More than three months after the Russian invasion, fighting in Ukraine continues unabated. While Moscow intensifies its offensive in the east of the country, Joe Biden wants to increase US aid to Kyiv. In Boutcha, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Russia to cooperate in investigating possible war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
Here’s what to remember from this Thursday, April 28, the 64th day of the conflict.
![]({"srcset":"https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMjA0MDRiYzM0OTQ5OWFhODUyZjNmMzM1ZWUwOWJiZjdiYzE?width=320&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=0d912d0e0473fc6c7575651ecd33b0964963409e451c329ddd2f27940df5764f 280w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMjA0MDRiYzM0OTQ5OWFhODUyZjNmMzM1ZWUwOWJiZjdiYzE?width=375&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=5a63444e3053fed307013ae7623bc5f0694c51826e43134c92229fc6720d1a14 360w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMjA0MDRiYzM0OTQ5OWFhODUyZjNmMzM1ZWUwOWJiZjdiYzE?width=480&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=fbb0a403d9bdc823c428cbda8fa4e9c6804045e8b25a664b427ed508d4bfa707 480w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMjA0MDRiYzM0OTQ5OWFhODUyZjNmMzM1ZWUwOWJiZjdiYzE?width=630&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=3a6f9131e3e37411f3cc90584f38b2980683fd7868bda530a144f2391a5f832b 630w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMjA0MDRiYzM0OTQ5OWFhODUyZjNmMzM1ZWUwOWJiZjdiYzE?width=940&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=55a1677d93889c230987f7393f9b2c946d239f47caee49afb5b9cad5f68e3137 940w, https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMjA0MDRiYzM0OTQ5OWFhODUyZjNmMzM1ZWUwOWJiZjdiYzE?width=1260&focuspoint=50%2C25&cropresize=1&client_id=bpeditorial&sign=511421676dbb159bd63b34840fda532ee0f1e4353530b594bb27fc69857a452a 1260w" } "Notre carte présentant la situation en Ukraine au jeudi 28 avril 2022.")
Our map shows the situation in Ukraine as of Thursday, April 28, 2022. | WESTERN FRANCE
Fierce fighting is still going on in the east
The enemy increases their offensive. The occupiers are conducting strikes in virtually all directions, with particularly intense activity in the Kharkiv and Donbass regions, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in its morning note.
According to him, the Russian army is trying to prevent the transfer of Ukrainian troops from the north to the east. The Russians are currently engaged on a 100 km front, which is enormous. According to Colonel Pascal Ianni, spokesman for the French General Staff, they are intensifying their advance from the north to the south of the Donbass in areas firmly defended by Ukrainian forces.
West of the Dnieper, the river that vertically bisects Ukraine, Russian forces are bombing bridges and railroads to impede logistical flows and prevent supplies to Ukrainian forces employed in this pocket (of Donbass), the authorities said same source.
For its part, the Russian army used high-precision missiles to destroy two weapons and ammunition depots in the Kharkiv region overnight and carried out airstrikes on 67 Ukrainian military sites, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
In Mariupol, a strategic port in the south-east of the country that is being bombed and besieged by the Russians, the UN coordinator said she was preparing an attempt to evacuate the city. Mariupol is a crisis within a crisis. Thousands of civilians need life-saving assistance. Many are older, need medical care or have limited mobility, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Kyiv targeted during UN Secretary-General’s visit
The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was the target of strikes for the first time since mid-April during a visit by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
AFP correspondents saw one floor of a burning building with black smoke billowing from shattered windows while many police and rescue workers were at the scene.
In the evening the enemy fired on Kyiv. Two strikes in Chevchenkovsky district, confirmed the mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko, adding that information about the victims is being clarified.
With this heinous act of barbarism, Russia is once again showing its attitude towards Ukraine, Europe and the world, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba criticized on Twitter.
Antonio Guterres is safe but shocked, a spokesman for the organization said. We are safe, Saviano Abreu wrote to journalists and then told AFP on WhatsApp that it is a war zone, but it is shocking that it happened close to where we were.
This says a lot about Russia’s true attitude towards international institutions, the Russian leadership’s efforts to humiliate the UN and everything the organization stands for, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video posted to his Telegram channel.
In Boutcha, Guterres urges Moscow to cooperate
Earlier in the day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Russia to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s investigation into possible war crimes attributed by Ukrainians to Russian forces during a visit to theaters in Kiev suburbs.
When we see this horrific side, I see the importance of conducting a full investigation and being accountable,” Antonio Guterres told Boutcha.
Separately, ten Russian soldiers have been charged with alleged crimes committed in Buchha, Ukraine’s prosecutor general said, adding that it was related to the cruel treatment of civilians and other violations of the law and the customs of war.
Ukrainian investigators have identified more than 8,000 suspected war crimes cases since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said on Thursday.
Zelenskyy evokes the risk of a “food crisis”.
At the same joint press conference, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about the risk of a food crisis not only in Ukraine but in the rest of the world. Ukraine is a major agricultural country and one of the main producers of wheat.
Ukraine must be saved to prevent the food crisis and the resulting political chaos. Everything must be done to ensure that Russia liberates Ukrainian ports, said the Ukrainian President.
Briton killed in Ukraine
A British national has been killed in Ukraine and another is missing, a British Foreign Office spokesman said on Thursday.
The ministry did not provide any further details on the identity of the two people or what they were doing in Ukraine. However, according to British media, the two nationals fought as volunteers against Russian forces.
The ruble is to be introduced soon in the occupied city of Kherson
The Russian government, which controls the Ukrainian coastal city of Kherson, intends to introduce the ruble there from May 1 to replace Ukraine’s currency, a local Russian official said, a decision denounced by Kyiv.
The two currencies, the ruble and the hryvnia, could circulate in parallel during a transitional period that could last four months, he said. After that, we will switch completely to regulations in rubles, he said.
Joe Biden increases pressure on Moscow
Joe Biden is ramping up the pressure on Moscow by asking Congress for a whopping $33 billion budget expansion to pump ever-increasing military aid to Kyiv and by proposing to liquidate Russian oligarchs’ assets to compensate for the damage done suffered by Ukraine.
We must send help. We have to send gun ammunition. It is important that this funding is approved as soon as possible, said the US President during a speech from Washington this Thursday, April 28th.
We don’t attack Russia, we help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression, Joe Biden said again. He also responded to Russian gas cuts in Europe, saying he would not allow Moscow to intimidate Europe. The threat of nuclear weapons is irresponsible, said Joe Biden.
MENU. War in Ukraine: Intense fighting, Biden puts pressure on… update on 64th day of conflictEXTENSION