Timeline: day 66 of Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression (UPDATING)
Today is April 30. russia's military attack on Ukraine has been going on for 66 days. We're reporting on all the current news. The article will be constantly updated.
What about today?
Key points
For the past 24hrs, the air defense units of the Air Force and the Land Forces have hit 10 air targets: 1 aircraft and 9 UAVs of the Orlan-10 operational and tactical level.
Over the past 24hrs, 14 enemy attacks, 11 tanks, 7 artillery systems, 28 units of armored vehicles and 14 vehicles have been repulsed in the Donetsk and Luhansk region.
In the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian fighters destroyed more than 30 units of enemy equipment, more than half of them are tanks, as well as armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, and multi-purpose light armored tractors.
The enemy is increasingly losing more heavy equipment. russia has lost more than 1,000 tanks since the start of the war with Ukraine. This is 82% of all tanks that she allocated to capture Ukraine. Or 30% of the total (there were 3,300 units in service before February 24).
There will be more to come. After all, in the near future, the occupiers will feel the weapons we received from our partners in the United States, Great Britain, and other countries.
However, "putin can end the war at any time by signing a capitulation, laying down his arms, taking his troops away so that our army doesn't send them in black plastic bags to their relatives and friends," said NSDC Secretary Oleksii Danilov in an interview with Radio Svoboda.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the two months of the war, law enforcement officers received 7,000 reports of human disappearances. Half of them were found. "About 2,000 bodies of the dead have been granted unidentified status, of which 1,282 were later identified. As of today, 927 DNA examinations have been ordered as part of criminal proceedings," the statement said. The scale of the invasion and the number of missing persons in Ukraine are unprecedented in modern world history. That is why Ukraine is turning to partner countries and international organizations for the supply of reagents, the involvement of additional expert groups, and the creation of a modern single register of missing persons.
Today is the Border Guard Day in Ukraine. Respect and honor to those who are still guarding the Ukrainian borders, to those border guards who are fighting a vile, cruel and insidious enemy today. Eternal memory to the Ukrainian heroes-border guards who gave their lives in the fight against the russian invaders. Glory to the Ukrainian border guards! Let's win together!
21:00 – 20 civilians were evacuated from the territory of Azovstal, who managed to be rescued from the rubble: women and children, the deputy commander of the Azov Regiment Sviatoslav Palamar said.
Ukraine is Europe. At the next meeting of EU leaders (in June 2022), Ukraine will be granted the status of a candidate for EU membership, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanyshyna said.
Who's coming to Ukraine?
About financial aid, weapons, and volunteer fighters
In the last 24 hours, almost 20 cargo flights with mines, ammunition for small arms, missiles, and bulletproof vests have arrived in Ukraine from seven different countries, the Pentagon reports.
The Biden administration has used most of the $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine in March, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
The Baltic states and Poland have called for more weapons for Ukraine. This statement was made by the Foreign Ministers of the Baltic States and Poland at a meeting in Riga. "The foreign ministers were unanimous in the need to continue and intensify the supply of military equipment and weapons. The sanctions regime against russia must also be strengthened by providing for further restrictive measures in the energy sector," the Latvian Foreign Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has begun additional training for the Ukrainian military. They take place at one of the military bases in Germany. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby revealed the details:
- Due to the fact that the Ukrainian forces have already undergone initial artillery training in other places, the training includes work on radar and armored vehicles.
- The bulk of the exercises is conducted by the Florida National Guard, which already has extensive experience working with the Ukrainian military.
- In addition to Germany, at least two other locations have been deployed in Europe outside Ukraine, where the military of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is being trained for the use of foreign weapons.
News from partners
The United States hasn't yet decided how to respond to the November G20 summit, which was confirmed on Friday that putin plans to attend. Biden said russia should be excluded from the G20, but a decision to boycott the summit hadn't yet been made. "The president has made it clear that this should not be commonplace and that russia should not be part of the summit," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Thursday. To recap, the President of Indonesia also invited Zelenskyy to the G20 summit.
On May 10, the UN General Assembly will elect a new member of the Assembly to replace russia. It is likely to be the Czech Republic, said UN spokeswoman Paulina Kubiak.
Pope Francis has addressed putin three times. His request was to allow a Vatican-flagged vessel to evacuate civilians stuck at the Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol, but all three times his request was rejected, according to the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.
Nuclear threat
The United States doesn't believe in the threat of russia's use of nuclear weapons, despite the recent escalation of moscow's rhetoric. This was stated by a senior official of the US Department of Defense, according to Reuters. "We do not see a threat of nuclear weapons or a threat to NATO territory," he said. He also added that the United States continues to monitor russia's nuclear potential on a daily basis, "as far as possible."
But if moscow uses nuclear weapons, it will never recover from the consequences, said the US Deputy Secretary of State. "Since the beginning of this conflict, we have realized that the threats posed by putin should be taken seriously. That is why the United States and our allies are preparing for such a development," Nuland said.
Reaction to the atrocities of russian army in Ukraine
Canada has recognized russia's crimes in Ukraine the genocide. Both chambers of the Canadian parliament unanimously recognized russia's actions in Ukraine as genocide. This was announced by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk. We feel the strong support of Canada and together we are moving towards victory! Stefanchuk thanked his colleagues.
What's in russia?
A new fire in the swamps. This time, a hydroelectric plant on Sakhalin caught fire. The fire spread from the turbine compartment to the roof.
Peskov said putin had not invited any foreign leaders to a May 9 parade in moscow. He also added that according to him, Lukashenko's participation in the Victory Parade in Moscow is also not planned.
By the way, the russian Ministry of Murders will send less equipment and people to the parade on May 9 than in 2021. Where did it go?
What about russia's minions?
russian Iskanders are still deployed on the territory of Belarus, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports. The headquarters emphasizes that Belarus continues to threaten missile and bomb strikes on military and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Sanctions on the aggressor!
Politico quoted EU diplomats as saying that Germany supported the idea of imposing sanctions on uranium imports from russia.
In Finland, the Yandex data center was disconnected from the power supply. The company had to "temporarily" connect the power supply through a diesel generator.
Life considering hostilities
Planned operations are resumed in Ukraine. Medical operations that were suspended in the first days of the war are again allowed in safe regions and are carried out by the decision of the chief physicians of health care facilities. This was stated by the Ministry of Health.
Donetsk and Luhansk regions
The russians are firing on civilians and those who want to help them. During the delivery of drugs and medicines to the hospital in Sievierodonetsk, the enemy fired mortars at a police bus, said the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration Serhii Haidai. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
Two evacuation buses in Popasna came under fire from the ruscists, and communication with the drivers was lost. The head of the Popasna city military-civil administration, Mykola Khanatov, reported about it. "Yesterday, we evacuated 31 people from Popasna. There were many more people, so we sent two more buses to the city. It is known that they reached the village and came under fire from the enemy DRG. Buses were shot. Communication with people in the vehicle was lost," Mykola Khanatov noted.
Kharkiv region
According to the General Staff, the occupiers are trying to strengthen their groups in the Sloboda direction. Therefore, separate units are being moved from the Eastern Military District from the territory of the Belgorod region to the Izium district.
The russians also tried to launch an offensive in the direction of the settlements of Sulyhivka and Dovhenke, but without success.
And in Kharkiv, a new type of landfill, of the ingots and frames of missiles that flew through Kharkiv. Mostly here are cluster munitions.
As a result of the offensive, the Armed Forces of Ukraine completely regained control over the settlements of Verkhnia Rohanka, Rosiiska Lozova, Slobidske, and Prylisne in the Kharkiv region, the General Staff reports.
Zaporizhzhia region
In Zaporizhzhia, the russians abducted 2 volunteers from Great Britain, Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration reports. Volunteers were involved in organizing and conducting evacuation corridors in the region. On April 25, the russian military abducted them. The whereabouts of the volunteers are currently unknown.
From May 1 in the occupied Melitopol, orcs plan to put rubles into cash circulation. To do this, on April 28, the occupiers gathered former employees of the banking system in the city, who have now become collaborationists. According to the regional military administration, they plan to send them to Rostov-on-Don for training, and later, based on the Ukrainian "Sberbank" to launch the work of "Sberbank of Russia."
But supermarkets with goods for rubles have already opened in Melitopol: the occupiers have adapted the premises of Ukrainian ATB supermarkets, which have been renamed Meru. They trade for both hryvnia and rubles.
Dnipropetrovsk region
In the morning, the russians fired on the outskirts of Velyka Kostromka in the Kryvyi Rih district. The occupiers also struck at one of the villages in the Synelnykove district, which borders the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions: an enemy missile landed in farmers' warehouses. This was announced by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk military administration Valentyn Reznichenko. "Successful operation of orcs to 'denazify' two empty hangars," Reznichenko said.
Kherson region
"putin must demonstrate his success by May 9. He will do his best to hold a referendum by any means and say that the 'people of Kherson region' have proclaimed a 'Kherson People's Republic' and want to join Russia. It will be presented as one of the victories of the russian occupying troops on the territory of Ukraine. The next steps could be Zaporizhzhia, Odesa… This is putin's strategy, which he is trying to implement on the territory of the independent states of the former Soviet Union," said Vadym Skibitskyo, a spokesman for Ukraine's Defense Intelligence of the Defense Ministry.
However, according to the representative of the military intelligence of Ukraine, the referendum and all the plans of the occupiers to create the so-called "Kherson People's Republic" may be met with resistance and active position of Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied territories. Let's hold on! The Kherson region is Ukraine!
With one hand the russian occupiers are offering a fake porridge for the camera, and with the other, they are arranging a new famine. The day before yesterday, the occupiers stole 1,500 tons of grain by KAMAZ, grain trucks with Crimean numbers and Krymzernotrans logos, from an elevator in the village of Mala Lepetykha to the Crimea. And today the same KAMAZ trucks, only empty, drove to Novoraisk. 35 units. Telegram channels report that tomorrow, the grain will be loaded from the Novoraisk elevator and transported to Crimea.
Odesa region
The sky of Odesa is under control! The Odesa air defense forces received new systems to fight the enemy, the spokesman for the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration said.
To recap, in Odesa on May 2 it is forbidden to go outside without special passes and certificates. The curfew in the city will last from 22:00 on May 1 to 5:00 on May 3. This order was issued by the head of the Odesa military administration Maksym Marchenko.
In this regard, from May 1 to 3, Ukrzaliznytsia temporarily canceled suburban and long-distance trains running to Odesa and back. During the curfew in the city, the railway station of Odesa-Main station will be closed.
