Again there were violent attacks near Cherson (symbol image).Image: AP / Libkos
International
Die Ukraine prepares for an expected counter-offensive against Russian troops. According to Defense Minister Oleksiy Resnikov, the preparations for this are almost complete. According to Ukraine, Russia attacked civilian infrastructure again in different parts of the country. The attacks claimed numerous lives and injuries.
It’s been 14 months since Russia invaded Ukraine. There is still no end to the war in sight. The soldiers continue to fight fiercely in eastern Ukraine, especially around the town of Bakhmut. And: Russia has replaced one of the deputy defense ministers. Colonel-General Alexei Kusmenkov is now responsible for the material and technical supply of the army.
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In our news blog you can read all the important news about developments in the Ukraine war.
1st May
8.31 a.m .: At least one dead and dozens injured in Russian attacks in Ukraine
On Monday, the Ukrainian military administration reported renewed Russian attacks in various regions of the country. One person was killed and three others injured in the Kherson region, explained Oleksandr Prokudin from the Kherson military administration: “One person died as a result of Russian aggression Life and three others, including a child, were injured.” Russian forces had “fired 39 shells over the past day” and the city of Cherson in the south of the country had been hit “eight times”.
There were also renewed airstrikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region in the east of the country. The regional administration there reported that 25 People injured and dozens of buildings in the city of Pavlohrad were damaged.
In addition, the Ukrainian military administration announced that there had been further rocket fire from Russia on Monday morning, but most of the rockets had been intercepted: “Tonight the enemy carried out another massive air attack on Ukraine,” the military administration in Kiev said in the online service Telegram . The Ukrainian Air Force reported that 18 missiles were launched, 15 of them were destroyed.
30. April
9:22 p.m .: Pope Francis indicates a peace mission
Pope Francis has indicated that the Vatican is involved in a peace initiative regarding Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. On his flight back from his trip to Hungary, he said to journalists: “Everyone wants a way to peace. I’m willing to do whatever it takes. There’s a mission going on right now, but it’s not public yet.” He did not reveal any further details and said he would comment when the time came.
The Pope hints at a peace mission.Image: AP / Andrew Medichini
The pope met Metropolitan Hilarion of Budapest and Hungary over the weekend, who was formerly the head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s foreign office and a confidant of Patriarch Cyril. Francis said of the meeting: “You can imagine that at the meeting we didn’t talk about Little Red Riding Hood, but about everything”. The pope had long planned to meet with Cyril, who defends Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
6:48 p.m .: Will the counter-offensive for Russia become a “tragedy”?
Yes, if the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has his way. He warned of an impending Ukrainian counter-offensive that could become a “tragedy” for Russia.
Prigozhin expressed his fears.Bild: Pool EPA via AP / Sergei Ilnitsky
in one Interview with Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov, Prigozhin said he expects the counteroffensive to begin in mid-May. Prigozhin again complained about the insufficient supply of ammunition to his fighters, blaming the Russian army leadership. The Wagner group is currently primarily involved in the Battle of Bachmut. The fighting for the city in eastern Ukraine has been going on for months.
2:23 p.m .: According to Kiev, the drone attack on Crimea was preparation for a counteroffensive
Smoke and flames billowed from a burning fuel tank in Sevastopol, Crimea.Bild: Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razv / Uncredited
According to the Ukrainian military, the drone attack on Crimea on Saturday was in preparation for the planned counter-offensive. Nataliya Humenyuk, the press secretary of the Southern Command of the Ukrainian Army, said on Sunday: “Infiltration of enemy logistics is one of the preparatory elements for powerful active actions of our defense forces, which we have been talking about for a long time.” Work prepare the large-scale offensive “that everyone is waiting for”.
7.02 a.m .: According to Ambassador Melnyk, China could mediate
Andriy Melnyk, the former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, believes that China could play a peacemaking role as a mediator in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. That is “not unrealistic,” the Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Sunday edition).
Melnyk has a clear opinion.Image: German Press Agency GmbH / Michael Kappeler
Although would China pursuing his own interests, of course, he conceded. But he does believe “that a just, peaceful solution and the end of hostilities are more in Beijing’s interests than this massive, never-ending earthquake for the entire world order,” said Melnyk.
He described the phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Chinese head of state Xi Jinping as “a major step forward in strengthening our relations with China and ending Russian aggression”. For Ukraine, however, the withdrawal of all Russian troops from the occupied territories is an indispensable prerequisite, stressed Melnyk.
29. April
10:23 p.m .: Merkel: Do not narrow your thoughts on the war in Ukraine too much
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for open debates with a view to ending Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. “It would be important to me, or so I’ve always tried, that we don’t narrow our minds too much”, said the CDU politician on Saturday evening at an event at the Leipzig Book Fair. When someone like Wolfgang Ischinger, former head of the Munich Security Conference, says that you have to think about the fact that negotiations will have to take place at some point, then you don’t have to “hiss him down right away.” “These are not always all people who only talk after Putin,” Merkel said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
2:49 p.m .: Ten oil tanks were affected by the explosion
According to the Ukrainian military intelligence service, ten oil tanks were destroyed in the fire in the fuel depot. They would have had a total volume of about 40,000 tons. Authorities spokesman Andriy Yusov has claimed that the blast was allegedly triggered by a Ukrainian drone attack. Referring to a Russian missile attack the night before, Yusov said: “This is God’s punishment specifically for the killed citizens of Uman, among which five Kinder are.”
However, Kiev has not claimed responsibility for the attack. The officer advised the people of Crimea to stay away from military objects due to the threat of further explosions. The fuel reservoir was intended for the Russian Black Sea Fleet stationed in Crimea.
11.04 a.m .: Fire inferno after drone attack in the port city of Sevastopol
A fuel depot caught fire on Saturday in the port city of Sevastopol on the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula. “According to preliminary information, the fire was caused by a drone attack”Moscow’s appointed governor of the city, Mikhail Rasvozhayev, announced on Saturday morning in the online service Telegram.
The area of the fire is estimated by the governor to be “about 1000 square meters” and pictures of large plumes of smoke have been released. The governor reassured residents and confirmed no one was injured. The civil infrastructure is not in danger and the situation is under control, according to Rasvozhayev.
7.21 a.m .: Selenskyj demands weapons again after devastating attacks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has more in his daily video address following the recent Russian rocket attacks on homes in the city of Uman Waffen to protect the country called for: “Anti-aircraft defense, a modern air force, without which effective air defense is impossible, artillery, armored vehicles. Everything that is necessary to provide security for our cities, our villages, both in the rear and on the Front.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for more weapons to protect the country.Image: AP / Michal Dyjuk
In his speech he referred to the recent Russian attacks. At least 23 people, including four children, were killed in the rocket attack in Uman. A mother and her three-year-old daughter were killed by Russian shelling in Dnepropetrovsk. A rocket hit a high-rise building in Uman where 109 people were registered, completely destroying 27 apartments and damaging dozens of cars on the street with debris.
6.58 a.m .: EU Commission: Dispute over Ukrainian agricultural imports settled
The EU Commission has reached an agreement with several Eastern European countries in the dispute over agricultural imports from Ukraine. The concerns of farmers in various neighboring EU countries as well as Ukraine itself were taken into account, as the EU Commission announced.
Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary will therefore lift their countermeasures. In return, there should be “extraordinary protective measures” for wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds. However, no details were given.
Now there was an agreement in the dispute over Ukrainian agricultural imports.Image: dpa central image / Sebastian Willnow
EU member states decided on Friday to suspend tariffs for another year to protect the Ukrainian Business to strengthen. It is unclear whether all countries welcomed the decision, as unanimity is not required for a final decision.
Older news for war in Ukraine you can find here.
(With material from dpa and AFP)
