The president said that at least 67 Ukrainian priests, pastors, and monks have been killed or tortured by Russian forces, and that 640 religious sites—most of them Christian—have been destroyed since the start of the full-scale invasion.
"Ukraine has committed to a full ceasefire. We urge Russia to do the same."
"Thirty hours is enough for headlines, but not for real confidence-building measures," President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "Thirty days can give peace a chance."
A senior Ukrainian military officer said his unit and others received orders to cease fire on Russian positions minutes after the truce was set to begin. The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
"In Belgorod Oblast, our military advanced and increased our zone of control," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 19, citing reports from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
"The Verkhovna Rada, as it adopted (martial law), can cancel it, even if there are some decisions that require it," Defense Committee Secretary Roman Kostenko said in an interview with New Voice.
The number of people injured in Russia's April 18 missile attack on Kharkiv has risen to 120, with 18 victims hospitalized, including four children.
Another 277 Ukrainian soldiers returned home in a major prisoner swap with Russia mediated by the United Arab Emirates, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on April 19.
Bohdan Zhuk, director of the Sunny Bunny film festival, told the Kyiv Independent that the organizers had received threats prior to the event.
Iran filed a case at the International Court of Justice on April 17, seeking to overturn a ruling by the International Civil Aviation Organization that held Tehran responsible for the 2020 downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia deployed eight missiles of different types, and 87 long-range drones – 33 of which were shot down and 36 turned out to be decoy, on April 19.
Russian troops are solidifying their presence in the village of Kalynove in Donetsk Oblast as they prepare for an advance toward Stara Mykolaivka and the road to Kostiantynivka, Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState reported on April 18.
The number includes 1,180 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Moldova's parliament voted on April 17 to hold elections on Sept. 28 – a vote that could potentially threaten the majority currently held by pro-Western President Maia Sandu's party.
The U.S. indicated during recent talks in Paris that it has developed a draft concept for how a comprehensive ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia might be monitored if one can be achieved, a Western official said.
The attacks come shortly after Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that the 30-day partial ceasefire on energy infrastructure strikes had expired.
Lithuania will upgrade and fortify a second route through the Suwałki Gap, a strategically critical stretch of land along the Polish border viewed as one of the most likely targets for a future Russian attack on NATO.
A court in St. Petersburg sentenced 19-year-old Darya Kozyreva to two years and eight months in a penal colony for allegedly "discrediting" the Russian army.
Recognizing Russia’s control of Crimea would mark a significant win for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long pushed for international legitimacy over the territory.
The swap will reportedly involve 246 POWs from each side, as well as 46 injured soldiers, an undisclosed source told Sky News.
"If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say: 'you're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people,' and we're just going to take a pass. But hopefully we won't have to do that," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
"There are already some developments, but, of course, there are still many complicated discussions ahead," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Following the start of Russia's full-scale war in 2022, Hrishenkov defended Mariupol, where he was injured. After 86 days of defending the encircled city under heavy Russian bombardment, he and about 2,500 other fighters left the Azovstal steel plant after Ukrainian commanders ordered the defending garrison to lay down their arms.
One of the officials told Bloomberg that the U.S. plans, which require further discussion with Kyiv, would not be a final settlement and that European allies would not recognize the occupied territories as Russian.
"I want to update the prime minister (Giorgia Meloni) on some of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine... even in the past 24 hours, we think we have some interesting things to report on," U.S. Vice President JD Vance said.
Japan's funds will be disbursed over 30 years and directed toward budgetary needs and to support reconstruction and development.
"We are now working in parallel with our and American legal teams and are trying to remove many technical issues to narrow them down to the most sensitive ones that will require a political decision," Deputy Economy Minister and Trade Representative Taras Kachka said.
The new sanctions target 39 individuals and 60 legal entities, some based in Russia and China. The measures include asset freezes, trade restrictions, bans on property acquisition, termination of licenses and permits, and transit prohibitions.
These included service members killed in the Kurakhove, Pokrovsk, Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Kharkiv sectors of the front, as well as those in Russian morgues.
Ukrainian airline SkyUp Airlines has made its first regular flight since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, flying on the Chisinau-Paris route on April 18, the Ain outlet reported, citing the company's press service.
In a video released by Russian state-run RIA Novosti, the detainee, whose identity was not disclosed, said he was born in 2000 and is a citizen of Belarus.
U.S. officials said they expect tangible progress soon, while European participants pushed Washington to prepare a harsher response if Moscow fails to engage, Bloomberg reported.
(Updated: )
