Here are the key events so far on Friday, April 22.
Get the latest updates here.
Fighting
- Russia plans to take full control of Donbas and Southern Ukraine as part of the second phase of the military operation, the deputy commander of Russia’s central military district said, the Interfax news agency reported.
- Ukrainian fighters cling to their last redoubt in Mariupol after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the port city “liberated”.
- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces control most of Mariupol but Ukrainian troops remain in a part of it. About 120,000 civilians were blocked from leaving, he said.
- Putin alone can decide the fate of civilians still trapped in Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boychenko said, adding that satellite images of a mass grave site were proof Russians were burying bodies to hide the toll.
- Russian forces captured 42 villages in the eastern Donetsk region, an aide to Zelenskyy’s chief of staff said.
- Russian forces are reportedly advancing towards Kramatorsk, also in the east, which continues to be hit by rocket attacks.
- The mayor of Kharkiv said the city is under intense bombardment.
- Ukrainian Deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk says no humanitarian corridors will be open across Ukraine on Friday “due to the danger on the routes today”.
Russian sanctions
- Russia slapped travel bans on United States Vice President Kamala Harris, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg and 27 other prominent Americans.
Civilian deaths
- The United Nations human rights body has confirmed 2,345 civilians have been killed and 2,919 injured in Ukraine from February 24, the start of Russia’s invasion, until midnight on April 20.
Diplomacy
- Biden pledged $800m in more weaponry for Ukraine and said he would ask Congress for more money to help the Ukrainian military.
- Newly disclosed “Ghost” drones that are part of the US’s latest arms package for Ukraine were developed by the US Air Force for attacking targets and are destroyed after a single use, the Pentagon said.
- Zelenskyy ruled out heading to Moscow for direct talks on ending the war.
Economy
- Zelenskyy told the leaders of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank that Ukraine needs $7bn a month to function amid the devastating “economic losses” inflicted by Russia.
- Ukraine’s central bank governor said the country expects to lose a third of its gross domestic product in 2022.
- World Bank President David Malpass said the food security crisis caused by the war was likely to last months and that Ukraine had suffered some $60bn worth of physical damage.
- Germany will provide a further 37 million euros ($40m) to Ukraine for reconstruction as a result of the war, the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper reported.
