Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:14 French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a telephone conversation emphasized the need to strengthen military support for Ukraine, the British Prime Minister's office reported. In particular, Macron and Sunak stated the need to “intensify efforts aimed at preventing Russia from winning its war of aggression against Ukraine.” The parties also discussed priorities for the coming months, in particular increasing the supply of ammunition, drones and air defense equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
21:33 The Russians hit civilian infrastructure in the Poltava community, said the head of the OVA, Philip Pronin.
21:30 Ukraine will be able to join NATO only after the end of the current war, said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
21:27 Donald Trump's victory in the US elections is feared in Europe and Ukraine. He has repeatedly stated that he could quickly end the Russian-Ukrainian war. At the same time, those around the presidential candidate deny information that he allegedly has a plan to give some Ukrainian regions to Russia to end the war. Read more in the article What Trump thinks about Ukraine.
21:20 The White House accused Congress of inaction on the issue of assistance to Ukraine. “Over the past few weeks, several months, we have seen Ukraine losing ground on the battlefield. And this is due to the inaction of Congress,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, spokeswoman for the US presidential administration.
20:56 The mayor of Energodar, Dmitry Orlov, called the drone attack on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, for which Russia blames Ukraine, a “low-quality provocation”: “The design of the reactor can withstand even a plane crash, a direct hit. Therefore, the situation concerns some drones, which they probably themselves they launch it and try to make some kind of news out of it - this is an extremely low-quality provocation.” He emphasized that IAEA experts can only record those events that the Russian forces controlling the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant allow to be recorded.
Orlov also said that in February Russia banned access to the territory of the Zaporizhzhya NPP for workers who had not signed a contract with Rosatom. About 2,000 former employees remained to work at the station, which means they signed contracts.
20:15 Zelensky said in an interview with CNN that Ukraine will lose the war if the US Congress does not unblock the aid package: “If Congress does not help, Ukraine will lose the war. And we need to find a public format for this. If Ukraine loses this war, other countries will attacked."
20:11 The number of victims as a result of today's Russian strike on an apartment building in Selidovo, Donetsk region, has increased to five, including a 16-year-old teenager, the prosecutor's office reported.
20:02 The German government stated that Ukraine received military aid worth 28 billion euros, but data indicate a significantly smaller amount, writes Bild. In particular, about 2.6 billion euros out of 6 billion promised as military aid to Kyiv will go to other countries and to rearm the Bundeswehr. In addition, 3.4 billion euros could be returned to Germany from EU funds. Taking these data into account, it turns out that the actual promised military assistance to Kyiv is only 21.7 billion euros. This is 23% less than the authorities claim, the newspaper writes.
However, this amount may not be accurate either - Bundestag deputy from the CDU/CSU opposition bloc Ingo Goedehens claims that in reality, only 10.2 billion euros of military aid from Germany have been transferred to Kyiv so far.
19:51 Russia now produces 30 “shaheds” per day, and by the end of the year this figure could rise to 87, writes Die Welt. In addition, according to the publication, the country produces up to 130 missiles with a range of at least 350 km and about 100 shorter-range missiles every month. At the end of last year, the Russian Federation produced about 2 million shells of 152 mm and 122 mm caliber. The production of about 2.1 million artillery shells is planned for this year.
At the same time, the publication notes that about 90% of the tanks that were in Russia as of February 2022 were destroyed. Now the Russian Federation uses partially “museum” tanks, such as the T-62 and T-55. Analysts suggest that reserves will last for another two to three years.
19:18 The Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence agreed on changes to the bill on mobilization, including, in particular, fines for violation of mobilization and military records. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture recognized circuses as “critically important” and granted the right to book workers. The final vote is expected to take place in the parliamentary session hall on April 11. Read more in the article Booking for the circus and crazy fines.
18:25 In Sumy, as a result of today's airstrike on a civilian infrastructure facility, three people were injured, the prosecutor's office reported. In addition, the enemy launched three air bomb attacks on the central part of the city of Belopolye, Sumy region - one person was killed, two were wounded. Civil infrastructure facilities were damaged.
18:02 As a result of today's Russian strike on an industrial facility in Zaporozhye, three people were killed and eight were injured, said the head of the OVA, Ivan Fedorov. According to preliminary information, 14 buildings were damaged, including seven high-rise buildings, a health care facility and a cultural institution.
17:33 In the Donetsk region, as a result of today's Russian shelling, at least one person was killed and three were wounded, said the head of the OVA Vadim Filashkin. In particular, in the city of Chasov Yar one person was killed and six private houses were damaged. In Selidovo, three people were injured as a result of being hit in a nine-story building.
17:27 In the city of Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation, on the territory of the naval base on April 7, the Serpukhov missile ship was disabled as a result of a fire. As the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense reported, its communications and automation equipment inside the missile ship was completely destroyed. Restoring the ship's combat capability will take a long time, intelligence claims. Serpukhov is a Russian vessel of project 21631 Buyan-M, which was launched in 2015.
17:18 Against the background of active shelling of Kharkov, a number of Western publications published articles about the difficult situation in the city. Journalists claim that the Kremlin wants to turn Kharkov into a “gray zone” and do not rule out a ground offensive. Read more in the article Why the enemy is destroying Kharkov.
17:12 The latest Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have had many more consequences than the attacks last winter, Energy Minister German Galushchenko told The Guardian. According to him, up to 80% of thermal generation facilities, more than half of hydroelectric generation and a large number of substations were attacked. The minister noted that the latest strikes were the “biggest attack” on Ukrainian energy infrastructure since the start of the full-scale invasion.
16:36 Russia asked Kazakhstan to supply it with 100 thousand tons of gasoline in case of a shortage, which could worsen due to attacks by Ukrainian drones and interruptions in the operation of refineries, Reuters writes, citing sources. According to them, Kazakhstan has agreed on a corresponding agreement with the Russian Federation.
16:29 Denmark has allocated about 5.8 million euros for the restoration of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the country’s Foreign Ministry reported.
16:05 Bloomberg writes, citing sources, that Switzerland plans to hold a summit on Ukraine in mid-June, which will be attended by 80 to 100 countries, including those from the Global South. However, it is not yet clear whether China will agree to participate. For Switzerland, this is a “key issue” that “will be decisive to make the initiative credible,” the newspaper notes. Several countries insist that Russia take part in the meeting, but Ukraine is against it.
15:58 The Russians launched an airstrike on the civilian infrastructure of Sumy, the consequences are being clarified, the OVA reported.
15:34 Zelensky said that he held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The main issue is the protection of Kharkov from Russian attacks and the ability to strengthen air defense and electronic warfare in the region. In particular, “there will be separate tasks for our diplomats to work with partners for the sake of new air defense systems for Ukraine,” the president added.
In addition, Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky presented information on the situation in the main combat directions. “We are holding our positions. The main thing now is efficient logistics,” Zelensky noted. Also, he said, intelligence and special services are “working on new steps to reduce Russia’s war potential.”
15:26 Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller called The Washington Post's information about the “peace plan” with the surrender of Ukrainian territories fake. At the same time, he emphasized that Trump is “the only one who talks about stopping the killing,” while Biden “talks about continuing the killing.”
15:12 The Russians hit an industrial facility in Zaporozhye, six casualties are known, said the head of the OVA Ivan Fedorov.
14:57 NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Joane said that the Alliance must play a more pronounced coordinating role in supporting Ukraine, while at the same time avoiding escalation: “We are saying a very simple thing. NATO must play a more pronounced coordinating role in supporting Ukraine, without becoming "at the same time, a party to the war. We are very attentive to the risk of escalation, we are very careful about this demarcation line between legitimate and necessary support for Ukraine and escalation of the conflict."
14:35 Ukrainian hackers, who may be associated with the SBU, destroyed a data center used by the Russian military-industrial complex, oil and gas and telecom, media report citing sources. We are talking about the OwenCloud cloud service, in which more than 10 thousand Russian legal entities stored their data. According to sources, this was a joint operation of the Ukrainian hacker group BlackJack with the cyber department of the SBU. They destroyed more than 300TB of data - that's 400 virtual and 42 physical servers.
13:56 Over the past three weeks, Russian planes have dropped 21 aerial bombs on the Belgorod region, the opposition Russian publication Astra has calculated. In particular, five more cases have been recorded since the beginning of April. All ammunition has already been destroyed, there are no casualties. The authorities prefer to hide these facts, and when this fails, they declare an “abnormal discharge of ammunition.”
13:18 Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Russians have completely destroyed more than 60 thousand hectares of forests in the occupied territories worth at least 14 billion hryvnia, according to an NGL investigation. Among the natural areas most affected in the Donetsk region is the Holy Mountains National Natural Park, located in the Kramatorsk and Bakhmut regions. Since the beginning of the invasion, fighting has been going on in this area, as a result of which 80% of the park was destroyed.
12:43 Chinese Foreign Ministry speaker Mao Ning once again stated that Beijing does not provide military support to Russia and exercises proper control over the export of military goods. “China’s position on the Ukrainian issue is always objective and fair. We are actively working to promote peace negotiations and a political settlement,” Mao added.
12:24 In the morning, the Russians fired artillery at Nikopol, Dnepropetrovsk region, two people were wounded, said the head of the OVA Sergei Lysak. A two-story residential building was completely destroyed, private houses and infrastructure facilities were damaged.
12:02 The Greek government can transfer up to 32 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but this requires the approval of France, writes the local publication News Break. During their service, fighters of this type have undergone two design upgrades and are currently at an average of about 60% of their service life.
11:47 For the first time since the existence of the department, the Ministry of Defense has created a new coordinating advisory body for the Internal Audit Department - the Audit Committee. The committee includes certified internal auditors from NATO member states and Ukraine, the MoD said.
11:18 Zelensky plans to visit the Republic of South Africa in the next few months, writes the local publication Business Day, citing Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa. According to her, the Ukrainian president expressed his intention to visit South Africa to establish stronger trade ties between the countries and discuss the nature of relations after the end of the war.
10:44 At night, as a result of a Russian attack in the Dnieper region, equipment at one of the Ukrenergo substations and two high-voltage overhead lines were damaged, the company reported. There was no loss of power to consumers. In addition, on April 7, in one of the front-line areas in the east, as a result of artillery shelling, the Ukrenergo 330 kV high-voltage substation was de-energized. Hourly shutdown schedules are in effect in the Kharkov region, and consumption limits for industrial consumers in the Krivoy Rog region also continue to apply.
10:29 French and British foreign ministers Stephane Séjournet and David Cameron wrote a joint column in The Telegraph to mark the 120th anniversary of the signing of the agreement between the two countries, known as the Agreement of the Heart. In it, the heads of the Foreign Ministry write that “dark times” have come in the world, given Russia’s war against Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and problems with climate change. Sejournet and Cameron in particular note that their countries are united by the understanding that Ukraine must win the war, and both nuclear states must take responsibility for this and do even more to defeat the Russian Federation.
09:53 Governor of the Kursk region Roman Starovoyt said that tonight a drone dropped explosives on the territory of a former distillery near the village of Guevo, Sudzhansky district. A fire broke out in the premises of the inactive factory club, which was quickly extinguished; no people were injured.
09:20 Russia has changed its tactics of attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure, using precision missiles to destroy power plants in less protected areas than Kiev, writes the Financial Times. The publication notes that although the damage is not as widespread, it is worse than last winter, and now its goal is permanent, irreparable destruction. Some facilities will not be fully restored until next winter.
Thus, during the period from March 22 to 29 alone, Russia struck seven thermal power plants and two hydroelectric power plants - all of them were located in regions where there are not enough modern air defense systems. Large-scale blackouts were avoided thanks to warm weather, imports of electricity from the EU and increased electricity production from renewable sources.
08:59 In the Voznesensky district of the Nikolaev region, during a night attack, power lines were damaged by debris from a downed UAV. 14 settlements and one partially lost power. Work is underway to restore power supply, there are no casualties, said Vitaly Kim, head of the OVA.
08:54 In the Zhytomyr region, during a night attack, drones attacked a critical infrastructure facility. According to preliminary data, there are no casualties or injuries, the OVA reported. The Zvyagel City Council warned that as a result of the attack on the community's infrastructure, there is a threat of air pollution, so it is recommended to stay indoors with the windows closed.
08:35 During a night attack in the Odessa region, a drone hit a transport and logistics facility, the Southern Defense Forces reported. In addition, a gas station was damaged by falling debris from a downed drone, but no people were injured.
08:16 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of April 8:
- personnel - about 448,400 (+890) people,
- tanks - 7087 (+13),
- armored combat vehicles - 13,575 (+24),
- artillery systems - 11 356 (+40),
- MLRS - 1039 (+3),
- air defense systems - 751 (+2),
- aircraft - 347 (+0),
- helicopters - 325 (+0),
- UAV of operational-tactical level - 8996 (+40),
- cruise missiles - 2065 (+1),
- ships/boats - 26 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 15,110 (+39),
- special equipment - 1867 (+3).
07:38 Air defense at night destroyed 17 of 24 attack UAVs of the Shahed-131/136 type, which Russia attacked from the Crimean Cape Chauda, as well as from Kursk and Yeisk. Drones were destroyed in Odessa, Nikolaev, Kirovograd, Khmelnytsky and Zhytomyr regions. In addition, the X-59 guided aircraft missile, which the enemy launched from the airspace of the occupied Zaporozhye region, was destroyed, the Air Force command reported.
07:24 Over the past 24 hours, 76 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report. In particular, in the Bakhmut direction, the Defense Forces repelled 31 attacks in the areas of the settlements of Belogorovka in the Luhansk region, as well as Chasov Yar, Spornoye, Vyemka, Fedorovka, Razdolovka, Veseloye, Bogdanovka, Ivanovskoye, Kleshcheevka, Andreevka in the Donetsk region. In the Novopavlovsk direction, the enemy tried 22 times to break through the defenses of Ukrainian troops in the Krasnohorivka, Pobeda, Novomikhailovka areas of the Donetsk region.
The enemy did not conduct offensive actions in the Kupyansk direction. In the Liman direction, two enemy attacks were repelled in the Ternov area of the Donetsk region; on Avdeevsky - eight attacks in the Pervomaisky, Nevelsky, Netaylovo districts of the Donetsk region; on Orekhovsky - five attacks in the districts of Staromayorsky, Donetsk region and Rabotino, Zaporozhye region; on Kherson - eight attacks on the left bank of the Dnieper.