WAR IN UKRAINE: April 26, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 427
Two killed, at least 10 injured in Russian missile strike on Kupiansk. Russian troops launched an S-300 missile at the city center of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast on the morning of April 25. The Russian missile hit a local history museum, killing one of its employees and wounding at least ten more people, said President Volodymyr Zelensky - Kyiv Independent
U.S. officials believe that Ukraine may launch its highly-anticipated counteroffensive in May, the New York Times reported on April 24. Citing leaked Pentagon documents, the New York Times wrote that 12 Ukrainian combat brigades totaling 4,000 soldiers would be ready to head to the front line by the end of April. Nine of the brigades are being trained and supplied by the U.S. and other NATO allies. In January, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, said that Ukraine was planning a major counteroffensive in spring, with the "hottest" fighting expected in March. However, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 25 that Ukraine couldn’t start the counteroffensive due to a shortage of weapons, including heavy equipment and fighter jets. In late March, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that the counteroffensive was being planned "in several areas."
Moscow has been stepping up its offensive actions over the past day on the Bakhmut-Avdiyivka-Maryinka front line in the east, where Ukrainian defenders are facing increasing pressure from Russian shelling, air strikes, and infantry assaults, Kyiv said - RFE/RL
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on April 25 that the situation related to the Black Sea grain deal had reached a deadlock. Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has proposed a “way forward” of the Black Sea Grain Initiative to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Guterres outlined his proposal in a letter to the Russian president on “the improvement, extension and expansion" of a grain deal that would allow the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain, a U.N. spokesperson said on Monday after Guterres and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in New York.
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Monday that an agreement between Moscow and the United Nations on Russia's grain and fertilizer exports is not being fulfilled and there are "lots of details" to be discussed by Lavrov and Guterres - VOA
An investigative report by the Vyorstka online newspaper says Russian President Vladimir Putin made the decision to invade Ukraine in early March 2021.
A Russian aircraft flew from Moscow to Berlin on April 22 with special diplomatic clearance, an air force spokesman told the dpa news agency. He did not give any details about the cargo or passengers. Russian aircraft are rare guests after the European Union closed EU airports and airspace to all Russian carriers in February 2022. The flight aroused interest on social media on April 22.