Elated Ukrainians celebrate liberation of town and give fruit to hero soldiers

dailystar.co.uk:

Ukrainian soldiers led by a tank paraded up the main thoroughfare of Nova Basan, Chernihiv Oblast, 45 miles east of Kyiv, to the adulation of villagers who thanked them and lavished them in gifts, including fruit.

The settlement had been under Russian command until yesterday (Thursday, March 31), when it was reportedly liberated. "Residents of Nova Basan, Chernihiv Oblast react in joy following liberation from Russian forces, trying to hand out fruits to soldiers," is the caption to a video of the moment that is circulating online.

Villagers shout: "We were waiting for you! Please take this!" stuffing the soldiers' hands full of fruit. One villager tells a soldier that their house, which contains two young children, was just hit by machine gun fire.

The troop tells the person that the unit will be back in the village "to get them."Ukraine also took back the settlements of Ploske, Svitlynia, and Hrebelky yesterday, reports suggested. "That Nova Basan pocket is what’s left of Russia’s effort to open up a second eastern front against Kyiv, in their spectacularly failed attempt to surround and capture the city," Daily Kos reported. To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.The news comes as a massive explosion in Russia which left two injured was apparently fired by Ukrainian forces, in what would mark the first serious attack on Putin's side of the border.Unconfirmed footage from two local Russian news outlets appears to show massive fireballs coming from ammunition blowing up at a suspected temporary army base near Belgorod in Russia.A source speaking to the Russian Tass news agency said a weapon had been fired from the Ukrainian side.