April 19, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

By Kathleen Magramo, Helen Regan, Sana Noor Haq, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Mike Hayes, Elise Hammond, Maureen Chowdhury and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, April 20, 2023
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4:43 a.m. ET, April 19, 2023

Germany delivers Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine

From CNN's Chris Stern in Berlin and Jessie Gretener in London

Germany has dispatched a Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine, as Kyiv tackles depleted ammunition stocks in a grinding war of attrition against Russian forces.

Updating its list of delivered lethal and non-lethal German military support to Ukraine, the government confirmed that, in the last week, military deliveries included a Patriot missile defense system with missiles, 16 additional Zetros trucks, and two additional border protection vehicles.

The Patriot missile defense system, which is highly effective at intercepting ballistic and cruise missiles, is broadly seen as one of the most advanced and effective air defense systems.

Germany and the US pledged to send Ukraine the advanced long-range air defense system last December, following repeated requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Netherlands has also expressed its “intention” of sending Ukraine a Patriot missile defense system.

3:59 a.m. ET, April 19, 2023

Russian officials claim Ukraine probing defenses in Zaporizhzhia region

From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio and Olga Voitovych

Russian officials claim Ukrainian forces are probing their defenses in the occupied parts of the Zaporizhzhia region. 

Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Russian-installed council of the military-civilian administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, said a group of Ukrainian Armed Forces "tried to probe" Russian defense in "the area of responsibility of the 291st regiment."

Rogov said in his official Telegram on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces made an "unsuccessful attempt to break through near Orikhiv," which is in the southeastern part of the Zaporizhzhia region.

“After an artillery preparation, an AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine) armored group went on the offensive near the town of Orikhiv in the Polohy district of Zaporizhzhia region," Rogov said.

Rogov added that it had been unusual for Ukrainian forces to test Russian defenses during the night. 

“The enemy is again probing our defense in this section of the front, but now doing so in the dark. Probably because of getting new night-time equipment,” he wrote.

In comments to Russian state news agency RIA, Rogov went further by saying Ukrainian forces had intensified shelling of settlements on the frontline, including Vasylivka, Tokmak and Polohy in the Zaporizhzhia region, and Vodiane in the adjacent Donetsk region.

“What is it connected to, we can only guess," Rogov said, according to RIA.

Some context: Rogov had previously said Ukraine was accumulating reserves close to the intersection of the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Donetsk regions. 

Ukrainian officials have yet to comment on Rogov’s claims, but traditionally do not comment on offensive operations until they are concluded. 

4:47 a.m. ET, April 19, 2023

Ukraine says Russia launched 60 airstrikes in past 24 hours

From CNN's Olga Voitovych and Vasco Cotovio in London

People view the damage at a market that was shelled by Russian forces, in Kherson, Ukraine, on April 18.
People view the damage at a market that was shelled by Russian forces, in Kherson, Ukraine, on April 18. (Hryhorii Shmatko/Suspilne Ukraine/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images)

Russia launched 60 air strikes in the past 24 hours as fierce fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, especially in and around the beleaguered eastern city of Bakhmut, according to the Ukrainian military.

“Over the past day, the enemy launched four missiles and 60 air strikes, carried out 58 rounds from MLRS; civilians were also injured,” the Ukrainian military’s General Staff said in a situational update on Wednesday morning.

It added that units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled more than 60 Russian attacks in areas on the front over the past 24 hours.

The military went on to say Russia was on the defensive in the Zaporizhzhia region and mining areas in the occupied Kherson region

2:35 a.m. ET, April 19, 2023

Russia launches overnight drone attack on Odesa, Ukraine says

From Olga Voitovych in Kyiv and Vasco Cotovio

Russian forces launched an overnight attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa using Iranian-made "Shahed" drones, the Ukrainian Airforce said on Tuesday.

“This time, soldiers of the Odesa anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Air Command South destroyed 10 out of 12 Shahed-136/131 kamikaze drones," the Ukrainian Airforce said.

Ukraine’s Operational Command South added that one of the drones hit a recreational facility causing a fire, but that it was quickly extinguished. There were no reported casualties. 

1:56 a.m. ET, April 19, 2023

Russia having difficulty making new weapons, but might have enough older ones, report says

From CNN's Brad Lendon

A destroyed Russian tank is seen in Chornobaivka, outside of Kherson, Ukraine on November 16, 2022.
A destroyed Russian tank is seen in Chornobaivka, outside of Kherson, Ukraine on November 16, 2022. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

Battlefield losses and Western sanctions have left the Russian military in a state of decline, but Moscow will still have enough firepower to extend the war in Ukraine, according to a new independent analysis.

The report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies gives stark numbers of Russian military losses – almost 10,000 units of key equipment such as tanks, trucks, artillery pieces and aerial drones, according to one estimate.

But it also says Russia can dip into Cold War-era and older stocks on the front lines to make up in numbers what it may have lost in technology.

“The quality of the Russian military in terms of advanced equipment will likely decline, at least over the near term,” the CSIS report says.

It notes how Russian losses of main battle tanks, especially modern ones, have been severe.

“Moscow is estimated to have lost anywhere from 1,845 to 3,511 tanks one year into the war,” the CSIS report says, with losses of its newer, upgraded T-72B3 main battle tank, first delivered in 2013, noted as especially damaging.

The CSIS report says Moscow has to refurbish and put its decades-old tanks back into action because it just doesn’t have the resources to build new ones, with Western sanctions leaving it unable to source parts and tools needed to put together a modern tank.

Read the full story.

6:15 a.m. ET, April 19, 2023

It's morning in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know

From CNN staff

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will remain in a Russian jail after a Moscow court decided to uphold the terms of his detention. US officials looking at "creative and sometimes quite challenging options" to bring him home.

On the frontlines, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited hard-hit troops in the easter town of Avdiivka, which is surrounded by Russian forces on three sides, according to the president's office Tuesday. Zelensky's trip to the beleaguered town came hours after President Vladimir Putin visited troops at a military base in Russian-occupied Kherson, in southern Ukraine.

Here are the latest headlines:

  • Leaked documents: The leaked Pentagon documents are not impacting the actions of NATO allies when it comes to Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN Tuesday, adding some of the items leaked are "incorrect and manipulated." Western officials also told CNN during a Tuesday briefing the leaked documents have had no visible impact on the battlefield in Ukraine.
  • US warns Russia: The US has sensitive nuclear technology at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine and has warned Russia not to touch it, according to a letter the US Department of Energy sent to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy firm Rosatom last month. The letter comes as Russian forces continue to control the plant, which is the largest nuclear power station in Europe and sits in one part of a region Russia occupied after its invasion of Ukraine last February. The plant is still physically operated by Ukrainian staff, but Rosatom manages it.
  • Russia's using post-WWII equipment: Western officials say Russia is "going backwards" with the equipment it is using in Ukraine, and add that they've seen Moscow deploy tanks that were originally built after World War II while it struggles to replenish stocks of lost armored vehicles. The officials also said Russia was continuing to struggle with manpower, saying that despite being able to muster large numbers of personnel, Moscow was not providing them with adequate training.
  • Biden extends ban on Russian-affiliated vessels: US President Joe Biden extended the ban on Russian-affiliated vessels from US ports, an order that was originally published last April and set to expire this week. Russia's policies and actions "continue the premeditated, unjustified, unprovoked, and brutal war against Ukraine," Biden wrote in a letter to Congress, explaining the extension.
1:40 a.m. ET, April 19, 2023

Russian Foreign Minister praises framework proposed by China and Brazil to end conflict in Ukraine

From CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon in Bogotá

Sergei Lavrov speaks during a conference in Caracas, Venezuela on April 18.
Sergei Lavrov speaks during a conference in Caracas, Venezuela on April 18. (Pedro Rances Mattey/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised a framework introduced by China and Brazil, which proposed an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

“We applaud the position from China, and we have also held talks with Brazil on this, and these are very useful proposals because they can help to share ideas and help resolve problems,” Lavrov said Tuesday during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela. “All this, however, is not part of the West’s rules.”

Lavrov explained the West would not accept the so-called “peace proposal” that would see the Crimean Peninsula fully integrated into the Russian Federation.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has repeatedly said peace in the conflict will only be achieved if Russia restores the country's borders and Kyiv takes back Crimea.

“We hope the regime in Kyiv respects the rights of Crimea, we already know the West, it’s demanding that Crimea is returned,” Lavrov said.

Since taking office this year, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has suggested his country could help broker a negotiation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, arguing Kyiv should relinquish sovereignty claims over Crimea in exchange for the end of the conflict. 

Last week, Lula traveled to China and both countries reiterated calls for a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Lula has largely adopted a policy of non-intervention over the war in Ukraine, following in the same footsteps of many leaders in middle-income and developing countries.

On Saturday, Lula said the US and the EU need to start talking about peace between Ukraine and Russia.

“The United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace; the European Union needs to start talking about peace so that we can convince Putin and Zelensky that peace is in the interest of everyone and that war is only interesting, for now, to the two of them,” Lula told reporters in Beijing on Saturday.

Some context: The US and EU have been major suppliers of arms and aid to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.

Lavrov is in Caracas as part of a five-day trip to Latin America, visiting Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. On Tuesday, Lavrov criticized US sanctions on Venezuela and said Russia intends to strengthen diplomatic and commercial relationships with the Andean country.

CNN's Tatiana Arias and Duarte Mendonca contributed reporting.

12:05 a.m. ET, April 19, 2023

Biden extends order blocking Russian-affiliated vessels from US ports

From CNN's DJ Judd

President Joe Biden speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington DC on Tuesday.
President Joe Biden speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington DC on Tuesday. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

President Joe Biden extended the ban on Russian-affiliated vessels from US ports. The order, originally published last April, was originally set to expire this week.

“The policies and actions of the Government of the Russian Federation to continue the premeditated, unjustified, unprovoked, and brutal war against Ukraine continue to constitute a national emergency by reason of a disturbance or threatened disturbance of international relations of the United States,” Biden wrote in a letter to Congress. “Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Proclamation 10371.”
12:05 a.m. ET, April 19, 2023

Russian who said he was a former Wagner fighter appears to recant claim that he killed civilians

From CNN's Tim Lister and Saskya Vandoorne

This screengrab shows two Russians claiming to be former Wagner commanders.
This screengrab shows two Russians claiming to be former Wagner commanders. (Gulagu.net)

A Russian man who said he had killed children and other civilians while serving with the Wagner private military company in Ukraine appears to have recanted the claim, suggesting he was blackmailed into making it.

Azamat Uldarov, a former convict, made his retraction in a video call with the Russian news agency RIA-FAN. It’s unclear if there were any conditions to the interview.

He and another former convict, Alexey Savichev, previously gave long and rambling interviews to Russian human rights group Gulagu.net, saying they were among the tens of thousands of Wagner fighters recruited from Russian jails to fight in Ukraine.

Speaking with Gulagu founder Vladimir Osechkin, Uldarov said he shot and killed a young girl, calling it “a management decision.”

“I wasn’t allowed to let anyone out alive, because my command was to kill anything in my way,” he said, estimating that the girl was five or six years old.

In his interview with RIA-FAN — which is associated with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin — Uldarov said he was drunk when he gave the interview, and alleged that Osechkin had blackmailed him about his time in prison.

Asked by RIA-FAN: “They made you say what you said in the video, correct?” Uldarov replied: “Not only correct, it’s [expletive] correct. I had to say it because I had no choice.”

“I said whatever I was told to say,” Uldarov then said.

“Prigozhin is a great guy,” he added, giving a thumbs up. “He saved our lives.”

But Gulagu’s Osechkin, who is based in France, told CNN he stood by the content of his interviews with the two men, citing Uldarov’s retraction as proof of how quickly dissenting voices are silenced in Russia.

Osechkin also claimed that both interviewees, Uldarov and Savichev, had been threatened with murder if they didn’t retract their statements to him. Savichev told Gulagu that his unit was ordered to kill any men 15 years old or older.

Read more here