Brief facts:
- British Starstreak MANPADS debuted in Ukraine's war against russia hiting occupier's air target (Orlan-10 UAV) for the first time.
- Ukraine Army shoots down next russian Su-34 fighter jet near Mykolaiv
- UN raises estimate of internally displaced persons in Ukraine to 7.1 mln.
- third prisoners of war exchange: 26 Ukrainian people rescued
- UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a "surprise visit" to Kyiv, announced the provision of 120 armored vehicles and new anti-ship missile systems in addition to the £100 million military aid package to Ukraine.
Side note: news are marked in accordance with the Kyiv time zone: Eastern European Time (EET), GMT/UTC+2
Read more: Javelin vs NLAW: Ukrainian Soldier Explains from Own Experience which of the Two is More Effective Against Russian Armored Targets
Latest news:
23:45 The Head of Khakiv region military administration Oleg Synegubov on Telegram : Weekend bombardments in eastern Ukraine killed 10 civilians and wounded 11 others around Kharkiv, the region's governor said Sunday.
23:25 The head of the Nikolaev regional military administration Vitaly Kim on Telegram: Russian troops fire at Mykolayiv. One person was injured..
22:40 Orion Intel analysts say that Russia has assembled 32 Su-27 fighters at the airport in Voronezh. This airfield is likely to be the main one for attacks on Ukraine. It was recently renovated.
22:10 Operational and tactical group "Skhid" (East) of the Ukrainian Army reports that for the day in the area of its responsibility 26 Russian occupiers were eliminated, as well as 3 units of military equipment, 2 helicopters and a drone.
The headquarters of the Donbas Ukrainian army operation reports the destruction of 5 Russian tanks, 8 units of armored vehicles, 6 military vehicles, 8 artillery systems, 3 helicopters and two UAVs in the Luhansk and Donetsk directions. During the day, the Armed Forces repulsed four attacks by Russian troops.
21:34 Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk reports: 2,622 people traveled from Mariupol and Berdyansk by their own transport and buses to Zaporizhzhia. 213 of them were Mariupol locals and 2,409 are residents of the cities of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Convoys of buses that left Zaporizhzhia this morning to evacuate people from Berdyansk, Tokmak and Energodar are being held by the occupying forces at a checkpoint in Vasylivka. Today, 202 people were evacuated from Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, Rubizhne, Kreminna and Popasna in Luhansk oblast, despite constant violations of the silence mode by the occupiers.
21:00 General Staff: operational information as of on 18.00 on April 10, 2022, regarding the Russian invasion. Key points:
- A russian enemy is trying to complete regroup and ncrease the management system and logistics of the troops. The russian occupiers are moving battalion tactical groups from the Eastern and Central military districts to the Belgorod, Voronezh and Kursk regions bordering Ukraine.
- There are no significant changes in the position and activity of the russian enemy's troops in the Volyn, Polissya and Siversky directions.
- In the Slobozhansky direction, the russian occupiers continue to partially block the city of Kharkiv and try to break through the defense of Ukrainian troops in the area of the city of Izyum. It is possible that the enemy will increase its efforts in the direction of Slovyansk, part of the forces - in Barvinkovo.
- The russian enemy has a number of problems in the logistics of the Western Military District. This is the lack of spare parts, certain types of artillery ammunition, as well as the imperfection of the system of storage and supply of logistics.
- In the Donetsk and Tavriya directions, the russian enemy is concentrating its main efforts on taking control of the settlements of Popasna, Rubizhne, Nyzhne, and Novobakhmutivka. The russian occupiers do not stop trying to take full control of the city of Mariupol.
- Russian occupiers moved a division of the S-350 Vityaz medium-range anti-aircraft missile system to the Taganrog district of the Rostov region.
- To restore the losses of the armed forces of a russian federation, additional weapons and military equipment are being moved to the territory of Ukraine from the Southern Military District.
- Attempts by the russian enemy to break through our defences and advance to the settlements of Siverodonetsk, Popasna, Avdiivka and Kurakhove are expected.
- In the South Buh direction, the russian enemy tried to restore its position - to take up lost positions in the area of the settlement Osokorivka. Probably, the russian enemy will try to make an attempt to reach the administrative borders of the Kherson region.
20:30 Serhiy Haidai, the Head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration wrote on Telegram: Russian forces tried to enter Severodonetsk but the Ukrainian army repulsed the offensive.
"There were attempts to break through near Severodonetsk, but they were repulsed. Air strikes were launched near Rubizhne and Novotoshkivske, bypassing Popasna. But the enemy suffers losses and retreat,” Haidai said.
At the same time, according to him, the Russian military continues to accumulate military equipment.
At the same time, according to him, the Russian military continues to accumulate military equipment.
19:45 Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, said on the air of the UK’s TV channel Sky News: Ukrainian law enforcement officers have already identified 1,222 people killed in Kyiv region as a result of Russian aggression since February 24. "As of this morning (April 10 - ed.), we have already counted 1,222 deaths in Kyiv region alone," she said.
According to Venediktova, law enforcement officers have opened 5,600 criminal proceedings over Russian war crimes in Ukraine, and 500 suspects have been already identified.
19:00 Invaders shell Severodonetsk: city's critical infrastructure almost destroyed.
Today Russian shelling damaged residential buildings and a clinic in Severodonetsk, Luhansk region.
The press service of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration wrote this on Telegram, - Ukrinform reports.
"Houses in a new part of the city were on fire in the morning, while in the afternoon, the Russian army opened fire on entire Severodonetsk. Many remaining windows were broken. Two houses and a private clinic were severely damaged. Social and critical infrastructure is almost destroyed,” the report says.
18:35 Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova: At least 1,222 killed, 500 war crimes suspects identified in Kyiv region.
Ukrainian law enforcement officers have already identified 1,222 people killed in Kyiv region as a result of Russian aggression since February 24.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said this on the air of the UK’s TV channel Sky News, - Ukrinform reports.
"As of this morning (April 10 - ed.), we have already counted 1,222 deaths in Kyiv region alone," she said.
According to Venediktova, law enforcement officers have opened 5,600 criminal proceedings over Russian war crimes in Ukraine, and 500 suspects have been already identified.
18:00 Slovak media: Slovakia negotiating with Ukraine on supply of Zuzana howitzers to Kyiv.
The Slovak government is negotiating with Ukraine on the supply of Zuzana self-propelled artillery mounts to Kyiv, the Slovak publication Niezalezna.pl reports.
"Bratislava and Kyiv are discussing the details of a contract for the sale of 16 155-mm Zuzana self-propelled artillery mounts," the report says.
It specifies that the crew of the howitzer consists of four soldiers. Zuzana can hit a target at a distance of up to 39.6 km.
In addition, these self-propelled artillery mounts have automatic reloading, which makes it possible to achieve a rate of fire of up to five rounds per minute. The stock of the howitzer is 750 km, the maximum speed is up to 80 km/h.
"The introduction of these sets into service will not be a big problem for Ukrainians, since a few years ago Ukraine purchased 26 152-mm DANA M2 self-propelled howitzers from the Czech Republic. The Zuzana sets themselves are simply a modernized version of the DANA artillery system, adapted, among other things, according to NATO standards. Other users of the Zuzana and DANA systems are, in particular, Georgia, Poland and the Czech Republic," the publication said.
A number of Slovak media, citing Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad, also report on the ongoing discussion of the possibility of supplying Kyiv with MiG-29 fighter jets, which are in service with the Slovak Air Force.
17:30 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba: The decision by Germany and France not to allow Ukraine to join Nato in 2008 was a “strategic mistake”.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has said the decision by Germany and France not to allow Ukraine to join Nato in 2008 was a “strategic mistake”.
In a Sunday, April 10, morning interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, Kuleba said: “The strategic mistake that was made in 2008 by Germany and France who rejected the efforts of the United States and other allies to bring Ukraine in, is something that we are paying for. It’s not Germany or France that are paying the cost for this mistake, it’s Ukraine. If we were a member of Nato, this war wouldn’t take place.”
He added: “Ukraine won the battle for Kyiv. Now another battle is coming.”
16:55 British military intelligence: Russians forced to deploy long retired army personnel.
Russian armed forces was seeking to strengthen troop numbers with personnel discharged from military service a decade ago, as losses mount from its invasion of Ukraine, British military intelligence said on Sunday, April 10, - The Guardian reports.
Russian forces are also trying to recruit from the unrecognised Transnistria region of Moldova, said the Ministry of Defence in a regular bulletin on Twitter.
16:25 The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky shares photographs of cities liberated from Russian invaders.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes freedom must win in Ukraine first, and then wherever tyranny will try to raise its head.
The relevant statement was made The President of Ukraine on Telegram, - Ukrinform reports.
“Hatred must lose. Freedom must win. First – in Ukraine, and then – wherever tyranny will try to raise its head,” Zelensky wrote.
Traditionally, the President of Ukraine posted some photographs, depicting the effects of the Russian aggression. This time he shared the images of the Ukrainian cities liberated from Russian invaders.
15:45 State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management accusing Russian forces who occupied the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant of stealing deadly radioactive substances from research laboratories.
In an update posted on Facebook, the State Agency for Managing the Exclusion Zone claimed that Russian soldiers had entered the storage area of the Ecocentre research base and taken 133 toxic materials, - The Guardian reports.
“Even a small part of this activity is deadly if handled unprofessionally,” the agency said.
It added that the location of the stolen substances is “currently unknown”.
“The degree of preservation and safety of calibration sources and sample radioactive solutions is impossible to be established, and the condition of the damaged will be determined after the appropriate inventory and measurements are carried out.”
The statement has not been independently verified.
It follows comments made by German Gulashchenko, Ukraine’s energy minister, on Friday after he visited the exclusion zone. He said that Russian troops had exposed themselves to “shocking” levels of nuclear radiation.
“They dug bare soil contaminated with radiation, collected radioactive sand in bags for fortification, breathed this dust,” Gulashchenko said via Facebook.
He predicted that some of the soldiers may only have a year to live due to the exposure.
15:00 Zelensky, Scholz discuss punishment for perpetrators of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have discussed the need to identify and punish all those responsible for Russian war crimes against Ukraine.
The head of state said this on Twitter, - Ukrinform reports.
"Had a phone conversation with German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. We emphasized that all perpetrators of war crimes must be identified and punished," Zelensky said.
Both parties also discussed anti-Russian sanctions, defense and financial support for Ukraine.
The war Russia started against Ukraine is already in its 46th day. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying critical and civilian infrastructure, brutally torturing and killing Ukrainians.
14:35 Ukrainian forces hit enemy target for first time using Starstreak.
An air defense unit of the 95th Air Assault Brigade has destroyed a Russian Orlan-10 UAV using a British-made Starstreak man-portable air defense system.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's press service reported this on Telegram, with reference to the Command of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, - Ukrinform reports.
"In the Kharkiv region, an air defense unit of the 95th Air Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces used a British-made Starstreak MANPADS and successfully destroyed another Russian Orlan-10 UAV," the statement said.
The press service said this is the second Orlan-10 drone shot down by Ukrainian soldiers, with the first UAV of this type shot down on April 9.
The video published by the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces shows the first combat use of a Starstreak MANPADS by a Ukrainian air defense unit.
14:15 The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky: We don't want to lose opportunities for diplomatic solution to ending war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said believes that the opportunities for a diplomatic solution to ending the war cannot be lost, but Ukraine's demands must be met.
He stated this in an interview with AP, - Ukrinform reports.
"We don't want to lose opportunities, if we have them, for a diplomatic solution of this matter. We should not lose them. We cannot afford to decide for millions of people who want to stop the war. Decide for them and say, 'No, we are not ready to speak with murderers'," Zelensky said.
He stressed that he understands how emotionally hard it is that no one wants to negotiate with a person or people who tortured this nation.
"But if we speak without emotions, however hard it is, we have to understand that any war should end in peace or it will end with millions of casualties. And even then, if there are millions of victims, eventually peace will come, the war will end. So from this, we have to draw conclusions: yes, we have to fight but fight for life," Zelensky said.
Zelensky said he was convinced that people will accept peace because they want this war to end.
"People want this war to be over on our terms, terms of independence. […] I am sure, there are people -- every family lost something. There are people who lost children. I am not sure that they will be satisfied with any kind of peace under any conditions at any time. Because it's a huge wound and a huge tragedy to lose your loved ones," he said.
The war Russia started against Ukraine is already in its 46th day. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying critical and civilian infrastructure, brutally torturing and killing Ukrainians.
13:50 Ukraine’s prosecutor general Iryna Veneditktova: Russia committed war crimes across Ukraine.
Iryna Veneditktova, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, has told Sky News British free-to-air television news channel today that Russia has committed war crimes across Ukraine, - The Guardian reports.
Veneditktova told Sky News: “This morning we have 1,222 dead people in the Kyiv region only. Of course, what we saw on the ground in all regions of Ukraine is war crimes, crimes against humanity, and we do everything to fix it.”
Referring to the missile attack on a railway station in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk which killed more than 50 people, Veneditktova said: “Absolutely, it’s a war crime. It was a Russian missile which killed more 50 people. These people just wanted to save their lives. They wanted to be evacuated with kids. It was women, it was children, and they just wanted to save their lives.”
13:35 Ukraine Army shoots down russian Su-34 fighter jet near Mykolaiv.
Russian invaders are attempting to improve their positions in the Mykolaiv direction, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces are destroying the enemy.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's press service said this on Telegram, with reference to the Operational Command South.
"The occupiers are trying to improve their positions in the Mykolaiv direction, but our troops continue to destroy the enemy, pushing back the enemy from their positions and destroying their resources," the statement said.
According to the statement, an anti-aircraft missile unit of the Ukrainian Air Force shot down a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber as it attempted to attack Mykolaiv.
Earlier on April 3, Air Defense Forces of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down another Russian SU-34 fighter-bomber in Kharkiv region.
13:30 UN raises estimate of internally displaced persons in Ukraine to 7.1 mln.
The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine due to the war unleashed by Russia has reached 7.1 million, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on April 6, which previously estimated this figure at 6.5 -6.7 million.
More than a quarter of Ukraine's population has been forced to leave their homes. To date, more than 4.3 million refugees have left Ukraine, making this the fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II, the report on its website says.
According to the UN map, there are about 2.9 million IDPs in western Ukraine, 1.4 million in the central regions on the right bank of the Dnipro River, 1.3 million to the northeast of Kyiv, south near Kyiv and north of Odesa and Mykolaiv – 357,000 each and on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Zaporizhia and Kherson regions – 857,000.
As of April 9, according to the Ministry of Social Policy, about 900,000 IDPs were officially registered in Ukraine.
UNHCR also reports that as of 13:00 Kyiv time on April 9, the number of people who left Ukraine since the beginning of the war has reached 4.5 million people.
The flow to leave is gradually slowing down: if in the first 19 days of the war 3 million people left Ukraine, then it took six days to increase by another half a million, then nine, and for the last half a million, eleven days.
UNHCR clarifies that 2.59 million left for Poland, 755,300 for Romania and Moldova, 419,100 for Hungary, 404,400 for Russia, 314,500 for Slovakia, and 19,100 for Belarus.
At the same time, these data do not take into account the return flow to the entrance. According to the data, in particular, of the Polish border guard service, as of the morning of April 8, since the beginning of the war, 2.573 million people have crossed the Ukrainian-Polish border, while in the opposite direction – 516,000, or about 20% of those who left. This allows us to roughly estimate the number of refugees from Ukraine at 3.6 million, while the UN currently predicts it at 4 million.
13:05 Oleksiy Arestovych, Adviser to the Head of the Presidentʼs Office held another briefing. Key points of speech:
- the enemy initially attacked in 9 operational directions, and now it is attacking in only two: Mariupol and the north of the environmental protection zone;
- Heavy street fighting continues in Mariupol, the Armed Forces of Ukraine keep the defense;
- in Alexandiovka, Kherson Oblast, Russian troops tried to advance but were unsuccessful and suffered losses;
- Russian ships in the Black Sea began to paint overboard numbers to hide losses.
12:51 CNN: Satellite images collected and analyzed by private US company Maxar Technologies showed a long Russian military convoy moving through the Ukrainian town of Velykyi Burluk towards Kharkiv.
The images show a 13-kilometer-long military convoy moving south through the town of Velykyi Burluk in eastern Ukraine on April 8.
Maxar reported that the convoy consists of "armored vehicles, trucks with towed artillery and support equipment."
Earlier, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that Russia was concentrating forces in eastern Ukraine, attempting to capture Kharkiv, Mariupol and Odesa.
12:45 Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration: over the last 24 hours, Kharkiv Oblast was shelled 66 times, two people were killed in the city of Derhachi.
"Over the past day, Russian troops inflicted about 66 artillery and mortar strikes on the areas of Saltivka, Pyatykhatky, Oleksiyivka, KhTZ, the city center. As a result of the shelling, unfortunately, there 9 victims. This day Dergachi and the district were shelled again — two people were killed and several were injured", Syniehubov said.
He noted that the Russian army continues to "fight" with the civilian population, because there are no victories at the frontline.
12:16 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann made such a proposal by sending a corresponding appeal to the German Ministry of Economics. Reported by the German edition Welt citing personal sources.
According to journalists, the company offered Ukraine a purchase of 1.7 billion euros. The kit, as already reported, includes a hundred self-propelled howitzers. If this option does not suit our politicians, then there is another one – special howitzers for Boxer armored personnel carriers. Such a batch of equipment will cost a little less – 1.2 billion euros.
11:10 Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Saturday in a video message released to coincide with a global event in support of Ukrainian victims of the conflict: Mexico does not accept the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine as it has suffered from invasions in its history.
"We do not accept Russia's invasion of Ukraine, because we have suffered from invasions. Mexico is "in favor of a peaceful solution to the conflict," the President added.
Earlier, Mexico tried to remain neutral in its assessment of the Russian war in Ukraine and did not impose sanctions on Moscow.
Mexico also abstained in a vote on suspending Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.
10:20 Valentyn Reznichenko, Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast: During the night, the Ukrainian military shot down two enemy drones over the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
10:05 Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the head of the Presidentʼs Office: The Russian occupiers have launched the first stage of the offensive in the Donbas, and reinforcements for the second stage are expected to arrive soon. According to him, reinforcements from the Far East have not arrived yet, and Russian troops withdrawn from northern Ukraine are not yet ready for a new offensive.
In general, according to the adviser, the offensive of the Russian occupation forces in Donbas will last 2-3 weeks. They will decide the next course of the war and will have an impact on its end.
09:10 The Prosecutor General's Office on Telegram: There are already 501 suspects, who are part of Russia’s military and political leadership, in the unified criminal case initiated over the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
"The main cases of Russian aggression: 501 suspects – representatives of the military-political leadership of Russia. These are ministers, lawmakers, military command, other officials, heads of law enforcement agencies, instigators of war and Kremlin propagandists," the statement reads.
According to the latest data, Ukrainian law enforcement registered 5,377 crimes on charges of aggression and war crimes, of which: 5,214 – for violating the laws and customs of war, 43 – for planning, preparing or waging an aggressive war, eight – for war propaganda, and 112 – for other crimes.
08:45 Valentyn Reznichenko, the Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast State Administration: "This was an era of anti-records for our region. Sirens almost every hour. And, unfortunately, there are "arrivals" in different areas".
In Dnipro, the enemy destroyed an infrastructure facility. Rescuers put out the fire there for several hours. There is one victim.
In the Pavlohrad district, the missile hit an industrial facility. It destroyed the premises and caused a fire. No one was injured.
A farm building burned down in the Dnipro district. Fortunately, no one was injured.
08:15 In Sievierodonetsk, the occupiers fired on a school and two high-rise buildings. The apartments from the first to the fifth floor burned down at one of the entrances of the building. Firefighters localized the fire and evacuated two elderly people. In the second building, three apartments on the fifth floor burned down. Fortunately, there are no victims. The building of one of the nearby schools was also damaged. Two houses in Lysychansk and Komyshuvakha-1 were also destroyed last night.
07:44 General Staff: operational information as of on 06.00 on April 10, 2022, regarding the Russian invasion. Key points:
- A russian enemy is trying to break through the defenses of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the city of Izyum and establish full control over the city of Mariupol.
- Also, russian occupiers make attempts to improve tactical position of the divisions in the Mykolayiv direction.
- In the South Buh direction, the russian enemy once again tried to establish control over the village of Olexandrivka. It was not successful. It lost to the company's tactical group of personnel and equipment.
- The russian occupiers continued to fire artillery at Novovorontsovka, Maryanske, Novohryhorivka and Shevchenkove.
- Due to significant sanitary losses of personnel and equipment, the invaders deployed military hospitals and repair centers for military equipment in the temporarily occupied territories of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts. At the same time, given the constant influx of wounded servicemen of the armed forces of the russian federation, there is a shortage of qualified medical personnel in the russian occupiers' hospitals. In addition, the enemy has problems with stocks of medicines, the replenishment of which is almost impossible.
- The arrival of repair and restoration crews from the territory of the russian federation (Yaroslavl region) to carry out repair and restoration works of railways in the temporarily occupied territories of the Kharkiv region is noted.
- In the settlements of the Melitopol district of the Zaporizhzhia oblast, russian invaders continue to search the homes of civilians. Check documents, the availability of road transport, food stocks. They interrogate the workplaces of close relatives and demand information about former law enforcement officers, servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, members of the Anti-Terrorist Operation / Joint Forces Operation.
- In the town of Nova Kakhovka, the occupiers use the capacity of local printing houses to prepare campaign materials (brochures, booklets, posters, forms) for the so-called "referendum on the establishment of the Kherson People's Republic."
- Measures of the russian occupation administrations to forcibly mobilize the population in the temporarily occupied territories are intensifying in Luhansk oblast.
- In the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, Ukrainian soldiers repulsed eight enemy attacks, destroyed four tanks, eight armored units and seven units of enemy vehicles.
- Thirteen air targets were hit by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the day before: three planes, one helicopter, five UAVs and four cruise missiles
The remains of the Tochka-U missile, that was shot down in Ukrainian airspace
07:10 The European Union is reopening its embassy in Kyiv, which was moved to Poland in February. The head of the EU delegation to Ukraine, Matti Maasikas, published a photo of the EU flag near the embassy in Kyiv, signaling the return of the diplomatic mission.
06:20 Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the Presidentʼs Office said: Negotiations between Vladimir Zelensky and Vladimir Putin on security guarantees will take place after the battle in Donbas.
"To say that they will meet in a week, in two — no, it wonʼt happen. Ukraine is now ready for big battles. Ukraine must win in them, in particular in Donbas. And after that, Ukraine will get a more substantial negotiating position, from which it can dictate certain conditions. After that, the presidents will meet. It may take two weeks, three or so,” Mykhailo Podoliak said.
03:25 The Ministry of Defense of United Kingdom has provided an intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine, including evidence that Russia has been targeting civilians.
As of Saturday evening, the ministry said that Russia's withdrawal from the north revealed mass graves and the use of human shields.
They also found evidence that Russia had been using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to "inflict casualities, lower morale and restrict Ukrainian freedom of movement".
The update also said Russian forces continuted to attack infrustructure targets with a "high risk" of harming civilians, including a nitrate acid attack in Rubizhne.
01:40 Ukraine NOW: Russians who committed atrocities in Bucha and Irpin are identified with facial recognition
Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Digital Transformation, said facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence are making it possible to find Russian invaders.
"In fact, many of the murderers who terrorized civilians in Bucha and Irpin have already been found. In a short time, we will establish all the information about these people: their social media profiles, where they are serving and with whom they're serving and live. Nowadays, technology makes it possible to find anyone who was caught on camera at least once. And given how much they like to post photos on the internet and the number of cameras in the cities and houses [they have robbed], this issue will be resolved very quickly," said Minister Fedorov.
01:29 Operational-tactical group "East": in the east, Russian forces attacked Ukrainian positions three times over the day
Throughout April 9, Russian occupation forces tried to break the Ukrainian defense 3 times, the fighting was still ongoing at the time this message was published. The enemy losses were estimated at
- 80 personnel
- 3 tanks
- 3 armored vehicles
- 6 artillery units
- one aircraft, one helicopter and one UAV
These are only losses recorded in the area subject to the Operational-tactical group "East"
01:19 Operational Command "South": current situation on the southern front:
- Russians are defending their positions in the Mykolaiv and Kherson operational directions, trying to deploy reinforcements
- the invaders shelled the Mykolaiv region with missiles 7 times over the day to intimidate locals and ruin the transport communication. No casualties
- Russian fleet continues to apply psychological pressure and threaten with a possible coastal attack and missile strikes
- in total, Russians lost 37 troops and 4 vehicles in the south over the last 24 hours
Key points regarding the current state of warfare:
- Ukraine managed to establish the defense, the Russian offense has stalled, in some directions, the Ukrainian military intensively push back the invaders, numerous villages and small cities were liberated, horrific facts of genocide conducted by russians are revealed.
- Russia uses terroristic methods of war, shelling civilian facilities where there are no military facilities nearby, keeping cities in a full blockade, and sabotaging humanitarian corridors for evacuation and convoys with humanitarian aid.
- Russian army targets nuclear power plants; Zaporizhzhia NPP is currently seized by the invaders; Russian troops, poisoned by radiation, have left the Chornobyl NPP; military activities by Russian forces near the power plants were described by Ukraine as nuclear terrorism
- Ukraine offered the United Nations Security Council a platform for an updated security system – the "Kyiv U-24 Office" similar to the human rights Geneva office or the environmental protection Nairobi office. Or at least prevent from Russia abusing its veto power to continue the war in Ukraine.
- Ukraine is willing to join the European Union, has sent an application which is being considered; during the visit to Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen handed over a questionnaire for the EU candidate country status to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said proceeding to the next stage of membership would be "a matter of weeks"
- Ukrainian citizens in the occupied cities rally against the Russians; on their part, the occupiers began to kidnap activists and authorities; locals are being forcibly "evacuated" to Russia with the following deportation to the depressed areas and appointment of jobs
- thousands of civilian volunteers join the Territorial Defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; Ukraine has established an International Legion for foreign volunteers willing to fight for Ukraine, thousands have joined already
- Ukraine has had several rounds of negotiations with Russia; still, no significant progress towards ceasefire and peace, the main question, for now, is the provision of concrete security guarantees for Ukraine; the negotiations continue "non-stop" in an online format; President Zelenskyy expressed readiness to directly talk with Putin.
Read more: Day 45th of War Between Ukraine and Russian Federation (Live Updates)
