On Apr. 18, Russia bombarded Ukraine with at least four missile strikes across the city of Lviv, leaving at least seven dead and 11 injured.
“The rubble is still being dismantled, so the numbers are not final yet,” Maksym Kozytskyy, Lviv’s military governor, told CNN. “Three are heavily injured, and a child is mildly injured.”
Three missiles hit warehouses, while the fourth hit a tire repair shop.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian military officials believe Russian forces are regrouping for further offensives in eastern Ukraine following failed attempts to push further into the capital city of Kyiv.
“Russia is preparing for an offensive in eastern Ukraine to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and ensure the stability of the land corridor with Crimena,” Ukrainian Col. Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said during a news briefing. “Strengthening of the offensive group is happening due to the transfer of additional Russian units. The most intense fighting is taking place in the Slobozhansky and Donetsk regions.”
In a telegram, Serhii Haidai, military governor for the Luhansk regional, announced that the city of Kreminna has been “lost.” Russian forces opened fire on at least one civilian vehicle as they fled the city.
“Four people died. One seriously injured person is still at the scene,” Haidai said. “Doctors cannot reach her due to the endless shelling.”
An unknown number of remaining troops in the city of Mariupol were cloistered within the Azovstal iron plant. Myhailo Vershynin, Mariupol chief of police, told CNN that these remaining troops protected an estimated 1000 civilians within the plant. As of Apr. 18, the defenders continue to hold their position following at least one ultimatum from the Russian Defense Ministry.
“They are aware of what their fate may be, but no one is going to give up. Yesterday the Russians offered us a ‘corridor,’ they wanted us to leave without weapons, through the filtration points and then surrender,” Vershynin told CNN. “Nobody agreed to this. No one will leave without a weapon.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced that there are no plans for U.S. President Joe Biden to travel to Ukraine. The announcement addresses requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for U.S. President Joe Biden to travel there.
“That has not changed — what our focus continues to be on is providing Ukraine, the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian leaders — a historic amount of security assistance,” Psaki told CNN.
Representatives of the European Union have publicly condemned Russia’s latest attacks, saying that the recent shellings show that no part of the country is safe.
“Ukraine has been struck by the most intensive missile attacks by the Russian Federation for weeks. The EU condemns the continued indiscriminate and illegal shelling of civilians and civilian infrastructure by Russian armed forces,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in an Apr. 18 statement.
