Ukraine Daily

Saturday, 9 April 2022

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian police inspect the remains of a large rocket with an inscription “for the children” in Russian at a railway station in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, which was hit by a missile attack killing at least 39 people on April 8, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images)

Conflict Intelligence Team: Missiles hitting Kramatorsk train station presumably launched from Russian-occupied Donbas. According to the Conflict Intelligence Team, the missile was launched by the Tochka-U ballistic missile system allegedly based in Shakhtarsk, Donetsk Oblast, occupied by Russia since 2014. Prior, videos of a missile launch from Shakhtarsk were published online.

BBC: Russia changes its military command. According to an unnamed Western official, General Alexander Dvornikov, who has extensive experience in Syria, will lead the Russian army’s assault on Ukraine. The Kremlin desires to reach “some kind of success” before May 9, when the country celebrates the victory in World War II.

Ukraine’s military: Russian forces shell Severodonetsk, move units eastward. Ukraine’s Armed Forces stated via Facebook on April 9 that Russian forces are continuing to carry out an assault eastward, “in order to establish full control over the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblast.” Head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration Serhiy Haidai reported that the number of victims due to Russia’s shelling of residential areas in Severodonetsk have yet to be confirmed.

Ukraine hopes to receive EU candidate country status in June. In a televised address on April 8, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna said that she hoped Ukraine would obtaine candidate status when EU leaders meet at a summit in June.

Russia’s war on Ukraine pushes global food prices to ‘new all-time high.’ The UN Food and Agriculture agency said on April 8 that food commodity prices averaged 159.3 points on the FAO Food Price Index in March, a 12.6% increase since February, when prices reached their highest since 1990. Prices of wheat, coarse grains, and vegetable oils have all increased.

UN: 1,000 seafarers stranded in Ukrainian ports, waters require ‘urgent action.’ In a joint statement, the International Labour and Maritime organizations called to protect sailors and ships trapped with “dwindling supplies” in Ukrainian ports and waters, including in Mariupol and the Sea of Azov, due to Russian aggression in the country.

WSJ: Ukraine’s Ministry of Health orders antidote to chemical weapons. The humanitarian non-profit Direct Relief will reportedly provide Ukraine with a requested 220,000 vials of atropine, which can be used to counter the symptoms of various nerve agents. Direct Relief previously provided the drug to Syrian medical workers after they came under attack in 2017 from the nerve gas sarin and other chemical agents.

Russia shuts down Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The Russian offices of the organizations, along with 13 others, had their registration revoked due to “violations of the current legislation of the Russian Federation.” No details were outlined as to why the organizations were shut down, but several days prior HRW announced it had found cases of Russian military forces committing war crimes.

Vereshchuk: 6,665 people evacuated through humanitarian corridors on April 8. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 5,158 people came from Mariupol and Berdiansk. Of those evacuated 1,614 were from Mariupol. Vereshchuk said that 1,507 people were also evacuated from the Luhansk region.

Chill Ukrainian cat Stepan nominated for World Influencers and Bloggers Awards 2022. The award is considered the most prestigious award in the industry. The ceremony will be held in Cannes, France on May 18-19 and the event will raise funds for Ukraine.

Read our exclusive, on the ground stories

With Russian attacks cutting supply lines or trapping civilians, many Ukrainians with chronic conditions have been left without critical drugs for weeks. “This war has a huge impact on the health of people,” said WHO country representative Jarno Habicht. Read the Kyiv Independent’s report on joint effort to provide Ukrainians with healthcare amid war.

A Russian strike on a railway station in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, on April 8 has killed at least 50 people, including five children, according to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. The Russian forces used Tochka-U missile systems to hit a train station where thousands of civilians were waiting for evacuation at the moment of the attack. Read the Kyiv Independent’s story here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Mayor: Russian troops shot 132 civilians in Makariv. Makariv Head Vadym Tokar added that 40% of the town was destroyed by shelling. Makariv, a town of 10,000 people 50 kilometers west of Kyiv, was liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces on March 22.

Governor: Death toll in Kramatorsk attack reaches 50 people, including 5 children. According to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, 98 people, including 16 children, were hospitalized after Russia launched a Tochka-U balistic missile at the Kramatorsk train station.

Chernihiv Mayor: About 700 people killed by Russia during siege. This includes both soldiers and civilians, Chernihiv Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko said on April 8. Atroshenko said prior that 70% of Chernihiv was destroyed during the month-long siege of the city.

Prosecutor General: Russia’s war kills at least 169 children, wounds 306 others. “In the town of Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, the body of a 15-year-old girl was found among the adult victims in a mass grave,” Prosecutor General’s Office said on April 8. The actual number of child casualties is expected to be higher due to the lack of information from front-line cities such as Mariupol, and the temporarily occupied and recently liberated territories.

International response

Slovakia sends S-300 air defense system to Ukraine. “We believe that this system will help save as many as possible innocent Ukrainians,” Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said on April 8.

UK imposes sanctions on families of Putin, Lavrov. The British assets of Vladimir Putin’s alleged daughters – Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova – as well as the possessions of Sergey Lavrov’s daughter Yekaterina Vinokurova, are frozen, while they are banned from entering the U.K., according to the country’s updated sanction list.

IMF approves multi-donor Administered Account for Ukraine. The International Monetary Fund said in a press release on April 8 that the account will provide donors with a “secure vehicle to direct financial assistance to Ukraine.” Canada will be the first to donate, with a proposed $1 billion Canadian dollars ($795 million USD).

EU officials, Slovak Prime Minister visit Bucha. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, and Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger visited Bucha on April 8. Borrell announced earlier that the EU would allocate 7.5 million euros to investigate alleged war crimes in Bucha and other Kyiv suburbs.

UK, Germany won’t send tanks to Ukraine. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a joint conference with German counterpart Olaf Scholz on April 8 that it “wouldn’t be appropriate” for Western allies to meet all of Ukraine’s weaponry demands. Instead, the U.K. will send £100 million of defensive military equipment to Ukraine, including more Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles, and an extra 800 anti-tank missiles.

UK to send ‘Mastiff’ armored vehicles to Ukraine. The U.K. will be sending an unspecified number of Mastiff heavily armored vehicles to Ukraine, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed on April 8. British troops will head to a country neighboring Ukraine to provide training.

Reuters: Czech Republic ships, tanks, rocket launchers, artillery to Ukraine. The Czech Republic recently sent a shipment of five T-72 tanks and five infantry fighting vehicles, undisclosed Czech defense sources confirmed to Reuters on April 8. The country will continue sending weapons to Ukraine, Reuters reports.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Alexander Query, Thaisa Semenova, Natalia Datskevych, Igor Kossov, Sergiy Slipchenko, Teah Pelechaty, Olena Goncharova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Olga Rudenko, Toma Istomina, Lili Bivings and Brad LaFoy.

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