Of . – 03/31/2022 19:55 (act 04/01/2022 10:59)
Zelenskyj: Ukraine preparing for Russian attack in the east. © Presidential Press Office of Ukraine via AP (icon image)
What will happen in eastern Ukraine? According to its president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the country is preparing for a massive Russian attack.
You see a concentration of troops there, Zelenskyj said on Thursday. On the Russian side, too, it was said that the objective was to conquer the areas of the Donbass that were not yet under the control of pro-Russian separatists. They have controlled parts of resource-rich eastern Ukraine since 2014.
Chereson Region: Settlements recaptured in southern Ukraine
On the other hand, according to his own statements, Ukrainian troops have recaptured eleven settlements in Cherson’s southern Ukraine region in recent days. During the advance into the north of the region, they also encountered heavy Russian military technology, including T-64 tanks, the Defense Ministry in Kiev announced late on Thursday. Thanks to the success, the residents began to receive food and medicine. The civilian population happily welcomed the Ukrainian forces. The information cannot be independently verified.
Russia announced the opening of the corridor
According to a media report, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Friday the opening of a humanitarian corridor from the besieged city of Mariupol to Zaporizhia. This follows a request by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron to Russian President Vladimir Putin, TASS news agency reports, citing a Russian military representative. However, the Russian military apparently does not allow 45 buses to rescue civilians in Mariupol. The buses were stopped outside Berdyansk, about 75 kilometers west of Mariupol, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in an online post Friday morning.
Russia’s announcement in the fifth week of the war in Ukraine
In the fifth week of the war in Ukraine, Russia announced that it would reduce its military activities in the northwest of the country and around the capital Kiev. The British Defense Ministry said heavy fighting is still expected in Kiev’s suburbs in the coming days. Selenskyj attributed the partial withdrawal of Russian troops mainly to military setbacks.
IRK: Teams on their way to Mariupol
The International Red Cross had previously announced that several teams were on their way to Mariupol to organize the evacuations. Russia agreed to this. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said a convoy of 45 buses was supposed to take people out of the city. In recent days, however, attempts to evacuate the city, which had been badly damaged by Russian bombing, failed several times. The British Ministry of Defense reported more fierce fighting around the city on Thursday.
Separatists report gains in Ukraine’s Donbass region
Pro-Russian separatists on Thursday reported important territorial gains in Ukraine’s Donbass region. More than 90% of the Luhansk district has been “liberated”, the separatists said on Telegram. More than half of Donetsk district is controlled by pro-Russian forces. The information could not be independently verified.
According to the Ukrainian nuclear company Enerhoatom, Russian troops have begun to withdraw from the occupied nuclear reactors at Chernobyl and Slavutych. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Thursday that the Russian military has written to return control of the Chernobyl nuclear plant to Ukrainian personnel. The IAEA received its information from the Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy wants to stop trade with Russia
In a video message to the Dutch parliament, Zelenskyy demanded a complete suspension of trade with Russia. “Stronger sanctions are needed to prevent Russia from continuing this war in Europe.” Addressing the Australian Parliament, he said in a video speech: “If we don’t stop Russia now, if we don’t hold Russia accountable, some other countries in the world looking forward to a similar war against their neighbors will decide that things like this are also possible for they.”