United News of Bangladesh

Russian authorities accused Ukraine on Wednesday of attempting to attack the Kremlin with two drones overnight in an effort to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin decried the alleged attack attempt as a "terrorist act" and said Russian military and security forces stopped the drones before they could strike. In a statement carried by Russian state-run news agencies, it said no casualties took place. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti that Putin wasn't in the Kremlin at the time and was working from the Novo-Ogaryovo residence. The Kremlin added that Putin was safe and his schedule was unchanged. There were no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities. The Kremlin didn't present any evidence from the reported incident, and its statement included few details. Tass quoted the statement as saying that the Kremlin considered the development to be a deliberate attempt on Putin's life ahead of the Victory Day that Russia celebrates on May 9. Kremlin spokesman Peskov said a military parade would take place as scheduled that day. Russia retains the right to respond "when and where it sees fit," the Tass report said, quoting the statement.  

A massive blaze broke out at an Russian oil depot, local officials said Wednesday, while the Kremlin's forces used 26 Iranian-made drones in another nighttime attack on Ukraine as the war stretched into its 15th month. The developments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an unannounced visit to the Finnish capital, Helsinki, for a one-day summit with Nordic leaders, as he pushes Ukraine’s Western allies to provide Kyiv with more military support. The Nordic countries have been among Ukraine’s strongest backers. “The war is ... a turning point for our entire continent,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, one of the summit attendees. “Here in the north, we have a more unpredictable and aggressive Russian neighbor, and it is important that we discuss together how to face this new situation.” The oil depot erupted in flames in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, located east of the Russian-held Crimean Peninsula, according to Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev. He didn’t say what caused the fire, which was described as extremely difficult to put out. But some Russian media outlets said it was likely caused by a Ukrainian drone attack overnight. There was no official comment on that possibility. Local residents heard an explosion shortly before the fire erupted, Russian news site Baza said. Military analysts reckon Ukraine is targeting supply lines in the Russian rear as Kyiv gears up for a possible counteroffensive amid improving weather conditions and as it receives large amounts of weapons and ammunition from its Western allies. Explosions have also derailed a Russian freight train and hit a Russian airfield in recent days. Analysts say the attacks may be perpetrated by Ukrainian saboteurs. At the same time, anticipating a Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russian forces are focused on destroying logistical routes and centers of Ukraine’s armed forces, Kyiv military officials say. Meanwhile, explosions were heard in Kyiv and elsewhere during the night as Ukrainian air defenses shot down 21 of the Russian drones, Ukraine’s Air Force Command said. No damage or casualties were reported in the third attempt in six days by the Kremlin's forces to hit Kyiv. But three people died and five were wounded when a supermarket in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson came under fire on Wednesday. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, the attack on the “only operating hypermarket in Kherson” happened at around 11 a.m. local time. A round-the-clock curfew is to be introduced in Kherson from 8 p.m. on Friday through 6 a.m. on Monday, Kherson Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin announced. “During these 58 hours, it is forbidden to move around or stay on the streets of the city. Also, the city will be closed for entry and exit,” Prokudin said. The measure is necessary, he said in a video on social media, “so that law enforcement officers can do their job and not put you in danger,” but did not provide further details. Both Russia and Ukraine reportedly have experienced ammunition shortages after a winter of long-range shelling and missile strikes as the conflict became bogged down in a war of attrition. Ukraine's government has been pressing its allies to give it more as officials consider when and how they might start trying to drive Russian forces out of the Ukrainian territory they have occupied. The U.S. plans to send Ukraine about $300 million in additional military aid, including an enormous number of artillery rounds, howitzers, air-to-ground rockets and ammunition, U.S. officials said late Tuesday. The new package includes Hydra-70 rockets, which are unguided rockets that are fired from aircraft. It also includes an undisclosed number of rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, mortars, howitzer rounds, missiles and Carl Gustaf anti-tank rifles. The weapons will all be pulled from Pentagon stocks, so they can go quickly to the front lines, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid has not yet been formally announced. New Zealand also said it was increasing its support for Ukraine by adding another year to the deployment of about 100 military personnel who, among other tasks, have been helping train Ukrainian troops in Britain on operating howitzers. New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said it will also donate an additional $3.3 million toward Ukrainian humanitarian, refugee and legal justice efforts. He said New Zealand has spent about $50 million on financial and military support to Ukraine since the war began.

A teenage boy opened fire at a school in Serbia's capital Wednesday, killing eight children and a school guard, police said. Six more children and a teacher were injured and hospitalized. Police identified the shooter by his initials, K.K., and said he had opened fire with his father's gun. He was arrested in the school yard, police said. A statement identified him as a student at the school in central Belgrade who was born in 2009. Police said they received a call about the shooting at the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school around 8:40 a.m. Primary schools in Serbia have eight grades, starting with first grade. “I was able to hear the shooting. It was non-stop," a student who was in a sports class downstairs when the gunfire erupted. “I didn’t know what was happening. We were receiving some messages on the phone.” Unlike in the United States, mass shootings in Serbia and in the wider Balkan region are extremely rare; none were reported at schools in recent years. In the last mass shooting, a Balkan war veteran in 2013 killed 13 people in a central Serbian village. Experts, however, have repeatedly warned of the number of weapons left over in the country after the wars of the 1990s. They also note that decades-long instability stemming from the conflicts as well as the ongoing economic hardship could trigger such outbursts. Local media footage from the scene showed commotion outside the school as police removed the suspect, whose head was covered as officers led him to a car parked in the street. The student who heard the shooting, who was identified only by her initials, E.M., because of her age, described the suspect as a “quiet guy” who “looked nice.” “He was having good grades, but we didn’t know much about him,” the student added. “He was not so open with everybody. Surely i wasn’t expecting this to happen. ” Milan Milosevic, who said his daughter was in a history class when the shooting took place, told N1 television that he rushed out when he heard what had happened. “I asked where is my child but no one could tell me anything at first,” he said. “Then she called and we found out she was out.” “He (the shooter) fired first at the teacher and then the children who ducked under the desks,” Milosevic quoted his daughter as saying. “She said he was a quiet boy and a good student.” Police sealed off the blocks around the school, in the center of Belgrade.

Musician Deronne White is ready to play on King Charles III’s coronation day. The flautist and his fellow young musicians aren’t playing anything regal or solemn — they’re planning to parade through south London’s streets entertaining crowds with an uplifting “coronation carnival” set mixing gospel, jazz, grime, disco and rap. There’ll even be a calypso take on the U.K. national anthem. While he’s excited about the gig, White says he has mixed feelings about the coronation. Like some others at the Brixton Chamber Orchestra, White is a descendant of migrants from Jamaica — a former British colony and Commonwealth member that wants to cut its ties with the monarchy and has called for the U.K. royals to address their historical ties to slavery. “Personally it’s a little bit hard to connect to the whole occasion,” he said. “I think that the coronation could possibly allow people like me to try and connect to (the monarchy). But it can be a bit tough.” Towns, cities and villages across the U.K. will be awash with Union flags and patriotic decorations to celebrate Charles’ coronation at Westminster Abbey this weekend, and officials say the festivities will bring Britain’s diverse communities together. But the event is viewed with a large dose of ambivalence by some in the U.K., not least those with African Caribbean backgrounds and other minorities for whom the British Empire’s past wrongs still loom large. While slavery and the heyday of colonialism may be long gone, the royal family has in recent years struggled to grapple with new accusations of institutional racism – most notably from Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan. The Duchess of Sussex, a biracial American actress, reopened the debate about the monarchy and race when she said last year that an unnamed member of the royal household had asked her how dark her baby’s skin might be when she was pregnant with her first child, Archie. Last year, there was outrage when Ngozi Fulani, a Black charity executive, complained that a close aide of Queen Elizabeth II’s repeatedly questioned her at a party about where she was “really” from. Palace officials apologized and the aide, Susan Hussey, resigned. Charles, 74, has on many occasions spoken about how much he values diversity in modern, multicultural Britain. He has paid tribute to Britain’s “Windrush generation” — the West Indians, like White’s great-grandparents, who helped rebuild Britain after World War II. In 2021, Charles won praise for acknowledging “the darkest days of our past” and the stain of slavery. More recently, the monarch expressed for the first time his support for research into the links between the U.K. monarchy and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. “I think he’s definitely trying — maybe not in the best way or the fastest way, but from what I’ve seen, it’s kind of a step in the right way,” said Teigan Hastings, 17. But Hastings, a British Jamaican who plays the tuba alongside White, said that Meghan’s claims about how she was treated by her in-laws “opened up a bit of truth within the royal family.” “I guess it wasn’t totally unexpected, but at the same time you think there’d be some form of acceptance … and there hasn’t really been,” he said. “It’s like there’s nothing like us normal people can really do about it except hope for change.” The musicians say they hope that their vibrant blend of musical styles will help draw in the crowds, whatever they may think of Charles. Across the capital in Southall, known as “Little India” — the west London neighborhood is home to one of the largest Indian populations outside India — local politician Jasbir Kaur Anand said the area’s British Asians also plan to mark the coronation in their own way. About 6,000 tickets were snapped up for a coronation shindig complete with a huge television screen broadcasting the ceremony, funfair rides and bands playing Jewish, South American and gospel music, Anand said. She added that she will attend a street party organized by a group of local women that promises to feature “lots of Punjabi food, Punjabi dancing and singing.” Anand, whose family moved to Britain from Singapore when the city-state gained independence, said many immigrants of her generation feel gratitude to the U.K. monarchy for embracing them and giving them the opportunities to settle and prosper. Gulu Anand, who owns Southall’s Brilliant curry house and has cooked for Charles several times over the years when he visited the neighborhood, is one vocal supporter of Charles. Charles “actually listens to you,” he said, recalling the royal’s demeanor when he ate at his restaurant. “I think he is the people’s king.” But Janpal Basran, who heads local charity Southall Community Alliance, said that many communities in the area are from former colonies and “remember what it was like to be ruled by others.” “So they look at the monarchy, they remember all of the associated historical baggage, for want of a better word,” Basran said. “There will be people who will be thinking that the monarchy represents an institution which was repressive, discriminatory and violent. Is this something that we want to be supporting to the future?” Patrick Vernon, a Black activist campaigning for justice for scores of Caribbean migrants who lost their rights as U.K. citizens because of a legal loophole, said Charles could do so much more to show his subjects that the monarchy takes diversity seriously. He drew attention to a 2021 investigation by the Guardian newspaper that revealed the royal household is still exempt from equality laws preventing race and sex discrimination. “I think Charles could be in a unique position to start to actually influence that agenda,” he said. “It’s important to demonstrate change, demonstrate that there’s a clear marker that we’re different, that we’re moving towards the 21st century.”

Russia launched its second large salvo of missiles at Ukraine in recent days early Monday, damaging buildings and wounding at least 34 people in the eastern city of Pavlohrad but failing to hit Kyiv, officials said. Air raid sirens began blaring across the capital at about 3:45 a.m., followed by the sounds of explosions as missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian defense systems. Eighteen cruise missiles were fired in total from the Murmansk region and the Caspian region, and 15 of them were intercepted, said Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi. The head of Kyiv’s city administration, Serhii Popko, said all missiles fired at the city were shot down, as well as some drones. He didn’t provide further details, but said more information would be available later. The attack follows Friday’s launch of more than 20 cruise missiles and two explosive drones at Ukraine, which was the first to target Kyiv in nearly two months. In that attack, Russian missiles hit an apartment building in Uman, a city about 215 kilometers (135 miles) south of Kyiv, killing 21 people including three children. In Monday’s attack, missiles hit Pavlohrad, in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, wounding 34 people, including five children, according to Serhii Lysak, the region’s top official. Seven missiles shot at the city and “some were intercepted” but others hit an industrial facility, sparking a fire, and a residential neighborhood where 19 apartment buildings, 25 homes, six schools and five shops were damaged, he said. Missiles also hit three other areas in the region, damaging residential buildings and a school, he said. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Monday that Russia conducted “a group missile strike with long-range precision-guided airborne and seaborne weapons on facilities of Ukraine’s defense industry ... all designated facilities were struck.” The attacks also damaged Ukraine’s power network infrastructure, which will take several days to repair, according to Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko. He said that nearly 20,000 people in the city of Kherson and wider region had been left without power, along with an unspecified number of people in the Dnipropetrovsk region, including the city of Dnipro. Moscow has frequently launched long-range missile attacks during the 14-month war, often indiscriminately hitting civilian areas. Ukraine has recently taken delivery of American-made Patriot missiles, providing improved anti-missile defenses, but it was not clear whether any of them were employed in trying to stop Monday morning’s attack. Ukraine has also been building up its mechanized brigades with armor supplied by its Western allies, who have also been training Ukrainian troops and sending ammunition, as Kyiv prepares for an expected counteroffensive this spring. On Saturday, two Ukrainian drones hit a Russian oil depot in Crimea in the latest attack on the annexed peninsula. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview last week that his country would seek to reclaim the peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, in the upcoming counteroffensive. In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defense. Troops from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group and other forces are fighting Ukrainian troops house-to-house to try and gain control of what has become known as the “road of life” — the last remaining road west still in Ukrainian hands, which makes it critical for supplies and fresh troops. Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukrainian ground forces, said that Russia continued to exert “maximum effort” to take the city but that it so far had failed. “In some parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions,” he said. In Russia’s Bryansk region, which borders northern Ukraine, a freight train was derailed by an explosive device, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said. There were no immediate indications of who set off the explosive, but Bryansk has suffered sporadic cross-border shelling during the war and in March two people were reported killed in what Bryansk officials said was an incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs.  

A massive fire erupted at an oil depot in Crimea after it was hit by two of Ukraine's drones, a Russia-appointed official there reported Saturday, the latest in a series of attacks on the annexed peninsula as Russia braces for an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, a port city in Crimea, posted videos and photos of the blaze on his Telegram channel. Razvozhayev said the fire at the city's harbor was assigned the highest ranking in terms of how complicated it will be to extinguish. However, he reported that the open blaze had been contained. Razvozhayev said the oil depot was attacked by “two enemy drones," and four oil tanks burned down. A third drone was shot down from the sky, and one more was deactivated through radio-electronic means, according to Crimea's Moscow-appointed governor, Sergei Aksyonov. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world considered illegal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview this week that his country will seeking to reclaim the peninsula in the upcoming counteroffensive. Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Crimea last month to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula’s annexation from Ukraine. Putin's visit took place the day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader accusing him of war crimes. The attack reported in Sevastopol comes a day after Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles and two drones at Ukraine, killing at least 23 people. Almost all of the victims died when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in the city of Uman, located in central Ukraine. Six children were among the dead, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said Saturday, adding that 22 of the 23 bodies recovered have been identified. Two women remained missing, Klymenko said. Russian forces launched more drones at Ukraine overnight. Ukraine's Air Force Command said two Iranian-made self-exploding Shahed drones were intercepted, and a reconnaissance drone was shot down on Saturday morning. Razvozhayev said the oil depot fire did not cause any casualties and would not hinder fuel supplies in Sevastopol. The city has been subject to regular attack attempts with drones, especially in recent weeks. Earlier this week, Razvozhayev reported that the Russian military destroyed a Ukrainian sea drone that attempted to attack the harbor and another one blew up, shattering windows in several apartment buildings, but not inflicting any other damage. Ukraine's military intelligence spokesperson, Andriy Yusov, told the RBC Ukraine news site on Saturday that the oil depot fire was “God's punishment” for “the murdered civilians in Uman, including five children.” He said that more than 10 tanks containing oil products for Russia's Black Sea Fleet were destroyed in Sevastopol, but stopped short of acknowledging Ukraine's responsibility for a drone attack. The difference between the number of tanks Yusov and Razvozhayev gave could not be immediately reconciled. After previous attacks on Crimea, Kyiv also wouldn't openly claim responsibility, but emphasized that the country had the right to strike any target in response to Russian aggression. Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Nova Kakhovka, according to Moscow-installed authorities in the Russian-occupied part of southern Ukraine's Kherson province. “Severe artillery fire” cut off power in the city, the officials said. The Ukrainian-controlled part of the province also came under fire on Saturday. Russian shelling in the area of the village of Bilozerka killed one person and wounded another, according to the Kherson prosecutor’s office.

Russia fired more than a dozen cruise missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine early Friday, killing at least two people in an eastern city and striking a residential building in central Ukraine, officials said. Air raid sirens sounded around the capital in the first attack against the city in nearly two months and Ukraine's air force intercepted 11 cruise missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles over Kyiv, according to the Kyiv City Administration. There were no immediate reports of any successful strikes in Kyiv but fragments from intercepted missiles or drones damaged power lines and a road in one neighborhood. No casualties were reported. But a young woman and her 3-year-old child were killed in the eastern city of Dnipro in another attack, according to the city's Mayor Borys Filatov in a Facebook post. He said more details would be provided later. Two cruise missiles also hit a residential building and storage facilities in Uman, around 215 kilometers (134 miles) south of Kyiv, said Ihor Taburets, the regional governor of Cherkasy, the region where the city is located. Five people were wounded in Uman, he added, and all were hospitalized. Cherkasy added that emergency service workers were at the site and didn't provide any more details on the casualties. Local media shared footage and photos from the multi-story building that caught fire with several floors destroyed. In Kyiv, the anti-aircraft system was activated, according to the Kyiv City Administration. Air raid sirens stopped just before dawn. The attack was the first on the capital since March 9. The missiles were fired from "strategic aviation," according to the Kyiv City Administration, which didn't provide further details. The attacks came as NATO announced that its allies and partner countries have delivered more than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine during Russia's invasion and war, strengthening Kyiv's capabilities as it contemplates launching a counteroffensive. Along with more than 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment, Ukraine's allies have sent "vast amounts of ammunition" and trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian brigades, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. More than 30,000 troops are estimated to make up the new brigades. Some NATO partner countries, such as Sweden and Australia, have also provided armored vehicles. "This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels. The overnight attacks and comments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a "long and meaningful" phone call on Wednesday in their first known contact since Russia's full-scale invasion more than a year ago. Though Zelenskyy said he was encouraged by Wednesday's call and Western officials welcomed Xi's move, it didn't appear to improve peace prospects. Russia and Ukraine are far apart in their terms for peace, and Beijing — while looking to position itself as a global diplomatic power — has refused to criticize Moscow's invasion. The Chinese government sees Russia as a diplomatic ally in opposing U.S. influence in global affairs, and Xi visited Moscow last month.  

NATO allies and partner countries have delivered more than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine during Russia's invasion and war, the military alliance's chief said Thursday, giving Kyiv a bigger punch as it contemplates launching a counteroffensive. Along with more than 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment, Ukraine's allies have sent "vast amounts of ammunition" and also trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian brigades, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. More than 30,000 troops are estimated to make up the new brigades. Some NATO partner countries, such as Sweden and Australia, have also provided armored vehicles. "This will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels. His comments came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a "long and meaningful" phone call in their first known contact since Russia's full-scale invasion more than a year ago. Though Zelenskyy said he was encouraged by Wednesday's call and Western officials welcomed Xi's move, it didn't appear to improve peace prospects. Russia and Ukraine are far apart in their terms for peace, and Beijing — while looking to position itself as a global diplomatic power — has refused to criticize Moscow's invasion. The Chinese government sees Russia as a diplomatic ally in opposing U.S. influence in global affairs, and Xi visited Moscow last month. Stoltenberg said the 31 NATO allies were committed to shoring up Ukraine's military, adding that taking back land the Kremlin's forces occupied would give Kyiv a stronger negotiating position if peace talks occur. Ukrainian officials said China's overture was encouraging. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday described the call between Xi and Zelenskyy as "very productive." "I'm convinced it is a good beginning for our relations in the future," Shmyhal said after visiting Pope Francis at the Vatican. But the Kremlin's response was lukewarm. Asked if the call could help end the fighting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "We are ready to welcome anything that could lead to the termination of the conflict in Ukraine and the achievement of all the goals set by Russia." Peskov said the conversation between the Chinese and Ukrainian leaders was "the sovereign business of those countries and the issue of their bilateral dialogue." With battlefield positions in Ukraine largely static in what's become a war of attrition, Russian forces have kept up their bombardment of Ukrainian areas, often hitting apartment buildings and other civilian infrastructure. At least seven civilians were killed and 33 were injured between Wednesday and Thursday, Ukraine's presidential office said Thursday. They included one person killed and 23 wounded, including a child, when four Kalibr cruise missiles hit the southern city of Mykolaiv, a regional official said. The governor of Mykolaiv province, Vitalii Kim, said 22 multi-story buildings, 12 private houses and other residential buildings were damaged. Kalibr missiles are launched from ships or submarines, The ones that hit Mykolaiv were fired from the Black Sea, according to Ukraine's Operational Command South.  

Chinese leader Xi Jinping appealed for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in a phone call Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warning "there is no winner in a nuclear war," state media said, in a long-anticipated conversation after Beijing said it wanted to act as peace mediator. Xi's government will send a "special representative" to Ukraine for talks about a possible "political settlement," said a government statement reported by state TV. China has tried to appear neutral in the war but refused to criticize Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement before the February 2020 invasion saying their governments had a "no limits friendship." Xi's government released a peace proposal in February and called for a cease-fire and talks. "Negotiation is the only viable way out," state TV said in a report on Xi's comments to Zelenskyy. "There is no winner in a nuclear war," the report said. "All parties concerned should remain calm and restrained in dealing with the nuclear issue and truly look at the future and destiny of themselves and humanity as a whole and work together to manage the crisis."  

The graves are dug in the morning. Four plots, each two meters deep in the section of a cemetery in a central Ukrainian city devoted to the nation’s fallen soldiers. The day begins for Oleh Itsenko, 29, and Andrii Kuznetsov, 23, shortly after dawn, when the two diggers report for the grueling work. A day in their lives tells the story of Ukraine’s mounting war dead. They won’t be finished until sunset. With a tractor equipped with an earth auger they bore into the ground. Armed with shovels, they go about carving out perfect rectangles with precision, the final resting place for the country’s soldiers killed in fierce battles on Ukraine’s eastern front. There will be four funerals today in the main cemetery of Kryvyi Rih, an iron-mining city 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the capital, Kyiv. Also Read: UN chief, representatives of the West berate Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov over Ukraine war “It’s hard,” says Itsenko, a former metal worker. “But someone’s got to do it.” In Ukraine, even the business of death has become routine as funerals are held for soldiers across the country almost every day, at times multiple times a day. The war’s death toll is kept a closely guarded secret by government and military officials, but it can be measured in other ways: through the long working hours of the two young men, the repetitive rhythm of shovels and spades scooping up soil, the daily processions of weeping mourners. Western officials estimate there have been at least 100,000 Ukrainians soldiers killed or wounded since Russia’s full-scale invasion began last year. Estimates for Moscow’s war dead and wounded are double that as Ukrainian military officials report Russia is using wave tactics to exhaust resources and deplete their morale. Many soldiers have died fighting in Bakhmut, in what has become the war’s longest battle, and among the deadliest. Ukrainian forces in the city are surrounded from three directions by advancing Russian invaders, and are determined to hold on to the city to deprive Moscow of any territorial victories. In the process many Ukrainian servicemen have died. Also Read: NATO head defiantly says Ukraine belongs in alliance one day At 11 a.m., when the first coffin arrives, the two men lean back, exhausted, under the late morning sun. Shovels to the side, they peer from under baseball caps as the familiar scene, now a routine, unfolds. The family of Andrii Vorobiov, 51, weep as they enter the premises. Dozens more mourners arrive in buses. The deceased’s fellow servicemen weep as the coffin, draped in the yellow and blue of the national flag, is placed on the gravel. Vorobiov died in an aerial bomb attack in Bakmut, leaving behind three children. When the priest is done reciting the funeral rites, Vorobiov’s wife throws her hands over his coffin and wails. His daughter holds his medals, won for acts of bravery in the battlefield. “I won’t see you again,” she screams. “You won’t come to breakfast. I can’t bear it!” Between tears and screams, Itsenko and Kuznetsov wait for the last handful of dirt to be tossed onto the lowered coffin. Then they can begin the work of filling Vorobiov’s grave. The outpouring of grief is normal, Kuznetsov said. He isn’t affected most of the time because they are strangers. But once, he was asked to help carry the coffin because there weren’t enough pallbearers. He couldn’t hold back his anguish in the middle of that crowd. He didn’t even know the guy, he reflected. Kuznetsov never imagined he would be a gravedigger. He has a university degree in Technology. A good degree, he was told by his teachers. “If it’s so good then why am I doing this?” he asked, panting as he shoveled dirt into Vorobiov’s grave. There were no jobs, and he needed the money, he said finally. Itsenko lost his job when the war broke out, and learned the local cemetery needed diggers. Without any options, he didn’t need to think twice. It is 1:30 p.m. While the two young men are still working to fill the first grave, another funeral is starting. The family of Andrii Romanenko, 31, erects a tent to protect the coffin from the afternoon sun. The priest reads the rites and the wailing starts again. Romanenko died when he was hit by a mortar defending the city of Bakhmut. A fellow servicemen, Valery, says they had served together in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk but parted ways in December. “He went too soon,” says Valery, sighing deeply. He speaks on the condition his last name be withheld, citing Ukrainian military protocols for active soldiers. As mourners bid their last farewell and toss earth into Romanenko’s grave, Itsenko and Kuznetsov still have not finished filling the first. “Got to hurry,” says Itsenko, wiping the sweat from his brow. There will be two more funerals in the next hour. And tomorrow, there will be another three funerals. Neither man can afford to stop. “What we are doing is for the greater good,” Itsenko says. “Our heroes deserve a proper resting place.” But he, his family’s only breadwinner, wouldn’t want to be fighting alongside them. “It’s better here,” he says, patting Vorobiov’s grave with his shovel. Kuznetsov plunges the cross into the earth, the last step before the flowers are laid. One done, three more to go.