Ukraine Daily

Saturday, 30 April 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

One of the houses in Makariv, Kyiv Oblast, that have been destroyed by shelling, seen on April 15. (Alexander Query)

Mariupol Mayor: Over 600 wounded remain in field hospital at Azovstal plant. According to Mayor Vadym Boychenko, Russian troops continue using heavy weapons, dropping aerial bombs. “Before shelling the hospital, the number of wounded was 170, now — over 600. Russian forces killed more than 20,000 people,” he said, adding that this indicates not only war crimes but genocide.

State Border Guard Service: Sumy Oblast shelled from Russia. Sumy Oblast, which borders Russia, was attacked with mortars more than 30 times on the morning of April 29. No casualties have been reported yet.

BBC: Russian occupiers abduct 2 British volunteers in Ukraine. Two British citizens providing humanitarian assistance in Ukraine were detained by Russian forces at a checkpoint in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on April 25, as they were trying to rescue a family from a Russian-occupied settlement there, BBC reports citing Dominik Byrne, co-founder of the charity Presidium Network, who was in touch with the abducted volunteers.

Governor: Ukraine liberates village north of Kharkiv. Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov said Ukraine’s Armed Forces liberated the village of Ruska Lozova. According to the Armed Forces, this settlement was of strategic importance as Russian troops used the village as a base for artillery attacks on Kharkiv.

Forbes Ukraine: Russia fires missiles worth in total at least $7.5 billion. Forbes Ukraine estimated the total cost of Russian missiles fired on Ukraine is at least $7.5 billion. Forbes added that only when the class of the launched missiles was identified the price was added into the total count.

British ambassador Melinda Simmons returns to Kyiv. “It was a long drive but worth going the distance,” she tweeted on April 29. “So good to be in Kyiv again.” The British embassy left Kyiv a week before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Ombudsman: Russian troops step up ‘filtration’ in Mariupol. According to Lyudmyla Denisova, Russian forces are not allowing men to enter or exit the city, while all residents of Mariupol are forced to undergo a special procedure called “filtration,” where Russian forces question and often torture civilians.

Ukraine reports 243 Russian crimes against journalists since Feb. 24. The State Committee for Television and Radio-Broadcasting said Russian troops committed 243 crimes against journalists and media in 16 Ukrainian regions. The crimes included murder, injury, abduction, threats, and shelling of TV towers. Overall, since the start of Russia’s invasion, the committee reports that seven journalists have been killed, 15 went missing, 14 died as combatants or from Russian shelling when they weren’t on duty, nine were wounded, and eight journalists were abducted.

Deputy PM: Fuel shortages to be solved within a week, prices will rise. According to Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, there is a significant shortage of fuel at gas stations in some Ukrainian regions caused by Russian “devastating blows to Ukraine’s fuel infrastructure.” The problem will be resolved within a week due to contracted volumes in Western Europe, but prices will rise.

Two Russian regions claim shelling from Ukrainian territory. Two Russian regions that border Ukraine, Kursk and Bryank, claim their territory has been shelled. No casualties were reported. Mykhailo Podolyak, the advisor to the Ukrainian president’s office, earlier said Russia will commit provocations on its territory.

Governor: Russian forces used phosphorus munition in Donetsk Oblast. Russian troops use phosphorus munition in the village of Solovyove, according to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. White Phosphorus is partially banned under the Geneva Convention and Chemical Weapons Conventions.

Lavrov: Lifting sanctions against Russia part of negotiations with Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in remarks published early on April 30 that while peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow are “difficult,” lifting sanctions imposed on Russia is part of negotiations, Reuters reports. Lavrov also reportedly said the two sides have been discussing a draft of a possible treaty. Earlier, Zelensky said that sanctions could not be a part of negotiations.

Official says US trained 100 Ukrainian instructors to use American artillery. A senior U.S. defense official also said that the U.S. had trained 15 Ukrainians to use radar systems, CNN reported on April 29.

Two alleged artillery spotters arrested in Kyiv. The spotters photographed the results of the shelling that took place on April 28 in the city’s Shevchenkivsky District and sent the photographs to Russian contacts, Deputy Interior Minister Eugene Enin said.

Court freezes Hr 470 million ($16 million) worth of Russian oligarch-linked assets. The assets of Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman and his partners were held at Fridman’s Alfa Bank in Ukraine, the Prosecutor General’s Office said on April 29. The prosecutors accused them of trying to channel Hr 1.1 billion ($36 million) out of Ukraine via fictitious deals.

Ukrainian troops blow up railway bridge in Donetsk Oblast. The bridge across the Siversky Donets River has been blown up along with Russian rail cars, making it impossible for Russian troops to move via rail to the city of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, the Joint Forces Operation said on April 29.

Interior Minister: Ukraine needs more specialists, equipment to demine its territories. Denys Monastyrsky said Ukraine has asked international organizations to help Ukraine demine its liberated territories by sending their pyrotechnicians and supplying equipment. According to Monastyrsky, one day of active fighting equals 30 days of demining.

Rosatom attempting to take over Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Energodar. Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency on April 29 that Russia’s state atomic corporation sent eight nuclear specialists to the power plant. They have allegedly demanded reports on confidential issues regarding the functioning of the plant, its administration, management, and maintenance from the Zaporizhzhia power plant.

Ukraine’s Air Force: 10 Russian aerial targets destroyed. The press center of Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia lost one Su-25 assault plane and nine Orlan-10 UAVs on April 29.

Ukrainian forces repel 14 attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. According to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Russia lost 11 tanks, 7 artillery pieces, 27 armored carriers, one combat vehicle and 14 other vehicles in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories

Over 200 buildings were destroyed and 600 severely damaged by mortars and artillery in a strategic town of Makariv located 30 kilometers west of Kyiv. Read our story on how Russian troops leave shattered lives in Makariv.

When Russian forces turned an ordinary residential road in Bucha into a battlefield, wheelchair-bound Liudmyla Usenka, 69, was alone at home in the darkness. The Kyiv Independent recorded Usenka’s story of surviving Russian occupation.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Prosecutor General’s Office: Russia’s war has killed 219 children, injured 398. The figures are expected to be higher since they do not include child casualties in the areas where hostilities are ongoing and in the occupied areas, Prosecutor General’s Office reported on April 29.

Mayor: Russia’s war has killed 100 civilians in Kyiv, including 4 children. Some 435 civilians have been wounded in the capital since Feb. 24, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on April 29.

Russian missile kills Ukrainian RFE/RL producer in Kyiv. Vira Hyrych was killed by a Russian missile that hit her apartment building in Kyiv on April 28, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Her body was found under the rubble on April 29.

Russia’s war claims life of US Embassy security guard. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said that their bodyguard Volodymyr took a leave from his job to rejoin the army to defend Ukraine. “We will never forget his kind spirit, dedication, and bravery,” the embassy wrote on April 28.

One person killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv on April 29. Five residents of Kharkiv Oblast were injured, the regional administration said.

Police say Russian troops tortured, killed combat medic. The 27-year old was murdered in Kharkiv Oblast’s Izyum District, Serhiy Bolvinov, the chief investigator of Kharkiv Oblast’s police, said on April 29.

International response

US reconsiders approach to G20 summit after news Putin will attend. While the U.S. has condemned Russia’s participation in the G20, White House Press Secretary said that it is too early to predict what the summit will look like. Officials said there wouldn’t likely be a decision in the near-term as they weigh the consequences of boycotting the event, CNN reported.

Media: Poland provides Ukraine with over 200 T-72 tanks, dozens of infantry fighting vehicles. Poland has provided Ukraine with 1.5 billion euros worth of military equipment, Radio Poland reported on April 29. Besides tanks, Poland has sent Ukraine self-propelled howitzers, Grad missile launchers, air-to-air missiles, and drones, according to the report.

New York Times: EU countries likely to approve phased embargo on Russian oil next week. Ambassadors will meet on Wednesday, May 4, and expect to give their final approval by the end of the week, several EU officials and diplomats involved in the process told the New York Times.

Want to get the news faster? Follow our website: kyivindependent.com.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Alexander Query, Asami Terajima, Oleg Sukhov, Thaisa Semenova, Daria Shulzhenko, Teah Pelechaty, Sergiy Slipchenko, Olena Goncharova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olga Rudenko, Toma Istomina, Lili Bivings and Brad LaFoy.

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