66th day of war in Ukraine, Russia intensifies its efforts in Donbass and in the south of the country between Odessa and Kherson. The airport of the major port city of Odessa was destroyed on Saturday. However, Ukrainian forces managed to recapture five villages in Donbass.
Fighting continues this Saturday in the Donbass between the Russians, who have significantly intensified their attacks in Zaporizhia Oblast, and Ukrainian forces holding them back, according to local officials. According to the evacuees, the Russians are only advancing slowly. The Ukrainian armed forces even claim to have taken five villages around Kharkiv this Saturday. It would be Verkhnia Rohanka, Ruska Lozova, Slobidske and Prilesne released in the last few hours.
If the Russian offensive in Donbass has fallen behind, which the Pentagon confirms, it is taking shape in southern Ukraine. Odessa airport was hit by a missile on Saturday, April 30, destroying the runway without causing casualties. “Today the enemy from Crimea was hit by a Bastion coastal defense missile system. The Odessa airport runway was destroyed. Thank God there were no casualties,” regional governor Maxim Marchenko said in a video on his Telegram account.
A little further east, at the mouth of the Dnieper, Ukrainians worry about the Kherson region.
\u26a0\ufe0f Confirmed: #Kherson occupied southern Ukraine is currently in a near total internet blackout; Real-time network data shows service outages across multiple providers as one company says the incident is “unfortunately not an accident” \ud83d\udcc9
\ud83d\udcf0 Background: https://t.co/S0qJQ7CbNv pic.twitter.com/Yr8t5ng4rX
—NetBlocks (@netblocks) April 30, 2022
“The Russians have just cut cellphone AND internet connectivity throughout the Kherson region. Nobody knows what’s happening there now,” Inna Shevchenko posted on her Twitter account at around 7:30 p.m. this Saturday. Real-time network data shows service outages across multiple providers. Company says incident “unfortunately not an accident”
Despite a very tense situation, behind-the-scenes talks between the warring factions continue. The Kyiv Independent reported on Saturday that seven Ukrainian soldiers and seven civilians were killed after a prisoner swap on April 30. One of the soldiers involved in the swap is a pregnant woman, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
\u26a1\ufe0fAzov regiment: 20 civilians evacuated from Azovstal in occupied Mariupol.
Deputy commander Sviatoslav Palamar said that women and children they rescued from under the rubble of the Azovstal plant have been evacuated and are making their way to Ukrainian-controlled territory.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 30, 2022
Similarly, Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov regiment, said about twenty civilians were evacuated on Saturday from the rubble of the Azovstal factory where the last Ukrainian fighters had taken refuge. They are now moving towards territory controlled by Ukraine.