by Lorenzo Cremonesi, Giusi Fasano, Andrea Nicastro, Marta Serafini, online editorial
The news of Monday, April 18, on the war in Ukraine, live: Europe speaks of Russia’s default as only a matter of time; Moscow replies that this would quickly mean that the EU itself would also become insolvent
• The war in Ukraine has reached its 54th day: the bombardment of Moscow continues and Ukrainians continue to resist in Mariupol.
• Days later, the first unconfirmed images of the Moskva the flagship of the Russian fleet emerged after the Ukrainian missile attack that sank her. How many sailors died in the Ukrainian attack is still unclear.
• Yesterday the ultimatum to the resistance fighters expired (surrender and your life will be saved): no one surrendered, but the proRussian troops announced the death of the commander of the naval infantry barricaded in the city.
• Ukraine yesterday completed the EU Accession Questionnaire, the first step towards joining the European Union.
• Europe is preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia the sixth: targeting Russian oil and bank Sberbank and warns that Moscow’s default is only a matter of time (Ursula von der Leyen). Medvedev: Then Europe would also become insolvent. • Meanwhile, Putin is lost in his own war logic, convinced that Russia is winning and doesn’t trust the West, says the Austrian Chancellor, who met him days ago.
6.00 The first pictures of Moskva?
After days of puzzling, the first images of the Moskva the flagship of the Russian fleet have surfaced online after the missile attack on Ukraine resulted in her destruction and sinking. The photos have not yet been verified and their provenance is not yet clear. Some experts tweeted that many details appear to be correct, and OSINTtechnical an account that shares images and open source intelligence wrote: I can’t verify its authenticity, but this is a Slavaclass cruiser, and I don’t think so one of these was destroyed in front of the Moskva.
Allegedly the Moskva on 15.4 pic.twitter.com/HstqXYUQJf
OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 17, 2022
Another photo from the Moskva pic.twitter.com/251AOogyKB
OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 17, 2022
The first pictures of the surviving sailors appeared on Saturday: It is not clear how many victims there were in the attack.
4.16 Zelenskyj: Russia is preparing an offensive in the east
In his most recent video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of an imminent Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine. Russian troops are preparing for an offensive operation in the east of our country. That will start in the near future, Zelenskyj said. They want to literally destroy Donbass and put an end to it added the President of Ukraine . Destroy everything that once gave glory to this industrial region. Just as Russian troops are destroying Mariupol, they also want to wipe out other cities and towns in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
2.46 a.m. New call for evacuation from Donbass
The head of the Lugansk regional military administration, Serhiy Gaidai, urged the residents of the region to evacuate as soon as possible. According to reports in the Ukrainian press, the government representative warned the population that next week could be difficult. It could be the last we have a chance to save you. About 70,000 civilians still live in the Lugansk region, one of the two selfproclaimed republics whose recognition by Moscow was a prerequisite for the ongoing war. Referring to the events in Mariupol, Gaidai added that our parishes of Rubizhne, Popasna and Mountain face the same risks.
2:00 am Zelenskyy: The delay in arms allows Russia to kill us
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned to plead with the West for more arms, describing any delay in supplies as allowing Russia to kill Ukrainians.
1.34 Georgieva (IMF): Excellent discussion with Zelenskyy
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Operating Officer Kristalina Georgieva said on her Twitter profile that she had a great conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, adding that continued economic support from Ukrainian partners is essential to lay the foundation for reconstruction. Earlier Zelenskyy announced that he had discussed with Georgieva ways to ensure Ukraine’s financial stability and preparations for postwar reconstruction, adding that he was confident that cooperation between the IMF and Kyiv would continue to be fruitful become.
1.26 Mariupol, Russians enclose and exclude the city
An adviser to Mariupol Mayor Petro Andriushchenko said Russian forces announced the besieged city would be closed to entry and exit on Monday and warned that men staying in the city would be screened for resettlement . This was reported by CNN, which stressed that it was unable to independently verify the statement. The Telegram adviser also said the Russians had started handing out ID cards to get around the besieged city and posted a photo of hundreds of Mariupol residents queuing to get permits.
1.05 am US ISW: A major Russian attack in the east is unlikely in the near future
Less likely is the hypothesis that the Russian army will be able to carry out a major offensive to the east in the next few days. The US analytical institute ISW writes in its daily update, one of the reference points for military and strategic studies that closely follow what has happened in Ukraine since the first days of the Russian invasion. Russian forces stationed in eastern Ukraine continue to face morale and supply problems, and it seems unlikely they will intend or be able to lead a major offensive wave in the coming days, writes the Institute for the Study of War.
12:43 am NGO: 150 children snatched from their parents and forcibly taken from Mariupol
A human rights group in Crimea denounces that the Russians forcibly removed about 150 children from Mariupol, hospitalized 100 of them, most of them taken from their parents. The Russian military forcibly took about 150 children from Mariupol and took them to the occupied directions of Donetsk and Russian Taganrog, said Olha Skrypnyk, head of Crimea’s human rights group, Ukrinform reports.
Monday, 00.31 Kyiv secret service: Use of nuclear weapons unlikely
Kirill Budanov, head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s top intelligence department, considers a Russian use of nuclear weapons to be unlikely. He said this in a speech before the telethon, which was covered by the Ukrainian media. Everyone calms down, just a threat. an element of blackmail against the whole world and everyone understood it. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would only use nuclear weapons if there was a specific threat to Russian territory.
11:14 p.m. Kyiv: Mariupol continues to fight, but no longer exists
The city of Mariupol no longer exists after more than a month of siege by Russia. This is what Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with CBS. The situation in Mariupol is terrible from a military and humanitarian point of view. The city no longer exists, he said, stressing that the remains of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians were surrounded by Russian forces. They keep fighting, but judging by the behavior of Moscow’s forces, it seems they want to raze the city at all costs, he said. Kuleba again.
23:00 mother crew member Moskva: 40 died on the ship
On the Russian cruiser Moskva, which sank in the waters of the Black Sea last Thursday, 40 Russian sailors would have died and many more were injured, mostly with mutilated limbs. This was reported to Novaya Gazeta Europe, the international version of the historical Russian independent newspaper for which Anna Politovskaya, the mother of a surviving crew member, worked, while Russian official sources still do not reveal data on the casualties. Ukraine claims it hit the ship with rockets, while Russia says an accidental explosion on board caused the shipwreck.
April 18, 2022 (Modification April 18, 2022 | 06:31)
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