Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: UN chief visits Ukraine's Borodyanka town

BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine:

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday visited the town of Borodyanka outside Kiev, which was affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Twitter.

Guterres arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after visiting Moscow on Tuesday.

Osnat Lubrani, the UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, said Thursday that she was heading to the Zaporizhzhia city in southern Ukraine to prepare for an evacuation from Mariupol at the request of Guterres.

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The applications by Finland and Sweden to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will be processed quickly should the Scandinavian countries choose to do so, the military alliance's Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Thursday.

"If they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be welcomed with open arms to NATO. Finland and Sweden are our closest partners," Stoltenberg told reporters at the European Parliament in Brussels.

Both Finland and Sweden have long pursued a policy of military non-alignment. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, NATO has failed to win over the two countries several times.

But the two countries have made some changes in their positions in face of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, delivering weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.

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Kiev is willing to seize Russian assets to finance Ukraine's post-conflict recovery, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Thursday.

"The funds of the Russian government and oligarchs will be one of the main sources for filling the Fund for the Reconstruction of our country," Shmyhal wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine is in talks with the countries of the Group of Seven over the seizure of Russia's assets, Shmyhal said, adding that Canada has already prepared legislation for such actions.

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Ukraine and Russia on Thursday conducted their seventh prisoner exchange since the start of the conflict, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

Forty-five people, including twelve civilians held by the Russian forces, were released as the result of the swap, Vereshchuk said on Telegram.

Out of the thirty-three Ukrainian troops released under the swap, there were 13 officers and 20 soldiers, she said.

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The German Bundestag, lower house of Parliament, on Thursday voted to provide "comprehensive support for Ukraine," allowing the delivery of heavy weapons to the country.

A corresponding proposal, which was passed by a vote of 586 to 100, allows the "supply of effective, including heavy, weapons and complex systems" to Ukraine. Deliveries were also to be accelerated.

However, Germany's government was also urged to "support all efforts by the Ukrainian government to reach a cease-fire in direct negotiations with the Russian leadership," according to a Bundestag statement.