War in Ukraine: Latest developments

Kyiv, Ukraine, April 30 (AFP/APP): Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

– More bodies found near Bucha –

The bodies of three men with their hands tied were found in a pit near Bucha, a town close to Kyiv, police say.
“The victims’ hands were tied, cloths were covering their eyes and some were gagged. There are traces of torture on the corpses, as well as gunshot wounds to various parts of the body,” a police statement says.

Bucha has become synonymous with allegations of Russian war crimes since dozens of bodies were first discovered there in early April.

– France to ‘intensify’ aid –

French President Emmanuel Macron says France will “intensify” its supply of military and humanitarian support following a conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky thanked France for “large-scale military shipments that contribute to the Ukrainian resistance,” Macron says, adding “that this support will continue to intensify, as will the humanitarian assistance provided by France”.

– Kharkiv shelled, again –

Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv is hit by multiple Russian shellings, though President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukrainian forces are making “tactical successes” in the region.

Although Ukraine has retained control of Kharkiv, the city has been repeatedly battered by Moscow’s forces and still faces daily attacks.

One person was killed and five were injured “as a result of enemy artillery and mortar strikes”, Kharkiv’s regional military administration says on Telegram.

– Moscow admits Kyiv strike –

Russia confirms it carried out an air strike on Kyiv as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visited.

The Russian defence ministry says “high-precision, long-range air-based weapons… destroyed the production buildings of the Artyom missile and space enterprise in Kyiv”.

US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty says its journalist and producer Vera Gyrych died when a Russian missile hit the building where she lived.

– Putin’s G20 invite –

The United States is unimpressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to November’s G20 summit in Indonesia.

“The United States continues to believe that it can’t be business as usual with regards to Russia’s participation with the international community or international institutions,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Jalina Porter says.

– Russians ‘behind schedule’ –

The Russian campaign to seize control of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine is moving slowly and behind schedule, a Pentagon official says.
Stiff resistance from Ukrainian troops and caution after Russia’s failure to capture Kyiv has led to “slow and uneven progress” in Donbas, the official tells reporters.

– Britain, Dutch to send war crimes sleuths –

Britain will send war crimes investigators to Ukraine next month to gather a “wide range of evidence, witness statements, forensic and video evidence,” UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss announces.

The Netherlands too will send a team, which will be working together with local Ukrainian and International Criminal Court teams to probe possible mass atrocities, including in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where at least 20 bodies were discovered on April 2.

– ‘Stop arms supply’ says Lavrov –

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has urged the US and NATO to stop supplying Kyiv with arms if they are “really interested in resolving the Ukraine crisis”, Chinese state media reports.

“If the US and NATO are really interested in resolving the Ukraine crisis, then first of all, they should wake up and stop supplying the Kyiv regime with arms and ammunition,” Lavrov tells China’s official Xinhua news agency.

But he insists the “special military operation… is proceeding strictly according to plan”.

– UK show of strength –

The UK government says it is deploying about 8,000 troops for exercises across Eastern Europe in a show of strength after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Britain is deploying 72 Challenger 2 tanks and 120 armoured fighting vehicles along with artillery guns, helicopters and drones for the exercises, some of which are already underway.

– 13 million uprooted –

More than 5.4 million Ukrainians have fled their country since Russia invaded two months ago, with tens of thousands joining their ranks every day, the United Nations says.

Beyond the refugees, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates more than 7.7 million people have been displaced within Ukraine, meaning that more than 13 million people overall have been uprooted by the conflict.