Russia’s war in Ukraine

Our coverage of the war in Ukraine has moved here.

Ukraine’s military said it hit 17 air targets on Saturday, according to a Telegram statement from the country’s Ministry of Defense (MoD).

The targets included three Russian aircraft, five cruise missiles and nine unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to the statement.

“Air Force and Land Forces anti-aircraft missiles struck nine operational-tactical drones, three aircraft and five cruise missiles,” the MoD statement read.

Earlier on Saturday, the MoD said on Telegram that at 10pm local time, soldiers in the Odesa region shot down two Russian cruise missiles fired from the Black Sea by a Russian ship heading towards the South Port.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of being a “sponsor of terrorism” in his nightly address Saturday, decrying a deadly attack on the southern port of Odesa that coincided with the observance of Holy Saturday before the Easter holiday celebrated on April 24 by many Christians in Ukraine.

“Today was Holy Saturday for Christians of the Eastern Rite. The day between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. It seems that Russia is stuck on such a day,” Zelensky said. “But there will be a Resurrection. Life will defeat death. The truth will defeat any lies, and evil will be punished.”

At least eight people, including a three-month-old baby, were killed in Russian missile strikes in Odesa on Saturday, Zelensky said. A Ukrainian official earlier said at least six cruise missiles were launched at the port city, as Russia continues its brutal offensive in south and east of the country.

In his remarks Saturday evening, Zelensky thanked the country’s defenders “who ensure our security this night before Easter and every day,” and vowed justice for Ukraine.

“It is only a matter of time before all Russian murderers feel what a fair response to their crimes is. It is only a matter of time before we can bring all the deported Ukrainians home. It is only a matter of time before all our people all over Ukraine feel what a strong peace is,” he said. 

Many Ukrainians celebrate Easter according to the Julian calendar, with Easter Sunday falling this year on April 24.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Kyiv on Sunday, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in what would be the first visit of high-level US officials to the embattled country since the war broke out. 

The potential visit, which has not been confirmed by Washington, would come on the heels of several high-profile visits from European leaders to the capital and moves to reopen evacuated embassies.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson toured parts of the capital on foot alongside Zelensky on April 9, and European Union leaders visited the previous day.

The British government is expected to re-open its embassy next week, “dependent on the security situation,” its government confirmed, following an announcement from Johnson Friday. The European Union earlier this month said it too was restoring its diplomatic presence in the capital. 

The shift comes after Moscow rerouted its focus away from the capital and to Ukraine’s south and east, following intense Ukrainian defense in the areas surrounding Kyiv and Russian supply issues. Kyiv had for weeks braced for an attack of Russian forces, pushing embassies to close their operations there.

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, speaking at a press conference in Washington on Friday, also called on ambassadors from all countries, including the United States, to return to their embassies in Kyiv.

The White House and State Department declined to comment Saturday potential visit from top US officials Blinken and Austin. CNN has reached out to the US Department of Defense for comment.

Last week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that if an administration official were to visit Ukraine, the White House would not publicly disclose that information ahead of the time, citing security concerns.

In the early morning hours on Sunday in Ukraine, these are the latest developments in the war:

Ukraine claims Mariupol citizens forcibly deported to Far East region of Russia: Ukraine officials claimed on Saturday that Russia has forcibly deported Mariupol citizens to Primorsky Krai in Russia’s Far East region. 

“Russia sent forcibly deported citizens of Ukraine from Mariupol to the Primorsky Krai - 8,000 kilometers from the homeland,” said Lyudmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, in a Telegram post.

According to Denisova, volunteers told her a train arrived in the city of Nakhodka on April 21 with 308 Ukrainians from Mariupol, including mothers with young children, people with disabilities and students.

8 dead in Russian missile strikes in Southern Ukraine, Odesa mayor says: Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said in a statement on Telegram a total of eight people were killed in the port city after Russian missile strikes. 

“Behind my back is what Russians call a military target,” he said. “A residential building that they for some reason call a military object. Eight people died. A three-month-old child is among them. She hadn’t seen life yet. You [Russians] are monsters, burn in hell.”

In a separate statement, local authorities said rescue work was still underway in a damaged residential building. A total of 86 people were been evacuated, and rubble was still being dismantled.

Leaders who plan to visit Ukraine “should not come with empty hands,” Zelensky says: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that leaders who plan to visit Ukraine “should not come here with empty hands.”

Zelensky made the comments when asked about what he expects from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to Kyiv on Sunday.

Ukrainian intelligence says Russia plans to conscript Ukrainian civilians from occupied regions: Ukrainian intelligence has accused Russia of planning to conscript Ukrainian civilians from the occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, according to a Saturday UK military intelligence update. 

“This would follow similar prior conscription practices in the Russian-occupied Donbas and Crimea,” the statement read.

Ukrainian intelligence has accused Russia of planning to conscript Ukrainian civilians from the occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, according to a Saturday UK military intelligence update. 

The statement said under Article 51 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, occupying powers cannot compel “protected persons” – which, in this context, includes civilians in occupied territories – to serve in its “armed or auxiliary forces.” Additionally, pressure or propaganda aiming to secure volunteers to enlist is not allowed. 

“Any enlistment of Ukrainian civilians into the Russian armed forces, even if presented by Russia as being voluntary or military service in accordance with Russian law, would constitute a violation of Article 51 of the Fourth Geneva Convention,” the UK Ministry of Defense statement said. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that leaders who plan to visit Ukraine “should not come here with empty hands.” Zelensky made the comments when asked about what he expects from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to Kyiv on Sunday.

“Why is it important for leaders to come to us? I will give you a pragmatic answer; because they should not come here with empty hands. We are waiting not just for presents or cakes; we are expecting specific things and specific weapons,” Zelensky said during a presser in Kyiv.
“That’s why we will be able to get an agreement with the United States or some part of the package of armament which we agreed before. This is why I believe this is a positive signal,” he added.

“The same about the leaders of other countries; they know we discussed these things in quietness, as our diplomats say, it’s quiet diplomacy. I don’t like very much, but it exists,” Zelensky said.  

“We will be happy to see you, but please bring to us the assistance which we discussed, which you have or which you have the opportunity to bring,” Zelensky said. He added, “that’s why the visit from the US is very important.”  

Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said in a statement on Telegram a total of eight people were killed in the port city after Russian missile strikes. 

In a separate statement, local authorities said rescue work was still underway in a damaged residential building. A total of 86 people were been evacuated, and rubble was still being dismantled.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a news conference 18 or 20 people had been injured in the strike.

Ukraine officials claimed on Saturday that Russia has forcibly deported Mariupol citizens to Primorsky Krai in Russia’s Far East region. 

According to Denisova, volunteers told her a train arrived in the city of Nakhodka on April 21 with 308 Ukrainians from Mariupol, including mothers with young children, people with disabilities and students.

Denisova also included photos showing the Ukrainian citizens’ arrival at the train station in her Telegram post.

Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol’s mayor, also claimed on April 21, “the Russians brought 308 deported Mariupol residents to Vladivostok.”

The Mariopul mayor’s official telegram post said 90 out of 308 deported residents were children.

“People were accommodated in schools and dormitories. Later it is planned to send them to different settlements of the Primorsky Krai,” the mayor’s Telegram post reads.

Photo and videos published on a Russian local news portal in Vladivostok, vl.com, also showed evacuees from Mariupol arriving by train. 

Denisova also claimed Mariupol residents were sent by bus to temporary accommodation in the city of Wrangel and were expected to receive new documents that will allow them to work in Russia.

“The occupying country of Russia grossly violates the provisions of Article 49 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, which prohibits the forced relocation or deportation of persons from the occupied territories,” Denisova added in her Telegram post.

Russia’s military has shown no signs of stopping during the Orthodox Easter weekend in Ukraine. Here’s what you need to know.

Odesa strikes: Five civilians died — including an infant — and 18 were wounded as Russian missile strikes hit the southwestern port city of Odesa, according to a senior Ukrainian official. A city council deputy called the strikes “Easter gifts from Putin.”

Mariupol evacuations: The evacuation of civilians from the besieged southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol has been “thwarted” by the Russian military, an adviser to the city’s mayor said.

“About 200 Mariupol residents were going to leave, but when they arrived at the assembly point, the [Russian] military told them to disperse because ‘there will be shelling now’,” according to the Ukrainian parliament’s Twitter account.

Easter warnings: The Ukrainian government announced new curfews for Easter weekend as authorities cautioned residents about the potential for increased Russian military activity during holiday celebrations. Officials in some regions urged people to attend virtual services.

Top US officials to Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv tomorrow. Zelensky made the remarks during a press conference in a Kyiv subway station, where he also reiterated his willingness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

More sanctions?: Europe is discussing a sixth round of sanctions on Russia, including a hit on Russia’s energy market, officials say. European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said one of the issues under consideration concerns an oil embargo.

The family of Russian dissident Alexey Navalny has always supported his efforts to combat Russian President Vladimir Putin’s corrupt leadership. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and their children, Dasha and Zakhar, have had to watch Navalny face arrests, violence, and even an attack on his own life.  

In August 2020, Navalny’s family got the call that he had taken ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow and was undergoing treatment. 

“To have your dad, an opposition leader, being poisoned by we don’t know what, we don’t know how, we don’t know when, and just be in a random hospital, it was just … it was surreal, it was literally like a book,” Dasha said.  

Yulia Navalnaya quickly made her way to the hospital where Navalny was being treated and began putting public and international pressure on the Russian government to allow him to be medically evacuated to Germany. 

She described the fear she had when she first arrived at the hospital and was physically barred from seeing her husband. “I thought since he was all alone, the [Federal Security Service] and Putin would make the most of the situation and try to make sure he’s dead.” 

Her efforts to secure his release, which included sending a personal letter to Putin himself, eventually paid off – and may have saved Navalny’s life. His sudden illness was later tied to exposure to the nerve agent Novichok. 

After a long recovery in Germany, Navalny announced that he would return to Russia in January 2020. His family once again faced the possibility of losing him, this time to arrest and detainment, but they understood that Navalny’s mission was more important than their worry. 

“There was a point a year ago, where my dad was almost not there for my high school graduation. He was in jail once again and, like, the whole day I was just thinking about how [he] would’ve been proud to see me walk on the stage and get my certificate. And he wouldn’t get that option, because he was in jail for doing the right thing,” Dasha said before her father made his return to Russia. “I know that my dad misses Russia, even though it’s scary to go back. And if he didn’t go back, I would say you need to go back and fight. It’s something worth fighting for.”

Navalny was immediately arrested after his plane landed in Moscow, and he has been a prisoner ever since. In March, he was sentenced to another nine years in jail after being convicted on fraud charges, according to the Russian-owned state news agency TASS.

The director of the CNN film “Navalny,” Daniel Roher, who spent time with the entire family while following Navalny’s story for the film, described how their support allows Navalny to continue with his mission. 

“It is like the entire family has this iron spine, their character is extraordinary, and I think … the foundation for his strength is the strength of his extraordinary wife Yulia and their children,” Roher said. “Everyone believes in what he’s doing, and everyone supports the sacrifice that he’s making. 

Although they have faced violence and harassment of their own, Navalny’s family continues to support his anti-corruption message, and they express their pride in his accomplishments. 

Dasha wrote on Instagram: “I am very proud of my dad, and I am glad that his incredible story of the last few years will be told.”

Tune in tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET to watch the CNN Film “Navalny” on CNN. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv tomorrow.

“I don’t think this is a secret that people from the US are coming to us tomorrow, State Secretary Mr. Blinken and the defense secretary (Lloyd Austin) who are coming to us,” Zelensky said at a press conference held in an underground subway station in Kyiv.

Zelensky also said, “we will be expecting, when the security will allow, the President of the United States to come and to talk to us.”

CNN has reached out to the US Department of Defense and Department of State for comment. The White House declined to comment on the potential trip.

US President Joe Biden said last week that he was still working with his team to determine whether he should dispatch a senior member of his administration to Ukraine.

On Sunday, many Ukrainians will observe Easter, in accordance with the Julian calendar.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Zelensky in Kyiv on April 9.

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CNN spoke with Maria Pevchikh, the head of the investigative department for Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation. She’s also an executive producer of CNN’s film “Navalny.”

Here’s what she said: 

Q: What can Navalny’s story tell us about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime, as we watch this war that they started?

A: It’s a pretty good prequel. It explains a lot, actually. This film gives a lot of context and it explains how we ended up at this point in time and where Putin is invading countries and killing people, and kind of gets away with it.

Q: You’ve been keeping the Anti-Corruption Foundation running since Navalny was arrested. Why is it important to keep this work going?

A: It’s not only me. There are dozens of other people who work with us. 

It’s a matter of principle for us just continue our work despite the fact that Alexey is in prison. This is exactly what Putin wanted to happen. Putin wanted to imprison Navalny and destroy his work – stop our investigations, stop our political work, stop everything. For us, it is a matter of principle to show Vladimir Putin and whoever is responsible for this that this is not going to work. That we’re going to continue our work and we’re going to work harder and more than we did before. And we intend to keep going as long as it takes. 

Q: As the head of investigations at this foundation, what have you uncovered recently? 

A: This month, we’ve done two. There was an investigation that we did about the yacht Scheherazade. It is parked somewhere in Italy, and it has no owner. I think it is the 11th or 12th most expensive yacht in the world. No one knows to whom it belongs to. In our investigation, we proved that it belongs to Vladimir Putin. 

And last week, we published an investigation about Valery Gergiev, a Russian conductor and classical musician, who is very famous and a frequent guest at places like the Metropolitan Opera and Grand Opera. He is not only a very famous musician, but a prominent supporter of Putin and Putin’s war. So, we did a big investigation into how Valery Gergiev gets paid for publicly whitewashing Putin abroad. 

Q: Navalny was recently sentenced to more time in prison. What do you think the future holds for him? Will he be able to get out of this prison?

A: I think that those numbers mean nothing. He can be sentenced to nine years to 99 years to 900 years. It is virtually meaningless.

Navalny’s case is purely political. Vladimir Putin decided to throw him into jail indefinitely. So as many people say, Navalny’s sentence is essentially a life sentence. The question is whose life it will be? I’m pretty sure that Navalny is going to stay in prison probably until Putin leaves the office, until Putin is removed from power. Our mission is to make sure that this day comes as quickly as possible and Alexey is out of prison as soon as possible. 

Q: We learn in this documentary what Navalny’s vision is for Russia, what he imagined the future will be. Do you expect that Russia will ever come to fruition? 

A: Absolutely. That’s the plan. That’s what we are working on for many years. It would be strange if we did something for a decade that we didn’t believe in and we didn’t believe that it was possible. 

I am convinced that the so-called “beautiful Russia of the future” – this is how Alexey refers to it – it is indeed possible. It is achievable and attainable, and yes, it will take a lot of effort and a lot of work to make sure that it materializes but there are so many people, so many Russians who are willing to do this work, who are willing to risk their life, their careers, their everything, just to make sure that Russia one day becomes a free and democratic country. 

Tune in tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET to watch the CNN Film “Navalny” on CNN. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that if Ukrainians in the besieged city of Mariupol are killed by Russian forces, and if Russia organizes “pseudo” referendums in occupied territories, Ukraine will stop negotiations with the Russian side. 

Zelensky also reiterated his willingness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying “I don’t have a right to be afraid” as the Ukrainian people have shown they are not afraid of the Russian military. 

“As for the topic of the meeting with the president of Russia, yes, I would like to start to finalize the war. There is a diplomatic way, and there is the military way. So any healthy and sane person always chooses diplomatic way, because he or she knows even if it’s hard, it may stop the losses of thousands, of tens of thousands. And with such neighbors, hundreds of thousands and maybe millions of victims,” he said, via translated remarks, while holding a press conference in an underground subway station.

While Zelensky said he’s “not afraid” to meet with Putin, it’s difficult to trust what Russia says.

“There is no trust to Russia. Those are not synonyms, those are antonyms: Russia and trust. Because they’re just saying something, and their words do not coincide with actions,” he said.

Zelensky said possible future negotiations in Turkey depend on Putin, and the Ukranian president reiterated his willingness to participate in talks. 

Zelensky also said Kyiv is “in permanent contact” with Ukrainians in Mariupol but couldn’t share details about the messaging. “These are our people and our town,” he said. 

Zelensky said eight people, including a baby, were killed in missile strikes in the southern port city of Odesa on Saturday.

The Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine issued a statement Saturday claiming that a strike on a Russian command post in the southern Kherson region killed two Russia generals.

“On April 22, 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck a devastating blow at a forward command post of the 49th Combined Arms Army of Russian occupation troops located a short distance from the battle line in the Kherson region,” the statement said. “The result: The Field Control Point of the 49th Combined Arms Army was destroyed. Two occupier generals were eliminated, and one was seriously wounded and evacuated in critical condition.”

CNN could not immediately verify that claim or that casualties may have been inflicted on that unit. Several Russian generals have been killed in Ukraine, with military observers and analysts saying that communication issues and a top-down command style have forced Russia’s top officers to move forward to resolve tactical issues.

The Russian defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for​ comment. 

For women and children stuck in the bunker of the Azovstal steelworks, daylight is a rarity.

“I want to get out of here and see the sun. We’ve been here for two months now and I want to see the sun,” said one boy.

As the barrage of Mariupol continues, the plant is among the last significant holdouts of Ukrainian forces in the city and is sheltering hundreds of soldiers and civilians.

“Because they switch the lights on and off here. When they rebuild our houses we can live in peace. Let Ukraine win this war because Ukraine is our dear home,” he added.

Some background: Ukrainian officials have said more than 100,000 people still remain in Mariupol. The Russian government claims to control the strategic port, but Ukrainian fighters remain holding out in the city’s massive Azovstal steelworks.

On Friday, Russian troops also continued to launch air strikes on Mariupol and ​restrict Ukrainian units in the area of the Azovstal plant.

The situation at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol is “close to a catastrophe,” Yuriy Ryzhenkov, the CEO of the company that owns the plant, told CNN on Thursday.

“When the war started we had stocked quite a good stocks of food and water in the bomb shelters and the facilities at the plant so for some period of time the civilians, they were able to use it and basically survive on that. Unfortunately all the things, they tend to run out, especially the food and daily necessities. I think now it’s close to a catastrophe there,” Ryzhenkov, who runs Metinvest Holding, told CNN’s Julia Chatterly on the “First Move” podcast.

Ryzhenkov said originally there had been enough supplies for two to three weeks but they were almost eight weeks into the blockade. He added that those still there “were not giving up.” 

Evacuation corridor “thwarted”: The evacuation of civilians from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol has been “thwarted” by the Russian military, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol said on his official Telegram account Saturday. 

At 11 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) Saturday, at least 200 residents had gathered near a shopping center in Mariupol, waiting to be evacuated to Zaporizhzhia. But “instead of the buses promised by the Russian side, the Russian military approached the Mariupol residents and ordered them to leave because ‘there will be shelling now,’” Petro Andriushchenko said. 

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Russian opposition leader. Anti-corruption campaigner. Assassination attempt survivor. Prisoner.

Alexey Navalny’s crusade against the Kremlin has brought him many labels.

And with the eyes of the world now on Russian President Vladimir Putin amid his brutal invasion of Ukraine, Navalny’s message of resistance is finding new weight inside and outside of Russia, even as he remains behind bars.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing,” he says, reprising the famous quote of unknown origin, in the new CNN film “Navalny,” which premieres this Sunday, April 24, at 9 p.m. ET on CNN. “So don’t be inactive.”

Here’s what you need to know about Navalny’s political rise, attempted assassination and future in Russia:

Rise to prominence Navalny first gained visibility in 2008, when he started blogging about alleged corruption within Russian state-run companies. By 2011, he had emerged as one of the leaders of the massive protests that had broken out after allegations of fraud in parliamentary elections.

“Those who have gathered here can kick these thieved ass***** out of the Kremlin tomorrow,” Navalny said at one 2011 protest.

He posted his first YouTube video, a step-by-step instruction guide showing how to build an “agitation cube,” a boxlike tent structure with his image emblazoned on the side, in July 2013. The clip marked the start of the Russian dissident’s campaign to be elected Moscow mayor, and the humble beginning of his YouTube revolution.

But his movement was blunted when he was convicted on embezzlement charges, just as he was preparing to run for mayor. Navalny has denied the charges and called them politically motivated. A retrial in 2017 barred him from running for public office — this time for president against Putin.

While Navalny is most well known as an activist, it’s his investigations that have been the biggest thorn in the side of some of Russia’s powerful people. His videos about the apparent unexplained wealth of top government officials have particularly raised the ire of the Kremlin.

One video about former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev drew more than 35 million views on YouTube.

But with increased results came increased risks. In March 2017, that video lit a spark under the biggest anti-government protests Russia had seen in years. Thousands joined rallies in almost 100 cities across Russia. Navalny himself was arrested and jailed for 15 days.

The following month, he was splashed with an antiseptic green dye, damaging his vision in one eye.

“Listen, I’ve got something very obvious to tell you. You’re not allowed to give up. If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong,” Navalny said to his supporters in the CNN film.

“We need to utilize this power, to not give up, to remember we are a huge power that is being oppressed by these bad dudes. We don’t realize how strong we actually are,” he continued.

Poisoning and recovery By 2020, there were signs that the ground was shifting beneath Navalny’s opposition movement.

The Kremlin had taken on a more publicly confrontational posture toward its chief critic, culminating in accusations of a poisoning attempt in August of that year.

Navalny had started feeling unwell on a return flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk. Loud groaning can be heard in video footage apparently recorded on the flight he took. More video apparently recorded through the airplane window showed an immobile man being taken by wheeled stretcher to a waiting ambulance.

Navalny was treated at a Berlin hospital, and the German government later concluded he had been poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group.

A joint investigation by CNN and the group Bellingcat implicated the Russian Security Service (FSB) in Navalny’s poisoning, piecing together how an elite unit at the agency had followed Navalny’s team throughout a trip to Siberia, when Navalny fell ill from exposure to Novichok.

The investigation also found that this unit, which included chemical weapons experts, had followed Navalny on more than 30 trips to and from Moscow since 2017. Russia denies involvement in Navalny’s poisoning. Putin himself said in December that if Russian security services had wanted to kill Navalny, they “would have finished” the job.

Nevertheless, several Western officials and Navalny himself have openly blamed the Kremlin.

“It’s impossible to believe it. It’s kind of stupid that the whole idea of poisoning with a chemical weapon, what the f**k?” Navalny says in the new CNN film. “This is why this is so smart, because even reasonable people they refuse to believe like, what? Come on … poisoned? Seriously?”

News that Navalny had fallen gravely ill sent a fresh shock wave through Russian society, raising worrying parallels with some of the more brazen political killings in Russia’s recent past.

Western governments, independent researchers and Russia watchers have noted a consistent pattern of Russian state involvement in assassinations both inside Russia and abroad.

Click here to read the full story.

Tune in tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET to watch the CNN Film “Navalny” on CNN.

The evacuation of civilians from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol has been “thwarted” by the Russian military, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol said on his official Telegram account Saturday. 

At 11 a.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) Saturday, at least 200 residents had gathered near a shopping center in Mariupol, waiting to be evacuated to Zaporizhzhia. But “instead of the buses promised by the Russian side, the Russian military approached the Mariupol residents and ordered them to leave because ‘there will be shelling now,’” Petro Andriushchenko said. 

The Russian military brought buses to another location about 200 meters away from the agreed evacuation point, and when residents had already been loaded on the buses, they were told they’ll be evacuated to the city of Dokuchaevsk, “i.e. in the occupied territories,” Andriushchenko said. 

“People were not given the right to leave the bus. When asked why, the answer was ‘nationalists fired on the evacuation point.’ That is another lie,” Andriushchenko said. 

“Yes, once again, the Russians disrupted the evacuation. Brazenly using the efforts of Mariupol residents to return home and the honesty of the Ukrainian army in a ceasefire to organize their own plans,” he added. 

The Ukrainian parliament also tweeted that the evacuation was “disrupted.”

“About 200 Mariupol residents were going to leave, but when they arrived at the assembly point, the [Russian] military told them to disperse because ‘there will be shelling now’,” according to the parliament’s official account. 

Five civilians died and 18 were wounded in Russian missile strikes on the southern port city of Odesa, according to a senior Ukrainian official, as another official denounced them as “Easter gifts from Putin.”


“Five Ukrainian citizens were killed and 18 wounded,” Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said in a statement. “These are only those who were found. And most likely, there will be more.”

Yermak said one of the dead was a 3-month-old baby, adding: “A child who had to celebrate his first Easter with his parents. Nothing is sacred. Absolutely. Evil will be punished.”

Many Ukrainians celebrate Easter according to the Julian calendar, with Easter Sunday falling this year on April 24.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine, said Russian forces launched at least six cruise missiles at Odesa.

“City residents heard the blasts in different districts of the city. These were the rockets strikes as well as the work of our air-defense system,” he said.

Gerashchenko added that at least one missile had landed and exploded, residential buildings were hit and one person was burned inside their car in the yard of one of the buildings.

In a statement on Telegram, Odesa City Council Deputy Petro Obukhov called the missile strikes “Easter gifts from Putin.” 

​Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the strikes, saying, “The only aim of Russian missile strikes on Odesa is terror. Russia must be designated a state sponsor of terrorism and treated accordingly. No business, no contacts, no cultural projects. We need a wall between civilization and barbarians striking peaceful cities with missiles.”

Ukrainian officials have warned of potential Russian attacks during Easter holiday observances in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently claimed Russian forces have “liberated” the Azov Sea port of Mariupol, although Ukrainian defenders are holding out in a massive steel works in the city. 

Ukraine’s Air Command South said in a separate statement that missiles also struck a military facility and were launched by Russian bombers:

“Today … the air defense group of the South Air Command conducted combat operations to destroy enemy cruise missiles launched by Russia’s TU-95 strategic aircraft from the Caspian Sea,” the statement said. “During the engagement, warriors of anti-aircraft missile units destroyed two enemy cruise missiles (preliminary X555 or X101), which struck the city of Odesa and two operational-tactical level UAVs, which presumably corrected the trajectory of cruise missiles and placed active obstacles to the air-defense system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

While in prison, Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny used social media to denounce the Russian invasion of Ukraine, advocating for anti-war protests across the country as “the backbone of the movement against war and death,” according to Reuters.

In a tweet, Navalny said: “I am very grateful to everyone for their support. And, guys, I want to say: the best support for me and other political prisoners is not sympathy and kind words, but actions. Any activity against the deceitful and thievish Putin’s regime. Any opposition to these war criminals.”

Thousands in Russia have been detained for anti-war demonstrations in the weeks since, including in Moscow and St. Petersburg. 

One young woman CNN met on the margins of the first night of protest last month was near tears explaining that she loves Russia but not her leader, and so has concluded she must leave the country.

There is real frustration in that generation, but they are a minority — less than 10% of the nation.

​Indeed, the latest polling by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), a state-owned but nevertheless internationally respected organization, found that 68% of people say they support the decision to carry out the “special military operation,” which Putin had announced alongside false accusations of Nazism and genocide in Ukraine; 22% oppose it and 10% had difficulty answering.

It is a sobering assessment that when Putin puts his finger in the wind of public opinion, he can be reasonably sure it is blowing in the direction he instructed his state organs to set it.

“Listen, I’ve got something very obvious to tell you. You’re not allowed to give up. If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong,” Navalny said to his supporters in the CNN film airing Sunday.

“We need to utilize this power, to not give up, to remember we are a huge power that is being oppressed by these bad dudes. We don’t realize how strong we actually are,” he said.

Click here to read the full story.

Tune in tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET to watch the CNN Film “Navalny” on CNN.

Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said Saturday that a Russian strike hit a gas pipe on the outskirts of a village in the region.

“We have an ‘arrival’ in the Dnieper district,” Reznichenko said on Telegram. “The rocket landed on the outskirts of a village and left a huge funnel more than 4 meters deep in the ground. A low-pressure gas pipe was damaged. Specialists are at work on the scene.”

Rezhnichenko said there were no casualties.

“The occupiers continue to target ‘strategic’ targets,” he said. “‘Demilitarize’ our fields and gardens.”

Europe is discussing a sixth round of sanctions on Russia, including a hit on Russia’s energy market, a top official from the European Commission and Lithuania’s finance minister said on Friday.

European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said one of the issues under consideration concerns an oil embargo. There have been discussions about “smart sanctions” that might include tariffs rather than a full embargo at first.

“So there may be some nuances, but this work is ongoing,” Dombrovskis told reporters in Washington, DC. 

In a separate interview with CNN in the US capital, Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė said she discussed a possible next tranche of sanctions with US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo.  

“We are always offering to include in the sanctions the energy sector, especially oil,” as well as “additional sanctions to the financial sector of Russia,” Skaistė said.

Skaistė said the sanctions must be coordinated for them to have an impact. “If we won’t agree on the sanctions together, the United States with all Western allies, it won’t work,” she said.

Dombrovskis said that “technically speaking, approval of sanctions can be very quick view, can be done in a matter of one or two days.”

“The question here is basically is that sanctions require unanimity among member states, so those political discussions are ongoing in parallel, so it’s important to reach unanimous political agreement,” he said.

Skaistė said it was too early to say when there will be agreement on that next round of sanctions. She noted that there is both a shorter-term and longer-term goal for the sanctions: to draw Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and to weaken Russia’s economy so it is unable to reinforce its military.

“If there will be no possibilities to reinforce their army, we would like to think that there will be no war in Europe,” she said.

Dombrovskis said it is important that existing sanctions are actually enforced, noting they are working with EU member states as well as the broader international community.

“It’s a fact that not all countries have joined those Western sanctions,” he said, noting that Beijing is “hedging its bets,” and they are trying to nudge China and other nations “to be closer to our approach to Russia.” 

Skaistė said they are also focused on helping Ukraine’s government survive in the shorter-term, and in the longer-term how to rebuild Ukraine more efficiently, which she believes “should be closely engaged with the process of Ukraine’s accession to European Union.”

Both Skaistė and Dombrovskis expressed concern about Putin’s future targets if he is not decisively stopped in Ukraine.  

Skaistė told CNN that Russia is trying to impose its influence on neighboring countries, noting it’s “not the first time.”

“Russian propaganda, certain authorities, representatives are not making a secret that Russia plans to go further and if we do not stop them in Ukraine, they will be invading other neighboring countries,” Dombrovskis said, calling it not only an attack on Ukraine but on European security more broadly. 

Asked if Europe would respond with the same unity if Moldova were attacked by Russia, Dombrovskis said they needed to focus on Ukraine right now, “because Putin will go as far as we will let him to go.”

CNN’s Kylie Atwood contributed reporting to this post.

The Ukrainian government announced new curfews for Easter weekend amid warnings from authorities about the potential for increased Russian military activity during holiday celebrations. 

Many Ukrainians celebrate Easter according to the Julian calendar, with Easter Sunday falling this year on April 24.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office, announced the curfews in a statement on Saturday. Curfew hours will be in place from 7 p.m. local time Saturday until 5 a.m. local time Sunday in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, all of which have seen active fighting. 

In other regions of Ukraine, including the capital of Kyiv, curfew will run from 11 p.m. local time on Saturday until Sunday at 5 a.m.

Earlier this week, officials in Luhansk and Sumy regions urged residents to attend virtual services online, saying that possible Russian “provocations” could happen and that many churches have been destroyed as well.

A Russian missile strike hit Ukraine’s southern port city of Odesa, the city’s official Telegram channel said Saturday.  

“A missile strike was launched in Odesa,” the statement said. “Infrastructure facilities were hit. Do not share photos and videos, do not help the enemy. The information is being clarified.”

The purported strike comes as top Russian military officials revealed that the goal of the invasion of Ukraine is to take “full control” over southern Ukraine as well as the eastern Donbas region.

Maj. Gen. Rustam Minnekaev, the acting commander of Russia’s Central Military District, said that control over Ukraine’s south would give Russian forces access to Transnistria — a separatist statelet in Moldova, where a contingent of Russian forces has been stationed since the early 1990s — according to TASS, a Russian state news agency.

What is it about?

The CNN film “Navalny” follows Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who was poisoned in August 2020 with a nerve agent during a flight to Moscow. The film paints an intimate portrait of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics and takes viewers inside the harrowing search for answers following his poisoning. 

When and where can I watch it?

Sunday, April 24, at 9 p.m. ET on CNN

How long is the film?

98 minutes 

Who is Navalny?

Navalny is a Russian opposition leader, Kremlin critic and activist. He has been a prominent organizer of street protests and has exposed corruption in the Russian government on social media.

He created the Anti-Corruption Foundation, a nonprofit organization that investigates corruption among high-ranking Russian government officials.

In March, Navalny was sentenced to nine years in a maximum-security jail, according to the Russian state-owned news agency TASS, after being convicted on fraud charges over allegations that he stole from his Anti-Corruption Foundation. The Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported that Navalny will appeal the guilty verdict, according to his lawyer.

Who made the film?

Daniel Roher directed the documentary.

“I want audiences to be reminded that bad guys win if people stop caring and stop paying attention, whether it be authoritarians rising in Brazil, Hungary, Turkey, Russia, China — or the US,” said Roher. “Alexey wants to remind us that we cannot be inactive. I want people to focus on that when they think about Alexey.”           

Russian forces are continuing their assault across the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine, with Ukrainian officials reporting heavy shelling and civilian casualties in cities, including Kharkiv, Popasna and Mykolaiv.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian minister announced an evacuation corridor from the besieged southern port city of Mariupol would open, following a brief halt earlier because of security concerns.

Here are the latest developments:

Russia takes small towns but makes “no major gains,” say UK officials: Russia has captured dozens of small towns and settlements in its assault on the eastern Donbas region, and Ukrainian officials describe continued heavy fighting throughout Donetsk and Luhansk there. A situation report by the UK’s Ministry of Defense, however, said on Saturday that Russian forces had made “no major gains” in the past 24 hours, in the face of Ukrainian counterattacks. Ukrainian air and sea defenses have also been able to stop the progress of Russian air and maritime forces, the ministry added in a post on social media.  

New plans for evacuations from Mariupol: Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced an evacuation corridor would open on Saturday, with a focus on moving “women, children and the elderly” from Mariupol to safer areas. In a statement on Telegram, Vereshchuk warned of Russian traps, where troops might open a “parallel corridor” and take residents into Russian-controlled territories instead. She urged residents to be vigilant and “not to follow any deceit and provocations” by the Russian side.

Mykolaiv official announces curfew: After Russian forces continued shelling the city of Mykolaiv overnight, Vitaliy Kim, head of the regional military administration there, announced a new curfew of 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. ahead of local Easter services. The announcement comes a day after Hanna Zamazeeva, chief of Mykolaiv’s regional council, said that at least 20 people had been injured in the region in the past two days, amid attacks by Russian troops.

Russian forces target civilian infrastructure: Residents in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and Popasna in the east have experienced sustained Russian bombardment. Russian troops fired 56 strikes on civilian infrastructure of Kharkiv and the region, killing two people and wounding 19, according to a Ukrainian military governor. In Popasna, two people also died as Russian forces targeted civilian homes and high-rise buildings, a Ukrainian regional official said.

Phil Metzger flew home to California from Ukraine soon after the war broke out, devastated by what he saw.

He’d been helping deliver medicine and evacuate families from danger, and the evangelical pastor knew he wanted the church he leads in suburban San Diego to do more to help those in need.

He never expected the crisis would end up coming to them.

“Who would ever imagine that a pipeline into America (for Ukrainians) would open through Mexico?” Metzger says. “That just caught us all completely off guard.”

The church, Calvary San Diego, is in Chula Vista, California, about 8 miles north of the US-Mexico border. And as a growing number of Ukrainians were crossing the border from Tijuana to seek refuge in the United States, Metzger saw it as an opportunity to turn the church’s beliefs into action.

Over the past six weeks, Metzger says thousands of Ukrainians crossing the border have spent at least a night inside his church, and hundreds more have stayed at the homes of church members.

About 100 people connected to Calvary – including members and their families – opened up their homes to give the new arrivals a comfortable place to stay for a night or two. Many also volunteered to make airport runs, dropping off families who were continuing their journeys to meet up with relatives across the US.

This story is part of a CNN series, “The Helpers,” which seeks to showcase people who are going the extra mile to help others and make their communities a better place.

Read the full story here:

A Ukrainian family arrives at a shelter at the Christian church Calvary San Diego for Ukrainians arriving after crossing into the United States from Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, April 1, 2022, in Chula Vista, Calif. As U.S. refugee resettlement agencies and nonprofits nationwide gear up to help Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion and war that has raged for nearly six weeks, members of faith communities have been leading the charge to welcome the displaced. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Related article 100 people from one California church opened their homes to Ukrainians in need

Two people have been killed in bombardments in the eastern town of Popasna, said head of the Luhansk regional military administration
 Serhiy Hayday, who accused Russian forces of shelling private homes.

“Popasna suffered the most,” Hayday said of the town, which is in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region.

“Yesterday, locals withstood five enemy artillery attacks. However, not everyone survived. In the evening, [a] 66-year-old Popasna resident died, his wife was injured. Also, one more person died as a result of shelling,” Hayday added.

Separately, Hayday said about 30 people had been evacuated from the nearby city of Severodonetsk, including 15 bedridden patients. 

Settlements in Luhansk have come under heavy fire amid a broad Russian military push to take and hold more territory in the eastern Donbas region.

Russian forces continued shelling the city of Mykolaiv overnight, a Ukrainian regional governor said Saturday, prompting officials to impose a curfew ahead of the Easter period.

“There was shelling again tonight,” said Vitaliy Kim, head of Mykolaiv’s regional military administration. “They hit a cafe – no casualties, thank God.” 

Kim added that a curfew would be in effect from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. ahead of local Easter services.

Some background: The announcement comes a day after Hanna Zamazeeva, chief of Mykolaiv’s regional council, said that at least 20 people had been injured in the region in the past two days, amid attacks by Russian troops.

Ukrainian officials have warned of unspecified provocations by Russian forces over the Easter holiday, which is observed by many Ukrainians according to the Julian calendar, and have urged citizens in some regions to mark the holiday at home.

The territory between Mykolaiv and Kherson to the southeast has seen intense fighting over the last three weeks as Ukrainian forces have launched counter-attacks.

Mykolaiv itself has been regularly shelled by Russian forces but remains under Ukrainian control.

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced an evacuation corridor on Saturday from the besieged city of Mariupol, following a brief halt earlier because of security concerns.

“We are starting to gather around Port City shopping centre. If everything goes to plan the evacuations will commence at midday,” Vereshchuk said in a statement on Telegram.

She warned, however, that Russian troops might open a “parallel corridor” for taking residents into Russian-controlled territories instead. She urged residents to be vigilant and “not to follow any deceit and provocations” by the Russian side.

“Our corridors will take place solely in the following itinerary towards Zaporizhzhia: Manhush, Berdiansk, Tokmak, Orihiv,” Vereshchuk said.

Some background: US and European officials have claimed that Russian forces have been forcibly deporting residents of Mariupol to separatist-held territory in Ukraine and, in some cases, even into Russia, after stripping them of phones and identification and screening them through a so-called “filtration” process.

Ukraine has been evacuating civilians to the government-held city of Zaporizhzhia, but convoys must navigate through a series of Russian-held towns and military checkpoints. 

Ukrainian officials have said over 100,000 people still remain in the southern city of Mariupol. The Russian government claims to control the strategic port, but Ukrainian fighters remain holding out in the city’s massive Azovstal steel factory.

Russian forces have continued shelling the northeastern city of Kharkiv and the region, a Ukrainian military governor said on Saturday.

“The Russian occupiers continue to fire on the civilian infrastructure of Kharkiv and the region,” said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration. “During the day, the occupiers inflicted 56 strikes, as a result – 19 wounded, two people died.”

Civilians in Kharkiv have endured heavy shelling for days.

Russian forces continued to hold defensive lines around Izium, and claimed Ukrainian forces had carried out a successful counterattack to retake the settlements of Bezruky, Slatino and Prudianka and in the vicinity of Derhachi, Syniehubov added. CNN could not independently verify those claims. 

The military governor announced that a curfew in the region would be in effect from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time.

On April 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that in the four days before, 18 people had been killed and 106 wounded by Russian bombardments in Kharkiv.

Russia has captured dozens of small towns in its assault on the Donbas region, as Ukrainian officials describe continued heavy fighting throughout Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russia had, in recent weeks, refocused its war efforts from the north and center to the east after a failure to circle in on the capital, Kyiv.

On Friday, Russia revealed for the first time that its goal was to take “full control” over southern Ukraine as well as the eastern Donbas region.

Maj. Gen. Rustam Minnekaev, the acting commander of Russia’s Central Military District, said Russian forces were fighting to establish a land corridor through Ukrainian territory connecting Russia to Crimea, the peninsula it annexed in 2014, said according to TASS, a Russian state news agency.

Olena Symonenko, an adviser to the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, said in televised remarks late Thursday that over the last 24 hour period, 42 more settlements had come under Russian control in the Donetsk region.

The UK Ministry of Defense, however, said Saturday that Russian forces had made no major gains in the past 24 hours, in the face of Ukrainian counterattacks.  

Ukrainian air and sea defense have also been able to stop the progress of Russian air and maritime forces, the ministry added in a post on social media.  

Southern Ukraine: Russian forces at present have only partial control of southern Ukraine, with the Ukrainian government still in control of the key cities of Mykolaiv and Odesa and some Ukrainian forces holding out in a steel plant in the encircled port of Mariupol.

“Despite their stated conquest of Mariupol, heavy fighting continues to take place frustrating Russian attempts to capture the city thus further slowing their desired progress in the Donbas,”  the UK ministry said.

What a difference a few weeks make. Just last month, India was taking flak from the West for its relationship with Russia.

Not only was the South Asian country refusing to condemn Moscow’s brutal assault on Ukraine, but its purchases of discounted Russian oil – said critics – were flying in the face of sanctions aimed at crippling the Kremlin’s finances.

And the White House was making its displeasure clear, calling New Delhi “somewhat shaky” and speaking of its “disappointment.”

Then all of a sudden, the West’s tune changed. When Biden met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month, it was all diplomatic backslapping and soundbites about “a deep connection between our people” and “shared values.” Then on Friday, UK leader Boris Johnson flew into Delhi to talk up trade ties and pose for costumed photo ops, all while glossing over “differences” regarding Russia.

Yet India’s stance on Ukraine remains largely the same. It is still buying cheap Russian oil, and it remains quiet on Moscow’s invasion. As recently as April 7, it abstained from a UN vote suspending Russia from the Human Rights Council.

India, analysts say, just taught the West a masterclass in international diplomacy.

Read the full story:

President Joe Biden meets virtually with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, Monday, April 11, 2022.

Related article Why India can buy Russian oil, and still be friends with the US

An evacuation column from the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol is planned for Saturday, according to Petro Andriushchenko, adviser to the Mariupol mayor.

“Today at 11:00 am (local), the evacuation of Mariupol residents to Zaporizhzhia will begin from the ‘Port City’ shopping mall,” he said on Telegram. “Departure of the column is scheduled at 12:00 on the route: Mariupol-Manhush-Berdiansk-Tokmak-Orikhiv-Zaporizhzhia.”

Andriushchenko said private vehicles can join the route, but only women, children and the elderly will be able to board buses.

Officials have said 100,000 civilians still require evacuation from the city, which has been battered by weeks of Russian bombardment. Ukrainian leaders have appealed for the Russian side to guarantee safe passage for civilians, but several previous evacuation attempts have failed due to shelling and danger on the routes.

Russian forces have made no major gains in the past 24 hours as they face Ukrainian counterattacks, the United Kingdom’s Defense Ministry said in an intelligence briefing on Saturday. 

Ukrainian air and sea defense have also been able to stop the progress of Russian air and maritime forces, the ministry added. 

“Despite their stated conquest of Mariupol, heavy fighting continues to take place frustrating Russian attempts to capture the city thus further slowing their desired progress in the Donbas,” the ministry said. 

On February 17, a team of young disabled Ukrainian swimmers traveled to Turkey to nurture their ambitions of becoming elite professionals.

The camp of seven budding athletes arrived with their three coaches in the town of Silivri, just outside of Istanbul, to take part in a two-week training program.

A week later their lives were upended when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Since the invasion began on February 24, there have been deadly airstrikes, and horrific scenes of mass graves and murdered civilians across Ukraine – while global leaders have accused Russian forces of carrying out war crimes.

While one young swimmer has traveled to Poland with his mother, they have been in Turkey for two months now, and many of their family members are still marooned in Ukraine.

Team member Victoria Kharchenko, who has cerebral palsy, says her parents find comfort in the fact that she is safe.

Read the full story:

Related article 'My heart is torn': As war rages on at home, these young disabled Ukrainian swimmers are stranded in Turkey

Heavy fighting is continuing in eastern Ukraine, with Russia now apparently eyeing the country’s southern regions in the second phase of its invasion. Meanwhile, international partners including the UN chief and Turkey are meeting with leaders from both countries in the coming days in hopes of de-escalating the conflict.

Here are the latest developments:

Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov met with and presented awards to soldiers in Moschun, a village north of Kyiv that experienced heavy destruction and played a significant role in driving back Russian forces. 

In a Facebook post early Friday, Reznikov said, “I met with the soldiers in Kyiv Region in the completely destroyed Moschun. Here the occupiers used all possible weapons, including missiles and aircrafts.”

He said the village was on a list of settlements that Russian forces had to take to reach Kyiv.

“Thanks to our soldiers, thanks to the courageous residents of the village, they were defeated,” Reznikov said, “Assassins and looters could not hold Moschun, could not move forward. Having suffered heavy losses, the occupiers were forced to flee to Belarus.”

Some context: Moschun was vital to the Ukrainians repelling the Russian advance towards Kyiv. Ukrainian forces there, and nearby in Irpin and Bucha, are largely responsible for stalling the Russians, who were trying to advance towards Kyiv across the Irpin River.

That’s why Bucha, Irpin and Moschun were subjected to weeks of military strikes and firefights. As a result, much of the destruction in the Kyiv region is in these three locations.

In addition to the countless strikes in Moschun, Russian forces also tried to take the village through a ground assault.

Drone video taken on Friday and obtained by CNN shows a number of homes destroyed in Moschun.

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal called the situation in Mariupol the “biggest humanitarian catastrophe” since Russia’s invasion – and perhaps the worst catastrophe of the century, as the southeastern port city faces constant bombardment from Russian forces.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington on Friday, Shmyhal said thousands of people had died in Mariupol, adding: “We will see the terrible atrocities when it will be liberated from Russians.”

He said Russian troops are “absolutely destroying everything,” including shelters where civilians are staying.

An estimated 100,000 people remain trapped in Mariupol since it was surrounded by Russian forces on March 1, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian officials claim that more than 20,000 people in the city have died during the assault.

CNN cannot independently identify these figures, as a firm death toll following weeks of heavy bombardment is not available.

The last holdout of resistance: On Friday, Shmyhal said civilians including women and children are hiding at the Azovstal steel plant, the final bastion of Ukrainian defenders inside the city. He said the Russian army is still surrounding the area, and Ukraine is speaking with partners to negotiate an evacuation corridor.

He also called on ambassadors from all countries, including the United States, to return to their embassies in Kyiv.

Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration has summoned Russia’s ambassador to Moldova, after Russia announced Friday that its military is aiming to control southern Ukraine and access Moldova.

In a statement, the Moldovan ministry said it “took note of the statements of the representative of Russia’s Ministry of Defense” and “expressed deep concern over the statements made by the Russian official.”

“Full control”: Earlier on Friday, Russian state media said the Russian military is aiming to establish “full control” over southern Ukraine in the second phase of its invasion of Ukraine.

State news agency TASS quoted the acting commander of Russia’s Central Military District, Maj. Gen. Rustam Minnekaev, as saying the aim was to create a land corridor between Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region and Crimea. He added that control over Ukraine’s south would give Russian forces access to Transnistria, a separatist statelet in Moldova, where a contingent of Russian forces has been stationed since the early 1990s. 

“Since the beginning of the second phase of the special operation, which began literally two days ago, one of the tasks of the Russian army is to establish full control over Donbas and southern Ukraine, this will provide a land corridor to Crimea,” Minnekaev said according to TASS.

Moldovan response: Moldova’s Foreign Ministry said the statements made by the Russian general were “unfounded and contradict the position of the Russian Federation supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova, within its internationally recognized borders.”

It added that during the meeting with the Russian ambassador, Moldovan officials reiterated that Moldova is a “neutral state and this principle must be respected by all international actors, including the Russian Federation.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to Ukraine next week where he is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, according to a UN spokesperson.

Guterres will also meet with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba as well as UN agency staff members to discuss the scaling up of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

Earlier today, the UN said Guterres “will be received by President Vladimir Putin” on Tuesday after having a working meeting and lunch with the foreign minister of Russia.

A UN spokesperson said Wednesday that Guterres was requesting separate audiences with Putin in Moscow and Zelensky in Ukraine to discuss the urgent need to bring about peace.