In a blow for Putin’s forces, Ukraine says its drone destroyed six military planes

Speaking to The Independent from an undisclosed location in Donetsk, deputy commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade, Maksym Zhorin, issued a troubling warning to Kyiv’s Western partners.

The West, he said, must urgently prepare. “Create serious defence systems that could counteract Russia because it will undoubtedly open its mouth and try to swallow the rest of Europe,” he warned.

A Russian descent vehicle landed in Kazakhstan on Saturday, returning from the International Space station with astronauts from Russia, Belarus and the United States, live footage broadcast by Russia’s Roscosmos space agency showed.

Russian Oleg Novitsky and Belarusian Marina Vasilevskaya departed for the ISS last month on a Soyuz spacecraft. They returned to Earth on Saturday along with U.S. astronaut Loral O’Hara, who had been aboard the orbital station since September.

Russia fired five missiles on Ukraine’s southern city of Zaporizhzhia on Friday, killing at least four people, injuring 20 and damaging residential buildings and industrial facilities, the regional governor said.

Two journalists covering the aftermath of the strikes were among those wounded in the city, which is near the frontline in the war with Russian forces.

“What marks today’s strikes: first, there were two missile strikes, and then, about 40 minutes later, there were other strikes at the same place – just as rescuers, police started working,” Ivan Fedorov said on national TV.

The local prosecutor’s office said 20 people were wounded. They included a nine-year old boy. Four were in hospital in grave condition.

Fedorov said at least three apartment blocks, 10 private houses, shops and an unidentified industrial facility were damaged.

Emergency crews encountered the body of a victim lying next to a pool of blood. At least two cars in the street were engulfed in flames.

Images shared by Fedorov and the interior ministry, captured shattered windows of a cafe and a small shop.

Ukraine’s air force issued a ballistic missile raid alert for the region, part of which is occupied by Russia. Moscow has recently stepped up usage of ballistic missiles that are harder to intercept.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky inspected new fortifications for servicemen near the Belarusian border in the Chernihiv region, on the second anniversary of the Russian army fleeing the Chernihiv, Sumy and Kyiv regions.

He posted on social media: “The Chernihiv region, like all of our border areas, is subjected to constant Russian humiliation: airstrikes and terror.

“The border areas of the Chernihiv region are home to 15,000 people who are constantly subjected to strikes.

“Over the course of the past year, Russian terrorists fired 15,000 shells at them.

“They have no mercy. They try to get each person here and destroy all life.

“Everyone who defends our people in the Chernihiv region, our communities across Ukraine, and everyone in the world who supports Ukraine is a true defender of life. I am grateful to all such people.”

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has condemned a missile attack on its office building in Pokrovsk yesterday in Donetsk oblast.

The building was completely destroyed, injuring five, including MSF’s security staff, the humanitarian organisation said.

“This act of violence against a humanitarian organisation cannot be brushed off as just another casualty of war,” Vincenzo Porpiglia, emergency coordinator for MSF in Ukraine, said.

MSF said it has suspended its medical humanitarian activities in the Donetsk region temporarily.

“Attacks on any facility where humanitarian staff work not only jeopardise the safety of our staff, but also hinder the provision of lifesaving care to those in need,” Mr Porpiglia said.

Ukraine says Russia’s use of weapons with prohibited chemicals has become “systemic.”

The command of Ukraine’s Support Forces has recorded 371 uses of munitions containing prohibited chemicals over the past month, many of which included grenades delivered via drones.

The Support Forces’ report noted that Russian troops used weapons banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention 1412 times over the past year.

“Such actions on the part of the Russian Federation are taking on systemic pattern, and this tendency only grows,” the report noted.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast earlier today has left 6 dead and at least 10 injured, according to the city’s mayor Ihor Terekhov.

The attack began at midnight, destroying several buildings and dormitories, private vehicles, as well as local businesses, Kyiv Independent reported.

The city has been under a constant near-daily barrage of missile attacks from Russian troops since the invasion began in February 2022.

Government estimates suggest over 20,000 buildings have been destroyed in Kharkiv since Russia’s invasion began.

A special international tribunal may be set up by the end of the year to hold Russia accountable for war crimes in its invasion of Ukraine, European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said.

“We are discussing this tribunal with various international actors,” Mr Reynders told Deutsche Welle in the Netherlands.

A political declaration by the Restoring Justice for Ukraine conference on 2 April, signed by 44 countries, condemns Russia’s actions in Ukraine and calls for setting up a special tribunal to address Russian crimes in Ukraine.

“Two main options are now being considered — an international tribunal based on a multilateral agreement or a simplified solution based on a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe,” Mr Reynders said on the sidelines of the conference.

“The next step is a matter of political will. Now is just the beginning of the year, and by the end of the year, this should become possible,” he said.

India will reportedly receive two Russia-made warships despite US sanctions.

One of the ships will be delivered to India in September and the other expected next year, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed Indian officials.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, India has positioned itself as a neutral country, while maintaining closer economic ties with Moscow.

The ships are part of an agreement signed between India and Russia in 2018.

Russia continues to be India’s largest supplier of military equipment, contributing more than a third of the country’s arms imports, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.