Live blog: Russia's losses in fighting more than Ukraine's – Zelenskyy aide

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Ukraine has suffered serious losses, but not as many as Russia

Ukraine has suffered serious losses in the fighting with Russia but Moscow's forces have lost many more soldiers, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in a video posted online.

The aide, Oleksiy Arestovych, said the military situation was difficult but controllable.

Slovakia: Russia should pay to rebuild Ukraine

Slovakia's deputy prime minister has said Russian aggressors have destroyed entire cities and the lives of millions of people in Ukraine and when the offensive is over Russia should pay to rebuild the country and restore its cultural heritage.

But in what she said is "quite an unorthodox view," Veronika Remisova also told a news conference that after the attack "there will be a big need to integrate Russia, even though Russia is an aggressor, even if Russia is doing horrible war crimes."

In the long term, Remisova said, Russia must not end up isolated and alone like North Korea. Remisova, who is also minister of investments and regional development, said many many beautiful cities in Ukraine like Mariupol and Kharkiv "are being ruthlessly wiped off the earth in front of our eyes by Russian aggressors and occupiers."

Russian strikes hit Kiev as UN chief visits: mayor

Russian strikes slammed into Kiev as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting in the first such bombardment of Ukraine's capital since mid-April.

"Missile strikes in the downtown of Kiev during the official visit of @antonioguterres," tweeted the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

UNSC 'failed to do everything in its power to end war': Guterres

The Security Council has failed to go far enough in its efforts to "prevent and end" Russian onslaught in Ukraine, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres admitted while visiting Kiev.

"Let me be very clear: the Security Council failed to do everything in its power to prevent and end this war. And this is the source of great disappointment, frustration and anger," he said at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukraine claims it identifies Russian soldiers  behind Bucha atrocities

Ukraine’s prosecutor has identified 10 Russian soldiers she accused of atrocities in the Kiev suburb of Bucha, one of the war’s major flash points that helped galvanise Western support of Ukraine.

Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said on Facebook that the 10 soldiers in Russia’s 64th Separate Motorized Rifle Ground Forces Brigade who occupied Bucha were “involved in the torture of peaceful people.” 

She did not specifically say that her office had filed criminal charges, and appealed to the public to help develop evidence. The 10 suspects included officers as high as a general, as well as privates.

Forty-five prisoners freed in new swap with Russia: Kiev 

Kiev has said 45 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians captured by Russia had been released in a new prisoner exchange, without saying how many Russians were released.

"Another prisoner exchange has taken place. Today, 45 of our men were freed from Russian captivity," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a statement on Telegram.

Among those released were 13 military officers and 20 soldiers as well as 12 civilians, she said.

Bulgaria considers Ukraine's request to repair military machinery 

Ukraine has asked Bulgaria to repair some of its heavy military machinery at its arms plants, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has said after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy in Kiev.

"This is a genuine request, which I personally will present to the coalition council and I hope next week, when we will be voting in the parliament on military technical assistance to Ukraine, that it will be a key part of the package," Petkov told reporters in Kiev. 

Two powerful blasts heard in Russian city: witnesses 

Two powerful blasts were heard in the Russian city of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine, two witnesses said.

The blasts were heard in the southern part of the city. It was not immediately clear what caused them and whether there were any casualties or damage.

Russia has in recent days reported what it says are a series of attacks by Ukrainian forces in Belgorod and other southern regions which border Ukraine, and has warned that such attacks raise a risk of significant escalation.

Russia should stop 'idle' threats of nuclear war: Biden

US President Joe Biden has blasted Moscow for "idle comments" on the possible use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict, saying such talk showed Russia's "desperation."

"No one should be making idle comments about the use of nuclear weapons or the possibility that they would use that. It's irresponsible," Biden said.

Biden seeks $33B from Congress to help Ukraine 

US President Joe Biden has asked Congress for $33 billion more for Ukraine, saying it was "not cheap" but that Washington could not stand by in the face of Russia's "atrocities and aggression."

Biden stressed that the United States was "not attacking Russia" despite Moscow's "disturbing rhetoric," even as he said that already the US has supplied Ukraine with 10 lethal anti-armor weapons systems for every tank Russia has sent into the country.

"We're not attacking Russia. We are helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression," Biden said.

Briton killed in Ukraine, another missing

The British government has said that a UK national was killed in Ukraine, and another was missing.

The Foreign Office confirmed that it is supporting the family of a British national killed in Ukraine. It also said it was “urgently seeking further information” on another Briton who is missing.

The government did not provide further details.

Dutch military police to help Ukraine investigate war crimes

The Dutch government is likely to send a forensic team from the national military police to Ukraine to help investigate possible war crimes, Dutch press agency ANP has reported.

The team would leave for Ukraine at short notice to help the International Criminal Court (ICC) gather evidence at sites where war crimes may have been committed, ANP cited sources close to the matter.

The government will make a final decision on the mission on Friday, the sources said.

Poland: 3M crossings from Ukraine

Poland’s border guard agency said that it has recorded 3 million crossings into Poland from neighbouring Ukraine since the start of the conflict, while there have been 904,000 crossings into Ukraine.

Border guard spokesperson Anna Michalska said that the number includes people who cross a number of times because, for example, they regularly do shopping in Poland and then go back.

Polish authorities say some 1.6 million refugees have applied for and received special ID numbers that will allow them to work and receive free health care and edu cation in Poland.

NATO ready to support Kiev in 'war' against Russia 

NATO is ready to support Ukraine for years in the war against Russia, including helping Kiev to advance from old Soviet-era weapons to modern Western military equipment, the alliance's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said. 

"We need to be prepared for the long term...There is absolutely the possibility that this war will drag on and last for months and years," Stoltenberg told a youth summit in Brussels, adding that NATO allies were preparing to help Ukraine to move on to NATO-standard weapons.

Biden proposes using seized Russian oligarch assets to compensate Ukraine 

US President Joe Biden has proposed to use assets seized from Russian oligarchs to compensate Ukraine for damage caused by the Russian onslaught.

This would enable "transfer of the proceeds of forfeited kleptocratic property to Ukraine to remediate harms of Russian aggression," the White House said in a statement.

Ukraine: At least 22,800 Russian troops killed so far 

At least 22,800 Russian soldiers have so far been killed in Ukraine, the Ukrainian military has claimed. 

The Ukrainian troops destroyed 970 Russian tanks, 2,389 armoured personnel vehicles, 431 artillery systems, and 151 multiple launch rocket systems, the Ukrainian General Staff announced in a statement. 

The Ukrainian forces also destroyed 187 aircraft, 155 helicopters, 71 air defence systems, 1,688 vehicles, eight ships, a light speedboat, 76 fuel vehicles, and 215 unmanned aerial vehicles, the statement added. The Russian army lost 400 more soldiers in the last 24 hours, it added.

Another 55,000 Ukrainian refugees country 

Nearly 5.4 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the start of the conflict two months ago, the United Nations has said. 

In total, 5,372,854 people have fled Ukraine as refugees since February 24, according to the latest data from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

That marks an increase of 55,635 over the figure given a day earlier.

Kremlin: Weapons deliveries to Ukraine threaten European security

The Kremlin has said that Western arms deliveries to Ukraine are dangerous for European security.

"The tendency to pump weapons, including heavy weapons into Ukraine, these are the actions that threaten the security of the continent, provoke instability," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov was responding to comments made by Britain's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Wednesday, calling on Kiev's allies to "ramp up" military production, including tanks and planes, to help Ukraine.

Preparing 'hopeful' Mariupol evacuation: UN representative

A UN representative to Ukraine has said she is preparing for a "hopeful" evacuation from the encircled Ukraine port city of Mariupol, where Kiev says civilians and injured fighters are trapped.

"I am going to Zaporizhzhia to prepare for hopeful evacuation from Mariupol. The UN is fully mobilised to help save Ukrainian lives and to assist those in need," UN in Ukraine Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator Osnat Lubrani wrote on Twitter.

Human Rights Watch warns Russia causing African food crisis

The Russian offensive in Ukraine has worsened the food security crisis in African countries, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned.

The group noted in a report that most African countries rely hugely on Ukraine and Russia for vegetable oils, fertilisers, wheat and wheat imports, which make up most staples.

 “The war disrupts global commodity markets and trade flows to Africa, increasing already high food prices in the region. Even countries that import little from the two countries are indirectly impacted by higher world prices for key commodities,” the New York-based rights group said.

Russia says 'alarmed' by tensions in breakaway Transnistria

Russia has raised the alarm over "acts of terrorism" in Moldova's Moscow-backed breakaway region of Transnistria after separatist authorities reported several attacks there this week.

"We are alarmed by the escalation of tensions in Transnistria," foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said during her weekly briefing, pointing to reports of shootings and explosions.

"We regard these actions as acts of terrorism aimed at destabilising the situation in the region and expect a thorough and objective investigation," Zakharova added.

UN chief Guterres arrives in Borodianka in Kiev region

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has described war as "evil" and absurd during a visit to Borodianka outside Kiev, where Moscow's troops are accused of killing civilians during their offensive.

"I imagine my family in one of those houses that is now destroyed and black. I see my granddaughters running away in panic. War is an absurdity in the 21st century. The war is evil. There is no way war can be acceptable in the 21st century," Guterres said.

Guterres, during his first visit to the war-scarred country since Russian offensive on February 24, was also expected to visit the town of Bucha ahead of talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Finland and Sweden could join NATO quickly: Stoltenberg

Finland and Sweden will be able to join NATO quickly should they decide to ask for membership in the Western military alliance, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

"If they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be warmly welcomed and I expect the process to go quickly," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, adding he planned to speak with the Finnish president later in the day.

He said he was sure arrangements could be found for the interim period between an application by the two Scandinavian countries and the formal ratification in the parliaments of all 30 NATO members.

Canada parliament votes to label Russian attack on Ukraine 'genocide'

Members of Parliament (MPs) in Canada have voted unanimously to label Russia's military actions against Ukraine as "genocide (and) crimes against humanity."

The MPs agreed President Vladimir Putin's military has committed atrocities in Ukraine against the general population, including the removal of children by force, and that such actions have resulted in "grave suffering."

The genocide term was applied due to the "willful killing of Ukrainian civilians (and also the) forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to the Russian territory."

Russian-controlled region of Ukraine to start using rouble

Ukraine's southern Kherson region will start using the Russian rouble from May 1, an official from a pro-Russian committee which styles itself as the region's "military-civil administration" has told Russian news agency RIA.

The official, Kirill Stremousov, said that the transition to the Russian rouble will take up to four months, during which time it will circulate alongside Ukraine's official currency - the hryvnia, RIA reported.

Russia said on Tuesday it had gained full control of the Kherson region, which is strategically important as it provides part of the land link between the Crimea peninsula and Russian-backed separatist areas in the east.

Russia increasing pace of its offensive in east: Ukraine's General Staff

Ukraine’s General Staff has said Russia is increasing the pace of its offensive in the east of the country, the goal of which is to take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and have a land corridor to annexed Crimea.

The Russian forces “are exerting intense fire” in almost all directions, the General Staff said in their daily update, with the “greatest activity observed in Slobozhanske and Donetsk directions.”

Strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, continue, the update said, and more forces have been moved to the city of Izyum. In the Donetsk direction, the Russian troops are focusing on encircling the Ukrainian forces. Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian forces have repelled six attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the General Staff said.

Ukraine can attack Russian logistics under international law -UK's Wallace

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said it will be legitimate for Ukrainian forces to target Russian logistics, but if they do so they will be unlikely to be using British weapons.

"If Ukraine did choose to target logistics infrastructure for the Russian army, that would be legitimate under international law," Wallace told BBC TV.

"They currently don't have British weapons that could do that, so it is unlikely that it is our weapons. We don't really have many long range weapons that are delivered in the way their army does."

UN nuke chief wants Ukraine plant access

The International Atomic Energy Agency's director-general has said the level of safety at Europe’s largest nuclear plant, currently under Russian occupation in Ukraine, is like a “red light blinking” as his organisation tries in vain to get access for work including repairs.

Rafael Grossi said that the IAEA needs access to the Zaporizhzhia plant in southern Ukraine so its inspectors can, among other things, re-establish connections with the Vienna-based headquarters of the UN agency and for that, both Russia and Ukraine need to help.

The plant requires repairs, “and all of this is not happening. So the situation as I have described it, and I would repeat it today, is not sustainable as it is," Grossi said. “So this is a pending issue. This is a red light blinking.”

Russia's Black Sea fleet retains ability to strike Ukraine: Britain

Russia's Black Sea fleet retains the ability to strike Ukrainian and coastal targets, despite its losses of the landing ship Saratov and the cruiser Moskva, Britain's defence ministry has said.

About 20 Russian Navy vessels, including submarines, are in the Black Sea operational zone, the ministry said on Twitter.

Air defence activated in Russia's Belgorod - TASS

Air defence systems were active in the Russian city of Belgorod in the early hours of Thursday, the TASS news agency cited the local government as saying.

The Belgorod province borders Ukraine's Luhansk, Sumy and Kharkiv regions, all of which have seen heavy fighting since Russia attacked Ukraine two months ago. Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out strikes on targets in the region.

Study: Germany biggest buyer of Russian energy

An independent research group has said Germany was the biggest buyer of Russian energy during the first two months since the start of the attack on Ukraine.

A study published by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air calculates that Russia earned $66.5 billion from fossil fuel exports since Russian troops attacked Ukraine on February 24.

Using data on ship movements, real-time tracking of gas flows through pipelines, and estimates based on historical monthly trade, the researchers reckon Germany paid Russia about $9.6 billion for fossil fuel deliveries in the first two months of the assault.

The German government says it can't comment on estimates and declines to provide any figures of its own.

Explosions in Ukrainian city of Kherson

In the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, a series of explosions boomed near the television tower and at least temporarily knocked Russian channels off the air, Ukrainian and Russian news organisations reported.

The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said missiles and rockets were fired at the city from the direction of the Ukrainian forces to the northwest.

Ukrayinska Pravda, an online newspaper, said the strikes set off a fire and knocked Russian television channels off the air. RIA Novosti said the broadcast later resumed. It said Russian channels began broadcasting from Kherson last week.

For live updates from Wednesday (April 27), click here