Monday, April 22

Russia’s war against Ukraine

This photograph taken on April 21, 2024, shows a large mural created by Italian artist Jorit, depicting a girl on a residential building in occupied Mariupol. (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine’s Navy confirms Russian ship Kommuna hit in Sevastopol. A missile was launched at the Russian Black Sea Fleet stationed in occupied Sevastopol on April 21, the city’s Russian-installed governor has said. A source in Ukraine’s military intelligence told the Kyiv Independent that information on the strike was still being clarified.

Senator: US could start sending ATACMS to Kyiv in 1 week. The United States could begin transferring long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine “by the end of the week,” U.S. Senator Mark Warner told CBS News in an interview published April 21.

Zelensky: US aid gives Ukraine ‘chance at victory.’ “I think this support will really strengthen the armed forces, I pray, and we will have a chance at victory if Ukraine really gets the weapons system, which we need so much, which thousands of soldiers need so much.”

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Germany, Lithuania scouring closed power plants for parts for Ukraine. Decommissioned power plants in Germany and Lithuania are being examined to see if parts can be salvaged and sent to Kyiv in order to repair and restore Ukrainian energy infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes.

Zelensky: Russia will attempt to seize Chasiv Yar by Victory Day. Russia will attempt to capture the town of Chasiv Yar, just west of the Russian-occupied Bakhmut, by May 9, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with NBC News published on April 21.

ISW: Ukraine will be ‘able to blunt’ Russia’s offensive if US aid arrives quickly. Despite indications that Russia is planning a renewed summer offensive, Ukraine will likely be able to curtail the effects of the renewed offensive if anticipated U.S. military aid arrives promptly, the U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed on April 21.

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Ukraine war latest: US House passes $61 billion in aid for Ukraine; Navy confirms Russian ship hit in Sevastopol.

Ukraine hit another Russian ship in occupied Sevastopol, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Navy, told the Liga.net media outlet on April 21.

Photo: George Chernilevsky/Wikimedia Commons

Ukraine aid bill finally passes the House – what happens next?

While Kyiv breathed a sigh of relief at the news, the next few weeks remain precarious as the Senate needs to support the bill and supplies still need to reach Ukraine as Russia looks likely to intensify its ongoing offensive.

Photo: Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images

The factory working 24/7 to make shells for Ukraine

Human cost of war

Russia attacks 20 settlements in Kherson Oblast, 1 injured. In a post on Telegram, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said 12 private houses had been damaged as well as an educational institution, a restaurant and a gas pipeline.

Russian attacks in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injure woman. A 47-year-old woman in the Nikopol district sustained mine-blast injuries and is currently being treated in the hospital, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak said.

Russian attack in Kharkiv injures man. A 19-year-old Kharkiv resident sustained shrapnel injuries in his legs and is currently hospitalized in moderate condition.

Russia attacks 4 communities in Sumy Oblast. Russian forces struck four communities in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy Oblast in seven separate attacks throughout the day, the regional administration reported on April 21. There were no casualties or damages to civilian infrastructure.

International response

Bloomberg: Blinken to warn Beijing over support for Russia in upcoming trip to China. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said earlier in April that there would be “significant consequences” if Chinese companies aid Russia’s war effort.

Poland, Lithuania, other NATO allies begin military exercise around Suwalki Gap. The exercise was jointly planned in 2022 by the Polish and Lithuanian militaries and involves at least 1,500 troops and hundreds of pieces of equipment, the Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT said.

Chisinau airport evacuated following bomb threat. Passengers and staff were evacuated from the Chisinau International Airport in Moldova’s capital on April 21 due to an explosion threat.

Bloomberg: Moldova’s pro-Russian opposition parties establish anti-European bloc ahead of elections. Members of Moldova’s pro-Russian opposition parties met in Moscow on April 21 to establish a new anti-European political bloc aimed at derailing Moldova’s planned accession to the European Union, Bloomberg reported.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Nate Ostiller, Teah Pelechaty,

Chris York, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olena Goncharova, Abbey Fenbert, and Dmytro Basmat.

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