Five missile strikes hit Western city of Lviv, civilians killed, officials say
Air raid sirens are sounding once again in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv after it was hit by five missile strikes, its mayor said. The strikes killed six people and wounded eight, according to the Lviv regional governor.
These are the first major strikes on Lviv in weeks, which until now was seen as a relatively safe haven for Ukrainians fleeing the country’s embattled east. A mere 43 miles from the Polish border, Lviv is a key city connecting transport and shipment routes via rail — particularly, now, arms shipments from Poland.
— Natasha Turak
Mariupol resistance has slowed Russia’s advance but at ‘significant’ human cost, UK says
Stubborn Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol has “severely tested Russian forces” and slowed Moscow’s plans elsewhere, the British government said Monday. But the human cost has been “significant.”
“Russian commanders will be concerned by the time it is taking to subdue Mariupol,” the U.K. Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update.
The Russian siege of Mariupol has come “at a significant cost to its residents,” the ministry said. Much of the city has been destroyed, and the mayor of Mariupol said last week that 10,000 civilians have died there.
“The targeting of populated areas within Mariupol aligns with Russia’s approach to Chechnya in 1999 and Syria in 2016,” the ministry said.
Russia used artillery to almost entirely destroy the Chechen capital of Grozny in 1999, and Russia bombed civilian areas of Aleppo, Syria, from the air in 2016.
“This is despite the 24 February 2022 claims of Russia’s Defence Ministry that Russia would neither strike cities nor threaten the Ukrainian population,” the British government said.
A Russian embassy staff member has directed CNBC inquiries to the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense website, which is unavailable.
— Ted Kemp
Ukraine completes EU membership questionnaire
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 8, 2022. Ukraine has completed a questionnaire which marks the starting point for the European Union to decide on membership for Kyiv, says Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, according to Reuters.
EU Commission / Pool | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Ukraine has taken the first step in applying for membership to the European Union and completed a questionnaire to kick off the process, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received the questionnaire and a promise for an accelerated application process from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen when she visited Kyiv on April 8.
The commission now needs to evaluate Ukraine’s ability to meet the necessary membership criteria.
The next scheduled European Council meeting is slated for June 23-24, where Ukraine expects to gain candidate country status.
— Chelsea Ong
