Prepared by Sofia Oliynyk and Maryana Zaviyska
Photo: Alex Kent
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Cities under attack.
Eight regions got under attack from Russian missiles on Tuesday evening. Russian forces launched 18 missiles from the Caspian Sea. Explosions have been recorded in Vinnytsia, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovograd, and Transcarpathia regions. Russian missile strikes had damaged six railway stations in central and western Ukraine β said Oleksandr Kamyshin, Head of Ukrzaliznytsia. Due to the shelling of railway substations, a number of Ukrzaliznytsia trains were running with a delay of up to 9 hours. Two missiles damaged railway infrastructure in Dnirpopetrovsk. The explosions in Lviv, confirmed by City Mayor Andriy Sadovy, damaged two power substations, knocking out the electricity and water supply in parts of the city. For the first time, the missile hit the Transcarpathia region, damaging a railway facility in a mountainous area. Russian missiles hit targets in the Dolyna community of Kirovograd region. Local authorities report that there are dead and wounded. In Arzyz, Odesa region, a missile damaged an object of the infrastructure.
Russia launched an artillery strike on the village of Zaliznychne, Zaporizhzhya region. 12 houses were damaged, and a school was destroyed. In Orikhiv, due to a Russian artillery attack, 7 private houses were partially damaged and buildings were destroyed. Six apartments in high-rise buildings were severely damaged. Cross-border attacks continue β Russia opened fire with mortars on the territory of the Hlukhiv community, Sumy Region. Three villages got under attack during the day. At night Russian forces targeted one of the schools and houses around the border line.
As a result of the shelling of the Avdiivka Coke Plant, Donetsk region, by the Russian forces, at least 10 people were killed and 15 others were injured. According to the Head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, the workers had just finished their shift and were waiting at the bus stop to go home. Today in the morning the Avdiivka Coke Plant came under fire again, this time under mortar shelling. One building was damaged, no information about the victims is currently available. Also, as a result of the night shelling in Avdiivka, a house and a school were damaged.
Mariupol.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief of the Azov battalion, Sviatoslav Palamar, informed that Russian troops started actively the ground offensive on Azovstal to seize control of the plant. Prior to the assault, Russian aircraft had bombed the plant.
Cities under occupation.
The Russian invaders captured the Head and Deputy Head of Chornobaivka, Kherson region. Another civilian killed in the village of Zagradivkaduring the shelling by Russian forces in the Kherson region. In addition, during the enemy’s shelling of the liberated part of the Vysokopolska community, one of the shells hit a residential building. The woman and her five-year-old daughter were seriously injured.
Foreign policy.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed Ukraine’s parliament on Tuesday. The British prime minister announced the supply of new weapons and means of protection for 3 billion pounds, and also said that “we have collectively failed” – commenting on sanctions not imposed in time.
Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, Germanyβs main opposition group, traveled to Kyiv and Irpin. During his visit, he met with President Zelenskyi and assured him he will report on the situation on the grounds to Chancellor Szholz.
Austria will support the oil embargo if the European Commission and member states decide to do so – Austria Presse Agentur with reference to the Minister of Energy.
Human rights. 156 people arrived in Zaporizhzhia from Mariupol. 101 people were evacuated from the encircled steel-plant Azovstal. Most of the people lived at the plant for nearly 2 months, without having regular access to the daylight. On the way out of Mariupol, all evacuees had to undergo detailed checking at the Russian filtration camps. Another evacuation wave is planned for May 4.
Iryna Venediktova, Prosecutor General of Ukraine accused Russia on Tuesday of using rape as a tactic of war and described Russian President Vladimir Putin as βthe main war criminal of the 21st centuryβ. Currently, Ukraine together with a team of international prosecutors is collecting the evidence of the war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. The Prosecutor General also informed about the completion of the first stage of the investigation in Irpin. 228 witnesses have been questioned, mostly locals who could not evacuate and witnessed the crimes directly.
Sanctions.
The European Commission is expected on 4 May to outline new sanctions against Moscow targeting Russian oil, banks, and individuals. As previously announced, exemptions on oil phase-out will include special actions for Slovakia and Hungary, which are currently the most dependent on Russian oil. βWe are working on the 6th package of sanctions, which aims to de-swift more banks, list misinformation and tackle oil importsβ, says EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell.
Australia imposes sanctions on approximately 110 individuals including Russian Members of Parliament and senior members of the Russian-led movements in Donetsk and Luhansk. Another round of sanctions includes targeted financial sanctions and travel bans.
Food security.
Russian troops have confiscated 400 000 tons of grains from the territories that they have temporarily occupied, says Deputy Minister Taras Vysotskyi of Ukraineβs Agriculture Ministry. About 1.3 million tons of grain overall were left in the temporarily occupied territories. Russiaβs invasion has shut most of Ukraineβs ports and curtailed planting in one of the worldβs biggest grain and vegetable oil suppliers and will have a global impact. For example, shortage of Ukraine wheat is set to push Somalia inflation past 10% β Bloomberg reports.
Disinformation.
Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov arrived in Mariupol. In the frame of his visit he met with the head of Donetsk Peopleβs Republic Denis Pushilin. The details of the visit will go public today. After the visit, another Kremlin propaganda voice, Dmitry Kiselyov, expressed his readiness to go to Mariupol at some point as well. Meanwhile, Kiselyov spoke of a hypothetical nuclear attack on the βBritish Islesβ that would result in Ireland and Britain getting wiped out. The visual simulation was presented in regard to Britainβs support to Ukraineβs defense against Russia.
Culture.
Last week we published the opinion of Olga Birzul, art curator, on the coexistence of Russian art and politics. This week we are sharing a brief leaflet β5 facts about Russian cultureβ with the key myths about Russian culture based on the opinion article.
Reading corner.
- Lessons From Russia’s Occupation of a Ukrainian Village β The Atlantic
- Amid broken ties and families, Crimean views toward Russia start to shift β POLITICO
- Ukraine βhighly preparedβ for next steps in EU bid, deputy PM says β EURACTIV.com
Statistics.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., May 4, 2022: personnel β around 24 500, tanks β 1077, APV β 2610, artillery systems β 491, MLRS β 161, anti-aircraft warfare systems β 81, fixed-wing aircraft β 194, helicopters β 155, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers β 1867, boats and light speed boats β 10, operational-tactical level UAV β 303, special equipment β 38, cruise missiles β 87. Also, follow the interactive counter of Russian losses.
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