Military doctor Nazari Lavrovsky, who was laid to rest on April 24, 2024, in Kiev, on Independence Square, is mourned by his comrades. Photo: Sergey Supinsky / AFP
Our news summary of the 791st day of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The law on the aid package intended for the US’s foreign allies was pushed through the legislative labyrinth – the final push was given by the Israeli-Iranian truce – and after Joe Biden’s signature, the United States has already assembled it for Ukraine, mainly from anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles and artillery first shipment of ammunition. However, the Pentagon already delivered a medium-range missile shipment to Ukraine in April, which contained an unspecified amount of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) ballistic missiles, and a shorter version with a range of 300 kilometers. Some of these have already been deployed by Ukraine, and according to analysts, ATACAMS missiles can play an important role in attacking Russian supply lines and warehouses behind the front. (BBC)
Russia attacked the civil infrastructure of Ukraine again early Thursday, this time an unknown number of drones and missiles caused damage in the city of Cherkasy on the Dnipro border and injured six people. Ukrainian intelligence has revealed that it has carried out a successful drone attack on two oil refineries near Smolensk, Russia; the targets caught fire according to local reports (although there is no information on damage). In contrast, another drone strike targeting a steel processing plant failed in Lipck. (Reuters)
Ukrainian diplomatic missions will not issue new documents to military-age men abroad until a new mobilization law designed to ease the army’s acute manpower shortage is implemented, under a tightening that came into force on Wednesday. According to this, starting from mid-May, all men of conscription age, i.e. between 18 and 60 years old, will have 60 days to visit the recruitment center for data reconciliation, and Ukrainian citizens living abroad can only handle their consular affairs with the new military record. (Guardians)
In Ukraine, a married couple was sentenced to 15 years in prison for providing information that helped the Russian forces carry out a missile strike against an unnamed hospital. (AFP)
The British analytical institute RUSI found out based on satellite images that China provides a berth for a transport ship of a Russian company subject to American sanctions, which used to transport weapons and ammunition from North Korea to Russia. North Korea has accumulated huge stocks of artillery devices and heavy projectiles that play a key role in the (standing) war in Ukraine, of which Russia also has plenty. (Reuters)
The transport ship Angara, identified by the British analysis institute RUSI, in the port of Csuan Photo: Planet Labs via Reuters
According to Alexander Lukashenko, there is a “high risk” of military incidents at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, the head of state allied with Russia has therefore announced that military units will be regrouped from the Russian border to the more than 1,000 kilometer stretch of the Belarusian border. However, he reassured Poland that its western neighbor “does not have to expect aggressive action.” In addition to his typical threatening statements, Lukashenka also shared his opinion with the public that “the situation is ripe for the start of Russian-Ukrainian peace negotiations”, based on the conditions presented at the 2022, Turkish-mediated, deadlocked talks. (RIA Novosty)
