Today, Sunday, Russian offensive operations continued on various fronts in Ukraine, with the failure of a truce in the eastern front, while international calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Mariupol and the evacuation of trapped civilians escalated.

With Russia's war on Ukraine entering its 60th day, Ukrainian forces in Donetsk and Luhansk repelled 12 Russian attacks during the past 24 hours, according to a statement by the Ukrainian General Staff.

The statement also referred to the transfer of military reinforcements for the Russian forces from Belgorod to Ukrainian territory, in addition to the deployment of surface-to-surface "Iskander" missiles sixty kilometers from the border.

In a remarkable statement, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyal announced that more than 20,000 residents of the city of Mariupol had died due to the Russian attack.

"Mariopol is surrounded, but our soldiers and thousands of civilians with them are still in the Azovstal steel plant," Shmyhal said, stressing that "Russian forces committed horrific atrocities and war crimes in Mariupol."

On the other hand, the mayor of Mariupol, appointed by Russia, said that "there are no longer any military operations in the city and life has begun to return to normal."

In this regard, an adviser to the Ukrainian president said that Kyiv offered Russia a "special" round of negotiations regarding the situation at the Azovstal plant to discuss the fate of Ukrainian civilians and troops who are still trapped there.

Presidential adviser Oleksiy Aristovich explained in a video speech that the negotiations will be aimed at an immediate ceasefire in Mariupol, the opening of humanitarian corridors "for several days", and the liberation or exchange of Ukrainian fighters trapped in the Azovstal plant.


high precision missiles

In the eastern province of Kharkiv, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its air force had targeted nine Ukrainian military installations with high-precision missiles.

Oleksiy Aristovich said that the Russian forces are trying to storm the "Azovestal" factory by land, backed by air and artillery bombardments.

In his Facebook post, Aristovich accused Russian forces of trying to eliminate the defenders of Azovstal and more than a thousand civilians hiding in the compound.

For his part, the deputy commander of the Azov forces of the Ukrainian army, Svyatoslav Palamar, demanded the release of those trapped in Mariupol.

He accused the Russian forces of continuing to target the besieged, despite the approach of Easter.

epa09896200 Ukrainian servicemen take their position in a zone between Luhansk and Donetsk areas, Ukraine, 18 April 2022, amid Russian troops activity.

Russian troops entered Ukraine on 24 February resulting in fighting and destruction in the country and triggering a series of severe economic sanctions on Russia by Western countries.

EPA-EFE/STR (European News Agency)

Easter truce

Mikhailo Podlyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian president, also called on Russia to declare a truce for Easter in the city of Mariupol.

On the other hand, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its missile and artillery forces carried out more than 400 fire missions last night, destroying the stores of an explosives production company in the Pavlograd region of the Dnipro region in central Ukraine.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov added that Russian forces also targeted several military facilities in Ukraine.

In a tweet, he called on Moscow to think about the remnants of its reputation, by opening an immediate humanitarian corridor for the exit of civilians and agreeing to a special round of negotiations to exchange prisoners.


British intelligence

In a related context, British military intelligence said that despite Russia achieving some territorial gains, the Ukrainian forces were strong in all axes and the Russian forces incurred great losses.

Also, this week, the Ukrainian forces repelled several Russian attacks along the line of contact in the Donbass.

British intelligence suggested that what it described as the low morale of the Russian soldiers, and the limited time to reorganize and equip the forces, would impede the Russian combat effectiveness.