The Russia-Ukraine conflict is now in its 403rd day.
Sunday, April 2, 2023
At least six people were killed and eight injured on Sunday in a missile strike on the city of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office has said.
Kostiantynivka, home to about 70,000 people before the war, is just 20 km (12.5 miles) west of Bakhmut, the epicentre of fighting for at least eight months as Russian forces try to capture the city.
The head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, said 16 apartment buildings, eight private houses, a children’s preschool, the building of the Kostiantynivka State Tax Inspectorate, gas pipes, and three cars were damaged in the attack.
0930 GMT - Year after Bucha 'massacre', Ukraine army chief vows to fight on
Ukraine will continue to fight for its independence, the chief of the army has said, a year after bodies of civilians were found in Bucha after Russian troops retreated.
"We will continue to fight for the independence of our nation," Valery Zaluzhny wrote on Telegram.
Russian forces withdrew from Bucha, a commuter town northwest of Kyiv, on March 31, 2022 - just over a month after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine - and left a trail of death and destruction in their wake.
On April 2 last year, journalists discovered the bodies of at least 20 people in civilian clothing, some with their hands tied behind their backs, lying in a street of the suburb.
Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian troops of committing war crimes, pointing to extensive footage and witness accounts.
Prosecutors in Kiev say that Russian forces killed some 1,400 civilians around Bucha and that they have identified dozens of Russian soldiers responsible.
Moscow has claimed the atrocities carried out in Bucha were staged.
0700 GMT - War has killed 262 Ukrainian athletes, sports minister says
Russia's war against Ukraine has claimed the lives of 262 Ukrainian athletes and destroyed 363 sports facilities, the country's sports minister, Vadym Huttsait, has said.
Meeting the visiting president of the International Federation of Gymnastics, Morinari Watanabe, Huttsait said no athletes from Russia should be allowed at the Olympics or other sports competitions.
The International Olympic Committee has recommended the gradual return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions as neutrals.It has not decided on their participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Ukraine said on Friday its athletes will not take part in qualifying events for the 2024 Games if they have to compete against Russians, a decision the IOC has criticised.
0200 GMT - Ukraine sanctions over 650 individuals for 'Russia collusion'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed two decrees, sanctioning over 650 people who he said work for Russia.
"These are officials of the aggressor state, its defence industry – hundreds of companies – and collaborators. It is about more than 650 newly sanctioned persons," Zelenskyy said in a statement.
"The NSDC [National Security and Defense Council] will continue this work. Andnone of those who help terrorists, work for them, supply or manufacture weapons for terror – none will escape liability."
Zelenskyy added that the blocking of accomplices of terror, the isolation of Russia, its defeat, and trials are what awaits those "who started and are waging war against Ukraine and the international order."
2002 GMT – Zelenskyy assails 'bankrupt' UNSC as Russia takes over charge
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy has sought reforms in United Nations Security Council [UNSC] after Russia assumed charge of the Council, sparking angry reaction from Ukraine.
"It is hard to imagine something evident that proves the complete bankruptcy of such institutions..." Zelenskyy said.
"There is no such form of terror that has not yet been committed by Russia," Zelenskyy alleged, adding "there will be no such reason that will stop the reform of global institutions, in particular, the UN Security Council."
"The reform that is clearly overdue — so that a terrorist state and any other state that wants to be a terrorist cannot disrupt the peace," he said.
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(With input from news agency language)
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