WAR IN UKRAINE: April 3, 2022 — Michael Bociurkiw

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 39

Multiple Russian air strikes hit the strategic port city of Odesa earlier this morning. Russia says it targeted oil facilities in the region that Ukraine was using to supply its troops. Ukrainian officials say there are no known casualties so far. A fuel depot in the Ukrainian city is burning, according to a CNN team on the scene, sending a black plume of smoke over the city. Serengeti Bratchuk, spokesman of the Operational Staff of Odesa regional military administration said: “One of the critical infrastructure objects was hit this this morning," he said on national television. "Currently the situation is under control, the respective services are working on site. The details will be announced later." The Odesa City Council said that some Russian missiles were downed by their air defense system and that fire had broken out in some districts.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar: The entire Kyiv Oblast is free of Russian forces as of April 2. The region sustained some of the most intense fighting as Russians tried to reach the capital. As towns of Bucha and Irpin were retaken from withdrawing Russian forces, horrific photos and videos emerged. Ruined houses, burned-down cars, and bodies of civilians scattered around the streets.The photos appear to prove that the Russian forces carried out targeted, organized killings of civilians in Bucha, particularly of men: They are often found shot dead, with their hands tied behind their backs (photo below). “We have documented an unmistakable case of summary execution by Russian Federation forces in Bucha on March 4,” a Human Rights Watch spokeswoman said. - Kyiv Independent
On Saturday, Belarus media reported that retreating Russian forces had six motorway accidents destroying civilian Belarus cars and trucks. It appears that the first stop will be Gomel, near the Belarus Russia border.
Ukraine’s refugee flow has reportedly reversed. Ukrainian customs and immigration reported that since the start of the war 620,000 Ukrainians have returned. Over the last week the number of returning women and children overtook the number of returning men. However at a major border crossing we visited last week we saw no civilians crossing into Ukraine - rather small groups of women and children from Dnipro fleeing the violence for Poland.

In a Facebook post, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry Intelligence Directorate says that Russian troops have set up an open-air marketplace in the Belarus town of Naroulia. The items are reportedly from the Sumy region and reportedly include children’s toys, jewelry, cars, cosmetics, and currency. The Russian are said to be trying to see the goods for dollars and euros but are encountering problems from people in Belarus who are reluctant to buy with foreign currency.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says that Russia holds hostage mayors in Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Donetsk oblasts, reports the Kyiv Independent.
According to Ukrainian minister Iryna Vereshchuk, Russian forces had confiscated 14 tons of humanitarian aid from the buses bound for Melitopol, CNN reported. Vereshchuk said the food and medication was loaded on 12 buses. She added that Russian forces also blocked 45 buses going to Berdyansk on Thursday en route to Mariupol.
“Poison? It’s a bad curry, I said. Then I saw the tests” - Bellingcat’s boss recalls how Ukraine called in his sleuths when peace negotiators participating in the Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations fell ill. Full story in The Times of London here