Tuesday, April 16

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Officers of the special police force “White Angel” Hennadiy Yudin (L) and Dmytro Solovyi (R) walk past destroyed buildings and debris during the evacuation of local residents from the village of Ocheretyne not far from Avdiivka town in Donetsk Oblast on April 15, 2024. (Anatolii Stepanov / AFP via Getty Images)

Zelensky: Allies can defend Ukraine in the same way as they protected Israel. “By defending Israel, the free world demonstrated that unity (among allies) is not only possible but 100% effective,” Zelensky said after a meeting with top military and security officials . “The allies’ decisive actions prevented the success of terrorism and loss of infrastructure and forced the aggressor to cool down.”

Deploying jets to protect Ukraine would lead to escalation, UK foreign secretary says. Deploying Western fighter jets to protect Ukraine from missile strikes, as was done for Israel on April 14, would lead to “dangerous escalation,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on air on April 15.

Minister: Ukraine allocates $6 billion for arms procurement in 2024. Ukraine’s $40 billion defense budget for this year includes $6 billion for arms procurement, Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin told journalists on April 14, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

Source: Ukrainian forces hit command post in Russian-occupied Crimea. The local partisan group Atesh said that the sounds of Russian air defense operating had been heard. Atesh claimed that the military base of the 810th Marine Brigade in Sevastopol had been hit.

Washington Post: US request not to target Russian oil refineries ‘irritated’ Zelensky. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called on President Volodymyr Zelensky not to attack Russian oil refineries during their private meeting at the February Munich Security Conference, the Washington Post reported on April 15, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

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SBU: Ukraine’s modernized sea drones can carry 1 ton of explosives over 1,000 kilometers away. Ukrainian naval drones Sea Baby have been modernized and can now carry almost a ton of explosives to hit a target over 1,000 kilometers away, Artem Dekhtiarenko, the spokesperson of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said on April 14.

Ukraine intercepts Russian sabotage group near border in Sumy Oblast. Border guards repelled an attack by Russian saboteurs in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service reported on April 15.

Energoatom starts building new power units at Khmelnytskyi nuclear plant. Ukraine’s nuclear energy agency Energoatom has started building reactor units 5 and 6 at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant using U.S. technology that would help prevent power outages in case of Russian attacks, Energoatom’s press service said on April 15.

Russia plans ‘false flag’ attacks on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Kyiv tells UN. “What happened at the ZNPP on 7th and 9th of April 2024 and thereafter was a well-planned false flag operation by the Russian Federation,” Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya said at a U.N. Security Council meeting on April 15.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Deploying jets to protect Ukraine would lead to escalation, UK foreign secretary says

Deploying Western fighter jets to protect Ukraine from missile strikes, as was done for Israel on April 14, would lead to “dangerous escalation,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on air on April 15.

Photo: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attack on Kharkiv Oblast village kills 2, injures at least 4. Russian forces struck the village of Lukiantsi in Kharkiv Oblast with a guided aerial bomb, killing two people and injuring at least four, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on April 15.

Governor: Russian attack on Siversk in Donetsk Oblast kills 4. Siversk, a city north of Bakhmut, came under the attack on the evening of April 14, Filashkin said. Four men aged between 36 and 86 were reportedly killed.

Authorities: Explosive ordnances injure 3 in Chernihiv, Kharkiv oblasts. Two energy workers and an elderly man were injured by explosive ordnances in Chernihiv and Kharkiv oblasts, regional authorities reported early on April 15.

Opinions and insights

The Counteroffensive: A look at the Russian military’s war dolphins

According to some estimates, 37,500 to 48,000 Black Sea dolphins died in the three-month period after the full-scale invasion started. This figure amounts to around 15-20% of the sea’s total dolphin population and a death rate that is 10 times higher than before February 2022.

Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images

International response

Johnson plans separate House votes on Israel, Ukraine aid. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to hold separate votes this week on new assistance packages for Israel and Ukraine, aiming to assemble fragile coalitions to support both embattled allies.

Czech PM: Allies contract first 180,000 artillery shells for Ukraine. Czech President Petr Pavel announced in February that the Czech Republic had identified 500,000 155 mm shells and 300,000 122 mm shells outside of Europe that could be bought and sent to Ukraine after the necessary funds were allocated.

Netherlands allocates $4.7 billion to support Ukraine until 2026. The Netherlands has allocated 4.4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) to support Ukraine until 2026, the Dutch government announced on April 15 in its spring memorandum, a preview of state budget plans for the upcoming year.

Netherlands, Germany, Canada to send drones to Ukraine. Canada will send 450 SkyRanger multi-mission drones, while the Netherlands, in collaboration with Denmark and Germany, will supply Ukraine with Heidrun RQ-35 reconnaissance drones worth 200 million euros ($213 million).

European Commission approves $53 billion reform plan for Ukraine. The EU approved the financial aid package for Ukraine in February, allocating two-thirds of the amount in loans and one-third in grants. Ukraine has agreed to implement various reforms as part of the conditions for receiving the funds.

Poll: About 70% of Lithuanians consider Russia threat to national security. Seven out of ten residents of Lithuania believe that Russia poses a threat to their country’s national security, according to a poll carried out by public opinion research company Baltijos Tyrimai and published by Lithuanian public service broadcaster LRT on April 15.

In other news

Top border guard acquitted on charges of lying in his asset declaration. The official, Serhiy Mul, was accused of failing to declare a land plot and a house worth Hr 1.5 million ($38,000) in the town of Boryspil in Kyiv Oblast in 2021.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dinara Khalilova, Kateryna Denisova, Elsa Court, Oleg Sukhov, Kateryna Hodunova, Olena Goncharova, and Abbey Fenbert.

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