Here are the key events so far on Monday, April 11.
Get the latest updates here.
Fighting
- Bombardments around Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine have killed at least 12 people in the past two days, according to regional governor Oleg Synegubov. “The Russian army continues to wage war on civilians due to a lack of victories at the front,” he said on Telegram.
- British military intelligence says Russia is seeking to boost troop numbers with personnel discharged from military service since 2012.
- Ukraine’s deputy prime minister says 2,824 people were evacuated on Sunday through humanitarian corridors, including 213 from Mariupol, which has been under siege for weeks.
- The head of the Russian republic of Chechnya says there will be a Russian offensive not only on Mariupol but also on Kyiv and other cities.
- The US says Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has appointed General Alexander Dvornikov, one of its most seasoned military chiefs, to oversee the invasion.
- US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says he expects Dvornikov to orchestrate crimes and brutality against Ukrainian civilians.
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned his countrymen that the coming week would be as crucial as any since Russia launched its invasion. “Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state,” he said.
Civilian casualties
- Since February 24, the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,1,793 civilians have been killed and 2,439 wounded, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
- Separately, Ukraine’s ombudsman for human rights, Lyudmyla Denisova, has said 183 children are confirmed to have died in that time.
Foreign leaders
- Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer is expected to meet with Putin on Monday in Moscow, the Russian leader’s first face-to-face meeting with an EU counterpart since the invasion.
- Zelenskyy discussed possible additional sanctions on Russia in a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and praised what he said was a favourable change in Germany’s position towards Kyiv.
- US President Joe Biden will hold virtual talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, weeks after saying New Delhi has been “shaky” in its response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Economy and business
- Russia will take legal action if the West tries to force it to default on its sovereign debt, Finance Minister Siluanov told the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper.
- Ukraine’s economic output will likely contract by 45.1 percent this year, the World Bank has said.
- Ukraine has banned all imports from Russia and called on other countries to impose harsher economic sanctions.
- Russian bank VTB no longer controls its European subsidiary, German regulator BaFin said.
