We will fight, says Zelensky after the start of a new Russian offensive in Donbas. “No matter how many Russian soldiers are called here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves, “said the Ukrainian president. We watch online. 10.10 Japan will supply Ukraine with gas masks, protective suits and drones to strengthen the country’s defenses. The move comes at a time of growing concern that Russian troops could use chemical weapons. Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said his country was sending anti-chemical combat equipment at the request of the Ukrainian government. (ap, tasr) 9.51 Britain is said to be sending armored vehicles equipped with rocket launchers to Ukraine soon. The decision was made after Russia launched a full-scale offensive to take control of the Ukrainian east. The British Ministry of Defense presented Stormer armored vehicles equipped with anti-aircraft missiles two weeks ago in the Salisbury Lowlands in England, writes The daily The Sun. According to him, these 13-ton vehicles can be flown on Boeing C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft within a few days. These armored vehicles are designed to attack helicopters and low-flying aircraft, according to the UK Armed Forces. The stormers are manufactured by the British armaments company BAE Systems, they only need three people to operate, and they use Starstreak missiles, which can neutralize low-flying machines. 9.16 The Russian invasion of Ukraine has destroyed or damaged up to 30 percent of Ukraine’s transport infrastructure, with damage estimated at $ 100 billion. Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Olexandr Kubrakov said that according to certain conditions, the reconstruction could be managed within two years, while frozen Russian assets should be used to finance repairs. According to Kubrakov, hundreds of road bridges have been destroyed or damaged so far, thousands of kilometers of roads and dozens of railway bridges have been blown up. “If we talk about roads, bridges and residential buildings, I am convinced that almost everything could be repaired within two years if the work is carried out quickly,” Kubrakov said. He expects Western states to help Ukraine with reconstruction, while several sources are being discussed. “The first is the assets of the Russian Federation, which are currently frozen abroad,” he says. (reuters, tasr) 8.45 For the third day in a row, no humanitarian corridors have been agreed in Ukraine. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk, who said that difficult negotiations on the opening of humanitarian corridors in the Kherson and Kharkiv regions were continuing. (the guardian) 8.39 In the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Ukrainian troops repulsed seven Russian attacks. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the army destroyed ten Russian tanks, eighteen armored units and eight vehicles, one artillery system and a mortar. According to the staff, the main effort of the Russians is focused on breaking through the defenses of Ukrainian troops in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as well as on gaining full control of Mariupol. #Russian forces began a new phase of large-scale offensive operations in eastern #Ukraine on April 18 likely intended to capture the entirety of #Donetsk and #Luhansk oblasts.Read the latest from @TheStudyofWar and @criticalthreats: https: // t. What It’s almost as long as the longest flight in the world between Singapore and New York. Plane sent from Moscow to collect expelled Russian diplomats from Spain, then Greece, was forced to make 15K detour because of EU flight ban — almost as long as the world’s longest flight between Singapore and New York, according to @ flightradar24. https://t.co/lsQrF124pH pic.twitter.com/4gyN1Ihkrr – Lucian Kim (@Lucian_Kim) April 19, 2022 8.12 Ukrainian forces will defend Mariupol until the end, says Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Smyhal. “It simply came to our notice then. Our military forces are still here, our soldiers, so they will fight to the end. And they are still in Mariupol, “he told ABC television. (abc, bbc) 7.29 Belgian Governor Viacheslav Gladkov reports that Ukrainian troops have attacked the village of Golovchino, located in the area near the border with Ukraine, injuring one local. It was not immediately clear from Gladkov’s statement on Twitter whether it was a raid or an artillery, missile or mortar attack. Russia has already accused Ukraine of rocket attacks on several Russian villages and villages located in border areas, as well as an attack on a fuel depot in the city of Belgorod, which, according to Moscow, was carried out by Ukrainian military helicopters. (reuters, tasr) #Russian media published a photo from the site of shelling in the #Belgorod region. pic.twitter.com/J3tzBg8OSb – NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 19, 2022 6.35 US President Joe Biden does not plan to visit Ukraine in the foreseeable future, although he was recently invited there by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. According to her, the US administration is now focusing on providing security assistance or sending military material to Ukraine. However, Psaki also added that if a high-ranking American official traveled to Ukraine, the public would find out about it – for security reasons – only after his arrival in this country. (dpa, tasr) 5.22 Siege Mariupola Mayor Vadym Bojchenko said that about 40,000 civilians had already been “forcibly deported” from the city to Russia or to areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. According to the BBC, Bojchenko expressed this in an interview with Ukrainian television. He said that the number was verified through data from the general register. The BBC points out that it has not been able to verify the number independently. US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby said Monday that Mariupol still did not fall into Moscow. “We continue to witness a concentration of (Russian) airstrikes and artillery attacks in Donbas and the south (Ukraine), especially in and around Mariupol,” Kirby said, suggesting that Russia was creating the conditions for larger attacks. (bbc, tasr) 4.52 Ukraine hopes that it will be able to obtain the status of a candidate country of the European Union within a few weeks. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting with the head of the EU delegation in Ukraine, Mattio Maasikas. At the same time, Zelensky handed over to Maasikas the completed questionnaire needed to apply for EU membership, which was given to him on 8 April by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, during her visit to Kiev. (afp, tasr) 3.00 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Monday evening that Russia had launched a large-scale offensive in eastern Ukraine. The AFP agency informed about it. “We can now confirm that Russian soldiers have started the battle for Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time. A large part of the Russian army is now involved in this offensive, “said the Ukrainian president on the social network Telegram. “No matter how many Russian troops are called here, we will fight. We will defend ourselves, “he added. The start of the expected Russian invasion in Donbas was announced shortly before by the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajdaj. “It’s hell. The offensive we’ve been talking about for weeks has begun. He is constantly fighting in the cities of Rubižna and Popasna, as well as in other quiet cities, “he said in a post on Facebook. According to local officials, the Russian shelling claimed eight civilian casualties in Donbas on Monday. Hajdaj said four people had died trying to escape from the town of Kreminna in the Luhansk region, which he said had been seized by Russian troops on Monday. “Unfortunately, Kreminna is under the control of the orcs,” Hajdaj said, calling the Russian soldiers such a pejorative term, according to AFP. However, Ukrainian President’s adviser Alexei Arestovych denied that the Russians had already won the Kremlin. “There is intense street fighting going on there,” he said. The governor of the neighboring Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, again informed that four other civilians had lost their lives in the area during Monday’s Russian bombing. What happened on Monday, April 18: Read also War in Ukraine The second phase of the war has begun, reports Kiev. Russia launches offensive in the east Ukrainian Secretary of the National Security Council Oleksiy Danilov said that Russia had tried to break through Ukraine’s defenses along almost the entire front line of the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions.