Timeline: day 52 of Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression
Photo Reuters
Today is April 16. russia's military attack on Ukraine has been going on for fifty-two days. We're reporting on all the current news. The article will be constantly updated.
What about today?
Key points
"The number one task is to accelerate peace. Our Armed Forces are doing it brilliantly. They are stopping the occupiers' attacks. They are carrying out counterattacks. Our diplomats must continue their activity on all possible fronts, at all possible levels. Both official and unofficial. russia has lost Ukraine forever. The entire Ukrainian people do not tolerate it and will never tolerate it again," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video statement.
According to Bild, putin's announced massive offensive in Donbas has not yet culminated in any significant advance of his troops. And all because the Ukrainian military leadership skillfully uses new tactics of combat.
On April 15, anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Force and the forces of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade Kholodnyi Yar shot down 7 air targets of the russian occupiers:
- one plane;
- one helicopter;
- three unmanned aerial vehicles;
- two cruise missiles.
Shock aircraft of the Air Force under the cover of fighter jets successfully carried out about 10 air raids on the positions of the russian occupiers.
Over the past 24hrs, 10 enemy at
tacks, 3 tanks, 1 armored personnel carrier, 1 unit of special equipment, 2 cars, and 3 enemy artillery systems have been repulsed in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. One armored personnel carrier of the invaders was captured.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces have already destroyed 20,100 occupiers!
Unfortunately, we also have losses: in an interview with CNN, the President of Ukraine Zelenskyy voiced the losses of Ukraine: according to preliminary data, up to 3,000 Ukrainian servicemen died and up to 10,000 were wounded. The last time Ukraine named the number of the deceased military was on March 12; it was 1.3 thousand people. God rest our Heroes! Ukraine will take revenge on each of our soldiers!
But the worst thing is that russia is also at war with Ukrainian children. According to juvenile prosecutors, about 560 children have been injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the russian federation's armed aggression. Of these, 200 children died and more than 360 were injured.
Ukrainians continue to resist the occupier in the temporarily occupied territories:
- In Kherson, locals are massively hanging Ukrainian symbols on city buildings.
- In Enerhodar, local teachers refuse to work under the conditions of the occupation administration and try to conduct remote lessons according to the Ukrainian program.
- In Skadovsk, the occupiers changed the flags of Ukraine on administrative buildings to tricolors. In response, city council officials refused to go to work and said they would not cooperate with the enemy.
- In many cities of the Donetsk region, Ukrainian teachers also do not cooperate with the enemy, and at the enemy's request to resume the educational process under the conditions of the occupying forces, they stated: "We will not take part in this circus!"
Deputies of the Kyiv City Council proposed to rename russia "Moscovia" and thus return the aggressor country to its historical name.
The President of Ukraine held a meeting on the restoration and reconstruction of housing infrastructure that was destroyed or damaged as a result of the war with кussia. Main theses:
- The construction of temporary housing will begin in the Kyiv region. They plan to build special modular towns.
- It will be high-quality, comfortable housing, where the residents will be able to live in the affected cities for a long time, while the reconstruction of their homes or the construction of new housing continues.
- It is necessary to provide opportunities to resolve the issue of providing permanent housing for the Ukrainian military.
The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov addressed the russian soldiers: "Follow 'Moscow' or be smarter and go home. And wait for the invitation to a free trip to The Hague. This 'now or never' opportunity comes once in a lifetime. Don't miss it," Oleksii Reznikov wrote. Maybe the russians will hear the minister. True, the intelligence was never there, but maybe at least the instinct of survival will work.
Humanitarian corridors
As of April 16, 9 humanitarian corridors have been coordinated in Ukraine:
- Mariupol – Zaporizhzhia;
- Berdiansk – Zaporizhzhia;
- Tokmak – Zaporizhzhia;
- Enerhodar – Zaporizhzhia;
- Sievierodonetsk – Bakhmut;
- Lysychansk – Bakhmut;
- Popasna – Bakhmut;
- Hirske – Bakhmut;
- Rubizhne – Bakhmut.
Ukraine's negotiations with russia
22:00 – "Ukraine is ready to discuss with russia the issue of refusing to join NATO and the status of Crimea, but only after hostilities cease and russian troops are withdrawn from Ukrainian territory." This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with online media.
Who's coming to Ukraine?
About financial aid, weapons, and volunteer fighters
The United Kingdom has returned SAS special forces (military instructors) to Ukraine to resume training of Ukrainian troops in and around Kyiv, The Times reports.
Next week, a delegation from Ukraine will travel to Washington for talks with the IMF and the World Bank on economic support, according to Reuters, citing sources.
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who set a record for staying in orbit, created his own NFT project and raised half a million dollars to support Ukraine.
News from partners
An inscription at the entrance to Wall Street Subway Station in downtown New York: "I thought I knew what bravery is. And then I saw Ukraine."
The leader of Germany's largest opposition party, CDU Friedrich Merz, has criticized Chancellor Scholz for delays in supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine. Recalling the current debate on the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine, Merz said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that he "fully" agrees with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock's position that such delays are "no longer justified." Mertz criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his behavior in the war between russia and Ukraine. According to the leader of the Christian Democrats, Scholz's current behavior threatens "the unity of the entire community of states in relation to russia."
Finland will be in NATO "with a high probability." This was announced by European Minister Tytti Tuppurainen. According to her, the polls show strong support for NATO membership, but "a decision has not yet been made." "russia's brutal war in Ukraine is a wake-up call for all of us, not only for the Finns but for the entire security frontier in Europe," she said.
Italy, Belgium, and Lithuania joined Romania in the port blockade of russian ships.
Reaction to the atrocities of the russian army in Ukraine
Well-known French actor Pierre Richard recorded a video address to vladimir putin, in which he condemned the aggression against Ukraine. "I am torn apart by the way the horde invaded Ukraine. And 'invaded' is an understatement. It is an invasion that has turned into mass killings, I would even say barbarism. I'm sure there is nothing that can justify killing women, children and civilians; it's just awful," he said. He noted that he constantly watches news and photos from Ukraine, and he is "more than overwhelmed with emotions." Richard noted that he admires the courage and dedication of Ukrainians.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Joe Biden to recognize russia as a sponsor of terrorism, the Washington Post reports. Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Syria are currently considered as such.
An action was held near the russian embassy in Vilnius to draw attention to the rape and abuse of women and children by russians in Ukraine. Similar actions have already been held in Estonia near the russian embassies in Tallinn, Vienna, and Stockholm.
What's in russia?
putin ordered not to spare the soldiers, but to keep the equipment. This was stated by the former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Romanenko, noting that such an order was given at a meeting with the heads of law enforcement agencies. According to him, such a "Zhukov's approach" is due to the fact that it is virtually impossible to restore equipment during the war.
russia's Uralvagonzavod military plant is trying to overcome the crisis caused by the imposed sanctions. This is a russian manufacturer of armored vehicles, primarily the main tank of the russian federation, T-72. Despite the widely advertised "import substitution," russia is not able to continue producing high-tech weapons on its own without a continuous supply of imported components. The current "operational headquarters" has identified the main area of work as repairing military equipment damaged in the war with Ukraine.
The "rail war" began in russia. Over the past 2 weeks, unknown individuals have conducted a series of successful "actions" to make railways in the Bryansk, Orel, Smolensk, and Kursk oblasts unsuitable. The Belarusian guerrillas claimed responsibility for some of the damage to the russian railway infrastructure.
russian lies
According to the russian Defense Ministry, two Tochka-U missiles struck the Kakhovka HPP at 7 am yesterday, but brave russians bravely shot them down in the air and "saved Kherson region from the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP dam and, consequently, flooding." Of course, all this is another lie of propaganda. To recap, russian troops captured the Kakhovka HPP in the Kherson region on the first day of the war.
Another fake is being blown up in Muscovy. It was stated there that allegedly, "a Ukrainian plane carrying weapons to Ukraine from Western partners was shot down over Odesa." There were no such reports from Ukraine, no explosions were reported, and why Ukraine should supply weapons with air during the war.
Life considering hostilities
Ukrainian Catholic media did not broadcast this year's Way of the Cross from the Vatican, which took place on the evening of April 15, on Good Friday, according to the Catholic rite. According to the script, this year, during a procession in the Colosseum, a Ukrainian and a Russian woman carried the cross together for the reconciliation of both nations. This decision provoked a flurry of criticism and indignation from Ukrainians.
Kyiv Metro has created an open online form where everyone can offer their options of new names for 5 metro stations: Minska, Heroiv Dnipra, Beresteiska, Druzhba Narodiv, and Ploshcha Lva Tolstoho. You can send your proposals until May 15.
Flixbus resumes international buses to Ukraine. From now on, the European bus carrier will run from Ukrainian cities to Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and vice versa.
A Family Search chatbot was created to find people with whom the connection was lost during the war in Ukraine. The service allows you to find friends and family, no matter where they are now.
Kyiv and region
In the morning Kyiv came under fire. The explosions took place in the Darnytskyi district on the outskirts of the city, said Vitalii Klychko. Rescuers and medics are currently working on the scene. Data on the victims are being clarified. The mayor once again urged Kyiv residents not to ignore air raid signals. He also asked not to return to the capital yet and stay in safer places.
The occupiers withdrew from the Kyiv region but left many terrible "surprises." Explosives in cars, washing machines and just on trees, tripwires in houses, unexploded munitions, and mines on the roads. Kyiv Region Police Chief Andrii Nebytov said that a number of tragic facts had already been recorded when ignoring the warnings of law enforcement officers cost citizens not only their health but also their lives.
Demining the territory of the Kyiv region liberated from the occupiers can take up to a year. According to Oleksandr Pavliuk, head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, the main demining activities in the region are planned to be completed by the end of May. However, in the rest of the territories, the work will take longer.
Donetsk and Luhansk regions
Sievierodonetsk is almost 70% destroyed, says the head of the military-civil administration Oleksandr Striuk. About 20,000 of the 130,000 citizens who lived there before the war remained in the city.
Mortar shelling of Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, and Kreminna continued at night and in the morning. One person was killed in Kreminna and three were injured in Lysychansk. The central gas pipeline in Sievierodonetsk was cut off. A city without water and gas. An enemy missile hit the gas pipeline in Lysychansk, but with less serious consequences.
In the Donetsk region in the evening, there was shelling in the Pokrovske district (the villages of Zaporizhzhia and Sribne, fire in residential buildings, damaged kindergartens). At night and in the morning, there was shelling in the area of Novoselivka-3 of the Ocheretyne community.
Kharkiv region
The intensity of shelling in some areas of the city of Kharkiv has increased over the past 24 hours, more than 50 people were injured and 9 civilians were killed in the city yesterday. The occupiers fired on Derhachi, Balaklia, and Zolochiv in the region. 3 people were injured, and 2 people died. The battles are being fought in the Izium direction.
Today, the occupiers took more than 50 residents of the captured Izium to the territory of the russian federation by bus. The Izium City Council urges their relatives in the controlled territory of Ukraine to apply to law enforcement, and deportees, not to give their passports to the invaders and not to sign any documents.
Kherson region
The russians moved out of the temporarily occupied village in the Kherson region and immediately came under fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. As a result, the occupiers lost three Tigers and an APC-3.
Kropyvnytskyi and the region
Because of heavy losses, the russian occupiers have significantly reduced activity in Ukrainian airspace, and instead, they are striking remotely with ballistic and cruise missiles. In Oleksandria, the Kirovograd region, the occupiers launched a missile strike on the infrastructure of the airfield. Emergency and rescue works are underway, the mayor Serhii Kuzmenko reported.
Mykolaiv region
During the last 24 hours, the russian troops struck from multiple-launch rocket systems on civilian objects of Mykolaiv. According to preliminary data, 5 people died and 15 were injured. On Saturday morning in Mykolaiv, the infrastructure object was fired at. According to preliminary information, there are no victims. Details are being clarified.
Dnipropetrovsk region
At night, the enemy hit the object of economic infrastructure. Buildings are destroyed. There is currently no information on the victims. Details are being clarified.
UPD: It was a poultry farm. A poultry farm that didn't work was completely destroyed; there was no one and nothing there, it's good that the orcs aimed a precious killer missile right there.
Poltava region
The morning was not good for the Poltava region either. On the night of April 15-16, the russian army struck again in the area. This was announced on his Telegram channel by the head of Poltava Regional Military Administration Dmytro Lunin. One person was killed and another was injured in the shelling, but he does not need to be hospitalized. This is the fifth shelling in the Poltava region since the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion.
Western Ukraine
The enemy also tried to fire on the Lviv region. On the morning of April 16, Su-35 planes of the russian occupiers fired missiles at the Lviv region, said Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv Regional State Administration. However, enemy missiles failed to achieve their goals: anti-aircraft missile units destroyed four cruise missiles! Fighter jets of the occupiers took off from Baranovichi airfield, but Belarus still "does not take part in the war."
Rivne Brewery will no longer produce Zhyhulivske. Now, this type of beer will be called Viennese. Beer was given back its historical name, which was changed by the Soviet authorities in the 1930s. The name was chosen based on the results of online voting. Among the proposals were also the names: Ukrainian, Cossack, "Own Ukrainian," Bayraktar, 100% Bandera, Bandera Smoothy.
