Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title
[Korrespondent] 22:35 The United States will continue to supply ATACMS tactical missiles to Kiev, said White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. He added that Kyiv will use ATACMS missiles within its territory.
21:57 Hungary supports the Chinese “peace plan” to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said after talks in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
21:52 The Cabinet of Ministers has banned the sending abroad of passports for men aged 18 to 60 years. According to the resolution, “receipt of a passport of a citizen of Ukraine, a passport of a citizen of Ukraine for traveling abroad by a male citizen of Ukraine aged 18 to 60 years is carried out at the territorial body/territorial division of the State Migration Service. Sending such passports to a separate unit or foreign diplomatic institution of Ukraine for organizing them no issuance will be made."
21:46 Kuleba said that Ukraine expects seven Patriot systems from its partners. According to the minister, one was supplied by Germany, negotiations are underway for four more, and he “saw personally” two more batteries, but has not yet announced details on them. The negotiations were difficult because “the countries that own these air defense systems are bargaining for compensation,” the foreign minister noted. At the same time, Kuleba added that he has no doubt, “given the progress we are making, that there will be Patriots.” The minister also hinted that the eighth system could come from the United States: “I think that the US Army probably has one spare.”
21:34 Ukraine and Portugal have begun work on a draft bilateral security agreement, the Presidential Office reported.
21:08 Zelensky said in an evening video message that Ukraine has been working as actively as possible with American partners in recent days in order to quickly fill the new aid package from the United States with exactly the weapons that the Ukrainian Armed Forces need: “From ATACMS and artillery, from anti-tank weapons and missiles for HIMARS to the necessary air defense and equipment." The President also said that world leaders will soon receive an invitation to the first Global Peace Summit, which will be held in Switzerland in June.
21:01 Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets confirmed that he is in Qatar for negotiations on the return of Ukrainian children. At the same time, he denied information about direct negotiations with the Russian Federation: “The return of Ukrainian children and negotiations with the Russian Federation are taking place through the mediation of Qatar and Qatari diplomats. No direct negotiations took place with the Russian delegation today.”
20:45 Pentagon Speaker Garron Garn confirmed that Ukraine has already received ATACMS missiles. He said Biden secretly approved the transfer of the missiles in February for use inside Ukraine, after which ATACMS were quietly included in a $300 million aid package announced on March 12. They were delivered to Ukraine in early April.
20:27 Shoigu’s closest ally, Deputy Minister of Defense Timur Ivanov, was detained in Russia. Officially, he is accused of corruption, but the media already has information that the associate of the head of the Russian Defense Ministry may be charged with treason. Ukrainian media write, citing sources, that the reason for Ivanov’s detention and arrest was the active measures of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. So, a month ago, the Main Intelligence Directorate carried out a successful cyber attack and gained access to a significant amount of confidential information and Ivanov’s official documents. Read more in the article Big Scandal in the Russian Federation.
20:03 The United States has secretly sent long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine in recent weeks, and Ukraine used them for the first time last week, Reuters and AP report, citing US officials. According to them, the missiles were part of a $300 million military aid package to Kyiv that Biden approved in March. They were first used on the morning of April 17 against a military airfield in Crimea.
19:28 The Ministry of Defense said that the new US aid package, worth almost $61 billion, "will be decisive in strengthening Ukraine's ability to protect its independence and sovereignty, as well as in supporting global peace."
19:09 The drone coalition chaired by Latvia has already collected almost 500 million euros, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said. According to him, Denmark and the Netherlands announced a joint purchase of drones for Ukraine for 400 million euros. Canada also allocated 70 million euros, another 3 million - Lithuania, and Latvia - at least 10 million euros. “And this is just the beginning. Active negotiations with other countries of the unmanned coalition continue,” the minister added.
18:54 Russia wants to disrupt the Peace Summit, Zelensky said during a meeting with representatives of partner states and international organizations: “We have accurate information from intelligence, specific data that Russia not only wants to disrupt the Peace Summit, but also has a specific plan, how to do this: how to reduce the participation of countries, how to act so that there is no peace even longer.”
18:48 The Pentagon announced the contents of the new aid package for Ukraine:
- air defense missiles RIM-7 and AIM-9M;
- Stinger MANPADS;
- small arms and additional small arms ammunition, including .50 caliber anti-drone ammunition;
- additional ammunition for HIMARS;
- 155 mm artillery shells, including high explosive shells and improved dual-use conventional ammunition;
- 105 mm artillery shells;
- 60 mm mortar shells;
- Bradley infantry fighting vehicles;
- MRAP;
- HMMWV;
- logistics vehicles;
- tactical vehicles for towing and transporting equipment;
- tube-launched optically tracked wire-guided (TOW) missiles;
- Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems;
- precision aircraft munitions;
- airfield support equipment;
- anti-armor mines;
- Claymore anti-personnel ammunition;
- explosive ammunition for destroying obstacles;
- night-vision devices;
- spare parts, field equipment, training ammunition, maintenance and other support equipment.
18:22 The United States will resume arms supplies to Ukraine within a few hours, Biden said. According to him, Washington will send Kyiv ammunition for air defense, artillery, missile systems and armored vehicles.
18:05 Biden said he signed a law with a package of assistance to Ukraine worth more than $60 billion.
17:44 Kuleba said that no single package of military assistance can stop Russia - this requires a united front of all of Ukraine and all its partners. According to the minister, the Russian Federation is now producing approximately ten times more weapons, so the West must increase arms production, as Ukraine did. “When I see what Russia has achieved in developing its defense industrial base during two years of war, and what the West has achieved, I think that something is wrong on the part of the West. The West must realize that the era of peace in Europe is over,” - emphasized the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
17:40 Over the Sinelnikovsky district of the Dnepropetrovsk region, air defense forces shot down an X-69 missile, the Vostok Air Command reported.
17:27 The UK plans to send Paveway IV precision guided bombs to Ukraine as part of a recently announced military aid package. There is no official confirmation of this information yet, but British BBC correspondent Jonathan Bill was the first to announce the transfer. Paveway IVs were first used in Afghanistan, and in February the UK Ministry of Defense said it had used the bombs in joint US strikes against Houthi rebel positions in Yemen. What is known about these shells is in the material London is arming the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
16:58 Umerov said during a meeting with a bipartisan delegation of the US House of Representatives that the Defense Forces have liberated about 50% of the territory occupied by Russia, and with the help of additional weapons, “we will be able to protect our citizens from Russian air strikes and improve the situation on the battlefield.”
16:20 Scholz said that his position on Taurus for Ukraine has not changed. According to the Chancellor, Germany will continue to supply Ukraine with multiple launch rocket systems, since this is its “task.” At the same time, the decision on Taurus remains clear.
16:11 Russia and Ukraine for the first time held face-to-face negotiations regarding children through the mediation of Qatar, said the Children's Ombudsman of the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova. According to her, negotiations took place in Doha, and an agreement was reached that 29 children would move to Ukraine and 19 to Russia.
15:49 France proposed that the European Union introduce sanctions against Russian disinformation and operations to interfere in global elections. The draft document states that "destabilizing activities carried out by Russia-linked actors have increased across Europe as the Russian regime seeks to undermine democracy, stability and the rule of law through a variety of hybrid instruments."
15:08 Contact group Ramstein will work in a new way, the Ministry of Defense reported. In particular, the new format for providing assistance will mean that now allies will help not on an individual basis, but in a coalition format, in accordance with the immediate need. A Coalition Support Office has also been created to ensure sustainable and systematic management of military assistance. The coalition format appeared back in 2023, since then eight coalitions have been created.
14:56 Ukrenergo reported that on April 24 from 18:00 to 22:00 controlled restrictions on energy supply to industrial consumers will be applied. The need to limit energy supply is a consequence of Russian massive missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian power plants, the company emphasized.
14:25 The Verkhovna Rada adopted an appeal to international institutions, parliaments and governments of foreign states, international non-governmental organizations with a call to intensify international and national efforts for the release and return to Ukraine of all captives and illegally detained citizens of Ukraine, primarily Ukrainian journalists.
13:47 The Ministry of Defense announced that it is creating a unified system for helping the wounded. Key changes include modernizing tactical medicine, updating training based on evidence-based principles, and moving to a new level of education using best international practices. The unified system of medical care for the wounded will meet the standards of NATO countries. The development of the system will also be based on the combat experience of Ukrainian doctors, who have been on the front line since 2014.
12:59 The head of the Bundestag Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, once again called on the German government to supply Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine: “The United States will now supply Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles. This is a sufficient reason to act now on the Taurus issue.”
In addition, before the meeting of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Berlin, a faction of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) called on the head of the British government to put pressure on his German counterpart on the issue of supplying cruise missiles to Ukraine.
12:23 The UK will send Paveway IV bombs to Ukraine, BBC correspondent Jonathan Beale reports. Paveway IV is a dual-mode 230 kg GPS/laser-guided bomb with a maximum range of over 30 km depending on release altitude, speed and flight path.
11:45 At night, SBU drones hit two Rosneft oil depots in the settlements of Yartsevo and Razdoro, Smolensk region, Ukrainian media reported, citing sources. 26 thousand cubic meters of fuel were stored at these bases. Now there is an evacuation of personnel due to large-scale fires.
11:36 The Verkhovna Rada increased the number of State Border Service of Ukraine by 15 thousand military personnel. Thus, the total number of the State Border Guard Service within a year from the date of termination or lifting of martial law on the territory of Ukraine will be up to 75,000 people, including up to 67,000 military personnel.
11:22 In the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours, seven people were wounded as a result of Russian shelling: five in Konstantinovka, one each in Krasnohorivka, Pokrovsky district, and in New York, Bakhmutsky district, said the head of the OVA Vadim Filashkin.
11:18 In the Sumy region over the past 24 hours, five people were wounded as a result of Russian shelling, the National Police reported.
11:14 In the Odessa region, as a result of a morning attack, part of the equipment of the local power supply company was damaged. Some consumers in one of the districts of Odessa have been de-energized and repair work is underway, Ukrenergo reported.
11:06 At the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant, two oxygen units were stopped after a night UAV attack, reports the opposition Russian publication Astra. According to sources in the emergency services of the Lipetsk region, two drones crashed into the building of the NLMK oxygen station, the building was partially destroyed.
10:50 The southern defense forces clarified that Russia struck a storage site for disabled vehicles in Odessa. Thus, the enemy is trying to look for military infrastructure facilities in the rear. There were no casualties; Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen were not at the scene of the attack.
10:34 In the morning, the Russians launched a missile attack on Odessa, said Oleg Kiper, head of the OBA. Currently, one casualty is known. About 30 houses were damaged by the shock wave. The Ministry of Energy reports that as a result of the shelling in Odessa, overhead lines and substations were turned off, and some consumers were without electricity.
10:03 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggests that Shoigu’s threats regarding Russia’s intentions to intensify attacks on Ukraine indicate that Moscow may change the targets of its attacks. Analysts say Russian troops are likely to step up drone and missile strikes in the coming weeks to inflict as much damage as possible on Ukraine's infrastructure and defense industrial base before U.S. aid arrives. Experts also predict that Russian troops will intensify offensive operations at the front in the coming weeks.
09:26 In the Kherson region over the past 24 hours, as a result of Russian shelling, one person was killed and five were injured, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin. Impacts were recorded on critical infrastructure facilities, an administrative building, a gas station, and gas pipelines.
09:18 The number of victims as a result of the night strike in the Shevchenko district of Kharkov has increased to six, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. Three apartment buildings, two office buildings, three non-residential buildings, and a gas main were damaged.
08:42 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of April 24:
- personnel - about 461,940 (+880) people,
- tanks - 7242 (+1),
- armored combat vehicles - 13,928 (+12),
- artillery systems - 11,808 (+43),
- MLRS - 1048 (+2),
- air defense systems - 771 (+2),
- aircraft - 348 (+0),
- helicopters - 325 (+0),
- UAV of operational-tactical level - 9439 (+32),
- cruise missiles - 2117 (+0),
- ships/boats - 26 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 15,892 (+47),
- special equipment - 1944 (+8).
08:29 Over the past 24 hours, 101 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report. In particular, the enemy tried 24 times to break through the defenses of Ukrainian troops in the Novopavlovsk direction - in the areas of Krasnohorivka, Georgievka, Novomikhailovka, Vodyanoye and Urozhainy, Donetsk region. In the Bakhmut direction, 21 attacks were repelled in the areas of Belogorovka settlements in the Luhansk region, as well as Verkhnekamennoye, Novy, Spornoye, Ivanovskoye, Kleshcheevka in the Donetsk region. The same number of attacks were repelled in the Avdeevsky direction - in the areas of the settlements of Novokalinovo, Ocheretino, Novobakhmutovka, Berdychi, Yasnobrodovka, Netaylovo, Pervomaiskoye, Nevelskoye in the Donetsk region.
In the Liman direction, the Defense Forces repelled 19 attacks in the areas of Grekovka, Nevsky, Lugansk region and Ternov, Yampolevka, Donetsk region; on Kupyansky - five attacks in the Berestovo area of the Kharkov region; on Orekhovsky - five attacks in the districts of Staromayorsky, Donetsk region and Rabotino, Zaporozhye region; in Kherson - three attacks in the area of the village of Krynki.
08:17 The United States, together with its allies, has created a powerful logistics network that will allow the next package of defense assistance to be sent to Ukraine within days, and work in certain areas is already underway, said Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder.
07:51 The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that during the night eight UAVs were allegedly destroyed and intercepted by air defense systems: three over the territory of the Kursk region; two - over the territory of the Belgorod region; two - over the territory of the Voronezh region and one - over the territory of the Smolensk region.
06:19 In the Smolensk region, after a drone attack, a fire occurred at “fuel and energy facilities” in two districts, local authorities reported. Local residents report that an oil refinery near the villages of Razdoro and Prigorskoe is on fire. Public pages also write about a fire at a refinery in the Voronezh region.
The authorities of the Lipetsk region also reported the drone attack. Local residents write in their public pages that the Lipetsk Tractor Plant, which produces, among other things, chassis for military equipment, was attacked.
04:38 The Senate voted for a bill to help allies, which, among other things, includes $60.8 billion to Ukraine. 79 senators voted “for” the bill, with the required 50, “against” - 18. Thus, both chambers of the American Congress approved the bill. It will now go to President Joe Biden for signature, who has already promised to sign it immediately.
01:36 The Russians attacked the Shevchenkovsky district of Kharkov with two S-300 missiles, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OBA. Four apartment buildings were damaged and two people were injured. In addition, the enemy launched attacks on the central part of Zolochev, Bogodukhovsky district, previously also with two S-300 missiles. The administrative premises were damaged, but no people were injured.