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Russia-Ukraine war: What happened today (April 9)

Destroyed cars are seen outside the Kramatorsk train station in eastern Ukraine after a missile strike Friday that killed at least 52 people.
Fadel Senna
/
AFP via Getty Images
Destroyed cars are seen outside the Kramatorsk train station in eastern Ukraine after a missile strike Friday that killed at least 52 people.

As Saturday draws to a close in Kyiv and in Moscow, here are the key developments of the day:

Ukrainian officials say that Russian troops are regrouping and that they will soon launch a full-scale attack in the eastern part of the country. The train station in Kramatorsk remains closed after a missile strike on Friday, but other stations are open and evacuations have resumed. The government says the Russian military is increasing shelling, so it wants to get civilians out.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the Kramatorsk train station attack as one of "many other Russian war crimes." At least 52 people were killed when a Russian missile hit the station, where thousands of people were trying to evacuate, according to Ukrainian officials. "The missile strike on Kramatorsk must be one of the charges at the tribunal, which is bound to happen," Zelenskyy wrote on Facebook. Russia has denied any involvement in the attack.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a surprise trip to Ukraine and met with Zelenskyy. The visit is intended to be a show of solidarity with Ukraine, according to The Associated Press. The meeting follows an announcement from the United Kingdom that it was sending more military aid to Ukraine, amounting to £100 million (about $130 million).

Russia has shut down the offices of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and several other international organizations. The move followed Thursday's vote by the United Nations General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council over "gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights" in Ukraine.

The executive board of the International Monetary Fund has approved an account for Ukraine that would allow countries to donate aid. The creation of the account came at the request of several member countries. Canada has proposed up to 1 billion Canadian dollars (nearly $800 million) in its federal budget for the account, according to the IMF.

In-depth

Photos from Kramatorsk show the devastating aftermath.

A Ukrainian reporter shares how fear has shaped her family's lives for generations.

Earlier developments

You can read more news from Saturday here and daily recaps here. For context and more in-depth stories, you can find NPR's full coverage here. Also, listen and subscribe to NPR's State of Ukraine podcast for updates throughout the day.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Corrected: April 9, 2022 at 9:00 PM MST
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated 1 billion Canadian dollars would be about $800,000. It's closer to $800 million.