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As the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to over a month, Ukraine said on Saturday its forces had seized back all areas around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched the invasion. Since sending troops on February 24 in what it calls a "special operation" to demilitarise its neighbour, Russia has failed to capture a single major city and has instead laid siege to urban areas, uprooting a quarter of Ukraine's population.
Here are the top updates from Russia-Ukraine war:
1. As Russian troops regrouped for battles in east Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russian forces of leaving behind mines. Meanwhile, Ukraine's troops have retaken more than 30 towns and villages around Kyiv since Russia pulled back from the area this week, Ukrainian officials said.
"The whole Kyiv region is liberated from the invader," Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Malyar, wrote on Facebook. There was no Russian comment on the claim, which Reuters could not immediately verify.
2. Meanwhile, the British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she was appalled by atrocities in Bucha and voiced support for the International Criminal Court's inquiry into potential war crimes in Ukraine. This comes at a time when Russia is denying targeting civilians and rejects war crimes allegations.
3. The US Defence Department has announced that it is allocating $300 million in security assistance for Ukraine to boost its defence capabilities, thus adding to the existing $1.6 billion assistance already committed by the Biden administration. The White House also said it is providing supplies to Ukraine to protect itself if Russia uses chemical and biological weapons against the war-hit country.
4. A Ukrainian official on Saturday accused Russian forces of opening fire on peaceful demonstrators, injuring four with "severe burns", in the southern city of Enerhodar occupied by Moscow's forces, AFP reported. The Russian troops took control of Enerhodar, the site of Europe's largest nuclear power plant, in early March. "Today in Enerhodar, city residents gathered again for a rally in support of Ukraine, singing the anthem," Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova said on Telegram.
5. Russia has depicted its drawdown of forces near Kyiv as a goodwill gesture in peace talks. Ukraine and its allies say Russia was forced to shift its focus to east Ukraine after suffering heavy losses near Kyiv. Both sides described talks held this week in Istanbul and by video link as "difficult". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday the "main thing is that the talks continue, either in Istanbul or somewhere else." A new round of talks has not yet been announced. But Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said on Saturday that enough progress had been made to allow direct talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy, as per Reuters report.
(With inputs from agencies)
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