Russia Ukraine War LIVE Updates: More than 3,700 people 'rescued' from besieged Mariupol, says Zelensky

Pope Francis says he is studying a possible visit to Kyiv and he blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for launching a “savage” war, as he arrived in Malta and delivered his most pointed and personalized denunciation yet of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Francis didn’t cite Putin by name, but the reference was clear when he said that “some potentate” had unleashed the threat of nuclear war on the world in an “infantile and destructive aggression” under the guise of “anachronist claims of nationalistic interests.”

Speaking to Maltese authorities Saturday, Francis said: “We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past.” Francis has to date avoided referring to Russia or Putin by name. But Saturday’s personalization of the powerful figure responsible marked a new level of outrage for the pope.

Ukrainian officials say their forces have recaptured the city of Brovary, 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of the capital Kyiv.

Brovary's mayor said during a televised address on Friday evening that “Russian occupants have now left practically all of the Brovary district.”

He added that the Ukrainian forces would begin working to clear the region of remaining Russian soldiers there as well as "military hardware, and possibly from mines.” The mayor said that many Brovary residents had already returned to the city, and that shops and businesses were reopening.

Earlier on Friday, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that satellite towns northwest of Kyiv were being targeted after Ukrainian fighters pushed back Russian troops, and that fighting had also taken place in Brovary. 

154 residential buildings, 20 private estates, 27 kindergartens, 44 schools were damaged by Russia's war. There is a group of experts who assess the estimated cost of repairing the damage and provides proposal plans for the capital's administration.

Moscow is redeploying its troops in occupied Transnistria to demonstrate its readiness to attack Ukraine from the southwest and for potential provocations on the border, the General Staff said

The UN’s cultural agency used satellite images and witness reports to confirm damage inflicted upon 29 religious sites, 16 historic buildings, four museums, and four monuments.

Though Russia is the country that invaded its neighbour Ukraine, the Kremlin's version relentlessly warns social media users across Latin America that the US is the bigger problem. “Never forget who is the real threat to the world,” reads a headline, translated from Spanish.

A Chinese diplomat has a suggestion for resolving the Ukraine conflict: US President Joe Biden should call Russian President Vladimir Putin and promise there will be no further NATO expansion, no deployment of strategic weapons in Ukraine and that the country will remain neutral. “Then maybe the issue will get sorted,” director general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of European Affairs Wang Lutong told reporters in Beijing on Saturday.

Responding to Russian accusations that Ukraine mounted a helicopter attack on a fuel depot inside Russian territory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said 'I do not discuss any of my orders.' "I'm sorry I do not discuss any of my orders as commander in chief, the leader of this state. There are things which I only share with military armed forces of Ukraine and when they talk with me," Zelenskyy said, when asked if he had ordered such an attack.

Russia has accused Ukraine of a fire that broke out at a fuel depot in Belgorod, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border, even as war continues to rage in Ukraine and both countries are in the midst of peace talks to reach a ceasefire agreement. Russia said the fire was caused by an airstrike from Ukrainian helicopters. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, however, told CNN it had no information about the incident.

China has accused the United States of instigating the ongoing Ukrainian war, alleging that Washington is most reluctant to see a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. "US is the biggest spoiler of the security in entire Europe. The US is most reluctant to see a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine," Global Times has reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned his people early Saturday that retreating Russian forces were creating “a complete disaster” outside the capital as they leave mines across “the whole territory,” including around homes and corpses. He issued the warning as the humanitarian crisis in the encircled city of Mariupol deepened, with Russian forces blocking evacuation operations for the second day in a row. Meanwhile, the Kremlin accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil.

The ongoing war in Ukraine that has displaced millions of people is a result of the aggression of the Russian leadership and its president Vladimir Putin, the White House has said. “This is a war of aggression by the Russian leadership, by President Putin that has left millions of people displaced, homeless; has targeted civilians, hospitals and other innocent people across Ukraine,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Friday.

More than 6,000 Ukrainians have been evacuated from besieged cities via humanitarian corridors in the past 24 hours, according to a government official in Kiev. In a social media post, Deputy Head of the President's Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said a total of 6,266 people were evacuated on Friday, including 3,071 from Mariupol in the Donetsk region where Russian forces have continued relentless bombing and attacks, reports ukrayinska Pravda.

Ukrainian Parliament passes law allowing seizure of property of Russian war supporters. It allows confiscating property that belongs not only to Russian state or its residents but also to non-residents connected to Russian govt, deny or support Russia’s war, reported The Kyiv Independent.

President Volodymyr Zelensky created the International Legion in late February as a way to organize the influx of foreign volunteers. The Legion forms part of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Force

A Ukrainian official said there were casualties after at least three Russian ballistic missiles were fired late Friday at the Odesa region on the Black Sea, but he did not give specifics. Regional leader Maksim Marchenko said the missiles were fired from the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia has held since seizing it from Ukraine in 2014.

US Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Daleep Singh, during his two-day visit to New Delhi, consulted with Indian counterparts on goals and mechanisms of US sanctions imposed on Russia, the White House said in a statement on Friday (local time). Daleep Singh was on a two-day visit to India from March 30-31.

US military has canceled a test of its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in a bid to lower nuclear tensions with Russia. It had initially aimed only to delay the test, reported Reuters.

Governor of Odesa Oblast Maksym Marchenko reported earlier on April 1 that Russian missiles hit residential areas in the region and caused casualties. According to Marchenko, the missiles were allegedly fired from Russian-annexed Crimea.

Ukrainian President Zelensky said that more than 3,700 people have been rescued from the city of Mariupol, reported AFP. He urged residents to wait to resume their normal lives until they are assured that the mines have been cleared and the danger of shelling has passed. Zelenskyy warned of difficult battles ahead as the Russians redeploy troops in eastern Ukraine.