Ukraine updates: Is Russia to blame for rising food prices?

UNITED NATIONS -- Russia and Ukraine squared off at the UN on Thursday over whether Russia's war is to blame for rising food prices and hunger around the world.

Between them, the two countries account for nearly a third of global wheat and barley exports and millions of people in the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia depend on them for affordable bread and noodles. Ukraine also is a major corn supplier and the biggest exporter of sunflower oil.

"As long as Russia persists in its efforts to invade Ukraine, the threat of hunger will be looming over many countries throughout the globe," Ukrainian counsellor Natalia Mudrenko said Thursday at an informal UN Security Council meeting to discuss conflict and hunger.

Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Chumakov argued that sanctions, trade wars, the coronavirus pandemic and Western economic policies were shaking up the global food, energy and financial markets.

Chumakov said Russia's critics were trying to deflect focus from sanctions and the "economic egoism of the developed countries during the pandemic."

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KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the United States for the new package of $800 million in military aid, which he said was "just what we were waiting for."

The latest military aid, announced Thursday by President Joe Biden, includes heavy artillery, ammunition and drones for the escalating battle in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

Zekenskyy has urged Western countries to speed up the deliveries of weapons to help Ukraine fend off the Russian offensive.

"The occupiers continue to do everything possible to give themselves a reason to speak about at least some kind of victory," Zelenskyy said late Thursday in his nightly video address to the nation. "They are building up their forces, bringing in new tactical battalions and trying even to begin a so-called `mobilization' in the regions they occupy in Ukraine."

Zelenskyy also warned Ukrainians living in areas of southern Ukraine under the control of Russia troops not to provide them with their IDs, which he said could be used "to falsify a so-called referendum on our land" to create a Moscow-friendly government.

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Russia's foreign ministry has announced that it has barred U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and 27 other prominent Americans from entering the country. But one of the people targeted by the sanctions, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price, said he views the designation as an honor.

"I have to say it is nothing less than an accolade to earn the ire of a government that lies to its own people, brutalizes its neighbors and seeks to create a world where freedom and liberty are put on the run and, if they have their way, extinguished," Price told reporters in Washington.

In a statement on its website Thursday, the ministry says the move came as a response to "ever-widening anti-Russian sanctions" brought on by the Biden administration.

It claimed to be targeting top executives, public intellectuals and journalists shaping what it referred to as "the Russophobic narrative" prevailing in U.S. public debate.

Alongside Harris and Zuckerberg, the ban includes top defense and justice officials; the CEOs of LinkedIn and Bank of America; high-profile foreign affairs commentators; as well as the editor of the Russia-focused Meduza news website.

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Joe Biden has tapped retired Lt. Gen. Terry Wolff, a former three-star Army general and former National Security Council official during the Obama administration, to coordinate billions of dollars security assistance being sent into Ukraine.

Wolff recently joined the Biden White House but his appointment has not been formally announced, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Wolff as Army officer served three tours of duty in Iraq and has held senior roles at the Pentagon, Joint Staff, and State Department. He was tapped by the Obama administration in 2015 to serve as deputy special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter the Islamic State.

Wolff's latest appointment comes as Biden on Thursday announced that he was sending a new tranche of $800 million of security assistance to Ukraine, including heavy artillery and drones. The president, who has already approved the dispersal of about $3.4 billion in military assistance, said he will soon seek approval from Congress for additional security assistance for Ukraine.

Congress approved $6.5 billion for military assistance last month as part of $13.6 billion in spending for Ukraine and allies in response to the Russian invasion.

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KYIV, Ukraine – The Mariupol City Council says as many as 9,000 civilians could be buried in mass graves in the village of Manhush outside Mariupol.

In a post on Telegram, the city council quoted Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko calling the site ”the new Babi Yar.”

“Then Hitler killed Jews, Roma and Slavs. And now Putin is destroying Ukrainians. He has already killed tens of thousands of civilians in Mariupol,” he was quoted as saying. “This requires a strong reaction from the entire world. We need to stop the genocide by any means possible.”

In a separate statement earlier Thursday, Boychenko alleged the Russians had dug huge trenches near Manhush, 20 kilometres (about 12 miles) west of Mariupol, and were “hiding their war crimes” by dumping bodies there.

On Thursday evening, Ukrainian media published satellite photos of Manhush, showing what they said were mass graves similar to the ones discovered in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. The accuracy of these claims and images could not be immediately verified.

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Russia's foreign ministry has announced that it has barred U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and 27 other prominent Americans from entering the country. But one of the people targeted by the sanctions, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price, said he views the designation as an honor.

“I have to say it is nothing less than an accolade to earn the ire of a government that lies to its own people, brutalizes its neighbors and seeks to create a world where freedom and liberty are put on the run and, if they have their way, extinguished,” Price told reporters in Washington.

In a statement on its website Thursday, the ministry says the move came as a response to “ever-widening anti-Russian sanctions” brought on by the Biden administration.

It claimed to be targeting top executives, public intellectuals and journalists shaping what it referred to as “the Russophobic narrative” prevailing in U.S. public debate.

Alongside Harris and Zuckerberg, the ban includes top defense and justice officials; the CEOs of LinkedIn and Bank of America; high-profile foreign affairs commentators; as well as the editor of the Russia-focused Meduza news website.

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WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden has tapped retired Lt. Gen. Terry Wolff, a former three-star Army general and former National Security Council official during the Obama administration, to coordinate billions of dollars security assistance being sent into Ukraine.

Wolff recently joined the Biden White House but his appointment has not been formally announced, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Wolff as Army officer served three tours of duty in Iraq and has held senior roles at the Pentagon, Joint Staff, and State Department. He was tapped by the Obama administration in 2015 to serve as deputy special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter the Islamic State.

Wolff's latest appointment comes as Biden on Thursday announced that he was sending a new tranche of $800 million of security assistance to Ukraine, including heavy artillery and drones. The president, who has already approved the dispersal of about $3.4 billion in military assistance, said he will soon seek approval from Congress for additional security assistance for Ukraine.

Congress approved $6.5 billion for military assistance last month as part of $13.6 billion in spending for Ukraine and allies in response to the Russian invasion.

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KYIV, Ukraine - No residents could be evacuated from the encircled city of Mariupol on Thursday due to continuing Russian shelling of agreed-to humanitarian corridors, Ukrainian deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk said in a Telegram post on Thursday evening.

“No happy news out of Mariupol. Everything has been hard-going,” she wrote. “On the Russian side, everything has been very difficult, chaotic, slow, and of course, dishonest.”

“We apologize to the residents of Mariupol who did not get to be evacuated today. Shelling began at the evacuation point, which is why the humanitarian corridor had to be closed.”

In the same post, Vereshchuk acknowledged that on Wednesday, a four-bus convoy was allowed to transport 79 civilians from Mariupol to Kyiv-controlled territory in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhhia region - a development she said “gave her hope.”

Russia's foreign ministry has announced that it has barred U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and 27 other prominent Americans from entering the country.

In a statement on its website Thursday, the ministry said that the move came as a response to “ever-widening anti-Russian sanctions” brought on by the Biden administration. It claimed to be targeting top executives, public intellectuals and journalists shaping what it referred to as “the Russophobic narrative” prevailing in U.S. public debate.

Alongside Harris and Zuckerberg, the ban includes top defense and justice officials; the CEOs of LinkedIn and Bank of America; high-profile foreign affairs commentators; as well as the editor of the Russia-focused Meduza news website.

In a statement Thursday, the ministry said that the travel bans would apply “in perpetuity” and that the sanctions list would be updated “shortly” in responsible to the “hostile actions” of Western authorities.

Similar restrictions were imposed on 61 Canadian citizens, similarly accused of spearheading “Russophobic” policies. Those sanctioned include Cameron Ahmad, director of communications to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Canadian Special Operations Forces Commander Steve Boivin.

Also on Thursday, Russia ordered the closure of all consular missions maintained in the country by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, expelling all their non-Russian staff in retaliation to similar moves by the Baltic states.

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KYIV, Ukraine - A Ukrainian official raised the possibility of a Ukrainian airstrike against the strategically important bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland. His statement on Thursday prompted angry denouncements from top Russian political figures.

Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, was asked in an interview with Ukraine's Radio NV whether Kyiv would be able to hit the $4 billion Kerch bridge, which is Moscow's only direct road link to the peninsula, in order to stem the flow of military resupplies channeled through it.

“Had we been able to do it, we would have already done it,” Danilov said in response. “If there is a possibility, we will definitely do it.”

He did not clarify whether Kyiv currently has the capability to carry out an attack.

The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, branded Danilov's statement “nothing else than the announcement of a possible terrorist act” and “unacceptable.”

Speaking at a regular press briefing on Thursday, Peskov added that “all security measures” were in place around the Kerch bridge and “other strategic facilities.”

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LONDON - Western officials say Ukraine will need economic and military support for months to come as the war grinds into a long conflict.

As Russia's invasion enters a new phase focused on the eastern Donbas region, an official said Putin “is still in a position to win” the war, but not quickly.

Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence, two Western officials said Russia might be able to surround and destroy the bulk of Ukraine's forces and make territorial gains. An aim of taking all of the Donbas and securing a land bridge to Crimea is “potentially within reach” for Russia's forces.

However, officials said it is far from certain Russia will achieve that goal. They said Russia had learned some of the lessons of past failures in northern Ukraine, and was showing more effective command-and-control.

But they said Russia was still feeding troops into its eastern offensive “piecemeal” and advancing in long columns of vehicles along roads, leaving its forces vulnerable to attack.

Officials said they also have not yet seen a major push up from the south, which would allow Russian forces to trap Ukraine's troops in a pincer movement. Partly that is due to 5,000 to 10,000 Russian troops attempting to overcome the last pocket of resistance in the port city of Mariupol.

- By Jill Lawless

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MARIUPOL, Ukraine – The mayor of the besieged port city of Mariupol says Russian troops are burying Ukrainian civilians killed in the conflict in order to cover up "military crimes."

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko claimed that the Russians buried hundreds of civilians outside Mariupol.

Boychenko said that "the bodies started disappearing from the streets of the city," charging that the Russians were "hiding the trace of their crimes and using mass graves as one of the instruments for that."

He said that the Russians dug huge trenches near Manhush, 20 kilometers west of Mariupol. "They are taking the bodies of the dead residents of Mariupol in trucks and throw them into those trenches." He said during an online briefing.

"They are hiding their military crimes," he said.

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JOHANNESBURG -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has held a 20-minute phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ramaphosa, who has avoided criticizing Russia for any aggression, on Thursday confirmed the call, which took place on Wednesday evening, in a tweet in which he said he urged negotiations to resolve the war.

“I had a telephone conversation with President @ZelenskyyUA of Ukraine to discuss the conflict in Ukraine and its tragic human cost, as well as its global ramifications,” Ramaphosa said on Twitter. He said the two leaders agreed “on the need for a negotiated end” to the conflict.

The Ukrainian president also described the call in a tweet: “Had a phone conversation with @CyrilRamaphosa. Told about our resistance to Russian aggression. Discussed the threat of a global food crisis, deepening relations with the Republic of South Africa and cooperation within international organizations.”

The call comes seven weeks after Ramaphosa spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the war. The South African leader has also spoken to President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping about the war in Ukraine.

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WASHINGTON - U.S. President Joe Biden says he is sending another US$800 million in weapons and ammunition to Ukraine in the coming days, calling it the “frontlines of freedom” as it defends itself against a Russian invasion.

This US$800 million arms package raises to $3.4 billion the amount of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine since the Russians began their invasion Feb. 24.

Biden says he will ask Congress next week to approve billions more dollars in aid for Ukraine because the assistance package passed last month is now “almost exhausted.” He said officials were still sorting out the appropriate amount to request.

Biden said the U.S. has “the capacity to do this for a long time” as it ships arms to Ukraine, but must work harder to maintain international pressure on Russia in retaliation for its invasion.

Biden said despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims, “There is no evidence yet that Mariupol is completely fallen.” Ukrainian forces and civilians are encircled in a massive steel plant in the city and Biden called on Russia to provide humanitarian corridors so that civilians may flee safely.

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WASHINGTON -- The Biden administration is making it easier for refugees fleeing Russia's war on Ukraine to come to the United States from Europe while trying to shut down an informal route through northern Mexico that has emerged in recent weeks.

A program announced Thursday will streamline refugee applications for Ukrainians and others fleeing the fighting. But it will no longer routinely grant entry to those who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum, as thousands have done since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began almost two months ago.

The U.S. says it expects to admit up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine and about 15,000 have come since the Feb. 24 invasion, mostly through Mexico. Officials said that, starting Monday, that route will no longer be an option except in extreme circumstances.

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WASHINGTON -- A Treasury official says the United States will provide an additional US$500 million in financial assistance to Ukraine to help it sustain salaries, pensions and other government programs.

The official was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of an announcement on Thursday, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, along with Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.

The new funding comes on top of US$500 million in economic aid that U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled in March.

The announcement comes against the backdrop of International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings dominated by conversations over how to manage the spillover from Russia's war in Ukraine.

-- By Fatima Hussein and Chris Megerian

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KYIV, Ukraine -- Denmark's prime minister has announced during a visit to Kyiv that her country will more than double the amount it has given to Ukraine to buy weapons.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Thursday that Denmark will donate 600 million kroner (US$874,000). Standing alongside Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, she called it a "new, significant contribution."

Frederiksen said the total Danish military contribution is now 1 billion kroner. Denmark also will assist Ukraine in the clearing mines in areas that are under Ukrainian control.

The prime minister said: "If we want people to come back to the areas where they have lived all their lives, then we need to clear mines and we want to work with you to hopefully pave the way for the reconstruction of Ukraine."

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BERLIN -- The UN migration agency says the number of people displaced within Ukraine since Russia's invasion began has risen to 7.7 million.

The Geneva-based International Organization for Migration said Thursday that more than 600,000 additional people were displaced within the country in the first 17 days of April.

The figures from the IOM came a day after the UN refugee agency said the number of people who have fled Ukraine since the war began on Feb. 24 has risen to more than 5 million.

The IOM said that more than half of the internally displaced people, mostly in the east of the country, reported a lack of some food products. It said their most pressing problems include cash and access to financial support, followed by medicines.

Ukraine had a pre-war population of 44 million.

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WARSAW, Poland -- Poland's Foreign Ministry says that Poland has frozen the bank account of the Russian Embassy in Warsaw over suspicions it was being used for purposes that were "not good."

Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina said Thursday that the account was frozen by prosecutors. He said that Poland's embassy and consulates in Russia have been exposed to various retaliatory steps -- with roads around the embassy in Moscow dug up for the past two weeks, complicating entry to and exit from the compound.

He said that almost prevented the departure of Polish diplomats expelled by Russia in the international spat over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Jasina didn't give further details of the action by prosecutors. According to the Business Insider portal, prosecutors ordered the freezing of the embassy account and that of Russia's trade mission in Poland for six months shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, saying the money in the accounts may be used to finance terrorism.

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MADRID -- Spain's prime minister says he was "shocked to witness the horror and atrocities of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war on the streets of Borodyanka," a town in northern Ukraine that has been devastated by the invasion.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez commented on Twitter after visiting Borodyanka on Thursday with his Danish counterpart, Denmark's Mette Frederiksen. He said that "we will not leave the Ukrainian people alone."

Television images showed the leaders walking through the bombed streets of the town accompanied by Ukrainian military and government officials.

Sanchez and Frederiksen are to hold a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later Thursday.

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LONDON -- Britain's government has announced new sanctions against leaders in Russia's army responsible for "committing atrocities on the frontline."

The Foreign Office said Thursday that it's targeting several Russian generals and military commanders including Lt. Col. Azatbek Omurbekov. Authorities say the so-called "Butcher of Bucha" commanded forces that occupied the town outside Kyiv where multiple reports of war crimes and civilian killings have surfaced.

Omurbekov and several others were subject to a travel ban and asset freeze. British authorities also said Thursday that they are expanding their sanctions list to individuals and companies that are supporting President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. They include Oleg Belozyorov, CEO of logistics company Russian Railways, and Russian weapons suppliers and manufacturers such as Kalashnikov Concern.

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MILAN -- Italian energy company ENI has signed a deal with the Republic of Congo to increase natural gas production and supply to Italy, as part of European moves to cut dependence on Russian energy over its invasion of Ukraine.

The deal signed Thursday comes on top of recent deals to increase production and delivery from Algeria and Angola. Italy currently gets some 38% of its natural gas from Russia, and has signed deals to replace about half.

The new deal signed in Brazzaville calls for a new liquefied natural gas project that is expected to launch next year with a capacity of up to 4.5 billion cubic meters a year for export. ENI said it also agreed to back sustainable energy projects in the central African country.

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KYIV, Ukraine -- An adviser to the Ukrainian president says Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision not to storm the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol means that the Russian military is unable to perform the task.

Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Thursday that "they cannot physically capture Azovstal," a giant steel plant that is Ukraine's last stronghold in the strategic Sea of Azov port.

Arestovich's statement followed Putin's attempt to claim control of Mariupol even though Ukrainian defenders have continued to fight at Azovstal. Putin ordered his defence minister not to send troops to storm the plant and to block it instead.

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HELSINKI -- Latvia's Parliament has approved a statement accusing Russia of carrying out genocide against the Ukrainian people.

The statement approved unanimously Thursday by the Baltic country's 100-seat Saeima legislature pointed to extensive testimony and evidence of crimes committed by the Russian military in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol and elsewhere.

It said that, as a member of the United Nations, Council of Europe, European Union and NATO, Latvia cannot accept Russia's actions. Neighboring Estonia's Parliament agreed later Thursday on a similar statement.

The Latvian statement also called on EU member countries to stop importing Russian oil and gas immediately.

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MOSCOW -- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that Russia's military operation in Ukraine "continues according to plan" although President Vladimir Putin has ordered his forces not to storm the Azovstal steel plant, the last holdout of Ukrainian forces in the port city of Mariupol.

Peskov told reporters on Thursday that "there was and still is an opportunity for Ukrainian troops to lay down their arms and come out via established corridors."

He said that "the operation continues according to plan" and that Mariupol "has been liberated." Asked whether the order not to storm the steel plant represented a change of plans, he said that "this is a separate facility where the remaining group of Ukrainian nationalists is completely blocked."

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BERLIN -- Germany's foreign minister says her country and others are keeping up pressure on Russia to allow people out of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol and stop striking potential evacuation routes.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said during a news conference with her Estonian counterpart in Tallinn Thursday that trying to ensure humanitarian corridors has been an issue for weeks. She noted that in some cases such corridors have been shot at, and "you see that assurances can't be relied on."

Baerbock said that Germany and partners, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross, are working to "make clear that people must be able to leave the city; the Russian bombardment of routes and ways must be stopped so that innocent people can be brought to safety."

But she added that "the situation is how it is. It is in (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's hands to stop these bombardments there."

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VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has renewed his call for a truce in the war in Ukraine, pointing to the April 24 celebration of Easter for the Orthodox Church.

Francis had already called for an Easter truce at the start of the Catholic Church's Holy Week, but the war ground on through Catholic Easter, which was celebrated on April 17.

In a statement Thursday, Francis said he was joining the call by the UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, and the head of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine for an April 24 cease-fire.

The statement said: "Knowing that nothing is impossible for God, they invoke the Lord that the people trapped in war zones are evacuated and peace is restored, and ask for those responsible in nations to hear the people's cry for peace."

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BELGRADE, Serbia -- Serbia's interior minister says the Balkan country should reconsider its proclaimed goal of joining the European Union because of alleged Western pressure to join international sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.

Aleksandar Vulin was responding Thursday to a question about a draft European Parliament resolution calling on Serbia to introduce sanctions against Russia if it really wants to join the EU.

He told the state RTS broadcaster that the draft "clearly indicates that the European Union does not want Serbia in its composition" and that it's "high time that Serbia also reconsiders its decision to remain on the path to EU membership."

Although Serbia has voted in favour of three United Nations resolutions condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine, it has refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow.

Vulin said that "we are an old, ancient, historical nation that chooses its friends. Russia is our friend."

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Denmark's Parliament has decided that Danish students studying in Russia or Belarus will no longer be entitled to state grants from Denmark.

Under Danish law, the country's citizens are entitled to receive financial support throughout their studies wherever they study, a system meant to ensure that people from all social backgrounds can study without having to focus on earning money. This year, they get 6,397 kroner (US$931) per month before tax.

Lawmakers voted Thursday to exclude studies in Russia and Belarus from the grant program until Jan. 1, 2024.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Denmark's prime minister says that her country is considering sending more weapons to Ukraine.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen spoke as she visited Kyiv Thursday with her Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez. They plan to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2 that "Denmark is considering sending more weapons. That is what is needed."

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KYIV, Ukraine -- A senior Ukrainian official is demanding that the Russian military open a humanitarian corridor from the Azovstal steel plant, the last Ukrainian stronghold in the strategic port city of Mariupol.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Thursday on the messaging app Telegram that "there are about 1,000 civilians and 500 wounded soldiers there. They all need to be pulled out of Azovstal today!"

Vereshchuk called on "world leaders and the international community to focus their efforts now on Azovstal." She said it was a "key point and a key moment for humanitarian efforts."

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BERLIN -- Official figures from Germany show that the country's exports to Russia plunged in March as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

The Federal Statistical Office said on Thursday that exports to Russia were down 57.5% compared with a year earlier, at 1.1 billion euros (US$1.2 billion), as a result of sanctions and other decisions by companies.

That left Russia as the No. 12 destination outside the European Union for German exports, compared with No. 5 in February.

Germany has Europe's biggest economy.

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BEIJING -- A Russian news outlet is reporting that China's credit card processor has refused to work with banks in Russia for fear of being targeted by sanctions over its war on Ukraine, cutting off a possible alternative after Visa and Mastercard stopped serving them.

RBC reported Wednesday that UnionPay's decision affects Sberbank, Russia's biggest commercial bank, and smaller institutions. It cited five unidentified sources in large Russian banks.

Mastercard and Visa suspended operations in Russia after the United States and other governments imposed trade and financial sanctions on President Vladimir Putin's government for its attack on Ukraine.

Sberbank and another institution, Tinkoff Bank, announced they were looking at switching to UnionPay, which is operated by Chinese state-owned banks. UnionPay is one of the biggest global payments processors but does almost all its business in China.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces not to storm the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the besieged city of Mariupol but to block it "so that not even a fly comes through."

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin on Thursday that the sprawling Azovstal steel plant where Ukrainian forces were holed up was "securely blocked" while the rest of the city was "liberated," which Putin hailed as "success."

Leaving the plant in Ukrainian hands, however, robs the Russians of the ability to declare complete victory in Mariupol. The city's capture has both strategic and symbolic importance.

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LONDON -- Britain's defence ministry says Russian forces in Ukraine are advancing from staging areas in the Donbas region toward the city of Kramatorsk, which is the target of "persistent" rocket attacks.

In an intelligence update posted Thursday morning, the ministry says Russian forces may increase the intensity and forcefulness of operations in Ukraine as the Kremlin seeks to demonstrate "significant successes" before the annual Victory Day celebrations on May 9, which commemorate the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945.

The ministry also reports "high levels" of activity by Russian air forces as they provide close air support to the offensive in eastern Ukraine and try to suppress Ukraine's air defences.

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KYIV, Ukraine -- Kyiv regional police said Thursday two mass graves with nine bodies were discovered the day before in the city of Borodyanka northwest of the Ukrainian capital.

Head of the Kyiv regional police Andriy Nebytov said two women and a teenager were among the "civilians killed by the Russian occupants."

"I want to stress that these people are civilians. The Russian military deliberately shot civilians that didn't put up any resistance and didn't pose any threat," Nebytov said, adding that some of the victims were apparently tortured.

All of the bodies were transported to the morgues of the Kyiv region for further forensic study.

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MADRID -- Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Denmark's Mette Frederiksen have arrived in Kyiv to meet with the Ukrainian President, Sanchez's office has announced.

The three leaders will be holding a press conference later Thursday in the Ukrainian capital, it said in a statement.

"I look forward to the meeting with Zelenskyy, where my message will be that Denmark will continue to help Ukraine," Frederiksen said in a statement announcing her arrival in Kyiv Thursday. "The West stands together to support the Ukrainian people."

Frederiksen is the first Nordic leader to travel to Kyiv since Russia began its invasion Feb. 24.

Sanchez's office had announced earlier this week that the prime minister would travel to Ukraine following the visits by several European leaders, but officials had cited security concerns to avoid specifying the visit's exact date.

Spain has also announced that it will reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital after closing it down within hours of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24.

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KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says only four buses evacuating civilians were able to leave Mariupol on Wednesday.

In a short statement on the messaging app Telegram, Vereshchuk said that the effort to evacuate women, children and the elderly will continue on Thursday. She warned that "the security situation remains difficult."

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KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's General Staff said Thursday in their morning update that the Russian forces continue the offensive in the east of the country with the goal of establishing full control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The Ukrainian forces in the two regions have repelled nine Russian attacks over the past 24 hours, destroying one tank, 10 armored units and two vehicles, one artillery system, two special engineering units, an anti-aircraft missile system and an ammunition depot, according to the update posted on the General Staff's Facebook page.

The Russian military also continue "to launch missile and bomb strikes on military and civilian infrastructure throughout Ukraine," the General Staff said.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, is being shelled and partially blocked.

In the southern Kherson region, which Russia has claimed to fully control, the Russian military "plan to organize the forced mobilization of the population for war with Ukraine," as well as cut off "humanitarian support of the region from the Ukrainian authorities," the General Staff said.

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WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden is set to announce plans Thursday to send additional military aid to help Ukraine fight back against the Russian invasion, according to a U.S. official.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Biden will deliver a Thursday morning address at the White House detailing his plans to build on the roughly US$2.6 billion in military assistance the administration has already approved for Ukraine.

The new package is expected to be similar in size to the $800 million package Biden announced last week. It includes much-needed heavy artillery and ammunition for Ukrainian forces in the escalating battle for the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said his country will send heavy artillery to Ukraine. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the Netherlands will send more heavy weapons, including armored vehicles.

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Aamer Madhani and Darlene Superville reported from Washington

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