April 16 events in “Babel” review: the occupiers deport Ukrainians from Izium and plan to filter the inhabitants of Mariupol, Medvedchuk was arrested without bail

From the very beginning of Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, Babel has been conducting daily live text coverage and promptly informing about the main news in the telegram channel. We also do a daily digest of the highlights of the day in case you havenʼt been able to follow live.

On the night of April 16, Russian troops struck the airport in Oleksandria, Kirovohrad Oblast. In Luhansk Oblast, one person was killed, and three others were injured in the night shelling. Gas pipelines in Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk have been cut off. Kyiv was shelled in the morning. The explosions took place in the Darnytsia district on the outskirts of the city. For the second day in a row, occupiers attacked inhabited objects of Mykolayiv and oblast. This morning they fired at the kindergarten. Fortunately, there were no children there at that time.

2,500 to 3,000 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were killed during the war, and another 10,000 were wounded to varying degrees. At the same time, the losses of the Russian army are estimated at 19,000-20,000 servicemen. As for civilians, the exact number of the killed is difficult to calculate, as some cities are still under occupation and it is unknown how many people died there. About 700 Ukrainian servicemen and more than a thousand civilians are currently in Russian captivity.

The Ukrainian military struck the railway in occupied Tokmak, where the occupiers were unloading ammunition from wagons. All Russian personnel was eliminated, and ammunition detonated.

On April 18, Russian troops would want to close Mariupol to entry and exit and prohibit the movement of civilians in order to filter out all men. They want either to mobilize or send to clear the debris, and some may face execution. In addition, President Zelensky said that negotiations are underway on the future of the defenders of Mariupol.

Almost 100 Ukrainians were deported from Izium, Kharkiv Oblast. Russian state media reported that they were being deported to Belgorod Oblast.

The Kremlin continues its repression of its army commanders, who have "failed to justify confidence" and are failing in Ukraine. After talking to the Federal Security Service, Eduard Basurin, the "deputy commander" of the "Donetsk Peopleʼs Republicʼs" Defense Ministry corps, was taken away in an unknown direction. The massacre is connected to a careless statement that exposed Russiaʼs plans to use chemical weapons against the Ukrainian military in Mariupol.

Lychakiv District Court of Lviv changed the measure of restraint of Member of Parliament Viktor Medvedchuk. He was arrested without bail.

Today, a ban on Russian trucks entering the EU comes into force at midnight. Those who do not have time to leave will be forced to leave their trucks at the border.

The Czech Republic did not succumb to pressure from Russia, which tried to ban the transfer of weapons to Ukraine. Before, Russia sent a diplomatic note to the Czech Republic, warning that the Czech side could not provide third countries with weapons of Soviet origin without its consent. Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and Defense Minister Jana Černochová called it brazen nonsense.