WAR IN UKRAINE: April 18, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 419
US warns Russia not to touch its nuclear technology inside the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - Europe’s largest - inside Ukraine, CNN is reporting
Ukraine hasn't found any Chinese weapons used by Russia on the battlefield, National Security and Defense Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said in an interview on April 16. "In the event that this changes, we will promptly notify both (Ukrainian) society and the world," Danilov said - Kyiv Independent
Russia has "once again" blocked 50 ships carrying "urgently needed" Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on April 17.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Ukrainian forces near the front line in the eastern region of Donetsk where heavy fighting has been under way
Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited Moscow-controlled parts of Ukraine's southern Kherson region, the Kremlin says. It says he attended a meeting to hear reports from military commanders. Mr Putin also reportedly visited Ukraine's Luhansk region. Russia claims to have annexed both regions, but does not fully control either. The BBC has verified that Mr Putin visited Kherson's coastal Henichensk area - but it is still unclear when. Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the visit took place on 17 April. However, footage initially posted on the Kremlin's website contradicts this statement - BBC
Russian forces used aircraft to unleash fresh assaults on Ukrainian positions in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine's military said, as indiscriminate shelling of the neighboring Luhansk region killed several civilians, according to local officials.
Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) leading economic powers have warned that those helping Russia wage war in Ukraine would face "severe costs” - RFE/RL