AMNA NAWAZ: Russia has
admitted for the first
time that last week's sinking of
its flagship cruiser the Moskva
left dozens missing and one
dead, although it still denies
Ukraine attacked the ship.
On the battlefront,
Ukrainian officials
claim Russian troops are
redeploying from the southern
port city of Mariupol
to reinforce their new
onslaught in the east.
In the meantime, Ukraine
says it sent a nighttime
helicopter to deliver
arms to the last Ukrainian
forces in Mariupol,
who are holed up inside
a giant steel facility.
Willem Marx begins our coverage.
WILLEM MARX: In the city of
Mariupol, ghostly remnants
of a relentless war.
This is what Russia calls
liberation, apartment
blocks battered by shelling,
devoid of residents, the only
signs of life pro-Russian rescue
workers locating the dead.
They load remains onto
trucks marked with Z,
a symbol of Vladimir Putin's
brutal invasion, the dead's
destination, for now, unknown.
Today, a Ukrainian regional
governor still seemed optimistic
about Mariupol's future.
GOV. PAVLO KYRYLENKO,
Donetsk, Ukraine (through
translator): I unequivocally
believe that Russians
can be defeated. They are
not taught to lose, but they
overestimate themselves.
WILLEM MARX: The last
few Ukrainian fighters
are bunkered down in a
steel plant by the sea.
Russian forces say they
will no longer try to
storm that facility, but
instead will besiege it.
British officials say it's
likely Russia prefers simply
to surround it to free up
their forces for operations
elsewhere. On social media
channels, pro-Kremlin
propagandists embedded
with the Russian army publish
videos they say show troops
moving east, away from Mariupol.
But military analysts say
Russian forces in the city
suffered substantially,
and Moscow may struggle
to redeploy rapidly to
other battle fronts.
One Russian commander talked
of fresh territorial ambitions
in the south of Ukraine,
suggesting a new access route
to Transnistria, a pro-Russian
enclave in neighboring Moldova.
It's unclear if these comments
reflect official Kremlin policy.
Back east, meanwhile,
Russian troops continue their
assault on the Donbass,
overnight, a hospital
near Donetsk damaged
under direct shell fire.
In the city of Rubizhne,
broken boulevards bear the
scars of conflict, a cultural
center crushed by artillery.
In a basement beneath
it, a dozen of the city's
residents shelter together.
Liudmila said she fled her home
after the shells began to fall.
LIUDMILA, Rubizhne Resident
(through translator):
It was raining. The roof
was leaking. The plaster
and wallpaper fell off,
a constant draft. It
is impossible to live
in our houses, no gas,
no light, no water.
WILLEM MARX: To the north,
in Kharkiv, emergency workers
on scene at a public market
smashed and torched. The
city remains a top target
for Russian rockets,
leaving residents to deal
with the daily damage.
Yuriy Guropaev said two
civilians charred to
death inside this vehicle.
YURIY GUROPAEV, Kharkiv
Resident (through translator):
How is it different from
Bucha or Gostomel? And
we are told it's quiet
here? How is it possible?
Here are people burning.
Here are two people are
burning. Look, bodies.
How is it possible?
WILLEM MARX:
Despite the bombing,
thousands of Ukrainians plan
to return this weekend to
celebrate Orthodox Easter,
like Mariia Litokh, who
arrived today in Kyiv from
Poland to meet her family.
MARIIA LITOKH, Ukrainian
Student (through translator):
I am now confident that
the world is aware that
we are strong. It is
important because just a
few people knew about Ukraine.
Now almost every person can show
the city of Kharkiv on a map.
WILLEM MARX: Home for
the holidays, but for
how long, unclear.
Tonight, Amna, despite
advances by Russian forces
on multiple fronts in the south
and east, in cities like Kyiv,
it's not so much about clearing
up, as pushing back against
that military aggression.
The national flag is still
fluttering behind me. Traffic
has returned to the city center.
And with the evening curfew
pushed back until late,
restaurants and bars remain
open for customers, but just
an hour or two from where
we're standing, awful scenes of
devastation and destruction
in many directions
throughout surrounding
towns and villages -- Amna.
AMNA NAWAZ: And the
"NewsHour"'s coverage
of the war in Ukraine is
supported in partnership
with the Pulitzer Center.