WAR IN UKRAINE: April 4, 2022 — Michael Bociurkiw

A satellite image shows a grave site with an approximately 45-foot long trench in the southwestern section of the area near the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints, in Bucha, Ukraine, on March 31. (Maxar Technologies)

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 40

As international condemnation of Russia’s actions in Ukraine become sharper and more widespread - leading to calls for more sanctions against Russia - Ukraine's prosecutor-general says that 400 bodies have been recovered from towns around the capital retaken by Ukrainian forces. Here’s a side thought: remember how many captured Russian soldiers claimed that they went into battle believing that they were on a training mission? Might this be a tactic to avoid harsh penalties during war crimes trials? Something to look out for as justice catches up with those responsible for these heinous crimes….
The BBC has seen further evidence of civilian killings near Kyiv - a shallow grave where four people allegedly shot dead by Russian forces were buried. Their reporters have also seen the bodies of five men in a basement in Bucha who had their hands bound.
"This isn't a one-off atrocity... we are going to discover a significant number of acts like this," military expert Jack Watling tells the BBC. "I think in those areas where the Russians have seized territory, we are going to discover a significant number of acts like this. The intent of those atrocities will be the same, which is to retaliate against the population for the audacity to resist. I think this is going to be very widespread.. They did the same thing in Afghanistan. They did the same thing in Chechnya and in the Second World War. This is a doctrine of anti-partisan warfare, which is about collective punishment."
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for further sanctions targeting Russia's coal and oil exports – telling French media there were “clear indications of war crimes.” However, Germany’s defence minister Christine Lambrecht says the European Union must now discuss banning the import of Russian gas - something leaders have been reluctant to do so far despite Ukrainian urging because of the effect it would have on European consumers.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called for an "independent commission" to investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine. “We propose establishing an international commission to investigate crimes in cities in Ukraine,” Morawiecki said Monday. “Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel and Motyzhyn are the places we will remember. The Russians committed the crime of genocide. It must be properly documented and judged,” Morawiecki added in a tweet.
In Georgia, where support for Ukraine during the war has been weak, the Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the killings of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, near Kyiv. It Tweeted: "We are devastated by the scenes of brutal atrocities. All those involved in these war crimes must bear responsibility!" President Salome Zourabichvili said the "Bucha massacre" was a "crime against humanity" (BBC)
Some of the civilians that the Russian army forcefully deported from Mariupol to camps in Russia have reportedly escaped. Ukraine’s ombudsman reported that Estonian authorities had permitted entrance for about a dozen Ukrainian refugees from these camps.
Odesa was hit by an airstrike overnight, after an oil storage facility was hit Sunday. "Several missiles hit one of the districts in Odesa, one object was hit," said Serhii Bratchuk, spokesperson of the operational staff of the Odesa regional military administration.
Ukraine's military has accused Russia of starting a covert mobilisation of reservists. Russia's Vladimir Putin had earlier said he would not send reservist troops to fight in Ukraine. The UK's Ministry of Defence says Russian forces are continuing to "consolidate and re-organize" as they refocus their offensive in Ukraine's Donbas region. It claimed that Russian troops were being moved into the area, which cannot be independently verified by the BBC
Meanwhile, Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration in eastern Ukraine, said Monday that the Russian military had been gathering a "significant accumulation of troops and military equipment" in the region, in apparent preparation for an offensive push. "Yes, I can confirm, that there is a significant accumulation of troops and military equipment that is getting prepared for the major breakthrough [in Luhansk region]," he said, speaking on national television. "There was an attempt of a breakthrough in Rubizhne this night, our defenders repelled an attack. We are holding out, but we do see there's a major accumulation of troops." (CNN)
The Pentagon is allocating another $300M in security support for Ukraine. The US Department of Defense has announced that it is giving another $300M in "security support" to help Ukraine. This aid package includes missile systems with laser guidance, drones, ammunition, night vision equipment, communication systems, medical supplies, and various spare parts. One of the components of this batch of supplies will be Switchblade tactical drones, which have already been nicknamed "kamikaze drones." "This decision underscores the unwavering commitment of the United States to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and to its heroic efforts to reflect the war initiated at Russia's discretion," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
Ukraine's GDP decline in the first quarter of 2022 was 16%, and the annual decline may reach 40%. Industries for which distance working was not possible - such as sea and air transportation services - have suffered the most. Although many companies have suspended operations, the economy has begun to recover over the past 10 days, and businesses in safe regions are returning to some sense of normality. For example, the western Ukrainian city of Lviv has seen its service and hospitality sectors come roaring back to life - thanks in part to the some 200,000 IDPs who have come to the city. Meanwhile, Ukraine is reported to be spending $10 billion-a-month on the war with Russia.

“We can’t let it slide. We must have sanctions that dissuade with what’s happened there (in Bucha), what’s happening at Mariupol”

— French President Emmanuel Macron