VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis says Russia’s war in Ukraine is particularly “barbaric” as it involves Christians killing other Christians in a scandal that should move the faithful toward unity.
Speaking to members of the Vatican office that promotes Christian unity among Catholic, Orthodox and other Christian churches, Francis said Christians should ask themselves what they have done and what they can do to foster brotherhood among themselves.
Francis recalled that efforts to unify Christians took off in the last century thanks to “the awareness that the scandal of the division of Christians had historical weight in the generation of evil that has poisoned the world with pain and injustice.” ”.
He said: “Today, in the face of the barbarity of war, this longing for unity must be nourished again.”
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:
— French farmers take on Russia with biogas
— Flowers among the rubble: a Ukrainian woman sees a ray of hope
— A song with power: Ukraine’s participation in Eurovision unites nation
— Defenders inside a Ukrainian steel mill refuse to surrender
— The AP Interview: Belarus admits Russia’s war ‘is dragging on’
— Jill Biden to meet with Ukrainian refugees during the visit to the border
Follow all AP stories on Russia’s war against Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
GENEVA — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations points to “anecdotal evidence” that Russian forces are stealing grain from Ukraine, at a time when the country’s ports have been virtually unable to export following the Russian invasion.
Josef Schmidhuber, deputy director of the FAO’s markets and trade division, told reporters at a UN briefing in Geneva that some 700,000 tonnes of grain had “disappeared” in Ukraine. He warned that there were no “statistics” on possible thefts.
“There is anecdotal evidence that Russian troops have destroyed storage capacity and are looting what stored grain is available,” he said. “They are also stealing farm equipment.”
He pointed to “quite a lot of credibility” to images shared on social media suggesting that “Russia is transporting large amounts of grain out of the country.”
Schmidhuber said that “as far as I know”, no grain was leaving Ukrainian ports.
“It is an almost grotesque situation that we see at the moment in Ukraine: there are about 25 million tons of grain that could be exported, but they cannot leave the country simply because of the lack of infrastructure and the blockade of the ports,” he said. . saying.
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BUDAPEST, Hungary – A European Union embargo on Russian oil would be equivalent to dropping an “atomic bomb” on Hungary’s economy and therefore could not be accepted, the country’s nationalist prime minister said on Friday.
Speaking on state radio, Viktor Orban reiterated earlier statements by Hungarian officials that Hungary would not support a new round of proposed EU sanctions against Russia if they included a ban on Russian oil exports.
Orban said that while his government is willing to negotiate on any EU proposal that is in Hungary’s interest, the country’s geography and existing energy infrastructure make shutting down Russian oil infeasible.
“We cannot accept a proposal that ignores this circumstance because in its current form it amounts to an atomic bomb being dropped on the Hungarian economy,” Orban said.
Hungary’s government has strongly opposed EU plans to include Russian energy exports in its sanctions against Moscow, arguing that 85% of Hungary’s gas and more than 60% of its oil comes from Russia.
On Friday, Orban said converting Hungary’s refineries and pipelines to be able to process oil from different sources would take five years and require massive investment.
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark will send 5.7 million pairs of medical gloves to Ukraine, officials said Friday, adding that they were responding to a Ukrainian request sent through the European Union’s crisis preparedness center.
The gloves are surplus items and will not affect Denmark’s emergency preparedness, the state’s Danish Critical Supply Agency said in a statement.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Health requested the gloves through the Emergency Response Coordination Center, the agency said. They will be shipped to a warehouse in Poland, from where they will be shipped to Ukraine.
Denmark has previously donated 1 million face masks, 1 million white surgical gowns and 5,000 ventilators to Ukraine, among other things.
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BERLIN — Germany’s defense minister confirmed Friday that her country will supply Ukraine with seven powerful self-propelled howitzers to help defend against Russia.
Christine Lambrecht said Ukrainian soldiers will be trained in Germany to use the Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery, which is capable of firing precision munitions up to 40 kilometers (25 miles) away.
Germany has stepped up its material support for Ukraine in recent weeks, after the government’s initial reluctance to provide heavy weapons drew widespread criticism.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz will address the nation on Sunday on the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. The defeat of Nazi Germany by the Allies 77 years ago has increasingly been portrayed as a day of liberation in the country. Scholz’s speech is expected to outline his government’s position on the war in Ukraine.
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LVIV, Ukraine — The British military believes Russia wants to take the port city of Mariupol and its huge steel mill before Victory Day on Monday.
The British Ministry of Defense made the comment in a daily intelligence briefing it conducts on Twitter.
The Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol has been the scene of weeks of fighting. It has a vast network of underground bomb shelters that protect fighters and civilians from Russian bombardment, though the site has been hit repeatedly by high-explosive bombs.
The British military said: “Russia’s renewed effort to secure Azovstal and complete the capture of Mariupol is likely linked to the upcoming May 9 Victory Day commemorations and Putin’s desire for symbolic success in Ukraine.”
He added: “This effort has come at a cost of personnel, equipment and ammunition to Russia. As long as the Ukrainian resistance continues in Azovstal, Russian losses will continue to mount and frustrate their operational plans in southern Donbass.”
Victory Day marks the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in World War II.
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LVIV, Ukraine — There are growing suggestions that Ukraine may seek to broaden its push to seize more territory from Russia outside of Kharkiv, its second-largest city.
Ukraine’s defense chief, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said Thursday that a counteroffensive could begin to drive Russian forces away from Kharkiv and Izyum, which has been a key node in Russian control of the area.
In recent days, Ukraine has pushed Russia some 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Kharkiv, which has come under repeated Russian bombardment.
Pushing the Russians further may save the city from further artillery attacks, as well as force Moscow to divert troops from other areas of the front line to maintain its control over territory there.
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LVIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian military says the Russian effort to seize the steel plant in Mariupol is continuing.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine issued a daily statement on Friday saying that “the blockade of units of the defense forces in the Azovstal area continues.”
He added: “In some areas, with the support of aviation, assault operations were resumed to take control of the plant.”
Elsewhere in the country, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces are conducting surveillance flights over the territory. In the worst-hit areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukraine’s military said it repelled 11 enemy attacks and destroyed tanks and armored vehicles. Russia did not immediately acknowledge those losses.
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WASHINGTON – The Pentagon says most of the Russian forces that had been around the port city of Mariupol have left and headed north, leaving behind roughly the equivalent of two battalion tactical groups, or about 2,000 troops.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that even as Russian airstrikes continue to bombard Mariupol, Moscow’s forces are only making gradual and slow progress as the main fighting in the eastern Donbas region rages on.
He said he hasn’t seen any change in Russia’s behavior or momentum as May 9 approaches.
Russia celebrates Victory Day on May 9, the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat by the Soviet Union in World War II. There have been suggestions that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to hype a major victory in Ukraine when he delivers his speech during the traditional military parade in Red Square.
Kirby said that the United States still assesses that Russia is behind and is not making progress in the Donbas as expected.
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MARIUPOL, Ukraine — A clean-up operation was carried out in downtown Mariupol even as Ukrainian fighters held out against Russian troops at the city’s pulverized steel plant. The rest of the city is now under Russian control.
Municipal workers, as well as volunteers, were seen Thursday clearing rubble near burned and destroyed buildings, including the dramatic theater where hundreds of people were killed when the Russian army bombed it in March. Some workers hung a Russian flag on a tall utility pole.
One volunteer, who gave only his first name, Denis, said he was helping restore parks and war memorials so the city could celebrate Victory Day on Monday. Russia celebrates the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II on May 9.
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KYIV, Ukraine — In his late-night video address Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described a “catastrophic” lack of access to medical services and medicine in Russian-occupied areas of the country.
In those areas, he said, there was almost no treatment available for those suffering from cancer and where diabetic insulin was hard to find or non-existent. He said antibiotics were in short supply.
Zelenskyy also said that during the course of the war, the Russian military has already fired 2,014 missiles at Ukraine, while 2,682 flights of Russian warplanes have been recorded in the skies of Ukraine. He said the destroyed or damaged infrastructure includes nearly 400 hospitals and other medical facilities.
Reference-apnews.com