Russia-Ukraine live updates: Biden not seeking Putin’s ouster, Blinken says; Zelensky pushes for planes

Taking to the streets of New York, London, Prague and other major cities, large crowds followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call on Saturday to protest the Russian invasion of his country.

In London, protesters waved Ukrainian flags as they marched through the center of the capital. Addressing the protesters, London’s left-wing mayor, Sadiq Khan, sharply criticized the conservative British government’s response to the war, saying the country should take in more refugees from Ukraine and remove bureaucratic obstacles.

In the Czech capital of Prague, a rally also drew a large number of Russians opposed to the war, according to Agence France-Presse.

Protests also took place in Stockholm and in New York, where a “mothers march” highlighted the humanitarian toll the war has had.

Zelensky, who has become a venerated figure inside and outside Ukraine, had called for a global protest on Thursday and urged people everywhere to take to the streets to denounce Russian aggression.

“Make yourself visible and heard,” he said in English during a multilingual video address. “Say that people matter, freedom matters. Peace matters. Ukraine matters.”

The Ukrainian president has conducted a virtual speaking tour over the past four weeks, appearing in front of leaders, legislative bodies and protesters across North America and Europe to rally backing for his country’s defense.

LONDON — Britain’s foreign secretary Liz Truss has signaled that sweeping economic sanctions on Russian companies and individuals could be lifted if Russia ends its “aggression” in Ukraine.

In an interview with Britain’s Telegraph newspaper published late Saturday, Truss appeared to offer a carrot rather than stick to the Kremlin.

She said sanctions imposed on Russia have been a “hard lever,” but added they could, “come off with a full ceasefire and withdrawal, but also commitments that there will be no further aggression.” Truss also said there should be “snapback sanctions if there is further aggression in future.” She added that the West had to remain “tough to get peace,” and cautioned Russia needed to be more “serious” about negotiations.

Last week, the United Kingdom announced 65 new sanctions in response to the war, targeting banks and business elites including Russian Railways and the Wagner Group of military contractors. The U.K. has sanctioned over 1,000 individuals and companies since the invasion began, according to its foreign office.

Russia appears to be feeling the economic pain, teetering on the edge of default on global debt payments, its currency sharply devaluing and the exodus of multinational companies. However, the nation’s oil and gas exports are softening the blow. On Friday, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said international efforts to sanction his country were an attempt to “cancel” Russia.

MUKACHEVO, Ukraine — Russian forces have entered Slavutych, a city of about 25,000 people that serves as a housing community for workers from the nearby Chernobyl nuclear power plant, local officials said Saturday.

In a video address posted on Facebook late Saturday, the mayor, Yurii Fomichev, said that “Slavutych from today is under occupation.” He added that three days ago, the city received an ultimatum from Russia to surrender without a fight: “We strongly defended our city.” He said three people had died, but he didn’t say how or when.

Video posted Saturday and verified by The Washington Post shows protesters, some carrying Ukrainian flags, in the city square during a large demonstration against the Russians. Gunfire can be heard in the background, and what appeared to be tear gas can be seen engulfing the crowd.

The United States will provide Ukraine with an additional $100 million in security aid aimed at helping police and border guards amid the deepening conflict with Russia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that the new assistance will help Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs “provide essential border security, sustain civil law enforcement functions, and safeguard critical governmental infrastructure in the face of President Putin’s premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack.”

It will include armored vehicles, medical supplies, protective gear and communications equipment for the country’s State Border Guard Service and police.

“Ukrainian law enforcement officers are playing a key role in rescuing victims of the Russian government’s brutal assault, leading and protecting convoys of those displaced by attacks, and providing security to civilian areas torn apart by ruthless and devastating bombing,” Blinken said in a statement.

The United States, like many of its Western allies, has provided an increasing amount of military aid to Ukraine including antitank and antiaircraft missiles. Security aid since the beginning of the Biden administration exceeds $2 billion.

MUKACHEVO, UKRAINE — Two powerful rockets struck the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday, injuring at least five and leaving an industrial facility where fuel is stored on fire, as Russia ramped up its offensive on a day when President Biden was delivering a forceful speech on democracy in neighboring Poland.

The attacks came as a surprise and were a clear indication of escalation by Russian troops in a city that had been largely spared intense bombardment during the month-long invasion. Although Russian advances have seemingly slowed, the day’s events again proved how the war is just a hair’s breadth away from engulfing NATO nations or global powers in a catastrophic nuclear scenario.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chief of the Russian Security Council, reiterated in an interview on state media on Saturday that Russia could use nuclear weapons if there was any kind of attack that threatened the nation’s existence. Medvedev outlined the various scenarios under which Russia would use its nuclear weapons, saying that it “demonstrates our determination to defend the independence and sovereignty of our country.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday reiterated demands for Western countries to supply planes and tanks to Ukraine, saying that equipment was “covered with dust at their storage facilities” while the country is defending itself against Russia.

Zelensky said in his evening video address that he is still hoping for 1 percent of NATO military aircraft to be transferred to Ukraine, and he criticized the West for its hesitation.

“Who runs the Euro-Atlantic community? Is it still Moscow because of intimidation?” he said.

Earlier this month, the United States all but declined an offer from Poland to deliver an unspecified number of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine so that the warplanes could be used against invading Russian forces.

Poland had sought to equip Ukraine with aircraft to fight Russia, even as Moscow has warned that any country hosting Ukraine’s military aircraft would be considered a party to the ongoing conflict there.

In response, U.S. officials raised concerns that Poland’s proposal could inflame tensions with Russia, which has depicted the conflict in Ukraine as one against Western aggression. Fighter jets “departing from a U.S./NATO base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement this month.

However, in written comments to Agence France-Presse, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asserted this weekend that U.S. officials “have no objections to the transfer of aircrafts. As far as we can conclude, the ball is now on the Polish side.”

French President Emmanuel Macron had suggested on Thursday that objections to the transfer of tanks and planes to Ukraine remained. “It is obvious that it would be characterized as cobelligerence,” he said.

For 12 days this month, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appeared to vanish from public life.

His troops were fighting and dying in Ukraine, but Shoigu, a senior aide and friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s, was nowhere to be seen.

Some suggested, without evidence, that he had resigned, while others were sure that he was sick, dead or detained as the invasion stalled and Putin cracked down on dissent.

As Moscow became increasingly isolated, global speculation swirled: Where was Sergei Shoigu?

Then, on Saturday, the Defense Ministry posted an official video showing Shoigu leading a meeting on military procurement. He sat at the head of a table of about a dozen senior defense officials, including Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of the armed forces,.

It was his first public appearance since March 11, save for a quick glimpse of Shoigu on television screens Thursday as part of a teleconference call with Putin.

In a city rattled by thunderous warfare, the refrain of three violins, a cello and a bass gave a melodic break to Kharkiv residents sheltering underground Saturday.

Kharkiv Music Fest organizers said they improvised after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine halted their original plans, including a recital by French pianist Lucas Debargue that was to be held in the grand hall of the Kharkiv Philharmonic on Saturday. Instead, five musicians facing the threat of injury or death during Russian shelling descended to a subway station and a business’s basement, where the audience of war refugees had been taking shelter.

The group began with the Ukrainian anthem, drawing audience members to hold their hands to their hearts.

The songs performed were adapted to fit a theme of the connections between Ukrainian and Western European culture, art director Vitali Alekseenok said. The musicians played pieces from Bach compositions to Ukrainian folk songs, and hundreds of people from the young to the elderly watched, sometimes holding one another.

“Music can unite,” Alekseenok said, “and it’s important now for those who stay in Kharkiv to be united.”

Kateryna Lozenko, the festival’s communication manager, left Kharkiv after 10 days of strikes and wasn’t there for the performances Saturday. She hadn’t felt like she would be able to return to her city but is feeling more optimistic.

“For those who stayed, it’s like a breath of fresh air,” she said of the music, “a piece of usual life in this terrible war that ruined not only our city but our lives.”