Russian invasion of Ukraine: tanks and rocket attacks on the cities. Breaking news

Russian occupiers launched the second phase of the offensive this morning, National Security and Defence Council Secretary Oleksiy Danylov said.

"Our troops are holding out. Only in two places they managed to break through: Kremenna and another small town. Fighting continues. We are not surrendering our territories," Danylov emphasised.

A monument to Lenin has been put in temporarily occupied Genichesk. There was a monument to Lenin in Henichesk until July 2015, when it was dismantled following a decision by the city council. This monument is different from the previous one.

The UN has reopened its office in Kyiv and offered to mediate talks between Ukraine and Russia. This was announced by UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths during a briefing.

More than half of Ukrainians have no plans to change their place of residence, even though the war may escalate. These are the results of a new survey by the KSE and Gradus Research.

In blockaded Mariupol, the occupiers are encouraging city residents to cooperate by promising to pay compensation for destroyed housing in rubles, the National Security and Defence Council's Centre for Counteracting Disinformation has said. This is how the Russian Federation is trying to carry out a ruble occupation of temporarily occupied territories in order to then isolate the population following the example of temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine

The Armed Forces of Ukraine has already eliminated eight Russian generals and 16 colonels. 

In occupied Crimea, the third rank captain and commander of the large landing ship Cesar Kunikov, Aleksandr Chirva, has been reported dead. He "died of wounds sustained during combat", propagandists give no other details.

The ship was in the port of Berdyansk next to the ship Saratov, which was hit by the Ukrainian military and sunk. The "Cesar Kunikov" was also hit.

During martial law, the Ministry of Social Affairs has made it easier to receive inpatient care, palliative care, home care and supportive housing services. The Ministry of Social Affairs has made it easier to receive inpatient and palliative care services and supportive housing.

Starting Tuesday, April 19 the curfew in the Chernihiv region will be shortened — from 21:00 till 05:00.

"There were 1000 of us, only 400 are here now". Intercepted conversation of a Russian soldier with his wife demonstrates the soldier's complaints about the losses of his division somewhere near Mykolaiv. The regiment where he serves lost hundreds of soldiers.

In the territories of Ukraine liberated from the Russian occupiers, the police found more than a thousand bodies of dead and murdered civilians, the Deputy Chief of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police Serhiy Panteleev informs. The bodies were found in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Zhytomyr regions and separate districts of Mykolaiv region. In addition, the police documented the illegal detention of more than 500 civilians by the occupiers.

The SESU liquidated a fire in the Lviv region after the shelling by Russian missiles.

Summary from the General Staff as to 18:00 of the 54th day of the war:

• The RF continues its full-scale aggression against Ukraine, shells objects of industrial and civil infrastructure.
• The main efforts of the enemy are concentrated on getting full control over the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and keeping the territories occupied earlier.
• The signs of offense beginning in the eastern operational zone are being registered, in particular, in the Slobozhanske and Donetsk operational regions. To achieve this invaders continue to form additional subdivisions on the territory of the Rostov region and in the temporarily occupied Crimea. The approximate date of formation is April 24. Provocations and airstrikes in the border areas with Ukraine are also possible.
• In Volyn, Polissya, and Siverskyy directions there are no essential changes in the actions of the enemy.
• In Slobozhanske direction the enemy continues to partially block Kharkiv and ruin residential areas of the city with artillery fire.
• In Izyum direction the aggressor is expected to continue his tries to offense the directions of Izyum — Slovyansk, and Izyum — Barvinkove.
• In the area close to the state border with Ukraine, in the Belgorod region, there is the deployment of helipads.
• In Donetsk and Tavriisk directions the RF tries to capture Lyman, Kreminna, Popasna, and Rubizhne and take full control of Mariupol. The combats over Mariupol continues. The RF storms the defenders of the city in the area of the seaport.
• Russians also activated the offense in Severodonetsk, Popasna, Kurakhove, and Zaporizhzhia directions. They build up additional tank and artillery units.
• In Pivdennyy Buh direction the enemy tries to keep occupied frontiers. Russia does not stop trying to establish full control over the territory of the Kherson region, performs combats near Oleksandrivka, and has no success in any of the above.
• At sea, the RF continues isolating the coast of our state, as well as intelligence actions.
• Occupants continue to cynically violate the norms of the International humanitarian law, block the evacuation of peaceful citizens from occupied settlements and shoot green corridors.

This is what one of the "cemeteries" of shot cars in the Kyiv region looks like. Peaceful people were driving those cars. Families who wanted to evacuate. Some of the cars windows have "children" signs and bullet marks. Video provided by the head of Kyiv RMA Oleksiy Kuleba.

Lviv resident Viktor Lehkodukh won gold in the shot put for Ukraine in the Invictus Games, the head of Lviv RMA Maksym Kozytskyy informs.

Lehkodukh went to defend Ukraine in the first days of Russian aggression in the spring of 2014. For half a year he fought in the hottest spots of the East of Ukraine. In August 2014 he received a severe wound in the spine after which the recovering took a long time. Earlier, the Ukrainian also became a finisher of the London Marathon.

Putin awarded the honorary title of "Guards" to the 64th Motorized Rifle Brigade — the exact one who arranged a massacre in Bucha.

"For mass heroism, resilience, and courage" that is what the decree states about the non-humans who were killing peaceful residents, raping women and children, torturing and looting.

Russian occupants may arrange provocations in Ukraine during Easter, the Center for Countering Disinformation at the NSDC warns. The Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko states that the Ministry of Defense of the RF now practically threatens to shoot at the Ukrainian churches.

One of the biggest Ukrainian Bank monobank stops to serve clients who before the beginning of the war were and still are in Russia, Belarus, Crimea, temporarily occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, North Korea, Syria, and Eritrea. The information is provided by the co-founder of the monobank Oleh Horokhovskyy.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereschuk addresses the leaders of Russia with a request to open an evacuation corridor from besieged Mariupol and to provide local citizens with a possibility to leave the city.

World foundations and companies more actively cut their investments in China due to fears of government interference in business and the risk of sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg informs.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated a range of settlements near Izyum in the Kharkiv region. This information was confirmed today at the briefing by the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense Oleksandr Motyznyak.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine published a contact number for Russian soldiers who want to surrender and save their lives, the Deputy Ministry of Defense Hanna Malyar informs on her Facebook.

The Cabinet of Ministers has allocated the first UAH 200 million to businesses that employ internally displaced Ukrainians, the Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal states in his video address.

Occupant troops of the RF fired cluster shells in residential areas of Ochakiv in the Mykolaiv region, "Pivden" (The South) Operational Command informs.

Russian aggressor finished the regrouping of its troops for the offense in the southern operational zone, the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense Oleksandr Motuznyak at the briefing.

Mala Rohan village near Kharkiv is occupied from the first days of the Russian invasion. The invaders set up positions there to shell the regional center and eventually began to terrorize the locals. Suspilne talked to a local woman who managed to escape.

The destruction of Russian troops with the AFU artillery.

The sixth sanctions package of the EU against Russia should obligatorily include oil embargo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba stated in his talk with the Maltese colleague Ian Borg. 

Spoke with my Maltese counterpart @followianborg. Grateful to Malta for supporting five previous rounds of EU sanctions on Russia. I stressed that the sixth EU sanctions package must necessarily include an oil embargo on Russia.

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) April 18, 2022

The defenders of Ukrainian Mariupol keep fighting for the city in spite of being outnumbered by Russian occupants and being totally surrounded, they go to counter attacks. Video of one of those attacks is on the YouTube channel of "Azov" National Guard Regiment. 

The commander of the 36th Separate Marines Brigade Serhii Volyna has written a letter to Pope Francis. He asks to help save the residents of Mariupol. 

"You have seen a lot in your life. But I am sure you have never seen what is now happening in Mariupol. That is how the hell on earth looks like. I ask for your help because there came a time when prayers are not enough. Help save them. After the shelling of the drama theatre, the maternity hospital no one believes Russian occupants. Give the world the truth, evacuate people and save their lives from the hands of Satan that wants to burn everything alive!" - Serhii Volyna said to the Head of the Catholic Church.

The Head of "Energoatom" (National Nuclear Energy Company) Petro Kotin discussed additional supply of uranium concentrate for the Ukrainian power plants with the managers of Urenco Group - the press service of "Energoatom". 

As of today, 200 cultural heritage sites have been destroyed by Russian aggressors - the Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko in Telegram. 

Vokzalna street in Bucha has drastically changed. That is the street on all photos of which the destoyed military machines were displayed. The new photo was published by the journalist Kristina Berdynskykh.

Ukrposhta (the national post provider) has limited the sales of the stamp "Russian military ship, go **** yourself" to one person because of the big amount of wholesale orders and in order to avoid speculations - the General Director of the company Ihor Smilyanskyi. 

The leader of the ruling German party Manuela Schwesig colluded with the Russian Gazprom and was lobbying the construction of the Nord Stream 2, which was revealed by the leak of the documents - The Times. 

This year the Ukrainians will not have additional days-off in April and May due to the martial law. April 25th, May 2nd and May 9th will be working days paid as usually - State Labour Service of Ukraine.

Russian occupants keep illegally holding in captivity the sailors of three cargo ships under the foreign flags that were staying in the trade port of Mariupol - the ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova. 

The police have finished all necessary investigative activities in Irpin on documenting the military crimes of Russia and have submitted the corpses of 269 killed residents for the examination, the separate case about the residential complex Rich Town is ready to be submitted to the International Criminal Court - the First Deputy Head of the Chief Investigative Office of the National Police of Ukraine Serhii Panteleiev at the briefing.

Since the beginning of the war with Russia the rescue teams of Chernihiv region have unblocked corpses of 71 deceased people, as Chernihiv Region State Administration informs. 

The Speaker of Vladimir Putin stated that the Ukrainian side "does not show permanence" in agreements reached at the negotiations with Russia and allegedly "changes its position", as propaganda media RIA Novosti informs. 

Strategic and military facilities of Russia can now be viewed on Google Maps in maximum quality, ARMIIA INFORM reports. 

There is still a wave of refusals from participation in the war against Ukraine in the Russian army, the Chief Intelligence Office of Ukraine informs. 

Professional teams of medical staff from Lithuania have arrived to Ukraine - the Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko on Facebook. 

The Chief Intelligence Office of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine obtained data on the Russian military criminals that belong to the highest command staff and consciously obey the orders of the Putin regime to destroy the state of Ukraine. 

In the German city of Inholstadt where the factory and the office of Audi are located the banner in support of Ukraine was posted. The banner says "Hold together!"

Russian occupants organized assault on Kreminna at night on April 18th, having previously concentrated dozens of machine there. Ukrainian defenders retreated to the new positions - the Head of Luhansk Region Military Administration Serhii Haidai for Donbas Realii media. 

On La Place de la Bastille in Paris the march and rally in support of Ukraine and against Putin and his allies took place, the Ukrainian Embassy in France informs.

Ukraine purchased aroung 800 VAC therapy devices that help clear the wounds effectively and intensify their healing. The was stated by the Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko during his visit to the medical institutions of Vinnytsya region.

Viktor Medvedchuk, the MP from "Opposition platform "For life"" party who had been arrested by the Security Service of Ukraine, addressed the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the President of Russia Vladimir Putin with an offer to exchange him for the defenders and residents of Mariupol.

The amount of victims due to the shelling of Lviv has reached seven people. Three of the 11 wounded are in bad condition - the Head of Lviv Region Military Administration Maksym Kozytskyi in is Telegram.