April 22, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

The Netherlands is “firmly committed” to ending the import of Russian oil and gas by the end of the year, Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy Policy Rob Jetten said Friday.

The Dutch government will subsidize energy companies to fill its Bergermeer gas storage facility to 70% capacity by the end of the year, spokesperson for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy Pieter ten Bruggencate told CNN Friday.

Subsidies were necessary as an incentive to import gas at current price levels, ten Bruggencate said, adding that the Netherlands would make an estimated 623,000,000 euros (about $672,000,000) available.

The state-owned energy firm Energie Beheer Nederland would top up the remaining capacity should the subsidy program not prove sufficient, ten Bruggencate added.

Russian troops opened fired at an evacuation bus with 25 people onboard from the city of Popasna, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration Serhiy Haidai said in a Telegram statement on Friday.

"This evacuation was special and extremely dangerous. 22 passengers were seated. There were a 25-year-old boy, who was injured in the back and leg, and a paralyzed elderly woman in a stretcher on the floor," Haidai said.

He added that a mother with a baby were also rescued from a bomb shelter. 

According to Haidai, no one was injured and the passengers are now safe. 

France is sending French-made CAESAR self-propelled howitzers — long-range weapons — to Ukraine by the end of the month, the Elysée Palace confirmed Friday. 

In an interview with French media outlet Ouest-France on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said the country was “delivering substantial equipment, from MILAN to CAESAR and several types of weapons.”

About 40 Ukrainian military service members will arrive in France to get trained on the military equipment, according to the Elysée. 

MILAN anti-tank weapons systems have already been delivered, the Elysée said. 

The CAESAR is a truck-mounted artillery system with a self-propelled gun developed by Nexter Systems.

According to the company, CAESAR units have been deployed by the French army since 2009 in various countries, including “Afghanistan, Lebanon, Mali and the Sahel, Iraq, and East Asia.”

"France continues to support Ukraine militarily," the French defense ministry said Friday. "The President of the Republic has decided to deliver several CAESAR artillery guns and thousands of shells. We stand with the Ukrainian people."

The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, said he "strongly urged" for immediate humanitarian access and safe passage from Mariupol and other besieged cities in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. 

Michel "firmly reiterated the EU’s position: support for Ukraine and her sovereignty, condemnation and sanctions for Russia’s aggression," he said Friday in a tweet on his verified account.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that Putin had "a lengthy telephone conversation" with Michel. 

"The development of the situation in Ukraine was discussed in detail. Charles Michel briefed Vladmir Putin on his contact with the Ukrainian leadership during his recent trip to Kyiv," according to a statement from the Kremlin. 

Putin "outlined his principled assessments in connection with a special military operation to protect the republics of Donbass" and spoke about "measures taken on an ongoing basis to protect civilian population, the daily opening of humanitarian corridors and ceasefire declaration for the safe evacuation of civilians from the combat zone," the Kremlin said. 

"It was noted that after the liberation of Mariupol, for humanitarian reasons, an order was given to cancel the storming of the industrial zone of the Azovstal plant. At the same time, all servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, militants of the nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries who lay down their arms are guaranteed life, dignified treatment in accordance with international law and the provision of qualified medical care. But the Kyiv regime does not allow them this opportunity," the Kremlin said. 

"Attention was drawn to the irresponsible statements of EU representatives about the need to resolve the situation in Ukraine by military means, as well as ignoring the numerous war crimes committed by the Ukrainian security forces," the Kremlin said. "It was noted that Brussels could influence the Kiev authorities in order to force them to stop the massive shelling of Donbas settlements and other gross violations of international humanitarian law."

Some context: World leaders have accused Russia of carrying out war crimes for weeks. There have been mass graves and murdered civilians found in Bucha and outside of Mariupol. The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor called Ukraine a "crime scene," following the ICC formally opening an investigation into the situation in Ukraine on March 2. And just today, London’s Metropolitan Police said it has received around 50 referrals of alleged war crimes in Ukraine, as it collates evidence to assist the ICC with its ongoing investigation. 

The Kremlin also reiterated unfounded claims that the leadership of "most" EU countries "indulge" in Russophobia, "which manifests itself, for example, in the cultural, humanitarian and sports fields."

One person has died and six were wounded as a result of "intensified" shelling in Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv, according to the city's Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych.

“In recent days, shelling has intensified. Just half an hour ago, we were fired upon again. They shoot all sorts: mostly cluster munitions, which are aimed at killing people,” Sienkevych said Friday.

Speaking on national television, Sienkevych urged residents to stay indoors during the curfew and hide between two walls to try to protect themselves.

Mykolaiv remains without a central water supply after a missile damaged the main pipeline early last week. The city has organized water distribution with trucks as well as additional well drilling in busy areas, Sienkevych added.

Russian forces have stepped up attacks in the regions of Mykolaiv and Kherson, as the Ukrainian armed forces called the assault in the country’s southern region more “aggressive and bold” on Sunday.

Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine
, said Friday that Moscow "has announced its plan for the second phase of the war. They think they can capture Donbas and the south of Ukraine, counting on the economic pressure of our state."

The acting commander of Russia's Central Military District said Friday that Russia had expanded its military goals to control southern Ukraine. 

Yermak added, "We have our own scenarios for the defense of Ukraine and I’d like to remind that many of the Kremlin's plans have already been destroyed by our army and people."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that Russia has a "realistic possibility" of winning the war in Ukraine, calling the situation there "unpredictable" at the moment.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Johnson said Russian President Vladimir Putin has a "huge army," but added:

Johnson said Britain is now looking to send "backfill" equipment to countries such as Poland, which may send "heavier weaponry" to support Ukraine's resistance.

"We're looking at sending tanks to Poland to help as they send some of their T-72s to Ukraine," Johnson announced, adding that Britain is looking at other options such as "anti-ship defenses."

"We've got to look at what more we can do militarily, we've got to keep intensifying the economic sanctions ... and we've also got to set out a vision for the future of Ukraine in the security architecture of Europe," he said.

Johnson also said that the British Embassy in Ukraine will reopen in Kyiv "very shortly."

NATO must avoid a direct military confrontation with Russia that could lead to a third world war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel, when he was asked to comment on why Germany has not delivered heavy weapons to Ukraine.

''There is no rule book for this situation that states at what point we are considered a party to the war in Ukraine,'' Scholz said in the interview, which was published Friday, when asked why he thought delivering tanks to Ukraine could lead to nuclear war.

"That's why it is all the more important that we consider each step very carefully and coordinate closely with one another," Scholz said, adding that avoiding "an escalation towards NATO is a top priority for me."

"That's why I don't focus on polls or let myself be irritated by shrill calls. The consequences of an error would be dramatic," he added.

Scholz is facing growing criticism from within Germany and abroad for his government's alleged reluctance to deliver heavy weapons, such as tanks and howitzers, to Ukraine as Russia’s invasion has entered a new and potentially decisive phase. 

In the interview, Scholz warned he does not ''think it is justified for Germany and NATO to become warring parties in Ukraine.'' 

Scholz also said he does not believe an embargo on Russian gas would end the war in Ukraine. 

The German chancellor and his government have also come under fire for not weaning off Russian energy immediately. Scholz said in early April that his country is doing all it can to achieve this goal "very soon."

Scholz said the most important goal in the current situation is a ceasefire and that Russian troops must withdraw. ''There must be a peace agreement that enables Ukraine to defend itself in future,'' he said. 

The Mayor of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol has told CNN that "one clear day of cease fire" is needed to evacuate civilians sheltering in the Azovstal iron and steel plant.

Hundreds of soldiers and civilians are believed to be hunkered down in the huge industrial complex that has become the final bastion of Ukrainian defenders in the city.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the "liberation" of Mariupol by Russian forces, but ordered troops to blockade the steel plant rather than storm it.

Ukrainian officials have denied that the city has fallen to Russia.

"The day before yesterday, we planned to open up an evacuation route that these people [inside the plant] could join," Mariupol mayor Vadym Boichenko told CNN New Day on Friday.

"However, the Russian forces continued bombarding the plant and shelling the plant and we weren't able to get the people out of there."

Yuriy Ryzhenkov, the CEO of Metinvest Holding which owns the Azovstal plant, recently told CNN that the situation inside is "close to catastrophe" as food and water supplies dwindle.

Boichenko added that around 20,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed in Mariupol, which has been leveled by Russian attacks during the course of the war.

CNN cannot independently verify the death toll following weeks of heavy bombardment of Mariupol. Evidence has emerged of mass graves outside the city following the publication of satellite images collected and analyzed by Maxar Technologies.

Journalists in the city have also documented the hasty burial of civilians there, and images have surfaced on social media showing bodies apparently left for collection in the city.

Boichenko said that 90% of the city's buildings were destroyed as of March 21.

"It is very painful for me to see this, very painful and sad," Boichenko said.

"And it was blossoming. It was turning into a modern city. We were developing it as a modern, state-of-the-art city to fulfil people's dreams as we imagined ... I feel as if my heart has been torn out," he said.

Forensic investigators are examining 1,084 bodies of civilians found in the Kyiv region following the withdrawal of Russian forces, according to the police.

Andrii Nebytov, the head of police for Kyiv region, said the bodies had been examined by forensic investigators following the recapture of the region by Ukrainian forces. 

"Currently, the number of dead bodies is 1,084, they were examined by investigators and taken to forensic facilities," Nebytov said, adding:

Nebytov said that more than 300 bodies have not yet been identified, adding: "I’d like to appeal to the citizens: inform us about your acquaintances and relatives who have disappeared and are not in touch. Do not wait."

Investigators in the Kyiv region and other parts of Ukraine wrested from Russian control said they have found widespread evidence of the killing of civilians by Russian forces.