[Korrespondent] 21:48 The Shevchenkovsky District Court of Kiev sent the former rector of the Lavra Pavel under house arrest for 60 days.
21:25 Russians from artillery attacked the Berislavsky district of the Kherson region, said the head of the RGA Vladimir Litvinov. In Berislav, residential buildings were damaged, a critical infrastructure facility was damaged, which left several settlements without electricity. One person was injured. The enemy also hit Tyaginka, one person was injured.
20:47 Ukraine is actively preparing for next winter and is working to protect energy facilities, said Volodymyr Kudrytsky, Chairman of the Board of NPC Ukrenergo. According to him, in order for the country to prepare for the next winter and possible terrorist attacks, four key components are needed: the physical protection of energy facilities, the restoration of generation, equipment and finance for this.
"Our plan is to have time for the next heating season to significantly strengthen the protection of our facilities, that is, engineering fortifications, and make our substations more resistant to shock. In addition to the physical protection of facilities, it is also the restoration of generation - hydro and thermal power plants, the preparation of thermal power plants by winter. It is also important to contract and bring to Ukraine a sufficient amount of equipment for repairs," Kudrytsky said.
20:22 Zelensky, in an evening video message, called "obviously absurd and destructive" the news that Russia began chairing the UN Security Council today: "Yesterday, the Russian army killed another Ukrainian child - a five-month-old boy from Avdiivka... One of the hundreds of artillery shelling, which a terrorist state commits on a daily basis. And at the same time, Russia chairs the UN Security Council. It is difficult to imagine something that further proves the complete bankruptcy of such institutions... There is no form of terror that has not yet been committed by Russia. And there will not be such a reason that will stop the reform of global institutions, in particular the UN Security Council."
18:26 The Russian army is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions. During these days, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine repulsed more than 50 enemy attacks. The most fierce battles remain for the areas of the settlements of Bakhmut, Avdeevka and Marinka, the General Staff said in an evening report.
In the Zaporozhye region, the occupiers continue the forced passportization of the population. In particular, in Tokmak, at checkpoints, Russians do not allow Ukrainian citizens who have not received Russian passports to pass through. In turn, FSB representatives during house searches threaten local residents with job loss and problems with employment without a Russian passport.
16:02 The Russians fired artillery at Kherson, hit a private house, one person died. They also fired on the village of Kazatskoye, hit a private house, there is a wounded man, the President's Office reported.
15:43 Zelensky said that he had an hour-long conversation with Macron: "We substantively and effectively discussed the defense cooperation between Ukraine and France. He informed in detail about the situation at the front. We stopped at further steps to implement the peace formula. We coordinated actions in the context of upcoming international events."
15:18 Zelensky put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to impose sanctions against 273 individuals and 380 legal entities. The list, in particular, includes ex-president of Motor Sich Vyacheslav Boguslaev and a number of Russians.
14:36 Reznikov said that he met in Kiev with the Minister of Defense of Slovakia Yaroslav Nagy, thanked for military assistance, including for the transfer of MiG-29 aircraft and the provision of an air defense system for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
13:57 The Russians fired on the village of Dvurechnaya in the Kharkiv region, one person died, the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov said.
12:49 The SBU stated that it had collected a reasonable evidence base regarding the involvement of the former rector of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Pavel (Peter Lebid) in inciting religious hatred, justifying and denying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The SBU also published the conversations of Metropolitan Pavel .
12:14 The Ukrainian army will buy 100 Rosomak armored personnel carriers from Poland at the expense of the EU and the USA, said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
11:23 The countries of the Bucharest Nine, following a meeting of foreign ministers in Lodz, Poland, called on the United States to expand its military presence on NATO's eastern flank. The association includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. "If we have strong defenses, we will be able to contain Russia's destabilizing and assertive behavior. This is the only language that Russia understands," said Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu.
10:49 NATO countries are planning to send two battalions of Leopard 2 tanks and four battalions of Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine, while no more announced deliveries are planned, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. He explained this by the limited resources of both Germany itself and the allies. "There are reserves that cannot be spent," the minister explained.
09:52 The Russians are trying to move into the central part of Bakhmut and in some areas have minor, variable successes, but they cannot capture the city. Fierce fighting continues around and in the city itself, said Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar. The enemy is also conducting offensive operations in the Avdiivka area in order to cordon off the city and block supply routes. In addition, fighting continues in Belogorovka and Marinka.
09:28 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, two people were killed (in Avdiivka), three more were injured. In the Kherson region, three people were killed, two were injured. Among the dead are two electricians who were blown up by an enemy mine during restoration work, according to the IVA.
09:21 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that the new concept of Russian foreign policy, which Putin approved on March 31, is aimed at creating an anti-Western coalition, but the decline in economic power and military losses in Ukraine are a bad incentive to show serious interest in the proposal Moscow. According to ISW, Putin suggested that Xi Jinping create an anti-Western bloc, but the Chinese leader rejected this initiative because he did not want to draw China into the Kremlin's geopolitical conflict with the West.
09:10 In Andreevka, Volnovakhsky district, Donetsk region, an explosion occurred at night at an enemy ammunition depot, said Petr Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol. Eyewitnesses spoke of a prolonged detonation.
08:44 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of April 1.
- personnel - about 173,990 (+630) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3616 (+1),
- armored combat vehicles - 6981 (+4),
- artillery systems - 2683 (+8),
- MLRS - 527 (+1),
- air defense systems - 279 (+1),
- aircraft - 306 (+0),
- helicopters - 291 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 2248 (+0),
- cruise missiles - 911 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 5528 (+7),
- special equipment - 296 (+2).
08:35 The Russian army continues to focus its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions. Over the past day, the Defense Forces repelled 70 enemy attacks in the indicated directions. The most intense fighting continues for Belogorovka, Bakhmut, Avdeevka and Marinka, the General Staff said in the morning report .
07:23 The United States is not yet ready to supply Ukraine with ATACMS long-range missiles, but is considering other options, Mark Milley, head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview with Defense One. “From a military point of view, we have relatively few ATACMS, and we need to make sure that we also have our own stockpiles of ammunition,” he explained and added that there is also a political decision not to transfer ATACMS to the Ukrainians.
"As for the range of the weapon - I think there is some exaggeration of what ATACMS can do and what not ... The range of ATACMS is greater, but there are other systems that can provide the same range," the general noted.
Milley also sees a Ukrainian victory this year as unlikely: “I don’t think it will be done in the near term this year… Zelensky has publicly stated many times that Ukraine’s goal is to expel all Russians from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. And this is an important military task "It's a very, very difficult military task because there are several hundred thousand Russians in Ukraine. I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm just saying it's a very difficult task."
00:54 The European Union calls on the Belarusian authorities to refuse to deploy Russian nuclear weapons on its territory, EU Permanent Representative Olaf Skog said during a meeting of the UN Security Council: “Belarus can still decide to refuse to deploy Russian nuclear weapons. Therefore, we call on the Belarusian authorities to immediately stop support for Russia's war against Ukraine and change its mind, which will only exacerbate tensions in the region."
00:26 The units of the Offensive Guard are almost formed and ready for battle, however, against the backdrop of a large number of people wishing to join the ranks of the Interior Ministry units, it was decided to extend the recruitment, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said. He specified that reserves would be formed from the additionally recruited people.
"Eight brigades have been formed, and today we are ready as part of the Defense Forces for active offensive measures on the territory of our state. And, of course, in parallel we are ready to carry out stabilization measures on this territory," Klymenko said. He noted that "several tens of thousands" of people from all regions of Ukraine expressed their desire to join the Offensive Guard.