Donbas
Eleven ceasefire violations have been registered in Donbas since midnight, including nine cases of firing on the Ukrainian army's positions and two on civilian infrastructure. Separatists used banned 122-mm artillery, 82-mm mortars and small arms near Pisky and Vodyane, heavy machine guns near Shyrokyne, and mounted anti-tank grenade launchers near Nevelske.
One Ukrainian serviceman was deadly wounded.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited a front-line area in Donbas "to talk to military and support the defenders' combat spirit".
The United States is considering sending warships into the Black Sea in the next few weeks in a show of support for Ukraine amid Russia's increased military presence on Ukraine's eastern border, a US defence official told CNN Thursday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded in a phone call with President Vladimir Putin that Russia unwind its recent military build-up in the area around eastern Ukraine, the German government said in a statement on Thursday, Reuters has reported. "Among other things, the conversation was about the strengthened Russian military presence in the environs of East Ukraine," the statement read. "The Chancellor demanded that this build-up be unwound in order to de-escalate the situation."
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau has paid an urgent visit to Ukraine due to the threat of another Russian aggression.
Coronavirus
Ukraine reported 19,149 new Covid-19 cases after running 57,996 tests in 24 hours.
Ivano-Frankivsk Region will move back from the red to the yellow quarantine zone as of 9 April, chief sanitary doctor Viktor Lyashko has said on Ukrayina 24 TV. Transcarpathian Region is expected to follow suit shortly.
Strict quarantine restrictions in Lviv will be extended until 19 April.
Vaccination with Sinovac (China) will begin after 10 April, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov has told Ukrayina 24 TV. Two doses should be administered with an interval of 14-28 days.
Security
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has exposed a former member of the so-called state security ministry of the separatist Luhansk People's Republic who move to the government-controlled territory and found a job within the Interior Ministry's system.
Survey
Exclusive: A survey entitled "Environmental trends in Ukraine. Citizens' views" by Gorshenin Institute and the Representation of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Ukraine has found that Ukrainians consider high utility rates (56.8%), the armed conflict in the east (52.2%) and the Covid-19 pandemic (52.1%) to be their top three concerns.