"False flag" action in the Ukraine war?

Explosive turnaround possible - mayor describes new attack on clinic

Created: 04/01/2022Updated: 04/01/2022, 20:15

By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi, Michelle Brey

The Ukraine war rages on.

A Russian attack destroys a cancer ward in Chernihiv.

Did Ukraine attack a Russian oil storage facility?

The news ticker.

• Escalated

  Ukraine conflict

  *: Russian troops continue to attack.

• According to Ukrainian information, Russian troops are leaving the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant

  (update from March 31, 5:30 p.m.)

  .

  They are said to have suffered radiation damage during operations in the region.

  (

  Update from March 31, 7:05 p.m.

  )

• Russian attack destroys oncology ward in Chernihiv

  (update April 1, 1:53 p.m.)

  .

• The Ukrainian General Staff has no information about a Ukrainian attack on Russian oil storage facilities

  (update from April 1, 10:43 a.m.)

  .

• This

  news ticker on the military battles in the Ukraine war

  is continuously updated.

  More on the background of the Ukraine crisis* here.

Ukraine war: Selenskyj pledges population to attacks in east and south

Update from April 1, 7:56 p.m

.: In the Ukraine war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj swears the population on Friday to fierce fighting in the east and south of the country.

"Huge attacks" are to be feared in Donbass, Mariupol and the area around Kharkiv, he said in a video message.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army reported territory gains around the capital Kyiv.

War in Ukraine: Still unclear about fire in Russian oil storage facility

On Friday evening there was still a lack of clarity about the fire, which was reported in the morning from a Russian oil storage facility near Belgorod.

This photo, released by the press service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry on April 1, 2022, shows the source of the fire at an oil depot in Belgorod.

© Uncredited/Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service/AP/dpa

According to the governor of Belgorod, Ukrainian army helicopters had entered Russian territory “at low altitude”.

Two people were injured in the blaze.

In Kyiv, the information was neither confirmed nor denied until Friday evening.

He "does not have all the military information," said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Ukraine war: Russian soldiers were irradiated at Chernobyl - according to Kyiv

Update from April 1, 7:05 p.m

.: After reports that Russian troops in the Ukraine war left the area around the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the Ukrainian side is now talking about radiation damage to Russian soldiers.

The Ukrainian atomic energy authority Energoatom announced on Friday that Russian troops had dug trenches in the exclusion zone around the disaster reactor and contaminated themselves with radioactive material.

However, it is impossible to quantify the extent of the radioactive contamination, according to the power plant director Valeriy Sejda.

Energoatom boss Petro Kotin said that the soldiers were not physicists and were sent to the radioactive region completely unaware.

The Kremlin did not comment on this.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine wrote on her Facebook page:

“The soldiers received such a high dose of radiation that doctors in protective suits will have to explain the consequences to them.

Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine

War in Ukraine: Ukrainian schools and universities are relocated

Update April 1, 4:02 p.m

.: The Karazin Kharkiv National University and other schools are being moved to safer locations.

This was reported by the

on Twitter.

Deputy Education and Science Minister of Ukraine Andriy Vitrenko said Russia had "completely destroyed" Kharkiv University.

Universities from Mariupol and Chernihiv are also to be relocated.

Ukraine War: At least 500 people are evacuated from Melitopol

Update from April 1, 3:32 p.m

.: Apparently there is also a column of evacuation buses from Melitopol on the way to Zaporizhia.

A Ukrainian government spokesman told CNN.

About 500 people are on the buses.

There would also be another 300 private vehicles that have joined the buses.

The mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, spoke up on Facebook*: "I assure the thousands of people in Melitopol who wanted to be evacuated and who, for various reasons, were not, we will not stop." They are already working on another to organize a convoy out of Melitopol.

The beginning of evacuations from Mariupol had previously been reported (

).

Update from April 1, 2:45 p.m

.: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba does not want to confirm or deny Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil storage facilities in Belgorod

.

Kuleba told Reuters agency.

Russian attack destroys oncology ward in Chernihiv

April 1 update, 1:53 p.m

.: According to the mayor of Chernihiv, the oncology ward of the regional hospital has been completely destroyed by Russian attacks.

The mayor told the American television channel CNN that three Ukrainians were seriously injured.

The damage to the hospital followed announcements by Russia to "drastically reduce" the military presence in the area*.

The northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv was hit hard by Russian troops.

© Uncredited/Maxar Technologies/dpa

The mayor added that the city could run out of medical and food supplies within a week.

In addition, there was neither electricity nor running water: "We are currently in a complete humanitarian catastrophe." He himself suffers from pneumonia, but will recover.

About 2000 civilians are in buses on the way from Mariupol

Update from April 1, 12:38 p.m

.: Around 2,000 civilians are in evacuation buses on the way from Berdyansk, which is close to Mariupol, to Zaporizhia.

This was reported by the American television station CNN.

In a telegram video, the Mariupol City Council confirmed this information and added that several private vehicles had also joined the bus convoy.

A record number of evacuations are expected from the port city of Mariupol today.

The Ukrainian general staff has no information about a Ukrainian attack on Russian oil storage facilities

Update from April 1, 10:43 a.m

.: The attack on Russian oil storage facilities (

) could have been a Russian “false flag” operation*.

The Ukrainian general staff

apparently confirmed to

Burning oil depots in Belgorod © IMAGO

War in Ukraine: Russian troops withdraw in parts from Chernihiv in eastern Ukraine

Update from April 1, 10:24 a.m

.: Russian troops are withdrawing from Chernihiv in northern Ukraine *, but have not yet completely left the position.

According to the

, Chernihiv Governor Viacheslav Chaus said air and missile strikes in the region are still possible.

Ukrainian troops are retaking Russian positions.

According to Reuters agency, the governor said it was too early for Ukrainian troops to break cover.

The enemy is still in the area.

War in Ukraine: Even the smallest amounts of humanitarian aid do not reach Mariupol

Update April 1, 9:45 am

: Mariupol Mayor's staff warns it is "very dangerous" to leave the city.

In addition, no humanitarian aid is coming into the city.

The

In a telegram video, Petro Andryushchenko, from the mayor's office, reported that since yesterday Russian troops have not allowed even the smallest amounts of humanitarian aid into the city.

Update from April 1, 8:35 a.m .:

According to Russian information, Ukrainian forces are said to have carried out an air strike on an oil storage facility in Russia from two helicopters on Friday.

After the attack, a fire broke out in the depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, the governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on the Telegram news channel.

A large fire was also seen on video.

Belgorod is not far from the Ukrainian border.

There were no victims, said Gladkow.

The residents are safe.

The situation is stable.

The governor also assured there would be no fuel supply problems in the region.

According to him, the helicopters entered Russian territory and then fired.

According to the Interfax agency, the Rosneft oil company announced that the site would be evacuated.

Nobody was harmed.

This information was not independently verifiable.

Ukraine War: Ukrainian troops report military successes

Update from April 1, 6:56 a.m .:

According to their own statements, Ukrainian troops have recaptured eleven settlements in the southern Ukrainian region of Cherson in the past few days.

During the advance in the north of the region, they also came across heavy Russian military technology, including T-64 tanks, the Ministry of Defense in Kyiv announced late Thursday evening.

Thanks to the success, the residents could now receive food and medicine.

The civilian population happily welcomed the Ukrainian forces.

The information cannot be independently verified.

Russia, on the other hand, announced that it had completely conquered the Cherson region.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy had warned that Moscow wanted to set up a pro-Russian "people's republic" in the region along the lines of the eastern Ukrainian separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

According to Ukrainian sources, Novovorontsovka is one of the recaptured settlements.

The place is strategically located on the right bank of the Dnipro River, which is dammed here to form the Kakhovka Reservoir.

An advance by Ukrainian troops into the Kherson region would also relieve the pressure on the city of Kryvyi Rih and also prevent Russian units from cutting off supplies to the strategically important city of Mykolaiv.

Ukraine War: Evacuation operation for Mariupol

Update from March 31, 10:50 p.m .:

According to Russian information, the announced evacuation campaign for civilians from the besieged port city of Mariupol in the Ukraine war should begin on Friday morning.

A humanitarian corridor to Zaporizhia, 220 kilometers away, will “reopen” at 10 a.m. (local time; 9 a.m. CEST), the Defense Ministry in Moscow said.

The measure follows a “personal appeal” by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and French President Emmanuel Macron to Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin.

"To ensure the success of this humanitarian action, it is proposed to be carried out with the direct participation of representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)," the statement said.

The ICRC had previously said it was ready to "manage" the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol, provided it received guarantees about the security situation.

War in Ukraine: US assumes increased Russian airstrikes on four areas

Update from March 31, 7.40 p.m .:

According to an assessment by the US Department of Defense, Russia wants to continue the attacks in the Ukraine war and focus on four areas.

A senior Pentagon official told CNN that Russian airstrikes will apparently focus on Kyiv, Chernihiv, the Donbass region and Izyum south of Kharkiv.

Ukraine war: US says Kyiv still under threat of airstrikes

Update from March 31, 7:35 p.m .:

According to the US government, the Ukrainian capital Kiev is still at risk from Russian air attacks.

Russia's talk of de-escalation is "beautiful rhetoric," said a senior Pentagon official.

"But it doesn't mean that the threat from the air is decreasing." Even if the ground presence around Kyiv is reduced, the Russian military continues to put pressure on the city with airstrikes.

In the past 24 hours, the number of air operations has increased significantly.

The attacks concentrated primarily on Kyiv and Chernihiv.

According to the Pentagon representative, the intensification of the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine is also the result of the failure in Kyiv.

"The reprioritization in Donbass clearly shows that they know they failed to take the capital," he said.

It is not known whether this means that Russian President Vladimir Putin is now better informed.

Several Western intelligence services had previously reported that advisers misinformed Putin about the war.

When asked why Putin doesn't just use Google to get his information online, the Pentagon official said, "I can't comment on Mr. Putin's internet habits or what he's or isn't looking for."

Ukraine war: Interior Ministry in Kyiv confirms Chernobyl withdrawal from Russia

Update from March 31, 6:30 p.m.:

An advisor to the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior has confirmed the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Chernobyl nuclear ruins and the city of Slavutych.

Russian soldiers gathered the personnel of the former nuclear power plant and told them that they would leave the area, said adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, Vadim Denisenko.

"In fact, they are leaving both Slavutych and the station," Denisenko said on TV, according to Ukraine's state agency

.

At the same time, Denisenko also confirmed the withdrawal of Russian units from Kyiv.

In Chernihiv, on the other hand, there is no retreat.

"They are really withdrawing their troops in the Kyiv region, but so far there has been no serious withdrawal in the Chernihiv region," the Ukrainian diplomat said.

So far it has been more of a “troop rotation or regrouping”.

The situation around Chernihiv will continue to be monitored.

Ukraine war: Tens of thousands evacuated from Mariupol - 100,000 people need help

Update from March 31, 5:45 p.m .:

According to the Ukrainian government, around 75,000 people have already been evacuated from the embattled port city of Mariupol during the Ukraine war.

"In Mariupol we managed to evacuate and rescue around 75,000 people," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Andriivna Vereshchuk said at a press conference.

Around 100,000 people, including women and children, are in need of urgent help from the international community, the Ukrainian state agency

the deputy prime minister as saying.

In addition, around 45,000 people were kidnapped by the Russian military to Russia or the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic", according to Wereshchuk.

War in Ukraine: Kyiv expels Putin's troops from two settlements near Chernihiv

Update from March 31, 5:40 p.m .:

According to the Ukrainian general staff, the Ukrainian army was able to recapture two settlements near Chernihiv from Russian troops.

These are said to be the settlements of Sloboda and Lukashivka in the south-east of Chernihiv.

Now the area is being cleared of mines and "gifts" left behind by the Russian army.

Measures are also being taken to help the population in the settlements.

Ukraine war: Putin's troops probably leave Chernobyl nuclear power plant - Russian soldiers go to Belarus

Update from March 31, 5:30 p.m.:

According to the Ukrainian state-owned company “Energoatom”, which is responsible for the operation of all Ukrainian nuclear power plants, Russian troops are leaving the site of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the city of Slavutych, which was built after the 1986 disaster.

In a message on Telegram, Energoatom underlined that Russian troops had announced their intention to hand over the Chernobyl power plant to Ukrainian personnel again.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, two Russian columns have already made their way to the Belarusian border.

A small group of Russian soldiers are currently still in Chernobyl.

According to Energoatom, a Russian column from the town of Slavutych also made its way to Belarus.

Slavutych was established after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster to house workers employed at the nuclear power plant before the accident.

The city, which administratively belongs to Kyiv Oblast, was taken by Russian troops during the Ukraine invasion.

War in Ukraine: NATO expects further offensive actions by Russia - Putin's troops are repositioning themselves

First report:

Kiev/Munich – The Ukraine war continues on day 35.

Signs of relaxation?

none.

Contrary to Russia's announcement on Tuesday (March 29) that it would significantly reduce military activities in the region around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and in the area around the city of Chernihiv in the north, NATO expects "further offensive actions" by Russian troops.

According to the Alliance's findings, "Russian units are not withdrawing, but are repositioning themselves," according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The British secret service is also assuming "heavy fighting" near Kyiv* for the next few days.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke via video in front of the Dutch Parliament in The Hague on Thursday.

Ukraine war: Selenskyj calls on Netherlands to deliver more weapons

Zelenskyy has called on the Netherlands to stop all trade with Russia and to supply more arms to Ukraine.

Imports of gas and oil from Russia must be boycotted.

"Be prepared to stop the import of energy from Russia* so that billions are not poured into the war," said the Ukrainian president.

For defense, Ukraine needs Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.

"We need weapons to drive out the occupier." He also called on Prime Minister Mark Rutte to work for Ukraine's rapid accession to the EU.

The President also recalled the bombing of Rotterdam by the German National Socialists in 1940. History threatened to repeat itself.

"The Second World War started with the attack on some countries, then Rotterdam and London were bombed."

Ukraine war: Zelenskyj warns in speech - "The world is beginning to get used to it"

Connected via video, he also warned of the bitter reality surrounding the Russian attack that the Ukraine war* was becoming routine for those not involved.

“People are slowly getting used to it.

The world is starting to get used to it.

Of the war, of the bombing of our cities, of the rocket attacks against our country," said Zelenskyy.

So many cities and towns have already been destroyed by Vladimir Putin's* Russian troops.

"Unfortunately for many others and for us in Ukraine this is becoming routine," he said.

But not for the people whose lives are in danger every minute.

Footage provided by the Press Office of the President of Ukraine shows President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivering a speech.

© -/Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

"Hell on Earth": Selenskyj on the dramatic situation in Mariupol caused by the Ukraine war

In a video transmission to the members of the Belgian Parliament in Brussels, Selenskyj referred - also on Thursday - to the dramatic situation in Mariupol, which was besieged by Russian troops.

It was "hell on earth," but no one had "the determination to stop the catastrophe," he said.

"If the defenders of Mariupol lose, there will be no strong European Union," he added.

Mariupol has been cut off from all supplies for weeks and is under heavy fire from Russian forces.

The city is largely destroyed.

According to Ukrainian sources, at least 5,000 people have been killed there since the Russian attacks began more than a month ago.

New efforts to evacuate trapped civilians began Thursday.

Meanwhile, there was another ruble turnaround.

Russian President Putin is demanding future gas payments from Western countries via Russian accounts.