By ILLIA NOVIKOV, Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Clinching a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war “is far too complex to be done quickly,” a senior Kremlin official said Wednesday, as the U.S. labors to bring momentum to peace efforts and expresses frustration over the slow progress.

Meanwhile, a nighttime Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv wounded at least 45 civilians, officials said. The United Nations reported that the number of Ukrainian civilian casualties in the more than three-year war has surged in recent weeks amid Washington’s attempts to broker a peace agreement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin backs calls for a ceasefire before peace negotiations, “but before it’s done, it’s necessary to answer a few questions and sort out a few nuances,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Putin also is ready for direct talks with Ukraine without preconditions to seek a peace deal, he added.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire following a Russian drone attack that hit apartment buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

“We realize that Washington wants to achieve quick progress, but we hope for understanding that the Ukrainian crisis settlement is far too complex to be done quickly,” Peskov said. “There are many details and an array of small nuances that need to be solved before a settlement.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has previously expressed frustration over the slow pace of progress in negotiations aimed at stopping the war, which he said he could end in the first 24 hours of his new administration in January. Western European leaders have accused Putin of stalling while his forces seek to grab more Ukrainian land. Russia has captured nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory since Moscow’s forces launched a full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

Trump has chided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for steps that he said were “prolonging” the “killing field,” and the U.S. leader has rebuked Putin for complicating negotiations with “very bad timing” in launching deadly strikes that battered the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Trump has long dismissed the war as a waste of American taxpayer money and of lives lost in the conflict. Senior U.S. officials have warned that the administration could abandon the peace efforts, if it sees no solution. That could spell an end to crucial military help for Ukraine and heavier economic sanctions on Russia.

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday tried again to push both sides to move more quickly.

“We are now at a time where concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties on how to end this conflict,” department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce quoted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as telling her.

“How we proceed from here is a decision that belongs now to the president,” she told reporters, relating a conversation that she had with Rubio. “If there is not progress, we will step back as mediators in this process.”

Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt to Ukraine’s mobilization effort and Western arms supplies to Kyiv.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Wednesday that Ukraine had accepted an unconditional truce only because it was being pushed back on the battlefield, where the bigger Russian forces have the upper hand.

“In the context of the developments on the ground, along the front line where the Kyiv regime is increasingly in retreat, they have made an about-turn and started demanding an immediate ceasefire without any preconditions,” Lavrov said at a briefing in Rio de Janeiro where he was attending a ministerial meeting of the BRICS grouping.

He also suggested that Ukraine’s ceasefire promises weren’t credible. Both sides have accused each other of breaking previous truces. Independent verification of the battlefield claims wasn’t possible.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian civilians have been killed or wounded in attacks every day this year, according to a U.N. report presented Tuesday in New York.

The U.N. Human Rights Office said in the report that in the first three months of this year, it had verified 2,641 civilian casualties in Ukraine. That was almost 900 more than during the same period last year.

Also, between April 1-24, civilian casualties in Ukraine were up 46% from the same weeks in 2024, it said.

The Ukrainian air force said that Russia fired 108 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine between Tuesday and Wednesday, predominantly at the cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv.

By JUSTIN SPIKE, Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — An unprecedented blackout across Spain and Portugal upended the lives of millions across the Iberian Peninsula, a stark reminder of modern society’s reliance on electricity, and how quickly life can descend into chaos when the grid goes down.

Power was nearly completely restored across the region on Tuesday, but the cause of the previous day’s blackout remains unclear. For those affected, the experience will likely leave a lasting impression and raise questions on how to respond if another crisis emerges.

While such widespread failures of power grids are rare, having a plan for how to react to such an event — and how to prepare ahead of time — can make a major difference in staying safe and managing the disruption if the lights go out.

What should I do if the power goes down?

A general power outage affects everyone whether they are at home, at work or on the move. As in Spain and Portugal, electric trains, trolleys and subway systems can stop in their tracks and strand passengers, while traffic lights can go down turning roads into a snarl of gridlock.

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No matter where you are when the power goes down, your first priority should be to remain calm and tend to your most immediate needs like food, water and shelter, and develop a plan for how you can get to a safe place and connect with your loved ones.

According to the American Red Cross, unnecessary travel, especially by car, should be avoided during a power outage. Without traffic lights, roads may become congested or hazardous, increasing the risk of becoming stranded.

If you are at home, exercise caution when using candles or gas lanterns for light because of the risk of fire and noxious gases like carbon monoxide. Use battery-powered lanterns or flashlights if available, but conserve batteries to extend their working life.

Turn off any unnccesary electronics, and unplug appliances such as ovens or stoves that were in use when the power went out. If the power comes back on, surges can damage equipment and appliances can be hazardous if allowed to run unattended.

If the outage lasts for more than a few hours, you’ll want to ensure the food you have on hand doesn’t spoil. According to emergency guidelines published by the Estonian government, refrigerators and freezers should be opened only briefly to preserve the cold. Use perishable food from the fridge first, followed by items in the freezer, then nonperishables.

How do I prepare my home for a power outage?

Preparedness, “be it psychological or real preparedness in case of crisis,” is a key factor in successfully managing disruptive events, Argo Kerb from the Estonian Rescue Board, a government agency, told The Associated Press.

As concerns grow around the world over instability stemming from armed conflict, political discord and climate change, many governments are prioritizing crisis preparedness among their populations.

Passengers react as they wait for news of train departures, at Sants train station in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

In March, the European Union urged all 450 million residents of the 27-nation bloc to stockpile food, water and other essentials to last at least 72 hours as war, cyberattacks, climate change and disease increase the chances of a crisis.

According to Kerb: “Preparedness is a shared responsibility. It’s a shared responsibility in a family, in a country, but it’s also a shared responsibility in Europe and the world.”

While long-lasting power outages such as the one in Spain and Portugal are relatively uncommon, having a few basic supplies on hand can make a substantial difference in how safely and comfortably they can be endured.

The EU recommends food, water, flashlights, ID papers, medicine and shortwave radios as things to have at home. Matches or lighters, chargers and a power bank for your devices are also recommended.

In a sign of how critical access to information can be in an emergency, battery-powered radios flew off the shelves in Spain and Portugal as internet and cellphone services went down. Keeping a supply of batteries, and a battery powered or hand-crank radio, will help keep you connected to vital information when internet and television services are down.

People queue for petrol in Lisbon, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the day after a nationwide power outage that shut down gas stations, trains and subways. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

If you’re caught without these items during a crisis, you’ll need to buy them, but outages can leave electronic payments unavailable. You’ll want to make sure you keep a reasonable quantity of cash on hand.

As European commissioner for crisis management Hadja Lahbib said in a recent video urging preparedness: “In the middle of a crisis, cash is king, and your credit card might just be a piece of plastic.”

In a brochure provided to every household in Sweden, “In Case of Crisis or War,” the Swedish government says each person will need at least three liters (nearly a gallon) of water per day for drinking and cooking, which should be stored at home in bottles or other containers.

It also recommends keeping extra warm bedding like sleeping bags and blankets on hand in case services are interrupted during cold weather.

If you have a portable generator, strictly follow its instructions and never run it indoors or in enclosed spaces as it produces lethal carbon monoxide gas. Plug the devices you want to power directly into the generator, and never attempt to wire it to your home’s electrical system.

Emma Burrows contributed to this report from London.

By DAVID A. LIEB, MARGERY A. BECK and BECKY BOHRER, Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Voters in Alaska, Missouri and Nebraska were asked last year whether they wanted to require employers to provide paid sick leave to their workers. They overwhelmingly said yes.

Now some lawmakers in each of those states are trying to roll back the benefits, citing concerns from businesses about costs.

The efforts mark the latest attempt by legislators to alter laws backed by the voters they represent. In February, for example, Michigan enacted revisions to a paid sick leave law initiated by voters seven years ago, delaying the date when small businesses must comply and allowing a longer period before new employees are eligible.

Though some voters are outraged, some lawmakers contend that citizen activists who crafted the initiatives overlooked the realities of running a business.

Restaurant owner Tim Hart, who employs about two dozen workers at his steakhouse in Hannibal, Missouri, said the paid sick leave requirement imposes a double financial hit because he must pay one person to stay home and another to fill the shift.

“When this goes into effect, we very likely won’t survive,” said Hart, who has urged the state Senate to halt the law.

The paid sick leave laws are set to kick in Thursday in Missouri, July 1 in Alaska and Oct. 1 in Nebraska.

McDonald’s restaurant worker Richard Eiker is among those who stand to benefit. He signed a petition putting the initiative on the Missouri ballot and traveled recently from Kansas City to the state Capitol to lobby lawmakers to let the law stand.

In 40 years on the job, Eiker has never received paid sick leave — not even when he was struggling with a kidney stone.

“I just took some pain medication and just went into work anyway and just worked past the pain,” Eiker said. “It would have been nice to have stayed home.”

Lower-wage workers are less likely to get paid sick leave

Federal law requires many employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for personal or family medical issues. But there is no federal mandate to pay for sick days.

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Nonetheless, 79% of private-sector employees received paid sick leave last year, according to the Department of Labor. Part-time workers were significantly less likely to receive the benefit than their full-time counterparts. And just 58% of employees in the bottom quarter of income earners received paid sick leave, compared with 94% in the top quartile.

Though still discretionary for many employers, the number of states mandating paid sick leave has grown significantly since Connecticut enacted the first such law in 2012. Last year’s ballot measures raised the total to 18 states and the District of Columbia. Three additional states require paid leave for any reason, without specifying sickness.

Many paid sick leave laws, including the ones in Alaska, Missouri and Nebraska, apply to any employer with at least one worker. But some states exempt the smallest businesses, with cutoffs ranging from five to 25 employees. The number of annual paid sick days also varies.

Missouri lawmaker wants it to be ‘less onerous’ for employers

On Tuesday the state Supreme Court upheld Missouri’s paid sick leave law against a challenge from business groups. But efforts to revise it continue.

In March, Republican House members passed legislation to repeal the paid sick leave requirement. That was then blocked by minority-party Democrats in the Senate. So Republicans are pushing an alternative that would delay the law until later this year, exempt smaller businesses and take away workers’ ability to sue over alleged violations.

The intent is to “just make it a little less onerous on employers,” said Republican state Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, a small business owner who is backing the bill.

But many workers already have it tough, Democratic lawmakers said.

“When there’s people living paycheck to paycheck, just missing a little bit of work can really put them behind,” Democratic state Sen. Patty Lewis said.

Nebraska senator warns of ‘huge overstep’ by colleagues

Legislation pushed by Republican lawmakers in Nebraska state would carve out exceptions from paid sick leave for 14- and-15-year-old employees, temporary and seasonal agricultural workers and businesses with 10 or fewer employees.

The legislation also would strip workers of the ability to sue employers who retaliate against them for using paid sick leave.

Supporters of the revisions say they aim to protect small businesses from higher costs. Opponents say they are essentially gutting the law.

“We’re talking about just whole swaths of the ballot language being stricken by this,” state Sen. John Cavanaugh said during recent debate. “That is a huge overstep by this Legislature to say that we know better than the people who voted for this.”

Alaska labor leader foresees ‘long battle’ over voters’ wishes

A bill by state Rep. Justin Ruffridge would exempt seasonal workers and businesses with fewer than 50 employees from the sick leave requirement. That could exclude many catering to Alaska’s summer tourists.

Ruffridge, a member of the House’s Republican minority, said small business owners should be able to choose whether to spend money on sick leave benefits or other measures to grow their businesses.

Joelle Hall, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO, which supported the ballot measure, doubts Ruffridge’s bill will gain traction in the final weeks of this year’s session.

But, she said, “I believe this is the beginning of a long battle to protect the voters’ wishes from the wills and the whims of the businesspeople who don’t want to pay sick days.”

Beck reported from Lincoln, Nebraska, and Bohrer from Juneau, Alaska.

Today is Wednesday, April 30, the 120th day of 2025. There are 245 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On April 30, 1993, top-ranked women’s tennis player Monica Seles was stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg, Germany, by a man who described himself as a fan of second-ranked German player Steffi Graf. (The man was convicted of causing grievous bodily injury, but was given only a two-year suspended sentence.)

Also on this date:

In 1789, George Washington took the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York as the first president of the United States.

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In 1803, the United States completed its purchase of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Territory from France for 60 million francs, the equivalent of about $15 million; the acquisition roughly doubled the size of the United States.

In 1900, engineer John Luther “Casey” Jones of the Illinois Central Railroad died in a train wreck near Vaughan, Mississippi, staying at the controls to slow his passenger train before it struck a stalled train near an approaching station; Jones was the only fatality of the accident.

In 1945, as Soviet troops approached his Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler took his own life, as did Eva Braun, whom Hitler married the previous day.

In 1973, as the Watergate scandal deepened, President Richard Nixon announced the resignations of top aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst and White House counsel John Dean (though Dean was actually fired by Nixon).

In 1975, the Vietnam War ended as the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces.

In 1993, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) announced that the World Wide Web, which was invented at CERN four years earlier by Tim Berners-Lee, was free for anyone to use, and released its source code to the public domain.

Today’s Birthdays:

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is 76.
Filmmaker Jane Campion is 71.
Filmmaker Lars von Trier is 69.
Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas is 64.
Actor Johnny Galecki is 50.
Actor Sam Heughan is 45.
Actor Kunal Nayyar is 44.
Rapper Lloyd Banks is 43.
Actor Kirsten Dunst is 43.
Basketball Hall of Famer Seimone Augustus is 41.
Actor Gal Gadot is 40.
Actor Dianna Agron is 39.
Actor Ana de Armas is 37.
Rapper-producer Travis Scott is 34.