Of . – 04/02/2022 10:38 (act 04/02/2022 15:38)
Events in Ukraine on Saturday’s LIVE blog. The image from early March shows a suburb of Odessa. ©AP (image of symbol)
Several large cities in southern Ukraine were hit by rockets from Russian troops on Saturday night, according to Ukrainian sources. Our LIVE blog provides insights into what is happening in the country.
Two or three strong explosions were heard in the city of Dnipro, the portal Ukrajinska Pravda reported, citing the regional administration. The city of Poltava, in the center of the country, was also attacked. A little later, Russia announced the bombing of two military airfields near Dnipro and Poltava.
Attack on Kremenchuk in Ukraine
According to the regional governor of Poltava region, infrastructure facilities were hit in the central Ukrainian city of the same name. The city of Kremenchuk was also attacked, writes Dmitri Lunin. Initially, there was no information about possible victims.
Bombing on the outskirts of the city in Ukraine
According to Ukrayinska Pravda, the area around the city of Kryvyi Rih was bombarded with rocket launchers. A gas station caught fire, said the head of the local military administration, Olexander Wilkul. According to him, Russian forces used several Grad (Hagel) rocket launchers.
Ukrainian port city of Odessa under fire
Like all combat zone reports, the information was not independently verifiable. Vikul said the Kryvyi Rih district and the Dnipropetrovsk region as a whole are stable in the hands of the Ukrainian army. The Black Sea port city of Odessa was also hit by rockets late on Friday.
Blog LIVE in Ukraine on Saturday
Russia: military objects destroyed
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, several dozen military objects were destroyed in the new rocket attacks. Thus, near the commercial and industrial city of Kremenchuk, about 300 kilometers southeast of the capital Kiev, a gas and diesel depot was destroyed on Saturday morning.
In addition, two military airfields near the city of Poltava and near Dnipro were decommissioned. A total of 67 military objects were destroyed in one day, including ammunition depots, said Major General Igor Konashenkov. In addition, two Mi-24 attack helicopters and 24 drones were shot down. Like all combat zone reports, the information was not independently verifiable.
Zelenskyj expects attacks in eastern Ukraine
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy expects violent Russian attacks in the east of the country. “Russian soldiers are being brought to Donbass. The same is going towards Kharkiv,” the head of state said in a video speech on Saturday night. “The situation in the east of our country remains very difficult.”
The Ukrainian General Staff announced that Russian troops would be withdrawn from the exclusion zone around the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant and adjacent areas in Belarus. Apparently, they would be transferred to the Russian region of Belgorod, from where the advance to Kharkiv would take place.
Belgorod: Russian tank park caught fire
However, the British military assumed that explosions at a fuel depot and an ammunition depot at Belgorod would decrease supplies to Russian troops off Kharkiv. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense in a tweet. A fuel depot in Belgorod caught fire on Friday morning. Local authorities attributed this to the attack by two Ukrainian attack helicopters. Sources in Kiev were evasive. Days earlier, there were explosions at an ammunition depot in Belgorod.
Ukrainian Air Force: The skies are not in the hands of the Russians
Meanwhile, according to its commander, the Ukrainian Air Force continues to see the skies over Ukraine in its hands, despite heavy Russian attacks. “The enemy did not control the Ukrainian sky and does not control it,” said Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk. The General Staff in Kiev posted the statements on Facebook late on Friday.
After the attack on February 24, Russia tried to eliminate the Ukrainian air force. This was not successful. Meanwhile, the Russian air force is attacking less with planes, but bombing from a distance with rockets. Oleshchuk demanded more modern weapons from Ukraine’s allies, including fighter jets and medium- and long-range anti-aircraft missile systems. Weapons can also be of foreign design.
The Lieutenant General’s statements about the remaining strength of the Ukrainian air force could not be independently verified. His troops suffered casualties. But Oleshchuk made the statement the day two suspected Ukrainian helicopters set fire to a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod.
Demand for no-fly zone over Ukraine
Early in the war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeatedly called for NATO to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine. NATO refused to avoid fighting between Russian and Western alliance aircraft.
Ukrainian Information: Exchange with Russia
According to Ukrainian information, there was another exchange of prisoners with Russia. A government official said the Russian side had freed 86 Ukrainian soldiers from captivity. Initially, it was not known how many Russians were released in exchange. The exchange was the result of ongoing peace negotiations.
US wants to send weapons to Ukraine
The US Department of Defense, for its part, wants to send another weapon worth 300 million dollars (270 million euros) to Ukraine. Among other things, the new package is expected to include various drones, missile systems, armored vehicles, munitions, night vision devices, secure communication systems, machine guns, medical supplies and the provision of commercial satellite imagery, the Pentagon announced overnight. Friday (Local Time).
After the outbreak of the Russian war of aggression: US commitment to Ukraine
The US government has already pledged $1.65 billion in military aid and weapons supplies to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s war of aggression. Since the beginning of last year, US aid has totaled $2.3 billion.
However, the new weapons deliveries announced by the Pentagon are expected to take a little longer. The process is not about delivering weapons and systems already in US possession, but about placing orders with manufacturers. The move “represents the beginning of a process to provide new capabilities to the Ukrainian armed forces,” he said.
help for ukraine
At the same time, work will continue with the allies to send more arms deliveries to Ukraine. “The United States will continue to use all available means to support Ukrainian forces in the face of the Russian attack,” the Pentagon said. The US Congress passed a budget in March that earmarked $13.6 billion in humanitarian, economic and military aid to Ukraine through the end of September.
Apparently, the United States, along with allies, also wants to supply Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine. These should strengthen defense in the Donbass region, writes the “New York Times”, citing a US official. The tanks would be moved there soon. The US Department of Defense declined to comment, and the US Presidential Office initially declined to comment.