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More than 900 people were discovered to have been fatally shot in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital following Russia’s withdrawal, Ukraine police said Friday.
Most of those civilians were “simply executed," said Andriy Nebytov, who leads Kyiv's regional police force. The bodies were abandoned in the streets or given temporary burials.
Russia’s defense ministry has vowed to increase missile strikes on Kyiv after weeks in which the Ukrainian capital had begun to recover from Russian attacks.
On Friday, U.S. officials said that the sinking of Russia's Moskva, the flagship of Putin's Black Sea fleet, was caused by two Ukrainian Neptune missiles.
Russia sent a formal diplomatic note to the United States warning that American and NATO shipments of the "most sensitive" weapons systems to Ukraine could bring "unpredictable consequences" and were "adding fuel" to the conflict.
NBC News has not seen the note, but a White House official who has confirmed the contents of the note first reported by The Washington Post.
This revelation comes as President Vladimir Putin suffered a fresh blow with the sinking of the Moskva, the flagship of his Black Sea fleet.
While a fierce battle raged for control of the key port city Mariupol in the southeast, Russia's defense ministry vowed to increase missile strikes on Kyiv after weeks in which the Ukrainian capital had begun to recover from Russian attacks.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed his country for its resolve during 50 days of war but said it had become clear that the Donbas region was now the “main target for Russia.”
- More than 900 civilians were discovered fatally shot in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital following Russia’s withdrawal — most of them fatally shot, police said Friday.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry promised to step up missile attacks on Kyiv in response to Ukraine’s alleged assaults on Russian territory.
Devastated roads, infrastructure hampering humanitarian aid in Ukraine, U.K. says
Roads in Ukraine have been devastated by the war launched by Russia, which is causing a “significant challenge” in getting humanitarian aid to parts of the country, the United Kingdom defense ministry said Saturday.
Russian troops have made the damage worse “by destroying bridges, employing land mines and abandoning vehicles along key routes as they withdrew from northern Ukraine,” the defense ministry said in its daily update.
At least 7.1 million people in Ukraine have been internally displaced, on top of the more than 4.5 million who have fled the country as refugees, the United Nations’ humanitarian office said this week. The war has caused a humanitarian crisis, officials have said.
Biden genocide comment raised concern among some U.S. officials
President Joe Biden’s declaration this week that Russia is committing “genocide” in Ukraine raised concerns among some officials in his own government and has so far not been corroborated by information collected by U.S. intelligence agencies, according to senior administration officials.
At the State Department, which is tasked with making formal determinations of genocide and war crimes through an independent legal process, two officials said that Biden’s seemingly offhand declaration during a domestic policy speech in Iowa on Tuesday made it harder for the agency to credibly do its job.
U.S. intelligence agencies collect information when allegations are made of actions that could amount to genocide, but policymakers are the ones who actually decide whether to declare it. Intelligence reports on Ukraine currently do not support a genocide designation, officials said.
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Death toll in Kharkiv attack rises to 10, governor says
Ten people have now died in a Russian attack on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, the governor said, an increase from the seven previously reported.
A 7-month-old child is among the dead in Friday’s attack, Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, said on Telegram.
He said Russian forces fired on a residential area of the city. Thirty-five people were hurt, he said.
NBC News could not independently verify the claims. Russia has denied targeting civilians. Others, including the U.S., have accused Russian forces of committing war crimes, citing credible reports of indiscriminate attacks and the deliberate targeting of civilians.
Police: More than 900 civilian bodies found in Kyiv region
KYIV, Ukraine — The bodies of more than 900 civilians have been discovered in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital following Russia’s withdrawal — most of them fatally shot, police said Friday, an indication that many people were “simply executed.”
The jarring number emerged shortly after Russia’s Defense Ministry promised to step up missile attacks on Kyiv in response to Ukraine’s alleged assaults on Russian territory. That ominous warning followed the stunning loss of Moscow’s flagship in the Black Sea, which a senior U.S. defense official said Friday was indeed hit by at least one Ukrainian missile.
Amid its threats, Moscow continues preparations for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine. Fighting also continues in the pummeled southern port city of Mariupol, where locals reported seeing Russian troops digging up bodies. In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, shelling of a residential area killed seven people, including a 7-month-old child, and wounded 34, according to regional governor Oleh Sinehubov.
Britain’s defense ministry says loss of Russia’s naval flagship will force changes to naval force operations
LONDON — Britain’s defense ministry says the loss of Russia’s naval flagship will likely force Moscow to change the way its naval forces operate in the Black Sea.
The Moskva sank after being damaged in disputed circumstances. Ukraine says it struck the vessel with missiles, while Moscow acknowledged a fire on board but not any attack.
In an update posted Friday on social media, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said the Soviet-era ship, which returned to operational service last year after a major refit, “served a key role as both a command vessel and air defence node.”
It said the sinking “means Russia has now suffered damage to two key naval assets since invading Ukraine, the first being Russia’s Alligator-class landing ship Saratov on 24 March. Both events will likely lead Russia to review its maritime posture in the Black Sea.”
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy asked Biden to label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism
Ukrainian President Zelenksyy has asked the Biden administration to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, two sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News.
The Washington Post first reported the request.
Asked last month if the U.S. would consider designating Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, White House press secretary Jen Psaki and Secretary of State Antony Blinken both left open the possibility.
“We are and we will look at everything,” Blinken said on March 17.
The designation triggers some of the most aggressive sanctions the U.S. government could adopt on a country, with restrictions on financial transactions and defense exports and sales, as well as foreign aid.
Currently, only four countries are on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism: Iran, North Korea, Syria and Cuba.
Website of French state-owned radio broadcaster unavailable in Russia following critical coverage
The website of France’s state-owned radio broadcaster, RFI, appeared to become unavailable in Russia on Friday after the country’s media and internet watchdog added one of its pages with critical coverage of the war in Ukraine to its registry of blocked websites.
The communications agency, Roskomnadzor, has been restricting access to news websites this week in line with a ruling by Russia’s Prosecutor General on Tuesday, which mandates the blocking of outlets publishing “information inciting mass disorder, extremist activity or participation in mass (public) events violating the established order, and unreliable information which is of public significance.”
According to the Roskomnadzor registry, the authorities blocked an RFI article citing a story by French magazine Le Figaro which alleged Russian servicemen rape women in Ukraine, but the broadcaster said its entire website ended up being unavailable in Russia.
Earlier on Friday, Roskomnadzor apparently cut access to the Russian-language site of Russia’s top independent English-language news outlet, The Moscow Times, citing the same ruling.
On Wednesday, Russian state media also reported that the agency ordered a Russian streaming platform to remove all podcasts published by the BBC, whose Russian-language website was blocked in March alongside those of U.S. and German news organizations.
Ukrainian Neptune missiles sunk Russia's Moskva ship
The sinking of the Moskva, the flagship of his Black Sea fleet, was cause by two Ukrainian Neptune missiles, the U.S. believes, according to a senior defense official.
The official said there is no clear picture for why the ship’s air defenses did no kick in, but said they could have been affected by maintenance problems or not turned on. Alternatively, the missiles may have come in at an angle that evaded the air defense systems.
The symbolic setback comes as Russian forces prepare for a major offensive in Ukraine’s east. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed his country for its resolve during 50 days of war but said it had become clear that the Donbas region was now the “main target for Russia.”
Nearly 2,000 civilians confirmed killed in Ukraine since Russian invasion began
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday that nearly 2,000 civilians have been confirmed killed since the start of Russia's invasion on Ukraine.
Between Feb. 24 and April 14, 1,982 civilians have been killed and 2,651 have been injured, according to OHCHR.
"OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration," said a release.
More than 70 of those killed were children. Nearly 150 children have been injured.
"Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes," the OHCHR release said.