Ukrainian personnel have taken control of five villages in the Zaporizhia region, according to reports from the country’s military. (The name for the region where the victories over Russian invaders took place is also spelled in the Latin alphabet as “Zaporizhzhia.”) The jurisdictions reportedly freed from Russian control include Zatyshshia, Malynivka, Vesele, Zelenyi Hai, and Chervone. News of the battlefield wins for Ukraine’s defenders was shared by sources including The Kyiv Independent and the Ukrainian government information outlet known as Ukrinform. According to a statement attributed to the Ukrainian Ground Forces:
‘Units of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, together with other units of the defense forces of the Zaporizhia region, have liberated the settlements of Zatyshshia, Malynivka, Vesele, Zelenyi Hai and Chervone from Russian occupation.’
⚡️ Ground Forces: Five villages in Zaporizhzhia Oblast liberated.
The Ukrainian Ground Forces wrote that Ukrainian troops are back in control of villages – Zatyshshia, Malynivka, Vesele, Zelenyi Hai, and Chervone – east of Zaporizhzhia.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 31, 2022
The Ukrainian liberation of Malynivka has been previously reported, but battlefield conditions obviously swiftly change under the conditions of war. What is clear is that — no matter the precise point at which certain areas inside Ukraine fell into the control of that country’s defenders — Russian personnel have sustained sweeping battlefield defeats as the war in Ukraine has progressed. In one particularly high-profile liberation, Russian forces were pushed out of the Kyiv suburb known as Irpin — although the destruction there is devastating. According to The Kyiv Independent, Irpin Mayor Oleksander Markushyn recently stated that half of the city “and its critical infrastructure has been destroyed and the rubble has not been cleared yet.” Irpin’s mayor has also indicated that some 200 to 300 civilians had been killed in Irpin, along with some 50 members of Ukraine’s military. Obviously, these numbers seem likely to remain broad estimates rather than conclusive confirmations as the fighting continues.
⚡️ Stoltenberg: Russia repositioning to eastern Donbas region, not withdrawing.
NATO secretary told reporters in Brussels that "Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region" and "Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions."
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 31, 2022
Meanwhile, recent reports that Russia would be bringing down the pace of fighting around areas including Kyiv have run up against the reality that Russian forces are continuing to inflict atrocities on the people of Ukraine. At the outset, it’s worth noting that any decrease in the Russian military presence around the Ukrainian capital isn’t simply something Russians are undertaking of their own accord — whatever is happening is unfolding in the wake of the strategic setbacks that Ukrainian defenders have successfully inflicted on Putin’s forces. And the truth — not that credible sources outside Russia believed Putin’s propaganda anyway — is that, according to the mayor of Chernihiv, the intensity of Russian strikes was growing in the aftermath of Russians saying that Chernihiv would also be an area of decreased hostilities. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg characterized recent Russian troop movements inside Ukraine as follows: “According to our intelligence, Russian units are not withdrawing but repositioning. Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region… At the same time, Russia maintains pressure on Kyiv and other cities. So we can expect additional offensive actions, bringing even more suffering.”
⚡️ At least 20 people killed in Russian missile strike on Mykolaiv's regional administration building.
Additionally, 33 people were injured by the strike that demolished half of the building in the southeastern city on March 29, according to the State Emergency Service.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 31, 2022
Lyudmila Denisova, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, added another troubling anecdote from around Chernihiv, where Russian forces were supposedly reducing hostilities: “Five buses came under enemy targeted fire, when they were attempting to enter the besieged city [Chernihiv] to evacuate people. There were only civilian volunteers in the buses. As a result, one person was killed, four people were seriously wounded.” When Trump glibly asks for Putin to help him in going after the Bidens, these are the sorts of daily atrocities he’s basically sweeping aside.
⚡️ UK sanctions Russian media, propagandists.
The U.K. government announced “sanctions on Putin’s propaganda.”
Those sanctioned are — the Kremlin-funded TV-Novosti which owns RT, and Rossiya Segodnya which controls Sputnik.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 31, 2022
