Invasion of Ukraine LIVE: Russia put peace talks on the line and issued a warning to the defence troops of Mariupol

Russia jeopardizes peace negotiations with Ukraine by giving an ultimatum to Kiev troops in Mariupol during the start of the 52nd day of the invasion.

President Zelensky has made clear the conditions for reaching agreements between the two nations, including the cessation of attacks in Mariupol.

The population continues to suffer the most from the consequences and horror of the attacks. According to figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nearly a million and a half inhabitants of eastern Ukraine are without running water, adding to the four and a half million who do not have adequate access to safe drinking water.

Here is the minute by minute of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine (Ukrainian time, GMT+3):

Sunday, April 17

5:05: Russian air defense units shot down a military transport aircraft carrying Western weapons on the outskirts of Odessa, as reported by Russian news agency TASS.

“Near Odessa, the Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane, which delivered a large shipment of weapons supplied to Ukraine by Western countries,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov.

4:48: More than 70% of the buildings in the city of Irpin were damaged or destroyed by Russian forces, according to Kyiv Independent quoting the mayor of the locality, located on the western edge of Kiev.

In a Telegram post, Oleksandr Markushin said that a UN study based on satellite data showed that 115 buildings were completely destroyed, 698 were significantly damaged and 187 were partially damaged.

4:23: The Russian Army asked this Sunday the Ukrainian troops in the besieged city of Mariupol to surrender and lay down their arms from 6:00 hours in Moscow, ensuring that in this way they will be spared their lives.

“The Russian Armed Forces offer the militants of the nationalist battalions and foreign mercenaries blocked in Mariupol to end hostilities and lay down their weapons from 06:00 Moscow hours on Sunday, April 17, they will be spared their lives,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Instead, Ukrainian forces that do not lay down their arms will “prove their destiny”, as the Russian Defense has assured in the statement, urging the Ukrainian military to make “the only correct decision to cease hostilities,” wherever their “manipulators” force them to fight “for the ideas of Nazism.”

3:05: Shipments of the Biden administration's latest security assistance package to Ukraine “have begun to arrive,” a White House official told CNN this Saturday night.

US President Joe Biden approved a few days ago an additional $800 million package of weapons, ammunition and security assistance to Ukraine. For the first time, the United States has agreed to provide Kiev with the types of high-powered capabilities, such as 11 Mi-17 helicopters; 18 155mm Howitzer guns and 300 drones Switchblade more.

The sending of $800 million brings to more than $3 billion the total amount of military aid that the United States has provided to Ukraine.

2:17: The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, met in the city of Sevastopol, in Crimea, with the crew of the ship 'Moskva', after it sank last Thursday in the Black Sea following an explosion.

During the meeting, Evmenov informed the staff of the Russian flagship that officers, midshipmen and sailors would continue to serve in the Russian Navy, and that the traditions of the missile cruise 'Moskva' would be carefully preserved and continued, as reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

In addition, the Russian Defense Portfolio reported on Thursday that the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet sank while being towed after a fire as a result of an attack by the Ukrainian Army, although since then it has not given any further details about how that offensive took place.

Ukraine, for its part, has assured that the Russian ship exploded because it was hit by two Ukrainian-made cruise missiles of the 'Neptune' type.

00:21: Russian Major General Vladimir Frolov of the 8th Army died in combat in Ukraine and was buried in Russia this Saturday, according to a statement from the governor of St. Petersburg.

Alexander Beglov's statement does not give details about when or where Frolov died.

As deputy commander of the 8th Army, Frolov led forces deployed in an area near Mariupol, the devastated port city that Russia besieged nearly three months ago.

Images in the Russian state media show Frolov's tomb at the Serafimovsky Cemetery in St. Petersburg covered with red flowers.

Since the beginning of the invasion, Vladimir Putin's army has faced fierce resistance. Experts say that the Kremlin had difficulty progressing as quickly as it expected. And since its offensive began, the Kremlin itself has recognized more than 21,000 soldiers killed in combat, most of them young people who were sent deceived to fight, because they thought they were going to training. The figure also includes more than 20 high-level military figures.

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