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The apparent drawdown of Russian troops around Kyiv is leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Burned-out vehicles and bodies line the streets of nearby towns that had been at the forefront of Moscow’s unsuccessful attempt to encircle the capital and overthrow the government.
An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukrainians to prepare for “difficult fights” ahead in the besieged port city of Mariupol — where Moscow has been concentrating its firepower, vying for a strategic victory that would free up thousands of troops to fight elsewhere — and in southern and eastern parts of Ukraine.
On the southern coast, explosions were heard throughout Odessa on Sunday morning, marking the first major Russian strikes on the Black Sea city’s downtown.
Hours earlier, Zelensky had made an emotional plea for Western nations to send more missile defense systems and planes: “Every single Russia missile that has hit our cities, and every bomb that has been thrown onto our people, our children, will be a black mark on the history of those who made that decision — the decision on whether or not to assist Ukraine with modern weaponry.”
Here’s what to know
In eastern Ukraine, the war’s epicenter, a brutal fight rages
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RUSSIA
Belgorod
Valuyki
Russian-held
areas
Kharkiv
LUHANSK
Milove
UKRAINE
Strarobilsk
Russian-held
areas
Izyum
Severodonetsk
Khrestyshche
Slovyansk
Luhansk
Kramatorsk
Separatist-
Horlivka
Dnipro
controlled
Shakhty
Donetsk
area
DONETSK
Zaporizhzhia
Rostov-on-Don
Taganrog
Mariupol
Russian-held
areas
50 MILES
Berdyansk
Melitopol
Yeysk
RUSSIA
Control areas as of April 1
Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project
THE WASHINGTON POST
Russian-held areas as of April 1
Belgorod
RUSSIA
Valuyki
Kharkiv
Milove
UKRAINE
LUHANSK
Millerovo
Izyum
Severodonetsk
Khrestyshche
Slovyansk
Kramatorsk
Luhansk
Separatist-
controlled
area
Donetsk
DONETSK
Rostov-
on-Don
50 MILES
Mariupol
Melitopol
RUSSIA
Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project
THE WASHINGTON POST
Russian-held areas as of April 1
RUSSIA
Belgorod
Valuyki
Kharkiv
Milove
UKRAINE
LUHANSK
Millerovo
Izyum
Severodonetsk
Khrestyshche
Slovyansk
Luhansk
Kramatorsk
Donetsk
Separatist-
controlled area
DONETSK
Rostov-
on-Don
Mariupol
RUSSIA
50 MILES
Sources: Institute for the Study of War
THE WASHINGTON POST
KHRESTYSHCHE, Ukraine — This town is slowly fading away. Most residents have fled after nearly a decade of bloody conflict since Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine’s eastern provinces took up arms against the Ukrainian state. One morning this week, six elderly women, some of the town’s remaining 1,500 residents, huddled outside the village’s only church.
They were nervous. Here on the war’s most hotly contested front line, Russian airstrikes have drawn closer and the din of war grows louder. The incessant thud of artillery striking a village 10 miles away, echoed through the valley below, interrupting their prayer.
“We don’t know who, or what, is being fired at,” said 65-year-old Valentina, who said she was too afraid to give her last name.
The eastern region of Ukraine, known as the Donbas, has emerged as the most critical battlefield at this stage in the month-long war between Russian invaders and Ukrainian forces trying to protect their homeland. Russian President Vladimir Putin has set his sights on taking full control of this region as he withdraws his forces from the outskirts of Kyiv, according to intelligence assessments. Analysts say Putin will redeploy forces here for a new offensive and in an effort to save face after humiliating setbacks elsewhere, setting the stage for increasingly brutal battles for control here.
Russian forces pull back from Kyiv, exposing horrors of war
Return to menuMUKACHEVO, Ukraine — Ukrainian troops recaptured territory around Kyiv on Saturday as Russian forces pulled back from towns they had seized in the opening days of the war and left in their wake scenes of destruction and horror, including the abandoned bodies of dead civilians.
Journalists entered the town of Bucha, a suburb northwest of the capital, and saw numerous corpses strewn on the streets. Video posted to social media and verified by The Washington Post showed what appeared to be at least nine dead, including one child.
Bucha’s mayor, Anatoly Fedoruk, said in an interview that about 270 local residents had been buried in two mass graves. He estimated that 40 people were lying dead in the streets. Some had been bound and executed — shot in the back of the head, he said.
The mayor added that officials are worried that the bodies could be booby-trapped with explosives. In a video address to Ukrainians early Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was “mining the whole territory.”
Explosions rock Odessa
Return to menuODESSA, Ukraine — A series of explosions were heard throughout Odessa on Sunday morning, marking the first major Russian strikes on the Black Sea city’s downtown.
Two dark plumes of smoke could be seen on the skyline near one of Odessa’s major ports and appeared to be coming from a fuel depot.
Odessa has long been considered a target for the Russian military because it is an economically vital port. But with Moscow’s ground forces unable to advance past Mykolaiv, about 70 miles east, Odessa has been largely spared any attacks. Local businesses and even the zoo have reopened in the past week.
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