The mayor of the city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine said much of the infrastructure had been destroyed, while Moscow and Kiev argued over the alleged “massacre” in Bucha.
“The sad news is that 90% of the city’s infrastructure has been destroyed, of which 40% cannot be restored. The Russian military is destroying it. Mariupol, bombing continued, while multiple rocket launchers were used. Most of the attacks come from the direction of the sea, where Russian warships are located,” said Vadym Boichenko, mayor of the southeastern city of Mariupol. Ukrainesaid on 4/4.
Smoke rises from a fire in Mariupol, southeastern Ukraine, on April 4. Photo: Reuters.
Officials say 130,000 people are still trapped in the city, compared with a population of nearly half a million people before the conflict broke out. “We want to evacuate the remaining civilians, but we can’t do it today,” Boichenko added.
Relief groups of the International Committee of the Red Cross have not been able to reach Mariupol in recent days to evacuate civilians.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky visited Bucha, a town northwest of the capital Kiev. Ukraine accused the army Russia “massacre of civilians” here, but Moscow denied and said that Kiev staged the incident.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army warned that Russia could mobilize 60,000 reservists to strengthen the offensive operation in the east. The US defense official said that Russia has redeployed about two-thirds of its forces around the capital Kiev, with many units returning to Belarusian territory to strengthen the formation and ready to redeploy.
British military intelligence reports that Russian troops are moving east of Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was not “too optimistic” when Russia announced a reduction of forces in Kiev and warned that the conflict would continue.
Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the eastern province Lugansksaying that Russia is building up forces to penetrate Ukraine’s lines in the area.
The Russian army on the same day announced an attack on the Vasilkov military airport in the province Kievdisabled the Air Defense and Warning Center of the Ukrainian Air Force.
Multiple air strikes on southern city Mykolaiv with the target of Balovnoye airfield, airfield and fuel storage facility. A series of petroleum depots in eastern and central Ukraine were also attacked.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says more than 4.2 million people have fled Ukraine since the outbreak of hostilities on February 24. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 1,430 civilians killed and 2,097 injured in Ukraine.
The appearance of the Ukrainian battlefield after a month of fighting. Click on the picture to see details.
Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said that peace talks with Ukraine made progress when Kiev took a more realistic stance.
“Both Russia and Ukraine have reached an agreement on the need to create an international security guarantee system for a neutral Ukraine. The country has become more pragmatic in its approach to issues related to neutrality. establishment and denuclearization,” Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky posted on Telegram on April 3.
According to Medinsky, Kiev agreed during talks in Turkey last week that it would not allow foreign troops to deploy troops, bases or any offensive weapons on its territory. Ukraine also agreed not to equip and produce weapons of mass destruction, and not to hold exercises with foreign troops without the consent of security sponsors, including Russia.
Vu Anh (According to Reuters, Interfax)
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