Burned corpses and cars are seen on the road in Kyiv Oblast on April 2, 2022. (Getty Images)
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April 4 marks 40 days of Russia's barbarous war in Ukraine.
The extent of Russia's cruelty against Ukrainians, however, was discovered just two days ago.
On April 2, Ukrainian forces regained control of Bucha, a town northwest of Kyiv, revealing the many horrific atrocities of Russia's weeks-long occupation.
Hundreds of civilian residents were found dead on the streets, by their homes and in mass graves.
Following one of the darkest days of the war, one that truly shocked the Ukrainian nation and the whole world, President Volodymyr Zelensky gave the kind of address that "presidents don't usually give."
"Concentrated evil has come to our land," he said. "Murderers, butchers, rapists, looters, who call themselves an army and who deserve only to die after what they have done."
Since Moscow unleashed its all-out war on Ukraine on Feb. 24, at least 1,232 civilian Ukrainians have been killed, according to the United Nations. The actual figures, however, are expected to be much higher, as casualties from front-line areas aren't counted due to a lack of data.
At least 161 children have been killed and 264 injured by Russia's war, according to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office.
Bodies lie on a street in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, as Ukrainian forces retook control of the town on April 2, 2022 following weeks of Russian occupation. (AFP via Getty Images)A cyclist rides past buildings on fire following an artillery fire in Kharkiv, a regional capital in northeastern Ukraine, on March 25, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)Rescuers remove rubble from the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration building where at least 35 people were killed by a Russian cruise missile attack on April 1, 2022, in Mykolaiv, a regional capital in southern Ukraine. (The Washington Post/Getty Images)A partially buried body is seen in a mass grave in the town of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, on April 3, 2022. Hundreds of killed civilians were found in the town after Ukrainian forces retook it following weeks of Russian occupation. (AFP/Getty Images)President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) walks in the town of Bucha, just northwest of Kyiv, the site of Russia's massacre of civilian residents, on April 4, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)Communal workers and volunteers build a protective structure around a monument to the poet Taras Shevchenko in Kyiv on April 3, 2022. (Getty Images)A woman hugs a volunteer fighting with the Territorial Defense Force after the Russian troop withdrawal from the Nova Basan village in Chernihiv Oblast on April 1, 2022. (Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the 64th Annual Grammy Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 3, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Getty Images for The Recording Academy)The newlyweds, medical volunteers Nastya Gracheva and Anton Sokolov, pose for a photograph in a ruined courtyard of a shopping and business complex in central Kharkiv on April 3, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)A resident walks in front of a destroyed building in Trostyanets, Sumy Oblast, on March 29, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images)U.S. President Joe Biden kisses a child while meeting refugees of Russia's war against Ukraine at PGE Narodowy Stadium in Warsaw, Poland on March 26, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)An ostrich walks on the destroyed enclosure at an eco-park in Yasnohorodka, a village north of Kyiv on April 2, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)A young girl sits on a suitcase at a train station in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, on April 3, 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)A destroyed column of Russia's military vehicles is seen on the highway near Buzova village in Kyiv Oblast on April 3, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)The family of Ukrainian soldier Ivan Lipskiy grieves at his casket during a funeral of five Ukrainian soldiers in Odesa on March 29, 2022. Lipskiy was killed on March 18 during a Russian air strike that hit the 36th Ukrainian Naval Infantry Brigade killing more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers in Mykolaiv. (The Washington Post/Getty Images)
"This is the Russian narrative; this is how Putin has presented it for years, and I'm frankly shocked that Donald Trump has now apparently embraced it himself," German opposition leader and chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz said.
Russian strikes have repeatedly hit Ukraine’s gas infrastructure over the course of the war, reducing production by as much as 40% at certain periods following an attack.
"We can adjust accordingly the return to our market of those who want to return," Russian President Vladimir Putin said, suggesting potential restrictions or conditions for Western firms looking to resume operations in Russia.
According to Reuters, one source familiar with Moscow discussions said Russia could agree to allocate up to two-thirds of frozen assets for Ukraine's reconstruction, provided accountability guarantees.
The Kyiv Independent team visited one of the last remaining operating mines in the Donbas region to highlight the resilience of the workers who continue their work despite danger and tough conditions.
Kormyshkina was charged by Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) on Oct. 17 with illicit enrichment worth more than Hr 20 million ($480,000).
Some 53% of Danes are in favor of sending peacekeepers into the country after Russia's full-scale war ends, according to a poll, published by Ritzau news agency on Feb. 21, Bloomberg reported.
"Extensive and positive discussions with (President Volodymyr Zelensky), the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war, and his talented national security team," Keith Kellogg said.
The Center for Economic Strategy projects that between 1.7 and 2.7 million Ukrainians may permanently remain abroad, potentially reducing Ukraine's annual GDP by 5.1% to 7.8%.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said this in reaction to an article by the Financial Times claiming that during the talks in Riyadh on Feb. 18, Russian delegates asked for the NATO rollback as a condition for "normalizing relations."
Some 26.1% of Ukrainians said they completely approve Zelensky, while another 36.9% said they tend to approve him. The overall figure is higher than in polls conducted years before Russia's full-scale invasion, as well as in the spring of 2024.
The fiber-optic cable, running between Finland and Germany, was damaged near the Gotland Island within the Swedish economic zone, Sweden's Coast Guard said.
The selection marks a milestone for Ukraine's tech sector, coming during the third year of Russia's full-scale invasion and following Endeavor's launch in the country in October 2024.
According to the Ukrainian military intelligence, Russia aims to sow despair among Ukrainians, destabilize the situation in the country, and discredit Ukraine among its allies.
The British broadcaster confirmed that it had taken the "reluctant decision" to close the office following verbal instructions from the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
