[LIVE] War in Ukraine: powerful explosions heard in kyiv
Ukrainian tanks in the suburbs of kyiv, April 11, 2022 (illustrative image).
© Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Text by: RFI Follow
4 mins
On the 51st day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, follow the evolution of the conflict live, this Friday, April 15.
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The main points:
► Russian authorities have announced that the
Russian cruiser
Moskva
sank
at sea during transport after suffering damage following an explosion of ammunition caused by a fire.
Ukraine had declared on Wednesday evening that it had hit the ship with Neptune missiles and that it sank shortly after.
The loss of the cruiser Moskva is "
a blow
" for the Russian fleet in the region, the Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.
► Powerful
explosions were heard in Kiev
very early this Friday.
These appear to be the largest blasts in and around the Ukrainian capital since the Russian military withdrew from the area earlier this month for redeployment in the south and east of the country .
Times are given in Universal Time (UT)
4:25 a.m .: UNHCR warns of the risks of human trafficking
As millions of refugees flee Ukraine to neighboring countries, new risks of sexual exploitation, abuse and human trafficking are emerging at border points, warns UN High Commissioner united for refugees.
As millions of refugees flee Ukraine to neighboring countries, there are new risks of sexual exploitation, abuse and human trafficking at the border points.
https://t.co/olpDGTChAG
— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) April 15, 2022
03:50: CIA warns of nuclear risk posed by Putin facing setbacks
Military setbacks in Ukraine could prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to resort to a tactical or low-power nuclear weapon there, CIA chief William Burns said Thursday night.
“
Given that President Putin and the Russian leadership may sink into despair, given the setbacks they have suffered so far from a military point of view, none of us can take the threat posed by the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or low-power nuclear weapons
,” Burns said during a speech in Atlanta.
The Kremlin has spoken of putting its nuclear forces on alert "
but we haven't really seen any concrete signs such as deployments or military measures that could aggravate our concerns
", added the head of the main American intelligence agency, speaking to students at Georgia Tech University.
“
Obviously we are very worried.
I know that President (Joe) Biden is deeply concerned about the risk of World War III and is doing everything to avoid getting to the point where nuclear conflict becomes possible
,” he added.
Russia has many tactical nuclear weapons, less powerful than the Hiroshima bomb, in accordance with its "escalation-de-escalation" doctrine which would consist in first using a low-powered nuclear weapon to regain the advantage. in the event of a conventional conflict with the West.
But this hypothesis implies that "
NATO intervenes militarily on the ground in Ukraine during this conflict, and this is not something, as the president has made clear, that is planned
", he said. He underlines.
3:45 am: Powerful explosions heard in kyiv
Powerful explosions were heard in kyiv in the early hours of Friday, while warning sirens sounded across Ukraine as Ukrainian forces and residents braced for further attacks from Russia.
These appear to be the largest blasts in and around the Ukrainian capital since the Russian military withdrew from the area earlier this month for redeployment in the south and east of the country .
The Russian Navy continues to bombard Ukrainian coastal towns.
In Mariupol and Odessa, residents braced for more attacks, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky underlined in his daily video address Russia's willingness to strike the Donbass region in the east of the country.
The Ukrainian press reported no immediate damage after the explosions that occurred Friday morning in kyiv but also in Kherson, in the south, and Kharkov, in the east.
Reuters could not immediately verify this information.
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Ukraine
Russia
Day to day war in Ukraine
Vladimir Poutine
Volodymyr Zelensky
On the same subject
War in Ukraine - Day 50
The day the cruiser Moskva, a Russian flagship, sank in the Black Sea