Tuesday, April 25

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A young woman sits on a destroyed Russian military vehicle on display in Mykhailivskyi Square on April 24 in downtown Kyiv. As the war with Russia enters its second year, the fiercest fighting is concentrated in the east and south, but residents of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities live with the constant threat of aerial attack. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/Getty Images)

Zelensky meets with Estonian Prime Minister in Zhytomyr Oblast. President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in Zhytomyr Oblast on April 24, the President’s Office reported on April 24.

US Official: Russian forces could launch new offensive operations once weather improves. Russia can launch offensive operations in several areas once the weather improves, White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview with Voice of America on April 24.

ISW: ‘Exhausted’ troops, ‘disorganized’ deployment will likely hinder Russia’s prospects of holding critical frontline areas in Ukraine. Russia will have to transfer “significant reserves” to any single axis of Ukraine’s front line to carry out effective offensive operations, the Institute for the Study of War wrote in its April 23 update.

Mayor: High concentrations of Russian troops near occupied Melitopol. There are “powerful concentrations” of Russian troops near occupied Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, city mayor Ivan Fedorov said on Ukrainian national television on April 24.

National Resistance Center: Partisans destroy Russian checkpoint in occupied Kherson Oblast. According to the National Resistance Center, members of the Atesh partisan movement targeted a Russian checkpoint near the town of Oleshky with homemade explosives.

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Media: Wagner commander who confessed to war crimes detained, threatened in Russia. Former Wagner commander Azamat Uldarov, who publicly confessed to committing war crimes in Ukraine, was detained in Saratov Oblast., Russian independent media Meduza reported on April 24.

Lavrov lashes out at West in UN Security Council speech in New York. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed during his address to the UN Security Council on April 24 that the United Nations and its charter pose “a threat to U.S. global ambitions.”

NYT: The UN suggests Black Sea grain deal extension to a reluctant Russia. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres on April 24 proposed an extension and expansion of an agreement with Russia that has allowed Ukraine to transport grain from its Black Sea ports, the New York Times reports citing a summary of a meeting he held with Russia’s foreign minister.

Interior Ministry hopes to re-launch Canadian Police Mission in Ukraine. The Ministry of Internal Affairs said on April 24 that it had discussed with representatives of the Royal Canadian Mountain Police the possibility of restoring the Canadian Police Mission to Ukraine.

Read our exclusives

Russia tries to conceal its dwindling nuclear stockpile

In the last three years, Russia has been seeking to keep American nuclear inspectors away. And the reason behind that is likely not Moscow’s eagerness to bolster nuclear power but rather to hide the scale of its nuclear arsenal’s reduction.

Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Ukraine war latest: Zelensky calls for rapid delivery of weapons, meets Estonian PM

President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 24 called on Western allies to speed up their delivery of weapons and ammunition, emphasizing that it is crucial in protecting the lives of Ukrainians.

Photo: Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian shelling reportedly kills 2, injures 1 in Donetsk Oblast. Russian troops shelled the village of Shakhtarske in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast on the morning of April 24, reported the regional prosecutor’s office. Two men aged 43 and 66 were killed in a house’s yard, and their neighbor suffered shrapnel injuries.

International response

Lithuanian President: ‘Red lines’ regarding military aid to Ukraine must be crossed. Any self-imposed “red lines” regarding military aid to Ukraine must be crossed to ensure its victory against Russia, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in an interview with Spiegel on April 24.

Former Polish PM: Ending war in Ukraine with compromises would lead to ‘new dangers.’ Former Polish Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński said there is a risk of the war in Ukraine ending with compromises rather than a definitive resolution, the Polish Press Agency reported on April 24.

Czech, Polish, Slovak leaders pen letter calling for Ukraine’s postwar security guarantees. The prime ministers of Czechia, Poland, and Slovakia called for Ukraine’s postwar security guarantees in a joint letter published by Foreign Affairs on April 24.

Hungarian lawmaker says Ukraine should get Russia’s ‘approval’ to join NATO.

Hungarian lawmaker Dóra Dúró said in an interview published by Russian newspaper Izvestiya on April 24 that Ukraine’s NATO membership is “only if Russia approves this in the form of a specific agreement.”

China says it respects sovereignty of ex-Soviet states after controversial comment from its ambassador to France. Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Mao Ning said on April 24, as cited by Bloomberg, that Beijing “respects the status of the former Soviet republics as sovereign countries after the Soviet Union’s dissolution,” adding that the country’s position remains “unchanged.”

In other news

EU and Ukraine to recognize, enforce each other’s court decisions. The EU Council has agreed to establish treaty relations with Ukraine under the so-called Judgments Convention, which obliges contracting states to recognize and enforce judgments rendered in civil or commercial cases in other participating states.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleg Sukhov, Dinara Khalilova, Francis Farrell, Kate Tsurkan, Olena Goncharova, Brad LaFoy, and Lili Bivings.

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