The Acting Commander of the Central District of the Russian Armed Forces, Rustam Minnikaev, announced that the goal of the second phase of the special operation is the Russian army to establish full control over the Donbass region and southern Ukraine.

This, he said, would provide a land corridor to Crimea and to forces in Moldova's pro-Russian breakaway region of Transdniestria.

Minkayev also saw that there are several evidences of practices and a policy of persecution against the Russian-speaking population, as he put it.

In its first reaction, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry described the Russian plan to occupy eastern and southern Ukraine as imperialism.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry stated that the Russian side is putting the final touches on the main targets to strike it in eastern Ukraine, and that it is preparing for the so-called "referendum" on the accession of the occupied territories in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions to Russia.


The cruiser Moskva

On Friday, the Russian RIA news agency quoted the Defense Ministry as saying that one sailor was killed and 27 others were missing after the Russian cruiser Moskva sank last week, while 396 other crew members of the missile cruiser were rescued.

Moscow says the cruiser "Moskva" - the main ship of its fleet in the Black Sea - sank last week after a fire caused an explosion of ammunition, while Ukraine says it was hit by an anti-ship missile.

The mayor of Mariupol launched a new appeal for a complete evacuation of about 100,000 people from the city.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshuk said that Ukrainian soldiers in Azovstal on Friday rejected a Russian offer to surrender.

Vereshuk added that about a thousand civilians are present in the Azovstal plant, and accused the Russian side of not securing a humanitarian corridor to increase pressure on the Ukrainian forces, as she put it.


war crimes?

There is mounting evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, including indications of indiscriminate bombing and summary executions, said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office, while noting that Ukraine appeared to have used weapons with indiscriminate effects. .

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, stressed on Friday that Russia's "indiscriminate" actions in Ukraine may amount to "war crimes".

In a statement, it added that the Russian armed forces "indiscriminately bombed" populated areas, and the bombing resulted in the deaths of civilians and the destruction of hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, stressing that these actions "may amount to war crimes."


Bachelet called on all parties to respect international human rights and humanitarian law, in particular the rules governing the conduct of hostilities.

"During these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not only been ignored, but apparently rejected," she said.

European Council President Charles Michel asked Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call - Friday - to ensure the presence of humanitarian corridors in the besieged Mariupol, on the occasion of the Orthodox Easter.

"Call President Putin. I demanded that humanitarian corridors be opened in Mariupol and other besieged cities immediately, especially coinciding with the Orthodox Easter," he wrote on Twitter.

The Kremlin announced Friday that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Russia next week, where he will meet President Vladimir Putin, in their first meeting since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will arrive in Moscow for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and he will also be received by Russian President Vladimir Putin," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.

The United Nations confirmed that its Secretary-General will meet Putin next week.