Despite the fact that Russian troops prevented access by the International Red Cross to provide care to the citizens of Mariupol, the Ukrainian authorities managed to evacuate at least 3,000 people in the first humanitarian corridors that were installed in the town.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian Armed Forces accused Russia of mining civilian buildings and infrastructure, as well as other areas in the city of Bucha, in the Kiev region, before being expelled by Ukrainian troops.
As the international siege of Russia grows, and the economy is beginning to feel the impact of sanctions, European governments and companies worked on a common approach this Friday to the Kremlin’s demand that they pay for their gas in rubles, while mitigating the threat of an imminent supply interruption.
Next, the minute by minute of the Russian invasion:(Ukrainian time, GMT+3):
Saturday, April 2:
12:00: the pope could travel to Ukraine, the scene of a war after the invasion of Russia because when asked during the flight that took him to Malta about whether he was taking in consideration of the invitation to go to Kiev, Francis replied: “Yes, it’s on the table.”
Both the President of Ukraine, Volodymir Zelensky, and the mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, have invited the pontiff to travel to that country to show his proximity to the Ukrainian population for a war that the pope has repeatedly criticized, in addition to offering to do “everything necessary” to achieve its end.
Francis and Zelensky spoke on the phone on March 22, when the Ukrainian president assured the pontiff that “he is the most waiting guest in the country”, while the pope told him that he is “praying and doing everything possible to end the war, brought about after the invasion of Russia.”
11:15: the fatalities caused by the Russian attack on the headquarters of the regional administration in the Ukrainian city of Mikolaiv amounted to 35 this Saturday, according to the local mayor Vitali Kim.
A Russian missile hit the nine-storey official headquarters on the morning of March 29, leaving numerous and injured and a huge hole in the structure of the building.
The number of fatalities has been rising since then, as many bodies were trapped under the rubble and rescue operations are still continuing, according to the Kyiv Independent news website.
10:00: Russian forces are making a “rapid withdrawal” from areas around the capital Kiev and the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv, said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak.
“With the rapid withdrawal of the Russians from the Kiev and Chernigiv regions it is quite clear that Russia is prioritizing a different tactic: to retreat to the east and south,” he said on social media.
8:45: The Office of the Juvenile Prosecutor of Ukraine reported that at least 158 children have been killed and 254 have been injured in attacks perpetrated by Russia since the beginning of its invasion of the country, last February 24, until this Saturday.
Most of the child casualties, including deaths and injuries, occurred in the capital Kiev region with 75, followed by Donetsk with 71, Kharkiv (56), Chernigov (49), Kherson (29), Zaporiyia (22), Zytomyr (15) and Sumy (14).
The Prosecutor’s Office also reported that 869 educational institutions have suffered material damage since the beginning of the invasion, 83 of which have been completely destroyed.
7:30: Ukrainian authorities reported Russian rocket fire on several major cities in the south of the country, as fighting has intensified in some areas of Ukraine.
Between two and three “strong explosions” were heard in the city of Dnipro during Saturday night, according to the Ukrayinska Pravda portal, citing the regional administration.
The surroundings of the city of Kryvyi Rih were shelled with rocket launchers. In addition, a gas station caught fire, according to the head of the local military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul.
6:30: Russian troops reportedly withdrew from the Antonov airport of Gostomel, on the outskirts of Kiev, where they remained entrenched for several weeks, according toshowed some images taken by a satellite and collected by the US channel CNN.
The airport, which is located 28 kilometers from the center of the Ukrainian capital, was taken by the Russian Army on the first day of the invasion, on February 24, but satellite images taken on Thursday by Maxar Technologies show that Russian military vehicles and artillery positions have been withdrawn.
Also, last Thursday, an official of the US Department of Defense announced in statements collected by CNN that the Russian military had left the airport.
5:30: The United Kingdom intelligence services confirmed that a fire destroyed several oil depots in the Russian city of Bolgorod, near the Ukrainian border, and that explosions have also been recorded in an ammunition depot in the vicinity of the city.
This was announced by the British Ministry of Defense in a statement on its official Twitter profile a day after Russia accused Ukrainian troops of attacking several fuel tanks in the border city.
“The likely loss of fuel and ammunition supplies from these depots is likely to add additional short-term strain to the already strained Russian logistics chains,” explained the UK Ministry of Defense.
4:30: China said this Saturday that it was not doing anything “to circumvent” the sanctions imposed on Russia, following warnings from officials of the EU that any attempt to help Moscow in the war in Ukraine could damage economic ties.
In the clearest indication so far of Beijing’s position on the matter, a Foreign Ministry official told reporters: “We are not deliberately doing anything to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Russia by Americans and Europeans.”
But the statement, issued after virtual talks between top EU leaders and China on Friday, comes as Beijing maintains its stance of refusing to condemn the invasion of its ally Russia.
Washington has expressed fears that China could potentially send military and economic aid to Russia or help it overcome the harsh Western sanctions that are hitting the country’s economy.
3:45: the US Department of Defense announced this Friday that it will allocate an additional $300 million to “security assistance” to boost defensive capabilities of Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion.
In addition to the $1.6 billion already committed by Washington, the aid includes laser-guided rocket systems, drones, ammunition, night vision devices, tactical secure communications systems, medical supplies and spare parts.
“This decision underscores America’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in support of its heroic efforts to repel Russia’s war,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
02:56: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Europe for “reacting silently” to the humanitarian catastrophe in the southern city of Mariupol caused by Russian bombings and siege.
It is estimated that some 160,000 citizens have been living without basic services for more than a month in Mariupol, a port on the Sea of Azov that has become the main target of Russian troops in Ukraine due to its strategic position between the Crimean peninsula and the Dombas.
He stated that Russian citizens “are not told the truth” in the context of the announcement by Russia to resume the mobilization of young people for military service mandatory spring.
“This year’s recruits can be sent to war against our State, against our people. It’s a guaranteed death for many very young boys. And even though they are not our citizens, it is still our duty as a people to warn them,” he said.
02:15: more than 6,000 people have been evacuated this Friday through humanitarian corridors on a difficult day in which the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed that they have not been able to access the city of Mariupol, where they were going to help escort a convoy with twelve buses and civilian vehicles.
Specifically, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Irina Vereshchuk, has cited more than 1,400 civilians who have left Berdyansk and Melitopol — 771 people from the latter city — on her own transport to Zaporizhzhia.
01:47: the Ukrainian authorities have warned that Russia could use chemical weapons in the country, “as they already did in the Syrian war”, and have said that they “must be prepared”, so medical institutions are receiving training to be able to deal with this possible scenario.
“Despite the ban on the use of chemical weapons by all international institutions, they used them in Syria (the Russians). We have a clear awareness that they can do so in our country. We must be prepared for this,” said the secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, Oleksei Danilov.
01:26: several buses with inhabitants of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, besieged and bombed by Russian troops, arrived on Friday night in Zaporizhzhia, a Ukrainian city controlled by the Kiev army, according to journalists from the AFP agency on the spot.
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, a total of about 3,700 people were rescued.
00:24: The US Army has canceled a test of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile which initially intended only to delay in an attempt to ease nuclear tensions with Russia during the Ukrainian war, as reported Friday by the Air Force to the Reuters agency.
The Pentagon first announced the delay of the test on March 2 after Russia said it was putting its nuclear forces on high alert. Washington then said it was important that both the United States and Russia “take into account the risk of miscalculation and take steps to reduce those risks.”
00:14: President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola met this Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky and delivered a speech to the Ukrainian Parliament in which she acknowledged that the European institution will “help” Kiev to join the European Union.
Metsola has posted a photograph on her social networks in which she appears shaking hands with Zelensky and has added a text that reads: “Courage, Strength and Determination. With Zelensky in Kiev. Long live Ukraine.”
News in Development…
KEEP READING:
Ukraine said it “does not deny or confirm” the alleged attack on the fuel tank in Russia
The bloody tactics Putin used in Syria that are repeated in Ukraine
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