Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 425.
As Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues and the war rages on, reliable sources of information are critical. Forbes gathers information and provides updates on the situation.
Russian forces conducted 23 air strikes on the landscape of Ukraine over April 21, the report issued by General Staff reads. Throughout night the country was attacked with 10 Shahed-136 drones; eight of those launched were shut down by the air defence systems, paper continues. Furthermore, Ukrainian troops’ positions and areas around suffered 49 MLRS attacks resulting in casualties among civilian populations. General Staff adds that the enemy is focused on advancing at the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka directions. The city of Bakhmut remains their primary tactical goal.
Kherson region. Over the previous day, Russian forces launched 54 heavy artillery, UAV and aircraft strikes on Kherson oblast. Authorities say the area of Kizomys was shelled by Russian forces on April 22 resulting in the wounding of elderly women. The two were shortly transferred to the hospital with head and chest injuries. Meanwhile, Kherson city suffered a mortar attack in the afternoon. The shelling killed an 80-year-old man.
A massive explosion rang in Belgorod, Russia on 20 April night. It later turned out that a Russian war plane headed for Kharkiv area had accidentally dropped a bomb on the city instead. Onsite a creator of a 20-meter radius emerged.
Minister of defence Oleksii Reznikov announced a signature of the letter of intent to establish a Maintenance and Service center in Poland for Leopard 2 tanks of Ukraine. The parties to the above letter are Ukraine, Germany, and Poland. “It will contribute to the strengthening of our cooperation and the capabilities of Ukrainian defenders.” minister explained. “The ‘armored fist’ formed by collaborative efforts will thwart the terrorist regime’s aggression against Europe and the entire free world. Ukrainian soldiers are skilled at defending their country. Modern Western technology will result in Moscow’s defeat. The sooner it happens, the sooner peace will come.”
Leaked U.S. papers reveal that Ukrainian authorities were planning covert attacks to be executed on Russian bases in Syria with a direct assistance of Kurdish forces, the Washington Post says. The mission’s objective was to play havoc with Wagner’s troops stationed in Syria so to push Moscow enhance positions in the country by redeploying its soldiers from Ukraine. Although, in mid-December, papers read, President Zelenskyy blocked the further development of an operation putting a definitive end to it.
Report drafted on April 22 by the Institute for the Study of War reads that Russian military bloggers own enough footage to confirm that Ukrainian Armed Forces had established positions in the left bank of Dnipro River in the Kherson region. Text reports coming from said bloggers indicate that Ukrainians have advanced north of Oleshky and up to the northern settlements of the E97 highway. “Russian milbloggers claimed on April 20 and 22 that Ukrainian forces have maintained positions in east bank Kherson Oblast for weeks, established stable supply lines to these positions, and regularly conduct sorties in the area—all indicating a lack of Russian control over the area.” report continues. In turn, Nataliia Humenyk, head of the press center of the South operational command, told the journalists to settle media silence until Ukrainian military comments on the issue.
Israel is set to test an alert system designed specifically for Ukrainian cities in the following weeks, the Israeli newspaper says. Such a system is programmed to connect to the Ukrainian radar system and send out air raid alerts on cell phones and turn on sound signals explicitly in locations where missile attacks are expected. Thus, civilians under peril have plenty of time to find a shelter, meanwhile, those in the relatively safe areas may carry on activities uninterruptedly. The first test of the Israeli initiative is scheduled to take place in Kyiv shortly.
According to news agency Ukrinform, a Japanese volunteer named Fuminori Tsuchiko runs a café in Kharkiv providing free meals to local citizens. Fuminori was stunned by the number of Ukrainian refugees when he was in Warsaw during the first wave of invasion. This led him to make the decision to move to Ukraine, starting in Kyiv and eventually settling in Kharkiv. Thanks to donations from empathetic individuals, he is able to offer a menu that includes soups, borscht, cereal, meat, pasta, pastries and warm tea. “At least once a day I can provide food for people, ” volunteer wrote in a comment.
The EU and Ukraine will recognize and enforce each other’s court decisions. The European Council agreed to establish treaty relations with Ukraine under the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters, according to Press service of the European Council.
By Daria Dzysiuk, Karina L. Tahiliani