Wednesday, April 24

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill on April 23, 2024 in Washington, DC. The Senate passed a $60.84 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, the final step before the bill reaches U.S. President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

US Senate passes $61 billion in aid to Ukraine. The U.S. Senate passed the foreign aid bill in a vote on April 23, paving the way to provide $60.84 billion for Ukraine.

CNN: Some US military aid for Ukraine already in Poland, Germany. Some of the U.S. military aid for Ukraine is already in Germany and Poland, cutting down the time needed for the weapons and equipment to reach the front line, CNN reported on April 22, citing a source familiar with the provision of aid.

Reuters: US preparing $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine. The U.S. is preparing a military aid package for Ukraine worth $1 billion, Reuters reported on April 23, citing two unnamed American officials.

Media: Greece preparing to give Ukraine at least 1 Patriot system, possibly 2. The news follows a story by the Financial Times (FT) on April 22, in which official sources said that Greece and Spain were under specific pressure from the EU to provide additional air defense systems to Ukraine.

Ambassador: Ukraine in talks to set up joint production of Patriot systems. Kyiv is pushing Washington for the joint production of Patriot air defense systems to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s war, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova said in an interview with European Pravda on April 23.

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Military: Russian forces using chemical weapons to storm Ocheretyne, situation ‘difficult.’ Russian forces are deploying chemical weapons in an attempt to capture the village of Ocheretyne in Donetsk Oblast, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Khortytsia Group of Forces, said on April 23.

Ukrainian grain exports slump in March, expected to further slow down this year. Ukrainian grain exports decreased in March and are expected to further slow down this year amid lower supply and smaller harvest predictions. Grain exports amounted to 5.2 million metric tons in March, down from 5.8 million metric tons the month before, according to various estimates.

Ukraine suspends consular, passport services for military-age men abroad. The move comes a week after Ukraine finally passed a hotly debated bill on mobilization as the country seeks to bolster its armed forces.

National Guard: Russia needs years to capture Kharkiv. Russian forces would need years to occupy the city of Kharkiv, Oleksandr Pivnenko, a commander of Ukraine’s National Guard, said in an interview with the Liga.net media outlet on April 23.

Governor: Over 20 Russian missiles targeted Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant in 2024. Russian forces have launched over 20 missiles at the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) since the beginning of this year, Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov said on national television on April 23.

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Ukraine war latest: Russian forces use chemical weapons in Ocheretyne

Russian forces are deploying chemical weapons in an attempt to capture the village of Ocheretyne in Donetsk Oblast, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Khortytsia Group of Forces, said on April 23.

Photo: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

What Ukraine lost while waiting for the US aid bill to pass

While it is difficult to directly attribute events in Ukraine to the delay, what is certain is the situation has significantly deteriorated on several fronts during this time.

Photo: Paula Bronstein /Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attack on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injures 8. Russian forces launched a missile attack against the Dnipro district in the afternoon, wounding four people, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak reported on April 23.

Governor: 5 injured in Russian attack on Kostiantynivka. Russian forces struck the city of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast on the morning of April 23, wounding five people, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported.

Russia launches missile attacks on Kharkiv, leaving 2 injured. Russia launched missile attacks on Kharkiv in the early hours of April 24, damaging four residential building, and injuring two people, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported on Telegram.

Russia attacks 11 communities in Sumy Oblast, injuring 4. Russian forces attacked Sumy Oblast 242 times in 51 separate attacks throughout the day, injuring four people, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on April 23.

What’s happening with Russia’s assets frozen in the West?

International response

WSJ: US drafting sanctions aimed at Chinese banks aiding Russia’s war effort. Washington hopes they will allow Secretary of State Antony Blinken to arrive armed with diplomatic leverage on a visit to China this week, in a push to stop Beijing’s commercial support of Russia’s military production.

Hungarian FM says Ukraine carrying out ‘witch hunt’ against Hungarian businesses, threatens to block EU aid. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto’s latest complaint against Ukraine was in relation to allegations that the country was planning to revoke several of the distribution permits for medicine from the Hungarian pharmaceutical company Richter.

Swedish Navy chief says Russian ‘shadow fleet’ of oil tankers possibly conducting espionage in Baltic Sea. Swedish Navy chief Ewa Skoog Haslum said some of the ships from the shadow fleet have been found to possess communications and signals equipment not usually associated with cargo vessels, leading to concerns they could be used in “hybrid operations.”

Thousands of European flights reportedly affected by suspected Russian jamming. Russia has been accused of jamming GPS signals in nearby countries such as Finland as far back as the 2010s.

Bloomberg: Germany urging US to send another Patriot system to Ukraine. Ukraine is facing a shortage of air defense systems amid an uptick in Russian attacks on population centers and energy infrastructure.

Denmark to allocate around $450 million for Ukraine’s reconstruction, energy sector. Copenhagen will allocate around 420 million euros ($450 million) to Kyiv as part of a memorandum of understanding on long-term cooperation and reconstruction signed on April 23, Ukraine’s Economy Ministry reported.

Latvian schools to stop teaching Russian as foreign language. Children in Latvia will no longer learn Russian as a foreign language in schools from 2026, but instead will be required to learn a language of the European Union or the European Economic Area, Latvia’s Education Ministry announced on April 23.

In other news

Ukraine’s parliament passes law adapting education policy to match EU standards. Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote that the law will help introduce a number of changes to help university students have more flexibility and autonomy in higher education.

Ukraine faces energy deficits, to restrict power supply for business, industry. Ukraine faces power deficits caused by Russian attacks on its energy system, forcing Kyiv to temporarily restrict power supply to businesses and industrial facilities on April 23, Ukraine’s state-owned energy operator Ukrenergo reported.

Agriculture Minister Solskyi accused of illegally appropriating more than $7 million in state-owned land. While NABU only described the suspect as the “former chairman of the agriculture committee” of Ukraine’s parliament, Suspilne reported, citing sources in law enforcement, that it is Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi.

Russia’s deputy defense minister detained on suspicions of bribery. Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was detained on April 23 on the suspicion of receiving a bribe, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced.

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