Norway will donate 100 missiles to Ukraine’s air defenses
Norway is sending 100 Mistral air defense missiles to Ukraine, its defense ministry said, describing the weapons as discontinued for the Norwegian military but still “modern and effective”.
“The Mistral system has been used for satellites and corvettes. It is a type of air defense that the armed forces plan to replace,” Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram said in a statement. “Therefore, there will be little impact on national operational capabilities to donate missiles.”
“The missile will be withdrawn by the Norwegian armed forces, but it is still a modern and effective weapon that will be of great benefit to Ukraine,” he said, adding that the weapons had already been sent from Norway.
– Natasha Turak
Russian troops are trying to advance towards Zaporozhye, regional authorities say
Russian troops are reportedly moving to the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia, the regional council said.
“The situation on the front line suggests that the enemy is trying to advance in the direction of Zaporozhye, but is suffering losses and focusing its main efforts on maintaining the occupied borders,” the council said in a statement.
“Russian troops continue to fire on the positions of our troops and to conduct offensive operations in the direction of Pokrovske – Huliaipole,” the statement added.
Zaporozhye is located north of the hostile city of Mariupol and is the end point for a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol, which was agreed today between Russia and Ukraine.
The city is also home to the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which was captured by Russian forces at the beginning of the invasion, along with the Zaporozhye TPP. Russian forces have already occupied areas south of Zaporozhye – Melitopol and Kherson – and the regional council says Russian forces plan to hold “fake referendums” in the territories they occupy to confirm their rule.
– Natasha Turak
European Council President Charles Michel visited Kyiv
European Council President Charles Michel travels to Kyiv by train in support of Ukraine’s leadership. He was greeted by Olga Stefanishina, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs and Euro-Atlantic Integration, and is due to meet with President Zelensky later today.
The visit comes just days after Ukraine completed its questionnaire to apply to join the European Union, the first step in its bid to join the bloc. EU leaders have expressed optimism about the prospect of Ukraine’s potential accession to the group.
– Natasha Turak
A humanitarian corridor has been agreed by Mariupol, said the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine
A humanitarian corridor has been agreed for the evacuation of women, children and the elderly from Mariupol, said Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk. The southeastern port city has been under constant Russian bombardment and cut off from basic needs and aid since early March. Ukrainian authorities hope to evacuate 6,000 civilians in the city of Zaporozhye via Berdyansk with the help of 90 buses.
Agreements on humanitarian corridors have often fallen apart due to renewed Russian shelling, Ukrainian authorities said, and Tuesday marked the third day of failure to reach an agreement on such corridors.
More than 100,000 civilians still remain in Mariupol, officials say, less than the pre-war population of nearly half a million. The United Nations and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have sounded the alarm over the city’s severe humanitarian crisis. A regional mayor described him as “wiped off the face of the earth” by Russian bombing.
Locals gather in a yard near a block of flats badly damaged during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, April 18, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko Reuters
Ukrainian troops in Mariupol face “last days, if not hours”, says commander
Major Sergei Volina, commander of the 36th Separate Brigade of the Marines of Ukraine, made a desperate request to world leaders in a Facebook video posted by the besieged city of Mariupol.
“This is our call to the world. This may be the last call in our lives. “We are probably facing our last days, if not hours,” Volina said, according to numerous translations. Russia has issued a new ultimatum urging the city to surrender by 14:00 (7:00 ET) Moscow time after Ukrainians refused to meet a surrender deadline last Sunday. Mariupol has been surrounded by Russian forces and has been severely cut off from electricity, water, food and heating since early March.
“The enemy is 10 to one superior to us. They have an advantage in the air, in the artillery, in their forces on land, in equipment and in tanks, “Volina said, adding that his forces” protect only one site “- the Azovstal Steel Factory, which housed both military and civilian personnel. , with hundreds reportedly injured by Russian strikes. “We appeal and ask all world leaders to help us,” he said.
The video was published by Volina on his personal Facebook page, not by the Azov division. NBC did not independently verify the information.
In a previous post on Monday, Volyna wrote: “Our wounded are dying in unbearable pain every day because medicines, disinfectants, pain relief options are long gone.” He called for heavy weapons to be delivered to Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol.
The humanitarian situation in the eastern Ukrainian city, which had a pre-war population of about 500,000, is extremely dire, according to Ukrainian officials and humanitarian organizations. At least 100,000 civilians are still trapped there under heavy Russian shelling. Attempts to open humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to escape are constantly failing.
– Natasha Turak
Imports of Russian coal to China fell by 30% in March
Employees work on a freight train loaded with coal at the Jiangxi Coal Reserve Center on January 29, 2022 in China. China imported 30 percent less coal than Russia on an annual basis in March, according to Reuters.
Hu Guolin | Visual China Group | Getty Images
China imported 30% less coal than Russia in March than last year amid fears of potential foreign sanctions and a drop in foreign coal purchases, according to Reuters.
The news agency said total coal imports in the country fell by 40% compared to last year, as record domestic production and ceilings in government prices made supplies abroad less attractive.
Reuters reported that Chinese traders reduced imports of Russian coal in part because they had difficulty securing funding from state-owned banks threatened by possible sanctions.
But a potential European Union ban on Russian coal could lead to a sharp drop in prices. Reuters reported that Chinese traders were looking for cheap goods and wanted to pay in yuan to bypass the international transaction system SWIFT.
– Chelsea Ong
Russia gives Ukraine a new deadline for the capitulation of Mariupol
Russia has set a new deadline for the surrender of the hit city of Mariupol by 2pm Moscow time today (7am ET), saying in a statement early Wednesday morning that it would “again” offer Ukraine the option “to stop fight and lay down their arms. “
The initial ultimatum, which called for capitulation until last Sunday (April 17th), was ignored by Ukrainian forces in the city, who vowed to fight to the end. Ukrainian defenders in the strategic port city have been significantly outnumbered by Russian troops, who have surrounded it since early March, cutting off access to water, electricity, heat, the Internet and most humanitarian aid.
Just 30 miles from Russia’s border, Moscow sees Mariupol as a crucial territory that will give it a land corridor between the disputed breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, which Russia has declared independent, and the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.
– Natasha Turak
Russia hopes to disrupt movement of Ukrainian troops and weapons, says UK
A Ukrainian serviceman stands guard at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Barvinkove, eastern Ukraine, on April 15, 2022. Fighting in Donbass is “intensifying” and the accumulation of Russian military forces on Ukraine’s eastern border continues to increase, the British reported. Department of Defense
Ronaldo Shemid Afp | Getty Images
Russia is trying to disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and weapons to the eastern part of the country by attacking various cities, the British Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update.
But Russian air activity in northern Ukraine is likely to “remain low” after its withdrawal from the northern capital, Kyiv, according to the ministry.
“However, there is still a risk of precise strikes against priority targets across Ukraine,” the British ministry said.
Fighting in the eastern Donbass region is “intensifying” and Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s eastern border continues, the ministry said.
– Chelsea Ong
Zelenski said the situation in the battered port city of Mariupol remains “difficult”
Russia has “blocked” efforts to organize humanitarian corridors in the strategic port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in an evening video address.
“The situation in Mariupol remains unchanged – the worst possible,” he said. Ukraine has not heard from Russia about the exchange proposal, he added, citing a proposal to exchange detained pro-Russian Ukrainian opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk for civilians and soldiers in the battered port city.
He also said Russian forces were trying to deport or mobilize Mariupol residents.
“The fate of at least tens of thousands of Mariupol residents who were previously relocated to Russian-controlled territory is unknown,” he added.
People are resting near a residential building damaged in Mariupol on April 17, 2022. Zelenski said the situation in Mariupol remains “as dire as possible.”
Victor Xinhua Agency Getty Images
Zelensky also said that Russia has increased the intensity of the fire “significantly” in the direction of Kharkov – the second largest city in Ukraine, as well as Donbass …
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