The mayor of the besieged city of Mariupol said that roughly 31,000 residents have been forcibly deported and sent to Russian “filtration camps” in occupied eastern Ukraine.
Mayor Vadym Boychenko said in a Telegram post Friday that he had “verified” that Ukrainians from the southern port city were being taken “at gunpoint” to a camp in Novoazovsk – a Ukrainian border town 35 miles from Mariupol and just 9 miles from the Russian border.
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Putin shakes up leadership in Ukraine war as defense officials warn of eastward focus
Russian President Vladimir Putin instated a new commander to lead operations in Ukraine as officials warn Moscow is looking to shift its focus in eastern Ukraine after more than six weeks of war.
Gen. Alexander Dvornikov, commander of Russia’s southern military district (SMD), will now lead the invasion, first reported the BBC late Friday.
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Zelenskyy calls for more sanctions as UK’s Boris Johnson makes surprise Kyiv visit
In a brief, pre-recorded speech at a Stand Up For Ukraine forum organized in Warsaw, Poland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for additional sanctions against Russia and more support.
“Sanctions must be imposed against all Russian banks. Russian oil embargo must be imposed. The Russian war crimes machine should be denied its capacity to act,” he urged.
“Vital assistance should be provided to Ukraine. We have asked for weapons. We’ve asked for financial assistance. We have asked for support to Ukraine and migrants for those 10 million people forced by Russians to flee their homes.”
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Diplomacy didn’t work with Putin: Polish ambassador to UN
British PM meets with Zelenskyy in Kyiv
Putin’s ‘against the clock’: Fmr. naval intelligence officer
European diplomats to resume presence in Kyiv
Members of the European Union delegation announced Friday that they will remain in Kyiv to reopen the delegation and assess conditions for staff to return, Reuters reported.
Josep Borrell, High Representative for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said the move would allow the bloc to better support Ukrainian citizens.
Italy announced Saturday that it planned to follow suit, with a target to reopen its Kyiv embassy “immediately after Easter,” according to Italian Foreign Minister Di Maio.
EU officials pay respects at mass grave in Bucha during Ukraine visit Friday
Looming holiday, Kremlin comments point to dramatic Russian escalation in Ukraine: expert
Several actions by Russia in recent days, along with a looming holiday that is culturally significant within the country, point to Russia escalating its invasion of Ukraine in the near future, an expert tells Fox News Digital.
Rebekah Koffler, a former U.S. DIA intelligence officer focused on Russia and the author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America,” told Fox News Digital Friday that May 9, the day Russia celebrates victory over Germany in World War II, is a date by which Putin feels pressure to achieve some sort of victory in Ukraine.
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Zelenskyy addresses ‘excuses’ countries have for delaying aid
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s nightly address on Friday included updates about the Russian attack on the Kramatorsk railway station and renewed calls for international action.
In one particular statement, Zelenskyy addressed “excuses” countries have for delaying essential aid to Ukraine.
“Any delay in providing such weapons to Ukraine, any excuses can mean only one thing: the relevant politicians want to help the Russian leadership more than us Ukrainians,” he said.
Zelenskyy: ‘We all withstood the hit together’
132 tortured civilian bodies found in Makariv: report
‘Don’t look away. Be horrified’: Ukraine shares archive documenting over 4,800 Russian war crimes
The Ukrainian government has composed a website to archive alleged war crimes committed by Russia’s military forces during its invasion of their country.
According to the website, over 1,500 civilians have been killed in the war and another 2,200 have been injured.
“Russian troops have destroyed more than 6,800 civilian infrastructure facilities,” the archive reads, pointing to power plants, schools, and kindergartens that have been shelled.
“The main target of the Russian military is Ukrainian civilians. And here are the consequences,” the archive continues, with dozens of before and after photos showing the carnage and devastation caused by the war.
“We were driving around the city, and corpses were lying around. Women, men, children. We tried to distract our children in the car so they wouldn’t look there. It’s horrible,” a witness is quoted as saying in the archive.
There is so much more we could be doing with sanctions for Russia: Rep. Nancy Mace
Zelenskyy renews call for international community to hold Russia accountable
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia’s military of committing “war crimes” and renewed calls for the international community to hold it accountable following an attack on a civilian train station that killed at least 52 people.
“Like the massacres in Bucha, like many other Russian war crimes, the missile attack on Kramatorsk should be one of the charges at the tribunal that must be held,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader said he would seek “to establish every minute of who did what, who gave what orders, where the missile came from, who transported it, who gave the command and how this strike was agreed to.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Russia’s military is not targeting military sites ‘just civilians,’ Ukrainian official said
Russia’s military losses as of April 9: report
Zelenskyy warns Russians are preparing for new offensive from East
Russia’s ‘horrific war crimes’ unlike anything you’ve ever seen: Former WH speechwriter
Death toll exceeds 50 in Russia’s missile attack on railway station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia’s military of intentionally targeting a train station in Kramatorsk that killed at least 52 people and injured more than 100 others.
Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address Friday his government seeks “to establish every minute of who did what, who gave what orders, where the missile came from, who transported it, who gave the command and how this strike was agreed to.”
Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksandr Goncharenko painted a dire scene, saying: “There are many people in a serious condition, without arms or legs.”
Russia has denied involvement in the attack, blaming Ukraine instead. Russian officials said it does not use the missile that struck the station.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
UK announces additional military aid to be sent to Ukraine
Russia pursues military change in Ukraine, installs commander with experience from Syria: report
Russia is reorganizing its military operations in Ukraine, including a change of its senior leadership, according to a report.
Gen. Alexander Dvornikov, who led Russia’s invasion in Syria, will now lead the Ukrainian invasion, according to the BBC.
“That particular commander has a lot of experience of operations of Russian operations in Syria. So we would expect the overall command and control to improve,” a source told the outlet.
Psaki calls Russian attack on Ukrainian train station a ‘horrible atrocity’ that US is investigating
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded to reports that Russian troops bombed a train station killing dozens during a White House briefing on Friday.
“What we’ve seen over the course of the last six weeks or more than that has been what the president himself has characterized as war crimes,” Psaki said. “Which is the intentional targeting of civilians. This is yet another horrific atrocity committed by Russia, striking civilians who are trying to evacuate and reach safety.
Psaki stopped short of calling the train station attack a war crime but said the United States is investigating what happened.
“Obviously, the targeting of civilians would certainly be a war crime,” Psaki said. “And we’ve already called a range of the actions we’ve seen to date a war crime. But we’re going to be supporting efforts to investigate exactly what happened here.”
Russia to mobilize 60,000 reservists as it sets its sights on eastern Ukraine: Sr. defense official
Russia is ramping up its war effort in eastern Ukraine, and a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Friday that Moscow could look to recruit as many as 60,000 soldiers to join the fight.
The official said the Pentagon has seen “indications” that Russia is looking to launch a “mobilization phase” as it refits soldiers in Russia and Belarus.
Moscow said last week that, in a show of good faith, it would remove troops from areas around the capital city of Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv.
Read more: Russia to mobilize 60,000 reservists as it sets its sights on eastern Ukraine
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