Sunday, April 30

Russia’s war against Ukraine

General view after shelling on April 29, 2023 in Donetsk, Russian-controlled territory, Ukraine as Russia-Ukraine war continues. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Zelensky: ‘We won’t delay counteroffensive’ despite lack of F-16 jets. Ukraine will launch its counteroffensive even without the U.S.-made planes, President Volodymyr Zelensky told Scandinavian media in an interview published on April 29. “It would help a lot… But we understand that we will not delay this,” he said.

Kherson prepares evacuation plans in case of mass shelling of region. Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on April 29 that due to increased attacks in Kherson Oblast and throughout the country, he ordered means of evacuation to be prepared for larger numbers of people.

Ukraine sends a note to Polish Embassy, EU Representative Office on ‘unacceptable’ trade restrictions of Ukrainian grain. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry on April 29 lashed out at Poland and the EU on what it called a “categorically unacceptable” situation concerning the trade restrictions of Ukrainian grain, urging its allies to “find a balanced solution.” 

EU Commission expects Ukraine’s grain import to resume on May 2, allowing ban on five products. Poland will have to lift its ban on grain shipment on May 2, according to undisclosed sources cited by Polish media RMF 24. In exchange, the EU will allow an embargo on wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower for five EU countries – Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. They would still be obligated to transport these products elsewhere.

UK Defense Ministry: ‘Realistic possibility’ Russia attempted to intercept Ukrainian supply route in its April 28 mass strike. There is “a realistic possibility” that Russia attempted to intercept Ukraine’s supply route during its first major mass strike in nearly two months, on April 28, the U.K. Defense Ministry said.

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Ukrainian military: Russian forces far from controlling Bakhmut’s ’road of life.’ Russian forces didn’t yet manage to get a hold of the exit road from Bakhmut, Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said on April 29.

Air Force: Russia shells Ukraine with recently made missiles. Russia reportedly uses missiles manufactured last fall or winter to strike Ukraine, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said on April 29. Ihnat added that Russia still has missiles and also keeps producing them, although at a slower pace.

ISW: Prigozhin continues to convince Kremlin to go on defensive in eastern Ukraine. Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an interview with a Kremlin-affiliated military blogger on April 29 that the Ukrainian counteroffensive could take place before May 15 but that the Russian military is not rushing to prepare to repel attacks.

Prigozhin threatens to pull Wagner out of Bakhmut if not given munitions. Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin reportedly told Telegram-based outlet WarGonzo that he sent a letter to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu with his ultimatum, supposedly giving Shoigu until April 28 to decide.

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

Ukrainian attacks inside Russia

Human cost of war

General Staff: Russia has lost 190,040 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on April 29 that Russia had also lost 697 tanks, 7,184 armored fighting vehicles, 5,836 vehicles and fuel tanks, 2,908 artillery systems, 543 multiple launch rocket systems, 294 air defense systems, 308 airplanes, 294 helicopters, 2,471 drones, and 18 boats.

BBC confirms identities of 21,700 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine in 14 months of the war. Using open sources, BBC Russia, together with Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, established the names of 21,700 Russian soldiers who had been killed in the war in Ukraine. The media carry out a name-by-name count of the dead.

Rescue operations complete in Uman after Russian missile strike kills 23. Rescue operations are over in Uman, where an April 28 Russian missile strike on a residential building killed 23 people, including six children, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.

Bryansk governor accuses Ukraine of shelling, says 2 civilians killed.A local governor said two civilians died as a result of what he called a Ukrainian shelling on a village of Suzemka in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast.

1 killed in Russian shelling of Kherson Oblast. Russian forces shelled Bilozersk territorial community in Kherson Oblast on the morning of April 29, killing one victim and hospitalizing another, according to the General Prosecutor’s Office. Multiple private houses were damaged.

International response

Pelosi: Democracy must prevail in Ukraine. Former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the Associated Press that democracy must prevail over autocracy on Ukrainian battlefields, as she recalled her trip to Kyiv one year ago.

Czech President visits IDPs in Dnipro, pledges more humanitarian aid.Czech President Petr Pavel visited internally displaced Ukrainians in Dnipro on April 29, tweeting that the region houses 200,000 people who lost their homes to the war.

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