Ukraine War: Ukraine said it has regained control of the whole Kyiv region (AFP)
New Delhi:
Air strikes hit Ukraine's strategic Black Sea port Odessa this morning, after Kyiv had warned that Russia was trying to consolidate its troops in the south. "Odessa was attacked from the air," Ukraine Minister Anton Herashchenko said.
Here's your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story:
- Odessa, a historic city of around one million people, is Ukraine's largest Black Sea port. The blasts sent up at least three columns of black smoke with flames visible apparently in an industrial area.
- The attack comes as Russian forces appeared to be withdrawing from the country's north. On Friday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Russia was consolidating and preparing "powerful strikes" in the south, joining a chorus of Western assessments that Moscow's troops were regrouping.
- Russian troops have left scenes of devastation in the city of Bucha, just outside capital Kyiv, where nearly 300 people have been buried in a mass grave, mayor Anatoly Fedoruk told AFP. "All these people were shot, killed, in the back of the head," Mr Fedoruk said.
- Ukraine has regained control of "the whole Kyiv region" after invading Russian forces retreated from some key towns near the Ukrainian capital, Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Maliar said.
- The Red Cross has gone to the besieged southern port of Mariupol for a fresh evacuation effort after it was forced to turn back on Friday. "They are spending the night en route to Mariupol and are yet to reach the city," a spokesperson said.
- The head of Latvia's natural gas storage operator said the Baltic states are no longer importing Russian natural gas.
- Ukraine's top negotiator in peace talks with Russia said that Moscow had "verbally" agreed to key Ukrainian proposals, raising hopes that talks to end fighting are moving forward.
- Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova has accused Russian forces of opening fire on peaceful demonstrators, injuring four with "severe burns", in the southern city of Enerhodar occupied by Moscow's forces.
- Veteran war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte called for the International Criminal Court to quickly issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over actions in Ukraine.
- A top UN official is set to fly to Moscow today, and then on to Kyiv to try and secure a "humanitarian ceasefire" in Ukraine, said the body's chief Antonio Guterres. Both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to meet Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr Guterres said.
