Russia’s war on Ukraine latest: Blinken seeks release of U.S. journalist in call with Lavrov

April 2 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who Russia accuses of spying, in a call on Sunday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said Washington should not politicize the case.

REPORTER’S ARREST

* The Wall Street Journal on Saturday demanded the immediate release of Gershkovich, calling his arrest “a vicious affront to a free press”.

* U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who was freed from a Russian penal colony in a prisoner exchange last year, has urged the Biden administration to keep using “every tool possible” to win the release of Gershkovich.

RUSSIAN WAR BLOGGER KILLED

* Well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by a bomb blast in a St Petersburg cafe on Sunday in what appeared to be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure closely associated with the war in Ukraine.

ECONOMY

* Saudi Arabia and other oil producers in OPEC+, which includes Russia, on Sunday announced further cuts in production amounting to around 1.16 million barrels per day in a surprise move that analysts said would cause an immediate rise in prices.

DIPLOMACY

* Ukraine furiously criticised Russia’s taking charge of the U.N. Security Council on Saturday with President Vladimir Putin accused of war crimes. His Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, called the move “absurd and destructive”.

FIGHTING

* Zelenskiy said on Sunday that the military situation around the city of Bakhmut, besieged by Russian forces from months, was “especially hot”. Prominent Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said fighting had engulfed the city centre.

* Six civilians were killed and eight wounded in Russian shelling of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine on Sunday morning, a senior Ukrainian official said. Kostiantynivka, home to about 70,000 people before the war, is just 20 km (12.5 miles) west of Bakhmut. Reuters could not independently verify the number of casualties.

* Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu promised to boost munitions supplies to Russian forces in Ukraine during a visit to the headquarters of Moscow’s troops fighting in the country, according to footage published by the Defence Ministry on Saturday.

SPORTS

* The war has claimed the lives of 262 Ukrainian athletes and destroyed 363 sports facilities, Ukraine’s sports minister, Vadym Huttsait, said on Saturday. He said no athletes from Russia should be allowed at the Olympics or other sports competitions.

* The International Olympic Committee criticized Ukraine’s decision not to allow Ukrainian athletes to take part in qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics if they have to compete against Russians, saying on Saturday this will hurt only Ukrainian sport and its athletes.

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Compiled by Reuters editors

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