Ukraine live updates: Zelenskyy pushes peace plan, seeks more weapons - USA TODAY

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Even arsenic Ukraine endured a 2nd time of intensified Russian strikes condemned by the U.N. and the Group of Seven leaders, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outlined Tuesday a program to extremity the warfare -- and it doesn't impact negotiating with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Addressing an exigency virtual summit of the G-7 called aft Monday's barrage connected Ukrainian power plants and civilian areas, Zelenskyy warned that Putin whitethorn yet escalate his onslaught present that helium has ordered 2,400 Shahed drones from Iran.

"This anticipation is simply a menace to each of us,'' Zelenskyy said earlier presenting his three-point "peace formula.''

It calls for the West to supply weapons that would let Ukraine to make a antiaircraft "air shield,'' protecting the country's territorial integrity and punishing Russia for its penetration with stronger sanctions and governmental isolation.

"Such steps tin bring bid closer,'' Zelenskyy said. "They volition promote the violent authorities to deliberation astir peace, astir the unprofitability of war.''

However, Zelenskyy dismissed the conception of holding bid talks with Putin, saying he's "in the last signifier of his reign'' and "only believes successful terror.''

The U.S. and Germany person committed to sending Ukraine precocious air-defense systems. The archetypal of 4 specified weapons from the Germans arrived Tuesday, when the U.N. quality rights bureau called Russia's blistering rocket strikes “particularly shocking.”

The G-7 reiterated successful a connection its steadfast enactment for Ukraine, warned of "severe consequences'' if Russia resorted to using chemical, biologic oregon atomic weapons and condemned its latest assault.

"Indiscriminate attacks connected guiltless civilian populations represent a warfare crime,'' the connection said. "We volition clasp President Putin and those liable to account.''

LIFE BECAME SUFERING: Illustrated stories from the siege of Mariupol.

Other developments:

►Russian rocket strikes hammered Ukrainian cities again Tuesday. Ukraine said it intercepted astir 20 of the missiles.

►The U.N. quality rights bureau says Russian rocket strikes crossed Ukraine connected Monday were “particularly shocking” and could magnitude to warfare crimes. 

►Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. says it is pulling retired of Russia and plans to merchantability its operations to its Russian partner.

Facebook proprietor Meta placed connected Russian violent list

Russian fiscal watchdog Rosfinmonitoring placed U.S.-based societal media elephantine Meta Platforms connected its database of extremists and terrorists Tuesday. It was not instantly wide what the effect of the determination would beryllium – the enactment comes much than six months aft Moscow’s Tverskoy Court declared Meta networks Instagram and Facebook extremist and banned them crossed Russian territory.

Meta did not instantly respond to a petition for remark from USA TODAY.

The ruling successful March stemmed successful portion from a Russian transgression enquiry that cited "illegal calls for the execution of Russian nationals" by Meta employees. Meta has said it relaxed rules against convulsive code for radical wrong Ukraine directed astatine Russian subject successful that country. Meta does not allow calls for unit against Russian people.

NATO to behaviour atomic readiness exercises

NATO volition clasp a long-planned workout adjacent week to test nuclear readiness, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday. Stoltenberg stressed that the grooming was an yearly lawsuit and was not related to caller attacks by Russia connected Ukrainian cities. 

Stoltenberg said NATO was monitoring Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear enactment but saw nary alteration successful Russia's atomic posture.

“It would nonstop a precise incorrect awesome present if we abruptly canceled a routine, longtime-planned workout due to the fact that of the warfare successful Ukraine," helium said.

Hong Kong won't prehend Russian's luxury yacht

Hong Kong won't prehend a $500 cardinal luxury yacht belonging to a Russian oligarch and volition instrumentality lone sanctions against Russia imposed by the United Nations, metropolis person John Lee said Tuesday.

The luxury yacht Nord, believed to beryllium owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov, docked successful Hong Kong waters past week. U.S. and European authorities have seized much than a twelve yachts belonging to sanctioned Russians, sending oligarchs scrambling for harmless havens.

The Nord measures much than 460 feet, and has 2 helipads, a swimming excavation and 20 cabins.

Hong Kong is simply a large fiscal halfway for Western nations, but China sets Hong Kong's overseas policy and has declined to property sanctions against Russia for its penetration of of Ukraine.

Lee reaffirmed his administration’s stance of not implementing sanctions imposed by the United States and the West and said helium has “laughed off” U.S. sanctions placed connected him and different officials successful 2020 for implementing Beijing-imposed nationalist information laws.

The U.S. State Department said successful a connection that “the imaginable usage of Hong Kong arsenic a harmless haven by individuals evading sanctions from aggregate jurisdictions further calls into question the transparency of the concern environment.”

Ukraine says powerfulness works authoritative kidnapped by Russians

A lawman manager astatine the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness works was kidnapped by Russian forces and is being held astatine an chartless location, the Ukraine atomic vigor company Energoatom said Tuesday. The institution said connected Telegram that it feared Valeriy Martyniuk was being tortured into providing personnel files of works employees with a extremity of forcing Ukrainian staffers to enactment for the Russian vigor institution Rosatom. The plant’s six reactors person been shut down for weeks.

Energoatom appealed to International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi and the satellite assemblage to "take each imaginable measures for the contiguous release" of Martyniuk.

A destroyed flat  remains successful  the frontline municipality  of Bakhmut successful  the Donetsk portion   connected  October 11, 2022, amid the Russian penetration  of Ukraine. - This week's Russian rocket  attacks connected  powerfulness  plants endanger  cities crossed  Ukraine with blackouts, but galore  frontline communities person  been nether  shellfire and without powerfulness  oregon  h2o  for months. The wine-making and salt-mining down   of Bakhmut, successful  the eastbound   portion   of Donetsk, is inactive  held and grimly defended by Ukrainian forces, but its hopeless  residents person  been wrong   scope  of Russian guns since May. (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP) (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images) ORIG FILE ID: AFP_32L76NN.jpg

UN considers solution denouncing Russian 'annexations'

The U.N. General Assembly volition clasp a historical ballot this week connected a solution harshly denouncing Russia's assertion to person annexed 4 Ukraine regions. The papers calls Russian-orchestrated referendums successful Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia amerciable and "incompatible with the U.N. Charter." The resolution, which calls on Russia to retreat its equipped forces from Ukraine’s territory, requires support by a two-thirds vote. A akin solution successful the U.N. Security Council was vetoed by Russia, which has nary specified powerfulness successful the General Assembly.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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