Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 56

Here are the key events so far on Wednesday, April 20.

Get the latest updates here.

Fighting

• Russia called on Ukrainian troops at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol to surrender, saying its troops will observe a ceasefire while the proposal is in effect. No Ukrainian fighters responded to a similar call on Tuesday, Russia said. About 120 civilians living next to the plant left via humanitarian corridors, the Interfax news agency reported, quoting Russian state TV.
• Russian forces seized Kreminna, an administrative centre of 18,000 people in Luhansk, one of the two Donbas provinces.
• Russia also tried unsuccessfully to storm the towns of Rubizhne and Sievierodonetsk in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, the Ukrainian General Staff of the Armed Forces has said.
• Russia handed over 60 soldiers and 16 civilians to Ukraine in the fifth such exchange of prisoners of war, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said.
• The British Ministry of Defence says fighting is intensifying in Ukraine’s Donbas “as Russian forces seek to break through Ukrainian defences”.

Diplomacy

• President Joe Biden will host US military leaders in an annual gathering that takes on extra significance as the war enters a risky new phase. Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have pledged to send more artillery weaponry to Ukraine.
•  European Council President Charles Michel is on an unexpected visit to Kyiv. Latvia said the EU was preparing new measures to prevent Russia from evading sanctions.
• Norway has donated about 100 Mistral air defence missiles to Ukraine, the Norwegian defence ministry said.
• Western nations are preparing to stage coordinated walk-outs to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at Wednesday’s meeting of G20 finance ministers in Washington, DC.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting over Orthodox Easter.
• Russian players will not be allowed to compete at Wimbledon this year, according to a report in Sportico.

Economy

• Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, who started transitioning to the IMF’s economic counsellor role in January, said the war in Ukraine may damage expectations for decades-high inflation to start to subside this year.
• Russia’s war in Ukraine is to blame for exacerbating “already dire” world food insecurity, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
• World Bank President David Malpass will host a meeting on Thursday with Ukraine’s prime minister and finance minister to discuss further aid.
• Oleg Tinkov, a Russian billionaire sanctioned by the West over the Ukraine war, has denounced Moscow’s “massacre” in its neighbouring country and called on Western leaders to help end this “crazy” conflict.
• State-owned Russian lender Rosselkhozbank said British sanctions had prevented it from making a $21.25m interest payment on Eurobonds maturing in 2023, the latest Russian company to flag debt servicing issues.
• President Vladimir Putin is due to meet representatives of the metals industry, which the Kremlin said was facing “hostile attitudes”. Gold miner Petropavlovsk said sanctions-hit Russian lender Gazprombank had called on it to immediately repay a term loan worth $201m.