Two months have passed since the start of the war in Ukraine. A bloodstained Orthodox Easter today, Russian missiles hit Odessa , causing eight victims and twenty wounded.
Kiev also raises the alarm about a possible chemical attack , while Moscow for its part claims that the Ukrainian government is organizing a provocative operation with the use of ammonia in the Yuzhny port, so as to then attribute the blame to the Russians. And the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba compares the Ukrainian struggle to the Italian Resistance, he does so during an interview with 'Che tempo che fa' on Rai3: "I am convinced that one day in Ukraine there will be a national victory holiday against the Nazis, as happened in Europe. We are on the right side of history, as was the Italian Resistance ”.
The situation in Mariupol remains dramatic, where the Azovstal steel plant is under siege. The deputy commander of the Azov battalion, Sviatoslav Palamar , who finds himself barricaded in the plant, harshly accused the Russians in a video: "Today, at Easter, the Russian invaders continue to bomb and try to attack the Azovstal plant in the besieged city. of Mariupol, launching air strikes on the heads of children. Remember, right now that you are sharing the Easter images and enjoying the truce, the enemy is dropping bombs on the heads of innocent children in Mariupol ”.
The UN has called for an " immediate truce " in order to open a humanitarian corridor in the martyr city. Even Pope Bergoglio , during the Regina Coeli prayer, renewed his "call for an Easter truce, a minimal and tangible sign of a desire for peace: stop the attack to meet the suffering of the exhausted population". But nothing to do, even today the humanitarian corridor has failed in the martyr city, while Kiev asks Moscow for talks near the Azovstal steel plant.
Today there was also a telephone conversation between the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky . All centered on negotiations, with Erdogan reiterating Ankare's willingness to support the negotiation process also with a mediating role, while Zelensky stressed the need “for the immediate evacuation of civilians from Mariupol, including the Azovstal steel plant.
Meanwhile, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres , is expected in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday, but first he will be in Ankara and then in Moscow. Guterres' decision to go to Russia first was described by Zelensky as "unfair and illogical". "The war is in Ukraine, there are no bodies on the streets of Moscow. It would be logical to first" come to Kiev "to see the people here and the consequences of the occupation," remarked the Ukrainian president.
Last night, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the Easter vigil in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, a ceremony celebrated by the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill.
The news by the hour:
Kuleba: "Our fight like the Italian Resistance"
"I am convinced that one day in Ukraine there will be a national holiday for the victory against the Nazis, as happened in Europe. We are on the right side of history, as was the Italian resistance". This was stated by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at Che tempo che fa on Rai 3.
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Biden: "Kiev still resists"
"Two months after Putin launched his unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine, Kiev still resists. President Zelensky and his democratically elected government remain in power": tweeted Joe Biden, promising that the US will continue to " support the Ukrainians in their battle to defend their homeland ".
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Kiev proposes talks near Azovstal
Ukraine has proposed talks to Russia near the Azovstal steel plant site in Mariupol. This was announced by the Ukrainian presidency.
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Kiev: "Threat of Russian missile attacks from the Black Sea"
Two dozen Russian ships continue to cross in the Black Sea. Missile submarines are also included in the number. This was reported by the Ukrainian operational command 'South' quoted by The Kyiv Independent. According to the command, the threat of missile attacks from the sea persists.
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Ukrainian artillery strike on a Russian village
An artillery shell fired from Ukrainian territory fell near a village in the Belgorod region of Russia. This was stated on Telegram by the head of the district administration Vladimir Pertsev, quoted by Tass, specifying that it is the village of Otradnoye, 7 kilometers from the border.
"A bullet fired from Ukraine crashed into an agricultural field and not a cemetery, as some media claimed. There was only one bullet and you are not, contrary to claims by some unreliable sources. It caused no destruction, no casualties The situation in the village is calm, "said Vladimir Pertsev.
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"Failed corridor in Mariupol"
The humanitarian corridors that the Ukrainian authorities were trying to organize from Mariupol have failed even today. This was reported by the deputy premier of Kiev, Iryna Vereschuk, explaining that a new attempt will be made tomorrow. At the moment, the evacuation plans do not include civilians stranded inside the Azvostal steel plant.
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Almost 5.2 million refugees
Almost 5.2 million Ukrainians have left the country since February 24, the date of the Russian invasion. This was announced by UNHCR stating that the exact number is 5,186,744. Of these, 1,151,000 fled Ukraine in April against 3.4 million in March. Within Ukraine, there are over 7.7 million displaced persons.
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"Russian tanks with Ukrainian flag bomb Kherson"
The Russian army bombards the occupied territories in the Kherson region with tanks flying the Ukrainian flag. This was stated by the Southern operational command of Ukraine quoted by Ukrinform underlining that it is a question of provocations.
In particular, Ukrainian-flagged tanks raided the outskirts of the village of Hrozove. The column then moved towards the village of Molodetske.
"The Russian troops - adds the command - continue to exert psychological and fire pressure on civilians, carry out propaganda activities to incite the population against the Ukrainian government in order to create pseudo-republics, discredit the Ukrainian armed forces with false attacks and bombings ".
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Kiev: "We need a complete embargo on gas and oil"
"The fact that the war in Ukraine is ongoing, that our people, our children are being killed, makes it clear that the current sanctions policy is insufficient. New sanctions must be imposed constantly." This was stated by the head of the office of the Ukrainian president, Andriy Yermak, in an interview with the French broadcaster TF1, reports Ukrinform. "EU support for the imposition of a full embargo on Russian energy, gas and oil, as well as sanctions against all Russian banks is very important for Ukraine," he stressed.
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Priest of Bucha: "The Pope come here to see"
"We welcome any attempt to find peace. And if the arrival of Pope Francis can contribute to this, we look forward to it. It is also important that you come and see for yourself what happened here."
This was stated by Andrei Golovin, a priest of the Orthodox Church of Bucha, the town north west of Kiev battered by the Russians, at the end of the Easter celebrations. Having two women, Russian and Ukrainian, carry the cross "is a good idea of unity, but one of the two sides must admit their sins and repent," he added referring to the Via Crucis in Rome.
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The entries of refugees in Italy exceed 100 thousand
Two months after the start of the war, the entries of Ukrainian refugees into Italy have exceeded 100,000. They are precisely 100,306, according to what the Viminale website reports: 51,880 are women, 12,426 men and 36,000 minors. The cities of destination declared upon entry into Italy continue to be Milan, Rome, Naples and Bologna. The increase, compared to yesterday, is 518 admissions.
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Erdogan reiterates Zelensky's offer of mediation role
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan overheard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a telephone conversation focused on the Russia-Ukraine negotiations. This was reported by the Turkish presidency office quoted by Tass. During the phone call, Erdogan reiterated Turkey's willingness to support the negotiation process, including with a mediating role.
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Almost one million Ukrainians have been deported to Russia so far
Russia has so far forcibly deported nearly one million Ukrainian citizens from the militarily occupied territories in Ukraine: 951,000 to be exact, including 174,689 children. The website of the Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv Independent writes, citing the Russian defense ministry.
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Two more children killed in Donetsk
The last two young Ukrainian victims were 14 and 5 years old. They were killed in Donetsk where their home was destroyed during the fighting between Russians and Ukrainians, the governor of the region Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a tweet. According to the latest UN report updated to April 21, 184 children have been killed and 286 injured since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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An attempt is underway for a new corridor in Mariupol
A new attempt to open a humanitarian corridor in Mariupol is underway: Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschuk announced, on Telegram, the start of operations starting at 12 local time (11 in Italy). The BBC reports it online. Citizens who managed to be evacuated would be taken to Zaporizhzhia. Past attempts to open corridors have failed, with Kiev and Moscow accusing each other of responsibility. Vereschuk warned civilians, asking them to "be careful and vigilant": the risk - he said - is that the Russians could organize a "parallel corridor leading to Russian territories".
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Kiev in Moscow, "accept a real Easter truce"
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior Ukrainian negotiator and advisor to President Zelensky, urged Moscow, today on the day of the Orthodox holiday, to accept a "real Easter truce", to "immediately open a humanitarian corridor for civilians" and to agree on a "special cycle of negotiations "to facilitate the exchange of military and civilians. "Russia is constantly attacking Azovstal in Mariupol. The whereabouts of our civilians and soldiers are targeted by heavy aerial bombardment, artillery fire and an intense concentration of forces and equipment for the assault," Podolyak writes on Twitter .
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Eight civilians died in Russian bombing in Lugansk
At least eight people were killed and two others were injured in the artillery bombings carried out by the Russians in the part of the Lugansk region, in the Donbass, still controlled by Ukraine, according to the governor of Lugansk Oblast, Serhiy Haidai, quoted by various media including the BBC. Yesterday the dead were six, divided between the towns of Hirske and Zolote, to these were added today two pregnant women, whose bodies were found under the rubble of a house destroyed a few days ago in Popasna. Haidai also said that a police post was destroyed in Severodonetsk a few days ago.
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Three civilians killed by Russian artillery in Zaporizhia
Three civilians were killed in artillery shelling yesterday in the village of Kamyanske, in the Zaporizhia region. This was reported by Ukrinform, citing the regional military administration that reported it on Telegram. "At around 2 pm, three civilians were killed by Russian artillery bombardments in the village of Kamyanske, in the Vasylivskyi district, while they were working in the garden," reads the city statement from Ukrinform.
(Unioneonline)
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