Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 419

By William On Apr 18, 2023

As the conflict enters its 419th day, we review key developments.

This is the situation on Tuesday, April 18, 2023:

To fight

Moscow said Wagner mercenaries captured more parts of Bakhmut as fighting continued in the devastated eastern city.
Russian recruiters in Crimea use prop weapons and grenades to entice people to join the army.

China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country’s ties with Moscow were “very strong” and had “entered a new era”. “They surpass the military-political alliances of the Cold War era… They are very stable,” he said in translated remarks broadcast on Russian TV.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Brazil as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pushed for dialogue in Ukraine.
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition politician and longtime critic of Putin and Moscow’s war in Ukraine, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to “treason” and discrediting the Russian military.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom were among Western governments to condemn the verdict, the harshest of its kind since the invasion began. Kara-Murza also holds United Kingdom citizenship.
US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said she visited journalist Evan Gershkovich in Russia and found him in a good mood. Moscow has accused the Wall Street Journal reporter of espionage.
Germany urged the European Union to include the nuclear sector in a new sanctions package against Russia, the economy ministry said.

Slovakia has handed over all 13 MiG-29 fighter jets it had promised to Ukraine, the Slovak Defense Ministry said.