[EN DIRECT] 54th day of war in Ukraine: here are all the latest developments

Civilians killed, arms depots destroyed: Russian forces continued on Monday to bomb numerous Ukrainian sites at 54^and day of the Russian invasion, when the Ukrainian president called on his country not to let go, refusing to cede the martyred port city of Mariupol.

Here are the latest developments, minute by minute

3:16 p.m. | At least 8 civilians killed by Russian strikes in eastern Ukraine

At least eight civilians were killed Monday in Russian shelling in the Donestk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, where fighting is intense, according to local Ukrainian authorities.

2:03 p.m. | New US weapons for Ukraine begin to arrive

The first shipments of the new tranche of US military aid for Ukraine have already arrived at the country’s borders to be handed over to the Ukrainian military, a senior Pentagon official said Monday.

1:53 p.m. | G20 Finance: Washington will boycott certain sessions if Russia participates

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who will represent the United States this week at G20 Finance, will boycott certain sessions if Russia attends, a Treasury official told reporters on Monday.

1:12 p.m. | Zelensky hopes to get EU candidate status in ‘weeks’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that he hoped to obtain for his country “in the coming weeks” the status of candidate for membership of the European Union (EU), thanking Brussels for the speed of the process.

READ | Russian strikes in the refuge city of Lviv: “there is no longer a safe place” in Ukraine

At a hotel housing displaced families in Lviv, western Ukraine, a woman sweeps shards of glass between washing machines and drying racks shortly after a Russian missile targeted an unidentified garage. away, at breakfast time.

1:09 p.m. | Russia claims to have destroyed a major foreign arms depot near Lviv

The Russian army said on Monday evening that it had destroyed with “high precision missiles” a large depot of foreign weapons recently delivered to Ukraine, near Lviv (west).

READ | Who is Viktor Medvedchuk, Putin’s relative detained in Ukraine?

The Ukrainian Viktor Medvedchuk, a close friend of Vladimir Putin who asks in a video released Monday by Ukraine to be exchanged for the soldiers and civilians of the besieged city of Mariupol, is the trusted man of the Russian president in this country where he defended his interests for more than 20 years.

READ | Canadian volunteers to save Ukraine’s cultural heritage online

Canadians participate in the Save Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online (SUCHO) project to protect the digital collections of Ukrainian cultural institutions from potential piracy software.

10:49 am | Putin awards honorary title to brigade accused by Ukraine of Boutcha abuses

The Russian president on Monday awarded an honorary title for “heroism” to the 64^and motorized rifle brigade, which Ukraine has accused of having participated in the abuses committed in Boutcha, near Kyiv.

10:46 am | In Lviv, the Russian strikes remind that “there is no longer a safe place” in Ukraine

At a hotel housing displaced families in Lviv, western Ukraine, a woman sweeps shards of glass between washing machines and drying racks shortly after a Russian missile targeted an unidentified garage. away, at breakfast time.

8:44 am | Kharkiv bombed again, three dead

Russian bombardments on Kharkiv, a large city in northeastern Ukraine, killed at least three people on Monday, local authorities announced, the day after strikes that have already killed six.

8:26 am | Russians in Kreminna, Rubizhne under Ukrainian fire

Russian troops entered the eastern Ukrainian town of Kreminna on Monday, local authorities said, and were under Ukrainian fire in the nearby town of Rubizhne, AFP reported.

8:09 am | Over 4.9 million Ukrainians have fled Ukraine, UN says

More than 4.9 million Ukrainians fled their country 54 days after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion on February 24, according to figures released Monday by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

7:09 am | Russian TV broadcasts videos of captured Britons asking Johnson to negotiate their release

Russian state television broadcast calls on Monday from two prisoners, identified as British nationals, Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, captured in fighting in Ukraine, asking Prime Minister Boris Johnson to negotiate their release.

6:52 am | Reopening of the Italian and Spanish embassies in Kyiv

The Italian embassy in Ukraine, transferred in March from Kyiv to Lviv (west) for security reasons, reopened in the capital on Monday, we learned from concordant sources.

6:48 | Ukraine releases video of arrested Putin relative

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) released a video on Monday of Ukrainian MP and businessman Viktor Medvedchuk, close to Vladimir Putin and recently arrested, asking to be exchanged for soldiers and civilians in the besieged city of Mariupol.

5:56 | 200,000 jobs threatened by sanctions in Moscow, says 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, the mayor of the Russian capital announced on Monday.

5:36 | No evacuation of civilians for a 2nd consecutive day

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.

5:25 am | At least seven dead in powerful strikes on Lviv

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