The Ukrainian military says that its forces have retaken some towns in the Chernihiv region and that humanitarian aid is being delivered.
Pope Francis decried the “sacrilegious war” in Ukraine on Sunday as he wrapped up a two-day trip to Malta that bore a pointed pro-migrant message and drew his sharpest rebuke yet of Russia’s invasion.
White House chief of staff Ron Klain says the U.S. remains fully committed to providing a full range of economic and military support to Ukraine in its war against Russia, which he describes as “far from over.”
A leading rights group said on Sunday it had documented what it described as "apparent war crimes" committed by Russian military forces against civilians in Ukraine.
The conflict began escalating on February 21, 2022, after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and deployed troops in a peacekeeping role.
Read | Yes, a Ukraine peace plan is possible
Here are the latest updates
France’s Macron: new Russia sanctions needed after Bucha killings
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that a new round of sanctions targeting Russia were needed and that there were clear indications Russian forces were responsible for the killings of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.
“There are very clear clues pointing to war crimes. It is more or less established that the Russian army is responsible (for the Bucha killings),” Mr. Macron told France Inter radio.
“What happened in Bucha demands a new round of sanctions and very clear measures,” Mr. Macron added. -Reuters
Russia says footage in Ukraine’s Bucha was ‘ordered’ to blame Russia
Russia’s foreign ministry said that footage of dead civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha had been “ordered” by the United States as part of a plot to blame Russia.
“Who are the masters of provocation? Of course, the United States and NATO,” ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview on state television late on Sunday. -Reuters
Ukraine to probe alleged Russian atrocities
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country will conduct a probe into alleged atrocities against civilians by Russian troops involving international investigators.
Zelenskyy said in an address that “the world has seen many war crimes,” adding that “the time has come to make the war crimes committed by Russian troops the last such evil on Earth.” He said that a special justice mechanism will be created to investigate the Russian atrocities with the participation of international prosecutors and judges. -AP
New Zealand PM calls killings ‘reprehensible’
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday described reports of rape and other atrocities by Russian troops in Ukraine as “reprehensible.” Bodies with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds and signs of torture lay scattered in a city on the outskirts of Kyiv after Russian soldiers withdrew from the area. Ukrainian authorities accused the departing forces on Sunday of committing war crimes and leaving behind a “scene from a horror movie.” “The reports of Ukrainian civilians who have been killed, raped and severely wounded by Russian troops is beyond reprehensible,” Ardern told reporters in the New Zealand capital Wellington. -PTI
Japan condemns attacks on Ukraine civilians
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters Monday that he strongly condemned the reported attacks on civilians in Ukrainian towns on the outskirts of Kyiv “as a violation of international law.” European leaders have already condemned the reported attacks, responding to images of bodies in the streets, including some with their hands tied behind their backs. -PTI
Ukraine’s leader asks help in Grammys video
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appeared in a video at the Grammy Awards asking for support in telling the story of Ukraine’s invasion by Russia.
During the pre-recorded message that aired on the show Sunday night, he spoke in English, likening the attack to a deadly silence threatening to extinguish the dreams and lives of the Ukrainian people, including children.
In his words: “Our musicians wear body armour instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals, even to those who can’t hear them. But the music will break through anyway.” -AP
Russia seeks Monday UN Security Council meet on Bucha, Ukraine
Moscow has called for a special UN Security Council meeting Monday to address claims that Russian forces committed atrocities against Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, a town outside Kyiv.
“In the light of heinous provocation of Ukrainian radicals in #Bucha Russia requested a meeting of UN #SecurityCouncil on Monday, April 4,” Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday on Twitter. -AFP
Ukraine: 410 civilian bodies found near Kyiv
Ukraine’s prosecutor-general says the bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian troops.
Iryna Venediktova says on Facebook that the bodies were recovered Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. She says 140 of them have undergone examination by prosecutors and other specialists. -AP
NATO leader condemns “brutality” in Ukraine
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the graphic images coming out of Bucha, Ukraine after Russian troops withdrew show “a brutality against civilians we haven’t seen in Europe for decades.’’
He tells CNN’s “State of the Union” that “it’s absolutely unacceptable that civilians are targeted and killed” and that it’s Russian President Vladimir Putin’s responsibility to stop the war. -AP
