Ukraine Daily

Thursday, 28 April 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

General Staff: Russian forces fail at breaking Ukrainian defense lines in the east despite heavy shelling. Ukraine’s military reported on April 27 that Russian troops are replenishing their stocks in the occupied parts of the southern Ukrainian regions.

Defense Minister: ‘Extremely difficult weeks lie ahead.’ Oleksiy Reznikov called on Ukrainians to prepare for several difficult weeks of hostilities with a large-scale offensive by Russian troops in the Donbas. “The enemy is already aware of its strategic defeat, but will still try to inflict as much pain on us as possible,” Reznikov said.

Putin threatens with ‘immediate strikes’ against countries that intervene in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said on April 27 that Russia has all “instruments” for “immediate strikes” on the countries that would decide to intervene in the war, and will use them if needed.

Russian media Meduza: Kremlin’s proxies in eastern Ukraine plan ‘referendum’ to integrate into Russia. According to undisclosed sources of Russian independent news outlet Meduza, the Kremlin is also planning a staged referendum in Kherson Oblast to proclaim its independence from Ukraine. The referendums are expected to take place on May 14-15, however, the dates may be pushed back as they have been before due to Russian forces’ failures to advance.

Ukraine’s intelligence: Russian occupiers plan propaganda press tour in Mariupol. According to Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate, the tour for journalists of “loyal” media including Western publications may present false witnesses to blame the killing of civilians and the bombing in the besieged city on Ukraine’s military.

Gazprombank executive leaves Russia to defend Ukraine. Ex-Gazprombank vice president and Ukrainian-born Igor Volobuyev said in an interview with The Insider on April 27 that he intends to join Ukraine’s territorial defense. Gazprombank is an affiliate of Russia’s state-controlled gas monopoly, Gazprom.

Russian forces violently disperse crowds, injure protesters at pro-Ukrainian rally in Kherson. Russian forces used tear gas and stun grenades against demonstrators protesting against Russia’s occupation of Kherson on April 27. Four people were reportedly injured.

Ukraine’s Air Force: 8 Russian aerial targets destroyed. The press center of the Ukraine’s Air Force reported early on April 28 that Russia lost at least one airplane, one missile, and 6 UAVs over the past 24 hours. The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify this claim.

Austrian embassy returns to Kyiv. The Austrian Foreign Ministry said on April 27 that the embassy staff returned to Kyiv last week, as “an important sign of our unwavering solidarity with Ukraine.”

Shmyhal: Ukraine’s GDP may drop by 30-50% due to Russia’s war. In a column for The Economist, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal also said that in the long run, the damage to Ukraine’s economy could reach up to $1 trillion, the equivalent of five times the GDP of 2021.

Governor: Russian forces shell Sumy Oblast over 50 times in half an hour. The Esman territorial community was heavily hit by mortar shelling, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, the governor of Sumy Oblast, wrote on April 27. Details of the report could not be immediately verified and the number of casualties is yet to be determined.

CNN: US has credible information that Russian military executed Ukrainians who attempted to surrender. The U.S. has “credible information that a Russian military unit operating in the vicinity of Donetsk executed Ukrainians who were attempting to surrender, rather than take them into custody,” Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack said at the UN on April 27. “If true, this would be a violation of a core principle of the laws of war.”

Ukraine repels six Russian attacks in Donetsk and Luhansk directions. Ukraine’s army repelled six Russian attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, according to the latest update from the the headquarters of Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operation. The army also said it destroyed five tanks, one artillery system, 21 armored vehicles, one armored combat vehicle, one car and one anti-aircraft installation.

Zelensky: Russia will blackmail Europe with trade. Russia is trying to provoke a global price crisis, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his daily address on April 27. Zelensky warned Europeans against economic cooperation with Russia. “Russia considers not only gas but also any trade as a weapon,” Zelensky said.

Microsoft: Russian hackers and military worked in tandem. Russian government hackers carried out at least 37 cyber-attacks against Ukraine between Feb. 23 and April 8, Microsoft said in its latest report. The tech giant’s researchers also found that hacking and military operations worked in tandem, focusing on the same targets, but Microsoft said it wasn’t clear whether there was a co-ordinated plan or they were just driven by shared goals.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Russians shell hospital in Sievierodonetsk, kill 1. According to Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai, 2 hospitals in the towns of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk are the only ones that are currently working in Luhansk Oblast. The attack on one of them on April 27 “was Russia’s attempt to kill the injured and those who help the locals survive,” Haidai said.

Prosecutor General’s Office: Russia’s war kills 217 children, injures over 610. These figures continue to evolve, as work is underway to establish the number of casualties in areas still affected by hostilities or in temporarily-occupied regions.

80% of Kharkiv zoo animals evacuated to safety. Five employees of the Feldman Ecopark zoo near Kharkiv got killed while saving the animals, head of the zoo’s partnership projects Vadym Vorotynskyi told Ukrainska Pravda. Russian shelling also killed about 100 animals and completely destroyed the infrastructure of the zoo. Before the war, nearly 5,000 animals lived in the zoo.

International response

UN chief to meet Zelensky, visit Bucha and Irpin. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 28 in Kyiv following talks with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Moscow. He said his team would “continue our work to expand humanitarian support” to Ukraine and “secure the evacuation of civilians.” “The sooner this war ends, the better – for the sake of Ukraine, Russia, and the world,” Guterres tweeted earlier.

Canada lawmakers vote to label Russia’s acts in Ukraine as ‘genocide.’ Canadian lawmakers voted unanimously on April 27 to call Russia’s attacks in Ukraine a “genocide,” with members of parliament saying there was “ample evidence of systemic and massive war crimes against humanity” being committed by Moscow.

Poland, Bulgaria say Russia cutting gas supplies is breach of contract. Poland’s energy company PGNiG and Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said the move violated established supply contracts, which stipulate gas sales in dollars. Russia halted gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria earlier on April 27, after they refused to pay in rubles. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called Russia’s decision “blackmail.”

Norway to allocate $44 million to buy weapons for Ukraine. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said on April 27 that the decision is part of a British-led initiative to purchase arms for Ukraine.

European Commission proposes to suspend import duties on Ukrainian exports to EU for 1 year. The proposal would also include the “suspension of all EU anti-dumping and safeguard measures in place on Ukrainian steel exports” for one year, to “help alleviate the difficult situation of Ukrainian producers and exporters in the face of Russia’s military invasion.”

Switzerland adopts EU’s latest sanctions package against Russia. The new measures include a coal embargo and further financial sanctions, taking effect immediately. Russian businesses or citizens won’t be able to register trusts in Switzerland under the new sanctions.

Media: Switzerland vetoes German request to re-export Gepard ammunition to Ukraine. According to Swiss media SRF, Switzerland said its neutrality does not permit providing arms for use in conflict zones, and Gepard tank’s ammunition was originally made in Switzerland. The SRF said it was unclear which ammunition Germany was now sending to Ukraine along with the Gepards, following the Swiss veto.

Slovak PM advocates for permanent EU import duties abolition for Ukraine. Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said he supported the EU Commission’s proposal to suspend duties on Ukrainian exports for one year but added that he had advocated for abolishing them for good.

French government seizes three Russian oligarchs’ villas in the south of France. The list includes the property of Oleg Deripaska in Saint Tropez, Kirill Shamalov in Biarritz and Musa Bazhaev in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

Bloomberg: US lifts some restrictions on sharing intelligence with Ukraine. According to Bloomberg’s undisclosed sources, the U.S. is sharing more timely intelligence with Ukraine to help Kyiv defend and retake territory in southern and eastern Ukraine.

New York Times: US lawmakers pass bill to give funds from seized Russian assets to Ukraine. The bill calls on the Biden administration to sell frozen Russian assets and use the funds to provide additional military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The NYT reports that the bill is not binding, but symbolic of a bipartisan desire for Biden to take a stronger stance on Russia.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Alexander Query, Daria Shulzhenko, Oleg Sukhov, Teah Pelechaty, Sergiy Slipchenko, Olena Goncharova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olga Rudenko, Toma Istomina and Brad LaFoy.

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