Ukraine Daily Summary - Saturday, April 29

Russian strike on Uman kills 23, including 4 children; rescue operation continues -- One year on, Kherson activist kidnapped by Russian troops remains in captivity -- Russia hits Chernihiv Oblast with guided bombs, damages civilian houses -- Way to peace is to arm Ukraine with F-16s -- Everything we know about Ukrainian attacks inside Russia -- and more

Saturday, April 29

Russia’s war against Ukraine

The aftermath of a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, on April 28, 2023. (National Police/Telegram)

23 killed, including 4 children, in Russian missile attack on Uman. As of 7 p.m. local time, 23 people are known to be killed in Russia’s April 28 missile strike on Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, Interior Ministry reported. A body of a child was found under the rubble, bringing the total number of children killed by the missile attack to four.

CNN: Rescuers continue search for missing children under rubble of building destroyed by Russian missile in Uman. First responders are still searching for missing children thought to be caught under the rubble of an apartment building heavily damaged by a Russian missile early on April 28 in the central city of Uman, according to a CNN team on the scene.

Kuleba after Russia’s mass attack: ’Way to peace is to arm Ukraine with F-16s.’ Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has argued that Russia’s April 28 mass missile strike on Ukraine is another proof the country needs to be supplied with F-16 jets.

Russia hits Chernihiv Oblast with guided bombs, damages civilian houses. The attack damaged eight civilian houses, two of which caught fire, the military reported citing the State Emergency Service. No casualties have been reported yet.

Defense Minister: Preparations for Ukraine counteroffensive at final stage. Ukraine’s preparations for an upcoming counteroffensive are “coming to an end” as the military undergoes training on Western-provided weapons, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on April 28, as cited by Ukrainska Pravda media outlet.

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Slovak, Czech presidents arrive in Ukraine for joint visit. Czech President Petr Pavel and his Slovak counterpart Zuzana Caputova came to Ukraine on the morning of April 28 for a joint visit, previously unannounced. They are set to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials.

Zelensky: ‘We can stop terror and save people only with weapons.’ “Today, our Air Force managed to shoot down most of the Russian missiles – 21 out of 23. If not for this, the terrorist state would have managed to claim many more lives,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his video address.

Head of Russian occupying authority in Crimea claims Sevastopol attacked by drones. The head of the illegal Russian occupation government in Sevastopol claimed a drone attack on April 29 caused a fire at a fuel storage tank at the Kozacha Bay in Russian-occupied Sevastopol.

New York Times: Report finds parts of Amnesty statement criticizing Ukraine ’ambiguous and imprecise.’ An undisclosed report seen by the New York Times found faults in Amnesty International’s Aug. 4 statement accusing Ukrainian troops of illegally putting civilians in harm’s way while fighting Russia.

Zelensky calls for removal of restrictions on Ukrainian food exports. President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the removal of what he termed the “destructive” impact of bans of Ukrainian food products by five EU members during a phone call with European Council President Charles Michel.

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Ukraine war latest: Russian strike on Uman kills 23, including 4 children; rescue operation continues

A Russian mass missile attack against Ukraine killed 26 people, including five children, on April 28. The assault hit a residential building in Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, and more missiles targeted Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv oblasts.

Photo: Interior Ministry/Telegram

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One year on, Kherson activist kidnapped by Russian troops remains in captivity

It has been nearly a year now since Iryna’s relatives last saw her. Months after she was kidnapped by Russian troops, some women contacted Iryna’s family, claiming they had been imprisoned with her.

Photo: Olena Kornii

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Human cost of war

Governor: Two 10-year-old children among killed in Russian attack on Cherkasy Oblast. There are two children aged ten among the ten people killed in Russia’s April 28 missile strike on Cherkasy Oblast’s city of Uman, according to Governor Ihor Taburets.

Russia shells Bilozerka near Kherson, 1 civilian killed. Russian forces shelled the settlement of Bilozerka, located near the regional capital of Kherson on April 28, killing one woman and injuring three, the Kherson Regional Military Administration reported on Telegram.

General Staff: Russia has lost 189,460 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on April 28 that Russia had also lost 3,694 tanks, 7,181 armored fighting vehicles, 5,819 vehicles and fuel tanks, 2,905 artillery systems, 543 multiple launch rocket systems, 294 air defense systems, 308 airplanes, 294 helicopters, 2,467 drones, and 18 boats.

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 5 – Everything we know about

Ukrainian attacks inside Russia

Everything we know about Ukrainian attacks inside Russia | This Week in Ukraine Ep. 5

International response

EU agrees on Ukrainian grain imports. After nearly two weeks of negotiations, five EU countries finally “reached a political agreement” with the European Commission on Ukrainian grain imports to the EU, the European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis announced on April 28.

Media: 6 Spanish Leopard 2 tanks already in Poland. Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles confirmed on April 28 that six German-made Leopard 2 tanks are already in Poland and are “being transported by rail to Ukraine,” the Objective media outlet reported.

German minister: Ukrainian soldiers start training on Leopard 1 tanks. Over 100 Ukrainian service personnel have started training on Leopard 1 battle tanks this week, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told Spanish publication La Vanguardia.

Defense Minister: Danish Caesar howitzers already in Ukraine. The Caesar self-propelled howitzers pledged to Ukraine by Denmark are already in use by the Ukrainian military, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on April 28, according to Suspilne news outlet.

Ministry: Ukraine receives $125 billion grant from US. According to Ukraine’s Financial Ministry, the money will be used for paying pensions and salaries to Ukrainian emergency and healthcare workers, and social payments, including payments for internally displaced persons.

Opinions and insights

Kate Tsurkan: One war, multitudes of pain

The Kyiv Independent’s news reporter Kate Tsurkan’s reflects on her experiences in Kharkiv, offering a solution for all those who have found themselves wrought with survivor’s guilt or bouts of denial.

Photo: Aziz Karimov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

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