Freedom of Information

[DaffyVina]

14:51
Ukraine responds to allegation of forces shooting Russian soldier
This video purports to show Ukrainian forces shooting and killing a captive Russian soldier
Copyright: BBC

Ukraine's foreign minister tells reporters that any alleged war crimes by his forces against Russians would be investigated - but added that the context of atrocities in Bucha should be taken into account.

"You don’t understand how it feels seeing pictures from Bucha, talking to people who escaped, knowing that [a] person you know was raped for days in a row," Dmytro Kuleba says.

"You don't understand how it feels that Russian solider[s] rape children.

"This is not an excuse to those who violate the rules of warfare on either side of the front line, but there are some things which you simply can’t understand, I’m sorry."

Kuleba was responding to a question from a journalist about a video that's been circulating on social media, which appears to show Ukrainian forces shooting a Russian soldier.

The BBC has been analysing the footage - here (Below post)is what we have found out so far.

Ukraine's foreign minister says the Ukrainian army observes war laws but added that there "might be isolated incidents of violation" that would be investigated.


Video appears to show killing of captive Russian soldier
By Reality Check and BBC Monitoring
BBC News
Published1 hour ago

Still from video
A video has emerged which purports to show Ukrainian forces shooting and killing a captive Russian soldier.

It was filmed on a road to the west of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where Russian forces have been retreating.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Thursday that he was aware of the video and it would "definitely be investigated".

The BBC has been analysing the footage - here is what we have found out so far.

Warning: Graphic image and details that some may find upsetting.

What does the video show?
The video shows four people in military fatigues on the ground and one of those has their arms tied behind their back.

Still of blurred bodies
Three are not moving but one appears still to be alive and wheezing although badly injured. A man out of shot says "[expletive] leave him" and another responds "I don't want to [expletive] leave him". A soldier (whose face cannot be seen on the video) then shoots him several times until he stops moving.

The video then pans round to show other soldiers reacting.

All of the bodies on the floor are wearing military uniform and there are pools of blood.

You can only see the face of one of these people - the other three are face down on the road.

Where and when was the video filmed?
We have located the incident to the main road outside the town of Dmytrivka to the west of Kyiv. The road links Dmytrivka to Irpin and Bucha.

Scenes shown in the video match the scenery on Google Street View of the area.
Geographic analysis
In a satellite image taken of the same road on 31 March, you can see what appears to be blood stains on the ground and armoured vehicles which are in the video.

Satellite image of the site
We can't be sure what day the video was filmed, although we do know it was taken in the afternoon due to the position of the shadows on the road.

The first version we found of the video was posted on the morning of 30 March - meaning it was filmed in the afternoon of 29 March or earlier.

How do we know the dead soldiers are Russian?
The main clue comes from what is said during the video.

One of the soldiers standing over the bodies on the floor says: "Here they are, the defenders of the Russian army."

On top of this, the video also features unaccompanied armoured vehicles with a V painted on the side - typically a sign Russian troops mark their vehicles with.

Two of the people on the floor are wearing white armbands, which have been used as identification by Russian soldiers in some parts of Ukraine. Red and orange armbands have also been used. There have also been reports that civilians have been encouraged to wear white armbands in some areas.

Are we sure that Ukrainian soldiers are involved?
On the military fatigues of some of the soldiers we can see blue armbands and Ukrainian flag patches, which are typical identifiers for Ukrainian forces. Clearly that is not proof of their identity.

From what we can hear in the videos the soldiers are all speaking Russian, which is widely spoken in Ukraine.

About half way through the video we can see one of the soldiers faces - a bearded man - very clearly. A couple of other soldiers' faces are clearly visible at points in the video.

Two soldiers from the video
We have tried to biometrically match this face - a process where a computer algorithm compares an image to a database of photos of people's faces. The match is to a Georgian man with close links to Ukraine, but we are not naming him as we have not confirmed his identity.

As the camera pans towards the man with the beard, another person shouts "Glory to Ukraine", to which the man with a beard responds "Glory to heroes". The first person then shouts in an excited way - although the audio is not clear - what sounds like the word "Gruziny" which means Georgians in Russian.

The audio ends with a man saying: "Do not [expletive] come to our land."

We have approached the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence for comment.

We are still trying to verify elements of this video and will update this piece when we have more information.

Reporting by Paul Myers, Daniele Palumbo, Olga Robinson, Jake Horton, Alex Murray, Shayan Sardarizadeh, Alistair Coleman, Richard Irvine-Brown

[DaffyVina]

15:46
What did Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg say?
A round-up of his key points

As we wait for that UN vote on whether Russia is to be suspended from the Human Rights Council, here is a recap of what Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg just said following the alliance summit in Brussels:

He said there was a clear message from today's meeting that allies are "ready to do more" to provide more military equipment, and they "realise and recognise the urgency"
He would not give details of weapons supplied to Ukraine, but said Nato allies were providing a wide range of weapons systems, including Soviet-era and modern weapons
He said Nato allies utterly condemn the "horrific murders" of civilians in Bucha, and other places, and support efforts for an international investigation
He said any distinction between "offensive" and "defensive" weapons is "strange" because Ukraine is defending itself against attack
Nato is stepping up its support for Ukraine over cybersecurity and will provide equipment to help Ukraine defend chemical or biological attack
Nato will also help other partner nations, including Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, to "shore up their resilience" and their "ability to defend themselves"
He warned the world must be prepared for the "long haul" and the war could last for months or even years


16:08
Dnipro residents should evacuate for safety - mayor
Map showing areas of control in eastern Ukraine, with Dnipro marked in centre

Women, children and the elderly in Dnipro have been urged to evacuate while they still can by the city's mayor, as fears of intensified fighting in eastern Ukraine increase.

In a video address, Borys Filatov said anyone who is not directly involved in critical infrastructure should leave the city in central Ukraine for safer places in the west of the country, given the "worsening situation in Donbas".

Dnipro, which had a pre-war population of around one million, is currently seeing an influx of people who have been evacuated from areas to its east.

The recommendation follows similar warnings by authorities in Luhansk and Donetsk - which make up the Donbas - where the Russian military is expected to ramp up attacks in the coming weeks.


16:44
Russian forces executed civilians near Kyiv in apparent war crimes, Amnesty says

Russian forces executed civilians in various locations in the Kyiv region, according to new testimony published by Amnesty International.

The human rights organisation interviewed more than 20 people from towns and villages near the capital, some were witnesses to, or had direct knowledge of, the violence committed, it says.

"In recent weeks, we have gathered evidence that Russian forces have committed extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings, which must be investigated as likely war crimes," says Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard.

"Testimonies shows that unarmed civilians in Ukraine are being killed in their homes and streets in acts of unspeakable cruelty and shocking brutality."

In one account given, a woman in a village east of Kyiv told Amnesty two Russian soldiers entered her house on 9 March, killed her husband, then repeatedly raped her at gunpoint while her young son hid in a boiler room nearby.

With Russian forces retreating from the north of Ukraine, disturbing stories of life under occupation have been emerging. The BBC's Jeremy Bowen has been told of Russian troops using villagers as human shields against Ukrainian counter-attacks.

Russia has repeatedly denied that its forces have committed atrocities, and sought to point the finger of blame elsewhere.


16:52
BREAKING
Russia suspended from UN Human Rights Council
The General Assembly of the United Nations has just voted to suspend Russia from its Human Rights Council during a session in New York.

It follows allegations of war crimes by Kremlin troops in Ukraine.

Before votes were cast, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya accused Russia of “horrific” abuses – raising the issue of alleged civilian killings in the city of Bucha.

Russia’s own representative Gennady Kuzmin condemned the vote, and other nations including North Korea and Syria rallied behind him.

17:09
How countries voted on Russia's suspension from UN Human Rights Council
More now on that vote moments ago to suspend Russia from the UN’s Human Rights Council during a session in New York.

Ninety-three countries voted in favour of the move, 24 against, and there were 58 abstentions.

Among the countries who supported the suspension were the US, EU nations, the UK, and of course Ukraine itself.

China, Syria, and Belarus were among those who voted against the motion.

And India, Egypt, and South Africa were among the nations which abstained.


18:09
Kremlin admits 'significant losses of troops'
Russia has suffered "significant losses of troops", President Vladimir Putin's spokesman has said.

Dmitry Peskov was asked on Sky News whether the war had been a "humiliation", given that Russia had retreated from the capital, lost thousands of troops and that President Volodymyr Zelensky was still in power.

He said this was a "wrong understanding" of what was going on.

But asked again if Russia has lost thousands of troops, he said: "Yes, we have significant losses of troops and it's a huge tragedy for us."

He then added that the withdrawal from the Kyiv region and the northern city of Chernihiv was an "act of goodwill" to "lift tension" during peace talks.

In the interview, Peskov repeated Russia's reasons for what it describes as a "special military operation", saying Ukraine had become "anti-Russian" and Russia was "really nervous" as Nato had "started to move towards our boundaries".

Russia has previously said that 1,351 soldiers have been killed. The full death toll is not known, but a Nato official has been quoted in the US media as saying between 7,000 and 15,000, and there are similar US estimates.


18:36
Russian forces 'discuss Bucha murders' in intercepted audio - reports
Damien McGuinness
BBC News, Berlin

Russian soldiers can be heard talking about the murder of Ukrainian civilians in military radio traffic intercepted by Germany's foreign intelligence (BND), according to several separate media reports.

The BND has audio material that appears to match the locations of bodies found in Bucha, the reports from German media say.

In one, Russians appear to talk about interrogating people and then shooting them.

In another, a soldier talks about shooting someone on a bike - which apparently matches a well-known photo showing a dead cyclist.

The intelligence was shared with German parliamentarians during a briefing on Wednesday.

However, a German security source told Reuters news agency that the findings on Bucha related to satellite images. “The radio transmissions cannot be clearly assigned to Bucha."

A German government spokesman confirmed Berlin has evidence that Russian troops committed the atrocities.

The reported intelligence also appears to show evidence that Wagner mercenaries are also fighting for Russia in Ukraine - backing up claims made by British intelligence earlier this week.

The group has been active over the past eight years in Ukraine, Syria and African countries, and has repeatedly been accused of war crimes and human rights abuses.

[DaffyVina]

Ukraine war: Sharing space with the dead - horror outside Chernihiv
By Yogita Limaye
BBC News, Chernihiv
Published20 minutes ago

Mykola Klymchuk
Image caption, Mykola tied himself to a wall so he could sleep standing up


On the white, damp wall of the Yahidne school basement is a crude calendar, drawn in red crayon. It marks a period of unimaginable trauma - from 5 March to 2 April - for the people of this village.

Yahidne, 140km (80 miles) north-west of Kyiv and just outside the city of Chernihiv which is close to the borders with Belarus and Russia, was occupied by Russian soldiers for nearly a month.

When they entered, they took men, women and children from their homes at gunpoint and held them in the basement of the local school for four weeks - around 130 people cramped into a room roughly 65 sq m (700 sq ft) in size.

Sixty-year-old Mykola Klymchuk was one of them. He offered to show us the basement.

As we climbed down a short flight of stairs, we began to smell the stench of disease and decay. The room was dirty - some mattresses, clothes, shoes and books were strewn on the floor, there were four small cots in the centre and a stash of utensils in one corner.

Mykola took us straight to the far end of the room.

"This was my half a metre of space. I was sleeping standing up," he said. His voice choked up and he started crying. "I tied myself to the railing here with my scarf so I wouldn't fall over. I spent 25 nights like this."

Mykola said you couldn't move at all for fear of stepping on people. About 40 or 50 children were among those held captive, including babies. The youngest was just two months old.

Russian forces were quick to reach villages such as Yahidne as they launched their assault on Chernihiv. For weeks the city of about 300,000 people was cut off as Russian forces surrounded and bombed it, having met resistance. They also destroyed a bridge on the road to the capital Kyiv, leaving residents with nowhere to flee.

Now the Russians have withdrawn following their failure to take Kyiv. The BBC is one of the first news organisations to reach the area and the horror of what happened under both occupation and bombardment can be revealed. So close to the border, people worry too that the Russians could soon return.

basement in yahidne
Image caption, About 130 people spent four weeks here


Fifteen-year-old Anastasiia was in the Yahidne basement along with her father and grandmother.

"There was barely any room. We were living sitting up. We were sleeping sitting up. Not that we slept at all. It was impossible. So many shells were landing around here. It was unbearable," she said.

The room had no ventilation. Its two windows were boarded up.

"During my time here, 12 people died," Mykola said.

Living with the dead
Most of them were elderly people. It's unclear what they died of, but Mykola believes some suffocated to death.

When people died, the bodies couldn't immediately be removed. Russian soldiers would not allow it every day. And because of the constant fighting outside - mortar shelling, explosions and gunfire - it was dangerous as well.

This meant that people, including children, lived amidst corpses for hours, and sometimes days, until they could be taken outside.

anastasia
Image caption, Anastasiia is scared and clearly suffering from the stress of weeks under siege


"It was very scary. I knew the people who died," says Anastasiia. "They treated us very kindly. I felt so sad, they just died here for no reason."

"In normal conditions, they would not have died. Putin is a war criminal," said Mykola.

"My feet had begun to swell up. But I kept thinking to myself, I have to survive. I have to, for my daughter and two granddaughters."

Most of the time people were not allowed to go out even to use a toilet. They were made to use buckets instead.

"Sometimes the soldiers took people out to use them as shields," Mykola said.

They were allowed to cook on open fires outside twice a day. The village had enough food stocks and a well for water.

One of the Russian soldiers told Mykola they had been told they would be in Ukraine for just four days, which would be enough to take over Kyiv.

Looking for loved ones - in graves
On 3 April, the Russians withdrew from Yahidne.

Ukrainian soldiers are now in the village, and most of those who were trapped have been evacuated to areas nearby.

"I wake up many times every night. I feel like I can hear the sound of shooting. I run to my parents, scared," says Anastasiia.

The Russians occupied villages like Yahidne around Chernihiv in a bid to lay siege to the city and eventually take control of it.

They weren't able to enter the city, but there's been extensive destruction to many parts of it and officials say around 350 civilians have been killed.

destroyed building in chernihiv
IMAGE SOURCE,EPA
Image caption, Air strikes destroyed Chernihiv apartment blocks


Since Russia's withdrawal from around Chernihiv, volunteers have been burying the dead. One part of the local graveyard now entirely full of fresh graves, with a placard stuck in each, for the purpose of identification.

Families who have been separated have been coming to see if they can find the grave of their loved ones.

A local football stadium was bombed, Ukrainian officials say by Russian aircraft. A giant crater can be seen in the centre of the field where one bomb fell. Another destroyed a part of the stands, now a mangled mess of broken plastic seats and metal railings.

Next to the stadium, a children's library housed in a historic building has also been badly damaged.

As we drove through the city, we passed several residential neighbourhoods which have been almost flattened.

chernihiv
Image caption, Some Chernihiv neighbourhoods have been flattened


At Novoselivka, in the north of Chernihiv, destruction is visible as far as the eye can see.

Piles of stones and bricks lie where homes must have stood. We saw a child's pink winter jacket, a teddy bear, a stuffed elephant and pieces of Lego on one of the paths going into the residential area.

Along the way, we saw more bomb craters.

'Why were we not warned?'
A woman and child on bicycles gestured to us to follow them.

Sixty-two-year-old Nina Vynnyk and her grandson, 10-year-old Danylo, wanted to show us their home - only a shell now, everything in and around it has been destroyed.

Nina
Image caption, "There is nothing left," says Nina


Nina's daughter and Danylo's mother, 39-year-old Ludmyla, has lost her leg and is in hospital.

When Nina's home began to be shelled, they ran to another person's house hoping to seek shelter in their basement. But that was bombed too.

"We were knocked out by the explosion. Someone got a concussion, someone was injured. When we came to our senses, I saw that my daughter was screaming, 'Mummy, mummy I don't have a leg'. It was horrible," she said.

Ludmyla crawled to safety and was taken to a hospital.

"I feel like this is a terrible nightmare. It can't be true. Why didn't our government warn us? Why didn't they evacuate us," said Nina.

Four generations of her family lived in the home. "In one moment, there is nothing left. I don't know where I will live in the winter," she said.

She can't afford to pay for prosthetics for her daughter.

On Russian statements that they have not targeted civilians, she says, "He [Putin] is full of lies. There is a woman in a hospital without a leg. That is the truth.

"Let Putin pay for her surgery. Let Putin build this house. He wanted it so much, didn't he? Let him pay for all of it now."

[DaffyVina]

22:53 7 Apr
'Twenty-six bodies pulled from rubble in Borodyanka'

Twenty-six bodies have been recovered from underneath the rubble of two destroyed apartment buildings in Borodyanka, north-west of Kyiv, according to Ukraine's prosecutor general.

Iryna Venediktova accused Moscow of deliberately targeting civilian areas, in a post on Facebook.

"There is no military site here," she said, adding that Russian forces "shelled residential infrastructure in the evenings, when there was a maximum amount of people home".

Venediktova claimed there was "evidence of the Russian forces' war crimes at every turn".


23:08 7 Apr
Zelensky: Borodyanka ruin 'much more horrific' than Bucha

The destruction to the town of Borodyanka is "much more horrific" than what has already been uncovered in nearby Bucha, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky said in his newest Facebook address to the nation late on Thursday.

"They have started sorting through the ruins in Borodyanka," Zelensky said in his remarks from Kyiv.

"It's much more horrific there. There are even more victims of Russian occupiers."

Both towns are suburbs of Kyiv and saw fierce fighting in the battle for the capital.


23:09 7 Apr
Russia gathering up Mariupol corpses for propaganda - Zelensky

More from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's latest video address.

Speaking about the besieged Ukrainian southern port of Mariupol, he said: "And what will happen when the world learns the whole truth about what the Russian military did in Mariupol?

"There, on almost every street, is what the world saw in Bucha and other towns in the Kyiv region after the withdrawal of Russian troops. The same cruelty. The same terrible crimes."

Mariupol - a city of about 500,000 before the war - has been virtually wiped out by weeks of heavy Russian shelling, Ukraine says. More than 100,000 residents are believed still to be trapped there.

Zelensky warned that Russia may be preparing a "mirror response" in Mariupol, following the world outcry over the mass killings in Bucha.

"They [Russians] are going to show the victims in Mariupol as if they were not killed by the Russian military - but by Ukrainian defenders of the city. To do this, the occupiers are collecting corpses on the streets and taking them out."

He said the bodies might be used in other places for propaganda purposes.

[DaffyVina]

23:50 7 Apr
Zelensky: 'Being brave is our brand'

In his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Ukrainians for their courage, which he said should be spread around the world.

"If everyone in the world had at least 10% of the courage we Ukrainians have, there would be no danger to international law at all. There would be no danger to the freedom of nations. We will spread our courage," he said.

He added that "being brave is our brand", while also calling for the world to impose bolder sanctions on Russia.

He also said that "the strongest sanction against Russia of all that can be" is more weapons shipments to use against Russia.

He also commented on news that Russia had been suspended from the UN Human Rights Council.

"Russia has long had nothing to do with the concept of human rights. Maybe one day this will change," he said.

"But so far the Russian state and the Russian military are the biggest threat on the planet to freedom, to human security, to the concept of human rights as such. Obviously."


0:39
Russian aluminium producer calls for war crime inquiry

Friday's Financial Times leads with reports that aluminium producer Rusal has become the first Russian group to call for an inquiry into alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

Ukraine says more than 300 civilians were killed by the Russians in Bucha, although Moscow denies any involvement.

Unlike a number of other Russian companies, Rusal is not the target of sanctions, although its billionaire founder Oleg Deripaska is.

The war in Ukraine and the backlash against it have also wreaked havoc on Rusal's supply chains.

In a statement on Wednesday, it wrote that it was shocked by reports from the city of Bucha in recent days.

"We support an objective and impartial investigation of this crime and call for severe punishment for the perpetrators. No matter how hard it may seem in the context of ongoing information war," it said.

The company also called for "an early peaceful resolution of this conflict, to preserve priceless human lives and return to normalcy."


1:23
Pink Floyd supports Ukraine with new song
A fan greets Ukrainian rock star Andriy Khlyvnyuk as he serves in Kyiv's defence
Copyright: Getty Images

Legendary British rock band Pink Floyd has released a song in support of Ukraine.

The track is called "Hey Hey Rise Up". It features the vocals of Andriy Khlyvnyuk, from Ukrainian band Boombox.

Pink Floyd band member David Gilmour said he was inspired by a video on Instagram by Khlyvnyuk, who is currently serving in Kyiv's defence, in which he sings in an empty Sofia Square in the Ukrainian capital.

Gilmour wrote the music for the song, and then spoke by phone to Khlyvnyuk in hospital, where he is recovering from injuries.

"I played a little on the phone and he gave me his blessing. We both hope to do something together in person in the future," said the British musician.

This is Pink Floyd's first song since 1994, and all proceeds from the sale will go to humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

[DaffyVina]

2:28
Four reportedly killed while fleeing by boat

Four civilians were killed while trying to escape by boat from the occupied Kherson region, according to regional Ukrainian authorities.

The ship was sailing from the village of Pervomaivka when it was attacked about 70m (230ft) from shore.

According to the official, a member of the Kryvyi Rih city government, there were 14 people aboard the boat.

Two men and one woman were killed instantly, while a 13-year-old child died later. Seven people have been admitted to hospital and two were missing, the official said. It's not clear if the 14th person on the boat was injured, missing or unscathed.

The BBC has not verified this information.

Kherson, a southern port city near Crimea, was seized by Russia on the eighth day of the invasion.


2:47
Do Russian forces have a morale problem?
Alice Evans
BBC News

Nick Reynolds, a land warfare analyst with the Royal United Services Institute, a British defence think tank, says he believes Russian military morale will have been sapped by their failure to take Kyiv.

“The Russian retreat was very rapid from Kyiv and around Kyiv, which actually did have an impact on the Russian forces as well – they left behind quite a few personnel, abandoned a lot of their dead and a lot of their equipment, which they could have recovered,” he says.

The Russians, says Reynolds, have taken an “absolute mauling”.

He believes Russian leaders will have “serious problems” motivating their troops to mount a new offensive. It will be “very difficult” and some forces “may just refuse”.

The relief of Kyiv will make it much easier for Ukraine to redeploy its troops, says Reynolds. They are returning from battles around the country "victorious", which will bolster their fighting spirit, he says.


3:39
Australia sends armoured vehicles to Ukraine
Frances Mao
BBC News

Australia has sent off the first three of 20 armoured military trucks it's gifting to Ukraine, following a request from Ukrainian President Zelensky last week.

The heavily fortified Bushmaster vehicles will be used to transport soldiers and civilians in the war zone - they won't be used for offensive attacks.

Zelensky delivered a video address to Australia's parliament last week - the 20th nation he spoke to - thanking the country for its steadfast support so far.

Australia has committed over A$190m (£108m; $142m) in military and humanitarian aid and enacted several sanctions on Russian individuals and oil imports.

"Mr President, the people of Australia stand with Ukraine in your fight for survival," said Prime Minister Scott Morrison in response to Zelensky last week.

The Australian leader has repeatedly declared that liberal democracies must band together to defend freedom and "the right to live free of coercion, intimidation and the brute fist of force".

He said Australia honoured Zelensky as a "lion of democracy".


4:27
Fox News reporter describes injuries
A reporter for Fox News who was seriously injured in an attack that killed two of his colleagues in Ukraine has tweeted a photo of himself.

Benjamin Hall described his injuries and thanked the people who worked to save his life three weeks ago.

In an earlier tweet, Hall paid tribute to two others who died that day - cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and journalist Oleksandra Kuvshinova, who was also known as Sasha.


5:02
The latest on Russia's military campaign
Here's the latest daily assessment of Russia's military campaign from the US-based Institute of War thinktank, after 42 days of war.

Russia's main effort now is eastern Ukraine, after withdrawing its forces from the area around Kyiv in the north
Their troops have claimed to have captured central Mariupol, but Ukrainian forces retain control of the city's critical port
Still, the analysts predict Mariupol - a key city in the south - may fall to Russia in coming days
Russia is preparing to launch a major offensive on eastern Ukraine in the Donbas region, with the arrival of troop reinforcements re-routed from the north
However Russia is still struggling to fill its losses in its army
Western sanctions are "likely" having success in disrupting Russia's military-industrial base


5:24
India abstains from UN vote on Russia - again
Meryl Sebastian
BBC News, Delhi

India has explained why it was among the 58 countries that abstained during Thursday's UN vote to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, after the killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

"Since the inception of the Ukrainian conflict, India has stood for peace, dialogue and diplomacy. We believe that no solution can be arrived at by shedding blood and at the cost of innocent lives. If India has chosen any side, it is the side of peace and it is for an immediate end to violence," India said.

The country has so far abstained on eight UN votes to censure the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

But on Wednesday it issued its strongest statement on the war when it condemned the Bucha killings and supported the call for an independent investigation.

India's neutral stand on the war - in line with its longstanding non-aligned foreign policy - has come under pressure from others, as the West increases economic sanctions on Russia.

Russia is India’s biggest defence supplier.

On Thursday, Delhi said it was focused on stabilising its economic ties with Moscow and working to devise a payment mechanism to settle trade.

"It is not talking about increasing...it is about stabilising it because this (economic) relationship exists and it's in our interest to make sure some of this economic activity continues, and we are trying to see how we can keep that stable," a ministry spokesman said.

[DaffyVina]

6:13
Pictures of the destruction in Borodyanka
Ukraine forces say that as they have retaken towns near Kyiv previously occupied by Russian forces, they're discovering more and more atrocities.

Last week's discovery of bodies strewn in the streets in Bucha prompted global outcry and accusations of genocide.

Overnight, Ukraine President Zelensky said that in the town of Borodyanka, the situation was "significantly more dreadful" than in Bucha.

He didn't provide further details but hundreds of people are feared killed in the strikes. As we reported earlier, 26 bodies have been pulled from the rubble so far.

A rescuer walks past a row of shelled residential flats in Borodyanka
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Pictures from the town, just north-west of the capital, shows rows of annihilated buildings.


A woman carries her cat while standing in a street of bombed-out buildings
Copyright: Reuters

Image caption: Residential compounds were bombed, while many people were inside

Serhii Prudyus and his wife Yulia in front of a bombed building in Borodyanka
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Serhii Prudyus and his wife Yulia in front of a bombed building. Yulia's mother, sister and brother were in the block when it was hit by Russia.


Ukraine's Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova with her team of investigators and guards on the streets of Borodyanka
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Ukraine's Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova is in Borodyanka tallying evidence of the damage

The shelled-out remains of cars and buildings in a Borodyanka street hit by Russia
Copyright: Reuters
Image caption: Rescue crews are using heavy equipment to sift through the rubble to find survivors


A rescuer rests on a pile of rubble outside a bombed building
Copyright: Reuters
President Zelensky said it's feared there are many more victims in Borodyanka than other towns previously taken by Russia

[DaffyVina]

7:13
Ukraine: Odesa infrastructure hit by Russian strikes
In recent hours Odesa officials have said the southern city was hit by missile strikes.

The Russians had launched strikes on the port city from the Black Sea, they said.

"As a result... infrastructure facilities in the Odesa region were affected," city officials wrote on Telegram.

We'll keep you posted once we find out more details.


7:35
Russian forces continue their push into Donbas

Joe Inwood
Reporting from Slovyansk

There has been heavy shelling and rocket fire overnight in the east of Ukraine. The BBC's Joe Inwood has been with Ukrainian troops defending Luhansk Oblast.

Throughout the night, air raid sirens sent people in the city of Slovyansk running to their basements and shelters.

Rockets and heavy shelling could be heard in this Russian speaking city – the place where the Donbas separatist movement started.

Across the region, Russian forces tested Ukrainian defences – and pounded their cities from afar.

It is the knowledge of what's to come that’s led to the governor of Luhansk calling on all civilians to evacuate to safer regions – in the centre or west of Ukraine.

That task was made much harder by the destruction of a section of railway on Thursday – leading to huge queues at the station in Kramatorsk.

It has now been repaired, with trains moving again.

With their failure to take Kyiv, Russian troops are now focused on the Donbas.

The coming weeks could be decisive in the direction of this war.


8:45
EU's Von der Leyen travels to Kyiv
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has gone to Ukraine, the most senior Western leader to go to Kyiv since Russia invaded on 24 February.

She is due to have talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and is heading to Kyiv by train from south-eastern Poland with Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

They're not the first Western leaders to travel to Kyiv. Last month, the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia met Mr Zelensky, in what he called a "powerful expression of support for Ukraine".

The speaker of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, visited Kyiv last week.

The Slovak leader tweeted that Friday's meeting would involve proposals to help the Ukrainian president and prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, in creating an EU reform team and helping to transport Ukrainian grain, including wheat, as well as "increase the use of [a] humanitarian hub".

Ukraine's main south-coast ports have been blocked by Russia's invasion, so it is struggling to export one of its most important resources to countries including China, Turkey, Egypt and Indonesia.

Before the war, 98% of its grain was exported via the Black Sea and Ukraine is now having to rely on rail routes.

More than 1,000 train wagons were stuck at the border with Poland this week because of staff shortages and other issues.

[DaffyVina]

9:19
BREAKING
Railway station in eastern Ukraine hit by rockets, officials say
A railway station used to evacuate civilians in eastern Ukraine has reportedly been hit by two Russian rockets, causing casualties, according to the head of Ukraine's state railway company.

In a message on Telegram, the chairman of Ukrainian Railways, Oleksandr Kamyshin, wrote that a train station in the city of Kramatorsk in Donetsk was hit.
He added, "there are victims".

Kramatorsk city council has warned people to stay in shelters.

Details are still emerging but we will bring you more information as we get it.


9:32
BREAKING
Dozens dead or wounded in strike on station
More on the reports of a missile strike on Kramatorsk railway station in eastern Ukraine.

The Donetsk regional governor says police and rescuers have reported that dozens of people have been killed or wounded, after rockets hit the station.

Writing on Telegram, Pavlo Kyrylenko said thousands of people were at the station at the time, as residents from the Donetsk region were being evacuated to safer regions in Ukraine.


9:40
BREAKING
More than 30 killed in missile strike on station - Ukraine

Emergency services in Kramatorsk station
Copyright: Pavlo Kyrylenko
Image caption: The station was crowded with civilians fleeing Russia's onslaught on eastern Ukraine

The state rail company says more than 30 people have been killed and over 100 others wounded in a Russian rocket strike on Kramatorsk train station.

Kramatorsk was one of the easternmost stations still operating in Ukraine, and the governor of Donetsk said thousands of people were there at the time, trying to get on to trains out of the area.

The head of Ukrainian rail said two rockets had hit the station. Kramatorsk was widely known as being one of the main evacuation routes out of eastern Ukraine. Details of trains leaving the city were being posted by local authorities.

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10:58
Over a thousand people at railway station before strike - eyewitness
Some more details now from Kramatorsk, where the state rail company says at least 30 people were killed this morning in a missile strike at the town's train station.

Nathan Mook, chief executive of the World Central Kitchen charity, was at the station just moments before the attack and spoke to the BBC about what he witnessed.

"We were driving by the station over an overpass, we could see well over a thousand people. It was crowded, just like it was yesterday and the day before," he said.

Mook says he then heard the sound of five to 10 explosions "two minutes after we had driven by".

"You feel it before you hear it. The explosion rattles you on the inside."

"One of our guys at the [food] warehouse said he had seen Ukrainian air defences intercept one of the rockets. These were missiles."

After driving back to the site of the attack, Mook describes a scene of devastation: "The remnants of one of the missiles in the parking lots, blown out windows, a couple [of] dozen casualties."

"Emergency crews were on the ground very quickly, tending to people that were injured and had been killed," he added.

Mook posted the video below yesterday, which gives some sense of the crowds at the station.


11:11
Zelensky: Russia cynically destroying the civilian population
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned the attack on the Kramatorsk train station, where around 30 people are believed to have been killed.

Writing on Instagram, Zelensky said: "Lacking the strength and courage to stand up to us on the battlefield, they are cynically destroying the civilian population.

"This is an evil that has no limits. And if it is not punished, it will never stop."


11:21
Pictured: Aftermath of Kramatorsk station strike

Image shows shelled out cars
Copyright: BBC


Some images coming in from Kramatorsk rail station, independently verified by the BBC, show the devastation after this morning's attack.

Train company officials say at least 30 have been killed and 100 injured in the attack.

Image shows rocket on ground
Copyright: BBC


Image shows shelled out cars outside station
Copyright: BBC


Image shows intact missile on ground
Copyright: BBC



11:31
Two children dead in railway station blasts - reports
Two children have reportedly died in the strike on Kramatorsk railway station, according to the chairman of Ukraine's state railway company.

Writing on Telegram, Oleksandr Kamyshin said that according to operational data, at least two children had died during the attack.

11:47
Train station attack death toll rises to 39, says Ukraine
Thirty-nine people were reportedly killed after two rockets hit Kramatorsk train station, according to the region's governor.

Writing on Telegram, Pavlo Kyrylenko said the death toll had risen to 39, and that 87 people had also been wounded.

He added that many had suffered serious wounds.

There are differing figures emerging from Ukraine about the total number wounded in the attack, with President Zelensky saying around 300 were injured.

Kyrylenko said that despite the bombardment, evacuations from the region would continue.