Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Russian citizens that now is the time to decide whether they are in favor of war or peace. “Everyone in Russia who will not demand an end to this shameful war and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine has no future,” he said in a statement. Meanwhile, the US government announced new measures against Russia, including sanctions on the two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Sberbank, as well as a ban on Americans investing in Russia. Here, Al Jazeera examines the highlights of the six weeks of war in Ukraine:
March 30:
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko says the Russian bombing of the capital has intensified following Russia’s commitment to redeploy forces in the eastern Donbass region. Residents in the Irpin suburb of Kiev hear bombings and explosions. (Al Jazeera) The Kremlin is considering written peace terms submitted by Ukraine the day before in Istanbul. “These proposals will be considered in the near future, will be reported to the president and our response will be given,” said Moscow chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky.
March 31:
Putin is being misled by advisers who are too afraid to tell him the truth about the war, the White House says. An escort of 45 buses starts from the city of Lviv in western Ukraine under the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to evacuate citizens from the besieged city of Mariupol. Russian troops force the escort to return and seize 14 tonnes of food and medical supplies destined for the city’s 100,000 remaining residents. Putin orders that “unfriendly” buyers of Russian gas – that is, countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine – have to pay in rubles for a third of that gas. This move is considered an attempt to strengthen the currency. Ukrainian forces are accused of attacking a fuel depot in Russia. Two helicopters are filmed launching rockets at the Belgorod depot, about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Ukraine does not confirm the attack. Ukraine’s Atomic Energy Authority, Energoatom, says Russian troops have withdrawn from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and have formally handed over control to Ukrainian authorities. He says Russian troops received “significant doses” of radioactivity after digging trenches in contaminated soil in the forest around the plant, which was the scene of a 1986 nuclear collapse. [Al Jazeera] The Moscow-backed breakaway region of South Georgia’s South Ossetia says it will take steps to formally become part of the neighboring Russian Federation. “We will take the relevant legislative measures soon,” said separatist leader Anatoly Bibilov. “The Republic of South Ossetia will be part of its historic homeland, Russia.” Russia recognized South Ossetia as an independent state after a brief war with Georgia in 2008. Russia has promised South Ossetia citizenship and has guarded the region.
April 1st
The governor of Ukraine’s southern port of Odessa says the air defense is thwarting an attempt to attack “critical infrastructure facilities, the destruction of which could be dangerous to the civilian population.” However, three Russian missiles reportedly hit an oil refinery on the outskirts of the city. During a virtual summit, the leaders of China and the European Union agreed that Russia was endangering world peace and the world economy through its war in Ukraine, but disagreed on how to end it. European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are urging China not to try to help Russia circumvent sanctions. “Any attempt to circumvent sanctions or provide assistance to Russia will prolong the war,” Michel said. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang says Beijing will push for peace in “its own way.” Chinese President Xi Jinping says he hopes the EU will treat China “independently”, a recognition of Europe’s strong political unity with the United States over Ukraine. Chinese President Xi Jinping and European Commission President Ursula von der Layen speak via video conference [Olivier Matthys/Pool via Reuters] An Al Jazeera report reveals that Russia is using proxy groups in Syria to recruit fighters for Ukraine. The teams are apparently coordinated through the Wagner group, a mercenary force close to the Kremlin. Syrian sources say at least two calls have been made to fighters. Putin announced in March that he would approve up to 16,000 Middle Eastern fighters for development in Donbass. Meanwhile, the Czech Foreign Ministry issued an open letter inviting Russian diplomats to surrender. “Please those of you who are conscious and retain the ability to recognize evil: get out of this circle of accomplices; please let go of this sinking ship, which only attracts the wrath of liberal people around the world.” . says the letter.
April 2nd
As Russian troops withdraw from Bukha, a city northwest of Kiev, dozens of corpses in civilian clothes are on the streets. Bucha Deputy Mayor Taras Sapravski says there are 300 bodies, 50 of which have been executed briefly. Russia’s Defense and Foreign Ministries say the alleged war crimes are being orchestrated by Ukrainian authorities and are a “challenge”. A New York Times study comparing a film filmed on April 1 and satellite images taken in March found that many of the bodies appeared in their current locations between March 9-11, when Russian forces entered Bucha, and 20 -21 March. Satellite image shows what appear to be the bodies of several civilians along Yablonska Street in Bucha [Maxar Technologies handout via EPA] Some bodies are found next to impact craters. Others appear to have been shot in the head. Eyewitnesses to the Russian invasion of Bukha told Al Jazeera that the civilians were shot by Russian troops. Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk says 280 bodies have been buried in a mass grave in Bucha. Ukraine’s attorney general says the bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from Bhutan and other cities around Kyiv.
April 3
The Human Rights Watch says it has verified and documented war crimes by Russian occupation forces in the Kiev, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions of northern Ukraine. Reuters reporters find a 15-meter-long moat in the area of St. Andrew’s Church in Bouha, which had begun to be used as a mass grave. A mass grave is seen behind a church in the city of Bucha [Sergei Supinsky/AFP] Elsewhere in the city, a second mass grave was found overflowing with corpses. Satellite images show that work on the St. Andrew’s moat began on March 10, when Russian forces had just moved into the city. Residents in the area told reporters that the dead lying on the streets of Bucha were their civilian neighbors and had been killed by Russian forces.
April 4
US President Joe Biden has called on Putin to go to war crimes tribunal for allegedly killing Russian civilians in Bukhara. “We have to gather all the details” for a trial, he says. Jake Sullivan, a U.S. national security adviser, says the killings were part of a premeditated plot to imprison or kill dissidents. “We do not think this is just an accident; we think it was part of the plan,” he said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov dismissed allegations of blatant Russian atrocities in Butch as “video forgery and various forgeries.” He says Russia will try to hold a debate in the UN Security Council on what Russia calls the “Ukrainian challenges” in Bukhara.
April 5
The United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) says the number of internally displaced people in Ukraine has reached 7.1 million, up 10% from 16 March. Al Jazeera reveals more testimonies from Bhutanese residents who say they have been tortured and their lives threatened by Russian soldiers.
