War in Ukraine: Latest developments

Ukrainian soldiers stand on an armoured personnel carrier (APC), not far from the front-line with Russian troops, in Izyum district, Kharkiv region on April 18, 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP

KYIV—Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

Eastern offensive begins

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia’s large-scale offensive in the eastern Donbas region has begun.

“We can now confirm that Russian troops have begun the battle for the Donbas, which they have been preparing for a long time. A large part of the Russian army is now dedicated to this offensive,” he said on Telegram.

Russia claims arms depot hit

Russia’s army says it has destroyed a large depot of foreign weapons recently delivered to Ukraine near the western city of Lviv — one of 16 Ukrainian military sites it claims to have destroyed on Monday.

Russian planes in the morning struck a logistics centre holding “large batches of foreign weaponry, delivered to Ukraine over the past six days by the United States and European countries”, and “destroyed” them, says Russian defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.

Eight killed in east

Russian strikes have killed at least eight civilians in the embattled eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, local authorities say.

Four died as they tried to escape the city of Kreminna which Russian forces captured earlier on Monday, Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday says on Telegram.

Four others died in Russian bombing in the neighbouring region of Donetsk, says regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

7 killed in Lviv, 3 in Kharkiv

Five “powerful” Russian missiles hit the western city of Lviv, killing at least seven people and wounding eight, local officials say.

Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, killed at least three people.

EU condemns ‘indiscriminate’ strikes

The European Union condemns “indiscriminate and illegal shelling of civilians” by Russian forces, in a statement by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

“Attacks on Lviv and other cities in western Ukraine show that no part of the country is spared from the Kremlin’s senseless onslaught,” he said.

Putin honours Bucha-linked brigade

Russian President Vladimir Putin bestows an honorary title on a brigade accused by Ukraine of “war crimes” and mass killings in the town of Bucha.

A decree signed by Putin gives the 64th Motor Rifle Brigade the title of “Guards” for defending the “Motherland and state interests” and praises the “mass heroism and valour, tenacity and courage” of its members.

Tycoon seeks prisoner exchange

Russian state television broadcasts a video of two men it says are captured Britons, asking to be exchanged for Viktor Medvedchuk, a recently captured wealthy Ukrainian tycoon close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine’s security services then put out a video of Medvedchuk asking to be exchanged for Ukrainian civilians and soldiers trapped in the strategic besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol.

Civilian evacuations paused

Ukraine says it is halting civilian evacuations from the frontline towns and cities in the east of the country for a second day.

“In violation of international humanitarian law, the Russian occupiers have not stopped blocking and shelling humanitarian routes,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk posts on social media Monday.

Nearly 5 mn fled Ukraine: UN

More than 4.9 million Ukrainians have fled their country following the Russian invasion, says the UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR.

It says 4,934,415 Ukrainians have now quit the country, up more than 65,000 on the previous day.

Moscow job losses

Some 200,000 employees of foreign companies in Moscow could lose their jobs due to sanctions over Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, the city’s mayor says.

Sergei Sobyanin says authorities had last week approved a $41-million program to support employment in the Russian capital.

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