A summary of today's developments
A top Ukrainian official has criticised the “symbolic blow” of Russia assuming the rotating presidency of the United Nations security council. Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, wrote on Twitter on Saturday: “It’s not just a shame. It is another symbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations.” The Kremlin has said it planned to “exercise all its rights” in the role.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, will chair a UN security council meeting when Russia assumes the council presidency. “As of 1 April, they’re taking the level of absurdity to a new level,” said Sergiy Kyslytsya, Kyiv’s permanent representative. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said it was a “stark reminder that something is wrong with the way international security architecture is functioning”.
The latest intelligence update from the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) says the performance of the Russian chief of the general staff, General Valery Gerasimov, is “pushing the limits of how far Russia’s political leadership will tolerate failure”. It adds: “Gerasimov’s tenure has been characterised by an effort to launch a general winter offensive with the aim of extending Russian control over the whole of the Donbas region. Eighty days on, it is increasingly apparent that this project has failed.”
The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has promised to increase the supply of munitions to the country’s forces in Ukraine during a visit to the headquarters of Moscow’s troops fighting in Ukraine, according to footage published by the defence ministry on Saturday.
The International Monetary Fund’s executive board has approved a four-year $15.6bn loan programme for Ukraine, part of a global $115bn package of economic support. The decision clears the way for an immediate disbursement of about $2.7bn to Kyiv, and requires Ukraine to carry out ambitious reforms, especially in the energy sector, the fund said.
The top US general, Mark Milley, has said Ukraine is unlikely to expel all Russian troops from its territory this year, the Kyiv Independent reports, citing an interview with Defense One. He said: “I don’t think it’s likely to be done in the near-term for this year.”
At least five people, including a baby, have been killed in Ukraine in the past 24 hours – according to the Kyiv Independent.
President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed on Twitter he had talks with France’s president Emmanuel Macron to discuss “defense interaction” and “further steps to implement #PeaceFormula.”
Russia has lost at least six Zoopark-1M counter-battery radar and will struggle to regenerate them because of sanctions, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. The MoD added: “Regenerating counter-battery radar fleets is likely a key priority for both sides, but Russia will likely struggle because the systems rely on supplies of high-tech electronics which have been disrupted by sanctions.”
Vladimir Putin has signed off on a new Russian foreign policy strategy aimed at curtailing western “dominance” and identifying China and India as key partners for the future. The new document cements the deep cold war-style rupture between Russia and the west over Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.
Prosecutors have asked a court to put the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, Metropolitan Pavel, under house arrest. He is accused of supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and inciting religious hatred. Pavel denies wrongdoing.
North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong-un, has accused Ukraine of having nuclear ambitions, basing her assertion on an online petition that has drawn fewer than 1,000 signatures so far, state media KCNA has reported.
Finland will formally be welcomed into Nato “within days” after Turkey’s ratification of its accession to the western defence alliance, the Nato secretary general has announced. The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the alliance to ratify Finland’s membership after Hungary’s legislature approved a similar bill this week. Sweden’s Nato bid faces objections from Turkey which accuses it of harbouring members of terrorist groups.
Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, said he had intensified talks with Russia about deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus, alleging there were plans for neighbouring Poland to invade. Belarus had deployed a special forces contingent to its southern border with Ukraine “to prevent provocations”, he added.
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Ukraine’s ministry of defence has tweeted this footage in the past few minutes:
L119 howitzers are easily identified by their distinctive British accent and accuracy. pic.twitter.com/akMXOQKyGN
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 1, 2023
Here is the full story on Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, criticising the “symbolic blow” of Russia assuming the rotating presidency of the United Nations security council.
Yermak wrote on Twitter on Saturday: “It’s not just a shame. It is another symbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations.”
Russia on Saturday took over the presidency of the UN’s top security body, which rotates every month.
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A single train has evacuated more than 3,000 patients since the beginning of the war, according to the Ukrainian ministry of health.
It started as a four-car train in March 2022 and has doubled in size, including fully fledged wards and an intensive care carriage, Sky News reported.
The train is run by charity Doctors Without Borders in conjunction with the government, and staffed by anesthesiologists, cardiologists, intensive care nurses and a translator, the ministry said in a statement.
Christopher Stokes, chief emergency coordinator of Doctors Without Borders, said there was a “very strong emotional connection” between patients and staff, reported the organisation in a post on Facebook.
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Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has revealed on Twitter that he has had talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
In an hour-long conversation with @EmmanuelMacron, the 🇺🇦-🇫🇷 defense interaction was effectively discussed. I briefed in detail on the situation at the front. We dwelled on further steps to implement #PeaceFormula, coordinated actions for the upcoming international events.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 1, 2023
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It is 6pm in Kyiv. Here is a summary of events so far:
A top Ukrainian official has criticised the “symbolic blow” of Russia assuming the rotating presidency of the United Nations security council. Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, wrote on Twitter on Saturday: “It’s not just a shame. It is another symbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations.” The Kremlin said it planned to “exercise all its rights” in the role.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, will chair a UN security council meeting when Russia assumes the council presidency. “As of 1 April, they’re taking the level of absurdity to a new level,” said Sergiy Kyslytsya, Kyiv’s permanent representative. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said it was a “stark reminder that something is wrong with the way international security architecture is functioning”.
The latest intelligence update from the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) says the performance of the Russian chief of the general staff, Gene Valery Gerasimov, is “pushing the limits of how far Russia’s political leadership will tolerate failure”. It adds: “Gerasimov’s tenure has been characterised by an effort to launch a general winter offensive with the aim of extending Russian control over the whole of the Donbas region. Eighty days on, it is increasingly apparent that this project has failed.”
The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has promised to increase the supply of munitions to the country’s forces in Ukraine, during a visit to the headquarters of Moscow’s troops fighting in Ukraine, according to footage published by the defence ministry on Saturday.
The International Monetary Fund’s executive board has approved a four-year $15.6bn (£12.6bn) loan programme for Ukraine, part of a global $115bn package of economic support. The decision clears the way for an immediate disbursement of about $2.7bn to Kyiv, and requires Ukraine to carry out ambitious changes, especially in the energy sector, the fund said.
The top US general, Mark Milley, has said Ukraine is unlikely to expel all Russian troops from its territory this year, the Kyiv Independent reports, citing an interview with Defense One. He said: “I don’t think it’s likely to be done in the near term for this year.”
At least five people, including a baby, have been killed in Ukraine in the past 24 hours, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Russia has lost at least six Zoopark-1M counter-battery radar and will struggle to regenerate them because of sanctions, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. The MoD added: “Regenerating counter-battery radar fleets is likely a key priority for both sides, but Russia will likely struggle because the systems rely on supplies of hi-tech electronics which have been disrupted by sanctions.”
Vladimir Putin has signed off on a new Russian foreign policy strategy aimed at curtailing western “dominance” and identifying China and India as key partners for the future. The new document cements the deep cold war-style rupture between Russia and the west over Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.
Prosecutors have asked a court to put the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, Metropolitan Pavel, under house arrest. He is accused of supporting Russia’s invasion of Urkaine and inciting religious hatred. Pavel denies wrongdoing.
Kim Yo-jong, a sister of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has accused Ukraine of having nuclear ambitions, basing her assertion on an online petition that has drawn fewer than 1,000 signatures so far, state media KCNA has reported.
Finland will formally be welcomed into Nato “within days” after Turkey’s ratification of its accession to the western defence alliance, the Nato secretary general has announced. The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the alliance to ratify Finland’s membership after Hungary’s legislature approved a similar bill this week. Sweden’s Nato application faces objections from Turkey, which has accuses the Scandinavian country of harbouring members of terrorist groups.
Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, said he had intensified talks with Russia about deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus, alleging there were plans for neighbouring Poland to invade. Belarus had deployed a special forces contingent to its southern border with Ukraine “to prevent provocations”, he added.
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Kim Yo-jong, a sister of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has accused Ukraine of having nuclear ambitions, basing her assertion on an online petition that has drawn fewer than 1,000 signatures so far, state media KCNA has reported.
Kim Yo-jong said this kind of petition could be a political plot by the office of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, but did not provide any evidence for this, Reuters reports.
After Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Moscow plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, a public petition was filed to the Ukrainian presidential office’s website on Thursday, calling for Ukraine to host nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory or for it to be armed with its own nuclear weapons.
By Saturday afternoon, the petition had gained only 611 signatures, far short of the 25,000 needed for a response from Zelenskiy.
Kyiv officials have not commented on the petition so far.
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More on Metropolitan Pavel.
The Associated Press is reporting that prosecutors have asked a court to put the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery under house arrest.
Abbot of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra summoned for questioning
Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery in the Ukrainian capital, has been summoned for questioning.
Photos released by the Ukrainian security service showed officers outside Pavel’s home on Saturday.
Pavel’s branch of Ukraine’s Orthodox church was until recently formally tied to the Russian Orthodox church.
The BBC reports that security services searched the cleric’s house at Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
It added that Pavel has been formally notified he is being investigated on allegations he supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and that he has been summoned for questioning.
Pavel has also been accused of inciting hatred between religions. He denies any wrongdoing.
The Russian state news agency Tass cited a video released by the Vesti media outlet in which Pavel said:
I have been sent under house arrest.
This information has not been confirmed.
The Ukraine government announced on 29 March it was terminating the lease allowing the monks to occupy part of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra for free, but said the eviction process could take weeks.
Earlier this week, Pavel and his fellow clergymen ignored a deadline to leave and claimed they were being persecuted.
Despite the church officially breaking ties with the Russian patriarchate after the invasion of Ukraine last year, Kyiv believes it is still de facto dependent on Moscow.
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Russia's presidency of the UN security council is a 'symbolic blow' says Ukrainian official
A top Ukrainian official has criticised the “symbolic blow” of Russia assuming the rotating presidency of the United Nations security council.
Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, wrote on Twitter on Saturday:
It’s not just a shame. It is another symbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations.
It is very telling that on the holiday of one terror state – Iran, another terror state – Russia – begins to preside over the UN Security Council.
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) April 1, 2023
It's not just a shame. It is another symbolic blow to the rules-based system of international relations.
On Saturday, Russia took over the presidency of the UN’s top security body, which rotates every month.
The last time Moscow held the post was in February 2022, when its troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reports.
On Friday, the Kremlin said it planned to “exercise all its rights” in the role.
The US has urged Russia to “conduct itself professionally” when it assumes the role, saying there is no means to block Moscow from the post.
Yermak also hit out at Iran, whom Kyiv and its allies accuse of supplying Russia with arms, including hundreds of assault drones that have menaced Ukrainian infrastructure facilities. Tehran denies supplying Russia with weapons.
Referring to Iran’s Islamic Republic Day holiday, Yermak said:
It is very telling that on the holiday of one terror state – Iran, another terror state – Russia – begins to preside over the UN Security Council.
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Ukraine victory unlikely this year, says top US general
The top US general, Mark Milley, has said Ukraine is unlikely to expel all Russian troops from its territory this year, the Kyiv Independent reports, citing an interview with Defense One.
Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was quoted as saying:
Zelenskiy has publicly stated many times that the Ukrainian objective is to kick every Russian out of Russian-occupied Ukraine.
And that is a significant military task. Very, very difficult military task. You’re looking at a couple hundred thousand Russians who are still in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
He added:
I don’t think it’s likely to be done in the near term for this year.
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More from The Kyiv Independent.
It cites the 1 April report from the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces which says Russia has lost approximately 173,990 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion on 24 February last year.
It adds:
This number includes 630 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
According to the report Russia has lost 3,616 tanks, 6,981 armoured fighting vehicles, 5,528 vehicles and fuel tanks, 2,683 artillery systems, 527 multiple launch rocket systems, 279 air defense systems, 306 airplanes, 291 helicopters, 2,248 drones, and 18 boats.
The Guardian has not been able to verify this independently.
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu promises boost to munitions supplies for Russian forces
The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has promised to increase the supply of munitions to the country’s forces, during a visit to the headquarters of Moscow’s troops fighting in Ukraine, according to footage published by the defence ministry on Saturday.
In the video published on Telegram, Shoigu presides over a meeting with senior military officers, including Gen Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s chief of the general staff, Reuters reports.
In the footage, Shoigu says that Russia will take steps to boost the supply of munitions to troops at the front.
He said:
The volume of supplies of the most demanded ammunition has been determined. Necessary measures are being taken to increase them.
Shoigu has come under criticism from hardline advocates of Russia’s campaign in Ukraine - including Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group - who have accused him of failing to supply sufficient munitions to troops on the frontline.
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At least five people, including a baby, killed in Ukraine in past 24 hours – report
The Kyiv Independent reports:
Russian forces attacked eight regions across Ukraine over the past 24 hours, killing at least five people and wounding 10, according to regional governors’ reports on 1 April.
Among the killed was a five-month-old boy and his grandmother in the frontline city of Avdiivka, Donetsk oblast governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported, adding that the parents of the newborn were wounded.
In the southern Kherson oblast, three people were killed, and two were wounded, according to the regional military administration.
The Guardian cannot independently verify this report.
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Here are some images coming to us over the wires.
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Valery Gerasimov's tenure characterised by failure, UK MoD says
The latest intelligence update from the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) catalogues the performance of the Russian chief of the general staff, Gen Valery Gerasimov, who the MoD says is “pushing the limits of how far Russia’s political leadership will tolerate failure”.
Here is the update:
On 11 January 2023, Russian chief of the general staff (CGS) General Valery Gerasimov took personal command of the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine.
Gerasimov’s tenure has been characterised by an effort to launch a general winter offensive with the aim of extending Russian control over the whole of the Donbas region. Eighty days on, it is increasingly apparent that this project has failed.
On several axes across the Donbas front, Russian forces have made only marginal gains at the cost of tens of thousands of casualties, largely squandering its temporary advantage in personnel gained from the autumn’s ‘partial mobilisation’.
After ten years as CGS, there is a realistic possibility that Gerasimov is pushing the limits of how far Russia’s political leadership will tolerate failure.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 01 April 2023.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) April 1, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/un6OZVrOda
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/pFl8kpIqs6
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Bucha, the town infamous for a massacre at the hands of Russia, has become a symbol of Ukraine’s reconstruction effort. But experts say the influx of money from the west will bring challenges in such a corrupt country, as Lorenzo Tondo reports:
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Russia has lost at least six Zoopark-1M counter-battery radar and will struggle to regenerate them because of sanctions, the UK Ministry of Defence has said in its latest intelligence update.
As of 23 March 2023, Ukrainian special operation forces released footage of a Russian Zoopark-1M counter-battery radar being destroyed in the Donetsk area.
Efforts by both sides to neutralise their opponent’s counter-battery radars have been a constant element of the conflict. These systems are relatively few in number but are a significant force multiplier. They allow commanders to rapidly locate and strike enemy artillery.
However, because they have an active electromagnetic signature, they are vulnerable to being detected and destroyed. Russia has lost at least six Zoopark-1M and likely only has a very limited number left in Ukraine.
Regenerating counter-battery radar fleets is likely a key priority for both sides, but Russia will likely struggle because the systems rely on supplies of high-tech electronics which have been disrupted by sanctions.
Updated
Not sure what’s happened in the Russia-Ukraine war this week?
Catch up on the must-reads from our coverage of the war, from news and features to analysis, visual guides and opinion:
Vladimir Putin has signed off on a new Russian foreign policy strategy aimed at curtailing western “dominance” and identifying China and India as key partners for the future.
The new document cements the deep cold war-style rupture between Russia and the west over Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine. The strategy document said:
The Russian Federation intends to give priority to the elimination of vestiges of the dominance of the United States and other unfriendly countries in world politics.
The term “unfriendly countries” is used by Russia to refer to those countries, particularly in Europe and North America, that have condemned Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine and adopted sanctions.
The 42-page document, which was published on the Kremlin’s website, said Russia would aim to “create the conditions for any state to reject neo-colonialist and hegemonic aims”.
Announcing the document at a security council meeting, Putin said that updates to Russia’s strategy for engagement on the global stage were necessary due to “radical changes” in the world.
Russia singled out ties with China and India and stressed the importance of “the deepening of ties and coordination with friendly sovereign global centres of power and development located on the Eurasian continent”.
The document also described Russia as a “state civilisation” tasked with defending what it called the “Russian world” of related cultures on the Eurasian continent.
The concept of a “Russian world” is used by the Kremlin to justify its actions in Ukraine with claims that it is defending the country’s Russian-speaking minority.
IMF gives green light to $15.6bn loan programme
The International Monetary Fund’s executive board has approved a four-year $15.6bn loan programme for Ukraine, part of a global $115bn package of economic support.
The decision clears the way for an immediate disbursement of about $2.7bn to Kyiv, and requires Ukraine to carry out ambitious changes, especially in the energy sector, the fund said.
The extended fund facility (EFF) loan is the first major conventional financing programme approved by the IMF for a country involved in a large-scale war.
Ukraine’s previous $5bn long-term IMF programme was cancelled in March 2022 when the fund provided $1.4bn in emergency financing with few conditions. It provided another $1.3bn under a “food shock window” programme last October.
An IMF official said the $115bn package includes the IMF loan, $80bn in pledges for grants and concessional loans from multilateral institutions and other countries, and $20bn worth of debt relief commitments.
Ukraine must meet certain conditions over the next two years, including steps to boost tax revenue, maintain exchange rate stability, preserve central bank independence and strengthen anti-corruption efforts.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to have a devastating economic and social impact,” the IMF first deputy managing director, Gita Gopinath, said, lauding Ukrainian authorities for maintaining “overall macroeconomic and financial stability” despite the strains of the war.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, welcomed the new funding.
“It is an important help in our fight against Russian aggression,” he said on Twitter. “Together we support the Ukrainian economy. And we are moving forward to victory!”
The US treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, who pushed hard for the past year to secure the IMF funding package, said it would help secure the country’s economic and financial stability and set the foundation for long-term reconstruction.
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Opening summary
Welcome back to our continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine. We’ll be bringing you the latest developments as they happen.
Our top story this morning:
The International Monetary Fund’s executive board approved a four-year $15.6bn loan programme for Ukraine, part of a global $115bn package to support the country’s economy.
The decision clears the way for an immediate disbursement of about $2.7bn to Kyiv, and requires Ukraine to carry out ambitious reforms, especially in the energy sector.
“It is an important help in our fight against Russian aggression,” the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, tweeted.
We’ll have more on this story shortly. In the meantime here are the key recent developments:
Joe Biden has called on Russia to release Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested this week on espionage charges and facing 20 years in jail. “Let him go,” the US president said, when asked about the case. The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, has described the espionage charges as “ridiculous”. Russian officials continued to speak about Gershkovich in terms suggesting his conviction was a foregone conclusion.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, will chair a UN security council meeting when Russia assumes the council presidency on Saturday. “As of 1 April, they’re taking the level of absurdity to a new level,” said Sergiy Kyslytsya, Kyiv’s permanent representative. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said it was a “stark reminder that something is wrong with the way international security architecture is functioning”.
Ukraine will never forgive the Russian troops responsible for alleged atrocities in Bucha, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said, as the town near Kyiv marked the anniversary of its recapture after 33 days of occupation in 2022. The leaders of Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia travelled to Ukraine on Friday to take part in commemorative events, the Croatian government said.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has encouraged the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to speak to Volodymyr Zelenskiy and learn first-hand Ukraine’s peace formula to help end Russia’s invasion. Sanchez, speaking during his visit to China, said he had informed Xi that Spain supported the Ukrainian president’s proposals, including a demand to restore Ukraine’s territory to before Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Xi called for an end to a “cold war mentality” and to the pressure of “extreme” sanctions against Russia.
Finland will formally be welcomed into Nato “within days” after Turkey’s ratification of its accession to the western defence alliance, the Nato secretary general has announced. The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the alliance to ratify Finland’s membership, after Hungary’s legislature approved a similar bill this week. Sweden’s Nato bid faces objections from Turkey which accuses it of harbouring members of terrorist groups.
Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, said he had intensified talks with Russia about deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus, alleging there were plans for neighbouring Poland to invade. Belarus had deployed a special forces contingent to its southern border with Ukraine “to prevent provocations”, he added.
Russian and Belarusian players will be allowed to compete at Wimbledon and the British grass-court tournaments this year after the All England Club and the LTA jointly opted to reverse their bans on players for this season’s events. Russian and Belarusian players will be required to sign neutrality agreements, which prohibit them from expressing support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, receiving funding from the Russian or Belarusian state, or being sponsored by organisations funded by their governments.
Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to call up 147,000 Russian citizens for statutory military service as part of the spring conscription campaign, Russian state media reported. The Russian leader last signed a routine conscription campaign in September, calling up 120,000 citizens for statutory service, the Tass news agency said. The general staff of the armed forces of the Russian Federation stated that it was not a second wave of mobilisation.
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, has said “severe violations” of human rights and international humanitarian law have become “shockingly routine” in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The number of civilian casualties in Ukraine was far higher than official figures showed, Türk said in an address to the UN’s human rights council in Geneva, where he said Ukraine was a nation “struggling to survive” in the face of Russia’s invasion.
Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, has rejected charges brought against Vladimir Putin by the international criminal court (ICC) for overseeing the abduction of Ukrainian children. The ICC issued an arrest warrant in March for Russia’s president and his children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for the “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children and their transfer from areas of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces.
