Last news • War in Ukraine
Kyiv below risk: enemy UAVs are heading in the direction of the capital, explosions are heard
An air alert has been introduced in Kyiv as a result of strategy of enemy UAVs from the northeast. Russian drones additionally threaten Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Zaporizhzhia areas, explosions had been heard in Kyiv.
Belarus has welcomed an Easter truce between Ukraine and Russia, the Belarusian Overseas Ministry stated in a press release on April 20.
Russia declared a brief Easter ceasefire from April 19 till midnight on April 21 regardless of later violating the truce a number of instances, in line with President Volodymyr Zelensky and soldiers on Ukraine's entrance strains. Belarusian authorities have parroted Kremlin narratives and stood behind Russia because it continues to wage its warfare towards Ukraine.
"This transfer was taken on the eve of Easter, which makes it significantly vital and symbolic," the Belarusian Overseas Ministry stated in a press release.
The Overseas Ministry, in its assertion, repeated Russian narratives. Saying that Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia are "fraternal nations," an concept normalized within the Soviet Union and thought of to undermine the distinct identities of Ukrainians and Belarusians.
The Ministry claimed it hopes for a "diplomatic settlement" to finish Russia's warfare towards Ukraine.
"We hope that the truce will result in de-escalation of tensions and can permit transferring on to a diplomatic settlement," the Belarusian Overseas Ministry stated.
Moscow has proven indicators it’s unwilling to maneuver ahead on a peace take care of Ukraine. Russian authorities have listed maximalist demands in ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine and the U.S.
Ukraine has already agreedto a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire, saying on March 11 that Kyiv is prepared if Russia additionally agrees to theterms. To this point, Moscow has refused.
"Hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week," U.S. President Donald Trump wrote in a social media put up on April 20.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk
"Easter truce" confirmed the Russian Federation's rejection of US and Ukrainian proposals for a ceasefire – ISW
Throughout Russia's "Easter truce," combating continued, though it subsided in some areas of the entrance. ISW emphasizes that ceasefire agreements require transparency and dependable monitoring.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given no orders to increase the so-called "Easter truce" past midnight on April 21, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov instructed the Russian state information company TASS.
Moscow's temporary ceasefire allegedly went into impact at 6 p.m. Moscow time on April 19. President Volodymyr Zelensky and soldiers preventing on Ukraine's entrance traces have accused Russia of violating the truce a number of instances.
Peskov instructed reporters on April 20 that there are not any plans to increase the ceasefire past its said expiration level.
"There have been no different orders," he stated when requested about the potential of an extension.
Zelensky responded to Putin's announcement on April 19 by urging Russia to extend the ceasefire beyond Easter and conform to a 30-day truce.
"It will present Russia's true intentions, as a result of 30 hours is sufficient for headlines, however not for actual confidence-building measures. Thirty days can provide peace an opportunity," he stated.
The US in March proposed a 30-day ceasefire on all hostilities in Russia and Ukraine as a preliminary step in peace negotiations. Kyiv instantly agreed to the proposal, with the one requirement being that Russia settle for the identical phrases.
Moscow has constantly pushed again on Washington's requires a full ceasefire, as an alternative demanding extraordinary concessions from Ukraine, reminiscent of an entire halt on all international army assist.
A number of European leaders have referred to as on Putin to just accept an unconditional ceasefire within the wake of his Easter truce declaration.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk
Trump hopes for the signing of a peace settlement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation already this week
Donald Trump hopes {that a} peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia shall be signed already this week. In his opinion, this can open the best way for useful cooperation with the USA for the events.
The US goals to safe "a full and complete ceasefire" in Ukraine past a short lived Easter truce, a U.S. State Division spokesperson stated on April 20 in an announcement emailed to Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin unilaterally declared a short lived Easter ceasefire from 6 p.m. Moscow time on April 19 till midnight on April 21. Russia has already violated the truce a number of instances, in response to President Volodymyr Zelensky and soldiers on Ukraine's entrance traces.
"We’ve seen President Putin's announcement of a short lived ceasefire resulting from Easter. We stay dedicated to reaching a full and complete ceasefire," the U.S. State Division stated in a statement emailed to Reuters.
"As we assess their seriousness on this occasion, we’d welcome it extending past Sunday."
Putin has given no orders to extend the ceasefire, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on April 20.
Ukraine is able to extend the truce to a minimum of 30 days, Zelensky stated on April 19. The president responded to Putin's declaration by inviting Russia to just accept a month-long unconditional ceasefire.
"It will present Russia's true intentions, as a result of 30 hours is sufficient for headlines, however not for actual confidence-building measures. Thirty days can provide peace an opportunity," he stated.
Ukraine will abide by a ceasefire for so long as Russia does, however will return fireplace if attacked, Zelensky stated.
The U.S. initially proposed a whole 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in March, throughout talks with Kyiv and Moscow in Saudi Arabia. Ukraine accepted the proposal instantly and stated it might enact a ceasefire as soon as Russia agreed to the identical phrases.
Russia has persistently rejected requires a wider ceasefire, refusing the U.S. proposal until Ukraine takes actions to undermine its defense capabilities, together with halting all overseas navy assist.
U.S. President Donald Trump on April 18 threatened to withdraw from the Russia-Ukraine peace course of if both aspect "makes it very tough" to attain a deal. Putin introduced his 30-hour "ceasefire" the next day.
European leaders have responded skeptically to Russia's transfer, calling it a "media stunt" and urigng Putin to declare an unconditional ceasefire.
In the meantime, troopers preventing on Ukraine's entrance traces say they see no sign of any Easter truce.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk
RF discovered a proof for violating the "truce": accused Kyiv of utilizing HIMARS
Russian Overseas Ministry spokesperson Zakharova said about Ukraine violating the "Easter truce". In the meantime, Ukraine recorded over 2 thousand violations of this regime by the RF military.
Key developments on April 19-20:
A number of Russian ceasefire violations throughout the entrance line have been reported since an Easter truce was declared by the Kremlin, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on April 20.
Russia's Easter ceasefire was supposed to return into impact at 6 p.m. on April 19 and final till midnight on April 21, with Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming it will "take a look at Ukraine's sincerity in pursuing peace talks."
Nevertheless, the Armed Forces of Ukraine has noticed a rise in Russian shelling and using kamikaze drones since 10 a.m., with using FPV drones "doubling," based on Zelensky, relaying info offered by Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Russian forces have already carried out 26 assaults between midnight and midday at this time, Zelensky added.
The Russian army is reportedly most lively within the Pokrovsk and Siversk instructions in Ukraine's jap Donetsk Oblast.
"We’re documenting each Russian violation of its self-declared dedication to a full ceasefire for the Easter interval and are ready to offer the mandatory info to our companions," Zelensky said.
"Both Putin doesn’t have full management over his military, or the scenario proves that in Russia, they don’t have any intention of constructing a real transfer towards ending the warfare, and are solely enthusiastic about favorable PR protection."
Zelensky additionally repeated his name to stress Moscow to "genuinely decide to a ceasefire" for 30 days, slightly than merely throughout the Easter holiday.
Russian FPV drone assaults targeting civilians have been additionally reported in Ukraine's southern Kherson Oblast after the Easter ceasefire got here into impact, with at the least 4 individuals reported injured and one particular person killed.
The Kyiv IndependentKate Tsurkan
Ukraine brings house 277 POWs in swap with RussiaUkraine introduced house one other 277 troopers in a major prisoner exchange with Russia forward of the Easter vacation, President Zelensky introduced on April 19.
The most recent swap was mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
"I thank everybody who made this return of our individuals potential," Zelensky said. "I’m particularly grateful to the United Arab Emirates for his or her mediation."
In response to the Coordination Headquarters for the Therapy of Prisoners of Warfare (POWs), 246 Ukrainian service members have been released as a part of the change with Russia. One other 31 have been launched exterior of the change.
Beforehand, Sky Information reported that the Easter swap would contain 246 POWs from either side, in addition to 46 injured troopers.
The troopers launched on April 19 took half within the protection of Mariupol and different elements of Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk oblasts, Zelensky mentioned.
The service members belonged to Ukraine's Armed Forces, Nationwide Guard, State Transport Service, and Border Guard Service, however most have been from the Marine Corps, particularly these taken prisoner within the surrounded metropolis of Mariupol in April 2022.
The returned prisoners embody 9 officers and 268 privates and sergeants, the Coordination Headquarters reported.
That is the 63rd prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine because the begin of the full-scale warfare. The newest POW exchange between Ukraine and Russia came about on March 19, with 175 Ukrainians introduced again house.
For the reason that starting of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Kyiv has returned 4,552 individuals from Russia's captivity, together with each troopers and civilians, based on Zelensky.
Ukraine floated the concept of an all-for-all prisoner exchange again in 2024, however Russia has not agreed to the proposal.
Ukraine advances in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, Zelensky saysUkrainian forces have advanced in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, President Zelensky claimed on April 19, citing a report from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Ukraine launched a small-scale offensive in Belgorod Oblast in late March, marking Kyiv's second cross-border operation in Russian territory after the August 2024 Kursk incursion.
Zelensky mentioned on April 19 that Syrskyi briefed him on the exercise of Ukrainian troops in Russia.
"Our forces continued their exercise in Kursk Oblast at this time and are sustaining their positions. In Belgorod Oblast, our army superior and elevated our zone of management," Zelensky said.
The report comes almost two weeks after the president confirmed the presence of Ukrainian forces in Belgorod Oblast. Zelensky on April 7 mentioned that cross-border operations have been "completely simply" and a method of returning Russia's warfare "to the place it got here from."
Kyiv has carried out occasional cross-border raids since 2023, with quite a lot of Russian volunteer soldiers preventing alongside Ukrainian items. These raids have been hours-long and served primarily as political operations slightly than army ones.
Ukraine launched a major cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in August 2024, occupying Russian border territories in an try and divert Russian consideration from front-line areas of jap Ukraine.
Whereas Kyiv managed to occupy elements of Kursk Oblast for seven months, Russia recaptured the logistics hub of Sudzha in March 2025 amid a counteroffensive that compelled Ukrainian troops to withdraw from a considerable a part of the area.
Russian army bloggers and unbiased analysts reported on March 29 that Ukrainian forces advanced three to four kilometers into Belgorod Oblast, participating in battles with Russian troops.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news deskRepublican US Congressman Fitzpatrick visits Ukraine’s entrance line, indicators a shell for PutinU.S. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a pro-Ukraine Republican representing Pennsylvania, visited Ukrainian troops near the front line on April 18, following his assembly with President Zelensky in Kyiv.
"These are wonderful troopers, the women and men of the Ukrainian army, very similar to the women and men of the U.S. army, have this wonderful preventing spirit. They're preventing for his or her democracy, they're preventing for the liberty – all of us in America want to face behind them," Fitzpatrick mentioned in a video address filmed on the entrance line, revealed on his Fb account.
"I at all times have and at all times may have their again. I encourage all my colleagues in Congress to return right here."
Fitzpatrick's go to comes as Washington signaled that it was able to stop its mediation efforts to finish Russia's warfare in opposition to Ukraine if one of many sides "makes it troublesome."
In a submit shared on Fb, Fitzpatrick revealed one other video, exhibiting him signing an artillery shell with a message to Vladimir Putin.
"It was my profound honor to ship a really 'private' message to Vladimir Putin at this time, from the entrance traces of the warfare close to the Russian border, on behalf of our PA-1 group," Fitzpatrick wrote.
The congressman said he had spent a number of days on the bottom, visiting artillery items of the Nationwide Guard and the drone operators from the Third Assault Brigade, who he praised for "utterly altering warfare – not simply right here however throughout the globe."
Fitzpatrick mentioned that throughout the go to, the group was shelled close to the Russian border, tracked by Russian drones, and compelled to hold out an emergency evacuation from the realm.
In response to Fitzpatrick, the territories beforehand occupied by Russian forces have been "utterly burned down."
"That's what they do. They overwhelm you with our bodies, overwhelm you with artillery with not loads of thought behind it," he mentioned.
Earlier on April 17, Fitzpatrick met with Zelensky, throughout which the 2 mentioned U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, Washington's proposed full and unconditional ceasefire, and broader efforts to attain what Zelensky described as "a dignified and lasting peace."
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk
Russia prepares to push towards Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast, monitoring group saysRussian troops are solidifying their presence within the village of Kalynove in Donetsk Oblast as they prepare for an advance towards Stara Mykolaivka and the highway to Kostiantynivka, Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState reported on April 18.
Russian forces are deploying infantry and establishing logistical routes and communication traces in Kalynove, based on DeepState.
There was a notable slowdown in Russia's offensive operations after months of regular territorial beneficial properties throughout jap Ukraine. In response to a DeepState report from April 1, Russian troops captured simply 133 sq. kilometers in March — the bottom month-to-month whole since June 2024.
Ukrainian troopers working within the space reported an awesome presence of Russian drones within the space of Kalynove, based on DeepState. New Russian drone crews, beforehand lively in battles in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, have arrived to the realm, the group mentioned.
Russian forces try to disrupt Ukrainian logistics and at the moment are in a position to function drones deep sufficient to succeed in Kostiantynivka, the report added.
Kostiantynivka is a metropolis in Donetsk Oblast with a pre-war inhabitants of 67,000 individuals. Town has been one of many key logistical hubs for the Ukrainian army in Donetsk Oblast because the begin of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. It’s at present positioned about 10 kilometers (6 miles) southwest of the entrance line in Chasiv Yar.
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In Kharkiv area, two foresters had been injured because of the explosion of a hearth engine
Within the Balakliia forestry in Kharkiv area, a fireplace engine exploded on an explosive object whereas extinguishing a fireplace. Two foresters suffered an acute stress response.
Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced an Easter ceasefire beginning on April 19, claiming that it might "check Ukraine's sincerity in pursuing peace talks," however throughout the entrance line, Ukrainian troopers inform the Kyiv Impartial they’ve but to see any signal of it.
The "Easter ceasefire" was supposed to return into impact at 6 p.m. on April 19 and final till midnight on April 21.
Nevertheless, Russian (first-person view) FPV drone strikes have triggered a number of civilian casualties in Kherson, a volunteer concerned in evacuations recounted being focused by three FPV drones, and Ukrainian troops proceed to face assaults from a spread of weaponry.
Within the afternoon on April 20, Ukraine's Normal Workers reported 45 firefights throughout the entrance line over the day prior to this.
"Nobody ever believed the Russians would honor their very own so-called ceasefire. Nobody’s letting their guard down — we’re staying alert and prepared. For now, our orders are to look at and doc," Bandera, a soldier serving within the Sumy course, advised the Kyiv Impartial.
Whereas it was "quiet till morning," Ukrainian forces within the Sumy course have noticed Russian forces utilizing drones to put mines throughout roads. A number of explosions could possibly be heard within the distance and reconnaissance exercise "stays excessive," Bandera added.
Ukrainian infantry and artillery models are additionally repelling a sequence of Russian assaults throughout Ukraine's japanese Donetsk Oblast.
"What do I see on today? About 5 Russian assaults, that are persevering with to this very second. Proper now, our infantry is in a firefight with the Russians, who’ve come to kill them. So no, I don't really feel any ceasefire," Tekhnar, a battalion commander close to Toretsk mentioned.
"Immediately, identical to yesterday, there have been rocket strikes and artillery strikes and oh so many drone strikes," one other soldier serving close to Toretsk, who requested to stay nameless, added.
Babai, an officer combating close to Chasiv Yar, mentioned that Russian forces had used cluster munitions.
"They're hitting us with all the pieces," he mentioned.
One soldier who spoke anonymously out safety issues concerning her location mentioned that Russian infantry troopers have been "crawling ahead in teams of two or three" because the morning of April 20.
"The variety of artillery strikes has dropped barely — although round 10 p.m. final evening, there have been guided bomb assaults," she added.
In a submit on X, President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned on April 20 that Ukraine is "documenting each Russian violation of its self-declared dedication to a full ceasefire for the Easter period and are ready to supply the required data to our companions."
"Both Putin doesn’t have full management over his military, or the state of affairs proves that in Russia, they haven’t any intention of creating a real transfer towards ending the warfare, and are solely thinking about favorable PR protection," Zelensky mentioned.
The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk