Pope Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby made special reference to the war in Ukraine in their Easter message and appealed for an end to wars around the world, but Russian forces continued shelling over the Easter weekend, killing seven Ukrainian civilians, the Ukrainian government said on the 9th (local time). has announced
The Russian military focused its offensive specifically on occupying industrial areas in eastern Ukraine, and launched missile, rocket and artillery strikes as well as bomber strikes on Kharkiv in the north and Zaporizhia in the southeast, the Ukrainian military said.
Kherson Governor Oleksandr Furokudin said that the two areas of Kharkiv and Zaporizhia were heavily bombarded by Russian fighters on the night of the 9th, but did not immediately reveal the number of casualties.
Two civilians were killed in a Russian airstrike in the Russian-held city of Kupyansk on the 9th, Kharkiv governor Ole Siniehuvou announced. Almost all of Kharkiv, including this place, was recaptured by Ukrainian forces shortly thereafter.
In Kupiansk, he said, sacrifices were heavy as Russian forces bombarded Ukrainian civilian dwellings with rockets until the night of the 9th. In the city of Chuiu in the same Kharkiv region, a 30-year-old was hospitalized after being seriously injured by a Russian shell, but was said to be in critical condition.
In downtown Zaporizhia, two people were also killed overnight, one of them a child born in 2012, said Zaporizhia City Council President Anatoly Kurteu.
All 18 districts of Zaporizhia were under intense Russian artillery fire, and on the previous day, on the 8th, three people were killed and five wounded, said Yury Malashko, the administrator of Zaporizhia.
It has Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, but it became one of four Ukrainian provinces illegally occupied by President Putin in September. Since then, Russian forces have focused their attacks on Luhansk and Donetsk regions, called the Donbass Industrial Zone, to drive out Ukrainian forces remaining in the region.
In particular, the city of Bakhmut is where the battle continues for 13 months, the longest in Donetsk. Western experts say Russian forces have recently occupied most of the city center, giving Putin a much-needed victory in eight months, and are using that as a basis for attacking other Ukrainian cities.
However, Ukrainian forces are still holding out in Bahmut and say it is not completely occupied.
Colonel Serhiy Cherevati, spokesman for the Eastern Ukraine Army, told the Associated Press on the 9th that elite units of the Russian army continue to assemble in Bakhmut.
He said that Russia is now sending paratroopers and artillery commandos of the Russian regular army to attack Bahmut in place of the Wagner Group, a private organization that suffered too much loss of life in the battle of Bahmut.
The majority of Ukrainians are Orthodox and celebrate Easter on April 16 this year. Some Catholics celebrated Easter on the 9th, but Orthodox churches designate the following week as Palm Sunday, the eve of Easter, and celebrate the event.
However, Pope Francis delivered an Easter message from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on the 9th, praying to God that he would “shine the light of Easter on the Russian people so that the beloved people of Ukraine may move on the path of peace.”
The pope prayed, “Consolation for the wounded and those who lost their loved ones, and for the prisoners of war to return safely to their families,” but the Russian army’s artillery continued to resonate in Ukraine.
From the 8th to the morning of the 9th, the eve of Easter, Russian forces carried out a total of 40 airstrikes, 4 missile strikes and 58 rocket launches in various parts of Ukraine, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
[키이우( 우크라이나)= AP/뉴시스]
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.