Timeline: day 56 of Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression
Today is April 20. russia's military attack on Ukraine has been going on for 8 weeks. We're reporting about all the current news. The article will be constantly updated.
What about today?
Key points
In the Donetsk and Luhansk directions, the servicemen of the Joint Forces repulsed 10 enemy attacks. Our soldiers turned into scrap:
- 12 enemy tanks,
- artillery system,
- 28 units of armored and 2 units of motor vehicles,
- enemy aircraft Su-34,
- Ka-52 helicopter,
- 4 UAVs,
- cruise missile.
Total enemy combat losses from 24.02 to 20.04 (approximately)
"We, the world and history will take away from russia much more than russian missiles took away from Ukraine. Every lost life is an argument only for Ukrainians and other free peoples for generations to perceive russia as a threat. And any infrastructure can be restored. And we will definitely do it," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
"In this war, the russian army will forever inscribe itself in world history as perhaps the most barbaric and inhuman army in the world. And a russian passport will mean condemnation in any country from all decent people," said the President.
The occupiers forcibly relocated 500,000 Ukrainians to russia, including 121,000 children. This was stated by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine Serhii Kyslytsia during a meeting of the UN Security Council. Deported people are sent to depressed regions and then banned from leaving for two years. The diplomat stressed that this was a kidnapping, to which the international community must respond accordingly.
Already 205 children have died in Ukraine due to a full-scale russian offensive. More than 373 people were injured. This was reported by the Office of the Attorney General with reference to juvenile prosecutors. Putin made up a fairy tale for his flock that russia was at war with the United States. But in reality the war was not declared to the States. Mordor came to Ukraine to kill Ukrainian children.
Yesterday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres proposed a four-day humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine on April 21. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba called on russia to listen to the UN Secretary General's request for at least a temporary truce: "russia must finally hear the UN Secretary General and end the war with Ukraine or at least make a humanitarian pause. Let me remind you that there is only one aggressor and invador: russia. Ukraine has always been and remains ready to seek peace."
Humanitarian corridors
Long-awaited news! A green corridor will be opened from Mariupol on April 20! This was announced by the head of the Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk. A humanitarian corridor for women, children, and the elderly has been agreed upon in advance.
The gathering will take place on April 20 at 14:00 in Mariupol at the corner of Tahanroh Street and 130 Tahanrozkoi Dyvizii. The convoy will move along the route: Mariupol – Manhush – Berdiansk – Tokmak – Orikhiv – Zaporizhzhia.
Because of the very difficult security situation, changes may occur during the corridor. The Ministry asks to follow the relevant official reports. We hope that soon the people of Mariupol will be safe, and the occupiers will not dare to break the ceasefire!
Ukraine's talks with russia
Six more Ukrainian cities may become putin's target after Donbas, the Daily Mail reports. Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Kyiv are under threat.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba believes that the issue of ending the war with russia will be resolved on the battlefield, not at the negotiating table. This statement was made by the Foreign Minister of Ukraine in an interview with the French TV channel France 24.
And Adviser Arestovych clarified: If the occupiers take control of Mariupol, peace talks with russia may no longer exist. According to the adviser to the head of the Office of the President, in this case, the main goal for Ukraine will be the complete destruction of the enemy.
The Israeli ambassador to russia confirmed Israel's readiness to accept a possible meeting between putin and Zelenskyy in Jerusalem.
The russian federation itself, through the official representative of the russian Foreign Ministry zakharova, stated that she no longer trusts the Ukrainian negotiators.
France is ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine only after the war. This was reported by Bloomberg with reference to a high-ranking representative of the French president. The source claims that the guarantees will include the supply of military equipment and that they must be strong enough to prevent a new war. Macron's representative suggested that P5 member states and other countries such as Germany, Italy, and Turkey could play a role in these guarantees. According to the official, the guarantees will allow each country to decide individually how to help Ukraine if necessary, unlike NATO's automatic response system.
Trophies of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Last night, the Ukrainian military shot down two russian UAVs, Gorizont Air S-100 and Orlan-10. They were impressed with the portable SAM Stinger and Starstreak.
Who's coming to Ukraine?
About financial aid, weapons, and volunteer fighters
Norway has handed over to Ukraine about 100 Mistral portable anti-aircraft missile systems, Reuters reports, citing the Scandinavian Defense Ministry. MANPADS are designed to shoot down low-flying aircraft and helicopters.
More and more offensive weapons are beginning to arrive in Ukraine. The Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau has promised to provide heavy artillery to Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also announced the provision of the necessary artillery weapons to Ukraine.
On April 19, the Finnish government decided to send additional military aid to Ukraine.
Ukraine also received spare parts for aircraft from US allies. This will allow Ukrainians to lift more aircraft into the air, said Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby.
In addition, the White House is preparing to announce this week another "substantial package" of military assistance to Ukraine, NBC News reports. The package is expected to be similar to the $800 million announced by the Biden administration last week. The new aid will include more artillery and tens of thousands more artillery shells, which are likely to be "crucial" for the new phase of the war in Donbas.
The American company AeroVironment will hand over more than 100 Quantix Recon reconnaissance drones to Ukraine. The manufacturer claims that these UAVs do not respond to radio frequency interference.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry reports that the country has sent about 20 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. These are first aid kits, defibrillators, and ventilators. All of this is part of $40 million in humanitarian aid.
The Czech Ministry of Defense states that Czech companies will overhaul and service Ukrainian armored vehicles. The first contract will include the repair of Soviet T-64 tanks that were damaged in battle or that were in conservation and need to be fully restored.
The Ukrainians themselves will do minor repairs of the equipment.
Today the President of the European Council Charles Michel arrived in Kyiv.
CNN reports that on Thursday, April 21, Prime Minister Shmyhal, Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko and National Bank Chairman Kyrylo Shevchenko will meet with the heads of the World Bank and the IMF and a number of unnamed countries. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss financial assistance for Ukraine.
Assistance to refugees and those who receive them
The United Kingdom has provided 400 million pounds in aid to Ukraine and will provide 220 million pounds for humanitarian needs to countries hosting Ukrainian refugees, Britain's Permanent Representative to the UN Barbara Woodward said at a UN Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine on Tuesday. According to her, Britain also acted as a guarantor of a $1 billion loan to Ukraine from the World Bank.
News from partners
The Pentagon has stated that it regularly monitors the nuclear threat from russia and sees no reason to change the readiness status of the US nuclear forces.
What's in russia?
russia puts models of airplanes so that their number does not change in satellite images.
russians are so zombied by propaganda that they do not trust even their relatives when they confess to atrocities in Ukraine. Thus, in a conversation intercepted by the Security Service of Ukraine with his mother, the aggressor directly said that they were killing civilians and children.
To this, she replies: "No, you do not kill civilians and children!… You kill the Nazis, f*ck, believe me!". No wonder why more than 70% of russians support the war in Ukraine. They trust TV more than their sons. But the security service reminds all "zombies" that more than 20,000 russian servicemen have already paid for it with their lives.
The call center of the Return Alive Foundation has received more than 19,000 calls from relatives of russians killed in Ukraine. No mother or father agreed to come to Ukraine to pick up her son's body.
Sanctions on the aggressor!
The French company Danone has stopped importing to russia the products from the Evian and Alpro brands, which produce mineral water and plant drinks.
Wimbledon organizers will not allow russian and Belarusian tennis players to participate in the tournament, The New York Times reports.
The Japanese corporation Toshiba has announced that it will stop accepting new orders and investments in russia, the company's press service said.
Life considering hostilities
A Telegram bot for searching for missing children @poshukditei_bot has been launched in Ukraine. All information received through the bot will be officially registered by police officers.
And an article about "ruscism" appeared on Wikipedia. It is available in more than 20 languages. "Ruscism" is defined as russian fascism. They also note that the ideology is based on the ideas of "seniority of the fraternal people."
During a meeting on April 19, the government allocated an additional UAH 16 billion to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. According to him, the main funds will be used to pay salaries to the military, repair and modernize equipment, and pay the families of the fallen heroes.
Kyiv and region
The work of the metro is gaining momentum. Trains to the Lisova station are being resumed on the red line of the Kyiv metro. The traffic interval on all lines will be shortened.
And this is the hat of 13-year-old Yelisei from Brovary. The occupiers shot the boy while he and his mother and three-year-old brother were trying to escape from the then-occupied village of Peremoha in the Baryshivka district. First, they walked, and then they drove in a convoy of five cars. The Russians clearly saw that they were peaceful people: women, children. They were let through. They even waved. And then they shot the convoy. 7 people died. Among them was Yelisei. We will not forgive or forget anything!
Each hole in this cap will be an additional hole for the doomed "russian warship."
At least 2,000 families were left without apartments in the city of Irpin, said Oleksii Kuliba. "We are working on demining and cleaning the city. It is too early to return," the official said.
Kuliba's words are confirmed by a find near the military hospital in Irpin. A powerful air bomb was found there. It is impossible to take it out, so around 16:00 the sappers will defuse the bomb. The mayor, Oleksander Markushin, reported about it. Residents of the SMU residential district and those who are currently there are asked to move to the central part of the city immediately. Kyiv residents may also hear the sound of the explosion. Don't be afraid!
In total, for the past 24hrs in the Kyiv region, deminers neutralized 679 explosive devices, the Head of Regional Military Administration Oleksander Pavliuk reported. A total of 17,180 units of dangerous "surprises" from the russian occupiers were neutralized during the full-scale war.
A 17-year-old resident of a village in the Bucha district has been declared a suspect in treason. According to prosecutors, during the temporary occupation, the young man voluntarily sided with the enemy and passed on to the russian military information about the villagers, shops, and houses where valuables can be stored.
In Borodianka in the Kyiv region, all the rubble of buildings was dismantled; 41 people were found dead. The head of the village council said that the occupiers had completely destroyed 500 private houses and 8 high-rise buildings.
Donetsk and Luhansk regions
Novodruzhesk, Luhansk region, was shelled at night. Houses were destroyed, and the city is without gas. Several times during the night the enemy also shelled the town of Hirske.
Regarding the situation on the front line: the enemy continues its offensive to advance deep into Popasna. After attempts by the russian occupiers to storm Rubizhne and Sievierodonetsk, about 130 wounded orcs were admitted to the Novoaidar hospital, said the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration Serhii Haidai
Haidai also said that about 70,000 people remained in the entire Ukrainian-controlled part of the Luhansk region. Others were evacuated.
During the day, the occupiers fired on 12 settlements in the Donetsk region, said the national police. As a result of the shelling, civilians were killed and wounded. At least 30 civilian facilities were destroyed: residential buildings, a school, a kindergarten, businesses, shops, and a railway.
Mariupol, Avdiivka, Vuhledar, Maryinka, Kramatorsk, Novohrodivka, Toretsk, Mykolaivka, Blahodatne, Orlivka, Rubtsi, and Privillia came under fire. The enemy fired at the civilian population with missiles from Grad multiple rocket launchers, tanks, and heavy artillery.
The situation in Mariupol is difficult. During the night, the commander of the 36th Marine Brigade, Serhii Volyna, called on Ukraine, the United States, Turkey, and Britain to save the people who are currently on the territory of Azovstal. "This may be our last appeal. We may have a few days or hours left," Volyna said. According to him, the plant already has more than 500 wounded and hundreds of civilians. He asks them to evacuate to third countries.
How Mariupol lives in the current conditions: moving by car only with the letter V, wearing a white bandage on their arms. Otherwise, occupiers shoot you, the Telegram channel of the local city council reported.
The "Minister of Education of the DPR in Mariupol" was identified; it turned out to be the head of the Maritime Lyceum in Mariupol Viacheslav Miroshnychenko, who independently offered his services to the enemy. Former teacher of Ukrainian language and literature(!). With his help, a school was "opened" in Mariupol yesterday, and children from all over the city were taken for a picture.
"Minister of Internal Affairs of the Luhansk People's Republic" Ihor Kornet was arrested by russian FSB officers and is being held in a pre-trial detention center, Ukrainian intelligence reports. His arrest provoked a negative reaction from the security forces and the political leadership of the pseudo-republic. This is assessed as the beginning of changes in the power bloc of illegal formation on the territory of the part of Ukraine.
12:00 – The head of the Luhansk Regional Council Serhii Haidai stated that in Popasna, Rubizhne, and part of the villages of the Hirske Community, it is currently impossible to restore electricity, gas, and water supply, as the infrastructure there is almost destroyed. According to him, the opportunity to start repairs will appear only after the end of hostilities.
He also added that according to his estimates, after the Ukrainian troops withdrew from Kreminna, the number of occupied territories in the Luhansk region is 80%.
Kharkiv region
In the Izium direction, the enemy attempted an offensive in the direction of Sulyhivka, and Dibrovne. The enemy is trying to conduct air reconnaissance of the offensive with the use of Orlan-10unmanned aerial vehicles.
Due to heavy losses, the occupiers withdrew the battalion tactical group of the 237th Panzer Regiment of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th All-Military Army of the Western Military District from the Kharkiv region to the point of permanent deployment (Solot, Belgorod Oblast) to restore combat capability.
In Kharkiv, 1,929 buildings were destroyed as a result of shelling, said Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
The bodies of workers shot by the russian military were found in a Kharkiv eco-park. From the first days of the shelling of Kharkiv, Feldman Ecopark employees stayed at work and helped feed the animals. On March 7, they disappeared. They were searched for a long time, law enforcement officers were involved, and they hoped to the last that they could survive. However, their bodies were found yesterday. The boys were shot dead and their bodies barricaded in a utility room.
In the Kharkiv region, the Security Service of Ukraine has uncovered a secret warehouse with ammunition and components for military equipment worth $200 million. All this equipment has already been handed over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to preliminary data, the details available there were intended for the damaged equipment of the russian federation, which the enemy was going to repair during the offensive. The SBU found that the equipment in this warehouse had previously been stolen from military arsenals. And on the eve of the invasion, the owners of the warehouse intended to cooperate with the occupying forces and provide equipment for the needs of the enemy.
In the Kharkiv region, near Dibrivne, the enemy carried out an attack that was partially successful. In this direction, the occupiers were seen in Ukrainian-style military uniforms, said the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
At the same time in the area of Stara Hnylytsia the offensive was not successful, as a result of the fire defeat the enemy suffered losses and withdrew. An attempt to take control of the village Dolhenko also failed. The enemy retreated with losses.
Mykolaiv region
At night the russian occupiers fired at a hospital in Bashtanka of the Mykolaiv region, the Head of the Mykolaiv regional council Anna Zamazieieva reported. According to her, there are victims.
Now the population of Mykolaiv decreased by 40%, the mayor Oleksandr Senkevich reported. "Before the war in Mykolaiv, there were about 500 thousand residents. Our city was half a million populated. We don't have exact data on a number of the evacuated people, we don't register such data, but on the quantity of the collected garbage, and use of drinking water, 40% of residents have already left the city," Senkevich said.
Kherson region
The occupiers plan to carry out forced mobilization in the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, the Defense Intelligence reports.
"Mobilizations" will be preceded by pseudo-referendums. The FSB of the Horde plans to throw "mobilized" Ukrainians to flashpoints of the front to storm the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces under the control of barricading detachments. In fact, it is an attempt to turn Ukrainians into "cannon fodder."
In the morning in Kherson, blogger Valerii Kuleshov, who collaborated with collaborationist Sremousov, was killed. He was shot in a car near his entrance in the Shumenskyi district, the deputy of a regional council, Serhii Khlan told.
Also in Kherson, on April 19, near unauthorized checkpoints in the HBK neighborhood, the russian military shot at a local resident. The man died of his wounds. The prosecutor's office opened a criminal case.
Osokorivka mayor Serhii Kunets, who was abducted by the russian military on March 30 while transporting bread for refugees, has been contacted. He said he was in captivity in Crimea, according to residents of the Novovorontsovka community.
Odesa region
In the afternoon, around twelve o'clock explosions were heard in Odesa. The air defense worked, the spokesperson of Regional Military Administration Serhii Bratchuk reported.
Zaporizhzhia region
In the Zaporizhzhia region, russian troops have launched a massive offensive, said the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Oleksander Starukh. "The line of contact has hardly changed in the last month, but there have been battles of varying intensity. Today the enemy troops have intensified significantly. The situation in the Polohy district has worsened, there is daily shelling. The enemy launched an offensive, our defenders hold the fort," he said.
The head of the administration also called on women, children, and the elderly to leave the line of contact for the regional center.
In the Zaporizhzhia region, russian invaders seized the Agrocoin greenhouse plant, which specializes in growing vegetables and melons, roots, and potatoes. "Our enterprise, the greenhouse factory Enerhodar was captured with the help of collaborationists. We don't have control over our products, all proceeds from the occupiers are used for their own purposes," said the company's owner Andrii Chornyi on Facebook. According to the owner of the plant, so far all the legitimate Ukrainian authorities have been warned, so all actions and sales of products are illegal. Such actions include imprisonment for up to 12 years. It is noted that all buyers of stolen products are being recorded.
In the Tokmak district of the Zaporizhzhia region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed enemy wagons with ammunition.
Yesterday riots by the russian military began in the Polohy district. "Rushists do not want to fight because they are not paid the promised money. Three instigators of the uprising were killed," said a spokesman for the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Ivan Arefiev, citing Ukrainian intelligence.
In Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia region, a janitor was appointed to the "post" of deputy "so-called occupying mayor." Prior to his so-called "appointment," he worked as a janitor at the BerdianskEkoTrans utility company.
During the activities to identify persons who may cooperate with the enemy or are hostile agents, operatives of the Department of Strategic Investigations detained a russian citizen in Zaporizhzhia. The man lived in Zaporizhzhia for a long time and worked as a driver. He also delivered humanitarian cargo to Melitopol, which was temporarily occupied by the enemy. Police found videos and information on his phone indicating the coordinates of the location of the protective structures. In addition, they found correspondence with subscribers, in which the man actively supports the actions of russian troops in Ukraine. The supporter of the "russian world" was handed over to the SBU.
Zhytomyr region
More than 5,000 Easter cakes for the military were collected by the Novohrad-Volynskyi community during the citywide charity event Easter TOGETHER. The children of the community prepared drawing letters and handmade gifts, the Novohrad-Volynskyi City Council reports on its Facebook page.
Dnipropetrovsk region
An international exhibition of posters and illustrations entitled "Together we are a force" in support of Ukraine was opened in Dnipro. It is attended by designers and artists from around the world, who from the first days of the war send their works in solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
Western Ukraine
In Drohobych in the Lviv region, the dismantling of the communist symbols of the Eternal Flame (Cemetery of Soviet Soldiers), located at the intersection of Sambirska and Ivana Franka streets, has begun.
