April 8, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Aditi Sangal, Amy Woodyatt, Ben Church, Melissa Macaya, Jason Kurtz and Meg Wagner, CNN

Updated 12:01 a.m. ET, April 9, 2022
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6:31 p.m. ET, April 8, 2022

Ukrainian defense intelligence official: Russian troops "regrouping" before advancing toward Kharkiv

From CNN's Christiane Amanpour and Jo Shelley in Kyiv

Major-General Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's Chief of Defense Intelligence speaks with CNN on Friday April 8.
Major-General Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's Chief of Defense Intelligence speaks with CNN on Friday April 8. (CNN)

The Russian military is regrouping in the east of Ukraine and plans to advance toward the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s Chief of Defense Intelligence told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Friday.

"They are regrouping towards the [Ukrainian] city called Izium via Belgorod. They are moving through Belgorod. They get additional troops in Belgorod in order to compensate their losses in Ukraine," Major-General Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's Chief of Defense Intelligence, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an interview in Kyiv.

"They plan to advance towards Kharkiv first of all. They will try to finish off the city of Mariupol and only after that, they might try to initiative advances towards Kyiv," he said.

Budanov called on Ukraine’s allies to provide “really serious” military support to help it counter the Russian offensive. He said heavy artillery, anti-aircraft missile systems and combat planes were needed to use “against [Russian] ground forces”. 

“Ukraine needs really serious support in heavy armament, and we need it not tomorrow, we need it today,” he said. 

Budanov said the weaknesses of the Russian military were on display in Ukraine. Russia’s troops were “defeated” in the Kyiv region and its military effort hampered by logistics, he said.  

5:52 p.m. ET, April 8, 2022

Ukrainians shocked by "crazy" scene at Chernobyl after Russian pullout reveals radioactive contamination

From CNN's Vasco Cotovio, Frederik Pleitgen, Byron Blunt and Daria Markina

A dosimetrist measures the level of radiation around trenches dug by the Russian military in an area with high levels of radiation called the Red Forest near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, in Chernobyl, Ukraine on April 7.
A dosimetrist measures the level of radiation around trenches dug by the Russian military in an area with high levels of radiation called the Red Forest near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, in Chernobyl, Ukraine on April 7. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

The sudden ear-piercing beep of a radiation meter fills the room as a Ukrainian soldier walks in. This is where Russian soldiers were living at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and radiation levels are now higher than normal.

There's no visible presence of the source of the radioactive material in the room, but Ukrainian officials say it's coming from small particles and dust that the soldiers brought into the building.

"They went to the Red Forest and brought radioactive material back with them on their shoes," soldier Ihor Ugolkov explains. "Other places are fine, but radiation increased here, because they were living here."

CNN was given exclusive access to the power plant for the first time since it came back into Ukrainian control.

Officials at the plant explain the levels inside the room used by Russian soldiers are only slightly above what the World Nuclear Association describes as naturally occurring radiation. One-time contact would not be dangerous but continuous exposure would pose a health hazard.

"They went everywhere, and they also took some radioactive dust on them [when they left]," Ugolkov adds.

It's an example of what Ukrainian officials say was the lax and careless behavior of Russian soldiers while they were in control of the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. The area around Chernobyl, namely the Red Forest, is still the most nuclear contaminated area on the planet, with most of the radioactive particles present on the soil.

You can read more about the scene in Chernobyl here.

3:53 p.m. ET, April 8, 2022

There are "international war crimes being committed" in Ukraine, European Parliament president tells CNN

From CNN’s Livvy Doherty

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola speaks with CNN on Friday April 8.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola speaks with CNN on Friday April 8. (CNN)

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told CNN that the missile strike on a train station in Kramatorsk and other attacks on civilians in Ukraine are “international war crimes being committed against sovereign people who are simply fighting for democracy and for their country.”

Speaking to CNN’s Julia Chatterley on Friday, Metsola said Europe is not delivering equipment, financial assistance, or logistical assistance fast enough, “and it is up to us today, in these hours, to stand up to be counted and to not turn our backs.”

She also said that Europe is funding this war “whether directly, or indirectly” and must take responsibility for not acting earlier to stop the war.

“Why have we sheltered Putin, his family, the oligarchs, and all the people who support him in our Europe by selling them our passports, our citizenship? By allowing them to hide their money in our countries. And we need to make sure this does not happen again,” she said. 

When asked about Ukraine's candidacy to join the European Union, Metsola said “for the parliament, it’s clear. The place for Ukraine is in Europe.”

3:45 p.m. ET, April 8, 2022

Moscow forces closure of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch offices in Russia

From CNN's Abby Baggini

The Russian Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation announced Friday that it has revoked the registration of 15 representative offices of international organizations and foreign NGOs, including that of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The groups "were expelled after they were found to be in breach of the current legislation of the Russian Federation," a ministry statement said.

In response to the expulsion, Amnesty International said that Moscow is "effectively closing it down." Russia’s media regulator previously blocked access to Amnesty International’s Russian-language website on March 11.

“Amnesty’s closing down in Russia is only the latest in a long list of organizations that have been punished for defending human rights and speaking the truth to the Russian authorities," said Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International.

"In a country where scores of activists and dissidents have been imprisoned, killed, or exiled, where independent media has been smeared, blocked, or forced to self-censor, and where civil society organizations have been outlawed or liquidated, you must be doing something right if the Kremlin tries to shut you up," she continued.

The Russian ministry's announcement, which did not specify the details of the violations, comes as several NGOs accuse Russia of committing crimes under international law.

The independent rights group Human Rights Watch said over the weekend that it has documented a number of allegations of war crimes by Russian forces in occupied regions of Ukraine, which “include a case of repeated rape; two cases of summary execution, one of six men, the other of one man; and other cases of unlawful violence and threats against civilians between February 27 and March 14, 2022."

“The authorities are deeply mistaken if they believe that by closing down our office in Moscow, they will stop our work documenting and exposing human rights violations," said Callamard. "We continue undeterred to work to ensure that people in Russia are able to enjoy their human rights without discrimination. We will redouble our efforts to expose Russia’s egregious human rights violations both at home and abroad."

7:36 p.m. ET, April 8, 2022

US Pentagon says missile strike on Ukraine train station just a "piece of Russian brutality"

From CNN's Jamie Crawford

Ukrainian police inspect the remains of a large rocket next to the main building of a train station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine on April 8.
Ukrainian police inspect the remains of a large rocket next to the main building of a train station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine on April 8. (Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images)

The Pentagon finds “unconvincing” claims from Russia that its forces were not involved in the strike on a train station in Ukraine earlier today that resulted in multiple civilian deaths and injuries, spokesperson John Kirby said during a briefing with reporters. 

“Our assessment is that this was a Russian strike and that they used a short range ballistic missile to conduct it,” Kirby said.” It is again of a piece of Russian brutality in the prosecution of this war and their carelessness for trying to avoid civilian harm.”

At least 50 people were killed and almost 100 injured in a Russian missile strike on a train station used as an evacuation hub in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, Ukrainian officials say.

4:08 p.m. ET, April 8, 2022

UK prime minister is open to giving Ukraine any form of "defensive weaponry"

From CNN's Amy Cassidy

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a joint press conference with Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz following a bilateral meeting at 10 Downing Street, in London, on April 8.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a joint press conference with Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz following a bilateral meeting at 10 Downing Street, in London, on April 8. (Ben Stansall/POOL/AFP/Getty Images)

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that “in principle,” he is open to sending any form of “defensive weaponry” to Ukraine, but stopped short of committing to the delivery of combat tanks.

Speaking at a news conference alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Johnson was asked why the UK is not fulfilling Kyiv’s wish of being given Marder tanks — a primarily offensive weapon.

“I’m in principle willing to consider anything by way of defensive weaponry to help the Ukrainians protect themselves and their people," Johnson said. “I think it’s important that we should be giving equipment that is genuinely useful and that is operable by the Ukrainians — that’s our consideration.”

The US and Germany will facilitate the delivery of Soviet-era tanks to Ukraine.

The Czech Republic is also reported to have supplied tanks and combat vehicles.

3:41 p.m. ET, April 8, 2022

Zelensky tells EU chiefs latest sanctions against Russia are "not enough"

From Amy Cassidy in London 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in Kyiv, Ukraine on Friday, April 8.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in Kyiv, Ukraine on Friday, April 8. (Adam Schreck/AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday told European Union chiefs that the bloc’s latest package of sanctions against Russia is still “not enough."

“I would like to thank all the world, the EU, Ursula von der Leyen personally, for the 5th sanctions package, but I think it is not enough," he said, speaking in Kyiv alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and High Representative of Foreign Policy and Security Josep Borrell.

“Because they [Russia] have taken a lot away from us, the territories, the people,” he said.

While Ukraine can “bring the territories back," they cannot “bring those people back to life," he said.

“Please keep helping us with the sanctions," he added.

The EU’s fifth round of sanctions was adopted this week and includes a ban on Russian coal imports and blocks Russian access to EU ports.

Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, vowed an EU delegation will return to Kyiv and acknowledged Ukraine needs more arms.

He said he hoped to be able to pledge a further 500 million euros ($543 million) in military assistance “within the next couple of days," on top of the 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion) already allocated. 

2:58 p.m. ET, April 8, 2022

EU gives Ukraine an "important step" to full membership of the bloc

From Amy Cassidy in London

The European Union on Friday gave Ukraine an “important step” towards membership of the bloc, with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ceremoniously handing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a questionnaire to complete as part of the long-winded membership process.

“Ukraine belongs to the European family. We’ve heard your requests loud and clear. And today, we’re here to give you a first positive answer,” von der Leyen said speaking to reporters in Kyiv alongside Zelensky and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Josep Borrell.

“In this envelope, dear Volodymyr, there is an important step towards EU membership. The questionnaire that is in here is the basis for our discussion in the coming weeks. It is where your path towards Europe and the European Union begins.”

Von der Leyen said she hopes to be able to work closely with Zelesnky to complete the questionnaire within weeks.

Thanking her as he received the document, Zelesnky joked: “We’ll be ready with answers, Ursula, in one week”. 

The questionnaire is one of the many steps Ukraine would need to complete to reach full EU membership.

2:55 p.m. ET, April 8, 2022

US State Department: Railway strike another example of Russia's war "sowing senseless death and destruction"

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler and Riuki Gakio

The Kramatorsk train station is seen from the broken window of a train car on April 8.
The Kramatorsk train station is seen from the broken window of a train car on April 8. (Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images)

The US State Department condemned the Russian strike on a railway station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.

“I want to express our deep condolences to the families of those killed or injured and to the people of Ukraine who continue to suffer terribly from the Russian government's unprovoked unjustified and brutal war,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter said Friday.

“We are horrified by this latest atrocity but we can no longer be surprised by the Kremlin's repugnant disregard for human lives,” she said.

“This is just yet another example of the Russian government's unjustified brutal war sowing senseless death and destruction in Ukraine and unravelling the fabric of normal life on schools, on homes, on hospitals and on workplaces. Civilians are killed when they stay in their homes and they are killed when they try to leave," she said.

Porter said such actions “demonstrate why Russia does not belong on the UN Human Rights Council and they also reinforce the US's assessment that members of Russian forces are committing war crimes in Ukraine.”