Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine completes questionnaire for obtaining EU membership

Amid the relentless war against Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy completed the questionnaire on the application form for gaining the status of an EU candidate. The application form was handed over to a representative of the European Union, NEXTA reported. Earlier this month, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine stated that the war-torn nation might get the European Union (EU) candidate country status in June this year. 

Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, the speaker of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, stated that the country's Armed Forces have liberated many villages around Izyum city. 

The mayor of Lviv claimed that a 3-year-old child from Kharkiv is among the injured in the Russian missile strike on Lviv. Mayor Andrei Sadovy stated that the victim's family had moved from Kharkiv, fleeing the war. He also claimed that three more victims are in serious condition admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), NEXTA reported.

The Russian armed forces have reportedly launched a missile attack at Kramatorsk city. According to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, the attack damaged at least 8 residential buildings, as well as educational and infrastructure facilities. However, no casualties were reported. 

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer informed that the country would be able to give up its reliance on Russian natural gas in a few years. Speaking on NBC's Meet The Press, Nehammer underlined that Austria's dependency on Russian gas currently stands at 80% and stressed that it will be "impossible" to give up its use with immediate effect. Nehammer went on to add that the country is adopting measures towards the path of independence in terms of natural gas. The statement of Karl Nehammer comes after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and later, with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

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Amid the ongoing war, new photographs of the final days of Russia's Black Sea naval flagship, Moskva, have appeared online. This comes only days after the cruiser was sunk by Ukrainian force on April 14. While the images are yet to be authenticated, they indicate the magnitude of the firing on the Russian cruiser by the Ukrainian forces.

Amid the relentless war with Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a Cabinet meeting on the social and economic situation. Addressing the meeting, the Russian President stated that the strategy of sanctions on economic blitzkrieg has failed as Moscow has withstood the unprecedented pressure from the West. President Putin also claimed that the "rate of ruble rate is back and stable." 

The Ukrainian Security Service released a video of pro-Kremlin politician Victor Medvedchuk pleading to be swapped for Mariupol inhabitants and defenders. In the video, Medvedchuk requested Russian President Vladimir Putin to send him to Russia in exchange for a safe passage for residents of besieged Mariupol and soldiers defending the city, the Kyiv Independent reported. 

A big 60-mile line of Russian trucks that missed the EU's Saturday (April 16) deadline to leave the bloc might be seized, with up to 3,000 Polish vehicles facing tit-for-tat seizures in Belarus and Russia, RT News reported. As the deadline approached, Polish border authorities said that lineups at two main border crossings from Poland into Belarus were 33 and 56 hours long, respectively. Massive delays were also seen at checkpoints in Lithuania and Latvia, the report added. 

The UK Defence Ministry has issued its latest intelligence update about the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Taking to its official Twitter handle, the UK Defence Ministry has stated that the commanders of Russian armed forces will be "concerned" by the time Russian troops are taking to 'subdue Mariupol'. According to UK Defence Ministry, the resistance shown by Ukrainian soldiers has tested the Russian forces and diverted their troops.

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The office of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the people of Europe for supporting Kyiv amid the ongoing war against Russia. "We may have problems with the governments of some European Union in the supply of weapons, but we feel strong support from ordinary people across Europe. The way you help Ukrainians proves once again that we are all a great European family, for whose safety our soldiers are fighting today," Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to President Zelenskyy, tweeted.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that the country did not open humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians today. She stated that it was done for the sake of the safety of the Ukrainian people, Nexta reported. 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has expressed an interest in having US President Joe Biden visit Ukraine. Speaking to CBS News, Kuleba has emphasised that Biden's visit to Kyiv will be an "important message of support" of the United States to Ukraine. The statement of Dymtro Kuleba comes as several European leaders have visited Ukraine including United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Polish President Andrzej Duda.

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Two British mercenaries who surrendered to Russian soldiers in Ukraine have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, requesting his help in exchanging them for Ukrainian opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk, Sputnik reported. 

Viktor Medvedchuk, a politician from the opposition Platform - For Life Party, was detained by Ukrainian security forces on April 12. His wife made an appeal to the relatives of two alleged British mercenaries arrested by Russian soldiers on Saturday, urging them to request the UK government to exchange them for her husband.

The Deputy Chairman of Russia's Sberbank Executive Board claimed that the financial services company prevented a large-scale attack on Russian cardholders, allegedly attempted by a Ukrainian app developer that tried to write off funds across its entire cumulative customer base. 

"I want to tell you about an attack that targeted many Russian citizens who have bank cards. Almost immediately after the start of the special operation, we stopped a massive withdrawal of funds from the cards of our clients," Stanislav Kuznetsov told Sputnik. 

The number of people killed in the morning attack on Lviv has risen to 7, with 11 people injured. 4 rockets hit the warehouses, and one more hit the service station in the city, NEXTA reported citing city authorities. 

According to local media reports, several shells fell near the point of distribution of humanitarian aid in Kharkiv city. The Center for Emergency Medical Care claimed that shelling killed one person and left six others injured, NEXTA reported. 

For the first time since the beginning of the war, more Ukrainians have returned to the country than left, said Ukraine State Border Guard Service Andriy Demchenko. At least 1 million people reportedly returned to the embattled country since the war began. 

Russia on Monday shelled at least 9 settlements in Donetsk Oblast as a part of what Moscow describes "second phase" of its war against Ukraine aimed to "liberate" Donbass. 

In the wake of the Russian war in Ukraine, Paramount is set to stop broadcasting its TV channels in Russia beginning from April 20. This will include Paramount Comedy, children's Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon HD, NickToons, and Nick Jr. All of #MTV's music channels will also stop broadcasting in Russia, Nexta reported. 

Russian invading troops did not agree to the ceasefire request proposed by Ukraine for several evacuation routes, said Ukraine Deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk. 

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Monday stated that the European nation could give up Russian gas in the coming year. Noting that the country survives on 80% of Russian energy, Nehammer said "it is impossible today or tomorrow," Ukraine Pravda reported. 

Ukraine in its operational update on Monday claimed that its Armed Forces have eliminated 20.600 Russian personnel since the war began on February 24

The effort to capture Mariupol has come at a significant cost to its residents, stated Ukraine Defence Ministry. "The targeting of populated areas within Mariupol aligns with Russia’s approach to Chechnya in 1999 and Syria in 2016. This is despite the 24 February 2022 claims of Russia’s Defence Ministry that Russia would neither strike cities nor threaten the Ukrainian population," UK MoD said in its latest operational report. 

After French President Emmanuel Macron criticised US President Joe Biden's use of the term "genocide" to describe atrocities in Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday reiterated that Paris "does not consider it correct" to apply the term "genocide" to the events in Ukraine. 

In the latest development from the Russia-Ukraine war, it was reported by the Washington Post that four unnamed nations have expressed interest in obtaining Ukrainian 'Neptune' missiles even before it successfully targeted the Russian naval ship 'Moskva'. According to various media reports, Ukrainian armed forces fired two missiles at Russia's flagship vessel 'Moskva', further sinking it in the Black Sea. 

The 'Neptune' missiles that were responsible for downing 'Moskva', are mobile anti-ship cruise missiles with a range of 300 kilometres. RK-360MT Neptune is a 16-foot-long, engine-powered missile that can fly at speeds of up to 900 kilometres per hour and at altitudes of 9 to 30 feet above the surface. 

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German economic minister Robert Habeck on April 17, Sunday once again snubbed the alternate option to cut off Russian energy independence from Russia. He opposed the fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, the controversial technology practice of releasing oil and gas from the deep underground. Germany over the years has only considered a relatively few projects to drill shale oil for non-commercial purposes, but as the practice has remained unregulated until now with few laws in place, the governments including the former administration of Angela Merkel have banned it. 

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Russia on Monday claimed to launch targetted attacks on 23 areas of the Ukrainian manpower and military equipment concentration near Krasniy Liman, Novoselovka, Rubezhnoe, Ugledar, Popasnaya, Prishyb and Gusarovka. In its latest operational update, the Russian MoD also stated that its missile troops and artillery hit at least 113 assets, including 4 command posts, 4 artillery batteries, 2 fuel depots and 103 enemy strong points. 

Russian air defenses shot down two MiG-29 fighters and one Su-25 of Ukraine as the war entered day 54. The interceptions took place near Fedorovka and Zavody in Kharkiv Region. Additionally, the invading troops also destroyed 1 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle near Preobrazhenskoe, Pavlograd region.

In total, 136 aircraft, 471 unmanned aerial vehicles, 249 anti-aircraft missile systems, 2,308 tanks, and other armored combat vehicles, 254 multiple launch rocket systems, 998 field artillery, and mortars, as well as 2,171 units of special military vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. 

Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) in its operational briefing stated that Russian air defence means on Monday shot down 2 Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft near Fedorovka and Zavody in Kharkiv Region as well as 1 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle near Preobrazhenskoe, Pavlograd region. In addition, missile troops and artillery hit 113 assets, including 4 command posts, 4 artillery batteries, 2 fuel depots, and 103 enemy strong points and areas of manpower concentration.

Russian troops on Monday occupied the Kreminna region in Luhansk following a "huge offensive at night," said Sergei Gaidai, chairman of the OVA. According to statement to Ukraine 24, Russian invaders pulled up dozens of units of heavy equipment to attain a breakthrough in the region. 

As Russia is set for a strategic shift towards east Ukraine, experts have predicted that Russia-trained Syrian soldiers from Brig. Gen. Suheil al-Hassan’s division are among hundreds who have reportedly signed up to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine. However, while Russia in the initial days of the war boasted of receiving 16,000 applications from the Middle East, U.S. officials and activists monitoring Syria flagged there have not yet been significant numbers of inclusions. 

Head of Luhansk regional military administration, Serhii Haidai, on Monday called for immediate evacuation saying that there is 'no safe place left' in the east Ukrainian flank. Taking to Telegram, Haidi wrote, "Evacuate now, we can still save you." Despite no confirmation with Russian officials, Haidai stated that evacuations will be carried out on April 18 from Popasana, Rubizhne, Hirske, Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. The situation in some districts of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk had "grown worse," he added. 

Shortly after the five consecutive strikes on the city of Lviv, air sirens were heard across Ukraine on Monday. Lviv regional head of military administration advised residents to stay indoors.

Russian forces are soon planning to drop FAB-1000 and FAB-3000 heavy bombs on Azovstal metallurgical plant in an attempt to ruin the heavy-duty structures. Those bombs (1 and 3 tons in weight) are set out to break through concrete fortifications., said Anton Gerashchenko, official lawyer and a former deputy minister at the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. 

The Serbian Interior Minister, Aleksandar Vulin, called the delivery of weapons by the UK to the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo an "unfriendly step." Vulin believes that the goal of Kosovo's rapprochement and integration into NATO is to provoke Belgrade.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba stated, "Since the beginning of the new wave of Russian aggression against Ukraine, President Biden has demonstrated real leadership in helping Ukraine and mobilizing the international community to support Ukraine.

Therefore, of course, we would be glad to see him in our country, and this would be an important signal of support for us, "he said.

UKRINFORM

Over the past 24 hours, defenders of Ukraine repulsed twelve enemy attacks on the territory of Donetsk and Lugansk regions, destroyed ten tanks, fifteen armored vehicles, and five vehicles, as well as five enemy artillery systems, said Anton Gerashchenko, official lawyer and a former deputy minister at the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

The Russian army launched a missile strike on the Dnipropetrovsk region, and some of the missiles were shot down by Ukrainian air defense systems, claimed head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration (RDA) Valentyn Reznichenko.

Odesa Regional Military Administration, Serhiy Bratchuk, on Sunday claimed that Russian invading troops are planning a 'false flag' operation in Kherson. Taking to Telegram, Bratchuk stated that Russians are planning to fire on Kharson and falsely accuse Ukraine's military of it.

Ukraine Air Force on Monday claimed that its air defence unit of Land and Air Forces intercepted three helicopters, one air place, and one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). 

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are creating an 'offensive group' in the East operational zone. Meanwhile, The invading troops have also continued to launch missiles and bomb strikes on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine, said the General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine.  

A day after Russia claimed to have cleared Mariupol of the last contingent defending the port city, Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmygal on Sunday stated that the strategic port city has not fallen yet. Speaking at an interview with ABC News, the embattled PM added that Ukrainian troops will "fight till the end." 

Amid the dire situation in Mariupol, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Western allies to send "more weapons," saying that Kyiv's fate "depends upon them." Further, Zelenskyy described "every delay" to provide more weapons support to Ukraine gives "permission to Russia to take lives of Ukrainians."

The Crimean Human Rights Group on April 17 claimed that the Russian military has forcibly removed around 150 children from a hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol. According to Kyiv Independent, citing advisor to Mariupol mayor Petro Andriushchenko, stated that many of the children taken were not orphans. The children have been reportedly transferred in the direction of temporarily-occupied Donetsk and Russian city Taganrog.

In the wake of intensifying the Russian war, European Union states Belgium, Estonia and Bulgaria on Sunday implemented a ban by the bloc on Russian vessels, including those that changed their flags to other nationalities after February 24. These ships will now be prohibited from the ports of the aforementioned countries, with the exception of vessels in distress. The ban was announced on April 8. 

As the last holding Ukraine forces were asked to surrender in Mariupol, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv 'will fight Russia till the end." He added, if necessary, Ukraine is ready to fight Russia for 10 years." He also took a swipe at Russia's renewed bombings in Kharkiv and informed that the five people have died in strikes on the city on Sunday and 18 have been killed over the past four days.

UN Chief Antonio Guterres on Monday tweeted that Ukrainians cannot bear violence inflicted upon them in the wake of the two-month-long running Russian onslaught on Kyiv. 

On Sunday, the northeastern city of Kharkiv endured another day of relentless shelling with Russia firing numerous rocket systems (MLRS) and artillery near the residential area of Saltivka. At least 20 people have been reportedly injured and 5 killed in the missile strikes. City mayor Ihor Terekov took to his Telegram handle to provide a detailed update on the situation in the city. He wrote:

Russians had not given up on "attempts to destroy the civilian population of Kharkiv, sow panic in the city and break our spirit. Still, the will of Kharkiv, the will of us Ukrainians, cannot be harmed by the enemy. Today, I was convinced of this when I saw how a medic covered a wounded woman during the shelling."

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned that the Russian war in Ukraine could lead to more than 1.7 billion people in poverty and hunger. He also described the Russian war against Ukraine as a "silent attack' on developing nations. 

"For the people of Ukraine, the Russian invasion is a nightmare and a humanitarian catastrophe of appalling proportions.  But war is also fast becoming a matter of life and death for vulnerable people around the world," UN Secretary-general said, as quoted by Seznam Zprvy.

As the war intensifies, Ukrainian volunteers in a village near Kyiv are retrieving bodies of victims from mass graves. The workers continued to work amid the ongoing Russian assault as a part of an effort to investigate alleged war crimes. 

Ukraine on Monday filled out the questionnaire required to obtain candidate status to the European Union candidate status, Deputy Head of Ukraine Presidential office, Ihor Zhovkva, informed. The official informed that Zelenskyy had received the questionnaire during the visit of Ursula Von der Leyen to Kyiv. 

Addressing the world during his annual  “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”) at St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis implicitly called on Russia to resort to peace and end what he described as the 'Easter of War.' The pontiff also called on the world leaders to bear in mind the troubling question of nuclear annihilation. 

“We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence,” Francis said. “Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing,” The Pope said noting the atrocities in the 54-day running war.

While the Easter address mostly addresses the global conflicts in Yemen, Syria, Libya, and Afghanistan, this time the looming Ukraine war led Pope to add, "May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of the cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged."

Ukraine on Sunday appealed the Group of Seven (G7) and the International Monetary Fund to authorise $50 billion in financial aid to Kyiv. Speaking at a televised address, Chief Economic Advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Oleg Ustenko stated that the embattled country is using "several parallel routes" to make up for the losses incurred in the wake of the two-month-long running Russian assault. He also added that Kyiv is also considering requesting a Special Drawing Rights loan from the IMF. 

"The President (of Ukraine) has asked G7 countries to provide $50 billion in funding for Ukraine. We are using several parallel routes at the same time," Chief Economic Advisor to Zelenskyy, Oleg Ustenko said.

Ukraine’s foreign minister is describing the situation in Mariupol as dire and heartbreaking and says Russia’s continued attacks there could be a “red line” that ends all efforts to reach peace through negotiation.

Dmytro Kuleba tells CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the remaining Ukrainian military personnel and civilians in the port city are basically encircled by Russian forces.

He says the Ukrainians “continue their struggle” but that the city effectively doesn’t exist anymore because of massive destruction.

Kuleba says his country has been keeping up “expert level” talks with Russia in recent weeks in hopes of reaching a political solution for peace. But citing the significance of Mariupol, he echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in saying the elimination of Ukrainian forces there could be a “red line” that stops peace efforts.

A Ukrainian health official says that at least five people have been killed in the Russian shelling of Kharkiv.

Maksym Haustov, the head of the Kharkiv regional administration’s health department, said that another 13 residents were wounded by Sunday’s shelling of Ukraine’s second-largest city.

Rescuers have been working to help survivors after the shelling that hit residential and administrative buildings and caused fires.

Officials said the center of Kharkiv came under shelling by multiple rocket launchers.
 

Multiple rockets struck the center of the eastern city of Kharkiv on Sunday, according to AP journalists in the city.

The barrage slammed into apartment buildings and left broken glass, debris and part of at least one rocket scattered on the street. Several apartments caught fire, with firefighters and residents scrambling to douse the flames.

At least two bodies were seen, and four other people were injured, though the scale of the attack suggested the casualty toll could rise further.

In an Easter Sunday message aimed at the world but heavily focused on Ukraine, Pope Francis raised two worries — the risk of nuclear warfare and that other armed conflicts on the globe will go unnoticed. 

In a speech from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope quoted a declaration from scientists in the 1950s in which they posed the question: “Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?” 

The pope has repeatedly made anguished pleas for a cease-fire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. In his Easter message, Francis lamented that “so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing.” 

He expressed hope that the war in Europe will “also make us more concerned about other situations of conflict, suffering and sorrow” in situations “that we cannot overlook and do not want to forget.” Among the places he cited were Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He singled out Yemen, suffering from a conflict “forgotten by all, with continuous victims.”

The European Union will provide Ukraine with additional 45 million euros in humanitarian aid. The funding is part of the 1 billion euros support package raised at the global pledging event “Stand Up For Ukraine” on April 8, the European Commission announced in a statement on April 17.

The Russian military has warned that Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender in the besieged port of Mariupol will be destroyed.

The Russian Defense Ministry gave the Ukrainians at Mariupol’s giant Azovstal steel mill until 1 p.m. Sunday (1000 GMT) to surrender, saying that those who put down their weapons will be “guaranteed to keep their lives.”

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the Ukrainian military command had banned its troops from surrendering. He said the Russian military received the information from intercepted communications.

Konashenkov warned that “all those who will continue resistance will be destroyed.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian crimes against civilians would put an end to the negotiation process. 

"The destruction of all our guys in Mariupol – what they are doing now – can put an end to any format of negotiations," Zelenskyy said on Saturday during a meeting with Ukrainian journalists in Kyiv. 

"More cases of atrocities will emerge, there is more chance that negotiants will not continue or the agreements will not be implemented," Zelenskyy added.
 

The Russian military has told Ukrainian troops in the besieged port of Mariupol that if they lay down their weapons they will be “guaranteed to keep their lives.”

The Russian Defense Ministry made the announcement early Sunday. Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said that the Ukrainians encircled at the giant Azovstal steel factory were given until 1 p.m. (1000 GMT) to surrender.

It was the latest such offer to the Ukrainian defenders of the key Sea of Azov port during a siege that has lasted for more than 1½ months. Capturing Mariupol is a key strategic goal for Russia, allowing it to secure a land corridor to Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. The fall of Mariupol would also free the Russian forces involved in the siege for a planned offensive in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland called Donbas.

The giant Azovstal steel mill that covers an area of more than 11 square kilometers (over 4.2 square miles) is the last major section of Mariupol still under Ukrainian control.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Saturday that about 2,500 Ukrainian troops remain at Azovstal, a claim that couldn’t be independently verified. The Ukrainian officials didn’t mention any numbers for the city defenders

Shortly after Russia made a big claim of having "completely cleared" Mariupol of Ukrainian defenders, Moscow, in its operational briefing on Sunday, flagged that the number of surrenders in the besieged city has been "increasing daily". As of now, at least 1,464 Ukrainian servicemen have dropped their weapons in front of Russian occupiers, the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) claimed. The total number reportedly included those who "escaped" from the territory of Azovstal.

"During the liberation of Mariupol, 1,464 Ukrainian servicemen have already surrendered. The number of surrenders is increasing daily. Including those who escaped from the territory of Azovstal," the Russian MoD updated.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said that Kyiv's curfew hours have been altered. Currently, the curfew in the capital city will last from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. 

On Sunday, Ukraine claimed it was pausing the evacuation of civilians from the war-hit east of Ukraine for a day because of a failure to agree on terms with Russian forces. 

"As of this morning, April 17, we have not been able to agree with the occupiers on a ceasefire on the evacuation routes. That is why, unfortunately, we are not opening humanitarian corridors today," Iryna Vereshchuk wrote in a statement on social media, with reference to Kremlin forces. 

Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov said on Sunday that 31 people were injured, including four children, in Russian military offensives. Attacks on multiple neighbourhoods in Kharkiv continued in the past 24 hours.

Ministry of Defence in Moscow claimed on Saturday that war-torn Ukraine has lost approximately 23,367 personnel since Russia commenced its aggression against the nation on February 24. According to the Russian state-controlled television network RT, Major General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesperson for the Defence Ministry, has provided the fatality estimates, by saying that Ukraine had lost over 4,000 combatants in Mariupol alone, including "foreign mercenaries" as well as "Nazis" linked to the renowned Azov and Aidar units. 

Furthermore, the general, in a statement, blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of concealing the exact number of his country's casualties. He even added that the president "is afraid" to inform the people of Ukraine about how many soldiers had died in the conflict, RT reported.  

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Russia on Saturday claimed to have shot down a military plane transporting Western arms outside the southern city of Odesa in Ukraine. Providing operational updates on day 53 of the all-out Russian invasion, Moscow's Defence Ministry spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov stated that Russia's tactical air defence struck the aircraft while it was on a mission to deliver shipment to Kyiv.

"Near Odesa Russian anti-aircraft defense forces have shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane, which was delivering a large shipment of arms supplied to Ukraine by Western counties," Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said, as quoted by Tass News Agency.

According to the latest update by the UK Defense Ministry, Russia still aims to make Ukraine abandon its Euro-Atlantic orientation and assert its dominance in the region. UK intelligence: Although offensive shifts to eastern Ukraine, Russia’s ultimate goal hasn't changed.

Anton Gerashchenko, an official advisor and a former deputy minister at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, ex-member of the Ukrainian parliament, said, "Let’s be honest, Ukraine isn’t winning this war yet. But Ukraine has a chance of doing so. For that to happen, the EU must ban Russian energy imports and NATO must provide Ukraine with all the weapons it needs."

"The movement of Russian units to the territory of Ukraine from Kursk, Bryansk and Voronezh regions continues. The units of the armed forces of the Russian Federation located on the Ukrainian territory have significant problems with provision.

At the same time, they were able to accumulate significant stocks of ammunition. In the units of occupiers, located along the line of direct confrontation, the discontent of the personnel is growing, the moral and psychological state remains at a low level. Russian servicemen constantly complain about the lack of rotation, equipment that constantly breaks down, the quality of the fuel supplied and food."

During the early hours of Sunday, a Russia-led missile strike reportedly damaged infrastructure in the city of Brovary near Kyiv, the city's Mayor said. 

 Casualties and the extent of the destruction remains unknown. 

Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to Washington TOLD, The United States remains steadfast in supporting Ukraine, despite all the démarches and diplomatic notes of Russia, which threatens "unpredictable consequences" for the supply of heavy weapons and equipment to the Armed Forces.

• During the day, 15 enemy targets were hit by high-precision air-launched missiles. Among them: near Barvenkovo, Rubezhnoye, Popasnaya, Novozvanovka, Krasnoarmeysk, Selidovo, Novobakhmutovka, 6 areas of concentration of Ukrainian military equipment and 7 strong points of Ukrainian troops were destroyed.
• As a result of the strikes, more than 320 Ukrainian servicemen were killed and wounded, 23 armored vehicles and 7 vehicles for various purposes were destroyed. 
• Operational-tactical aviation destroyed 67 areas of concentration of personnel and Ukrainian military equipment during the day.
• Missile troops hit 317 military facilities, including 274 strong points and areas of concentration of enemy manpower, 24 control points and 2 field fuel storage facilities of Ukrainian troops.
• Russian air defence means in Odessa area shot down 1 Ukrainian military transport plane in the air, delivering a large batch of weapons supplied to Ukraine by Western countries.
• 2 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down over Lozovaya and Veselaya.

Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin gave 2 tips to the President of Ukraine. 

"If Zelensky thinks about the citizens of Ukraine, he should immediately make the following decisions, he believes Volodin. The first is- Withdraw troops from the territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. The second is- To fix, on a contractual basis, obligations for the recognition of Crimea and the non-aligned status of Ukraine, as well as for the denazification and demilitarization of the country.
 

The United Nations has reported that 1,982 civilians have lost their lives and 2,651 more have been wounded since Russia's military incursion in Ukraine. Because information from certain regions has been delayed and other reports are still awaiting confirmation, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) believes that the war's losses will be greater. It is worth noting that Mariupol in the Donetsk area, Izium in Kharkiv, Popasna in the Luhansk region, as well as Borodianka in Ukraine's capital Kyiv are all affected. 

In a statement, OHCHR asserted that most of the Ukrainians' deaths which have been documented were caused by the use of explosive arms within a large effective area, such as shelling from heavy artillery as well as multiple launch rocket systems, missile and airstrikes. Out of the total deceased, OHCHR estimates that 511 men, 323 women, 56 boys, 34 girls, and 72 children have been killed. Furthermore, the gender of 986 adults has yet to be determined, as per media reports.  

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The Embassy of the United States in Kyiv has confirmed that over 550 Ukrainian children have been killed or injured since the commencement of the Russian special military operation on Ukraine. Taking to Twitter, the US embassy further revealed that since February 24, Russian forces have bombed, shelled, raped, assaulted, killed, and deported several Ukrainians forcefully. 

Italy is set to bar Russian ships from its ports starting on Sunday, adding to the series of punitive sanctions on Moscow imposed by the European Union. As per the notice issued to port authorities, the Russian ships that are already docked at ports must be allowed and ordered to leave at the earliest 'after completing their commercial duty'. 

Russian Defence Ministry mentioned that both Ukrainian and foreign fighters are blockaded in Azovstal steelworks. News Agency TASS quotes Russian General Mikhail Mizintsev who is the director of the Russian National Defence Management Centre as saying that the situation inside the steel plant was 'catastrophic'. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke on Saturday with the leaders of Britain and Sweden about how best to help those defending Mariupol and the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city. 

Mariupol's fate can be decided either through battle or diplomacy, he said.

Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. 

Or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive.

Zelenskyy said the situation in Mariupol remains inhuman and that Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there.

Head of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union’s sixth round of sanctions targets the banking sector, “especially Sberbank, which accounts for 37% of the Russian banking sector,” and oil.

Moscow demanded Ukrainian forces at Azovstal in Mariupol to surrender in order to save their lives. Head of the Russian Defence Ministry's National Defence Control Center, Col. General Mikhail Mizintsev, on Saturday warned that all defenders blocked by Russian Armed Forces at the Azovstal metallurgical plant in the besieged city of Mariupol "must lay down" their arms by Sunday. The decision was guided by "purely human principles", he added, as reported by Sputnik.

"Considering the catastrophic situation that has developed at the Azovstal metallurgical plant, and being guided by purely humane principles, the Russian Armed Forces propose that militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries stop all hostilities and lay down arms starting from 06:00 Moscow time [03:00 GMT] on April 17, 2022," Col. Gen. Mizintsev advised.

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Russian Defence Ministry's National Defence Control Center, Col. Gen. Mizintsev announced that a ceasefire has been declared in Azovstal areas beginning from 02:30 GMT on Sunday. He stressed the Ukrainian units are asked to step out and exit the steelwork plant premises without weapons or ammunition between 03:00 to 10:00 GMT on Sunday. The development comes after the Russian Defence Ministry on Saturday claimed urban areas of the southern port city of Mariupol have been cleared of Ukrainian forces, with over 4,000 killed in the past days, the RIA news agency said.

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, a missile recently hit a restaurant in Ukraine that has been collaborating with the Washington-based World Central Kitchen, a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation that is devoted to providing meals to people impacted by war, according to the officials of the humanitarian organisation.

The restaurant which is hit by the missile is in Kharkiv and is linked with celebrity chef and global humanitarian Jose Andres' organisation, World Central Kitchen. The missile has even injured 4 staffers, said the CEO of World Central Kitchen, Nate Mook, on Saturday. He has described the site as one of “horrific brutality”, CNN reported.

"The  World Central Kitchen team and our fellow Ukrainians are unnerved but safe after a missile attack on a restaurant in Kharkiv. Giving food in the middle of a senseless war is an act of courage, resilience, resistance... and we will continue cooking."

Ukraine's President announced to provide temporary housing to internally displaced people, as well as to rebuild & restore all residences and communities that have been impacted by Kremlin's attacks. 

"This is a catastrophic situation: people are starving to death," said David Beasley, head of the UN World Food Program (WFP). Moreover, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conceded that the situation in Mariupol continues to remain 'extremely severe'. He also warned peace talks with the Kremlin would be declined if Russian troops killed defenders or further damaged the war-ravaged city. 

"The elimination of our troops, of our men (in Mariupol), will put an end to any negotiations," Zelenskyy said. He also said that there are only 'two ways to influence' the situation. 'Either Ukraine's partners give it all necessary heavy weapons' to unblock the siege or a 'negotiation path'. 

The United Nations reports that 90% of the nearly 5 million people that escaped Ukraine are women & children. It may be noted that at the inception of the Russia-led invasion of Ukraine on February 24, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had released jailed veterans to join hands with the country's security forces and urged the males and youth of the country to pick up arms and fight back Kremlin forces on their homeland. 

Having released numerous videos affirming that he had not fled Ukraine amid a war, an embattled Zelenskyy asked Ukraine's men and young adults to combat Russians in whatever way possible. 

As per reports, despite being outgunned and outnumbered, Ukraine inflicted more casualties in 24 hours than Russia suffered over eight years of engagements in Syria. The Kremlin admitted that the deputy commander of the VIII Army Major General Vladimir Frolov has been killed in the military clash in the southern port city of Ukraine, Mariupol. 

At the latest, Russian troops have resumed scattered missile attacks on the capital city of Ukraine, among other eastern cities. With death reports from Kharkiv and Kyiv, Putin's forces have warned against stepping up missile bombardment following the sinking of its missile cruiser- Moskva. 

Read more about the sunken Russian warship

At the inception of the war on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin had accused the Volodymyr Zelenskyy administration of clandestinely building a plutonium-based dirty bomb. It has been seven weeks since then and now, is a complete opposite narrative, Zelenskyy has warned the world against a potential Russian nuclear attack. 

How likely is it for Putin to press the nuclear button?

At present, Russia has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal with almost 6,257 weapons. Appearing in a CNN interview on Friday, Zelenskyy said that the world must be prepared to see Russia using tactical or low-grade nuclear weapons as it fails to annex major cities. Zelenskyy’s remarks came days after Putin warned the west of “dire consequences” in case they directly intervene in Ukraine. It was reported that the KGB spy turned politician Putin has put his Nuclear Forces on alert, indirectly signalling his readiness to press the nuclear button. 

However, the threat of nuclear war is less likely given the fact that no nation wants the mass destruction of its population. Despite repeated calls by Zelenskyy, the west has still not agreed on imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine due to fear that, it may give Putin a reason to fire nukes. 

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Nationalist militants and foreign mercenaries blocked by the Russian Armed Forces at the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol have until Sunday to lay down arms and surrender, Col . Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's National Defense Control Center, said.

"Considering the catastrophic situation that has developed at the Azovstal metallurgical plant, and being guided by purely humane principles, the Russian Armed Forces propose that militants of nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries stop all hostilities and lay down arms starting from 06:00 Moscow time [ 03:00 GMT] on April 17, 2022," Mizintsev said.

He added that all those who lay down arms are guaranteed life.

According to Mizintsev, the nationalists and mercenaries at Azovstal are "persistently demanding permission from the authorities in Kyiv to lay down their arms and surrender. At the same time, representatives of the Ukrainian authorities categorically forbid doing this and are threatening [them] with subsequent executions."

Mizintsev pointed out that, on Saturday, April 16, there was a sharp increase in the intensity of radio communications by militants of nationalist formations and foreign mercenaries at Azovstal.

Germany on Saturday stated that the number of Ukrainian refugees arriving via train each day has decreased by nearly 70 per cent. German Minister for Transport Volker Wissing, on Saturday at a press conference, said that Berlin will continue to accept the Ukrainians seeking refuge in the European nation and escaping the assault within their homeland. The German government has registered nearly 147,000 Ukrainians so far since Russia’s military invasion that started on February 24.

“The number of people fleeing to Germany by train has fallen significantly compared to the peak at the beginning of the war – from around 8,200 to the current 2,500 people per day," Volker Wissing told German broadcaster RND. 

"We continue to keep the logistics and transport structures in place, however, because … (we) can experience an increase in the number of refugees at any time. We must expect further escalation and be prepared. People who are in need in Ukraine should be able to find refuge in Germany,” Wissing added. 

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