Summary of the Events of the Day
More and more war crime atrocities are being discovered in communities abandoned by Russian forces as they leave the area around Kyiv and Chernihiv and head to the Donbas. Ukrainian forces continue to hold their ground having only lost a few miles of territory as Russian troops that had been attacking Kyiv flow into Sumy and then the Donbas.
Battle for Kyiv (including Chernihiv)
Maxar Technologies released satellite images of Bucha from mid-March when the town was under occupation by Russian troops which show bodies lying on its streets even then. These images will rebut any claim by Russia that the bodies were placed there after Russian forces left. Five more bodies of men tortured and killed were found in Bucha in the basement of a children’s health resort. The confirmed civilian body count in Bucha has reached 410.
Bucha is just the tip of the iceberg as Ukrainian soldiers enter more and more communities from where Russian forces have retreated. Five bodies were found in Motzhyn with their hands tied. Four of them were tossed in a mass grave and the other down a well nearby. Three of the bodies have been identified as the mayor of Motzhyn and her husband and son.
Ukrainian forces have only arrived and taken a quick glance at the town of Borodyanka, but what they saw cursorily suggests that Russian atrocities there may be worse than in Bucha. Almost the entire town of Borodyanka lies in ruins and one can only imagine the hundreds, if not thousands, of bodies that will be found buried under the rubble. But for now, Ukrainian forces had to leave until they have sufficient force to defend against any snipers left behind and remove the land mines and traps left behind.
In the village of Lukashova, Ukrainian forces are discovering a whole community looted by Russian soldiers. Those who survived are telling horror stories including mock executions. One man testified that he had been led outside four times to be executed only to have the Russian troops fire into a wall.
Battle for the Donbas (Donetsk, Luhansk, Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Sumy)
More and more Russian troops are on their way and arriving in the Donbas region for what will be a massive attack by Russian forces to take the three regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson to create a land bridge to Crimea.
Russian forces are maintaining their blockade of Kharkiv to prevent those Ukrainian troops to come to the defense of the Donbas.
Slovyansk is one of the main targets for Russian forces in the Donbas. Towards that end they made a little progress in advancing four miles and taking the village of Brazhkivka as Russian troops move south from Izyum. Russian forces then moved against Sulyhivka but were repulsed. They were also stopped at the village of Oleksandrivka. Russian forces are trying to build a bridge over the Siversky Donets River to take the other side of Izyum.
Russian forces were again repulsed from taking the Rubizhne-Severodonetsk-Popasna pocket. Mariupol also held another day even though it continues to be under constant shelling.
A phenolic plant was hit seven times by Russian artillery fire causing environmental damage in the Donetsk region. Later in the day a tank full of nitric acid was attacked in the Luhansk region spewing caustic fumes into the air.
Ukrainian forces have arrived in Konotop which had been occupied by Russian forces who have retreated to join the Battle for the Donbas. Bodies are being found strewn all over the city as well, but it is not yet known whether they were the result of combat or war crime executions. Three corpses were found that showed clear signs of torture.
Other Regions
Two Russian missiles were shot down over the Dnipropetrovsk region in the east, and another four over regions in the west.
International Support
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, considering the Russian war crimes against Ukrainian civilians, said the time for negotiations with Putin is over. “It is necessary to fight criminals, not to negotiate”, he said. He had particularly harsh words for French President Emmanuel Macron who makes frequent phone calls to Putin, “What have you achieved, President Macron? How many times have you negotiated with Putin? Have you stopped any action that has taken place? No one has negotiated with Hitler. Would you negotiate with Hitler, with Stalin, and with Pol Pot?” Morawiecki called on European leaders to confiscate all Russian assets, implement much harsher sanctions against every member of Putin’s political party, and stop the worldwide Russian trade of gas and oil.
U.S. President Joe Biden calls for a war crimes trial and more sanctions against Russia considering the atrocities that have come to light. One decision the U.S. made was to deny Russia the ability to use funds in U.S. banks to make their debt payments. This will force Russia to use their reserves elsewhere or default on their loans.
The European Commission is sending a team of investigators to gather evidence of war crimes committed by Russian forces against Ukrainian civilians. The European Union expanded their sanctions against Russia. All coal imports will be banned, all Russian ships will be barred from EU ports, a ban on all Russian and Belarusian land transports in the EU, and a ban on all transactions from four key Russian banks. The EU did not include a ban on oil and gas imports yet though.
Italy, Spain, and Denmark became the latest European countries to expel Russian diplomats from their country after the atrocities of war crimes evidence mounts.
AirBnB has blocked Russian and Belarusian citizens from using their services.