April 22, 2022
image source,Archyde.com
The Azov steel plant in Mariupol was besieged by Russian troops, among which Ukrainian resistance forces and civilians faced running out of ammunition and food,
Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine has been going on for 58 days. Ukraine has offered Russia a truce over Orthodox Easter this weekend, but Russia has rejected it.
The following is the latest situation on April 22:
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says progress is only temporary following Russian forces invading Ukraine seized 40 villages on the eastern front
- Ukrainian army says Russia continues partial blockade of Kharkiv and fires on Ukrainian defender positions
- Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers are still resisting at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where Putin ordered Russian troops to abandon the attack on Thursday (April 21) and besiege them.
- There are reports that the Russian army agreed to the evacuation of the besieged, but must raise the white flag to surrender
- Mariupol’s mayor says 100,000 people are still trapped in the war-torn city and people’s lives are in Putin’s hands
- Ukraine will need ‘hundreds of billions of dollars’ to recover from war, Zelensky tells world finance ministers
- Preliminary estimates from the World Bank show that the damage to buildings and infrastructure in Ukraine due to the war has reached regarding 60 billion US dollars, and the amount will continue to grow.
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his aides have confirmed that dozens of Ukrainian soldiers are being trained to use British-supplied armoured vehicles
- The British Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it is sending Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Poland to supplement the T-72 tanks that Poland will send to Ukraine
- Johnson also said the UK would reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv next week
- Ukraine says it remains hopeful for peace despite Russia rejecting a truce over Orthodox Easter this weekend
More coverage of the war in Ukraine from the BBC in Chinese:
Top Russian generals: Fight for full control of Donbass and southern Ukraine
One of Russia’s deployment plans in the second phase of the Ukrainian military operation is to take full control of the Donbass and southern Ukraine, a senior Russian military commander reportedly said.
The Russian news agency quoted Maj Gen Rustam Minnekayev, the deputy commander of Russia’s Central Military District, as saying that Moscow also planned to build the Crimea and eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, which it annexed in 2014. Create a land corridor between them.
He was quoted as saying, “Since the start of the second phase of the special operation two days ago, one of the tasks of the Russian army has been to fight for full control of the Donbass and southern Ukraine. This will provide a route to Crimea. land corridors and affect vital facilities of the Ukrainian economy.”
Minekayev added that control of southern Ukraine would also allow access to Transnistria. This is an area separated from Moldova, where Russian troops are already stationed.
His remarks were reportedly delivered at the annual meeting of Russia’s region-wide alliance of defense industry factories.
The BBC has contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment. The Russian Defense Ministry said it was “investigating the matter”.
Russia: Strikes 58 military targets in Ukraine at night
According to the latest news from the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russia said it struck 58 military targets in Ukraine during the night, including locations where troops, fuel depots and military equipment were concentrated.
The Russian Defense Ministry also said three targets were hit with high-precision missiles, including a Ukrainian S-300 air defense missile system and a concentration of large numbers of Ukrainian troops and their equipment.
The BBC has not been able to independently verify the report.
Residential streets in eastern Ukraine come under heavy shelling
BBC correspondent Jonathan·Compareyou（onathan Beale）From Sloviansk, Donbas region：
The war in eastern Ukraine is still largely a battle of artillery. During the night, the shelling became more intense.
We spent the night in Slovyansk, more than 20 kilometers from the front. We thought it would be relatively safe in a residential area. But just following 1am, we were awakened by the sudden, roaring sound of Russian shelling. We hid in a bunker.
In the morning, as soon as the curfew was lifted, we surveyed the damage. The bombing target was only 200 meters away from where we lived. There were small potholes in the sidewalk and shattered windows in a nearby apartment building.
The wires are broken and there is no electricity.
This is the situation now in many towns in the Donbas region. Those who stayed tried to clean up their dilapidated homes and move on with their lives.
No respite for the Easter break
BBC correspondent Joe Inwood reports from Kyiv:
image source,Archyde.com
This lucky surviving bakery in Kyiv is preparing traditional Orthodox Easter pastries.
There had been hopes of an Easter truce with Russia that would mark the Orthodox holiday that unites many Ukrainians and Russians.
It appears that these hopes have been dashed.
In a speech on Thursday night, President Zelensky accused Russia of “rejecting the proposal for an Easter truce”.
“Easter is supposed to be one of the most joyous and important holidays for Christians,” he said. “It shows very well how the leaders of this country, Russia, are actually dealing with the Christian faith.”
It would be seen as particularly bad news for civilians still trapped in the southern city of Mariupol.
Despite Russia’s declared victory in Mariupol on Thursday, tens of thousands of civilians who refused letters are still trying to leave the city, with humanitarian corridors considered key to their safe passage.
But, at least today, corridors will not be humane. “Due to the danger on the road, today, April 22, there will be no humanitarian corridors,” Ukraine’s deputy prime minister wrote on his Telegram channel.
So even if Ukrainians go to Easter commemorations this weekend, they won’t be able to find respite from the ongoing war.
image source,Archyde.com
Pro-Russian tank troops on the streets of Mariupol, Ukraine
UK PM Johnson: West cannot sit idly by
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is visiting India, said at a news conference that Britain and its allies would not sit idly by as Putin continued to attack.
He said the “extraordinary perseverance and success” shown by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian people in resisting Russian forces meant Britain was able to act.
He also paid tribute to British diplomats who remained in Ukraine.
He revealed that the British embassy in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, will reopen next week.
Mayor of Mariupol: Evacuation of the whole population
The mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Friday issued a fresh call for “an evacuation of the whole population”.
Earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin said the city was now largely controlled by the Russian military.
“We only need one thing and that is to evacuate the entire population,” the city’s mayor Vadym Boychenko said on Ukrainian state television, according to Archyde.com. But regarding 100,000 people are still in Mali Upol.”
On Thursday, Putin ordered Russian troops to block the last Ukrainian resistance fighters hiding inside the city’s Azov steel plant.
“Ukrainian reconstruction requires hundreds of billions of dollars”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the world’s finance ministers that Ukraine needs $7 billion a month to stay afloat until the summer.
“We will need hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild,” Zelensky said.
He spoke via video link at meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Kyiv.
Asked if the IMF might secure the funds Ukraine needs, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva told BBC economics editor Faisal Islam Islam said: “We have found the funds for Ukraine for the first and second months.”
“We believe that as the economy picks up in the unoccupied parts of Ukraine and people who are now working elsewhere start sending remittances, the amount of money Ukraine needs each month will gradually decrease,” she said.
Ukraine declares ‘Moscow’ as underwater cultural heritage
BBC correspondent Joe Inwood from Kyiv:
image source,Archyde.com
“Moscow” was the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and was sunk by Ukraine.
The sinking of the “Moscow” was the decisive event so far in the Ukrainian war.
It was the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, a guided missile cruiser with more than 500 sailors, but was sunk by a country with a much smaller navy.
And now, the wreck of Russia’s proud flagship has been declared a Ukrainian Underwater Cultural Heritage, specifically, under the number 2064, under the category of Rare Scientific or Technological Equipment.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense wrote in a post on its official Facebook page: “From 80 miles from Odessa, you can admire the largest sunken object on the bottom of the Black Sea – the famous cruiser without much diving! “
According to Ukrainian military television, the wreck of the ship was regarding 45-50 meters underwater, and its final location was revealed by the British.
The sinking of the “Moscow” was not only a military victory for Ukraine, but also a psychological one.
At the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island simply and clearly asked the “Moscow” to leave, and that vernacular is now widely known.
To celebrate this event, Ukraine also specially produced commemorative stamps.
After the “Moscow” sank, people had to queue for hours to get a set of these commemorative stamps.
Perhaps, following the war, the wreck of the “Moscow” will prove equally popular.