The military administration in Dnipro (eastern Ukraine) announced that Russian shelling destroyed the city’s airport and its adjacent infrastructure completely, while the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that its forces destroyed a convoy of Russian equipment south of Kharkiv and shot down a plane over Mykolaiv.
A Russian bombing had previously targeted Dnipro Airport on March 15, destroying the take-off and landing runway, in addition to damaging the airport building.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that four “Kalibr” missiles from a frigate of the Black Sea Fleet had hit Ukrainian military targets.
And it added – in a statement – that it destroyed an S-300 air defense system at the Ukrainian Chugov military airport, and shot down 8 Ukrainian drones in several areas, including Lugansk.
The Russian Defense Ministry also confirmed the destruction of an ammunition depot for Ukrainian forces near Novomoskovsk in Dnipro with high-precision missiles.
It also announced the destruction of a MiG-29 fighter and a helicopter of the Ukrainian forces at the Mirgorod military airport.
Pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk said they control 70 percent of the port of Mariupol.
The separatists published aerial photographs of the port showing smoke rising from some of the ships anchored there and some traces of the destruction of its facilities as a result of the battles.
The Russian Defense Ministry spoke of a new attempt to evacuate the so-called commanders of the Azov nationalist regiment and foreign mercenaries from Mariupol by sea.
Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that the Kyiv regime is trying in every way to evacuate what he called “Ukrainian Nazis” from Mariupol.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian General Staff said that Russian forces are intensifying their operations to fully control Lugansk and Donetsk, at a time when Russia’s war on Ukraine is entering its 46th day.
The ministry explained – in a statement today, Sunday – that the Russian forces continued to target civilian sites across Ukraine with missiles, and intensified attacks on eastern Ukraine in an attempt to establish full control over the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
She noted that Russia lost 19,300 soldiers, 152 planes, 137 helicopters and 722 tanks during the war between the two sides.
In Kharkiv, the military administration said that the Ukrainian army destroyed a huge Russian convoy that was heading towards Izyum, while the Ukrainian Air Defense Command said that its defenses destroyed 3 Russian fighters, a helicopter, 5 drones and 4 cruise missiles on Saturday.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, which was followed by angry international reactions and the imposition of “tough” economic and financial sanctions on Moscow.
Diplomatic solution
For its part, Archyde.com quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as saying that the opportunity for a diplomatic solution to the war should not be missed.
Zelensky confirmed – in statements carried by the Associated Press – his commitment to negotiate a diplomatic solution to the war.
Zelensky expressed confidence that Ukrainians would accept peace despite the atrocities they witnessed during the war.
He also renewed his call for the necessity of imposing a complete embargo on Russian oil and gas, noting that Russia is targeting all of Europe in its war on Ukraine, and that the start of the aggression requires immediate action.
exhausted forces
In a related context, CNN quoted a European official as saying that regarding a quarter of the Russian forces participating in the war on Ukraine are no longer able to fight.
In parallel, Ukrainian intelligence said that the Russian army is regrouping its forces in the east of the country, and is planning to advance towards Kharkiv and then Mariupol, to return later to attack Kyiv.
A British military intelligence report stated that Russian operations continue to focus on Donbass, Mariupol and Mykolaiv, backed by bombing from the sea with cruise missiles.
British military intelligence said – in a statement – that the Russian forces continue to use explosive devices to cause casualties, weaken morale and restrict the freedom of movement of Ukrainians.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Lugansk reported an increase in the bombing of the city, and the head of the regional administration in Sumy (northeast) said that Ukrainian forces were partially controlling the city’s borders.
Meanwhile, residents of Lozova (south of Kharkiv) continue to leave the city at the request of the local authorities.
The Ukrainian authorities expect the Russian forces to attack the city following they were able to control several towns in its vicinity, and the local authorities said that more than 15,000 had left Lozova during the past two days alone.
prisoner exchange
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk announced that a third prisoner exchange operation took place yesterday, which included 12 soldiers and 16 civilians, including 9 women, from the Ukrainian side. She did not specify the number of those included in the exchange process from the Russian side.
For her part, the Russian Commissioner for Human Rights, Tatiana Moskalkova, said that thanks to what she described as the coordinated actions of the Russian army, 14 sailors were released from the civilian ship Azov Concorde, and they are now being evacuated to a safe place.
Moskalkova said Ukraine had been holding the ship’s crew in the port of Mariupol since the start of the war, when the exit to the sea was mined.
European support
On the humanitarian front, a donors’ conference held in Warsaw – with the participation of European Union financial institutions as well as the Canadian government – resulted in a pledge of 9.1 billion euros to sponsor Ukrainian refugees.
The pledges came in the form of 1.8 billion euros to support the internally displaced in Ukraine, and 7.3 billion euros for refugees who fled the country to neighboring countries.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who co-hosted the conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said it was important following the war to rebuild Ukraine.
