Ukraine's President Volodmyr Zelensky has denounced a missile strike on a train station where civilians were fleeing to safety as "an act of evil that has no limits”. At least 50 people - including five children - are reported to have been killed in the attack.
“Like the massacres in Bucha, like many other Russian war crimes, the missile attack on Kramatorsk should be one of the charges at the tribunal that must be held,” he said during his nightly video address to the nation. The president told Ukrainians that great efforts would be taken “to establish every minute of who did what, who gave what orders, where the missile came from, who transported it, who gave the command and how this strike was agreed”, so that those behind the attack would be held responsible.
However, Russia's Ministry of Foreign affairs has accused Ukraine of being responsible for the attack. On Twitter, it said "On April 8, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) committed another War Crime by striking a railway station in Kramatorsk.
"The choice of the target was not random. The Kiev regime is striving to maximise the number of civilian victims."
It comes after Boris Johnson vowed that the attack will "not go unpunished". Speaking from from Downing Street on Friday, Mr Johnson said: "The attack at the train station in eastern Ukraine shows the depth to which Putin's once vaunted army has sunk.
"It is a war crime to indiscriminately attack civilians, and Russian crimes in Ukraine will not go unnoticed or unpunished."
We have audio evidence of Russian war crimes, claims Zelensky
President Zelensky claims Ukraine has audio evidence of war crimes committed by Russia. He says Ukraine's security service have intercepted communications from Russian troops in which soldiers admitted killing civilians.
In an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes, Mr Zelensky said: "There are soldiers talking with their parents about what they stole and who they abducted. There are recordings of prisoners of war who admitted killing people. There are pilots in prison who had maps with civilian targets to bomb. There are also investigations being conducted based on the remains of the dead."
Russia continues to hit Ukrainian non-combatants, says UK MoD
In an 'intelligence update' issued shortly after 6am this morning, the UK's Ministry of Defence said: "Russia continues to hit Ukrainian non-combatants, such as those killed in yesterday’s rocket strike on Kramatorsk railway station in eastern Ukraine.
"Russian operations continue to focus on the Donbas region, Mariupol and Mykolaiv, supported by continued cruise missile launches into Ukraine by Russian naval forces. Russian air activity is expected to increase in the south and east of Ukraine in support of this activity.
"However, Russian ambitions to establish a land corridor between Crimea and the Donbas continue to be thwarted by Ukrainian resistance."
Russia has reportedly replaced its Ukraine war commander
Russia has reportedly reorganised the command of its operations in Ukraine - and replaced the commander leading the invasion. A source speaking to the BBC on condition of anonymity said the commander of Russia’s southern military district, Gen Alexander Dvornikov, has now been put in charge of the invasion.
“That particular commander has a lot of experience of operations of Russian operations in Syria. So we would expect the overall command and control to improve,” the source said.
UK sending another £100m of weaponry to Ukraine
Britain is to send another £100m of “high-grade” military equipment to Ukraine. It comes amid signs Russian forces are preparing for a new offensive in the east of the country. Boris Johnson said the UK would be sending £100 million of kit including more Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank weapons and “precision munitions” such as drones that can loiter in the sky until directed to their target.
It comes after an appeal from the Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba for Nato to send “weapons, weapons, weapons” including armoured vehicles. However, despite UK defence ministers having recently shown their Ukrainian counterpart “protected mobility vehicles”, there was no mention of supplying armour in Mr Johnson’s statement.
'Ukraine can win war much sooner than many think - just give us the weapons' says Zelensky
Ukraine can win the war against Russian 'much sooner than many in the world think' - but only if it is "receives the weapons the list" it has asked for, President Volodomyr Zelensky has said. Speaking after Boris Johnson announced the UK was sending another £100 million of weaponry - but making no mention of armoured vehicles being among that package - Mr Zelensky said: "The best way to stop tyranny and protect freedom is to provide Ukraine with the necessary weapons."
In his daily address, Mr Zelensky continued: "The weapons we have repeatedly asked for from the West. The weapons that are available there. I will continue to fight every day, literally every hour, to get everything our state needs."
"Russia's war against our people may end in victory of freedom much sooner than many in the world think if Ukraine simply receives the weapons the list of which we have provided. Any delay in providing such weapons to Ukraine, any excuses can mean only one thing: the relevant politicians want to help the Russian leadership more than us Ukrainians."
'Concerning increase’ in Ukrainian refugees becoming homeless after UK arrival
There has been a “concerning increase” in the number Ukrainian refugees in the UK becoming homeless due to relationship breakdowns with their sponsors, the Local Government Association has said. In a survey published last week, the LGA said 57 councils have been approached by a total of 144 Ukrainian households who have become homeless after arriving under both schemes.
Families who arrived in the UK under the family visa scheme are struggling to access cash while they wait for benefits, and some are being put in hotels because their relative is unable or unwilling to house them, reports PA. And dozens of matches under the separate Homes for Ukraine scheme are understood to have broken down. Local authorities are now having to put families in emergency accommodation while they wait to find a new sponsor.
The chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA), councillor James Jamieson, said: "Councils are already seeing a concerning increase in homelessness presentations from Ukraine arrivals – including those who have arrived via the family scheme and where the families’ accommodation is not suitable or the relationship has broken down shortly after arrival – and lone children arriving in the UK needing support. New arrivals should be able to be rematched with a different sponsor if a sponsorship breaks down to ensure families can swiftly move to other accommodation so they can rebuild their lives in their new communities.”
Mayor says bodies of 132 'executed civilians' have been found in town
The Mayor of Makariv has said that the bodies of 132 'executed civilians' have been found in the town. Vadym Tokar said: "As of yesterday, we excavated 132 bodies of civilians who were executed by the Russian orcs."
He said the majority of the bodies were excavated from mass graves, but that some were found in the streets. He estimated that 40 per cent of Makariv's buildings had been damaged. Speaking during a televised address, the Mayor said: "The occupiers destroyed almost all infrastructure, bombed [homes] and apartment buildings, completely destroyed hospitals and kindergartens."
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