Official says 'sham referenda' likely to take place in mid-May; Odessa shelling kills teen as evacuation from Mariupol steel plant hampered by shelling

Reports say Kyiv attacked the position in Russian-controlled east shortly after it was visited by Russian military chief Gerasimov

As many as 100,000 people may still be in the city, including an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters beneath Soviet-era plant

Orthodox Father Georgy Edelshtein, born to a Jewish father and Catholic mother, says Ukraine should be allowed to 'build their state as they see necessary'

Declaring the Kremlin's move a 'failure,' EU's von der Leyen predicts the end of the continent's dependence on Russian energy, says Kremlin has failed in attempt to sow division

Russian president says Moscow still negotiating, 'despite the fact that the military operation is ongoing'; repeats claim atrocities in Bucha staged

President Maia Sandu attributes series of explosions to 'internal differences' between groups in Transnistria, which she says have an interest in destabilizing situation

Escaping arrest and even torture, dissidents face further hardship in Israel, with their requests neither approved nor denied for years, leaving them in limbo in a foreign country

Hundreds crowd Arabian Peninsula's only Russian Orthodox Church, with the two nationalities' usually harmonious celebrations now mired in unspoken tensions

Deputy PM says another attempt will be made to get women, children and elderly in bombarded city to safer area