LIVE – War in Ukraine: the city of Lviv hit by powerful missiles

Highlights of the day

> Lviv was targeted on Monday morning

> The pressure is still increasing on the besieged port of Mariupol, whose defense is close to falling

> The humanitarian corridors were suspended on Sunday, for lack of agreement on a ceasefire

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>>> Follow the live news of this Monday, April 18:

12:34 p.m. – On a Russian channel, 2 captured Britons ask to be exchanged

Two British fighters taken prisoner in Ukraine by Russian troops appeared on Russian state television on Monday and demanded to be exchanged for a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician held by authorities in Kyiv.

It was not possible to determine to what extent the two men, Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, were free in their words. Both spoke after an unidentified man.

They called on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ask him to help them return home by promoting an exchange with Viktor Medvedchuk, arrested last week by Ukrainian security forces.

12:17 p.m. – The balance sheet in Lviv is getting heavier

At least seven people were killed and 11 others injured in “powerful” Russian strikes Monday on Lviv, the major city in western Ukraine usually relatively spared from the fighting, local authorities said.

12:05 p.m. – 200,000 jobs threatened by sanctions in Moscow, according to the mayor

At least 200,000 jobs are threatened in Moscow by the departure or cessation of the activities of foreign companies, in the wake of the Russian offensive against Ukraine, announced Monday the mayor of the Russian capital.

In a message on his site, Sergei Sobyanin indicated that an aid plan of 3.6 billion rubles (about 38 million euros at the current rate) had been adopted last week to help Muscovites at risk of dismissal.

‘This program primarily concerns employees of foreign companies who have temporarily suspended their activities or decided to leave Russia. According to our estimates, around 200,000 people are at risk of losing their jobs,” the mayor said.

11:31 a.m. – Spain will reopen its embassy in kyiv

Spain will reopen its embassy in kyiv in a few days, which it had closed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Monday.

“In a few days we will reopen the Spanish Embassy in kyiv, as further proof of the commitment of the Spanish government, of Spanish society, alongside the Ukrainian people,” Sanchez said in an interview with the Antenna 3 channel.

The Spanish ambassador and the diplomatic staff of the embassy had been evacuated from the Ukrainian capital to Poland the day after the start of the Russian offensive on February 24. Many Western countries had taken similar decisions.

10:25 a.m. – No evacuations of civilians, for the second day in a row

No humanitarian corridor will be set up Monday for the evacuation of civilians from combat zones in Ukraine, announced the Ukrainian authorities for the second consecutive day, accusing Russia of “blocking” and bombing convoys.

“For today, April 18, there will unfortunately be no humanitarian corridors,” including for the devastated city of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Telegram.

9:35 a.m. – In Lviv, at least 6 dead

Russian missile strikes on Monday morning on Lviv, a major city in western Ukraine, left at least six dead and eight injured and “severely damaged” military infrastructure, the regional governor announced.

‘At this time, we have identified six dead and eight injured. There is a child among the victims,” Maksym Kozitsky said on Telegram, adding that the strikes had hit military infrastructure and a tire garage, causing fires.

8:30 am – The city of Lviv, in the west, hit by missiles

Five “powerful” Russian missile strikes hit Lviv, a large city in western Ukraine usually relatively spared from the fighting, on Monday morning, announced its mayor and an adviser to the presidency.

A resident of southwest Lviv told AFP he saw thick plumes of gray smoke rising into the sky behind apartment buildings.

“Five powerful one-shot missile strikes on the civilian infrastructure of the old European city of Lviv,” Mikhailo Podoliak, adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, announced on Twitter.

>>> The highlights of the day before:

> Mariupol will defend itself until the end, says the Ukrainian government

The situation in the strategic port of Mariupol is described as “inhuman” by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who calls on Westerners to “immediately” provide the heavy weapons he has been demanding for weeks. More than 100,000 civilians would be on the verge of starvation in the city, estimates the director of the World Food Program.

Russia claimed on Sunday to control almost all of the city and appealed to its last defenders to lay down their arms. But they “will fight to the end,” said Prime Minister Denys Chmygal, ignoring Moscow’s ultimatum.

> Russia continues its bombardments, the humanitarian corridors suspended in the east

Ukrainian authorities announced on Sunday the suspension of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians from eastern Ukraine, for lack of an agreement with the Russian army on a halt to firing.

The Russian army continues its bombardments on several key cities. For the third day in a row after the destruction of the cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea, it pounded kyiv, announcing that it had destroyed a new arms factory, while a series of strikes on Kharkiv, a large city in the north-east, made the least five dead and 13 injured.

> Emmanuel Macron invited to come and see the “genocide” in Ukraine

The Ukrainian president claimed to have invited Emmanuel Macron to go to Ukraine to see with his own eyes that the Russian forces are committing “genocide”, a term that his counterpart has so far refused to use. “Regarding Emmanuel, I spoke to him,” President Zelensky said in an interview with the American channel CNN conducted on Friday and broadcast today. “I think he wants to ensure that Russia engages in a dialogue,” he said in an interview with CNN, to explain the position of the French leader.

Volodymyr Zelensky also wanted Joe Biden to come. “I think he will come,” “but the decision is up to him, of course, it depends on the security situation,” he said. The White House is considering sending an envoy to kyiv, but has ruled out a trip by the president himself for the time being.

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