– ‘Hiding losses’ –
On the frontlines, Russia’s far-bigger military continued to combat determined Ukrainian defenders who are using Western-supplied weapons — from near the capital Kyiv to Kharkiv, the eastern Donbas region and the devastated southern port city of Mariupol.
In an update early Sunday, the Ukrainian General Staff said “the allied forces repulsed seven attacks” and destroyed eight tanks in the Donetsk and Luhansk areas of the Donbas. It earlier accused Russia of “hiding the real number of personnel and hardware losses”.
Russia’s defence ministry reported a battle for control of two villages near the separatist stronghold of Donetsk and also claimed a missile strike had destroyed an arms and ammunition depot in the Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv, on March 25.
A humanitarian convoy leaving the devastated southern port of Mariupol — including ambulances carrying wounded children — arrived in Zaporizhzhia after being held up at Russian checkpoints for two days, a Ukrainian official said.
“The ambulances carrying wounded children are also queueing. The people have been deprived of water and food for two days,” she wrote on Telegram, blasting Russian troops for “creating obstacles”.
Authorities have said they fear some 300 civilians in Mariupol may have died in a Russian airstrike on a theatre being used as a bomb shelter last week, with about 170,000 people still trapped in the besieged city.
It is very difficult to independently verify what is happening on the ground.
– ‘Used to explosions’ –
In Kharkiv, where local authorities reported 44 artillery strikes and 140 rocket assaults in a single day, residents were resigned to the incessant bombardments.
Anna Kolinichenko, who lives in a three-room flat with her sister and brother-in-law, said they don’t even bother to head down to the cellar when the sirens go off.
“If a bomb drops, we’re going to die anyway,” she said. “We are getting a little used to explosions.”
Russian forces have taken control of Slavutych, the town where workers at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant live, briefly detaining the mayor, regional Ukrainian authorities said.
Residents of the town protested, prompting the invading forces to fire shots in the air and lob stun grenades into the crowd.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was “closely monitoring the situation” and was concerned about the ability of employees at Chornobyl to rotate and return to their homes to rest.
“There has been no staff rotation at the NPP for nearly a week now,” the IAEA said.
Kyiv’s mayor cancelled a planned 35-hour curfew, as Britain’s defence ministry said Ukrainian counterattacks were under way near the capital.
“Enemy sabotage groups in Kyiv region are still attempting to penetrate the capital,” the Ukrainian General Staff said.
Air-raid sirens sounded early Sunday in Kyiv and several other cities, with residents warned to take shelter.
Ukraine’s defence ministry said its forces had recaptured Trostianets, a town near the Russian border that was one of the first to fall under Moscow’s control.
Images published by the ministry showed Ukrainian soldiers and civilians among heavily damaged buildings and what appeared to be abandoned Russian military equipment.
In the face of unexpectedly fierce Ukrainian resistance, Russia’s army has exhibited poor discipline and morale, suffering from faulty equipment and employing tactics sometimes involving brutality toward civilians, Western analysts say.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Saturday said UK sanctions against Russia could be lifted if Moscow committed to a full ceasefire and withdrew its troops.
Her comments echoed remarks by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the wide-ranging penalties against Russia are “not designed to be permanent” and could “go away” if Moscow changes its behaviour.
