UN Secretary General António Guterres visited Bucha, Borodianka and Irpin, suburbs of kyiv, from where he urged an independent investigation into “war crimes” allegedly committed by Kremlin troops and recommended Moscow to collaborate with the ICC . Meanwhile, citizens of the territories already controlled by Moscow fear plans for Russian referendums. The ruble will begin to be used in Kherson, in southern Ukraine, from May 1, according to Russian state media.
On day 64 of the war, Russian military progress seems to be moving in tandem with Vladimir Putin’s territorial aspirations.
Kherson, in southern Ukraine and the country’s first major city taken by Moscow’s troops since early March, will start using the ruble from May 1, Russian state news agencies reported on April 28. .
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the Kremlin-initiated conflict “an absurdity in the 21st century” during a tour of Bucha, Irpin and Borodianka, on the outskirts of kyiv, where citizens have accused armed forces Russian executions of civilians and sexual assaults.
These are the main news of the day:
- 7:18 (BOG) German Parliament approves arms shipment to Ukraine
The Lower House of the Bundestag, the German Parliament, approved with a large majority a request for support to Ukraine, backing the delivery of weapons, including heavy weapons, to cooperate in defense against Russian attacks.
“Coupled with Russia’s extensive economic isolation and disengagement from international markets, the most important and effective means of stopping the Russian invasion is to intensify and accelerate the delivery of effective weapons and complex systems, including heavy weapons,” the petition stated.
Andy Vermaut shares:German Parliament Pushes For Heavy Weapons’ Supply To Ukraine: Germany’s Bundestag lower house of parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a petition on support for Ukraine backing the delivery of weapons including… https://t.co/wXrTVp8qer Thank you. pic.twitter.com/q58JxiAwVo
— Andy Vermaut (@AndyVermaut) April 28, 2022
The measure was backed by all three parties in the ruling coalition, as well as the opposition Conservatives, and was endorsed with 586 votes in favour, 100 against and seven abstentions.
- 06:53 (BOG) Ukraine: Russia does not allow evacuations from besieged plant in Mariupol
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region to which the city of Mariupol belongs in eastern Ukraine, said that the Russian military is not allowing the evacuation of around a thousand civilians who resist and take refuge inside the huge factory. of Azovstal steel, along with some 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
Accusing Moscow of blocking efforts to create humanitarian corridors, Kyrylenko said there are only 370,000 residents left in the Ukrainian-controlled parts of the Donetsk region, compared with 1.67 million who lived there before Putin ordered the war.
In addition, the official assured that the Russian Army prevents the evacuation of wounded soldiers inside the steel plant, because it intends to “capture” them.
“(They want) to take the opportunity to capture the defenders of Mariupol, of which one of the main (elements) is the Azov regiment (…) Therefore, the Russian side does not agree to any evacuation measures regarding wounded (Ukrainian) troops,” Kyrylenko explained at a briefing.
- 06:35 (BOG) Moscow warns West with ‘tough response’ for encouraging attacks on Russian soil
The West must stop “testing our patience” over Ukrainian attacks across the border, Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, warned at a news conference.
The official addressed the United Kingdom in particular, a country she accuses of encouraging Ukrainian soldiers to launch attacks on fuel infrastructure of Russian troops in the city of Belgorod.
“Such aggression against Russia cannot go unanswered. We would like kyiv and Western capitals to take seriously the Russian Defense Ministry’s statement that further provocation leading Ukraine to attack Russian facilities will be met with a harsh response from Russia. Russia,” the Kremlin spokeswoman said.
On Tuesday, April 26, the British Armed Forces Minister, James Heappey, defended alleged offensives by Ukrainian troops against Russian military targets.
Heappey assured that it is about the right to “legitimate defense” by the nation that is being attacked since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the war on February 24.
- 6:17 (BOG) Kherson residents denounce a possible Russian referendum
Dozens of Kherson residents and other sources interviewed by the AP agency assured that Russia would plan a “fake referendum” to transform the territory into a pro-Moscow “people’s republic”.
“It’s a bit scary … There is a very small minority of people who are happy that it is under Russian control, but above all, nobody wants Kherson to become part of Russia,” said Alexander, a 63-year-old resident. , who, like other residents, did not give his last name for fear of reprisals.
In the city, in southern Ukraine, very close to the Crimean peninsula, Russia has blocked all humanitarian assistance except its own, which troops deliver before Russian state television cameras and which many residents refuse to accept.
With no cash deliveries to Kherson’s banks, the circulation of Ukraine’s currency, the hryvnia, is declining, and damaged communication networks mean credit card payments often don’t go through. Access to Ukrainian television has been blocked and replaced by Russian state channels. In addition, a strict curfew has been imposed.
Residents believe that Vladimir Putin’s troops have not yet terrorized the city, as they did in Bucha and Mariupol, because they plan to hold a referendum to create the so-called “Kherson People’s Republic”, similar to pro-Russian breakaway territories in the east.
Earlier this month, Ukraine’s ombudsman, Lyudmila Denisova, warned that ballots for a vote in early May were already being printed.
- 06:01 (BOG) Kherson would start using the Russian currency from May 1
Kherson, in southern Ukraine and the country’s first major city taken by Moscow’s troops since early March, will start using the ruble, the Russian currency, starting May 1.
This was reported by Russian state news agencies, citing Kirill Stremousov, a head of the pro-Russian committee that calls itself the “military-civilian administration” of the region.
The currency would replace the hryvnia, the official Ukrainian currency, there. Stremousov assured that the transition to the Russian ruble will take up to four months, during which time it will circulate together with the current currency.
Kherson is a strategic location as it provides part of the land link between the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and Russian-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine.
- 5:43 (BOG) Guterres urges Moscow to cooperate with investigation of possible “war crimes”
The Secretary General of the United Nations Organization (UN), António Guterres, toured the streets of Borodianka, Bucha and Irpin, on the outskirts of kyiv, where residents have accused Russian soldiers of executing civilians, raping women and girls and leaving corpses scattered in the streets, during their occupation of those areas, before leaving for eastern Ukraine.
From Borodianka, Guterres described the war as “evil” and “an absurdity in the 21st century” and called again on Russia to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) in investigations into possible war crimes committed during their attacks on the Ukraine.
“I fully support the ICC and I call on the Russian Federation to accept, cooperate with the ICC. But when we talk about war crimes, we cannot forget that the worst crime is war itself,” said the Russian diplomat. the ONU.
The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, arrived this morning at Borodianka, from the kyiv banlieue.
Cela marks the premiere visit of Guterres after the debut of the Russian invasion on February 24th. pic.twitter.com/BHYPRwUfxw– LN24 (@LesNews24) April 28, 2022
Guterres went to Ukraine after meeting in Moscow with Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to try to mediate the conflict.
However, the Portuguese diplomat admitted Putin’s enormous discrepancies regarding the war in the neighboring country, as he insists on denying responsibility for any crime and referring to the war as a “special military operation”.
Guterres also plans a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodímir Zelenski in kyiv shortly.
- 5:31 (BOG) Canadian Parliament declares Russia’s war in Ukraine “genocide”
In a unanimous vote, the Canadian Parliament approved declaring as a “genocide” the crimes of which they accuse the Russian troops in Ukraine.
The Canadian House of Commons motion stated that “war crimes” by Moscow include mass atrocities, systematic instances of deliberate killing of Ukrainian civilians, desecration of corpses, forcible transfer of Ukrainian children, torture, bodily harm, mental damage and rape.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that it is “absolutely correct” that more and more people are referring to Russian actions on Ukrainian soil as “genocide”, endorsing an accusation made by the US president, Joe Biden.
With Reuters, AP and local media
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