The "decisive" battle for the fate of the Ukrainian war has begun in Donbass. Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday evening released a video message in which he said he was very worried "about a possible attack with chemical weapons in the new phase of terror." And Kiev is investigating the possible use of phosphorus weapons in Mariupol, the deputy minister of Ukrainian defense Hanna Malyar.
The movements of the troops of Moscow, which are concentrated in the immediate vicinity of the eastern Ukrainian borders, fighting are then reported in the area of the city of Izyum and in the directions of Donetsk and Tavriya. "There are signs of strengthening of the air defense system - underlines the report of the General Staff of the armed forces of Kiev - in the areas of Melitopol and Ilovaisk. It is probable that in the future the enemy will try to take control of the city of Mariupol, capture Popasna. and conduct an offensive in the direction of Kurakhove to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk region. "
The Ukrainian president also yesterday launched appeals to receive weapons from other states, while this morning he returned to denounce the Russian war crimes discovered in the liberated areas. “New mass graves are found almost every day: thousands of victims, hundreds of brutal torture. Bodies bound and mutilated, hundreds of rapes including underage girls and very young children, even babies ". In a speech to the Lithuanian Parliament, he said that stopping Russian oil and gas is the only way to stop Putin's war and asked the European Union to "set specific deadlines for each EU state". "We cannot wait for the tenth or twentieth package of sanctions," he added.
Vladimir Putin today spoke to the workers of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, where he visited: "The noble objective of protecting the Donbass will be achieved, there is no doubt", he said, speaking of an "inevitable" military operation for " save people and work to ensure the security of Russia ”.
The day by the hour:
16.30 - Putin: "Bucha un fake, I have proof"
The Bucha massacres are a "fake". Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko "also gave me some documents today. Documents that were also provided" to the Russian secret services, "FSB: wiretapping on how and who arrived in that community, using what means of transport, to create the conditions for organizing these provocations and a false flag operation, "Putin said.
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16.05 - "In Bucha the bodies of 403 civilians"
In Bucha, 403 bodies of civilians have been found so far killed by Russian troops in the days of the occupation but the number will continue to grow. The mayor of the city Anatoliy Fedoruk said this, the Guardian reported, during a briefing explaining that it is too early for the runaway residents to return to their homes.
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3.40 pm - Putin: "Tactics decided by strong action in the Donbass"
The tactics of the "special military operation" in Ukraine were decided on the basis of the need for vigorous action in the Donbass. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference explaining that "operations in some regions of Ukraine pursued the objective of blocking enemy forces, carrying out an attack, destroying military infrastructure and creating the conditions for more vigorous action. in the Donbass ". The goal of the operation, Putin added, is to "provide assistance to people in the Donbass, who feel their inseparable ties with Russia and who have been exposed to genocide for eight years".
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14.55 - Putin: "Belarus is the ideal place for negotiations"
"The talks with Ukraine started in large part thanks to Lukashenko. Belarus is the perfect place for negotiations." This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the sidelines of the visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome together with the Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.
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2.30 pm - Putin: "A tragedy in Ukraine but we had no choice"
"What is happening in Ukraine is a tragedy, but Russia had no choice." This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, quoted by TASS, on the sidelines of the visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome together with the Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.
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2 pm - Kiev: "Family killed while fleeing by car"
Most family members were killed in their car by Russian soldiers as they tried to flee an occupied village near Kiev. The incident, which occurred in mid-March, was reported now after the discovery of the car and the bodies by the head of the Kiev regional police Andriy Nebitov, who posts images of the car riddled with bullets on Facebook and a video in which he they also see corpses. "The occupants shot a family with a BMP (an armored fighting vehicle, ed.). A 2-year-old boy, a teenager and 3 women were killed," writes Nebitov.
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13.40 - In Ukraine created a list of 100 traitors
"The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and the NGO HONEST Movement have entered the first 100 people in the register of traitors, including 13 media". This was announced on Fb by the National Council for TV and radio broadcasts, taken up by Ukrinform. Among the 100 'traitors', there are "73 are politicians, 13 law enforcement officials, 13 media and a judge". The register contains data on 'collaborators' from 14 regions of Ukraine. According to Ukrinform, "637 cases of treason and collaboration in Ukraine" have already been opened.
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13.30 - Lukashenko: "We always with Moscow"
"Belarus will always remain alongside Russia, no matter how the situation evolves." This was stated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko who met Vladimir Putin in Blagoveshchensk, in eastern Russia. Minsk "is determined to strengthen unity with Russia," he added, quoted by Tass.
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13.25 - "Borodyanka will disappear"
"Borodyanka and all its 22 villages were almost completely destroyed by the war. After Mariupol, it is the most damaged city in all of Ukraine. This city will disappear if Europe does not help us with reconstruction funds." So was Halina Yerko, a Ukrainian MP and daughter of the mayor of Borodyanka, Georgiy Nikolayevich.
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1.10 pm - Zelensky: "Setting deadlines for an end to Russian gas and oil"
"We cannot wait for the development of the seventh or eighth or ninth, tenth, twentieth package of sanctions against Russia to make really powerful decisions," Zelensky told the Lithuanian parliament asking "to set specific deadlines for each EU state. in order to effectively abandon or at least significantly limit the consumption of gas, oil, etc. ".
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12.50 pm - Column of Russian vehicles towards the Donbass
CNN has located near Matveev Kurgan, a settlement in the Russian region of Rostov, near the border with Ukraine, the location of a long column of Russian military vehicles immortalized in a video circulated on social media yesterday. The vehicles appear to be heading northwest towards the Donbass region, where an intensification of fighting is expected.
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12.35 - Zelensky: "We need a stop to Russian gas"
"If oil is seriously discussed just for the sixth sanctions package, the world does not realize what war Russia is preparing for. If there is still no clear definition on Russian gas, then there can be no certainty that Europe has a common will to stop Russian military crimes in order to force Russia to peace ". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in his speech to the Lithuanian parliament, according to Ukrainian media reports.
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12.20 - Zelensky: "Torture, rape of minors and mass graves"
"In the liberated occupied areas of Ukraine, work continues to record and investigate war crimes committed by Russia. New mass graves are found almost every day. Thousands of victims, hundreds of cases of brutal torture. Corpses are still found in manholes and in basements. Bodies bound and mutilated. Hundreds of orphans, at least hundreds of children, hundreds of rapes have been reported, including underage girls and very young children and even babies ". Thus Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Lithuanian Parliament, according to Ukrinform.
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11.30 - Putin: "Action for security, we had no choice"
"What we are doing is helping people, saving people, on the one hand, and on the other, we are working to ensure the security of Russia." This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking of the operation conducted by Moscow in Ukraine at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, according to reports from Interfax. "Obviously we had no choice, this is the right decision," he added.
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11.20 - Putin: "Donbass goal will be achieved"
Russian President Vladimir Putin has no doubts that the "noble" goal of protecting the Donbass will be achieved. "This is what will happen. There is no doubt. The goals are perfectly clear and they are noble," Putin stressed speaking to space industry workers at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. "The main objective is to help the people in the Donbass, the people of the Donbass, whom we recognized, and we had to do it because the authorities in Kiev, encouraged by the West, refused to implement the Minsk agreements for a peaceful resolution of the problems. del Donbass, "he added.
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11.15 - "Possible use of phosphorus weapons in Mariupol"
"Phosphorus ammunition" may have been used in Mariupol. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said this, according to international media reports, explaining that preliminary data suggest that they are phosphorus weapons, but specifying that, however, checks are still ongoing. "There is a theory that it could be phosphorus ammunition," Malyar said in a television interview. "Official information will follow later," he added.
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10:50 am - UN: "Since the beginning of the war 1,842 civilians have died"
"The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 1,842 deaths and 2,493 injuries among civilians in Ukraine, for a total of 4,335 victims". This was stated in the daily report of the OHCHR, taken up by Ukrinform. Among the victims there are allegedly "474 men, 301 women, 28 girls and 50 boys, as well as 70 children and 919 adults whose sex is unknown".
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10:25 am - Kiev: "Fake Russian refugees infiltrate the humanitarian corridor"
"In the Mykolaiv region, some Russian soldiers in civilian clothes, aboard three cars, tried to infiltrate the Ukrainian positions using the humanitarian corridors". This was reported in the official bulletin of the Southern Operational Command of the Ukrainian Army in Mykolaiv, in the south of the country. "The undercover men reached our positions but were identified, five of them were neutralized", explain the military in Kiev.
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10 am - The Caritas center in Mariupol destroyed by the Russians, 7 victims
The headquarters of Caritas Ukraine in Mariupol was destroyed and there are victims. Caritas Ukraine itself broke the news on Twitter. The building was hit by a Russian tank. At that time, there were people hiding in the center from the bombing and looking for a safe place. Seven people died, including two from staff.
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9.16 - Kiev, the death toll rises to 186
The death toll of children in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion rises to 186. The office of the Attorney General makes it known. Overall, 530 children were victims of the war, of which 186 dead and 344 wounded.
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8.52 - "Russian drone with toxic substances on Mariupol"
The Russians dropped a drone containing toxic substances on the city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine. This was stated by Ukrainian parliamentarian and head of the parliamentary committee on integration of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush, according to the Guardian, explaining that "most likely" the unknown substances were chemical weapons.
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8.34 - Kiev, 9 humanitarian corridors agreed for today
Even today 9 humanitarian corridors were agreed upon in Ukraine to evacuate civilians. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk made it known on Telegram. The corridor from the besieged city of ️Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia only works for those leaving by their own means. The evacuation from the cities of the Zaporizhzhia region, it is specified, will also take place by own means.
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7.28 - The mayor of Mariupol: "More than 10 thousand civilians died here"
Over 10,000 civilians died in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. The mayor of the city Vadym Boychenko told the Associated Press, according to international media reports. For the mayor, the death toll could reach over 20 thousand, in a city under attack for weeks and where the shortage of food and supplies has left many bodies on the streets. Boychenko also accused Russian forces of blocking humanitarian convoys trying to enter the city for weeks.
(Unioneonline)