On Friday, April 22, the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that Russia has concentrated large forces for attacking the Donbas from the north. Meanwhile, the Mariupol city council stated that invaders have been laying many people killed in Mariupol in mass graves. In Russia, a pro-Kremlin resource of information published data on dead Russian soldiers as announced by the country’s Defence Ministry before deleting it soon after, Ukrainian public broadcaster Ukrinform, British public broadcaster BBC and Belarusian Nexta TV report.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ General Staff wrote in its report of the military situation in Ukraine in the past 24 hours to the morning of Friday, that in the Kharkiv region’s Izium direction, the Russian occupation forces deployed up to 25 battalion tactical groups to conduct combat actions.
As of 06:00 on April 22, in the Slobozhanskyi direction, the invaders, with forces of up to seven battalion tactical groups from Russia’s 6th General Army, coastal troops of the Baltic and Northern Fleets, continued to partially block the city of Kharkiv, launches attacks on Ukrainian troops and critical infrastructure facilities, as quoted by Ukrinform.
«In the Izium direction, the enemy deployed up to 25 battalion tactical groups from the 1st Tank Army, the 20th and 35th combined arms armies and the 68th Army Corps of the Eastern Military District, and airborne troops of the Russian Armed Forces,» the report stated.
In the Donetsk and south-eastern Tavriya directions, the invaders intensified hostilities along the entire line of combat on April 21. The enemy carries out assault operations in the area of the settlement of Zarichne and tries to advance in the area of the settlement of Rubizhne.
Defensive battles with the Russian forces continued in the direction of the settlements of Novotoshkivske and Popasna. The Russian forces, using artillery, continued attempts to carry out assault on Marinka.
At the same time, Russian troops strengthened the regrouping of troops in the Zaporozhzhia direction. Measures for the logistical support of troops are underway.
In the River Southern Buh direction in the south, the enemy continuesd to fire on units of the Defense Forces, tried to conduct reconnaissance in the battle near Trudoliubivka, suffering losses, and retreating to previously occupied positions.
In northern Ukraine, to the west from Kharkiv the Russian military did not take active actions, no signs of the formation of offensive groups were seen by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Large mass graves found near Mariupol and data of lost Russian soldiers
The Kyiv Independent’s Illia Ponomarenko quoted the Mariupol city council as saying that Russia has set up a mass burial cite here close to the town of Mangush, near the destroyed port city. Allegedly, Russians have buried the dead from Mariupol in 30-meter-long trenches next to a local cemetery.
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— Illia Ponomarenko ?? (@IAPonomarenko) April 21, 2022
Belarusian broadcaster Nexta TV reported that data of the Russian Ministry of Defence on dead Russian soldiers has been published and then deleted pointing to large losses.
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— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 22, 2022
Zelenskyy admits Russia took 40 settlements in east
Russian forces captured 40 villages in east Ukraine on Thursday, April 22, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky argued that these and other gains were only temporary.
«They can only delay the inevitable, the time when the invaders will have to leave our territory,» Zelensky stated.
Watch the latest video address by Zelenskyy with English subtitles.