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.
Russia admitted losing the initiative in the Kyiv region. The invaders didn't achieve their goals. This information comes from the report prepared by British intelligence.
"Russian statements regarding a reduction in activity around Kyiv, and reporting indicating the withdrawal of some Russian units from these areas, may indicate Russia's acceptance that it has now lost the initiative in the region."
"It is highly likely that Russia will seek to divert combat power from the north to their offensive in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east."
Russian occupants killed famous ex-boxer and children's boxing coach Oleksii Junkovskyi in Irpin, VRINGE reported.
According to his colleagues, the occupants shot the coach in the boxing hall, where he trained children in peacetime.
Junkovskyi was a winner of the World Boxing Championships and trained champions of European tournaments among teenagers.
Ukrainian defenders shot down a drone and an interceptor of the Russian occupants near Izium, Kharkiv region with the help of air defense, Facebook page of the East Air Command reported.
The defenders illustrated the report on the successful operation not with a photo of the downed Russian equipment, but with a drawing of a 7-year-old Ukrainian girl Marharyta who reminded that Ukraine is against the war!
According to the Facebook page of the Joint Forces Operation, during the last 24 hours, the Armed Forces of Ukraine repulsed four enemy attacks in the Operation zone.
Ukrainian defenders destroyed seven tanks, seven armored units and two vehicles.
One anti-tank gun MT-12 of the occupants was also destroyed.
Drifting mines, found on March 26-28 off the coast of Turkey and Romania were from Sevastopol.
They were seized by the Russians in 2014 at Ukrainian military depots, and are now being used for provocations and to discredit Ukraine, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
A group of experts has been set up at the President's Office to assess how effective sanctions against Russia are. It, in particular, engaged:
- Michael McFaul, former US Ambassador in Russia;
- John Herbst, former US Ambassador in Ukraine;
- Rostyslav Shurma, Deputy Head of President’s Office;
- Daniel Fried, former US Ambassador in Poland;
- Andrii Pyshnyi, former Chairman of the Board of Oschadbank;
- Oleksandr Rodniansky Jr., member of the Supervisory Board of Sberbank;
- Dmytro Natalukha, Chairman of the Economic Committee of Verkhovna Rada.
The deputy head of the Berdiansk Regional State Administration has been suspected of treason. She voluntarily agreed to help the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and the occupational administration. She was remanded in custody.
Veteran of World War II Dmitry Ivanets, who once liberated Mykolayiv from German troops, said that the Russians "should be crushed" for their attack on Ukraine.
"So many people were killed - civilians, children! They all need to be hanged up," said the veteran, who is the last living liberator of Mykolayiv, during a conversation with Mykolaiv's Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych.
Russia will try "hurting" Ukraine in the Joint Forces Operation zone, said Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the head of the President of Ukraine's Office. The enemy has a quantitative and qualitative advantage there. It is really a very dangerous situation for our troops there, he stated.
- Russia's statement about a drastic reduction in attacks in Kyiv and Chernihiv regions was the result of successful actions by Ukrainian troops, but Russian army has significant resources to continue the aggression.
- The potential results of the negotiations in Istanbul are positive, but Ukraine will not trust Russia until their statements are backed up with action. Ukraine hopes for the liberation of the occupied regions and does not allow any compromises on sovereignty and territorial integrity.
- Sanctions against Russia need to be tougher every week. The head of President's Office Andriy Yermak and former US Ambassador in Russia Michael McFaul will coordinate experts who will be assessing the effectiveness of sanctions.
- Denmark can take part in reconstruction of Mykolaiv after war.
- Registration for compensation for real estate destroyed during the war begins on March 29. In a week it will be possible to do this through the Administrative Service Centres.
- 126 servicemen were awarded state awards, 34 of them were awarded posthumously.
Adviser of President’s Office Oleksii Arestovych called it impossible to unblock Mariupol: "Our troops will not pass the 120-kilometer steppe under air attacks from the annexed Crimea and Rostov region of Russia. We will just lose the resources if those soldiers who can do this go there".
The Pentagon considers the partial withdrawal of Russian troops from Kyiv as a regrouping. They intend to use them somewhere else. "We don't know exactly where," Defense Secretary John Kirby said. He stressed that the number of theforces withdrawn " far from most of what they put up against Kiev," and the threat to the capital of Ukraine still remains, CNN reports.
Lyudmila Rusanova, the head of the Svativka district council, Luhansk Region, has been declared suspect as a collaborant. The General Prosecutor's Office informs that the head is now calling himself a "public adviser" to the so-called "head of the Svativ district of the Lugansk People's Republic."
Volodymyr Bormashev, the prior of the local church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchy, died yesterday of wounds received while trying to evacuate from Irpin, Kyiv region. A priest of the Moscow Patriarchate fell victim to Russian shelling.
Explosions occurred near the Russian villages of Krasny Oktyabr and Oktyabrskoye (Belgorod Oblast), about 40 kilometers north of Kharkiv. Journalist Yuri Butusov states that they were the result of a hit by Tochka-U missile on the artillery and missile armament of the Russian army.
The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that "there are no victims among the residents."
On Tuesday, 936 people from Mariupol and 729 people from cities in Zaporizhzhia region (Berdiansk, Melitopol, Enerhodar, Polohy, Huliaipole, Vasylivka, Orikhiv) were evacuated to Zaporizhizhia by their own vehicles, Reintegration Minister Iryna Vereshchuk informed.
This number could have been higher, but Russians blocked buses in Vasylivka, which were to evacuate people from Berdiansk, Melitopol and Enerhodar. Columns of people who wanted to leave Tokmak and Enerhodar on their own cars were also blocked.
In Nizhyn, the forefront of defense in Chernihiv region, a curfew was announced for a day and a half. It will begin today, March 29, at 20:00 and last until 5:00 on March 31, Mayor Oleksandr Kodola informed.
It is still impossible to return to Irpin, despite the fact that there are no Russian troops there. It's dangerous here. Nothing will save you from the shell, grads, mortar attacks, you cannot be sure that they won't hit you, the Mayor Oleksandr Markushin said.
The State Emergency Service informed that as a result of missile attack on the building of the Mykolaiv regional state administration which happened at 8:45am on March 29, 12 dies and 33 were injured. Lifesavers rescued 18 people from the rubble who are now examined by doctors. As a result of the shelling, the central section of the building from the first to the ninth floor was destroyed.
A warehouse is on fire in the Brovary district as a result of the Russian shelling. The fire spreads on 20 thousand square meters. Acting head of Kyiv regional department of the State Emergency Service Petro Kyseliov said that Russians are specifically shelling the warehouses, choosing the most filled ones.
Well-known Ukrainian sambo wrestler and MMA fighter Yaroslav Amosov helps defend Ukraine in the war against Russia. Photo by Irpen Mayor Oleksandr Markushin.
Deputy Commander of the Azov battalion Sviatoslav “Kalyna” Palamar informed that the unit refused to leave Mariupol as suggested by Volodymyr Zelensky: "What do you think the Ukrainian military should do? We will continue to protect the city, every house, and every street. We will do everything to save the injured and bury our killed soldiers. "
Also, they informed that only on Tuesday, its fighters destroyed three Russian tanks (one with a Molotov cocktail) and one infantry fighting vehicle.
A Russian drone and a plane were shot down near Izyum on Tuesday, the Air Command "East" reported.
President of France Emmanuel Macron had another telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. Following that, the Elysee Palace stated that a humanitarian operation in Mariupol (France, along with Turkey and Greece, wanted to agree on the evacuation of civilians from the besieged city) is currently not possible, AFP reported.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine held an open meeting for the first time after the war started. Most of the ministers are in Kyiv whereas the rest are in business trips.
More than 70 people from the Mariupol maternity hospital №2 were forcibly deported to Russia. Among them are the staff of the hospital and their patients. Three days ago, about 600 staff and patients of the City hospital №1 were also deported. Mariupol City Council together with the Donetsk Regional Military Administration are creating a base of deported residents of the city and developing a mechanism for their return to Ukraine.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin commented on the negotiations in Istanbul:
- Nobody believes in the guarantees from Putin regime, and the collective West will not be ready for all the sacrifices for the sake of Ukraine, including the nuclear conflict.
- Russia may take a break, but will never refuse to destroy Ukraine.
- The guarantees will work uner two scenarios: either Ukraine will strengthen its security potential, or it will be a "nuclear umbrella" of NATO or the United States.
According to the latest data, as a result of the missile strike on the building of the Mykolaiv Regional Administration 9 people were killed, 28 were wounded.
According to UN estimates, at least 1,179 civilians (including 104 children) have been killed and 1,860 wounded (including 134 children) in the Russo-Ukrainian war since February 24. These numbers are underestimated, because only in Mariupol, according to the mayor Vadym Boychenko, the death toll is almost 5,000.
Ukraine's air defense forces destroyed a Russian missile in the sky over Volyn on Tuesday, Yuriy Pohulyayko, the head of Volyn Regional State Administration said.
Advisor to the chief of the president’s office Mykhailo Podoliak explained why the Ukrainian delegation wants Russia to be one of Ukraine's "security guarantors". It imposes many additional burdens on Russians and the multilateral format of the agreement gives hope of avoiding tradition of Russian non-compliance to legal agreements.
Summary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 18:00 on March 29:
Russia is withdrawing some units from Chernihiv and Kyiv regions, but continues shelling Ukrainian positions in west from Kyiv near the Zhytomyr highway and still blockades Chernihiv. In the area of Brovary, the occupants hold previously occupied positions.
Russia is regrouping in the Slobozhansky and Donetsk direction. Separate units of the 1st Tank Army were withdrawn from Sumy to Russia. In Slovyansk direction Russian troops were strengthened by units of the 20th Army.
In the south of Ukraine, Russian troops are replenishing their reserves and restoring combat readiness.
In the seas, Russian ships are monitoring the situation and continue to isolate southern Ukraine.
In the Russian city of Boguchar in the Voronezh region, military machines are being unpreserved, but more than 40% of them are out of order.
A detachment of Russian invaders abandoned two of their own when they heard a Ukrainian military drone above them. They had to catch up with the truck on foot through the snow. The video was given by Rustam Mustafaev, a soldier of the 93rd Independent Kholodnyi Yar Mechanized Brigade.
Former Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Valery Chaly considers the position voiced by Ukraine in the negotiations with Russia "is not realistic for implementation, with all the logical consequences."
Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova signed a new reasonable suspicion to Illia Kyva for public calls for the physical elimination of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Part 3 of Article 109 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and calls for aggressive war (Article 436 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Three weeks ago, he was suspected of treason and separatism. The investigation believes that the deputy deprived of his mandate may use "other documents than those known to investigators and prosecutors."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is skeptical about today's round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul. There is what Russia is saying and what Russia is doing, Blinken said at a press conference during a visit to Morocco.
The American diplomat believes that Russia's statements about the "drastic reduction of military actions in Kyiv and Chernihiv may be a distracting maneuver. If they believe that the attempt to capture "only" the east and south of Ukraine can succeed, they are once again deeply deceived, said Blinken.
US President Joe Biden discussed Russia's war against Ukraine with European allies over the phone. The conversation was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, CNN reports.
The conversation lasted almost an hour, its content has not been announced yet.
The Russian aggressor once again shelled the airfield in Starokostiantyniv, Khmelnytskyi region, destroying all available supplies of fuel and oil materials. The Mayor of Starokostiantyniv asked for help in purchasing fuel and oil.
US intelligence has recorded the withdrawal of some Russian troops from Kyiv. In particular, these are battalion tactical groups, CNN reported.
In negotiations with the invader country, Ukraine offered to "resolve the issue" of Crimea within 15 years without its force deoccupation, advisor to the chief of the president’s office Mykhailo Podolyak said.
A ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine will not be enough to lift British sanctions said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu noted the convergence of Kyiv and Moscow in negotiations on a ceasefire.
"The Ukrainian-Russian talks in Istanbul produced an agreement on a number of issues and convergence of positions. More complex topics on the agenda of the negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow will be considered in the next stages by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Russia," Çavuşoğlu said.
The invaders kidnapped the mayor of Beryslav Oleksandr Shapovalov and the mayor of Gola Prystan Oleksandr Babych - the mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klychko.
Border guard Roman Grybov, the author of the legendary phrase about the "Russian warship", returned home from captivity - State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
A multi-functional, modular, armored vehicle Kamaz "Typhoon" was destroyed. The pride of the Russian military–industrial complex belongs to MRAP-class vehicles - protected from mines and ambushes. "Ukrainian soldiers made him unique - that's how it has never looked like anywhere else in the world" - the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Ukraine has the capacity required to strike at military targets on the territory of Russia. However, it does not want to give the enemy a pretext to accuse Ukraine of aggression, advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Oleksii Arestovych informs.
An anti-aircraft gunner of the anti-air defence unit in Kharkiv Region has downed a Russian Ka-52 “Alligator” combat helicopter. He identified the hostile target at the altitude of 500 m and made a MANPADS launch. The helicopter blew up in the air.
The invaders shelled residential areas in the Kyiv Region 40 times over the past day. Kyiv Regional State Administration reports that over 550 civilian installations in total have been destroyed.
The reduction of Ukrainian economy as a result of a month of the full-scale war is assessed as 35% and more and the overall loss including future periods reaches $1 trillion - Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.