Russian invasion of Ukraine: tanks and rocket attacks on the cities. Breaking news
Early in the morning of February 24, 2022, Russia launched missile strikes on the territory of Ukraine and launched a direct full-scale invasion. Ukraine repulses the enemy. As of April 28, 2022, more than 22800 russian servicemen, thousands of units of military equipment (187 planes, 155 helicopters, 970 tanks, 2389 armored vehicles, 1688 machines, 582 artillery / rocket artillery systems, 8 ships and more) have been eliminated.
An interview with the Head of Gostomelj State Administration. "Like after the World War II". AFU release Gostomelj: what occupiers did with the town, and when it is possible to come back.
In Dnipro missiles of the occupiers hit an infrastructure object. There are serious damages and two people are injured, the Head of Dnipropetrovsjk RSA Valentyn Reznichenko informs.
In Kryvyi Rih Russians hit a petrol station of the Head of the RSA.
Kyiv subway has published the schedule for April 2. Trains go with 1 hour interval from 8:00 till 19:00.
- Red line: from Shuliavsjka to University;
- Blue line: from Heroiv Dnipra to Teremky, without stops at Maidan Nezalezhnosti and Ploscha Lva Tolstogo;
- Green line: from Syretsj-Vydubychi, without stops at Palats Sportu, Klovsjka and Zoloti Vorota. Also, the part Slavutych-Chervonyi Khutir functions.
Lithuania has adopted financial sanctions against Russian propagandist Artyom Sheynin. The Delfi portal writes about this with reference to the Lithuanian Financial Crimes Investigation Service.
Zelenskyy in his interview to The Economist:"Introduce embargo for Russian oil and gas export. All of these sanctions are not complete. They were threatened, but this has not been implemented". Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls out for further economic actions implemented by the West.
Today, the Red Cross will again try to evacuate civilians from the besieged Mariupol. Timing and destination are not yet known, Reuters reports.
Zelenskyy :" In case we join NATO, we will make NATO much more stronger. We do not propose to make us stronger at NATO's cost. We are additive value, we are a locomotive. I think we are an important component out of European continent components", the President explained in his interview to FoxNews.
Kazakhstan will not help Russia to avoid sanctions introduced due to the war in Ukraine. It was said by the first deputy of the head of administration of the President of Kazakhstan Timyr Suleimenov in his interview to Euractiv.
A detailed story of the destruction of the enemy command and observation post near the village of Heivka, Luhansk region, starring mobile anti-tank unit of the 81st separate airmobile brigade of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Ukraine will not accept any outcome besides victory,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Fox News.
When asked about a possible renunciation of the territories of Ukraine in favor of Russia, as a guarantee of peace, Zelenskyy replied that Ukraine does not trade its territory and the issue of territorial integrity and sovereignty is out of discussion.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola assured that Ukraine will be recognized as a candidate for membership in the European Union and will be assisted in its reconstruction after the end of the war, LETA reports on Twitter.
On Friday April 1, a general mayor in reserves of Security Service of Ukraine was detained during the attempt to exit Ukraine, State Investigation Bureau informed.
While crossing the border at Tysa checkpoint in Zakarpattya, the man submitted a false notice that he was not suitable for military service and had the rank of private.
General Staff : in Chernihiv region the enemy has lost 50 pcs of armoured and automobile vehicle. Ukrainian Forces set Shestovytsya Village near Chernihiv free.
На Чернігівщині, протягом останніх днів, ворог зазнав значних втрат - понад 50 одиниць броньованої та автомобільної техніки.
— Генеральний штаб ЗСУ (@GeneralStaffUA) April 2, 2022
Звільнено низку населених пунктів, зокрема, село Шестовицю неподалік Чернігова.
Разом переможемо!
Докладніше: https://t.co/ZxvUL9mAhM#stoprussia pic.twitter.com/I4daX2UvKL
During the night there has been damaged 5 houses in Lysychansk, and 2 more in Toshkivka by Russians. This was written by the Head of Luhansk Military Administration Sergiy Gaidai.
The occupiers continued shelling Severodonetsk, Rubizhne, Kreminne, Girsjke and Berezove village.
There have been 27 living houses, communal services building and other infrastructure objects destroyed in Severodonetsk. 7 people have been saved, one person from Rubizhne has been injured.
Air Defense have hit 3 drones in Ukrainian Donbas sky.
Russia tries to hide its failure behind Kremlin's declarations that its main goal was Eastern Ukraine during all the war. It is written in their report on April 1, by the American analytical center of the Institute of war study.
They declare in the Institute that according to their estimations, Russia has reconsidered its plan of invasion in Ukraine and focused its main forces in the east of Ukraine. Russian troops want to capture Donetsk and Luhansk regions completely. And most probably they will take Mariupol in the nearest days but they will suffer major losses.
The 38th day of Russian invasion. Operational information by the General Staff of AFU as of 6:00 April 2,2022.
- The Ministry of Defense of Russian Federation decided to organise military meetings of reservists that will take place from April 4 to May 23, 2022. The enemy activated work with "volunteers", transfer forces of some divisions, probably to enrease the attack in Slobozhanskiy, Donetsk and Luhansk directions.
- Russia activated the divisions of Russian forces based upon the territory of Prydniprovia region of Moldova Republic to hold provocations and demonstrative actions at the border with Ukraine and possible fights.
- At the temporary occupied territories, the enemy continue to steal, shell citizens, living districts, mine civil objects, rob and loot. Such actions contradict the norms of international humanitarian law.
- Major losses of the enemy in Luhansk region. About 30 injured occupiers kadyrovtsy have been delivered to the hospital in Alchevsk after the fights near Popasna. Last week, 800 persons of personnel of so called the 2nd army corpus divisions were killed.
- The Defense Forces of Ukraine in Donetsk and Luhansk regions have repelled 9 enemy's attacks, have destroyed 8 tanks, and 44 armoured pcs of vehicle, 16 ocs of automobile vehicle and 10 artillery systems.
Russian occupiers attacked Poltava and Kremenchug with rockets. They hit infrastructure objects and living buildings of Poltava region.
USA will transfer tanks of soviet production. This is for the first time from the beginning of aggression when US will transfer tanks to Ukraine. This was informed by an authority representative cited by NYT.
USA became a mediator responding to The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy inquiry. It will help to hold long distance artillery strikes on Russian objects in Donbas, an official comment under condition of anonymity, as he is not authorised to cite publicly.
The supply will begin very soon. Number of vehicle and the list of countries from which it will be delivered is unknown.
Tanks delivery can be a reason for a new phase of the war.
China declared to EU that will gain peace in Ukraine in their own way. By this rejected the pressure for more rigid position as for Russia. Reuters writes.
The President Xi Jinping expressed his hopes that EU would treat China "independently", hinting on tight connections of EU with USA.
EU in their turn, asked China not to let Moscow avoid sanctions of the West implemented due to the Russian invasion to Ukraine.
Infrastructure renovation begins after releasing towns in Sumy region from Russian occupiers troops. The Head of Sumy Military Administration Dmytro Zhyvytskyy informed about this in Telegram.
"Food, medicines, hygiene products have been delivered! We continue to recover the infrastructure, connection, transport connections. Electricity has been recovered partially in Trostianets, we are working over other communities", he stressed.
Zhyvytskiy noticed that he has had a meeting with representatives of industrial companies - discussed steps for renovating the economy and production. According to him, peaceful tractors ride at the territory where recently Russian tanks have been riding - a sowing camping has been started in the region.
On the background of nuclear tension in relations with Russia, USA cancelled launch of the intercontinental ballistic rocket Minuteman III. Reuters informs about this.
Pentagon earlier declared about intention to postpone the rocket launch, but not to cancel. The next Minuteman III testing is planned at the end of this year.
"Air Forces are confident in readiness of USA strategic forces", the representative of Air Forces of USA Ann Stefanek said.
During last 24 hours in the east there were hard combats - the enemy tried to break the defence of AFU by large forces in some directions, and did 6 attacks. The operational tactic group East informs about this at Facebook.
Ukrainian Forces has repelled the attacks of the occupiers forces and destroyed a lot of military vehicle :
→ personnel – up to 280;
→ tanks – 6;
→ armoured vehicle– 22;
→ battle vehicle – 19;
→ artillery systems, mortars– 6;
→ MRL – 2;
→ АТ – 14;
→ drones – 3.
Russia has withdrawn occupiers troops from the airport by Antonov in Gostomel near Kyiv. This is confirmed by new satellite photos of Maxar Technologies, CNN writes.
It is detailed that in previous photos it had been seen that the occupiers had done trenches around their military vehicle. Now probably Russian militants left the airport.
Density of the fog does not allow to estimate by satellite photos where to the occupiers have dislocated.
Izyum town remains the hottest spot of combats in Kharkiv region. This was announced by the Head of Kharkiv military administration Oleg Synegubov in the telemaraphone air.
"Around Izyum there are fightings, as the enemy realised he had lost the combat for Kharkiv, and that's why it goez around Izyum to pass further to Luhansk and Donetsk region", he stressed.
According to Synegubov, the enemy has not retreated from Kharkiv - they continue "illogical chaotic shelling" of the regional city. AFU keep the defence - during last 24 hours 4 enemy's aircrafts have been hit, the occupiers suffer losses.
From the beginning of the full scale break in of Russia, more than 50 monuments of cultural heritage of Ukraine, religion buildings and museums have been damaged. UNESCO informs about this, AFP writes.
As it is cited, UNESCO conclusions are confirmed by satellite photos and witnesses testimonials about barbarian activities of Russia.
According to the UN institution, as the result of the war in Ukraine totally 29 religion objects, 16 historical buildings, 4 museums, and 4 monuments have been damaged. They are in Kharkiv, and Chernihiv regions, Kyiv, Mariupol, and Kherson.
Russian Army turned to be not that strong to attack Ukraine in all the directions simultaneously, and Russian dictator Putin is more realistic now on the military circumstances. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba declared this during his interview to CNN.
According to him, Moscow declared about military activities decrease in the north of Ukraine, as Ukrainian Army started to push the occupiers away from Kyiv successfully - and Russian troops cannot hold the front line around the capital.
Kuleba thinks that irrespective how the picture of Putin's reality is, he understands he is not strong enough to continue attacking Ukraine from all the directions.
Besides, the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded that number of notices had appeared about Russian army regrouping to strengthen the attack in Donbas.
The USA will provide Ukraine with a new package of help - this is 300 mln USD to provide security on the background of Russia's full scale break in. CNN writes about this.
The help includes :
→ drones Switchblade
→ protection from drones systems
→ armoured vehicle
→ night vision equipment
→ ammunition
The new package of help is connected to Ukraine 's requests to USA and Europe to provide more perfect weapon. The new package includes a lot of those asked by Kyiv, but there are no aircrafts.
Germany accepted 300 000 Ukrainian refugees. CNN writes about this.
It is specified that as of April 1, police has registered 294 508 refugees. Actual number of Ukrainians arriving can be much higher due to border control absence between Poland and Germany.
The President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called out the USA leader Joe Biden to provide Ukraine at least with soviet fighting aircrafts. He declared this in his interview to Fox News.
"I believe that the President Joe Biden as any true citizen of America believes and wants the truth to win. Just give us projectiles. Give us aircrafts. You cannot give us F-18 or F-19 or what you have. Give us old soviet aircrafts. That's all", Zelenskyy said.
Together with this, he added that inability to act quickly can question if USA really want to help Ukraine, or they are playing games.
Russian occupiers army has shelled more than 274 hospitals and damaged around 70 emergency automobiles for more than a month of the war. The Head of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine Victor Lyashko declared about this during the telemaraphone air.
According to the Minister, 13 hospitals have been destroyed completely and they not to be recovered, it is necessary to build new buildings. 6 medical employees have been killed, 20 have been injured.
Lyashko added that despite fightings, medical institutions in Ukraine were working, people had access to medical care, medical employees received salaries, medicines were purchased. As the Minister stressed, pharmacies recovered their work in those regions where the situation permits to do it safely.
Aviacompany Wizz Air cancels all flights for summer schedule from Russia and to this country due to the Russian aggression in Ukraine. It is said in Twitter.
It is specified that flights are being removed from the booking system till October 30, 2022.
There air alarm is announced in many towns of Ukraine. Sirens can be heard in Kyiv, Lviv, Poltava, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Odesa and other towns.
Everyone is asked to proceed to a shelter.
Moldova doesn't join all the sanctions against Russia due to the full scale break in to Ukraine, as "the country can stay without gas and electricity". The President Maia Sandu declared this, NewsMaker writes.
According to Sandu, "the war in Ukraine already influence export and import activities - Moldova do not have access either to Ukrainian market, or Russian and Belorussian markets".
"Can we let the country be without gas and electricity? No, we cannot. No, for the sake of citizens, for the sake of 100 000 Ukrainian refugees, 50 000 of them are children", The President said.
The President Joe Biden's Administration rejected to comment the ignitions at the fuel deport in Bilgorod and reminded: the only one aggressor in the war in Ukraine is Russia. A spokewoman of the White House Jen Psaki declared this at the briefing.
She said the White House had no intentions to comment Kremlin's declarations as if Ukraine's involvement in ignition at the fuel depot. With this Psaki added that Ukraine had not done any declaration or confirmation.
The White House speaker also decided to remind: Russian dictator Vladimir Putin started an aggressive war against Ukraine, and his troops are still bombing peaceful Ukrainian cities
Anonymous hackers broke a website of Lypetskiy mechanical factory and published 25GB of data of the artillery systems and tanks producer. It is announced in Twitter.
Also, Anonymous broke email and leaked out data of the legal company Capital Legal Services a state company Mosekspertyza.
Operational Staff Pivnich published photos of Shestovytsya Village in Chernihiv region after releasing it from Russian occupiers.
Ukrainian defenders showed how invaders had organised comfortable conditions in Chernihiv forest. But they were using all of this until opposing forces of Siverschyna arrived.
Over the last few days, Ukrainian Army destroyed over 50 units of equipment in the Chernigov region, as the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports.
Among the 50 units, there was destroyed Russian armored and military vehicle equipment.
The General Staff notes that Ukrainian warriors were crushing the invaders in different parts of the region, and a series of local residential areas were freed, namely, the Shestovytsia village not far from Chernihiv.
Over the month of March in Kyiv and in Kyiv region, around ten thousand of various munitions were retrieved and destroyed. This was reported by the Chief of National Police of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko on Facebook.
In particular, EOD squads were able to disarm unexploded assault missiles, arial bombs, artillery rounds, and grenades in specially designated sites.
Klymenko urged Ukrainians not to attempt the transport or disassembly of hazardous objects on their own, and call police instead.
After a phone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the allies will continue to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes on the territory of Ukraine. This was published on US Department of State website.
Blinken emphasized that the US would continue to further lend their support to Ukraine and Ukraine’s commitment to engaging in diplomacy is highly appreciated.
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, met Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol, Zaporozhye region, who was previously abducted by the Russian occupiers. The French leader reports on Twitter:
"It is hard to imagine that the mayor of Melitopol, abducted by the Russian army, survived. Now he is free, and we heard his story. It is staggering. I expressed our admiration and support to him and the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada who accompanied him. We stand with Ukraine, decisively and to the end!.
Fires in Belgorod at an ammunition depot and oil depot could exacerbate the Russian army's logistics problems, the British Ministry of Defense reports on Twitter with reference to its intelligence sources.
The British intelligence believes that the probable loss of ammunition and fuel in Belgorod depots will likely add additional short-term strain to Russia’s already stretched logistic chains.
British intelligence suggests that a group of Russian troops encircling Kharkiv may be particularly affected.
The main theses of Zelensky's speech.
→ The spring draft has started in Russia. Conscripts are likely to be sent to war against the Ukrainian people. This means the guaranteed death of many young Russians. And although they are citizens of the aggressor country, it is our duty to warn the boys and their parents in a humane way. "Take care of your children so that they do not become villains, do not send them to the army, do everything you can - so that they live at home, alive and at home."
→ The Russian army is trying to draft people to the army in Crimea as well - this is a violation of international law, and they will be be held accountable for it.
→ In the temporarily occupied territories, the occupiers appoint their leaders. Those who work with the invaders need to know that collaborationism will inevitably be held accountable.
→ In the north of the country, the occupiers are gradually driven out of our settlements, and in some places they retreat themselves. But this territory remains dangerous to civilians.
→ In the east, the situation remains very difficult, the enemy is preparing for new powerful strikes. We are also preparing for an even more active defense, we are using every opportunity.
→ The whole world must react to the humanitarian catastrophe in Mariupol.
→ I have met with Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament. We discussed the prospects of Ukraine's accession to the European Union and the real strengthening of sanctions against Russia.
→ I have signed an almost traditional order awarding our defenders — seven servicemen of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection, two of them posthumously. Memory Eternal to our defenders!
The head of Mykolaiv military administration Vitaliy Kim urges the local people to transfer to the Armed Forces of Ukraine the military machinery they independently confiscated from Russian occupiers.
He never loses his sense of humor: 'I take 10% as an intermediary. I guarantee decency,' he joked.
Kim ironically added that Ukrainians who keep more than three pieces of enemy equipment in their yard will be 'deprived of subsidies.'
Russia may use chemical weapons in Ukraine. The secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, said this in a national TV marathon.
He noted that the Russian Federation had used chemical weapons in Syria despite international bans.
"We clearly have the awareness that they can do it on the territory of our country. We have to be prepared for that. Our medicine has had some training," he said.
An address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 1 April, or the 37th day of the war.
In Odesa region, Russian occupiers attempted to destroy civilian infrastructure by firing rockets, with civilians under threat. Ukrainian air defence hastily shot down the enemy missiles. This was reported by the Operational Command South.
"Thanks to the timely and effective response of the air defence forces, the missiles did not hit the enemy's planned targets. The situation is under the control of the AFU," it was reported.
The USA will hand over military equipment kits to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including for protection against chemical attacks. This was announced at a briefing by White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
"In an attempt to help our Ukrainian partners, the US government is providing the government of Ukraine with protective equipment and supplies that could be deployed if Russia uses chemical and bacteriological weapons against Ukraine," it was said.
The leaders of the four factions of the European Parliament have called on the Russians to collectively end Russia's war against Ukraine and the confrontation between the east and the west. The appeal was published on the website of Bernard Guetta, deputy head of the human rights subcommittee.
To quote the key messages.
→ Your president has decided to start a war against a country that has never attacked anyone.
→ So many people have already died in this war.
→ No one is threatening Russia: not Ukraine, not the EU, not the US or NATO want to harm it.
→ The only thing that threatens your country is the fear it inspires when its leaders behave as they do today towards Ukraine.
→ It is necessary to end the war immediately, let us act together.
→ Let us work so that the end of the confrontation between East and West is no longer seen as a victory or defeat, but as the beginning of a new era of democracy and prosperity.
On 30-31 March, the Ukrainian armed forces defeated Russian occupation troops near the village of Velika Doroga in Chernihiv region- a total of 31 pieces of military equipment destroyed and seized. Journalist Yuriy Butusov wrote about it on Facebook.
After a series of crushing strikes by the AFU on the Russian Armed Forces grouping that was trying to hold a bridgehead east of Kiev, the Russian troops flinched and fled. In the area of Losynivka and Velyka Doroga, our special forces carried out effective work and mopping-up, and sent photos of the first results of the combat work, which are impressive," he reported.
According to Butusov, the photo "is by no means a complete list of the destroyed and captured Russian equipment in the area, the clean-up continues.
The Russians changed the tactics of fighting in the sky. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russians lost 143 planes and 131 helicopters. The enemy aircrafts are now trying to avoid the area of Ukrainian air defense and direct contact with our air fighters.
Therefore, the enemy strikes missiles and bombs. The effectiveness of such strikes in the military sense is very questionable. Instead, civilians are suffering and dying, houses are being destroyed, the Armed Forces of Ukraine stressed.