Submit your Article

Russia pounded targets from practically one end of Ukraine to the other Thursday, including Kyiv, bombarding the city while the head of the United Nations was visiting in the boldest attack on the capital since Moscow’s forces retreated weeks ago, Associated Press reported.

Nearly a dozen people were wounded in the attack on Kyiv, including one who lost a leg and others who were trapped in the rubble when two buildings were hit, rescue officials said.

The bombardment came barely an hour after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a news conference with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who said Ukraine has become “an epicenter of unbearable heartache and pain.” A spokesperson said Guterres and his team were safe.

Meanwhile, explosions were reported across the country, in Polonne in the west, Chernihiv near the border with Belarus, and Fastiv, a large railway hub southwest of the capital. The mayor of Odesa, in southern Ukraine, said rockets were intercepted by air defenses.

Ukrainian authorities also reported intense Russian fire in the Donbas — the eastern industrial heartland that the Kremlin says is its main objective — and near Kharkiv, a northeastern city outside the Donbas that is seen as key to the offensive, according to the Associated Press.

In the ruined southern port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian fighters holed up in the steel plantthat represents the last pocket of resistance said concentrated bombing overnight killed and wounded more people. And authorities warned that a lack of safe drinking water inside the city could lead to outbreaks of deadly diseases such as cholera and dysentery.

In Zaporizhzhia, a crucial way station for tens of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing Mariupol, an 11-year-old boy was among at least three people wounded in a rocket attack that authorities said was the first to hit a residential area in the southern city since the war began. Shards of glass cut the boy’s leg to the bone.

Vadym Vodostoyev, the boy’s father, said: “It just takes one second and you’re left with nothing.”

The fresh attacks came as Guterres surveyed the destruction in small towns outside the capital that saw some of the worst horrors of the first onslaught of the war. He condemned the atrocities committed in towns like Bucha, where evidence of mass killings of civilians was found after Russia withdrew in early April in the face of unexpectedly stiff resistance.

“Wherever there is a war, the highest price is paid by civilians,” the UN chief lamented.

Separately, Ukraine’s prosecutor accused 10 Russian soldiers of being “involved in the torture of peaceful people” in Bucha. Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova did not say her office had filed criminal charges, and she appealed to the public for help in gathering evidence. Russia denies it targets civilians.

During his nightly video address, Zelenskyy renewed his pledge to hold Russian soldiers accountable for crimes they commit and said about the 10 identified earlier Thursday: “Some of them may not, after all, live until a trial and fair punishment. But only for one reason: This Russian brigade has been transferred to the Kharkiv region. There they’ll receive retribution from our military.”

In the attack on Kyiv, explosions shook the city and flames poured out of windows in at least two buildings — including a residential one — in the capital, which has been relatively unscathed in recent weeks. Ukrainian emergency services said 10 people were wounded in the attack, which sent plumes of smoke billowing over the city, Associated Press reported.

The explosions in northwestern Kyiv’s Shevchenkivsky district came as residents have been increasingly returning to the city. Cafes and other businesses have reopened, and a growing numbers of people have been out and about, enjoying the spring weather.

It was not immediately clear how far away the attack was from Guterres.

Getting a full picture of the unfolding battle in the east has been difficult because airstrikes and artillery barrages have made it extremely dangerous for reporters to move around. Several journalists have been killed in the war, now in its third month.

Also, both Ukraine and the Moscow-backed rebels fighting in the east have introduced tight restrictions on reporting from the combat zone.

Western officials say the Kremlin’s apparent goal is to take the Donbas by encircling and crushing Ukrainian forces from the north, south and east.

But so far, Russia’s troops and their allied separatist forces appear to have made only minor gains, taking several small towns as they try to advance in relatively small groups against staunch Ukrainian resistance, according to the Associated Press.

Nepali Congress leader and Sudurpaschim Province Assembly member Karna Malla has announced to resign from his post on Thursday. 

He announced his resignation after the party expelled him from the general membership.

"This is the second time that the party expelled me from the general membership. That is why, morality does not allow me to remain as an elected lawmaker of the Province Assembly from the party," he said so by organizing a press conference in Dadeldhura this afternoon, adding, " I would like to announce from this press conference that I am not a member of the Province Assembly from today itself."

Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged the leaders and cadres, who have filed their candidacies against the official candidates of the party for the local level elections slated for May 13, to withdraw their nominations.

Issuing an appeal on Thursday, Prime Minister Deuba urged the rebel candidates to withdraw nominations by 5 pm tomorrow.

President Deuba urged the candidates to withdraw their nominations also by assessing the current and future situation of the country.

Russia's decision to cut off gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria is an "instrument of blackmail", the EU says, BBC reported.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the move showed Russia's "unreliability" as a supplier.

But the Kremlin said Russia had been forced into the action by the "unfriendly steps" of Western nations.

Europe depends on Russia for more than a third of its gas needs and state energy giant Gazprom holds a monopoly on pipeline supplies in Russia.

While many European countries have taken steps to wean themselves of Russian oil imports since it invaded Ukraine, Russia has continued to supply large amount of gas to many European countries.

After Western powers placed financial sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that "unfriendly" countries would have to pay for gas in Russian currency.

Gazprom said this was why it had suspended supply to Bulgaria and Poland, according to BBC.

Poland said the move was in retaliation for Polish sanctions against Russian individuals and firms. Poland has also been a key transit country for weapons to Ukraine.

Bulgaria has historically had warm relations with Russia, but a new government took office last year which has denounced the invasion. 

Western forces intervene in Ukraine, they will face a "lightning-fast" military response.

In what is seen as a reference to ballistic missiles and nuclear arms, he told lawmakers in Moscow: "We have all the tools no-one can boast of... we will use them if necessary."

But there are signs that Russia's offensive in Ukraine is not going as smoothly as planned, with one official saying Russian forces are having difficulties overcoming a "staunch Ukrainian resistance" in their offensive in the east of the country.

In reaction to Gazprom's statement regarding the suspension of gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, Polish state gas company PGNiG confirmed that Gazprom's supplies to the country had been halted and warned that it reserved "the right to seek compensation".

Polish President Andrzej Duda said "appropriate legal steps" will be taken against Gazprom, while his deputy foreign minister, Marcin Przydacz, told the BBC that Russia was seeking to "foster divisions" between Western allies."

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said the country was reviewing all of its contracts with Gazprom, including for transit of Russian gas to Serbia and Hungary, emphasising that "one-sided blackmail was not acceptable".

Bulgaria, which relies on Gazprom for more than 90% of its gas supply, said overnight it had taken steps to find alternative sources but no restrictions on gas consumption were currently required for Bulgarians, BBC reported.

Ms von der Leyen, speaking in Brussels, said Gazprom's move was "unjustified and unacceptable," but emphasised that the bloc was "prepared for this scenario". 

She added that the EU, along with its international partners, will implement an "immediate, united and coordinated" response.

The EU leader also hit out against reports carried by the media outlet Bloomberg which alleged 10 European energy companies are preparing to make payments for Gazprom gas in roubles, and that four energy companies have done so already. 

She said such moves would be "high risk" for the corporations and would constitute "a breach of our sanctions".

"Our guidance here is very clear," Ms von der Leyen said.

While the EU has been firm that it will not comply with Mr Putin's demands that payments be made in roubles, Hungary has reached a workaround deal with Gazprom, according to BBC.

The countries will pay into a euro-denominated account with Gazprombank, a subsidiary of the energy giant, which in turn will deposit the amount in roubles. 

Russia has refused to say how many other countries have agreed to make payments in this way, according to BBC.