European Union targets Russia's Wagner Group in latest round of sanctions

It will be “extremely difficult” for the European Union (EU) to “maintain a relationship of trust with China” if Beijing does not help search for a political solution to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Friday. 

The EU's top diplomat had to postpone a trip to China this week after he tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a Tweet he posted.

Borrell also called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to speak to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and “provide more substantial humanitarian aid to the battered Ukrainian people.” 

EU-China relationship: Borrell said relations between the EU and China “have deteriorated in recent years due to a growing number of irritants,” in particular China’s position on the war in Ukraine and EU sanctions against Chinese officials over the reported mass detention and persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. 

The ongoing trade “imbalance” between the EU and China was also addressed at length. The statement said the bloc's total amount of our trade reached nearly 850 billion euros ($941 billion) in 2022, but Borrell noted that these exchanges were "increasingly unbalanced" at a disadvantage to the EU.

"Our trade deficit has reached a record of 400 billion euros ($443 billion), or 2.3% of our GDP… If imbalances are not corrected, we have to react,” the statement said. 

Thursday saw the arrest of a 21-year-old man in the high-profile case surrounding leaked US intelligence documents, including ones containing classified information on the war in Ukraine.

Here are some of the other major storylines out of Ukraine you need to know:

HALO Trust deminers clear a farmers' land from explosives near the village of Yevgenivka, in the Mykolaiv region in Ukraine on April 9. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images)

Ukrainian farmers trying to sow crops this season have faced “more difficult conditions than in 2022,” according to a policy official.

Denys Marchuk, deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council Public Union, laid out the numerous challenges facing the country’s crop sowing campaign — which launched late last month — in a news conference in Kyiv on Thursday.

Short on money: Marchuk highlighted a lack of funding as a key reason why farmers are struggling to produce. Farmers have run out of supplies like mineral fertilizers, plant protection products and seed, and did not receive additional funding for 2023.

Russia left large areas unusable: Some 7 million hectares (more than 27,000 square miles) of farmland in Ukraine can’t be used during the sowing campaign, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.

Apart from Russian-occupied territories, which are temporarily off the table, there are still mines that have not been removed across a lot of liberated land in Ukraine.

As CNN has previously reported, the country’s farmers face a stark choice: clear the fields of explosives to prepare for planting season or contemplate another year without income.

Making the most of available land: Despite all the challenges, Ukraine plans to sow crops on more than 19 million hectares of land (more than 73,000 square miles), according to the agrarian ministry.

Why a successful season is so important: Ukraine is regarded as a key breadbasket for much of the world, and the country relies on agriculture to generate more than 40% of total export revenues.

The country’s economy shrank by more than 30% in 2022 after Russia’s invasion destroyed infrastructure, hurt businesses and disrupted daily life, Kyiv’s Economic Ministry said in March.

The deputy chairman said farmers sold the grain group “mostly either at a loss or at their cost price,” saying this was a reason for the lack of free funds that could be used during this sowing campaign.

The European Union added Russia’s Wagner private military group and Russian news agency RIA FAN to a list of organizations it is sanctioning, a statement from the European Council said Thursday.

The EU sanctioned the two organizations for “undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” the statement read. 

Some background: RIA FAN is part of the Patriot Media Group, a Russian organization whose Board of Trustees is headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to the EU.

Prigozhin is also the head of the Wagner Group, which has been previously sanctioned for what the EU describes as serious human rights violations.

The EU has now sanctioned a total of 1,473 individuals and 207 entities in connection with their actions in Ukraine, the statement read. Those designated are subject to an asset freeze, and EU citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds available to them, the statement read.

Authorities will bolster security measures across the country as Ukrainians prepare to celebrate another Orthodox Easter while fighting Russia’s war. 

Residents are discouraged from attending church services late at night this weekend, and many cemeteries will remain closed due to the danger of unexploded mines and Russian shelling.

Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter one week after many Christians in the US and other Western countries observe the holiday.

Ukrainian officials have warned in the past that Russian attacks may increase around specific dates, holidays or events. Oleksiy Biloshytskyi, a national law enforcement official, said police will use special monitoring centers to look out for any signs of attacks.

In the capital Kyiv, residents will be able to attend late evening church services despite a curfew, but they must arrive at church before the curfew takes effect, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Serhii Popko, said Thursday in a Telegram post.

Popko said churchgoers and clergy should research the nearest shelter to their congregation and be prepared to flee to safety if an air raid alarm sounds.

The curfew hours in Kyiv last from midnight to 5 a.m. local time (10 p.m. ET), as is the case for most of the country.

In the broader Kyiv region, residents will only be able to attend church services when the curfew is not in effect, and only a limited number of people will be allowed on the grounds of churches and cemeteries due to security reasons, the Kyiv region’s military administration said Monday. 

Many churches will broadcast services online, it added.

In northeastern Kharkiv, which is Ukraine’s second-largest city, officials will close a number of cemeteries.

Authorities warned that one of the cemeteries, the Slobozhanskyi memorial complex, has not been fully cleared of explosive mines.

Other city cemeteries will be closed on Easter “to avoid provocations by the enemy and to protect citizens from unpredictable missile attacks,” the city council said.

In the southern city of Kherson, residents won’t be able to visit cemeteries or attend church services during curfew hours, the city council said Tuesday.

It said the ban on cemeteries was due to mine danger.

Russia's Prosecutor General's Office said Thursday it has launched an investigation into a video that purports to show the beheading of a captured Ukrainian solider.

The statement specifies the probe is related to video of "an unknown person in camouflage in the summer season" that "uses violence with a knife against an unknown serviceman, as a result of which he causes his death".

The prosecution has submitted the materials to investigating authorities for probing in order to “assess the authenticity of these materials and make an appropriate decision.”