Local officials reported aggression in eastern Ukraine, with missiles hitting the Dnipro and Lugansk regions. In the first, an airfield was pulverized and at least five people were injured. Meanwhile, the negotiator Podoliak affirms that they are preparing to fight important disputes in the Donbass.
The outbreak of war continues between Russia and Ukraine and the focus turns to the east, precisely the Donbass region. Moscow’s new objective is to forcefully attack the pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Lugansk.
For this reason, from kyiv they warn that fierce clashes against Russian troops are imminent. In this sense, the authorities of the eastern localities ask that all civilians be evacuated as soon as possible.
Russian missiles hit Dnipro airport
The facilities of the eastern Ukrainian town were destroyed this Sunday, April 10, by enemy rockets, leaving five people injured and extensive damage to infrastructure.
The governor of Dnipro, Valentyn Reznichenko, notified via Telegram that there was an attack on the town’s airport, detailing that “the building itself was destroyed, as well as the nearby infrastructure.”
“Rockets fly and fly,” he described.
For his part, the head of the Dnipro region council, Mykola Lukashuk, said that five employees of the state emergency service were injured.
There was also another hit in the Zvonetsky region. Regarding the latter, Reznichenko affirmed that the details of the victims will be given later and that there are emergency groups studying the damage in the area.
“High-precision missiles destroyed the base and headquarters of the nationalist Dnepr battalion in Zvonetsky overnight, which also received reinforcements from foreign mercenaries,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Luhansk region also came under fire on Sunday. Governor Serhiy Gaidai wrote on his Telegram account that a school and an apartment tower were hit in Sievierodonetsk. “Fortunately there were no casualties,” he added.
Ukraine negotiator says country is preparing for ‘big battles’ in Donbass
The Ukrainian diplomat, Mijailo Podoliak, declared that the nation is at the gates of a fierce confrontation in the separatist regions of the east, the new objective outlined by Russia in its military invasion.
According to statements replicated by the Interfax agency, the negotiator referred to “great battles” against Moscow’s forces in Donbass, where thousands of civilians still remain and seek to escape a new escalation of the conflict.
Podoliak stressed the importance that these fights will have in the rounds of talks with his Russian counterparts. “Ukraine must win them, including in Donbass. When this happens, we will have a strong position that will allow us to dictate certain conditions”, he expressed.
“Ukraine is ready,” he closed.
In the same vein, President Volodimir Zelensky had declared hours before, when he stressed at a press conference that they are “ready to fight and, at the same time, seek diplomatic ways to stop this war.”
After withdrawing its soldiers from the kyiv region, Russia shifted its sights to the Donbass and the port city of Mariupol. They are strategic places that, if achieved, would connect Russian territory with the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Zelensky and Scholz discussed possible additional sanctions against Russia
The Ukrainian president said this Sunday that he had a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, where they discussed potential new punishments for Moscow.
Volodimir Zelensky reiterated his request for an embargo on gas and oil coming from Russia, but Germany was once again reluctant to carry it out. Scholz had warned last Friday that Berlin can cut its link with oil imports this year, but that the situation is not given to do so with gas.
In another sense, the Ukrainian head of state said that he had a meeting with his officials, where they weighed proposals for kyiv to submit to the European Union for a sixth package of sanctions.
Had a phone conversation with @OlafScholz. We emphasized that all perpetrators of war crimes must be identified and punished. We also discussed anti-Russian sanctions, defense and financial support for Ukraine.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 10, 2022
Scholz’s office, which did not confirm that there was talk of possible sanctions, condemned the war crimes committed by the Russian army in Bucha and other towns in the Kiev region.
In addition, they assured that the German government will take action in the matter so that the perpetrators are identified and tried in national and international courts.
They find more than 1,200 bodies in kyiv
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General, Irina Venediktova, notified this Sunday that they found 1,222 bodies that were in the towns of the region occupied by Russian forces for weeks.
In an interview with the English chain ‘Sky News’, the official said that this is “only” in kyiv and “for now”, implying that the search has not yet ended and they hope that the number will continue to climb. She, however, did not detail whether the bodies found were exclusively civilians.
In addition, he highlighted that there 5,600 events that are being investigated for alleged war crimes since the Russian invasion began on February 24.
The images of the inhumane acts committed in Bucha, northwest of kyiv, and the attack on the Kramatorsk train station took the conflict to another level, to the point that talks between the countries have since been paralyzed.
A mass flight of civilians is recorded in Kramatorsk
After the missile attack on the train station where hundreds of people were waiting to evacuate the town in search of a safe place, the population urgently activated the plan to leave the city.
The intention to escape to safety after the Russo-Ukrainian conflict reached Kramatorsk grew. “We are very scared with what is happening, but after the tragedy at the train station, we decided to leave,” a mother told France 24.
“I decided to run away after the missile attack on the train station. If the Russian troops invade us, I do not want to live under their occupation, ”said a young man who was waiting for the arrival of a vehicle that would facilitate his departure.
Buses and minibuses are the last chance for the few remaining citizens of Kramatorsk. The intention is to reach Dnipro, a site that this Sunday was hit by more hostile launches from Russia.
With EFE, Reuters and AP
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