Ukraine Daily

Sunday, 1 May 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

A cyclist rides along a fortified street in Zaporizhzhia on April 29, 2022. (Ed Jones / AFP via Getty Images)

Putin rejects Pope Francis’ call for Mariupol humanitarian corridors three times. Pope Francis has tried three times to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol, but the Kremlin claimed “it cannot guarantee security,” Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported. Around 100,000 remain trapped in the bombed-out Mariupol with little food, water or medicine.

Azov regiment: 20 civilians evacuated from Azovstal in occupied Mariupol. Azov’s Deputy Commander Sviatoslav Palamar said that women and children who they had rescued from under the rubble of the Azovstal plant were evacuated on April 30 and are heading to Ukrainian-controlled territory. The wounded soldiers were not evacuated.

President’s Office dismisses Lavrov’s claim that lifting sanctions were discussed at Ukraine-Russia talks. Advisor to the presidential administration Mykhailo Podoliak said that contrary to a recent statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Ukrainian and Russian negotiators have not discussed lifting international sanctions against Russia, as well as the “denazification” of Ukraine and the status of the Russian language in the country.

Russian occupiers erect Lenin statue in occupied Nova Kakhovka in Kherson Oblast. The monument of Vladimir Lenin now stands in the central square of the Ukrainian city. It is the same monument that was removed in February 2014 in the wake of the pro-Western EuroMaidan Revolution’s victory.

Ukraine Intelligence: Resistance can ruin Putin’s plan to establish proxy state in Kherson. According to the Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate, Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to demonstrate some kind of “success” by May 9, so he will try to hold a fake “referendum” to proclaim a proxy state in Kherson. Ongoing fighting in Kherson Oblast and civil protests in the regional capital are set to ruin those plans.

Mobile service, internet shut down in partially occupied Kherson Oblast. Local media and authorities reported that the connection disappeared in the city of Kherson and several other districts of the southern Ukrainian oblast. Serhiy Khlan, a deputy of the regional council, said that the reason behind the shutdown was not yet clear.

Zelensky: Since beginning of invasion Russia has lost over 3,700 pieces of heavy equipment including tanks and planes. President Volodymyr Zelensky noted in his address that despite Russia’s loses, there is more equipment and more rockets that will be used against Ukraine. “Yes, they still have missiles to strike at our territory… But this war has already weakened Russia so much that they have to plan even fewer military equipment for the (May 9 Victory Day) parade in Moscow,” he said. Latest estimates by Ukraine’s Armed Forces suggest that Russia has also lost 23,000 troops, 1,008 tanks, 2,445 armored personnel carriers, 1,701 vehicles, 436 artillery systems, 151 multiple launch rocket systems, 77 anti-aircraft defense systems, 155 helicopters, 190 aircraft, 76 fuel tanks, and eight boats.

General Staff: Ukrainian armed forces regain control over 5 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast. The villages of Verkhnia Rohanka, Ruska Lozova, Slobidske, and Prilesne have been liberated, according to the military.

Popasna Mayor: Russian forces fired at two evacuation buses, no information about casualties yet. Mykola Khanatov said 31 people were evacuated from Popasna in the eastern Luhansk Oblast. Still, more people wanted to leave the city, so the administration sent two additional buses. Russian troops opened fire. No information on casualties was reported as the drivers can’t be reached.

Ukraine, Russia exchange prisoners. Seven Ukrainian military personnel and seven civilians are returning home after a prisoner exchange on April 30. One of the military personnel is a pregnant woman, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

Russian missiles hit Odesa Oblast, damage airport runway. According to Operational Command South, one runway was damaged to the point that it can no longer be used.

Ukraine downs nine aerial targets of Russian Air Force. The Air Force Command reports that it destroyed two SU-25s and seven UAVs in the past 24 hours.

CNN: Satellite images show significant destruction of Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. New satellite images from Maxar Technologies pictured ruins of most of the plant buildings. Some of them collapsed while others had visible large holes in the roofs. It’s still unclear whether the basement holding civilians aged four months to 16 years have survived the Russian military strikes.

Almost 5.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia’s invasion. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has recorded 5,468,629 Ukrainians fleeing the country, majority being women and children, as men of service age cannot leave cross the border. Most refugees have settled around Europe, with Poland having the largest population at over 3 million.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories

As part of the Donbas offensive, has Russia greatly intensified its attacks in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. For now, Ukrainian forces are holding them back, according to local officials, though evacuees have told the Kyiv Independent that the Russians are slowly advancing. Read our story here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Mariupol mayor: Russian military has killed twice as many Mariupol residents as Nazi Germany. Vadym Boychenko said that in two years of Mariupol’s occupation during World War II, the Nazis killed 10,000 people. The Russian occupiers have already doubled the number of victims in two months of the Mariupol siege, the mayor said. “This is one of the worst genocides of civilians in modern history.”

Donetsk Oblast comes under heavy fire, at least 4 civilians killed, including 1 child. The regional police said that the Russian forces shelled 12 settlements over the past 24 hours, and the strikes destroyed at least 36 civilian infrastructure sites, including a school and a hospital. The strikes came from air force, tanks, rocket launchers and artillery, injuring additional eight civilians, including children.

Grave with bodies of 3 men discovered in Kyiv Oblast. According to Andriy Nebytov, chief of police in Kyiv Oblast, the men were tortured and then shot by Russian soldiers. Their bodies were buried in a shallow grave in the forest in the Buchansky District of the oblast.

International response

Media: Denmark to supply Ukraine with dozens of armored personnel carriers, mortars. According to the Danish publication OLFI, Denmark will send Ukraine 25 Piranha III armored personnel carriers, 50 M113 armored personnel carriers, and M10 mortars with thousands of shells.

Romania to hold tender to repair railway line to Odesa region. The Romanian Ministry of Transport has announced a tender to repair the Giurgiulesti-Galati railway line allowing an increase of transportation of goods to Ukraine through Moldova from Romania’s second largest port in Galati. The repairs are estimated to take about 60 days and will cost about $275,000.

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

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Thaisa Semenova, Asami Terajima, Natalia Datskevych, Igor Kossov, Sergiy Slipchenko, Olena Goncharova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olga Rudenko, Toma Istomina and Brad LaFoy.

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