Invasion of Ukraine LIVE: the number of people arrested in Russia during the day of protests against the invasion rose to 213

Despite the fact that Russian troops prevented access by the International Red Cross to provide care to the citizens of Mariupol, the Ukrainian authorities managed to evacuate at least 3,000 people in the first humanitarian corridors that were installed in the town.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian Armed Forces accused Russia of mining civilian buildings and infrastructure, as well as other areas in the city of Bucha, in the Kiev region, before being expelled by Ukrainian troops.

As the international siege of Russia grows, and the economy is beginning to feel the impact of sanctions, European governments and companies worked on a common approach this Friday to the Kremlin's demand that they pay for their gas in rubles, while mitigating the threat of an imminent supply interruption.

Next, the minute by minute of the Russian invasion: (Ukrainian time, GMT+3):

Sunday 3rd of April:

3:30: Increased to 213 the number of people arrested in Russia during the day of protests against the invasion of Ukraine held in 17 cities, according to the civil organization OVD-Info.

Most of the arrests occurred in Moscow and St. Petersburg, according to the agency, which published images of activists at individual protests with signs with slogans such as “No to War”.

Near the Kremlin, in Moscow, people were arrested who were simply sitting on benches, the NGO reported.

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, there have been more than 15,300 arrests of activists and protesters, some simply for showing a blank piece of paper.

3:08: The director of Latvian natural gas storage operator reported on Saturday that the Baltics no longer import Russian natural gas. “Since April 1, Russian natural gas is no longer flowing into Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania,” said Uldis Bariss, chief executive of Conexus Baltic Grid on radio.

“If there were still doubts as to whether there could be confidence in supplies from Russia, current events clearly show us that there is no longer any trust,” he added.

Bariss also said that the Baltic market was currently supplied by gas reserves stored underground in Latvia.

The move comes at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to harness his country's energy power. Faced with the paralysis of the Russian economy due to international sanctions, Putin warned member countries of the European Union (EU) that they would have to open ruble accounts to pay for Russian gas.

While the United States banned imports of Russian oil and gas, the European bloc — which received about 40% of its gas supplies from Russia in 2021 — has maintained deliveries from Moscow.

The president of Lithuania, Gypsies Nauseda, asked the rest of the EU to follow the example of the Baltic countries.

“As of this month, there is no longer any Russian gas in Lithuania,” he wrote on Twitter. “Years ago my country made decisions that today allow us to painlessly break energy ties with the aggressor,” he added. “If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it, too,” he said.

1:15: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has denounced the “complete disaster” left behind by Russian troops in their withdrawal with mines laid in houses and “even on corpses”. “They are undermining everything. They are laying mines in houses, as a team, even on the bodies of dead people,” said Zelensky in a new speech on social media, in which he warned of Russian bombing of areas from which they are withdrawing.

It has therefore called on the population to wait until it is verified that the areas from which the Russian military have withdrawn are safe. “It is not yet possible to resume a normal life, as it was before, even in the territories that we are recovering after the fighting,” he said.

“We have to wait until our land has been cleared, wait until we can guarantee that there will be no more bombing,” he explained.

This Saturday Ukraine assured that it already controls the entire Kiev region after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the area after weeks of fighting. Moscow has announced that it will concentrate its offensive on eastern Ukraine.

Saturday, April 2:

23:30: “Intense battles are coming in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine and, in particular, in the besieged city of Mariupol,” said Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych.

Speaking to national television, Arestovych said that Ukrainian troops around Kiev had resumed more than 30 cities or towns in the region and were holding the front line against Russian forces in the east.

“Let us have no illusions: there are still strong battles in the south, for Mariupol, for eastern Ukraine,” he said.

21:13 Ukrainian forces regained control of “the entire Kiev region” following the withdrawal of Russian forces from strategic cities near the capital, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Ganna Maliar announced Saturday.

The towns of “Irpin, Bucha, Gostomel and the entire Kiev region were freed from the invader,” Maliar said on Facebook.

19:15: The bodies of hundreds of people dressed in civilian clothes were scattered on Saturday on a street in Bucha, a city northwest of Kiev recovered by Ukrainian forces after their invasion by Russian troops, an AFP journalist reported.

One of the bodies had his hands tied behind his back, the reporter said. The bodies were scattered over several hundred meters, with no known cause of death so far.

Russian troops recently withdrew from several locations near Kiev, having failed in their attempt to surround the capital. The Ukrainian authorities proclaimed that Bucha had been “liberated”.

The fighting and bombing left an apocalyptic picture, with huge holes in residential buildings and cars destroyed in various parts of the city, AFP reporters said.

Sixteen of the 20 bodies were on or next to a street sidewalk. Three were in the middle of the road and one in the courtyard of a house.

All the dead wore civilian clothes: coats, coats, jeans or jogging pants and sneakers or boots.

Two were lying in the vicinity of bicycles and another near an abandoned car. Some were face down and others were on their backs.

The faces of the deceased had a waxy appearance, which could indicate that they had been in the place for several days.

17:35: the head of the military administration of the Luhansk region said that 2,700 civilians had been evacuated from the region on Saturday, but that Russian forces had shelled people evacuating from cities that have suffered heavy fighting.

It is impossible to negotiate with the “orcs”,” said Serhiy Haidai. Several Ukrainian officials have referred to Russian forces as “orcs”, the evil and monstrous army of J.R.R. Tolkien's “Lord of the Rings”.

“The Russians are deliberately attacking during the evacuations. Projectiles have arrived near the meeting places. Fortunately, they are all alive,” he said.

17:07: former Ukrainian boxer Vladimir Klitschko, brother of Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko, thanked Germany for its “commitment” to Ukraine after meeting with several members of the Government in Berlin.

The former heavyweight champion claimed to have participated in the meetings with German Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz and with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Economy and Finance, “on behalf of the Ukrainian Government,” he said in a video released by German media.

16:35: more than 170 people were arrested in Russia for protest actions against the offensive in Ukraine, announced the NGO OVD-Info, specializing in monitoring arrests in the country.

Around 13:00 GMT, “more than 178 people were arrested in 15 Russian cities,” the NGO said in a statement.

15:15: two people died this Saturday in Kryvyi Rih, in southern Ukraine, by the explosion of submunitions of a cluster bomb, according to sources cited by the Ukrinform agency.

“Today, a father and son were killed in Kryvyi Rih district,” announced the mayor of the city, Oleksandr Vilkul, in a video posted on his Facebook account, in which he stressed that they were civilians.

The UN has accused Russia of having used cluster bombs on at least 24 occasions against populated areas of Ukraine since the war began, as reported on March 30 by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet.

14:40: at least 1,325 civilians have died since more than five weeks ago the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, among them 120 children, indicated the United Nations Office for Human Rights, which clarified that these are the verified victims but that the real figure may be much higher.

The number of civilians injured in the conflict confirmed by the UN number 2,017, including 168 children, according to figures updated daily by the office led by High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet.

The actual death toll “could be considerably higher” as there is only partial and outdated information on some of the areas of greatest hostilities, including localities besieged by Russian troops such as Mariupol, Volnovakja, Izium or Irpin.

The Office insists that most civilian casualties were killed or injured by the use of explosives, including shells launched by heavy artillery, multiple rocket launching systems, missiles and aerial bombardment.

International law considers that attacks perpetrated against civilians and non-military infrastructure in a conflict may constitute war crimes.

14:00: The Red Cross tries to evacuate more than 100,000 civilians who are still trapped in Mariupol.

Teams travel from Zaporizhzhia to the port city, devastated by the bombing of Putin's troops. Last Friday, Russian attacks prevented the evacuation.

13:30: the lifeless body of Ukrainian photojournalist Max Levin, who disappeared while working north of Kiev, was found this Friday by the police, as reported today by the Ukrainian Institute of Mass Media.

“According to preliminary information, Maxim Levin was killed by members of the Russian armed forces,” the Institute said, citing the State Attorney General's Office and announced that the body was found in the town of Huta Mezyhirska, north of the capital.

12:40: The Ukrainian Government expects the economy to sink by 40% this year because of the Russian invasion, as stated by Deputy Minister of Economy Denys Kudin, quoted by Ukrainian media.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to fall by 16% in the first quarter of 2022, although the annual decline will be much greater, according to Kudin.

The sectors that are suffering the most from the conflict are those where teleworking is not possible, in particular services that work directly for the consumer, as well as the transport sector.

12:00: the pope could travel to Ukraine, the scene of a war after the invasion of Russia because when asked during the flight that took him to Malta about whether he was taking in consideration of the invitation to go to Kiev, Francis replied: “Yes, it's on the table.”

Both the President of Ukraine, Volodymir Zelensky, and the mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, have invited the pontiff to travel to that country to show his proximity to the Ukrainian population for a war that the pope has repeatedly criticized, in addition to offering to do “everything necessary” to achieve its end.

Francis and Zelensky spoke on the phone on March 22, when the Ukrainian president assured the pontiff that “he is the most waiting guest in the country”, while the pope told him that he is “praying and doing everything possible to end the war, brought about after the invasion of Russia.”

11:15: the fatalities caused by the Russian attack on the headquarters of the regional administration in the Ukrainian city of Mikolaiv amounted to 35 this Saturday, according to the local mayor Vitali Kim.

A Russian missile hit the nine-storey official headquarters on the morning of March 29, leaving numerous and injured and a huge hole in the structure of the building.

The number of fatalities has been rising since then, as many bodies were trapped under the rubble and rescue operations are still continuing, according to the Kyiv Independent news website.

10:00: Russian forces are making a “rapid withdrawal” from areas around the capital Kiev and the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv, said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak.

“With the rapid withdrawal of the Russians from the Kiev and Chernigiv regions it is quite clear that Russia is prioritizing a different tactic: to retreat to the east and south,” he said on social media.

8:45: The Office of the Juvenile Prosecutor of Ukraine reported that at least 158 children have been killed and 254 have been injured in attacks perpetrated by Russia since the beginning of its invasion of the country, last February 24, until this Saturday.

Most of the child casualties, including deaths and injuries, occurred in the capital Kiev region with 75, followed by Donetsk with 71, Kharkiv (56), Chernigov (49), Kherson (29), Zaporiyia (22), Zytomyr (15) and Sumy (14).

The Prosecutor's Office also reported that 869 educational institutions have suffered material damage since the beginning of the invasion, 83 of which have been completely destroyed.

7:30: Ukrainian authorities reported Russian rocket fire on several major cities in the south of the country, as fighting has intensified in some areas of Ukraine.

Between two and three “strong explosions” were heard in the city of Dnipro during Saturday night, according to the Ukrayinska Pravda portal, citing the regional administration.

The surroundings of the city of Kryvyi Rih were shelled with rocket launchers. In addition, a gas station caught fire, according to the head of the local military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul.

6:30: Russian troops reportedly withdrew from the Antonov airport of Gostomel, on the outskirts of Kiev, where they remained entrenched for several weeks, according toshowed some images taken by a satellite and collected by the US channel CNN.

The airport, which is located 28 kilometers from the center of the Ukrainian capital, was taken by the Russian Army on the first day of the invasion, on February 24, but satellite images taken on Thursday by Maxar Technologies show that Russian military vehicles and artillery positions have been withdrawn.

Also, last Thursday, an official of the US Department of Defense announced in statements collected by CNN that the Russian military had left the airport.

5:30: The United Kingdom intelligence services confirmed that a fire destroyed several oil depots in the Russian city of Bolgorod, near the Ukrainian border, and that explosions have also been recorded in an ammunition depot in the vicinity of the city.

This was announced by the British Ministry of Defense in a statement on its official Twitter profile a day after Russia accused Ukrainian troops of attacking several fuel tanks in the border city.

“The likely loss of fuel and ammunition supplies from these depots is likely to add additional short-term strain to the already strained Russian logistics chains,” explained the UK Ministry of Defense.

4:30: China said this Saturday that it was not doing anything “to circumvent” the sanctions imposed on Russia, following warnings from officials of the EU that any attempt to help Moscow in the war in Ukraine could damage economic ties.

In the clearest indication so far of Beijing's position on the matter, a Foreign Ministry official told reporters: “We are not deliberately doing anything to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Russia by Americans and Europeans.”

But the statement, issued after virtual talks between top EU leaders and China on Friday, comes as Beijing maintains its stance of refusing to condemn the invasion of its ally Russia.

Washington has expressed fears that China could potentially send military and economic aid to Russia or help it overcome the harsh Western sanctions that are hitting the country's economy.

3:45: the US Department of Defense announced this Friday that it will allocate an additional $300 million to “security assistance” to boost defensive capabilities of Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion.

In addition to the $1.6 billion already committed by Washington, the aid includes laser-guided rocket systems, drones, ammunition, night vision devices, tactical secure communications systems, medical supplies and spare parts.

“This decision underscores America's unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in support of its heroic efforts to repel Russia's war,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

02:56: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Europe for “reacting silently” to the humanitarian catastrophe in the southern city of Mariupol caused by Russian bombings and siege.

It is estimated that some 160,000 citizens have been living without basic services for more than a month in Mariupol, a port on the Sea of Azov that has become the main target of Russian troops in Ukraine due to its strategic position between the Crimean peninsula and the Dombas.

He stated that Russian citizens “are not told the truth” in the context of the announcement by Russia to resume the mobilization of young people for military service mandatory spring.

“This year's recruits can be sent to war against our State, against our people. It's a guaranteed death for many very young boys. And even though they are not our citizens, it is still our duty as a people to warn them,” he said.

02:15: more than 6,000 people have been evacuated this Friday through humanitarian corridors on a difficult day in which the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed that they have not been able to access the city of Mariupol, where they were going to help escort a convoy with twelve buses and civilian vehicles.

Specifically, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Irina Vereshchuk, has cited more than 1,400 civilians who have left Berdyansk and Melitopol — 771 people from the latter city — on her own transport to Zaporizhzhia.

01:47: the Ukrainian authorities have warned that Russia could use chemical weapons in the country, “as they already did in the Syrian war”, and have said that they “must be prepared”, so medical institutions are receiving training to be able to deal with this possible scenario.

“Despite the ban on the use of chemical weapons by all international institutions, they used them in Syria (the Russians). We have a clear awareness that they can do so in our country. We must be prepared for this,” said the secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, Oleksei Danilov.

01:26: several buses with inhabitants of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, besieged and bombed by Russian troops, arrived on Friday night in Zaporizhzhia, a Ukrainian city controlled by the Kiev army, according to journalists from the AFP agency on the spot.

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, a total of about 3,700 people were rescued.

00:24: The US Army has canceled a test of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile which initially intended only to delay in an attempt to ease nuclear tensions with Russia during the Ukrainian war, as reported Friday by the Air Force to the Reuters agency.

The Pentagon first announced the delay of the test on March 2 after Russia said it was putting its nuclear forces on high alert. Washington then said it was important that both the United States and Russia “take into account the risk of miscalculation and take steps to reduce those risks.”

00:14: President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola met this Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky and delivered a speech to the Ukrainian Parliament in which she acknowledged that the European institution will “help” Kiev to join the European Union.

Metsola has posted a photograph on her social networks in which she appears shaking hands with Zelensky and has added a text that reads: “Courage, Strength and Determination. With Zelensky in Kiev. Long live Ukraine.”

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