Ukranian authorities on April 19 said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces were increasing assaults in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions — both of which are part of the Donbas — as well as in the area of Zaporizhzhia.
Russia also bombarded the relative safe haven of Lviv and a multitude of other targets across Ukraine in what appeared to be an intensified bid to grind down the country’s defenses.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has formally submitted Ukraine’s answers to a questionnaire from the European Union, the first step in his campaign to obtain accelerated EU membership.
The conflict began escalating on February 21, 2022, after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and deployed troops in a peacekeeping role.
Read | India can criticise Russia’s Ukraine invasion
Here are the latest updates:
Russia pours in more troops and presses attack in the east
Russia assaulted cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long and poured more troops into Ukraine on Tuesday in a potentially pivotal battle for control of the country’s eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.
If successful, the Russian offensive in what is known as the Donbas would essentially slice Ukraine in two and give President Vladimir Putin a badly needed victory after the failed attempt by Moscow’s forces to storm the capital, Kyiv, and heavier-than-expected casualties nearly two months into the war.
The cities of Kharkiv and Kramatorsk came under deadly attack, and Russia also said it struck areas around Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro west of the Donbas with missiles.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said air-launched missiles destroyed 13 Ukrainian troop and weapons locations, while the air force struck 60 other Ukrainian military facilities, including missile warhead storage depots.
Russian artillery hit nearly 1,300 Ukrainian military facilities and over 1,200 troop concentrations over the past 24 hours, Konashenkov said. The claims could not be independently verified.—AP
Over 100,000 people stuck in Mariupol, need advanced weapons: Ukraine envoy
In many cases, allegedly the most advanced weapons were destroyed by primitive Ukrainian weapons, Igor Polikha, Ukrainian envoy to India, said at a photo and art exhibition put up at his country’s embassy showcasing the civilian deaths and destruction in the ongoing war and continued Russian bombing. As Russia renewed attacks on capital Kyiv, the envoy said they do not yet have a definitive count of the civilian deaths in the region. - Dinaker Peri
Russia says opening corridor for Ukrainian troops in Mariupol
Moscow said Tuesday that Russian forces had opened a humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian troops who agreed to lay down their arms to leave the embattled city of Mariupol.
Some of the heaviest fighting of the Russian military campaign has focused around the strategic Sea of Azov port city.
"The Russian armed forces opened a humanitarian corridor for the withdrawal of Ukrainian military personnel who voluntarily laid down their arms and militants of nationalist formations," the defence ministry said, adding the safe corridor was opened at 2:00 p.m. (1100 GMT).
To that end, Russian forces and troops of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic "halted any military activity" around the Azovstal steelworks plant, Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defence Control Centre, said in a statement.
The ministry said the decision was made taking into account the "catastrophic situation" at the plant and "purely humanitarian principles".
Humanitarian convoys have been deployed in "three directions" that include buses, cars and ambulances to transport and treat people.
Temporary accommodation and first aid facilities have also been set up, the ministry said.
Moscow urged Kyiv authorities to put pressure on the military "to stop the senseless resistance".
"But realising that the commanders of Ukrainian units may not receive such orders and commands from the Kyiv authorities, we urge them to make such a decision on their own and to lay down their arms," the ministry said.
Mariupol offers a land bridge between Moscow-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine and the Kremlin-annexed peninsula of Crimea. - AFP
Russia expelling 36 European diplomats: foreign ministry
Russia said on Tuesday it was expelling 36 diplomats from two European countries in retaliation for similar measures taken against Moscow’s foreign envoys over the Kremlin’s military operation in Ukraine.
The Russian foreign ministry said it had declared 21 diplomats from Belgium and 15 from the Netherlands “persona non grata”, giving them two weeks to leave.
Moscow also summoned Luxembourg’s envoy, warning him that Russia may decide to take reciprocal measures for the tiny European state’s expulsion of Moscow’s ambassador. - AFP
Russia urges Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to ‘immediately lay down arms’
Russia on April 19 called on Ukrainian forces to “immediately” lay down arms and issued a new ultimatum for the defenders of the besieged port city of Mariupol to give up their resistance.
The Russian Defence Ministry’s warning came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced late on Monday the start of a new offensive by Moscow, focused on the east of the former Soviet state.
“We once again call on the Kyiv authorities to show reason and give the corresponding orders to fighters to cease their senseless resistance,” the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
“But, understanding that they will not get such instructions and orders from the Kyiv authorities, we call on [the fighters] to voluntarily take this decision and to lay down their arms.”
The statement made no direct mention of a new ground offensive in eastern Ukraine.
But it warned that Moscow had “real-time proof about terrible new crimes being prepared by the Kyiv regime”.
The Defence Ministry added that Ukrainian fighters resisting the advancing Russian forces in the Sea of Azov port of Mariupol were in a “catastrophic situation”.
“The Russian armed forces once again offer the nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries a chance to stop all military activity and to lay down their arms, starting at noon,” it said.
“Everyone who lays down their arms will be guaranteed survival.”
Russia restricts access to Human Rights Watch website - TASS cites regulator
Russia’s communications regulator has restricted access to the website of New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW), state news agency TASS reported on Tuesday, citing the regulator.
The move was related to the publication by HRW of what Roskomnadzor, the watchdog, deemed was false information about the behaviour of Russia’s military in Ukraine, TASS reported.-Reuters
Russia says U.N. chief has not tried to contact Putin since start of military operation in Ukraine
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has not tried to get in touch with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.
“No one has been in touch, neither through the Permanent Mission of Russia to the U.N., nor directly with the Foreign Ministry,” Zakharova said.-Reuters
Greece seizes Russian tanker as part of EU sanctions
Greece on Tuesday seized a crude oil Russian tanker off the island of Evia as part of European Union sanctions against Russia, a Greek shipping ministry official said.
The Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, was seized near the coastal city of Karystos in Evia.
“It has been seized as part of EU sanctions,” a shipping ministry official said.
A coastguard official said the vessel had been seized, but not its oil cargo.-Reuters
China-Russia cooperation is ‘resilient’, says senior Chinese diplomat
China told Russia it will continue to increase “strategic coordination” with it regardless of international volatility, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng gave this assurance to Russian ambassador to China, Andrey Denisov, on Monday, the statement said.
Le cited the almost 30% increase in China-Russia trade in the first three months of this year as evidence of “resilience and endogenous power” of the cooperation between the two countries, according to the statement.
Both men also discussed Ukraine.
China has refrained from condemning Russia over Ukraine, where the United Nations has said there have been more than 2,000 civilian deaths since war started on Feb. 24.-Reuters
Russia says struck 1,260 targets in Ukraine overnight
Russian missile and artillery forces struck 1,260 targets in Ukraine overnight, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday.
Russian anti-aircraft forces downed a Ukrainian MiG-29 jet in the Donetsk region, the ministry said.-Reuters
A train travelling from Dnipro passes by the area where emergency workers clear up debris after an airstrike hit a tire shop in the western city of Lviv, Ukraine on April 18, 2022. | Photo Credit: AP
Fiji moves to seize Russian superyacht
Fijian authorities on Tuesday applied to block a superyacht reportedly owned by a Russian oligarch from leaving its waters, as the United States moved to seize it.
The yacht has been linked in some reports to oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who is a target of US and European Union sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Fiji’s director of public prosecutions filed an application with the island nation’s High Court seeking to hold the motor yacht Amadea, which berthed in Lautoka last week.
It asked for the Amadea to be “restrained from leaving Fijian waters” while warrants to seize the property by local and US authorities were being prepared.-AFP
Ukraine says no civilian evacuations for third day
Ukraine said Tuesday there would be no humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians in the country for a third consecutive day because there has been no agreement with Russia.
Ukrainian officials say Russia has launched a major offensive into the eastern Donbas region, opening a new phase of its invasion after being thwarted in efforts to capture the capital, Kyiv.
“Today, April 19, there will unfortunately be no humanitarian corridor,” Ukaine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram.
“The intense bombardment of Donbas is continuing.”
Vereshchuk said that “the Russians refuse to open a corridor” to evacuate civilians from the besieged port city of Mariupol towards Berdyansk.
“We’re continuing the difficult negotiations for humanitarian corridors in the Kherson and Kharkiv regions”, in the south and east respectively, she added.-AFP
Russia launches fight for industrial heartland, Ukraine says
After days of regrouping and reinforcing, the Russian military began a new and potentially climactic phase of the war in Ukraine by launching its long-feared, full-scale ground offensive to take control of the country’s industrial heartland, the Donbas, Ukrainian officials said.
The stepped-up assaults began Monday along a broad front of over 300 miles (480 kilometers), Ukrainian officials said.
“The Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in a video address. He said a “significant part of the entire Russian army is now concentrated on this offensive.”
Yellen to see Ukraine PM, avoid Russians at global meetings
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during this week’s big meetings of global economic leaders in Washington — but she’ll be trying to avoid most contact with Russian officials who plan to attend some portions of the event virtually.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine — and how world powers should manage the spillover effects on economies, including food insecurity — will take center stage at the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Russian official says Ukraine strikes village near border, one wounded
Ukrainian forces have struck a village near Russia’s border with Ukraine, wounding one resident, the governor of the Russian province of Belgorod said on Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear whether the strike on the village of Golovchino that figured in posts by governor Vyacheslav Gladkov on messaging app Telegram was carried out by artillery, mortars, missiles or was an aerial attack.
This month, Russia accused Ukraine, which it invaded in late February, of a helicopter attack on a fuel depot in Belgorod, as well as of shelling villages there several times, and firing missiles at an ammunition depot.-Reuters
UN to debate move to limit veto power of Security Council permanent members
Liechtenstein is to convene the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to debate a draft resolution—backed by Washington—requiring the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of the veto.
An old idea aimed at making Security Council permanent members cut back use of their veto powers, it has been revived by Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow’s veto power has allowed it to paralyze action in the Security Council, which is supposed to intervene in such conflicts as guarantor of global peace, as defined by the Charter of the United Nations.-AFP
Russians fight in streets of Ukrainian town
A Ukrainian military official said street battles have begun and evacuation is impossible in the town of Kreminna. That’s one of only two spots where the Ukrainians said the Russians managed to break through on Monday along a front stretching for hundreds of miles.
Luhansk regional military administrator Serhiy Haidai said the town came under heavy artillery overnight, setting seven residential buildings on fire, and that the Olympus sports complex where the nation’s Olympic team trains was targeted.
Haidai later said on Ukrainian TV that Russians took control of the city after “leveling everything to the ground,” so his guys retreated to regroup and keep on fighting. “It simply makes no sense to stand in one place, to die for everyone, without causing significant damage to the enemy,” he said.-AP
Biden to hold call with allies on Tuesday over Ukraine invasion
U.S. President Joe Biden will on Tuesday hold a call with allies to discuss the Ukraine crisis, including on how to coordinate on holding Russia accountable, the White House said.
“The President will convene a secure video call with allies and partners to discuss our continued support for Ukraine and efforts to hold Russia accountable as part of our close coordination,” it said in a statement.-Reuters
UN seeks humanitarian contact group for Ukraine
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths announced Monday that he will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey this week to push for the creation of a “humanitarian contact group” involving Ukraine and Russia.
Such a group would “meet convened by the UN to discuss on a virtual or actual basis at any time to discuss humanitarian issues,” Griffiths told reporters in New York.
That could include ceasefire monitoring, safe passage, humanitarian corridors or other issues between the two warring sides, he said.
Griffiths did not say when he would meet Erdogan, but initially said he planned to arrive in Turkey on Wednesday and leave Thursday.-AFP
Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine has begun, says Zelensky
Russia launched its long-feared, full-scale offensive to take control of Ukraine's east, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Monday.
“Now we can already state that the Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time," he said in a video address. Zelensky said a "significant part of the entire Russian army is now concentrated on this offensive.”
Russian forces capture Kreminna in east Ukraine: Kyiv
Russian troops on Monday captured the east Ukraine town of Kreminna, local authorities said, as Kyiv's armed forces launched salvoes on Russian forces in the nearby settlement of Rubizhne.
"There was a major attack in the night" from Sunday to Monday in Kreminna, the Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a statement on social media.
Ukraine shows video of detained Putin ally calling for Mariupol swap
Ukraine on Monday aired a video showing Viktor Medvedchuk, a detained pro-Russia tycoon and ally of President Vladimir Putin, seeking to be exchanged in return for an evacuation of civilians and troops from the besieged port city of Mariupol.
Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukraine's unexpectedly fierce resistance since Russian troops invaded the former Soviet state and pro-democratic country on February 24.
