From: 04/25/2022 19:52
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian attacks on train stations resulted in deaths and injuries. Rockets hit a refinery near Kremenchuk. Despite the announced ceasefire, there are no safe escape routes in Mariupol.
According to Ukrainian sources, at least five people were killed in Russian attacks on railway infrastructure. 18 other people were injured in the launch of rockets in the Vinnytsia region, in the center of the country, the Attorney General’s Office of Ukraine said.
Earlier, the head of Ukrainian railways, Alexander Kamishin, told Telegram that “Russian troops would continue to systematically destroy the railway infrastructure”. Within an hour, five train stations in central and western Ukraine were bombed, he wrote.
Rocket attack on refinery near Kremenchuk
Russian forces bombed a refinery and fuel depot near the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk. “High-precision long-range weapons destroyed fuel production facilities at an oil refinery on the northern outskirts of Kremenchuk, as well as storage facilities for petroleum products that supplied military equipment for Ukrainian troops,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
According to the Ukrainian military administration, nine rockets hit the Kremenchuk refinery and the thermal power plant. There is considerable damage to the buildings, but the fires have been contained, management chief Dmytro Lunin wrote on Telegram. One person died and seven others were injured.
Shaded in white: Russian army advance. Shaded in green: Russian-backed separatist areas. Crimea: annexed by Russia. Image: ISW/04/24/2022
Ukraine: Russian advances repulsed
According to the Defense Ministry in Kiev, the Ukrainian armed forces managed to repel Russian advances in the east of the country. A ministry spokesman said Russian forces tried to break through lines in the areas of Rubishne, Popasna, Sievjerodonetsk, Maryinka and Avdiivka. Additionally, an Izyum advance towards Barvenkovo and Slowyansk is underway.
In the Donetsk area and further south, Russian combat operations were mainly limited to heavy artillery fire on Ukrainian positions. Only in the small town of Popasna, which has been in dispute for weeks, have there been further storm attempts.
conflicting parties as source
Information on the course of the war, bombing and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body in the current situation.
No agreement on escape routes from Mariupol
The situation remains critical in the port city of Mariupol. According to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, there was no agreement on a corridor of escape for the steelmaker Azovstal.
Vereshchuk was responding to Russia’s announcement that an escape route for civilians would be established from the bastion held by Ukrainian troops. “It is important to understand that a humanitarian corridor will only be opened after an agreement is reached between the two sides,” Vereshchuk told Telegram. A unilaterally announced escape corridor is not safe.
The Russian army had previously announced a ceasefire around the steelworks to allow for the evacuation of civilians.
Cityscape of Mariupol, steel mill in the background: Up to 100,000 people are said to be trapped in the Ukrainian port city. 1,000 civilians are in the Azowstal factory alone. Image: REUTERS
Ukraine relies on UN chief to mediate
Ukraine is now counting on the mediation of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to rescue prisoners in steel mills. He is asked to become “the initiator and guarantor of a humanitarian corridor,” Vereshchuk said. UN and International Committee of the Red Cross officials must monitor the possibility of evacuation.
According to information from Kiev, about 1,000 civilians are believed to be in the steel mills, including women and children. In addition, according to Russian information, there are still about 2,500 Ukrainian gunmen and foreign mercenaries.
Russia is increasingly attacking infrastructure in Ukraine
Mathea Schülke, WDR, Daily News at 8pm, April 25, 2022
Kuleba demands faster weapons shipments
In the face of ongoing fighting in the country, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the West to speed up arms deliveries. If he wants Ukraine to stop Russian invaders, win the war and not allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to advance further in Europe, then he must deliver the weapons Ukraine is asking for more quickly, Kuleba told AP news agency.
He welcomed the additional supplies announced by the US, but also said: “As long as Russian soldiers are on Ukrainian territory, nothing will be enough.”
According to the US government, Ukraine can win the war against Russia with sufficient military support. “They can win if they have the right equipment and the right support,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said after a visit to Kiev.
Russian design ammunition for the Ukrainian military
The US government wants to buy Russian-made ammunition worth 165 million US dollars (153 million euros) for the heavy weapons of the Ukrainian armed forces. Among other things, it is ammunition for howitzers, grenade launchers, cannons, tanks and mortars, as announced by an agency of the Ministry of Defense. The State Department approved the sale, he said.
Ammunition is very important for Ukraine to obtain supplies for its existing weapons systems, some of which are still Soviet or Russian design. The US government has already shipped weapons and ammunition from its own stockpiles to Ukraine on a massive scale. However, the weapons systems of NATO countries are often not compatible with those of Russian design. Washington said Ukraine already had the ammunition to be purchased or similar variants in its stockpiles, so there would be no “difficulties” in handing them over to the Armed Forces for use.
Great Britain: 15,000 Russian soldiers killed
The British government estimates that around 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the start of the war against Ukraine. This number was given by Defense Secretary Ben Wallace in the British Parliament. “In addition to the death toll, there are equipment losses and, in general, various sources indicate that more than 2,000 armored vehicles have been destroyed or captured so far,” said Wallace. “Russia also lost more than 60 helicopters and fighter jets,” Wallace said.
Ukraine reports significantly higher Russian losses. Accordingly, nearly 22,000 soldiers were killed and 181 fighter planes, 154 helicopters, 884 tanks and 2,258 armored vehicles were destroyed. The Russian government, meanwhile, reported on March 25 that 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed.