The US secretaries of state and defense met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday night, the highest-level visit by an American team to the country's capital since Russia's invasion began. The meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took place as Ukraine pressed the West for more powerful weapons to counter Russia's campaign in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, where Moscow's forces were attempting to dislodge the last Ukrainian troops from the battered port of Mariupol.

        Blinken and Austin informed Ukraine's president, Volodomyr Zelenskyy, and his aides that the US would offer over $300 million in foreign military finance and that a $165 million ammunition transaction had been approved. They also said that US President Joe Biden will soon name his pick for ambassador to Ukraine, and that American diplomats who had fled Ukraine before the fighting would begin returning this week.

        Pentagon and State Department authorities prohibited reporters accompanying Austin and Blinken to Poland from reporting on their visit to Kyiv until the two men had physically departed Ukraine. Officials from the United States voiced security concerns.

        Before meeting with Blinken and Austin, Zelenskyy stated that he expected the Americans to provide results in terms of both armaments and security assurances. "You can't come to us empty-handed today, and we're expecting certain items and particular weaponry, not just presents or some type of cake," he stated.

        Zelenskyy's final face-to-face encounter with a senior US official took place on February 19 in Munich with Vice President Kamala Harris, only five days before Russia's incursion. While the West has provided Ukraine with military hardware, Zelenskyy has stated that his country requires additional heavy weaponry, such as long-range air defense systems and fighters.

        In a possible boost for Ukraine, polling firms predicted that French President Emmanuel Macron would win reelection over far-right contender Marine Le Pen, who has been questioned about her links to Russia. The outcome was praised as a reassuring sign of stability and ongoing support for Ukraine by France's European Union partners. France is selling military equipment to Ukraine and has played a prominent role in international attempts to impose sanctions on Russia.

        The encounter between Zelenskyy and US officials took place as Ukrainians and Russians celebrated Orthodox Easter. Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, spoke from Kyiv's venerable St. Sophia Cathedral, emphasizing its relevance to a nation traumatized by nearly two months of conflict. "Today's wonderful celebration offers us enormous optimism and unshakeable trust that light will triumph over darkness, good will triumph over evil, life will triumph over death, and so Ukraine will undoubtedly triumph!" he declared.

        Even still, the war put a pall over the festivities. "The Easter holiday doesn't offer any joy," Olena Koptyl remarked in the northern village of Ivanivka, where Russian tanks littered the roadways. I'm sobbing uncontrollably. "How we lived cannot be forgotten." Overnight, Russian airplanes attacked 423 Ukrainian targets, including defended positions and troop concentrations, while 26 Ukrainian military installations were damaged, including an explosives plant and multiple artillery depots.

        Since failing to conquer Kyiv, the Russians have been attempting to acquire complete control of the eastern industrial heartland, which was formerly controlled by Moscow-backed rebels. Russian forces have started more airstrikes on a steel facility in Mariupol, where an estimated 1,000 civilians and 2,000 Ukrainian fighters are hiding. The defenders are holed up in the Azovstal steel plant, which is the final bastion of resistance in the city, which is otherwise taken by the Russians.

        In a Sunday chat with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is set to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin later, Zelenskyy said he highlighted the necessity to evacuate residents from Mariupol, especially from the steel mill. Ukraine has suggested having discussions with Russia adjacent to the massive steel complex, according to Arestovych, the Zelenskyy advisor. According to Arestovych, Russia has not reacted to the proposal, which includes the establishment of humanitarian corridors and the swap of Russian military detainees for the remaining combatants in the factory.

        On Monday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Turkey, followed by Moscow and Kyiv. Guterres' travel to Russia before Ukraine, according to Zelenskyy, was a mistake. “Why? Russia's signals to be handed over? "What should we be on the lookout for?" Saturday, Zelenskyy stated. "On the Kutuzovsky Prospect," he remarked, referring to one of Moscow's principal thoroughfares, "there are no bodies dispersed."

        Because of its location on the Sea of Azov, Mariupol has seen heavy warfare from the beginning of the war. Its annexation would deprive Ukraine of a key port, freeing Russian soldiers to fight elsewhere and allowing Moscow to construct a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014.

        More over 100,000 people are reported to survive in Mariupol, down from a prewar population of around 430,000, with no food, water, or heat. Over 20,000 civilians have been murdered, according to Ukrainian officials. Recent satellite photographs from the west and east of Mariupol revealed what seemed to be mass graves. In a video published Sunday by the far-right Azov Battalion, which is among the Ukrainian soldiers inside the steel factory in Mariupol, children in an underground bunker were shown getting Easter gifts. The film was recorded at the facility, according to Sviatoslav Palamar, the group's deputy leader.

        People are seen hanging clothes on improvised hangers and one kid is spotted wearing handmade diapers made of cellophane. "Please assist us," one lady in the video begged international leaders through tears. "We want to live in our city, in our nation," said the group. We've had enough of these bombs and air strikes on our homeland. "How much longer is this going to go on?"

        Another presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, claimed that the Russian military was bombarding the facility with heavy bombers and artillery while preparing for a frontal assault. Over the weekend, Zelenskyy accused Russians of murdering civilians and setting up "filtration camps" near Mariupol for individuals attempting to flee the city. He claims that the Ukrainians, many of whom are minors, are subsequently deported to Russian-controlled territories or to Russia itself, typically to Siberia or the Far East. The assertions could not be confirmed independently.

        A 3-month-old child was killed in a Russian missile strike on the Black Sea port of Odesa on Saturday, according to Zelenskyy. According to Ukrainian officials, the newborn was one of eight individuals killed by Russian cruise missiles fired at Odesa. The infant's mother, Valeria Glodan, and grandmother were also killed when a missile hit a residential neighborhood, according to the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN, citing social media. Zelenskyy pledged to track down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

        "When this infant was one month old, the conflict began," Zelenskyy explained. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" There are no other words for it; they're dirty slime." Russia has regrouped soldiers that fought around Kyiv and in northern Ukraine for the Donbas attack. In the last week, Ukrainian soldiers have withstood many attacks and "inflicted severe cost on Russian forces," according to the British Ministry of Defense.

        A fire broke out early Monday at an oil depot near Russia's border with Ukraine, although the fire in oil storage tanks had no obvious explanation, according to Russia's Tass news agency. Something was burning at locations that corresponded to a Rosneft plant about 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, according to NASA satellites that track fires. Ukraine has already been blamed by Moscow for attacks on the Russian border town of Bryansk.

        On Sunday, the world's spiritual leaders, including Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics, asked for help for Ukraine's suffering people.