Ukraine Daily

Tuesday, 19 April 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

A five-story residential building destroyed by Russian bombardment in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, as seen on April 10. (AFP/Getty Images)

General Staff reports beginning of Russia’s offensive in the east. According to Ukraine’s military, Russian forces stepped up offensive and assault operations in several directions in the east of Ukraine. Russia continues to form additional military units in occupied Crimea and in the bordering Rostov Oblast. The units are expected to be fully formed by April 24.

Mariupol Mayor: Russian forces illegally deport 40,000 civilians from Mariupol. Mayor Vadym Boichenko said in an interview on Ukrainian television that the civilians have been “forcibly deported” to Russia or to Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine. Boichenko stated that the numbers have been “verified through the municipal register,” although they have yet to be independently verified, BBC reported.

Russia strikes Ukraine with ‘most intensive missile attacks’ in weeks, Borrell says. The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, said in a statement on April 18 that regions and cities in Ukraine, notably Luhansk Oblast and Kharkiv, “continue to be attacked indiscriminately.” Borrell also declared the EU’s support for the work of the International Criminal Court, noting that “there can be no impunity for war crimes.”

Belarusian senior official threatens Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia in response to their military power increase. Belarusian Security Council Secretary Alexander Volfovich said that Poland, Lithuania and Latvia will suffer from “destruction, death, and explosions” if they attack Belarus.

Center for Countering Disinformation: Russian occupiers promise compensation for destroyed homes in Mariupol to persuade residents to cooperate. According to the center, Russian forces promised to provide compensation in rubles only to Ukrainians who agree to receive Russian identification documents. Those that comply will then be forced to renounce their Ukrainian citizenship. Similar schemes by Russian forces were reported in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts following their occupation in 2014.

Ukrainian authorities warn Russia may be preparing attacks on churches on Orthodox Easter Day. Russian media outlets have published disinformation that Ukrainian forces are planning to shell Orthodox churches in several Ukrainian regions on Orthodox Easter, or April 24. Ukraine’s Security and Defense Council’s Center for Counteracting Disinformation has warned that these messages may indicate that Russia will carry out such attacks themselves in order to frame Ukrainian forces.

SBU publishes video of pro-Kremlin politician Medvedchuk asking to be exchanged for Mariupol residents, defenders. In a video published by Ukraine’s Security Service, Viktor Medvedchuk asks Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring him to Russia in return for safe passage to residents in besieged Mariupol, as well as the Ukrainian soldiers defending the city. Putin’s ally, Medvedchuk, was recaptured on April 12 after he escaped from house arrest in late February.

State Border Guard Service: Over a million people return to Ukraine since Feb. 24. Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, told Ukrainska Pravda that on April 16, for the first time since the start of Russia’s full-scale war, more people entered Ukraine than left.

UK Defense Intelligence: Mariupol resistance slowing Russia’s advance elsewhere. According to the latest update by the U.K. Defense Ministry, concerted Ukrainian resistance has severely tested Russian forces and diverted men and material. Yet, the Russian effort to capture Mariupol has come at a major cost to its residents as the population suffered significant casualties while large areas of infrastructure have been destroyed.

No humanitarian corridors two days in a row. Russian troops did not agree to a Ukrainian ceasefire proposal along several evacuation routes, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

Pentagon: ‘Russia adds 11 battalion tactical groups in Ukraine.’ In a statement on April 18, a senior U.S. defense official confirmed that there are now 76 Russian battalion tactical groups in the Donbas region and in southeast Ukraine (up from 65 last week). Besides those, there are about 22 groups north of Ukraine that are likely being resupplied and refitted, the official said.

Zelensky: Russia unlikely to replenish missile arsenal amid sanctions. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that, as a result of imposed Western sanctions, it will be extremely difficult for Russia to replenish its defense arsenal, including missiles, artillery, aircraft, helicopters, and cruisers. He said that, as Russia continues to attack Ukraine, it is “self-demilitirizing.”

Zaporizhzhia Oblast administration: 69 civilians in Russian captivity. According to the administration, as of April 18, Russian forces abducted a total of 155 residents in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, 86 of which have been released. The kidnapped civilians include local officials, entrepreneurs, three lawyers, two journalists, and one child.

Azov commander urges world leaders to arrange evacuation corridor for civilians hiding at Azovstal plant in Mariupol. According to Denys Prokopenko, the commander of the regiment, there are hundreds of people, including women, children, and families of the Mariupol defenders sheltering in the plant’s basement.

Zelensky: Ukraine ‘prepared to use any type of equipment.’ In an interview with CNN on April 15, President Volodymyr Zelensky countered concerns by U.S. and NATO officials that Ukraine’s military would require substantial training prior to acquiring advanced weapons from other countries. Zelensky instead emphasized that military equipment “needs to come fast.”

Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine repel 7 Russian attacks. According to Ukraine’s military, the following Russian equipment was lost: 18 armored fighting vehicles, ten tanks, eight trucks, four UAVs, and a SU-30 fighter jet.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories

Kharkiv Oblast resident forcibly deported to Russia: ‘It’s not a country, it’s a prison.’ Ukrainian farmer Ihor escaped the “living hell” of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine in late March after he had spent a month in his occupied village in Kharkiv Oblast. But instead of being evacuated to a safe place, he was brought to yet another “nightmare” — Russia itself. Read our story here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

UN: 4,890 civilian casualties in Ukraine due to Russia’s war. The UN’s human rights agency said in an update on April 18 that 2,072 civilians have been killed and 2,818 injured since February 24. Most casualties were reportedly caused by “explosive weapons with a wide impact area,” such as heavy artillery shelling and airstrikes.

Ukraine’s Police: Russian military kills 269 people in Irpin. Serhiy Pantelieiev, deputy head of the National Police’s investigation department, reported the discovery of seven places of execution in Irpin, a city northwest of Kyiv that endured heavy fighting and was temporarily occupied by Russian forces.

Russian landing ship commander killed in Ukraine. Alexander Chirva, Russia’s 3rd rank captain and commander of the large Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov, was killed in battle by Ukrainian forces, Ukrainska Pravda reported on April 18, citing Russian government-controlled media Kryminform. Although the circumstances of Chirva’s death are unknown, earlier on March 24, Ukraine’s General Staff reported that the Caesar Kunikov was damaged by a Ukrainian attack near the port city of Berdyansk.

Russian forces shell Kharkiv, kill two civilians. Russian forces shelled Kharkiv’s Osnovianskyi District at around 11:50 a.m. on April 18. “The shells fell on the playgrounds near residential buildings,” Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported. The attack killed two civilians and damaged several residential buildings.

Russia shells nine settlements in Donetsk Oblast over 24 hours, killing two civilians. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, an additional nine people were injured. At least 20 civilian facilities were damaged, including residential buildings, railway infrastructure, and a stadium.

Nine killed, 25 wounded in Kharkiv Oblast over past 24 hours. The Kharkiv Oblast Council reported that Russia heavily shelled residential areas in Kharkiv, resulting in 24 people injured, and six dead. An additional two were killed and one injured in Derhachi, and one person was killed near Zolochiv.

General Staff: Russia has lost 20,600 troops in Ukraine. Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported that Russia also lost 790 tanks, 2,041 armored personnel carriers, 1,487 vehicles, 381 artillery systems, 130 multiple launch rocket systems, 67 anti-aircraft defense systems, 147 helicopters, 167 aircraft, 76 fuel tanks, 155 UAVs, and eight boats.

Luhansk Oblast Governor: Two people dead due to Russian shelling, Olympus sports complex burns down. According to Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai, Russian forces fired on Zolote, killing at least two people and injuring four. In addition, Russian forces hit the recently rebuilt sports complex “Olympus,” which was used to train representatives of Ukraine’s Olympic team. In total, at least 15 residential buildings caught fire in the region after Russian shelling, Haidai said.

Death toll rises to seven in Russia’s attack on Lviv; 11 injured. Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said that the number of victims might increase as rescuers continue to clear the debris. According to Kozytskyi, Russia shot four missiles at warehouses that are not currently being used by the military. Another missile hit a car repair shop, which Kozytskyi calls a “barbaric strike” on a civilian site.

International response

CNN: US looking at possibility of labeling Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. The U.S. is considering all options to hold Russia responsible for its actions in Ukraine, including the possibility of labeling Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, a senior U.S. administration official confirmed. Only four other countries currently hold the title: Syria, North Korea, Cuba, and Iran.

Foreign diplomats resume operations in Kyiv. Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that 16 countries have resumed work in the capital. This includes France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, the Vatican, Moldova, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the EU’s diplomatic delegation to Ukraine.

Czech Republic delivers 12 tons of humanitarian aid to Vinnytsia. In an update on April 18, Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration said that the aid, which was sent from Czech’s Liberec region, consisted mainly of food, water, clothes, hygiene products, warm blankets, and medicine.

Italian parliament approves arms deliveries to Ukraine. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who was quoted byCorriere della Sera newspaper on April 18, said that the “terms of the issue are clear: on one hand, there are the people who were attacked, on the other hand – the army of the aggressor.” Draghi added that: “To not do so would be tantamount to telling them [Ukrainians]: surrender, accept slavery and subjugation – a message that runs counter to our European values of solidarity.”

Reuters: US to train Ukrainian soldiers to use howitzers, radar. Citing a senior U.S. defense official, Reuters reported that U.S. military experts will train Ukrainians on using weapons from a recent batch of assistance it has provided to Kyiv. The training will take place outside Ukraine.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Daria Shulzhenko, Thaisa Semenova, Natalia Datskevych, Sergiy Slipchenko, Teah Pelechaty, Olena Goncharova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olga Rudenko, Toma Istomina and Brad LaFoy.

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