Ukrainians Rush to Flee as Russian Troops Mass in the East

[Celerity]

U.S. military officials said they expect Russia to carry out a major offensive from the city of Izium to Dnipro, a strategic target in eastern Ukraine. At a train station where dozens were killed in a missile strike on Friday, one survivor said, “The town is dead now.”

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/04/10/world/ukraine-russia-war-news


Worshippers attend a special mass celebrating the Palm Sunday holiday in central Lviv, Ukraine. Credit...Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine.

Civilians in eastern Ukraine rushed to evacuate at the urging of local officials as Russian forces massed in the region and struck residential areas there on Sunday.

U.S. military officials said Sunday that they expect Russian troops to carry out a major offensive from the city of Izium to Dnipro, a central city that is considered a strategic target in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which encompasses two breakaway enclaves controlled by Russian-backed separatists. Across one of those enclaves, the Donetsk, a fleet of volunteer bus drivers was helping to evacuate residents before an anticipated onslaught by Russian forces.

More than 4.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country since Feb. 24, according to the United Nations. Russian troops have escalated their attacks against civilian areas in Ukraine in recent days, including a rocket attack on a train station on Friday that killed more than 50 people who were trying to flee the east of the country. A barrage of Russian strikes hit the airport in Dnipro, wounding five Ukrainian rescue workers, a local official reported Sunday.

As Ukrainian leaders and Western allies warned that the risk of civilian casualties was growing, Britain announced on Saturday that it would supply Ukrainian forces with missiles that can target aircraft, tanks and even ships, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an unannounced visit to Kyiv. Analysts say anti-ship missiles would be a notable addition to Ukrainian forces, which have struggled against Russian ships operating off Ukraine’s coast.

Here are some other major developments:

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[pwb]

1. Massing up is a great idea. Please all of you get together

so our weapons can kill more of you with each one fired.