Toddler killed in Russian strikes on Ukraine as Putin prepares for ‘lengthy conflict’

A two-year-old boy was among nine people killed in Russian shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk on Friday, as Moscow anticipates a “lengthy conflict” in Ukraine.

The toddler was rescued from the rubble after Russian forces shelled a block of flats, but he died on his way to hospital, authorities said on Saturday.

The missile strike came as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill to make it easier to mobilise Russians into the army, and prevent them from fleeing the country if drafted.

The UK Ministry of Defence said the move suggests Moscow anticipates a “lengthy conflict” in Ukraine in its latest intelligence briefing posted on Twitter.

The Ministry warned that the new law means authorities would be able to serve call-up papers electronically, rather than by letter, removing one way of avoiding military duties.

Vadim Lyakh, the head of Sloviansk’s military administration said 21 people were wounded in shelling in the city, which is part of the Donetsk region that is under Ukrainian control.

Kyiv said Sloviansk was hit by seven missiles which hit five buildings, five homes, a school and an administrative building.

Rescuers are searching for survivors after Russian shelling in eastern Ukraine in the city of Sloviansk on Friday killed nine people, including a toddler, and wounded 21.

A two-year-old boy was among nine people killed after Russian forces shelled a block of flats.

Kyiv said Sloviansk was hit by seven missiles which hit five buildings, five homes, a school and an administrative building.

Fighters of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group have captured two more areas of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Russian news agencies quoted the Defence Ministry as saying on Saturday.

Reuters could not independently confirm the report.

Ukrainian troops have been forced to withdraw from some territory in Bakhmut as Russia mounts a renewed assault there with intense artillery fire over the past two days, Britain said in an intelligence update on Friday.

Beijing on Saturday protested U.S. sanctions against additional Chinese companies over their alleged attempts to evade U.S. export controls on Russia, calling it an illegal move that endangers global supply chains.

The U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday put five firms based in mainland China and Hong Kong on its “entity list,” barring them from trading with any U.S. firms without gaining a nearly unobtainable special license.

Washington has been tightening up enforcement of sanctions against foreign firms it sees as providing assistance to Russia in its war against Ukraine, forcing them to choose between trading with Moscow or with the U.S. A total of 28 entities from countries ranging from Malta to Turkey to Singapore were added to the list.

Before arriving in Geneva for a renowned piano competition, Ukrainian pianist Roman Lopatynskyi rehearsed in the dark and played concerts by candlelight as air raid sirens resounded across his native Kyiv.

The 29-year-old is participating in the International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz, which is being held outside Ukraine for the first time since its inception in 1995 due to the Russian invasion.

In his fourth appearance at the competition, which concludes on April 21, Mr Lopatynskyi hopes to give his nation a reason to be proud.

“If everything works out … it will be a definite victory for Ukraine on the cultural front,” he told Reuters as he rehearsed in the basement of the Geneva Conservatory on Friday.

As a male of military age, Mr Lopatynskyi requires permission to leave the country for competitions and concerts abroad. But after he performs, he always returns to Ukraine, despite having received numerous offers to relocate.

“If everyone leaves, what will be left there?” said Mr Lopatynskyi, who finished first in the intermediate category in the 2010 edition of the Horowitz competition.

“We are doing everything for there to be life there and for people to look at Ukraine as a country with prospects, possibilities. That there are musicians there, and businesses and even maybe a future.”

Four people were killed and 10 wounded by Ukrainian shelling of a residential area in a Russian-controlled town in eastern Ukraine, the top Russian-installed official in the region said.

The official, Denis Pushilin, said a seven-year-old girl was among those wounded in the town of Yasynuvata, just north of Donetsk.

The shelling and the casualties have not been independently verified.

Yasynuvata is about 80 km (50 miles) south of Sloviansk, where Russian missiles hit residential buildings on Friday and killed at least nine people, including a two-year-old child.

Finland’s embassy in Moscow received a letter containing an unknown powder and has reported the matter to the Russian authorities, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

This comes after Finland became Nato’s newest member earlier this month, posing a “real dilemma” for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according western officials. Finland, which has an 830-mile border with Russia, will be able to make a “significant” contribution to its armament, officials said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, diplomatic tensions continue to rise elsewhere as the Norwegian PST security police said on Friday that fifteen Russian diplomats expelled by Norway this week had sought to recruit sources, intercept communications and buy advanced technology.

China “resolutely opposes” the sanctions the United States placed on some Chinese firms over their alleged involvement with Russia, state media reported the country’s commerce ministry said on Saturday.

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on over 120 targets, including a China-based firm, to squeeze Russia for its war in Ukraine.

The ministry said Washington should immediately correct what it called wrongdoing and stop unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies, media reported.

As Western supplies are squeezed by sanctions, Ukrainian forces are finding more components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine, according to a senior adviser in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office.

This comes as China’s Defence Minister Li Shangfu will visit Russia from 16-19 April, and meet Russian military officials, the Chinese defence ministry said. U.S. officials have expressed concern China might supply arms to Russia, something Beijing has denied.

Information on Ukraine’s war efforts against invading Russian forces, which were revealed from the leak of secret US Pentagon documents, were already known and not surprising, according to top officials in Kyiv.

The problems faced by the country were already known, BBC quoted a senior Ukrainian official as saying. The official added that the leaks would not affect relations between the US and Ukraine.

One of the leaked documents suggested the Ukrainian army continued to face challenges in massing troops, equipment, and ammunition.

It suggested Ukraine may fall short of its goals to launch a counter-offensive against Russia.

Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council head Oleksiy Danilov said the leaks did not affect the military’s plans, adding that “everything will be decided at the last moment”.