April 19, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

The fight for the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine will be "the major battle" of the war with Russia, Ukrainian lawmaker Kira Rudik told CNN Tuesday.

In a video address on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had commenced the battle for Donbas and that Ukrainian forces will continue to fight against a Russian incursion in the region.

Rudik also echoed calls from Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials for military equipment to be sent to Ukraine to help repel Russian attacks.  

In an interview with CNN last week, Zelensky said the weapons the US and other countries have provided to Ukraine to date, including the Biden administration’s new $800 million security assistance package, have helped his country resist Russia’s invasion.

But he said more would be needed, and that his country’s trainers would be able to get his forces up to speed quickly.

"At some point(s), we are getting enough, at other points we are not getting anything," she added.

"Right now, rather than being upset with the ones who are not giving us what we asked (for), I would like to thank every single country that is supporting us and say: Give us more.

"You see how critical it is, you see that we are fighting not only for ourselves, but for the whole democratic world, for the whole of Europe."

France supports extending sanctions to ban imports of Russian oil, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said Tuesday.

"When you see what is going on in the Donbas, it is more necessary than ever to stop importing Russian oil," Le Maire told radio station Europe 1.

Le Maire went on to say that it was oil, not gas, that has been "the first source of currency for Putin’s regime for several years," and therefore "stopping Russian oil imports means hurting the financing of the war in Ukraine for those who are in power in Russia."

France was attempting to persuade European partners to stop imports of Russian oil, Le Maire added, alleging that some countries were "hesitant" to do so.

Speaking earlier this month to CNN, Le Maire said: "As France is concerned we stand ready to go further and to decide a ban on oil and I’m deeply convinced that the next steps and the next discussions will focus on this question of the ban on Russian oil."

Some background: Earlier this month, European leaders agreed to go after Russia's vast energy sector for the first time by banning all forms of Russian coal from the European Union. The European Commission predicted the move would affect about 8 billion euros ($8.7 billion) worth of Russian exports per year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated his call for an oil embargo, saying on April 8: "How much longer can the Europe ignore the introduction of an embargo against oil supplies from Russia?"

The European Commission says that about 45% of the bloc's natural gas imports, and around 25% of its oil imports, come from Russia. The EU has imported about 35 billion euros ($38 billion) worth of Russian energy since the war began.

RELATED

Europe turns its back on Russian coal. Is oil next?

New Zealand has imposed new sanctions against more than a dozen Russian financial entities, including the country’s central bank, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced in a statement Tuesday.

The sanctions target 18 financial organizations that allegedly finance Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and which make up about 80% of Russia’s total banking assets, Mahuta said in a statement released by the New Zealand government. 

"These sanctions are designed to impose an economic and political cost," Mahuta said in the statement. "With this latest round of sanctions, New Zealand is joining countries around the world who have imposed heavy penalties on President Putin and the system financing his illegal invasion."

The 18 newly-sanctioned organizations are: Alfa-Bank, Bank Rossiya, Bank Otkritie, Black Sea Bank for Development and Reconstruction, Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Credit Bank of Moscow, Gazprombank, GenBank, Industrial Savings Bank, Novikombank, Russia Agricultural Bank, Russian National Commercial Bank, Russian Direct Investment Fund, Sberbank, Sovcombank, SMP Bank, Vnesheconombank, VTB.

Over the past month, New Zealand has issued a raft of sanctions against Russian entities and individuals, including against Russian President Vladimir Putin, members of his security council, politicians, oligarchs and military leaders.

The United Kingdom is not looking to help Moscow with the prospect of a prisoner swap that would trade pro-Russian oligarch and Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk for two British fighters captured in Ukraine by Russian forces, a government minister said Tuesday.

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis would not confirm to Sky News if his government is working to return the fighters to the UK, saying he would not comment on “what are effectively national security issues.”

Video footage of both captive Britons has aired on Russian TV. They previously fought with the UK armed forces and were volunteering with the Ukrainian military in the fight against Russia.

Asked about the prospect of exchanging the Britons for Medvedchuk, who is currently detained by Ukrainian forces, he said: "We're actually going through the process of sanctioning people who are close to the [Russian President Vladimir] Putin regime. We're not going to be looking at how we can help Russia.”

Lewis encouraged people who want to help Ukraine to do so through the “right channels” -- such as financially or by opening their homes to refugees -- “rather than taking very dangerous and actually not legal processes to go out” and fight, he said.

Some context: Medvedchuk served as a go-between for Moscow and Kyiv after the outbreak of the Donbas conflict in 2014 by leveraging his personal ties with Putin. In a 2019 interview with filmmaker Oliver Stone, Putin acknowledged that he was godfather to Medvedchuk's daughter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced last week that Medvedchuk had been detained in a "special operation." Medvedchuk's wife, Oksana Marchenko, has posted videos appealing for the release of her husband in exchange for British nationals taken captive.

The head of the Luhansk regional military administration urged civilians on Tuesday to evacuate amid an escalation in fighting and the fall of the town of Kreminna to Russian forces. 

Haidai said evacuations would take place even though Russian forces had refused a ceasefire.

Evacuation efforts would focus on the areas of Rubizhne, Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Popasna and Hirske, Haidai said, adding people had volunteered to help despite heavy Russian shelling. 

Some context: Russian forces have been trying to advance toward the borders of both Luhansk and Donetsk in the Donbas region. Russia's focus has shifted to the east of the country since its failure to gain territory around the capital Kyiv, and other parts of central and northern Ukraine.

On Monday, Russian forces entered Kreminna, a town in the eastern Luhansk region, with "a huge amount of equipment," said Haidai, claiming that "the offensive has begun."

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said no evacuation routes for civilians had been agreed with Russian forces on Tuesday, amid warnings from Ukrainian officials that a major battle for the Donbas region had begun.

The Russians had refused to open an evacuation route for civilians in the besieged city of Mariupol to leave for the port city of Berdyansk, Vereshchuk said, while talks on other routes were ongoing.

Some context: Civilians in Mariupol remain trapped in an increasingly dire situation with little chance of escape, officials say, as Russian shelling and attacks continue.

Over the weekend, the Russian Defense Ministry laid down conditions for the surrender of the remaining Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol — an ultimatum rejected by officials in the city.

A brigade accused of committing war crimes in the Ukrainian town of Bucha has been awarded an honorary title by Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

In a signed letter on Monday, Putin congratulated Russia’s 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade for their “great heroism and courage” and awarded the unit the title of "Guards" for “protecting Russia’s sovereignty.” 

Earlier this month, mass graves full of hundreds of murdered civilians -- which CNN teams visited -- were discovered in the towns of Bucha and Borodyanka following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kyiv region. 

In a statement issued April 4, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense named the servicemen of the 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade as war criminals directly involved in the atrocities committed against the civilians of Bucha. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has blamed Russia for the killings and called on Moscow to stop committing "war crimes."

The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the mass killings, while reiterating baseless claims that the images of civilian bodies on the streets of Bucha are fake.

During a visit to Bucha and Borodyanka last week, International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said there were “reasonable grounds to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC are being committed.”

But Khan also warned that it would be “challenging” to guarantee justice would be served in Ukraine, given Russia’s decision to withdraw its signature from an ICC statute that gives the court jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

Russia does not extradite its citizens to other countries.

Mila Turchyn walks into a McDonald's parking lot near the Poland-Ukraine border. She is anxious. She doesn't trust the man she is about to meet. He is a smuggler.

Turchyn found the man via a messaging app a few days ago, advertising transport services for Ukrainians stranded in Russia. They made a deal — $500 to drive Turchyn's mom and sister from Moscow to Przemysl, Poland. It's more than most families fleeing war can afford.

She is wondering if it worked.

Turchyn turns and suddenly finds herself in her sister's arms. There is a brief moment of joy, but no time to hug her mom. The smuggler wants to be paid now. He demands more cash. She pays. At this point, she wants nothing more than to be with her family.

The exchange is finally over and the three women are reunited in Poland. They quietly and quickly embrace.

For the Ukrainians who now find themselves displaced in Russia, however, getting to safety is dangerous.

Read the full story:

RELATED

A woman's family were forced into Russia. She smuggled them to Poland

A statue of former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin has been erected in Russian-occupied Henichesk, Ukraine, photos posted Monday to social media show, nearly seven years after one was removed as part of "decommunization" efforts.

The town of Henichesk sits on the Sea of Azov in Kherson province, just north of the border with Russian-annexed Crimea.

Three photos, posted on Facebook, show the new Lenin statue in front of the regional council building. A Russian flag is seen on the roof of the building. 

CNN has geolocated and verified the authenticity of the photos.

The original Lenin statue outside the government building was taken down by order of the city council on July 16, 2015, video and local news reports show. According to those reports, Henichesk was one of the last towns in the region to have a statue of Lenin. 

Yuri Sobolevsky, Ukrainian regional deputy for Kherson, confirmed the new statue in a post on Facebook.