These are the main events so far on Tuesday 5 April. Get the latest updates here.

Militant

Ukraine’s general staff said Russian forces had attacked the southern city of Mykolaiv with cluster munitions banned by the Geneva Convention and entire blocks of civilian buildings, including a children’s hospital. Russia probably intends to turn its attention to the south and east of Ukraine and is repositioning forces in Belarus, US officials said. Fierce fighting continued in Mariupol. The Ukrainian port city has been destroyed “90 percent” after being besieged by Russian forces for weeks, said Mayor Vadym Boychenko. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko warns residents who have fled the capital not to return for “at least another week”, warning that explosives placed around the area remain a threat. Russian troops are preparing for a major offensive in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, Governor Sergiy Gaiday told the Telegram.

War crimes investigation

US President Joe Biden has called for a war crimes trial and more sanctions in Russia over the killing of civilians in Bucha, while European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says the European Union is ready to send a team of investigators to gather evidence. . Ukrainian authorities say they have found the bodies of five civilians handcuffed in a village west of Kiev, including those of the mayor, her husband and son. Ukraine’s Attorney General Iryna Venediktova said on Twitter that the bodies of five men who had been tortured and killed by Russian troops had been found in the basement of a children’s resort in Bucha. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to address the UN Security Council on Tuesday, demanding further tougher sanctions on Moscow over the Bucha killings. Russia has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning Russia’s civilian population have been made more than once.

More than 4.2 million refugees

More than 4.2 million Ukrainian refugees have fled the country since the Russian invasion, according to the UN.

(Al Jazeera)

Sanctions

The White House says more sanctions against Russia will be announced “this week” and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says the bloc is urgently discussing further action. French President Emmanuel Macron has said he could target Russia’s oil and coal sectors, while Germany has warned that cutting off Russian gas supplies to Europe is not yet possible, despite calls to do so.

Diplomacy

The United States and the United Kingdom have announced plans to call on the UN Human Rights Council to suspend Russia from the Bukhara killings. Russia reacted, calling the offer “unbelievable” and “unprecedented.” Germany and France deported dozens of Russian diplomats over the invasion. And the former Soviet republic of Lithuania expelled the Russian ambassador to the Baltic country for what he calls the “horrific massacre” in Bucha and the atrocities in other occupied Ukrainian cities. Moscow promised to retaliate.

You can read highlights from Day 40 here.