Status: 04/12/2022 11:42 a.m
According to Russia, it has shelled numerous military objects in Ukraine. There was also heavy fighting in Mariupol. According to Ukrainian sources, more than 10,000 civilians have already died in the city.
According to their own statements, the Russian armed forces fired on 32 military objects in Ukraine during the night. Among other things, a Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system as well as an ammunition depot and an aircraft hangar with Ukrainian air force technology were destroyed, said the spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov.
There was also fierce fighting in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol. “The remnants of the Ukrainian armed forces trapped on the territory of the Ilyich plant made an unsuccessful attempt to break out of the city,” Konashenkov said. According to him, around 100 Ukrainian soldiers attempted to break out; half of them were killed. The information cannot be independently verified.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
Pro-Russian separatists deny use of poison gas
The Russian military had previously reported on the extensive capture of Mariupol. Remaining Ukrainian forces were holed up in another steel plant in the city called “Azovstahl”.
“Soldiers from Mariupol reported lung pain”, Georg Restle, WDR, currently Kyiv
Tagesschau 12:00 p.m., April 12, 2022
Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region deny Ukrainian allegations that they used chemical weapons in the battle for the port city of Mariupol. This is reported by the Russian news agency Interfax, citing Eduard Bassurin, a separatist commander. Yesterday he suggested using chemical weapons to “fume out” the Ukrainians there, especially members of the nationalist Azov regiment.
According to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar, the Ukrainian leadership is currently examining unconfirmed information about the use of chemical warfare agents. “There is a theory that it could be phosphorus munitions,” she said on TV. “Official information will come later.”
Britain is also trying to verify reports that Russia used chemical weapons in an attack on Mariupol.
US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said Monday evening that Washington has unconfirmed information about a chemical weapons attack in the strategically important city. “If this information is true, it is of great concern.”
So far there has been no official confirmation of the use of poison gas in Ukraine
Mathea Schülke, WDR, daily news 12:00 p.m., April 12, 2022
Apparently already more than 10,000 dead civilians in Mariupol
More than 10,000 civilians have already been killed in Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boichenko said in an interview with the AP news agency. The city’s streets are still covered with bodies, he said. So there could be a lot more deaths. The information cannot be independently verified.
Almost seven weeks after the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the important port city is apparently on the verge of collapse: the remaining Ukrainian troops in Mariupol declared on Monday that they were preparing for the “final battle”, pro-Russian separatists from the Donetsk region reported them capture of the port.
Shaded in white: advance of the Russian army. Shaded in green: Russian-backed separatist areas. Crimea: annexed by Russia.
Image: ISW/04/11/2022
According to Ukrainian information, nine escape corridors have been agreed for besieged places for today. Among them is Mariupol, said Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Wereshchuk. From there, civilians could get to safety in private vehicles. Five of the nine corridors are said to be in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine. According to Ukrainian sources, there is again heavy shelling by Russian troops.
People in Kharkiv warned of cluster mines
Meanwhile, the attacks continue elsewhere in the country. According to the Western military, a major Russian offensive involving tens of thousands of soldiers and the massive deployment of tanks, artillery and air force is emerging in eastern Ukraine. Russia increased its troops there from 30,000 to 40,000 last week, a US Department of Defense official said.
The British secret services expect intensified fighting in the east in the next two to three weeks. Russia’s attacks remained focused on targets near Donetsk and Luhansk, it said. There is also a new push towards the city of Kramatorsk. The British, citing their secret services, also see signs that more Russian troops are being withdrawn from Belarus – probably with the intention of deploying them in eastern Ukraine.
According to the local governor, at least eight civilians were killed by Russian artillery shelling in the Kharkov region. The authorities also warned the population of landmines that had been dropped on the north-eastern city. On Monday, security forces cordoned off an area east of Kharkiv to clear up a number of small explosive devices scattered on residential streets.
