Russian invasion of Ukraine: tanks and rocket attacks on the cities. Breaking news

The head of Hirske City Military-Civil Administration Oleksiy Babchenko on the situation in Novotoshkivsk, Luhansk region: there are tank battles in the district of Orikhove, there are up to ten people left. Most of the population was evacuated. Those who remain are deported by the occupants to the territories they control.

82 288 explosive devices and 567 kg of explosives were neutralized from the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the RF to the territories of Ukraine, including 1 957 aviation bombs. A total of 14 030 hectares has already been examined. The pyrotechnic units worked most in the Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions.

In Severodonetsk the priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate passed on to the occupants the information about the deployment of the Ukrainian military, the head of Luhansk RSA Serhiy Haidai informs. Law enforcement officers found correspondence with occupants occupiers in the priest's phone, in which he passed information about the number, location, and armament of the Ukrainian military.

A local deputy of Energodar is suspected of collaborationism, the Prosecutor General's Office reports. At the end of March 2022, during the temporary occupation of Energodar, the local deputy voluntarily agreed to hold a position in the illegally created authorities by the Russian military administration. The suspect informed the city residents about his appointment as "head of the public council of self-organized authorities of the town of Energodar" in a video message. Earlier in the Telegram channel of Energoatom, it was reported that Andriy Shevchyk from the Opposition Platform – For Life party got the corresponding "position".

The head of Luhansk RSA Serhiy Haidai once again called on the residents of the region to evacuate: On April 27 evacuation busses will try to evacuate people where it's possible — Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Rubizhne, Popasna, Hirske, villages and settlements of these communities, where there is still travel.

Details on the shelling in the Kryvyy Rih district of the Dnipro region from the head of Kryvyy Rih military administration Oleksandr Vilkul: at night the enemies carried out massive shelling, there were hits in a large elevator in Maryanske. Zelenodolsk CHP was also hit. The destruction is significant. The period required for recovery is being clarified. One civilian was injured.

In Moscow, a court found the Wikimedia Foundation Inc. guilty of an administrative offense for refusing to remove articles about the war in Ukraine, including civilian casualties in Bucha. This was reported by the Russian newspaper "Interfax". Wikimedia has imposed a fine of 3 million rubles for failure to remove "banned in Russia content."

Today, at 06:45 occupants fired missiles at the bridge across the Dniester estuary in the Odesa region again, the head of the board of Ukrzaliznytsya Oleksandr Kamyshin informs. There are no casualties among railway workers. It will be possible to determine the degree of damage to the infrastructure after the air alert ends.

More than 610 children became victims over the Russian war in Ukraine. The Prosecutor General's Office reports. According to official data, as of the morning of April 27, the number of killed children has not changed - 217. The number of injured has increased - more than 393. The most affected are children in oblasts: Donetsk - 129, Kyiv - 114, Kharkiv - 93, Chernihiv - 66, Kherson - 44, Mykolaiv - 43, Luhansk - 37, Zaporizhia - 27, Sumy - 17, in the city of Kyiv - 16, Zhytomyr oblast - 15.

Ukraine retains control over the majority of its airspace and keeps Russian aviation assets under threat, British Intelligence informs. Primarily Russia focuses its air activity in the South and East of Ukraine, supporting Russian ground forces. The majority of Russian airstrikes in Mariupol are likely being conducted with unguided free-falling bombs. This increases the risk of casualties among civilians.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson said that the government was doing everything possible to help the two British servicemen captured by the Russian invaders in Ukraine, but the decision about prisoners exchange would be made by Ukraine. He said this in an interview with TalkTV, according to Reuters.

During the shelling of Pryvillya in the Luhansk region a resident died, the head of Luhansk RSA Serhiy Haidai informs. It happened last night. Russian shell hit the yard of a private house where a 68-year-old man was staying at the time. He died on the spot. Earlier, the enemy fired on one of the schools in Lysychansk, in the basement of which 23 people were hiding, including children. Fortunately, no casualties.

The head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration Valentin Reznichenko comments the night shelling of the Dnipropetrovsk oblast: the invaders shelled Zelenodolsk community with artillery. They struck a unit of the energy industry, as a result there was a leakage of oil and a heavy fire. One person was injured. Zelenodolsk and the villages of Maryanske and Velyka Kostromka were also shelled.

The United States wants to hear less rhetoric about nuclear war, as it is impossible to win in such war. This was stated at the briefing by the White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki.

The head of Luhansk RSA Serhiy Haidai about the results of the day in the Luhansk region: seven buildings are destroyed, even more are damaged. Almost all the territory of the region suffered from shelling, almost everywhere occupants hit residential buildings. In Severodonetsk an apartment caught on fire, in Rubizhne the same happened to two buildings, one house in Nyzhnye, two more in Lysychansk. Also during the evacuation of people from Bilohorivka, the Russians opened fire on this village.

The General Staff informs:
In the Pivdennyy Buh and Tavriisk directions occupants try to hold onto the earlier taken borders and fire the AFU positions. In the Mykolaiv, Kryvyy Rih, and Zaporizhzhia directions the enemy tries to improve its tactical position through regrouping of units, increasing fire control systems, and air reconnaissance.
In the districts of the Kyselivka and Stanislav settlements of the Kherson region occupants perform the filtration of Ukrainians.

General Staff: In the Donetsk direction, active hostilities are carried out practically on all length of the frontline. The main forces of the invaders are concentrated on the Sievierodonetsk, Popasna and Kurakhiv directions with the aim of taking under full control Popasna, Rubizhne and the development of the attack on Lyman, Sievierodonetsk and Slovyansk. On Lyman and Sievierodonetsk directions, two settlements were occupied by the invaders.

The General Staff informs:
In the Slobozhanske direction, the enemy continues to strike airstrikes and hit the infrastructure of Kharkiv with artillery. In the Izyum direction, occupants advanced Barvinkove, captured the northeastern outskirts of Velyka Komyshuvakha, and also took under control the Zavody settlement. The enemy is building up: two battalion tactical groups are transferred from the territory of the Belhorod region to Izyum, and in the Belhorod region two 9K720 Iskander missile divisions are formed.

The Head of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin in his interview with FOX News calls threats of nuclear weapons used in Ukraine coming from the Minister of Foreign Affairs Serhiy Lavrov "very dangerous and unhelpful".

Britain and other western states should provide warplanes to Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss says, according to BBC. "Heavy weapons, tanks, aeroplanes - digging deep into our inventories, ramping up production. We need to do all of this".

73% of Americans support the US intention to supply Ukraine with weapons, which is the highest level of support since the Russian invasion in February, according to Reuters referring to its own poll.

Video of the fire at the ammunition depot of the occupants in the Russian Belgorod region.

Ukrzaliznytsya appoints today six additional evacuation flights:

• 11:30 - 219/Zaporizhzhia-1 - Lviv;
• 14:30 - 220/219 Lviv - Zaporizhzhia-1;
• 16:30 - 234/233 Pokrovsk - Chop;
• 23:30 - 234/233 Chop - Dnipro;
• 06:00 - 209/210 Ivano-Frankivsk – Kharkiv-Passazhyrskyy (Kharkiv-Passenger's);
• 11:30 - 209/210 Kharkiv-Passazhyrskyy (Kharkiv-Passenger's) - Ivano-Frankivsk.

Main news that happened overnight:

— Total losses of the Ukrainian economy due to the full-scale invasion of Russia equal from $ 564 billion to $ 600 billion, the head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak states.

— Great Britain will be able to send Ukraine Brimstone anti-ship missiles in the nearest weeks, Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces James Heappey informs.

— The Netherlands has stopped issuing visas to Russian citizens. This is a response to the decision of the Russian government to expel 15 Dutch diplomats from Moscow, NL Times writes.

— After visiting Kyiv US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin stated that Ukrainian partners want to turn this invasion into a strategic fail for Russia.

— Norway will donate 400 million crowns for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine opposing Russian aggression.

— Russian invaders in temporarily occupied Kherson have already been trying to perform "creeping annexation", Advisor for the head of the OP Oleksiy Arestovych states.

— Ukrainian military stroke Russian occupant positions on  Zmiinyy Island (Snake Island). Recorded hit in the control center, the destruction of the Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system, personnel losses are being specified.

— From February 24 to April 25 the number of victims of raids and airstrikes by the Russian army in Ukraine is 5 840 people: 2 729 died, 201 children included; 3 111 injured, 299 children included.

— US Embassy returns to Ukraine. Diplomats have already arrived in Lviv, the next destination is Kyiv.

— The US Department of Justice will support efforts to transfer assets seized from Russian oligarchs directly to Ukraine.

Russia has launched more than 1,300 missiles into Ukraine during two months of full-scale invasion, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar said.

“Russia is trying to destabilize the situation in the Transnistrian region, but Ukrainian  Armed Forces are ready for any possible escalation by Russian troops in the temporarily occupied territory of Moldova.” president Volodymyr Zelensky says. He emphasized that he fully agrees to Moldovan President Maya Sandu in the assessment of the situation.

The International Ice Hockey Federation has deprived Russia of the right to host the 2023 World Cup. This was reported by the IIHF. The tournament was scheduled in St. Petersburg from 5 to 21 May 2023.

Slovak President Zuzana Chaputova has recorded an appeal to the Russian occupiers calling for an end to the war against Ukraine. She mentioned several examples of evidence of Russian military violence against Ukrainian women, stressing that she was "losing her word." The appeal was recorded in Russian and published on Chaputova's Twitter.

With its invasion of #Ukraine, #Russia has brought suffering & pain as the number of victims of sexual violence continues to grow. No war is a justification for such crimes. I appeal to Russia’s soldiers & their superiors to put an end to their violence. pic.twitter.com/AHkFxBtckz

— Zuzana Čaputová (@ZuzanaCaputova) April 26, 2022

The Armed Forces destroyed an ammunition depot and eliminated more than 70 occupiers near Velyka Oleksandrivka, Kherson region. Also, three Russian servicemen have been captured. They provided the Armed Forces with additional information about the enemy. This was reported by Alexander Vilkul, head of the military administration of Kryvyi Rih.

Ford will not rush to resume business after the end of the war in Ukraine.

"One day there will be a new Russia. But it will take time to determine what that means. We are ready to wait. It is important for us to pay attention to human rights. And we must feel that the country is moving in the right direction," Ford's CEO Bill Ford told CNN.

Today the Air Force of Ukraine shot down seven air targets of the Russian occupiers:

• 1 aircraft (Su-25);
• 1 helicopter (Ka-52);
• 2 cruise missiles;
• 3 drones (presumably Orlan-10).

Today, the Bulgarian state company Bulgargaz received a message from Russia's Gazprom about the suspension of natural gas supplies to Bulgaria from April 27. This was reported by the Ministry of Energy of Bulgaria on Facebook.

Meeting point - Rammstein base. See how collective West established a coalition to support Ukraine.

A doctor from the besieged Mariupol appealed to the President of Ukraine and world leaders to become guarantors of the safe evacuation of the military and civilians from the city.

He published photos of wounded defenders of Mariupol and the conditions in which doctors have to provide medical care in the Azovstal bomb shelters.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi awarded the shift workers at the Chornobyl station who did not leave the facility and supported the work of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant during the occupation, despite the threat to their lives. 

Forecast from Oleksiy Arestovych, advisor to President's Office chairman. The war may continue until the end of the year, but it will be different. Arestovych believes that in two or three weeks the active phase of the war will end, Russia will declare "interim victories" by May 9 and offer to negotiate.

Then, the war will be mostly positional and may last until the end of the year. Arestovych provided this forecast in an interview with the Russian media Medusa.

Russian dictator Putin continues to deny that hostilities are taking place in Mariupol and insists they have stopped.

"The situation there is difficult and perhaps tragic. But it is simple actually," said Russian President Putin during a meeting with the UN Secretary General, describing the situation in the besieged city, which continues to be shelled by Russian occupiers.

"Boomerang effect" from the 30th separate mechanized brigade named after Prince Constantine Ostrozky. The occupiers shelled at Ukrainian positions and received a deadly response.

85% of all settlements in Ukraine have access to the Internet and 95% to telephony, and are available in all regions except Luhansk region, according to a report by the State Service of Communication and Information Protection Service.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces repulsed nine attacks today and destroyed 11 artillery systems, according to the Facebook page of the Joint Forces Operation. And:

• 9 tanks
• 4 units of special machines
• 14 units of armored vehicles
• 3 combat armored vehicles
• 3 units of special engineering equipment
• 16 motor vehicles
• 4 refueling stations
• 1 anti-aircraft gun
• 3 Orlan-10 drones

Today, the Russians killed three civilians in the Donetsk region, in the Lyman, New York village and Travneve. Another six people were wounded. This was reported by the head of the Donetsk Regional Military State Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin "in principle" agreed to the participation of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the United Nations after Putin and Guterres met in Moscow.

"Further discussions will be held with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Russian Ministry of Defense," UN spokesman Stefan Dujarric said.

The new version of the Air Alarm Program will report on street fighting and send critical reports on street fighting and the threat of shelling. This was reported by Ajax Systems.

The Ministry of Defense of the aggressor country Russian Federation called a provocation the statement of the Deputy Minister of Defense of the United Kingdom James Hippie about the right of Ukraine to strike at facilities on Russian territory, such as fuel supplies and ammunition depots.

In response, Russia threatens to attack Kyiv if Ukraine strikes on Russian facilities.

A new address by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky: If Russia has forgotten what Chernobyl is, it means that global control over Russia's nuclear facilities and nuclear technologies is needed.

On April 26, one of the communities in the Sumy region was shelled from the territory of the Russian Federation. Almost the entire border line with Russia is shelled with heavy artillery and mortars, - the head of the Sumy Regional Administration Dmitry Zhyvytsky reported.

Reuters published the story of Mykhaylo Purishev, a man who evacuated 200 people from Mariupol in a battered red van. He made six dangerous trips to the besieged city and was forced to stop volunteering due to threats from the occupiers.

Ukraine has entered a new phase today - the Armed Forces have already started the transition to NATO armaments standards. This was announced by Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.