Russian forces offer locals to join army in Kherson region – General Staff

The Ukrainian Armed Forces' General Staff reported this on April 20.

“In some settlements of the Kherson region, the Russian troops have strengthened the counterintelligence regime due to fears of leaking information about the location of their units. The number of patrols has increased, and inspections of civilians have become more frequent. At the same time, during such checks, the occupiers interview citizens and offer them service in the Russian Armed Forces,” the report says. 

AFU launched one airstrike and destroyed three Russian control points over the day

Ukrainian aviation launched one strike on the invading Russian forces' military positions over the last day.

Moreover, units of missile troops and artillery struck 3 Russian control points over the day.

Russia launched 33 MLRS attacks, 17 airstrikes against Ukraine per day

The General Staff writes that the occupying Russian forces are attacking at the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Marinka and Shakhtarsk directions, however, over 40 enemy assaults have been repelled by the Ukrainian defenders. The fiercest fighting is taking place for the city of Bakhmut.

Near the state Ukrainian border with Russia and Belarus, the situation hasn't changed significantly, and no enemy offensive groups have been detected. 

At the same time, the Russian Federation continued shelling the entire border line with mortars and artillery: 3 settlements in the Chernihiv region, 2 more in the Sumy region, as well as 4 villages in the Kharkiv region were attacked. 

Shelling of Ukrainian regions

• In the Kupiansk direction, 5 settlements in the Kharkiv region came under artillery fire. 
• In the Lyman direction, 7 localities in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions were subjected to Russian artillery fire. 
• In the Bakhmut direction, heavy fighting for the fortress city continues. The Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 22 enemy attacks in this area. 14 localities in the Donetsk region were attacked by the Russian troops. 
• In the Avdiivka direction, 8 settlements in the Donetsk region came under enemy fire. 
• In the Marinka direction, the invading Russian forces attacked 6 towns and villages in the Donetsk region. 
• In the Shakhtarsk direction, 5 settlements in the Donetsk region came under shelling. 
• In the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions, over 40 towns and villages were subjected to numerous Russian attacks. 

Invading Russian forces attacked the villages of Kamianske and Mala Tokmachka in the Zaporizhzhia region, killing two people and injuring one more.