Yesterday, Russia called on Ukrainian forces to “immediately disarm” and announced a new deadline for the defenders of the coastal city of Mariupol to give up resistance.
The Russian Defense Ministry called on Kyiv to “show reason and give similar orders to the militants to stop the fruitless resistance.”
“But knowing that they will not receive such instructions and orders from the Kiev authorities, we call on (the militants) to make this decision voluntarily and lay down their arms,” she added.
The ministry proposed a ceasefire “to leave all Ukrainian armed formations without exception, as well as “foreign mercenaries” (“Azovstal”) without weapons and ammunition.
The statement did not explicitly mention any new ground offensive in eastern Ukraine. But he warned that Moscow had “direct evidence that the Kyiv regime is preparing for new crimes.”
The Defense Ministry added that the Ukrainian militants who counteract the advance of Russian troops in the Azov seaport of Mariupol are “in a catastrophic situation.”
“The Russian armed forces are once again offering nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries the opportunity to stop all hostilities and lay down their arms from noon,” she said. “Everyone who lays down their arms will have a guarantee of survival,” she added.
In turn, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday confirmed that Moscow is seeking to “liberate” eastern Ukraine, but accused the West of dragging out the military operation by providing weapons to Kiev.
“We are gradually implementing our plan to liberate the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics,” he said, referring to the two regions controlled by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine. He added that Washington and its allies were trying to “drag out” the campaign by supplying weapons to Kiev.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that its forces carried out dozens of airstrikes in eastern Ukraine on Monday night after Ukrainian officials said Moscow launched a large-scale attack.
The ministry said “precision and aircraft missiles” hit 13 Ukrainian targets in parts of Donbass, including the city of Sloviansk, while other air strikes hit “60 Ukrainian military equipment”, including in cities near the eastern front. It stated that Russian servicemen destroyed two warehouses with warheads for Tochka-U operational-tactical missiles in Chernaya Polyana in Luhansk, as well as in Balakla in Kharkov.
Lavrov: An important moment in the history of our military operations
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that Moscow had launched a new phase of the so-called special military operation in Ukraine, expecting this phase to be a major event.
“The next stage of this operation is starting (in eastern Ukraine), and I am sure that this will be a very important moment in this entire special operation,” Lavrov said in an interview with the India Today TV channel.
In another question, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow is not studying the possibility of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Commenting on the statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about Russia’s intention to use nuclear weapons, Lavrov said: “It was Zelensky who spoke about this … I can’t, frankly, comment on what an unbalanced person said.”
Zelensky: Moscow began to control the Donbass
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in his Telegram speech: “Now we can confirm that Russian forces have begun the battle for control of Donbass, which they have been preparing for a long time. A very large part of the Russian army is currently engaged in this attack.” finish off and destroy the Donbass.
But Aleksey Aristovich, adviser to the President of Ukraine, confirmed that “the Russian occupiers have not yet been able to invade Kremena,” referring to the “brutal street war” in the city.
Prior to this, Gaidai called on civilians in the Luhansk region to evacuate. “This week is going to be tough,” he wrote on Facebook. This may be the last chance to save you” by leaving the war zones.
Ukrainian bombing of the border with Russia
Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, said yesterday that the village of Golovchino, located close to the border, was bombed by Ukraine.
“The village of Golovchino, Grivoronsky district, was bombed from the Ukrainian side,” the Russian agency Sputnik quoted him as saying. There is destruction.” He added that a woman was injured in the explosion. He said there is no information yet on other casualties and that the area is being monitored for further assessment.
Suspension of evacuation of civilians continues for the third day
Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk said that yesterday, for the third consecutive day, it would not be possible to organize any evacuation of civilians in Ukraine due to the lack of an agreement with the Russian side.
“Today, April 19,” Vereshchuk said on Telegram, “unfortunately, there are no humanitarian corridors.” Heavy shelling continues in the Donbass” in the east of the country, where Kyiv says Russian troops have launched a massive offensive and says “the Russians refuse to open a corridor” to evacuate civilians from the besieged port city of Mariupol towards Berdyansk. “We continue these difficult negotiations on humanitarian corridors in the Kherson and Kharkiv regions,” which are located in the south and east of the country, she added.
Biden discusses with “allies” holding Russia accountable for the invasion!
US President Joe Biden is calling on US allies to discuss developments in Ukraine, the White House said in a statement after Kyiv announced the start of a new Russian offensive to control the eastern region of Donbass.
A US official said the meeting announced on Biden’s schedule is “part of our regular coordination with allies and partners in support of Ukraine.”
The White House said the meeting included “efforts to hold Russia accountable” for its invasion of Ukraine.
The United States and its Western allies are pressuring Moscow with sanctions and providing military and other assistance to Ukraine.
Asked on Monday whether new measures against Moscow would be announced soon, State Department spokesman Ned Price said: “We will continue to tighten our financial sanctions and other economic measures against the Russian Federation until Moscow cancels its military campaign against Ukraine.”
“We haven’t seen it yet, so we will continue to increase spending” on the war with Russia, he added.
The war exacerbated the hunger of the poor in Sierra Leone
Isato Torei says she no longer has the means to support her family in Freetown’s vast tin-shackled Crow Bay slum, where life has been hard but made more difficult by the conflict in Ukraine.
The World Bank said high prices for the most basic commodities, such as rice, cooking oil and fuel, are more painful when a person lives on less than $1.9 a day, as is the case for 43 percent of Sierra residents. Leone.
Despite the natural wealth of diamonds, Sierra Leone remains one of the world’s poorest countries and one of the last ten countries in the United Nations Human Development Index, which combines economic data with other elements such as life expectancy or educational attainment.