Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 **Media Thread** NO DISCUSSION #3

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Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Russian invaders have stolen from Chornobyl 133 exemplary radioactive solutions and other chemical components that, although small, are comparable to 700kg of radioactive waste by radiation. This can be deadly if handled unprofessionally, the agency warned ... - Державне агентство України з управління зоною відчуження | Facebook

 

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The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
A local man, Serhiy Andriyovych, stands on the ruins of a building where his children lived, in Borodyanka, Kyiv Oblast, on April 10. They evacuated on March 1, one day before a Russian air strike destroyed the building. PHOTO CREDIT: Anastasia Lapatina @lapatina_ / The Kyiv Independent

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Denisova: Kremlin forces Ukrainians deported to Russia to receive local passports. Some 12,000 passports have already been issued. “It’s contrary to the international law and is a direct violation of the Geneva Convention,” Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova said.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
10 people, including a child, killed on April 10 due to Russian attacks on Kharkiv Oblast. Eleven people were injured. According to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov, intense fighting is ongoing near Izyum, a city with a pre-war population of 45,000 people.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
New York Times: Russia will likely wage an offensive between Izium and Dnipro. U.S. analysts predict Russian troops will carry out a major offensive from Izium to the central city of Dnipro, a strategic target in Donbas region, unnamed U.S. military officials said on April 10.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
The assessment came as satellite images showed hundreds of military vehicles moving towards the city of Izium, located some 230 km east of Dnipro. Russian forces need Izium to hold their western-forward battle lines.

Izyum to Dnipro - Google Maps

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov says Russian forces will take Kyiv, other Ukrainian cities. Kadyrov said in a Telegram post on April 11 that a Russian assault will be conducted against Mariupol, and in Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts, after which Russian forces will take Kyiv.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 45 min ago
Air raid alerts go off in almost every region in Ukraine. Air raid sirens have been activated in Ternopil, Volyn, Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, Rivne, Lviv, Ivano Frankivsk, Khmelnytsky, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Odesa, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzha oblasts.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 18 min ago
At least 227 civilians killed by Russian forces in Donetsk Oblast, excluding Mariupol and Volnovakha. Head of Donetsk Regional Military Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko also said on April 10 that 748 civilians are known to be wounded in Donetsk due to Russian attacks.

 

[PommyMommy]

"Let's tell our daughters we love them if we're about to die in the fire." How Russian shell hit my home | Euromaidan Press
[...]

Their windows were covered with thick blankets. It saved them from broken glass pieces. Valeriy switched on the light, but the lamp went out immediately. Their metal front door was stuck. Even a neighbor couldn’t help unlock them. There was no fresh air to breathe in the apartment. The entire third floor was on fire, and the fourth floor started burning.

They were on the sixth floor.

“We tried to call our daughters but couldn’t get through. They both live in Kyiv but in different areas. I thought that if we were about to burn, we could tell at least one of them that we loved them.”

[...]

How Russian occupiers deported me from Mariupol | Euromaidan Press
[...]

Asked “where are you taking us?” they answered, “To a warm place,” behaving in such a way that we seemingly should have been incredibly grateful to them for “liberating” us from our homes.

[...]

A long questionnaire to question you, but not harshly. What was the most confusing thing to me was that they take your phone, connect it to a computer for 20 minutes, and download the contact database, but I don’t know if they also download all data and copy the IMEI.

We waited for about 4-5 hours before getting to the filtration camp. Then a few more hours passed. The buses had no toilets. One was in a trench far away. My 70-year-old grandmother is 70 years old twisted her ankle and couldn’t walk normally.

We were taken to the border between the “DNR” [“Donetsk People’s Republic,” Russia’s puppet statelet in eastern Ukraine – Ed] and Russia. We spent the whole night in the bus in very uncomfortable conditions.

The Russian Federation begins with searches. They selectively interrogate women and men. There were fewer women, but I was among the unlucky.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

Zelensky says Boris will 'go down in history' after PM takes TRAIN to Kyiv | Daily Mail Online

Russia threatens legal action if forced into sovereign debt default

 

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Alexander Dvornikov: The ‘brutal’ Russian commander now in charge of Ukraine invasion | The Independent
''The Kremlin has appointed Alexander Vladimirovich Dvornikov to lead Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after its troops have been plagued with a number of setbacks.

A US official confirmed the move to media on Sunday. Up to now, Russia had no central war commander on the ground.

The 60-year-old general’s appointment has sparked predictions from the US that he will inflict more “war crimes” and “brutality” against Ukrainian civilians.''

20m ago05:31
Russia-Ukraine war latest: Austrian chancellor to meet Putin; Ukraine prepares for fresh onslaught in east – live (theguardian.com)
''In his nightly address to the nation on Sunday night, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of having “lost connection with reality to a degree that they accuse us of committing what Russian troops have obviously done.”

They say about the murders in Bucha that it is not them, but allegedly us. Although it is obvious to everyone that people were killed while the Russian army controlled the city.

They say about the missile strike at Kramatorsk that it is not them, but allegedly us. Although it was their propagandists who announced this strike. Although missiles flew from the territory under their control. And about any of our destroyed cities, about any of our burned villages, they say the same thing, that it is not them either, but allegedly us ...

Do you know why this is so? Because it’s cowardice.”

He said Russian leaders were “afraid to admit that for decades they have been placing erroneous bets and spending enormous resources in support of absolute nobodies who they thought would be the future heroes of Ukrainian-Russian friendship. And these nobodies were skillful at only one thing – taking money out of Russia into their own pockets.”

In the coming week, he said Russia was preparing to launch “even larger operations” in Ukraine’s east.

They can use even more missiles against us, even more air bombs. But we are preparing for their actions. We will respond. We will be even more active in providing Ukraine with weapons. We will be more active in the international arena. We will be even more active in the information field.

He also said he was grateful for the recent change in Germany’s position towards the conflict.

I spoke today with Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz. About how to bring to justice all those guilty of war crimes. How to strengthen sanctions against Russia and how to force Russia to seek peace. I am glad to note that the German position has recently changed in favor of Ukraine. I consider it absolutely logical. Because this course is supported by the majority of the German people. And I am grateful to them. But I expect that everything we agreed on will be implemented. And this is very important,” Zelenskiy said.''

2019
In Dutch with English subtitles.
Ukraine: its Donbass conflict | VPRO Documentary - YouTube

 

[PommyMommy]

RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, APRIL 10

April 10, 5:00 pm ET

Russian forces made territorial gains in Mariupol in the past 24 hours and continued to reinforce operations along the Izyum-Slovyansk axis but did not make other territorial gains. Russian forces bisected Mariupol from the city center to the coast on April 10, isolating the remaining Ukrainian defenders in two main locations: the main port of Mariupol in the southwest and the Azovstal steel plant in the east. Russian forces, including a convoy of hundreds of vehicles captured in Maxar Technologies imagery on April 8, continue to reinforce Russia’s offensive in Izyum to link up with Russian positions in Luhansk Oblast.

Key Takeaways

• Russian forces bisected Mariupol from the city center to the coast on April 10, isolating the remaining Ukrainian defenders in the southwestern port and eastern Azovstal Steel Plant.
• Russian forces again made little to no progress in frontal assaults in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts but continue to cohere further reinforcements.
• Maxar Technologies satellite imagery captured hundreds of Russian vehicles in Kharkiv Oblast redeploying to support Russian operations near Izyum.
• Ukrainian counterattacks may threaten Kherson city in the coming days or weeks.

The Russian Defense Ministry is reportedly offering cash bonuses to incentivize forces withdrawn from northeastern Ukraine to reenter combat operations.

Russian forces are implementing increasingly draconian measures to conscript previously ineligible personnel.

ISW has updated its assessment of the four primary efforts Russian forces are engaged in at this time:

• Main effort—Eastern Ukraine (comprised of two subordinate supporting efforts);

• Supporting effort 1—Kharkiv and Izyum;

• Supporting effort 2—Southern axis;

• Supporting effort 3—Sumy and northeastern Ukraine.

Main effort—Eastern Ukraine

Subordinate main effort—Mariupol (Russian objective: Capture Mariupol and reduce the Ukrainian defenders)

Russian forces bisected Mariupol from the city center to the coast on April 10, isolating the remaining Ukrainian defenders in two main locations—the main port of Mariupol in the southwest, and the Azovstal steel plant in the east. Several geolocated videos released by pro-Russian accounts on April 10 confirm that Russian assaults from downtown Mariupol captured the fishing port west of the Azovstal steel plant, likely confirming Russian control of the city center as well.

Subordinate main effort—Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts (Russian objective: Capture the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, the claimed territory of Russia’s proxies in Donbas)

Russian forces continued assaults on Rubizhne, Popasna, and Severodonetsk in the past 24 hours but did not make significant territorial gains.

Supporting Effort #1—Kharkiv and Izyum: (Russian objective: Advance southeast to support Russian operations in Luhansk Oblast, and fix Ukrainian forces around Kharkiv in place)

Russian forces continue to redeploy to the Kharkiv area to support the ongoing Russian offensive south of Izyum toward Slovyansk and Barvinkove. Maxar Technologies satellite imagery (see below) captured a convoy of hundreds of vehicles (including armored vehicles, towed artillery, and support equipment) extending at least eight miles moving south through Vleykyi Burluk, approximately 100km north of Izyum and 90km east of Kharkiv, on April 8.

Supporting Effort #2—Southern axis: (Objective: Defend Kherson against Ukrainian counterattacks)

Russian forces launched unsuccessful counterattacks against recent Ukrainian gains in Osokorkivka (north of Kherson) and Oleksandrivka (35km west of Kherson city) on April 10.

Supporting Effort #3—Sumy and Northeastern Ukraine: (Russian objective: Withdraw combat power in good order for redeployment to eastern Ukraine)

There was no significant activity reported on this axis in the past 24 hours.

Immediate items to watch

• Russian forces will renew offensive operations in the coming days southeast from Izyum, possibly diverting first to the southwest to avoid Ukrainian defensive positions, in an effort to reach and seize Slovyansk.
• Russian forces have bisected Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol and will continue efforts to complete the seizure of the remaining pockets of Ukrainian resistance.
• Russian forces may conduct attacks to seize Rubizhne, Popasna, and Severodonetsk in the coming days, although they may wait for reinforcements and for Russian troops to complete the encirclement of this area along the Izyum-Slovyansk-Debaltseve road.

 

[PommyMommy]

The ratings agency S&P Global on Saturday downgraded Russia's foreign-currency payments to a "selective default" after Moscow paid a dollar-denominated debt in rubles last week. Russia last defaulted on its foreign debt in 1917 during the Bolshevik Revolution.

Russia says it will pad its reserves with $3.2 billion of oil and gas proceeds to counter sanctions as the country faces its first default in over a century

Russian Railways Ruled in Default Over Missed Bond Payment

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
Around 11,000 munitions neutralized in liberated Kyiv Oblast. Head of Kyiv Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Pavliuk said on April 11 that Russian forces left many “surprises,” including mines that had been set as traps, Ukrinform reports.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Governor Haidai: Ukrainian forces destroy Russia's ammunition depot in Luhansk Oblast. Serhiy Haidai said that the depot was located near the Russian-occupied Novoaidar town. According to the governor, the facility was on fire for 2.5 hours.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
UK Intelligence: Fighting for Mariupol intensifies. According to the recent update by the British Ministry of Defense, Russian forces’ prior use of phosphorous munitions in Donetsk Oblast raises the possibility of their employment in Mariupol.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Kharkiv Oblast shelled 66 times over past 24 hours, 11 people killed. Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov said that Russian forces had used artillery, mortars, and MLRS to attack residential neighborhoods. 11 people were killed, including a child, another 14 were injured.

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Ombudsman: Russian military force children to return to schools in occupied Volnovakha. Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova said that the Russian forces are likely aiming to use children as human shields to complicate the liberation of this city in Donetsk Oblast.

Volnovakha - Google Maps

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
Foreign minister: Russia mobilizes efforts to undermine weapon supplies to Ukraine. Dmytro Kuleba said that Moscow had prepared a massive campaign targeting foreign media and politicians with emails and comments spreading disinformation about Ukraine. “Don’t fall for it.”

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 1 hr ago
Zelensky: Tens of thousands killed in Mariupol. In an address to the South Korean parliament, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the worst situation with hostilities is in "destroyed" Mariupol, a seaport in southern Ukraine that has been sieged by Russians since March 1.

Euromaidan Press on Twitter
Mariupol now has 1 task: hold on & strike back at Russia
City defenders doing great, Azov R brilliant, extra-class professionals: Arestovych
Y'day, he said that surrounded&wounded senior Ukrainian border troops officer blew himself up in Mariupol w/radio station so Russia woudn't get it

 

[PommyMommy]

NEXTA on Twitter
The Times writes that #Sweden and #Finland intend to join #NATO as early as this summer.

NEXTA on Twitter
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of #Ukraine does not rule out that #Russia may carry out a provocation in #Transnistria in order to accuse Ukraine of aggression against #Moldova.

NEXTA on Twitter
According to @bellingcat journalist @christogrozev Putin is conducting
purges in the #FSB. About 150 officers who reported unreliable information about the real state of affairs in #Ukraine have been fired or arrested. Among them is also colonel general Sergei Beseda.

NEXTA on Twitter
The number of documented war crimes of the #Russian invaders in #Ukraine is almost 6 thousand, reports the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

NEXTA on Twitter
The meeting between Putin and #Austrian Chancellor Nehammer will take place without journalists. There will also be no press conference.

NEXTA on Twitter - Video
Another #Russian tank will fight on the side of the Armed Forces of #Ukraine.

[URL='https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1513494718633623555']NEXTA on Twitter[/URL]
[URL='https://twitter.com/hashtag/Croatia?src=hashtag_click']#Croatia is expelling 18 diplomats and 6 administrative staff of the #Russian embassy.[/URL]

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia-Ukraine War: Latest News and Live Updates - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
''KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — Residents of this eastern city have started to hunker down, preparing for a siege. Most small shops have been closed, a few grocery stores remain open and the city square, once teeming with people during these warm spring days, is all but empty.

Two days after more than 50 people were killed on its platforms by a missile strike, the only sounds at the Kramatorsk railway station on Sunday morning were a distant air-raid siren and the rhythmic sweeping of broken glass.

With Moscow’s decision to shift the focus of its war to eastern Ukraine, the people who remain in Kramatorsk fear that they will soon be shelled into oblivion, like the residents of Kharkiv and Mariupol, two other cities that have been ruthlessly assaulted by Russian forces. It feels like an assault here is inevitable: Cutting off Kramatorsk would partly cut off Ukrainian forces fighting in the eastern breakaway regions where Russia is consolidating.

On Sunday, Lidia, 65, and Valentyna, 72, dear friends, dressed in nice clothes and decided to leave their lifelong homes together. Both women declined to provide their surnames.

“After what happened at the railway station, we can hear the explosions getting closer and closer,” Lidia said. Through tears, Valentyna added, “I can’t take these sirens anymore.” Their destination, as with millions of other Ukrainians since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, was somewhere vaguely west — just anywhere farther away.''

 

[PommyMommy]

John Lennon's son Julian sings 'Imagine' for very first time at Ukraine fundraiser

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter
️ Lavrov: Russia won't stop war in Ukraine amid negotiations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that negotiations were ongoing but that Russia won’t stop its attacks.

He also denied that Russia was committing war crimes, calling the mass graves “staged.”

 

[PommyMommy]

Russian oligarch's luxury yacht seized in Spain at US' request - CNNPolitics

The US judge who allowed the seizure, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui, issued a scathing eight-page order in which he cited Putin's "murder of civilians" and destruction of Ukraine's cities.

"The seizure of the Target Property is just the beginning of the reckoning that awaits those who would facilitate Putin's atrocities. Neither the Department of Justice, nor history, will be kind to the Oligarchs who chose the wrong side," Faruqui wrote.

Faruqui concluded his order with a reference to a March CNN article that detailed the damage to Snake Island, where Ukrainian defenders famously responded to the threat of Russian invasion with the words: "Russian warship, go f*** yourself."

"The Department of Justice's seizure echoes the message of the brave Ukrainian soldiers of Snake Island," Faruqui wrote.

**********

Eight page order: Order allowing seizure of the Tango - DocumentCloud

Page 8:

 

[PommyMommy]

Attacks on civilians have spurred Ukrainians to join war effort against Russia — in any way they can | CBC News
''Tears welled up in Nastia Estomina's eyes, in spite of a forced smile for the benefit of her young children, every time she thought of the difficult journey fleeing her home in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine.

While still there, they were under constant threat of shelling, with fighter planes flying so low at times Estomina could pick out the expression on the pilots' faces.
Holding in the memories of life in Kharkiv before the war for the sake of calming her children is difficult, she told CBC News.''

April 11 2022
Live updates: Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine (cnbc.com)
“We are increasingly hearing of rape and sexual violence,” said Sima Bahous, executive director of UN Women, during a UN Security Council meeting on the conflict.

“The combination of mass displacement with the large presence of conscripts and mercenaries, and the brutality displayed against Ukrainian civilians, has raised all red flags,” Bahous said.

She also noted that women comprise 80% of all health and social care workers in Ukraine “and many of them chose not to evacuate.”

The risk of human trafficking is also on the rise, as 90% of refugees from Ukraine are women and children, according to U.S. ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

“When men like President Putin start wars, women and children get displaced, women and children get hurt, women and children get raped and abused, and women and children die,” Thomas-Greenfield told the UNSC.''
............

''Russia’s attacks on Ukraine have left at least 148 children dead and 233 injured since late February, according to the United Nations.

The threat to children in Ukraine extends far beyond death and injury, Fontaine noted. Nearly half of the estimated 3.2 million kids who remained in their homes during the Russian invasion “may be at risk of not having enough food,” he said.

“A whole generation of children have already seen their lives and educations abandoned during the past eight years of conflict,” he said.''
— Kevin Breuninger

 

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Russia welcomes first EU head of state to Moscow since Ukraine invasion began

The Austrian leader stressed that the Monday trip was "not a friendly visit," but rather his "duty" to exhaust every possibility for ending the violence in Ukraine.

 

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Russia-Ukraine war latest: child among Kharkiv shelling victims, says mayor; Austrian leader’s talks with Putin ‘open and tough’ (theguardian.com)
''17:53
Multiple casualties, including one child, after shelling of Kharkiv, mayor says

Ukraine’s eastern city of Kharkiv came under heavy shelling today, resulting in multiple casualties, mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a televised interview, Reuters reports.

Among the casualties in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, was the death of one child, the region’s mayor said.

When asked about the risk of a new Russian assault on the city, Terekhov said that Ukrainian forces were focused and ready to defend the city.''

''6m ago21:59
Ukraine’s ombudswoman for human rights said she had recorded horrific acts of sexual violence by Russian troops in Bucha and elsewhere, including a case in which women and girls were kept in a basement for 25 days, the New York Times has reported.

Nine of those victims are now pregnant, according to the ombudswoman, Lyudmyla Denisova.''

 

[PommyMommy]

April 11 2022
Ukraine round-up: Austria pessimistic after Putin talks - BBC News
"After suffering some of the worst fighting in Ukraine's conflict, could the port city of Mariupol be about to fall to Russia?

A brigade fighting in the city said they could be facing a "last battle" and that they would soon have to choose between Russian captivity and death.

But the exact picture of what is happening in the city is unclear. Mariupol's deputy mayor called the reports "fake" and said Ukraine's forces were holding out.

Mariupol's defence against Russian occupation has turned the city into a national symbol of resistance.''

IMAGE SOURCE,.

The port city - which Russian forces have tried and failed to capture fully since the beginning of the war - is critical for Moscow as it would establish a land corridor between Russian-occupied Crimea and the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

For weeks Russian troops have cut off essential supplies into Mariupol, bombarding its buildings and blocking survivors from escaping.''
....
''Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer says he went to the Russian capital to confront Putin with the facts, but didn't leave with a positive impression.

"If you're asking me whether I am optimistic or pessimistic, I'm rather pessimistic," he said, adding there was "little interest" on the Russian side about a direct meting between Mr Putin and the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.''
......
''Millions of social media users are viewing posts portraying Russian president Vladimir Putin as smiling, benevolent and peace-loving.

But a joint BBC investigation into ten pro-Putin Facebook groups found that many of their most active posters were actually duplicate accounts.

It's an example of pro-Kremlin "astroturfing," an online tactic designed to create the impression that a movement has more support than it does.''

.....
''Marina Ovsyannikova, the editor who was detained and fined after holding an anti-war protest during a live broadcast on Russian state television last month, has a new role.

The 43-year-old journalist has been hired as a correspondent by the company which owns Die Welt newspaper.

Ms Ovsyannikova will be reporting for the outlet from Ukraine and Russia - she previously said that despite fearing for her safety she would not leave Russia.''

 

[PommyMommy]

The Kyiv Independent on Twitter - 6 hrs ago
Azov regiment: Russia used poisonous substance against Ukrainian troops in Mariupol. The substance has been distributed by a drone, and victims have shortness of breath and vestibulocerebellar ataxia. It may be Russia's first known use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.

Ukraine round-up: Austria pessimistic after Putin talks
Russian protester hired by German media

Marina Ovsyannikova, the editor who was detained and fined after holding an anti-war protest during a live broadcast on Russian state television last month, has a new role.

The 43-year-old journalist has been hired as a correspondent by the company which owns Die Welt newspaper.

Ms Ovsyannikova will be reporting for the outlet from Ukraine and Russia - she previously said that despite fearing for her safety she would not leave Russia.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 11, 2022
Azov says Russia used chemical weapons in besieged Mariupol (kyivindependent.com)
Ukraine’s Azov regiment said on April 11 that Russia had used a poisonous substance against Ukrainian troops in Mariupol, a besieged port on the Sea of Azov.

Azov leader Andriy Biletsky said that three people have clear signs of chemical poisoning. He added that there are no “disastrous consequences” for their health.

The claim followed a call by Russia’s proxies in the Donbas to use chemical weapons against Azov.

If confirmed, this is the first known use of chemical weapons by Russia during its aggression against Ukraine. Western leaders have pledged to step up their response to Russian aggression in case of a chemical attack.

Azov said that the poisonous substance had been distributed by a drone. Its victims have shortness of breath and vestibullocerebellar ataxia, the regiment said.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

Russia-Ukraine war latest: Zelenskiy voices concern at possible chemical weapons attack in ‘new stage of terror’ – live (theguardian.com)

3h ago 20:29
More than 10,000 civilians died in Mariupol, mayor says

Vadym Boychenko said the death toll could surpass 20,000, as weeks of attacks and privation leave the bodies of Mariupol’s people “carpeted through the streets” in an interview by phone on Monday with the Associated Press.

Boychenko also accused Russian forces of having blocked weeks of thwarted humanitarian convoys into the city in an attempt to conceal the carnage there from the outside world.

[...]

22m ago 22:41
Russian forces have reportedly seized a cargo ship docked in the port of Mariupol along with those on board, Ukraine’s human rights ombudswoman said.

Lyudmyla Denisova said 18 Ukrainians and one Egyptian were taken off the ship, named the Smarta, in an update on her Telegram channel late on Monday.

All contact with the crew has reportedly been lost.

The Liberian-flagged ship docked in Mariupol on 21 February, days before the Russian invasion, on its way to Turkey and had been unable to put to sea again, Denisova added.

 

[PommyMommy]

APR 5, 2022
Cargo Ship Sunk by Russian Shelling at Port of Mariupol (maritime-executive.com)

On 4th April 2022, around 22:40 [local time], the vessel was heavily fired upon by Russian armed forces after intentionally shelling the vessel twice a day earlier. Specific characteristics of firing on the vessel remain unknown, crew reported shelling, bombing and repeated hits by missiles, causing a fire in engine room," the Dominica Registry reported in a statement. "[The] administration received information that as a result of the attack and spreading fire, m.v. AZBURG sank . . . The crew managed to evacuate and found refuge on board neighboring vessels. One person was found wounded and received medical assistance."

The 427-foot vessel reportedly has a crew of 12 and has been trapped in Mariupol since the beginning of the invasion. She departed Burgas, Bulgaria on February 17 arriving in Mariupol on February 23, the day before the Russians entered Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry released a statement reporting that the vessel was struck during “shelling from the sea” by Russia. The Russian news agency Tass confirmed the reports that a vessel was on fire in the port but said it might have been caused by Ukrainian nationalists who they said are now trapped in the industrial area at the port in the city.

The Ukraine Shipping Magazine reports that there are four other foreign-registered vessels still in the port of Mariupol. They said the vessels, which remain with their crews, are registered in Malta, Jamaica, and Liberia.