live blog
According to Ukrainian sources, there have been 13 battles in the Bakhmut region in the past 24 hours. According to President Zelenskyy, Kiev is working on the return of all deported children. All developments in the live blog.
In a further blow to critical voices, the Russian judiciary has ordered the dissolution of the Sowa Center. A court in Moscow decided on Thursday that a corresponding instruction from the Ministry of Justice should be implemented. The center specializes in issues such as racism and xenophobia. The reason given was that the non-governmental organization had participated in events outside of Moscow, which was considered a violation of the regulations.
The Sowa Center said it would appeal the order. Established in 2002, the center is known for its publications on sensitive issues such as nationalism, racism and xenophobia, and how “extremism” laws are being applied in Russia. In January, the same court ordered the closure of the Moscow Helsinki Group, the oldest human rights organization in Russia.
Since the beginning of the Ukraine offensive in February last year, politicians or organizations that contradict the official line have been persecuted in Russia.
There is an air raid alarm all over Ukraine. This is reported by the Interfax Ukraine news agency. In addition, explosions were recorded in regions far apart, such as Dnipro, Kremenchuk and Poltava in central Ukraine and in Mikolayiv in the south.
In the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, a message from the city administration on Telegram called on residents to seek shelter and not to go out on the streets. The air defense had been activated and had destroyed eleven cruise missiles, it said. It was the first attack on Kiev in almost two months. A rocket attack was also reported from the central Ukrainian city of Uman.
Rescue workers are working on a badly damaged house in the city of Uman, which Ukrainian sources say was hit by a Russian rocket.
During the winter, Russian forces had regularly bombed Ukraine’s cities and infrastructure. Recently, these attacks have become a bit rarer. The main scene of the fighting is the Donbass with its industrial regions in the east of Ukraine and above all the city of Bakhmut, which has now been almost completely destroyed.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
The Danish military has confirmed media reports that a Russian special ship was in the area days before the Nord Stream pipeline blew up. Why it was there is still unclear.
A woman and a child have been killed in an attack on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. This is what the mayor of the city, Boris Filatov, writes on Telegram. He gave no further information on the nature of the attack, the extent of the damage or the number of people injured.
According to the Ukrainian military, Russian forces are trying to cut off important supply routes and communication routes to the embattled city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. The spokesman for the Ukrainian armed forces in the east, Serhi Cherevatji, said on Ukrainian television that there had been thirteen battles around Bakhmut in the last 24 hours. With constant counterattacks, the Ukrainian troops could have ensured that supplies could be delivered and the wounded evacuated. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported successes against Ukrainian positions in various sectors. The information provided by both sides could not be verified.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
More than 14 months after Russia’s war of aggression began, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the return of all kidnapped children and for punishment for the perpetrators. “The deportation of Ukrainian children is one of the completely premeditated elements of Russia’s attempt to erase the identity of our people and erase the essence of Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address.
This crime must be classified as genocide both politically and legally, the Ukrainian head of state demanded. This is also important to send a signal to other potential perpetrator states: “There will be penalties for genocide.” Work is continuing on the return of the missing children.
Since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Kiev has accused Moscow of deporting Ukrainian children. Selenskyj now spoke of a total of almost 20,000 abducted minors. Moscow denies this and speaks of evacuations. In March, however, even the International Criminal Court based in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin and his child rights commissioner, Maria Lwowa-Belowa. Investigators hold both responsible for war crimes – including kidnapping children from occupied Ukrainian territories.