UKRAINE'S President, Volodymyr Zelensky, says Russian troops are carrying out ‘slow but noticeable’ withdrawal from northern Ukraine BUT 'are mining the whole territory'.
Russian forces have left mines in homes and corpses near Kyiv, despite carrying out a “slow but noticeable” withdrawal from northern Ukraine, Zelensky has claimed.
He said: "The occupiers are withdrawing forces in the north of our country. The withdrawal is slow but noticeable."
Meanwhile, last night, the President also said that as the troops are retreating: “They are mining the whole territory. They are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed.
He added that such action was a “complete disaster” for the areas affected.
Follow our Russia-Ukraine live blog below for up-to-the-minute updates…
- Milica Cosic
Death toll from Mykolaiv strike keeps growing
At least 33 people have been killed and 34 injured in a Russian rocket strike on the regional government building in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian officials gave the latest death toll in a statement today, after the deadly strike that hit Mykolaiv on Tuesday.
Rescuers sent by the State Emergency Service have been searching the wreckage for survivors since Russian forces struck the building, which housed the office of regional governor Vitaliy Kim. The governor, who was not on the premises at the time of the attack.
The confirmed death toll has risen steadily as the search and rescue operation continues.
- Milica Cosic
Ukraine local deputy mayor 'kidnapped'
Russian troops have kidnapped a local deputy mayor in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine, the region's head Dmytro Zhyvytskyi told BBC Ukrainian.
The official was named as Oleksiy Shibayev, deputy mayor of Nova Sloboda district.
A number of other local Ukrainian officials have been taken captive by Russian occupation forces.
- Milica Cosic
Moldova denies Russian troops are massing in breakaway region
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has said today it believed Russian troops are massing in the self-declared republic of Transistria and preparing to carry out "provocations" along the border.
But both Moldova and separatist authorities in Transistria have denied this claim.
Moldova's foreign ministry said there is "no information to confirm".
Ukraine fears Russian troops in Transnistria could open another front in the war. However, Transnistria's foreign ministry denied this, saying "information disseminated by the General Staff of Ukraine is absolutely untrue".
"All military units on the territory of [Transnistria] are in places of permanent deployment and carry out their activities in a standard operating mode," it said.
- Milica Cosic
News from this morning
If you’re just joining the blog – welcome. Here’s a summary of the latest news:
- Seven humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from Ukraine’s besieged regions are planned for Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said.
- Residents fleeing the port city of Mariupol took a convoy of buses and private cars to reach Ukrainian-controlled Zaporizhzhia.
- The fleet arrived as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 3,000 people have been rescued from Mariupol.
- Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram the air strike was “carried out by two Ukrainian army helicopters, which entered Russian territory at a low altitude”. Ukraine would neither confirm nor deny the attack.
Video shows destruction in another liberated Ukrainian town
Towns near Kyiv have been liberated from Russian control, but British intelligence suggests Russian troops have been withrdawing in the area as Ukrainian forces have continued to advance.
The footage below shows the aftermath of fighting in Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv.
The video shows the devastation of various damaged buildings.
Ukrainian war photographer killed near Kyiv
A 41-year-old Ukrainian photographer has reportedly been killed near Kyiv. A friend posted on Twitter announcing that his body was recovered yesterday.
Maks Levin went missing in mid-March while has covering Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Putin's forces 'mining' corpses
UKRAINE'S President, Volodymyr Zelensky, says Russian troops are carrying out ‘slow but noticeable’ withdrawal from northern Ukraine BUT 'are mining the whole territory'.
Russian forces have left mines in homes and corpses near Kyiv, despite carrying out a “slow but noticeable” withdrawal from northern Ukraine, Zelensky has claimed.
He said: "The occupiers are withdrawing forces in the north of our country. The withdrawal is slow but noticeable."
Meanwhile, last night, the President also said that as the troops are retreating: “They are mining the whole territory. They are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed.
He added that such action was a “complete disaster” for the areas affected.
BREAKING: Russia accuses UK of escalating war in Ukraine
RUSSIA has warned the Britain that weapons supplied to Ukraine will be a "legitimate targets".
The threat has come from the country's UK ambassador who has also accused Britain of escalating the war by supplying Kyiv with weapons.
The UK has already sent thousands of anti-tank missiles to Ukraine and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has agreed to send more after a conference held by military donors to the country.
EU plans further sanctions against Russia
A leading official has said that the EU is planning further sanctions against Russia. However, these should not affect the energy sector.
Speaking from Italy on Saturday, the EU’s Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni also said the bloc will see reduced growth because of the war in Ukraine but will not have a recession.
- Milica Cosic
Pope Francis for the first time implicitly criticises Putin over Ukraine
Pope Francis came the closest he has yet to implicitly criticising President Vladimir Putin over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying on Saturday a "potentate" was fomenting conflicts for nationalist interests.
"From the east of Europe, from the land of the sunrise, the dark shadows of war have now spread. We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past," the pope said in an address to Maltese officials after arriving on the Mediterranean island nation for a two-day visit.
"However, the icy winds of war, which bring only death, destruction and hatred in their wake, have swept down powerfully upon the lives of many people and affected us all," he said.
"Once again, some potentate, sadly caught up in anachronistic claims of nationalist interests, is provoking and fomenting conflicts, whereas ordinary people sense the need to build a future that, will either shared, or not be at all," he said.
The pope has already strongly condemned what he has called an "unjustified aggression" and denounced "atrocities" in the war.
But he has only referred to Russia directly in prayers, such as during a special global event for peace on March 25.
"Now in the night of the war that is fallen upon humanity, let us not allow the dream of peace to fade!" he said yesterday.
- Milica Cosic
Seven humanitarian corridors for today
Ukraine's deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk has announced plans to evacuate civilians from besieged parts of Ukraine.
There will be seven humanitarian corridors today.
One of those corridors is planned for Mariupol, but another – Vereshchuk – said it would be limited to private transport out of the city rather than buses.
Vereshchuk said there were plans to use buses to evacuate Mariupol residents out of the city of Berdyansk.
- Milica Cosic
UK grounds another jet linked to Russia
UK authorities have stopped a jet linked to Russia from flying, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has tweeted.
The aircraft was prevented from taking off from London Luton Airport, where it now remains. The Department for Transport has been set with the task of investigation whether it breaches recent UK sanctions banning aircraft connected with Russia.
While the investigation is ongoing, officials wouldn't give any information on the name of its owner.
- Milica Cosic
Russian forces in 'rapid retreat' from northern areas
Russian forces are making a "rapid retreat" from areas around the capital Kyiv and the city of Chernigiv in northern Ukraine, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said today.
"With the rapid retreat of the Russians from the Kyiv and Chernigiv regions… it is completely clear that Russia is prioritising a different tactic: falling back on the east and south," he said on social media.
- Milica Cosic
Pope Francis 'considering' a trip to Kyiv
The Pope has revealed he is considering visiting the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
When asked by a reporter if he would consider an invitation from Ukrainian political and religious authorities, he said: "Yes, it is on the table."
- Milica Cosic
More on the anti-tank missiles
Britain recently said it would ship another 6,000 anti-tank missiles and explosive weapons to Ukraine to help “keep the flame of freedom alive”.
Boris Johnson vowed to bolster defensive lethal aid to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces — including NLAW tank busters.
The latest shipment of weapons means Britain has more than doubled its total sent there to 10,000 just days after Ukraine warned it was fast running out.
The UK has already given 4,000 anti-tank artillery — including Next-Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons Systems, or NLAWs, and Javelin missiles.
- Milica Cosic
UK agrees to send more anti-tank missiles to Ukraine
The UK has already sent thousands of anti-tank missiles to Ukraine and has agreed to send more after a conference held by military donors to the country.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told last night told Sky News: “There will be more lethal aid going into Ukraine.
“Ukraine needs longer-range artillery and that's because of what the Russian army has been doing, which is now digging in and starting to pound these cities with artillery.
“The best counter to that is other long-range artillery, so [Ukraine will] be looking for and getting more long-range artillery, ammunition predominantly.
'They are also looking for armoured vehicles of some types — not tanks necessarily, but certainly protective vehicles, and more anti-air [weapons].
“All of this will be forthcoming as a result of this conference.”
- Milica Cosic
Russia-UKraine war news you may have missed
- Ukrainian helicopters hit a storage facility in Belogrod with S-8 rockets, triggering a huge blaze and injuring two workers.
- A Russian soldier has died of radiation sickness from the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
- An orangutan rescued from under-siege Kharkiv is so traumatised that keepers have given him a TV so he can hear children’s laughter.
- Russian soldiers have reportedly left burned and booby-trapped bodies of executed civilians on a highway.
Dramatic moment Ukrainian troops use British ‘Starstreak’ missiles
A RUSSIAN helicopter has been blasted out of the sky by Ukrainian forces using a British missile for the first time.
Dramatic footage shows the moment the Mi-28N is hit by the Starstreak in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine.
The Starstreak is the world’s fastest surface-to-air missile and can travel at three time the speed of sound.
Ministry of Defence sources said it’s the first time the missile has been used to bring down a Russian plane.
In the video, the chopper can be seen skimming the treetops before it’s hit in the tail by the Starstreak.
The missile can be seen lifting off through the trees towards its target.
Hello! Milica Cosic logging in this morning. I'll be bringing you the latest news on the Russia-Ukraine war until 10pm tonight.
EU & China agree Ukraine war threatening global security
The European Union and China agreed that the war in Ukraine was threatening global security, the head of the European Council said on Friday, while warning China against helping Russia’s war.
Charles Michel told a news conference: “The EU and China, we agreed that this war is threatening global security and the world’s economy.
“Any attempts to circumvent sanctions or provide aid to Russia would prolong the war. This would lead to more loss of life and greater economic impact,” he said.
He added: “We will also remain vigilant on any attempts to aid Russia financially or militarily. However, positive steps by China to help end the war would be welcomed by all Europeans and by the global community.”
Helicopters strike fuel storage facility in Belgorod, Russia
The image below shows a fuel storage facility on fire in the west Russian town of Belgorod.
The strike in the Russian town of Belgorod marked the first time Russia has reported a Ukrainian airstrike on its territory since the conflict began.
“There was a fire at the petrol depot because of an air strike carried out by two Ukrainian army helicopters, which entered Russian territory at a low altitude,” Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on messaging app Telegram.
- Joseph Gamp
Ukraine unable to get supplies to Mariupol or evacuate civilians
An aide to the mayor of Mariupol yesterday said the besieged southern Ukrainian city remained closed for anyone trying to enter and was “very dangerous” for anyone trying to leave.
Petro Andryushchenko said Russian forces had since Thursday been preventing even the smallest amount of humanitarian supplies reaching trapped residents, making clear a planned “humanitarian corridor” had not been opened.
“The city remains closed to entry and very dangerous to exit with personal transport,” he said on the Telegram messaging app.
“In addition, since yesterday the occupiers have categorically not allowed any humanitarian aid – even in small quantities – into the city.”
A convoy of buses that set out for Mariupol on Thursday did not reach the city, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday evening.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote in an online post late on Thursday that new efforts would be made “to push through a humanitarian corridor to Mariupol so as not to leave our people on their own.”
- Joseph Gamp
UK claims Russia reinforcing invasion of Ukraine
The British defence ministry has said that Moscow is “redeploying elements of its forces from Georgia to reinforce its invasion of Ukraine”, citing latest intelligence inputs.
The latest intelligence update from the ministry reads: “Between 1,200 and 2,000 of these Russian troops are being reorganised into 3 x Battalion Tactical Groups”.
It added: “It is highly unlikely that Russia planned to generate reinforcements in this manner and it is indicative of the unexpected losses it has sustained during the invasion.”
- Joseph Gamp
Russia’s slain commanders
Putin’s top brass killed since the invasion of Ukraine:
- Major Dmitry Toptun
- Major Alexey Osokin
- Lieutenant General Andrei Mordvichev
- Major General Vitaly Gerasimov
- Major General Andrei Kolesnikov
- Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky
- Colonel Nikolay Ovcharenko
- Colonel Sergei Porokhyna
- Colonel Sergei Sukharev
- Colonel Andrei Zakharov
- Colonel Konstantin Zizevsky
- Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Agarkov
- Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov
- Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov
- Major Viktor Maksimchuk
- General Magomed Tushaev
- Colonel Alexei Sharov
20 hours ago (01.04.2022 02:00)Biden proposes $6.9bn to aid Ukraine against Russia & bolster NATO
The US would spend $6.9 billion to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion and support NATO member countries under a budget proposal President Joe Biden’s administration released Monday.
The funds would represent Washington’s latest allocation of defence aid after Russia’s shock invasion of its neighbor last month.
Th budget would be used to “enhance the capabilities and readiness of US forces, NATO allies, and regional partners in the face of Russian aggression,” the White House said.
Source: Read Full Article
- Residents fleeing the port city of Mariupol took a convoy of buses and private cars to reach Ukrainian-controlled Zaporizhzhia.
- Seven humanitarian corridors to evacuate people from Ukraine’s besieged regions are planned for Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said.
