Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 04-08-2024

Kyiv Post surveyed in DC, Austin, and London to ask people whether they thought the US was abandoning Ukraine or whether it was only a far-right group of Republicans holding up Ukraine aid

The news is confirmed by the Smolensk region governor, who said he is en route to the site of the incident; preliminary reports said at least one woman died on the scene.

The Paninsky Bridge located in Vyazma, Russia’s Smolensk region which borders Belarus, collapsed at around 4 p.m. local time Monday, killing at least one.

According to local emergency services, a truck and a car were on the bridge at the time of the incident where a woman in the car died on the scene and the truck driver was gravely injured, as reported by RBC Russia.

“This is the largest attack on Ukraine's energy sector” since war began, Ukraine’s energy minister said.

Russia has hit up to 80 percent of Ukraine's conventional power plants and half its hydroelectric plants in recent weeks in the heaviest attacks since the war began, Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko said Monday.

Moscow has launched almost daily strikes on Ukraine's power grid since late March, causing major blackouts in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

The Last Thing Washington Should do is Push for Ukrainian restraint

For several weeks the Ukrainian military has conducted a campaign of drone strikes against energy infrastructure throughout the Russian Federation. These strikes are conducted using domestically-produced drones and have shown the limits of Russia’s air defense network.

In response to these attacks, the White House has called for the Ukrainian military to exercise restraint and avoid hitting targets within the Russian Federation. Officially, this is due to the administration’s concerns over potential “escalation” in the conflict. What is more likely, however, is that the Biden administration is concerned that damage to Russian energy infrastructure will lead to an increase in energy prices and compromise the president’s reelection campaign.

A source in Ukrainian intelligence said that the Russian ship Serpukhov was set ablaze in a Ukrainian intelligence (HUR) special operation and that the ship's repairs will be lengthy.

A Russian missile ship in the Kaliningrad region was set fire to and sustained heavy damage due to a special operation by Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR), on Sunday, April 7, a Kyiv Post source in Ukrainian intelligence said.

The missile ship, the Serpukhov, was stationed at the Baltiysk Naval Base in Russia's westernmost region of Kaliningrad, which is sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.

According to the exit polls, the former national-conservative ruling party PiS has emerged as the strongest force in Poland's regional and local elections.

According to the exit polls, the former national-conservative ruling party PiS has emerged as the strongest force in Poland's regional and local elections. The governing camp was nonetheless able to secure results similar to those in the parliamentary elections last October and retain the mayoral posts in Warsaw and Gdansk. What impact will the results have?

PiS still an opponent to be reckoned with

Kyiv’s capacity to combat Moscow’s long-range glide bombs is iffy and it might be getting worse. The US Patriot system would work great if there were missiles.

Kremlin forces leading off with saturating air strikes with long-range glide bombs have torn into Ukrainian defenses in multiple sectors and have gained around 2 kilometers (1 mile) of ground west of the battlefield city Avdiivka, news and official reports said on Monday.

The Moscow ground gains around the village Tonenke, site of a bloody defeat of Russian troops over March 31-April 1, came after days of air strikes on Ukrainian positions in the area, Russian mil-bloggers reported.

Beijing waits as Russia heads towards a fate similar to the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 after the costly Afghan war. In Russia's southwest, there are already restless "republics."

China remains on the sidelines of Russia’s war but is the conflict’s biggest beneficiary. It does not sell weapons, but imports cheap energy from Russia and exports refrigerators and consumer products in return. China has talked about peace, but it wants more war, said Czech Republic President Petr Pavel.

“It is in China’s interest to prolong the status quo because it can push Russia to a number of concessions. It is also good for China that the West is probably becoming a little bit weaker by supporting Ukraine.”

The head of Ukraine's centre for countering disinformation said Russia was intensifying a "campaign of provocation and fakes" after it claimed that Ukrainian forces attacked the plant on Sunday.

Ukraine on Monday accused Moscow of spreading "fake" information after Russian officials said a Ukrainian drone had hit the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The head of Ukraine's centre for countering disinformation, Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko, said Russia was intensifying a "campaign of provocation and fakes" after it claimed that Ukrainian forces attacked the plant on Sunday.

The new system could reportedly identify Russian drone operators’ positions, suppress and disorient drones, and interfere with guided aerial bombs.

Ukraine has reportedly deployed a new electronic warfare (EW) system called Ai-Petri SV near the Avdiivka sector on the eastern front capable of suppressing Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for up to 20 kilometers (12.4 miles).

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced its deployment on Telegram, adding that the system could intercept the drone operators’ positions, prevent the drones from functioning, disorient the first-person view (FPV) drones, and interfere with guided aerial bombs.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said Moscow’s tactic will be to support those not necessarily pro-Russian but anti-Western in the upcoming elections across Europe.

Russian disinformation and cyberattacks could be expected during this year’s elections across Europe, said NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană in an interview with Romanian news outlet Digi24.

Geoană, a native of Romania, said his country would likely be one of Moscow’s targets, and the latter would likely support those with an anti-Western stance, though they might not be necessarily pro-Russian.

Now Moscow's goal is to target power plants in less-protected locations and to “eradicate them, because it is impossible to restore power plants in a short time.”

In a change of tactics, Moscow is now trying to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure by using precision-guided missiles to eliminate power plants in less-protected areas than Kyiv, the Financial Times reported.

Between March 22 and March 29, Russia struck seven thermal power plants – all in regions other than Kyiv, which has one of the best air defense systems in the country. Russian missiles also hit two hydroelectric power plants, the FT reports.

A video released on a Telegram channel shows three captured and unarmed Ukrainian soldiers shot dead in what appears to be a summary execution by Russian forces.

Russian troops shot unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in Krynky, Kherson Region, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported via Telegram.

The video released on a Telegram channel “shows how a representative of the Russian Armed Forces fires several shots, probably from an assault rifle, at unarmed stationary soldiers,” the Prosecutor General’s Office reported.

On Sunday, Russia declared a federal emergency in the Orenburg region, where the Ural river flooded much of the city of Orsk and is now reaching dangerous levels in the main city of Orenburg.

Russia said Monday that more than 10,000 residential buildings were flooded across the Urals, Volga area and western Siberia as emergency services evacuated cities threatened by rising rivers.

On Sunday, Russia declared a federal emergency in the Orenburg region, where the Ural river flooded much of the city of Orsk and is now reaching dangerous levels in the main city of Orenburg.

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

A new drone attack on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia power plant has raised the risk of a "major nuclear accident", the UN's atomic watchdog has warned. Russia said Ukraine was behind the attack, which it said injured three people. Ukraine has denied involvement. The giant Russian-held nuclear plant, with six reactors, is on the frontline of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly warned against such attacks. IAEA head Rafael Grossi said Sunday's drone strike was "reckless" and "a major escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers" facing the plant. The Zaporizhzhia plant, in southern Ukraine, is the largest in Europe. Russian forces seized it shortly after launching their February 2022 full-scale invasion and have occupied it ever since. The facility stopped generating power in 2022, but needs a constant supply of electricity to cool one of its reactors which is in a state of "hot conservation", meaning it is not fully offline. The IAEA, which has a team of experts at Zaporizhzhia, confirmed "physical impact of drone attacks" at the plant, including at one of the reactors. The plant's Russian-installed administration said radiation levels were normal and that there was no serious damage. The IAEA said the damage had not compromised nuclear safety, but it warned that "this is a serious incident with potential to undermine [the] integrity of the reactor's containment system". - BBC

The Israeli military says it has withdrawn its ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip, including Khan Younis, amid conflicting reports about the scale and duration of the disengagement. “Today, Sunday April 7th, the IDF’s 98th commando division has concluded its mission in Khan Younis. The division left the Gaza Strip in order to recuperate and prepare for future operations,” the army said in a statement on Sunday. “A significant force led by the 162nd division and the Nahal brigade continues to operate in the Gaza Strip and will preserve the IDF’s freedom of action and its ability to conduct precise intelligence based operations,” it said. The military confirmed the reported withdrawal to Reuters news agency, but added that one brigade has remained, without giving further details. An Israeli brigade is typically made of a few thousand soldiers. It was unclear whether the reported withdrawal would delay a long-threatened incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which Israeli leaders have said is needed to eliminate Hamas - Al Jazeera

Trends are running markedly against Ukraine this week. House Speaker Mike Johnson must put Ukraine funding on the table right now, as the situation is becoming critical, the author writes.

Trends are running markedly against Ukraine this week. House Speaker Mike Johnson must put Ukraine funding on the table right now, as the situation is becoming critical. And Ukraine won't win the war without a restructuring of the Price Cap. 

That's the moral of the story for this week.

Oil Prices

The strike on the rural area came a day after three people were killed in a Russian attack on the town of Huliaipole.

Russian strikes on Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region killed three people on Monday, in yet another day of deadly attacks on the area, its governor said. 

The strike on the rural area came a day after three people were killed in a Russian attack on the town of Huliaipole. 

Trump, according to The Washington Post report, believes both countries want a way out of the war while saving face, with some Ukrainians “possibly open to joining Russia.”

Former US President Donald Trump, speaking in a private conversation, has allegedly suggested pressuring Ukraine to give Crimea and Donbas to Russia to end the war, the Washington Times reported, citing sources.

Trump, according to the WP’s interlocuters,believes both countries want a way out of the war while saving face, with some Ukrainians “possibly open to joining Russia.”

“Chutzpah.” There is no better word to describe and encapsulate the behavior, nearsightedness, arrogance and shameless rhetoric of the US regarding its assistance to the Ukrainian war effort.

“Chutzpah.” There is no better word to describe and encapsulate the behavior, nearsightedness, arrogance and shameless rhetoric of the US regarding its assistance to the Ukrainian war effort.

While the aid has stopped, the “chutzpah” persists. The current “red lines” coming out of the White House are simply more than the Ukrainians can take. Societal dismay, to the point of anger, has become pervasive in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky has certainly been more diplomatic than his people.

The ministry added that the two men would "discuss a wide range of questions linked to bilateral cooperation, as well as cooperation on the international scene".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in China for an official visit on Monday, his ministry said, as the two countries look to strengthen diplomatic ties as Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds on.

The foreign ministry announced Lavrov had touched down in Beijing in a post on X Monday morning.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate Head Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov reported that Ukraine anticipates Russian offensive operations to intensify in late spring and early summer.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with Chinese officials in China on April 8 and 9 amid Western warnings that China is increasingly helping Russia’s defense industrial base (DIB) and even providing China with geospatial intelligence.
• Russian forces reportedly continue to systematically use prohibited chemical weapons in Ukraine and are attacking Ukrainian positions with chemical substances almost daily throughout the frontline.
• Russian officials accused Ukraine of launching a series of drone strikes against the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) on April 7, but the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) did not attribute responsibility for the strikes.
• Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi openly condemned and is taking action following reports that members of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) may have purposefully intimidated a Ukrainian journalist investigating corruption within the SBU by issuing the journalist a draft summons.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Avdiivka amid continued positional fighting along the entire line of contact on April 7.
• Chieftan of the All-Russian Cossack Society and Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Nationalities Nikolai Doluda claimed on April 7 that more than 30,000 Cossack personnel have fought in Ukraine.