had been hit by at least one, and possibly two, Neptune rockets on Wednesday, setting the ship on fire.
The official did not give further details than that the US believes that the Russians suffered a number of casualties on board.
——
LVIB, Ukraine – The bodies of more than 900 civilians were found in the Kiev region after the withdrawal of Russian forces, the regional police chief said in a statement on Friday.
Andriy Nebytov, head of the Kiev regional police force, said the bodies had been abandoned on the streets or temporarily buried.  He cited police figures showing that 95% of the victims had died from sniper fire and gunshot wounds.
“Consequently, we understand that under (Russian) occupation, people were simply executed on the streets,” Nebitov said.  “The number of dead civilians has exceeded 900 – and I emphasize, these are citizens, whose bodies we discovered and handed over for forensic examination.”
He added that more bodies were found every day, under the rubble and in mass graves.
“Most of the victims were found in Bucha, where there are more than 350 bodies,” he said.
According to Nebytov, employees of utilities in Bucha were collecting and burying corpses in the suburbs of Kiev, while it remained under Russian control.  Nebitov added that Russian troops “locate” people who expressed strong pro-Ukrainian views.
——
KIEV, Ukraine – Two civilians were killed by shrapnel wounds after a rocket fired near the southern Ukrainian city of Kakhovka, according to a Facebook post posted by Kakhovka municipal authorities the same day.
“It was not a calm morning in Kakhovka. Five people with injuries were admitted to Kakhovka Municipal Hospital. Two dead, three injured (one of them is in critical condition in intensive care, two have moderate injuries),” Kakhovka Municipal wrote in the Territorial Community.
The municipality added that all five were hit by shrapnel after leaving their homes to see the remains of a rocket being dropped over the nearby town of Tavriisk.
It was not immediately clear which of the warring parties had fired the gun and which had shot it down.
The post continued urging locals to stay inside and stay away from windows if they hear gunshots or explosions.
——
The website of France’s state broadcaster, RFI, appeared unavailable in Russia on Friday after the country’s media and internet watchdog added one of its pages with critical coverage of the Ukraine war to its list of excluded of its websites.
The communications agency, Roskomnadzor, restricted access to news sites this week by a decision by Russia’s attorney general on Tuesday banning stores that publish “information that incites mass unrest, extremist activity or participation in mass (public) activities.” riots and unreliable information of public importance “.
According to the Roskomnadzor registry, authorities blocked an RFI article referring to a report in the French magazine Le Figaro claiming that Russian soldiers raped women in Ukraine, but the station said its entire website was down. in Russia.
Earlier on Friday, Roskomnadzor apparently cut off access to the Russian-language site of Russia’s leading independent English-language news agency, The Moscow Times, citing the same decision.
On Wednesday, Russian state media also reported that the agency had ordered a Russian streaming platform to remove all podcasts published by the BBC, whose Russian-language website was shut down in March along with those of US and German news agencies.
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