April 17 (Reuters) – Russia gave holdout Ukrainian soldiers an ultimatum to lay down arms on Sunday in the southeastern port of Mariupol, which Moscow said its forces nearly completely controlled. read more
FIGHTING
* Russian armed forces destroyed an ammunition factory near Kyiv, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
* A missile attack in the early hours of Sunday damaged infrastructure in the city of Brovary, near Kyiv, Brovavy mayor Igor Sapozhko said. read more
* Russia said on Saturday its troops had cleared most of Mariupol with only a small contingent of Ukrainian fighters left in the giant Illich steelworks
POPE’S APPEAL
* Pope Francis, marking an “Easter of war” urged leaders to hear the people’s plea for peace in Ukraine and implicitly criticised Russia for dragging the country into a “cruel and senseless” conflict.
DIPLOMACY, SANCTIONS
* The EU will sanction Russian banks, particularly Sberbank, and is seeking “clever mechanisms” to include oil, said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. read more
QUOTES
* “Our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter of war. We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence. Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing,” Pope Francis, in an address to to about 50,000 people in St. Peter’s Square after a long Mass.
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