Status: 04/16/2022 05:00
Attacks by Russian troops are increasingly concentrated in eastern and southern Ukraine. At least ten dead were reported in Kharkiv. In the north, attempts are being made to restore infrastructure, but much has been destroyed.
According to Ukrainian sources, at least ten people were killed when the industrial district of the Kharkiv metropolis in eastern Ukraine was bombed. A seven-month-old baby was among the victims, the Kharkiv region’s prosecutor’s office announced last night on Facebook. At least 35 people were injured. Several residential buildings in the eastern outskirts district were also damaged or destroyed, she said.
Killed and wounded after bomb attack in Kharkiv
Svea Eckert, NDR, tagesschau24 09:00, 16 April 2022
The authorities had already asked the population to only take to the streets if absolutely necessary. The information cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine also reported a Russian air strike on an airfield in the town of Oleksandriya in the Kirovohrad region of central Ukraine. Rescue work was underway, Mayor Serhiy Kuzmenko wrote on Facebook. Initially there was no information about damage or casualties.
Great destruction in Sieverodonetsk
According to Ukrainian data, the city of Sievjerodonetsk in the Luhansk region suffered serious damage. According to the head of the city’s military administration, Olexandr Strjuk, the city is about 70% destroyed. The most important roads are also badly damaged and the water supply has also been interrupted until repair work can be carried out, Strjuk told Ukrainian national television yesterday. Basic equipment is lacking. Hardly any working tractors or undamaged water tanks can be found in the city.
Of the roughly 130,000 pre-war residents, only about 20,000 people are still there, he said. Authorities worked to keep the townspeople safe. Kiev expects a major offensive by Russian troops in the east of the country in the coming days.
conflicting parties as source
Information on the course of the war, bombing and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body in the current situation.
Zelenskyj: “We are doing everything to save our people”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the situation in the port city of Mariupol, surrounded by Russian troops, with military and intelligence chiefs. “The details cannot be released right now, but we are doing everything we can to save our people,” he said in his video address to the nation. Large parts of the strategically important city lie in ruins after weeks of fighting.
Russian soldiers terrorized the civilian population in the occupied southern Ukraine regions around Kherson and Zaporizhia, Zelenskyy said. They were looking for anyone who had worked in the military or government agencies. “Occupants think this makes it easier to control the area. But they are very wrong. They are very wrong,” Zelensky said. “The problem with the occupiers is not that they are not accepted by some activists, veterans or journalists. The problem with Russia is that it is not – and never will be – accepted by the Ukrainian people. Russia has lost Ukraine forever.”
Zelenskyy told CNN that between 2,500 and 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers died in the war with Russia. Another 10,000 soldiers were wounded. According to Zelensky, 20,000 soldiers have already been killed on the Russian side. Moscow recently spoke of some 1,350 military personnel killed in its own ranks.
Shaded in white: Russian army advance. Shaded in green: Russian-backed separatist areas. Crimea: annexed by Russia. Image: ISW/04/14/2022
Major challenges in reconstruction
Selenskyj sees his country faced with enormous challenges in places deserted by Russian units or expelled from there. Authorities continue to restore normal life there, Zelenskyj said in the evening. The scope of work in the 918 towns and cities of different sizes is “really huge”. Mines are cleared and electricity, water and gas supplies are restored. Police, post office and local authorities are also resuming their work.
Rail links have been re-established in the Sumy region in the northeast of the country, or are about to resume with the northern city of Chernihiv. So far, humanitarian teams have been deployed in 338 of these locations. Among other things, they provided emergency medical care, Selenskyj said. Schools and other educational institutions should also resume whenever possible.
The current situation in Ukraine – An early Saturday morning update
Thomas Spickhofen, WDR, April 16, 2022 5:54 am