April 12, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

The United States could not confirm the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, but noted that they “had credible information that Russian forces may use a variety of riot control agents."

Blinken said these include "tear gas mixed with chemical agents that would cause stronger symptoms to weaken and incapacitate entrenched Ukrainian fighters and civilians, as part of the aggressive campaign to take Mariupol.”

“We're in direct conversation with partners to try to determine what, what actually has happened,” Blinken said at the State Department. 

Meanwhile, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday that the US has provided equipment to Ukraine “to protect them from the potential use of chemical weapons.”

Price also said the US is ready to help Ukraine with investigating the potential use of chemical agents.

“We have been in direct conversations with our Ukrainian partners as they are collecting facts and evidence. We do stand ready to assist in case we can be useful in terms of that investigation, whether it is any sort of technical capability or anything else,” he said in response to a question from CNN’s Kylie Atwood.

More background: After reports emerged Monday of a possible strike involving chemical substances of some kind in Mariupol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the possibility should be taken seriously, though a Mariupol official said any such attack remained unconfirmed.

Other nations such as the UK said they are working to verify details. CNN cannot independently verify that there has been any kind of chemical strike in Mariupol. 

When Russian troops invaded their homeland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and first lady Olena Zelenska refused to flee or to give in, opting instead — like many of their countrymen and women — for defiance in the face of aggression.

While the President's focus has been on the military fightback against Russian forces, the First Lady has concentrated on humanitarian and children's issues, working to raise global awareness of ordinary Ukrainians' suffering as a result of the war.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour interviewed Zelenska over email. Her responses have been translated from Ukrainian.

You can read the full interview here.

Speaking at a news conference earlier Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said talks with Ukraine had hit a "dead end." He appeared next to his ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

In response, a presidential adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement that "negotiations are extremely difficult" but "they are ongoing." The official's statement on negotiations came as Ukrainians respond with outrage to the uncovering of widespread killing of civilians by Russian troops and an expected Russian offensive.

"It is clear that the Ukrainian delegation works exclusively within a framework that is pro-Ukrainian and transparent. It is also clear that the Russian side adheres to its traditional tactics of public pressure on the negotiation process, including through certain public statements," Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine and a lead negotiator, said in a statement released by the Ukrainian presidential office.

If you're just joining us, here's what else you should know:

Ukraine issues stamps saying "Russian warship, go ****!": Ukrposhta, Ukraine's postal service, announced Tuesday it had issued a postage stamp with the slogan, "Russian warship, go ****!" that was put into circulation today. The stamps immortalize the words by Roman Hrybov, who told a Russian warship to "go f**k yourself!" on the opening day of the war when he was ordered to surrender. The phrase has become a popular Ukrainian slogan during the war with Russia.

Russian military-linked hackers target Ukrainian power company: A Russian military-linked hacking group has attempted to infiltrate Ukrainian power substations and deploy malicious code capable of cutting electricity, Ukrainian government officials and private investigators said Tuesday. The cyberattack appears to have been thwarted.

Meanwhile, Russian troops start pouring into east: A large column of Russian military vehicles facing the Donbas region was seen in a video shared on social media that CNN has geolocated in Russia’s Rostov region. The vehicles are seen facing north-west, in the direction of the Donbas region.

Unconfirmed reports of chemical attacks: After reports emerged Monday of a possible strike involving chemical substances of some kind in Mariupol, Zelensky warned the possibility should be taken seriously, though a Mariupol official said any such attack remained unconfirmed. Other nations such as the UK said they are working to verify details. CNN cannot independently verify that there has been any kind of chemical strike in Mariupol. Separately, the military governor of the Donetsk region cited preliminary estimates Tuesday, saying that as many as 22,000 people had died in the city since the beginning of the invasion.

Where things stand in Mariupol: The Pentagon assesses that Mariupol remains contested amid Russia’s bombardment of the strategically important port city, according to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby. “Our assessment today is that Mariupol is still contested and that the Ukrainians are still fighting to defend Mariupol from the Russian seizure of it,” Kirby said at a Pentagon briefing Tuesday. “You’ve seen images yourself, you’ve seen the devastation that Russian airstrikes have wrought on Mariupol and the city, but our assessment is the Ukrainians are still fighting for it.” 

Tuesday's evacuations: Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced that nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated Tuesday from areas in southern and eastern Ukraine affected by fighting. Vereshchuk said that only 208 people had been able to leave Mariupol, which has been devastated by weeks of fighting. A total of 2,135 people had been able to leave the Russian-occupied cities of Berdiansk and Melitopol, as well as two other towns in the Zaporizhzhia region.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the global backsliding of human rights is starkly evident “in the Russian government's brutal war on Ukraine.”

“We see what this receding tide is leaving in its wake. The bodies, hands bound, left on streets. Theaters, train stations, apartment buildings reduced to rubble with civilians inside. We hear it in the testimonies of women and girls who have been raped, and the beseeched civilians starving and freezing to death. In response people and governments in every region are voicing their condemnation and calling for those responsible to be held accountable,” the secretary of state described.

“In its disdain for human life and dignity, the Kremlin has reinvigorated a belief in people worldwide, that there are human rights that everyone everywhere should enjoy and underscore why these rights are worth defending,” he said. “At the same time, civil society, governments, and people around the world are rightly pointing out that Ukraine is tragically far from the only place where gross abuses are being perpetrated. They want the international community to shine a spotlight on human rights abuses wherever they're being committed, and to bring the same urgency to stopping abuses and holding perpetrators accountable," he said.

The Biden administration is preparing to roll out a new program intended for Ukrainian refugees that would expedite the process for those trying to come to the United States, according to two administration officials. 

The program comes on the heels of US President Joe Biden’s commitment to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees through a range of legal pathways and a focus on family reunification. More than two weeks since that announcement, the administration has yet to provide additional details and hundreds of Ukrainians have decided to go to the US-Mexico border to gain entry to the country.

The new parole program, which could start as early as next week, is expected to help people interested in coming to the US and allow them to stay in the country for a temporary period. According to one administration official, individuals would need to have a sponsorship application filled out on their behalf to come to the US. Details of the plan were still being finalized. 

The State Department and the Department of Homeland Security are involved in the program, according to the administration official. The approach is similar to the one taken with Afghans following the fall of Kabul.  

CNN reached out to the White House for comment. The State Department referred CNN to the Department of Homeland Security, which did not immediately return request for comment. 

Since Biden announced he would welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians last month, officials have been in discussions about how best to prioritize applicants, including how to accommodate refugees fleeing potential persecution, according to a person familiar with the deliberations.

One official said the White House was focused partly on protecting vulnerable refugees, including those with specific medical needs or individuals from third countries who had already fled to Ukraine to escape persecution elsewhere — including dissidents, journalists and LGBTQ people.

The policy process, including which mechanism people fleeing Ukraine could use to come to the United States, has been a topic of ongoing conversations among administration officials since the announcement.

Still, Biden’s aides continue to believe most of the more than 4 million people who have fled Ukraine would prefer to remain in the region rather than come to the United States.

The 100,000 figure Biden unveiled while visiting Brussels in March doesn’t necessarily reflect the number of refugees US officials believe will ultimately seek entry to the United States, an official said.

The US has provided billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to help countries neighboring Ukraine — including Poland, where Biden visited with refugees and aid workers last month. 

On Monday, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi met with officials from the National Security Council at the White House to discuss the refugee crisis in Europe. He also met Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday.

More background: The usual refugee resettlement route to the US is a slow and cumbersome process. It often takes years from when a person applies to be a refugee to when that individual is resettled in the United States. In March, only a dozen Ukrainians came to the US through the program and they likely applied years ago, well before Russia invaded Ukraine. 

Dozens of Ukrainians are often resettled to the US monthly, but the closure of commercial airspace in war-torn Ukraine led to canceled flights and kept Ukrainians prepared to come to the US as refugees from coming, according to refugee advocates. Their flights are gradually being rebooked from other countries.

In a recent bipartisan letter, lawmakers, mostly Democrats, suggested that the administration also “utilize existing administrative options to improve efficient processing for Ukrainians outside of the United States who already qualify for immigration benefits.” That includes, the lawmakers said, providing additional resources to US embassy personnel in Europe who are involved in processing immigrants and refugees and waiving immigration application fees.

Refugee advocates, who are intimately involved in the resettlement of refugees, have expressed concern about admitting Ukrainians through parole because it keeps them from access to benefits. 

“They’re inventing this new approach through parole, which provides no security, no safety net and so that’s worrisome and leaves the applicant at the mercy of the backlog and broken asylum system if they want to stay here permanently,” said Mark Hetfield, president and CEO of HIAS, a refugee resettlement organization. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday spoke with US President Joe Biden to talk about Johnson’s recent visit to Kyiv and "the need to accelerate assistance" to Ukraine, Downing Street said in a statement. 

Johnson told Biden that the UK’s latest package of aid — including anti-ship missiles and military vehicles — would be arriving in Ukraine “in the coming days and weeks." 

The British leader also said the international community needed to commit to Ukraine in the long-term to “ensure the Ukrainian people’s vision for their country’s freedom could be realized again,” according to the statement. 

Johnson lauded the “US’ colossal military contribution to Ukraine,” and both leaders agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not break Ukrainians’ resolve, according to Downing Street. 

“The pair also agreed to continue joint efforts to ratchet up the economic pressure on Putin and decisively end Western reliance on Russian oil and gas,” said Downing Street. 

The Pentagon assesses that Mariupol remains contested amid Russia’s bombardment of the strategically important port city, according to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby.

“Our assessment today is that Mariupol is still contested and that the Ukrainians are still fighting to defend Mariupol from the Russian seizure of it,” Kirby said at a Pentagon briefing Tuesday. “You’ve seen images yourself, you’ve seen the devastation that Russian airstrikes have wrought on Mariupol and the city, but our assessment is the Ukrainians are still fighting for it.” 

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, said in an interview with CNN's Brianna Keilar on Tuesday that the city is under siege and blockaded. Independent estimates of casualties from the city are not available. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said "tens of thousands" have died in Mariupol.

Kirby said that the Russians want to seize Mariupol because of its “strategic location” as a major port city as the Kremlin has intensified its focus on eastern and southern Ukraine.

But Kirby said that the city is significant to Ukraine, too, because of “what it represents to their economic lifeblood.” 

“It’s their city and its part of their country and they haven’t given up on it,” he said.

Ivan Honcharuk, a lieutenant colonel of the Ukrainian Civil Defense, said anti-personnel mines were found in Kharkiv.

In an interview with CNN’s Nima Elbagir, Honcharuk said that the mines were scattered remotely from an Uragan multiple rocket-launch system. A cluster was found filled with 25 anti-personnel mines that were dropped in civilian areas including the main market, according to Honcharuk.

When asked by CNN why Russian forces are performing airstrikes and dropping mines, Honcharuk said, “I don't really know why they are doing it, but what it does is, the mines explode by themselves and cause damage."

"These elements can detonate between 3 and 40 hours later, so we have to detonate them remotely to avoid damage to [the] civilian population," he continued.

A Ukrainian presidential adviser said Tuesday that negotiations with Russia were "ongoing," after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that talks with Ukraine had hit "a dead end."

Podolyak's statement on negotiations comes as Ukrainians respond with outrage to the uncovering of widespread killing of civilians by Russian troops and an expected Russian offensive. 

"It is clear that the emotional background in negotiation process today is heavy," Podolyak said. "It is clear that the Ukrainian delegation works exclusively within a framework that is pro-Ukrainian and transparent. It is also clear that the Russian side adheres to its traditional tactics of public pressure on the negotiation process, including through certain public statements," he said.