WAR IN UKRAINE: April 26, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 61
As of 10 a.m. on April 24, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 213 children (+5 in a day) have died, and 389 children (+2 in a day) have been injured. However, the data is not conclusive since data collection continues in the areas of active hostilities, the temporarily occupied areas, and liberated territories.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Western arms shipments to Ukraine mean Nato is "in essence engaged in war with Russia" and there is "considerable" risk of the conflict going nuclear. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responds that Lavrov is just trying to "scare the world off supporting Ukraine"
The UK says it is legitimate for western weapons to be used by Ukraine to strike military targets inside Russia to "disrupt their logistics and supply lines", Armed Forces Minister James Heappey has said. Speaking on BBC Radio 4 Today he said: “The question is: Is it acceptable for our weapons systems to be used against legitimate Russian military targets by the Ukrainians? Firstly, it’s the Ukrainians who take the targeting decision not the people who manufacture or export the kit in the first place. And secondly, it is entirely legitimate to go after military targets in the depth of your opponent to disrupt their logistics and supply lines. Just as to be frank, providing the Russians don’t target civilians - which unfortunately they’ve not taken too much regard for thus far - it is perfectly legitimate for them to be striking targets in western Ukraine to disrupt Ukrainian supply lines." (Thanks to SKY NEWS’ Deborah Haynes for the Twitter thread summary).
Early reaction to President Biden’s choice for a new US ambassador to Ukraine is positive. The nomination of Bidget Brink comes after a nearly three year vacancy - mostly due to the blockage of ambassadorial nominees by Republicans on the Senate floor. There has not been a Ukraine ambassador since former President Donald Trump removed Marie Yovanovitch from the post in 2019, reports the Kyiv Independent. Brink is the current ambassador to Slovakia and has over 25 years of diplomatic experience including her work in the State Department. Brink was in Tbilisi during the Russia-Georgian was and “knows how to work the bureaucracy,” says a Washington insider.
Due to a series of frequent and lengthy air raid sirens in Lviv yesterday, residents and workers spent pretty much more time in bomb shelters snd corridors than outside doing their normal business. The Easter Monday alarms brought anxiety due to the threat of imminent bombardment - but also due to the fact they many businesses are forced to close their doors and suspend business for as long as the alarm is active.
Russian forces set up concentration camp in Kharkiv Oblast, torture civilians. According to the Telegram channel of Ukraine Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova, Russian troops created an internment camp in a factory building in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast. “Residents of Kharkiv Oblast are tortured and forced to cooperate,” she said, adding that similar actions are carried out in occupied Izyum.
Listen to our Global Impact Show episode featuring Olesya Khromeychuk, a Ukraine expert, scholar and author. Click here for the audio version. (Feature length video version coming soon on our YouTube channel).