Russia's Invasion of Ukraine - Consolidated Thread

[ExquisiteGerbil]

Ukrainian Forces Reportedly Blow Up Fuel Depot On Russian Territory In "Daring Cross-Border Attack"

BY TYLER DURDEN

FRIDAY, APR 01, 2022 - 02:00 PM


Update (1210ET): The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that two Ukrainian MI-24 helicopters carried out today's attack on Belgorod, Interfax reports, marking the first official confirmation of the attack by the Russian MoD.



* * *



Ukraine forces pulled off a rare attack on Russian soil Friday when two military helicopters destroyed a fuel depot in the city of Belgorod, situated roughly 40 miles north of the border with Ukraine.



The attack was purportedly carried out by two Ukrainian helicopters that crossed into Ukrainian territory. Videos circulating online purported to show Ukrainian Air Force Mi-24 helicopters flying low over Belgorod just before the strike.







The strike will certainly create an interesting backdrop to talks between the Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, which are set to resume via video-conference on Friday.



Meanwhile, the UN said Friday that its relief convoys had failed to reach Mariupol, the southern port city devastated by weeks of shelling, after Russia said it had opened up a "humanitarian corridor" to allow the evacuation of civilians.



Video images of the purported attack posted online showed what looked like several missiles being fired from low altitude, followed by an explosion. Reuters has not yet been able to verify the images.



While Russian authorities have confirmed the attack, some Ukrainian defense analysts insisted that the strike may have been a "false flag" planned by Moscow to further turn the tide of public opinion in favor of the war (although at least one recently released independent poll showed that the majority of Russians have rallied around the flag in support of the war, per the NYT).


Continued at link

[Pink Rose]

'Retreating' Russian soldiers leave 13 'executed civilians' on highway of death and 'booby-trap corpses’: Grim eyewitness accounts suggest MORE Russian war crimes on road where couple were killed - with claims of 300 dead in one city


The city of Irpin was recently reclaimed from Russian forces by Ukrainian fighters, who pushed them out

This week, the mayor said 300 civilians were killed during Russia's almost month-long occupation of the city

On March 7, a shocking video showed a man being gunned down by soldiers while trying to escape Kyiv

He was trying to escape the capital in a convoy with his wife and six-year-old son also in his vehicle

Video showed him get out of his car with his hands up when he was gunned down by a Russian tank crew

It is one of many incidents that show potential war crimes being carried out by Russian soldiers in Ukraine

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating Russia for possible war crimes in Ukraine

Earlier on Friday, Russia accused Ukrainian helicopters of attacking an oil facility in Belgorod - inside Russia

The Kremlin threatened to walk out of peace talks, after video of a huge explosion in the region emerged

By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 07:25 EDT, 1 April 2022 | UPDATED: 10:11 EDT, 1 April 2022


The bodies of at least thirteen dead civilians have today been found along a highway out of Kiev after they were left behind by retreating Russian soldiers - who booby trapped other corpses.



It is the same stretch of road where Russian soldiers were caught on video executing a Russian couple in aerial drone footage that shocked the world at the start of March.



And as Western journalists accompany advancing Ukrainian troops near Kyiv, they are uncovering more evidence of war crimes carried out by Putin's soldiers - with the mayor of one city claiming 300 civilians were killed in the last month.





Pictures from Irpin Friday showed soldiers and volunteers carrying body bags down a ruined stretch of road. About a dozen bodies were zipped up in black plastic body bags, lined up on the concrete and loaded into vans.



The commuter suburb northwest of Kyiv that had been one of the main battlegrounds for weeks, is now firmly back in Ukrainian hands, a wasteland littered with burnt-out tanks. Now that Ukraine's forces have pushed Russia out of the region, work has been able to begin to collect the dead.



Only now is the true scale of the devastation in the city being realised.



According to Olena Halushka - a member of an anti-corruption group in Ukraine - some of the bodies were mined by Russian forces before they retreated, creating treacherous booby traps for the recovery workers.



The mayor of Irpin said this week that up to 300 civilians and 50 'defenders' were killed during Russia's occupation. Up to 50 percent of the city's buildings and critical infrastructure was damaged, he added.



The city was home to around 60,000 residents before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his attack on Ukraine on February 24. Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn said around 3,500 people had stayed in Irpin, and that officials are still looking for people in hidden in their basements.



He pleaded for the city's residents not to return home yet, as it is still under fire from Russian artillery.



Nearby, an on-the-ground BBC investigation found 13 bodies strewn along a 200-yard stretch of the E-40 motorway that runs into Kyiv from the west - and about 5 miles south of Irpin. Two were of a young couple who were killed while trying to escape the capital down the highway.



Maksim Iowenko, his wife Ksjena and their six-year-old son were part of a 10-car convoy driving down the road when they came under fire from a Russian tank crew.



Harrowing footage from March 7 showed Maksim stopping the car and getting out with his hands up. Despite the obvious sign of surrender, the Russian troops - hidden in a tree-line along the side of the road - gunned him down in broad daylight. His wife was also killed in the attack.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Russian forces seize 14 TONNES of food and medical supplies bound for besieged Mariupol - and BLOCK convoy of 45 buses attempting to evacuate civilians despite ceasefire


The buses were travelling with a Red Cross convoy attempting to deliver aid

But despite a limited ceasefire, Russian forces blocked its passage to the city

Putin's troops reportedly looted the buses of some of the aid they were carrying

Around 15 of the buses were able to return to Zaporizhzhia with evacuees

The city - a key strategic target for Putin - has been the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war, with thousands killed by Russian shelling

By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 04:16 EDT, 1 April 2022 | UPDATED: 09:06 EDT, 1 April 2022




Russian forces have seized 14 tonnes of supplies destined for the besieged city of Mariupol, where thousands of desperate Ukrainians are dangerously low on food, water and other vital supplies.



A group of 45 buses, travelling with the Red Cross convoy carrying aid to the city, was stopped in the town of Berdyansk in Russian-held territory. Vladimir Putin's troops looted the supplies being carried by the buses, reports said.



The Russian intervention came despite Moscow agreeing to a ceasefire from 10am local time yesterday to open a humanitarian corridor. The buses were to be used to evacuate citizens from the city which has been all-but razed by Russian shelling.





Around of 15 of the buses were able to return to Zaporizhzhia, found 120 miles north-west of Mariupol, with some civilians on-board. It was unclear whether the remaining 30 would be allowed to proceed.



Few humanitarian buses have managed to get people out of the city, but many have escaped in their cars – or even on foot – often under fire. The Ukrainian government said only 631 people were able to get out of the city in private cars in the last day.



The city has been the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war. Kyiv has said that at least 5,000 people have been killed in the city, but that number could be as high as 20,000, according to one Ukrainian official.



Tens of thousands have managed to get out in the past few weeks by way of humanitarian corridors, reducing the population from a pre-war 430,000 to an estimated 100,000 by last week, but other relief efforts have been thwarted by continued Russian attacks.

Continued at link

[Pink Rose]

The twin Russian brothers, 29, who died side-by-side as casualties in Putin's army hit up to 15,000 dead

Soldiers Alexei and Anton Vorobyov, 29, died on the same day fighting in Ukraine

They were buried in coffins draped with Russian flags in Novocherkassk Tuesday

Latest in a string of heavy losses inflicted on Moscow's men by Ukrainian troops

Comes as Ukrainian forces retook the Hostomel air base on the outskirts of Kyiv

By LAUREN LEWIS FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 07:51 EDT, 1 April 2022 | UPDATED: 08:38 EDT, 1 April 2022


Russian twin brothers have been killed on the same day while fighting in Ukraine in the latest in a string of heavy losses suffered by Moscow.



Sergeants Alexei and Anton Vorobyov, both 29, were killed fighting side by side on March 12, three weeks after Moscow's forces invaded Ukraine on February 24.



The Vorobyovs were signalmen of the 150th Rifle Division, a World War-era unit that was reformed in 2013. It was one of several Russian units to take heavy casualties in the first weeks of the war.





The brothers, who both leave behind partners, one of whom is pregnant, were laid to rest in coffins draped with Russian flags in Novocherkassk on Tuesday in one of hundreds of funerals taking place across Russia.



'Anton would say to me that he loved the service,' Anastasia Novikova, a childhood friend, told the Moscow Times. 'I have many memories about Anton, and all of them are good memories. We never had a single fight in 19 years.'



Moscow's men have suffered heavy losses in the five week war and NATO estimates between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the fighting. Ukraine claims as many as 17,000 have been killed.



Meanwhile Putin this week ordered 134,500 more conscripts aged 18 to 27 to join his army as part of the annual spring military draft, which runs from April 1 to July 15.



It comes as Ukrainian forces retook Hostomel air base on the outskirts of the capital on Thursday, where fierce fighting raged on the first days of the war, as Russia continues to pull back some of its forces.

Continued at link

[schwartzie]

Ukraine Forces Find Bodies Littering Streets as Russia Retreats from Kyiv Region


JACK MONTGOMERY
3 Apr 2022

Ukrainian forces have found bodies littering the streets of Bucha, a key town near Kyiv (Kiev), after Russia’s retreat from the region. (Warning: graphic images.)



With Russian forces having pulled back from their northern positions near Kyiv after encountering fierce resistance, counter-attacking Ukrainians and photo-journalists have encountered scenes of devastation, with the bodies of seemingly civilian victims of the invasion littering the streets.


Bodies lie on a street in Bucha, north-west of Kyiv, on April 2, 2022, as Ukraine says Russian forces are making a “rapid retreat” from northern areas around Kyiv and the city of Chernigiv. The bodies of at least 20 men in civilian clothes were found lying in a single street Saturday after Ukrainian forces retook the town of Bucha near Kyiv from Russian troops, AFP journalists said. Russian forces withdrew from several towns near Kyiv in recent days after Moscow’s bid to encircle the capital failed, with Ukraine declaring that Bucha had been “liberated”. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)



“At least 20 dead men were lying in the street as Ukrainian troops entered the town. Some of them had their hands tied behind their backs,” reported the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which says it was “able to get to Bucha because during Friday the final Russian soldiers pulled out, as part of what the Kremlin has presented as a calm and rational decision to concentrate on the war in eastern Ukraine.”



The publicly-funded broadcaster asserted that, in fact, Russia’s objectives in the Kyiv region had been thwarted by “unexpectedly fierce and well-organised Ukrainian resistance”, citing “the rusting and twisted wreckage of [an armoured] column that still lies where it was destroyed on suburban street” in Bucha as evidence.

Continued at link

[schwartzie]

Zelensky: Russia Committing ‘Genocide’ in Ukraine


PAM KEY3 Apr 202263

2:24

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Russia was committing “genocide” in Ukraine.



Partial transcript as follows:



BRENNAN: The images you’re talking about have been described by leaders around the world as horrific. The mayor of Kyiv used the term genocide. Your vice prime minister is asking if this is fascism or genocide in terms of what has been left around Kyiv. Do you feel that the world will actually make good on this promise to hold Vladimir Putin to account for war crimes?



ZELENSKY: Everything has to be fair and according to justice, as the civilized world will decide. We believe in justice, in the justice of the Western world of- and therefore, the question is not only about the leader of Russian Federation. We wouldn’t think that it would be fair to take only him. I think all the military commanders, everyone who gave instructions and orders should be punished adequately. The adequate punishment to these people is difficult to be achieved. It has to be done according to the law and what they have done. And I want to apologize to you and to those people who are watching us now, but for some things that they have done. When we find people with- with hands tied behind their back and decapitated. Such things I don’t understand. I don’t comprehend the kids who were killed and tortured. So it wasn’t enough just to kill for those criminals. Maybe they wanted to take gold or washing machines and they were killing, but they were also torturing them as they did this. And your question is absolutely fair, but I don’t have the answer. I don’t know what law or what imprisonment term would be adequate for this. As the father of two children and as a president, I think that these people, if they are put behind the bars, this is one too little for what they have done.

Continued at link

[ExquisiteGerbil]

More Explosions Heard In Russian Border City Where Fuel Depot Was Destroyed

BY TYLER DURDEN

SUNDAY, APR 03, 2022 - 09:55 AM

Are the Ukrainians escalating their attacks on Russian territory?



Two days after Ukrainian forces blew up a fuel depot during the first cross-border attack on Russian territory, yet another attack has been reported in Belgorod.



During the previous strike, two helicopters purportedly belonging to the Ukrainian air force destroyed a Rosneft fuel depot in an attempt to cripple Russian logistics. To be sure, the Ukrainian high command has denied any involvement in the attack, insinuating instead that it was a 'false flag' operation planned by Moscow to justify further brutality in Ukraine.


According to Reuters, which cited two witnesses, explosions were heard in the Russian city border city. The source of the blasts wasn't immediately clear.



Two blasts were heard in the Russian city of Belgorod near the border with Ukraine on Sunday, two witnesses told Reuters, days after Russian authorities accused Ukrainian forces of striking a fuel depot there.



The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear. One witness said the blasts were so powerful that they rattled the windows of her home in Belgorod.



The blasts come days after Russia's defence ministry said two Ukrainian helicopters struck a fuel depot in the city, some 35 km (22 miles) from the border with Ukraine, after entering Russia at extremely low altitude in the early hours of Friday.



The Kremlin said the incident could undermine peace efforts, while a top Ukrainian security official denied responsibility.



Locals also reported another blast in a nearby village (although they claimed nobody was hurt).



A local official from the region around Belgorod said there had been a blast in the village of Tomarovka on Sunday but that no one had been hurt and no property damaged.



"There was a bang, debris fell onto the ground," Oleg Medvedev, head of the Yakovlevsky city district outside Belgorod, wrote on the Telegram messenger application.



He did not elaborate on the nature of the debris nor on the cause of the blast. It was unclear if the blast described by Medvedev was one of the blasts heard by the witnesses.



Western military analysts were quick to parse the original strike in Belgorod in a manner that celebrated the Ukrainian's tactical achievements (per @markhertling):

Continued at link

[J.J.Gibbs]

Satellite Photos Show Mass Grave in Ukraine, Russia Denies Involvement


FRANCES MARTEL4 Apr 2022

Space imaging company Maxar Technologies published satellite images over the weekend that appear to show earthworks of a mass grave in the wake of the withdrawing Russian army at Bucha, Ukraine.



Reuters reported on Sunday its journalists on the ground in Bucha had witnessed a mass grave at a church, but could not confirm if it was the same site that Maxar’s satellites pictured (see above).



The photos surfaced after the publication of shocking images from Bucha this weekend following the departure of Russian forces, taken by journalists for Getty Images, the Associated Press, and other international institutions. The photos showed Bucha’s streets littered with corpses, incinerated vehicles, and war debris. Ukrainian officials claim some of the corpses had their hands tied and showed clear signs of being civilians, indicating war crimes had taken place.



Russia has characteristically denied any involvement with the mass graves or any other evidence of atrocities and is calling for a U.N. Security Council meeting to condemn Ukraine for accusing Russia of war crimes in Bucha. Going further, Russian officials accused Ukrainian soldiers of committing atrocities against the country’s own civilians.



Maxar published two images of the site of Bucha’s Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints, one reportedly taken on March 10 and another on March 31. The first appears to show excavation; the latter a mound of soil that suggests burial. Maxar reportedly did not attempt to independently confirm that the site was a mass grave with on-the-ground research, but did refer to a “grave site” on the photos, according to Reuters.





Reuters added to Maxar’s reporting by stating that its journalists in Bucha found mass graves.



“Reuters journalists who visited Bucha on Saturday saw bodies lying on the streets of the town, 37 km (23 miles) northwest of the capital Kyiv,” the news agency asserted. “A mass grave at one church was still open, with hands and feet poking through the red clay heaped on top.”



“Reuters could not immediately verify the images. It was not clear if the images disseminated by Maxar were of the same church visited by Reuters journalists on Saturday,” it added.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russian forces of “killing civilians while leaving … just because they wanted to kill” in remarks this weekend following reports that Russian military officials were reconfiguring their presence around Kyiv. Other Ukrainian authorities claimed that incoming troops counted 410 bodies on the streets of several towns in the Kyiv suburbs.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Russian government of “genocide” in an interview with CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday.



“Indeed, this is genocide. The elimination of the whole nation and the people,” Zelensky said, adding, “We are the citizens of Ukraine and we don’t want to be subdued to the policy of Russian Federation. This is the reason we are being destroyed and exterminated, and this is happening in the Europe of the 21st century. So this is the torture of the whole nation.”





A funeral procession for Ukrainian soldier Dmitry Zhelisko makes its way to the cemetery on April 03, 2022 in Rusyn, Ukraine. Zhelisko died fighting the Russian army near the town of Kharkiv. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)



In remarks to the Ukrainian people on Sunday, Zelensky referred to Russian forces as “concentrated evil.”



“After what was revealed in Bucha and our other cities the occupiers were expelled from. Hundreds of people were killed. Tortured, executed civilians. Corpses on the streets,” Zelensky announced. “Mined area. Even the bodies of the dead were mined!”



Zelensky then listed several abuses allegedly documented in Kyiv suburbs:



I want every mother of every Russian soldier to see the bodies of the killed people in Bucha, in Irpin, in Hostomel. What did they do? Why were they killed? What did the man who was riding his bicycle down the street do? Why were ordinary civilians in an ordinary peaceful city tortured to death? Why were women strangled after their earrings were ripped out of their ears? How could women be raped and killed in front of children? How could their corpses be desecrated even after death? Why did they crush the bodies of people with tanks?



Ukrinform, Ukraine’s state media outlet, also published graphic photos of corpses in the streets of Kyiv suburbs and accused Russian “fascists” of a long list of human rights crimes.



“The bitches were running away, losing their ammunition. They looted everything,” a quote from an unnamed alleged civilian in Ukrinform read. “They went from house to house and took away even women’s panties. Tell me: they don’t have panties?”



The Russian government denied any involvement in human rights atrocities and accused Ukraine of spreading “video forgeries and various fakes” to destroy Moscow’s reputation.



“We categorically reject any accusations. Moreover, we believe that this issue should be discussed at the highest possible level”, spokesman for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said following the accusations. Russia’s state outlet Sputnik added that Peskov claimed the Russian Defense Ministry “revealed signs of video forgeries and various fakes regarding the materials from Bucha.” Sputnik added that other Russian officials claimed that “Ukrainian forces shelled the city after Russian troops had already withdrawn.”

Continued at link

[Pink Rose]

The horror that was too much even for Ukraine's hero president: Emotional Zelensky has to compose himself and says he finds it 'difficult to talk' as he surveys the carnage at Bucha and condemns Russian 'genocide'


**WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT**

Mass graves uncovered in Bucha, city to the west of Kyiv which Russian forces retreated from at the weekend

One containing the bodies of at least 57 civilians was uncovered in the ground of a church in the city centre

Satellite images reveal pit was dug some time before March 31, as Putin's men were still in control of the area

Officials say the bodies of at least 410 civilians have been found in total, with many strewn through the streets

One grave contained the bodies of a mayoress and her family who were killed for refusing to collaborate

Ukrainian foreign minister branded Russia 'worse than ISIS' as world leaders called for a war crimes probe

By RACHAEL BUNYAN and CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 10:11 EDT, 4 April 2022 | UPDATED: 17:39 EDT, 4 April 2022



e-mail

499

shares

6.1k



View comments

A visibly emotional Volodymyr Zelensky today stood motionless as he surveyed the scene of utter devastation he encountered in the town of Bucha, with dozens of bodies shot at close range lying on the empty streets.



The Ukrainian President appeared overwhelmed, admitting he found 'it very difficult to talk when you see what they've done here'.



On the streets of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, the bodies of civilians have been found scattered, many with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds and signs of torture, after Russian forces retreated from the area.





Ukraine and Western leaders have accused Russia of carrying out the massacre of civilians and dumping their bodies in mass graves, with one pit in Bucha containing at least 57 people.



Zelensky today said it had become harder for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia since Kyiv became aware of the scale of alleged atrocities carried out by Russian troops in Ukraine.



'These are war crimes and will be recognised by the world as genocide,' Zelenskiy said, wearing body armour and surrounded by military personnel.



'It's very difficult to talk when you see what they've done here,' he said. 'The longer the Russian Federation drags out the meeting process, the worse it is for them and for this situation and for this war.



'We know of thousands of people killed and tortured, with severed limbs, raped women and murdered children,' he said, adding that in Bucha and other towns in the Kyiv region 'dead people have been found in barrels, basements, strangled, tortured'.



Zelensky said that despite the horrific human suffering in Bucha, residents were chipping in together to make sure homeless animals were fed.



'That's a characteristic trait of our people, I think - treat animals the way you would treat humans,' he said. 'But you can see around what was done to this modern town. That's a characteristic of Russian soldiers – treat people worse than animals. That is real genocide, what you have seen here today.'



Ukraine's prosecutor-general said the bodies of 410 civilians, many with bound hands and close-range gunshot wounds, have been recovered from towns surrounding Kyiv after last week's withdrawal of Russian troops.



A mass grave containing the bodies of at least 20 civilians including a mayor and her family were uncovered in woodland near the town of Motzyhn, around 20 miles west of Bucha where another mass grave has been found.



The pit contains the bodies of local mayor Olga Sukhenko who was buried along with her husband and son, according to Ukraine's former ambassador to Austria Olexander Scherba.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Mariupol has been 90% destroyed, mayor reveals as Russian shelling kills at least eight in Ukraine's south - but Russian death toll 'reaches 18,300' and videos show Ukraine destroying enemy tanks



Ukraine today estimated 18,300 Russian troops have died in Ukraine since Putin invaded the country

Video footage emerged of Ukrainian defence teams decimating a series of Russian armoured convoys

The defenders launched British-supplied Javelin anti-tank weapons to wreak havoc on the invaders' machines

Ukrainian forces have retaken some towns in the northern Chernihiv region and in Sumy region in northeast

The governor of Zhytomyr also declared today that Russian troops have been expelled from the region

But the mayor of port city Mariupol on Ukraine's southern coast said the region is '90 per cent destroyed'

Vadym Boichenko said 40 per cent of the city infrastructure is 'unrecoverable' due to the scale of the damage

Russian attacks on other civilian areas have continued, with eight killed and 34 wounded after shelling hit cities of Mykolaiv and Ochakiv, while Mariupol's mayor said the port city was '90 per cent destroyed'

By RACHAEL BUNYAN and DAVID AVERRE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 07:16 EDT, 4 April 2022 | UPDATED: 12:20 EDT, 4 April 2022


The port city of Mariupol in Ukraine has been '90 percent destroyed' after being besieged by Russian forces, its mayor Vadym Boichenko said Monday.



'The sad news is that 90 percent of the infrastructure in the city is destroyed and 40 percent is unrecoverable,' Boichenko told a press conference. Around 130,000 people remained trapped in the city, he said.



Mariupol has been under constant Russian bombardment for more than a month, and is the site of perhaps the most egregious examples of war crimes committed by Putin's forces.





Indiscriminate bombing campaigns and ground attacks have reduced acres of the city to rubble and have likely left thousands dead, though an official civilian death toll for the city is yet to be announced.



Russia has also continued its attacks on other civilian areas over the weekend, with eight people killed and 34 wounded after shelling hit the southern Ukrainian cities of Mykolaiv and Ochakiv on Sunday, prosecutors in Kyiv said.



'The Russian armed forces attacked the cities of Ochakiv and Mykolaiv. Shelling damaged residents' homes, vehicles and civilian infrastructure,' the Ukrainian prosecutor general said in a statement today.



However, Putin's invasion suffered another devastating blow this weekend after it was revealed his force's death toll rose to 18,300 yesterday, according to Kyiv's estimates, while battling Ukrainian troops reclaimed more towns in the north.



Russia has only admitted to the deaths of 1,351 of its troops since Putin invaded on February 24, but this is a fraction of the figures estimated by Ukraine's armed forces and Western defence officials.



According to Ukrainian reports as of April 3, the Russian forces have lost over 18,000 soldiers and officers, including seven generals, 644 tanks, 1,830 armoured combat vehicles, 325 artillery systems, 105 MLR systems, 54 air defence units, 143 warplanes, 134 helicopters, 1,249 vehicles, seven warships, 76 fuel tank trucks, 89 operational and tactical-level UAVs, 24 units of special equipment, and four mobile SRBM systems.



Video footage emerged of the defenders launching a series of blistering attacks on Russian tanks and armoured vehicles.



A pair of videos released today appeared to show two Russian convoys being decimated by missiles fired by Ukrainian armed forces, who were thought to be using British-supplied Javelin anti-tank weapons.



The missiles can be seen streaking through the air over rolling fields before slamming into a set of Russian armoured vehicles trundling in single file down a slim road.



Several of the military machines erupted into flames as they were brought to a halt in the aftermath of the attack, while another video showed a huge explosion and raging fireball which came as a result of a Ukrainian strike on a Russian fuel tanker.



Ukraine's forces have taken to blitzing Russian resupply convoys in an effort to disrupt deliveries of fuel and supplies to Putin's troops on the frontline - a tactic which helped the defenders to repel repeated Russian assaults on the outskirts of Kyiv in recent weeks before Putin's troops began to retreat.



The Command of the Special Operations Forces (SSO) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said: 'This is how soldiers of the SSO of Ukraine are fighting to bring down the enemy, by cutting off the Russian occupiers from what is needed, we are weakening their units.'



In a further blow to Putin's war, Ukrainian forces have also retaken some towns in the northern Chernihiv region, whilst Russian forces no longer occupied any areas in the Sumy region, in Ukraine's northeast. The governor of Zhytomyr also declared today that Russian troops had been expelled from the region.



'They left, leaving part of their vehicles, leaving part of their munitions,' Governor Vitaliy Bunechko said in an online post.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

'I want every mother of every Russian soldier to see the bodies of the dead': Zelensky condemns Putin's troops as he says Bucha atrocity is the result of Merkel and Sarkozy's weakness towards Moscow


A visibly upset Zelensky gave a solemn presidential address late last night

He addressed the mothers of Russian soldiers and spoke of their sons' actions

'I want every mother of every Russian soldier to see the bodies' Zelensky said

He went on to call out former German and French leaders Merkel and Sarkozy

He said their 'absurd fear' of Russia prevented Ukraine from joining NATO

It comes as the bodies of hundreds of Ukrainian civilians were discovered in mass graves and on the streets of towns on the northern outskirts of Kyiv

By DAVID AVERRE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 08:12 EDT, 4 April 2022 | UPDATED: 08:26 EDT, 4 April 2022


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he wants Russian mothers to see the bodies of civilians slaughtered in Ukraine at the hands of their sons.



In a solemn presidential address published on his official Telegram channel last night, a visibly upset Zelensky spoke about the mass graves discovered on the outskirts of Kyiv and savagely condemned the perpetrators of what he called a 'concentrated evil'.



It comes as scores of corpses were found over the weekend in several towns just north of the capital, where Russian troops had waged war against Ukraine's armed forces and territorial defence units before retreating last week.





'I want every mother of every Russian soldier to see the bodies of those killed in Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel. Why were innocent civilians in a peaceful town tortured to death?', the President asked.



'How could women be raped in front of their children? How could they be strangled after having their earrings ripped out? What did the people of the Ukrainian city Bucha do to you?'



Zelensky went on to address Russian mothers personally, telling them that their children 'have no heart, no soul, and killed deliberately, with pleasure,' before directing his ire towards former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Nicholas Sarkozy.



The pair represented the European contingent of NATO at a meeting in Bucharest 14 years ago on April 3, 2008, in which it was declared that Ukraine could become a member of the security bloc.



But in the years that followed, Ukraine was never offered membership and still remains in the so called 'grey area' between Europe and Russia - something Zelensky argued is down to Merkel and Sarkozy's 'absurd fear of Russia' and led to the deaths of thousands of Ukrainian civilians.



Angela Merkel's office meanwhile said the former German chancellor stands by decisions made in 2008 not to put Ukraine directly on track to join NATO, but insisted that all efforts to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression had her full support.

Continued at the link

[ShofarSoGood]

Ukraine Russia War April4th The Calm Before The Storm In Ukraine South Front



www.bitchute.com/video/g2wfjCIMO01R/

[Pink Rose]

Satellite images show bodies were lying in Bucha for WEEKS - debunking Russia's wild claims that 400 corpses were planted AFTER Putin's troops fled - as Zelensky prepares to address UN Security Council over 'genocide'


Satellite images show dark objects lining roads in Buch on March 19 when Russia was in control of the city

Position of the objects exactly matches locations where rotting civilian corpses were found by Ukraine's men

Images debunk cynical Russian claims that Ukraine killed its own people to frame its troops for war crimes

President Zelensky due to address UN today about Bucha horrors, while calling for tougher Russian sanctions

By CHRIS PLEASANCE and KATIE FEEHAN FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 03:06 EDT, 5 April 2022 | UPDATED: 10:07 EDT, 5 April 2022




Satellite images of Ukrainian civilians slaughtered in Bucha show bodies lining the streets more than two weeks ago, debunking Russian claims that the massacre was staged by Kyiv in order to frame its troops for war crimes.



Images taken of Bucha, a commuter city on the outskirts of Kyiv, on March 19 show dark objects strewn along a road - which match the exact positions where the rotting corpses of civilians were found by Ukrainian soldiers who recaptured the area from Russian forces at the weekend.



Russian forces were in control of the city at the time, strongly suggesting that it was Putin's men - and not Kyiv's - who carried out the killings. Kyiv now says at least 410 civilians were massacred in and around Bucha by the Russians while others were tortured and raped in what President Volodymyr Zelensky has described as 'genocide'.





Zelensky, who appeared shattered on a visit to the area yesterday, will today address the UN Security Council where he is expected to push world leaders to impose tougher sanctions on Russia over the atrocities, send more weapons for his armed forces, and for a war crimes probe to punish the Russian commanders responsible.



In a nightly address to the Ukrainian nation on Tuesday, he said that Western sanctions on Russia 'must finally be powerful' - adding: 'Did hundreds of our people have to die in agony for some European leaders to finally understand that the Russian state deserves the most severe pressure?'



He was also critical of the amount of military aid sent to Ukraine so-far, saying more equipment could have helped save civilian lives. 'I do not blame you - I blame only the Russian military,' he said. 'But you could have helped.'



Ukraine's allies have called the killings in Bucha war crimes, with the EU offering to send investigators to gather evidence. '(Russian President Vladimir Putin) is a war criminal,' US President Biden told reporters at the White House. 'What's happening to Bucha is outrageous and everyone's seen it.'



The White House said it would announce fresh sanctions on Moscow 'this week' with France suggesting new measures could target Russian oil and coal exports. But Germany warned it was too soon to cut off Russian gas.



'We have to cut all economic relationship to Russia, but at the moment, it's not possible to cut the gas supplies. We need some time,' German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said.



Elsewhere, the United States and Britain said they would seek Russia's suspension from the UN Human Rights Council - a move Moscow branded 'unbelievable'.



Russia has cynically asked for the Security Council to convene to discuss what it describes as Ukrainian attempts to stage a massacre in order to frame its troops, but Britain - which currently chairs the council - has refused.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

One of the war's saddest images: Ukrainian mother writes family contact details on her child's back in case she is killed and her daughter survives


Sasha Makoviy wrote her family's contact details on her two-year-old child Vira

She said she was terrified of her daughter being separated from her family

It comes amid mounting evidence of Russian war crimes and killings of children

By JACK NEWMAN and LIZZIE MAY FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 05:06 EDT, 5 April 2022 | UPDATED: 13:20 EDT, 5 April 2022






A Ukrainian mother who scrawled contact details on her two-year-old daughter's back in case her family are killed by Russian soldiers has described her desperation to make sure she would be cared for if they were separated.



Sasha Makoviy, 33, wrote two-year-old Vira's name on her skin, along with contact phone numbers, on the first day of the Russian invasion in February as she prepared to evacuate her home in Kyiv.



Speaking through tears, the 33-year-old mother said: 'I decided to put the information on Vira's back because I was really scared.





'She is the most precious thing in my life so I couldn't imagine if we lost each other.'



'I thought if I would die she could find who she is, from what family she's come, and maybe to find some familiar people who could take care of her. And that's why.'



Having now escaped to the south of France with Vira, Ms Makoviy, an artist, posted the image to Instagram on Friday.



It has since gone viral, both on Instagram and on Twitter, where it received more than 200,000 likes after being shared by a reporter.



A Ukrainian mother has written her two-year-old daughter's contact details on her back in case her family were killed by Russian soldiers

+10

View gallery

A Ukrainian mother has written her two-year-old daughter's contact details on her back in case her family were killed by Russian soldiers



Ms Makoviy said the image had struck a chord with her compatriots.



'Firstly it was shared by some of my friends and then it was shared between Ukrainians. It's really touching them because thousands of other parents had to do this," she said.



'One of my followers wrote to me in messages that she even put the words, "Please take care of my baby". She wrote it on the baby, just in case.



'It's what we all feel in our country.'



Ms Makoviy recalled the morning she took the photo - as Russian forces made their way over the border.



She said she was 'badly shaking' and 'couldn't concentrate on anything' as she struggled to come to terms with what was happening.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Killings of hundreds of civilians is 'tip of the iceberg' say Ukrainians who believe atrocities were 'much worse' in Borodyanka 14 miles to the west

**WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT**

Ukrainian officials have warned the horrific images coming out of Bucha could be just the 'tip of the iceberg'

Mass graves uncovered in Bucha, city to the west of Kyiv which Russian forces retreated from at the weekend

One containing the bodies of at least 57 civilians was uncovered in the ground of a church in the city centre

Satellite images reveal pit was dug some time before March 31, as Putin's men were still in control of the area

Officials say the bodies of at least 410 civilians have been found in total, with many strewn through the streets

Ukrainian foreign minister branded Russia 'worse than ISIS' as world leaders called for a war crimes probe

By KATIE FEEHAN and RACHEL BUNYAN and CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 20:29 EDT, 4 April 2022 | UPDATED: 09:58 EDT, 5 April 2022


Ukrainian officials have warned that the slaughter of hundreds of civilians by Russian troops on the outskirts of Kyiv could just be the 'tip of the iceberg' as more allegations of atrocities emerge.



Moscow has been accused of war crimes and genocide after photos emerged from the commuter town of Bucha, near Kyiv, which showed streets littered with the bodies of civilians, many with their hands behind their backs, gunshot wounds and signs of torture.



Ukrainian officials have said at least 410 bodies have been recovered from the region, some of whom had been buried in mass graves while others just lay in the street among the rubble of burnt out Russian tanks and armoured vehicles, abandoned when the troops withdrew last week.


A growing number of world leaders have voiced outrage and called for tougher sanctions against Moscow.



But Ukrainian officials have warned that other areas nearby may have seen worse atrocities and that Bucha could be just the beginning.



Ukrainian prosecutor-general Iryna Venediktova told Ukrainian TV that a 'similar humanitarian situation' to Bucha exists in other parts of the country where Russian forces recently left, such as the areas around the northern cities of Sumy and Chernihiv.



She also said the situation in Borodyanka, which is further from Kyiv and was also held by Russian forces until recently, may be even worse.



Venediktova didn't specify what exactly had happened in Borodyanka but said 'the worst situation in terms of the victims' is there.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Russian conscripts are being given 19th century rifles, made to drink from ponds filled with dead frogs due to lack of supplies and ordered to run in front of enemy soldiers to draw their fire, they reveal

Six Donbas-region conscripts, their partners or friends have told of conditions

They have painted a picture of a Russian army in Ukraine that is stretched thin

One student spoke of how he was forced to drink water from a fetid pond

He said his unit was told to repel Ukraine forces - having never been trained to fire an automatic weapon. Some draftees have been given a Mosin - a WW2 rifle

The wives of conscripts said their partners had no combat experience

All accounts spoke of how the conscripts had a severe lack of supplies

By CHRIS JEWERS and REUTERS



PUBLISHED: 02:01 EDT, 4 April 2022 | UPDATED: 08:32 EDT, 5 April 2022


Russian conscripts are being given 19th century rifles, made to drink from ponds filled with dead frogs and ordered to draw enemy fire, they have revealed.



Soldiers in the Russian-backed Donbas region have spoken of how they have been sent to fight Ukraine's forces with no training, a lack of food and water, and inadequate equipment - as Moscow's armies continue to suffer heavy losses.



The new accounts of untrained and ill-equipped conscripts being deployed to Ukraine are a fresh indication of how stretched the military resources at the Kremlin's disposal are, over a month into a war that has seen Vladimir Putin's forces hobbled by logistical problems and held up by a fierce resistance.





One of the soldiers, a student conscripted in late February, said a fellow fighter told him to prepare to repel a close-quarter attack by Ukrainian forces in southwest Donbas, but said 'I don't even know how to fire an automatic weapon.'



The student and his unit fired back and evaded capture, but he was injured in a later battle, he told Reuters news agency. He did not say when the fighting took place.



He said that at one point, he was forced to drink water from a fetid pond full of dead frogs because of a lack of supplies. Two other sources in contact with draftees also said the men had to drink untreated water.



The testimonies from conscripts and their friends and family came as crimes carried out by occupying Russian soldiers continued to be uncovered, and as Kyiv claimed Russia's death toll in Ukraine is nearing 20,000.



Officials said 50 bodies found in the commuter town of Bucha - in Kyiv Oblast - had been victims of extra-judicial killings by Russian troops. Some were shown in pictures lying on the ground with hands tied behind their backs.



The scenes have sparked international outrage, with the United Nations saying on Tuesday that all the signs from the pointed towards civilians having been directly targeted and killed in the town.



Meanwhile, Putin's forces are retreating from major cities in the west as they refocus their efforts on the Donbas, with 60,000 Russian reservists expected to be called in to reinforce Moscow's offensive in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk provinces claimed by separatists.

Continued at the link

[shalom]

NATO: Russia Regrouping To Try To Take Ukraine's East


TUESDAY, APR 05, 2022 - 05:00 PM

By Jack Phillips of The Epoch Times



Russia is likely to launch a new offensive in eastern Ukraine in the coming months, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday, adding that NATO states are helping prepare the Ukrainian military.



“We now see a significant movement of (Russian) troops away from Kyiv to regroup, re-arm and re-supply and shift their focus to the east,” Stoltenberg told a news conference in Brussels, adding that Russia will conduct a “very special” offensive in the Donbas region.



Since 2014, separatists in the Donbas have fought against Ukrainian forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 22 said that Moscow would recognize the Donetsk and Lugansk separatist regions as sovereign states, just two days before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.



Stoltenberg said it would be a new, crucial phase of Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, which the Kremlin calls a “special military operation.”



“Repositioning of the Russian troops will take some time, some weeks,” he said, while “in that window, it is extremely important that NATO allies provide support.”



Late last month, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that its forces will pull back from Kyiv and the outlying areas as well as the Chernihiv region. Instead, according to the ministry, Moscow will try to refocus on the Donbas and areas in southern Ukraine.



Foreign ministers on Wednesday and Thursday are set to discuss how to send more anti-tank weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said.

Continued at link

[Pink Rose]

Against all odds: Incredible moment single Ukrainian tank takes on entire Russian convoy, destroying multiple armoured vehicles near Kyiv – but NATO chief warns that Putin has NOT lost his appetite to control the WHOLE country


Footage shows a lone Ukrainian T-64 tank ambushing a drove of Russian vehicles in Nova Basan, Ukraine

The armoured vehicle was able to fire several rounds at the invaders and successfully destroyed two vehicles

Tank cleverly concealed itself behind a house and thread its shells between other buildings

Kyiv claimed close to 20,000 of Moscow's troops have been killed since Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24

Ukrainian soldiers have also used one of Moscow's captured thermobaric weapons against Russian troops

By DAVID AVERRE FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 11:52 EDT, 6 April 2022 | UPDATED: 17:04 EDT, 6 April 2022


Incredible video footage has emerged showing the moment a lone Ukrainian tank single-handedly destroyed several Russian armoured vehicles less than 50 miles from Kyiv.



The footage, collected by a drone and published by a Ukrainian volunteer unit on Telegram, shows what appears to be a single well-positioned Ukrainian T-64 tank ambushing a convoy of Russian BTR-82A armoured vehicles on a road in Nova Basan, west of the capital.



Thanks to brilliant positioning, the lion-hearted tank operator was able to fire several rounds at the invaders' convoy, threading the gap between other structures from a concealed location behind a house.





One BTR was quickly set ablaze in the attack, prompting the remaining armoured vehicles to fire back, seemingly aiming at other targets off-camera as yellow flashes of fire were seen streaking across the fields surrounding the road.



But the T-64 appeared unsighted and continued to pound the convoy with shells as it outsmarted the Russian troops until further artillery reinforcements arrived.



The second half of the video cuts to later footage of Ukrainian artillery strikes raining down on the convoy as it attempts to flee, before zooming in on the wreckage of a Russian tank still on fire alongside several corpses.



Meanwhile, Ukrainian soldiers have used one of Moscow's captured thermobaric weapons against Russian troops.



They fired the feared 'blazing sun' TOS-1A rocket launcher near Izyum in eastern Ukraine. The 'vacuum bombs' suck in oxygen from the target area, creating a blast that can destroy internal organs. They are illegal to use against civilians, but are lawful against military targets



Despite the heroics of the Ukrainian army, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg today warned the war in Ukraine could last 'months, even years' as there is no sign Vladimir Putin has lost 'his ambition to control the whole country'.



Ukrainian authorities urged civilians in the country's east to flee 'now' or 'risk death' as Russian forces regroup ahead of what is expected to be a fresh offensive in the Donbas region.



Stoltenberg, speaking ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, said the international community should be 'realistic' about Moscow's intentions and 'realise that this may last for a long time' as the war entered its 41st day.



'We need also to be prepared for the long haul, both when it comes to supporting Ukraine, sustaining sanctions and strengthening our defences,' he added.

Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Not likely - God will soon put hooks in their jaw...


Russian invasion could last YEARS and Putin has not lost 'his ambition to control the whole country', NATO chief warns as Kyiv tells civilians in east Ukraine to leave 'NOW' or 'risk death'


Jens Stoltenberg warned Russia's war in Ukraine could last 'months, even years'

NATO chief said the international community should be 'realistic' about Moscow

It comes as bloc's foreign ministers meet to discuss supplying more arms to Kyiv

The Czech Republic today became the first member to supply tanks to Zelensky

By LAUREN LEWIS FOR MAILONLINE and AFP



PUBLISHED: 10:59 EDT, 6 April 2022 | UPDATED: 11:05 EDT, 6 April 2022


NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg today warned the war in Ukraine could last 'months, even years' as there is no sign Vladimir Putin has lost 'his ambition to control the whole country'.



It comes as Ukrainian authorities today warned civilians in the country's east to flee 'now' or 'risk death' as Russian forces regroup ahead of what is expected to be a fresh offensive in the Donbas region.



Stoltenberg, speaking ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, said the international community should be 'realistic' about Moscow's intentions and 'realise that this may last for a long time' as the war entered its 41st day.





'We need also to be prepared for the long haul, both when it comes to supporting Ukraine, sustaining sanctions and strengthening our defences,' he added.



NATO's foreign ministers were meeting today and tomorrow to discuss sending more arms to Ukraine after the Czech Republic became the first bloc member to send tanks and armoured infantry vehicles to Kyiv.



Members of the trans-Atlantic alliance had until today given Ukraine only anti-tank and anti-craft missiles, small arms and protective equipment, but not offered heavy armour or fighter jets.



Today's delivery is understood to be a gift agreed on by NATO allies, raising fears the bloc could be dragged into the Russian war in Ukraine despite remaining on the sidelines for more than a month.

Continued at the link

[shalom]

Russia-Ukraine war: 50 people were burned alive in Mariupol - mayor

Russian artillery hits Ukrainian storage facility • New footage of atrocities from Motyzhyn emerges • Pope Francis condemned 'the massacre of Bucha

By REUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFF Published: APRIL 6, 2022 14:39

Updated: APRIL 6, 2022 21:22


Russian continues offensive on the ground

Russia's defense ministry said on Wednesday that a Ukrainian fuel storage base was destroyed by Russian missiles in the Kharkiv region, the RIA news agency quoted it as saying.



The Russian forces also destroyed some Ukrainian military equipment and foreign weapons at a railway station in the same region, RIA reported, citing the ministry.



The mayor of Mariupol said on Wednesday that 50 people were burned alive in the city during Russia's assault on it, and 5,000 were killed over the last month.



A humanitarian aid center in Vuhledar, in the Donetsk region, ws shelled on Wednesday. The number of deaths stands at four, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko , the Head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration.

Continued at link

[Pink Rose]

Russia’s road to hell: Wreckage of obliterated convoy lies along Ukrainian highway west of Kyiv where Zelensky’s forces have successfully ambushed tanks and armoured vehicles


Two drone videos show several destroyed Russian vehicles along E40 highway

In the first, a row of around ten destroyed tanks and other armoured vehicles can be seen lined bumper-to-bumper down the middle of a short stretch of road

The second shows destroyed or abandoned Russian vehicles more scattered

Kyiv's forces have ambushed Russia's vast invading forces to great success

Moscow has seen thousands of items of military hardware destroyed in Ukraine

The footage comes after the Kremlin pulled all of its forces out of the Kyiv region

By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 04:29 EDT, 7 April 2022 | UPDATED: 05:58 EDT, 7 April 2022


The wreckage of an obliterated Russian convoy lying along a Ukrainian highway west of Kyiv has been captured on video by a drone, after Vladimir Putin's forces fully retreated from the region.



President Volodymyr Zelensky's forces ambushed the tanks as they travelled down the highway - a tactic Kyiv has employed to great success across the country to repel Vladimir Putin's vast numbers of slow-moving military hardware.



Two aerial videos show several rusting wreckages of the tanks and other military vehicles on the E40 highway, a main road that runs into Kyiv from the west.





The footage emerged as Russia completed the pullout of 24,000 troops from Kyiv and Chernihiv in preparation for an expected major offensive in the Donbas.



Putin's soldiers have been sent to Belarus and Russia to resupply and reorganise before the heavy onslaught in Ukraine's east, US intelligence sources said.



Residents in the Donbas have been told to evacuate now ahead of the impending manoeuvre, as Zelensky warned that Moscow is now marshalling reinforcements and trying to push deeper into the country's east, where the Kremlin has said its goal is to 'liberate' the region.



'The fate of our land and of our people is being decided. We know what we are fighting for. And we will do everything to win,' Zelensky said, six weeks into the war.



Meanwhile, British intelligence sources claimed last night Ukraine could 'break' the Russian army if it was given enough weapons from Western allies.



The weaponry sought by the Ukrainians has been compiled into a shopping list and submitted to allies. It is believed to include aircraft, tanks, armoured vehicles, long range artillery, anti-ship missiles and air defence systems.



Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba today repeated calls for NATO members to provide Kyiv with all the military equipment it needs to fight Russia, demanding 'weapons, weapons and weapons.'



Yesterday, the Czech Republic became the first NATO member to supply tanks to Ukraine and now Britain is considering following suit.



Continued at the link

[Pink Rose]

Ukraine can 'break' Russia's army if it gets the right weapons, Britain says, as the UK sends in armoured vehicles and Zelensky warns Putin will obliterate the Donbas if more hardware doesn't arrive


British intelligence sources suggested 'positive' mood among Ukraine army

There is a belief that the Russian army could be pushed back with right weapons

Czech Republic yesterday became first NATO member to supply tanks to Ukraine

Now, Zelensky is calling on western allies to give country weapons it needs

By DANYAL HUSSAIN and LAUREN LEWIS FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 21:27 EDT, 6 April 2022 | UPDATED: 03:58 EDT, 7 April 2022


Ukraine could 'break' the Russian army if it was given enough weapons from Western allies, British government sources have claimed.



Last night, intelligence chiefs told The Times there is a more positive mood on the Ukrainian side with a belief that the Russian army is 'exhausted' and could be pushed back with better weaponry.



The weaponry sought by the Ukrainians has been compiled into a shopping list and submitted to allies. It is believed to include aircraft, tanks, armoured vehicles, long range artillery, anti-ship missiles and air defence systems.





Today, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday called on NATO members to provide Kyiv with all the military equipment it needs to fight Russia, demanding 'weapons, weapons and weapons.'



Yesterday, the Czech Republic became the first NATO member to supply tanks to Ukraine and now Britain is considering following suit.



The Ministry of Defence is said to be considering providing reconnaissance or long-range and protective patrol vehicles, such as the Mastiff or a Jackal. Sensitive equipment would be stripped from the vehicles and British soldiers sent to a neighbouring country of Ukraine to carry out training, a defence source said.



Additional support – which is likely to include anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles – is also expected to be announced in the coming days. It is hoped this will help to enable Ukrainian troops to push towards Russian lines.



The next three weeks are thought to be crucial in deciding the outcome of the war.



It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow is trying to push deeper into the country's east, where the Kremlin has said its goal is to 'liberate' the Donbas, Ukraine's mostly Russian-speaking industrial heartland.



The Ukrainian leader called for more weapons to stop Russia taking Donbas.



In a video message on the Telegram app he said: 'If there is no really painful package of sanctions against Russia and if there is no supply of weapons we really need and have applied for many times, it will be considered by Russia as a permission.



'A permission to go further. A permission to attack. A permission to start a new bloody wave in Donbas.'

Continued at the link

[ShofarSoGood]

Horrifying video shows Ukrainian soldiers shooting captured Russian troops with their hands tied behind their backs amid accusations of similar Russian atrocities in Bucha


The video, which the New York Times verified Wednesday, shows Ukrainian troops committing the killings after what appeared to be an ambush

'Film these marauders. Look, he's still alive. He's gasping,' one of the troops is heard saying

One of the soldiers then shoots the man three times. After the second shot, the man keeps moving but stops after the third bullet

There appear to be at least three other Russian soldiers dead lying near the latest victim

The video was taken from a road just north of Dmytrivka, about seven miles southwest of Bucha

By STEPHEN M. LEPORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM



PUBLISHED: 21:57 EDT, 6 April 2022 | UPDATED: 01:44 EDT, 7 April 2022


Video published on Wednesday shows Ukrainian soldiers killing their apparently captured Russian counterparts with their hands tied behind their backs - just as accusations of similar atrocities committed by Russian forces surface from the city of Bucha.



The video, which the New York Times verified Wednesday, shows Ukrainian troops committing the killings, after what appeared to be an ambush outside a village west of Kyiv.



'He's still alive,' one of the Ukrainians - identifiable by their flag patches and 'glory to Ukraine' paraphernalia - can be heard saying, as a Russian soldier is seen with a jacket pulled over his head. 'Film these marauders. Look, he's still alive. He's gasping.'





One of the soldiers then shoots the man three times. After the second shot, the man keeps moving but stops after the third bullet.



There appear to be at least three other Russian soldiers dead lying near the latest victim, all wearing camouflage and three with white arm bands typically worn by Russian military units.


Continued at link

[ShofarSoGood]

The Ukrainian war in maps: Graphics detail how Russian forces have gained territory - and then been repelled by Zelensky’s forces - over the course of the 42-day conflict

Moscow's forces are regrouping in Belarus and Russia ahead of new, major offensive in pro-separatist Donbas

Mariupol council accused Russians of using mobile crematoriums to remove evidence of potential war crimes

Officials estimate death toll in the port city up to tens of thousands and with scenes possibly similar to Bucha

Kremlin has pulled all of its forces out of Kyiv and the Ukrainian military have regained control of 'key terrain'

MailOnline looks at how Russian forces have gained territory and then lost it over the course of 42day conflict

By LAUREN LEWIS FOR MAILONLINE



PUBLISHED: 05:56 EDT, 7 April 2022 | UPDATED: 11:54 EDT, 7 April 2022




The advance of Vladimir Putin's war machine continues to be halted by a heroic Ukrainian resistance that has seen Moscow completely withdraw from the outskirts of Kyiv after Russian troops failed to gain ground despite relentless shelling and swathes of heavy fighting.



Putin was last week forced into a withering face-saving climbdown over the failed march on the capital - that his forces, which have been devastated with more than 20 battalions wiped out since the start of the war, would focus on 'liberating' the eastern Donbas region instead of trying to take the capital.



Russian forces have also withdrawn from Chernihiv, Konotop, Chernobyl, Sloboda and Lukashivka in recent days after facing a staunch fightback from Kyiv's troops and volunteers.


Moscow's men are though to be regrouping on Ukraine's eastern border ahead of a heavy onslaught on the Donbas region and residents in Donetsk and Luhansk have been told to evacuate now ahead of the impending manoeuvre.



The besieged southern port city Mariupol, where residents have been trapped without food, water, electricity or heat for more than a month, has continued to hold firm against Moscow's attacks despite facing continued Russian bombardment and heavy street-to-street fighting.



Mykolaiv, Severodonetsk and Kharkiv have continued to come under Russian shelling though Moscow has failed to take control of any of the three cities. Meanwhile Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that 'those who choose war always lose'.



His comments come after drone footage emerged showing an obliterated Russian convoy lying along a highway west of Kyiv following an ambush by Zelensky's troops - a tactic Ukraine has employed to great success across the country to repel Putin's vast numbers of slow-moving military hardware.



As Putin's invasion enters its 42nd day today, MailOnline takes a look at how Russian forces have gained territory and then been repelled by Ukrainian forces in a heroic fightback.



February 24, day one: Putin announces 'special military operation' in Ukraine



Continued with more maps at link

[Pink Rose]

As you read the news stories, please keep in mind that deception abounds these days. Only God knows what's really happening!     It's the "elites" who are behind the evil in the world; pray for the innocent, ordinary people who are affected by their wicked actions.  

Twisted Russians wrote 'for our children' on missile used in attack on Ukrainian railway station refugees that killed at least 50 civilians - including five children - who were fleeing Putin's atrocities


Ukraine's state railway company announced attack on Kramatorsk's station, a city in the east of the country

The governor of Ukraine's Donesk region said later on Friday the death toll had risen to at least 50 people

Pictures from outside the station showed bodies strewn across the ground. Some were in body bags

Other pictures showed wreckage of a missile with Russian text written on the side reading 'For (our) children'

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky took to Instagram to decry the attack, confirming the casualties

Russia's defence ministry denied the attack, and instead claimed Ukraine was attacking its own civilians

Kramatorsk is found in the east of the country, about 80 miles west of Luhansk in the country's Donbas region

Ukrainian authorities have urged residents to flee west as Russia refocuses its military efforts in the country's eastern Donbas region after recently pulling its forces back from Kyiv

WARNING: Graphic images

By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and AFP



PUBLISHED: 04:39 EDT, 8 April 2022 | UPDATED: 09:57 EDT, 9 April 2022


Russian soldiers wrote a message of revenge on the missile that killed at least 50 people - including five children - and wounded 98 when two strikes hit a railway station in east Ukraine today, as thousands of desperate evacuees tried reach safer parts of the country.



Graphic pictures on Friday from Kramatorsk showed bodies strewn across the floor, lying amongst luggage and children's prams outside the city's busy station. Some had already been put into green body bags, while other photos showed smoke rising from the building as firefighters rushed to the scene.



The wreckage of a large missile was left lying on the grass outside the station. White Russian text was shown written down the side of its casing, which read: 'For (our) Children' - a revenge message from the pro-Moscow soldiers that launched it. It is believed to be the result of Russian propaganda brainwashing troops into believing Ukraine is carrying out atrocities in the east of the country.





Military commentators said the missile used in the attack was a Soviet-era Tochka U missile - accurate to within 200 to 500 feet. The station is found in the centre of Kramatorsk - a town of more than 150,000 people. Both Russian and Ukraine both still use the missiles, and the evacuations would have been known about.



Although Moscow denied the attack saying Ukraine also the same missile, the projectile was painted green as Russian weapons are - while Kyiv's equivalent is painted grey, according to experts.



Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky took to Instagram to decry the attack, and confirmed the reports of casualties. '[Russian forces] are cynically destroying the civilian population. This is an evil that has no limits. And if it is not punished, it will never stop,' he wrote. He said no Ukrainian soldiers were at the station when it was hit.



'Fifty dead, five of them children. This is the death toll at this hour after the strike by Russian occupational forces on the train station in Kramatorsk,' Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, said on Telegram.



He warned that the number of victims is likely to change, saying there are still 98 people wounded, including 16 children. Kyrylenko said 12 of the victims died from their wounds in hospital, while 38 were killed 'on the spot.'



Ukraine's Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova called the attack was a 'crime against humanity.'

Continued at the link