Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has killed an unspeakable number of civilians – at least 1,766, according to what the UN has described as a huge countdown – and authorities have shared many stories of rape of women and children by the occupying forces. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned of a “tough battle” in the east, with officials urging citizens to leave the area immediately. Experts believe another full-scale offensive will begin within days, although questions remain about the ability of Russia’s exhausted and discouraged forces to gain much ground after Ukraine’s successful defense in Kyiv. Picture: The situation on the ground on April 9, day 45 of the war In other developments: • The United Kingdom will send 120 armored vehicles and anti-ship missile systems to Kyiv • Western and Ukrainian information indicates that Russian forces are moving south and east • Russians use improvised explosive devices to damage Ukrainian “Hasty withdrawal” from Kyiv region saw Russians abandoning tanks, vehicles and artillery Russia ‘steals radioactive material from Chernobyl’ – latest updates in Ukraine Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 3:55 “Be brave like Boris” The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense said on Sunday that the Russian armed forces were making up for significant losses by bringing back ex-servicemen who had been fired since 2012. Russia is also trying to create more fighting force by recruiting people from Moldova’s unrecognized Transistria region, the foreign ministry added. Russian forces continued bombing the Ukrainian-controlled area on Sunday, firing artillery shells at the northeastern city of Kharkiv, according to the Ukrainian military. Image: The trenches have been prepared before another expected attack The ongoing siege of Mariupol also continues, which now extends to almost 50 days. Mariupol is a city of strategic importance that would allow Russia to build a land bridge between the occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk and Crimea. In Mariupol, Russia has been accused of deploying Chechen fighters and residents are thought to have lacked food, water and electricity since the siege began, making evacuations difficult and providing emergency aid even more difficult. At least 52 people have been killed in an attack on civilians at the Kramatorsk railway station in eastern Ukraine, which has been described by Ukraine as a war crime. Image: Debris sweeping a road after the strike at Kramatorsk train station Further atrocities have taken place at the feet of Russian troops in the city of Bucha and other cities beyond the capital, where hundreds of corpses – many with their hands tied and with signs of torture – were discovered after Russia’s withdrawal. Russia has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning Russia have been made more than once. President Zelensky said he expects more evidence of atrocities to be found when Mariupol is no longer under siege. Ukrainian authorities believe an airstrike on a theater housing civilians has killed hundreds. Picture: A woman bending over looks for her son’s body in the ruins of a residential building According to a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, the Russian military used air-to-air missiles to hit Ukraine’s S-300 air defense missile system in southern Mykolaiv and at an air base in Chukhuiv, a city not far from Harko. . Cruise missiles fired from the sea also destroyed the headquarters of a Ukrainian military unit stationed further west in the Dnipro region, Konashenkov said. Neither the Ukrainian nor the Russian military allegations could be independently verified. More than 4.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict, according to the UN refugee agency. The United Kingdom recently pledged to send armored vehicles to Ukraine for the first time as part of a new 100 100m package, although it is uncertain whether these vehicles will be able to play a role in the eastern country’s direct defense.
