Ukraine’s defense ministry says Russian forces have completed the regrouping of troops to launch an offensive in the east. Control of Kreminna, a town in the eastern Luhansk region, has been “lost” during heavy fighting, a Ukrainian official said.
Video shows Ukrainian forces in Mariupol ambushing Russian military convoy
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy
A frame from a video shows Ukrainian forces ambushing a Russian convoy in Mariupol.
(Azov Battalion)
A new video posted by the Azov Battalion on Monday shows Ukrainian forces in Mariupol ambushing a Russian military convoy.
CNN has geolocated and verified the authenticity of the video, but it’s unclear when the ambush occurred. The Azov Battalion is a unit that began as an ultra-nationalist militia but has since integrated into the Ukrainian armed forces.
The video, taken by a drone, shows a convoy of six vehicles moving south along Metallurgists Avenue in Mariupol. The convoy pulls off the road and onto a sidewalk just outside the Ararat cafe.
As the drone zooms out, it shows at least nine Ukrainian troops creeping toward the convoy, which has stopped moving. The video then cuts to soldiers firing in the direction of the convoy.
The video then shows Ukrainian soldiers throwing grenades over a brick wall, in the direction of Russian soldiers who are taking cover between one of the vehicles and a wall.
CNN is not airing the entire video, as it shows grenades exploding on top of the Russian soldiers.
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Women and children purportedly sheltering in basement of Azovstal steel plant in besieged Mariupol, video shows
From CNN's Paul Murphy
(Azov Battalion)
New video images of women and children, purportedly sheltering in the basement of the Azovstal steel plant in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, were published Monday evening on Telegram.
The video was posted by the Azov Battalion, a unit that began as an ultra-nationalist militia but has since integrated into the Ukrainian armed forces. The video was later shared by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It appears to show dozens of children and families who have been sheltering for weeks in the basement of the plant where Ukrainian forces are holding out against Russian attacks.
CNN cannot verify the authenticity of the video, or when it was taken. However, after reviewing thousands of photos and videos of the Azovstal steel plant, the walls of the shelter appear to match the lime-green painted walls of the steel plant’s basements.
Some context: Commander of the Azov Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Denys Prokopenko, in Mariupol said in a video posted Monday on Telegram that Russian forces have been firing “willingly” on the Azovstal steelworks factory, where hundreds of civilians are sheltering alongside Ukrainian forces.
Prokopenko said that among those sheltering are, “people of all ages, women, children, and families of Mariupol defenders. They are sheltering in the basements and bunkers from the ‘Russian world’.”
Myhailo Vershynin, the chief of the Mariupol Patrol Police, also told CNN that women, children and the elderly were among those sheltering inside the steel plant.
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New images show Russian warship Moskva before it sank
From CNN's Jonny Hallam, Brad Lendon, Uliana Pavlova and Ivana Kottasová
(From Social Media)
New images emerged early Monday on social media showing Russia’s guided-missile cruiser, the Moskva, badly damaged and on fire in the hours before the ship sank in the Black Sea on Thursday.
The sinking of the Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, was the biggest wartime loss of a naval ship in 40 years – and a huge embarrassment for Moscow.
The images show the Moskva listing to one side, with black holes from possible missile puncture marks, and significant scarring at and just above the waterline on the port (left) side of the middle of the vessel.
A large plume of black smoke can be seen billowing upwards, partly obscuring the front of the stricken ship.
Analysts told CNN the warship in the images looked like the Moskva, a Slava Class guided-missile destroyer.
Ukraine and Russia have provided conflicting accounts of what happened during Thursday’s incident in the Black Sea.
Exclusive: Zelensky rejects "tall tales" his forces need months of training to operate advanced weapons
From CNN's Jake Tapper and Jeremy Herb
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back against concerns from US and NATO officials that his military would need significant training before receiving advanced weapons from other countries, telling CNN his forces need weapons quickly – and can learn to use them just as fast.
Zelensky said in the interview from the office of the president in Kyiv that weapons provided by the US and other countries, including the Biden administration’s new $800 million security assistance package, have helped his country resist Russia’s invasion.
But he said that more would be needed, and his country’s trainers would be able to get his forces up to speed quickly.
US border officials encountered just more than 5,000 Ukrainians in March, new data shows
From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez
US Customs and Border Protection officials encountered just more than 5,000 Ukrainians in March, including 3,274 along the US southern border, according to newly released agency data.
The challenge some Ukrainians face in getting to the US through an existing legal pathway is reflected in part on the US-Mexico border. There, hundreds have gathered to enter the US through a port of entry and potentially be paroled into the United States.
US Customs and Border Protection has sent additional officers to the San Ysidro port of entry, near the Mexican border city of Tijuana, to help with processing, according to the agency. The Biden administration is also planning to roll out a program that would expedite the process for Ukrainians trying to come to the United States.
The 3,274 Ukrainians made up a small share of the 221,303 encounters at the US-Mexico border in March, which marked yet another jump in arrests along the US-Mexico border. CBP has already apprehended more than 1 million people this fiscal year. That includes some repeat crossers.
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Ukrainian commander: Russian forces firing "willingly" on Mariupol factory where people are sheltering
From CNN's Katharina Krebs in London and Karen Smith in Atlanta
Smoke rises above the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works company and buildings in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Monday, April 18,
(Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)
In an address on Monday to world leaders, commander of the Azov Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Denys Prokopenko, said Russian forces are firing on the Azovstal steelworks factory “willingly” in Mariupol as hundreds of people are sheltering inside.
Prokopenko is the commander of one of the Ukrainian units defending the port city of Mariupol.
Prokopenko said in a post on Telegram account that among those sheltering are, “people of all ages, women, children, and families of Mariupol defenders. They are sheltering in the basements and bunkers from the ‘Russian world.’”
According to Prokopenko, those sheltering “found their only available shelter next to the Ukrainian soldiers, who are still defending the city from Russian invaders.”
He added, “City theatre, maternity hospital, schools, kindergartens, and houses were destroyed by those who now offer civilians evacuation and safety. These are the same people. And nobody believes.”
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It's just after 2 a.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know.
Ukraine’s defense ministry, meanwhile, says Russian forces have completed the regrouping of troops to launch an offensive in the east. Control of Kreminna, a town in the eastern Luhansk region, has been “lost” during heavy fighting, a Ukrainian official said.
Here are the latest developments on the war in Ukraine:
The battle for Donbas: Russian forces have started the battle for Donbas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Monday. The president underscored that Ukrainian forces will continue to fight against a Russian incursion in the region. “I’m thankful to all of our warriors, our soldiers, our heroic towns and towns in the region who are resisting and standing firm,” he added.
No plans for Biden to visit Ukraine: White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated Monday that there are no plans in place for US President Joe Biden to travel to Ukraine, following comments from Zelensky encouraging him to do so. “That has not changed — what our focus continues to be on is providing Ukraine, the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian leaders — a historic amount of security assistance,” Psaki told CNN.
Civilians sheltering in Ukrainian plant: Civilians — including women, children, and the elderly — are sheltering inside the Azovstal iron and steel plant in the besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol, according to Myhailo Vershynin, the chief of the Mariupol patrol police. Vershynin told CNN he was at the Azovstal plant, one of the city’s last bastions still under Ukrainian control which has been the focal point of heavy Russian bombardment following weeks of grinding warfare in the city that has leveled much of its infrastructure.
US describes “campaign of terror”: State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that Russia’s attacks in Ukraine in recent days further illustrate that the country is “undertaking a campaign of terror” against the people of Ukraine. “The fact is that Russia, more than just launching an invasion, more than just launching a war, has launched, is undertaking a campaign of terror, a campaign of brutality, a campaign of despicable aggression against the people of Ukraine.
Ceasefire “not on the horizon”: A ceasefire in Ukraine is not on the horizon, but may come in the coming weeks depending on how the war and ongoing negotiations continue, according to Martin Griffiths, UN under secretary general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “Ceasefires … they’re not on the horizon right now, but they may be in a couple of weeks. They may be a little bit longer than that,” Griffiths said in his remarks Monday.
No safety from Russia’s “onslaught,” EU says: The European Union has condemned the latest round of Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and said the recent shelling in western Ukraine show no part of the country is safe. “Ukraine is being struck by the most intensive missile attacks by the Russian Federation since weeks. The EU condemns the continued indiscriminate and illegal shelling of civilians and civilian infrastructure by Russian armed forces,” the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement Monday.
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Ukrainian official: There is not "a town, a city or a village left where it is safe now in Ukraine"
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
Ihor Zhovkva, chief diplomatic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that there isn’t a “single place” in Ukraine that’s safe now following Russian missile strikes in Lviv Monday.
“That’s what [the Russians] were trying to implement since the beginning of the war. Because look, they not only fight the military people. They not only fight the military infrastructure. They fight with civilian Ukrainians. I mean what a auto service shop, a car repairing shop has to do with the military infrastructure, but they bombed it today in Lviv, having killed civilian people. Not a single soldier but civilian people, killed,” he said.
He made a plea for additional military aid so that Ukraine can “win” the war.
“Please support Ukraine with more arms, and we’ll be able to win,” Zhovkva said.
The western city of Lviv, seen as a safe haven due to its proximity to the border, came under attack on Monday. Maksym Kozytskyy, the Lviv regional military governor, said three missile strikes hit warehouses that were not being used by the military, and a fourth hit a tire-repair shop. Seven people have died, he said.
Watch the full interview with Zhovkva here:
CNN’s Ivana Kottasová contributed to this report.
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Zelensky: Russia will have difficulty replenishing arsenal amid sanctions
From CNN staff
The Russian army will have difficulty replenishing their arsenal of missiles, helicopters, and other military equipment, amid international sanctions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a video address on Monday.
“A similar process is taking place with other Russian weapons. Producing new artillery, planes, new helicopters, and cruisers under sanctions will be a daunting task for Russia,” he added.
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US State Department looking at possibly labeling Russia a state sponsor of terrorism
From CNN's Kylie Atwood
US State Department officials are looking at every tool available to them to hold Russia accountable for the war in Ukraine, including the possibility of labeling Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, according to a senior administration official. The process could take weeks before a determination is made, the official said.
The definition of a state sponsor of terrorism is a country that has “repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism,” according to the State Department. There are only four countries that are currently labeled state sponsors of terrorism by the US: North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Syria.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked US President Biden in one of their recent phone conversations to designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, CNN reported last week.
The US has already rolled out severe sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war, but adding Russia to the list would be a symbolic move that would also inflict an even greater cost on Russia’s economy. It would lead to actions such as prohibiting Russia from buying certain items that can be used commercial or militarily, and sanctions on other people and countries still engaged in certain trade with Russia.
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Russian forces have started the battle for Donbas, Zelensky says
From CNN Staff
(Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky/Facebook)
Russian forces have started the battle for Donbas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Monday.
The president underscored that Ukrainian forces will continue to fight against a Russian incursion in the region.
“I’m thankful to all of our warriors, our soldiers, our heroic towns and towns in the region who are resisting and standing firm,” he added.
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Ukrainian national security official: Russians launched an effort to breakthrough front lines Monday
From CNN's Julia Presniakova in Lviv
In frame taken from a video posted to social media, a long column of Russian military vehicles is seen heading from the Russian border toward the city of Izium, where Russian forces have been gathering. The vehicles are seen moving through the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region.
From Twitter
Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said Monday that Russian forces had launched an effort to break through Ukrainian front lines in three regions.
“Fortunately, our military is holding on, and only in two cities they [the Russians] have passed: Kreminna and another small town. But the fighting continues, we are not surrendering our territories and the attempt to start an active phase has begun this morning,” he said.
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White House says there are still no plans for Biden to visit Ukraine
From CNN's DJ Judd
White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated Monday that there are no plans in place for US President Joe Biden to travel to Ukraine, following comments from Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky encouraging him to do so.
Some context: In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper that aired Sunday, Zelensky said he wants Biden to come to Ukraine. The US President suggested last week that he wanted to go, though he said US officials are still “in discussions” on whether a high-level US official will visit Ukraine.
“I think he will,” Zelensky said of Biden when asked if there were any plans for the US President to visit. “I mean, his decision, of course. And as well, the safety situation depends – I mean that – but I think he’s the leader of the United States, and that’s why he should come here to see.”
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Ukrainian official: "Second phase of the war has begun" in Donbas
From CNN's Nathan Hodge in Lviv and Kostan Nechyporenko in Vasylkiv
Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said Monday the “second phase of the war” had begun in Ukraine’s Donbas region, amid clear signs of a stepped-up Russian offensive.
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UN: At least 73 people have been killed in 136 attacks on health care facilities since Ukraine invasion began
From CNN's Laura Ly
A medical worker walks through the damaged maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 9, after a Russian attack severely damaged the hospital.
(Evgeniy Maloletka/FILE/AP)
There have been at least 73 people killed and 52 people injured in 136 attacks on health care facilities in Ukraine since the invasion began,Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said Monday during a news briefing.
Dujarric said he was citing the latest numbers from the World Health Organization, a UN agency responsible for international public health.
He added that the attacks on health care facilities in Ukraine currently account for more than 68% of all attacks on health care facilities worldwide since the beginning of the year.
Additionally, more than one out of four people in Ukraine (comprising around 12 million people) have been displaced due to the war, including around 4.9 million refugees and 7.1 million people internally displaced within Ukraine, Dujarric said.
The UN now has more than 1,300 staff on the ground in Ukraine, working in eight operational hubs across the country, the spokesperson said. Dujarric added that Secretary General Guterres continues to be “deeply concerned” about the ongoing attacks in Ukraine, resulting in civilian casualties and infrastructure damage.
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About 1,000 civilians are sheltering in Mariupol's besieged Azovstal plant, patrol police chief estimates
From CNN's Olga Voitovych
Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant is home to among the last pockets of Ukrainian resistance.
(Maximilian Clarke/SOPA Images/Sipa USA/AP/FILE)
Civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, are sheltering inside the Azovstal iron and steel plant in the besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol, according to Myhailo Vershynin, the chief of the Mariupol patrol police.
Vershynin told CNN he was at the Azovstal plant, one of the city’s last bastions still under Ukrainian control which has been the focal point of heavy Russian bombardment following weeks of grinding warfare in the city that has leveled much of its infrastructure.
According to Vershynin, civilians sheltering in Azovstal include women with infants, the elderly, as well as small children. He estimated that there were about 1,000 people in total. He said Azovstal had “quite large reserves” of food and water, but supplies were running out fast.
“They were sent the same direction as the Russian warship. Nobody agreed to this. No one will leave without a weapon,” Vershynin added.
Communications in the city are limited, and CNN reached Vershynin through voice and text message. Vershynin described the situation in the Azovstal plant, where civilians have taken refuge from heavy shelling, as very serious.
Vershinyn confirmed the city is closed by the Russians, but added the entrance to the city may be open on the left bank to the east of the city. But he added that the road that links Mariupol from with Zaporizhzhia and Berdiansk were blocked because of very serious fighting.
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US State Department: Russia's recent attacks in Ukraine show a "campaign of terror"
From CNN's Kyle Atwood and Christian Sierra
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that Russia’s attacks in Ukraine in recent days further illustrate that the country is “undertaking a campaign of terror” against the people of Ukraine when responding to a question about Russia’s recent strikes in Lviv, Ukraine.
Price also noted that the Pentagon said earlier in the day that Russian strikes in recent days “have targeted military instillations, military adjacent instillations.”
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UN official: Ceasefires in Ukraine are "not on the horizon right now"
From CNN's Laura Ly
An interior ministry sapper collects unexploded ordnance in Hostomel, Ukraine, on April 18.
(Efrem Lukatsky/AP)
A ceasefire in Ukraine is not on the horizon, but may come in the coming weeks depending on how the war and ongoing negotiations continue, according to Martin Griffiths, UN under secretary general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
Griffiths said he plans to go to Turkey later this week to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to identify ways that the UN can help support the peacekeeping and negotiations process between Ukraine and Russia. He added that he was “really impressed” by the role that Turkey is playing in the conflict, calling the country “an important aspect” of the situation.
“We need to watch the talks very, very carefully, hence the trip to Turkey this week,” Griffiths said.
Griffiths said he also hopes that Turkey can host a “humanitarian contact group” through which negotiations about humanitarian aid can be discussed. He said that Ukrainian officials have already agreed to this and that he hopes Russian officials will too.
Griffiths added that Ukrainian officials have agreed to most proposals made by the United Nations regarding humanitarian aid and ceasefires, but Russia has not yet given a similar response.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres charged Griffiths on March 28 with meeting with officials from both Ukraine and Russia about arrangements for a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine.
Griffiths said he recently met with the Ukrainian prime minister, two deputy prime ministers, the Ukrainian minister of defense, and the deputy foreign minister for this reason. He has said previously that he met with Russian officials on April 4.
The aim of the discussions with both parties is to make sure authorities are aware of United Nations aspirations for humanitarian aid and to discuss ways in which the UN might improve its humanitarian notification system, Griffiths said.
Griffiths said Ukrainian officials agreed to the idea of a common humanitarian contact group and to the idea of local ceasefires for the purpose of delivering humanitarian aid, but said the Russians “are not putting local ceasefires at the top of their agenda, not yet.”
“On the humanitarian side, we need to have much more willing acceptance, primarily of the Russian Federation, to allow convoys in and convoys out,” Griffiths said.
When asked whether he believed Russia would, in good faith, implement a durable ceasefire, Griffiths said he would keep trying to facilitate and mediate one, despite a current lack of action from the Russian side.
“Hope is the currency of the mediator,” Griffiths said. “In every war that I’ve had anything to do with, you always, always begin from a basis of no hope because it looks so appalling, the atrocities are so terrible…you keep on doing it, because frankly, what’s the alternative? He added that “not to keep at it [negotiations], that would be irresponsible.”
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EU says Lviv strikes show no part of Ukraine is safe from Russia's "onslaught"
From CNN's James Frater and Mia Alberti
The European Union has condemned the latest round of Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and said the recent shelling in western Ukraine show no part of the country is safe.
“Ukraine is being struck by the most intensive missile attacks by the Russian Federation since weeks. The EU condemns the continued indiscriminate and illegal shelling of civilians and civilian infrastructure by Russian armed forces,” the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement Monday.
The European official said the recent attacks on Lviv and “other cities in western Ukraine show that no part of the country is spared from the Kremlin’s senseless onslaught.”
Borrell said the EU continues to support the International Criminal Court’s investigation into war crimes in Ukraine and called on Russia once more to “immediately and unconditionally cease hostilities and withdraw all forces and military equipment” from the country.
