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

"Continuing to postpone Ukraine's acception to the EU or seeking an alternative under various pretexts means indulging Putin's aggressive plans and slowing down strengthening of the European Union", stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in response to the the Austrian foreign minister’s statement that the government of his country is opposing the accelerated acception of Ukraine as a member of the European Union.

The Great Britain intends to send AS90 self-propelled howitzers and 45,000 shells to Ukraine. This week artillery will be delivered to Poland, where the Ukrainian military will be trained to use them (Daily Express)

Amin Awad, the UN coordinator of the crisis in Ukraine, called for an "immediate stop" of hostilities in Mariupol to evacuate today civilians remaining in the city. The call was made after the attempt to evacuate from Mariupol to the territories controlled by Ukraine was thwarted by the Russians (The Guardian)

According to the intelligence, the Russians are installing equipment of the Russian mobile operator Megafon and trying to introduce ruble payments in the temporary occupied territories of the Kharkiv region.

The Security Service of Ukraine has detained a deputy of one of the local councils in the Kherson region, recruited by the FSB of the Russian Federation, and eliminated the network of occupants' agents in the south and east.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry has proposed that the European Union impose sanctions on Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill. Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis believes that the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church is not engaged in pastoral care, but in the destruction of souls, supporting "the war and all the horrors that are happening in Ukraine."

In two months alone, the Russians destroyed at least seven Orthodox churches in the Luhansk region, the head of Luhansk Regional State Administration Serhiy Haidai said.

Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gevesler explained the threats of energy dependence on Russia and the grounds behind the Ausria's need of a several years transition period to get rid of it.

To understand a below joke, English and Ukrainian languages are needed. No need for orcs to see then.

The West Virginia National Guard will send M-113 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine.

The Prime Minister of Bulgaria Kirill Petkov together with a government delegation plan to visit Kyiv on April 27.

Antonio Guterres will visit Ankara before his trip to Moscow and Kyiv - he will meet with President Erdogan on April 25. The meeting is indicated in the official schedule of the UN Secretary General.

Video from Odessa, which was shelled of missiles by the Russian occupiers yesterday. The woman from Odessa was in a beauty salon in a ruined house.

More than 602 children have become victims of the full-scale armed aggression of Russia, according to the Prosecutor General's Office. According to official data as April 24 morning, 2022, 213 children died and more than 389 were injured.

Bild in the publication "The German government is arming the Bundeswehr against Putin" writes that Germany has ordered from the American Boeing helicopters CH-47F Chinook, which can carry out the transfer of heavy equipment by air. The Ministry of Defense of Germany wants to buy 60 helicopters for about five billion euros starting from 2025.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price told the BBC that "What we have seen from our Ukrainian partners is nothing short of victory on the battlefield." "This is going to be a victory for Ukraine. It is going to be a strategic defeat for Russia. However and whenever that happens, we are confident of that." Price told The Guardian.

Kyrgyzstan banned the screening of Russian propaganda films about the war in Donbass and the annexation of Crimea. Russia's local cultural center tried to hold a festival in Bishkek to screen several films, but after protests, the country's minister of culture said that the rights to screen the films were confiscated and films are banned from showing "due to the current international situation and position of neutrality of the Kyrgyz Republic".

Mikhailo Podoliak reported on the relentless attacks of the Mariupol plant "Azovstal" and suggested that Russia should "think about the remnants of its reputation <...> and take three "Mariupol steps":

1. Announce a real Easter truce over Mariupol.
2. Immediately provide a humanitarian corridor for civilians.
3. Agree on a "special round of negotiations" so that we can collect/exchange our military.

Former German Chancellor and Rosneft Chairman Gerhard Schroeder does not blame himself for his closeness to Russia, nor does he consider it right to distance himself from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. He said this in an interview with The New York Times.

The commander of the Azov Regiment, Captain Sviatoslav Palamar, congratulated Ukrainians on Easter and made a speech. He thanked all those who's helping to bring the defenders of Mariupol out of the besiege and reminded of the simple and important values of life - the opportunity to hug the loved ones.

He added: "Remember when you throw Easter cards to each other and enjoy the truce - in Mariupol, the enemy drops bombs on the heads of innocent children."

Video from Rubizhne shows how the Russian military shelled residential areas with the UR-77 Meteorit launcher.

Russian Su-34 pilot Alexander Krasnoyartsev, who bombed residential areas in Chernihiv, is declared a reasonable suspicion, he faces life imprisonment. The document is published on the website of the Prosecutor General's Office.

On Easter morning, the Russians killed two children from the Ocheretyn community. As a result of the shelling, a house was destroyed, killing girls aged 14 and 5. The head of the Donetsk Regional Military State Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko informed and once again urged to evacuate from the front line.

In the Sumy oblast, the invaders hit a psycho-neurological boarding school in the village of Atynske. All windows and doors in the building are knocked out. No casualties. This was announced by the head of Sumy Regional Military State Administration Dmytro Zhyvytskyi.

Aftermath of the shelling of the border village of Boyaro-Lezhachi, Sumy oblast:

As a result of Russia's military aggression in Ukraine, 1,500 educational institutions were damaged - 102 of them were completely destroyed. This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General.

Yesterday, explosive technician units of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine inspected an area of 85.64 hectares. 1471 explosive devices and 10 kg of explosives, including 3 aerial bombs, were found and neutralized.

Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) have criticized a ban on Russian and Belarusian tennis players from competing in Wimbledon 2022, calling the decision "discriminatory" First Sportz informs.

Turkey has closed the airspace to Russian aircraft carrying soldiers to Syria. This was stated by Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu, according to the Turkish newspaper Yeni Şafak.

Switzerland has blocked Germany from re-exporting its ammunition to Ukraine. This was reported by SRF with reference to SonntagsZeitung.

West Virginia will send M-113 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine. The number of combat vehicles is "not disclosed." The transfer of armored vehicles was announced by the governor of the state Jim Justice, the Voice of America writes.

At the bottom of the Black Sea, the silhouette of the sunken cruiser "Moskva" was noticed from the satellite:

In Mariupol, the Russians killed a traitor who in 2015 directed their fire onto the city. Deputy Mayor Petro Anryushchenko informs.

The deputy mayor of Mariupol reports strange news from the city.

"A little spicy detail.
The occupiers began to whitewash the curbs in Mariupol.
I'm not kidding.
And I don't know how to react."

To evacuate the residents of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, today at 16:30 the evacuation train №234/233 Pokrovsk - Chop will depart from the station in Pokrovsk. Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military State Administration, wrote about this with reference to Ukrzaliznytsia.

The General Staff of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has published new data on the total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 24.04:

British intelligence reports strong Ukrainian resistance in all directions, causing significant losses to Russian forces. There are also reports of bad morale among Russians and a lack of time to rebuild, rearm and reorganize. These factors are likely to hinder Russia's combat effectiveness.

The Azov National Guard Regiment showed new photos of the sieged Mariupol. The photos were published on the Telegram channel of the Mariupol unit of the regiment.

"They say: Christ is risen - Ukraine will rise. God sees Mariupol from above. Will his miracles be enough for such resurrection?" - Azov members signed the photo.

Story | VESNA from Bucha: how the invaders destroyed the family business, and the family is rebuilding it in Lviv.

For the first time in 30 years, the Woodhouse Coal Mine in Cumbria may be opened in Britain. Russia's invasion of Ukraine could unite the government in favor of these plans, according to British government sources. This was reported by the Telegraph.

Dnipropetrovsk oblast was shelled. On the night of April 24, there were three strikes: one hit the railway infrastructure, two more missiles hit an industrial plant. As a result of the shelling, a 48-year-old man was killed, 8 buildings were destroyed, three cars and one truck were trapped under the rubble. This was announced by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military State Administration Valentyn Reznichenko.

 The invaders are forcibly mobilizing the local population in the temporarily occupied territories of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts. In the Kharkiv oblast, medics were also mobilized. The ombudswoman Lyudmila Denisova reported.

During the two months of full-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, 312 children were killed and more than 389 were injured. The data are not final, because the collection of information is difficult in areas of active hostilities, wrote in the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.

According to The Economist almost half of Mariupol was severely damaged. 90% of the destroyed buildings were residential. This is evidenced by satellite images analyzed by journalists.

"On this great day, we believe that our dawn will come," Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Ukrainians on Easter and recited a prayer for Ukraine.

Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Schallenberg believes that Ukraine should not become a member of the European Union and better choose the "other way" instead of full membership. This was reported by the Austrian newspaper Heute.

The Russians captured a number of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission members in Donetsk and Luhansk. The organization is seeking their release. This was reported by Reuters.

Photo evidence of how the Russians "greeted on the holiday" all night. Fighting continues in Rubizhne and Popasna, - Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk Regional Military State Administration.

On April 23, Ukrainian air defenses hit 17 enemy targets:

• 3 aircraft (most likely Su-34, Su-35, Su-25);
• 5 cruise missiles;
• 9 drones (most likely Orlan-10)

Soldiers of the Centre for Strategic Communications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine congratulated the people of Ukraine on Easter: