Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 04-26-2024

In this episode, we analyze the latest actions of the Ukrainian and Russian leadership, identifying issues and reflecting on the potential direction of the war. What's going to happen next?

Thanks to Ukraine's proactive stance and the commitment of our international partners, the environment, once a silent casualty of war, now has a voice that resonates globally.

Russia is waging war against Ukraine with brutality unseen in the civilized world.

Since the onset of the full-scale invasion, over 127,000 war crimes have been documented in Ukraine, including torture, murder, sexual violence, forced deportation of children, and attacks on civilian objects—encompassing nearly all violations of the laws and customs of war envisaged by international humanitarian law.

One of the facilities, located on Bogatyrska Street, is a children's hospital, Kyiv said.

Officials in Ukraine's capital Kyiv announced the evacuation of two hospitals on Friday, fearing they could be targeted by Russian strikes.

“The city urgently beginning to evacuate two hospitals... because a video is widely circulated online, actually de facto announcing an enemy attack on these medical facilities,” Kyiv's city administration said.

Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solskyi was granted bail. He continues to perform his duties, although he technically resigned on Thursday, April 25.

The Minister of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi, who is suspected of illegally seizing state land, was released on Hr.75.7 million ($1.9 million) bail.

According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy’s press service, Solskyi continues to perform his duties, despite being charged on Thursday, April 25.

President Joe Biden’s administration announced that $1 billion in artillery, air defenses, and other hardware would soon be heading to Ukrainian front lines.

The meeting follows Biden’s signing of a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine put together by the US Congress after months of wrangling Wednesday.

President Joe Biden’s administration announced that $1 billion in artillery, air defenses, and other hardware would soon be heading to Ukrainian front lines.

At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine the Kremlin’s ignorance of radiation danger at Chornobyl stood out as a prime example of Moscow military bumbling. It still does.

Russian soldiers invading Ukraine in Feb. 2022 ignored station worker warnings to avoid terrain contaminated by radiation from the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, and hundreds of them lived for more than a month in trenches dug into ground saturated with potentially lethal isotopes, eyewitnesses and nuclear scientists said.

Valeriy Semenov, Security Chief at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant from Feb. 23 - April 3, 2022, in an interview with Kyiv Post, said Russian troops entering the premises showed little interest in research compiled over almost two decades on fallout and hot spot sites around the station.

The helicopter was allegedly used by the Moscow Aviation Center to support operations of the Kremlin’s Ministry of Defense and Russian Armed Forces.

Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) claimed responsibility for destroying a Russian Ka-32 multi-purpose helicopter at Moscow’s Ostafyevo Airport early morning on Friday, April 26, according to the agency’s Telegram site.

The uptick in deadly attacks is intended to destroy train facilities and "paralyse deliveries and movement of military cargo" ahead of a planned Russian offensive, the source said.

A senior Ukrainian security source told AFP on Friday that Russia had increased attacks on railway infrastructure with the aim of disrupting movement of military cargo that includes Western aid.

Russian forces have firepower and manpower advantages over Ukrainian forces across the front line and Kyiv has warned that fighting will be especially difficult over the coming weeks.

Not only has the war led to greater visibility for Ukrainian culture, it has also spurred musicians to compose works that convey the nation’s current struggle, pain and hope.

On April 28, the stage of the world-renowned Carnegie Concert Hall will host the National Ensemble of Soloists “Kyiv Camerata” conducted by the internationally acclaimed Kerri Lynn Wilson, with the participation of the star mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and the well-known Ukrainian Chorus “Dumka” of New York.

There’ll be no more roses in a flower farm in central Ukraine after its owner, a Special Operations Forces operative, died defending Ukraine in the Donetsk region.

In central Ukraine, roses might never blossom again on a flower farm amidst the unforgiving war.

Following the death of Jan Kvilinsky, owner of Kvilinsky Garden in Myrhorod and Special Operations Forces (SSO) operative, the farm announced on Wednesday, April 25 that it “no longer grows or sells flowers.”

A very personal text about the experiences of those who were directly affected by it, as well as about why the Chornobyl tragedy taught mankind nothing.

On this day in 1986, the biggest technological disaster of the last century happened. We’ve hoped that the accident at the Chornobyl NPP would remain the largest man-made disaster in history. But, if we look at how mankind now behaves, there is little to hope for.

It is worth starting with why this text is very personal to me.

Leopard tanks, Marder and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and various other Western military equipment are reportedly among the exhibits.

The Kremlin is set to showcase captured Ukrainian and Western weapons in Moscow in a move seen as a provocative gesture amid Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The exhibition, which includes German tanks and other Western military hardware, is set to be displayed to the public as part of Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9.

The US agreed to send 31 Abrams tanks to Kyiv last January. However, the situation on the front lines has changed significantly. Russia is using reconnaissance and hunting drones everywhere.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces are withdrawing American Abrams tanks from the front line due to the threat of attacks by Russian drones, AР News reports.

American officials cited by AP, say the US will work with the Ukraine to reset tactics, including more effective use of the equipment in combined arms attacks.

During a press briefing, Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder also dismissed the concerns about US plans to deploy additional military advisors to Ukraine.

The United States had initiated the delivery of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine as part of a new aid package, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder announced, speaking during a briefing.

Ryder informed journalists that he could not disclose specific details regarding the terms of the military aid delivery to Ukraine.

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

President Biden and the leaders of 17 other nations called on Hamas on Thursday to release all of the hostages seized during its Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, an effort to raise international pressure on the group’s leader in Gaza to agree to a U.S.-brokered deal. “The fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected under international law, is of international concern,” the leaders said in a joint statement organized and released by the White House, noting that the more than 130 hostages remaining in Gaza include citizens of their countries. - NYT

Mass arrests, outrage and turmoil rippled across U.S. college campuses as authorities clamped down on a growing number of pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Students at Emory University, Northwestern University, Cornell University, George Washington University, Princeton University and the City College of New York set up solidarity encampments on Thursday morning, the latest to join a fast-growing list of prestigious institutions. Students are calling for an end both to the Israel-Hamas war and their universities' investment in companies that profit from it or, more broadly, do business with Israel. Dozens of protesters have been arrested since Wednesday night, including at the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin and Emerson College. - NPR

Bond market waits for NBU to cut rates.

Yesterday's auction received UAH9.4bn of demand, mainly for 12-month bills, but also strong demand for two- and three-year securities. Proceeds for the state budget amounted to almost UAH7.6bn. The MoF decreased interest rates for 12-month paper only.

The 12-month bills were almost twice oversubscribed, with UAH5.2bn of demand and UAH3bn of the cap. Almost half of the demand was in non-competitive bids (satisfied at the weighted average rate). Interest rates in competitive bids were similar to the previous auction, in the range of 15.9%‒16.2%. The MoF decided to satisfy all non-competitive demand (UAH2.4bn) and to sell the rest of the cap to competitive bids with rates not higher than 16%. Therefore, the cut-off and weighted average rates slid by another 10bp to 16%.

French president says Europe needs to be strong in defense and resolution to withstand mortal deadly and to defeat Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday warned that Europe faced an existential threat from Russian aggression, calling on the continent to adopt a "credible" defense strategy less dependent on the United States.

He described Russia's behavior after its invasion of Ukraine as "uninhibited" and said it was no longer clear where Moscow's "limits" lay.

Timur Ivanov, the wealthy top-ranking official considered a close confidant of his boss Sergei Shoigu, is accused of accepting bribes. Commentators speculate on what is behind the affair.

Timur Ivanov, Russia's deputy defence minister in charge of military infrastructure projects has been arrested in Moscow. The wealthy top-ranking official who is considered a close confidant of his boss Sergei Shoigu is accused of accepting bribes. Commentators speculate on what is behind the affair.

Repression gobbling up its own

American-born businessman Bill Browder, author of the Magnitsky Act that has been sanctioning Russian officials in 2016, has also authored two best-selling books: Red Notice and Freezing Order.

Investigators earlier this week accused Mykola Solsky of illegally seizing land worth more than $7 million when he was the head of a major farming company and a member of parliament.

Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky was detained after being named a formal suspect in a multimillion-dollar corruption inquiry, prosecutors said Friday.

Blighted by severe corruption scandals since the fall of the Soviet Union, Kyiv has pledged to bolster its anti-graft efforts as part of its bid for European Union membership.

While many Ukrainian men understand the duty to defend their country, different reasons have prevented many from volunteering to fight after Kyiv introduced a new law to help fill the ranks.

Following Kyiv’s introduction of the long-awaited new mobilization law on April 16 to help fill the ranks to fend off Moscow’s invasion, many Ukrainian men might soon receive the call to defend their motherland.

While the new amendments allowed those who wanted to volunteer to choose specific units, they also lowered the minimum age of mobilization from 27 to 25 and replaced conscription with mandatory basic military training and introduced restrictions for those evading their call of duty.

Ukraine has suffered setbacks on the battlefield against Russia's forces due to ammunition and weapons shortages.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday it was "not too late for Ukraine to prevail" against Russia as long as its allies fulfil promises to deliver more weapons.

"In recent months, NATO allies have not provided the support we have promised," he said in a speech on a visit to Berlin.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian forces are stabilizing their small salient northwest of Avdiivka and may make further tactical gains that could cause Ukrainian forces to withdraw from other tactical positions along the frontline west of Avdiivka to a more defensible line.
• Russian offensive operations west of Avdiivka aim to exploit opportunities for tactical gains while the Russian offensive operation to seize Chasiv Yar offers Russian forces the most immediate prospects for operationally significant advances.
• US officials are reportedly worried that the latest package of US military aid to Ukraine may not be enough for Ukraine to regain all of its territory. US military assistance is only part of what Ukraine currently needs, moreover; but Ukraine is itself working to address other war fighting requirements — primarily manpower challenges and the expansion of its defense industrial base (DIB).
• Russian forces are reportedly fielding drones adapted to be more resilient against Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) capabilities on critical sectors of the frontline, likely in an attempt to leverage new technological capabilities to exploit a limited window before US security assistance arrives in Ukraine.
• A prominent Kremlin-awarded Russian milblogger channel announced that it opened a “media school” in the Balkans, likely supporting Kremlin efforts to expand its reach in the international information space.
• French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized the importance of Europe’s self-sufficiency for its defense and sovereignty during an April 25 speech.
• Ukrainian forces recently made confirmed advances near Siversk, and Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Avdiivka and the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin justified Russia’s ongoing efforts to nationalize Russian enterprises, including defense industrial base (DIB) enterprises on April 25.

Today, April 26, is the 38th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. As we remember that nuclear catastrophe, we consider how Russia’s full-scale invasion raises concerns it could happen again.

Chornobyl disaster in 1986

On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed one of the most catastrophic nuclear accidents in history - the Chornobyl disaster, a tragic event that shook the world.