Live from Ukraine Night attack in Donbas ONLINE Load new news 10:50 Sweden’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance is supported by 57 percent of its population, an increase from 51 percent in March this year. This follows from the results of a survey by the Demoskop institute, which were published on Wednesday. 10:45 The Finnish parliament will start a debate on Wednesday on whether Finland should apply for NATO membership. It is a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as a result of which political and public support for joining the Alliance has increased significantly in Finland. Photo gallery (5) NATO
Source: Getty Images 10:40 On Tuesday (April 19), 3,213 inhabitants of Ukraine crossed the Slovak-Ukrainian border. Of these, 1,837 were women, 616 children and 760 men. 698 people requested temporary refuge. All activities related to refugees from Ukraine were provided by 188 police officers, 76 firefighters, 103 customs officers, 335 soldiers, six clergy, 170 volunteers, 53 members of foreign forces and seven employees of the migration office. “34 buses were transported, which transported 372 people to various places within Slovakia. 730 people were transported by trains. On Tuesday, 20 people were accommodated, the free capacities are at the level of 12,603,” Kirinovičová said. 10:25 “Russian soldiers and artillery attacked 1,053 objects of the Ukrainian army,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenko told the media. According to him, 106 artillery positions and 910 places where the Ukrainian army gathers soldiers were destroyed. The data of the losses of the warring parties cannot be independently verified. 10:20 The German army wants to transport more Ukrainians wounded because of the war in their country for treatment in Germany. The DPA agency informed about it today, stating that a similar event took place at the beginning of last week. 10:15 Russia has made unsuccessful attempts to penetrate the cities of Rubizna and Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Wednesday morning. “After the attempts of the Russian occupiers to invade Rubizhny and Severodonetsk, they admitted 130 enemy soldiers to the local hospital in Novoajdar,” the General Staff wrote in its situation report. 10:00 Two zoo staff in Kharkov who stayed to feed animals found dead Two zoo staff in Kharkov, Ukraine, who stayed in the city last month despite heavy shelling by Russian forces to find the animals were found dead. The zoo, which was referred to by the American television station CNN, wrote this in a statement on Tuesday. Feľdman-Ekopark Zoo said on Monday it received confirmation that employees had been shot dead by Russian soldiers and found barricaded in the room. It is not clear from the text of the announcement when the employees died, but the zoo wrote that they were declared missing in early March. Several animals, including lions, jaguars, silver foxes and hyenas, were evacuated during the shelling, the zoo added. Two staff remained at the zoo to feed the remaining animals. When their other colleagues returned to the park on March 7, the pair were missing, the zoo explained. “Employees searched for them and informed the police,” Feľdman-Ekopark wrote. “We will keep the sacred memory of these wonderful and courageous people in our hearts. We express our sincere condolences to their families and friends. We believe that the cruel people who did this will eventually be punished!” added the park. Parts of the park were damaged by shelling. Two bison were killed, leaving a ten-month-old cub alive, the zoo also wrote. Kharkov is Ukraine’s second largest city, located in the northeast of the state and has been facing intense shelling and attacks since the beginning of Russia’s February 24 invasion, CNN said on the web. 9:40 Ukraine on Wednesday agreed with Russian forces to open a humanitarian corridor designed to safely remove civilians from the devastated port city of Mariupol. This was announced by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereščuková. “We have managed to reach a preliminary agreement on a humanitarian corridor for women, children and the elderly,” Vereščuková wrote in the Telegram application. 9:15 European Council President Charles Michel arrived in Kiev on Wednesday for an unannounced visit to Ukraine. “Today in Kiev. In the heart of a free and democratic Europe,” Michel wrote on the social network Twitter. He attached a photo from the train station in Kiev. His exact program was not immediately known, but he is expected to meet with the country’s top officials in the Ukrainian capital. 9:00 The Norwegian government has donated 100 Mistral missiles to Ukraine. The Norwegian Ministry of Defense announced this on Wednesday. “The conflict in Ukraine can be long-lasting and the country is dependent on international support to withstand Russian aggression. Therefore, the government has decided to donate the Mistral air defense system to Ukraine,” said Björn Arild Gram, the head of the force. 8:30 More than 2.86 million people have come to Poland from Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Polish Border Guard (SG) announced this on Wednesday on the social network. 8:00 The Russian army continues to increase the concentration of its troops on the eastern border of Ukraine. This was confirmed this morning by the British Ministry of Defense in a regular report on current developments. Fighting in Donbas is intensifying, according to the ministry, as Russian forces try to break through Ukraine’s defense lines. 6:55 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday that Ottawa will send heavy artillery in support of the Ukrainian forces fighting the Russian offensive, thus complying with the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenský.