President Zelenskiy has tweeted about his recent trip to Warsaw, thanking Poland for the “powerful defence package” and the “lives we save with our solidarity!”
My visit and negotiations in Warsaw were another step towards victory. Thank you for the agreed decisions, for the powerful defense package. Thank you for the lives we save with our solidarity! 🇺🇦🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/TyaUcfpQF1
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 9, 2023
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The Ukraine’s ministry of defence has published the latest figures on the conflict.
Its tally of Russia’s total combat losses from 24 February 2022 to 9 April 2023 are as follows:
178,150 Russian troops have been killed.
3636 tanks.
7024 armoured combat vehicles.
2740 artillery.
533 multiple rocket launch systems.
282 air defence systems.
307 military jets.
292 helicopters.
2312 drones.
911 cruise missiles.
18 warships and boats.
5602 vehicles and fuel tanks.
309 special equipment.
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Zelenskiy speaks about defending Ukraine in Easter message
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, used his Easter message to talk about living freely.
He tweeted Easter wishes to those “at [the] frontline, in our cities & villages. All who celebrate Easter in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia. The world that wants to live freely. [The] world that values life, respect & equality of each person.”
He added: “We may have different traditions but one common for all – defense of native land.”
I congratulate Ukrainians, all Christians celebrating Easter today. At frontline, in our cities & villages. All who celebrate Easter in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia. The world that wants to live freely. World that values life, respect & equality of each person. pic.twitter.com/jMDvdCYms6
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 9, 2023
Today, 🇺🇦 is standing guard of our shared values.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 9, 2023
Two days ago I shared Iftar together with Muslims of Ukraine. I will soon congratulate the Jews of Ukraine on the end of Pesach. And in exactly one week, I will congratulate everyone who celebrates Easter this year on April 16.
We may have different traditions but one common for all – defense of native land. We celebrate Easter on different days but one will be shared by 🇺🇦 & the entire free world. The Day of our Victory. The victory of life. All the holiday of Lord's Resurrection means. HAPPY EASTER!
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 9, 2023
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Here are some images coming to us over the wires.
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Summary
It is coming up to 4pm in Kyiv. Here is a summary of events so far.
A 50-year-old man and his 11-year-old daughter were killed after Russian forces struck a residential building in the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia early on Sunday, authorities said.
Pope Francis appeared to ask Russians to seek the truth about their country’s invasion of Ukraine in his Easter message to the world. He said: “Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their journey towards peace, and shed the light of Easter upon the people of Russia.”
Thirty-one children were reunited with their families in Ukraine after a long operation to return them from Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea, according to humanitarian organisation Save Ukraine. Kyiv estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken by Russia since the start of the war, in what it condemns as illegal deportations.
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, used his Easter sermon to warn that “those who oppress and subjugate others will face divine justice”. He told the congregation at Canterbury Cathedral that “cruel and oppressive rulers” who may look as though they are only becoming stronger, will “vanish”. “We must not lose heart” in the face of conflict, he added.
Ukrainian forces are working to strengthen defensive lines and positions along the border with Belarus and Russia, the defence ministry has said, citing Lt Gen Serhiy Nayev, commander of the joint forces of Ukraine’s armed forces.
Ukraine’s ministry of defence provided the latest figures on the conflict. It said 177,680 Russian troops have been killed and 7,020 armoured combat vehicles have been destroyed.
The latest intelligence update from the UK’s Ministry of Defence says that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, chaired a full security council session on 5 April, the first since 2022. The interior minister, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, presented the main report, a choice likely to be an attempt by the Kremlin to portray the situation in those territories as being “normalised”. The MoD adds: “… in reality, much of the area remains “an active combat zone, subject to partisan attacks, and with extremely limited access to basic services for many citizens”.
The Russian-backed head of Crimea’s administration, Sergei Aksyonov, said a missile fired from Ukraine was shot down over the Black Sea town of Feodosia. An adviser to Aksyonov was cited as saying that debris had fallen in a Crimean town, but no damage or casualties have been reported.
A Ukrainian government minister is due to visit India on Monday and will seek humanitarian aid and equipment to repair energy infrastructure damaged during Russia’s invasion, the Hindu newspaper said on Saturday. Ukraine’s first deputy foreign minister, Emine Dzhaparova, will make the first visit to India by a Ukrainian government minister since Russia’s invasion.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed on Sunday it had destroyed a depot containing 70,000 tonnes of fuel near Zaporizhzhia as well as Ukrainian military warehouses in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The US justice department has launched an investigation into the possible release of Pentagon documents. Documents posted on several social media sites including Twitter appear to detail US and Nato aid to Ukraine, but may have been altered or used as part of a misinformation campaign.
The French defence ministry has denied the presence of French soldiers in Ukraine, as allegedly revealed in documents attributed to the Pentagon and leaked to Russian networks mid-week.
The BBC reports that the Russian activist Vitaly Votanovsky, who revealed details of the burials of Wagner mercenaries killed in Ukraine, has left Russia. He fled the country on 4 April.
Several thousand people took part in traditional Easter peace marches in about 70 German towns and cities on Saturday, calling on the government to push for an end to the Ukraine war.
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Russia’s defence ministry claimed on Sunday it had destroyed a depot containing 70,000 tonnes of fuel near Zaporizhzhia as well as Ukrainian military warehouses in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
'We must not lose heart' in the face of conflict, says archbishop of Canterbury in Easter sermon
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, used his Easter sermon to warn that “those who oppress and subjugate others will face divine justice”.
He told the congregation at Canterbury Cathedral that “cruel and oppressive rulers” who may look as though they are only becoming stronger, will “vanish”.
Reflecting on the war in Ukraine and other conflicts around the world, the archbishop said “we must not lose heart” in the face of conflict, because “true peace is no aimless daydream, but a reality offered because Christ was raised from the dead. Life triumphs over death, light over darkness”.
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Here are some images coming to us over the wires.
The BBC reports that the Russian activist Vitaly Votanovsky, who revealed details of the burials of Wagner mercenaries killed in Ukraine, has left Russia. He fled the country on 4 April.
Votanovsky, a former Russian army officer, was arrested on the day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after he went out and protested on that day in clothes with the words: “No to Putin!” and “No to war!” across them. He spent his 50th birthday in jail.
In May 2022, Votanovsky began to travel around Krasnodar Region, visiting every graveyard and recording those who had fallen.
He told the BBC that since December 2022 Russia’s battlefield losses “multiplied by several times”, citing the statistics he collected in Krasnodar.
Votanovsky says:
Deaths have simply skyrocketed. And recently, at the cemeteries, the graves have been all mobilised soldiers and Wagner guys. There have been very few [professional soldiers].
He says he has received death threats and was even offered “a spot at the cemetery”, but it was when a police officer told him to “get ready. It’s coming” that he made the decision to flee.
Votanovsky believes the police officer was referring to the state’s reaction to interviews he was giving and that they had enough to “open a serious criminal case” against him.
He has escaped to Armenia and plans to ask for political asylum in Germany.
Votanovsky adds:
For our state these are terrifying statistics and the Russian people just don’t know the true numbers. I wanted to show people the real scale of the disaster.
If people were to find out the true numbers of battlefield losses, they’d go crazy.
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The view from the Ukrainian town of Ochakiv appears idyllic. Beyond the beach, a narrow strip of land stretches out across the sea. The peninsula in Mykolaiv province is known as the Kinburn spit. In happier times holidaymakers would take a boat from Ochakiv and camp among the dunes. The nature reserve is home to swans, pelicans and migrating birds.
Last June it got a new and unwelcome visitor: Russia. Soldiers captured the rustic territory, with its summer houses and mini-lakes, and turned it into a military base. Ever since the Russian army has bombarded Ochakiv, which is five miles (8km) away. Truck mounted launchers release Grad missiles, sending them over the Black Sea. Afterwards the crews speed off and take cover amid the mazy sands.
On Friday, the Russians launched their biggest attack yet. At 5am they hit Ochakiv with 72 rockets. Another 50 fell in the district. The barrage lasted for over an hour. The town’s 7,000 residents woke in darkness to the sound of explosions. Two people were injured, one badly. Thermite projectiles fell from the sky and bathed the waterfront in a strange white light.
“They are swine, savages. They are killing peaceful people,” Serhii Kaminiev, a 52-year-old coffee shop owner, said. Kaminiev’s cafe is in Ochakiv’s central market. One of the Grads landed on the roof of a business selling clothes, setting it on fire. The pavilion was a twisted ruin. Charred T-shirts lay in a heap. Homeless dogs wandered among alleys of broken glass.
Aram Alaberdov, a security guard, said it was impossible to predict when the Russians might strike. “It’s good morning, good afternoon and good night,” he said wryly. He added: “In my view Vladimir Putin should be strongly punished. He’s worse than Hitler. Ukraine is like a shield protecting the whole of Europe. If we crack he will keep going.”
You can read the full report here.
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Pope Francis prays for peace in Ukraine and the ‘light of Easter’ to be shed upon the people of Russia
Pope Francis appeared to ask Russians to seek the truth about their country’s invasion of Ukraine in his Easter message to the world, in which he called for an end to all conflict.
Francis, 86, presided over the solemn Easter day Mass in St Peter’s Square and delivered his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message and blessing from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
Addressing a crowd, the Vatican estimated to be at about 100,000, he spoke of “the darkness and the gloom in which, all too often, our world finds itself enveloped”, and prayed to God for peace, Reuters reports.
Francis added:
Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their journey towards peace, and shed the light of Easter upon the people of Russia.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, Francis has regularly referred to Ukraine and its people as being “martyred” and has used words such as aggression and atrocities to describe Russia’s actions.
He asked God to:
… comfort the wounded and all those who have lost loved ones because of the war, and grant that prisoners may return safe and sound to their families.
Open the hearts of the entire international community to strive to end this war and all conflict and bloodshed in our world.
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French defence ministry denies presence of French soldiers in Ukraine
The French defence ministry has denied the presence of French soldiers in Ukraine, as allegedly revealed in documents attributed to the Pentagon and leaked to Russian networks midweek.
A spokesperson for the minister of the armed forces, Sébastien Lecornu, said:
There are no French forces engaged in operation in Ukraine. The documents cited do not come from the French armies. We do not comment on documents whose source is uncertain.
Top secret Pentagon documents, reportedly containing charts and details about anticipated weapons deliveries, battalion strengths and other sensitive information, were spread on Twitter and Telegram last week.
One slide suggested that a small contingent of less than a hundred special operations personnel from Nato members France, America, Britain and Latvia were already active in Ukraine.
According to military analysts, the papers have been altered in certain parts to overstate American estimates of Ukrainian war dead and understate estimates of Russian troops killed.
Kyiv has said the leaked files contain “fictitious information”.
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Several thousand people took part in traditional Easter peace marches in about 70 German towns and cities on Saturday, calling on the government to push for an end to the Ukraine war.
According to the Peace Cooperative Network, around 2,000 people took to the street in Berlin, while 1,200 attended a rally in Hanover and peace marches in Bremen, Munich, Cologne, Mainz and Leipzig were attended by a couple of hundred each.
The traditional rallies, which used to mobilise hundreds of thousands of people in the early 1980s, this year called for an end to German arms exports to Ukraine and a rollback of the plans to expand and rearm the German armed forces.
In Berlin, banners at the rally read “Peace, heating and bread instead of weapons, war and death”, and “Nato is the aggressor – peace with Russia”.
The marches were criticised in political circles. “At the very least there’s something naive to this year’s Easter marches,” said Thorsten Frei of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
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Here are some images coming to us over the wires.
After the death last year of the children’s author Shirley Hughes, her son, Ed Vulliamy, took hundreds of her books, including the award-winning Dogger, to libraries in Ukraine, where reading is helping to heal the children traumatised by war.
The National Library of Ukraine for Children in Kyiv, a city at war for more than a year, is defiantly open, busy and creative. Director Alla Gordiienko describes it as “a place for emotional shelter” where “everything we do starts with a book”. “A book is the best doctor for the soul,” says the librarian’s child psychologist Lada Tsybulska, one of the many roles that make this place special, especially during a war that traumatises Ukraine’s children.
My late mother – Shirley Hughes, beloved author and illustrator of several hundred children’s books and winner of the all-time Kate Greenaway prize for children’s literature – would have found a corner of heaven in this place, were she not a citizen of the real thing. (She died in February 2022, the day after Russia launched its attempted full-scale invasion of Ukraine.) This place is what she dreamed of, and this is why much of Mum’s collection of her own books arrived here last month, why Dogger – who, along with Alfie and Annie Rose, was her most famous character – had to come to Ukraine. And not just to Kyiv: scores of books will move on from here, around the country’s library network, including children’s libraries on the frontline at battered Kherson, to bombarded Mykolaiv, and to Bila Tserkva, 50km south of the capital, to which the library at fallen Mariupol has been evacuated.
Read the full report here.
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31 children reunited with families in Ukraine
Thirty-one children were reunited with their families in Ukraine after a long operation to return them from Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea, according humanitarian organisation Save Ukraine.
Kyiv estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken by Russia since the start of the war, in what it condemns as illegal deportations.
Moscow has denied abducting children and says they have been transported away for their own safety.
Mykola Kuleba, the founder of Save Ukraine, says this was the fifth rescue mission.
It was special regarding the number of children we managed to return and also because of its complexity.
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Here are some of the latest images from Ukraine:
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The UK Ministry of Defence has issued its intelligence update for 9 April saying the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, chaired a full security council session on 5 April, the first since 2022.
The update posted to Twitter outlined the details of the event:
The main report was presented by Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, and discussed reconstruction, law enforcement and public order in the illegally-annexed areas of Ukraine.
The choice of Kolokoltsev as the main speaker is likely an attempt by the Kremlin to portray the situation in those territories as being normalised.
In reality, much of the area remains an active combat zone, subject to partisan attacks, and with extremely limited access to basic services for many citizens.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 9 April 2023.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 9, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/oKqFC0PPNm
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/zXsff4dL3k
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Two killed in Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia
A 50-year-old man and his 11-year-old daughter were killed after Russian forces struck a residential building in the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia early on Sunday, authorities said.
Ukraine’s state emergency service also reported that a 46-year-old woman, who it described as the wife and mother of the victims, was pulled from the wreckage.
City council secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said two missiles had destroyed one building and damaged dozens of others during the overnight strike.
He wrote on the Telegram messaging app:
The cursed Russian terrorists attacked Zaporizhzhia again and lost human lives.
The strike was the latest in a series of recent attacks on civilian targets in the region as Moscow’s full-scale invasion drags into its second year.
Opening summary
Welcome back to our continuing coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine. I’m Yang Tian and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments.
It’s nearly 10am in Kyiv, here’s where things stand:
Ukrainian forces are working to strengthen defensive lines and positions along the border with Belarus and Russia, the defence ministry has said, citing Lt Gen Serhiy Nayev, commander of the joint forces of Ukraine’s armed forces.
More than 30 children have returned to Ukraine and reunited with their families after they were taken illegally to Russia, according to the Ukrainian organisation Save Ukraine. “Сhildren abducted by Russians from the Kherson and Kharkiv regions have been reunited with their families after several months of separation,” it said.
Russia’s campaign to break down Ukraine’s unified energy system within the past winter period has “highly likely failed”, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update. Large-scale long-range attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have become rare since early March, it said.
Ukraine’s ministry of defence provided the latest figures on the conflict. It said 177,680 Russian troops have been killed and 7,020 armoured combat vehicles have been destroyed.
Ukrainians have been marking the first anniversary of a missile strike on Kramatorsk railway station in eastern Ukraine, which killed at least 58 people, including several children. The attack took place on 8 April 2022, when the station was packed with women, children and elderly people waiting to be evacuated.
The Russian-backed head of Crimea’s administration, Sergei Aksyonov, said a missile fired from Ukraine was shot down over the Black Sea town of Feodosia. An adviser to Aksyonov was cited as saying that debris had fallen in a Crimean town, but no damage or casualties have been reported.
A Ukrainian government minister is due to visit India on Monday and will seek humanitarian aid and equipment to repair energy infrastructure damaged during Russia’s invasion, the Hindu newspaper said on Saturday. Ukraine’s first deputy foreign minister, Emine Dzhaparova, will make the first visit to India by a Ukrainian government minister since Russia’s invasion.
The US justice department has launched an investigation into the possible release of Pentagon documents. Documents posted on several social media sites including Twitter appear to detail US and Nato aid to Ukraine, but may have been altered or used as part of a misinformation campaign.
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