Fighting in eastern Ukraine continues in Donetsk and Tavriya regions, Ukrainian Armed Forces say
From CNN's Katharina Krebs in London
A mother hugs her daughter as they wait for a bus to flee from Sloviansk, on Saturday, April 16, 2022. (Petros Giannakouris/AP)
Fighting continued in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Tavriya, according to a statement from the Armed Forces of Ukraine published on Facebook on Friday.
Here are details provided in the statement about how fighting is unfolding on the ground:
Russian troops carried out assault operations in the direction of the city of Sloviansk
Russian troops continue to consolidate its occupied positions, regroup, and prepare for offensive operations in the areas of Zolota Dolyna and Kreminna.
Russian forces strengthened their troops by moving individual units of the 41st General Army of the Central Military District from the territory of the Russian Federation.
They also carried out assault operations in the region of Popasna and the direction of the settlement of Novotoshkivske and established a base in the settlement of Stepne.
In areas of Avdiivka and Kharkiv, Russian forces tried to carry out assault operations, but were unsuccessful.
Russian troops also continued to launch air strikes on Mariupol and restrict Ukrainian units in the area of the Azovstal plant.
In the region of Zaporizhzhia, Russian forces carried out assault operations in the direction of Zelene Pole settlement.
3:25 p.m. ET, April 22, 2022
NYC allocates more than $2 million for currently residing and newly arrived Ukrainians to access services
From CNN's Laura Ly
New York City will allocate more than $2 million in funding to help currently residing and newly arrived Ukrainians to "get access to immigration legal assistance, translation services, social services, and other resources,” according to a news release from Mayor Eric Adams’ office.
“The funds will go towards expanding personnel and increasing access to the robust resources that are available for all currently residing and new arrived Ukrainians. New York city will also offer an expanded suite of resources in the coming weeks,” the release says.
New York City is home to the largest Ukrainian population in the United States, Adams said at a news conference Friday.
3:37 p.m. ET, April 22, 2022
Taiwan will send $8 million in aid to Kyiv
From CNN’s Philip Wang in Atlanta
Taiwanese Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, speaks at the Globsec forum in Bratislava, Slovakia on October 26, 2021. (Vladimir Simicek/AFP/Getty Images)
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Friday announced a total of $8 million in aid for the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv during a video call with Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
The donation includes $3 million to the Kyiv government and an additional $5 million to six local hospitals, according to the statement. This is the fourth time that Taiwan has sent its donation to the war-torn country.
During the video call, Wu said that Russia's invasion into Ukraine not only caused great harm to the Ukrainian people, but also threatened international orders and the democratic community. He added that Taiwan and Ukraine are partners who share the democratic ideology and are at the forefront of thwarting the expansion of totalitarianism.
Klitschko thanked Wu for the donation from the Taiwanese government and the people, saying that “peace can only begin when the last Russian soldier leaves Ukraine.” He also urged the international community to condemn and sanction Russia to the fullest extent.
3:34 p.m. ET, April 22, 2022
"I feel emptiness": Ukrainians who escaped Mariupol describe fear and despair as they arrive in Lviv
From CNN’s Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Matt Rivers, Jo Shelley, David von Blohn and Roman Tymotsko in Lviv
A shelled train in Lviv’s train station on Friday, April 22. (Jo Shelley/CNN)
Volunteers in bright blue vests stand patiently on platform 3 at Lviv’s train station. As they wait on this wet and gloomy Friday, a few family members join them as a train slowly rolls in. It finally comes to a halt, the doors open and all step forward to start helping passengers off, some searching for familiar faces of loved ones.
Many on this designated evacuation train from Zaporizhzhia look around wearily as they lug their belongings onto the platform. It’s been a long and dangerous journey. They departed the southeastern city on Thursday, traveling overnight before arriving in Lviv on Friday afternoon.
Among the travelers are a handful of refugees who in recent weeks have managed to escape from their homes in the besieged port city of Mariupol. They are the lucky ones.
Located in the country’s southeast, Mariupol has been the target of a relentless assault from Russian forces for weeks, with Ukrainian officials estimating as many as 20,000 people have died as a result of the constant bombardment.
Attempts to evacuate civilians have been beset by delays and failed attempts in recent days — just 79 people were successfully pulled out on Thursday, according to the region’s governor. It’s a drop in the bucket given officials are estimating the number of residents still trapped in the city is around 100,000.
Polina Kazantseva and her daughter, Iryna Chelakhova, in Lviv’s train station, on Friday. (David von Blohn/CNN)
Polina Kazantseva and her daughter Iryna Chelakhova were two of the handful arriving in Lviv on Friday.
“I feel emptiness. It will be difficult to rebuild the city. They continue bombing it,” Kazantseva told CNN. “Ninety buses were meant to evacuate people from Mariupol. On the first day, only seven were allowed to leave. On the second day, shelling continued; how to evacuate people? It’s very frightening.”
She began to cry as she thinks of home, continuing: “I want to believe that I will return there. But I think we’ll need many years to restore the city after what they’ve done. I am not going to live that long.”
Iryna interjects, saying: “They (Russians) will burn in hell — everyone who was involved” before her mother asks, “what have we done wrong to them?”
“They are not human beings,” she added.
Katya Yatsun and her child in Lviv's train station, on Friday. (Jo Shelley/CNN)
Nearby, Katya Yatsun carefully cradles her sleeping child in her arms while her partner retrieves their luggage. Her young family had lived in Mariupol for two years before they fled.
“It’s a pity this happened to the city. My kid was born there. We were forced to leave; it’s impossible to live there,” she said. “My mother stayed there. Their house survived ... They can’t leave because men are not allowed to. And mom doesn’t want to leave without her husband. They are there now.”
She continued, “We were thinking about our survival. I don’t know how to tell my kid about such terrifying events.”
A short time later, a second train arrives from Zaporizhzhia – this one a regular passenger train – filled with significantly more people, but none seem to be from Mariupol.
As it glides into the station, some of its windows are broken, jagged shards of glass protruding out after it was damaged in shelling as it departed the city yesterday, according to Ukrainian officials.
Train Captain, Serhii Antokhov, in Lviv's train station, on Friday. (Jo Shelley/CNN)
The train captain, Serhii Antokhov, told CNN that operations are becoming increasingly difficult and denounced the needlessly violent tactics being deployed by Russia’s military.
“They are wicked fascists; what can I say? They are afraid of us, so they act like that,” he said.
CNN’s Jonny Hallam contributed reporting to this post.
2:47 p.m. ET, April 22, 2022
Turkey hopes to bring Russian and Ukrainian presidents to Istanbul for direct talks
From CNN's Yusuf Gezer and Mohammed Tawfeeq
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the press after performing a Friday prayer at Hz. Ali Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on April 22, 2022. (Isa Terli/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is expecting to hold phone calls with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in the next 48 hours with the hope of meeting them both in Istanbul to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
"The result is positive; it's not exactly as we wanted, but it will be better. We're not without hope," Erdogan said from Istanbul on Friday following a question about the ongoing Ukraine-Russia peace talks. "I hope that they accept our invitation, and we can bring them together in Istanbul."
Turkey has a unique profile and position. Besides being a NATO member, the country also has maritime borders with both Ukraine and Russia. Plus, Turkey is Russia's largest trade partner in the Middle East and North Africa region.
The country has competed and cooperated with Russia through conflict zones in Syria, Libya, and Nagorno-Karabakh in recent years.
1:40 p.m. ET, April 22, 2022
Biden administration is not engaged in active prep to re-open US embassy in Kyiv, sources say
From CNN's Kylie Atwood
US President Joe Biden's administration is not engaged in active preparations to re-open the US embassy in Kyiv, following the UK’s announcement that it will resume its diplomatic mission in the capital city soon, according to three sources familiar with the ongoing conversations.
US State Department officials remain concerned about the possibility of a Russian strike that could accidentally hit the structure or US personnel, the sources said. The officials are less wary of specific targeting of the US mission, but so long as the errant missile threat remains, they are not going to move back into Kyiv.
But the department is actively assessing the situation on the ground.
“We are constantly reassessing and evaluating the security situation because the safety and security of our employees is our top priority,” a State Department spokesperson said Friday.
For many State Department officials, the memories of Benghazi – when a US ambassador was killed in an attack on the US diplomatic compound – are a constant reminder of the need to be overly cautious, two of the sources said.
The State Department ended operations at the US embassy in Kyiv over a month ago. The spokesperson said they looked forward to re-opening the embassy when able.
“We don’t have specifics on timing, but our team is actively planning and we very much look forward to resuming embassy operations in Ukraine to facilitate our support to the government and people of Ukraine as they bravely defend their country,” the spokesperson said.
1:36 p.m. ET, April 22, 2022
Amsterdam Trade Bank, subsidiary of Russian Alfa Bank hit by US sanctions, declared bankrupt
From CNN’s Livvy Doherty in London
Amsterdam Trade Bank (ATB), a subsidiary of Russia’s Alfa Bank, was declared bankrupt on Friday, according to a statement by the Dutch Central Bank (DNB), citing a court order.
According to the statement, the Amsterdam Central Court ordered the bankruptcy of ATB on Friday, leading the DNB to activate a deposit guarantee scheme for account holders.
The US Treasury announced on April 6 that it would be imposing “full blocking sanctions” on Alfa Bank, Russia’s largest private bank. As part of those sanctions, six subsidiaries, including ATB, were blocked for “being owned or controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Alfa-Bank.”
Eligible account holders at ATB are covered by the Dutch deposit guarantee scheme up to a maximum of 10,000 euros per person, and it has 23,000 private account holders, the DNB said. The full amount guaranteed by the scheme totals around 700 million euros.
4:26 p.m. ET, April 22, 2022
UN secretary-general will meet with Putin on April 26 in Moscow
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, speaks to the press about the current situation in Ukraine at the United Nations Headquarters on April 19, 2022 in New York City. The Secretary General called for an immediate cease fire during the Holy Week and the opening of humanitarian pathways to freedom for Ukrainians. (John Lamparski/NurPhoto/AP)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “will be received by President Vladimir Putin” on Tuesday, April 26 after having a working meeting and lunch with the foreign minister of Russia, the UN said.
"The Secretary-General will visit Moscow, Russian Federation, where, on 26 April, he will have a working meeting and lunch with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and will be received by President Vladimir Putin," according to a UN statement.
On Wednesday, a UN spokesperson said Guterres was requesting separate audiences with Putin in Moscow and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine to discuss the urgent need to bring about peace.
Guterres would like “to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine and the future of multilateralism based on the Charter of the United Nations and international law,” according to a statement from UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
12:30 p.m. ET, April 22, 2022
It's just past 7 p.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know.
Investigations into allegations of civilian deaths in Kyiv, Bucha and elsewhere continue as more evidence emerges.
Meanwhile, civilians remain trapped in Ukrainian cities like Mariupol and Luhansk, with no new evacuation corridors established Friday. Mariupol's mayor told CNN in an interview that "one clear day of cease fire" is needed to evacuate civilians sheltering in the Azovstal iron and steel plant in the besieged city.
Here are the latest developments on Russia's war in Ukraine:
Russia's land bridge ambition: Russia has revealed that the goal of its invasion of Ukraine is to take "full control" over southern Ukraine as well as the eastern Donbas region, and establishing a land corridor connecting Russia to Crimea, the peninsula it annexed in 2014. Ukrainian officials described heavy fighting throughout the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, in addition to at least 20 injured in "intensified" shelling in the southern Mykolaiv region.
Mass graves: Ukrainian officials say they have identified mass graves outside the city of Mariupol. The claim is supported by photos collected and analyzed by US satellite imagery company Maxar Technologies that appear to show more than 200 new graves to the west of Mariupol.
No way out: No evacuation corridors in Ukraine have been agreed with the Russians due to "danger on the routes," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Friday. The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, said he "strongly urged" for immediate humanitarian access and safe passage from Mariupol and other besieged cities in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, also called for evacuation corridors in Mariupol to be created "immediately."
Bodies examined: Forensic investigators are examining 1,084 bodies of civilians found in the Kyiv region following the withdrawal of Russian forces, according to the police.
A call for larger NATO presence: Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has called on NATO to send more troops to eastern Europe including to his own country.
Killings in Bucha: UN human rights officers have documented the "unlawful killing, including by summary execution, of some 50 civilians" in Bucha, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv, the UN Human Rights Office said Friday.
Luhansk evacuation disrupted: Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk region military administration, said Friday that Russian shelling disrupted an attempt to evacuate civilians from the heavily contested eastern Ukrainian town of Rubizhne, stopping a bus from reaching the town.
UK PM on Putin's prospects: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that Russia has a "realistic possibility" of winning the war in Ukraine, calling the situation there "unpredictable" at the moment.
Ukraine alleges Russian orders were given to kill POWs: Ukraine’s military intelligence on Wednesday released a purported communications intercept of Russian armed forces referring to an alleged order to kill Ukrainian prisoners of war in the city of Popasna in the eastern region of Luhansk, which is bearing the brunt of Russia’s renewed attack. It appears to feature Russian soldiers saying: “Keep the most senior among them, and let the rest go forever. Let them go forever, damn it, so that no one will ever see them again, including relatives.”
