April, 06

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have continued to regain control over territories invaded by the forces of the Russian Federation (hereinafter: Russia). Demining efforts in these areas are ongoing. 

Ukrainian officials continue collecting evidence related to the alleged war crimes committed by Russian troops. Search efforts for missing individuals continue. 

Russian troops continue regrouping their forces, partially in Russian territories, and advances are expected on the Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk fronts. Local authorities are urging people to evacuate from these oblasts. 

Hostilities are taking place in the administrative border areas of Kharkiv and Mykolayiv oblasts. 

At least one civilian is reported to have died in the shelling of a residential house on Lesi Ukrayinky street in Novooleksiivka in Kherson oblast by Russian troops. The village hosts a community of Crimean Tatars. 

Shelling and hostilities have been reported in cities including Mariupol, Kharkiv, Chuhuyev, Izyum, Kozyatyn, Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Rubizhne, Avdiivka, and Stepnohirsk.

Examples of recent hostilities include:

Oil depots in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts have been damaged by shelling;

 A humanitarian aid centre in Vuhledar in the Donetsk oblast has been shelled. 2 people are reported to have died and 5 wounded in the attack; 

 A depot storing liquid mineral fertilizers in the Ternopil oblast has been hit by a rocket shot down by the Ukrainian air defence forces. Resulting damage has contaminated river Ikva running through the Ternopil and Rivne oblast. 

167 residential houses, 44 schools, 26 kindergartens, and an orphanage have been damaged in Kyiv since the start of the invasion. The invasion has already claimed 90 lives with 400 people having been injured. 

Approximately 40% of the infrastructure in Mariupol has been destroyed beyond repair. 

Russian troops continue to terrorize civilians in the territories it controls. An increasing number of troops are, for example, operating in Melitopol. 

The Russian military has blocked the operations of a humanitarian centre in Berdyansk and detained volunteers working for the centre.

Ukrainian mobile operators have also been blocked in the Berdyansk. 

Russian troops have established a so-called filtration camp in Manush for those feeling from Mariupol.

According to the city council of Mariupol, Russian soldiers have begun to cremate bodies in order to destroy evidence of civilian deaths and avoid public outcries similar to those following Russia’s retreat from Bucha.

Russian troops are reported to have confiscated property as well as tortured and abducted civilians in the Kherson oblast. Furthermore, pro-Ukrainian activists Oleh Kozhemyakin and Vasyl Latanyuk continue to be held in Russian detention in the city of Kakhovka. A member of the Kherson Oblast Council, Serhiy Maksymenko, and his son have been abducted. 

The extent of the destruction of cultural heritage is gradually coming to light as Ukraine continues to regain control over the territories held by Russia. Russian forces are reportedly responsible for the destruction of a chocolate factory in Trostyanets in the Sumy oblast. The factory was used as an ammunition depot by Russian troops during hostilities. Russian troops have also reportedly shot at a monument of the poet Taras Shevchenko in the town of Borodyanka in the Kyiv oblast.

The Kremlin continues to issue statements denying Russia’s role in the alleged humanitarian and human rights law violations targeting Ukrainian civilians, disproportionate destruction of non-military infrastructure, and reprisals launched against Ukraine. Russian officials continue to accuse Ukraine of falsifying and distorting information and data. 

The Head of the National Defence Management Centre of Russia, Mikhail Mizintsev, has made a statement claiming that Ukraine is preparing falsified, provocative evidence of civilian deaths in the Kharkiv oblast. Similar materials, as well as materials about the reprisals in the Sumy,  are allegedly being prepared in Kyiv oblasts. 

Russia continues to accuse Ukraine of violating the principles of international humanitarian law regarding the treatment of prisoners of war. Furthermore, allegations of Ukraine breaking agreements on the exchange of prisoners are being spread in the Russian information space. 

Russian media has disseminated information and narratives regarding: 

The successes of Russian troops in Mariupol;

Foreign troops, in particular American fighters, participating in hostilities alongside Ukrainian forces;

Humanitarian crimes committed by Georgian fighters as part of the Ukrainian forces.

The Russian Ministry of Defence has spread information alleging the Ukrainian Security Service for planning the destruction of a chlorine storage near Kharkiv. 

Russian authorities continue to impose and deepen restrictions on the freedom of expression, especially in regard to media coverage of Russia’s policies and acts in Ukraine. A group of Russian parliamentarians have submitted a bill to the State Duma seeking to control the work of foreign media in Russia. The bill comes in response to the limitations imposed on Russian media abroad. 

Russia has accused Ukrainian troops of targeting Russian border guards in the Sudzhansky district in the Kursk oblast. The news piece is a potential signal of Kremlin’s attempt to mobilize Russian citizens against Ukraine by promoting the narrative of an increasingly hostile West and Ukraine. 

Russian sources continue to spread information regarding American laboratories in Ukraine alleged to be preparing biological weapons.