Monday, April 3

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers walk toward their positions in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine on February 27, 2023. A new system for calculating combat bonuses for Ukrainian soldiers may drastically cut the incomes of everyone who does not spend every day on the front line. (Ignacio Marin Fernandez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

High-profile Russian propagandist killed in explosion in St Petersburg cafe. An explosion in a cafe in the center of St. Petersburg killed Russian propagandist and war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky and injured 30 other people on April 2, Russian media reported.

UK Defense Ministry: Russian commanders find alcohol abuse ‘particularly detrimental’ to combat effectiveness. Deaths linked to alcohol consumption, poor weapon handing drills, road traffic accidents, and hypothermia are the leading non-combat casualties amongst Russian deployed forces.

Military: Russian troops forced to retreat from ‘several positions’ in Donetsk Oblast. The Ukrainian forces “are now busy equipping these positions for defensive combat operations,” according to the Ukrainian military spokesperson.

Military spokesperson: Russia changes attack tactics in Ukraine’s south. Russia has reportedly started using its Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets to strike civilian areas in Kherson Oblast, instead of shelling them from the ground positions that are targeted by Ukrainian forces.

Military: Wagner Group comparable in size to armies of Hungary, Slovakia. The Wagner Group, Russia’s most high-profile mercenary outfit, is now a fully-fledged army equal in size to Hungary or Slovakia’s military personnel, Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Eastern Military Command, told the Ukrainian Channel 24.

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Zelensky condemns Russian attacks on Kostiantynivka: ‘The evil state must be defeated.’ A Ukrainian military victory is the only thing that will end Russia’s “terror” and restore freedom to all captured territories, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on April 2.

Moscow Patriarchate church where Ukrainian soldier was attacked holds first religious service in Ukrainian. A house of worship in the western city of Khmelnytskyi controlled by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate held its first service in Ukrainian, after a priest allegedly assaulted a Ukrainian serviceman on its grounds.

Ambassador: Russia to deploy tactical nuclear weapons near Belarus’s western border. Russia will place the tactical nuclear weapons that it plans to deploy in Belarus closer to Belarus’s western borders, Russian ambassador in Minsk, Boris Gryzlov, told Belarusian TV on April 2.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Kremlin propagandist killed, Russia fails to ‘seize Donbas by the end of March’

Check out the key developments from April 2.

Photo: Telegram/Andriy Yermak

Human cost of Russia’s war

Governors: Russian attacks hit 6 regions, kill 4 civilians in 1 day. According to the regional governors’ reports, four civilians were killed, and at least 15 were injured.

6 civilians killed in Russian missile attack on Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast. Earlier in the day, the regional governor reported that Russian attacks had injured five civilians in Donetsk Oblast over the past 24 hours.

French volunteer fighting for Ukraine killed in action. Two French volunteers had been killed in Ukraine over the past two weeks, according to Le Monde.

Defense Ministry: Russia lost 4,000 soldiers in Ukraine over the past week. Ukrainian defenders have “destroyed” nearly 4,000 Russian troops since March 27, First Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Pavliuk said on April 2.

General Staff: Russia has lost 174,550 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 560 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.

Opinions and insights

Mariia Kovach-Butsko: Russia must pay for its aggression through seized assets

“The argument is heard from both Ukraine and its Western partners: Russia must pay for the damage it has caused,” Mariia Kovach-Butsko, a nonresident fellow at the Center for Defense Strategies, said in their recent op-ed.

Photo: Serhiy Morgunov

International response

Official: Armenia not to arrest Putin under ICC warrant. “We’ve heard the concerns expressed by Russia, and we can ensure that the continuation of the Rome Statute process does not harm the strategic relationship between Armenia and Russia,” said a top Armenian official.

Polish minister: Decision to send fighter jets to Ukraine ‘an example for other countries.’ Polish European Affairs Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk singled out Germany, arguing that Berlin is often preoccupied with formality and procedures over practical action that would help Ukraine.

UK Defense Ministry: Second group of Ukrainian soldiers completes training on AS-90 howitzers. The U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Twitter on April 2 that the second group of Ukrainian artillery recruits had completed their training on the formidable AS90 155mm self-propelled gun.

Minority rights concerns rebuked as Hungarian deputy foreign minister visits Ukraine. Ukrainian officials in Zakarpattia Oblast told visiting Hungarian deputy foreign minister, Levente Magyar, that the Hungarian minority in Ukraine is not being oppressed.

In other news

Blinken demands ‘immediate release’ of detained US reporter in a phone call with Lavrov. The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the “immediate release” of the detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and U.S. citizen Paul Whelan charged with espionage by Moscow.

Ukrainian wins Europe’s Strongest Man title. Ukrainian athlete Pavlo Kordiyaka won Europe’s Strongest Man title at the strength athletics competition held in Leeds, the U.K., on April 1. According to the competition’s website, Kordiyaka also set the new Conan’s Wheel World Record.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Olga Rudenko, Alexander Khrebet, Toma Istomina, Oleksiy Sorokin, Francis Farrell, Igor Kossov, Teah Pelechaty, and Lili Bivings.

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