The Ukrainian military says its units are standing firm in the fiercely contested city of Bakhmut and throughout the Donetsk region. Russia launched a new round of strikes in eastern part of the country Wednesday and Ukraine reported shooting down multiple attack drones.
As the heavy fighting continues, Ukrainian officials have welcomed the arrival of more foreign weaponry, and report that Russian losses are several times higher than Ukrainian ones.
Catch up on the latest developments in the war:
- Ukraine downs attack drones: Ukraine says it shot down 10 of the 11 ”Shahed” drones launched by Russian forces Wednesday night, the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said. Officials announced Tuesday that Russian forces launched an overnight attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa using the Iranian-made drones.
- Air raid alerts reported across Ukraine: Several parts of the country received air raid alerts Wednesday, including the Kyiv city and the region, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions, according to the Kyiv Regional Military Administration.
- Ukraine holding its ground in Bakhmut: Amid heavy fighting in the Donetsk region, Russia is concentrating the bulk of its forces in Bakhmut and “wants to take full control of the city,” said Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces. Ukrainian forces are “holding back the enemy’s offensive,” Syrskyi said.
- More hardware arrives: Ukraine continues to receive Western equipment for both offensive and defensive units, including French armored vehicles and US Patriot missile defense systems and another IRIS-T from Germany – a highly effective system for combatting cruise missiles. The shipments come as recently leaked US military documents indicated the Ukrainians were rapidly depleting or had exhausted some anti-air munitions.
- US announces new assistance: Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the US is pledging an additional $325 million security assistance package to Ukraine. The package includes more ammunition and artillery rounds, as well as anti-armor systems meant to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia.
- Detained American reporter doing well: Jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is doing well but is only able to receive “censored” letters in Russian due to the prison rules, his lawyer said.
- About 80,000 incidents of potential war crimes: Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin told US lawmakers that his office has registered tens of thousands of potential war crimes, and to date has convicted 31 Russians for war crimes in Ukrainian courts. The office also has “finished cases against 152 potential war criminals,” Kostin said.
- Ukrainian teen forcibly sent to Russia: A 16-year-old Ukrainian was forcibly sent to Russia ”for vacation” and was placed with a family who attempted to indoctrinate him with pro-Russian propaganda, a representative for the teen told the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee. President Volodymyr Zelensky has said there have been 16,000 forced deportations of Ukrainian children.
- Surveillance law about to expire: A law that allows the government to collect foreign communications without a warrant is set to sunset at the end of 2023. The law has helped the US gain ”vitally important” intelligence about the war in Ukraine, US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, adding that losing the law would hamper the department’s efforts to hold Russia accountable.
6:57 p.m. ET, April 19, 2023
Ukraine says it downed 10 attack drones launched by Russia
From CNN’s Yulia Kesaieva
Ukraine says it shot down 10 of the 11 “Shahed” drones launched by Russian forces on Wednesday night, the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Telegram.
“This night the enemy again attacked Ukraine with suicide drones from the southeast,” Air Force Command said. “The anti-aircraft missile units of the East Air Command destroyed 10 out of 11 Shahed-136/131.”
No casualties were reported by the Air Force Command.
”Shahed” drones are manufactured in Iran and have been frequently deployed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Air Force announced Tuesday that Russian forces launched an overnight attack on the city of Odesa using the Iranian-made drones. ”Shahed” drones were also brought down over Dnipro city, according to Andriy Yermak, the head of the president’s office.