Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:55 Authorities for monitoring sanctions against North Korea at the UN confirmed that Russia hit Kharkov with a North Korean Hwasong-11 ballistic missile on January 2, which is a direct violation of Security Council sanctions.
22:46 In Odessa, the number of victims as a result of a missile attack has increased to 32, said Oleg Kiper, head of the OBA. Four people were killed, and another died as a result of a stroke caused by the attack. There are 25 wounded in hospitals, including two children and a pregnant woman. Seven people are in serious condition, including a four-year-old child. According to preliminary data, the Russians fired a ballistic missile with cluster munitions at one of the most popular locations among Odessa residents and guests of the city.
22:43 Ukraine will not be accepted into NATO either now or in the next few years, said Special Assistant to the US President Thomas Wright: “Since Ukraine is now in the midst of war, we will be able to take steps that would strengthen its defense and security here and now, and also in the next few years, so that when this moment arises, when Ukraine joins, it would be in a stronger position."
22:38 Ukraine is already receiving weapons that the United States previously announced as part of a new military assistance program, said White House Speaker Karine Jean-Pierre.
22:36 Odessa publics report that the vice-rector of the International Humanitarian University Boris Vasiliev died in the palace of students of the Law Academy. The rector of this university is ex-people's deputy Sergei Kivalov, who was wounded.
22:33 Telegram is the absolute leader for communication and news consumption in Ukraine. At the same time, the Russian origin of the messenger has constantly caused controversy about the reliability of its use in conditions of war with Russia. A new reason for such conversations is the blocking of official chat bots of Ukrainian intelligence and the SBU on Telegram. The work of the bots was quickly restored, but the sediment, as they say, remained. Read more in the article Disputes around Telegram in Ukraine.
22:27 Zelensky said in an evening video message that he held a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Headquarters today. I heard a detailed report from Syrsky on the situation at the front. In addition, there was a report from the heads of the Main Intelligence Directorate, the Security Service of Ukraine, and representatives of the Coordination Headquarters regarding negotiations on the release of prisoners. “It is extremely important that our state has clear communication with the relatives of prisoners. For each name, for each person, it should be clear - as much as possible - what work is being done so that our people return home,” the president emphasized.
21:52 Odessa was initially attacked with ballistics, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.
21:35 On May 16, NATO will hold a meeting of the highest military body - the Military Committee. A meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council will also take place as part of the meeting.
21:19 Now the most “hot” is in the Avdeevsky direction. Under the pressure of the occupiers, the Defense Forces retreated to the west of Berdychi, Semenovka and Novomikhailovka. At the same time, there are sections of the front where it was possible to improve the tactical position of the Ukrainian troops. More details about the situation from the military and analysts themselves can be found in the article Where the Russian army presses and where it retreats.
21:06 The missile that Russia hit Odessa today contained shrapnel - it is used to destroy manpower, said Dmitry Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces: “The type of weapon is still being established. But I can state that on the walls around the affected object there are visible holes from shrapnel, which is used to destroy personnel and to conduct military operations, but not for attacks on civilian infrastructure and civilians."
20:58 The number of victims of the Russian strike on Odessa has increased to four people, 28 people were injured, including two children (16 and five years old) and one pregnant woman. Four of the wounded are in serious condition, said the head of the OVA Oleg Kiper.
20:50 The death toll as a result of the attack on Odessa has increased to three, 20 people were injured, said the mayor of the city Gennady Trukhanov and showed a photo of the burning building of the Odessa Law Academy:
20:31 The situation in the Chasov Yar area in the Donetsk region is complex, but controlled, there are no Russian troops in the city, said Nazar Voloshin, speaker of the operational-strategic group of troops Khortitsa: “The enemy has concentrated efforts in several directions, creating a significant advantage in forces and means. attacks in some directions and even has tactical successes... In the surrounding area there were attempts by the enemy to bypass the city near the villages of Ivanovsky and Bogdanovka. The enemy’s goal is to take the city in a vice and go around it in a circle. But all the enemy’s attempts are suppressed by our units.”
20:20 Germany transferred IRIS-T missiles and ten Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, the country’s government reported. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also received a SKYNEX anti-aircraft missile system with ammunition, almost 30 thousand ammunition for Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, a TRML-4D air surveillance radar, etc.
19:29 The Russians launched a missile attack on Odessa - according to preliminary information, two people and a dog were killed, eight people were injured, including a 12-year-old child, said Oleg Kiper, head of the OVA. Residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged. Local media write that the blow was struck at the palace of students of the Odessa Law Academy, which is called “Harry Potter’s castle.” Its owner is ex-People's Deputy Sergei Kivalov, who, according to social networks, was also wounded as a result of the attack.
18:38 The Russians attacked the Kievsky district of Kharkov, preliminary - KAB. One person was wounded, said the head of the OVA, Oleg Sinegubov. In addition, the Russian army carried out strikes with at least five KABs on populated areas of the Kharkov region, so far there were no casualties.
18:16 Ukraine did not introduce new restrictions as part of the derogation from obligations under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms, but reduced their list, said Minister of Justice Denis Maluska. He recalled that Ukraine, even after the introduction of martial law in 2022, warned the Council of Europe about possible restrictions on certain rights - this is what all countries in a state of war do. “And in April 2024, we once again clarified the list of existing restrictions and reduced it,” Maluska explained. Thus, according to him, Ukraine did not suspend protection in April, but reviewed and revoked the “warning about a possible restriction of certain rights.”
17:27 In German Bavaria, a 57-year-old Russian killed two Ukrainian servicemen. The suspect has already been detained. According to the preliminary version of the local police, a Russian citizen inflicted fatal wounds on Ukrainians with a knife. Everything that is known is in the material Murder of Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters in Bavaria.
16:48 Ukraine will soon receive the first ten of 50 ACSV 8x8 armored personnel carriers from Canada, Defense Minister Bill Blair said. According to him, at the beginning of summer the armored personnel carriers will be sent to Germany, where the Ukrainian military will become familiar with them, after which the soldiers will undergo training on the armored personnel carriers. The cars will arrive in Ukraine in the fall.
16:13 Zelensky said that military assistance from the United States has already begun to arrive: “Something has already begun to arrive, I won’t say in detail what exactly. Unfortunately, not everything is yet ready to fill our army and equip the appropriate number of brigades ". At the same time, the president noted that over the past six months, “systems or sometimes parts from the corresponding systems have been received thanks to funding that was provided for by nine agreements on security guarantees.”
15:42 Stoltenberg promised to “do everything” for Ukraine to become a NATO member. At the same time, he added that Kyiv will not receive an invitation to the summit in July: “In order for this decision to be made, we need all members of the Alliance to agree to this, we need consensus. Not a majority, but for all 32 members of the Alliance agreed. I do not expect that we will be able to reach such an agreement at the summit in July. But I think that we will be able to demonstrate that we are bringing Ukraine closer to membership."
The Secretary General also admitted that in recent months the allies have not provided the necessary support to Ukraine: “The United States has spent months unable to accept a package for Ukraine. European members of the Alliance have not delivered the amount of ammunition that they promised. We saw the consequences on the battlefield. Ammunition shortages allowed the Russians to advance on the front line. Insufficient air defense allows Russian missiles to hit more targets." Stoltenberg added that NATO countries should transfer weapons to Ukraine as a priority.
15:34 Zelensky said at a joint press conference with Stoltenber that there are no specifics yet on the supply of additional Patriot systems to Ukraine. According to him, there are only “first steps”, and currently an analysis is underway “in which countries there is what.” At the same time, the president assured that when the new systems arrive in Ukraine, “you and I will feel it.”
15:19 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Kiev on an unannounced visit and has already met with Zelensky, the NATO press service reported. This is Stoltenberg's third visit to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.
14:33 The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the capture of the village of Semenovka in the Avdeevsky direction, this is confirmed by the map of the Ukrainian Deep State project. Ukrainian analysts also report that in this direction the Russians have advanced to the west of Ocheretino - towards Novoaleksandrovka, and also to the south, in the village of Netailovo.
13:51 The Russians shelled Kizomys, Kherson region, one person was killed, OVA reported.
13:28 In the combat units of the Southern Military District of the Russian Army, more than 18 thousand Russian military personnel left their service without permission, reports the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. Of these, about 12 thousand are from the 8th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Armed Forces, which the Russian leadership constantly uses in combat operations in eastern Ukraine. Approximately 10 thousand of them were called up through mobilization, the remaining 2000 are contract soldiers. At the same time, in the 58th Combined Arms Army, which is also part of the Southern District of the Russian Army, the desertion rate is about 2,500 people.
12:50 According to the UN Monitoring Mission, during March 2024, 604 civilians were killed or wounded in Ukraine as a result of Russian strikes. British intelligence notes that the number of civilian casualties has increased by 20% compared to February. The casualties are due to enemy missile and air strikes, as well as an increase in shelling on the front line.
12:37 In the east of the country, the Russians attacked an energy facility, the Ministry of Energy reported. The equipment was damaged and the overhead line was disconnected. In the Donetsk region on the afternoon of April 28, due to the blackout of one of the overhead lines of the oblenergo, the substation and the household consumers connected to it were de-energized. Ukrenergo reported that due to the fighting there are new blackouts in the Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, Kharkov, and Kherson regions.
12:19 As a result of Russian aggression, Ukraine has lost half of its terminals, said Deputy Head of the Sea Ports Administration Dmitry Barinov. According to him, since 2022, there have been 39 missile and UAV attacks on Ukrainian ports. 215 objects were damaged, 153 vehicles and eight civilian ships were destroyed.
Barinov also recalled that before the war there were 18 ports in Ukraine: “They occupied five in Crimea. Then four more - Mariupol, Berdyansk, Kherson and Skadovsk. But we conquered Kherson. Unfortunately, we cannot use the Nikolaev region now, because that military operations are very close there."
11:39 Ukraine is developing ways to safely base F-16 fighters after receiving them, said Air Force spokesman Ilya Yevlash: “These are colossal means if we are talking about digging underground storage facilities and bunkers. This also takes time. Therefore, other methods are now being developed, how to arrange, where to place. We understand that this will be dispersed use on various types of runways, airfields, where it will be difficult for the enemy to find them.”
Yevlash added that "a different set of methods will be used to mislead the enemy and at the same time effectively use" the aircraft. According to him, “there are already a number of developments and thoughts on how it will be possible to deploy F-16 aircraft in Ukraine.”
11:05 Ukraine’s return of control over the island of Nestryga in the Kherson region will significantly improve the quality of counter-conversion measures, said Dmitry Pletenchuk, speaker of the Southern Defense Forces. He clarified that “we are not talking about strategy, but about portioned battles, this is more of a tactical significance. Locations that do not allow the enemy to approach our positions are important.”
10:54 European banks paid Russia more than 800 million euros in taxes in 2023 - this is four times more than before the full-scale war, writes the Financial Times. The newspaper calls this an example of how foreign companies are helping Moscow maintain financial stability during the war, despite Western sanctions. Seven assets of European banks remain in Russia.
10:23 Official Ukrainian bots on Telegram, which help in the fight against Russian aggression, have resumed work, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security reported. We are talking about the GUR and SBU bots, as well as the Ministry of Digital Development bot єVorog.
09:42 Latvia transferred equipment to Ukraine for energy restoration, writes Delfi. The assistance package from Latvenergo included: a 250 MVA transformer, which was previously used at the Riga HPP; compressed air compressor GR110; 60 tons of transformer oil.
09:08 In the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours, three people were wounded as a result of Russian shelling - in Krasnogorovka, Zhelanny and Ptichye, said the head of the OBA Vadim Filashkin.
09:01 The Russians fired at the village. Streleche, Kharkov district, one person was wounded. Two more people were injured as a result of shelling from the MLRS in Kupyansk, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov.
08:54 Over the past 24 hours, Russian troops shelled ten settlements in the Zaporozhye region 346 times. As a result of the attack on the Zaporozhye region, one person was wounded, said the head of the OVA, Ivan Fedorov.
08:29 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of April 29:
- personnel - about 467,470 (+1320) people,
- tanks - 7285 (+6),
- armored combat vehicles - 14,007 (+16),
- artillery systems - 11 985 (+37),
- MLRS - 1051 (+1),
- air defense systems - 778 (+2),
- aircraft - 348 (+0),
- helicopters - 325 (+0),
- UAV of operational-tactical level - 9528 (+21),
- cruise missiles - 2124 (+0),
- ships/boats - 26 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 16,109 (+44),
- special equipment - 1974 (+3).
07:57 Over the past 24 hours, 131 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report. In particular, the Defense Forces repelled 55 enemy attacks in the Avdeevsky direction - in the areas of the settlements of Novokalinovo, Keramik, Arkhangelskoye, Umanskoye, Sokol, Ocheretino, Kalinovo, Solovevo, Novopokrovskoye, Novoselovka Pervaya and west of Semenovka, Donetsk region. Another 29 attacks were repulsed in the Bakhmut direction - in the areas of the settlements of Verkhnekamenskoye, Vyemka, Grigoryevka, Ivanovskoye, Kleshcheevka, Novy, Andreevka in the Donetsk region.
In addition, in the Liman direction, 18 attacks were repelled in the areas of the settlements of Kopanki, Novosergeevka in the Kharkov region, as well as Makeevka, Nevskoye, Serebryansky forestry in the Lugansk region and Terny in the Donetsk region; on Novopavlovsky - 15 attacks in the areas of Krasnohorivka, Georgievka, Vodyanoy, Novomikhailovka, Urozhaynyy, Donetsk region; in Kupyansky - six attacks in the areas of Berestovo, Kharkov region and Stelmakhovka, Lugansk region; on Orekhovsky - four attacks in the Staromayorsky districts of the Donetsk region; in Kherson - five attacks in the area of the village of Krynki, Kherson region.
06:26 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) states that the withdrawal of the Defense Forces from positions west of Avdievka has not yet contributed to the rapid advance of Russian forces. The Russian Army did not achieve relatively quick tactical successes west of Ocheretino, Solovyevo, Berdychi and Semenovka after the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from tactical positions in this area. According to analysts, this indicates that the Armed Forces of Ukraine retain the ability to slow down the advance of the Russian Federation.
00:31 Telegram blocked a number of official chat bots, including the Chief Intelligence Bot, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense reported. The department emphasized that this happened contrary to the rules and statements that Telegram management publicly declared. The GUR warned that the enemy is now creating bots with similar names, to which no personal data can be sent. GUR is already resuming the bot’s work on other platforms, and communication channels via Signal and WhatsApp are also available.
In addition to the GUR bot, a number of other chat bots through which Ukrainians transmitted information about the movement of Russian troops, “martyrs,” etc. were blocked. In particular, the chat bot єVorog, launched by the Ministry of Digital Development in 2022, as well as the chat bots of the SBU, stop_russian_war, were blocked.