War in Ukraine: Tortured corpses discovered in Sumy - NATO confirms reinforcements on the eastern flank

Created: 04/05/2022, 09:11

By: Tobias Utz, Lukas Zigo, Karolin Schäfer, Katja Thorwarth, Daniel Dillmann, Tanja Banner, Vincent Büssow, Nail Akkoyun, Andreas Apetz

The military and humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate in the Ukraine war - the news ticker on Tuesday.

• War crimes

  in the

  Ukraine war

  *: Russia's* troops apparently commit atrocities in Sumy and Bucha.

• New troops from

  Ukraine

  *: The military is increasing its presence in the east.

  The army of Russian President Vladimir Putin* is also getting reinforcements.

  The current developments in the news ticker.

+++ 8.45 a.m .:

The bodies of tortured civilians were apparently discovered in Sumy.

This is reported by the local governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky, according to a report by the news portal Kyiv Independent.

According to Zhyvytsky, they were spotted in places in the city where Russian troops were previously stationed.

A destroyed Russian army tank in the Sumy region photographed on April 2.

© Daniel Carde/Imago Images

+++ 7.30 a.m .: An

air raid alarm was triggered in almost all regions of Ukraine on Tuesday morning.

Sirens were broadcast in Cherkassy, ​​Chernivtsi, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odessa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Volhynia, Zakarpattya, Zaporizhia, Zhytomyr oblasts and activated in Kyiv.

Update from Tuesday, April 5th, 2022, 6:15 a.m .:

NATO is making progress with its efforts to strengthen the eastern flank.

As a spokeswoman for the military alliance confirmed to the German Press Agency, the four new multinational battlegroups in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria have reached the first level of operational readiness.

Its construction was only announced a few weeks ago.

NATO initially did not comment on the exact composition and size of the so-called battle groups.

According to a list from March 21, however, 2,100 soldiers from countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and the USA were already present in Slovakia at the time.

In Hungary there were 800 soldiers from Croatia, in Bulgaria 900 from the USA and in Romania 3300 from countries such as France, Belgium, Italy and the USA.

The new battlegroups are intended to further increase deterrence and defense capabilities in light of the Russian war against Ukraine.

Ukraine war: Russia probably plans "massive attack" on Luhansk

+++ 9:48 p.m .:

According to Ukrainian information, the Russian armed forces are preparing a “massive attack” on the troops in the eastern Luhansk region.

The region's governor, Serhiy Gaidaj, announced on Monday that equipment and fuel would be brought and the troops reinforced.

"We believe they are preparing for a massive attack."

"The bombardments are getting heavier," Gaigaj said in a video message.

He urged residents to leave the region as soon as possible.

"Don't wait for your houses to be bombed," he called on the people.

"Two volunteers" were killed in a mine explosion on Sunday, he said.

Two priests were injured in the attack on a church.

Kharkiv is under massive fire in the Ukraine war.

© Aziz Karimov/dpa

Ukrainian authorities understand that Russian forces have withdrawn from areas in northern Ukraine, particularly around Kyiv, to concentrate on the east and south of the country.

For its part, Russia recently announced that it would focus its offensive on the Donbass, where the Luhansk region is located.

Ukraine war: 130,000 people trapped in Mariupol

+++ 7.45 p.m .:

According to the mayor, around 130,000 residents are trapped in the city of Mariupol.

Mayor Vadym Boychenko said in a statement that "everything" in the city was destroyed -- including all city buses, the New York Times reports.

Meanwhile, Russia continues to bomb key cities in southern Ukraine, including Mykolaiv and the besieged city of Mariupol.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said an evaluation convoy carrying much-needed humanitarian aid failed to reach the city on Monday for the fourth straight day.

War in Ukraine: Selenskyj invites former Chancellor Merkel to Bucha

Update from Monday, April 4th, 2022, 7.30 a.m .:

The Ukrainian President Selenskyj has asked former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and France's ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy to travel to the atrocity-affected town of Bucha.

"I invite Ms. Merkel and Mr. Sarkozy to visit Bucha and see what the policy of concessions towards Russia has led to," he said in a video address on Sunday.

After the Russian army withdrew from the region around Kyiv, hundreds of civilian bodies were found in the suburb of Bucha, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Moscow denied the killing of civilians by Russian soldiers.

War in Ukraine: Withdrawal of troops from Russia – Putin sets a date for the end of the war

+++ 7:00 p.m .:

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced further sanctions against Russia.

"We will decide on further measures in the circle of allies in the next few days," said the SPD politician on Sunday (April 3, 2022).

Scholz cited the atrocities committed by Russian troops in the city of Bucha in Ukraine as the reason for the new sanctions.

"The murder of civilians is a war crime," said the Chancellor.

The federal government also wants to continue to provide weapons to Ukraine.

It is unclear whether the discussion about new sanctions also includes an import stop for gas from Russia*, as Defense Minister Lambrecht brought it up.

Scholz gave no details.

+++ 5.25 p.m.:

The terrible pictures from Butscha cause horror and horror among numerous politicians.

Now the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has also spoken out and accused the Russian troops of genocide.

"This is indeed genocide," Zelenskyj told US broadcaster CBS.

“We are citizens of Ukraine and do not want to be subjected to the politics of the Russian Federation.

And that is why we are being destroyed and wiped out.

And this is happening in Europe in the 21st century,” Zelenskyy continued.

Selenskyj showed disbelief at the violence.

"If we find people whose hands are tied behind their backs and who have been beheaded, then I don't understand it." It's not enough for the "criminals" to kill children, they would also torture them.

+++ 4.30 p.m .:

Putin is said to have set May 9 as the date for a Russian victory in the Ukraine war.

Intelligence officials from the US* and EU* confirmed such reports from Ukraine to CNN.

Thus, Putin is under pressure to show results in his war, which could also explain the withdrawal of Russian troops from contested areas and the suspected refocusing on eastern Ukraine.

A US official claimed that the chances of conquest were best there.

Putin is said to have chosen May 9 primarily as a symbolic date, as this date marks the surrender of the Nazis in World War II.

But even if Russia is planning a victory celebration at this point, the reality is different, the intelligence officials agree.

Secretly, Putin is already preparing for a protracted war, an EU official claimed to CNN.

Ever since the Ukraine conflict began to escalate, Western intelligence services have made information public for strategic reasons.

Withdrawal of troops from Russia: Klitschko reports “two pieces of good news at once”

+++ 3.30 p.m .:

Two mayors of Ukraine were released from Russian captivity.

"Two good news at once," wrote the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko* on Telegram, announcing that they were the mayors of Snowsk and Beryslav.

The cities are located in the north and south of Ukraine respectively and are both in contested areas.

Russian soldiers are currently withdrawing from these regions in order, it is assumed, to focus their attacks on the east of the country.

Oleksandr Medvedov, mayor of the town of Snowks near Kyiv, is said to have spent a week in captivity by Russian troops.

On the other hand, Oleksanr Shapovalov, the mayor of Beryslav near Crimea, was arrested on March 19, according to Klitschko.

To what extent the release is related to Russia's withdrawal is unclear.

Ukraine war: "Massacre" in Bucha reported by Russians - "Whole families killed"

+++ 12.30 p.m .:

80% of the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum is said to have been destroyed during the Russian attack.

This is what Izyum Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokin says, according to The Kyiv Independent.

The city lacks electricity, heating and water.

Izyum, a town east of Kharkiv with a pre-war population of 45,000, was captured by Russian troops on April 1.

Update from Sunday, April 3rd, 2022, 7 a.m.:

Several explosions were reported on Sunday from the strategically important Ukrainian coastal city of Odessa.

The detonations in the Black Sea city in the southwest of the country were heard early in the morning, an AFP reporter reported.

In addition, at least three columns of black smoke and flames were probably seen over an industrial area.

The metropolis is the largest port in Ukraine and central to the economy of the entire country. 

Ukraine war current: "Entire region of Kyiv" reconquered - Russia changes plan of attack

+++ 10:25 p.m.:

According to Ukrainian authorities, the armed forces are said to have recaptured the entire region around Kiev (see update, April 2nd, 2022, 8:05 p.m.).

In the past few weeks there had been fierce fighting in the capital and in the surrounding regions.

As a gesture of goodwill in the peace negotiations, Russia justified its troop withdrawal, the BBC reported.

Many Ukrainians are returning to their homeland.

However, the Russian withdrawal was met with skepticism in Kyiv and the western states.

According to Ukrainian authorities, at least 200 civilians have been killed in Irpin, about 27 kilometers north-west of the capital, since the Russian invasion.

However, most of the city's residents were able to escape.

Ukraine war: Russia changes strategy - almost 300 people buried in mass graves

+++ 19.20:

Almost 300 people were buried in mass graves after the Russian troops withdrew from Bucha in the Kiev region.

The streets of the small town, which was badly damaged by the fighting, are littered with corpses, Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk told the AFP news agency on Saturday.

Since the three city cemeteries are within reach of the Russian military, according to Fedoruk, 280 people had to be buried in mass graves.

A Ukrainian photojournalist was also killed in Kyiv.

Update from Saturday, April 2nd, 2022, 9:50 a.m.:

The resistance of the Ukrainian army to the Russian invasion is having an effect.

The recovery of some areas near the capital Kyiv (see update, April 1st, 2022, 6.45 p.m.) seems to have encouraged refugees to return to their homeland.

As the British news service BBC reports, around 421,000 refugees have returned to Ukraine via Poland.

On Friday (April 1st, 2022) alone, 15,000 people crossed the Polish border heading home.

A total of 2,437,000 people have fled from Ukraine to Poland since the beginning of the war, the Polish border guard announced on Saturday (April 2, 2022).

According to UN estimates, the number of Ukrainian refugees is 10 million.

+++ 11.15 a.m .:

Russia’s armed forces are probably withdrawing from the region around the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

This is reported by the responsible governor.

The troops are on their way to Belarus, Olexandr Pavlyuk said in a statement on Telegram.

That corresponds to NATO's assessment on Thursday.

NATO chief Stoltenberg said Russia was expected to regroup in Belarus to compensate for heavy losses.

+++ 11:00 a.m .:

Apparently there are still soldiers from the Russian army at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

On Thursday there were increasing reports that the troops were leaving the area.

In addition, it became known that numerous armed forces were probably irradiated.

War in Ukraine: Russia announces ceasefire in Mariupol

Update from Friday, April 1st, 2022, 8 a.m.:

At the request of France and Germany, Russia announced a ceasefire in the embattled port city of Mariupol for Friday morning.

A humanitarian escape corridor is to be created from 9 a.m. CEST for the evacuation of civilians to Zaporizhia.

According to Ukrainian information, convoys encountered several problems on Thursday (03/31/2022).

As reported by CNN, Russian troops are said to have confiscated 14 tons of relief supplies, including food and medicine, and blocked 45 buses.

In order to enable the people from Mariupol to be rescued, the escape corridors are “insufficient”, France said on Thursday.

War in Ukraine: Russian forces evacuate Chernobyl - and take hostages with them

First report from Friday, April 1st, 2022, 3:30 a.m.:

After weeks of occupation, the Russian armed forces left the Chernobyl nuclear ruins, but according to Ukrainian information they took hostages with them.

"There are no longer any outsiders in the area of ​​the Chernobyl nuclear power plant," the Ukrainian authority responsible for the restricted area in northern Ukraine said on Facebook on Thursday evening.

Later it was said that the Russians had taken away Ukrainian soldiers whom they had held hostage since the beginning of the war.

"When they ran away from the Chernobyl nuclear facility, the Russian occupiers took away members of the national guard they had held hostage since February 24," Ukraine's nuclear agency Energoatum said on Telegram, citing workers at the plant.

It was unclear how many Ukrainian soldiers were involved.

The authority responsible for the restricted area had previously announced the withdrawal of the Russian army.

The soldiers stole "equipment and other valuables" from the decommissioned nuclear facility.

Ukrainian specialists would now be sent to the site to comb it for "potential explosive devices".

(ktho/dil/lz/nak/tu/vbu/tab with AFP/dpa)