Live blog: Ukraine military gets more aircraft as Russia pummels Donbass

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Pentagon: Ukraine receives fighter planes, parts to bolster air force

Ukraine has received fighter planes and aircraft parts to bolster its air force in the face of Russia's offensive, the Pentagon has said, declining to specify the number and type of aircraft or their origin.

Ukrainian forces "right now have available to them more fixed-wing fighter aircraft than they did two weeks ago," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

He noted the United States had "helped with the transshipment of some additional spare parts that have helped with their aircraft needs, but we have not transported the whole aircraft."

Biden 'to announce' another large military aid package for Ukraine

US President Joe Biden is expected to announce within the coming days another military aid package for Ukraine about the same size as the $800 million one announced last week, multiple sources familiar with the decision told the Reuters news agency.

One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a new package was expected in the coming days that would be roughly the size of the previous package but details were still being worked out.

Russia carries out dozens of air strikes in eastern Ukraine 

Russia has said its forces have carried out dozens of air strikes in eastern Ukraine as part of a new offensive in the Donbass region that had been expected for days.

Moscow says the strikes targeted Ukrainian positions in parts of the Donbass as well as in towns close to the eastern frontline.

"We are gradually implementing our plan to liberate the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu says, referring to eastern Ukraine's two rebel regions, which Moscow has recognised as independent states. 

Russian shelling increasing in Donbass – UK military

Russian shelling and strikes on the Donbass line of control continued to increase but Ukrainian forces managed to repel numerous attempted advances, a British military update said. 

"Russian shelling and strikes on the Donbass line of control continue to increase, with the Ukrainians repelling numerous attempted advances by Russian forces," it said. 

Fighting in Mariupol continues 

Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces is "ongoing" in the strategic port of Mariupol, Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, says.

Russia called on Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to "immediately" lay down their arms in a new ultimatum.

Russian forces are believed to have gradually pushed their way into the city, pinning Ukrainian troops down to giant factories near the port, which are equipped with vast underground tunnels.

US, allies to continue to assist Ukraine against Russia

The leaders of the US, European nations, Canada and Japan reiterated their commitment to continue to provide security, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine during a video call, according to the White House.

In a news conference ahead of US President Joe Biden's trip to the state of New Hampshire, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Biden convened the call to discuss ongoing efforts to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

"The leaders affirm their solidarity with Ukrainian people and condemn the humanitarian suffering caused by Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion," said Psaki.

Allies agree on imposing new sanctions on Russia

Allied leaders of countries including the US, Canada, and the EU agreed to impose new sanctions on Russia as hostilities in Ukraine continue, Italy announced.

"Broad consensus was expressed on the need to step up pressure on the Kremlin, including through the adoption of further sanctions, and to increase Moscow's international isolation," Prime Minister Mario Draghi's office said in a statement after a video conference between the leaders.

Up to 20,000 mercenaries in Ukraine: European official

Up to 20,000 mercenaries from the Russian private military company the Wagner Group as well as from Syria and Libya are fighting alongside Moscow's forces in Ukraine, a European official said.

"Regarding their capabilities, it's infantry. They don't have any heavy vehicles and weapons. It's much more infantry," the official told reporters in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"These guys are mainly used as a mass against Ukrainian resistance," the official said. 

Russia eyes construction of oil storage, exporting outlets

Russia is working on a plan to construct oil storage facilities and new exporting outlets, which would help it offset sanctions that have hampered its oil sales, officials said.

Russia has struggled with sales of its crude oil and oil products as sanctions over Ukraine have complicated financing of trade deals and hire vessels, while the United States introduced its ban on oil imports from Russia last month.

The restrictions have led to Russian oil production and exports decline.

Ukraine claims Russia using bunker-buster bombs on Azovstal plant

A Ukrainian presidential adviser said that Russia was hitting the Azovstal steel plant, the main remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the city of Mariupol, with bunker-buster bombs.

"The world watches the murder of children online and remains silent," adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

Mariupol's city council said on Monday that over 1,000 civilians were sheltering in basement premises underneath the Azovstal plant. 

UN chief seeks 4-day truce, denounces Russia offensive 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced Russia's fresh offensive in eastern Ukraine and called for a four-day truce to mark Orthodox Holy Week.

Russia launched dozens of air strikes across eastern Ukraine overnight, as a new phase of the bloody conflict opened with fighting raging in the Donbass region.

"Instead of a celebration of new life, this Easter coincides with a Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine," Guterres told reporters.

"The intense concentration of forces and firepower makes this battle inevitably more violent, bloody and destructive," he said, calling for a "humanitarian pause" from Holy Thursday until Easter Sunday on April 24.

Fighting ongoing in Mariupol - Ukrainian governor

Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces is "ongoing" in the strategic port of Mariupol, the local governor told CNN.

"There is fighting ongoing in Mariupol. This is street fighting," Pavlo Kyrylenko governor of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region said.

Ukrainian forces there are "under heavy bombardment" but "continue to defend Mariupol." 

Russia retaliates against Europe with mass expulsions

Russia said it was expelling diplomats from three European countries in retaliation for similar measures taken against Moscow's envoys over the Kremlin's military operation in Ukraine.

The Russian foreign ministry declared 15 diplomats from the Netherlands "persona non grata", giving them two weeks to leave.

Moscow gave the same deadline to the embassy staff of Belgium for its decision to kick out 21 Russian envoys last month. 

Denmark unveils energy plan to be 'free from Putin'

Denmark presented a roadmap to end its dependence on Russian gas by boosting renewable energy, biogas and its own gas production to become "free" from President Vladimir Putin.

The plan presented by the Danish government includes moving half of the 400,000 households that are heated with gas to district heating networks or electric heat pumps by 2028.

Individual member countries have also unveiled plans to cut their use of Russian fossil fuels. 

Three dead in new shelling of Kharkiv: governor

At least three people were killed and 21 were injured in new Russian shelling on Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv, local authorities said.

The announcement came a day after strikes on the city, which lies close to the Russian border, killed five people.

"At the current time in Kharkiv, three people have unfortunately died," regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said on Telegram. 

Yellen: Russia-Ukraine conflict to blame for rising global food insecurity

Russia's offensive in Ukraine is to blame for exacerbating "already dire" world food insecurity, with price and supply shocks adding to global inflationary pressures, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

Even before the offensive, over 800 million people - or 10 percent of the global population - were suffering from chronic food insecurity, Yellen said, and estimates showed higher food prices alone could push at least 10 million more people into poverty.

Yellen told a high-level panel countries should avoid export bans that could further increase prices, while stepping up support for vulnerable populations and smallholder farmers, a message underscored by German Finance Minister Christian Lindner. 

Russian operations in Ukraine "prelude" to bigger offensive

The United States sees ongoing Russian activity in eastern Ukraine as a prelude to a much larger offensive in the country, a senior US defense official said. 

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Russia was still adding to its military capabilities to prepare for the new offensive, introducing an additional two battalion tactical groups (BTG) in the past 24 hours to bring to the total number of Russian BTGs in the country to 78. 

Russia is "methodically carrying out" its plan in eastern Ukraine

Russian forces are "methodically carrying out" plans to "liberate" two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, Russia's defence minister said.

Sergei Shoigu said the West, by arming Ukraine, was doing everything it could to prolong Moscow's military operation. 

Russia hits 13 Ukrainian positions in parts of the Donbass

Moscow has launched dozens of air strikes across eastern Ukraine overnight, its defence ministry said, after Kiev accused Russian forces of unleashing a major new offensive in the Donbass region.

Russia's defence ministry said that "high-precision air-based missiles" had hit 13 Ukrainian positions in parts of the Donbass while other air strikes "hit 60 military assets", including in towns close to the eastern frontline.

Russia opens corridor for Ukrainian forces to leave Azovstal steel plant

Russia's defence ministry said it had opened up a corridor for Ukrainian forces who wanted to take up a Russian offer to lay down their arms and safely leave the Azovstal steelworks in the besieged port of Mariupol. 

Greece seized Russian-flagged oil tanker off Evia Island

Greece has seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker off the Evia Island as part of EU sanctions imposed on Moscow over its offensive in Ukraine, local media reported.

The ship, named Pegas, with 19-member crew on board anchored near the port of Karystos in the southern part of the island due to bad weather conditions, according to the Athens-Mace donian News Agency.

The tanker was heading to the Peloponnese region to transfer oil to another ship. 

Russia urges Ukrainian forces to 'immediately lay down arms'

Russia has 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 called on Kiev to show "reason and give the corresponding orders to fighters to cease their senseless resistance."

It added that defenders of Mariupol would be "guaranteed survival" if they laid down their arms starting at noon (0900 GMT).

Russia: Carried out dozens of strikes in eastern Ukraine

Russia's forces have carried out dozens of air strikes in eastern Ukraine overnight, Moscow's defence ministry said, as authorities in Kiev said the widely anticipated offensive had begun.

Russia's defence ministry said "high-precision air-based missiles" had hit 13 Ukrainian positions in parts of the Donbass, including the key town of Slovyansk.

It also said that other air strikes "hit 60 military assets of Ukraine", including in towns close to the eastern frontline.

Ukraine: No civilian evacuations for third day

Ukraine has said 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.

"Today, April 19, there will unfortunately be no humanitarian corridor," Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on Telegram. "The intense bombardment of Donbass is continuing."

Vereshchuk said "the Russians refuse to open a corridor" from 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.

Kiev presidential adviser says Russia's east offensive will fail

Russia's new offensive in eastern Ukraine is going "very cautiously" and will fail because Moscow's forces lack the strength to break through Ukrainian defences, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Rusisan forces were trying to find "sensitive spots" in Ukraine's defences but added: "Their offensive will fail - I give you a 99 percent guarantee - they simply do not have enough strength."

"The battle for Donbass, which was announced and apparently began yesterday (Monday), is under way and is going very cautiously. The battle will not go in Russia's favour," he said on national television.

Russia: UN chief has not tried to contact Putin

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has not tried to get in touch with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the start of Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine.

"No one has been in touch, neither through the Permanent Mission of Russia to the UN, nor directly with the Foreign Ministry," Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said.

Russia restricts access to Human Rights Watch website

Russia's communications regulator has restricted access to the website of New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW), state news agency TASS has reported, 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.

China plans to increase coordination with Russia

China has told Russia it will continue to increase "strategic coordination" with it regardless of international volatility, the foreign ministry has said in a statement.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng gave this assurance to the Russian ambassador to China, Andrey Denisov, on Monday, the statement said.

Fiji moves to seize Russian superyacht

Fijian authorities have 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, worth about $325 million, has been linked in some reports to oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who is a target of US and European Union sanctions over Russia's attacks on 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.

French minister: EU embargo on Russian oil in the works

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said an embargo on Russian oil at a European Union level is in the works, adding that France's President Emmanuel Macron wants such a move.

"I hope that in the weeks to come we will convince our European partners to stop importing Russian oil," Le Maire told Europe 1 radio.

Japan to send masks, hazmat suits to Ukraine

Japan will send gas masks, hazmat suits and drones to Ukraine amid growing concern of chemical weapons use by the Russian military.

Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said on Tuesday that Japan was sending the anti-chemical-warfare equipment at the request of the Ukrainian government.

Japan last month provided bulletproof vests, helmets and other nonlethal arms equipment to Ukraine as an exception to Tokyo’s ban on arms exports to countries in conflict. 

US, allies to meet over Ukraine as conflict escalates in east

US President Joe Biden will convene a meeting of allies to discuss the Ukraine conflict, after Kiev announced Russia had launched a major new offensive in the east of the country.

The meeting on Tuesday, announced on Biden's schedule, "is part of our regular coordination with allies and partners in support of Ukraine," an official told AFP news agency, without naming who would be included on the video call.

It will also cover "efforts to hold Russia accountable," the White House said.

Kiev: Russia focuses on Donetsk, Luhansk regions

Ukrainian military’s General Staff has said Russian forces are focusing their efforts on taking full control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east.

It noted that a “new phase of war” began on Monday when “the occupiers made an attempt to break through our defences along nearly the entire frontline in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions.”

It said in a statement issued early on Tuesday that “the Russian military has continued to blockade and shell Mariupol and to deal missile strikes on other cities.”

Russia: Village near border hit by Ukraine

Ukrainian forces have struck a village near Russia's border with Ukraine, wounding one resident, the governor of the Russian province of Belgorod has said.

It was not immediately clear whether the strike referred to by governor Vyacheslav Gladkov in posts on messaging app Telegram was carried out by artillery, mortars, missiles or was an aerial attack.

Elderly evacuated from Donetsk region hospice

A hospice in Ukraine's Donetsk region has been evacuated while the sound of defence artillery foreshadowed a renewed offensive by Russian forces into the country's east.

At least 35 men and women, some in wheelchairs and most with walking difficulties, were helped by volunteers to flee the region that has been under attack by Russian forces since February.

The head of the hospice, Evgeniy Tkachov, had been working with the United Nations to organise the evacuation.

Ukraine says it repelled seven attacks by Russia 

The Ukrainian military has announced repelling seven attacks by Russian forces in the past day and claimed to destroy 37 military vehicles and five aircraft.

The attacks were repelled in the direction of Luhansk and Donetsk, according to a statement from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"Ten tanks, 18 armoured vehicles, eight vehicles and an artillery system of the enemy were destroyed by the Ukrainian defenders," the statement said, adding the Ukrainian air defence forces shot down a Su-30 fighter jet and four Orlan-10 type unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) belonging to the Russian army in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region.

For live updates from Monday (April 18), click here