Street fights in Luhansk
Ukraine: Russians have invaded Kreminna ‘on a large scale’
04/18/2022, 12:31 p.m
According to the governor of Luhansk, Russian troops have entered Kreminna with enormous armored vehicles. The small town in eastern Ukraine is now one of the biggest trouble spots in Ukraine. Because of the ongoing attacks, no escape corridors can be built today.
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian forces have marched into the small town of Kreminna in the Luhansk region. “The enemy was able to advance to Kreminna during the night, but could not establish himself there. Fighting continues directly in the city,” said the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajday, on his Facebook page.
According to Hajdaj, Kreminna is currently the biggest trouble spot, along with the city of Rubishne, which has been the subject of bitter fighting for the past month and a half. Russian tank technology had entered the city on a large scale. In addition, Hajdaj reported on the massive shelling of the city, which damaged several residential buildings and a sports complex. The Ukrainian general staff had previously announced in its situation report that the Russian attacks had been repelled.
The information cannot be independently verified at this time. However, the British secret service also assumes in its assessment of the situation that the advance of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine is progressing more slowly than planned. According to the report, the fierce battle for the port city of Mariupol put the Russian troops to the test and tied up many resources. Russian commanders must be concerned about the time it would take to subjugate Mariupol.
Russia: 100 military targets shelled
Despite the strained resources in Mariupol, Russian forces reported shelling more than 100 targets where Ukrainian military equipment and troops were concentrated during the night. “Army aviation destroyed eight tanks and other armored vehicles and up to a company of men,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
According to him, the Russian air defense forces also shot down three Ukrainian fighter jets, two MiG-29s near the city of Izyum and a Su-25 near Avdiivka. Meanwhile, Russian Iskander missiles destroyed four military arsenals. The reports cannot be independently verified.
Because of the ongoing attacks, no people could be evacuated from embattled and besieged cities, according to Ukrainian sources for the second day in a row. “Unfortunately, there will be no humanitarian corridors for today, April 18,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told Telegram. Negotiations on the corridors with the Russian army are “lengthy and complex,” particularly in relation to the devastated city of Mariupol, which is largely under Moscow control. “The Russian occupiers keep blocking and bombing humanitarian routes. Therefore, for security reasons, it was decided not to open any corridors,” explained Vereshchuk.
Kyiv has had to interrupt the evacuation via escape corridors several times, most recently on Sunday. Ukrainian authorities have urged people in the south-eastern Donbass region to flee west to avoid a feared large-scale Russian offensive to capture the region.