Today is the 36th day of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A glimmer of hope in Kiev as the city stores news of the birthday party amid the devastation of recent weeks.
Kiev government officials report that 987 children were born in the city in the first 35 days of the invasion. The parents took in a total of 534 children, 453 women and 25 twins.
What is life like now in Kiev?
Kiev remains under martial law, but the city reports that citizens “return to the capital, life goes on. “the alcohol ban is born on Friday, allowing sales between designated hours.
The Humanitarian Headquarters in Kiev continues to provide food, medicine and basic items to those most in need. The city informs that all public services are provided. Cancer patients can also be treated at the Kiev City Oncology Center.
“The doctors continue to work intensively,” said a citizen of the city of Kiev.
Psychologists provided care to women and other young people who found refuge in the city’s subway stations. The sessions were developed in group and individual sessions.
“The main task is to deal with the emotional consequences of the crisis, to regain the ability to manage their lives,” the city of Kiev said.
The attacks continue in Kiev, as the Pentagon said a “small number” of Russian troops had repositioned themselves from the capital into Belarus.
While members of Ukraine’s parliament were meeting with U. S. senators in Washington D. C. on Wednesday to call for more help, an airstrike siren sounded from one of their cell phones.
Ukrainian Congresswoman Anastasia Radina pulled out her phone when the siren sounded, the Associated Press reports.
“At this time, can you hear the sound?” Radina said, according to the AP. “This is the air raid alarm on the network where my son is staying right now. I want everyone to hear it. “
Bipartisan members of the Ukrainian Senate Caucus met with six members of the Ukrainian Parliament at the U. S. Capitol. USA Ukrainian officials suggested that the United States and its allies provide more military aid and economic sanctions against Russia, the AP added.
“Vladimir Putin’s barbaric moves have forced nearly 4 million Ukrainians to flee their country,” said Co-Chair of the Ukrainian Senate Caucus, Dick Durbin.
“The resilience of the rest of Ukrainians is unprecedented and deserves the sustained support of the United States. Today’s meeting has strengthened our strong union and we will continue to work with our European allies to further increase economic pressure on Putin, welcome Ukrainian refugees and much more. “
In a speech to the Belgian parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky provided a serious update on the status of mariupol.
He said that before the war, it was one of the most promising and economically difficult cities in Ukraine. Today, more than 90% of all buildings in the city are absolutely destroyed by Russian attacks, he said.
Zelensky said thousands of other people have died and are buried in the courtyards of high-rise buildings, “or rather, what remains of high-rise buildings. “
“Today is the most terrible position in Europe,” he said. “It’s hell. It’s a crisis that everyone knows, the whole world. “
Zelensky said Russian forces had closed all entrances to the city by land and sea, blocking humanitarian aid.
“There is nothing in the city: no water, no food, no medicine, no life,” he said. “There is nothing you want for a life. “
However, Ukraine continues to “operate humanitarian corridors from Mariupol” to save the remaining civilians in the city.
“Mariupol is surrendering,” Zelensky added. Mariupol continues to fight the occupiers. “
The Pentagon has denied reports that U. S. troops are with Ukrainian forces in Poland.
“We are in an educational environment in Poland with the Ukrainian [armed forces],” press secretary John Kirby said at a news conference Thursday.
There are “ongoing connections,” he added, “but we call it a classic workout. “
Kirby also said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tried to “keep his duties open” about rotating U. S. troops in Europe.
He said the additional deployments in Europe, only 20,000 troops, are there with transitory orders.
“We’ll take everyone as they come,” he said, deciding if all the capabilities remain and, if so, whether those sets will be rotated. So far, none of the sets have been removed, Kirby said.
Secretary Austin approved the expansion of the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the sea Méditerranée. Il will also keep troops with the 82 Airborne Divisions in Poland “for a little longer,” Kirby said.
Kirby said the Defense Ministry will be “flexible” with U. S. roles in Europe because “we don’t know how long this war in Ukraine is going to last. “
He said it is “difficult to say” when the standoff in Ukraine will end, attributing Russia’s strategic mistakes to Ukraine.
“The Ukrainians are fighting very, very well and the Russians are not,” he said. “It would be foolish to wait for exactly how long this will last. “
Kirby added that the shift of the military from Russia to Donbass could further prolong the standoff in Ukraine.
Russian forces have reportedly returned from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to Ukraine, the Ukrainian government told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday.
Ukraine said Russian forces had “transferred” the site to the Ukrainian workers’ corps in writing and moved two convoys of troops from the site to Belarus, the IAEA said.
It also reports that a third convoy left Slavutych, where many Chernobyl workers live, and also headed for Belarus. The Ukrainian government “assumes” that the remaining Russian forces on the floor are leaving.
The Ukrainian workers’ corps working there since March 20 has not yet been able to rotate, the U. N. nuclear watchdog said. The company is applying to send aid and aid to Chernobyl in the coming days. The IAEA is investigating reports of imaginable exposure.
“The IAEA has not verified reports that Russian forces received maximum doses of radiation while in the Chernobyl exclusion zone,” the firm said. “The IAEA is seeking further data to provide an independent assessment of the situation. “
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi landed Thursday in Kaliningrad, where he will hold talks with Russian officials on Friday morning. Grossi met Wednesday with senior Ukrainian government officials to discuss technical assistance needed for nuclear safety.
“Teams of IAEA experts and more safety apparatus will arrive very soon at Ukraine’s nuclear facilities,” Grossi said Wednesday.
Russian forces seized the Chernobyl nuclear plant on the first day of the invasion, February 24.
The Pentagon said Russian troops that were stationed around Kiev and Chernobyl are being repositioned.
Press secretary John Kirby said it was unclear “where they are going, for how long or for what purpose,” but said they will most likely go to Belarus to resupply and rebuild before being deployed elsewhere in Ukraine.
“What they call de-escalation, I call it repositioning,” he said, adding that Kiev is still on the brink of Russian airstrikes.
Kirby said the United States did not know if the 40-mile convoy that was stranded on the outskirts of Kiev “still exists” after “failing to fulfill its mission. “
“Obviously, they were not successful,” he said, attributing the “prowess” of the Ukrainian resistance.
“The Ukrainians stopped this convoy temporarily because they were very agile,” he added.
He added that there is no indication that the forces that left Chernobyl did so because of a nuclear danger or emergency.
Kirby said shipments to Ukraine were arriving quickly, contrary to reports of slow progress.
“I have never noticed the Ministry of Defence acting as enthusiastically or as temporarily as I have in recent weeks,” he said.
These packages come with a combination of weapon systems, adding javelins and stingers, as well as bulletproof vests, helmets, and medical supplies.
A half-dozen shipments of the $800 million have been delivered, Kirby said, with the rest to be delivered “in a few weeks. “
Zelensky called on Belgian lawmakers for weapons, sanctions and EU membership.
He said Ukrainians were fighting for the principles of freedom, Russian tyranny “uniting the world” in a speech to Belgian lawmakers.
“The global of those who fight for freedom – here and now – opposed tyranny,” he said. “Against a tyranny that needs to divide Europe and destroy everything that unites us. Everything that unites you and the global of those who are so used to freedom that they don’t even need to realize what the fight for it is worth. “
Zelensky said Ukraine is about to become a member of the European Union.
“We want to know that Ukraine will be in the European Union, because if we are, it will lose,” he said. “But if we lose, if we lose Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities, there will no longer be a strong European union. “Union because tyranny will come to take away what you have and make you proud.
He added that “it’s not a threat, it’s reality. “
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo thanked Zelensky for continuing the fight against Ukraine.
“It’s hard to pronounce the right words given the dramatic circumstances,” he said. “But know that all Belgians appreciate your courage and composure. We appreciate the courage of the Ukrainian people. And, above all, we appreciate their dignity in the face of so much inhumanity. “
De Croo condemned Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
“Europe will be at the forefront of rebuilding Ukraine with a European Marshall Plan for Ukraine,” he said. “But for this to happen, this barbarism will have to be avoided as soon as possible, and it is possible. “
“Whatever Putin’s plans are, he will own Ukraine,” he added.
He expressed Ukraine’s call for a no-fly zone, but reiterated that NATO’s involvement would lead to “an escalation that could engulf all of Europe. “
“NATO is not part of this conflict. And it shouldn’t be like that,” he said.
However, De Croo assured that Zelensky Belgium is over Ukraine and will continue to send its support.
“Politically, by imposing high economic prices on Russia. Offering humanitarian and military aid and giving shelter to those fleeing Russian missiles and bombs,” he said. “We are through his side and we will remain through his side. “. “
De Croo said Ukraine is part of the rest of Europe because it stores the values of “freedom and democracy, an open society and human progress,” and trusted Zelensky of Ukraine’s club in the EU.
“It would be a failure of Europe to let Ukraine wait for the formal procedure of accession to the European Union,” he said, adding that the EU club is a long and not easy procedure.
He said Belgium and Ukraine deserve to move towards a “faster and more direct solution” to integrate the Ukrainian and European economies “to trade, invest, grow with each other” and allow Ukraine to truly become European and participate in programs.
President Biden just announced his two-part plan to ease Americans’ pain at the fuel pump amid a significant increase in value.
Biden blames the COVID-19 pandemic and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine for emerging gas prices.
“Our costs are rising because of Putin’s action,” he said. “There is enough source. And the bottom line is that if we want to reduce fuel costs, we want to have more source of oil right now. “
He condemned oil companies that take advantage of the current situation to take advantage of the rest of the Americans and asked them to increase their supply.
“I say enough. Enough of lavishing the biggest profits on investors and the bills and acquisitions when other Americans are watching,” Biden said.
Biden said oil corporations want to “step up” to relieve customers, only executives and shareholders.
He added that some corporations were raising peak costs after making $80 billion in profits last year.
“This is not the time for record profits,” he said. “This is the time to interfere with your country’s intelligence. “
The time has come, he said, to invest in early production to “respond to Vladimir Putin. “
He also called on Congress to approve “use it or lose it” to penalize oil corporations for keeping unused rents or unused wells.
“They will have to start generating or paying the price for their inaction,” Biden said.
President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin would possibly have put some of his advisers under space arrest because the Pentagon believes Putin “cheated” or did not fully report on the scenario in Ukraine through his Defense Department.
“He [Putin] turns out to be isolating himself and there are indications that he has fired or put some of his advisers under space arrest,” Biden said Thursday.
Biden warned that he did need to give “too much importance” to this statement; however, bringing out a really extensive lack of hard evidence.
The extent to which Putin is possibly misinformed about the entire scenario in Ukraine remains an “open question,” Biden said, adding that “there is a lot of speculation. “
A 12-year-old Ukrainian woman was abducted in Mariupol by Russian forces, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on Thursday.
The woguy had been in Mariupol with his father since the beginning of the invasion, according to investigators. An attack on his home killed a man on March 17, the report does not specify if it was his father. The woguy then joined the citizens in evacuating the city, but was injured in a mine explosion. Investigators later kidnapped her through Russian forces.
“The child was abducted by representatives of the Russian armed forces and taken to the occupied Territory of Donbass under their control,” the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine said.
The girl’s grandfather reported her missing, according to the report, saying he lately “was forced to live in Chernivtsi. “
President Joe Biden will unveil a two-part plan Thursday afternoon to deal with rising U. S. gas prices. USA
Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine has pushed costs to record levels, adding to already high costs due to inflation.
Biden’s speech is expected to begin at 1:30 p. m. EST Thursday afternoon, look here or below:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for more sanctions against Russia in a video outside the Australian parliament on Thursday.
“The distance between our states is thousands of kilometers,” Zelensky said. “But the distance exists because of the cruelty and chaos that Russia has brought to Array. . . our Ukrainian land. “
He added that “geography means nothing, humanity matters. “
Zelensky described the destruction Ukraine has faced over the past month and called on lawmakers for more sanctions and armed vehicles for the personnel, the Australian-made Bushmaster.
“We want more sanctions against Russia, tough sanctions until they prevent blackmailing other countries with their nuclear missiles,” he said, adding a call to avoid any industry with Russia.
Zelensky also warned that threats facing Ukraine from Russia may motivate other adversary countries to launch an attack on the world.
“The most horrible thing is that if we don’t avoid Russia now, if we don’t hold Russia accountable, then some other countries in the world that are on the hunt for similar wars against their neighbors will make the decision that such things are imaginable to them as well,” Zelenskyy said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pledged to provide another $25 million in defensive military assistance to the Ukrainian armed forces. This comes after Australia has already pledged A$91 million in military assistance, $65 million in humanitarian aid and 70,000 tonnes of coal to Ukraine.
“You have our prayers, but you also have our weapons, our humanitarian aid, our sanctions against those who seek to deprive you of your freedom and you even have our coal,” Morrison said, adding that Zelensky is a “lion for democracy. “
“Other Australians support Ukraine in its fight for survival,” Morrison said. “We welcome you, Mr. Preaspectnt, like the lion of democracy, we are not on the side of the war thief in Moscow. “
President Joe Biden will announce on Thursday his goal of reducing U. S. fuelarray. The U. S. skyrocketed in the midst of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
AAA recorded the average value of fuel in the U. S. never recorded on March 11, 2022, reaching $4. 33. The current average value of a gallon of fuel in the U. S. UU. es $4. 23. Prices remain exceptionally high in California, where the current average value is $5. 90, and in Nevada, $5. 24.
“Since Putin accelerated the buildup of his military in Ukraine, fuel costs have risen by nearly a dollar per gallon,” the White House said in a statement. “Because of Putin’s war of choice, less oil comes to the market and the relief at the source is driving up the costs on the bomb for Americans. “
Biden will announce Thursday afternoon a two-part plan to build an oil source by expanding domestic production and reducing U. S. dependence. The U. S. oil economy by strengthening the blank energy economy.
“Right now, the oil and fuel industry sits on more than 12 million acres of unproductive federal land with 9,000 unused but already approved production permits,” the White House said.
“Today, President Biden is asking Congress to rate corporate royalties on wells in their rents that they haven’t used in years and on acres of public land they treasure unproduced. “
Biden will also announce an unprecedented release of oil reserves that will put an average of one million barrels more on the market over the next six months. The White House said the publication will serve as a “bridge” until domestic production increases.
The timing component of Biden’s announcement will focus on achieving independence from power.
“The president will ask Congress to approve his plan to push through the blank transition of power that is being put in place in America,” the White House said, saying the plan would save families about $1,000 a year in gasoline through electric vehicles.
“And the president will consider a directive authorizing the use of the Defense Production Act to secure American production of fabrics critical to our blank energy economy,” the White House added.
The United States banned the import of Russian oil amid the ongoing invasion.
The UK imposed sanctions on Russian propagandists, Kremlin-funded media and the Russian general nicknamed “the butcher of Mariupol” on Thursday.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced 14 new sanctions against Russian propagandists and state media “who spread lies and deceptions about Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. “Sergey Brilev, a TV presenter for Russian state media rossiya, is among those sanctioned.
“Having previously lived in the UK, Brilev will no longer be able to access any of his UK assets or continue his relationship with the industry,” the UK government said in a statement.
The sanctions come with RT, Sputnik and top members of any of the media. Thursday’s action is the UK’s newest effort to continue disinformation.
“These sanctions will ensure that RT cannot find its way back to British television and will prevent corporations and Americans operating in the UK from doing business with Russian state propaganda cars RT and Sputnik, and key figures from those organisations,” the UK government said.
The list includes, but is limited to, the following:
“Putin’s war against Ukraine is based on a torrent of lies,” Truss said. “Britain has helped the world spread Kremlin disinformation and this new batch of sanctions hits the shameless propagandists who spread Putin’s fake news and false narratives. “
Sanctions were also announced against Russian Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, nicknamed “the butcher of Mariupol. “Truss pleaded guilty to the “horrific bombing” of the besieged city.
“Mizintsev is the head of the National Defense Command and Control Center, where all Russian army operations around the world are planned and controlled,” the British government said. “It is known that Mizintsev used reprehensible tactics, bombing civilian centers in Aleppo. in 2015-2016 and now in Mariupol, where atrocities are perpetrated against the Ukrainian people. “
Truss warned of new sanctions, “nothing and no one is on the table. “
A convoy of buses is heading to Mariupol to evacuate citizens and provide humanitarian aid.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is involved in these humanitarian efforts and says it will “facilitate the safe passage” of civilians out of Mariupol and provide materials and assistance.
“All parties will have to agree on precise terms,” the Red Cross said in a tweet. “This operation is crucial. Tens of thousands of lives count on it. “
The Red Cross said it “will never be an evacuation to a position contrary to what other people want. “
Some have already been evacuated from Mariupol heavily bombed and have reached the Zaporizhzhia registration centre.
Civilian casualties continue in Ukraine as the Russian invasion enters its 36th day. The United Nations has recorded more than 3,160 casualties, but warns that the actual numbers are significantly higher.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 1,232 civilian deaths, 112 children, between 24 February and 30 March.
OHCHR reports that 1,935 civilians were injured, totalling 149 children.
“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide effect in the area, adding heavy artillery shelling and multiple rocket launch systems, and air and missile strikes,” ohchr said.
OHCHR reiterates that reports of spaces of “intense hostilities” are pending, adding Mariupol and Irpin, where there are “reports of civilian casualties. “
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine further raises the number of child victims, reporting that at least 148 children were killed and another 232 were injured. OHCHR took note of the report.
OHCHR knowledge shows the following distribution:
The number of victims of the strike against the administrative construction of Mykolaiv has increased.
At least 20 other people were killed and 33 injured after the office of the Mykolaiv regional army governor was attacked on Tuesday, Ukraine’s state of emergency said in an update on Thursday.
Emergency said rescuers had recovered 19 bodies from the rubble, the Associated Press reported. One user died in hospital.
Emergency are still working at the scene.
The video, widely seen on social media, shows cars driving around what appear to be landmines.
Cars touch devices, slow down, and place their cars to drive in contact.
The road would be E373 near the village of Potashnya, northwest of Kiev, the BBC reported.
Justin Crump, a former British Army tank commander, told the outlet that they looked like Soviet-era TM-62M anti-tank mines, carrying around 16 pounds of explosives that could damage armoured vehicles.
The video on Live Universal Awareness Map (Liveuamap), an independent global news site, had more than 2. 5 million views as of Thursday afternoon.
Read more. . .
Following the story of attempts to evacuate the population of Mariupol, photographs shared on social media show the extent of the destruction in the southern port city.
The BBC-verified video shows the damage to the Mariupol Theatre that was bombed when many other people took refuge in the building and basement below. The word “children” can be seen written in Russian on the floor.
Ukrainian authorities estimate that another three hundred people were killed in the theater in the attack that Russia has denied perpetrating.
The mayor of Mariupol claims that more than 5,000 people have died in the city and that 90% of its buildings have been destroyed since the beginning of the invasion.
A convoy of forty-five buses will depart to evacuate citizens from the besieged city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine amid doubts that a transitional ceasefire can be maintained that would allow citizens to leave the besieged city.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) showed Russia had agreed to open a humanitarian room in the southern port city.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the U. N. and Red Cross refugee firm would evacuate civilians from 10 a. m. local time.
He said a ceasefire would allow other people to head west to Zaporizhzhia through the Russian-controlled port of Berdiansk.
Some 160,000 more people remain in the Sea of Azov port city that Russian forces have surrounded and bombed since last February.
The European Union has called the bombing of the city a war crime.
Russian troops in Ukraine refuse to carry out orders and sabotage their own equipment, said the head of the spy agency at Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
Jeremy Fleming said in a speech in Canberra, Australia, that there was evidence of low morale among Russian soldiers, who even accidentally shot down one of their own planes in the war in Ukraine.
GCHQ’s investigation has still been independently confirmed, but Fleming said President Vladimir Putin’s plan for the invasion of Ukraine “fails” and that the Russian president “has wrongly judged the situation” in Ukraine.
This underestimates “the economic consequences of the sanctions regime,” he said.
Fleming’s speech comes amid an assessment through U. S. intelligence that Putin’s advisers misinform him about the performance of his military.