Dhe Ukraine is trying to normalize life in the recaptured areas in the east as quickly as possible. “It is very important that with our troops, with our flag, normal life returns to the areas that are no longer occupied,” said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday evening. At the same time, however, the experience after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Kyiv area seems to be repeating itself in the spring: Ukrainian authorities are reporting indications of suspected war crimes by the occupiers from the liberated areas. There are already 40 suspected cases in the Kharkov region, said Deputy Interior Minister Jewhenij Jenin.
After the rapid advances by Ukrainian troops in the past few days, there was no news of new territory gains on Wednesday night. But the Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych has announced an offensive in the eastern province of Luhansk. “There is an attack on Lyman now, and there could be a push on Siversk,” Arestovych said in a video posted on YouTube, referring to the two cities. He is assuming a bitter battle for the city of Svatowo, since he believes Russia has stationed supply depots there. “And that’s what they fear most – that we’ll take Lyman and then advance towards Lysychansk and Sieverodonetsk. Then they would be cut off from Swatowo.”
Ukraine is paying pensions again in the east
The US government, meanwhile, sees a new dynamic in the war with Russia, which is entering its 203rd day, in the light of Ukraine’s military successes. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) called Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for the first time after a month-long break and called for a solution based on a ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Russian troops and respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
As an example of the desired normalization of life in reconquered areas, Zelenskyj mentioned in his video speech that pensions had been paid out for the first time in the liberated city of Balaklija in the Kharkiv region – retrospectively for five months. “During the occupation we could not make any payments.” Ukraine will fulfill its social obligations, the president promised.
Zelenskyy’s other tasks in the area included searching for scattered Russian soldiers and sabotage groups, and arresting collaborators. Security in the liberated parts of the country must be guaranteed.
News also came from Balaklija that Russian forces are said to have maintained a torture prison in the local police station. During the several months of occupation, around 40 people were locked up in the basement, senior Ukrainian police officer Serhiy Bolvinov reported after an on-site visit.
“The occupiers took away those who served in the military or had relatives there, and also looked for those who helped the army,” wrote the head of the investigative department at the Kharkiv police force on Facebook. According to witnesses, prisoners were tortured with electric shocks. Reporters from the BBC and other foreign media confirmed the information. They also reported corpses found in Balaklija. There were also unverified reports of bodies being found from other places in the region.
After the withdrawal of Russian troops from Bucha and other suburbs of Kyiv at the end of March, hundreds of dead civilians were discovered there. Despite overwhelming evidence, Moscow denied that Russian soldiers were responsible for the killings and spoke of a Ukrainian staging. Ukraine is gathering evidence of alleged war crimes by the Russian army with international help.
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