KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine accused Moscow on Thursday of forcibly taking hundreds of thousands of civilians from shattered Ukrainian cities to Russia, where some may be used as “hostages” to pressure Kyiv to give up.
Highlights
- Ukraine says 402,000 people, including 84,000 children, have been taken to Russia.
- The Kremlin gave nearly identical numbers for those who have been relocated, but said they wanted to go to Russia.
- Ukraine’s rebel-controlled eastern regions are predominantly Russian-speaking, and many people there have supported close ties to Moscow.
- Ukraine and Russia exchanged a total of 50 military and civilian prisoners, the largest swap reported yet.
- Russia says it will offer safe passage starting Friday to 67 ships from 15 foreign countries stranded in Ukrainian ports because of the danger of shelling and mines.
- The pro-Moscow leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, warned that Poland’s proposal to deploy a Western peacekeeping force in Ukraine “will mean World War III