Day 417 since the beginning of the war: China’s state media quote Defense Minister Li Shangfu after his meeting with Vladimir Putin: According to this, there should be closer cooperation. All information in the news blog.
The most important things at a glance
Reports: China wants to strengthen cooperation with Russia
According to Defense Minister Li Shangfu, China wants to strengthen cooperation with Russia. As the state broadcaster CCTV News reported on Monday, the cooperation should also include close strategic communication between the armed forces of both countries. “China stands ready to work with Russia to make new contributions to maintaining security and stability in the world and the region,” the minister said, according to the report. Li, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sunday, said China also wants to strengthen multilateral coordination and cooperation with Russia.
Death toll after rocket hit Slovyansk apartment building
10:24 p.m.: After a Russian missile hit a residential area in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, the death toll has risen to 15, according to the authorities. This was announced by the military administrator Pavlo Kirilenko on Telegram on Sunday. A total of 24 people were injured in the attack.
According to Ukrainian sources, the rocket hit the city in the heavily contested Donetsk region on Friday afternoon. At first there was talk of at least eight dead. Photos show a multi-story building with a large hole in the upper floors. Regardless of the many civilian casualties, the Russian side has maintained that it has only attacked military targets since the war began more than a year ago.
Putin meets China’s defense minister: “Very stable relations”
Kiev: Dozens of Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine
7:14 p.m.: Russian forces have launched dozens of attacks against positions held by Ukrainian defenders, according to the General Staff in Kiev in eastern Ukraine. The Russian units suffered heavy losses, which were not specified, according to the Ukrainian army leadership on Sunday in its daily situation report. A total of 45 Russian attacks were repelled around Bakhmut and Marjinka. These places continue to be the epicenter of the attacks. The Russian army “actively deploys tactical and military air forces in these areas,” the general staff wrote on Facebook. The information could not be independently verified.
“The enemy is suffering significant casualties but is sticking to plans to occupy Ukrainian territory,” it said. According to the general staff, medical facilities in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions are “overflowing” with wounded attackers. Despite the large number of Russian attacks, the front line remained unchanged.
A church in ruins: on Easter Sunday a Russian rocket is said to have hit it. (What: t-online)
Ukraine gives an indication of the amount of its own losses
6:19 p.m.: The Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has given an indication of the approximate amount of own losses since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. “I can’t give you an exact figure, but I can assure you that it’s lower than the death toll from the earthquake in Turkey,” he said in an interview with Spanish newspaper La Razón published on Sunday. According to Turkish information, more than 50,000 people died in the February 6 earthquake in the south-east of the country.
So far, Ukraine has not provided any information on the number of its wounded and dead. Only estimates exist for the total number of Ukrainian victims. Kyiv sees the numbers as a state secret.
