Russia-Ukraine war. Timeline of events, April 7-8

? A missile strike was carried out at the Kramatorsk railway station. The station was filled with people evacuating. At the moment, fifty civilians are known to have died. Another 86 people were injured.

? The European Union handed over to Kiev a questionnaire for obtaining the status of a candidate. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Ukraine on an official visit and handed over to President Volodymyr Zelensky a questionnaire, the completion of which is a necessary step to grant Ukraine the status of an EU candidate. “We will be ready with answers in a week,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Photo: part of the rocket that fell in Kramatorsk – UNIAN

Other news from Ukraine:

? The Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights, Lyudmila Denisova, said that more than 121,000 Ukrainian children were forcibly taken to Russia. According to her, during the war, 169 children were killed and another 306 were injured. Denisova also claims that Russian soldiers sexually abuse children. Thus, according to her information, a 14-year-old girl (now she is pregnant) and an 11-year-old boy were raped in Bucha.

? The Russian Foreign Ministry laid the blame for the shelling of Kramatorsk on Kyiv and called on Western countries to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine:

“The Kyiv regime is striving for maximum casualties among civilians. Their murder in the Donbass over the past eight years has become a common practice for Ukrainian armed groups. Cold-bloodedly and cynically destroying the civilian population, Kyiv is trying to shift the responsibility to the Russian side in order to discredit the special military operation to protect the DPR and LHP. Evidence of the guilt of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is obvious – it is they who are armed and use Tochka-U missiles, the fragments of which were found at the site of the tragedy. Such inhuman actions of the Kiev regime confirm the validity of the tasks of the special military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.

? Despite the statements of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the media and experts cite evidence that officially decommissioned Tochka-U missiles are still used by the Russian army along with the Iskander that replaced them. At least one train with these missiles was seen in Gomel.

? In the village of Makarov, Kiev region, the bodies of 132 civilians killed by the Russian military were found. This was stated by the head of the village Vadim Tokar. According to him, the dead were found, including in mass graves. Makarov himself is 40% destroyed, many houses can no longer be restored.

? Since the beginning of the war, about 700 people have died in Chernihiv – both military and civilians, Mayor Vladislav Atroshenko said at a press conference. The bodies of 70 people have not yet been identified. Atroshenko noted that about 40 more people are considered missing, but, presumably, they could die.

Photo: exhumation of the bodies of civilians killed in Bucha – UNIAN

In the world:

? British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that after a “shameless” air strike on Kramatorsk, he is sending an additional batch of weapons worth a total of 100 million pounds to Ukraine. According to him, it includes Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles, 800 anti-tank missiles, Mastiff armored cars, as well as precision-guided munitions that can hover in the sky, waiting to be pointed to the target.

? Slovakia has handed over to Ukraine its only S-300 anti-aircraft missile system, said Prime Minister Eduard Heger. In return for the S-300, Slovakia will receive four Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems from the United States, said Defense Minister Yaroslav Nagy.

? Emmanuel Macron announced the readiness of Europe to introduce new sanctions against Russia.

? The EU banned citizens of Russia and Belarus deposits on crypto wallets as part of a new package of sanctions.

Video: soldiers of the Azov regiment fighting in Mariupol – UNIAN

In Russia:

? A girl who went on a picket against the war was detained near the building of the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. Ekaterina Morozova stood with a banner “Right now, the Russian military is raping and killing Ukrainian women. Stop this war!”

? A project on the nationalization of the property of citizens of “unfriendly countries” was submitted to the Duma.

?The Russian Foreign Ministry has declared 45 Polish diplomats persona non grata. They must leave Russia by April 13. In March, the Polish authorities expelled 45 Russian diplomats who, according to the Polish intelligence services, were engaged in espionage. In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of two Bulgarian diplomats. In March, Bulgaria expelled two Russian diplomats in connection with an espionage investigation.

? Since April 7, Sberbank has stopped all transfers abroad in foreign currency. The ban applies to transfers at bank branches and in the Sberbank Online mobile application. This decision was made in connection with the entry into force of sanctions restrictions on foreign exchange transactions with correspondent accounts in foreign banks.

Photo: destroyed building in one of the cities of Ukraine – UNIAN

? Morning briefing of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:

• Russian Armed Forces continue to prepare for an offensive in eastern Ukraine. The main efforts are focused on the capture of Mariupol, the offensive in the Izyum region, and the breakthrough of the defense of the Joint Forces grouping in the Donetsk direction. In the Yuzhnobuzh direction, Russia is trying to prevent the advance of Ukrainian troops.
• The armed forces of Belarus have strengthened the protection of the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.
• There is still a possibility of missile and air strikes from the territory of Belarus on military and civilian infrastructure facilities on the territory of Ukraine.
• On the territory of Belarus, volunteers are being recruited to join new units of PMCs.
• Russian troops are restoring the combat capability of units in the areas of the Bryansk and Kursk regions. Work is underway to restore the railway from the city of Kupyansk to the cities of Kharkov, Izyum and Svatovo.
• The Russian army continues to blockade Kharkov. In Izyum, which they occupy, representatives of the DPR perform the functions of the police: they check documents and conduct searches.
• The RF Armed Forces continue to carry out air strikes and shell civilian infrastructure, including with the use of multiple launch rocket systems.
• Over the past 24 hours, seven attacks by the Russian Armed Forces have been repulsed on the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, four tanks, two artillery systems, ten units of armored and eleven vehicles of the Russian army have been destroyed.

? As a result of a missile strike from the sea, infrastructure facilities in the Odessa region were hit, according to the Yug operational command.

? Three evacuation trains blocked after an air strike in the Donetsk region continued to move and are now at a safe distance from the place of impact, Hromadske reports. No one was injured among the passengers, said Pavel Kirilenko, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration.

? In Melitopol, Russian forces kidnapped more than 100 people, according to the head of the city, Ivan Fedorov. According to Ukrayinska Pravda, earlier in the city, the chairman of the Melitopol District Council, Serhiy Pryma, and five school directors were kidnapped. According to the mayor, the Russians also abducted several teachers from the Melitopol Pedagogical University. Ivan Fedorov himself was abducted on March 9. Immediately after his disappearance, the DNR and LNR announced that they were accusing him of promoting terrorism. Fedorov was released as a result of an exchange on March 16.

Video: Meduza published a video proving that civilians in Bucha were killed while Russian troops were stationed in the city. The video was filmed between March 23 to March 30, when the city was under the control of the occupiers. The recording was made from a drone

In the world:

? President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen left for Kyiv.

? The European Union will provide military assistance to Ukraine for another 500 million euros. “After rapid approval, this will increase the EU support already provided to Ukraine with military equipment to 1.5 billion euros”, European Council President Charles Michel tweeted.

? Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Serbia voted to suspend Russia’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council due to pressure and blackmail. He announced this on national television.

? The White House claims that for every Russian tank in Ukraine, there are 90 anti-tank systems provided by Western countries. This statement was made by the official representative of the US presidential administration Jen Psaki.

? Switzerland has blocked Russian assets (holdings) worth more than 8 billion dollars.

? The US Department of Commerce imposes export sanctions against Aeroflot, Azur Air and Utair.

? Sources of the American television channel CNN said that Russian diplomats sent a note with threats to delegations of UN member states warning them not to suspend Russia’s participation in the activities of the UN Human Rights Council. The text of the note as follows:

“We note that not only support for such an initiative, but also an equidistant position in the voting will be regarded as an unfriendly step”.

Video: Pink Floyd for the first time in 30 years released a new song – “Hey Hey Rise Up”  in support of the Ukrainian people. The recording used the vocals of Ukrainian musician Andrey Khlyvnyuk. all proceeds from its sale will be used to provide humanitarian aid for Ukraine

? “Yes, yes, we have significant losses. This is a huge tragedy for us,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Sky News. He did not give exact numbers. In the same interview, Peskov was asked about the shelling of a maternity hospital in Mariupol and the killing of civilians in Bucha – the Ukrainian authorities blame the Russian troops for this. The Kremlin spokesman echoed the official position of the Russian authorities, calling the events in Mariupol a “fake” and the murders in Bucha a “staging.”

? The resolution on the exclusion of Russia from the Human Rights Council was approved by 93 countries, 24 voted against, 58 abstained. Representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan did not participate in the vote. Georgia voted in favor. The resolution was adopted due to gross violations of human rights in Bucha near Kiev.

Video: Azov regiment fighting with Russian troops – UNIAN

News from Ukraine:

? Briefing of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at 18:00:

• Russia continues to prepare for an offensive in eastern Ukraine and regroup its troops.
• Russian troops concentrated on the capture of Mariupol, an offensive in the Izyum region and attempts to break through the defenses in the Donetsk direction.
• Separate units of the Russian troops, after leaving Ukraine, are restoring their combat capability in the Bryansk and Kursk regions of Russia, as well as in Belarus.
• Kharkov is blocked and fired upon by up to five battalion tactical groups of Russia.
• Russian troops are holding the city of Izyum, trying to continue the offensive in the direction of Slavyansk and Barvenkovo.
• In the Donetsk and Tauride directions, Russia continues the assault and launches missile and bomb strikes on civilian infrastructure.
• Attempts to attack continue in the areas of the settlements of Donetsk, Novotoshkovskoye, Popasnoe, Maryinka, Borovskoye and Sladkoe.
• Russia, presumably, is preparing to break through the defense of Ukrainian troops in the Severodonetsk, Avdeevsky and Kurakhovsky regions.
• The ships of the Russian Navy in the waters of the Black and Azov seas launch missile strikes on the territory of Ukraine.
• In the Zaporozhye region, Russian troops banned men from leaving towards the territory controlled by the Ukrainian authorities. There is a shortage of essential goods in the region.

? Briefing of the Russian Ministry of Defense:

• Russian troops blocked the settlement of Ugledar, now they are fighting for its liberation.
• Russian troops completely blocked the settlement of Novomikhailovka and began to clean it up.
• Air-launched high-precision missiles hit a cluster of Ukrainian military equipment at the Novograd-Volynsky railway station in the Zhytomyr region.
• Operational-tactical aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 42 military facilities of Ukraine.

? Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, speaking at NATO, said that the battle for Donbass “will resemble the Second World War,” writes UNIAN. According to him, the battle for Donbass will take place with “major operational maneuvers and thousands of tanks, aircraft and armored vehicles.”

“Either you help us now – I’m talking about days, not weeks – or your help will come too late and many people will die,” Kuleba said, addressing the members of the North Atlantic Alliance.

? In the near future, Russian troops intend to try to capture the entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions, after which they will try to take Kyiv again. Oleksandr Gruzevich, Deputy Head of the Headquarters of the Ground Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, announced this at a briefing.

? Russian troops blocked the evacuation from the east of Ukraine, said the head of the Lugansk regional administration Serhiy Gaidai. According to him, Russia struck an overpass near the Barvenkovo ​​station in the Kharkiv region. Gaidai said it was the only Ukrainian-controlled railroad exit from cities like Slovyansk, Kramatorsk and Liman. Gaidai said that about 500 evacuated residents of the Luhansk region were stuck at the train station in the Donetsk region. In Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, according to him, three evacuation trains are temporarily blocked.

Photo: TV channel “Ukraine 24” published a photo of a woman from Borodyanka, who, allegedly, has been waiting for the third day for her family members to be pulled out from under the rubble

In the world:

? Finland is preparing to apply for NATO membership, according to Iltalehti newspaper. According to the publication’s sources, the decision to join NATO will be made in early May, and Finland can apply as early as April. Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg repeatedly noted that NATO member states are ready to accept Finland as a member of the alliance.

? The Parliament of Latvia adopted a law restricting the issuance of residence permits to citizens of Russia and Belarus. The amendments adopted by the Seimas concern the issuance of primary residence permits. The amendments to the law say nothing about the extension of already issued residence permits, from which we can conclude that the procedure does not change, writes Delfi.

? Belgium has blocked Russian financial transactions for almost 200 billion euros. Also, the Belgian authorities froze almost three billion euros belonging to individuals and legal entities from Russia.

? US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the US is providing intelligence to Ukrainian forces for operations in Donbas.

? The US Senate voted to stop importing energy from Russia. Following him, the US House of Representatives voted in favor of the refusal.

? The leaders of the G7 countries have decided to ban new investments in the “key areas” of the Russian economy. As emphasized in the G7 statement, the energy sector will also fall under this ban. The G7 leaders also agreed that they would continue to “disconnect Russian banks from the global financial system.”

Video: the destruction of a Russian tank from the Ukrainian ATGM “Stugna” – Ukraine 24

In Russia:

? Russia will take action if a number of states “under persistent pressure from the United States” transfer weapons and military equipment of Russian (Soviet) production to Ukraine, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation of Russia said, Interfax writes.

? YouTube, at the request of Roskomnadzor, blocked the video with the song “Do the Russians Want Wars” by the Soviet artist Mark Bernes. The song was first performed back in 1961.

Photo: SAM “BUK”, captured by Ukrainian troops – UNIAN

? German intelligence claims to have intercepted Russian military radio communications discussing the killing of civilians in Bucha, reports Spiegel. The newspaper writes that the records show that the killings were “part of a clear strategy” to “intimidate the civilian population and crush resistance.” It is alleged that German intelligence also has other records of intercepts, from which it follows that events similar to those that happened in Bucha took place in other settlements captured by Russian troops.

? Lavrov: Ukraine presented a new draft agreement with Russia, in which it departed from the Istanbul agreements. According to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ukraine proposes to discuss the issues of Crimea and Donbass at a meeting of the presidents of the two countries. Lavrov called it “unacceptable,” writes Interfax. Also, according to Lavrov, Ukraine changed the following points:

• The point about conducting military exercises only with the consent of all guarantor countries, including Russia.
• The point that Ukraine’s security guarantees do not apply to Crimea and Sevastopol.
• The Russian Foreign Minister believes that Kyiv is trying to “undermine” negotiations with Moscow under pressure from Washington, which allegedly pushes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to continue hostilities.

? The Belarusian side must be represented at the negotiations on a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, Alexander Lukashenko believes:

“There can be no negotiations without the participation of Belarus. Since you got us involved in this, primarily Western countries, there, at these negotiations, of course, the position of Belarus should be voiced,” Lukashenko said.

Photo: Situation in Donbas – Nexta live

News from Ukraine:

? More than 464 children suffered during the war in Ukraine. Of these, 167 were killed and more than 297 were injured, according to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

? Buchi Mayor: 90% of the dead have bullet wounds, not shrapnel. Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk said this in an interview with Deutsche Welle. Here’s what else he said:

• Before the war, 50 thousand people lived in Bucha. Today there are 3,700 people in the city, but this number is growing little by little because critical infrastructure specialists are returning.
• As of April 6, 320 dead civilians were found in the city. Their number is growing because bodies are found in private yards, parks, squares. People tried to bury the dead, “so that the dogs would not take them away.”
• 112 private houses were destroyed and cannot be restored, about a hundred more were damaged. In addition, 18 apartment buildings were damaged and burnt out as a result of shelling.

? The mayor of the captured Kakhovka, Vitaliy Nemerets, said that he had left the city, therefore he refused to cooperate with Russian troops, and was in the territory controlled by Ukraine.

? The main battles in the central part of Mariupol are over, said the representative of the people’s militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Eduard Basurin.

Video: Ukrainian authorities say Russian troops are forcibly transporting Mariupol civilians to Russia — Nexta live

In the world:

? Chinese state-owned oil refiners refuse to enter into new contracts for the supply of Russian oil – even despite big discounts. This was told by six sources Reuters. According to the interlocutors of the agency, Chinese companies fear that the purchase of additional volumes of oil in Russia can be regarded as support for Moscow.

? Reuters: The EU will postpone the ban on Russian coal for a month – until August. EU diplomats are due today to approve the ban on Russian coal. It will come into force from mid-August – a month later than originally proposed, a source told Reuters. Germany insisted on postponing the coal ban, the agency writes. If approved, this will be the first embargo on Russian energy resources by the EU. The ban does not yet apply to oil and gas.

? The Minister of the Interior of Germany spoke about 383 crimes against immigrants from Russia since the beginning of the war. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 383 crimes against people from Russia and 181 against people from Ukraine have been recorded in Germany, German Interior Minister Nancy Feather said. These are mainly insults, damage to property, but also acts of violence. “It’s clear to us that we protect every person in our country,” Feather added.

? Spotify will stop working in Russia on April 11th. The fact that the streaming service will leave the Russian market in April became known about two weeks ago.

Video: Ukrainian soldiers destroy a Russian tank – UNIAN

In Russia:

? The Russian express delivery operator CDEK has turned off video broadcasts from its offices on the border with Ukraine. Earlier, a video from a post office in Gomel, in which the Russian military sent parcels with allegedly looted items in Ukraine, circulated on the network.

? Bloomberg predicted a doubling of unemployment in Russia. Unemployment in Russia in 2022 could more than double from the first quarter of the year and exceed 9% for the first time in more than a decade, according to a Bloomberg poll of analysts.

? Novaya Gazeta journalists who left Russia launched the Novaya Gazeta. Europe”

“This is not a branch of Novaya Gazeta, but an independent project, legally and factually independent. “New Newspaper. Europe” will tell the world about what is happening in Russia in several languages. It will cover world and Russian news for people who read Russian and share European values,” the publication’s telegram channel says. Editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta. Europe” became Kirill Martynov, who worked as the editor of the political department of Novaya Gazeta until the publication was suspended.

? In Russia, there is a shortage of the most popular Acuvue contact lenses, which account for half of the import of all these products into the country, Kommersant writes. The lens manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, announced at the end of March that it would stop deliveries of personal care products to Russia.

? Against the background of the imposition of tough sanctions by the West, Russia can expect a sharp increase in the level of corruption. This was stated by the plenipotentiary representative of the government in the Constitutional and Supreme Courts Mikhail Barshchevsky.

? President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, in an evening video message, reiterated that Russian troops are preparing a new offensive in the Donbass. Western analysts also talk about the transfer of Russian units to this region. On April 6, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk called on residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions to urgently evacuate.

?Donbas is an important industrial region of Ukraine. During the war in 2014, the self-proclaimed republics, with the support of Russia, managed to occupy part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. After that, the conflict was frozen, Ukraine concentrated very large forces in the Donbas. It is very important for Russia to seize the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, because it recognized the self-proclaimed republics within the borders of these regions. The outcome of the entire war will depend on the outcome of the Battle for Donbass.

Other news from Ukraine:

? Ukrainian media write that after the night shelling, a strong fire started in the city.

? Russia began to create pseudo-authorities in the captured Energodar and “fired” legitimate officials, said the Ukrainian enterprise Energoatom (manages the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant located in the city). 34 members of the so-called “public council of self-organization of Energodar” elected Andrey Shevchik, a city council deputy from the pro-Russian party “Opposition Platform – For Life”, as the head of the city. And he, by his order, “dismissed” the current head of the city, Dmitry Orlov, and the heads of the city authorities.

? In Mariupol, during the bombing of a children’s hospital by Russian invaders, almost 50 people were burned alive. This was stated by the mayor of the city Vadim Boychenko. According to him, Mariupol is now almost completely destroyed by Russian troops: more than 90% of the city’s infrastructure has been destroyed, of which at least 40% can no longer be restored.

? The New York Times writes that it managed to establish the authenticity of a video that appeared on social networks on Monday, in which Ukrainian soldiers finish off wounded Russian soldiers with point-blank shots. The video was filmed in a village west of Kyiv, writes NYT. It looks like some of them have their hands tied. Nearby is also a BMD-2 armored vehicle with the V symbol. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense previously reported the destruction of a Russian convoy in these places. On March 30, the Ukrainian agency UNIAN posted a video of the destruction of the ambush column. It reported that the operation was carried out by the “Georgian Legion”, consisting of volunteers from Georgia.

? According to the UN, at least 1,563 civilians have died since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Another 2213 – wounded

Photo: The situation in Mariupol according to British intelligence

In the world:

? About 1,700 Ukrainian refugees (NBC News estimated) have gathered in Tijuana, Mexico on the US border, near San Diego, California, hoping to receive asylum in America. In March, President Biden announced that the US would take in 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. CBS News reports that about 150 Ukrainians are allowed into the US every day. They entered Mexico on tourist visas. At the same time, condemnation of the unfair treatment of the United States and the West in general towards other migrants is growing. It is claimed that Ukrainians are given a significant preference over hundreds of thousands of refugees from other countries of the world, where destructive wars are also going on.

? The United States is training the Ukrainian military to operate the Switchblade kamikaze drones. This was reported to Associated Press by a source in the Pentagon. According to the interlocutor of the agency, a small group of Ukrainian military personnel stationed in the United States are being trained. According to him, we are talking about 10 soldiers who will return to Ukraine in the near future. The fact that the United States is going to transfer Switchblade, guided homing missiles, also called kamikaze drones, to Ukraine became known in mid-March.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on Thursday that it has helped deliver 5,000 sets of Starlink satellite internet equipment from SpaceX to Ukraine, CNN reports.

? Czech Defense Minister Yana Chernokhova said today that her country is sending “necessary military equipment” to Ukraine, without going into details. Earlier it was reported that the United States and its NATO partners plan to transfer to Ukraine the remaining Soviet-style weapons, with which the Ukrainian military is already familiar and they do not need to undergo retraining.

The U.S. believes it can identify Russian military units that Ukraine and Western countries hold responsible for killing civilians in Bucha, an unnamed U.S. official told CNN.

? The US Senate unanimously supported the approval of a law allowing President Biden to activate the lend-lease program. This will help to deliver military equipment to Ukraine under an accelerated procedure.

? Russian rapper Oksimiron held the third charity concert in Berlin in support of Ukrainian refugees Russians Against War.

? NATO countries are divided on the future policy towards Russia against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries are calling for increased pressure, a complete severance of relations with Moscow and measures that will “bring Russia to its knees,” writes The New York Times with referring to two high-ranking Western officials. But Germany, France and Turkey intend to maintain contacts with the Russian authorities, regardless of what is happening.

Video: Ukrainian military destroys equipment with the help of the British ATGM NLAW  — UNIAN

In Russia:

? 60 Pskov paratroopers refused to go to war in Ukraine. “After the first days of the war, they were first withdrawn to the territory of the Republic of Belarus, after which they returned to their place of deployment in Pskov. Now most of them are being fired, but some are also threatened with criminal cases,” the Pskov Gubernia telegram channel reports.

? “It is indecent and dishonorable to ask how many Krasnoyarsk citizens died in Ukraine.” This was stated by the chief military commissar of the Krasnoyarsk Territory when asked about the number of those killed in the war.

Photo: Borodyanka after the Russian invasion – UNIAN