Russia-Ukraine War: Russia-Ukraine Conflict News, Russia Ukraine News: Ukrainian forces retake areas near Kyiv amid fear of traps; Ukraine says 765 evacuate besieged Mariupol; Follow this space for all live updates of the Russia-Ukraine war
12:30 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Ukraine says 765 evacuate besieged Mariupol
People who flee Mariupol and Melitopol as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, wait are seen inside an evacuee cargo truck at a collecting point in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine April 1, 2022. Picture taken April 1, 2022. (REUTERS) People who flee Mariupol and Melitopol as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, wait around an evacuee cargo truck at a collecting point in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine April 1, 2022. Picture taken April 1, 2022. (Reuters) 12:20 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Russia in broad retreat from Kyiv, seeking to regroup from battering
Russian forces that were intent on overwhelming Kyiv, Ukraine, at the war's start with tanks and artillery retreated under fire across a broad front Saturday, leaving behind them dead soldiers and burned vehicles, according to witnesses, Ukrainian officials, satellite images and military analysts.
Moscow has described the withdrawal as a tactical move to regroup and reposition its forces for a major push in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. While there are early indications that the military is following through on that plan, analysts say it cannot obscure the magnitude of the defeat.
12:01 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
'Ukraine continues to provide a significant challenge to Russian Air and Missile operations,' UK military intelligence says
The UK military intelligence on Sunday said that "despite ongoing Russian efforts to diminish Ukrainian air defense capability, Ukraine continues to provide a significant challenge to Russian Air and Missile operations." As a result, Russian aircraft are still vulnerable to short and medium range air defense systems, it tweeted.
11:50 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Ukrainians curse Russian invaders as dead civilians found in liberated towns
As Ukraine claimed its forces had retaken all areas around Kyiv, the mayor of a liberated town said 300 residents had been killed during a month-long occupation by the Russian army, and victims were seen in a mass grave and still lying on the streets.
Ukraine's troops have retaken more than 30 towns and villages around Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched its invasion.
At Bucha, a town neighboring Irpen, just 37 km (23 miles) northwest of the capital, Reuters journalists saw bodies lying in the streets, and the hands and feet of multiple corpses poking out of a still open grave at a church ground. After five weeks of fighting, Russia has pulled back forces that had threatened Kyiv from the north to regroup for battles in eastern Ukraine. (Reuters)
11:33 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
UK military intelligence says Russia maintains a distant blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea coast
Russian naval forces continue to blockade the Ukrainian coast on the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, preventing resupply by sea, British military intelligence said on Sunday. Russia retains the capability to attempt an amphibious landing, but such an operation is likely to be increasingly high risk due to the time Ukrainian forces have had to prepare, the Ministry of Defence tweeted
"Mines within the Black Sea pose a serious risk to maritime activity," it said.The report said the origin of the mines was unclear and disputed but that they were almost certainly the result of Russian naval activity in the area, demonstrating how its invasion of Ukraine is affecting neutral and civilian interests. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. (Reuters)
US Congresswoman praises PM Modi for trying to broker peace between Russia and US on Ukraine
A top American Congresswoman has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for trying to broker peace between the United States and Russia on Ukraine and hoped that his efforts would be helpful in restoring peace in the region.
On Friday, Modi conveyed to visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that India stands ready to contribute in any way to the peace efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and called for early cessation of violence in that country.
"Well, I think that right now he (Modi) is trying to broker a peace between Russia and America with Ukraine. I think that's a very positive goal to have. We (India and US) have strong economic ties, we have strong peace ties, and we have strong similar values, I would say we have the same form of government," Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney told PTI in an interview. (PTI)
11:12 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
When the Russians picked the wrong town to invade
The accounts of resistance in the small garrison town of Vasylkiv have already taken on the sheen of legend. There are reports of Russian transport planes shot down, paratroopers hunted in the woods and even an unknown Ukrainian pilot nicknamed the Ghost of Kyiv defending the skies.
Hyperboles aside, the people of this quiet provincial town of tree-lined streets and low-rise buildings dating back to the Russian empire managed to fight off Russian troops in the critical opening days of the war, preventing Russian forces from capturing strategic bases that could have allowed the nation's capital, Kyiv, to be encircled. Read the NYT story here
10:50 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
ICRC sends team with three vehicles, 9 staff members to get in Mariupol
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross said a team with three vehicles and nine staff members had planned to get into Mariupol, scene of some of the war's worst attacks, on Saturday to evacuate residents. The Red Cross said it could not carry out the operation Friday because it did not receive assurances the route was safe. City authorities said the Russians blocked access to the city.
A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross said Saturday evening the team, which departed Zaporizhzhia in the morning, was "spending the night en route to Mariupol and are yet to reach the city.' Around 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city on the Sea of Azov, down from a prewar population of 430,000, and facing dire shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine.
The Mariupol city council said earlier Saturday that 10 empty buses were headed to Berdyansk, a city 52 miles (84 kilometers) west of Mariupol, to pick up people who managed to get there on their own. About 2,000 made it out of Mariupol on Friday, city officials said. (AP)
10:34 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
208 detained in anti-war protests in Russia
A Russian group that monitors political arrests says 208 people were detained in demonstrations held Saturday across the country protesting Russia's military operation in Ukraine. The OVD-Info group said demonstrations took place in 17 Russian cities, from Siberia to the more densely populated west.
More than 70 people were were detained in Moscow and a similar number in St. Petersburg, the organization said. Video released by another group that monitors protests, Avtozak, showed some detainees being led to police prisoner transports as they smiled and carried flowers. Others were shown to be more harshly forced into the transports, bent over with their arms pinioned behind them. Russian President Vladimir Putin's government has cracked down heavily on dissent, even before Russia invaded Ukraine in February. (AP)
10:27 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Lithuania says it has stopped importing gas from Russia
Lithuania has stopped importing natural gas from Russia as of April and will be able to rely instead on deliveries from other countries to meet its energy needs, the country's president announced Saturday, saying the move was an example for other European Union members.
Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU had been looking for ways to reduce its dependency on Russian fossil fuels, including coal and oil, but especially gas. Nearly 40% of the bloc's total natural gas came from Russia. But since Moscow ordered tanks into Ukraine on Feb. 24, member states have been more actively seeking ways to cut their gas needs.
'If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it too,' Gitanas Nausea, Lithuania's president, said on Twitter on Saturday. (New York Times)
10:16 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
New radio station helps Ukrainian refugees adapt in Prague
This is Radio Ukraine calling. A new Prague-based internet radio station has started to broadcast news, information and music tailored to the day-to-day concerns of some 300,000 refugees who have arrived in the Czech Republic since Russia launched its military assault against Ukraine. In a studio at the heart of the Czech capital, radio veterans work together with absolute beginners to provide the refugees with what they need to know to settle as smoothly as possible in a new country.
The staff of 10 combines people who have fled Ukraine in recent weeks with those who have been living abroad for years. No matter who they are, their common goal is to help fellow Ukrainians and their homeland facing the brutal Russian invasion.
10:00 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Troops shell retreating Russians: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said that Ukrainian troops retaking areas around Kyiv and Chernihiv are not allowing Russians to retreat without a fight, but are 'shelling them. They are destroying everyone they can.'
'What is the goal of the Russian troops? They want to seize the Donbas and the south of Ukraine,' he said. 'What is our goal? To defend ourselves, our freedom, our land, and our people.'
'Thanks to this resistance, thanks to the courage and resilience of our other cities, Ukraine has gained invaluable time, time that is allowing us to foil the enemy's tactics and weaken its capabilities,' Zelenskyy said. (AP)
09:50 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Ukraine says 765 evacuate besieged Mariupol
Ukraine's deputy prime minister says 765 residents managed to make it out of Mariupol in private vehicles on Sunday while a team of humanitarian workers is yet to reach the hard-hit city. Iryna Vereshchuk said the residents reached Zaporizhzhia, a city 140 miles (226 kilometers) to the northwest. (AP)
09:48 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Breakaway area denies Russian troops massing
Authorities in the tiny breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova denied "absolutely untrue" claims Saturday by Ukraine that Russian troops based there are massing to conduct "provocations" along Ukraine's border. Earlier Saturday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Russian troops already in Transnistria were preparing for "a demonstration of readiness for the offensive and, possibly, hostilities against Ukraine."
"The information disseminated by the General Staff of Ukraine is absolutely untrue," Transnistria's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that leaders have repeatedly "declared the absence of any threat to Ukraine. (AP)
09:39 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Ukraine claims control over Kyiv region as Russia looks east
Ukraine said on Saturday its forces had seized back all areas around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched the invasion. As Russian troops regrouped for battles in east Ukraine, towns surrounding Kyiv bore scars of five weeks of fighting. Dead civilians laid scattered over streets, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russian forces of leaving behind mines.
09:29 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Series of explosions heard in Ukrainian port of Odesa: Reuters witness
A series of explosions were heard and smoke was seen in Ukraine's southern port city of Odesa in the early hours of Sunday, a Reuters witness said. There was no official information about the attack. (Reuters)
09:09 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Ukraine reports diminished intensity of Russian air, missile strikes
The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces on Saturday said the intensity of Russian air and missile strikes had diminished, adding that Moscow continued to withdraw units through the north of Ukraine.In a Facebook post, the general staff also said retreating Russian forces were deploying mines on roads and in some settlements. (Reuters)
09:00 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know now
08:53 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Ukrainian photographer and Reuters contributor, Maksim Levin, was killed covering the war
Maksim Levin, a photographer, and videographer who was working for a Ukrainian news website and was a long-time contributor to Reuters was killed while covering Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He leaves behind his wife and four children. His body was found in a village north of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 1, the news website LB.ua where he worked said on Saturday.
Levin, born in 1981, was a documentary filmmaker who had contributed to Reuters' coverage of the country since 2013.He had been working in the village of Huta Mezhyhirska. There had been heavy shelling in that area.
08:38 (IST) 03 Apr 2022
Ukrainian forces retake areas near Kyiv amid fear of traps
On Saturday, Ukrainian forces seized back all areas around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched the invasion, amid fears that Russian forces left booby-trapped explosives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian troops retaking areas around Kyiv and Chernihiv are not allowing Russians to retreat without a fight, but are 'shelling them. They are destroying everyone they can.' In his Saturday night video address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine knows Russia has the forces to put even more pressure on the east and south of Ukraine. (AP)
Ukrainian servicemen check streets for booby traps in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine, Saturday, April 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
As Dmytro Kartavov and his family joined thousands of people trying to flee the bombed-out city of Mariupol, one additional obstacle awaited as Russian troops sought to identify anyone fighting with Ukrainian forces defending the city. 'They stripped the men naked, looked for tattoos,' said Kartayov, a 32-year-old builder, who said the troops paid particular attention to men's knees. 'I work, I do repairs, naturally my knees - these are working knees. They say - (you) climbed trenches, dug, and the like.'
Speaking in a supermarket that has been turned into a reception centre in the Ukrainian-held town of Zaporizhzhia some 200 km from Mariupol, he told Reuters the family left the besieged city to the west, reaching the port of Berdyansk by bus before crossing into Ukrainian-held territory on foot.
In 2001, when the internet was staring at a slew of regulations from across the globe, Clyde Wayne Crews, a researcher at libertarian think-tank Cato Institute, proposed the idea of 'splinternet' — an internet splintered into disparate realms controlled by different dispensations or powers. The fundamental proposal was to have more internets instead of having more regulations.
Over the past two decades, a splintering of the internet has occurred in some limited ways. China's 'Great Firewall' keeps American tech giants out while pushing online services developed indigenously. Russia, in 2019, passed the sovereign internet law — or the online Iron Curtain — that enabled the country to disconnect its internet from the rest of the world.
The stream of anti-war letters to a lawmaker in St. Petersburg, Russia, has dried up. Some Russians who had criticized the Kremlin have turned into cheerleaders for the war. Those who publicly oppose it have found the word 'traitor' scrawled on their apartment door. Five weeks into President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, there are signs that the Russian public's initial shock has given way to a mix of support for their troops and anger at the West. On television, entertainment shows have been replaced by extra helpings of propaganda, resulting in a round-the-clock barrage of falsehoods about the 'Nazis' who run Ukraine and American-funded Ukrainian bioweapons laboratories.