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16 mins ago
The Russian army is in difficulties, according to a French military spokesman
By Camille Knight, Joseph Ataman
The Russian army was ill-prepared for its invasion of Ukraine and is now facing many difficulties on the ground, "particularly in the logistics and intelligence fields," French armed forces spokesman Pascal Ianni told reporters on Friday. the French television channel France2.
"It is possible that an attack on Kyiv will be carried out in the next few days, but actually taking control of Kyiv is a completely different matter and will take a long, long time," he said, pointing to the "reserve problem" of the Russian military.
The Russian military is also caught in an early spring," he added, as thawing ground causes mobility problems for the military.
A 60-kilometer-long Russian convoy had been moving toward the capital for days, but new satellite images released on Thursday showed it had largely dispersed and redistributed.
19 mins ago
Ukraine attempts to open new evacuation routes on Friday, authorities say
By Lister in Kyiv, Olga Voitovych
A street damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 10.
(Evgeny Maloletka/AP)
Ukraine is trying to open evacuation corridors in several regions on Friday, according to the country's Reintegration Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
The planned routes are:
Mariupol-Zaporizhzhia
Volnovakha-Pokrovsk
Polohy-Zaporizhzhia
Enerhodar-Zaporizhzhia
Izium-Lozova
Routes from Mariupol and Volnovakha have been repeatedly blocked or inaccessible over the past week amid heavy fighting and shelling by Russian forces.
There has been more success in evacuating people from Izium, which has seen widespread destruction.
These routes have not been agreed with Moscow, which announced different routes leading to Russia.
Vereshchuk said more attempts would be made to allow people to escape the fighting around Kyiv, with routes from the capital to destinations including Bucha, Hostomel, Kozarovychi and Mykulychi.
Routes near Zhytomyr, west of Kyiv, were also announced, opening corridors to Andriyivka, Makariv and Borodianka.
A little background
: Some 100,000 people have been evacuated through evacuation corridors in various parts of Ukraine in the past two days, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday.
22 mins ago
Lutsk mayor says at least one person was killed in the blasts
By Olga Voitovych
At least one person died from the explosions registered this Friday in the Ukrainian city of Lutsk, according to the city's mayor, Ihor Polishchuk, on his official Facebook page.
"Today, at approximately 5:45, there have been three explosions. Three missiles hit our military airfield. There is one dead. The information about the injured is being clarified. The SES (State Emergency Service) is working on the spot. ", said.
The city's alert system "didn't work at all" and the "military administration and the military will work on this matter," he added.
An airfield in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk was also hit and the warning system did not work, Polishchuk said.
"The Armed Forces of Ukraine didn't turn it on. Why didn't they turn it on? Because the missiles were flying at ultra-low speeds or for some other reason, the military will work on it."
He added: "Please do not stand by the window during the explosions, do not take photos and videos and then do not post them on social networks, because the enemy is tracking all these messages. This is additional information for the enemy. If there are explosions, please go to the shelter."
28 mins ago
Zelensky is ready to talk with Putin, says Ukrainian president's official
By Zeena Saifi, Becky Anderson
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is willing to speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but "he will not make any concessions to the Russian position during these negotiations," his deputy told CNN.
Although the talks between the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers, held on Thursday in the Turkish city of Antalya, did not yield any major breakthrough, Ukraine had not been too optimistic from the beginning, said Igor Zhovkva, deputy head of the President's Office. from Ukraine.
"It is very good that they have met, but unfortunately we can say that the Russian Foreign Minister is not the one who makes the final decision. The final decision to stop the war, to make a ceasefire, to withdraw the troops, the take just one person," he said, apparently referring to Putin.
Zhovkva said that while Zelensky was open to a diplomatic solution, he has not heard from the Russian president personally or from his aides.
"This goes beyond atrocity": Zelensky on the bombing of a mother and child hospital in Mariupol
"The last I heard from them was that we have to continue working under the two-delegation format... But, look, even the agreements reached during these negotiations are not upheld," Zhovkva said, pointing to humanitarian corridors in Ukraine that "are being guarded by Russian forces".
Zhovkva said that Ukraine is open to neutrality "if the NATO bloc is not ready for the time being to accept Ukraine."
"But at the same time, we need strong security guarantees for Ukraine, so that these horrible wars, this horrible aggression are not repeated in the future," he added.
Zhovkva said that Ukraine wanted to work with Putin and its neighbors to establish a system that he called "the renewed security system of Europe."
"My country, the Ukrainian people deserve to be part of the European family... Ukraine fights for the security of the whole of Europe. So when President (of France, Emmanuel) Macron talks about possible European security, how can he talk without having President Zelensky at the table? Without having President Zelensky and Ukraine in the European Union?"
Zhovkva said.
31 mins ago
Several major cities are "under attack", says Ukrainian presidential adviser
By Radina Gigova, Tim Lister
Rescuers search through the remains of buildings damaged by an airstrike in Dnipro, Ukraine, in this photo released on March 11.
(Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters)
Some of Ukraine's major cities, including Dnipro and Lutsk, are being "subjected to devastating attacks," Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian president's office, said on Friday.
The blasts shut down two boiler rooms in Lutsk, located in the far west near the Polish border, while three major blasts were reported in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, he wrote on Twitter.
"Dnipro is also under attack," he added.
"Russia's destructive war against civilians and major cities continues."
The mayor of Lutsk reported explosions at an airfield in the city, according to the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN.
Lutsk had not been attacked before.
International condemnation of Russia grows for the deadly bombing of the Mariupol children's hospital: WHO highlights a pattern of attacks on medical facilities
"Explosions heading towards the airfield. Everyone to shelter!" Mayor Ihor Polishchuk was quoted as saying.
Cities under siege
: Ukraine's Emergency Service said one person in the city of Dnipro died this Friday after three early-morning airstrikes hit a two-story kindergarten, an apartment building and a shoe factory.
The airstrikes occurred around 6:10 am local time in the city's Novokodatskyi district, the Emergency Service said.
war in ukraine