Mobile operators and providers continue to provide access to communication services as of 13:00 on April 2, 2022, according to a message in the telegram channel of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine.
The situation with the coverage of mobile operators on the territory of Ukraine over the previous day has not undergone significant changes. The most problematic regions are Donetsk, Kyiv, Chernihiv regions.
At the same time, the operators began work to restore communications in the settlements of the Kiev region, liberated from the invaders.
“Despite all the difficulties and the destruction of infrastructure by the enemy, operators continue to provide mobile communications and Internet services. However, in order for companies to continue to work stably, ensure the functioning of networks and the provision of services, we remind all Ukrainians of the importance of paying for services,” the department noted.
Also, according to the State Service for Special Communications, on April 1, Ukrtelecom specialists restored damaged trunk lines and services in Odessa, Kherson and Nikolaev regions.
“Currently, the services of the company (Ukrtelecom – IF) are provided in all regions, except for the Luhansk region. The search for opportunities to resume telecommunications services continues,” the report says.
Internet providers in Ukraine recorded 128 cases of network damage or equipment unavailability per day.
Ukrainian television continues to go on the air in the vast majority of non-occupied territories. The Concern for Radio Broadcasting of Radio Communications and Television, which belongs to the management of the State Special Communications Service, maintains the operation of the relevant infrastructure so that Ukrainians can receive truthful information. Satellite broadcasting works stably.
The National Center for Operational and Technical Management of Telecommunications Networks (NTsU) under the State Special Communications Service provides full control of networks in war conditions.
Civilian casualties from February 24, when Russia started the war against Ukraine, to March 31, 2022 amounted to 3,257 civilians (3,167 in the report a day earlier), including 1,276 dead (1,232), reports the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights on Friday.
“OHCHR believes that the actual figures are much higher as information is delayed from some areas of intense fighting and many reports are still awaiting confirmation,” the document says.
According to him, this applies, for example, to Mariupol and Volnovakha (Donetsk region), Izyum (Kharkiv region), Popasna (Luhansk region), Irpin (Kyiv region), where there are reports of numerous civilian casualties. They are subject to further verification and are not included in the above statistics.
“The majority of civilian deaths or injuries were caused by the use of explosive devices with a wide area of effect, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as rocket and air strikes,” the report says.
According to confirmed UN data, 260 men, 184 women, 36 boys and 18 girls died, while the sex of 61 children and 717 adults has not yet been determined.
Among the 1981 wounded were 38 girls and 34 boys, as well as 88 children whose sex has not yet been determined.
Compared to the previous day, according to the UN, three children were killed and eleven more were injured.
OHCHR indicates that in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as of midnight on April 1, there were 358 (338) dead and 772 (743) injured in government-controlled territory, and 67 (66) dead and 246 (245) injured in territory controlled by self-proclaimed “republics”.
In other regions of Ukraine under government control (in Kyiv, as well as in Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia, Kiev, Sumy, Odessa, Nikolaev, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnepropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions), the UN recorded 851 (826) dead and 963 (947) injured .
The summary also states that, according to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, as of 08:00 on April 1, 153 (148) children were killed and 245 (232) were injured.
The increase in indicators in this report compared to the figures in the previous report should not be attributed only to new cases that occurred on March 31, since OHCHR also verified a number of cases that occurred in previous days during the day, the document specifies.
The gross domestic product of Ukraine in the first quarter of 2022, due to the war started by Russia, fell by 16% compared to the same period last year, this is the estimate of the Ministry of Economy of the country.
“Russian aggression against Ukraine has radically changed our economy. Our forecast for a decline in GDP in the first quarter of 2022 is 16%, and the annual decline could reach 40%,” First Deputy Minister Denis Kudin is quoted in a press release from the department.
According to him, those industries where remote work is impossible, in particular, aviation, maritime transportation, and the service sector, where businesses work directly with consumers, have suffered the most.
At the same time, Kudin pointed out that over the past 10 days, the economy as a whole has begun to recover, business in safe regions is returning to work, and farmers have begun sowing.
The Ministry of Economy noted that in the process of restoring the Ukrainian economy, special attention will be paid to supporting industries that directly ensure the livelihoods of citizens and strengthen the state’s defense capability. “We are talking about agriculture, food production, retail trade, utilities and energy services, industries working on mobilization orders,” the ministry said.
As reported, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva predicted on March 22 that the decline in Ukraine’s GDP due to the war started by Russia could be a third of the pre-war level.
Prime Minister Denys Shmygal at the end of March gave a forecast of a 35% decline and “slightly higher.”
According to the State Statistics Service, in 2021, Ukraine’s GDP grew by 3.4% after a decline of 3.8% in 2020, its nominal volume amounted to about $200 billion.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has called the visit of head of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola to Ukraine against the background of the war a manifestation of heroism.
“I would like to sincerely thank you personally, Roberta, and all your team for the fact that at such an important moment for our country, when Ukrainians believe in deeds and concrete steps, you demonstrate heroism to come to Ukraine. And today it is heroism,” Zelensky said during his meeting with Metsola in Kyiv.
He also thanked the head of the European Parliament for the joint telephone talks held several times before the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
“The result of these conversations was your appeal to parliamentarians, the world community and some kind of support for Ukraine at the level of the European Parliament. And we highly appreciate these steps. Today we look through the prism of ‘friends and foes’, because we do not have time and there is no gray color for us in international diplomacy. Therefore, the issue of survival is acute. We are glad that you are on the side of light and kindness towards Ukraine,” he added.
Zelensky noted that he was unable to leave Kyiv and personally address the European Parliament, but expressed confidence that “nevertheless, today the voice of Ukraine is heard.”
“And I am glad that there is no status and pathos in our relationship. You have arrived, and this is a very important sign. We will never forget this,” he concluded.
By the decree of the President of Ukraine dated March 31, Roberta Metsola was awarded the Order of Princess Olga.
Ukrainian athletes won two “gold” and one “bronze” medal at the European Wrestling Championship in Budapest.
“Today, Ukrainian women received two ‘gold’ and one ‘bronze’ at the European Wrestling Championship. Alina Hrushina-Akobia in the 55 kg weight category and Tetiana Rizhko (65 kg) won gold awards as part of the women’s national team of Ukraine. Ilona Prokopeniuk (62 kg) won the bronze medal,” the press service of the Ministry of Youth and Sports said in a statement.
It is noted that in total Ukrainian women received five awards of the European Championship: two “gold”, one “silver”, and two “bronze”.
In Kharkiv, the payment for all utilities provided by the city will be written off from February 24 until the end of the war, said Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
“I know and understand how hard it is for you, how steadfastly you hold on, enduring all the horrors of war. Therefore, all utilities provided by the city will be written off from February 24 until the end of the war,” Terekhov said in a video message published on his Telegram channel.
“At the same time, I am very grateful to all the people who, despite the fighting, continue to pay for housing and communal services. I promise you that with the arrival of peace in Ukraine, your bills will be recalculated,” he added.
