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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Samantha Lock (now); Dani Anguiano, Richard Luscombe, Léonie Chao-Fong and Martin Belam (earlier)

Russian forces seize Kreminna in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region – as it happened

Ukraine United Nations Russia Donbas Volodymyr Zelenksyy Emmanuel Macron Joe Biden Martin Griffiths Vladimir Putin Mariupol
Ukrainian servicemen sit atop an armoured fighting vehicle, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues
Ukrainian troops in the east of the country Photograph: Ukrainian Ground Forces/Reuters

Thank you for joining us for today’s coverage of the war in Ukraine.

We are moving this live blog to the page accessible in the link below where you can tune in for all the latest developments.

Summary

It is just past 7am in Ukraine. Here is a comprehensive rundown of what we know so far:

  • Russia has given Mariupol a fresh ultimatum to surrender for 2pm today. In a statement issued early on Wednesday morning, the Russian defence ministry said its forces opened a humanitarian corridor from the Azovstal plant “for the withdrawal of Ukrainian servicemen” to “voluntarily lay down their arms” as well as to evacuate civilians.
  • A commander for the Ukrainian marines fighting in Mariupol said his forces were “maybe facing our last days, if not hours” and appealed for extraction in video message published to his Facebook account early on Wednesday morning. We are probably facing our last days, if not hours. The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one,” Serhiy Volyna from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade said.
  • Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the intensity of fire by Russian troops towards Kharkiv, the Donbas and in Dnipro has “increased significantly”, one day after the Kremlin launched its long-anticipated offensive in eastern Ukraine. Russian officials said a total of 1,260 military targets were hit by rockets and artillery along the 300-mile frontline in the Donbas and Kharkiv regions.
  • Zelenskiy said the situation in the besieged city of Mariupol is “as severe as possible”. “The Russian army is blocking any efforts to organise humanitarian corridors and save our people,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly address. “The fate of at least tens of thousands of Mariupol residents who were previously relocated to Russian-controlled territory is unknown.”
  • Russian forces have seized Kreminna in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region and Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the city, the regional governor said. Kreminna, a city of more than 18,000 people about 350 miles (560km) south-east of Kyiv, appears to be the first city captured in a Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine.
  • Russia has increased its offensive in the Donbas but its progress has been hampered by “environmental, logistical and technical challenges”, the UK said. “Russia’s inability to stamp out resistance in Mariupol and their indiscriminate attacks, which have harmed the resident civilian populace, are indicative of their continued failure to achieve their aims as quickly as they would like,” the UK Ministry of Defence said late on Tuesday.
  • Russia has deployed up to 20,000 mercenaries from Syria, Libya and elsewhere in Ukraine’s Donbas region, according to a European official. The official said mercenaries are being sent into battle with no heavy equipment or armoured vehicles.
  • Dozens of young Ethiopian men gathered at the Russian embassy in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Monday following rumours of soldiers being recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine, multiple reports suggest. Photos circulating on social media purport to show the lone line of hopeful recruits.
  • In his nightly address, Zelenskiy claimed if Ukraine had access to all the weapons it needs, “and which are comparable to the weapons used by the Russian Federation, we would have already ended this war. It is unfair that Ukraine is still forced to ask for what its partners have been storing somewhere for years.”
  • US president, Joe Biden, will announce another military aid package for Ukraine roughly the same size as the $800m one the US president announced last week, which would bring to more than $3bn the total US aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion. Biden told reporters he is unsure if he will go to Kyiv.
  • The UK plans to equip Kyiv with anti-ship missiles and armoured missile launchers - including by mounting British Brimstone rockets to vehicles.
  • Germany has also said it will work with private military equipment makers to help Ukraine meet its weapons requirements after exhausting the weapons it can provide itself. “We intend to pay for these deliveries,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told a news conference in Berlin on Tuesday.
  • Russia is expelling 31 Dutch, Belgian and Austrian diplomats as Moscow faces increased international isolation. It comes after the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria announced the expulsion of some Russian diplomats.
  • Canada said it will impose targeted sanctions on 14 individuals, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters, according to a statement from the foreign ministry.
  • China has criticised western actions in Ukraine, saying the provision of offensive weapons “will only prolong and escalate the conflict” and some sanctions are “tantamount to weaponising economic interdependence” in remarks made at the latest UN security council briefing.
  • Western nations are preparing to stage coordinated walk-outs and other diplomatic snubs to protest at Wednesday’s meeting of G20 finance ministers in Washington, their officials said.
  • Direct communications between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been restored, according to a statement issued late Tuesday from IAEA’s director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi.
  • Russian businessman, Oleg Tinkov, spoke out against the “crazy” war in Ukraine and described supporters of Moscow’s military actions as “morons”. In an Instagram post, Tinkov, who has been sanctioned by the UK government, said “90% of Russians are against” the war.

As usual, please feel free to reach out to me by email or Twitter for any tips or feedback.

A man and a child ride a bicycle past burnt out buses in Mariupol.
A man and a child ride a bicycle past burnt out buses in Mariupol. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

Updated

Russia delivers fresh ultimatum to Mariupol for 2pm surrender

The Russian defence ministry has given Ukrainian fighters holed up in the besieged port city of Mariupol a fresh ultimatum.

In a statement issued early on Wednesday morning, the Russian defence ministry said its forces opened a humanitarian corridor from the Azovstal plant “for the withdrawal of Ukrainian servicemen and militants of nationalist formations” to “voluntarily lay down their arms” as well as to evacuate civilians.

“As of 22:00 (Moscow time) on April 19, 2022, no one used the specified corridor,” the ministry added.

Russia said it would “once again” offer Ukraine the option “to stop fighting and lay down their weapons” from 2pm ( Moscow time) on Wednesday, 20 April.

Updated

Here is a little more detail on reports hundreds of Ethiopian young men lined outside the gate of the Russian Embassy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa on Monday in a bid to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, one of the alleged applicants, corporal Tarekegn Wassie, said: “I heard that registration was ongoing at the embassy. Some said it was employment for Russian private security companies, others said it was to join in support of the Russian army. Either way, I am here trying my luck.”

“I love Russia and if it brought me a better income let it be regardless of the risks involved,” he added.

The agency reported that the crowd of men were mostly in their mid-thirties and early forties.

A witness in the Kebena area, where the Russian embassy is located, told the Nation that about 200-300 young Ethiopians queued outside the main entrance on Monday.

Dozens of young Ethiopian men gather at Russian embassy to enlist: reports

Dozens of young Ethiopian men are gathering at the Russian embassy in the capital, Addis Ababa, following rumours of soldiers being recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine, multiple reports suggest.

The Addas Standard said “hundreds of Ethiopian men” were seen queuing in front of the Russian Embassy in the capital Addis Abeba in what it described as “an apparent attempt to enlist and aide the Russian Army in its invasion of Ukraine.”

Photos circulating on social media purport to show the lone line of hopeful recruits. The Guardian has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of these claims.

Embassy spokeswoman, Maria Chernukhina, said no recruitment is being carried out in Ethiopia.

“We have a lot of visitors to the embassy in order to express support for Russia,” she told the BBC.

“Some of them are telling us they are willing to help in any way they can. But we are not a recruitment agency,” Chernukhina added.

A statement released by the embassy last on Tuesday reads:

The embassy has been receiving by emails and in-person visits from citizens of Ethiopia expressions of their solidarity and support for the Russian Federation...

While reiterating our gratitude to the concerned citizens of Ethiopia, we would like to inform that the embassy does not accept any applications for recruitment in the armed forces of the Russian Federation.”

According to BBC reporter, Kalkidan Yibeltal, many of the Ethiopians at the embassy carried their personal documents as others told of hearing rumours of high wages in Russia.

A young man waiting at the entrance told Yibeltal he was looking for a good salary as a soldier or to be hired in any other job available. “I also like Russia,” he added.

Updated

'Facing our last days, if not hours', Ukrainian commander in Mariupol pleads

A commander for the Ukrainian marines fighting in the last stronghold of Mariupol said his forces were “maybe facing our last days, if not hours” and appealed for extraction in video message published to his Facebook account early on Wednesday morning.

“The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one,” Serhiy Volyna from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade said as he sheltered at the besieged Azovstal factory, a vast plant with underground tunnels where Ukrainian defenders are pinned down by Russian fighters.

We are probably facing our last days, if not hours. The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one.

“We appeal and plead to all world leaders to help us,” Volyna said in the video. “We ask them to use the procedure of extraction and take us to the territory of a third-party state.”

Russian forces are believed to have gradually pushed their way into the city while Ukrainian defenders bunker down at the Azovstal plant.

Volyna said the Russians had the “advantage in the air, in artillery, in their forces on land, in equipment, and in tanks”.

“We are only defending one object - the Azovstal plant - where in addition to military personnel, there are also civilians who have fallen victim to this war,” he added.

Updated

Here is a little more information from our earlier report on Russian tycoon Oleg Tinkov who denounced Moscow’s “massacre” in Ukraine and urged the west to help end “this insane war”.

Offering some of the strongest criticism by a prominent Russian of the Kremlin’s military action, Tinkov claimed online that 90% of Russians were “against this war” and called Russia’s forces a “shit army”.

Tinkov is one of Russia’s best-known entrepreneurs and founded Tinkoff Bank in 2006. He has been based outside Russia in recent years.

“Waking up with a hangover, the generals realised that they have a shit army,” Tinkov, 54, wrote on Instagram.

“And how will the army be good, if everything else in the country is shit and mired in nepotism, sycophancy and servility?”

The businessman, who has been targeted by western sanctions, added: “I don’t see a SINGLE beneficiary of this insane war! Innocent people and soldiers are dying.”

Switching to English, Tinkov, who stepped down as chairman of Tinkoff Bank in 2020, wrote: “Dear ‘collective west’ please give Mr Putin a clear exit to save his face and stop this massacre. Please be more rational and humanitarian.”

China criticises west's provision of weapons and sanctions

China has criticised western actions in Ukraine, saying the provision of offensive weapons “will only prolong and escalate the conflict” and some sanctions are “tantamount to weaponising economic interdependence” in remarks made at the latest UN security council briefing.

Chinese ambassador Zhang Jun said the prospect of an extended and prolonged conflict is “worrying” and called for an early end to the conflict.

“We call on Russia and Ukraine to adhere to the general direction of dialogue and negotiation, continuously narrow differences, and accumulate conditions for a ceasefire,” Zhang Jun said in a statement.

However, the ambassador issued some stern words to western leaders regarding the provision of weapons to Ukraine and ongoing sanctions against Russia.

Continuing to send more offensive weapons will not bring peace. It will only prolong and escalate the conflict, and further aggravate humanitarian catastrophe.”

Regarding sanctions, he claimed developing countries are “bearing the brunt”

We must pay attention to and eliminate the negative impact of sanctions... All-dimensional and limitless sanctions have had serious spillover effects, with developing countries bearing the brunt. The vast number of developing countries, that are not parties to the conflict, have paid a heavy price for it. This is neither fair nor reasonable...

It should also be pointed out that arbitrary freeze of foreign exchange reserves of other countries also constitutes a violation of sovereignty, and is tantamount to weaponising economic interdependence.

Such practices undermine the foundation of world economic stability, and bring new uncertainties and risks to international relations. They should be abandoned as soon as possible.”

Updated

Some of the latest images to come out of Ukraine can be seen in the photo gallery below.

One resident walks along a street past burnt out buses in Mariupol. Another cycles with his child through the debris.

Another family carts their belongings in a shopping trolley along a destroyed city street.

A local resident walks along a street past burnt out buses in Mariupol.
A local resident walks along a street past burnt out buses in Mariupol. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
Local residents walk along a street damaged in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine.
Local residents walk along a street damaged in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
A man and a child ride a bicycle past burnt out buses during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine.
A man and a child ride a bicycle past burnt out buses during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
A dog is seen inside a subway carriage in Kharkiv’s Maidan Konstytutsii Metro Station, where people have been sheltering since the beginning of the war.
A dog is seen inside a subway carriage in Kharkiv’s Maidan Konstytutsii Metro Station, where people have been sheltering since the beginning of the war. Photograph: Laurel Chor/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
Local residents carry belongings as they leave Mariupol.
Local residents carry belongings as they leave Mariupol. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
A Ukrainian soldier checks the destruction of the shrapnel in a wall of a village near the front lines of Mykolaiv after Russian shelling at night, in Ukraine.
A Ukrainian soldier checks the destruction of the shrapnel in a wall of a village near the front lines of Mykolaiv after Russian shelling at night, in Ukraine. Photograph: Celestino Arce Lavin/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock
In this aerial view, a damaged playground is seen next to the Barvinok kindergarten building that was bombed during the Russian invasion west of Kyiv.
In this aerial view, a damaged playground is seen next to the Barvinok kindergarten building that was bombed during the Russian invasion west of Kyiv. Photograph: Alexey Furman/Getty Images
A damaged photo frame with a photo of children performing seen outside a kindergarten that was bombed west of Kyiv on 19 April.
A damaged photo frame with a photo of children performing seen outside a kindergarten that was bombed west of Kyiv on 19 April. Photograph: Alexey Furman/Getty Images

Russia has been hitting the Azovstal steel plant, the main remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the city of Mariupol, with bunker-buster bombs, a Ukrainian presidential adviser has claimed.

“The world watches the murder of children online and remains silent,” 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.

Russia has denied targeting civilians.

On a slightly lighter note, an animal park in Bavaria, Germany, that had named one its wild boars Putin due to its Russian genetic heritage held a ceremony on Tuesday to rechristen the hairy hog with a German name following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Eckard Mickish, operator of the park just outside the town of Mehlmeisel, said he named the boar after Russian President Vladimir Putin three years ago upon its arrival given it had been bred from pure-race boar from Russia.

At nearly 200kg (441 lb), the hog weighed around three times as much as those typically found in Germany, he said.

An animal park in Bavaria that had named one its wild boars Putin due to its Russian genetic heritage held a ceremony on Tuesday to rechristen the hairy hog.
An animal park in Bavaria that had named one its wild boars Putin due to its Russian genetic heritage held a ceremony on Tuesday to rechristen the hairy hog. Photograph: Wildpark Mehlmeisel Waldhaus

But lately whenever Mickish had to do a roll call of the boar for visitors, a shiver went down his spine when mentioning Putin given the war unfolding just west. He also worried how Ukrainian visitors would feel.

He soon came to the conclusion that no pig deserved this name so the park announced a search for a new name. About 2,700 suggestions poured in, and Eberhofer - the name of a policeman from a popular Bavarian book series - won the vote.

The boar was rechristened on Tuesday in a ceremony that included a marzipan and biscuit cake decorated with five pink smiling pigs.

Putin the pig was rechristened on Tuesday in a ceremony that included a marzipan and biscuit cake decorated with five pink smiling pigs.
Putin the pig was rechristened on Tuesday in a ceremony that included a marzipan and biscuit cake decorated with five pink smiling pigs. Photograph: Wildpark Mehlmeisel Waldhaus

Updated

Western nations are preparing to stage coordinated walk-outs and other diplomatic snubs to protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at Wednesday’s meeting of G20 finance ministers in Washington, their officials said.

While some in western capitals argue that Russia’s actions should mean it is excluded from global meetings altogether, that is not a view shared by others in the Group of 20 big economies, including notably China and Indonesia, which is chairing the group this year.

Moscow confirmed on Tuesday finance minister Anton Siluanov would lead Russia’s delegation at the talks despite repeated protestations by western diplomats that they could not go ahead as usual during a war in which thousands of civilians have died in bombardments by Russian troops.

“During and after the meeting we will be certain to send a strong message and we will not be alone in doing so,” a German government source said.

US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen plans to avoid G20 sessions joined by Russian officials on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings. But Yellen will attend an opening session on the Ukraine war regardless of Russian participation, a US Treasury official said.

British finance minister Rishi Sunak also will boycott some G20 sessions if Russian officials attend, a British government source told Reuters.

And a French finance ministry official meanwhile expected some ministers from Group of Seven nations to leave their seats when their Russian peer was due to speak.

Direct communications between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been restored, according to the IAEA chief.

Russian forces held Chernobyl for five weeks before withdrawing on 31 March. IAEA lost contact with the nuclear power site on 10 March.

In a statement issued late Tuesday from IAEA’s director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi said:

Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that direct communications between the national regulator and the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) had been restored, more than a month after such contact was lost when Russian forces controlled the site.”

Grossi said the Russian occupation was “clearly not a sustainable situation” and welcomed the news that the regulator can now contact the plant directly when it needs to.

The statement added that a “mission of IAEA experts” plans to visit the site later this month to “conduct nuclear safety, security and radiological assessments, deliver vital equipment and repair the agency’s remote safeguards monitoring systems.

Here is a quick snap regarding additional sanctions announced by Canada earlier today.

Canada said it will impose targeted sanctions on 14 individuals, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters, according to a statement from the foreign ministry.

These new measures impose restrictions on 14 close associates of the Russian regime, including Russian oligarchs and their family members. This includes President Putin’s two adult daughters.”

Earlier this month, the United States and Britain both announced sanctions against Putin’s daughters - Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova and Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova - because they said they are believed to be hiding the Putin’s wealth.

Updated

Ukraine receives more aircraft and parts for repairs, Pentagon confirms

As promises of more military aid pour in, the Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday Ukraine’s military has received additional aircraft as well as parts for repairs to get damaged aircraft flying again.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby did not offer details on which countries provided aircraft, but acknowledged new transfers and said Ukraine had more operable fighter aircraft than it had two weeks ago.

“They have received additional aircraft and aircraft parts to help them get more aircraft in the air,” Kirby told a news briefing, without elaborating.

Kirby clarified that Washington had not provided any aircraft to Kyiv.

“We certainly have helped with the trans-shipment of some additional spare parts that have helped with their aircraft needs, but we have not transported whole aircraft,” he added.

Updated

A timelapse video has captured hundreds of Ukrainians forming a long queue outside Kyiv’s main post office on Tuesday as they waited to buy postage stamps featuring a Ukrainian soldier making a crude gesture at a Russian ship.

The stamp pays homage to Ukrainian service member Roman Hrybov who defied Russian forces with the message: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.”

Hrybov and others on duty on Snake Island were captured but later freed in an exchange deal.

Germany has also said it will work with private military equipment makers to help Ukraine meet its weapons requirements after exhausting the weapons it can provide itself.

“We intend to pay for these deliveries,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told a news conference in Berlin on Tuesday.

“Weapons with substantial impact” have already been delivered to Ukraine, he said, adding that Germany will help work with arms manufacturers to provide Kyiv anti-tank and air defence weapons.

“We are ready to make things possible (for Ukraine),” he added.

Last week Scholz annoucened his government will boost the country’s military assistance spending in 2022 to $2.16bn, of which a large share of which will go to Ukraine.

UK pledges more weapons including Brimstone missiles for Ukraine

We have a little more detail on the latest military aid Britain has pledged to send Ukraine.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he plans to equip Kyiv with anti-ship missiles and armoured missile launchers - including by mounting British Brimstone rockets to vehicles.

The news follows a phone call Johnson had with US President Joe Biden and other world leaders earlier on Tuesday.

Brimstones have previously been used by UK forces in Libya and Syria, and are typically launched from fast jet aircraft. They are used against fast-moving land and sea targets.

The UK ministry of defence demonstrated the Stormer High Velocity Missile (HVM) launcher for Ukrainians on Salisbury Plain two weeks ago, according to The Sun, with the paper adding the 13-tonne vehicles can be flown to the war on C-17 transport planes in days.

The Stormer is manufactured by BAE Systems, needs just three people to operate it and and uses Starstreak missiles, which can be used to take down low-flying aircraft.

Russia increases offensive in Donbas but beset by logistical challenges, UK MoD says

Russia has increased its offensive in the Donbas but its progression has been hampered by environmental, logistical and technical challenges, the latest British intelligence report claims.

The report, published just after 8pm GMT, reads:

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

Russia’s ability to progress continues to be impacted by the environmental, logistical and technical challenges that have beset them so far, combined with the resilience of the highly-motivated Ukrainian armed forces.

Russia’s inability to stamp out resistance in Mariupol and their indiscriminate attacks, which have harmed the resident civilian populace, are indicative of their continued failure to achieve their aims as quickly as they would like.”

Updated

Situation in Mariupol 'as severe as possible', Zelenskiy says

The intensity of fire by Russian troops towards Kharkiv, the Donbas and in Dnipro has “increased significantly” and while the situation in Mariupol “remains unchanged” and “as severe as possible”, Zelenskiy added.

The situation in Mariupol remains unchanged - as severe as possible. The Russian army is blocking any efforts to organise humanitarian corridors and save our people. The occupiers are trying to carry out deportation or even mobilisation of the local residents who have fallen into their hands.

The fate of at least tens of thousands of Mariupol residents who were previously relocated to Russian-controlled territory is unknown.”

Zelenskiy continued to say Ukraine has not heard a response from Russia to an exchange offer, which he claimed could save the civilians and defenders of Mariupol.

In the south of our country, the occupiers are trying to demonstrate at least something that can be presented in Russia as the alleged readiness of Ukrainians to cooperate with Russian structures. It looks pathetic.”

'If we had access to all the weapons we need .. we would have already ended this war' - Zelenskiy

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has issued a stark message to western leaders, claiming if Ukraine had access to all the weapons it needs, the war would have “already ended” during his latest national address late on Tuesday evening.

If we had access to all the weapons we need, which our partners have and which are comparable to the weapons used by the Russian Federation, we would have already ended this war. We would have already restored peace and liberated our territory from the occupiers. Because the superiority of the Ukrainian military in tactics and wisdom is quite obvious ...

It is unfair that Ukraine is still forced to ask for what its partners have been storing somewhere for years. If they have the weapons that Ukraine needs here, needs now, if they have the ammunition that we need here and now, it is their moral duty first of all to help protect freedom. Help save the lives of thousands of Ukrainians.

If we had received what we are getting now in the first week of the war, the benefit for Ukraine and for freedom in Europe would be greater, I am sure. And if we get what some partners plan to hand over to Ukraine in the coming weeks right now, it will save the lives of thousands of people.

I hope that the partners will hear this thesis and understand that every day matters. Any delay in helping Ukraine gives the occupiers an opportunity to kill more Ukrainians.”

Summary

Here are some of the key developments of the day:

  • The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, said Russian forces have been engaged in a “non-stop bombardment of civilian districts” in Ukraine’s second city since Sunday. Four people, including three emergency workers, were killed on Tuesday, according to the Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov. Separately, the prosecutor’s office for Kharkiv region said Russian rockets wounded 14 people in the city on Tuesday.
  • Russia has ordered 31 Dutch, Belgian and Austrian diplomats to leave the country as Moscow faces increased international isolation over its war in Ukraine. The decision came after the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria announced the expulsion of some Russian diplomats.
  • Joe Biden will announce another military aid package for Ukraine roughly the same size as the $800m one the US president announced last week, multiple sources told Reuters, which would bring total US aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion to more than $3bn.
  • A Russian businessman, Oleg Tinkov, has spoken out against the “crazy” war in Ukraine and described supporters of Moscow’s military actions as “morons”. In an Instagram post, Tinkov, who has been sanctioned by the UK government, said “90% of Russians are against” the war.

Samantha Lock will have more on the war in Ukraine, so stay tuned.

Updated

Some good news for one cat owner in Ukraine. A woman in Bucha was reunited with her cat after after being separated for a month and a half, Hromadske Radio reports.

Biden 'to announce another $800m military aid package'

Joe Biden will announce another military aid package for Ukraine roughly the same size as the $800m one the US president announced last week, multiple sources told Reuters.

Last week, the White House said it would send Ukraine $800m in aid, including artillery systems, artillery rounds, armored personnel carriers and unmanned coastal defense boats. The details of the latest package, first reported by NBC News, are still being worked out, a US official said.

This week’s aid package would bring the total US military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion to more than $3bn.

Updated

Joe Biden says he does not know if he will visit Kyiv.

The US president told reporters at an event in New Hampshire that he’s been to Ukraine many times, but is unsure if he will go to Kyiv.

Joe Biden speaks to reporters in New Hampshire.
Joe Biden speaks to reporters in New Hampshire. Photograph: Amanda Sabga/UPI/REX/Shutterstock

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged Biden to come to Ukraine, telling CNN: “It’s his decision, of course, and [it] depends on the safety situation, of course. But I think he’s the leader of the United States and that’s why he should come here to see.”

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a briefing on Monday there are no plans for the president to visit the Ukrainian capital. The White House has said it wants to send a high-ranking official and is considering the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, or the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin.

Meanwhile, multiple sources have told Reuters that the US president will announce another large aid package for Ukraine.

Updated

Russia ​expels more ​European diplomats

Russia has ordered 31 Dutch, Belgian and Austrian diplomats to leave the country as Moscow faces increased international isolation over its war in Ukraine, AFP reports.

The Russian foreign ministry declared 15 diplomats from the Netherlands “persona non grata”, giving them two weeks to leave – the same deadline given to 12 Belgian embassy staff. Russian officials gave four Austrian diplomats until Sunday to leave.

AFP described Russia’s expulsion of European diplomats as a “tit-for-tat move”. The decision came after the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria announced the expulsion of some Russian diplomats. The Russian foreign ministry called a decision by the Netherlands to expel Moscow envoys “groundless” and Belgium’s move to kick out 21 Russian envoys last month “provocative”.

Belgium warned Russia’s “totally unjustified and unfounded” move would increase the country’s “international diplomatic isolation”.

“We are now going to see what consequences will arise from the fact that so many colleagues have to leave Moscow and Saint Petersburg,” Wopke Hoekstra, the Dutch foreign minister, said.

More expulsions are expected after decisions by Germany and France to each send home 40 of Moscow’s envoys.

I’m Dani Anguiano and I’ll be covering the latest developments from the war in Ukraine over the next few hours.

Updated

Russia 'offers Mariupol ceasefire' so Ukrainians can surrender

The Russian defence ministry says it will offer a ceasefire in Mariupol on Wednesday to allow Ukrainian defenders holed up in the Azovstal steelworks to lay down their arms, Reuters reports.

Russia continued on Tuesday to shell the plant, where a “dwindling number” of Ukraine forces were still holding out. Video showed smoke rising from the complex.

The defence ministry said it would begin a ceasefire at 2pm Moscow time on Wednesday (11am GMT) to give the Ukraine fighters the opportunity to surrender and leave unharmed.

Reuters noted that Russia claimed to have made the same offer on Tuesday, but “not a single Ukrainian soldier had accepted”.

The Ukraine president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has promised that his forces in Mariupol would “fight to the end” and ignore any surrender ultimatums from Russia.

Updated

A Ukrainian journalist sentenced to six years in a Russian labour camp will be honoured next month at a gala hosted in the US by the literary and human rights advocacy group PEN America.

Vladyslav Yesypenko was arrested last year in Crimea and sentenced for alleged possession and transport of explosives. His supporters say the freelance correspondent for Krym.Realii project, a Crimean radio program run by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, confessed only after being tortured and threatened with execution.

PEN America will celebrate Yesypenko, 53, as this year’s recipient of the PEN/Barbey freedom to write award in recognition of his work on a video report documenting how life had changed in Crimea since the Russian occupation began in 2014.

Activists call for the release of jailed journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko at a rally in Kyiv last year.
Activists call for the release of jailed journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko at a rally in Kyiv last year. Photograph: Ukrinform/REX/Shutterstock

“Since February, the horrors of Russia’s war on Ukraine have been laid bare for all the world to see. But Russia’s campaign to suffocate Ukraine dates back much further, and intensified in 2014 with the illegal occupation of the Crimean peninsula,” Suzanne Nossel, chief executive of PEN America, said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.

“Indomitable reporters like Vladyslav Yesypenko have provided a portal to enable the world to see Russian occupation for what it is, an exercise of force aimed to stifle the will of free people.”

While in detention, Yesypenko wrote a letter in which he contended that “nothing shows the ugly nature of the occupying power as the constant filling of the cells with new people who were detained on fabricated evidence.”

His wife, Kateryna Yesypenko, will accept the award on his behalf during the 23 May gala at the museum of natural history in Manhattan, New York.

Updated

Boris Johnson reiterated a “critical need” for further military support for Ukraine in his earlier video call with Joe Biden and other world leaders.

Downing Street’s account of the video call was broadly similar to the statement from the White House, which said the allies reaffirmed their commitment to support Ukraine as it faced a Russian onslaught in the east of the country.

Leaders on the call included France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, the Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, and the European Commission leader, Ursula von der Leyen.

Johnson, the Downing Street readout said, gave them an update following his visit to Kyiv earlier this month.

He underscored the critical need for further military support to Ukraine in the face of a major Russian offensive in the Donbas and ongoing attacks elsewhere.

The leaders agreed to work together to find a long-term security solution so that Ukraine could never be attacked in this way again. They discussed the need to increase the pressure on Russia with more sanctions against Putin’s war machine, as well as further diplomatic isolation.

The prime minister welcomed President Biden’s leadership, and the allies agreed to work closely together in the weeks and months to come.

Meanwhile, a new British military analysis, Reuters reports, indicates that Russia is continuing to ramp up its shelling and strikes on the Donbas line of control, with Ukrainians “repelling numerous attempted advances by Russian forces.

“Russia’s ability to progress continues to be impacted by the environmental, logistical and technical challenges that have beset them so far, combined with the resilience of the highly-motivated Ukrainian armed forces.”

Updated

Officials in Kharkiv are reporting another round of deaths and injuries from “non-stop” Russian shelling of the city, separate from an earlier incident that killed at least four.

Four people, including three emergency workers, were killed on Tuesday, according to the Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov, and reported by Reuters.

Terekhov said on Ukraine TV on Tuesday evening that the emergency service officials had died while trying to defuse unexploded Russian munitions. Earlier, he said the Russian military was engaged in a “non-stop bombardment of civilian areas”.

Separately, the prosecutor’s office for Kharkiv region said four people were killed and 14 wounded by Russian rockets in the city on Tuesday.

In a Facebook posting, the region prosecutor’s office said more than 10 residential buildings were damaged, as well as garages and a supermarket.

Updated

It’s Richard Luscombe in the US taking over the blog for the next couple of hours. Thanks for joining me.

I’ve just been listening to the White House press secretary Jen Psaki delivering her account of the video call earlier today between the US president Joe Biden and various world leaders, including the UK prime minister Boris Johnson.

The allies, Psaki said, reaffirmed their support for Ukraine:

The president convened the video conference to discuss their ongoing efforts to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. The leaders reiterated their commitment to continue providing security, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in its time of need.

The leaders affirmed their solidarity with the Ukrainian people and condemned the humanitarian suffering caused by Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion.

They also discussed their respective diplomatic engagements and their coordinated efforts to continue to impose severe economic costs to hold Russia accountable. They agreed to continue to closely coordinate their efforts including working with and through the G7, EU and Nato.

Updated

Summary

It is 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

  • Russian businessman, Oleg Tinkov, has spoken out against the “crazy” war in Ukraine and described supporters of Moscow’s military actions as “morons”. In an Instagram post, Tinkov, who has been sanctioned by the UK government, said “90% of Russians are against” the war.

That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, as I hand the blog over to our US colleagues. I’ll be back tomorrow. Thank you.

Updated

The US has seen “limited offensive operations” by Russian forces southwest of Donetsk and south of Izium, a senior US defence official said.

The official added that the US believes these offensives are “preludes to larger offensive operations”.

The new operations have consisted of “ground movements … supported, of course, by some long-range fires, mostly artillery”, the official said.

The US expects to see a “more blended approach” to the new operations in Ukraine after their failures in the north of the country, the official added.

A timelapse video captured hundreds of Ukrainians forming a long queue outside Kyiv’s main post office on Tuesday as they waited to buy postage stamps featuring a Ukrainian soldier making a crude gesture at a Russian ship.

The stamp pays homage to Ukrainian service member Roman Hrybov who defied Russian forces with the message: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.”

Updated

Russian-backed fighters are storming the Azovstal plant in the besieged city of Mariupol where Ukrainian soldiers have been holed up, according to a pro-Russian official cited by the BBC.

Eduard Basurin, who represents the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said assault troops are being helped by Russian aircraft and artillery.

Ukrainian soldiers have been holding out in tunnels under the iron and steel works factory for seven weeks.

The underground complex is also being used as a shelter by hundreds of civilians including children, Ukrainian officials have said. Basurin has denied these reports.

Meanwhile, Russian state TV said about 120 civilians living next to the Azovstal steel works have left via humanitarian corridors.

Updated

Russia deploys up to 20,000 mercenaries from Syria, Libya and elsewhere in Donbas

Russia has deployed up to 20,000 mercenaries from Syria, Libya and elsewhere in Ukraine’s Donbas region, sent into battle with no heavy equipment or armoured vehicles, according to a European official.

The official said the estimates of mercenary involvement on the ground in eastern Ukraine range from 10,000 to 20,000 and that it was hard to break down that figure between Syrians, Libyans and other fighters recruited by the Russian mercenary company, the Wagner Group.

“What I can tell you is that we did see some transfer from these areas, Syria and Libya, to the eastern Donbas region, and these guys are mainly used as a mass against the Ukrainian resistance,” the official told reporters. “It’s infantry. They don’t have any heavy equipment or vehicles.”

The mercenaries are being thrown into the Russian effort to capture as much as possible of eastern Ukraine, in what western defence officials have described as a rush to have some sort of victory that Vladimir Putin can announce at the 9 May military parade in Moscow commemorating the second world war.

The Kremlin is seen as having four objectives in this second phase of its war in Ukraine, the European official said:

  • Capturing the Donbas.
  • Securing a land bridge to Crimea, in which the besieged city of Mariupol is key.
  • Seizing Kherson Oblast to secure the supply of fresh water to Crimea.
  • Capturing additional territory that could be used as a buffer or a bargaining chip in negotiations.

Updated

After spending four hours in a queue, Viktor Fyodorovich showed off his shiny new purchase. “I’m 63 years old. I’ve never felt so much pride before in our nation. It’s a symbol of our courage and steadfastness,” he said.

Fyodorovich was the proud owner of two sheets of stamps, 16 in total. Available from Kyiv’s central post office, the stamps show a Ukrainian soldier giving the finger to the flagship Russian cruiser Moskva. On the sheet’s perforated margin is the phrase that has become a rallying slogan for Ukrainians in their underdog battle against Moscow: “Russian warship, go …!” The “fuck yourself” is tactfully omitted.

The words were spoken by Roman Hrybov when the warship’s crew asked him and his fellow border guards on Snake Island, south of the port of Odesa, to surrender in the early hours of Vladimir Putin’s invasion. The phrase has since gone global. Last week the national postal service, Ukrposhta, released the design as a special commemorative stamp.

The stamp was published the day before Ukrainian missiles took down the Moskva.
The stamp was published the day before Ukrainian missiles took down the Moskva. Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Guardian

“People are in love with it. It reflects the mood around the world towards Russia,” said Igor Smelyansky, Ukrposhta’s director general. Scuffles broke out when one desperate woman tried to force her way into the high-ceilinged neo-classical postal building in Kyiv’s independence square.

Smelyansky came up with the idea of a stamp in the early days of the war. He asked the public for suggestions. A shortlist of 50 designs were put to a vote, with the warship the triumphant winner. “It was democratic, just like Ukraine,” he said. “Even when air raid sirens sound, people refuse to leave their place in the line.”

The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has called for a four-day Orthodox Easter humanitarian pause in fighting in Ukraine, Reuters reports.

Guterres said the UN was submitting detailed plans to the parties and was ready to send humanitarian aid convoys to Mariupol, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk beginning on Holy Thursday and running through Sunday 24 April, the date of Orthodox Easter, which is celebrated by most Ukrainians and Russians.

He told reporters in New York:

Humanitarian needs are dire. People do not have food, water, supplies to treat the sick or wounded or simply to live day-to-day.

A humanitarian pause will allow for the safe passage of civilians willing to leave areas of conflict, as well as allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid to people in hard-hit areas.

More than 12m people need humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, Guterres said:

Instead of celebration of a new life, this Easter coincides with a Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. The intense concentration of forces and firepower makes this battle inevitably more violent, bloody and destructive.

The onslaught and terrible toll on civilians we have seen so far could pale in comparison to the horror that lies ahead.

A view of the cemetery in Irpin where three dug graves await the next funerals on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, in the outskirts of Kyiv.
A view of the cemetery in Irpin where three dug graves await the next funerals on Tuesday 19 April on the outskirts of Kyiv. Photograph: Emilio Morenatti/AP
A sign reading “Children” on the windscreen of a car with bullet holes in Irpin on April 19, 2022.
A sign reading “Children” on the windscreen of a car with bullet holes in Irpin on 19 April. Photograph: Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

The chair of the UK’s Commons international development committee, Sarah Champion, has said she is “shocked and disappointed” after the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, admitted the UK was nowhere near delivering the full £220m in humanitarian aid it has promised Ukraine.

Truss said that, as of the end of March, the government was “on track” to have disbursed only £60m. Champion said:

I am shocked and disappointed that less than £60m of the UK’s promised £220m humanitarian aid package for Ukraine has been delivered so far. On 9 March, I urged the prime minister to make sure the UK’s pledges for Ukraine are disbursed quickly.

Today, more than a month later, it is shameful that I have to repeat that urgent appeal. More than 12 million people in Ukraine are in need of humanitarian support, as well as 4 million people who have fled the country. These people need our help now – not at some vague future date.

At a briefing on Tuesday, a UK official said he expected the delivery of aid to accelerate soon, saying about £120m had been allocated, but that officials had only been able to get about half of that “out the door so far ... but we’d expect that to speed up now”.

He added that a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office guarantee, enabling $450m (£346m) of additional World Bank financing to the government of Ukraine, would go through either in April or by early May.

Updated

Summary

It is almost 6.45pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:

  • Russian businessman, Oleg Tinkov, has spoken out against the “crazy” war in Ukraine and described supporters of Moscow’s military actions as “morons”. In an Instagram post, Tinkov, who has been sanctioned by the UK government, said “90% of Russians are against” the war.

Hello, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong here bringing you all the latest news from the war in Ukraine. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.

Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said 76 prisoners of war have returned in an exchange with Moscow, AFP reports.

Vereshchuk said Russia had handed over 60 soldiers, including 10 officers, and 16 civilians, but did not give details on how many Russians were involved in the prisoner swap.

It was the fifth prisoner exchange between the two countries since the war, she said. Last week, Kyiv said it had returned 30 prisoners of war by an order of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Updated

Russian businessman Oleg Tinkov has spoken out against the “crazy” war in Ukraine and described supporters of Moscow’s military actions as “morons”.

In a post on his Instagram account, Tinkov, a former billionaire banker who has been sanctioned by the UK government in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said “90% of Russians are against” the war.

Tinkov wrote:

I don’t see ANY beneficiary of this crazy war! Innocent people and soldiers are dying.

The generals, waking up with a hangover, realised that they had a shitty army. How can the army be good, if everything else in the country is shit and mired in nepotism and servility?

Oleg Tinkov, founder of the major Russian bank Tinkoff
Oleg Tinkov, founder of the Russian bank Tinkoff. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

Referring to the ‘Z’ symbol that has become a sign of support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Tinkov said:

Of course there are morons who draw Z, but morons in any country are 10%. 90% of Russians are AGAINST this war!

Switching to English, Tinkov addresses the “collective west” by asking to “please give Mr Putin a clear exit to save his face and stop this massacre. Please be more rational and humanitarian.”

Tinkov’s post is the “most stridently anti-war comment I’ve seen from a Russian billionaire”, the Financial Times’ Max Seddon writes.

Our Pjotr Sauer points out that Tinkov could face a case under Russia’s “fake news” law amid Moscow’s crackdown on anti-war dissent.

Last month, the Russian parliament passed a law imposing a jail term of up to 15 years for spreading intentionally “fake” news about the military.

Updated

A giant plume of smoke has been seen rising above the Azovstal steel plant in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Russian forces advanced after calling on Ukrainians encamped in the plant to lay down their arms by noon Moscow time.

The port city has been left devastated by near-constant bombardment since the start of the war, which has left residents without water or electricity. Ukrainian authorities estimate that at least 21,000 people have been killed there since the start of the war.

The International Monetary Fund has cut its global growth forecasts because of the war in Ukraine, warning that Russia’s invasion could lead to the fragmentation of the world economy into rival blocs.

In a half-yearly update, the IMF said prospects had worsened “significantly” in the past three months as it reduced its growth estimate for 2022 from 4.4% to 3.6%.

The Washington-based body said every member of the G7 group of leading industrialised nations and the bigger developing countries would grow less rapidly this year than previously expected, and there was a strong risk of an even worse outcome.

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s economic counsellor and director of research, said:

In the matter of a few weeks, the world has yet again experienced a major, transformative shock. Just as a durable recovery from the pandemic-induced global economic collapse appeared in sight, the war has created the very real prospect that a large part of the recent gains will be erased.

The UK is expected to be the joint-best performer in the G7 this year despite having its growth estimate cut from 4.7% to 3.7%, but is set to be the worst performer next year when the IMF is pencilling in expansion of just 1.2%. Consumer spending is predicted to be weaker than expected as the cost of living crisis bites while tighter financial conditions are expected to cool investment.

The US will suffer the least damage from the war and has had its growth forecast for 2022 shaved by 0.3 points to 3.7%. Germany and Italy, both more exposed to Russia, have had their growth estimates reduced by 1.7 points and 1.5 points respectively to 2.1% and 2.3%.

Russia is on course for two years of falling output as a result of western sanctions (8.5% this year and 2.3% in 2023), while Ukraine’s economy will shrink by 35% in 2022 and feel the impact of the conflict for years to come, the IMF said in its world economic outlook.

Updated

Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez will travel to Kyiv “in the coming days”.

AFP reports a government spokesperson said Sanchez “will travel to Kyiv in the coming days, you will understand that I can’t give you more information about the visit for security reasons.”

Isabel Rodriguez added: “It is a way of showing our commitment to the Ukrainian people and government.”

Sánchez is following in the footsteps of other European leaders, including the European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen, British prime minister Boris Johnson and a delegation of heads of state from the Baltic countries, who have gone to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s latest invasion of the country.

The announcement came a day after Spain said it would soon reopen its Ukrainian embassy in Kyiv.

Updated

Moldova’s president called for people and opposition politicians to refrain from using Russian symbols during 9 May celebrations to mark victory in the second world war because Russian troops were killing civilians in Ukraine.

“It is impossible to combine in the same symbol the memory of lives given for peace and the current inhumane war,” Reuters reports president Maia Sandu told a briefing.

Last week, Moldova’s parliament voted to outlaw the ribbon of St George in response to Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine. Under the new law, anyone who makes, wears or displays the striped ribbon faces a fine of at least 900 lei (£38/$49) or 69 hours of community service.

Sandu urged her opponents not to divide society for the sake of their political interests.

“Moldova defends its neutrality and peace in society. That is why the symbols of the war waged against Ukraine are prohibited in the Republic of Moldova. I urge politicians to refrain from any provocation,” Sandu said.

Sadu’s pro-Russian predecessor, Igor Dodon, has urged people to “go on the Victory March with a St George ribbons” despite the possible fines

Updated

Russian forces capture Kreminna in battle for Donbas

Ed Ram and Isobel Koshiw in Dnipro report for us:

Russian forces have seized the city of Kreminna in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region and Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the city, the regional governor has said.

Kreminna, a city of more than 18,000 people about 350 miles (560km) south-east of the capital, Kyiv, appears to be the first city captured in a Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine.

“Kreminna is under the control of the ‘Orcs’ [Russians]. They have entered the city,” Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, told a briefing on Tuesday. “Our defenders had to withdraw. They have entrenched themselves in new positions and continue to fight the Russian army.”

He said Russian forces had attacked “from all sides”.

“It is impossible to calculate the number of dead among the civilian population. We have official statistics – about 200 dead – but in reality there are many more,” he said, without making it clear what period the estimated death toll covered.

Russia denies targeting civilians.

Evacuated residents from the city have said they are unable to reach relatives and friends there.

Read more of our report from Ed Ram and Isobel Koshiw in Dnipro: Russian forces capture first city in battle for Donbas

The British prime minister Boris Johnson has updated his cabinet ministers on the latest situation in Ukraine, saying the country’s position was “perilous” – with Russian president Vladimir Putin “angered by defeats, but determined to claim some sort of victory regardless of the human cost”.

Ahead of a call with other world leaders this afternoon, the prime minister said it was “more vital than ever to increase global support” including more defensive weaponry and sanctions against Russia.

A senior national security adviser also told cabinet that Putin would focus on the Donbas region and that “the next phase of the war was likely to be an attritional conflict which could last several months”.

Downing Street added the official said Russia would “aim to exploit its troop number advantage but Ukraine had already shown that this was unlikely to be decisive on its own”.

Johnson’s spokesman added: “There are some signs that Russia had not learned lessons from previous setbacks in northern Ukraine. And there was evidence of troops being committed to the fight in a piecemeal fashion. Reports of poor Russian morale continued with claims of some soldiers leaving units refusing to fight.”

Updated

‘Non-stop bombardment of civilian districts’ in Kharkiv, city mayor says

Kharkiv’s mayor, Igor Terekhov, said Russian forces have been engaged in a “non-stop bombardment of civilian districts” in Ukraine’s second city since Sunday.

In an interview with CNN, Terekhov said:

In the last few days, [Russian shelling] has been in the centre and it’s targeting peaceful civilians.

The enemy is targeting civilians, many people are wounded and some unfortunately dead. In the past day and a half, we’ve had 15 people killed and more than 50 wounded. Those 15 killed was just in one attack.

From German newspaper Bild’s Björn Stritzel:

At least three people were killed and 16 wounded in the shelling of Kharkiv today, Oleh Synehubov, the regional governor, said.

Updated

Oleksandr Malish, the patrol police chief for the cities of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk in the Donetsk region, is reluctant to call people suspected of collaborating with Russia Ukrainians, Isobel Koshiw and Ed Ram report.

“I cannot even call these people Ukrainians, even though they have Ukrainian passports and were born here and lived here all their lives,” said Malish. “These are not professional spies who were trained in Moscow and sent here.”

The two cities he oversees are in the pocket of the Donetsk region still controlled by Ukraine but surrounded by Russian forces on three sides. Part of his team’s job is rooting out and detaining suspected collaborators. Pro-Russian feeling still exists, he said, especially among marginalised sections of the population.

Officers inspect a nursery hit by a rocket in Kramatorsk. The attack had been intended for the local security services HQ
Officers inspect a nursery hit by a rocket in Kramatorsk. The attack had been intended for the local security services HQ Photograph: Ed Ram/The Guardian

Malish said there were pro-Russia Telegram groups with the “Z” branding that were targeting residents. The administrator of the Telegram group would put out a notice asking for coordinates or photos of a certain place in exchange for money. When a person sent the “goods” to the administrator, they received up to £500 on their bank card, Malish said.

He said his team had found evidence of such Telegram exchanges and bank transfers on the phones of “numerous” suspected collaborators they had detained. He said declined to say exactly how many.

The Guardian was not able to find the Telegram groups Malish described. But it did find public Telegram groups for Kramatorsk and Slovyansk with “Z” branding that carry pro-Russia messaging about the war.

The groups have about 15,000 subscribers. The Guardian was not able to confirm that they were all genuine residents of the two cities and neighbouring villages, though some appeared to be.

Malish said police were asked by residents to inspect a man on Saturday. When they searched his phone, he said, they saw he had received about £400 from a Russian bank account on 8 April. As the man was not able to explain the transfer, and the Kramatorsk railway station was hit the same day, they decided to detain him as a suspect.

More than half the cities’ populations have left. According to one lieutenant patrol officer on duty, Ihor Yunusov, this makes it easier for the police to identify suspicious behaviour. “If before there could be 500 people on the main square in the evening, now there are around 10,” Yunusov said.

The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, has updated cabinet ministers on the latest situation in Ukraine, saying the country’s position was “perilous” - with Russian president Vladimir Putin “angered by defeats, but determined to claim some sort of victory regardless of the human cost”.

Ahead of a call with other world leaders this afternoon, the prime minister said it was “more vital than ever to increase global support” including more defensive weaponry and sanctions against Russia.

A senior national security adviser also told the cabinet that Putin was focused on the Donbas region and that “the next phase of the war was likely to be an attritional conflict which could last several months”.

Downing Street added the official said Russia would “aim to exploit its troop number advantage but Ukraine had already shown that this was unlikely to be decisive on its own”.

Johnson’s spokesman added:

There are some signs that Russia had not learned lessons from previous setbacks in northern Ukraine. And there was evidence of troops being committed to the fight in a piecemeal fashion.

Reports of poor Russian morale continued with claims of some soldiers leaving units refusing to fight.

Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has accused the US and its western allies of “doing everything to drag out” Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine by supplying Kyiv with arms, AFP reports.

In a televised meeting with Russian military commanders, Shoigu referred to eastern Ukraine’s two self-proclaimed republics, which Moscow has recognised as independent states:

We are gradually implementing our plan to liberate the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.

He added:

We are taking measures to restore peaceful life.

Updated

Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region and an ally of Vladimir Putin, said Russian forces would completely take over the Azovstal metallurgical plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol today, Reuters reports.

Kadyrov said in an audio message on his Telegram channel:

Today, with the help of the Almighty, we will … take over Azovstal completely.

Russia earlier called on Ukrainian forces encamped in the Azovstal plant to lay down their arms by noon Moscow time, a deadline that passed two hours ago.

Updated

Russian troops seize city of Kreminna, regional governor says

Russian troops have reportedly captured the city of Kreminna in east Ukraine, Reuters reports.

Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the city after three days of fighting, Luhansk regional governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said in a briefing:

Kreminna is under the control of the ‘Orcs’ (Russians). They have entered the city. Our defenders had to withdraw. They have entrenched themselves in new positions and continue to fight the Russian army.

If true, Kreminna would appear to be the first city captured in a new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine.

Gaidai said it was “impossible” to calculate the number of dead among the civilian population.

We have official statistics – about 200 dead – but in reality there are many more.

Earlier on Monday, Gaidai said in a statement on his official Telegram channel:

Currently, control over the city of Kreminna is lost, street fights are taking place.

Russian troops shot dead people trying to leave the city, he added, claiming that four people had been killed as they tried to evacuate in their own vehicles on Monday morning.

The Russians opened fire on a car with civilians. Four people died.

Kreminna, with a pre-war population of nearly 20,000 people, is about 50km (31 miles) north-east of Kramatorsk, the region’s administrative centre, and is a strategic target for invading Russian forces.

Kreminna, as well as nearby Rubizhne, Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, have withstood heavy shelling from both sides for several days on the frontline.

Hello, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong here. I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments from the war in Ukraine. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.

Updated

Vehicles destroyed in combat during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, compiled on the outskirts of the city Irpin, Ukraine, April 18, 2022
Vehicles destroyed in combat during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, compiled on the outskirts of the city Irpin, Ukraine, April 18, 2022 Photograph: Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
A woman with a cat sits in a bus to move to Ukrainian city of Dnipro during an evacuation of civilians in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022.
A woman with a cat sits in a bus to move to Ukrainian city of Dnipro during an evacuation of civilians in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Photograph: Andriy Andriyenko/AP

Today so far …

  • The Russian offensive to seize eastern Ukraine and the “battle for Donbas” has begun, Ukraine’s president Volodymr Zelenskiy said. “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, adding that a “significant part of the entire Russian army is now concentrated on this offensive”.
  • Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Moscow was starting a new stage of what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine. He predicted it would be a significant development.
  • Russia’s defence ministry said Russian missile and artillery forces struck 1,260 targets in Ukraine overnight, and that anti-aircraft forces downed a Ukrainian MiG-29 jet in the Donetsk region. Russia’s new offensive is going “very cautiously” and will fail because Moscow’s forces lack the strength to break through Ukrainian defences, Ukraine’s presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych has said.
  • Russia has 76 battalion tactical groups in the Donbas region of Ukraine and in the country’s south-east with 11 of those added over the last several days, a senior US defence department official said in a statement on Monday night.
  • Russian troops have reportedly captured the east Ukraine town of Kreminna while local authorities have urged residents in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to evacuate. “Currently, control over the city of Kreminna is lost; street fights are taking place,” Luhansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a statement on his official Telegram channel on Monday night.
  • Russia has again called on Ukrainian forces encamped in the Azovstal metallurgical plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol to lay down their arms. Ukrainian authorities say that no fewer than 1,000 civilians are hiding in the complex along with Ukrainian fighters.
  • The deputy prime minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk has said there will be no humanitarian corridors set up again today in Ukraine, the third day consecutive day without agreed escape routes.
  • Greece seized a crude oil Russian tanker off the island of Evia as part of European Union sanctions against Russia, a Greek shipping ministry official has said.
  • French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said that an embargo on Russian oil at a European Union level was in the works, adding that France’s president Emmanuel Macron is keen on such a move.
  • The UK government’s Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis said he would not comment on national security issues when asked what the UK was doing to bring home Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, British fighters in Ukraine captured by the Russians and paraded on national TV.
  • Labour party’s shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, said “it is inappropriate for British people to be involved in the war in Ukraine and they should not be going there”. She said she had been “surprised” UK foreign secretary Liz Truss had given out “mixed messages” and had “seemed to almost be endorsing people going out to Ukraine. It simply is wrong.”

Updated

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), has condemned attacks on healthcare workers and provisions in Ukraine. He tweeted:

WHO unequivocally condemns the continued increase in attacks on health care in Ukraine. They must stop. To date, WHO has verified 147 attacks, including 73 people killed, and 53 injured. War will not be a solution. Once again, I call on Russia to end the war.

Updated

Reuters reports Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Moscow was starting a new stage of what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine. He predicted would be a significant development.

“Another stage of this operation is beginning and I am sure this will be a very important moment of this entire special operation”, Lavrov said in an interview with the India Today TV channel.

Updated

Ukraine continues diplomatic efforts to bolster support for their defensive war against the invading Russian forces. Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has been in Sofia, where he met his Bulgarian counterpart Teodora Genchovska.

Meanwhile, in Rome, the exiled mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, met Italy’s foreign minister Luigi Di Maio. At the weekend, Fedorov also met Pope Francis as part of his trip to Rome. In March, the Ukrainian mayor had been captured from Melitopol by Russian forces, then released six days later as part of a prisoner exchange.

Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Sergijovic Fedorov (3-R) meets Italy’s foreignmMinister Luigi Di Maio (2-L) at the foreign ministry in Rome.
Mayor of Melitopol Ivan Sergijovic Fedorov (third left) meets Italy’s foreign minister Luigi Di Maio (second left) at the foreign ministry in Rome. Photograph: Angelo Carconi/EPA

Updated

Russia has again called on Ukrainian forces encamped in the Azovstal metallurgical plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol to lay down their arms. It asked this be done by noon Moscow time, a deadline which has just passed.

Reuters reports Russia’s defence ministry issued a statement calling for the surrender.

“All who lay down their arms are guaranteed to remain alive,” the defence ministry said. It called on troops to withdraw from the steel plant between 2pm and 4pm Moscow time “without exception, without any weapons and without ammunition”.

Here is how Deborah Haynes – security and defence editor at Sky News – understands the proposed chronology in Moscow time.

Fighters at the Azovstal plant – where Ukrainian authorities say about 1,000 civilians are hiding in underground shelters – have declined to accept previous offers for them to give themselves up.

Updated

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, Ukraine’s presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych has said.

Reuters reports he said said Russian forces were trying to find “sensitive spots” in Ukraine’s defences but added: “Their offensive will fail – I give you a 99% guarantee – they simply do not have enough strength.”

“The battle for Donbas, which was announced and apparently began yesterday, is under way and is going very cautiously. The battle will not go in Russia’s favour,” he said on national television.

Updated

The UN secretary general António Guterres has not tried to get in touch with Russian president Vladimir Putin since the start of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, according to the Russian foreign ministry.

Reuters reports foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “No one has been in touch, neither through the permanent mission of Russia to the UN, nor directly with the foreign ministry.”

Updated

Ukraine’s former ambassador to the European Union, Kostiantyn Yelisieiev, has been interviewed on Sky News in the UK. Calling for more decisive action and leadership from the UK and the US, he told viewers:

Russian troops unleashed massive artillery and missile and rocket fire all along the eastern flank of Ukraine. And this I would call the second stage of the Russian war against Ukraine. This is a fully fledged bloody war unleashed by Putin’s regime.

And with the example of Mariupol, Putin clearly shows what he wants to do with Ukraine tomorrow. That is why this is a warning signal and an alarm to the entire democratic world to act.

On the attacks on Lviv on Monday, he said “this is a clear example that there is no safe place in Ukraine now.”

He was at pains to explain that Russian president Vladimir Putin’s aims in Ukraine went beyond simply taking control of Mariupol or the Donbas. Yelisieiev said:

He would like to have in his own pocket the whole of Ukraine. His aim is if not to conquer Ukraine, at least to erase Ukraine from the international map. So that’s why now we’re fighting for our existence.

Updated

Greece seized a crude oil Russian tanker off the island of Evia as part of European Union sanctions against Russia, a Greek shipping ministry official has said.

The Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members onboard, was seized near the coastal city of Karystos in Evia.

“It has been seized as part of EU sanctions,” a shipping ministry official told Reuters. A coastguard official said the vessel had been seized, but not its oil cargo.

Updated

Reuters reports the latest operational claims from the Russian defence ministry. They have said that Russian missile and artillery forces struck 1,260 targets in Ukraine overnight, and that anti-aircraft forces downed a Ukrainian MiG-29 jet in the Donetsk region. The claims have not been independently verified.

In the UK, opposition Labour party’s shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, has been appearing in the media. Asked about the plight of captured British fighters Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, she told Sky News that “it is inappropriate for British people to be involved in the war in Ukraine and they should not be going there”.

Thornberry said: “We are giving support to the Ukrainian people. We have been giving assistance when it comes to training. We’ve been given assistance when it comes to lethal aid in terms of weaponry, and we are giving assistance when it comes to to putting sanctions on the Russians.

“And we ought to be giving much more assistance when it comes to giving somewhere for Ukrainian refugees to come that will be safe. These are the ways in which we are we’re helping the Ukrainians and we’re doing that in solidarity with the rest of our allies.”

As to the situation with the captured Britons, Thornberry said “We should be negotiating with the Russians to try to get them back. But I don’t think that we can give them to blackmail. If we start doing that, then it just encourages more snatching of sashing hostages around the world.”

However, on the broader issue of people heading out to fight, she said that she had been “surprised” that UK foreign secretary Liz Truss had given out “mixed messages” and had “seemed to almost be endorsing people going out to Ukraine. It simply is wrong.”

On 27 February, asked whether she would back anyone wanting to volunteer to help the Ukrainians fighting, Truss told the BBC: “That is something people can make their own decisions about. The people of Ukraine are fighting for freedom and democracy, not just for Ukraine, but for the whole of Europe. Absolutely, if people want to support that struggle, I would support them in doing that.”

Updated

Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has arrived in Bulgaria, where he says he has been tasked “with seeking steps to win peace in Ukraine”. He thanked the people of Bulgaria for their support and described the country as “our friend and partner within the EU and bilaterally”.

Here are some of the latest pictures of the crisis in Ukraine that we have been sent over the newswires.

Cranes and workers removing concrete barriers built to defend against a possible Russian invasion along city streets in Odesa.
Cranes and workers removing concrete barriers built to defend against a possible Russian invasion along city streets in Odesa. Photograph: Vincenzo Circosta/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock
Nadia (R) attends the funeral at a cemetery in Bucha of her husband and two other victims, conducted by Andrii Holovine (C), priest of the church of St. Andrew Pervozvannoho All Saints.
Nadia (right) attends the funeral at a cemetery in Bucha of her husband and two other victims, conducted by Andrii Holovine (centre), priest of the church of St Andrew Pervozvannoho All Saints. Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images
Destroyed structures stand in Irpin.
Destroyed buildings in Irpin. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images
A passenger puts her suitcase into a Flixbus departing from Maastricht station in the Netherlands for Kyiv. The company has resumed journeys to Ukraine.
A passenger puts her suitcase into a Flixbus departing from Maastricht station in the Netherlands for Kyiv. The company has resumed journeys to Ukraine. Photograph: Marcel van Hoorn/ANP/AFP/Getty Images
Water donated by the citizens of Odesa for the city of Mykolaiv.
Water donated by the citizens of Odesa for the city of Mykolaiv. Photograph: Vincenzo Circosta/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

Tony Brenton, who served as British ambassador to Russia from 2004 to 2008, has been interviewed about the latest situation in Ukraine on Sky News. He said we are now in “the decisive phase of the war”. He told viewers:

One of two things can happen, either the Russians succeed in Donbas and take that region, in which case they’ve got a huge negotiating ploy. The alternative, and I suspect more likely, is that this thing is going to get bogged down as their previous offensive got bogged down.

Then you are in for quite a long war of attrition between the two sides. Both sides at some point will begin looking for a negotiated outcome. But we’ll have to see. A lot now depends immensely on how the military campaign goes.

On Russia’s chances of success, he said:

It was not feasible on their original approach, which was just sending their troops in every possible direction. Whether it is feasible to take the Donbas and then proceed from there remains to be seen.

Initially, the chief of the US general staff said at the very beginning that the Russians were likely to be able to take Kyiv in 72 hours, so lots of military experts have got egg on their face about the incapacity of the Russians to win the war as they initially fought it.

The big question is whether they’ve resolved the incompetence that they showed the first time around. They found themselves up against a much more effective, cohesive and high morale Ukrainian armed force than they expected. And also a Ukrainian armed force which had been massively armed by the west, which has made a very big difference to Russia’s ability to advance.

Updated

French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said that an embargo on Russian oil at a European Union level was 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,” Reuters reports Le Maire told Europe 1 radio.

Updated

No humanitarian corridors in Ukraine for third consecutive day – Ukraine's deputy PM

The deputy prime minister of Ukraine, Iryna Vereshchuk, has posted to the Telegram messaging service to say there will be no humanitarian corridors set up again today in Ukraine. She said:

Today, 19 April, unfortunately there are no humanitarian corridors. Intense shelling continues in the Donbas.

According to Mariupol: the Russians refuse to provide a corridor for civilians in the direction of Berdyansk.

We continue difficult negotiations on the opening of humanitarian corridors in Kherson and Kharkiv regions.

Updated

The British ambassador to Ukraine has just echoed that message from Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, saying in a tweet that “the battle for Donbas has begun”.

Melinda Simmons added: “Ukraine is not fighting to take territory from Russia. Ukraine is fighting for the right to live peacefully in their own territory.”

Updated

The UK government’s Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis has been doing the media round domestically. He was asked on Sky News awhat the country is doing to bring home Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, who have been captured by Russian forces and shown on television asking for help.

Lewis said “I’m not going to comment on what are effectively national security issues.”

He also said:

It’s dreadful to see anybody being taken hostage. We’ll continue to do everything we can to support anybody who is from the UK, and anybody actually, as we have done with the Ukrainian people, in the work that they’re doing to defend their country, a democratic country.

Invited to criticise Pinner and Aslin for having travelled to Ukraine to fight, Lewis said:

This is a very dangerous situation. The armed forces – both Ukrainian armed forces and the UK armed forces – have their own processes and procedures. People should be following the law.

What we would encourage people to do is to [support Ukraine] through the right channels, financial support as hundreds of thousands of people in the UK doing it, rather than taking the very dangerous and actually not legal process to go out and act in that way.

But having said that, obviously we want to see everybody in Ukraine be safe, whatever their nationality, and that is why it is important that Russia and Putin’s regime pull out of this invasion.

Summary

  • The Russian offensive to seize eastern Ukraine and the “battle for Donbas” has begun, Ukraine’s president Volodymr Zelenskiy said. “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, adding that a “significant part of the entire Russian army is now concentrated on this offensive”. Presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said: “The second phase of the war has begun.”
  • Russia has 76 battalion tactical groups in the Donbas region of Ukraine and in the country’s southeast with 11 of those added over the last several days, a senior US defence department official said in a statement on Monday night.
  • The southern port city of Mariupol has not fallen to Russian forces, US officials added. “Our assessment is Mariupol is still contested,” the Pentagon official said. If Russian forces succeed in taking full control of Mariupol, that could free up nearly a dozen battalion tactical groups for use elsewhere in the Donbas.
  • No fewer than 1,000 civilians are reportedly hiding in underground shelters beneath the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, according to the city council. Most of the civilians are believed to be women with children and elderly people. About 40,000 civilians in the city have been forcibly moved to Russia or Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine, the mayor added.
  • Seven people were killed in strikes in the western city of Lviv. Maksym Kozytskyy, the governor of Lviv, said preliminary reports suggested there were four strikes there, three on warehouses that were not in use by the military and another on a car service station. “It was a barbaric strike at a service station, it’s a completely civilian facility,” he told a news conference.
  • Shelling in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region killed four people, regional governor, Pavlo Kirilenko, said.
  • Russian troops have reportedly captured the east Ukraine town of Kreminna while local authorities have urged residents in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to evacuate. “Currently, control over the city of Kreminna is lost, street fights are taking place,” Luhansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a statement on his official Telegram channel on Monday night. “Russians shot dead people trying to leave Kreminna,” he added.
  • Ukrainian investigators have examined 269 dead bodies in Irpin, near Kyiv, since the town was taken back from Russian forces in late March, a police official said on Monday, as workers dug fresh graves on its outskirts.
  • New photos and a video of the damaged Russian cruiser Moskva appear to show that it was probably struck by anti-ship missiles and then abandoned before the ship sank in the Black Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded: “We did see the footage, but we can’t say how authentic and true it is.”
  • Family members of sailors who served onboard the warship are demanding answers as the ministry has sought to suppress information about what happened to the ship or its estimated 510-strong crew. The total number of dead, wounded and missing remains a state secret. A number of families have gone public saying they cannot find their sons who were serving onboard.
  • Ukrainian military intelligence has said Russia’s 126th coastal defence brigade of the Black Sea Fleet suffered losses amounting to 75%. Officials also claimed Russia’s 810th separate Marine Brigade of the Black Sea navy lost 158 soldiers killed by Ukrainian forces, with about 500 others injured and 70 considered missing.
  • The first shipments of a new US military aid package have arrived at Ukraine’s borders, a senior Pentagon official confirmed. “There have been four flights from the United States arriving into the theatre just yesterday,” the official said on Monday, with a fifth flight due shortly. Last week, the United States unveiled a $800-million tranche of equipment for Ukraine, including helicopters, howitzers and armoured personnel carriers.
  • Japan will send masks and clothing designed to protect against chemical weapons as well as drones to Ukraine in response to a request from Kyiv, in Tokyo’s latest shipment of defence supplies to Ukraine.
  • Britain will also reportedly soon send armoured missile launchers to Ukraine after Russia started its full-scale offensive to take control of the country’s east, PA Media is reporting.
  • There are no plans for US President Joe Biden to visit the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a briefing on Monday. “There’s no plans for the president to go. Let me just reiterate that,” she told reporters. The White House has said it wants to send a high-ranking official instead, perhaps secretary of state Antony Blinken or defence secretary Lloyd Austin.
  • However, Biden said he will hold a call with allies on Tuesday to discuss the Ukraine crisis, including on how to coordinate on holding Russia accountable.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron has said his dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin has stalled after mass killings were discovered in Ukraine. “Since the massacres we have discovered in Bucha and in other towns, the war has taken a different turn, so I did not speak to him again directly since, but I don’t rule out doing so in the future”, Macron told France 5 television on Monday.
  • There have been 136 attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, according to the UN secretary general, António Guterres, who cited numbers from World Health Organization in a news conference held Monday.
  • Ukraine is hoping to receive candidate country status to join the European Union within weeks, Zelenskiy said. The European Union’s ambassador in Ukraine, Matti Maasikas, said he received a completed questionnaire from Zelenskiy just 10 days after the document was provided to Kyiv. “Extraordinary times take extraordinary steps and extraordinary speed,” he tweeted.
  • Russia’s invasion has damaged up to 30% of Ukraine’s infrastructure, costing the country up to $100bn, reports Reuters.
  • Humanitarian ceasefires between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Ukraine are not on the horizon right now, but may be possible in a couple of weeks, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths has said. Griffiths added that he would travel to Turkey this week to discuss with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials the prospects of hosting humanitarian talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Britain to send armoured missile launchers to Ukraine - reports

Britain will reportedly soon send armoured missile launchers to Ukraine after Russia started its full-scale offensive to take control of the country’s east, PA Media is reporting.

The ministry of defence demonstrated the Stormer High Velocity Missile (HVM) launcher for Ukrainians on Salisbury Plain two weeks ago, according to The Sun, with the paper adding the 13-tonne vehicles can be flown to the war on C-17 transport planes in days.

The Stormer is manufactured by BAE Systems, needs just three people to operate it and and uses Starstreak missiles, which can be used to take down low-flying aircraft.

It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a “significant part of the entire Russian army” was concentrated on an offensive in the east in the mostly-Russian speaking Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have declared two independent republics that have been recognised by Russia.

Zelenskiy has been pleading for western powers to give him greater firepower to fight back, with Boris Johnson saying on 7 April that he was “certainly looking at what more military assistance we can give” amid reports the UK could send armoured vehicles.

On the same date, foreign secretary Liz Truss said the UK was “stepping up” the supply of arms, as she joined Nato counterparts in Brussels to hear the demands from Ukraine for more equipment.

Japan will send masks and clothing designed to protect against chemical weapons as well as drones to Ukraine in response to a request from Kyiv, in Tokyo’s latest shipment of defence supplies to Ukraine.

The delivery will include NBC suits, NBC masks and drones, Japan’s defence ministry announced on Tuesday.

A novel form of entertainment has hit the shelves in Ukraine’s toy stores.

Ukrainian freelance journalist Olga Tokariuk took a photo of some recently purchased plush soft toy mriyas and javelins.

“New Ukrainian toys. I bought a Mriya for my kid, because every child needs to have a Dream,” Tokariuk tweeted.

More than 7,000 alleged war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine are under investigation, Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office has said.

A total of 7,280 cases have been reported and 205 children have been confirmed to have been killed, the office added.

The US is reportedly seeking to seize a superyacht suspected of belonging to a Russian oligarch that is docked in the Pacific island nation of Fiji.

A restraining order filed on Tuesday by Fiji’s director of public prosecutions and seen by Reuters showed the vessel arrived in Fiji a week ago after leaving Mexico 18 days earlier and crossing the Pacific.

The luxury vessel the Amadea is widely believed to be owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, sanctioned by the US and European Union.

Fiji’s director of public prosecutions, Christopher Pryde, filed an application to the high court seeking to prevent the Amadea from leaving Fiji.

The luxury vessel the Amadea is widely believed to be owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, sanctioned by the United States and European Union.
Luxury vessel the Amadea is widely believed to be owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, sanctioned by the US and European Union. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The application requested “the motor yacht Amadea be restrained from leaving Fijian waters until the finalisation of an application to register a warrant to seize the property and (ii) that a US warrant to seize the Amadea be registered”.

The US embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but last week said “the United States is committed to finding and seizing the assets of the oligarchs who have supported the Russian Federation’s brutal, unprovoked war of choice against Ukraine”.

The court has not heard the application.

A superyacht agent in Fiji acting for the Amadea told Reuters last week the vessel’s lawyers were contesting that Suleiman was the owner.

Registration records viewed by Reuters show the yacht is registered to a company in the Cayman islands. Kerimov was sanctioned by the US in 2018 and 2014 in response to Russia’s actions in Syria and Ukraine.

Updated

New photos and a video of the damaged Russian cruiser Moskva appear to show that it was probably struck by anti-ship missiles and then abandoned before the ship sank in the Black Sea.

In the images, which analysts have said appear to be genuine, a plume of black smoke is seen rising from a heavily damaged Moskva, which was reported to have been hit by a Ukrainian missile strike last week.

Watch the footage of the alleged attack below.

Russia's Donbas offensive advances as troops capture Kreminna

Russian troops have reportedly captured the east Ukraine town of Kreminna while local authorities have urged residents in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to evacuate.

“Currently, control over the city of Kreminna is lost, street fights are taking place,” Luhansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a statement on his official Telegram channel on Monday night.

“Russians shot dead people trying to leave Kreminna,” he added, claiming four people had been killed as they tried to evacuate in their own vehicles on Monday morning.

The Russians opened fire on a car with civilians. Four people died.”

Homes, buildings, a sports complex and other facilities were also destroyed as a result of shelling in the town as well as in the nearby towns of Rubizne and Lysychansk.

In Lysychansk, the building of the regional patrol police department was destroyed, resulting in the hospitalisation of six policemen, Gaiday added.

A man rides on a bicycle in front of a building after it was hit by shelling in Lysychansk, Luhansk region, Ukraine.
A man rides on a bicycle in front of a building after it was hit by shelling in Lysychansk, Luhansk region, Ukraine. Photograph: Marko Đurica/Reuters

I strongly urge people to evacuate ... There are no safe places left in the region - evacuate, we can still save you.”

The head of Kreminna’s military administration, Oleksandr Dunets, told Radio Donbas: “The fighting lasted three days and Russia used a large number of armoured vehicles to attack the city.”

Kreminna as well as nearby Rubizhne, Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, have withstood heavy shelling from both sides for several days on the frontline. Rubizhne, which had more than 60,000 residents before the war began, came under intense Ukrainian artillery and mortar fire on Monday, AFP journalists saw.

Kreminna, with a pre-war population of nearly 20,000 people, is around 50km (31 miles) northeast of Kramatorsk, the region’s administrative centre, and is a strategic target for invading Russian forces.

A plane sent from Moscow to collect expelled Russian diplomats from Spain and then onto Greece was forced to make a 15,000km detour because of an EU flight ban, according to data obtained by FlightRadar.

“While Spain and Greece made a one-time exception for the aircraft to enter their airspace, the flights navigated around other countries that maintain bans on Russian flights,” the flight tracking website said.

“The total length of the flights was 15,163 km, just shy of the current world’s longest flight between Singapore and New York.”

US President Joe Biden will hold a call with allies later today to discuss the Ukraine crisis, including on how to coordinate on holding Russia accountable, the White House said in a statement, as reported by Reuters.

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.”

Here are some of the latest images to emerge from Bucha, a town 27km (17 miles) north-west from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, which is swiftly becoming synonymous with the worst atrocities of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

A sprawling cemetery now holds Ukrainian civilians and soldiers who lost their lives due to the Russian attacks.

Four graves seen in Bucha.
Four graves seen in Bucha. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Ukrainian civilians and soldiers who lost their lives due to the Russian attacks are being buried in the cemetery in Bucha, Ukraine.
Ukrainian civilians and soldiers who lost their lives due to the Russian attacks are being buried in the cemetery in Bucha, Ukraine. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
An aerial picture taken on 18 April 18 shows coffins being buried during a funeral ceremony at a cemetery in Bucha.
An aerial picture taken on 18 April 18 shows coffins being buried during a funeral ceremony at a cemetery in Bucha. Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images
Bucha, a town 27km north-west from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, is swiftly becoming synonymous with the worst atrocities of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Bucha, a town 27km north-west from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, is swiftly becoming synonymous with the worst atrocities of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Macron says his dialogue with Putin has stalled

French President Emmanuel Macron has said his dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin has stalled after mass killings were discovered in Ukraine.

“Since the massacres we have discovered in Bucha and in other towns, the war has taken a different turn, so I did not speak to him again directly since, but I don’t rule out doing so in the future”, Macron told France 5 television on Monday.

Russia has called the accusations its forces executed civilians in Bucha while occupying the town a “monstrous forgery” aimed at denigrating the Russian army.

Asked why he had not followed the example of other European leaders and travelled to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Macron said that a show of support by itself was not needed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I will go back to Kyiv, but I will go there to bring something useful with me... because it’s obvious that I don’t need to travel there to show this support,” Macron said, adding that he had spoken around 40 times since the start of the war to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

“If I go to Kyiv, it will be to make a difference,” he added.

The battle for Donbas has begun, Zelenskiy says

Russia has begun its long-expected large-scale military action to seize the east of Ukraine, the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address late on Monday night.

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 ... a significant part of the entire Russian army is now concentrated on this offensive”.

He added: “No matter how many soldiers are driven there, we will defend ourselves. We will fight. We will not give up anything Ukrainian.”

Echoing his comments, Kyiv’s presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said:

The second phase of the war has started.”

The president’s comments follow a dramatic escalation of attacks by Russia ahead of the long-anticipated operation. Vladimir Putin has declared his intention to seize Donbas, the industrial heartland in the east of the country already partly controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

Zelenskiy made clear that the Ukrainian army would battle any attempted advance by Moscow. “No matter how many Russian troops are driven there, we will fight,” he said. “We will defend ourselves. We will do it every day.”

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the press service of the national security and defence council of Ukraine, reported earlier that “an active phase of the Russian offensive began almost along the entire frontline” referring to the Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv regions, adding: “The occupiers tried to break through our defences.”

“This morning, almost along the whole front line of the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, the occupiers attempted to break through our defences,” Danilov was quoted as telling Ukrainian media.

“Fortunately, our military is holding out. They passed through only two cities. This is Kreminna and another small town.” He added: “We are not giving up any of our territories.”

Updated

Russia suffers losses of 75% on Black Sea fleet coastal defence brigade, Ukraine claims

Russia’s 126th coastal defence brigade of the Black Sea Fleet has suffered losses amounting to 75%, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.

According to available accurate information, the losses of the 126th Coastal Defence Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet amount to 75%,” the latest operational report released by Ukraine’s general staff of the armed forces reads.

Officials also claimed Russia’s 810th separate Marine Brigade of the Black Sea navy lost 158 soldiers killed by Ukrainian forces, with about 500 others injured and 70 considered missing.

Russian forces aim to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as maintaining the land corridor with the temporarily occupied Crimea, Ukraine’s military added.

The enemy’s main efforts are focused on the breakthrough in the defence of our troops in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as well as establishing full control over the city of Mariupol.”

Summary

Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments until my colleague, Martin Belam, takes the reins a little later in the day.

It is just past 7am in Ukraine. Here’s what we know so far:

  • The Russian offensive to seize eastern Ukraine and the “battle for Donbas” has begun, Ukraine’s president Volodymr Zelenskiy said. “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, adding that a “significant part of the entire Russian army is now concentrated on this offensive”. Presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said: “The second phase of the war has begun.”
  • Russia has 76 battalion tactical groups in the Donbas region of Ukraine and in the country’s southeast with 11 of those added over the last several days, a senior US defence department official said in a statement on Monday night.
  • The southern port city of Mariupol has not fallen to Russian forces, US officials added. “Our assessment is Mariupol is still contested,” the Pentagon official said. If Russian forces succeed in taking full control of Mariupol, that could free up nearly a dozen battalion tactical groups for use elsewhere in the Donbas.
  • No fewer than 1,000 civilians are reportedly hiding in underground shelters beneath the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, according to the city council. Most of the civilians are believed to be women with children and elderly people. About 40,000 civilians in the city have been forcibly moved to Russia or Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine, the mayor added.
  • Seven people were killed in strikes in the western city of Lviv. Maksym Kozytskyy, the governor of Lviv, said preliminary reports suggested there were four strikes there, three on warehouses that were not in use by the military and another on a car service station. “It was a barbaric strike at a service station, it’s a completely civilian facility,” he told a news conference.
  • Shelling in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region killed four people, regional governor, Pavlo Kirilenko, said.
  • Russian troops have reportedly captured the east Ukraine town of Kreminna while local authorities have urged residents in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to evacuate. “Currently, control over the city of Kreminna is lost, street fights are taking place,” Luhansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a statement on his official Telegram channel on Monday night. “Russians shot dead people trying to leave Kreminna,” he added.
  • Ukrainian investigators have examined 269 dead bodies in Irpin, near Kyiv, since the town was taken back from Russian forces in late March, a police official said on Monday, as workers dug fresh graves on its outskirts.
  • New photos and a video of the damaged Russian cruiser Moskva appear to show that it was probably struck by anti-ship missiles and then abandoned before the ship sank in the Black Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded: “We did see the footage, but we can’t say how authentic and true it is.”
  • Family members of sailors who served onboard the warship are demanding answers as the ministry has sought to suppress information about what happened to the ship or its estimated 510-strong crew. The total number of dead, wounded and missing remains a state secret. A number of families have gone public saying they cannot find their sons who were serving onboard.
  • The first shipments of a new US military aid package have arrived at Ukraine’s borders, a senior Pentagon official confirmed. “There have been four flights from the United States arriving into the theatre just yesterday,” the official said on Monday, with a fifth flight due shortly. Last week, the United States unveiled a $800-million tranche of equipment for Ukraine, including helicopters, howitzers and armoured personnel carriers.
  • There are no plans for US President Joe Biden to visit the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a briefing on Monday. “There’s no plans for the president to go. Let me just reiterate that,” she told reporters. The White House has said it wants to send a high-ranking official instead, perhaps secretary of state Antony Blinken or defence secretary Lloyd Austin.
  • However, Biden said he will hold a call with allies on Tuesday to discuss the Ukraine crisis, including on how to coordinate on holding Russia accountable.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron has said his dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin has stalled after mass killings were discovered in Ukraine. “Since the massacres we have discovered in Bucha and in other towns, the war has taken a different turn, so I did not speak to him again directly since, but I don’t rule out doing so in the future”, Macron told France 5 television on Monday.
  • There have been 136 attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, according to the UN secretary general, António Guterres, who cited numbers from World Health Organization in a news conference held Monday.
  • Ukraine is hoping to receive candidate country status to join the European Union within weeks, Zelenskiy said. The European Union’s ambassador in Ukraine, Matti Maasikas, said he received a completed questionnaire from Zelenskiy just 10 days after the document was provided to Kyiv. “Extraordinary times take extraordinary steps and extraordinary speed,” he tweeted.
  • Russia’s invasion has damaged up to 30% of Ukraine’s infrastructure, costing the country up to $100bn, reports Reuters.
  • Humanitarian ceasefires between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Ukraine are not on the horizon right now, but may be possible in a couple of weeks, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths has said. Griffiths added that he would travel to Turkey this week to discuss with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials the prospects of hosting humanitarian talks between Ukraine and Russia.

As usual, please feel free to reach out to me by email or Twitter for any tips or feedback.

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