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(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon has been providing daily updates on the U.S. assessment of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s efforts to resist.

Here are highlights of what a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Tuesday on Day 55:

‘Limited’ Russian offensive operations so far in eastern Ukraine

The U.S. has seen “limited” Russian offensive operations southwest of Donetsk and south of Izium, but these are believed to be “preludes to larger offensive operations that the Russians plan to conduct,” a senior U.S. defense official said.

“These are actual ground offensives, and they are being supported, of course, by some long-range fires, mostly artillery, which is right out of the Russian doctrine,” the official said.

But while there is ongoing fighting in the region, a more devastating offensive is still in the works.

“You’ve seen comments by [Ukraine’s] President Zelenskyy yesterday, and even for [Russian Foreign Minister] Lavrov, about this new offensive beginning … We think that these … are preludes to larger offensive operations that the Russians plan to conduct. So, we’re not pushing back on the notion that offensive operations have begun, but again, we think that this is a prelude of larger offensive operations that are potentially still in the offing here,” the official said.

The Pentagon believes Russia’s military is working to learn from its mistakes fighting in the north, where it was plagued with logistical and supply problems, conducting what officials call “shaping operations” to set favorable conditions on the battlefield before beginning its new offensive in earnest.

“In other words, continue to reinforce, continue to make sure they have logistics and sustainment in place, continue to make sure that they have proper aviation and other enabling capability,” the official said.

Over the last 24 hours, two Russian battalion tactical groups (BTGs), or up to 2,000 more combat troops, have been sent into Ukraine, according to the official. This brings the total to an estimated 78 BTGs inside the country, all in the south and east.

About 75% of Putin’s total combat power originally arrayed against Ukraine remains, according to the official. This takes into account all military capabilities, including troop casualties, destroyed vehicles and aircraft, and expended missiles. This is the lowest assessment we’ve heard out of the Pentagon.

Fall of Mariupol and Donbas ‘not inevitable’

“People speak about this as if it’s inevitable, that Mariupol is going to fall, that it’s inevitable that Donbas will be taken by the Russians. We don’t see it that way. And we’re doing everything we can to make sure that it’s not inevitable,” the official said.

With fighting concentrated around Donbas, Ukraine has to move aid coming in from the U.S. and others all the way across the country.

“Right now we know from our discussions with the Ukrainians that they are getting this materiel, it’s getting into the hands of their fighters,” the official said.

But Russia aims to isolate Ukrainian forces in the east.

“Clearly what the Russians want to do is cut them off and to defeat them in the Donbas,” the official said, reiterating that defeat is not inevitable.

Ukraine has more operable planes than two weeks ago

At a separate briefing later Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Ukraine currently has more operable military planes right now than it did two weeks ago because Ukraine has received additional aircraft as well as parts to get damaged planes flying again.

Kirby was reticent to provide any details on where the parts and planes came from but stressed that they did not come from the U.S.

“They have received additional aircraft and aircraft parts to help them get more aircraft in the air,” Kirby said at the on-camera briefing at the Pentagon.

“And that’s not by accident, that’s because other nations who had experience with those kinds of aircraft have been able to help them get more aircraft up and running,” said Kirby.

“We certainly have helped with the trans-shipment of some additional spare parts that have helped with their aircraft needs, but we have not transported whole aircraft,” he said.

Russian missile strikes

The U.S. assesses Russia has fired at least 1,670 missiles against Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion. The official noted that bad weather lowers visibility, making it harder for the U.S. to observe launches and other battlefield actions, so the actual number could be higher.

Despite the recent airstrikes in Kyiv and Lviv, Russia’s firepower is focused on Mariupol and Donbas.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. The Russian military has now launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol and secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Apr 19, 11:40 pm
Russia could be making probing attacks ahead of larger assault in Donbas: US official

As Ukrainian forces brace for a full-scale assault in the eastern part of the country, a U.S. official said the increased pace of operations from Russian forces in the past 24 hours could be probing attacks or the beginning of the main battle for the Donbas.

The defense official said the Russian offensive to seize southeastern Ukraine will likely involve a frontal assault from inside Russia and a double envelopment, or encircling, of Ukrainian forces in the Donbas. Russian forces will come south from Izyum and troops in the Berdyansk area will move north to encircle Ukrainian forces in the Joint Forces Operations area in the Donbas.

But the U.S. defense official said Ukraine has the advantage in the region since they have prepared a defense for years, including digging trenches, preparing anti-armor traps and ambush locations and more.

The U.S. and other countries have now provided close to 70,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine as well as 30,000 anti-aircraft missiles and 7,000 launchers to fire them, according to the defense official.

As for stopping the shipments of those weapons, the U.S. believes Russia will target the paths and roads in western Ukraine being used to ship Western military aid into Ukraine even though it has not done so yet. Still, it’s believed with the amount of weaponry being delivered to Ukrainian forces, it will be impossible to stop it all.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Schoolchildren were among those killed and injured in another series of deadly blasts in Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul, Tuesday morning.

At least six people were killed and over ten injured, Khalid Zadran, acting spokesman of the Taliban Kabul police wrote on Twitter, adding that security forces were on the scene and an investigation was launched into the attack. Unofficial reports indicate a higher number of casualties.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack.

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan condemned the “heinous” attack in a tweet saying, “those responsible for the crime targeting schools and children must be brought to justice.”

United Nations envoy Deborah Lyons extended deepest sympathies to victims’ families and wished for a speedy recovery for the wounded, in the same tweet.

The blasts happened at the entrance of Abdul Rahim Shahid high school located in a Shia Hazara neighborhood of the city. Hazaras are an ethnic/religious group that has been the target of attacks in the past. Most of the previous attacks in the same neighborhood were claimed by ISIS affiliates. Tuesday’s blast was the first attack in this neighborhood after the Taliban takeover in August.

Shi’a Hazaras are historically the most discriminated ethnic minority group in Afghanistan and have long faced violence and discrimination, according to Minority Rights International. according to Minority Rights International.

Save the Children’s country director in Afghanistan, Chris Nyamandi, issued a statement condemning the attack.

“Save the Children calls for safe access to education at all times for children in Afghanistan and for perpetrators of grave violations against children to be held to account,” the statement reads.

Today’s blasts follow Pakistani military airstrikes in the eastern Afghanistan provinces of Khost and Kunar which killed 47 civilians, mainly women and children, and left many wounded.

ABC News’ Aleem Agha and Guy Davis contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Russia launched an all-out ground offensive to take control of eastern Ukraine late Monday, marking the long-feared start of a new phase of the nearly two-month-long war.

Ukrainian officials said Russian forces were attacking along a nearly 300-mile front in the disputed Donbas region, the predominately Russian-speaking industrial heartland of Ukraine’s east, where Russia-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian soldiers since 2014 and have declared two independent republics recognized by Moscow.

“Russian troops have begun the battle for Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced late Tuesday in his nightly broadcast. “A very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive.”

Since invading neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24 from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east, Russian forces have struggled to take full control of major cities amid strong resistance from Ukrainian troops. After failing to seize the capital, Kyiv, Russian forces retreated from northern Ukraine and have been regrouping in the east in recent weeks in preparation for a full-scale assault, as Russian officials declared “liberating” the Donbas as the main goal of the “special military operation.”

On Tuesday morning, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that “another stage of this operation is beginning.”

“I am sure this will be a very important moment of this entire special operation,” Lavrov said in an interview with India Today, an English-language Indian television network.

Lavrov noted that the objective, “as it was declared from the very start,” was to “fully liberate” the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics in the Donbas.

The Russian military called on the outnumbered Ukrainian fighters in the besieged port city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast to surrender by midday. The Russian Ministry of Defense said it was ready to declare a temporary ceasefire in Mariupol on Tuesday from 1:30 p.m. local time.

Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center, told Russian state media on Tuesday that Ukrainian troops holed up on the grounds of the Azovstal steelworks plant in Mariupol had until 12 p.m. local time to stop all fighting and lay down their arms. Moscow has proposed this plan “given the catastrophic situation in the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, as well as for purely humanitarian considerations,” according to Mizintsev.

“All those who will lay down arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared,” he added. “The actual start of the temporary ceasefire shall be marked by both sides by raising flags — red flags by the Russian side and white flags by the Ukrainian side along the entire perimeter of Azovstal. Furthermore, their readiness to put the temporary ceasefire into effect shall be confirmed by the sides via all communication channels.”

According to Mizintsev, “absolutely all” Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries would have been allowed to leave the plant without any weapons or ammunition from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. local time. Moscow guaranteed to each Ukrainian soldier who surrenders that their life will be spared and their rights as prisoners of war will be respected, Mizintsev said.

The territory of the giant Azovstal plant is the last holdout for the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. The Mariupol City Council has previously said there are at least 1,000 people, including Ukrainian troops, on the grounds of the plant. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Monday that civilians, including women and children, were also sheltering there. She called for an “urgent humanitarian corridor” to allow them to evacuate.

Eduard Basurin, a spokesperson for the militia of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, told Russian state media on Tuesday that separatist special forces were chosen to assist the Russian military in storming the Azovstal plant. Basurin said they have already started the operation in Mariupol, with Russian forces providing air and artillery support.

The Ukrainian government did not immediately confirm the claim. However, Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said Tuesday that Russian forces were intensifying their attacks in the east, with a focus on breaching Ukrainian defenses in the Donetsk and Luhanks oblasts, as well as establishing full control of Mariupol.

Weeks of relentless Russian bombardment have largely reduced Mariupol to rubble and killed thousands of residents, according to local officials. Capturing the city — a strategically important port on the Sea of Azov, part of the Black Sea — is the remaining obstacle to Russia’s push to secure a a coastal corridor to Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, which Russian forces invaded and subsequently annexed in 2014. Earlier this month, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that a full-scale ground offensive by Russia in Ukraine’s east would be “a crucial phase of the war.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. Moscow is now said to be refocusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Apr 19, 6:26 am
Russia declares next phase of Ukraine invasion

Russia is starting the next phase of its “special military operation” in neighboring Ukraine, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“This operation will continue. Another stage of this operation is beginning,” Lavrov said in an interview Tuesday with English-language Indian television network India Today. “I am sure this will be a very important moment of this entire special operation.”

Lavrov noted that the goal of the operation is to “fully liberate” the Russian-backed separatist regions of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, “as it was declared from the very start.”

Apr 19, 6:16 am
Russia-backed separatist forces try to storm Azovstal plant in Mariupol

Russia-backed separatist forces are trying to storm a steel plant in besieged Mariupol where Ukrainian troops are holed up, according to separatist spokesperson Eduard Basurin.

Basurin, spokesman of the militia for a pro-Russia breakaway republic of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, told Russian state media on Tuesday that a separatist special forces unit was chosen to assist the Russian military in storming the giant plant of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works company in Mariupol, a strategic port city in eastern Ukraine’s war-torn Donetsk Oblast that has been under heavy Russian bombardment since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24.

Basurin said they have already started their operation at the Azovstal plant, with Russian forces providing air and artillery support.

The territory of the Azovstal plant is the last holdout for the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, as Russian forces accelerate their efforts to capture the city. The Mariupol City Council has previously said there are at least 1,000 people, including Ukrainian troops, on the grounds of the plant. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Monday that civilians, including women and children, are also sheltering there and she called for an “urgent humanitarian corridor” to allow them to evacuate.

The Ukrainian government did not immediately confirm Tuesday that Russian forces are storming the Azovstal plant.

Apr 19, 6:14 am
Ukraine says Russia is stepping up attacks in the east

Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said Tuesday that Russian forces are stepping up attacks in the east.

Russian forces are currently focused on breaking through Ukrainian defences in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, as well as establishing full control over the strategic port city of Mariupol, according to Shtupun.

In the south, Russian forces are focused on reaching the administrative border of the Kherson Oblast while continuing to shell the city of Mykolaiv, Shtupun said.

Meanwhile, Belarus continues to provide its territory to Russia for reconnaissance and launching air strikes against Ukraine. The Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv, Dnipro, Mykolaiv and Kherson were all shelled overnight, according to Shtupun.

Apr 19, 5:33 am
Russian military calls on Ukrainian troops in Mariupol to surrender

The Russian military is calling on Ukrainian troops in besieged Mariupol to surrender by midday on Tuesday.

Russian forces have been trying to seize the strategic port city in eastern Ukraine’s war-torn Donetsk Oblast since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24. The Russian Ministry of Defense said it is ready to declare a temporary ceasefire in Mariupol on Tuesday from 1:30 p.m. local time.

Ukrainian troops holed up on the grounds of the Azovstal iron and steelworks plant in Mariupol have until then to stop all fighting and lay down their arms, according to Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center. Moscow has proposed this plan “given the catastrophic situation in the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, as well as for purely humanitarian considerations,” Mizintsev said in a statement Tuesday.

“All those who will lay down arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared,” he added. “The actual start of the temporary ceasefire shall be marked by both sides by raising flags — red flags by the Russian side and white flags by the Ukrainian side along the entire perimeter of Azovstal. Furthermore, their readiness to put the temporary ceasefire into effect shall be confirmed by the sides via all communication channels.”

According to Mizintsev, “absolutely all” Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries will be allowed to leave the plant without any weapons or ammunition from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. local time. Moscow guarantees to each Ukrainian soldier who surrenders that their life will be spared and their rights as prisoners of war will be respected, Mizintsev said.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. Moscow is now said to be refocusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Latest headlines:
-Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia’s ‘shaping operations’ for future offensive
-US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby
-Thousands more Russian troops back in Ukraine
-Russian forces seize town in war-torn Luhansk region

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Apr 18, 7:55 pm
Zelenskyy: Russian forces have begun offensive in Donbas region

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces have begun their offensive in the eastern part of the country after a week of building up troops.

“It can now be stated that Russian troops have begun the battle for Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time,” the president said in his nightly address. “A very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive.”

Ukrainian and U.S. officials have said Russian troops exiting the Kyiv region over the last week were moving to eastern Ukraine as part of a new effort to take over land partially controlled by the self-proclaimed Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Those two breakaway regions were already aligned with Russia following a war that began in 2014.

Zelenskyy, however, warned that Russian forces would not be successful in taking all of the land in the southeastern region of Ukraine.

“No matter how many Russian soldiers are driven there, we will fight,” he said. “We will defend ourselves. We will do it daily. We will not give up anything Ukrainian, and we do not need what’s not ours.”

Apr 18, 4:54 pm
Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia’s ‘shaping operations’ for future offensive

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that while there has been combat in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine for some weeks, it is part of Russia’s ongoing “shaping” operations for a future offensive, and not the offensive itself.

“We’re not disputing that there’s not combat going on in the Donbas,” Kirby said. “What we’re saying is that we still consider that what we’re seeing to be a piece of shaping operations.”

“That the Russians are continuing to set conditions for what they believe will be eventual success on the ground by using, by putting, in more forces, putting in more enablers, putting in more command and control capability for operations yet to come,” he said.

Asked to clarify his answer, Kirby replied: “We believe that the Russians are shaping and setting the conditions for future offensive operations. We also see … that there is active combat going on right now in the Donbas as there has been for the last several weeks.”

Kirby described the fighting in the besieged port city of Mariupol as part of that since the Russians are “trying to set the conditions for more aggressive, more overt and larger ground maneuvers in the Donbas.”

He added that the Russians have also continued to flow in artillery, helicopters, enabling troops and more command and control units as part of the groundwork for that upcoming operation.

Kirby said that the U.S. believes that Russia has reinforced the number of battalion tactical groups in eastern and southern Ukraine as part of their preparations for a large operation in the Donbas region.

ABC News’ Conor Finnegan, Luis Martinez

Apr 18, 4:45 pm
US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby

The U.S. is still assessing what the Russians were attempting to strike in Lviv in western Ukraine on Monday, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

Kirby said he would not describe Monday’s airstrike as a “bombardment” and said he did not know Russia’s intent.

“We don’t have a clear sense of battle damage assessment about what they were targeting and what they hit. At this time, we don’t have any indication that Western aid was targeted and/or hit or destroyed,” Kirby said.

ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Apr 18, 3:23 pm
US offering temporary protected status to Ukrainians in US as of April 11

The U.S. will offer temporary protected status to Ukrainians already in the country as of April 11, according to a new notice from the Department of Homeland Security in the Federal Register.

The Biden administration announced last month that it would offer Ukrainians this legal basis to stay in the U.S. if they had arrived before March 1. This new notice means that Ukrainians who have been in the U.S. as of April 11 can apply for the legal status, which will remain in effect for 18 months — until Oct. 19, 2023.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services estimates that about 59,000 Ukrainians could be eligible, according to the Federal Register notice.

Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has tweeted about the change, which he said was made at the Ukrainian government’s request.

ABC News’ Conor Finnegan

 

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. Moscow is now said to be refocusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Apr 19, 5:33 am
Russian military calls on Ukrainian troops in Mariupol to surrender

The Russian military is calling on Ukrainian troops in besieged Mariupol to surrender by midday on Tuesday.

Russian forces have been trying to seize the strategic port city in eastern Ukraine’s war-torn Donetsk Oblast since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24. The Russian Ministry of Defense said it is ready to declare a temporary ceasefire in Mariupol on Tuesday from 1:30 p.m. local time.

Ukrainian troops holed up on the grounds of the Azovstal iron and steelworks plant in Mariupol have until then to stop all fighting and lay down their arms, according to Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia’s National Defense Control Center. Moscow has proposed this plan “given the catastrophic situation in the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, as well as for purely humanitarian considerations,” Mizintsev said in a statement Tuesday.

“All those who will lay down arms are guaranteed that their lives will be spared,” he added. “The actual start of the temporary ceasefire shall be marked by both sides by raising flags — red flags by the Russian side and white flags by the Ukrainian side along the entire perimeter of Azovstal. Furthermore, their readiness to put the temporary ceasefire into effect shall be confirmed by the sides via all communication channels.”

According to Mizintsev, “absolutely all” Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries will be allowed to leave the plant without any weapons or ammunition from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. local time. Moscow guarantees to each Ukrainian soldier who surrenders that their life will be spared and their rights as prisoners of war will be respected, Mizintsev said.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Church leaders, politicians and aid groups condemned the U.K. Home Office’s new plan to tackle illegal migration and clamp down on human-trafficking gangs by sending migrants to Rwanda.

The scheme announced on Thursday includes deporting single adult asylum seekers 4,000 miles away to Rwanda, east Africa, where they would be able to apply for asylum. If their cases are approved, they will be allowed to stay in the African country, and, if rejected, they will be deported to their countries.

Under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) with Rwanda, the U.K. aims “to break the business model of people smuggling gangs,” as the Home Office and Secretary of State Priti Patel said in a statement announcing the “world-first” partnership on Thursday.

On Twitter, Patel listed the benefits of the plan, including helping to “deter dangerous and illegal journeys to the UK,” “give migrants the chance of a new life,” and “set a new standard on asylum and resettlement.”

Members of the U.K. Bond network, along with more than 160 charities and campaign groups of non-governmental organizations, criticized the country’s track record on human rights in an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. They called on the government to scrap the scheme, describing it as “shamefully cruel” and “immoral.”

The organizations said the government’s plan would result in “more, not fewer, dangerous journeys — leaving more people at risk of being trafficked.”

“I would take this path again and again regardless of the Rwanda deportation threat,” Hami, a 42-year-old single father, told ABC News after his six-month journey from Tehran, Iran, to seek asylum in the U.K.

He was arrested four times in different countries on his way, but was determined to get into the U.K., he said. He asked to use a pseudonym, Hami, for security concerns.

Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, seized the Easter Sunday sermon as a chance to address the government scheme, saying it is “ungodly.”

Johnson said 28,526 people arrived in the U.K. by small boats last year, up from 8,404 in 2020. The daily figure could reach 1,000 people a day in the coming weeks, he added.

Johnson said the £120 million Rwanda scheme would “save countless lives” from human trafficking, and that an “unlimited” number of people could be relocated. He added that the African country has the “capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead.”

“I know the traffickers are absolute lairs. All they know is the money,” Hami said when asked if he had any trust in the traffickers during his journey. “Just in the last part of my path, the trafficker told me there won’t be more than 30 people on the boat, which was its maximum capacity indeed. But in the last minute, they put 50 people, including nine children and a pregnant woman on it. But what were my other options?”

“Appalled” by the government’s decision to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, described the plan as “cruel and nasty.”

Solomon said it was a policy that stood “in stark contrast” to what every conservative prime minister since Winston Churchill has sought to do by providing a fair hearing on British soil for those who claim asylum.

“The government’s own data shows that two-thirds of men, women and children arriving in small boats across the Channel come from countries where war and persecution has forced them from their homes,” Solomon said.

The plan would “do little to deter them from coming to this country, but only lead to more human suffering and chaos — at a huge expense of an estimated £1.4 billion a year,” he added.

Patel, who stood fully by the scheme, accused its critics of not coming up with an alternative solution. But there are doubts inside the Home Office about whether the budget allocated is justified by quantified evidence of its deterrence effect.

“Evidence of a deterrent effect is highly uncertain and cannot be quantified with sufficient certainty,” Matthew Rycroft, permanent secretary to the Home Office, wrote to Patel.

Hami knew about the risks of being sent to Rwanda, but he said he did whatever he could to get onto U.K. soil, keeping up his hopes that he would not be sent to Rwanda.

“I did all I could for my daughter. I want a bright future for her and would do all I did again if needed, despite all the risks,” he said.

His 11-year daughter is back home in Tehran staying with his old mother.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. Moscow is now said to be refocusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Latest headlines:
-Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia’s ‘shaping operations’ for future offensive
-US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby
-Thousands more Russian troops back in Ukraine
-Russian forces seize town in war-torn Luhansk region

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Apr 18, 7:55 pm
Zelenskyy: Russian forces have begun offensive in Donbas region

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces have begun their offensive in the eastern part of the country after a week of building up troops.

“It can now be stated that Russian troops have begun the battle for Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time,” the president said in his nightly address. “A very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive.”

Ukrainian and U.S. officials have said Russian troops exiting the Kyiv region over the last week were moving to eastern Ukraine as part of a new effort to take over land partially controlled by the self-proclaimed Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Those two breakaway regions were already aligned with Russia following a war that began in 2014.

Zelenskyy, however, warned that Russian forces would not be successful in taking all of the land in the southeastern region of Ukraine.

“No matter how many Russian soldiers are driven there, we will fight,” he said. “We will defend ourselves. We will do it daily. We will not give up anything Ukrainian, and we do not need what’s not ours.”

Apr 18, 4:54 pm
Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia’s ‘shaping operations’ for future offensive

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that while there has been combat in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine for some weeks, it is part of Russia’s ongoing “shaping” operations for a future offensive, and not the offensive itself.

“We’re not disputing that there’s not combat going on in the Donbas,” Kirby said. “What we’re saying is that we still consider that what we’re seeing to be a piece of shaping operations.”

“That the Russians are continuing to set conditions for what they believe will be eventual success on the ground by using, by putting, in more forces, putting in more enablers, putting in more command and control capability for operations yet to come,” he said.

Asked to clarify his answer, Kirby replied: “We believe that the Russians are shaping and setting the conditions for future offensive operations. We also see … that there is active combat going on right now in the Donbas as there has been for the last several weeks.”

Kirby described the fighting in the besieged port city of Mariupol as part of that since the Russians are “trying to set the conditions for more aggressive, more overt and larger ground maneuvers in the Donbas.”

He added that the Russians have also continued to flow in artillery, helicopters, enabling troops and more command and control units as part of the groundwork for that upcoming operation.

Kirby said that the U.S. believes that Russia has reinforced the number of battalion tactical groups in eastern and southern Ukraine as part of their preparations for a large operation in the Donbas region.

ABC News’ Conor Finnegan, Luis Martinez

Apr 18, 4:45 pm
US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby

The U.S. is still assessing what the Russians were attempting to strike in Lviv in western Ukraine on Monday, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

Kirby said he would not describe Monday’s airstrike as a “bombardment” and said he did not know Russia’s intent.

“We don’t have a clear sense of battle damage assessment about what they were targeting and what they hit. At this time, we don’t have any indication that Western aid was targeted and/or hit or destroyed,” Kirby said.

ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Apr 18, 3:23 pm
US offering temporary protected status to Ukrainians in US as of April 11

The U.S. will offer temporary protected status to Ukrainians already in the country as of April 11, according to a new notice from the Department of Homeland Security in the Federal Register.

The Biden administration announced last month that it would offer Ukrainians this legal basis to stay in the U.S. if they had arrived before March 1. This new notice means that Ukrainians who have been in the U.S. as of April 11 can apply for the legal status, which will remain in effect for 18 months — until Oct. 19, 2023.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services estimates that about 59,000 Ukrainians could be eligible, according to the Federal Register notice.

Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has tweeted about the change, which he said was made at the Ukrainian government’s request.

ABC News’ Conor Finnegan

 

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. Moscow is now said to be refocusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Latest headlines:
-Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia’s ‘shaping operations’ for future offensive
-US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby
-Thousands more Russian troops back in Ukraine
-Russian forces seize town in war-torn Luhansk region

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Apr 18, 4:54 pm
Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia’s ‘shaping operations’ for future offensive

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that while there has been combat in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine for some weeks, it is part of Russia’s ongoing “shaping” operations for a future offensive, and not the offensive itself.

“We’re not disputing that there’s not combat going on in the Donbas,” Kirby said. “What we’re saying is that we still consider that what we’re seeing to be a piece of shaping operations.”

“That the Russians are continuing to set conditions for what they believe will be eventual success on the ground by using, by putting, in more forces, putting in more enablers, putting in more command and control capability for operations yet to come,” he said.

Asked to clarify his answer, Kirby replied: “We believe that the Russians are shaping and setting the conditions for future offensive operations. We also see … that there is active combat going on right now in the Donbas as there has been for the last several weeks.”

Kirby described the fighting in the besieged port city of Mariupol as part of that since the Russians are “trying to set the conditions for more aggressive, more overt and larger ground maneuvers in the Donbas.”

He added that the Russians have also continued to flow in artillery, helicopters, enabling troops and more command and control units as part of the groundwork for that upcoming operation.

Kirby said that the U.S. believes that Russia has reinforced the number of battalion tactical groups in eastern and southern Ukraine as part of their preparations for a large operation in the Donbas region.

ABC News’ Conor Finnegan, Luis Martinez

Apr 18, 4:45 pm
US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby

The U.S. is still assessing what the Russians were attempting to strike in Lviv in western Ukraine on Monday, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

Kirby said he would not describe Monday’s airstrike as a “bombardment” and said he did not know Russia’s intent.

“We don’t have a clear sense of battle damage assessment about what they were targeting and what they hit. At this time, we don’t have any indication that Western aid was targeted and/or hit or destroyed,” Kirby said.

ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Apr 18, 3:23 pm
US offering temporary protected status to Ukrainians in US as of April 11

The U.S. will offer temporary protected status to Ukrainians already in the country as of April 11, according to a new notice from the Department of Homeland Security in the Federal Register.

The Biden administration announced last month that it would offer Ukrainians this legal basis to stay in the U.S. if they had arrived before March 1. This new notice means that Ukrainians who have been in the U.S. as of April 11 can apply for the legal status, which will remain in effect for 18 months — until Oct. 19, 2023.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services estimates that about 59,000 Ukrainians could be eligible, according to the Federal Register notice.

Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has tweeted about the change, which he said was made at the Ukrainian government’s request.

ABC News’ Conor Finnegan

Apr 18, 12:49 pm
Thousands more Russian troops back in Ukraine

There are now 76 Russian battalion tactical groups — each made up of about 800 to 1,000 troops — inside Ukraine, all in the south or east of the country, a senior U.S. defense official said Monday. Last week there were 65 battalion tactical groups.

There are about 22 additional battalion tactical groups in the north of Ukraine, most likely refitting and resupplying after being depleted from earlier combat, the official said.

The besieged port city of Mariupol is still under threat of missile and artillery bombardment as Ukrainian forces continue to fight to push back Russian troops, according to the official.

Kyiv and Lviv are under long-range fire, the official said. Russian long-range bombers have hit both cities with air-launched cruise missiles over the last couple of days, the official said.

“Our initial assessment is that they were going after primarily military targets, or what they believed to be military targets,” the official said.

The U.S. is sending 18 howitzers — short cannons used to fire projectiles — to Ukraine and plans to begin training Ukrainians on the artillery in the coming days, the official said.

ABC News’ Matt Seyler

 

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