Austria’s chancellor said his meeting Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow was “not a friendly visit” and he raised alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine during the “tough” talks.
Ukrainian officials said more than 4,000 people were evacuated Monday from areas where fighting continues, including a few hundred from the besieged city of Mariupol.
Unverified reports emerged Monday of a possible strike involving chemical substances in Mariupol. Volodymyr Zelensky warned the possibility should be taken seriously, though local and US officials said any such attack had not been confirmed.
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Zelensky: Ukraine could end siege of Mariupol with heavy weapons
From CNN's Mitchell McCluskey
(Office of the President of Ukraine/YouTube)
Ukrainian forces could end the Russian siege of Mariupol if supplied with heavy weapons, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his video address on Monday.
Some context: Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said Monday that the “defense of Mariupol continues” amid heavy fighting between Ukrainian forces inside the besieged city and Russian troops and pro-Russian separatists.
Ukrainian officials have said around 100,000 civilians remain in the city, which has come under heavy bombardment. Ukraine’s defense of Mariupol has tied down Russian units and hampered their efforts to solidify a land corridor from the Russian border to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
The defense of Mariupol has also been a national rallying point for Ukrainians, and the destruction of the city has become a symbol of Russia’s indiscriminate use of firepower.
On Monday, Zelensky said “tens of thousands” of people had died in Mariupol, a claim that could not be immediately verified.
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Zelensky: Withdrawing Russian forces left mines scattered "everywhere"
From CNN’s Mariya Knight and Jen Deaton
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
(Office of the President of Ukraine/YouTube)
In a nightly address to the nation on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian troops retreating from parts of northern Ukraine had deliberately left thousands of mines in their wake, in what he considered a “war crime.”
In those areas, “tens if not hundreds of thousands” of unexploded ordnance had been left behind, he said, adding that teams are working to clear these “dangerous items.”
The “invaders left mines everywhere,” including in homes, on streets and in fields, he added.
He called these actions “war crimes” intended to “kill or maim as many of our people as possible,” adding that troops would not have done so without explicit orders from Russia’s leadership.
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US has not confirmed use of chemical weapons, but had previously warned Ukrainians of the possibility
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
The United States has not confirmed the use of chemical weapons in Mariupol, but had previously warned the Ukrainians that Russia could use chemical agents in the southeastern Ukrainian city, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told CNN Monday.
“We shared that information with our Ukrainian partners. We are going to be in direct conversations with them to try and determine what exactly has transpired here, and as soon as we gain additional fidelity, we’ll be in a better position to say what this was or what this may have been,” he said.
Some context: After reports emerged Monday of a possible strike involving chemical substances of some kind in Mariupol, the Ukrainian President warned the possibility should be taken seriously, though a Mariupol official said any such attack remained unconfirmed.
The UK has said it is also working with partners to investigate the reports.
CNN cannot independently verify that there has been any kind of chemical strike in Mariupol. CNN teams on the ground have so far not seen evidence of such an attack, or any imagery from Mariupol sources to verify this.
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Ukraine's prosecutor general says office is investigating 5,800 cases of Russian war crimes
From CNN's Paul LeBlanc
The prosecutor general of Ukraine said Monday that her office is investigating 5,800 cases of Russian war crimes, with “more and more” proceedings every day.
Speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead,” Iryna Venediktova said Ukraine has identified more than 500 suspects in the sprawling probe, including Russian politicians, military personnel and propaganda agents “who wanted this war, who started this war and who continued this war.”
Her comments come as shocking atrocities in Ukraine, allegedly at the hands of Russian forces, have amplified calls to pursue war crimes charges against Russian President Vladimir Putin. After images of at least 20 bodies strewn across the street in Bucha, Ukraine, emerged earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an end to Russian “war crimes.”
Russia has denied any involvement in the incident, claiming — without evidence — that the atrocities in Bucha were staged, and part of a “planned media campaign.” But witnesses who have spoken to CNN said the carnage in the town began weeks ago, when it was occupied by Russian forces, and a video depicts Russian forces appearing to indiscriminately fire at a civilian.
Brittney Griner can receive letters and see her representative in Russia twice per week, ESPN reports
Brittney Griner, an American basketball player detained in Russia, has been able to see her representative in the country twice a week and is able to receive correspondence, ESPN reported on Monday.
Ahead of the WNBA draft on Monday, league commissioner Cathy Engelbert reaffirmed the league’s commitment to bringing Griner home.
ESPN reports that the WNBA and Griner’s team, the Phoenix Mercury, are in discussions about the player and she will not be suspended this year. ESPN reports Griner will receive her full pay from the Mercury and there is a possibility the franchise will be given roster relief due to her situation.
Reports of chemical attack on Mariupol unconfirmed but should be taken seriously, Ukrainian officials say
From CNN’s Mariya Knight and Jen Deaton
After reports emerged Monday of a possible strike involving chemical substances of some kind in Mariupol, the Ukrainian President warned the possibility should be taken seriously, though a Mariupol official said any such attack remained unconfirmed.
In his nightly address Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia might be preparing to escalate attacks on the besieged southeastern city.
Petro Andryushchenko, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, posted on Telegram shortly before Zelensky’s address that information about a possible chemical attack “is not yet confirmed,” adding, “details and clarifications later.”
“In any case, the announcement of the use of chemical weapons made by the occupier is not so simple,” Andryushchenko said. “It is possible that the discharge of an unknown chemical is a test for the reaction in general. One scenario. But we are waiting for official information from the military.”
UK investigates: Also on Monday, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tweeted that she was working “urgently with partners” to investigate the reports of a possible chemical attack in Mariupol.
CNN cannot independently verify that there has been any kind of chemical strike in Mariupol.
CNN teams on the ground have so far not seen evidence of such an attack, or any imagery from Mariupol sources to verify this.
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Ukrainian officials claim strike on Russian weapons depot in Luhansk region
From CNN's Celine Alkhaldi
Destruction of the weapons depot is seen in this screengrab taken from video.
(from Telegram)
Ukrainian officials claim to have destroyed a Russian weapons depot in Novoaidar, Luhansk region.
CNN has geolocated a video and images shared to social media that appear to show the aftermath of that attack.
On Monday, Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, said in a Facebook post that Ukrainian forces had destroyed a Russian “ammunition warehouse” near a Russian settlement in Luhansk.
In a video shared by Russian state media RIA Novosti, Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) People’s Militia officer Roman Ivanov said the Ukrainian strikes on Novoaidar destroyed “more than 20 homes, along with a warehouse filled with chemical fertilizers.”
Haidai denied Russian claims that Ukrainians targeted residential buildings.
Burned out shells and rockets are seen scattered all over the ground in the video and images, and an agricultural equipment store is spotted in the distance.
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Pentagon concerned about potential Russian use of riot control agents in Ukraine, official says
From CNN's Oren Liebermann
The Pentagon cannot confirm reports that Russian forces have used what may be a chemical weapon in Mariupol, Ukraine, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement Monday, but officials remain concerned about the potential Russian use of riot control agents.
The Pentagon is aware of the reports and will monitor the situation closely, Kirby said.
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CNN tours Ukrainian villages decimated by Russian troops
From CNN's Jason Kurtz
(CNN)
In Ukrainian villages east of the capital of Kyiv where Russian forces have withdrawn, residents begin to slowly emerge from hiding and the new reality they’re facing is nothing short of devastating.
CNN’s Clarissa Ward toured a pair of villages that were occupied by Russians for more than a month. She reported that they found “endless accounts of horror, executions, arbitrary detentions and more.”
One local school was taken over by Vladimir Putin’s invading army, used as a base, and left in shambles after being looted and ransacked by the troops.
Bloodstains speckle the main entrance, where the school’s principal is left to wonder how such an atrocity came to be.
“We are for education. Education is the future. Our students,” the woman told Ward. “It’s such a shame that our occupiers didn’t understand this. Why steal everything? This is a school.”
One chalkboard in a classroom Ward visited that was formerly occupied by Russians said, “Forgive us, we didn’t want this war.”
Nearby, a local cemetery houses the bodies of six Ukrainian men who authorities say were executed on the first day the Russians arrived.
“We dug very fast so they wouldn’t shoot us,” a woman told CNN. “But there was shooting over there and heavy shelling.”
A pair of brothers are among the dead, Igor and Oleg. Their mother survived, but now mourns.
“They were very good boys,” she said. “How I want to see them again.”
One Ukrainian mother told Ward her daughter was taken on March 25. More than two weeks later she doesn’t know where she is, or whether she survived the Russians’ invasion.
“They said they found information on her phone about their forces,” the mother told Ward. “They told me she was in a warm house. That she was working with them and she would be home soon.”
But as Ward revealed, “Victoria never came home.”
Amid the risk of certain death, the Ukrainian residents clung to one another, and their sense of pride, with one woman finding solace among blue and yellow stripes, Ward reported.
“We kept it, we kept it,” the woman tells Ward, showing the Ukrainian flag given to her husband for his military service. “We hid it.”
Now the flag can come out of hiding, as Russian forces have retreated. The village is decimated, but for the moment, it’s once again free.
Watch Ward’s on the ground reporting:
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Jewish families in Poland open their homes to Ukrainian refugees
From CNN's Kyung Lah
Jan Gebert represents one of the many Jewish volunteers in Warsaw, Poland, assisting Ukrainian refugees arriving in the country.
Gebert has opened his one bedroom apartment to host refugees. Since the start of the war, he’s hosted three families.
Gebert lives not too far from where his Jewish great-grandparents lived before the Holocaust. His great-grandmother was separated from her husband and child during the war. She was executed by Nazis at the Treblinka death camp. Gebert’s great-grandfather was sheltered by a non-Jewish family.
His family home now serves as a shelter for refugees.
“We are alive because someone helped us. And thanks to that I can help other people,” Gerbet said.
“It’s our time to do what we needed to have done for us 80 years ago,” Rabbi Michael Schudrich, chief rabbi of Warsaw, said. Lah reports that the Jewish community in Warsaw has “plunged in” to help with the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, offering everything from child care, housing, to counseling.
Schudrich told Lah that Jewish philanthropies, mostly American, have donated about $100 million to help Ukrainian refugees, regardless of where they are or what their religious affiliation is.
More than 4.5 million people have fled Ukraine since Feb. 24, according to data from the UN.
Watch Lah’s full report here:
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US secretary of state: "India has to make its own decisions about how it approaches" Russia's war in Ukraine
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during the US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue at the State Department in Washington, DC, on Monday.
(Michael McCoy/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)
Standing alongside the Indian ministers for foreign affairs and defense on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a pointed message about supporting Ukraine.
Blinken noted that the United States would continue to call on nations to back Kyiv, “just as we call on all nations to condemn Moscow’s increasingly brutal actions.”
In remarks at a news conference following the US-India 2+2 Ministerial in Washington, Blinken said, “Russia’s war against Ukraine is an attack on Ukraine’s people. It’s also an attack on that rules-based order that we both adhere to and defend.”
The United States, Blinken said, “will continue to increase our support to the government and people of Ukraine and call on other nations to do the same, just as we call on all nations to condemn Moscow’s increasingly brutal actions.”
Blinken declared that Russia’s war “stands in stark contrast to the vision that the United States and India share for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” and noted that Moscow’s actions were having worldwide consequences.
India has continued to purchase Russian oil in the wake of the war in Ukraine and last week abstained in a vote to remove Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.
“We, as a general proposition, are consulting with all of our allies and partners on the consequences of Putin’s war, the atrocities being committed against the people of Ukraine,” Blinken said at the news conference following the US-India 2+2 Ministerial.
Blinken said it was important that “democracies stand together and speak with one voice to defend the values that we share — and we do share, profoundly, the values of freedom, openness, independence, sovereignty, and those values need to apply everywhere.”
The top US diplomat noted that “India’s relationship with Russia has developed over decades, at a time when the United States was not able to be partner to India,” but “times have changed” and the US is “able and willing to be a partner of choice with India.”
“And I would also note that India is providing significant humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine, notably medicines which are very necessary and in real demand,” he added.
Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar said that India is “against the conflict” and “for dialogue and diplomacy” and the “urgent cessation of violence.”
“We are prepared to contribute in whatever way to these objectives,” he said.
Blinken said that “when it comes to oil purchases, sanctions, etc, I’d just note that there are carve outs for energy purchases. Of course, we’re encouraging countries not to purchase additional energy supplies from Russia.”
“Every country is differently situated, has different needs, requirements, but we’re looking to allies and partners not to increase their purchases of Russian energy,” Blinken said.
On oil, Jaishankar said that the world should look to Europe, suggesting that Europe buys more Russian oil than India does.
Blinken said President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “had a very warm and productive conversation,” and “on Russia-Ukraine, they talked about ways of mitigating the profound impact that this is having on global food supplies and prices, commodity markets and working together to achieve that.”
Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who also attended the event, spoke on the importance of the US and India remaining aligned.
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Ukraine's top commander: "Defense of Mariupol continues"
From CNN's Nathan Hodge in Lviv and Cameron Hubbard
Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said Monday that the “defense of Mariupol continues” amid heavy fighting between Ukrainian forces inside the besieged city and Russian troops and pro-Russian separatists.
Denis Pushilin, the head of the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic, said Monday the city’s port had fallen to Russian and Russian-backed forces, Russian state news agencies reported. Those reports could not be immediately verified.
Ukrainian officials have said around 100,000 civilians remain in the city, which has come under heavy bombardment. Ukraine’s defense of Mariupol has tied down Russian units and hampered their efforts to solidify a land corridor from the Russian border to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
The Institute for the Study of War, a defense think tank that tracks military operations in Ukraine, assessed Sunday that “Russian forces bisected Mariupol from the city center to the coast on April 10, isolating the remaining Ukrainian defenders in the southwestern port and eastern Azovstal Steel Plant.”
The defense of Mariupol has been a national rallying point for Ukrainians, and the destruction of the city has become a symbol of Russia’s indiscriminate use of firepower.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed “tens of thousands” of people had died in Mariupol, a claim that could not be immediately verified.
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Ukraine's prosecutor general: We are seeing crimes against humanity
Forensic scientists and police inspect the bodies of local residents after removing them from a mass grave in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 11.
(Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
Iryna Venediktova, the prosecutor general of Ukraine, discussed her office’s war crimes investigation during a CNN interview Monday. Venediktova said that they are currently building “more than 5,800 cases” and every day are starting “more and more such proceedings.”
Venediktova said that she has made multiple visits to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where images of mass graves have been observed, and plans to return again tomorrow.
Venediktova was asked on CNN about her office’s report earlier today that found 183 children had been killed and 342 had been wounded since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine. That report cited preliminary figures from juvenile prosecutors.
“As of April 11, 2022, according to official data from juvenile prosecutors, more than 525 children were casualties in Ukraine as a result of the armed invasion of our country by the Russian Federation,” the statement from the prosecutor general read. “183 children died and more than 342 were injured. These figures are not final, as work is underway in places of active hostilities in the temporarily occupied and liberated territories.”
With regards to the figures, Venediktova described them as “not correct” because they don’t account for the dead in places like Mariupol that are occupied by the Russians.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday, “tens of thousands” of people had been killed in the besieged city of Mariupol, a figure that could not be immediately verified.
The prosecutor general explained how they are proceeding with probing events in Mariupol since the area is still under Russian control, including how they are getting information from individuals who have been able to evacuate.
“We started to proceed the common case. We don’t know concrete facts. But common case, for example, as a bomb in maternity hospital in Mariupol, drama theater in Mariupol, and all the cases, we started. Because we have some refugees, you know, that people could evacuate from Mariupol. We knew some facts from the witnesses,” she said.
Asked about suspects and potential war crimes prosecutions, Venediktova said that they “want to prosecute these war criminals in our Ukrainian courts, named by Ukraine.”
“But, of course, for us… it is a lane of international criminal court,” she added, acknowledging the role the International Criminal Court (ICC) plays in these cases.
Venediktova said they are therefore doing their investigations under international law and currently have more than 500 suspects, including top politicians, top military officers and top Russian propaganda agents who they suspect started and continue this war.
The prosecutor general said that they understand that three people in the Russian Federation are now under functional immunity — the president, when he is still president, the minister of foreign affairs and the prime minister. “This is rule,” she noted.
“But from the other side, absolutely possible to take them to responsibility by instruments of international criminal courts,” she told CNN, noting that is why they are documenting all the evidence for “all the big fish” to learn about “who wanted this war, who started this war and who continued this war.”
The International Criminal Court formally opened an investigation into the situation in Ukraine last month. The top war crimes prosecutor for the ICC has traveled to Ukraine to investigate, and the US Embassy in Kyiv argued in the war’s opening days that specific Russian attacks constituted war crimes. Read more about how war crimes prosecutions work here.
Watch CNN’s interview with Ukraine’s prosecutor general:
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Italy signs deal to boost natural gas imports from Algeria and reduce reliance on Russia
From CNN's Livia Borghese in Rome and Jorge Engels in London
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced Monday an initial deal to increase energy imports from Algeria after a meeting with the country’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in Algiers.
“Our governments have signed a declaration of intent on the bilateral cooperation in the energy sector,” Draghi said in during a news conference.
Additionally, Draghi said an agreement was signed between Italian energy company Eni and Algeria’s national state-owned energy company to implement the export of natural gas to Italy.
Italy imports about 40% of its total gas consumption from Russia, according to Reuters.
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Ukrainian official: More than 4,000 people evacuated from cities under fire Monday
From CNN's Julia Presniakova in Lviv
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 4,354 people have been evacuated Monday from areas where fighting continues, including a few hundred from Mariupol, where Russian forces are tightening their stranglehold.
Vereshchuk said 556 people had been evacuated from Mariupol and a further 3,298 people from other cities in southern Ukraine, including Melitopol and Berdiansk, which are both occupied by Russian forces.
The evacuees had been taken to the city of Zaporizhzhia, she said.
Vereshchuk said more than 500 people had been evacuated from towns and cities in the Donbas region which have seen near constant shelling in recent days. They include; Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, Rubizhne, Kreminna and Popasna in the Luhansk region, she said. All of the towns have experienced widespread destruction as the focus of the Russian offensive has shifted to the Donbas.
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Ukrainian boy's letter to dead mother read at UN meeting: "Thank you for the best nine years of my life"
From CNN's Laura Ly
During a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday, Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya read aloud a letter from a Ukrainian child written to his dead mother.
Kyslytsya told the council that the letter was made public in Ukraine “several days ago” and was written by a nine-year-old boy after his mother was killed by Russian soldiers.
Kyslytsya, who spoke to the Security Council in English, read the letter as follows:
Kyslytsya said the boy’s mother was killed by Russian soldiers when they tried to escape from their Russian-occupied town by car. The boy stayed in the vehicle until local residents were able to rescue him and take him to a shelter, the Ukrainian ambassador said.
“Such letters should not have to be written. If they are, it means that something has gone terribly wrong, including here at the United Nations,” Kyslytsya said.
“It would mean its mechanism of maintaining international peace and security aren’t working properly and should be fixed. But could they be fixed while Russia is allowed to use the rights of a permanent member? If we are not able to stop the Kremlin, more and more children will become orphans. More and more mothers will lose their children,” the ambassador read.
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France expels 6 suspected Russian spies operating "under diplomatic cover"
From CNN's Dalal Mawad in Paris
France is expelling six Russian agents suspected of working as spies “under diplomatic cover” in the country, according to a French foreign ministry statement released on Monday.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin congratulated in a tweet the French security agents involved who “hindered a network of Russian clandestine agents working against our interests.”
The French foreign ministry said that in the absence of the Russian ambassador, “the number two in the embassy was summoned to the ministry this evening to be informed of this decision.”
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Here's what we know about Russia's new general for Ukraine
From CNN's Nathan Hodge in Lviv
Army Gen. Alexander Dvornikov (center) is seen in this file photo in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on January 18, 2021.
(Vasily Deryugin/Kommersant/Sipa USA/AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has a new general overseeing his war in Ukraine.
Army General Alexander Dvornikov, the commander of Russia’s Southern Military District, has been named as theater commander of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, according to a US official and a European official.
Dvornikov, 60, was the first commander of Russia’s military operations in Syria, after Putin sent troops there in September 2015 to back the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
During Dvornikov’s command in Syria from September 2015 to June 2016, Russian aircraft backed the Assad regime and its allies as they laid siege to rebel-held eastern Aleppo, bombarding densely populated neighborhoods and causing major civilian casualties. The city fell to Syrian government forces in December 2016.
From 2000 to 2003 Dvornikov served in Russia’s lengthy pacification campaign in the north Caucasus, including the Second Chechen War, which left the regional capital of Chechnya, Grozny, in ruins.
Russian forces have used a similarly heavy-handed approach in parts of Ukraine, striking residential buildings in major cities and demolishing much of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
Dvornikov was awarded the title of “Hero the Russian Federation” by the Kremlin in March 2016 for his services.
The appointment of a new overall commander to lead Russia’s war in Ukraine appears to be an effort to remedy another problem that has hampered Russian forces: lack of coordination.
Read more about the general here and watch retired Lt. Gen. James Marks, a CNN military analyst, explain the next phase of the war:
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EU's top diplomat calls Ukraine war a "big failure" for Russia
From CNN’s James Frater in Brussels and Jorge Engels in London
Workers load a destroyed Russian tank onto a platform in the village of Andriyivka, near Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 11.
(Efrem Lukatsky/AP)
The European Union’s top diplomat said Monday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a “big failure of the Russian army.”
“They are regrouping their troops in the east and Ukrainians are very much convinced that they are going to launch a big offensive in the Donbas nearby their logistic bases,” he said.
Borrell also characterized the invasion as a “horror.”
“What the Russian army left behind is civilians killed, cities destroyed, indiscriminate bombing, like the one that we see on the railway station [in Kramatorsk]. We are very much worried by the human consequences of this war,” he added.
Borrell also said “nothing is off the table” when it came to new sanctions against Russia, including oil and gas, but that no decision had been taken Monday.
“It’s easy for some member states that are not using Russian gas to say that they are ready to not use Russian gas, but for others which are heavily dependent is not so easy,” said Borrell.
He added that EU member states continue discussing how to implement the sanctions and how to avoid “loopholes.”
Borrell also spoke about the growing issue of global food security and said the Kremlin was “actively shifting the blame.”
“Russians are making the sanctions responsible for the food scarcity and rising prices when it is not sanctions. It is Russia sowing bombs on Ukraine fields, and Russian warships blockading … ships full of wheat that cannot go out of the Ukrainian harbors,” said Borrell.
“They are bombing Ukrainian cities and provoking hunger in the world,” he added.
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US planning latest Ukrainian security package tailored to war's new front, defense officials say
From CNN's Barbara Starr
The US and Ukraine are in intensive discussions about a new round of security assistance tailored to combat a stepped-up Russian campaign in eastern and southern Ukraine, where the terrain is different than the war’s earlier main front, according to multiple US defense officials.
The package being put together may center around more drones and Javelin anti-tank weapons — which the US has previously provided to Ukraine. This is in part because Ukraine already has these kinds of weapons in its inventory and can use them quickly, one official said.
The US is also talking to partners and allies in Europe to see what additional long range air defense systems, tanks, armor, and artillery they might be able to provide Ukraine from their own inventories.
Those discussions are particularly urgent because the terrain in the south and eastern portions of Ukraine is different than the initial phase, which took place to some extent in wooded areas north of Kyiv where Ukraine’s forces succeeded with ambush tactics.
Now, along the new eastern and southern fronts, the Ukrainians need is for heavier weapons, such as armor and artillery, the officials said.
US systems are not in the Ukrainian inventory, so finding partners and allies willing to contribute is a key priority. Part of the negotiations include discussion of the US replacing the partners’ provisions with possibly more advanced systems.
Ukraine still wants to get fighter jets, the officials said, but the US remains opposed to facilitating any such transfer.
The Defense Department has said that Russia’s refocus to the Donbas region has not affected the ability to get security assistance from the US to Ukraine.
“Eight to 10 flights a day are coming into the region, not just from the United States but from other nations as well,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said at a briefing Monday.
“In some cases, stuff coming from the United States takes no more than four to six days from the time the president authorizes drawdown authority to it gets into the hands of the Ukrainians,” he said.
CNN’s Michael Conte contributed reporting to this post.
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French president says he will travel to Ukraine only if trip is "useful"
From CNN's Dalal Mawad and Elias Lemercier in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he was ready to travel to Kyiv or any other Ukrainian city only if the visit would be “useful” to find a solution to the current crisis.
“If we manage to resume the dialogue between the Russian president and the Ukrainian president, then perhaps a visit will be useful,” Macron said.
Ukrainian officials visited UK to evaluate weapons systems, British official says
From CNN's Oren Liebermann
Ukrainian officials visited the UK recently to evaluate weapons systems and military equipment, according to a British official, as the British government prepares to send in armored personnel carriers amid ongoing shipments of anti-armor and anti-aircraft missiles.
The official said the UK is planning for the short-term, in which Ukraine needs the ammunition and missiles to stay in the fight, but also for the medium and long-term, where Ukraine will need to modernize its military following an end to the fighting.
On Friday, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK would provide an unspecified number of Mastiff armored patrol vehicles to Ukraine.
The British official said the UK is also considering the possibility of sending other armored vehicles as well, but it depends on the available inventories and the needs of the Ukrainian forces.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced on Saturday that the UK would send another 120 armored vehicles to Ukraine.
A second British official said this package includes 40 tracked combat reconnaissance vehicles and 80 other armored vehicles. These vehicles will be “gifted” to Ukraine within the next 30 to 60 days, the official said.
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Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office: 183 children dead and 342 injured since start of war
From CNN's Maria Kostenko in Chernivtsi and Nathan Hodge in Lviv
A police officer examines the corpse of a man killed during the war with Russia, in Bucha, located on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 11.
(Rodrigo Abd/AP)
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office said in a statement Monday that 183 children had been killed and 342 had been wounded since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, citing preliminary figures from juvenile prosecutors.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday, “tens of thousands” of people had been killed in the besieged city of Mariupol, a figure that could not be immediately verified.
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Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza detained outside his Moscow home, according to reports
From CNN’s Uliana Pavlova
Vladimir Kara-Murza during the Oslo Freedom Forum 2019 on May 28, 2019 in Oslo, Norway.
(Julia Reinhart/Getty Images)
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent Kremlin critic who has survived two suspected poisonings, has been detained outside of his apartment building in Moscow on Monday, according to Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin and media reports.
Yashin told CNN he learned about the detention from Kara-Murza’s lawyer.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti also reported Kara-Murza’s detention citing his lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov.
“I just found out about his detention, so far I can’t say the details,” Prokhorov told RIA Novosti.
An interview with Kara-Murza aired on “Big Picture with Sara Sidner” on CNN+ earlier Monday. The opposition figure has condemned what he calls Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “aggression” in Ukraine.
He told Sidner that he believes the war in Ukraine will ultimately end Putin’s regime.
“I have absolutely no doubt that the Putin regime will end over this war in Ukraine, doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen tomorrow. The two main questions are time and price and by price, I do not mean monetary — I mean the price of human blood and and human lives and it has already been horrendous, but the Putin regime will end over this and there will be a democratic Russia after Putin,” Kara-Murza told Sidner.
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White House: New Russian general overseeing Ukraine war will not erase the fact "this is a strategic failure"
From CNN's DJ Judd
The White House said Vladimir Putin’s decision to appoint Army Gen. Alexander Dvornikov as theater commander of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine “is not going to erase the fact that this is a strategic failure.”
Dvornikov, 60, was the first commander of Russia’s military operations in Syria, after Putin sent troops there in September 2015 to back the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
During Dvornikov’s command in Syria from September 2015 to June 2016, Russian aircraft backed the Assad regime and its allies as they laid siege to rebel-held eastern Aleppo, bombarding densely populated neighborhoods and causing major civilian casualties.
Looking forward, Psaki said the Biden administration anticipates Russian forces “will seek to surround and overwhelm Ukrainian forces,” in Eastern Ukraine, where they’ve coalesced forces after unsuccessful efforts to capture Kyiv and the surround areas, while continuing “to launch air and missile strikes across the rest of the country to cause military and economic damage.”
“And we expect this stage of the conflict could last a long time, and we should have no illusions that Russia is going to adjust their tactics and make them less brutal, and certainly changes in leadership reflect a continuation of the type of atrocities we’ve seen, or the type of approach that we’ve seen, and we’ve also predicted from the beginning,” she added.
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White House not planning for Biden to visit Ukraine right now
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
The White House is not planning for US President Joe Biden to travel to Ukraine right now after a high-profile visit to Kyiv by his British counterpart.
“We’re not currently planning a trip by the President of the United States to Ukraine,” press secretary Jen Psaki said.
Over the weekend, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv and toured the capital’s streets with President Volodymyr Zelensky. The EU chief Ursula von der Leyen also visited Kyiv and Bucha, the site of atrocities, last week.
During a last-minute visit to Europe last month, Biden told aid workers he would have liked to visit Ukraine to see the situation at close range.
“They will not let me, understandably, I guess, cross the border and take a look at what’s going on in Ukraine,” Biden said. The White House had said before the trip they had not explored any visit to Ukraine.
Since then, Russian forces have withdrawn from the area around Kyiv.
Psaki said more important than a presidential visit was a continued supply of weapons and support.
Psaki declined to say who at the White House makes the call on whether Biden can visit the war-torn country, “I’m not going to get into private conversations,” she said.
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Indian prime minister told Biden he suggested Putin and Zelensky hold direct talks
From CNN's Manveena Suri
On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told US President Joe Biden he had suggested the leaders of Russia and Ukraine hold direct talks.
Modi’s comments came during his opening remarks ahead of a virtual meeting with Biden. His remarks were streamed on both his official Twitter account and the account of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Modi also spoke on the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, describing the incident as “very worrying.”
“We have also placed importance on the safety of the civilian population in Ukraine and the uninterrupted supply of humanitarian aid to them. On our behalf, we have sent medicines and other relief materials to Ukraine and its neighboring countries. And on the request of Ukraine, we are sending another consignment of medicines very soon,” he said.
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Biden was "candid" in conversation with India's Modi, but didn't make specific ask on energy, official says
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
From left: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, US President Joe Biden, Indian Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh, and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar listen as Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi (on screen) speaks during a virtual meeting at the White House on April 11, in Washington, DC.
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
US President Biden shared his “candid” view on India’s neutral stance in the war in Ukraine during an hour-long virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, according to a senior administration official.
But he did not make a specific ask of the Indian leader to take a side, nor did he receive any firm commitment from Modi to back off energy purchases from Russia.
Speaking afterward, the official said the two leaders were able to exchange their views in a “warm” fashion, even though India’s position has caused increasing concern in Washington.
India has not backed off purchases of Russian oil or gas, despite efforts by the United States to rally the world behind crippling economic sanctions on Moscow. The official said in their meeting, Biden did not specifically demand India halt its purchases.
“Other countries have to make their own choices,” the official said. “That said, we don’t think India should accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy.”
Instead of making demands, Biden sought to underscore areas where India could help “mitigate the destabilizing impacts of Putin’s war,” the official said, citing food supplies as one place India has already shown a willingness to help.
“There was discussion about what more India might be able to do,” the official said.
In the meeting, Modi expressed concerns about the close ties between Russia and China — a factor the official said could impact India’s thinking in its stance on the war in Ukraine.
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Austria's Nehammer says he is not "particularly optimistic" from talks with Putin
From CNN's Amy Cassidy and Jorge Engels
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Monday that he was not “particularly optimistic” from his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Nehammer — the first European leader to have met with Putin face-to-face since the invasion of Ukraine began — said that he confronted the Russian president “with the facts.”
“I made it clear to Mr. Putin, his attitude, his view is not shared by anybody. He sees it as a kind of self-defense operation of the Russian federation. He calls it special military operations. I call it the war,” he said.
Nehammer, however, noted that “it was also clear and recognizable that the Russian president still has confidence” in the ongoing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey.
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It's 8 p.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
From CNN Staff
Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he raised alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine during a “tough” and unfriendly meeting Monday with Vladimir Putin. It was the first Western sit-down with the Russian President since he launched his invasion in February.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country is “ready” for a major Russian offensive in the east of the country, as he accused Moscow of lying to deflect the blame for the war.
Nine evacuation corridors were agreed for Sunday, as the death toll rose from a Russian missile strike last week on a train station packed with evacuees.
Here are more of the latest headlines from the Russia-Ukraine conflict:
Rescue mission drivers detained: Nine drivers working for “Help People,” a Ukrainian volunteer group that provides food and medicine for those in need and assists in evacuations, were detained by the Russian military and remain missing, a group official told CNN. A total of 10 minibus drivers had driven into the Donbas region to help evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol, operating private vehicles in a low-profile rescue mission. Russian soldiers stopped them and tried to get them to drive the buses into Russia. When the drivers refused, they were taken prisoner, said Alex Voronin, the head of the non-government organization.
Kramatorsk evacuations: Kramatorsk’s railway terminal remained closed and civilian evacuations were continuing from nearby Slovyansk as cleanup and repairs continue following a Russian missile strike Friday, according to the city’s mayor, Oleksandr Honcharenko.” Compared to Friday, the city is quite calm today,” Honcharenko said in remarks at a news conference Monday. “Yesterday we were allowed to go to the train station to start cleaning up after the terrible tragedy. Unfortunately, the evacuation from the Kramatorsk railway station is not happening today. There is no agreement on whether the railway station will be opened, as Ukrzaliznytsia [the Ukrainian state railway company] has to carry out some repair work.”
Austrian chancellor and Putin meet: A face-to-face meeting between Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow was ”not a friendly visit,” Nehammer said in a statement issued by an Austrian official after the meeting. “This is not a friendly visit. I have just come from Ukraine and have seen with my own eyes the immeasurable suffering caused by the Russian war of aggression,” he said in the statement.
Russia to resupply forces in Donbas: Russia is attempting to resupply and reinforce its forces in the Donbas, according to a senior US defense official, as evidenced by a convoy of vehicles approaching the Ukrainian city of Izyum from the north. The vehicle line includes a “command and control element, a support battalion, basically enablers, perhaps rotary-wing aviation support, and other infantry support,” according to the official.
UN warns of rape and violence against Ukrainian women and children: Increased reports of rape and sexual violence against Ukrainian women and children must be thoroughly and independently investigated to ensure accountability, Sima Bahous, executive director of UN Women, said Monday morning. “The combination of mass displacement with the large presence of conscripts and mercenaries, and the brutality displayed against Ukrainian civilians, has raised all red flags,” Bahous said.
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UN Women warns of rape and sexual violence against Ukrainian women and children
From CNN's Laura Ly
Increased reports of rape and sexual violence against Ukrainian women and children must be thoroughly and independently investigated to ensure accountability, Sima Bahous, executive director of UN Women, said Monday morning.
She later added that there is also an increased risk of human trafficking at border crossings, with young women and unaccompanied teenagers at particular risk.
Bahous was addressing the UN Security Council in New York City upon her return from Moldova, where she observed the humanitarian response at temporary shelters erected for people fleeing Ukraine. There are an estimated 95,000 Ukrainians being hosted in Moldova to date, Bahous said.
UN Women, a United Nations entity dedicated to advancing gender equity and the empowerment of women, is working with refugee response teams and civil society teams on the ground in Moldova “to ensure that the gendered nature of this crisis is addressed with a gender sensitive response.”
Bahous stressed the imperative need to have a “gender-sensitive” humanitarian response, including “services to provide with a focus on protection and to address the increased trauma and psycho-social support needs.”
“Women make up 80% of all health and social care workers in Ukraine, and many of them chose not to evacuate,” Bahous said. “I heard from women in the shelters that they too, are taking on leadership roles, and supporting the refugee response in the host countries.”
Despite this, Bahous said women remain largely absent from any current negotiation efforts. She called for the UN Security Council and all UN member states to “to ensure the meaningful participation of women and girls, including from marginalized groups, in all decision-making processes, peace, diplomacy, and humanitarian. Without this, we will not have peace, development, or human security.”
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Nearly two-thirds of all Ukrainian children have been displaced, UNICEF says
From CNN's Laura Ly
Children play outside of a railway station in Przemysl, eastern Poland, on April 7, which has become a hub for refugees from Ukraine fleeing their country due to the conflict with Russia.
(Wojtek RADWANSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
Nearly two-thirds of Ukraine’s children have been displaced in just six weeks and nearly half of the children who remain in Ukraine may face food insecurity, Manuel Fontaine, director of emergencies for UNICEF, said Monday.
Fontaine added that the situation for children in Ukraine is even worse in Mariupol and Kherson, “where children and their families have now gone weeks without running water and sanitation services, a regular supply of food, and medical care. They are sheltering in their homes and underground, waiting for the bombs and violence to stop.”
The UNICEF emergencies director also expressed his concerns about the presence of “explosive remnants of war” which can expose children to death and injury, as well as the disruption of education for children across the country.
“Nationwide school closures are impacting the learning — and the futures — of 5.7 million school-age children and 1.5 million students in higher education. In the Donbas region, a whole generation of children have already seen their lives and education upended during the past eight years of conflict,” Fontaine said.
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More companies are leaving Russia
From CNN’s Sharon Browne-Peter and Chris Liakos
More Western firms are quitting their business in Russia.
Swedish telecoms company Ericsson said it is suspending its business in Russia indefinitely.
It added that its employees in Russia will be placed on paid leave.
Ericsson said it would record a 900 million Swedish krona ($95 million) provision in first quarter 2022 for impairment of assets and other exceptional costs.
French banking giant, Societe Generale, has ceased its banking and insurance activities in Russia and has announced the sale of its entire stake in Rosbank and its Russian insurance subsidiaries to Interros Capital, Rosbank’s former shareholder.
The group stated in a news release that it would exit “in an effective and orderly manner from Russia, ensuring continuity for its employees and clients.”
The transaction remains subject to the approval by the relevant regulatory and anti-trust authorities, according to the news release. “The closing of this operation should occur within the coming weeks,” Societe Generale said adding that it would lead to a write-off of about 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion).
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European countries pledge over $2.7 million for war crimes investigation in Ukraine
From CNN’s James Frater in Brussels
The Netherlands, Sweden and Germany have pledged $2.7 million to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to support its investigation of possible war crimes committed in Ukraine.
EU Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg met via videoconference with ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan at a meeting convened by Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Wopke Hoekstra on Monday.
Following the meeting, Hoekstra said, “The deployment of the Criminal Court is one of the most important tracks towards justice for Ukrainians.” The Netherlands wants “justice to follow for the victims of the Russian invasion.”
Hoekstra pledged over $1 million on behalf of the Netherlands to the ICC to support its investigation.
Germany said in a news release the country was also pledged an additional $1 million to the court.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde announced in a statement that Sweden would also provide an extra half a million euros, saying, “the ICC needs the full support of the international community.”
Last week, the European Union set aside a dedicated $8 million to support and train Ukrainian prosecutors in investigating possible war crimes.
Russia moving to resupply and reinforce forces in Donbas, senior US defense official says
From CNN's Michael Conte
Russia is attempting to resupply and reinforce its forces in the Donbas, according to a senior US defense official, as evidenced by a convoy of vehicles approaching the Ukrainian city of Izyum from the north.
The vehicle line includes a “command and control element, a support battalion, basically enablers, perhaps rotary wing aviation support and other infantry support,” according to the official.
The official also said there is evidence that Russia is attempting to reinforce its position southwest of the city of Donetsk primarily with artillery units.
The US does not assess that this is “a new offensive” in the Donbas, according to the official, rather that the Russian forces are “working to reinforce their capabilities and to add to it.”
Meanwhile, the US Defense Department is considering options for training more Ukrainians on the Switchblade drone system, according to the senior US defense official.
But the official said no decisions have been made about “what that would look like, how long would it take, where would it be, who would train.”
There were previously a small number of Ukrainians in the US going through military education who the US trained on the system before they returned to Ukraine.
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Austrian chancellor says meeting with Putin was "not a friendly visit"
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin
A face-to-face meeting between Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow was ”not a friendly visit,” Nehammer said in a statement issued by an Austrian official after the meeting.
Nehammer — the first European Union leader to have met with Putin since the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24 — said the conversation with the Russian leader was “very direct, open and tough.”
The Austrian chancellor added that his most important message to Putin was that the war in Ukraine must end because “in a war there are only losers on both sides,” reiterating that he had hoped to help bring an end to the war or improve conditions for civilians.
”I addressed the serious war crimes in Bucha and other places and emphasized that all those responsible for them must be held accountable. I also told President Putin in no uncertain terms that sanctions against Russia will remain in place and will continue to be tightened as long as people are dying in Ukraine,” Nehammer said.
”The EU is more united than ever on this issue. I also made it clear to the Russian President that there is an urgent need for humanitarian corridors to bring drinking water and food to the besieged cities and to bring out women, children and the wounded. I will now return to inform our European partners about my conversation with the Russian President and discuss further steps,” he concluded.
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Here's how Pink Floyd's first song in nearly 30 years to support Ukraine came together
Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour joined CNN on Monday to talk about why the band decided to record its first music in nearly 30 years — a song in support of Ukraine featuring vocals by a Ukrainian soldier.
The legendary rock band released the new single “Hey Hey Rise Up” last week in support of the people of Ukraine, the band said in a statement. It’s the first new music from the band since 1994, and all proceeds will go to Ukrainian humanitarian relief, the statement added.
The song is performed by Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason, with bass player Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhney on keyboard. The song features vocals by Andriy Khlyvnyuk from the Ukrainian band Boombox. The band used audio of Khlyvnyuk singing in central Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, where he performed “a rousing Ukrainian protest song written during the first World War which has been taken up across the world over the past month in protest” against the Russian invasion.
Gilmour, who has a Ukrainian daughter-in-law and grandchildren, said in the statement that he felt moved by Khlyvnyuk’s performance “in a square in Kyiv with this beautiful gold-domed church and … in the silence of a city with no traffic or background noise because of the war.”
On Monday, Gilmour talked about how his family members sent him the clip of Khlyvnyuk singing that song in the square.
Gilmour said at the time he was “already very frustrated by my own inability to do anything much” for Ukraine. He called Russia’s attack on Ukraine “appalling.”
Gilmour said it is an “awful thing that’s going on in Ukraine” and this song “seemed like a great thing to arrive at my feet that I could then turn it into something which was actively, I hope, do some positive good.”
Asked if he could imagine the band doing a live performance with Khlyvnyuk in the future, Gilmour said, “I certainly wouldn’t rule it out.”
“It would be great if we can make something like that work. And he’s very keen on the idea. I have spoken to him several times in the last three weeks,” he added.
Gilmour said that one of those conversations he had with the singer, who is fighting in the war, happened while “he was in a hospital bed having been struck by a piece of mortar shrapnel.”
“He was there with a big black eye, a bandage all over his face. The reality of what he’s living, other people are living through there is just beyond what most of us can really understand or believe can happen in the world.”
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Temporary bridge opened in Kyiv suburb of Irpin, senior Ukrainian official says
From CNN Staff
(Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine)
A temporary bridge in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin has been completed, opening a route for humanitarian aid and reconstruction, a senior Ukrainian official said Monday.
Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov said the temporary crossing on the R-30 road had been completed and could bear the load of two trucks moving in both directions.
The main Irpin bridge was destroyed in the opening days of the war by Ukrainian forces to slow the advance of Russian troops. A CNN team observed that traffic has been returning to the town as some residents go back.
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Austrian Chancellor Nehammer's meeting with Putin concludes
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt
A meeting between
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on April 11.
(Dragan Tatic)
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow has concluded, Nehammer’s spokesperson, Etienne Berchtold, told CNN.
The meeting lasted 75 minutes, the spokesperson added.
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Spain grants temporary protection to nearly 52,000 Ukrainians, government says
From CNN’s Al Goodman
Ukrainian refugees at a refugee center in Barcelona, Spain on April 8.
(David Zorrakino/Europa Press/Getty Images)
Nearly 52,000 Ukrainian refugees in Spain have been granted “temporary protection,” the Spanish government said Monday, adding that 39% of them are minors.
The temporary protection status was approved for every application submitted by Ukrainian refugees, Spain’s Ministry of the Presidency said in a statement.
The number of Ukrainian refugee children attending Spanish schools has nearly doubled in the past week to a current total of more than 13,000 students, the statement said.
Spanish government reception centers to aid Ukrainian refugees, who have fled their country since Russia’s invasion, are now operating in the capital of Madrid and in the Mediterranean port cities of Barcelona, Malaga and Alicante, the statement said.
Many Ukrainian refugees have gone to these reception centers for initial aid, although some others found help directly from the approximately 114,000 Ukrainians already living in Spain before the war began, officials have said in recent weeks.
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Meeting between Putin and Austria's chancellor is underway
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt
A meeting between Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Russian President Vladimir Putin is underway in Moscow, Nehammer’s spokesperson, Etienne Berchtold, told CNN.
It is the first visit by an EU leader since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in late February.
A top Austrian official said Nehammer intends to tell Putin “the truth” about the war during their face to face meeting.
Some background: Nehammer’s trip to Moscow is significant given his country’s neutral status, which is enshrined in its constitution.
Austria is not part of NATO and does not supply weapons to Ukraine. It has, however, provided Ukraine with humanitarian aid and helmets and protection vests for civilian use, according to a statement from the Austrian Chancellery.
Nehammer said Saturday that while his country is militarily neutral, “we understand we have to help where injustice and war crimes take place.”
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Here's what you need to know about how war crimes prosecutions work
From CNN's Zachary B. Wolf
Shocking atrocities in Ukraine, allegedly at the hands of Russian forces, have amplified calls to pursue war crimes charges against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Already, there was a loud and growing chorus of calls for the International Criminal Court to pursue Putin for the unprovoked invasion, and the US government in March formally declared that members of the Russian armed forces have committed war crimes.
Here’s a very broad look at war crimes and the international justice movement:
What is a war crime?
The International Criminal Court has specific definitions for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. Read about them in this guide published by the ICC.
What is the International Criminal Court?
Located in The Hague, Netherlands, and created by a treaty called the Rome Statute first brought before the United Nations, the International Criminal Court operates independently.
Who can be tried by the court?
Anyone accused of a crime in the jurisdiction of the court, which includes countries that are members of the ICC, can be tried. The court tries people, not countries, and focuses on those who hold the most responsibility: leaders and officials. While Ukraine is not a member of the court, it has previously accepted its jurisdiction. Putin could, therefore, theoretically be indicted by the court for previously ordering war crimes in Crimea. However, the ICC does not conduct trials in absentia, so he would either have to be handed over by Russia or arrested outside of Russia. That seems unlikely.
What crimes does the court handle?
The ICC is meant to be a court of “last resort” and is not meant to replace a country’s justice system. The court, which has 18 judges serving nine-year terms, tries four types of crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes.
How does the ICC bring proceedings?
Court proceedings can be brought in one of two ways: Either a national government or the UN Security Council can refer cases for investigation.
What will the ICC investigate in relation to Ukraine?
In its new investigation into Russia’s possible war crimes, the ICC has said it will look at all actions in Ukraine from 2013 to the present.
How long do these investigations take?
If justice in general moves slowly, international justice barely moves at all. Investigations at the ICC take many years. Only a handful of convictions have ever been won.
Read more about how war crimes prosecutions work here.
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Kramatorsk evacuations move to neighboring station, mayor says
From CNN's Maria Kostenko in Chernivtsi
On April 9, a man lays flowers for the victims of the missile attack at the Kramatorsk railway station.
(Andrea Carrubba/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Kramatorsk’s railway terminal remained closed and civilian evacuations were continuing from nearby Slovyansk as cleanup and repairs continue following a Russian missile strike Friday, according to the city’s mayor, Oleksandr Honcharenko.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, said Sunday the death toll from a Russian missile strike on the train station in Kramatorsk had risen to 57.
Authorities had begun evacuating civilians fleeing an expected Russian offensive from the neighboring town of Slovyansk, the mayor said.
“Slovyansk will now become a railway hub for the evacuation of the northern Donetsk region,” he said. “In the south of Donetsk region, the hub for evacuation will be Pokrovsk.”
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9 volunteer drivers on rescue mission to Mariupol detained by Russian forces, aid group says
From CNN's Jake Tapper
Nine drivers working for “Help People,” a Ukrainian volunteer group that provides food and medicine for those in need and assists in evacuations, were detained by the Russian military and remain missing, a group official told CNN.
A total of 10 minibus drivers had driven into the Donbas region to help evacuate civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol, operating private vehicles in a low-profile rescue mission. Russian soldiers stopped them and tried to get them to drive the buses into Russia. When the drivers refused, they were taken prisoner, said Alex Voronin, the head of the non-government organization.
Voronin told CNN he had lost contact with all the drivers but one.
“All of them carried out the evacuation of people in the direction of Mariupol-Zaporizhzhia, they were sent on their trips on different dates — March 26, 27 and 31,” Voronin told CNN. “Communication with them broke off the next day after departure. According to the people they managed to evacuate, the Russian military took the vehicles with people in Mariupol from the drivers, the evacuees were taken to the village of Nikolske, the drivers themselves were taken away for identification. Some of them are being held in pre-trial detention centers in Donetsk.”
One of the 10 drivers was released, Voronin told CNN, and from him “we know that three of the missing are in Donetsk. They were interrogated with brute force, fed poorly and kept in appalling conditions. All the rest were told they have the right to keep [in detention] up to 30 days.”
CNN cannot independently verify the whereabouts of the drivers or the conditions under which they are being held. Voronin said drivers left the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia and did not drive in a single convoy.
It's 3:45 p.m. in Kyiv. Here's the latest on Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Ukrainian authorities are preparing for a major Russian offensive in the country’s east, saying the latest push by Russian forces in eastern Donbas region has already begun. Meanwhile, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer travels to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, just days after visiting Kyiv.
Here’s the latest:
Ukraine “ready”: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia would launch full-scale combat actions in the east, but said: “we are ready.” Speaking during a TV address, he also accused the Russian leadership of “lying” in an attempt to shift responsibility for the war.
Austrian chancellor meets Putin: Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer is traveling to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin – the first visit by an EU leader since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in late February. A top Austrian official said Nehammer intends to tell Putin “the truth” about the war during their face to face meeting.
New general: Putin has appointed a new general to direct the war after Russian troops failed to take over Kyiv, according to US and European officials. The officials told CNN that Army General Alexander Dvornikov, the commander of Russia’s Southern Military District, has been named as theater commander of the campaign in Ukraine. He was the first commander of Russia’s military operations in Syria. Under his command, Russian aircraft laid siege to rebel-held eastern Aleppo, causing major civilian casualties.
“Tens of thousands of dead” in Mariupol: Weeks of relentless Russian bombardment have left “tens of thousands of dead” in the port city of Mariupol.
Ukraine’s economy shattered: The World Bank has warned Ukraine’s economy will shrink by half this year because of the Russian invasion. In an economic update of the region, the World Bank said Sunday that Ukraine’s economy is expected to shrink by an estimated 45.1% this year.
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Kremlin warns again against further NATO expansion
From CNN's James Frater and Anna Chernova.
As Finland and Sweden consider joining NATO, the Kremlin has warned Monday that expanding the alliance won’t bring any more stability to Europe.
“We have repeatedly said that the alliance itself is more of a tool for confrontation. This is not an alliance that provides peace and stability, and further expansion of the alliance, of course, will not lead to more stability on the European continent,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
Some background: Finland and Sweden could soon join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The move would likely infuriate Moscow and – officials say – would further underscore Russia’s strategic error in invading Ukraine.
NATO officials told CNN that discussions about Sweden and Finland joining the bloc have gotten extremely serious since Russia’s invasion. Senior US State Department officials said the matter came up at this week’s NATO ministerial meeting, which was attended by the foreign ministers from Stockholm and Helsinki.
The Finnish government will present a security paper including a possible NATO membership for parliamentary discussion on Wednesday, the country’s Foreign Minister announced on Monday.
“This gives [the] Parliament now a possibility to discuss all the aspects of possible NATO membership and/or other security solutions. And then based on that debate, of course, government will make the conclusions together with the President of the Republic,” Pekka Haavisto told reporters ahead of the EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg.
Haavisto said it was “important” that neighboring Sweden is following a “similar process” which he expects to take time. “But of course we exchange information all the time and, hopefully, if we make similar kinds of decisions, we could do them around the same time”, he said.
Leaders must make "any kind of effort" to ease situation in Ukraine, says Czech minister
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin, Sara Maz and Mia Alberti
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Luxembourg, on April 11.
(Olivier Matthys/AP)
The Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavsky said leaders must make “any kind of effort which would lead to at least some easing of the situation” in Ukraine.
Speaking ahead of the EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg, Lipavsky said “some humanitarian corridors” will help Ukrainians, but added: “On the other side, don’t be naive. Putin is a perpetrator of this horrendous war crime and those atrocities, and he should be punished for that.”
Nine humanitarian corridors were agreed for Sunday – covering the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia – allowing civilians to leave for safer parts of Ukraine.
The ministers are gathering just as the Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow – the first visit of an EU leader to Russia since the start of the invasion in late February.
The Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis remained cautious about the visit, saying: “I’ve seen a lot of efforts by many leaders – by Emmanuel Macron – to try and see whether they can talk to the guy [Putin]. I personally have no reason to believe that he’s talkable [to].”
Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock emphasized that everything must be done to clarify Russian war crimes in Ukraine, including supporting the International Criminal Court in investigating war crimes.
“What is clear is that Ukraine needs further military material, above all heavy weapons, and now is not the time for excuses – now is the time for creativity and pragmatism,” she added.
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German forces prepare first evacuation flight for injured Ukrainians
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt
In this file photo from December 31, 2021, an Airbus A310 MedEvac aircraft of the German Air Force takes off from Dresden International Airport as part of a COVID-19 patient transport.
(Robert Michael/picture alliance/Getty Images)
German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, are preparing the first evacuation flight carrying injured Ukrainian civilians since the beginning of the Russian invasion, a spokesperson told CNN Monday.
A special Air Force Airbus A310 MedEvac left Monday from Cologne-Wahn military air-field to the city of Rzeszow in south-eastern Poland, about 90 km from the Ukrainian border.
The plane will bring children and adults to Germany for treatment, the Bundeswehr confirmed.
Wounded Ukrainian soldiers had been brought to Germany in the past by other means.
Some background: The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 4,232 civilian casualties in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of the country began, with 1,793 killed and 2,439 injured as of 9 April, according to a briefing released Sunday.
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Tens of thousands of dead in Mariupol, Zelensky says
From CNN's Maria Kostenko in Chernivtsi and Yulia Kesaieva in Lviv
Residents carry their belongings near destroyed buildings in Mariupol, on April 10.
(Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)
Weeks of relentless Russian bombardment have left “tens of thousands of dead” in the port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday.
In a video address to the South Korean parliament, Zelensky described the ordeal of the southern city.
“[Mariupol] has been blocked by Russian troops since March 1. It was a city of half a million. Half a million people. The occupiers blocked it and did not even allow food and water to be brought there,” he said, adding:
Independent estimates of the full death toll in Mariupol are not available.
A Ukrainian military commander currently in Mariupol told CNN Wednesday night that Russian military forces are trying to wipe the besieged city “off the face of the Earth.”
“It is a humanitarian catastrophe. The military that were involved in active hostilities here are completely surrounded. There are supply problems with water, food, medication and general supply. It’s a very difficult situation,” said Serhiy Volyna, deputy commander of the Marine Battalion in Mariupol.
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Austrian Chancellor will tell Vladimir Putin the truth about the war, "eye to eye"
From CNN's Nadine Schmidt in Berlin, Sara Maz and Mia Alberti
Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer talks during a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, on Saturday.
(Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer intends to tell Russian President Vladimir Putin “the truth” about the war in Ukraine during their face to face meeting in Moscow on Monday, according to a top Austrian official.
Nehammer is set to be the first EU leader to meet with Putin since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in late February.
He visited Kyiv to meet Ukraine’s President Volodymy Zelensky on Saturday.
Speaking ahead of an EU meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told reporters “it makes a difference to be face to face and tell him what the reality is: that this president has de facto lost the war morally.”
“The reason for the meeting is that we don’t want to miss any opportunity, we must use every chance to end the humanitarian hellish situation in Ukraine … every voice that will help Putin to see the reality outside of the wall of Kremlin is not a lost voice,” Schallenberg added.
Some background: Nehammer’s trip to Moscow is significant given his country’s neutral status, which is enshrined in its constitution.
Austria is not part of NATO and does not supply weapons to Ukraine. It has, however, provided Ukraine with humanitarian aid and helmets and protection vests for civilian use, according to a statement from the Austrian Chancellery.
Nehammer said Saturday that while his country is militarily neutral, “we understand we have to help where injustice and war crimes take place.”
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Volodymyr Zelensky asks South Korea for weapons
From CNN's Yoonjung Seo and Gawon Bae in Seoul, South Korea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses South Korean parliament in Seoul via video link on Monday.
(Chung Sung-Jun/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has used his address to South Korea’s parliament on Monday to ask for weapons to aid his country’s defense against Russia – even though South Korea’s Defence Ministry has denied the request earlier.
“Ukraine needs support for its military, including planes and tanks,” Zelensky told lawmakers, adding:
Earlier on Monday, South Korea’s Defence Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan said the ministry had denied Ukraine’s request for an anti-air weapon system and that they cannot provide lethal weapons considering its own “national security situation and military readiness posture.”
Seoul has consistently said it would not provide lethal weapons or deploy its military to support Ukraine. Last month, it provided non-lethal military supplies worth around $800,000, including bulletproof helmets, tents, blankets, bedspreads, ready-to-eat meals (MREs), first aid kits and medicines, a defence ministry official confirmed to CNN at the time.
On Monday, Zelensky again appealed for Seoul’s support, referencing in his speech the international community’s support for South Korea during the Korean War from 1950 to 1953.
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Russian invasion will shrink Ukraine’s economy by half, World Bank estimates
From CNN’s Chris Liakos in London
A shopping mall damaged by shelling is seen in Hostomel, in the Kyiv region, on April 8.
(Hennadii Minchenko/Ukrinform/Future Publishing)
The World Bank has warned Ukraine’s economy will shrink by half this year because of the Russian invasion.
In an economic update of the region, the World Bank said Sunday that Ukraine’s economy is expected to shrink by an estimated 45.1 percent this year, “although the magnitude of the contraction will depend on the duration and intensity of the war.”
Anna Bjerde, World Bank Vice President for the Europe and Central Asia region, said the “magnitude of the humanitarian crisis unleashed by the war is staggering. The Russian invasion is delivering a massive blow to Ukraine’s economy and it has inflicted enormous damage to infrastructure.” She added:
World Bank forecasts that Russia’s economy will contract by 11.2 percent in 2022 following tough sanctions.
Other economies affected: The bank also warned that emerging and developing economies in Europe and Central Asia will be hit hard.
“In addition to Russia and Ukraine, Belarus, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova and Tajikistan are projected to fall into recession this year, while growth projections have been downgraded in all economies due to spillovers from the war, weaker-than-expected growth in the euro area, and commodity, trade and financing shocks.”
Wheat prices rise: Russia and Ukraine account for about 40percent of wheat imports in the region and about 75 percent or more in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, according to the World Bank.
“The war has pushed wheat prices higher as it disrupts Ukraine’s planting and harvest seasons, including for other crops such as corn, barley, and sunflowers; destroys critical fields, stores, infrastructure, and production, especially in eastern Ukraine; and halts shipping from the Black Sea, from which about 90 percent of Ukraine’s grains are exported,” the World Bank said in the report.
Russian ports are operating, but insurance costs have soared due to the conflict and inhibited cargoes from leaving Russia, World Bank noted.
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Kharkiv endures more heavy shelling
From CNN's Maria Kostenko in Chernivtsi
A man stands next to an apartment building damaged by shelling in Kharkiv, on Sunday.
(Andrew Marienko/AP)
Russian shelling against Kharkiv and its surrounding regions continued on Monday, according to Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration.
Ukraine’s defense intelligence chief told CNN Friday that Russian troops were regrouping across the border and plan to advance toward Kharkiv. Officials have urged the evacuation of civilians from the region, as Russian forces shift focus to southern and eastern Ukraine.
“Last night there were about 66 reports of shelling from Grad and Smerch multiple rocket launchers, artillery and tanks,” Syniehubov said. “The battles were fought in Zolochiv district, that is in the direction of Derhachiv. Residential areas [of Kharkiv], residential districts of Pyatihatky, Saltivka, Oleksiyivka, the Kharkiv Tractor Plant and Kholodna Hora were affected again.”
Children among the dead: Syniehubov said 11 civilians were killed the previous day, including a seven-year-old child, and that more than 14 people were injured.
Ukrainian officials have reported heavy fighting around Izium, in southern Kharkiv region, which Syniehubov described as the “most critical” area at present.
He said evacuations continued from the towns of Lozova and Barvinkove.
Syniehubov said that more than 2,000 houses have been destroyed in Kharkiv region, and added that plans for planting agricultural land were be curtailed by the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance.
“We plan to sow 60-80% of the arable land in Kharkiv region,” he said. “It depends on the military situation. In some places the fields are mined … The arable land was damaged by explosions.”
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Russian shelling continues in Donetsk and Luhansk, UK Ministry of Defense says
From CNN's From Sarah Diab in London
Firefighters put out a fire caused by shelling in a residential area in the village of Yelenovka in Donetsk, on April 10.
(Leon Klein/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Shelling by Russian armed forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine continued on Monday, according to a report by the UK Ministry of Defense.
Ukrainian forces have repulsed several assaults resulting in the destruction of Russian tanks, vehicles, and artillery equipment, according to the assessment.
The UK report has also said that Russia’s prior use of phosphorous munitions in Donetsk “raises the possibility of their future employment in Mariupol as fighting for the city intensifies.”
According to Human Rights Watch, “white phosphorus can burn people to the bone, smolder inside the body, and reignite when bandages are removed.”
The munitions are either banned or circumscribed under international law in populated areas.
A great increase in civilian casualties is also a risk, according to the UK military intelligence report, because of Russia’s continued reliance on unguided bombs which “decreases their ability to discriminate when targeting and conducting strikes”.
Some background: Local officials in Donetsk and Luhansk have been urging many communities to evacuate.
Nine humanitarian corridors were agreed for Sunday – covering the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia – allowing civilians to leave for safer parts of Ukraine.
Maria Mezentseva, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, has called for Russia to open more safe-passage corridors.
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Credit ratings agency S&P Global places Russia under "selective default" on its foreign debt
From CNN’s Chris Liakos, Clare Sebastian and Anna Cooban in London
Credit ratings agency S&P Global has placed Russia under “selective default” on its foreign debt after the country offered rubles for payments on two dollar-denominated bonds due on April 4th.
The agency said in a press release that paying in rubles instead of dollars amounted to a “selective default.”
What is selective default? According to S&P, selective default is declared when an entity has defaulted on a specific obligation but not its entire debt.
Some background: Last week the US Treasury blocked Russia from accessing its foreign currency reserves in American banks, forcing Moscow to offer to pay its debts in rubles, diverting foreign currency revenue that would otherwise be used to prop up its war effort, or not pay at all.
The US Treasury had been allowing Russia to use some of its frozen assets to pay back certain investors in dollars until then.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a press conference Wednesday that a default would be “artificial” because Russia has dollars to pay but cannot access them due to the sanctions.
“There are no grounds for a real default,” Peskov said. “Not even close.”
Russia to sue: Speaking to the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper Monday, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia would launch a legal action over the issue.
“We will sue, because we undertook all necessary action so that investors would receive their payments. We will show the court proof of our payments, to confirm our efforts to pay in rubles, just as we did in foreign currency. It won’t be a simple process.”
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EU discussing a sixth package of sanctions against Russia, Danish foreign minster says
CNN’s James Frater in Brussels
Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Sebastian Kofod speaks to media in the file photo from March 21, in the EU Council headquarters in Brussels.
(Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)
The European Union is “already discussing a sixth package of sanctions” in an effort “to keep increasing pressure on Russia to stop the war,” Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said Monday.
“From the Danish side, we will be willing to go as far as we can to find consensus on sanctions, including also on energy,” he told reporters when arriving for a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg.
Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, said he was “happy that the European Commission was very clear that we’re starting to work on six package with oil options.”
“And I hope that this time, it works.”
Asked what more is needed from the EU, Landsbergis said it was “best to go to Kyiv, go to Irpin, go to Bucha and see for yourself why we need to impose the sanctions.”
Some background: Europe has imposed punishing sanctions on Russia’s economy after Putin’s tanks rolled into Ukraine in late February, but stopped short of targeting Russia’s energy sector.
But images of unarmed civilians, bound and shot, lying along the roads of Bucha – a town that was until recently under Russian occupation – appear to have convinced leaders to change tack.
Russia’s oil and gas could be the next target. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers last week that the fifth round of sanctions “will not be [the] last.”
“Yes, we’ve now banned coal, but now we have to look into oil,” she said.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that the EU needed to take a “maximalist approach to sanctions to offer the strongest possible deterrent to the continuation of this war and brutality.”
The view of the Irish Government that further sanctions should include oil, he said.
War crimes investigated: The European Union’s High Representative Joseph Borell confirmed that European Foreign Ministers will also discuss how to better support the International Criminal Court in investigating war crimes committed in Ukraine.
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It's 12 p.m. in Kyiv. Here's the latest on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities are preparing for a major Russian offensive in the country’s east, saying the latest push by Russian forces in eastern Donbas region has already begun.
Here’s the latest:
New general: Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed a new general to direct the war after Russian troops failed to take over Kyiv, according to US and European officials. The officials told CNN that Army General Alexander Dvornikov, the commander of Russia’s Southern Military District, has been named as theater commander of the campaign in Ukraine. He was the first commander of Russia’s military operations in Syria. Under his command, Russian aircraft laid siege to rebel-held eastern Aleppo, causing major civilian casualties.
Ukraine “ready”: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia would launch full-scale combat actions in the east, but said: “we are ready.” Speaking during a TV address, he also accused the Russian leadership of “lying” in an attempt to shift responsibility for the war.
Train station strike: The death toll from a Russian missile strike on a railway station in Kramatorsk on Friday has risen to 57. Another railway station in eastern Ukraine was hit by Russian shelling, the chairman of Ukraine’s state railway company said Monday, without providing a specific location. No casualties among civilians or railway workers were reported.
Russia-Ukraine talks: Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Sunday it would be “extremely difficult” to even think about negotiations after alleged Russian atrocities, citing examples from Kramatorsk and the town of Bucha. However, Kuleba said that if talks can help prevent “at least one massacre … I have to take that opportunity.”
Evacuation corridors: Nine routes were agreed for Sunday, covering the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
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Railway station in eastern Ukraine shelled by Russian forces, rail chief says
From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva
A railway station in eastern Ukraine was hit by Russian shelling, the chairman of Ukraine’s state railway company said Monday, without providing a specific location.
Five locomotives were damaged, Kamyshin said, as well as tracks and power lines.
Some context: A railway station in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine that was being used by civilians trying to reach safety was hit in a Russian missile strike Friday, authorities said. At least 57 people were killed and 109 were wounded in the attack as of Sunday, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Donetsk regional military administration.
Mirroring recent denials of the indiscriminate killing of civilians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Friday the missile strike was a “provocation” and blamed Ukrainian forces.
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Russian offensive in Donbas "has already started," says senior Ukrainian official
From CNN's Maria Kostenko in Chernivtsi and Yulia Kesaieva in Lviv
Ukrainian forces fire GRAD rockets toward Russian positions in the country's Donbas region, on April 10.
(Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Russia’s latest offensive in the eastern Donbas region has begun, a senior Ukrainian official said Monday, warning that Russia continues to amass forces there.
Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said in remarks on national television, “From my point of view, this big offensive (in eastern Ukraine) has already started.”
Ukrainian and Western officials have said in recent days they have observed movement of Russian troops to Donbas following major setbacks for Moscow in a push to take Kyiv.
Denysenko noted explosions overnight in the Dnipropetrovsk region and said the shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, had also continued.
Serhii Haidai, head of Ukraine’s Luhansk regional military administration, said Ukrainian authorities were organizing an “enhanced evacuation” in the Donbas, adding more evacuation trains from Luhansk and Donetsk are scheduled for April 11.
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New Zealand to send Hercules aircraft, personnel to Europe to aid Ukraine
From CNN's Angus Watson and Akanksha Sharma
In this file photo from Jan. 20, 2022, , a Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules is seen taking off from Auckland, New Zealand, to deliver humanitarian aid and disaster relief supplies to Tonga.
(NZDF/Handout/Xinhua/Getty Images)
New Zealand will deploy a C-130H Hercules transport aircraft and 50 support personnel to Europe on Wednesday for two months, a statement from the New Zealand government said Monday.
The team will travel throughout Europe transporting equipment and supplies to distribution centers for Ukraine but will not enter the country itself, the statement said.
New Zealand is also contributing $8.8 million (NZ$13 million) in further support to help Ukraine procure equipment for its military via the United Kingdom, the statement added.
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Ukrainian lawmaker: Military buildup near Kharkiv will pose "additional humanitarian threat"
From CNN's Travis Caldwell
The regrouping of Russian military forces will exacerbate an already-dire situation for civilians trapped in areas of fighting in eastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian lawmaker said Sunday.
Maria Mezentseva, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, told CNN’s Brianna Keilar that the Russian presence near Kharkiv — close to the border with Russia — along with the difficulties for aid organizations to help those fleeing “poses an additional humanitarian threat to small towns located next to Kharkiv which we cannot reach.”
Access to towns outside Kharkiv is being blocked, she said, and she called for Russia to open more safe-passage corridors.
Russian forces are allowing some civilian departures, Mezentseva said, but they are often being directed into Russian-occupied territories, Belarus or Russia itself.
Some context: Ukraine’s defense intelligence chief on Friday told CNN that Russian troops are regrouping across the border and plan to advance toward Kharkiv. Officials have urged the evacuation of civilians from the region, as Russian forces shift focus to southern and eastern Ukraine.
CNN’s Julia Presniakova, Kostan Nechyporenko and Vanessa Price contributed to this post.
Read more about Ukrainians forced to enter Russian territory:
Analysis: Can Russia reboot its war in Ukraine in time for Putin to claim a victory?
Analysis from CNN's Nathan Hodge
Russian President Vladimir Putin has a new general overseeing his war in Ukraine, and his military commanders are signaling a new phase in the war: an all-out effort to take and hold the portions of Ukraine’s Donbas region still under Ukrainian control.
Ukrainians seem to be taking that threat at face value. In the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, local officials have been urging many communities to evacuate, opening up humanitarian corridors for civilians to leave for safer parts of Ukraine.
In northeastern Kharkiv region, authorities are evacuating the towns of Barvinkove and Lozova. In Dnipro, a regional capital in east-central Ukraine, the mayor, Borys Filatov, has requested that women, children and the elderly leave.
Can Russia mount a terrifying new offensive in the east?
Analysis: The West plans to increase its military aid to Ukraine with Russia planning its next big assault
Analysis from CNN's Stephen Collinson
Western leaders are grappling with how far to escalate their military aid to Ukraine as the Russian invasion seems headed for a brutal new turn, a decision that may rest on whether the West’s goal is to push for a total defeat of President Vladimir Putin.
Heroic resistance from Ukrainian troops, with the help of Western anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, has already claimed a famous victory — the saving of Kyiv and the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky. But now, Russia has named a new general to lead what has been a chaotic war effort and is grouping its forces in eastern Ukraine for a fearsome, concentrated assault that could stretch Ukraine’s outnumbered forces as never before.
The shift of strategy is forcing Western leaders to consider their own willingness to provide more offensive armaments to Kyiv ahead of what is shaping up to be a vicious battle that could dictate how much of Ukraine survives as a nation-state.
Pressure on the West to do more is being exacerbated by the fact that Russia’s new approach augurs yet more carnage for the civilians that it has been deliberately targeting with a vicious war plan.
Ukrainian authorities are preparing for an anticipated major offensive in the country’s east, with a new general leading Russian forces.
Here’s the latest:
Ukraine “ready”: During a Sunday night address to the nation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia would launch full-scale combat actions in the east, but said: “we are ready.” He also accused the Russian leadership of “lying” in an attempt to shift responsibility for the war. “They have destroyed the lives of millions. They started a full-scale war and act as if we are to blame for this,” he said.
Train station strike: The death toll has risen to 57 from a Russian missile strike Friday on a railway station in Kramatorsk that was being used by civilians trying to flee the fighting. Clean-up operations at the site have begun, with workers gathering debris, scattered documents, and human remains.
Russia-Ukraine talks: Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Sunday it would be “extremely difficult” to even think about negotiations after alleged Russian atrocities, citing Kramatorsk and the town of Bucha, where the mayor estimates as many as 300 people died under Russia’s occupation. However, Kuleba, said, if talks can help prevent “at least one massacre … I have to take that opportunity.”
Evacuation corridors: Nine routes were agreed for Sunday, covering the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
New general: Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed a new general to direct the war after troops failed to take Kyiv, according to US and European officials. The new general was the first commander of Russia’s military operations in Syria, after Putin sent troops there in September 2015 to back the Syrian regime. Under the general’s command, Russian aircraft laid siege to rebel-held eastern Aleppo, causing major civilian casualties.
Nuclear shift change: Staff at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant have carried out just their second rotation since the invasion began. Russian forces withdrew from the plant on March 31, and it is now under Ukrainian control — but the Russians left labs and equipment destroyed and looted, authorities say.
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Russian teacher says students reported her for making anti-war comments in class room
From CNN’s Maija Ehlinger, Susanna Capelouto, and Josh Pennington
A teacher in western Russia has been under criminal investigation since late March for making anti-war comments in the classroom that were secretly recorded by students, according to an April 7 interview on Radio Liberty.
Irina Gen, 45, was an English teacher at an elite school for young athletes in the country, many of whom qualify for major championships abroad.
In an audio recording published on Telegram on March 31, a student is heard asking Gen why Russia had been banned from the upcoming multi-sport European Championships.
The conversation was recorded on March 18, according to Gen’s interview with Radio Liberty. She believes her students’ parents “persuaded the children to make a recording, which would be handed over to the authorities.”
Authorities alerted: Gen said a Russian Federal Security officer came to the school on March 23, and told her she “had made a big mistake” by telling the students about Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure including the bombings in Mariupol — which Russian authorities have denied.
“It never occurred to me that someone could snitch on their teacher, or anyone else for that matter,” Gen told Radio Liberty. She resigned from her position on April 1.
Jail threat: Gen is being investigated for violating a new censorship law that bans the spread of so-called “false information” discrediting the Russian military. It carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to 5 million rubles (about $60,000).
Gen told Radio Liberty she hoped she would only be given a fine, and not made an example of. “There will definitely be an excruciating trial waiting for me. And then a verdict, which will dictate how I can begin to build my life anew,” she said
CNN has reached out to Gen’s lawyer for comment on the case. The Human Rights media project OVD-info says Gen is under house arrest.
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Ukraine carries out staff rotation at Chernobyl nuclear power plant, where Russians left equipment destroyed
From CNN's Akanksha Sharma
A general view shows the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure over the old sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine November 22, 2018.
(Gleb Garanich/Reuters)
Chernobyl nuclear power plant staff have rotated for the first time in three weeks, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Sunday, citing Ukrainian authorities.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it’s only the second time that staff have changed since the invasion began.
The shift change was important “for the safe and secure operation of the (Chernobyl power plant), which was controlled by the Russian military for five weeks until they withdrew on 31 March,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
Destroyed equipment: Ukraine told the IAEA that the plant’s analytical laboratories for radiation monitoring were “destroyed and the analytical instruments stolen, broken or otherwise disabled,” according to the IAEA.
“While it is very positive that Ukrainian authorities are gradually restoring regulatory control of the (Chernobyl) site, it is clear that a lot of work remains to return the site to normality,” Grossi warned.
Some context: Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, fell into the hands of Russian troops in the first week of the war in Ukraine, in late February.
On March 31, Russian troops announced their intention to leave and handed over control to Ukrainian personnel. The plant is now back under the control of Ukrainian authorities.
On April 6, Ukrainian authorities released new drone video showing abandoned Russian military positions, including vacant pits and trenches — in a highly radioactively contaminated area of the uninhabitable exclusion zone near the plant.
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"They started a full-scale war and act as if we are to blame," Zelensky says in Sunday address
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
(Office of the President of Ukraine)
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed his nation Sunday, calling Ukrainians “the bravest people of the best country in the world.”
“We are coming to an end of another week,” Zelensky said in his speech, which he has given regularly during Russia’s attack on the country. “Our fight for freedom, for the state. Another week that Ukraine stayed alive, despite all the efforts of Russia to destroy us. We are fighting. We are defending. We are repelling the attacks.”
Zelensky said the nation is doing all it can to win the war and accused Russian leadership of “lying” in efforts to shift the blame away from them.
“When cowardice grows, everything turns into catastrophe,” he continued. “When people don’t have the courage to recognize their mistakes and apologize, to conform to reality, and to see that they are turning into monsters.”
The Ukrainian president said Russia has lost touch with reality, acting as aggressors yet blaming Ukraine for the actions committed by Russian troops, including the killings in Bucha, the missile strike on the train station in Kramatorsk, and “every destroyed city and burnt village.”
He added Russia, fearing defeat, will launch more full-scale combat actions in Ukraine’s east.
“But we are ready,” the president said, promising Ukraine will ensure it has enough weapons and demand stronger sanctions against Russia so that justice will be served.
Moments prior to his address, Zelensky said he honored “18 defenders of Ukraine” — including members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Special Communications Service and police officers — for their heroism. He also thanked the journalists sharing the truth of what is unfolding in the country.
“The truth will win and Ukraine will win,” Zelensky said. “This is for certain. Glory to Ukraine.”
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Death toll in Kramatorsk train station strike rises to 57
From CNN staff
A man lays flowers at the Kramatorsk railway station after the Russian missile strike in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on April 9.
(Andrea Carrubba/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
The head of the Donetsk regional military administration said Sunday the death toll from a Russian missile strike on the train station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, had risen to 57.
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More than 4.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine, UN says
From CNN’s Talia Kayali
More than 4.5 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on February 24, most crossing borders into neighboring countries, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Poland has welcomed the highest number of refugees, at nearly 2.6 million. Romania, Hungary and Moldova together have accepted nearly 2 million Ukrainian refugees.
“In light of the emergency and the scale of humanitarian needs of refugees from Ukraine, an inter-agency regional refugee response is being carried out, in support of the efforts of refugee-hosting countries,” the UNHCR added.
