Red Cross 'deeply alarmed' by situation in besieged Mariupol
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Sunday it was “deeply alarmed” by the situation in Ukraine’s besieged souther port city of Mariupol, whose population it said was in “dire need of assistance.”
The ICRC called for “immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access” to allow safe passage of thousands of civilians and hundreds of wounded out of the city, including from the Azovstal plant area, where Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are holding out.
“Each day, each hour that passes has a terrible human cost,” it said.
Russia claimed it had taken control of the strategically important city last week.
The city has been at the center of what Ukrainian officials and aid organizations have called a humanitarian catastrophe, where residents are surviving with little to no water, food, medication and electricity.
Ukrainian authorities have blamed Russian forces for refusing to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered into the city from Ukraine. Both sides have blamed each other for not sticking to the conditions of humanitarian corridors to get civilians out of the city. Ukraine has also accused Russia of forcibly deporting city residents into the Russian territory.
Zelenskyy accuses Russia of killing 'tens of thousands' in Mariupol
Christian Orthodox spiritual leader says 'indescribable human tragedy unfolding' in Ukraine
The spiritual head of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide called Sunday for humanitarian corridors to open in Ukraine, where he said “an indescribable human tragedy is unfolding.”
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has previously called for an end to the war, said that he hoped Easter would be “the impetus to open humanitarian corridors, safe passages to truly safe areas for the thousands of people surrounded in Mariupol.”
“The same applies to all other regions of Ukraine, where an indescribable human tragedy is unfolding,” Bartholomew said after an Easter service in Istanbul, where he is based. “We call once again for an immediate end to the fratricidal war, which, like any war, undermines human dignity,”
His comments came after the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose backing for Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has dismayed many fellow Christians, said on Saturday he hoped it would end quickly but again did not condemn it.
Ukraine repelled numerous Russian assaults, U.K. defense ministry says
Ukraine has repelled numerous Russian assaults along the line of contact in its eastern Donbas region this week, according to an intelligence briefing from Britain's defense ministry.
Despite Russia making some territorial gains, Ukrainian resistance has been strong across all axes and inflicted a significant cost on Russian forces, it said.
“Poor Russian morale and limited time to reconstitute, reequip and reorganize forces from prior offensives are likely hindering Russian combat effectiveness,” it added.
8 people die in attacks on Luhansk, regional governor says
Eight people were killed and two others wounded by Russian shelling in recent days, the regional governor of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, said Sunday.
Serhiy Haidai said at least seven houses and a police station were hit in a post on the Telegram messaging app that was translated by NBC News.
“The Russians fired 12 times at the peaceful homes of Luhansk residents on April 23,” he said. “Among the cities affected are, in particular, Hirske, Zolote, Lysychansk and Sieverodonetsk."
Haidai said 6 people died and two were injured as the result of Saturday’s artillery attack on the cities of Gorskoye and Zolote. He added that two women who were trapped by a strike on a building in the city of Popasna several days ago also did not survive.
The shelling comes as the Russians are pressing on with their offensive to gain full control over Donbas, Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.
‘They were trying to escape’: Ukrainian man says he saw Russian forces shooting civilians
HAVRONSHCHYNA, Ukraine — Driving past nondescript fields in the countryside near Kyiv, it’s easy to miss a small family car abandoned by the side of the road.
But the vehicle — riddled with bullet holes, strewn with baby clothes and spattered with human remains — is a microcosm of the horror that has befallen Ukraine.
It’s also an example of the heroism that has allowed it to endure.
“It was chaos. I couldn’t feel anything. I was numb. Some people were trying to hide in my house. I was trying to pick up wounded people,” said Yuriy Patsan, 42, a mechanic, in describing the incident on March 15 that ended with the car being stranded outside his house on the edge of this small village of about 1,000 residents around 30 miles west of the capital, Kyiv.
The vehicle is now one more piece of a giant puzzle for investigators gathering evidence of alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces, a charge they deny. Moscow has also repeatedly denied that it is targeting Ukrainian civilians.
'We ask God for great grace,' Zelenskyy says in Easter message
As Ukrainians marked Orthodox Easter Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent a message of support and faith to his countrymen.
“At Easter, we ask God for great grace, to make our great dream come true — for another great day, a day when great peace will come to Ukraine. And with it — eternal harmony and prosperity,” Zelenskyy said in an Instagram post, accompanied by a video of him walking through Kyiv’s historic Saint Sophia Cathedral.
"With faith and confidence in this, I wish you all happy Easter," he said. “Take care of yourselves. Take care of your loved ones. Take care of Ukraine,” he added.
8 killed in missile attack on Odesa, Zelenskyy says
Eight people were killed and at least 18 others were wounded in a missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Odesa on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“Ordinary peaceful people. Among those killed was a 3-month-old baby girl. How did she threaten Russia?” Zelenskyy said in an address, an English version of which was posted on the Ukrainian president’s website.
Video in the aftermath of the missile strike in the southern port city showed rescuers rappelling down the side of a damaged apartment building in the search for survivors or the wounded.
Apartment building damaged after Russian shelling in Odesa
An apartment building damaged after Russian shelling in Odesa, Ukraine, Saturday. Ukrainian officials reported that Russia fired at least six cruise missiles at the Black Sea port city.
Russian command post in Kherson destroyed, Ukrainian military says
The Ukrainian military said Saturday it destroyed a Russian command post in Kherson, a southern city that fell to Russian forces early in the war.
The Ukrainian military intelligence agency posted a statement saying the command post was hit on Friday and two generals were killed and one was critically wounded.
Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in an online interview that 50 senior Russian officers were in the command center when it came under attack. He said their fate was unknown.
The Russian military did not comment on the claim, which could not be confirmed.