Heading towards World War III?

A suburban avenue in Bucha became one of the first graveyards for Russia's hopes of encircling and entering Kyiv and then deposing the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The moment came two or three days after the first Russian forces crossed into Ukraine on 24 February, when Ukrainian forces destroyed a column of Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers moving through the town of Bucha to the city of Kyiv.

The convoy was destroyed in one of the first of many Ukrainian ambushes that stopped the Russian advance dead.

Our BBC team was able to get to Bucha because during Friday the final Russian soldiers pulled out, as part of what the Kremlin has presented as a calm and rational decision to concentrate on the war in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow says, without proof or any reliability, that its war aims in central Ukraine have been achieved, and they never included capturing Kyiv.

The truth is that unexpectedly fierce and well organised Ukrainian resistance stopped them outside the capital, and the evidence includes the rusting and twisted wreckage of the column that still lies where it was destroyed on that suburban street.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60970818

The U.S. military is not in a position to independently confirm Ukrainian accounts of atrocities by Russian forces against civilians in the town of Bucha, but has no reason to dispute the accounts either, a senior U.S. defense official said on Monday.

www.reuters.com/world/pentagon-cant-independently-confirm-atrocities-ukraines-bucha-official-says-2022-04-04

Asked if the war had amounted to a humiliation for Russia given the number of troops lost, Dmitry Peskov said: "No, it's a wrong understanding of what's going on." But he admitted: "We have we have significant losses of troops. And it's it's it's a huge tragedy for us."

news.sky.com/video/ukraine-war-putin-spokesman-dmitry-peskov-says-it-is-a-tragedy-that-russia-has-suffered-significant-losses-12584592

Moscow hopes the Russian military operation in Ukraine might end in the near future, possibly “in the coming days,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sky News on Thursday. Either the Russian troops will end it by reaching their military goals or Moscow and Kiev will reach an agreement through negotiations, he added.

The prospect of a peace deal would largely depend on the “consistency” of Ukraine’s position and its willingness to agree to Russia’s terms, Peskov said. He particularly said that those responsible for the crimes against civilians in the Donbass should be brought to justice.

When asked about accusations leveled by Kiev against Moscow over the alleged mass killings of civilians in the towns near Kiev, Peskov said that such claims are nothing but a “bold fake.”

www.rt.com/russia/553495-operation-ukraine-end-days-kremlin

The Russian Foreign Ministry has called on Western nations to stop supplying Ukraine's armed forces with weapons in the wake of a missile attack on a train station in the city of Kramatorsk that killed dozens of civilians on Friday.

The ministry has requested that the international community “make an unbiased assessment” of the actions of the Ukrainian forces and “stop supplying them with weapons, as well as urge Kiev to abandon unacceptable fighting methods.”

www.rt.com/russia/553572-kiev-justicekramatorsk-strike-weapons

The governor of the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, Serhiy Gaidai, has urged people to flee immediately.

Gaidai has said Russia's increasing its shelling in the area, endangering the lives of about a third of residents who still remain.

Speaking to the public television broadcaster, he said Russia was "amassing forces for an offensive and we see the number of shelling has increased".

Gaidai said some 30% of people still remain in settlements across the region and have been asked to evacuate.

It come as Russia's President Putin appears to be switching the focus of his invasion to the east.

www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-61032786

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has held talks in Kyiv with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

No 10 said the visit was a "show of solidarity" with the Ukrainian people.

Following the meeting, Downing Street said the UK would send 120 armoured vehicles and anti-ship missile systems to support Ukraine.

Senior officials in Mr Zelensky's team praised the UK for support during its conflict with Russia.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-61052643