42 days have passed since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the conditions for a ceasefire agreement are not yet in sight.
The offensive of the Moscow troops continues, with Putin's army having left the Kiev region to concentrate the offensive in the areas to the east and south of the country.
Ukrainians are preparing to defend Donbass, and Kiev invites residents of three eastern regions to evacuate immediately: the affected areas are those of Lugansk, Donetsk and part of the Kharkiv region, while trains leave Odessa with women and children who they leave the port city. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary general, has also announced a "massive" offensive by Russian troops on the eastern side of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that the United States will release $ 100 million in additional security aid for Ukraine "to help it respond to the Russian invasion." "For every Russian tank we will send 10 anti-tank systems to Kiev," he said. The US has approved new sanctions that also affect Vladimir Putin's daughters, a new package has also been launched by London and includes a stop to oil and coal.
And while in Gostomel the mayor speaks of 400 missing, including children, the international spotlight remains on the war crimes allegations made by Kiev in Moscow. According to Ukrainian Attorney General Irina Venediktova, who conducted an inspection in Bucha, where brutal executions of hundreds of civilians were reported, at least 5,000 war crimes committed by Russians are currently under investigation. "Even in this cruel situation, war crimes are the first to appear in the order, followed by crimes against humanity and genocide," Venediktova said. Yesterday President Zelensky, speaking to the UN Security Council, called for the establishment of a court "on the Nuremberg model" for Russia.
For its part, Moscow sends the accusations back to the sender, speaking of "distorted facts" and "staging". And Putin speaks of "crude and cynical provocations" by Ukraine, with the "complicity" of the Western media.
And other horrors emerge after 42 days of war: the mobile crematoria in Mariupol, where also 50 people were found burned alive following the bombing of the children's hospital, or the horror of Borodyanka, where dozens were found under the rubble bombing and mass graves are sought in what has been called a hell worse than Bucha.
HERE all the articles on the conflict in Ukraine.
HERE all the videos.
Here are the war updates, by the hour:
Mayor Mariupol: "50 burned alive"
In Mariupol, nearly 50 people were burned alive during the bombing of a children's hospital by the Russian occupiers. This was stated by the mayor of the city Vadym Boychenko during a round table in video link on the "Political and legal consequences of the crimes of the Russian Federation against Ukraine", reports UNIAN.
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Usa: "100 kamikaze drones sent to Kiev"
The United States sent the 100 switchblade drones, so-called 'kamikaze', which were part of the latest US military aid package. The Pentagon spokesman said in a press briefing stating that they may already have arrived. The official also explained that US forces trained "a very small number of Ukrainian soldiers who were in the United States and then returned to Ukraine to train others".
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Kuleba: "Even Italy guarantees our safety"
"I appreciate the initiative to start consultations with Italy to become the guarantor of Ukrainian security. This is the result of the dialogue between President Zelenski and Prime Minister Draghi and also of my relationship with your Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, who besides being a colleague of mine he is also a friend ". This was stated by the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kuleba in an interview with Tg1. "With Italy we have shared what we expect, and now we await the Italian response on how Rome sees a potential security guarantee. I am sure we will reach an agreement," added Kuleba.
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Pentagon: "Ukraine can win the war"
Kiev has a chance of winning the war unleashed by Russia, according to the Pentagon. "Of course they can win it," Defense Department spokesman John Kirby replied in the daily briefing. "The proof is in the outcomes you are seeing every day," he added.
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Kiev: "The Russians also use cremation ovens for their own corpses"
Our secret services tell us that Russia is trying to hide its crimes and that is why it is using mobile crematory ovens (in Mariupol, ed) to burn the corpses of our women and children. He is also using the same crematorium ovens for his own army. They brought them from Crimea and they are also using them to burn their own soldiers, so that they don't see them in Russia, imagine if they were to see thousands of corpses returning to their homeland ", Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told Sky TG24 explaining that "Putin is using the crematoria to hide all his criminal actions.
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"For each Russian tank 10 anti-tank systems in Kiev"
"For every Russian tank, the United States and NATO have supplied or will supply ten anti-tank systems to Ukraine." This was stated by the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, in an interview with NBC from Brussels.
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Biden: "In Bucha people killed in cold blood"
"Very serious war crimes were committed in Bucha", "people were killed in cold blood": US President Joe Biden said at a public event. The war in Ukraine is far from over, he added, reiterating that the US is ready to support Kiev for a long time.
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Mayor of Kiev: "Those who are not in the city wait to return"
"Kiev continues to live under martial law, even as the streets are being cleaned up and more and more bars, shops and gas stations are reopening. The citizens of Kiev who had left are returning. But to those who have not yet returned home I ask : please wait again. The threat of bombing is still probable. " This is the appeal launched by the mayor of Kiev, Vitaliy Klitschko, on Telegram.
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The Russians withdrew from Kiev and Chernihiv
Russian troops "completely withdrawn" from the Kiev and Chernihiv areas. This was reported by Pentagon sources as reported by CNN. The US Defense has reiterated that now the toughest front of the battle has moved to the east of Ukraine.
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Moscow: "We can also give gas to others"
Russia can supply gas to other countries, the world is much larger than just the West. The Kremlin affirms this, reports the TASS.
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New sanctions from London: stop oil and coal
New package of sanctions also from the United Kingdom against Russia, simultaneously with the US and the EU and in response to war crimes in Ukraine. Boris Johnson's government today announced in particular the freezing on the island of all assets of Sberbank, the main public bank in Moscow, as well as the commitment to eliminate all Russian oil or coal imports by this year.
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Moscow: "Kiev prepares staging with paid extras"
"Ukrainian nationalists bombed Dergachi, in the Kharkiv region, then filmed the destroyed buildings and 'numerous deaths', and then broadcast" the images "to the Western media." This was stated by Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, quoted by Ria Novosti. According to him, the civilians who "participated in the shooting" would have been paid $ 25,000 each.
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Sanctions also to Putin's daughters
The new sanctions launched by the US, in conjunction with the G7 and the EU, against Russia will affect the daughters of Vladimir Putin, Maria and Iekaterina, and the daughter of the Russian Foreign Minister Serghiei Lavrov. This was confirmed by a senior US administration official at one point with the press. "We know - explained the source - that Putin and his associates use their families to hide their assets, which is why we have also decided to freeze the assets of relatives".
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Putin to Orban: "Rude and cynical provocations in Bucha"
In conversation with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed accusations in Moscow about war crimes in Bucha, speaking of "crude and cynical provocations" by Ukraine. The Kremlin reports, according to which the two leaders also discussed bilateral relations and talks with Kiev. The Kremlin reports.
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Moscow: "A provocation from Kiev in Bucha"
"There is sufficient evidence that Russia is not guilty of crimes in Bucha." This was stated by the spokesman for the Moscow Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, quoted by TASS, accusing Ukraine of having implemented a "provocation" and "the Western media" of being "complicit" in order to impose a new package of sanctions and sabotage negotiations with Kiev. "Not a single civilian was hit during the Russian forces' stay in Bucha," Zakharova said.
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Stoltenberg: "Ready for a long confrontation with Russia"
"We must be ready for a long confrontation with Russia, for this we must maintain sanctions and strengthen our defense. The war can last months or even years". This was stated by Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO, opening the Atlantic Council to the level of foreign ministers.
"Ukraine urgently needs military support, both heavy weapons and small arms. That is why it is necessary for the allies to agree on what help to provide," he added, also heralding a "massive" offensive in the East.
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Kiev calls for the evacuation of three areas in the East
"It is necessary to be ready for a further aggravation of the situation": as reported by the Ukrainian agency UNIAN - the minister for the reintegration of the occupied territories of Ukraine, Iryna Vereschchuk, said, inviting the residents of three eastern regions to evacuate immediately. The affected areas are those of Lugansk, Donetsk and part of the Kharkiv region.
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Orban asks Putin for a ceasefire
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin urging him to declare "an immediate ceasefire" and to have invited him to Budapest along with the leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine. "I suggested to President Putin that he declare an immediate ceasefire," Orban said at a news conference. "His answer was positive, but with conditions".
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Kiev: "25 girls raped by Russians"
Twenty-five girls said they were raped by Russian forces in Bucha. This is what a senior Ukrainian official told the BBC. Lyudmyla Denisova, commissioner for human rights in the Ukrainian parliament, said a toll-free number offering support to victims of sexual violence has received at least 25 reports of rape of girls aged 14 to 24 by Russian soldiers.
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Burning buildings in Sievierodonetsk
At least 10 skyscrapers are on fire in the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, in Lugansk, after being bombed by the Russian army. The online Guardian reports it quoting the local governor. At the moment there is no news of any victims.
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Kiev: "Heavy fighting in progress in the East"
Ukrainian officials report heavy fighting is underway in eastern Ukraine. The military governor of the eastern Lugansk region urged civilians to evacuate from some cities. "Russian troops are moving to Sloviansk (in Donetsk), Barvinkove (near Kharkiv), Rubizhne (in Luhansk region) and, of course, Mariupol," said Vadym Denysenko, adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry.
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Zelensky: "Moscow uses hunger to dominate Ukraine"
Russia is using hunger as a weapon in its attempt to conquer the territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in a video message to the Irish Parliament. “Ukraine - he said - is one of the largest food producers in the world. Russia's actions will lead to a shortage of food and rising costs for millions of people around the world ”. "For them hunger is a weapon against us, ordinary people, as an instrument of domination," he said. And he stressed that the Moscow army has blocked all seaports in Ukraine and ships with food for export.
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Kiev: aid distribution center in Donetsk bombed
At least two people died in Russian bombing of a center for the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. This was reported by the local governor, adding that at least 5 people were injured.
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China to USA: "Via sanctions against Russia to resolve the crisis"
The US must demonstrate its commitment to resolving the crisis in Ukraine by lifting the sanctions imposed on Russia: this is the position of China expressed by the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, Zhao Lijian. "If the US is genuinely interested in resolving the crisis in Ukraine, it should stop waving the sanctions stick," Zhao stressed in the daily briefing.
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Kiev: "More than 400 people missing from Gostomel"
More than 400 people have disappeared from the city of Gostomel which, along with Bucha and Irpin, bore the brunt of Russia's offensive on the Ukrainian capital. This was reported by the head of the local military administration Taras Dumenko quoted by the BBC. Dumenko claims that most of the bodies of Gostomel residents were found in neighboring villages and in the city of Bucha. He also claims that the Russians must have kidnapped the people, many of them and shot them later.
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China: "Bucha allegations must be based on facts"
China has called on "all parties to exercise restraint" until the results of the investigation "on the atrocities committed in Bucha, Ukraine, said the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian, adding on the accusations made by Kiev against Russian troops that "the truth must be discovered and any accusation must be based on facts". Beijing, Zhao added, "attaches great importance to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and is extremely concerned about the consequences on civilians. The reports and images of their deaths in the city of Bucha are very disturbing. "
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Moscow, 5 fuel depots hit
This morning, "precision missiles destroyed 5 fuel depots in the vicinity of Radekhiv, Kazatin, Prosyana, Mykolaiv and Novomoskovsk," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a press conference. "The depots supplied fuel to military hardware belonging to the Ukrainian forces operating in the Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Donbas areas."
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The Netherlands seizes 14 Russian yachts
Dutch customs authorities seized 14 Russian yachts from shipyards, 12 of which are under construction and two under maintenance, as part of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine. This was announced by the Foreign Minister. "In light of the current measures, these ships cannot be delivered, transferred or exported at the moment," said Wopke Hoekstra in a letter to the Dutch Parliament.
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Bombs in Dnipropetrovsk
"During the night, the Russian army launched several airstrikes on the Dnipropetrovsk region and hit an oil depot." The head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, Valentyn Reznichenko, wrote it on Telegram, taken up by Ukrinform.
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Mariupol, "the situation is getting worse"
"Heavy fighting and Russian airstrikes continued over the port city of Mariupol" according to the latest intelligence update from the UK Ministry of Defense. British intelligence said the humanitarian situation in the city was "getting worse".
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Moscow: "We will respond to hostile acts"
Moscow "will respond to any hostile act against Russia". This was stated, according to the Tass agency, the spokesman for the Kremlin Foreign Ministry regarding the expulsion of Russian diplomats from various European countries.
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New mass grave found in Bucha
What looks like a new mass grave would have been discovered in Bucha, the city where the Russians left behind many civilians killed. The Guardian writes it, which shows a photo from the top of the pit with some people around, near a church.
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Kiev: "From the Russians violence also against children and the elderly"
Ukrainian Attorney General Irina Venediktova says that the Russian army in Ukraine has committed sexual violence not only against women and men, but also children and the elderly. Ukrainska Pravda reports it. The police have received a series of complaints, some of which also spread on social networks.
(Unioneonline)