Military
Ukraine to call for heavy arms when top U.S. officials visit Kyiv

Ukraine to call for heavy arms when top U.S. officials visit Kyiv
U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, were set to visit Kyiv on Sunday to discuss Ukraine’s call for more powerful weapons, two months after Russia’s invasion began.
The trip, announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday, would be the highest-level by U.S. officials since Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
The White House has not confirmed any visit by Blinken and Austin.
The State Department and Pentagon declined to comment.
As Christians in Ukraine marked Orthodox Easter on Sunday, there was no end in sight to a war that has killed thousands of people, uprooted millions more and reduced cities to rubble.
“I pray that this horror in Ukraine ends soon and we can return home,’’ said Nataliya Krasnopolskaia, who fled to Prague from Odesa last month, one of the more than five million Ukrainians estimated to have escaped the country.
Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the eastern Luhansk region, said Easter celebrations had been shattered by the conflict.
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He said that seven churches in his region had been “mutilated by Russian artillery”.
Reuters could not independently verify his report.
Pope Francis called for an Easter truce: “Stop the attacks in order to help the exhausted population. Stop,’’ he said.
Zelenskiy said in an Easter video message from Kyiv’s 1,000-year-old Saint Sophia Cathedral that Ukraine would not be defeated by “wickedness” and prayed that God returns happiness to children and brings solace to grieving mothers.
He had earlier said talks with his U.S. visitors would cover the “powerful and heavy weapons” Ukraine needed to retake territory and the pace of deliveries.
The U.S. and NATO allies have shown growing readiness to supply heavier equipment and more advanced weapons systems.
Britain has promised to send military vehicles and said it was considering supplying British tanks to Poland to free up Warsaw’s Russian-designed T-72s for Ukraine.
Moscow, which describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special military operation”, denies targeting civilians and rejects what Ukraine says is evidence of atrocities, saying Kyiv staged them to undermine peace talks.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said after talks by phone with Zelenskiy that Ankara was ready to assist in negotiations with Russia.
Zelenskiy said he discussed with Erdogan the need for the immediate evacuation of civilians from the southern city of Mariupol and an exchange of troops.
Russian forces are attempting to storm the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol by land, backed up by aerial and artillery bombardment, Ukrainian Presidential Adviser, Oleksiy Arestovych, said on Sunday.
“Russian troops are trying to finish off the defenders of Azovstal and more than 1,000 civilians who are hiding at the plant,’’ Arestovych wrote on Facebook.
He said on Saturday that troops in the steel complex were attempting counterattacks.
Moscow has previously declared victory in the city and said it did not need to take the plant.
Capturing Mariupol, the site of biggest battle of the conflict, would link up pro-Russian separatists who control parts of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk that make up the Donbas with the Southern Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014.
Ukraine estimates tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in Mariupol and says 100,000 civilians are still in the city.
The UN and Red Cross say the civilian toll is at least in the thousands.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, called for humanitarian corridors in Mariupol and other areas of Ukraine, where he said “an indescribable human tragedy is unfolding’’.
The governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said two children were killed by shelling in his area on Sunday.
Ukraine said its forces repulsed 12 attacks on Donetsk and Luhansk a day earlier, destroying four tanks, 15 armoured equipment units and five artillery systems.
Reuters could not independently confirm the reports.
British military intelligence said Ukrainian resistance had been strong, especially in Donbas, despite some Russian gains.
“Poor Russian morale and limited time to reconstitute, re-equip and reorganise forces from prior offensives are likely hindering Russian combat effectiveness,’’ it said.
Russia said on Sunday its missiles hit eight military targets overnight, including four arms depots in the northeast Kharkiv region and one facility in the Dnipropetrovsk region producing explosives for the Ukrainian army.
Russian strikes on Saturday severed an arterial gas pipeline and caused a fire at an electricity substation, cutting gas supply to 5,500 people, Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk region wrote on Telegram on Sunday.
Moscow said on Saturday its missiles destroyed a logistics terminal in the southern city of Odesa containing weapons supplied by the U.S. and European states.
Zelenskiy said eight people, including a 3-month-old child, were killed in the Odesa strike.
(Reuters/NAN)
Military
Troops Eliminate Notorious Bandit Leader Kachalla Bello Kaura in Zamfara

Troops Eliminate Notorious Bandit Leader Kachalla Bello Kaura in Zamfara
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA ave neutralised a notorious bandit leader, Kachalla Bello Kaura, in a successful operation carried out in Goburawar Dawan Jiya village, located in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Reliable intelligence sources, told Zagazola Makama that the operation occurred during the weeklong offensive campaign resulting in the death of Kaura and several of his fighters during a tactical raid on their hideout.
Zagazola understand that Kachalla Bello Kaura was identified as a key terror figure responsible for numerous deadly attacks across Zamfara, Kebbi, and Sokoto States.
He was also linked to the terror group Ansaruddin, and was believed to have facilitated the group’s incursion into Bagega Forest and the Gando Game Reserve, where he reportedly received training in the assembly and use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Born in Sunke village in Anka LGA, Kaura was the younger brother of late Kachalla Alhaji Shadari, another infamous bandit kingpin who was eliminated by security forces in January 2023 during an operation in the Sunke Forest.
Following Shadari’s death, Kaura assumed leadership of the group and continued to orchestrate violent attacks, particularly in Anka, Bukkuyum, and Gummi LGAs of Zamfara State. He was also responsible for cross-border assaults in parts of Kebbi and Sokoto States, often attributed to Lakurawa by security agencies.
Security sources confirm that the operation was carried out after weeks of surveillance and coordinated intelligence efforts, resulting in a significant blow.
Authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to sustaining pressure on terror and bandit networks in the North West zone and called on residents to continue providing credible intelligence to support ongoing military and security operations.
Troops Eliminate Notorious Bandit Leader Kachalla Bello Kaura in Zamfara
Military
Troops Launch Operation Munzo, Neutralize Terror Kingpin Mati, Several FightersAnd Recover Weapons in Zamfara

Troops Launch Operation Munzo, Neutralize Terror Kingpin Mati, Several Fighters
And Recover Weapons in Zamfara
By: Zagazola Makama
The Troops under the Headquarters Operation Forest Yakin (HQOPFY) have commenced “Operation Munzo,” a special clearance operation targeting terrorist camps in Zamfara State.
Zagazola Makama gathered from intelligence sources that the operation kicked off from Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bagega in Anka Local Government Area, with troops advancing through Tibuki and Sabuwar Tunga villages to the notorious Mati terrorist camps.
The sources said heavy resistance was encountered as the terrorists engaged the advancing troops with light and support weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades. However, the troops responded with superior firepower, neutralising scores of the insurgents in the process.
Intercepts suggest that the terror kingpin known as Mati, believed to be the mastermind of several attacks in the area, was killed along with several of his fighters during the fierce exchange.

A soldier attached to the Special Boat Service (SBS) sustained a gunshot wound to the lower rib and has since been stabilised and evacuated for treatment.
Items recovered from the scene include one PKT rifle with two belts and 90 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, five AK-47 rifles, and 12 magazines containing 487 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition.
Also recovered were three Baofeng radios with chargers, military and police uniforms, and other combat gear. Three motorcycles belonging to the terrorists were destroyed on site, while rustled cattle found at the camp were also eliminated.
All terrorist life-support structures in the Mati camp were completely burnt and destroyed during the operation. However, two tyres of a combat support vehicle were damaged, and another vehicle sustained a broken lower arm.
In a separate movement, logistics vehicles advancing from FOB Bagega to FOB Dan Gulbi at about 9:15 a.m. came under ambush near a bridge. The troops promptly repelled the attack.
While casualty figures on the side of the attackers remain unconfirmed, one soldier sustained injuries and is reported to be in stable condition.
“Operation Munzo” is expected to continue in the coming days as troops intensify efforts to dismantle terrorist enclaves across Zamfara’s forested zones.
Troops Launch Operation Munzo, Neutralize Terror Kingpin Mati, Several Fighters
And Recover Weapons in Zamfara
Military
Military and Civilian Joint Task Force Ambushed by Armed Bandits, Two Bandits Killed, Several Injured

Military and Civilian Joint Task Force Ambushed by Armed Bandits, Two Bandits Killed, Several Injured
By: Zagazola Makama
A team from Operation Fansar Yamma (OPFY), alongside members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CPG), came under heavy gunfire on April 6, 2025, as they responded to a distress call along the Doka-Agama Lafia Road in Tsafe Local Government Area.
The military personnel and CPG members were ambushed by unknown armed bandits, resulting in a fierce gun battle.
Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that two armed bandits were shot dead during the engagement.
However, three military personnel and one CPG member sustained gunshot injuries. The injured victims were swiftly evacuated to the General Hospital Tsafe for medical treatment.
Military and Civilian Joint Task Force Ambushed by Armed Bandits, Two Bandits Killed, Several Injured
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