April 16, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

There is growing concern about the need to get more ammunition — and in particular artillery ammunition — to Ukrainian forces more rapidly as heavy ground combat against Russian units is expected to unfold in the coming days, according to a US official.

While the United States is shipping 18 155mm towed howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds to Ukraine as part of the new security assistance announced by President Joe Biden's administration this week, even that amount could be expended within several days, raising the prospect of Ukraine forces running out of ammunition, the official said.

During some of the heavy earlier fighting, Ukrainian forces fired up to thousands of artillery rounds in a given day, the official noted. 

Going forward, the US believes the likely Russia strategy is to move weapons and troops into eastern Ukraine from their current positions just north, and then encircle and cut off Ukraine forces that are there, the official said.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley are conducting daily phone calls with counterparts in the region to encourage them to ship more weapons and supplies to Ukraine as soon as possible.

Earlier this week, the Pentagon hosted the CEOs of the military’s eight largest prime contractors to figure out how to arm Ukraine faster.

The roundtable discussion, led by Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, focused on the Pentagon’s objectives to keep supplying Ukraine with arms while also being able to maintain the readiness of US forces and support the defense of allies.

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At least one person has been killed and several others injured in Kyiv after the Ukrainian capital "came under fire" on Saturday morning, the city's mayor said.

Fighting has intensified in eastern and southern Ukraine after the sinking of Russian flagship Moskva in the Black Sea earlier this week.

And a senior US defense official said Ukrainian missiles hit Russia's flagship in the Black Sea earlier this week -- supporting Ukraine's account.

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At least one person was killed and several others injured in Kyiv after the Ukrainian capital "came under fire" on Saturday morning, the city's mayor said.

"As a result of the morning rocket strike, one person was killed and several injured were hospitalized in the Darnytskyi district of the capital," Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in televised remarks.

"Our air defense forces are doing everything possible to protect us, but the enemy is insidious and ruthless," he added.

Klitschko earlier urged residents who have evacuated from Kyiv to refrain from returning, after several explosions on the outskirts of the capital.

"It is no secret that one of the Russian generals recently stated that they were ready for missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital. And, as we see, they are carrying out such shelling," he added.

Some context: The Russian military warned on Wednesday that it would strike Ukrainian "decision-making centers" -- including those in Ukraine's capital -- in response to what it said were "attempts of sabotage and strikes" on Russian soil.

Two days later Russia carried out such an attack on a "military facility" on the outskirts of Kyiv.

"Tonight a military facility on the outskirts of Kyiv was hit by Kalibr high-precision long-range sea-launched missiles," said Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov.

"As a result of the strike on the Zhuliany Vizar machine-building plant workshops for the production and repair of long-range and medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems were destroyed, as well as anti-ship missiles," Konashenkov added.

Russia has banned UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his predecessor Theresa May, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and other British government members from entering the country in response to sanctions.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry attributed its decision on Saturday to the "unprecedented hostile actions of the British government, expressed, in particular, in the imposition of sanctions against the top officials of the Russian Federation."

"London's unbridled information and political campaign aimed at the international isolation of Russia, creating conditions for containing our country and strangling the Russian economy" were responsible for the decision, the ministry said in a statement. 

"In essence, the British leadership are deliberately aggravating the situation around Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the part of NATO," the ministry added.

"The instigation by London is also unacceptable, that is strongly pushing not only its Western allies, but also other countries to introduce large-scale anti-Russian sanctions, which, however, are senseless and counterproductive," the ministry said.

Some context: The UK has joined other Western nations in imposing restrictive sanctions on Russian individuals and institutions amid President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

In March, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a ban on the export of luxury goods to Russia, and tariffs on Russia goods worth more than $1 billion.

Sunak added that the UK will also deny Russia and Belarus access to its most favored nation trading tariff for hundreds of their exports, effectively depriving both countries from key benefits of their World Trade Organization membership.

The additional 35% tariff on Russian goods will be applied to imports including vodka, steel, works of art and fur.

A few days later, the UK revoked revoked the broadcasting license of the Kremlin-backed propaganda network RT, according to a statement from regulators.

The statement from regulator Ofcom said its investigation into RT had found its licensee, ANO TV Novosti, was not fit and proper to hold a UK broadcast license.

And earlier this month, Britain sanctioned two "key Russian oligarchs" connected to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, freezing up to $13 billion of assets linked to Eugene Tenenbaum and David Davidovich.

The sanction was “the largest asset freeze action in UK history,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

The British government added that the sanctions were coordinated with Jersey authorities, who CNN reported earlier this week froze more than $7 billion dollars’ worth of assets “suspected to be connected” to Abramovich.

“We are tightening the ratchet on Putin’s war machine and targeting the circle of people closest to the Kremlin. We will keep going with sanctions until Putin fails in Ukraine. Nothing and no one is off the table,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was quoted saying in the statement.

Britain has sanctioned 106 Russian oligarchs, family members and associates since February, the statement added.

Civilians remaining in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine have been urged to leave by a local official, as fighting in the area escalates.

More than 70,000 residents of Luhansk region have not yet left for safe cities, according to Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional administration.

About 330,000 people lived in the parts of Luhansk not under separatist control before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Haidai said on his Telegram account on Saturday.

More than 32,000 people have been evacuated in 52 days by organized transport, and more than 200,000 had left on their own.

He also accused the Russian forces of attacking civilian areas in the worst-affected towns of Rubizhne, Popasna and Hirske, which he said had been "destroyed beyond recognition."

About 70% of Severodonetsk -- the main city in the area under Russian attack -- was destroyed, but about 20,000 of the 130,000 citizens who lived there before the war remained in the city, he said.

Shelling in Kreminna and Lysychansk continued day and night, Haidai added. A CNN team in Lysychansk Saturday morning witnessed the shelling of a market in the town.

"Destruction of the area on a ​​terrible scale. It becomes extremely difficult to help those who remain. Volunteers die," Haidai said.

Haidai's comments come amid warnings of a major Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, where new satellite images have captured increasing numbers of Russian troops and armored vehicles pouring into the region.

Despite economic sanctions and pointed criticism from global leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin appears ready to use almost any means necessary to fulfill his ambition of gaining control of that region.

CNN's Maeve Reston contributed reporting to this post.

The situation in Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv and Kherson regions is "increasingly hostile" following the loss of a Russian warship in the Black Sea, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.

"During the past day, the situation in the south of Ukraine has been characterized by increasing hostile aggression," Ukraine's Operational Command South said in a video statement.

"Desperately trying to gain a foothold and hold on to the positions of the southern front, the world's most shameful army is pursuing civilians in Mykolayiv and Kherson regions," the statement added. "The work of snipers has been recorded in some areas."

Russian forces were "enraged by the losses in the Black Sea" -- an apparent reference to the sinking of the Russian guided-missile cruiser Moskva -- and had "intensified the missile threat" in the region, the statement continued.  

Mykolaiv and several other settlements of the region have come under heavy fire, including from cluster munitions, the statement said.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has previously said it had received credible allegations that Russian armed forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas in Ukraine. 

The nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also confirmed Russia's use of cluster munitions throughout the conflict.

Some background: The Moskva -- one of the Russian Navy's most important warships -- sunk in the Black Sea on Thursday.

Ukraine claims that it hit Moskva with missiles, causing it to sink. Russia has insisted the reason for the sinking was a fire. On Friday, the United States supported Ukraine's account, with a senior defense official saying that it believes that two Ukrainian Neptune missiles hit the Russian warship in the Black Sea.

Whether the ship lies at the bottom of the sea as the victim of Ukrainian missiles, Russian incompetence, bad luck or a combination of all three remains disputed. 

On Friday, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in southern Ukraine suggested that Russian missile attacks in the south since Thursday night were in retaliation for the Moskva's descent, telling a media briefing, "we all realize that we will not be forgiven."

"We realize that attacks on us will increase, that the enemy will try to take revenge," Humeniuk said. "We are ready, we are resisting."

CNN's Tim Lister, Olga Voitovych and Brad Lendon contributed reporting to this post.

Russian attacks have intensified in a range of locations in eastern Ukraine including Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk, according to Ukrainian military and regional officials.

Russian forces appear to be heavily shelling areas of all three regions ahead of a planned ground offensive.

Around Slobozhansky, which is an area south of Kharkiv, "the main focus of the Russian enemy is on the regrouping and strengthening of troops," the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said.

Russian forces aim to block off the city of Kharkiv, which continues to see persistent shelling, and have concentrated up to 22 battalion tactical groups around Izium, the General Staff added. A battalion tactical group normally comprises about 1,000 troops.

"The main efforts of the enemy are focused on maintaining the previously occupied positions," it said, noting the deployment of additional Russian units.

In Donetsk region, Russian efforts were focused on taking the towns of Popasna and Rubizhne, while also establishing full control over the strategic port city of Mariupol, it added.

The General Staff also spoke of constant fire against Ukrainian positions around Popasna, saying that Russian forces are "trying to improve the tactical situation, to advance deep into the settlement of Popasna," but were eventually foiled.

It reported intensified shelling around the city of Severodonetsk, "in order to inflict losses, deplete our troops and possibly prepare for offensive operations," as well as shelling further south in Toretsk.

One person was killed in Kreminna, just to the north-west of Severodonetsk, a local official said.

Efforts are continuing to get residents of the towns of Rubizhne and Kreminna to safety amid heavy fighting in the area, Serhii Haidai, head of Luhansk regional administration said. He added that there is no water or gas in Severodonetsk.

In the last day, 10 Russian enemy attacks were held off in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the General Staff added.

"The main events that we will talk about in the coming days, or rather weeks, will be events related to the fighting in Ukrainian Donbas," Vadym Denysenko, an adviser at the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, said on Saturday.

Russian missile attacks have expanded to other areas beyond the Donbas region, Ukrainian officials say.

One person was killed in an attack on a village near the city of Poltava, Dmytro Lunin, the head of the Poltava military administration, said.

The country's top general said he spoke with the top US military official on Friday.

Valery Zaluzhny said he discussed "heavy fighting on the Kharkiv-Izium border, deterrence of the Russian offensive in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the critical situation around Mariupol, and rocket fire throughout Ukraine," with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley.

"I reiterated the urgent needs for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in armaments and ammunition to strengthen our defense capabilities," Zaluzhny added. 

The news comes as Russian preparations continue in eastern Ukraine for an offensive operation.

Shelling overnight by Russian forces damaged gas pipelines in the Ukrainian towns of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, a local official said.

One person was killed and three were injured in the bombardment, which damaged pipelines in the two towns, and also struck the town of Kreminna, Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk regional administration, said in a statement on Telegram.

"Late in the evening, firefighters found the body of a man without signs of life under the rubble of one of the vocational schools in Kreminna," he said. "Three women were injured as a result of the shelling in Lysychansk. They were evacuated from the damaged house and received timely medical care."

The central gas pipeline in Severodonetsk was damaged, and work was underway Saturday to restore water supply infrastructure that was damaged on Friday, Haidai added.

"There is no water and gas in the city," he said. "An enemy shell also hit the gas pipeline in Lysychansk, but the consequences are less significant."

On Friday, Haidai said that shelling in Severodonetsk had damaged the water supply system and destroyed two food warehouses.

The shelling came amid warnings of a major Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine in the coming days.

CNN's Kostan Nechyporenko and Yulia Kesaieva contributed reporting to this post.

Two hundred children have been killed in Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to attack the country in late February, the office of Ukraine's Prosecutor General said in a statement on Saturday.

The office added that more than 360 children have been injured during the war so far.

Five children were injured and two of them died -- including a 7-month-old baby -- in a Russian strike on Kharkiv on Friday, the office said.

It added that a 15-year-old boy was injured on Thursday as a result of the detonation of a cluster munition on the outskirts of Novovorontsovka settlement in the Kherson region.

Earlier this week, UNICEF said that nearly two-thirds of Ukrainian children are now displaced due to the ongoing conflict.

UNICEF's emergency programs director Manuel Fontaine told the UN Security Council on Monday that he had "rarely seen so much damage caused in so little time" after returning from a visit to Ukraine.

Fontaine said the UN had verified the deaths of 142 children with 229 injured as of Sunday, but that "the true figures are most certainly much higher given the scale of attacks."

He also drew attention to the 3.2 million children estimated to still be in their homes.

"Nearly half may be at risk of not having enough food," he said. "Attacks on water system infrastructure and power outages have left an estimated 1.4 million people without access to water in Ukraine. Another 4.6 million people have only limited access.

"The situation is even worse in cities like 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."

He also said unaccompanied children in Ukraine face a "much higher risk of violence, abuse, exploitation, and trafficking," and pointed to the impacts of school closures on 1.5 million students in higher education and 5.7 million school-age children.

CNN's Richard Roth and Yulia Kesaieva contributed reporting to this post.