Ukraine has regained control of “the whole Kyiv region” after invading Russian forces retreated from some key towns near the Ukrainian capital, Ukranian authorities said.
Ukraine’s top negotiator in peace talks with Russia said that Moscow had “verbally” agreed to key Ukrainian proposals, raising hopes that talks to end fighting are moving forward.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister says 765 residents managed to make it out of Mariupol in private vehicles on Saturday while a team a humanitarian workers has yet to reach the hard-hit city.
The conflict began escalating on February 21, 2022, after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and deployed troops in a peacekeeping role.
Read | What is the status of India’s oil, defence purchases from Russia?
Here are the latest updates:
Human Rights Watch accuses Russian forces of 'apparent war crimes'
A leading rights group said on Sunday it had documented what it described as "apparent war crimes" committed by Russian military forces against civilians in Ukraine.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement saying it had found "several cases of Russian military forces committing laws-of-war violations" in Russian-controlled regions such as Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv.
The statement, published in Warsaw, came one day after dead civilians were found lying scattered through the streets of the Ukrainian country town of Bucha, three days after the Russian army pulled back after a month-long occupation of the area 30 km (20 miles) northwest of Kyiv.
Russia attacks on Ukraine civilians must be probed as war crimes: UK
As evidence mounts of "appalling acts" by in the Ukrainian towns of Irpin and Bucha, Russia's attacks on civilians must be investigated as war crimes, Britain's foreign minister said Sunday.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement that the government is seeing "increasing evidence of appalling acts by the invading forces in towns such as Irpin and Bucha" and "indiscriminate attacks against innocent civilians during Russia's illegal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine must be investigated as war crimes". - AFP
Air strikes hit Ukraine’s strategic port Odessa
Air strikes rocked Ukraine’s strategic Black Sea port Odessa early Sunday morning, according to an interior ministry official, after Kyiv had warned that Russia was trying to consolidate its troops in the south.
“Odessa was attacked from the air,” Anton Herashchenko, adviser to the interior minister, wrote on his Telegram account.
“Fires were reported in some areas. Some of the missiles were shot down by air defence.”-AFP
Zelensky: Troops shell retreating Russians
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian troops retaking areas around Kyiv and Chernihiv are not allowing Russians to retreat without a fight, but are “shelling them. They are destroying everyone they can.”
Zelenskyy, in his Saturday night video address to the nation, said Ukraine knows Russia has the forces to put even more pressure on the east and south of Ukraine.
“What is the goal of the Russian troops? They want to seize the Donbas and the south of Ukraine,” he said. “What is our goal? To defend ourselves, our freedom, our land and our people.”-AP
Ukrainian forces retake areas near Kyiv amid fear of traps
Ukrainian troops moved cautiously to retake territory north of the country’s capital on Saturday, using cables to pull the bodies of civilians off streets of one town out of fear that Russian forces may have left them booby-trapped.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that departing Russian troops were creating a “catastrophic” situation for civilians by leaving mines around homes, abandoned equipment and “even the bodies of those killed.” His claims could not be independently verified.-AP
Red Cross still trying to get people out of Mariupol, Russia says it failed
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Saturday said the operation to help people leave the besieged city of Mariupol was continuing, hours after Russia said it had failed and blamed the organization.
Russia’s defence ministry said aid convoys had not been able to reach Mariupol on Friday or Saturday and blamed “destructive actions” by the ICRC, Interfax news agency said.
A Red Cross convoy traveling to the Ukrainian port turned around on Friday because it had become impossible to proceed with its mission to begin evacuating civilians, the ICRC said.-Reuters
Baltic states stop Russian gas imports
The head of Latvia’s natural gas storage operator said Saturday the Baltic states were no longer importing Russian natural gas.
“If there were still any doubts about whether there may be any trust in deliveries from Russia, current events clearly show us that there is no more trust,” said Uldis Bariss, CEO of Conexus Baltic Grid.
“Since April 1st Russian natural gas is no longer flowing to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania,” he told Latvian radio.-AFP
Ukraine’s Zelensky: Russia aims to seize east, south of country
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday said Russian forces aimed to seize the east and south of the country and complained Western nations had not provided Kyiv with enough anti-missile systems.
In a late night video address, Zelenskiy also praised forces defending the besieged port of Mariupol, saying their resistance was allowing other cities to gain valuable time-Reuters
Russian space chief: Sanctions could imperil space station
The head of Russia’s space program said Saturday that the future of the International Space Station hangs in the balance after the United States, the European Union, and Canadian space agencies missed a deadline to meet Russian demands for lifting sanctions on Russian enterprises and hardware.
Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, told reporters that the state agency is preparing a report on the prospects of international cooperation at the station, to be presented to federal authorities “after Roscosmos has completed its analysis.”
Rogozin implied on Russian state TV that the Western sanctions, some of which predate Russia’s current military operations in Ukraine, could disrupt the operation of Russian spacecraft servicing the ISS with cargo flights. Russia also sends manned missions to the space station.-AP
Russia pulls back from north as Red Cross pushes Mariupol rescue
Ukraine on Saturday said Russian forces were making a "rapid retreat" from northern areas around the capital Kyiv and the city of Chernigiv as the Red Cross prepared for a fresh evacuation effort from the besieged southern port of Mariupol.
Ukraine said Russian forces were concentrating in the east and south, a day after thousands of people from Mariupol and surrounding Russian-held areas escaped in a convoy of buses and private cars.
More than 170 detained in Ukraine protests across Russia
Russian police detained 176 people on Saturday at protests against Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, an NGO said.
OVD-Info, which monitors arrests during protests, said police had detained at least 176 people during demonstrations in 14 cities in Russia.
