Ukraine says it has regained control of the Kyiv region, with Moscow troops withdrawing from the capital and Chernihiv, as evidence of possible killings of civilians in the conflict – now in its 39th day – has emerged .
Ukraine regained control of “the entire Kyiv region” after Russian forces withdrew from some key towns near the Ukrainian capital, authorities said. (AP)
Sunday, April 3, 2022
Ukraine: Explosions rock Odessa
The airstrikes rocked the strategic Ukrainian port of Odessa on the Black Sea in the southwest. The explosions sent up at least three columns of black smoke. The attack comes as Russian forces appeared to be retreating from the north of the country.
“Odessa was attacked from the air,” wrote Anton Herashchenko, adviser to the Minister of the Interior, on his Telegram account. “Fires were reported… Some of the missiles were shot down by air defense.” The historic city of about one million inhabitants is the largest Ukrainian port on the Black Sea.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was consolidating and preparing “powerful strikes” in the south, joining a chorus of Western assessments that Moscow’s troops were regrouping.
United Kingdom: Russia prevents the resupply of Ukraine by the Black Sea
Russian naval forces continued to blockade Ukraine’s coast on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, preventing resupply by sea, British military intelligence said.
Russia retains the capability to attempt an amphibious landing, but such an operation is likely to be increasingly risky due to the time Ukrainian forces have had to prepare, the Defense Ministry tweeted.
“Mines in the Black Sea pose a serious risk to maritime activity,” he said.
The report says the origin of the mines was unclear and disputed, but they were almost certainly the result of Russian naval activity in the region, demonstrating how its attacks on Ukraine affect neutral and civilian interests .
Lithuanian documentary filmmaker fears death
Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius was killed in Mariupol in Ukraine, where he had long documented the beleaguered port city, according to colleagues and a media report.
“Lithuanian documentary filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravicius was assassinated today (Saturday) in Mariupol, camera in hand, in this… evil war,” Russian director Vitaly Mansky said on Facebook.
Kvedaravicius was known for his documentary about the conflict zone “Mariupolis”. It’s a portrait of a beleaguered Ukrainian city with a strong will to live. The strategic port is in the separatist region of Donetsk, neighboring Russia, where pro-Russian fighters have been fighting Ukraine since 2014.
The Red Cross is still trying to get people out of the nearly obliterated Ukrainian town of Mariupol, but conditions are still dangerous pic.twitter.com/55qy3FqQfn
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) April 3, 2022
Humanitarian corridor created in Mariupol — Russia
Moscow has decided to open another humanitarian corridor in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol to evacuate civilians and foreign nationals at the request of the Turkish president, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Moscow will provide full assistance in the evacuation of civilians and foreign citizens in accordance with Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s request to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the ministry said.
The statement said that on April 3 at 00:00 Moscow time, the humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Berdyansk was opened and strict observance of the “silence regime” on the roadway was guaranteed. The regime of silence is the name given to the ceasefire for a certain period in certain areas to evacuate civilians.
Poland accuses Berlin and Paris of being close to Moscow
Poland’s deputy prime minister accused France and Germany of being too close to Russia in an interview published on Sunday, as he condemned Berlin’s behavior towards Moscow ahead of the Ukraine offensive.
“Germany, like France, has a strong bias in favor of Moscow,” Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is also the leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, told German daily Die Welt in an interview.
Kaczynski saved his strongest words for Berlin. “Over the years, the German government didn’t want to see what Russia was doing under the leadership of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and we see the result today,” Kaczynski said.
Civilians found dead as Russia withdraws from Kyiv
Civilians in Ukraine’s Bucha province near Kyiv, the national capital, have been found dead with their hands tied, said Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Bucha, Kyiv region. The bodies of people with their hands tied, who were shot by Russian soldiers, lie in the streets,” Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
“These people were not in the army. They had no weapons. They posed no threat. How many other cases of this kind are occurring at the moment in the occupied territories? ” he added.
New Srebrenica. The Ukrainian town of Bucha has been in the hands of animals 🇷🇺 for several weeks. *Local civilians were being arbitrarily executed*, some with their hands tied behind their backs, their bodies strewn across the city streets.#RussianWarCrimes pic.twitter.com/outzejdidO
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 2, 2022
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Source: TRTWorld and agencies
