Russia-Ukraine war: five things to know today

Austria joins calls for Russian oil embargo as Indian Prime Minister calls for end to conflict

A climate change activist holds a sign during a protest in front of the European Council to call the EU for an immediate embargo on Russian oil and gas. Reuters.

Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine

Embargo support: Austria on Monday joined Germany in saying it could live with an embargo on Russian oil which it had previously opposed, moving the European Union a step closer to such a move.

The Alpine country's Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler said Austria was "ready to pull its weight" if the European Commission proposes a Russian oil ban and it is approved by the EU's 27 members.

Like Germany, Austria has reduced its reliance on Russian oil and went through March without processing any of it at all, Ms Gewessler said before a meeting of the bloc's energy ministers.

It came as the EU stepped up preparations for potential fuel shortages as the ministers met in Brussels in the shadow of Russia’s threats to cut off supplies.

The emergency summit was called after Poland and Bulgaria had their Russian gas imports stopped for refusing to pay in roubles, a demand made by the Kremlin after sanctions linked to the invasion of Ukraine were imposed.

Modi comments. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for dialogue to end the war in Ukraine at the start of a European tour on Monday but steered clear of condemning Russia over the invasion.

India, which imports much of its military hardware from Russia, has long walked a diplomatic tightrope between the West and Moscow, and has called only for an immediate end to hostilities.

"We have insisted on a ceasefire and called for talks as the only way to resolve dispute since the start of the Ukraine crisis," Modi told reporters after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.

"We believe that there won't be any winners in this war and everyone will lose, which is why we are in favour of peace," he said.

Besides the humanitarian impact on Ukrainians, pressure on oil prices and global food supplies is also "putting a burden on every family in the world," he said.

A woman rescues some of her belongings from her house in Irpin, near Kyiv, which was nearly completely destroyed by Russian bombing in late March. AP

A driver helps a woman board a bus at a reception centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. AP

People fleeing Mariupol's Azovstal plant arrive on buses at a registration and processing area for internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AFP

A woman stands next to her home in Irpin, near Kyiv, after it was nearly completely destroyed by Russian bombing. AP

People hold banners and shout slogans during a demonstration in support of Mariupol defenders in Kyiv, Ukraine. Getty Images

A woman stands near her house that was destroyed by shelling in Sloboda, Chernihiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

A mother and child in Lviv, Ukraine, wait to board transport destined for Przemysl, Poland. Getty Images

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claps as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses the Ukrainian Parliament in Kyiv via videolink. Reuters

Firefighters work to extinguish flames after a Russian bombardment at a park in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

The television tower is illuminated in the national colors of the Ukrainian flag to show solidarity with the country at the Olympic Park in Munich, southern Germany. AFP

Flooded gardens and fields are shown in Demydiv, Ukraine. To keep Russian armoured columns at bay, Ukrainian forces released water from a nearby hydroelectric dam to intentionally flood Demydiv, a village north of Kyiv. The decision was effective, but efforts to drain the area are complicated. Getty Images

A damaged Orthodox icon is seen in the corner of local resident Yurii's heavily damaged house in Fenevychi, Ukraine. Getty Images

Valentyna, 71, stands by her cat, who was injured in the fighting, in Fenevychi. Getty Images

Yurii, 53, stands in his heavily damaged house in Fenevychi. Getty Images

Evacuees from the eastern Ukraine city of Lyman, which has suffered heavy shelling, ride on a bus in Raihorodok. AFP

A man delivers loaves of bread to a woman in the eastern Ukraine city of Lyman. AFP

Nazar, right, boards a bulletproof bus to evacuate with his family from the eastern Ukraine city of Lyman. AFP

A dog chases a hare by the wall of a burnt house in Fenevychi. Getty Images

Nine-year-old Galina, right, and Nazar, 8, arrive with their families in Raihorodok. AFP

Natalia Pototska, 43, cries as her grandson Matviy looks on in Zaporizhzhia. AP

Hryhorii, a member of the Ukrainian military meets his wife Oksana, who fled from the Russian-occupied Novomykhailivka village, at the evacuation point in Zaporizhzhia. EPA

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomes Denmark's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeppe Kofod to Kyiv. Reuters

Buildings destroyed by Russian shelling in Borodianka, in Ukraine's Kyiv region. Reuters

Volunteers carry an elderly woman in a blanket during the evacuation of a frontline village retaken by Ukrainian forces in Kharkiv. Reuters

A Ukrainian man walks past the turret of a Russian tank next to a destroyed petrol station in the village of Skybyn, north-east of Kyiv. AFP

Andrii Fedorov hugs his son Makar as they are reunited in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, after the boy and his mother fled besieged Mariupol. AP

Volunteers at the Help Ukraine Center in Lublin, south-eastern Poland. More than 3 million Ukrainian refugees are now in Poland. EPA

Police officers deliver loaves of bread to residents in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lyman, which is being heavily shelled. AFP

Savelii, 10, mourns at the grave of his father, who died protecting his city as a member of the Territorial Defence, in Irpin, Ukraine. EPA

Ukrainian soliders ride on a truck to a resting place after fighting in the front line for two months near Kramatorsk. AFP

A shopkeeper clears shelves before closing up in Sviatohirsk, eastern Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion. AFP

Civilians who left the area near Azovstal steel plant as part of an evacuation of Mariupol arrive at temporary accommodation in Bezimenne, Donetsk region. Reuters

Azovstal steel plant employee Valeria, who was part of an evacuation of Mariupol, hugs her son Matvey, who had earlier left the city with his relatives, as they meet again in Bezimenne, Donetsk. Reuters

A pro-Russian troop stands guard in Bezimenne, Donetsk. Reuters

A picture taken during a visit to Mariupol organised by the Russian military shows Russian serviceman on patrol outside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Enerhodar, south-eastern Ukraine. EPA

A woman is assisted during the UN-led evacuation of the Azovstal steel plant, after nearly two months of siege warfare on Mariupol by Russia. Reuters

Civilians gather for humanitarian aid, distributed by the Donetsk People Republic Emergency Situations Ministry in Berdyansk, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine. AP

Ukrainian servicemen are seen near a T-80 tank captured from Russian troops in Kharkiv region. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier takes a break from the conflict and tries to pet a stork in Barvinkove, Kharkiv region. Reuters

A satellite image shows damage at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Ukraine. AP

Israel anger: Israel on Monday summoned the Russian ambassador in Tel Aviv over “outrageous” remarks by Moscow about Jews.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed on Sunday that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, who oversaw the killing of six million Jews, had “Jewish blood”.

The comments were dismissed as “unforgivable and outrageous” by his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid.

Mr Lavrov’s remarks were “a terrible historical error,” Mr Lapid said in a statement. “Jews did not murder themselves in the Holocaust.”

The Israeli foreign ministry said it had summoned the Russian ambassador for a "clarification meeting" over the comments, made in an interview on Italian TV programme Zona Bianca on Sunday.

Israel marked Holocaust Remembrance Day last week, with sirens blaring out across the country to commemorate the millions of Jews killed by the Nazis during the Second World War.

Scholz defence. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered an unusually animated defence of his policy towards Ukraine, rebuffing critics who say his military support has been too slow as well as pacifist dissenters who say no arms should be sent at all.

Mr Scholz won plaudits for facing down a crowd of hecklers who whistled and shouted anti-weapons slogans at an International Workers' Day rally on Sunday, telling them their views were outdated.

“I respect any pacifism and any opinion. But it must seem cynical to citizens of Ukraine if they are told they should defend themselves against Putin's aggression without weapons,” he shouted over the protesters.

“We will not allow borders to be pushed aside or territory to be conquered with violence,” he said at the event in Duesseldorf.

Russia losses. Russia has lost a quarter of the combat power it sent to Ukraine at the beginning of the invasion, British intelligence has found.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence said it could take years before many of the groups were fit for action again.

Tens of thousands of Russian troops are estimated to have been killed during the first nine weeks of war but Moscow has not given a figure. The Ukrainian military has also kept its death toll secret.

“At the start of the conflict, Russia committed over 120 battalion tactical groups, approximately 65 per cent of its entire ground combat strength,” the MoD said.

Russia-Ukraine latest – in pictures

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visits Borodyanka, near Kyiv, where Russian forces are accused of killing civilians. AFP

Children play in the wreckage of a Russian armoured vehicle in Lukashivka, Chernihiv region, northern Ukraine. The village has been retaken by Ukrainian forces. EPA

A cyclist passes a destroyed building in Derhachi village, near besieged city Kharkiv, in north-eastern Ukraine. AFP

Burnt-out wreckage of a tank in Kolychivka village, Chernihiv region, northern Ukraine. EPA

A Ukrainian flag flies in a park in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. A rocket attack on the city railway station earlier in April killed at least 50 people. AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses a meeting of MPs in St Petersburg. EPA

Youngsters Faddei and Oleksandr play in front of a church damaged during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in the Chernihiv region. Reuters

A demonstrator turns emotional as she attends a rally in Kyiv demanding a humanitarian corridor to rescue civilians from Mariupol. Reuters

A Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-25 releases decoy flares as it provides air support to Ukrainian ground forces near central city of Yampil. AFP

An officer from National Guard of Ukraine surveys weapons left behind by Russian troops in Chernobyl. AFP

Mr Putin attends a meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Moscow. Reuters

Members of a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency carry equipment as they arrive at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Chernobyl, Ukraine. AP

Ukrainian troops fire rockets from the city of Popasna, near Luhansk. EPA

Lithuanian musician Darius Mazintas plays a piano in front of the Central House of Culture destroyed during Russia's invasion, in the town of Irpin, outside Kyiv. Reuters

Ukrainian refugees Julia, second left, 32, and Miroslava, left, 11, walk away with relatives who received them after they crossed into Poland from Ukraine at the Dorohusk border. AFP

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets Mr Guterres in Moscow. AFP

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark Milley, left, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, second left, and Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov, right, attend the Ukraine Security Consultative Group meeting at Ramstein airbase in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany. Getty Images

Smoke rises from an oil terminal hit by fire in Bryansk, Russia. AP

People take pictures by the wreckage of a Russian military vehicle, in the village of Rusaniv, Kyiv region. Reuters

Smoke rises above the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works plant amid fighting in Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters

People carry a large Ukrainian flag as they attend a rally to mark the 77th anniversary of Liberation Day in Milan, Italy. The day remembers Italians who fought against the Nazis and Mussolini's troops during the Second World War. EPA

A Ukrainian soldier looks at a Russian ballistic missile's booster stage that fell in a field in Bohodarove, eastern Ukraine. AFP

People watch as a residential building burns after Russian bombardment in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Orthodox Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. EPA

A young girl in front of people carrying a huge Ukrainian flag during a peaceful demonstration entitled 'Solidarity with Ukraine' in Krakow, Poland. Reuters

A boy stands next to a wrecked vehicle in front of an apartment damaged during the conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Ukraine. AP

A Ukrainian man rides in front of a destroyed building in Kharkiv which had been shelled by the Russians. EPA

A Ukrainian Territorial Defence fighter in a shelter with an Easter Cake near Kharkiv. Ukrainians mark Orthodox Easter today. EPA

Residents receive Easter cakes and apples handed out by pro-Russian troops on Easter Day at the Svyato-Troitsky Church in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

A woman photographs the scene of yesterday's shelling in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa. Eight people were killed, including a three-month child, and about 20 were wounded. EPA

A military chaplain blesses Ukrainian soldiers on the occasion of Orthodox Easter not far from the city of Izyum in Kharkiv. EPA

An internally displaced man walks with dogs in the Palace of Culture, which was damaged by shelling in Rubizhne, eastern Ukraine. AFP

Tulips grow next to a building destroyed by shelling in Rubizhne. AFP

Internally displaced people wait to receive food inside a factory that has been turned into a shelter, in Severodonetsk. AFP

Members of the Ukrainian Red Cross carry a woman, 92, to an ambulance from a bunker at a factory in Severodonetsk. AFP

Ambulance workers move an injured Ukrainian serviceman to a hospital in Donetsk. AP

A woman sits inside a subway station that has been turned into a shelter, on the outskirts of second largest Ukrainian city, Kharkiv. AFP

Residents shelter in a subway station in Kharkiv. AFP

Anastasiya Kryvoho attends a candlelight vigil for Ukraine on the Orthodox Holy Saturday, in Toronto, Canada. Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses a press conference with international media in an underground metro station in Kyiv. AFP

Firefighters work at the scene of a fire after shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA

A family from Myrne, a town occupied by Russian forces, wait to register with police at an evacuation point for people fleeing from Mariupol, Melitopol and surrounding towns. Getty Images

Oleksandr, 25, meets his parents Olga, 49, and Oleksandr, 50, who fled from the Russian-occupied village of Lyubimivka, at the evacuation point in Zaporizhzhia. EPA

Residents walk near a damaged military vehicle in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol. AP

A heavily damaged apartment building in Horenka. Getty Images

Residents wrapped in blankets stand near their houses damaged by Russian shelling in Odesa. AP

A Ukrainian flag is installed on top of a gob pile in Lysychans, eastern Ukraine. AFP

A Ukrainian soldier rests at a checkpoint in Severodonetsk. AFP