Russian invasion of Ukraine: tanks and rocket attacks on the cities. Breaking news

The Russian occupiers were unable to bypass the Ukrainian positions near Popasna and Novotoshkovsky. This is stated in the operational information of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at 24.00 on March 31.

In the Donetsk direction, the enemy is focused on attack on Mariupol. The enemy increased the group of the 58th All-Military Army by adding the batallion-tactical group, created from servicemen transferred from the 7th military base (Abkhazia). The 36th Separate Marine Brigade, together with other units, maintains the circular defense of Mariupol.

The enemy continues strengthening groups of troops at the account of the units of the Eastern Military District. It is trying to form occupation administrations in the temporarily occupied districts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions.

The President of the European Parliament Roberta Mezzola is heading to Kyiv. She announced this on Twitter.

"On my way to Kyiv," she signed a photo of herself standing near the backdrop of a train of Ukrainian Railways.

Video from the village of Nova Basan, Chernihiv region, liberated by Ukrainian soldiers.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine pushed the occupiers out of the village - their corpses may be seen on the streets and near the burnt machines. According to the author of the video, there are losses among the Ukrainian military, but insignificant. Military machines of the invaders were seized. The Russians who managed to survive are still hiding in the village. Ukrainian Armed Forces' fighters offer them to surrender.

Nova Basan in the Chernihiv region greets Ukrainian soldiers who liberated the village.

"We were waiting for you so much!" – says one of the villagers.

The press office of the Kyiv region police informs: Russian invaders launched an airstrike on one of the villages next to Bucha, Kyiv region. Several houses were destroted, with no casualties.

Around Fastiv, an infrastructure facility has been destroyed as a result of combat activities. State Emergency Service of Ukraine eliminated the fire.

Ukrainian Air Force: To defend the sky over Ukraine efficiently, the newest systems Patriot (USA) and NASAMS (Norway) are crucial.

At the moment, Ukraine uses long-range air defense systems C-300 (SA-10) and mid-range missile defense systems Buk-M1. However, these are outdated soviet systems.

The allies haven't responded yet to Ukraine's request to provide necessary air defense systems and fighter planes.

On March 20, Anastasia Tagirova, a second-year student at the Drahomanov National Pedagogical University, was killed while transporting humanitarian aid to Chernihiv. The car the volunteer was driving was shelled by the Russian occupiers. This was reported by the university on Facebook.

The invaders attacked the car being driven by the girl on the crossing before entering Chernihiv.

The university recalls Anastasia as a kind and responsive girl. She studied at the Faculty of Inclusive Education.

Deputy Head of Kyiv City State Administration Maryna Honda: 28 trucks with food from a Lithuanian foundation Food for Ukraine arrived in Kyiv. The initiative began after the invaders launched airstrikes on food warehouses in the capital.

The supplies include both essential and high-quality goods. ICRC will help to distribute the goods among low-income groups.

In temporarily occupied Kherson, a journalist Kostiantyn Ryzhenko appears to be missing. This follows from the message published on his Telegram channel.

"Hello, if you are reading this message, something may have happened. This is a delayed message which I regularly postpone for a day or two. If it is published though, it means that I couldn't postpone it again." – says the message the missing journalist prepared for an emergency.

The journalist said that his volunteer projects will keep working without him thanks to the workflow he managed to build.

Currently, there is no information on a reason Ryzhenko may be missing or his whereabouts.

The key notes from Zelensky's address:

We will fight to the last. Till the last strength, whatever necessary until there is no monster left on our land. There are still battles ahead.

Step by step, all traitors will be punished. General Andriy Naumov, former head of the Security Service of Ukraine's Main Department of Internal Security, and Serhiy Kryvoruchko, former head of the Kherson Oblast Department of the Security Service of Ukraine have been deprived of their military ranks.

The situation in Donbass and the south is extremely difficult. The enemy is also accumulating forces near Mariupol. We will defend ourselves. Sanctions against Russia will only intensify until peace comes.

There are more than 25,000 applications submitted through "Diya" service for compensation for the house / apartment destroyed by the occupiers. It will be possible to submit the application through the Centers for providing administrative services in a few days.

A decree awarding 136 soldiers has been signed.

Address by President Zelensky:

Ministry of Defense of Ukraine: during the 36 days of the war, the Russians launched 1,370 missiles across Ukraine, killed 148 children, and destroyed 15 Ukrainian airports.

Documentarians of the Babylon 13 group showed Gostomel airfield after the Russian invasion. In particular - the hangar with the destroyed An-225 "Mriya".

The Staff of Joint Forces Operation on the situation in Donbass: Ukrainian defenders repulsed seven attacks. Three tanks, two armored personnel carriers, two artillery systems, two units of vehicles have been destroyed. Also, the Orlan-10 drone was shot down.

Iryna Vereshchuk, Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories: The occupiers who dug trenches in the woods near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant deserve the Darwin Prize. They received a dose of radiation requiring doctors in protective suits to inform them about the consequences.

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Turkey can be one of the guarantors of Ukraine's security. The details of that need to be clarified.

State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management: The occupiers left the Chernobyl site completely. Leaving the station, they looted the premises, stole equipment and valuables.

Biden on Putin: "It seems - I do not affirm this - he has isolated himself. There are some signs that he has fired or placed under house arrest some of his advisers. I do not want to attach too much importance to that now because we do not have many reliable evidence. "

Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk reported on the results of humanitarian corridors on March 31:

1458 people reached Zaporizhia by their own cars. 631 - from Mariupol, 827 - from the Zaporozhye region (Berdyansk, Melitopol, Energodar, Orikhiv, Pologe, Gulyaypole, Vasylivka).

50 private cars and a bus left Energodar. They are already in Zaporozhye.

There were 45 evacuation buses going to Berdyansk. The occupiers did not let them into the city. 600 people got on buses from the city on their own and plan to move to Zaporizhia tomorrow morning. More than 30 buses remain at the entrance to Berdyansk to pick up residents of the city and of Mariupol in the morning.

12 buses with 14 tons of food and medicine arrived in Melitopol. They were seized by the occupiers, despite the "guarantees" from the Red Cross.

Deputy Mayor of Izyum (Kharkiv region) Volodymyr Matsokin: 15,000-20,000 citizens must be evacuated now from Izyum, for which fighting is in process. There have been no "green corridors" for 20 days, they have not been agreed. Today, 2,500 people were evacuated from the Izium district.

Ukrainian artillery hit accurately the Russian self-propelled artillery machine, hidden by the occupants among the high-rise buildings. Video: Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny / Telegram.

Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: We need F-14 and F-15 Generation 4+ fighters. Our pilots will be able to operate them in 2-3 weeks of training. We also need air defense systems - Patriot (USA) NASAMS (Norway) or even Soviet S-300 and Buk-M1. The Allies did not respond to Ukraine's request to provide air fighters and anti-aircraft missile complexes to close the sky.

The mayor of Irpin, which was liberated from the invaders, Alexander Markushin, showed the extent of the destructions in the town.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace: Britain and its allies have agreed to give Ukraine more lethal weapons. In particular, longer range artillery and more anti-aircraft weapons.

The situation at the front from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 18.00.

The occupiers are trying to create a new grouping in Slobozhanshchyna region.

The goal is partial occupation of the Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Also they are planning to blockade Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.

The enemy continues attacking Popasna (Luhansk region).

Perhaps to diflect attention from the attempts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to establish control over Izyum and Mariupol.

200 mercenaries from the Middle East were transferred to Gomel (Belarus). Also, missile units are being transferred to Belarus to increase the number of rocket attacks. Three Iskander missile systems and two S-300 systems arrived there.

In the Russian Federation, relatives of the dead invaders began to sue the military leadership of the country.

CNN with reference to the top US defense official: the Russians are focusing their strikes on four areas: Kyiv, Chernihiv, Izyum (Kharkiv oblast), the Joint Forces Operation area.

According to the official, the Russians are increasing the number of flights (up to 300 in the last day). Kyiv is still under a threat of airstrikes, he added.

Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: in Mykolayiv oblast, Ukrainian sniper Mykola stopped the movement of an enemy column with a shot. He hit the first armored vehicle. After that, the Ukrainian forces began shooting the column with grenade launchers and machine guns. The invaders retreated. The sniper also captured a Russian officer.

Deputy Commander of the Azov Battalion Svyatoslav Palamar called on to end the blockade of Mariupol:

"Every day of defense costs the lives of heroes. If enemy aircraft drop bombs - multiply by a hundred, multiply the number of released ballistic missiles by ten, add land and ship artillery. We have no right not to fight.

The operation of breaking the blockade of Mariupol will go down in history as a heroic feat. If it doesn't happen, it will go down in history as a great disgrace and another Baturyn (Moscow's sack operation in 1708, ed.)."

Emergency service worker showed the aftermath of the Russian invaders' stay at the bus terminal in the liberated Trostyanets (Sumy oblast).

"In one place they had a toilet, a kitchen, and a bathroom - they slept and went to the toilet in one room. They ate pasta from the sink. It's dirty, you have to see and smell it. The whole bus terminal is covered with trash," emergency service worker said.

Operational Command North: The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed a column of Russian armored vehicles in Chernihiv oblast. The movement of the column of vehicles across the river is also blocked.

The head of the Kyiv Military State Administration, lieutenant general Oleksandr Pavliuk: the Russians are still holding Bucha, Gostomel and Vorzel. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have an action plan in this direction. In the near future, we have to resume traffic on the Kyiv-Zhytomyr highway.

The Russians are withdrawing their convoys of hundreds of vehicles in the direction of Russia. Most of them are withdrawn to restore combat capability.

Oleksiy Arestovych explained why rumors of a "massive attack across Ukraine" should not be believed.

"It makes no sense to spend missiles worth millions of dollars, tens of millions of dollars in one volley to kill a deputy of Ukraine or a journalist. They will be shelling objects of the military-industrial complex, or the objects of infrastructure" if they do a massive attack.

Head of Office of the President, Andriy Yermak discussed the situation with countering aggression from the Russian Federation and further defense support from the United States with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

The occupiers drew up and signed the "Act of Acceptance and Transfer of the Protection of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant", where it is stated that "there are no claims from the administration of the protected facility in relation to the troops of the State Guard of the Russian Federation" - Energoatom.

"Submarine troops of the Russian Federation. For another 10 years, the Sumy region will be harvesting the liberators’ crops. Border guards, the State Emergency Service and the Territorial Defense Guards also keeping the underwater lines. They are cleaning out submariners," - military observer Roman Bochkala.

The first evacuation convoy of buses arrived at the Lunacharsky ring at the entrance to Berdyansk to transfer Mariupol residents to Zaporizhzhya – according to the the Mariupol City Council.

In the Chernihiv region, subdivisions of the operational command "Sever" liberated two settlements - Sloboda and Lukashevka. Currently, activities are under way to clear the area from mine-explosive "gifts" left by the Russians, and to help local residents who were kept under occupation.

In the Kyiv region, a Russian man was detained, who was waiting for the "Pax Russica" in Ukraine, but coulnd’t wait any longer and tried to flee to Poland. On his phone, law enforcement officers found correspondence of an anti-Ukrainian nature. The Russian was handed over to the Security Service of Ukraine.

"In the Kyiv region, a Russian man was detained, who was waiting for the "Pax Russica" in Ukraine, but coulnd’t wait any longer and tried to flee to Poland. On his phone, law enforcement officers found correspondence of an anti-Ukrainian nature. The Russian was handed over to the Security Service of Ukraine. A Russian man was waiting for his "liberators", and when he was too tired of waiting he decided to flee, but for some reason to Poland

- In the Kyiv region, border guards detained a Russian man who hates Ukraine and its people. The man was born in 1980 and is a native of the Tatar ASSR. He lived in Ukraine and had a temporary residence permit.

- When the Russian horde advanced to Ukraine, the man was sitting "faithfully" and waiting for his "Pax Russica". He wrote about this in messages to his beloved woman in Russia.

- Having realized that the "Pax Russica" will not come, he decided to flee. But for some reason not to Russia, but to Poland.

- He didn't get far. He was detained by the border guards in Kyiv region. After the filtering measures, law enforcement officers found anti-Ukrainian correspondence. Now the Russian will deal with the Security Service of Ukraine, who he was handed over to".

After a telephone conversation with the leader of the occupant country of Russia last night, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that Vladimir Putin had told him that the conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine "are not ripe yet.”

The Russian troops are partly withdrawing from the Kyiv area, intelligence service reports. Last night, almost 700 enemy vehicles retreated toward Ivankiv and further on to the Belarusian border.

The occupiers are planning to withdraw from the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and its satellite town of Slavutych. Two Russian convoys have already set off toward the Ukrainian border with Belarus. This morning, the Ukrainian personnel of the station informed about the invaders’ intentions to leave the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Some occupiers are still present at the station, Energoatom reports.

"Our defenders are fighting for the freedom of Europe, and they deserve to get the weapon that will stop, once and for all, the advance of the Russian army—the advance of tyranny.

When we talk about aircraft, tanks, artillery systems, and anti-ship missiles, we are talking about the real necessities. The weapon that the EU countries, the NATO countries do have. European companies must finally stop making money together with those who are trying to destroy us.

Our defenders deserve it,” President Zelenskyy said, addressing the Belgian Parliament.

The Russians deceive their contract servicemen to keep them at war in Ukraine. They automatically renew the contracts that ended before combat started. The soldiers protesting or refusing to fight are threatened with arrest for desertion, the Security Service of Ukraine reports.

“We’ll hear some good news in the nearest future. Believe me, we will. I know that you worry a lot about Bucha and Vyshhorod... Vyshhorod is back under Ukrainian control. In the nearest future, as I just said, we will have some very, very good news," Oleksandr Hruzevych, Brigadier General, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reported.

The cover of Guardian Weekly dedicated to Mariupol.

In Slavutych Ukrainian nuclear worker, employee of "Atomremontservis" Serhii Sydorenko was shot to death by an occupant. "When the war started he had no hesitation to sign up for the territorial defense and courageously protected his city and his country" - Enerhoatom (Ukrainian nuclear state company).

61% of citizens of Finnland support joining NATO, only 16% are against it and 23% abstained.

As of March 31st 13:00 after the hostile missile strike on the building of Region State Administration in Mykolaiv 20 people died (the rescuers got 19 bodies out of the rubble, 1 person died in hospital). The work is still in progress - State Emergency Service.

How the centre of Kharkiv looks like now.

The Head-Office of Intelligence of Ukraine has obtained personal data of some of the military personnel (106 people) of 38th assault brigade (military base 92616 from Brest) of the armed forces of Belarus.