What happened on day 36 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Russian forces continue to lay siege to Mariupol but pulled back from positions near Kyiv, while the governor of a Russian region accused Ukrainian helicopters of attacking an oil plant inside Russia.
Russia said two Ukrainian military helicopters made a rare strike across the border, hitting an oil tank facility in the city of Belgorod. There was no immediate confirmation from Kyiv.
Europol sends teams to the Ukraine border
Europol, the European Union police agency, has sent teams to countries bordering Ukraine in an effort to protect refugees from criminals. These teams are operating in Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Moldova.
The United Nations says that more than 4 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24. More than 7,800 Ukrainians have sought asylum in Norway.
Ukraine says 153 children killed in the conflict so far
A total of 153 children have been killed in the war in Ukraine to date, the Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals’ Office said. A further 245 children have been injured in the conflict, officials said.
Russian gas continues to flow into Europe
Russian state-owned energy conglomerate Gazprom recently said that its natural gas continued to flow into Europe via Ukraine. It comes as European countries face deadlines to start paying for gas in rubles on Friday, April 1, 2022 or have existing contracts with Russia halted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that said foreign buyers would have to pay in rubles for Russian gas from April 1.
Russia-Ukraine talks to continue
Talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials are set to resume today (Friday, April 1, 2022), according to a member of the Ukrainian delegation. David Arakhamia, a Ukrainian official who has taken part in negotiations, said on Ukrainian television earlier this week that Russia and Ukraine would resume their talks on April 1.
World heritage at risk amid Ukraine war
Dozens of valuable churches, historical sites and museums have been damaged by the war in Ukraine, the United Nations’ cultural agency said on Friday, adding that it was particularly worried about the northern city of Chernihiv.
UNESCO’s first, preliminary list of totally or partially damaged sites featured 29 religious sites, 16 historical buildings, four museums and four monuments, it said.
Russia redeploying forces from Georgia
Russia is redeploying as many as 2,000 troops from Georgia to reinforce its invasion of Ukraine, the UK defense ministry said. The forces are being reorganized into battalion tactical groups.
“It is highly unlikely that Russia planned to generate reinforcements into his manner and it is indicative of the expected losses it has sustained during the invasion,” the UK said.
Ukraine has retaken the villages of Sloboda
British military intelligence said on Friday that, Ukrainian forces have retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka to the south of Chernihiv and located along main supply routes between the city and Kyiv.
“Ukraine has also continued to make successful but limited counter attacks to the east and northeast of Kyiv,” Britain’s Ministry of Defense said.
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