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- Global outrage continues to mount over the killing of civilians in Bucha, near Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.
- US President Joe Biden has called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” and suggested holding a “war crimes trial”.
- The Kremlin has categorically denied accusations that its forces have killed civilians in Ukraine.
- The Ukrainian government has demanded crippling new sanctions from Western powers over what it called the Bucha “massacre”.
- A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross says it was prevented from reaching the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol to evacuate civilians.
Here are all the latest updates:
11 mins ago (21:21 GMT)
Russia says it has ’empirical evidence’ that it did not kill civilians
Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s envoy to the UN has said that Russia will present “empirical evidence” to the UN’s Security Council that its forces have not been killing civilians in Ukraine and were not involved in events in Bucha,
“We have empirical evidence to support this,” Nebenzya said at a press conference. “We intend to submit them to the Security Council as soon as possible so that the international community is not misled by the false plot of Kyiv and its Western sponsors.”
13 mins ago (21:20 GMT)
Why Biden’s release of US oil reserves won’t end pain at the pump
When Joe Biden announced that the United States would release more than 180 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserve over the next six months, the US president hailed it as an historic move that would lower fuel prices in the US.
The price at the pump has surged amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has led the US and other nations to bar oil and gas imports from Moscow and driven concerns over global energy supplies with inventories low and new production capacity limited.
But while the Ukraine conflict pushes Biden and other world leaders to dip into their stockpiles, experts say the actual effect for consumers will be limited – and higher prices and more disruptions lay ahead.
Read more here.
18 mins ago (21:14 GMT)
UNSC to meet on Tuesday
Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey speaking from the United Nations headquarters in New York City has reported that the UN’s Secretary General Antonio Guterres as well as other officials have condemned the reports of atrocities committed in Bucha.
“UN officials haven’t gone as far as the United States in declaring Russia guilty of war crimes, but they have said that there is enough grounds to investigate the possibility of war crimes,” Saloomey said.
“And that is already happening with the International Criminal Court, the Human Rights Council has also authorised a commission of inquiry,” she said said.
Saloomey said the UN’s Security Council is scheduled to hold a meeting on the situation in Ukraine on Tuesday.
20 mins ago (21:12 GMT)
Ten people killed in Mykolaiv: Regional administration
Oleksandr Senkevich, the head of the Ukrainian regional administration has said that 10 people, including a child were killed by shelling in Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv.
“Over today, a total of 10 people have been killed during the shelling and 46 injured,” Senkevich said in a video posted on social media.
1 hour ago (20:27 GMT)
Pentagon: ‘Obvious’ Russian forces responsible for atrocities in Bucha
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has said that Russian forces are obviously responsible for the atrocities in Bucha.
“I think it’s fairly obvious, not just to us but to the world, that Russian forces are responsible for the atrocities in Bucha,” Kirby told a news briefing.
He also acknowledged that it was not yet clear exactly which units were operating in the area.
“Now exactly who – what units, whether they’re contractors or Chechens – I don’t think we’re able to say right now. But we’re certainly not refuting that these atrocities occurred and occurred at the hands of Russians.”
1 hour ago (20:25 GMT)
US lays out what it says are Russia’s revised war aims
Russia is revising its war aims and repositioning its forces to capture eastern and southern parts of Ukraine rather than pushing to control the entire country, Sullivan has said.
The US national security adviser said Russia’s initial plans of swiftly capturing the capital, Kyiv, failed because Ukrainians have “held firm”.
“We assess Russia will focus on defeating Ukrainian forces in the broader Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, which encompasses significantly more territory than Russian proxies already controlled before the new invasion began in late February,” Sullivan said.
“Russia could then use any tactical successes it achieves to propagate a narrative of progress and mask or try to discount or downplay prior military failures.”
1 hour ago (20:21 GMT)
US approves potential sale of F-16 aircraft to Bulgaria
The US Department of Defense has said that it approved the potential sale of up to eight F-16 aircraft and related equipment to Bulgaria, in a deal valued at $1.673bn.
US officials said the agreement was not directly related to Russia’s month-long invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government had asked countries that have Russian-made MiG aircraft – including Bulgaria – to turn them over for use in the fight against Russian forces.
1 hour ago (20:21 GMT)
US and its allies mulling additional Russia sanctions: Official
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan has said further sanctions against Russian energy are on the table in talks with Washington’s European allies.
The US has already barred imports of Russian oil and gas, while several European nations are moving to ease their dependence on energy supplies from Moscow amid the war in Ukraine.
Sullivan also said the Biden administration would announce fresh military assistance for Ukraine in the coming days.
Welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Read all the updates from Monday, April 4 here.
Source: Al Jazeera
