Ukraine: Mariupol school sheltering civilians hit by bomb — live updates

Authorities in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol said Russian forces bombed an art school in which 400 residents had taken shelter.

City officials say the building was destroyed on Saturday night, but the number of casualties was not yet known.

This follows the bombing of a theatre in Mariupol where civilians took shelter last week.

Hundreds of people were trapped beneath rubble in a basement shelter.

Mariupol has been encircled by the Russian troops, cut from energy, food and medical supplies.

Local authorities have said the siege has killed at least 2,300 people and some of them had to be buried in mass graves.

Russia says it has fired more hypersonic missiles

The Russian military said it has used more hypersonic missiles to attack Ukraine's military infrastructure.

"Kinzhal aviation missile systems with hypersonic ballistic missiles destroyed a large storage site for fuels and lubricants of the Ukrainian armed forces near the settlement of Kostyantynivka in the Mykolaiv region," the Russian defense ministry said.

On Saturday, Russia claimed to have used a hypersonic ballistic missile for the first time since it began its invasion of Ukraine. The launch took place on Friday close to the border with Romania, who is a NATO member.

Hypersonic weapons can travel much faster than five times the speed of sound, making them difficult to detect and posing a challenge to missile defense systems.

Zelenskyy suspends pro-Russian parties

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suspended 11 political parties allegedly tied to Russia.

"Given a large-scale war unleashed by the Russian Federation and links between it and some political structures, the activities of a number of political parties is suspended for the period of the martial law," Zelenskyy said.

Included on the list is the Opposition Platform for Life, one of the largest pro-Russian parties represented in Ukraine's parliament. Russian President Vladimir Putin is godfather to the party's chairman Viktor Medvedchuk's daughter.

Also on the list is the Nashi (Ours) party led by Yevheniy Murayev. Before the Russian invasion, the UK accused Russia of seeking to install Murayev as the leader of a puppet government in Kyiv. Putin has denied the charge.

UK warns of further shelling and civilian casualties

British defense intelligence said Russia has made only limited progress in Ukraine over the past week.
An intelligence update said Russia would likely continue to "use its heavy firepower to support assaults on urban areas" and risk further civilian casualties.

In a similar assessment, the US-based Institute for the Study of War said a stalemate now persists in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy says Mariupol siege a war crime

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia's siege of Mariupol would "go down in history of responsibility for war crimes."

"To do this to a peaceful city, what the occupiers did, is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come,'' Zelenskyy said in a video address.

Mariupol, a southern Ukrainian port on the Sea of Azov, had been cut off for more than two weeks. Some 400,000 people have been trapped in the city.

According to local authorities, the heavy bombardment has severed electricity, heating, and water supplies.

"Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth,'' Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said.

On Friday, Russia's defense ministry said that its forces were "tightening the noose" around Mariupol and that fighting had reached the city center.

Its fall would link Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, to eastern territories controlled by Moscow-backed separatists.

Zelenskyy adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said the nearest forces that could assist Mariupol were already struggling against "the overwhelming force of the enemy" and that "there is currently no military solution to Mariupol."

One of Europe's biggest steel works damaged by Russian siege

According to Ukrainian officials, the Azovstal iron and steel works in Mariupol has been badly damaged as the city faces a siege from Russian forces.

Azovstal is one of the biggest iron and steel works in Europe.

"One of the biggest metallurgic plants in #Europe destroyed. The economic losses for #Ukraine are huge. The environment is devastated," Ukrainian lawmaker Lesia Vasylenko said in a tweet.

Azovstal is part of the Metinvest group, which is controlled by Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov. Akhmetov was considered pro-Russian before Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but has since accused Russian forces of "crimes against humanity."

War will have "adverse effect on the global economy"

Chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Beata Javorcik, told the AFP news agency that the war in Ukraine will have a major "adverse effect on the global economy."

Javorcik said that although large parts of Ukraine are still functioning, the figure of $100 billion (€90 billion) for rebuilding estimated by the Ukrainian government is equivalent to about two thirds of the country's GDP. She added that around half of Ukrainian firms have closed down.

Javorcik estimated that the number of refugees from Ukraine could reach 6 million if the conflict continues. She added that in the aftermath of the war Ukrainian refugees could stay in their new countries of residence and "serve as a bridge" to Ukraine and help strengthen economic ties.

"Even if the war stopped today, the consequences of this conflict would be felt for months to come," Javorcik said, adding that commodity prices are likely to continue increasing and that higher energy prices will lead to inflation.

"The conflict happened at a time when there was already a slowdown in the global economy, so higher energy prices are going to put more brakes on growth."

"This has implications for poverty and political stability," Javorcik added.

Javorcik said that the short-term impact of sanctions in Russia will include less international trade and lower consumer confidence.  She added that even after the conflicts ends Russia could be seen as a "risky destination for investment."

Foreign Minister: China on "right side of history"

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a Saturday statement that Beijing stands "on the right side of history" in its position on the war in Ukraine.

The comments come after US President Joe Biden warned China of the "consequences" it could face if it gave support to Russia.

"We have always stood for maintaining peace and opposing war," Wang said.

"China's position is objective and fair, and is in line with the wishes of most countries. Time will prove that China's claims are on the right side of history."

Meanwhile, Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said that Western sanctions against Russia were increasingly "outrageous."

Ukraine bans pro-Russian parties

Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council has banned pro-Russian political parties from operating in the country while martial law is in place.

"Any activities of politicians aimed at division or collusion will not succeed, but will receive a harsh response," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Saturday video address before listing the banned parties.

Among the groups affected is the Euroskeptic party Opposition Platform – For Life and Opposition Bloc, which became the country's largest opposition party after winning 43 out of 450 seats in the 2019 parliamentary election. A total of 11 parties have been banned by the move.

Australia increases support for Ukraine

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced further financial, material and humanitarian support for Ukraine, according to the public broadcaster ABC.

Morrison said that Australia will provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with an additional AU$21 million (€14 million, $15.6 million) in military assistance. This brings Australia's total military support to Ukraine up to around AU$91 million (€61 million, $67.5 million).

Morrison also announced that Australia would add AU$30 million (€20 million, €22.3 million) in emergency humanitarian assistance to the AU$35 million (€23.5 million, $26 million) already provided.

Australia's prime minister said that the country had already granted 5,000 visas to Ukrainians and was putting Ukrainian applications at the top of the list. Ukrainian arrivals will be offered a temporary humanitarian visa valid for a period of three years and which gives visa holders the right to work, study and access public healthcare.

Morrison said that Australia would also donate 70,000 tones of thermal coal to Ukraine.

Australia's government has also imposed an immediate ban on Australian exports of bauxite, alumina and aluminium to Russia. Australia is the world's largest producer of bauxite according to the Australian Aluminium council.

Ukrainian authorities: 260 dead in Kharkiv region since start of war

Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday night that at least 260 civilians have been killed in the fighting around the country's second-biggest city, Kharkiv, since the start of the Russian invasion.

Among the dead were 14 children, Ukrainian authorities said.

Kharkiv continues to be shelled by artillery and several residential buildings were hit on Saturday evening, Ukraine's UNIAN news agency reported.

Ukrainian authorities said that three civilians had died over the past 24 hours as a result of Russian shelling in the Kharkiv region.

Belarusian rail connections to Ukraine reportedly cut

Belarusian railway workers have reportedly cut off all rail connections between their country and Ukraine.

Ukrainian railway chief Olexander Kamyshin thanked Belarusian railway workers for this claimed act of sabotage on Saturday.

"As of today, I can say there is no rail traffic between Belarus and Ukraine," Kamyshin was quoted as saying by Ukraine's Unian news agency. Kamyshin said that he would not give further details.

Franak Viacorka, advisor to exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, tweeted about the incident and said that it had been confirmed by Belarusian railway workers, while declining to provide details.

Although Russia has moved many of its troops and military equipment into Ukraine through Belarus, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has not committed Belarusian troops to the offensive.