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Russia Ukraine War (Putin's War) - Page 8
Russia hopes to recruit upwards of 60,000 new troops, according to the U.S.
By Morgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Meredith Deliso, and Nadine El-Bawab

Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation" into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian troops invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Russian forces have since been met with "stiff resistance" from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials. In recent days, Russian forces have retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, a town northwest of Kyiv, the United States and European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes.
Bethany Dawson

The Ukrainian Ombudswoman for Human Rights has said that the Russian government is crafting legislation to allow Russians to adopt Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia by military forces. She has also stated that, so far, over 121,000 children have been  "deported" by the Russian government. In a statement on Facebook, Lyudmila Denisova said that the Russian Federation is changing legislation to allow "the accelerated procedure of adoption of children from Donbas." She added that Ukrainian officials have no information on the children that are allegedly being processed for adoption by Russians.
By Fatma Khaled

Lyudmila Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament's Commissioner for Human Rights, alleged on Friday that Russian soldiers have raped children during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. In a Facebook post, Denisova alleged that an 11-year-old boy was raped by Russians in front of his mother who was tied to a chair and forced to watch as it happened in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. "The level of brutality of the army of terrorists and executioners of the Russian Federation knows no bounds - raped children...," wrote Denisova, who has been appointed by the Ukrainian parliament to monitor human rights abuses.
Sophia Ankel

Girls in Ivankiv, Ukraine, cut their hair to be "less attractive" so they wouldn't get raped by Russian soldiers who were occupying the town, the deputy mayor told ITV. Ivankiv, located 50 miles northwest of Kyiv, was liberated by Ukrainian forces on March 30 after more than a month of Russian occupation. Ukrainian army engineers were able to regain control of the area after building a pontoon bridge, ITV reported. Maryna Beschastna, Ivankiv's deputy mayor, told ITV that she had heard accounts of how Russian soldiers had treated women in the area.
David Axe, Forbes Staff

Ukraine’s Bayraktar TB-2 drones firing tiny guided missiles have wreaked havoc on Russian forces in Ukraine. The Ukrainians aren’t the only ones with killer drones, however. The Russians are flying their own armed unmanned aerial vehicles over Ukraine—and they’re chalking up kills, too. But there’s a difference of scale—potentially a big one. The Ukrainian air force and navy probably can keep TB-2s in the air around the clock. Russian forces, by contrast, “are flying few Orion drone sorties over Ukraine,” tweeted Samuel Bendett, an expert on the Russian military with the Center for a New American Security in Washington, D.C.
Alia Shoaib

Up to 60 Russian paratroopers from one unit in Pskov province refused to fight in Ukraine, according to independent Russian newspaper Pskovskaya Gubernia. The troops were fired, and some were threatened with criminal prosecution for desertion or failure to comply with an order, the paper wrote on its Telegram channel.
By Vasco Cotovio, Frederik Pleitgen, Byron Blunt and Daria Markina, CNN

Chernobyl, Ukraine (CNN) The sudden ear-piercing beep of a radiation meter fills the room as a Ukrainian soldier walks in. This is where Russian soldiers were living at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and radiation levels are now higher than normal. There's no visible presence of the source of the radioactive material in the room, but Ukrainian officials say it's coming from small particles and dust that the soldiers brought into the building.
"They went to the Red Forest and brought radioactive material back with them on their shoes," soldier Ihor Ugolkov explains. "Other places are fine, but radiation increased here, because they were living here."
Scott Detrow, Kat Lonsdorf, Noah Caldwell, Nickolai Hammar

BORODYANKA, Ukraine — In the devastated town of Borodyanka, north of Kyiv, Natasha Romanenko has pushed paper into the bullet holes peppered across her windows. It's to keep the cold out, she tells us. "You can see, there are holes where they were shooting directly in our window when we were hiding there," she says, speaking through NPR's translator. When Russian forces invaded and occupied the town, the damage was devastating. Ukrainian officials say Russia deliberately bombed civilians and that hundreds are still missing more than a week after the invading forces withdrew. Now, crews are sifting through the wreckage to see what - and who - survived.
BY CAROLINE VAKIL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a virtual address on Friday that a Russian strike at a train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk is a war crime, adding that those involved would be held accountable. During his remarks, Zelensky confirmed a previous tally from an Ukrainian official that 50 people had died as a result of a rocket attack, including five children. The stationwas being used to assist in civilian evacuations. The Ukrainian president said that “dozens more” are severely injured and are currently being treated at the hospital. “This is another war crime of Russia,” Zelensky said. “For which everyone involved will be held accountable.”
Danielle Wallace

The Ukrainian government on Thursday released what they claimed were intercepted radio recordings of a Russian commander instructing his soldiers to "take out" Ukrainian civilians in Mariupol. The Times of London reported Thursday about the obscenity-strewn recordings released by the Security Service of Ukraine. In one recording, an unidentified Russian soldier says he observed "two people coming out of the grove in civilian [clothing]." He also spotted a vehicle and states he cannot determine whether it’s a civilian vehicle or one operating by members of the Ukrainian military. "Take them all f***ing out!" a Russian commander shouts in response, according to the intercepted call. "Off them all, f***!" the superior shouted. The soldier accepts the command, saying, "Got it."
Accounts by three doctors at a Ukrainian maternity hospital hit by an airstrike and an analysis of the crater disprove Russian misinformation about the March 9 attack that killed a pregnant woman and her unborn child
By LORI HINNANT and MSTYSLAV CHERNOV Associated Press

LVIV, Ukraine -- A woman on the verge of giving birth with her leg flayed open by shrapnel. A shockwave that shattered the glass and ceramic lining of a room with medical waste. A nurse who suffered a concussion. This is what the Ukrainian doctors remember of the Russian airstrike that destroyed the Mariupol maternity hospital where they once worked. And these memories are now all they have from a day they wish they could forget: Russian soldiers purged the evidence from their phones when they fled Mariupol.
“We lost everything and had to start over again,” one Stalin survivor said. “I’m afraid many of these Ukrainians will have to, as well.”
By Corky Siemaszko

They were children when the Russian soldiers came for them in the dead of winter 1940. The armed men who barged into their homes and gave them a half-hour to get dressed and pack a bag were called Soviets back then. And in the early days of World War II, they rousted Poles from their homes in what is now western Ukraine and shipped them off to the gulags in Siberia. For these survivors, reports that Ukrainians are now being deported to "filtration" camps deep inside Russia brought back painful memories of their own ordeals — mixed with deep sympathy for a new generation of victims. “I was just 3-and-a-half when the Russians came for us in the middle of the night, but I can still remember the sound of them banging on the door with rifles and bayonets and yelling 'Out! Out!” Marie Wypijewski, 85, told NBC News. "They made my father stand with his face to the wall while my mother packed and dressed us in the warmest clothes she could find."
Zachary Basu

Slovakia has transferred an S-300 missile defense system to Ukraine, fulfilling one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's top requests to help the country defend itself against Russia's bombing campaign. Why it matters: Zelensky pleaded in an address to the U.S. Congress last month for the U.S. and its European allies to impose a no-fly zone or give Ukraine the ability to "close the skies" itself by facilitating the transfer of Soviet-era fighter jets or anti-aircraft systems. The latest: President Biden thanked the Slovakian government in a statement Friday and said the U.S. will reposition a Patriot missile system to Slovakia.
By Yaron Steinbuch

Dramatic drone footage captured a lone Ukrainian tank ambushing an entire column of Russian armored vehicles on the outskirts of Kyiv — destroying several of them and forcing others to retreat. The vintage T-64 main battle tank is seen taking cover behind a building and firing at the enemy targets on a road in Nova Basan, less than 50 miles west of the capital city, the Independent reported. As the Russian BTR-82 armored personnel carriers rumble by, the Ukrainian tank unleashes a barrage, the drone footage posted on the social media platform Telegram shows. The first shot misses, but the next one strikes a vehicle, which explodes in a fireball.
Reuters

April 8 (Reuters) - Russian forces have now fully withdrawn from northern Ukraine to Belarus and Russia, British military intelligence said on Friday. At least some of these Russian forces will be transferred to East Ukraine to fight in the Donbas, the Ministry of Defence said on Twitter. The forces will require replenishment before being deployed further east, with any mass redeployment from the north likely to take at least a week, the ministry added.
World wheat prices soared by 19.7% in March as war in Ukraine disrupted Black Sea exports, FAO price index reveals
Kaamil Ahmed

Global food prices rose to their highest ever levels in March as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UN has reported. Cooking oils, cereals and meats hit all-time highs and meant food commodities cost a third more than the same time last year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s monthly food price index published on Friday. The Russia-Ukraine war has disrupted Black Sea exports of crucial commodities from a region that had been producing more than a quarter of the world’s wheat exports. The war has helped push cereal prices up 17% over the past month with the closure of ports throttling wheat and maize exports from Ukraine. Russian exports have also been slowed by financial and shipping problems.
By Olga Voitovych and Nathan Hodge, CNN

Lviv, Ukraine (CNN) At least 50 people, including five children, were killed after Russian forces carried out a missile strike on a railway station in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, that was being used by civilians trying to flee the fighting, Ukrainian officials said Friday. Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the regional military administration in Donetsk, where the attack took place, said that 98 wounded people -- 16 children, 46 were women and 36 men -- were taken to local hospitals. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that nearly 300 people were wounded in the strike.
Jake Epstein

Ukrainian vigilante groups could try to seek revenge or accountability for Russian atrocities and war crimes being committed during the ongoing war, a Harvard anthropologist told Insider. Emily Channell-Justice, the director of Harvard University's Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program, said Ukraine has seen vigilante groups operate in the past. Though there aren't any indications that vigilantes are currently operating, Channell-Justice said, Ukraine's reliance on territorial defense brigades and volunteer fighters suggests some may again choose to take a form of justice into their own hands.
by Caroline Vakil

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, acknowledged in an interview published on Thursday that Russia had sustained “significant losses of troops” and called it a “huge tragedy.” The remarks, which were made to Sky News, are a rare acknowledgement from Moscow of the difficulties Russia has confronted in its invasion of Ukraine. Russia has not provided many updates regarding its troops’ casualties; previous figures reported by Moscow have been notably lower than estimates from Ukraine and NATO.
"This is nothing new for the Russian Army," a U.S. congressman tells ABC News.
By Bill Hutchinson

In one of the creepiest allegations to emerge from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin is being accused by Ukrainian officials of using "mobile crematoriums" to incinerate dead civilians in a deliberate effort to cover-up alleged war crimes in the hard-hit city of Mariupol. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko made the charge this week, saying he heard eyewitness accounts of Russian soldiers driving around Mariupol with crematoriums on lorries and collecting bodies of civilians while at the same time barring the International Committee of the Red Cross from entering the city with humanitarian aid. "The world has not seen the scale of the tragedy in Mariupol since the existence of Nazis concentration camps," Boychenko said on Tuesday. "The Russians have turned our entire city into a death camp. Unfortunately, the creepy analogy is getting more and more confirmation."
By Gordon Corera Security correspondent, BBC News

Allegations of Chinese cyber activity as the recent conflict broke out in Ukraine have been emerging. The details appear unusually murky but one western intelligence official believes the aim was espionage -and the cyber-attack may have been broader than previously reported. The Times first reported that hackers, alleged to be based in China, began targeting Ukrainian websites on 23 February, the day before the invasion. That led to questions as to whether they had advance notice of Moscow's plans and if their intention was somehow to support Russia. A broad set of Ukrainian government and commercial organisations were said to have been targeted by hackers, including organisations linked to nuclear power.
By Elizabeth Piper and Stefaniia Bern

KYIV, April 7 (Reuters) - Laden with bags, trolleys and the odd pet, Ukrainians are returning to the capital Kyiv, some tearful, others nervous about going home after Russian troops withdrew from the outskirts of their city. A week after Russian forces pulled out of villages to the north of Kyiv, leaving behind razed buildings and corpses in some of the streets, officials have warned people not to return to the capital quite yet, fearful of a renewed offensive. Yet for several of those returning on Thursday at the busy main train station in central Kyiv, the desire to see elderly parents or to continue their jobs outweighed any lingering safety concerns. Some workers returned without their families, leaving wives and children in the relative safety of western Ukraine, others were making a quick dash to pick up more of their belongings and cars before heading out again. A few said they had returned to stay, at least for now.
German intelligence presented evidence of transmissions to MPs, according to Spiegel
Kate Connolly in Berlin and Bethan McKernan in Kyiv

Radio transmissions in which Russian soldiers appear to talk among themselves about carrying out premeditated civilian killings in Ukraine have been intercepted by Germany’s foreign intelligence service, a source close to the findings has said. The evidence was presented by officials from the foreign intelligence service, the BND, to parliamentarians on Wednesday. Reports of the radio communications were first published in the German news magazine Spiegel, which said the communications related to atrocities carried out in Bucha, north of Kyiv.
The BBC has confirmed the location west of Kyiv and found satellite images showing bodies on the ground
Jenn Selby

Soldiers fighting for Ukraine appear to shoot a Russian prisoner of war outside a village west of Kyiv in a video posted online. The footage was originally shared on social media app Telegram. The New York Times said it had verified the video and the BBC said it had confirmed the location north of the town of Dmytrivka and found satellite images showing bodies on the ground. In the video, at least three men in camouflage, including one with a head wound and his hands tied behind his back, can be seen lying dead next to a fourth man, who is breathing heavily with a jacket covering his head. “He’s still alive. Film these marauders. Look, he’s still alive. He’s gasping,” a man in the video can be heard saying in Russian – a language widely spoken in Ukraine.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen shows how the use of drones is helping Ukrainian citizens fight the Russian invasion.
Natasha Turak

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has met with G-7 and NATO leaders in Brussels, one day after the U.S. announced new penalties on Russia that included a ban on all new investment in the country and sanctions on President Vladimir Putin’s daughters. “I came here today to discuss three most important things: weapons, weapons, and weapons,” Kuleba said in a tweet. Evidence of atrocities against civilians by Russian forces drew strong condemnation from G-7 members, who have called for Russia to be removed from the U.N. Human Rights Council. Russian air attacks are predominantly focused on parts of eastern Ukraine and Russian forces are seeking to encircle Ukrainian forces in the region, according to an advisor to Ukraine’s president. Officials in Ukraine and NATO expect far worse fighting in the coming days.
Marianne Guenot
A video shared by the Ukrainian military purports to show proof that Russian troops dug trenches in the Red Forest, the most contaminated area of Chernobyl's exclusion zone. The video, which is not dated and of unknown origin, seems to show drone footage. It depicts land that looks dug up, in a continuous shot that pans to an image of the sarcophagus covering the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident in the distance.
Warning: Viewers may find the images in this report disturbing. Ukraine says more victims of torture and execution are being found every day in the cities of Bucha, Irpin and Borodyanka.
By Associated Press

ISLAMABAD — A rare video has appeared of al Qaeda’s chief praising an Indian Muslim woman who in February defied a ban on hijab wearing, revealing the first proof in years that he is still alive. Rumors of the death of Ayman al-Zawahri have circulated for more than two years, but in a video released on Tuesday and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, the reclusive al Qaeda chief praises Muskan Khan who defied a ban on the wearing of the hijab in schools in India’s southwestern state of Karnataka.
Yes, Russia is to blame they started the war and they have committed civilian massacres in other places around the world.

CBS News

Beijing — China on Wednesday said images of civilian deaths in the Ukrainian town of Bucha are "deeply disturbing" but that no blame should be apportioned until all facts are known. Emerging evidence of what appeared to be widespread civilian massacres in the wake of Russian withdrawals from the Kyiv areas may complicate Beijing's attempts to guide public opinion over the conflict, in which China has refused to criticize Moscow. China supports all initiatives and measures "conducive to alleviating the humanitarian crisis" in the country, and is "ready to continue to work together with the international community to prevent any harm to civilians," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters at a daily briefing.
By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY, April 6 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned "the massacre of Bucha" and kissed a Ukrainian flag sent from the town where tied bodies shot at close range littered the streets after Russian troops withdrew and bodies poked out of a mass grave at a church.
AFP France

Ukraine authorities have said bodies discovered on April 2, 2022 in the small town of Bucha were civilians killed by retreating Russian forces, allegations which Moscow has denied. Several posts shared on social networks -- including from Russian authorities -- have claimed that the scene was staged by Ukrainian forces and some of the so-called bodies were filmed moving. But AFP journalists on the ground confirmed they saw dead bodies that had been left for several days; footage used to support the misleading claims does not show the bodies moving, AFP's investigation found. On April 3 the Russian defence ministry shared on its Telegram feed -- which has nearly 200,000 followers -- a 21-second video of the scene alongside a comment that it was "fake". "The video with the bodies is puzzling: here, at 12 seconds, the “corpse” on the right moves its hand. At 30 seconds in the rearview mirror, the "corpse" sits down. The bodies in the video seem to have been deliberately laid out in order to create a more dramatic picture," the Telegram post reads.
By Jennifer Deaton and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN

(CNN) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian troops of indiscriminately killing civilians "just for their pleasure" in an emotionally-charged address to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, before questioning the very mandate of the Security Council itself. Zelensky's speech came a day after he visited the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where shocking images of bodies in the streets emerged over the weekend. On Tuesday, he related the aftermath of Russia's retreat from the town in horrifying detail, describing entire families killed, people with their throats slashed, and women raped and killed in front of their children. Zelensky said Russia's actions were no different from those of a terror group, except that Russia is a permanent member of the UNSC. The Ukrainian leader then criticized the body, asking representatives point blank: "Where is the security that the Security Council needs to guarantee? It is not there, though there is a Security Council."
Natasha Turak

Thousands are desperately trying to flee Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region as Russia intensifies its strikes on the south and east of the country. The Luhansk regional governor has urged civilians to “evacuate while it is safe,” predicting a larger Russian assault to come. The EU and U.S. are preparing to levy new sanctions on Russia after evidence emerged of war crimes allegedly committed by Russian forces in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, where some 300 civilian bodies were found on streets and in mass graves. The sanctions from the EU will include a ban on Russian coal imports, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, which are worth $4 billion annually. The move is significant for the EU, which imported nearly 20% of its coal from Russia in 2020. Some still say this isn’t enough, as the EU continues to buy oil and gas from Russia, providing it with billions of dollars weekly.
Becky Sullivan

BUCHA, Ukraine – The Russian forces had not been in town for long before they came to the home of Volodymyr Avramov, a resident of Vokzal'na Street in the quiet Ukrainian suburb of Bucha. Three Russians kicked in the doors and threw in a grenade, the 72-year-old Avramov said. Inside were Avramov, his daughter, and his son-in-law, Oleh. They dragged Oleh outside and made him kneel – then shot him in the head as Avramov and his daughter watched, he said. The two then had to shelter in a basement for weeks as the fighting continued. "Oleh was laying on the street for a month. I could not come close or bury him, nothing," he said. Images of dead civilians lining the streets of Bucha have shocked the world in recent days and heightened concerns that Russian soldiers are committing war crimes in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called it genocide. "There were piles of dead corpses lying here, without arms, without legs, without skulls," Avramov said. "You wouldn't see it in a nightmare. It's horror."
By Natalia Zinets and Max Hunder

April 6 (Reuters) - Russian artillery fire killed at least two people and wounded five at a humanitarian aid distribution point on Wednesday as Moscow's forces bombarded towns and cities in eastern Ukraine, local officials said. Authorities in the eastern region of Luhansk urged civilians to evacuate "while it is safe," warning that Russian bombardments could cut off escape routes. Ukraine says Russian troops that invaded on Feb. 24 are regrouping and preparing for a new offensive in the Donbas area, which includes both the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
Becky Sullivan

BUCHA, Ukraine – The Russian forces had not been in town for long before they came to the home of Volodymyr Avramov, a resident of Vokzal'na Street in the quiet Ukrainian suburb of Bucha. Three Russians kicked in the doors and threw in a grenade, the 72-year-old Avramov said. Inside were Avramov, his daughter, and his son-in-law, Oleh. They dragged Oleh outside and made him kneel – then shot him in the head as Avramov and his daughter watched, he said. The two then had to shelter in a basement for weeks as the fighting continued. "Oleh was laying on the street for a month. I could not come close or bury him, nothing," he said.
By ROBERT BURNS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyiv was a Russian defeat for the ages. The fight started poorly for the invaders and went downhill from there. When President Vladimir Putin launched his war on Feb. 24 after months of buildup on Ukraine’s borders, he sent hundreds of helicopter-borne commandos — the best of the best of Russia’s “spetsnaz” special forces soldiers — to assault and seize a lightly defended airfield on Kyiv’s doorstep. Other Russian forces struck elsewhere across Ukraine, including toward the eastern city of Kharkiv as well as in the contested Donbas region and along the Black Sea coast. But as the seat of national power, Kyiv was the main prize. Thus the thrust by elite airborne forces in the war’s opening hours. But Putin failed to achieve his goal of quickly crushing Ukraine’s outgunned and outnumbered army. The Russians were ill-prepared for Ukrainian resistance, proved incapable of adjusting to setbacks, failed to effectively combine air and land operations, misjudged Ukraine’s ability to defend its skies, and bungled basic military functions like planning and executing the movement of supplies.
David Axe, Forbes Staff

It’s not hard to find videos depicting direct hits by Ukrainian artillery on Russian vehicles in Ukraine. The skill and bravery of Ukrainian gunners is obvious. But those dramatic videos also hint at Ukraine’s integration and deployment of two key technologies—laser-guided artillery shells and laser-equipped drones. The drones spot Russian vehicles then sparkle them with a laser tuned to a specific wavelength—say, 830 nanometers, which produces a red beam that’s barely visible to the naked eye but is plainly visible to the seeker heads on guided shells with steerable fins. The Ukrainian army possesses at least one type of laser-guided shell, the 152-millimeter-diameter Kvitnyk, which is compatible with the army’s 2S3 self-propelled howitzers and D-20 towed guns. A Ukrainian firm also developed a laser-guided 122-millimeter shell called Karasuk that works with the army’s D-30 towed guns and 2S1 tracked howitzers.
esnodgrass@insider.com (Erin Snodgrass)

Satellite images out of the Ukrainian town of Bucha corroborate recent reports of civilian deaths in the Kyiv-Oblast suburb, while simultaneously refuting Russia's denials about the civilian bodies found, according to a New York Times visual analysis. Gruesome images and videos of dead bodies lying in the streets of Bucha emerged on social media over the weekend, prompting international outcry and condemnation. Russia's Ministry of Defense denied responsibility for the casualties in a Sunday Telegram post, accusing Ukraine of staging the footage and calling the scene a "hoax." The Russian Ministry even suggested that Ukraine had placed the bodies in the street sometime after March 30, after "all Russian units withdrew completely from Bucha." Satellite images from Maxar Technology reviewed by The Times (and also sent to Insider), however, show that some of the bodies have been lying in the streets for more than three weeks, during a time when Russian troops occupied the town.
By Gerry Doyle

April 5 (Reuters) - Satellite images taken weeks ago of the town of Bucha in Ukraine show bodies of civilians on a street, a private U.S. company said, undercutting the Russian government's claims that Ukrainian forces caused the deaths or that the scene was staged. Maxar Technologies provided nine images taken of Bucha on March 18, 19 and 31 to Reuters. At least four of the images appear to show bodies on one of the town's roads, Yablonska Street. The city was occupied by Russian forces until about March 30.
Sophia Ankel

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited former German Chancellor Angela Merkel to look at the mass graves in Bucha, saying they were the result of her 2008 decision not to let Ukraine join NATO. Zelenskyy's comments came in a Sunday address to the nation after shocking reports and images emerged of mass civilian casualties in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv that was retaken by Ukrainian forces last week. In his speech, Zelenskyy accused Russia of "genocide" and singled out Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president of France, for their roles in a 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania. "Under optimistic diplomatic statements that Ukraine could become a member of NATO, then, in 2008, refusal to accept Ukraine into the alliance was hidden. The absurd fear of some politicians toward Russia was hidden," Zelenskyy said. "They thought that by refusing Ukraine, they would be able to appease Russia, to convince it to respect Ukraine and live normally next to us."
By Scott Pelley

Tonight, the Russian army has abandoned its attempt to take Ukraine's capital city. Kyiv is still under air assault, but Russian ground troops are retreating from the suburbs after suffering grievous losses. New images of liberated neighborhoods are scenes of ruin with evidence of many civilian deaths. A Pentagon source tells us the greatest battle now is for the coastal city of Mariupol. More than 100,000 civilians are trapped there. Also, Russian missiles have exploded in the major port city of Odesa. Russia expected Ukraine to fall in a matter of days. But now, after six weeks, the Russian military has failed to seize even one of its strategic objectives.
Photographs and video out of Bucha, near the capital city of Kyiv, showed destroyed tanks and armored vehicles, along with bodies.
By NBC News

President Joe Biden again called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal," saying the reports of attacks on civilians in the town of Bucha are "brutal" and "outrageous." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said fresh sanctions from the West would not be “enough” to respond to the atrocities Ukrainians say happened in Bucha, near Kyiv, where grisly images purportedly show slain civilians. Residents of Bucha have accused Russian forces of targeting civilians in a deadly campaign that Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk said left more than 300 people dead before troops pulled out of the city. Russia’s defense ministry has denied the claims, calling them a “provocation,” despite photographs and video showing damaged city streets strewn with bodies.
Pointing to atrocities Ukrainians say have been committed in Bucha, Zelenskyy has said fresh sanctions from the West would not be "enough" to respond..
By NBC News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said fresh sanctions from the West would not be "enough" to respond to the atrocities Ukrainians say have been committed in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, where grisly images purportedly show slain civilians. "There will definitely be a new sanctions package against Russia," Zelenskyy said in a video address Sunday night. "But I'm sure that's not enough," he said as he made an impassioned plea for a stronger international response to Russia's invasion. Residents of Bucha have accused Russian forces of targeting civilians in a deadly campaign that Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk said left more than 300 people dead before troops pulled out of the city. Russia's Defense Ministry has denied the claims, calling them a "provocation," despite photographs and video showing damaged city streets strewn with dead bodies.
by Tom Rogan

One of President Vladimir Putin's most important allies is becoming increasingly outspoken in his criticisms of the Kremlin over its execution of the war in Ukraine. Ramzan Kadyrov's willingness to criticize top Kremlin officials directly, and thus indirectly criticize Putin, is notable. It evinces rising tensions in Russia's elite over the absolute failure to subjugate Ukraine.
By Vasco Cotovio, Frederik Pleitgen, Byron Blunt and Daria Markina, CNN

Bucha, Ukraine (CNN) Vladimir stands on the edge of a mass grave in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv. He holds his hands to his head, then raises them up to the sky in anguish. "Brother, we've been looking for you for so long," he says, bursting into tears halfway through. His brother, Dmitry, has been missing for roughly a week and neighbors told Vladimir he might be buried here. "We thought you were alive," Vladimir cries out. Inside the grave, the bodies are piled on top of one another, mostly inside black bags but some with limbs protruding from the soil. Only some are interred. A CNN team saw at least a dozen bodies on the mass grave, but the earth shows signs of recent movement, suggesting many more could lie beneath.
CBS News

Dnipro, Ukraine — Russian forces have withdrawn from around Ukraine's capital Kyiv, but there has been no celebration in the country. What they've left behind is difficult to comprehend, and even more difficult to see. CBS News warns our readers that the both the video report above and the article below contain disturbing material. Independent journalists who went into the town of Bucha, just northwest of the capital, over the weekend found the streets littered with bodies. The dead were wearing civilian clothing, and some had their hands tied behind their backs, apparently executed. Others were buried in a mass grave. More than 300 residents were killed, according to the town's mayor.
A warning, this report contains images that viewers may find disturbing. Ukraine and its allies have accused Russia of committing war crimes, after the discovery of mass graves and dead civilians in Bucha near Kyiv.
Neil MacFarquhar

The signs of failure in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are readily apparent: the tarnished reputation of its military as a modernized, overpowering fighting force; its tattered economy; and a Western alliance more unified than at any time since the worst tensions of the Cold War. But what is less appreciated is that this is only the latest and potentially the most spectacular in a series of failures suffered by President Vladimir Putin of Russia in Ukraine. If Afghanistan is the “graveyard of empires,” Ukraine is where Putin’s imperial ambitions consistently founder.
CNN's Brianna Keilar speaks with Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk of Bucha, Ukraine, after horrific images emerged showing civilian bodies strewn across the city's street.
By Vasco Cotovio, Frederik Pleitgen, Byron Blunt and Daria Markina, CNN

Bucha, Ukraine (CNN) Vladimir stands on the edge of a mass grave in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv. He holds his hands to his head, then raises them up to the sky in anguish. "Brother, we've been looking for you for so long," he says, bursting into tears halfway through. His brother, Dmitry, has been missing for roughly a week and neighbors told Vladimir he might be buried here. "We thought you were alive," Vladimir cries out.
Natalie Colarossi

AUkrainian mayor and her family were reportedly killed in an "execution style" slaying by Russian troops before being thrown into a pit in a forested area, a local resident told the Associated Press on Sunday. Olga Sukhenko, the mayor of the Ukrainian town of Motyzhyn, which is located near Kyiv, was allegedly shot alongside her husband and son for refusing to comply with Russian demands, the AP reported. The resident who spoke to the news outlet was identified only as a man named Oleg for security purposes. Oleg told the AP that Russian troops targeted local officials across Motyzhyn and murdered those who did not cooperate. After the mayor and her family were shot, the man said they were thrown into a pit behind a plot of land that contained three houses that Russian forces occupied.
Harry Robertson

Russia's economy all but imploded in the 1990s. It shrank 7% a year on average for seven straight years. The experience lingers in the minds of Russians who lived through it. Indeed, President Vladimir Putin has historically framed himself as Russia's savior, delivering a stable economy and restoring national pride. Now, however, Putin's brutal war in Ukraine is set to wipe out 15 years of growth and send the Russian economy back to the dark days following the fall of the Soviet Union. Sanctions by the US and its allies have slashed Russia's access to the global financial system, with the central bank cut off from just under half of its $640 billion stockpile of global currency reserves.
Anders Anglesey

Russian soldiers have carried out grave war crimes against civilians, including rape and executions in areas they controlled, according to a human rights advocacy organization. Human Rights Watch (HRW) alleged it has documented numerous cases of Russian soldiers committing war crimes against Ukrainian civilians in the occupied areas of Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Kyiv. In an April 3 report, the HRW said it had found a case of "repeated rape," two cases of "summary execution"—one of six men and the other of one man—and unlawful violence and threats against civilians between February 27 and March 14. The group also claimed Russian soldiers had also looted civilian property, including food, clothes, and firewood.
The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s prosecutor-general says the bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian troops. Iryna Venediktova says on Facebook that the bodies were recovered Friday, Saturday and Sunday. She says 140 of them have undergone examination by prosecutors and other specialists. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says the mayor of the village of Motyzhyn in the Kyiv region was murdered while being held by Russian forces. Vereshchuk adds that there are 11 mayors and community heads in Russian captivity across Ukraine.
An unconfirmed number of migrants appear to remain in the Zhuravychi detention centre near Lutsk city despite the war.
By Katy Fallon | Al Jazeera

Concerns have been raised about a European Union-funded migrant detention centre near Ukraine’s Lutsk city which appears to continue to hold an unconfirmed number of migrants despite Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country. Located in a pine forest in northwest Ukraine near the Belarusian border, the Volyn region’s Zhuravychi Migrant Accommodation Centre is a former army barracks constructed in 1961 that was converted into a migrant detention centre in 2007 with EU funds. In a joint investigation with Lighthouse Reports, a non-profit organisation based in the Netherlands, Al Jazeera spoke to contacts and relatives of detainees who had been recently released, as well as analysed photos and documents, which verified the detainees’ presence in Ukraine before being placed in the centre.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed a strike on an oil refinery and fuel storage facilities in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa. The city's mayor said there were no casualties following the strike.
David Axe, Forbes Staff

Eight years ago, an elite Russian parachute regiment played a central role in a massacre of Ukrainian soldiers. Now Ukraine has exacted its revenge. The 331st Guards Airborne Regiment has been all but destroyed in fighting around Kyiv. Around 50 of the 331st’s paratroopers have died in Ukraine, according to open-source intelligence analysts who have scoured the internet for confirmation of the deaths. The wounded could number a hundred or more. And then there are the missing—many of whom undoubtedly will be confirmed dead as the 331st reconstitutes in Belarus. That’s potentially hundreds of casualties in a regiment that, at its peak strength, had just 2,000 men. Members of the 331st’s headquarters staff, including regimental commander Col. Sergei Sukharev, also have died.
Colin Campbell

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday flatly said, "This is genocide," after officials from his government presented evidence of civilian executions and other atrocities allegedly being committed by the invading Russian forces. "We are the citizens of Ukraine and we don't want to be subdued to the policy of [the] Russian Federation. This is the reason we are being destroyed and exterminated. And this is happening in the Europe of the 21st century," Zelensky said during an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation."
Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania stop importing Russian gas as part of European efforts to curb reliance on Russian energy.

Latvia says the Baltic states are no longer importing Russian natural gas, as European nations try to wean themselves off Russian energy sources in the wake of the Ukraine war. “If there were still any doubts about whether there may be any trust in deliveries from Russia, current events clearly show us that there is no more trust,” Uldis Bariss, CEO of Conexus Baltic Grid – Latvia’s natural gas storage operator, said on Saturday. “Since April 1st, Russian natural gas is no longer flowing to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania,” he told Latvian radio, adding that the Baltic market was currently being served by gas reserves stored underground in Latvia.
Reuters

April 3 (Reuters) - Two blasts were heard in the Russian city of Belgorod near the border with Ukraine on Sunday, two witnesses told Reuters, days after Russian authorities accused Ukrainian forces of striking a fuel depot there. The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear. One witness said the blasts were so powerful that they rattled the windows of her home in Belgorod. The blasts come days after Russia's defence ministry said two Ukrainian helicopters struck a fuel depot in the city, some 35 km (22 miles) from the border with Ukraine, after entering Russia at extremely low altitude in the early hours of Friday.
By Tara John, Jonny Hallam and Nathan Hodge, CNN

Lviv, Ukraine (CNN) The lifeless bodies of at least 20 civilian men line a single street in the town of Bucha near the Ukrainian capital. Some lie face down on the pavement while others are collapsed on their backs, mouths open in a tragic testament to the horrors of Russian occupation. The hands of one man are tied behind his back with a piece of white cloth. Another man lies alone, tangled up in a bicycle by a grassy bank. A third man lies in the middle of the road, near the charred remains of a burned-out car. The shocking images of the carnage in Bucha were captured by Agence France-Presse on Saturday, the same day Ukraine declared the town liberated from Russian troops. Accounts of alleged Russian atrocities are emerging as its forces retreat from areas near Kyiv following a failed bid to encircle the capital.
Source: Telegram

Video shared on the messaging platform Telegram appears to show stun grenades landing in a square of the town of Enerhodar, in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region. The footage shows clouds of white smoke and people running as loud bangs are heard. Local authorities said Russian forces dispersed a pro-Ukrainian rally after residents gathered in the centre of the town to talk and sing the Ukrainian national anthem. No casualties were reported but some participants were detained.
UNESCO says its is ‘very concerned’ about Russia’s war in Ukraine and that ‘humanity’s heritage is in danger’.
Aljazeera

Dozens of cultural sites including churches, historic buildings and museums have been damaged by the war in Ukraine, the United Nations cultural agency said. UNESCO said last month it had bolstered protective measures for Ukraine’s endangered cultural heritage in light of Russia’s invasion, such as using a “Blue Shield” emblem to mark its cultural sites and monuments.
Anna Venarchik, Allison Quinn

In a show of hospitality, Ukrainian citizens in the besieged region of Kharkiv have reportedly been “treating” Russian troops to local delicacies—laced with poison. At least two troops from the 3rd Motor Rifle Division of the Russian Federation died immediately after eating stuffed buns served by the residents of Izium, a town about 80 miles southeast of Kharkiv, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine wrote Saturday in an announcement posted to Facebook. Another 28 Russians are being treated in intensive care from eating the contaminated treats. The condition of these poisoned invaders has yet to be confirmed.
Jeanine Santucci, Katie Wadington, David Jackson | USA TODAY

Ukrainians returning to Kyiv as Russian forces pulled out over the weekend found a shocking trail of destruction and death, including slain civilians lying on the streets with their hands bound. Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said scores of the dead were found on the streets of Bucha and the Kyiv suburbs of Irpin and Hostomel in what looked like a “scene from a horror movie.” Arestovych said some people were shot in the head and had their hands bound, and some bodies showed signs of torture, rape and burning. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that the deadly attacks on civilians – including evidence of a massacre in the city of Bucha – are more proof that Russia is committing genocide in his country.
By Tara John, Jonny Hallam and Nathan Hodge, CNN

Lviv, Ukraine (CNN) The lifeless bodies of at least 20 civilian men line a single street in the town of Bucha near the Ukrainian capital. Some lie face down on the pavement while others are collapsed on their backs, mouths open in a tragic testament to the horrors of Russian occupation. The hands of one man are tied behind his back with a piece of white cloth. Another man lies alone, tangled up in a bicycle by a grassy bank. A third man lies in the middle of the road, near the charred remains of a burned-out car. The shocking images of the carnage in Bucha were captured by Agence France-Presse on Saturday, the same day Ukraine declared the town liberated from Russian troops. Accounts of alleged Russian atrocities are emerging as its forces retreat from areas near Kyiv following a failed bid to encircle the capital.
by Brad Dress
Ukraine’s forces regained full control of the region around capital city Kyiv on Saturday for the first time since Russia invaded the country at the end of February, according to a Ukrainian official. Hanna Malyar, the deputy minister for Ukraine’s defense ministry, shared the news in a Facebook post. Malyar said Ukrainians should still refrain from returning to their homes, citing ongoing efforts to clear the area, including from leftover mines. Earlier this week, Russia said it was withdrawing forces from around Kyiv and the city of Chernihiv, but President Biden expressed skepticism about the claim and the Pentagon said Moscow was actually “repositioning” troops.
Katie Balevic
Russian troops have opened a market in Belarus to sell goods that they stole from Ukrainians during the invasion, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. The defense ministry said Russians are selling "washing machines and dishwashers, refrigerators, precious jewelry, cars, bicycles, motorcycles, dishes, carpets, artworks, children's toys, cosmetics." "That is, everything that the Russians have gained by looting and robbing the civilians in Ukraine," the ministry said in a Facebook post on Saturday, adding that the Russians "arranged a specialized bazaar" in the small Belarusian town of Naroulia.
Reuters

LVIV, Ukraine, April 2 (Reuters) - Russian missiles hit two cities in central Ukraine early on Saturday, damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, the head of the Poltava region said. "Poltava. A missile struck one of the infrastructure facilities overnight," Dmitry Lunin wrote in an online post. "Kremenchuk. Many attacks on the city in the morning." Lunin later said at least four missiles hit two infrastructure objects in Poltava while, according to preliminary information, three enemy planes attacked the industrial facilities of Kremenchuk.
John L. Dorman

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said some Western partners were "playing games" with the delivery of weaponry, while also questioning if the current level of aid from the US and other nations would be sufficient in beating back against Russian military forces. During an interview on Fox News, Zelenskyy told host Bret Baier through an interpreter that he had confidence in the West, and believed that Ukraine and US shared similar values. However, he said that such sentiments among the Ukrainian people could deteriorate if vital military equipment and other forms of aid fail to materialize in a timely manner.
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