April 20, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Andrew Raine, Travis Caldwell, George Ramsay, Jack Bantock, Laura Smith-Spark, Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN

Updated 12:01 a.m. ET, April 21, 2022
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11:02 a.m. ET, April 20, 2022

Wimbledon bans Russian and Belarusian athletes from tennis tournament

From CNN’s Aleks Klosok and Anna Chernova

General view across the grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 28 in Wimbledon, London, England.
General view across the grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 28 in Wimbledon, London, England. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Wimbledon organizers confirmed a ban on Russian and Belarusian tennis players in a statement on Wednesday, saying, "it is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts of Government, industry, sporting and creative institutions to limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible."

Wimbledon, the third grand slam of the year, is set to begin on June 27.

The Kremlin said earlier on Wednesday that the ban on Russian players is “unacceptable.”

Government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to a question about the barring of Russian and Belarusian players from the tournament, which was first reported by The New York Times on Wednesday.

“Making athletes victims of some kind of political prejudices, intrigues, hostile actions towards our country, is unacceptable. One can only express regret here,” Peskov told a conference call with reporters.

“Considering that Russia is after all a very strong tennis country, our tennis players are in the top lines of the world ranking, the competition itself will suffer from their removal,” Peskov said. “... I would like to wish the guys to do everything in order not to lose shape and not lose their world tennis class."

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which organizes and hosts the event, told CNN earlier this month that it was “continuing to engage in discussion with the UK Government, the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association), and the international governing bodies of tennis” in relation to the participation of Russian and Belarusian players.

The organizers added that they had planned to make a decision ahead of their entry deadline in mid-May. 

The ban prevents several high-ranked players from competing at the iconic grass court grand slam. Four Russian men, including world number two and reigning US Open Champion Daniil Medvedev, are currently ranked in the top 30 of the ATP Tour. 

Russia has five women in the top 40 of the WTA Tour rankings. 

Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka is currently ranked fourth in the world and was a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year while compatriot Victoria Azarenka, a former world number one, is currently ranked 18th.

The AELTC’s decision is the first time Russian and Belarusian players have been prohibited from competing in an elite tennis event. 

Tennis governing bodies had banned Russia and Belarus from international team competitions following the invasion. Individual players are allowed to compete on the ATP and WTA Tours but not under the name or flag of their countries.

10:56 a.m. ET, April 20, 2022

Ukraine says more than 400 children with cancer have been evacuated for treatment abroad

From CNN's Hande Atay Alam 

More than 400 Ukrainian children with cancer have been evacuated for treatment abroad since the war started, according to the Ukrainian Presidency.   

The flights to transfer the Ukrainian children with cancer who are in the combat zones were organized with the assistance of the leadership of foreign countries and agreements between Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska and the first ladies of other countries, a statement from the presidency said.  

The flights started in "the first weeks of the war through cooperation with volunteer and medical organizations," the statement added. 

"In order to ensure the safety of children with cancer, they are first brought to Lviv - to the Western Ukrainian Specialized Children's Medical Center (ZUSDMC)," the statement said, adding, "then, accompanied by medical teams, young patients together with their relatives are taken to the Republic of Poland, to a specially created Unicorn clinic. There, children are assigned to permanent treatment in Poland or other European countries." 

"Currently, more than 400 young patients continue treatment in peaceful countries," according to the statement.   

Zelenska also thanked all the doctors involved in the effort on her Facebook page and wrote about each doctor's story at the Western Ukrainian Specialized Children's Medical Center. 

"It's time to introduce you to the doctors who do all this, who live at work, treat not only diseases but also souls, because during the war they became psychologists, counselors, friends, family for those who need it," she wrote.   

9:37 a.m. ET, April 20, 2022

US doctor says he feels compelled to help local doctors treat the wounded in Ukraine

A doctor from Texas has already traveled to Ukraine three times to help local doctors treat the wounded of war.

"As a physician first, it's our duty and our ethics to help every needy person in the world," Dr. Monzer Yazji told CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Yazji, a Syrian American, ran more than 30 medical missions to Syria during the war that began in 2011 there.

"What happened in Ukraine, it happened in Syria. And I feel myself that I'm part of that," he said.

As of last week, the World Health organization has verified nearly 120 attacks on health care since the invasion of Ukraine began.

Yazji said there are complicated surgeries needed to be performed in Ukraine. One man lost half his shoulder, but he survived, he said. There are also issues with water, medical supplies and electricity shortages.

"When I see Ukrainian doctors suffering because [they're] exhausted mentally, physically and that attack on them, I see us, ourselves, we were there. That's why this ... all make[s] me come to Ukraine and be with them," he said.

Watch the interview here:

9:55 a.m. ET, April 20, 2022

Listen: A former CNN Moscow bureau chief examines Putin's inner circle on "Tug of War"

When Russia invaded Ukraine, Western allies were quick to slap sanctions on the wealthy oligarchs closely aligned with Vladimir Putin. But are they having an impact?

In the latest episode of CNN's "Tug of War" podcast, CNN contributor and former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty examines who is in Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, how they work hand-in-hand with the Kremlin, and why Russia is so desperate for anything it can call a “victory” on the battlefield.

Listen to "Putin's 'Yes Men'" here.

9:40 a.m. ET, April 20, 2022

NATO allies could be involved in safe passage of civilians from Mariupol, US official tells CNN

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

U.S. State Department Under Secretary for Public Affairs Victoria Nuland speaks during a briefing at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on January 27.
U.S. State Department Under Secretary for Public Affairs Victoria Nuland speaks during a briefing at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on January 27. (Susan Walsh/Reuters)

There “was some hope that the Russians might allow” safe passage for civilians and wounded soldiers from Mariupol, a top US State Department official said Wednesday, adding that her understanding is “there will be NATO allies involved in that if it happens.”

However, such an arrangement “has fallen apart a number of times before,” and ultimately, it is up to the Russians to allow safe passage, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland cautioned.

The siege of Mariupol speaks “to the brutality of this war” and the war crimes Vladimir Putin is committing, Nuland added.

9:14 a.m. ET, April 20, 2022

US assesses there have been no major territorial gains so far for Russia in new offense

From CNN's Jim Sciutto

Ukrainian servicemen check the area of a missile strike in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on April 19.
Ukrainian servicemen check the area of a missile strike in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on April 19. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)

Early in Russia’s expanded offensive in the Donbas, the US assesses there have been no major territorial gains for Russia so far since the start of the new push, according to two senior US officials with direct knowledge of the assessment.

The US has observed some new attacks by Russian forces, which appear to be probing attacks to test Ukrainian defenses, one of the officials said. However, the frontlines remain static with no major territory changing hands as of yet.  

To help prepare Ukrainian forces for the battles to come, a new $800 million weapons package will be focused on artillery, specifically 155mm howitzers and ammunition, according to a senior US official and a congressional source with knowledge of the draft plan. The US has asked “many” NATO allies to help contribute artillery to this new planned weapons shipment, a senior US official told CNN.

8:38 a.m. ET, April 20, 2022

Luhansk regional official urges Ukrainians to attend virtual Easter services, says churches are destroyed

From CNN's Nathan Hodge in Lviv

The head of the Luhansk regional military administration in eastern Ukraine, Serhii Haidai, warned Wednesday of possible Russian "provocations" during upcoming Easter services and called for religious observations online. 

"The Russians will be staging provocations on Easter Sunday," he said. "Save your life, stay at home! I appeal to the residents of Luhansk region remain in the region and who have already been evacuated. There are almost no surviving churches left in Luhansk region; they were destroyed by Russia. Churches that were subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate [of the Orthodox Church] were attacked by the 'Russian World.'" 

Many Ukrainians celebrate Easter according to the Julian calendar, with Easter Sunday falling this year on April 24. Haidai recommended Easter celebrations be attended online.

"The Russians can take advantage of our customs and stage terror during one of the most important Christian holidays," he said. "If they are ordered to attack churches on Easter, they will not stop. The Russians will try to do so, I’m sure. So it is better to stay at home, do not risk your life. Let's celebrate Easter online. People can join the Easter services remotely through TV and online broadcasts."

The head of the Sumy regional military administration in northern Ukraine earlier this week urged local residents to attend virtual Easter services amid similar warnings. 

8:59 a.m. ET, April 20, 2022

Former MSNBC analyst fighting in Ukraine explains why he's willing to die in the country 

Malcolm Nance, a former national security analyst for MSNBC who is now volunteering to defend Ukraine against Russia, says he would be willing to die in the country during the war.

"I spent my entire life willing to die for all the democratic values that we espouse in the United States. Our constitution is the bedrock of many other countries striving for democracy. So, yes, I'm here to put my body between the innocent people of Ukraine and the Russian aggression that we're seeing here," he told CNN.

With his own career and his family's spent in the armed forces, he says he believes in defending democracy and sees it being threatened in Ukraine "on a strategic scale."

"Ukraine is now involved with a nation that has sworn they would eliminate it as a culture, as a language, as a people," the former Naval intelligence officer said Wednesday. "This isn't a joke to the people here in the international legion."

The international legion is a group made up of thousands of foreign nationals who have volunteered to fight with Ukraine and defend its territory as Russia invades. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other US officials have warned Americans not to travel to the Ukraine to fight in the war, encouraging them instead to help support NGOs that are working to provide humanitarian assistance.

Watch more here:

8:24 a.m. ET, April 20, 2022

Mariupol mayor calls on residents to evacuate

From CNN's Olga Voitovych and Nathan Hodge in Lviv

People walk past a heavily damaged residential building in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 18.
People walk past a heavily damaged residential building in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 18. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

The mayor of Mariupol on Wednesday called on residents of the besieged city to evacuate along a corridor announced earlier in the day by Ukraine's deputy prime minister.

Evacuation would begin at 2 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET) at a designated central meeting point, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said in a statement released by the city council. Additional boarding locations would be available near the Azovstal steel factory — a bastion of Ukrainian military defense — and a shopping mall.

The evacuation column, he said, would proceed west from Mariupol toward the Russian-held city of Berdiansk and then onward through the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia via Tokmak.

“Dear people of Mariupol, during these long and incredibly difficult days you survived in inhumane conditions," he said. "You were in an information vacuum without access to any information. You may have heard different things. But I want you to know the main thing — they are waiting for you in Zaporizhzhia. It's safe there."

Boichenko said 200,000 Mariupol residents had been able to leave the city and were now safe. The city had a prewar population of over 400,000, and Ukrainian authorities have accused Russia of forcing thousands of other residents into separatist-held and Russian territory. He urged citizens with relatives in Mariupol to spread the word about evacuation points.