Ukraine Daily

Saturday, 2 April 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Russians hit Dnipro, Poltava and Kremenchuk overnight. Late on April 1, at least 10 explosions were reported in eastern Ukraine’s city of Dnipro. Russian missiles also hit two cities in central Ukraine – Poltava and Kremenchuk – early on April 2, damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, the head of the Poltava region Dmytro Lunin reported. There is no immediate information about possible casualties.

Russian troops hit Kryvyi Rih with Grad rocket launchers. Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih Regional State Administration, said that Russia shot numerous Grad multiple rocket launchers at night on the outskirts of the city causing a gas station to catch fire.

Russian forces have shelled 274 hospitals since beginning of the war. Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko made the announcement in a televised addressed on April 1. Of the 274 targeted hospitals, 13 have been completely destroyed. A total of 70 ambulances have also been destroyed. Six medical workers have also been killed, and 20 seriously injured.

Red Cross, UN relief convoys fail to reach Mariupol. The International Red Cross Committee said on April 1 that one of its civilian-evacuation teams was unable to enter Mariupol as “conditions made it impossible to proceed,” but would try again on April 2. UN relief convoys have also failed to reach Mariupol.

Defense Ministry on reported Belgorod attack: Ukraine not responsible for catastrophes in Russia. Following Russian claims that Ukraine attacked an oil depot in Russian Belgorod, Oleksandr Motuzianyk, Ukraine’s defense ministry spokesperson, neither confirmed nor denied responsibility, adding that there have been multiple silimar accusations. “Ukraine is conducting a defense operation to repel Russian armed aggression” on its territory, and it doesn’t bear the responsibility for all “miscalculations, for all catastrophes, and all events” in Russia, Ukrainska Pravda reported him saying.

86 Ukrainian soldiers released from Russian captivity during second prisoner swap. The exchange took place in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on April 1. According to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, 15 of the exchanged soldiers are women. The number of Russian soldiers swapped is yet unknown.

Shmyhal: Russia wants to create global food crisis. Russia is blocking grain exports from Ukrainian ports with a naval blockade, said Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. He added that Russia is deliberately destroying Ukrainian granaries.

6,266 people evacuated from war zones on April 1. 3,071 people were able to flee Mariupol, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the President’s Office. He added that Zaporizhzhia still expects 42 evacuation buses traveling from Mariupol through Berdyansk.

Bucha liberated, says mayor. “March 31 will go down in the history of our town,” said Mayor Anatolii Fedoruk. He thanked Ukraine’s Armed Forces for liberating the city from Russian troops. The city had been occupied by Russia since Feb. 27.

Ukraine’s parliament passes law allowing seizure of property belonging to Russian war supporters. The law defines the procedure as “property nationalization” and allows confiscating property that belongs not only to the Russian Federation or its residents but also to non-residents, Ukrainians included, who are connected to the Russian government, deny or support Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Ukraine confiscates $4.8 million from ex-minister, transfers funds to Defense Ministry. According to Ukrainska Pravda news outlet, the sum was confiscated from Eduard Stavytsky, the ex-Minister of Energy under ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, who is currently wanted in Ukraine.

Mariupol city council: At least $10 billion needed to restore Mariupol’s infrastructure. According to Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko, the Ukrainian authorities are working on ensuring that after the war is over, Russia pays not only reparations for a complete reconstruction of the city but also provides “large payments to all Mariupol residents for their suffering and damages.”

Ukraine’s FM Kuleba denies rumors that Western countries are pressuring Ukraine to make concessions with Russia. “After 36 days of the war, I assure you that no one in Europe or overseas will even dare to put pressure on President Zelensky or Ukraine,” Dmytro Kuleba told reporters in Poland on April 1, as quoted by European Pravda.

UK intelligence update: Ukraine makes ‘successful but limited’ counterattacks east and northeast of Kyiv. The British Defense Ministry also said on April 1 that Ukrainian troops had retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka south of Chernihiv on a major supply route leading to Kyiv.

Investigation: Putin surrounded by doctors, including thyroid cancer specialist. The Russian dictator traveled with five doctors on average in 2016-2017, according to an investigation by Project, a Russian investigative media outlet. Putin has also expressed interest in alternative medicine, such as deer antler essence baths.

Ukraine’s General Staff: 17,700 Russian soldiers killed during invasion. Russian troops have also lost 625 tanks, 1,751 armored fighting vehicles, 316 artillery pieces, 96 multiple rocket launchers, 54 surface-to-air missiles, 143 jets, 131 helicopters, 7 boats, 85 drones, and 4 tactical ballistic missile systems.

Three missile strikes reported in Odesa Oblast. Governor of Odesa Oblast Maksym Marchenko reported earlier on April 1 that Russian missiles hit residential areas in the region and caused casualties. According to Marchenko, the missiles were allegedly fired from Russian-annexed Crimea.

Mayor says Russian troops withdrew from Kyiv Oblast’s Brovary District. Brovary Mayor Ihor Sapozhko said on April 1 that currently Ukrainian troops are conducting a mopping-up operation in the district.

Government increases army’s reserve fund to $2.5 billion. According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, several government programs will be cut to cover for the needs of Ukraine’s military.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories.

From the early days of the war, Ukrainian Railways, or Ukrzaliznytsya, has become central to the country’s life and defense. Ukrzaliznytsia has been helping the army by producing anti-tank hedgehogs and transporting the uncollected bodies of Russian soldiers killed on the front lines. Its role in helping civilians is even greater. Read the Kyiv Independent’s story here.

Young and fit, speaking just basic English and having a very basic understanding of Russian or Ukrainian, a young Czech fighter who joined the Ukrainian formation in Irpin manages to be fully operative within the formation. He’s just one of the volunteers who helps fight Russia in Kyiv suburb of Irpin. Read the Kyiv Independent’s exclusive here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

153 children killed by Russian invasion since Feb. 24. More than 245 children have been injured, the Prosecutor General’s Office said on April 1.

Number of casualties from Russian missile attack on Mykolaiv up to 31. Russian forces destroyed Mykolaiv’s regional state administration building in the morning of March 29. Round-the-clock rescue operations are still taking place.

International response

Metsola: Ukraine’s candidacy can count on European Parliament support. President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola said, during a visit to Kyiv, that the European Union supports Ukraine’s desire to join and that the Union will help rebuild Ukraine. “Ukraine is Europe,” Metsola said, adding that the Russian invasion of Ukraine puts Moscow in direct confrontation with Europe.

EU: Companies with euro gas contracts should reject Russia’s demand to pay in rubles. On March 31, Moscow issued a decree requiring foreign buyers of Russian gas to open ruble accounts in state-run Gazprombank or risk being cut off. The European Union’s executive quoted by Reuters said that companies whose gas supply contracts with Russia are fixed in euros or dollars should not breach those terms.

Estonia bans Russian Yandex. Taxi, encourages other EU countries to follow. Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said no companies cooperating with Russian intelligence agencies will be allowed to operate in Estonia, according to media outlet Postimees. The announcement comes after Russia’s state communication regulator Roskomnadzor required Yandex to provide Russian law enforcement with data on passengers and their trips.

US to provide additional $300 million in security assistance to bolster Ukraine’s defense. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby announced in a press release on April 1 that this provision includes laser-guided rocket systems, unmanned aerial systems, and commercial satellite imagery services. Kirby said that this “represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide new capabilities to Ukraine’s Armed Forces.”

US to help transfer Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine. The U.S. announced on April 1 that it will work with allies to send the tanks to support Ukraine’s defense in Donbas. The decision was made in response to a request from President Volodymyr Zelensky and will mark the first time that the U.S. has helped transfer tanks during the war. No information was provided regarding the exact number of tanks, dates of transfer, or countries from which the tanks will be sourced.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleg Sukhov, Daria Shulzhenko, Alexander Query, Anna Myroniuk, Illia Ponomarenko, Sergiy Slipchenko, Teah Pelechaty, Olena Goncharova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olga Rudenko, Toma Istomina and Brad LaFoy.

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