April 20 events in “Babel” review: half a million Ukrainians were forcibly deported to Russia, Ukraine agreed to an Easter truce, and Russia is silent

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 20, in the north of Kherson Oblast, Russia conducted reconnaissance in the direction of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast under cover of artillery and tank fire on two armored personnel carriers. However, the enemy was stopped, and he retreated to the previous frontier. In the Mykolayiv area, there were no essential changes in positions. The missile strike damaged the polyclinic building. The head of the Luhansk Oblast State Administration, Serhiy Haidai, said that at night Russian troops fired on Novodruzhesk, destroying residential buildings, the city is without gas supply. Also, several times during the night the enemy fired on the town of Hirske.

The occupiers continue to attack the territory of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, which is still defended by Ukrainian fighters. The commander of the 36th Marine Brigade, Serhiy Volyna, who is stationed at Azovstal, appealed to world leaders to bring civilians, wounded and defenders of the city to the territory of a third state.

91-year-old Wanda Obedkova, a former prisoner of the Nazi concentration camp Birkenau, died in Mariupol. This was reported by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum.

The Russian military has forcibly relocated 500,000 Ukrainians to Russia, including 121,000 children. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians are being held in filtration camps.

Pro-Russian blogger Valery Kuleshov was killed in Kherson. This was first reported by local publics, and then confirmed by friends of the deceased. Kuleshov was shot near his entrance in the Shumen district. He was in a Mazda car.

The United States is preparing another $ 800 million aid package for Ukraine. The details of this aid package are still being discussed. According to one senior official, the new package could be approved within the next 36 hours. The US company AeroVironment will hand over more than 100 Quantix Recon reconnaissance drones to Ukraine. The manufacturer claims that these UAVs are not affected by radio frequency interference, and they are able to conduct accurate and fast reconnaissance.

The Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio announced that the government will increase the amount of loans for Ukraine from $ 100 to $ 300 million.

The United Kingdom will hand over Brimstone missiles to Ukraine. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he planned to provide Kyiv with anti-ship missiles. The British military used Brimstone in Libya and Syria and usually launched it from jets.

The Dutch government intends to hand over PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine. In turn, Germany will supply 155-mm shells. PzH 2000 is one of the best self-propelled artillery units in the world.

Norway will hand over 100 Mistral portable anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine to hit helicopters and aircraft at low altitudes.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia will repair Ukrainian tanks and armored personnel carriers damaged during the war. The first vehicles will be T-64 tanks, followed by infantry fighting vehicles.

Montenegro has banned the Russian state publications Russia Today and Sputnik. Local operators are prohibited from broadcasting, promoting, or otherwise assisting in the dissemination of their content.

Israel will hand over helmets and bulletproof vests to Ukraine for medical teams and rapid response.

The organizers of the oldest tennis tournament "Wimbledon" will not allow tennis players from Russia and Belarus to participate in the competition.

Ukraine agrees with the UN proposal for an Easter truce for the safe evacuation of thousands of civilians who want to leave the dangerous areas of current and possible hostilities, primarily from Mariupol. There has been no response from Russia on this issue.