The Russian naval cruiser Moskva, below, is seen April 7 in the port of Sevastopol, Crimea. (Satellite image ©2022MaxarTechnologies)
As of Thursday, 50 days have passed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Moscow’s approach has changed significantly. Ukrainian officials have been warning of a major offensive by Russian forces in eastern Donbass for days.
The US and EU have pledged another combined $1.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine as Russia prepares for an offensive in the east.
Meanwhile, organizations including the United Nations have warned that the ongoing war in Ukraine could fuel further problems in an already struggling global economy where food insecurity is a key concern.
Here are the latest developments:
war dead: As of April 12, the civilian death toll in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24 stood at 1,932, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said on Thursday. It warned that “the actual numbers are considerably higher”.
global impact: The United Nations Secretary-General has warned the world is on the brink of a “perfect storm” as war in Ukraine exacerbates an already battered global economy. In a press release on Wednesday, the United Nations said the war could lead to a “three-dimensional crisis” of food, energy and finance – areas already badly hit by Covid-19 and climate change. “We are now facing a perfect storm that threatens to devastate the economies of developing countries,” Secretary-General António Guterres said. “The people of Ukraine cannot bear the violence inflicted on them. And the most vulnerable people around the world cannot become collateral damage in another disaster for which they are not responsible,” he said.
Important Russian warship damaged: One of the Russian Navy’s key warships was badly damaged in the Black Sea, a major blow to a military fighting Ukrainian resistance 50 days after Russia invaded its neighbor. Russian sailors evacuated the guided missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, after a fire that detonated ammunition on board, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Ukraine’s Operational Command South claimed Thursday that the Moskva began to sink after being hit by Ukrainian Neptun anti-ship missiles. Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that the Moskva was “remaining afloat” and that measures were being taken to tow her into port. The ministry said the crew had been evacuated to other Black Sea Fleet ships in the area. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told CNN’s Brianna Keilar that there was “an explosion” on the Moscow River, but said the United States cannot say at this time if the ship was hit by a missile. Whatever the cause of the fire, analysts say it strikes at the heart of the Russian Navy and at national pride, comparable to the loss of a US Navy battleship in World War II or an aircraft carrier today.
Ukraine’s National Security Advisor Oleksiy Danilov told CNN on Thursday that the alleged attack on the cruiser was a very important mission for his country’s military and promised there would be more such dramatic actions. “This is a very important task for us. The Moskva was there near Snake Island and was hit by two powerful Ukrainian missiles yesterday,” Danilov said in an interview with CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen. “[Putin] come to kill our children, our wives, our civilians. This is our gift to him. And that is just the beginning. There will be more than one Moscow River.” Ukraine’s national security adviser praised the Ukrainian military for the way it defended the country but warned against underestimating the Russian military. Danilov also reiterated his country’s call for the international community to send more. “First of all, we are grateful for what we have already received,” he said, “we need helicopters, planes, powerful weapons, howitzers… We need a lot.” “
Possible meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin: Turkey is still working on organizing a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Turkish news channel NTV on Thursday. “We know that critical issues are decided at the executive level, so we will try to bring executives together,” he said. Cavusoglu said Turkey continued to approach the negotiations with “cautious optimism”, especially after the recent incidents of alleged war crimes in Bucha and Irpin, which “negatively affected the process”.
The condition for a possible meeting between Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a treaty document that is ready for the two leaders to sign, the Kremlin said on Thursday. Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for talks with the Russian President since the beginning of the Russian invasion, but so far there have been no talks at the highest level.
The Russian opposition figure calls on the West to take action against the Putin regime on social media: Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny has released a series of tweets calling for a new “truth and free information” front against Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he calls the “Kremlin war criminal”.
Navalny, who is serving a nine-year sentence in a Russian penal colony after being convicted of fraud last month, said in his tweets that “truth and free information hit Putin’s insane regime as hard as javelins” that US anti-tank weapons are being used by Ukrainian ones armed forces used against Russian armor.
Increased international defense assistance to Ukraine: The Pentagon is working to get the $800 million worth of weapons, ammunition and other security aid for Ukraine announced by US President Joe Biden yesterday to Ukraine as soon as possible, a senior defense official said Thursday. “We have no illusions about the size and scale of this thing. But we also think about the clock. We know that time is not our friend. And we will do our best to move these shipments as quickly as possible,” the official told reporters during an off-camera briefing.
The European Union on Wednesday approved an additional 500 million euros ($544 million) in military equipment for Ukraine’s armed forces, according to a press release from the European Council of the European Union.
“The next few weeks will be crucial. As Russia prepares for an offensive in eastern Ukraine, it is vital that we continue and increase our military support to Ukraine to defend its territory and people and prevent further suffering,” said Josep Borrell, Hoher European Union Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.