After nearly two months of war in Ukraine, Moscow makes its objectives clear and does so with a statement from the interim commander of the Russian Central Military District, Rustam Minnekayev. "Since the beginning of the second phase, which began two days ago - he said -, we aim to take full control of Donbass and southern Ukraine to obtain the opening of a land corridor towards Crimea", the peninsula on the Black Sea that Moscow effectively annexed itself in 2014.

Meanwhile, while sources from Palazzo Chigi confirm that Prime Minister Mario Draghi could soon visit Kiev and while UN Secretary Guterres will arrive in Moscow on Tuesday for a meeting with Putin , in a new video message addressed to his population Volodymyr Zelensky returns to attack Putin himself, stating that "unfortunately Russia has rejected the proposal for a truce for Orthodox Easter (which occurs on April 24, ed.)", which "shows how much the leaders of this state take into consideration the Christian faith".

The Ukrainian president asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to remove Russia "immediately" and then, in video link with the IMF, estimated at "seven billion dollars a month" the amount necessary to face the "devastating economic losses ”inflicted by the war.

In the meantime, on the military front, the situation in Mariupol , now under the control of the Russians, continues to hold its own. Even the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov in a message on Telegram reiterated that "Mariupol is ours, the city has been taken definitively and completely". In the Azovstal steel plant there are about 2 thousand people, a thousand soldiers and a thousand civilians. The "strategically important administrative building of the plant is under our control and all the adjacent territory has been cleared," Kadyrov added. Yesterday Putin gave the order not to storm the steel mill to "protect" the lives of Russian soldiers, but he also said to block the area and make sure that "a fly does not fly".

Anti-bunker bombs have been dropped on the steel plant and there are allegedly civilians trapped under the rubble, while the Azov Battalion announces: " We are not giving up, we can push the Russians back ." The martyr city administration has announced that there may be up to 9,000 people buried in a mass grave in Manhush , near Mariupol, while the mayor has called for the immediate evacuation of 100,000 civilians. But today there are no humanitarian corridors, the Ukrainian government has decided because the routes are "dangerous". Appeals for a humanitarian truce in Mariupol follow one another, the President of the EU Council Charles Michel also asked Putin personally in a phone call, but Moscow has placed a condition, that those who are inside the Azovstal steel plant surrender and raise the white flag.

Meanwhile, the EU announces a sixth package of anti-Moscow sanctions (which could hit oil this time), while Joe Biden , who announced the sending of another 800 million dollars worth of weapons to Kiev, including offensive drones, from the Oregon warned Moscow: "When he was elected, Putin thought he would easily destroy NATO and instead he got exactly what he didn't want and that is that Finland and Sweden will join the Atlantic Alliance." The US president called the battle of Kiev a "historic victory for the Ukrainians". The US itself has made it known that it is collaborating with the Ukrainian attorney general, Irina Venediktova, on the investigation into war crimes committed by Moscow.

( HERE all the articles on the war in Ukraine)

( HERE all the videos of the conflict)

Here are the updates by the hour.

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The EU towards new sanctions on Russia

The EU, according to what is learned from several European sources, is preparing to implement the sixth package of sanctions against Moscow next week. The new measures, it is still learned, could contain the stop to the import of oil, even if work is in progress on the modalities. A period of 'phasing out' is assumed for the exit from oil, as happened with coal. Expansion of the list of Russian banks excluded from the Swift system is also planned. The timing should include a first horizon between the Commission and the member countries at the beginning

week and adoption in the following days.

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Ship Moskva, Russia provides the budget

One crew member died, 27 missing and 396 rescued from Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea fleet hit by Ukrainian missiles on 13 April off the coast of Odessa and sank. This is the budget provided by the Russian Defense Ministry, reports Interfax.

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In Moscow I meet Putin-Guterres

Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive UN Secretary General Antonio Guteress in Moscow next Tuesday. This was announced by the spokesman of the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov.

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Over 2,400 deaths since the beginning of the invasion

Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Ohchr) has recorded 5,381 civilian casualties in the country - 2,435 dead and 2,946 wounded. Ukrinform reports it, specifying that in particular, among the deceased there are 746 men, 469 women, 48 girls and 66 boys, as well as 70 children and 1,036 adults whose sex is still unknown. The injured included 345 men, 274 women, 62 girls and 67 boys, as well as 157 children and 2,041 adults whose gender is not yet known. Most of the civilian casualties recorded have been caused by the use of explosive weapons with a large impact area, including heavy artillery shelling and multiple rocket, missile and air strike systems.

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USA and allies, meeting in Germany

The meeting convened by the United States will be held on Tuesday 26 April at the American air base of Ramstein in Germany. The date of the meeting was announced by US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin, who invited his colleagues and the military leaders of allied countries around the world to discuss the developments of the crisis in Ukraine and security issues to it connected.

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Draghi will go to Kiev

A visit to Kiev, for a face-to-face meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: according to what confirmed by Palazzo Chigi, Mario Draghi - currently still positive at Covid and in isolation in Città della Pieve - is considering the hypothesis of a trip in Ukraine, along the lines of other European leaders who have visited the country in recent weeks. At the moment there is still nothing planned but it is assumed to organize the visit in close proximity, before the trip to the USA scheduled around mid-May.

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Lavrov: "Negotiations with Kiev stalled"

"Russian-Ukrainian talks have stalled". This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov, quoted by Interfax. "The negotiations stalled after Kiev decided not to respond to the proposals sent by Russia," Lavrov added, stating that "the statements of the Kiev authorities give the impression that they do not need negotiations with the Russian Federation, but have accepted their fate ".

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Putin: "A blatant russophobia from European leaders"

In the phone call with Charles Michel, Vladimir Putin accused "the leadership of most EU member states of encouraging blatant Russophobia, which manifests itself in particular in the cultural, humanitarian and sports fields". This was reported by the Kremlin, quoted by Tass.

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Moscow: "Truce only if you surrender to Azovstal"

"The humanitarian truce will begin when the Ukrainian forces holed up in the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, blocked by the Russian army, raise the white flag." This was stated by the Russian general Mikhail Mizintsev, quoted by the Tass agency.

"The truce will begin when Ukrainian forces raise white flags along the entire perimeter or certain routes leading out of Azovstal," he said. "As soon as they see each other, the Russian army and the forces of the Donetsk People's Republic will stop fighting and ensure a safe exit to the meeting places of humanitarian convoys," he added.

***

Michel to Putin: "Opening humanitarian corridors for Orthodox Easter"

"I asked for the immediate opening of humanitarian corridors from Mariupol and the besieged cities, especially on the occasion of Orthodox Easter". The president of the EU Council Charles Michel writes in a tweet after the phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

***

"Russian missiles on hospital in Donetsk"

The Russian army hit a hospital in the Donetsk district. The Kyiv Independent reports it citing Oblast governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. The Russians, he explained, hit the regional trauma hospital in the city of Lyman with the missile launching system.

The attack resulted in flames and destruction in both the hospital and nearby residential buildings, he explained, stating that it has not yet been indicated whether there are any casualties.

***

Michel to Putin: "EU united on sanctions, costs for Russia"

The President of the EU Council Charles Michel during the telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin underlined "directly" that the Union is "unity" in its "unshakable" support for the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine and has "detailed the costs of European sanctions for Moscow ". This is what is learned from European sources according to which Michel also "asked Putin to urgently have direct contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as requested by Zelensky himself".

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Johnson: "Russia can win the war"

There is a "realistic possibility" that Russia can win the war in Ukraine. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this at a press conference in New Dehli. The prime minister, on a visit to India, added that the conflict could last until the end of 2023 and stressed that the United Kingdom and the allied countries will not remain in any case to watch the aggression of Vladimir Putin's troops continuing in the country of ' Eastern Europe.

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Moscow: "Ready for a truce to evacuate civilians from the steel plant"

Russia is ready for a ceasefire for a humanitarian truce at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol "at any time". This was stated by the Ministry of Defense of Moscow.

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Moscow to Biden: "False that Mariupol did not fall"

Moscow rejects the US Department's claims that the Ukrainian army is still holding positions in the port city of Mariupol: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urging journalists to "rely" on information from the Russian Defense Ministry . "There is not a shred of truth in these statements," Peskov said, responding to those who asked him to comment on the words of the US State Department spokesman Ned Price who yesterday claimed that Putin and Defense Minister Shoigu were just misinformation.

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Mattarella: "The Moscow attack recalls dark pages of imperialism"

In recent weeks we have witnessed - with a deep sense of anguish - scenes of violence against civilians, elderly women and children, the use of weapons that devastate without discrimination, without any mercy. The violent attack by the Russian Federation on the Ukrainian people has no justification. The pretense of dominating another people, of invading an independent state, brings us back to the darkest pages of imperialism and colonialism. "This was stated by President Sergio Mattarella, meeting with the armed combat associations at the Quirinale.

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Scholz: “Weapons? I try to avoid a world war "

"I do everything to avoid an escalation, which could lead to a third world war. There must be no nuclear war." This is what German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with Spiegel, according to an anticipation of the issue coming out over the weekend, answering a question about the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine. The issue, currently hotly debated in Germany, is not handled on the basis of a feeling of "fear", Scholz also explained, but on the basis of "political responsibility".

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Moscow: "Objective to control Donbass and southern Ukraine"

Russian troops, "since the beginning of the second phase" of the invasion of Ukraine "which began two days ago", aim to "take full control of Donbass and southern Ukraine" to obtain "the opening of a land corridor towards Crimea "(the peninsula on the Black Sea that Moscow actually annexed in 2014 with an invasion of armed men and without badges, violating international law): this was declared by the interim commander of the Russian Central Military District, Rustam Minnekayev, taken over by the Interfax agency.

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Populated areas in the east bombed

Heavy shelling overnight in eastern Ukraine. This was reported by a BBC reporter, Jonathan Beale, from Slovyansk. "During the night there were more heavy shelling. We spent the night in Slovyansk, more than 20km from the front line. We thought we would be relatively safe in a residential area. But shortly after 1am it suddenly woke us up and strong outbreak of a Russian bombing ", explains the journalist, adding that he had seen the damage in the morning:" just 200 meters from where we were "," small craters on the road and the shattered glass of the nearby residential complexes "were visible.

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Azov: "We do not give up"

The Ukrainian forces still in Mariupol are "sufficient to repel attacks" by the Russians. This was stated by Captain Svyatoslav Palamar of the controversial Azov Battalion, who claims to be barricaded in the basement of the Azovstal steel plant, quoted by the BBC. Palamar said Ukrainian defenders would also be willing to secure an escape route, even if surrender is "out of the question". "As for the hypothesis of a surrender in exchange for a safe exit of civilians, I hope that we all know who we are dealing with. We know with certainty that all the guarantees and all the statements of the Russian Federation are worthless".

"Russia is not restoring or rebuilding anything. It just wants to destroy and terrorize. If we fall, this horde will go further and the whole civilized world will be in danger," said the Ukrainian officer, saying that many of the Azov battalion are from from Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, as well as from Donbass.

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Mayor Mariupol: "Here 100 thousand civilians to be evacuated"

"We only need one thing, the complete evacuation of the population. There are still about 100 thousand people in Mariupol." This is the new appeal of the mayor of the southern city of Ukraine Vadym Boychenko on Ukrainian TV, according to international media.

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Bunker bombs on Azovstal

"All the buildings in the Azovstal area are practically destroyed. They dropped heavy bombs, anti-bunker bombs that cause enormous destruction. We have people injured and killed inside the bunkers. Some civilians are trapped under the collapsed buildings." This was stated by Svyatoslav Palamar of the Azov battalion speaking to the BBC from inside the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.

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"Bombs in Donetsk, perhaps in clusters"

During the night, Russian troops attacked the city of Slovyansk, in the Donetsk region, "probably with cluster bombs". This was announced by the mayor of the city, Vadym Lyakh, on Facebook, according to reports from Ukrinform.

"The night was agitated, the city was targeted. Probably it was cluster bombs. Fortunately, there were no casualties. The damage is now being investigated," said Lyakh, who urged his parents. fellow citizens to evacuate the city.

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Kiev: "Dangerous routes, today no humanitarian corridors"

"Due to the danger on the routes", today in Ukraine "there will be no humanitarian corridors". This was announced by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk on Telegram, who also made an appeal to "all those who are waiting for the evacuation: be patient, please wait!".

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Zelensky: "Moscow organizes false referendums"

"I urge the inhabitants of the regions of southern Ukraine, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, to pay close attention to the information you provide to the invaders. it helps". Thus the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video message broadcast during the night warns the citizens of the areas occupied by the Russians, accusing Moscow of planning a false referendum for the independence of the southern regions. "The goal of all this - explains Zelensky - is to falsify the so-called referendum on your land, if an order comes from Moscow to set up such a show. This is the reality. Be careful".

***

Moscow admits 20,000 casualties among Russian soldiers

The pro-Kremlin news site Readovka posted the announcement, made by the Moscow Defense Ministry, that 13,414 Russian soldiers were killed and 7,000 more missing in Ukraine: information that after a short time was deleted and removed from the web. This is what the Belarusian opposition site Nexta.tv, which broadcasts from abroad, says.

Nexta publishes a screenshot of Readovka's (alleged) post featuring a photo of Russian defense spokesman Igor Koneshenkov.

(Unioneonline)

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