The Russian offensive is launched in eastern Ukraine, with the battle for Donbass and to take full control of Donetsk and Lugansk while maintaining a terrestrial corridor with occupied Crimea.

During the night, the Russian army launched dozens of attacks in eastern Ukraine. Russia's defense ministry said "high-precision missiles" hit 13 Ukrainian targets in parts of Donbass, including the key city of Slovyansk, and that other airstrikes "hit 60 Ukrainian military facilities", including in cities close to the eastern front line.

The Azovstal steel mills in Mariupol also stormed where, according to local authorities, a thousand civilians would have taken refuge, including above all women with small and elderly children. The steel mill is one of the last areas under Ukrainian control, a video on Telegram by the Azov Battalion shows women and children taking refuge in the basement. Moscow has opened a humanitarian corridor and ordered Kiev to let civilians out, accusing the Ukrainian government of using them as "human shields".

Meanwhile, Ukrainian intelligence spreads the interception of a phone call between a Russian soldier and his wife in which he claims that the order to "raze" the steel plant was sent from Moscow, where, according to him, they would be left alone a few "diehard patriots".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov said today that the "second phase of the special operation" has begun. The plan, the defense minister later explained, is to "liberate" the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. "We will do it using only conventional weapons, we will not use nuclear weapons", Lavorv added, specifying that Moscow "is not looking for regime change in Russia, as we have said several times, we want Ukrainians to be free to decide how to live".

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The day by the hour:

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20.05 - USA: "Moscow has added two more battalions in the Donbass"

In the past 24 hours, Russia has added two more battalions in the Donbass, bringing the total number to 78. A senior Pentagon official said in a press briefing. According to the source, Russia still has about 75% of soldiers and means accumulated before the invasion of Ukraine.

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7.40 pm - Stoltenberg: "We will impose new costs on the Kremlin"

"Good meeting with the US president and leaders to face Russia's latest offensive in the Donbass region, which we had warned about. We agree to impose further costs on the Kremlin and continue our support for Ukraine. President Putin must end the war immediately. " NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote it on Twitter.

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7.15 pm - "Steel mill almost completely destroyed"

The Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol was "almost completely destroyed": this was stated by Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov battalion, quoted by Nexta tv, the Belarusian opposition media. "Super powerful bombs have been dropped on the plant and civilians are under the rubble," Palamar denounced.

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7 pm - Draghi: "Broad consensus on further sanctions"

During the video call with Biden and the allies in which Prime Minister Mario Draghi took part, "broad consensus was expressed on the need to strengthen pressure on the Kremlin, including through the adoption of further sanctions, and to increase international isolation. of Moscow ". Palazzo Chigi reports it. The leaders "confirmed the importance of close coordination with regard to support for Ukraine in all its dimensions, with particular regard to the contribution to the country's budget".

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18.35 - Moscow: "120 civilians left the steel plant"

Moscow claims that 120 civilians hiding in the besieged Mariupol Azovstal steel plant left after the ultimatum launched by the Russian army. This was reported by Interfax which cites the first channel of Russian state TV as the source.

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18.30 - EU discusses new package of sanctions

"With the US president and partners we discussed a further coordinated response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine and discussed the need for further humanitarian, financial and military aid. The EU will develop Ukraine's Solidarity Fund for the immediate support and the reconstruction of a democratic Ukraine ". The president of the EU Council Charles Michel wrote on Twitter.

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18.05 - Canada sanctions Nabiullina

Canada has sanctioned Russian central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina and 13 other "close associates of the Russian regime" in a new round related to the war in Ukraine. This was reported by the Bloomberg agency citing a statement that appeared on the Canadian government website. It is the first time that Nabiullina has appeared on a country's sanctions list since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, even though the central bank itself has been sanctioned. Putin's daughters Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova are also on the expanded list of Canadian sanctions, as is energy magnate Igor Makarov.

5:55 pm - Biden to the allies: "Continue with support for Ukraine"

The US president and allies discussed "continued support for Ukraine and efforts to make Russia pay for its actions". The White House reports it stating that the video call lasted just over an hour. Biden also addressed the issue of new sanctions against Moscow, which could be announced in the coming days in coordination with partners. The American president also insisted on the need for all allies to continue supplying weapons to Kiev to face the Russian offensive in the east.

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17.30 - "No civilians in the hospital"

Mariupol mayor's adviser Petro Andryushchenko denied reports of civilians, including children, hiding in a hospital near the Azovstal steel mill destroyed by a Russian raid. "Mariupol, especially the steel mill area, is under heavy shelling. But for a long time no one has been hiding in the area, especially in the hospital building," he said on Telegram, as reported by Ukrinform.

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17:14 - Guterres asks for 4 days of truce for Orthodox Easter

On Sunday "Ukrainians and Russians will celebrate Easter, a holiday that unites Orthodox Christians in Russia and Ukraine, as well as Catholic Ukrainians. I ask for a 4-day humanitarian break for Holy Week which begins Thursday and lasts until Sunday 24 April, to allow the opening of a series of humanitarian corridors ". This was stated by the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres.

16.55 - Zelensky wants to extend martial law to 25 May

Extend martial law in Ukraine by another month, from April 25 to May 25. This is what President Volodymyr Zelensky is asking when he presented an ad hoc provision to the Verkhovna Rada, the parliament of Kiev. This was reported by The Kyiv Independent, which refers to the website of the same parliament, and by Tass.

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16.30 - Kiev: "Bomb on hospital in Mariupol, 300 under the rubble"

"The Russians have thrown a powerful bomb on a hospital near the Azovstal", in Mariupol: "According to my information, there are about 300 people under the rubble, including children." The Ukrainian parliamentarian Sergiy Taruta tweets it. The news was also relaunched by the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN but for the moment there is no other confirmation.

According to Taruta, civilians were refugees in the hospital "because there are no other places to hide in a destroyed city".

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15.55 - More than a thousand civilians killed in the Kiev region

More "than a thousand civilians have been killed in the Kiev region following the Russian aggression", including 420 bodies found in Bucha. It is read in The Kyiv Independent which reports what was said by the chief of police of the Kiev region Andriy Nebitov meeting with journalists. The bodies - we still read - continue to be discovered by those who try to return to homes and are found in houses, or among the remains of them, in basements or wells. In just one day, the police - it is still written - conducted an inspection and took the bodies of 48 people to the morgues of the Kiev region.

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3.15 pm - Moscow: "Kiev release all civilians in the steel plant"

The Russian Defense Ministry demands that Kiev free and release all civilians from Azovstal. Tass reports it.

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14.50 - Moscow expels 37 EU diplomats

Russia expels 37 European diplomats, including 15 Dutch and some Belgians, as a retaliatory measure for similar measures taken against Russian diplomats. This was reported by TASS quoting the Russian Foreign Ministry.

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2.35pm - Kiev: "The Russians want to raze the steel mill to the ground"

The Ukrainian security service has released the interception of a telephone call in which a Russian soldier speaks of an order from the leadership to raze the Azovstal steel mills in Mariupol. This was reported by the Ukrainian agency Ukrinform. "Despite the higher number, the Russian occupiers cannot take over the Ukrainian Mariupol. Therefore - writes the security service on Telegram - they want to raze the Azovstal steel plant, where our fighters keep the defense. The occupiers neglect the fact that also civilians are hiding in the plant. The Russians are preparing three-ton 'surprises' from the sky. "

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2.20 pm - Moscow: "Corridor open to evacuate the steel plant"

The Russian Army opened a humanitarian corridor in Mariupol starting at 2pm to allow Ukrainian forces to leave the Azovstal steel plant. For this, a temporary ceasefire was declared. This was announced by the Russian Defense Ministry, Interfax reports.

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2 pm - London: "New phase should last months"

British intelligence informed the Johnson government of the beginning of a new phase in Ukraine marked by a war "of attrition that could last several months". A spokesman for Downing Street said this, correcting the shot with respect to previous predictions according to which Moscow, in the event of an initial failure, would run the risk of finding itself quickly without sufficient resources to continue the conflict. The spokesman added that Ukraine remains "in danger", arguing that "Putin, angry at the defeats, is determined to win some victory regardless of the human cost".

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1.20 pm - In Bucha "more than 420 corpses of civilians"

More than 420 civilian corpses were found in Bucha, in the Kiev region. This was reported by the chief of police of the region Andriy Nebytov on Facebook quoted by Ukrinform.

"As of Saturday evening, more than 420 bodies have been found in Bucha alone. People go home and find temporary graves in the courtyards, basements, wells," Nebytov said. "More than 200 people are missing, according to reports from people who returned after the Russians left the area. More than 300 bodies have not yet been identified," he added. Three days ago, 350 civilian bodies were found.

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12.42 - "We will not use nuclear weapons"

Russia will only use conventional weapons in Ukraine: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this during an interview with India Today, answering a question about the possible use of nuclear weapons in the conflict. The international media reported it.

12.34 - Moscow: "We are freeing the Donbass"

"The Russian army is systematically implementing the plan for the liberation of the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk," Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said during a meeting of the defense ministry's board, according to Tass. "During the special military operation the Russian army is carrying out its tasks, identified by the supreme commander-in-chief. The plan for the liberation of the people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk is being systematically implemented and measures are being taken to restore life to the normality ".

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12.10 - Donbass, attack front of almost 500 km

The Russian army is attacking along a 480km front in eastern Ukraine in its Donbass offensive. The BBC reports. According to the Ukrainian general staff, Russian forces are concentrating their efforts to take full control of the region.

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12 noon - Lavrov: "The second phase kicks off"

"Russia has started the second phase of the special operation in Ukraine". This was stated by Moscow Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov quoted by Interfax.

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11.20 am - Anti-bunker bombs on the steel mill

Russian forces dropped anti-bunker bombs on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where there are hundreds of civilians as well as members of the nationalist Azov regiment, according to the commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Denys Prokopenko. Sky News reports. Prokopenko said in a video message that the Russians used these bombs despite knowing that civilians are still in the tunnels of the large plant. Last week the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, said that the Russians were ready to bomb the Azovstal with high-explosive bombs such as the FAB-3000.

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10.30 - Moscow ultimatum to resistance in the steel mill: "Lay down your weapons"

The Russian defense ministry urges the Ukrainian military barricaded in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol to surrender by noon. This was reported by the Russian agency Interfax. "Stop this senseless resistance", "lay down your arms", is the appeal launched by Russia according to AFP reports.

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9.40 am - Assault by the Russian special forces on the Mariupol steel plant

The assault on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol by Russian special groups has begun. The representative of the Donetsk People's Militia Eduard Basurin said on the Rossiya 24 television channel, reported by the Russian news agency Ria Novosti. A militia representative denied that civilians are also hiding in the steel plant.

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9 am - No evacuation corridor for the third consecutive day

No evacuation corridors for civilians are planned for today in Ukraine, due to lack of agreement with the Russian side, and this for the third consecutive day. This was announced by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. "Today, April 19, unfortunately there is no humanitarian corridor. The intense bombings continue in the Donbass", in the east of the country, where Russian forces, according to Kiev, launched a major offensive yesterday, Vereshchuk confirmed on Telegram .

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8.30 - The UN: "A ceasefire is not on the horizon"

The Russian forces will not stop the offensive against Ukraine and a ceasefire is not expected in the near future: the United Nations Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths said, however, not ruling out a truce in the coming weeks. "A ceasefire is not on the horizon now, it could happen in a few weeks," Griffiths commented, adding that he would travel to Turkey to talk to President Erdogan about possible ways to promote the peace process. Ukraine accepted most of the proposals on humanitarian issues, Griffiths recalled, but Russia did not provide any answers.

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7.20 am - Civilians hidden in the Mariupol steelworks

A video showing Ukrainian women and children taking refuge in the basement of the Azovstal steel mill in the besieged port city of Mariupol was posted on Telegram last night by the nationalist Azov battalion. CNN reports it. The regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Denys Prokopenko, also said Russian forces were firing on the plant. The steel mill is one of the last areas under Ukrainian control in the city.

(Unioneonline)

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