Bucha Mayor celebrates Russian retreat from town without mentioning 'war crimes'
In a video published on Facebook on March 31, Mayor of Bucha Anatoly Fedoruk celebrated the Russian army's withdrawal from the town, without mentioning any "war crimes."
In the video, Fedoruk can be heard saying that the "Russian occupiers" were chased off by the Ukrainian army, calling it a great day for Ukraine.
"March 31 will become the history of our settlement and the entire territorial community as the day of the liberation of our settlements from the Russian orcs, from the Russian occupants by our Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU)", the mayor said.
Ukraine has accused Russia of war crimes in Bucha, after recorded materials of dead civilians have emerged. At least 14 dead bodies can be seen in footage distributed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence on Sunday.
The Russian Ministry of Defence denied Kiev's accusations saying that no civilians have been hurt by the time Russian forces withdrew on March 30.
Police arrested dozens of activists protesting against Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
Members of press staff could be seen among detained inside police trucks.
Officers also performed random checks of the residents walking past the protest area.
Mariupol residents described the situation in the city, which has been heavily damaged by the fighting, speaking to Ruptly on Tuesday.
According to a local, the military was firing tanks at houses, and mortars and cannons were placed near a kindergarten.
"They [fighters] were shelling the house. The day before yesterday a tank drove around and fired directly at houses," he said.
Mariupol residents also reported that have been were unaware of any humanitarian corridors opened for evacuation.
"We have no connection, no. No communication, mobile phones don't work. We did not know anything," one of the locals shared.
Police shot at the crowd of protesters as thousands attempted to storm the Prime Minister's Office in Colombo.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since 1948, aggravated by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe announced their resignation amid mass unrest.
A Russian and a Ukrainian woman held the cross together at Vatican's Via Crucis ceremony presided by Pope Francis that took place inside the Roman Colosseum on Good Friday.
Albina, a Russian nursing student, and Irina, a Ukrainian nurse work together at the Biomedical Campus in Rome and participated in the ceremony.
The Via Crucis ceremony, with a giant cross being moved to 14 stations, commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Hundreds of people marched in Tripoli on Monday, mourning the seven migrants who drowned after their boat sunk off the coast of Lebanon the day before.
The mourners were filmed carrying the remains accompanied by men with automatic rifles who were shooting in the air.
The circumstances under which the incident happened are yet unclear, with some survivors accusing the Lebanese navy of deliberately sinking the boat while trying to send it back to the coast. In contrast, the army said that the boat captain carried out 'manoeuvres' to escape which led to the capsising of the vessel.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) announced that the boat was carrying at least 84 people before capsising.
Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told journalists that the Russian army is allegedly massing "in the East to launch an attack on the Donbass.” Borrell made the remarks ahead of the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.
“I am afraid the Russians troops are massing on the East to launch an attack on the Donbass, the Ukrainians are very much aware of that so I am afraid that in the next days the war will increase in the Donbass,” said Borrell.
Russian forces prepared their combat helicopters for the ongoing offensive in Ukraine.
The video captured a number of aircraft being refuelled and serviced before departing.
Some helicopters return to the airfield from the Kiev area, while other helicopters depart there.