Ukraine-News: Zelenskyj warns collaborators on Russian-occupied territory - What happened in the night

Created: 2022-04-02 06:47

In Ukraine, Russian-occupied areas in the south have so far remained loyal to Kyiv.

But Zelenskyj has clear words for the few Ukrainians who serve their opponents.

Kyiv - In the badly damaged southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, hopes rest on Saturday (April 2) on a new attempt to evacuate civilians under Red Cross protection.

No safe escape corridor had been established on Friday, even though a cease-fire had actually been agreed.

However, representatives of the Red Cross announced that they would try again on Saturday.

Fierce fighting in many parts of Ukraine continued into Saturday night, with Ukrainian authorities reporting rocket fire on several major cities in the south of the country.

More than a month ago, on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin* ordered the attack on the neighboring country.

Ukraine news from the night: rocket hits on cities

Two or three heavy explosions were heard in the city of Dnipro on Saturday night, the

portal reported , citing the regional administration.

The area around the city of Kryvyi Rih was shelled with rocket launchers.

A gas station caught fire, said the head of the local military administration, Olexander Wilkul.

According to him, the Russian forces used Grad (Hagel) multiple rocket launchers.

Like all reports from the combat zones, the information was not independently verifiable.

The port city of Odessa on the Black Sea was also hit with rockets on Friday evening.

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj* expected violent Russian attacks in the east of his country.

“Russian soldiers are being brought to the Donbass.

Likewise in the direction of Kharkiv, ”said the head of state in a video speech on Saturday night.

"The situation in the east of our country remains very difficult."

Despite heavy Russian attacks, the Ukrainian air force still has air sovereignty in its own country, said its commander Mykola Oleschuk.

After the attack on February 24, Russia tried to eliminate the Ukrainian air force.

This was not successful.

The lieutenant general made the statement after a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod caught fire* on Friday.

Russian authorities attributed this to the attack by two Ukrainian helicopters.

Oleshchuk demanded more modern weapons from allies, including fighter planes and anti-aircraft missile systems.

In this picture provided by the Ukrainian President's Press Office on April 1, Zelenskyy speaks with the President of the European Parliament during their meeting.

© -/Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP/dpa

Ukraine news from the night: escape from Mariupol

Even though there was no organized escape corridor from Mariupol on Friday, around 3,000 people still managed to flee to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

About 2,500 refugees from Mariupol and from the city of Melitopol arrived in Zaporizhia at night in buses and private cars.

This was announced by an employee of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Kirilo Tymoshenko.

Moscow also spoke of more than 3,000 people who left Mariupol for Russia on Friday.

The Red Cross plans to escort an evacuation convoy of buses and private vehicles out of the port city.

Ukraine news from the night: Zelenskyj's warning to collaborators

Zelenskyy warned Ukrainians in the Russian-controlled south of the country not to accept posts in the occupation regime.

In his video speech he called such people Gauleiter as with the National Socialists.

“My message to them is simple: the responsibility for collaboration is inescapable.

According to Ukrainian information, Russia is trying to set up pro-Moscow administrations in the occupied territories.

Meanwhile, the pro-Russian separatists in the Luhansk region said the mayor of the city of Rubishne had defected to them.

Mayor Serhiy Chortyv called on the Ukrainian troops to lay down their arms.

Rubishne is the eighth largest city in the Luhansk region and had around 60,000 inhabitants before the war.

The city has not been in the hands of the separatists so far.

Kiev politicians threatened Khortyv with retaliation.

A major general of the reserve of the Ukrainian secret service SBU was arrested while trying to illegally defect to Hungary.

At the border, he pretended to be a private, the state investigation office said.

On Friday night, Selenskyj announced that he had demoted two SBU brigadier generals.

He called them traitors, but gave no precise reasons.

Ukraine news from the night: military and political aid

The US Department of Defense wants to send Ukraine more weapons worth 300 million dollars (270 million euros).

The new package is said to include various drones, missile systems, armored vehicles, ammunition, night vision devices, secure communications systems, machine guns, medical supplies and the provision of commercial satellite imagery.

This was announced by the Pentagon on Friday evening (local time) in Washington.

The US government has already pledged $1.65 billion in military aid and arms supplies to Ukraine since Russia's war of aggression began.

Since the beginning of last year, US aid has totaled $2.3 billion.

According to Zelenskyi, he spoke with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, in Kyiv about the possibility of Ukraine's rapid accession to the EU.

It was about concrete proposals, he said in his video speech.

In an interview with Fox News, the President reiterated his proposal that Ukraine should receive security guarantees* from various "leading states".

Selenskyj sees this as a substitute for NATO membership, which is politically unattainable.

Ukraine news from the night: What will be important this Saturday

Diplomatic efforts related to the war in Ukraine are expected to continue on Saturday.

Top US diplomat Victoria Nuland is coming to Europe to coordinate the response to Russia's crackdown.

Stations of their trip until April 9 should be France, Germany, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus, as the US State Department announced.