The essential
- On Sunday, the 39th day of the Russian invasion, Ukraine claimed to have found the bodies of 410 civilians in liberated towns near kyiv. She accuses Russia of “genocide”.
- The entire international community, including Emmanuel Macron, condemned “war crimes” and called for an investigation into these horrors. Russia has denied these killings of civilians.
- In the south, one person was killed and 14 injured in a Russian strike on Sunday in Mykolaiv, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said. He added that there had been an undetermined number of killed and injured in another shelling, in Okatchiv.
- At least 10 dead and more than 40 wounded by Russian strikes have been recorded in the Kharkiv sector, in the east. One person was killed and three injured in a Russian strike on a hospital in Rubizhne, eastern Ukraine, according to the region’s governor.
- More than 500,000 people have returned to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry announced on Sunday.
06:40
Boucha: Russia calls for a security council meeting
Russian troops are accused of atrocities against civilians in Boutcha, which Moscow denies. “In light of the hateful provocations of the Ukrainian radicals in Bucha, Russia has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday April 4,” tweeted Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Dimitri Polianski.
The international community is outraged by the abuses committed in Boutcha, even more since the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the images of corpses in the streets of the city were “a new production of the kyiv regime for the Western media”.
06:30
Chernihiv destroyed at 70%, according to its mayor
The city of Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine, where Russian troops concentrated their efforts before retreating, is about 70% destroyed, assures Vladyslav Atroshenko, the mayor of the city.
But the most pressing issues facing residents are the “concentration of Russian troops on the Belarusian border” and fears that the city will be hit by more missiles and air bombs. “Russians move to Ukraine as if they were at home. And the fact that they are gone does not mean that they will not come back tomorrow”.
06:20
Zelensky’s message to the Grammys
The Ukrainian president intervened Sunday evening via a speech recorded during the 64th edition of the Grammy Awards, equivalent of the Oscars for American music. “What is the exact opposite of music? The silence of cities in ruins and people killed, ”he launched, seizing the assistance.
“Our musicians wear bulletproof vests instead of tuxedos. They sing for the wounded in the hospitals”.
“We defend our freedom to live, to love, to be heard. On our land, we are fighting Russia, the bearer of a horrible silence, with its bombs. Dead silence. Fill this silence with your music,” urged the Ukrainian head of state.
06:10
How investigators will work to prove Russian ‘war crimes’
Ukraine accuses Russian military of committing ‘deliberate massacre’ in Boutcha, where dozens of bodies were found in the streets and nearly 300 corpses were buried in mass graves, local authorities say . Decryption of the experts in our article to read here.
06:00
Towards new sanctions
The West now wants to adopt new measures against Moscow.
“More EU sanctions and aid are on the way,” European Council President Charles Michel tweeted on Sunday.
The head of French diplomacy Jean-Yves Le Drian affirmed, in a statement sent to AFP, that “the strongest possible economic and international pressure must be maintained and reinforced on Russia to compel the Russian authorities to end to the war of aggression”.
And Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised on Twitter that the British would “step up (their) sanctions”.
05:56
“We are going to show you hell”: from Boutcha to Hostomel, a journey in desolation
In this suburb northwest of kyiv, many corpses of civilians were visible this Sunday in the streets after the departure of Russian troops. Ukrainian forces retook the town and discovered mass graves. The frightening report from our special correspondents can be read here.
05:56
410 civilians found dead in Kyiv region
Ukraine on Sunday accused Russia of “genocide”, saying it had found the bodies of 410 civilians in the kyiv region recently recaptured from Moscow forces, grisly discoveries that have raised outrage in Europe and the United States.
According to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova, the lifeless bodies of 410 civilians were found in the territories of the Kyiv region recently recaptured from Russian troops.
In turn, Washington, Paris, Berlin or London have denounced the “atrocities”, even the “war crimes”.
05:56
Boutcha massacre: “Shocked”, the head of the UN calls for an “independent investigation”
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday he was “deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Boutcha”, in the kyiv region, where many bodies were discovered after the departure of Russian forces.
“It is essential that an independent investigation makes it possible to make those responsible accountable,” he added in a brief statement.
05:29