As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 39th day, here is a look at the main developments.
Here are the key events so far on Saturday, April 3.
Get the latest updates here.
Odesa
- Ukraine’s Kremenchug oil refinery has been destroyed in a Russian attack, Dmytro Lunin, governor of the Poltava region, said.
- Russia’s Ministry of Defence says sea and air missiles destroyed an oil refinery and three fuel storages used by Ukraine to supply its troops near the city of Mykolaiv, Interfax news agency reported.
- Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is expected to land in Odesa to lead a humanitarian aid mission into the southern port city of Ukraine, the foreign ministry has said.
Fighting
- Russian naval forces continue to blockade the Ukrainian coast on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, preventing resupply by sea, British military intelligence said.
Mariupol evacuation
- Seven buses, accompanied by the Red Cross, will try to get closer to the besieged city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine to evacuate civilians after several previous attempts have failed.
Negotiations
- Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky has said peace talks have not progressed enough for a leaders’ meeting, adding that work on a draft agreement would resume on Monday.
- Medinsky also said a number of issues had been agreed upon during talks in Istanbul, including the non-aligned and non-nuclear status of Ukraine, but that Crimea remained a contentious issue.
Casualties
- Lithuanian film director Mantas Kvedaravicius has been killed in Ukraine’s Mariupol, where he had documented the besieged port city, according to his colleague.
- About 300 residents had been killed on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital during a monthlong occupation by the Russian army, authorities said, with the streets littered with bodies.
- The United Nations said 1,325 people, including 64 children, have been killed and 2,017 injured in the country. It believes that the actual figures are “considerably higher”.
Refugees
- Poland’s government has issued more than 625,000 national identification numbers to Ukrainian refugees since Russia launched its invasion, according to Deputy Interior Minister Pawel Szefernaker.
- Overall, 4.1 million people have so far fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries, the UN said.
