Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 04-28-2024

Outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces struggle to hold Russians from breaking through on the frontline in the eastern Donbas region.

The Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces said Sunday Kyiv's position on the frontline had deteriorated and that Russia had made a number of recent battlefield gains.

Russia's troops have gone back on the offensive this year, capitalizing on an advantage in manpower and arms to press forward, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region.

The village is located 10km north of Avdiivka, a city Moscow captured in February after months of bloody battles, where Kyiv's acute munition shortage has given Moscow a window to capture grounds.

Russia's defence ministry on Sunday claimed its forces had taken control of another village in eastern Ukraine, as Moscow's troops press their advantage in manpower and ammunition on the battlefield.

Russia's forces have made notable gains in the eastern Donetsk region over the last week, prompting rare criticism by Ukrainian military bloggers of the country's armed forces.

As the snows in the Moscow region melt, at least a dozen downed Ukrainian drones containing explosives have been unearthed in popular leisure areas.

The Main Directorate of Regional Security of the Moscow Region (GURB MO) has issued warnings after more than a dozen Ukrainian drones – originally brought down by electronic warfare jamming during the winter months – have surfaced in forested areas as the snows have retreated.

The warnings have taken on new urgency as the weather continues to improve and as Orthodox Easter approaches. This is a time when Muscovites traditionally go into the forests for relaxation during the holiday period and the issue has been publicized within Russian mainstream and social media.

Ukraine’s most internationally acclaimed sculptor has just completed a project in Odesa that coincides with Easter celebrations throughout the country.

On April 27, in Dumska Square, in front of the Odesa City Council, a new sculpture by Mikhail Reva, one of the world most famous Ukrainian sculptors, was unveiled.

The artwork called “Epiphany Now” depicts a large pair of glasses, on whose frame there are hundreds of copper bullets. Reva utilizes the metal originally made for bullets. He also used exploded bullets, turning them into beautiful metal flowers, as the Easter celebration of the defeat of death and the hope of salvation.

The figure is only slightly lower than Kyiv’s official estimates, where the UK Minister of Armed Forces said there were “tens of thousands more have deserted” not included in the estimation.

The UK believed that approximately 450,000 Russian troopshave been either killed or wounded in Ukraine, not including mercenaries and “tens of thousands” who have deserted.

As reported by the UK Defence Journal, the figure was provided by Leo Docherty, British Minister of State (Minister for the Armed Forces) in the Ministry of Defence, in response to an inquiry by lawmaker John Healey.

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

Hot weather kills 30 in Thailand as heat index hits ‘extremely dangerous’ level. The heat index in Bangkok was expected to rise above 52 degrees Celsius as officials urged elderly people to stay indoors. A wave of sweltering weather has blasted parts of the region, prompting schools in the Philippines to suspend classes - SCMP

Ukraine said Russia had launched a massive attack overnight targeting energy installations, while a Russian oil refinery said it had suspended operations following a drone strike. DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said its four thermal power stations had been hit. "The enemy again massively shelled the Ukrainian energy facilities," DTEK said in a statement. "The company's equipment was seriously damaged. At this very moment, energy workers are trying to eliminate the consequences of the attack."

International efforts to support Ukrainian science should focus on helping the reconstruction and growth of science within Ukraine and not encouraging a permanent diaspora.

In a time of war, expenditure on science can seem frivolous unless directed to defense requirements. Outside Ukraine, nations focused on helping Ukraine to defend herself similarly tend to forget the need to apply concerted efforts to maintain, and continue to build, Ukraine’s scientific infrastructure. A nation’s scientific capacity is not only essential for its long-term economy, but also for the vibrancy and success of civil society.

Scientific research performs many functions in society. Most of us are familiar with the obvious ones, such as producing new ideas and practical innovations, some of which will power new industries, stimulate breakthroughmedicines or take us into space. Ukrainian scientists have worked in all of these areas. Behind these more well-known benefits of research, there is the effect that scientific work has on the conditions for an open society. 

Activists quickly gathered funds to dismantle the garage-like church building linked to the Moscow Patriarchate, yet the Ukrainian authorities are taking a disctinctly cautious approach.

Since February 2022, Ukraine’s civil activists have thrown themselves into supporting the war effort and people affected by Russian aggression. Somehow they have also found time to focus on issues that were contentious even before the all-out invasion. 

An old war has been rekindled between activists defending Kyiv’s historical sites and adherents of the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The suspect is a 57-year-old Russian national who has been detained by German police, though the motive and circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear.

A 57-year-old Russian national stabbed two Ukrainian men to death in a shopping center in Murnau, Germany, on Saturday evening.

According to a press release by the Bavaria Police, the first victim, a 36-year-old Ukrainian national died on the scene, while a second victim, a 23-year-old Ukrainian, succumbed to his injuries in the evening at a hospital nearby.

The human rights situation in Ukraine has come under scrutiny in recent weeks by both the EU and US with minor nuances in the findings.

Council of Europe’s High Commissioner’s findings

According to a press statement issued by his office, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty carried out a visit to Ukraine from April 23-25.

Band leader Maria Rounova told state news agency TASS the motifs in question are "old Slavic symbols" after the Russian police raid, which had spectators lying down on the floor.

Three members of a well-known Russian metal band –Korrozia Metalla – were arrested in the middle of a concert on Saturday and charged with displaying "Nazi symbols," authorities said.

The three band members aged 19, 42 and 57 are accused of "propaganda or public exposition of Nazi accessories or symbols,",said regional police in the western city of Nizhny Novgorod.

Ukraine’s intelligence was also involved in a cyberattack that damaged the IT infrastructure of the telecom and rendered services inoperational across Russia.

Ukrainian hacker group BO Team, alongside Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR), launched a cyberattack on a subsidiary of MTS, one of the major telecom providers in Russia.

The target of the hack was Interregional TransitTelecom (MTT), a Russian fixed-line operator under MTS, where BO Team told RBC Ukraine that it was able to destroy the company’s software and configuration file and caused severe disruption to internet services across Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The US political scene has evolved into two rival factions that cross party lines: the Capitulation Party and the Victory Party. The vote in the US Congress has shown who is who.

On Feb. 13, one of the toughest days for Ukraine in Washington, DC, I made note of the following:

“I am most interested in the stances of three prominent members of the Republican party – Michael McCaul, Mike Rogers, and Mike Turner. Each of them chairs a powerful house committee: Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Intelligence, respectively.

The Kremlin intends to use pro-Russian actors in Gagauzia and Transnistria to destabilize and degrade Moldovan democracy and ultimately prevent Moldova’s accession to the EU.

Gagauzia

The Kremlin is likely setting conditions to intensify its hybrid operations against Moldova.

In October Kazakhstan offered 117 old Soviet-era combat aircraft for sale by auction and it has now been reported that the US has bought 81 of them through offshore intermediaries.

For several years Kazakhstan has been gradually replacing its outdated fleet of Soviet-made combat aircraft with modern versions, such as the Russian Su-30SM multi-role aircraft and has been in discussion with Western manufacturers to source suitable combat platforms.

As part of this process, it was announced in October that the Kazakh government was offering 117 Soviet-era fighter and bomber aircraft for sale by auction. This included MiG-31 interceptors, MiG-27 fighter-bombers, MiG-29 fighters, and Su-24 bombers produced in the 1970s and 1980s. The declared value for the sale was one billion tenge ($1.5 million).

A Ukrainian official said the Kremlin plans to provide every school in occupied territories with drones and soldiers for training and called the move “a brazen violation of international law.”

A Ukrainian official said Russia is planning to introduce drone operations as part of its school curriculum for the occupied territories starting Sept. 1, where it would aim to provide every school with drones and soldiers to teach children how to fly drones. 

Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration, made the announcement on Telegram and called the Kremlin’s alleged plans a “brazen violation of international law and humanitarian principles.”

Local authorities said the drone strike damaged at least two hotels in addition to a “heat-generating infrastructure,” though no casualties have been reported at present.

Russia launched drones against Ukraine in the Mykolaiv region during the early hours of Sunday, April 28, damaging at least two hotels in the regional capital in addition to a “heat-generating infrastructure.”

No casualties were reported at the time of publication. 

Moscow claimed to have shot down more than a dozen Ukrainian drones overnight on Sunday across multiple regions.

Russia shot down 17 Ukrainian drones overnight in several western regions, its defense ministry said on Sunday.

"The air defense systems intercepted and destroyed seventeen Ukrainian UAVs," the ministry said in a Telegram post.

In the shadow of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, another, less visible war rages within Russia itself – a war against women.

Beneath the glittering domes of Moscow and the power corridors of the Kremlin lies a shadow war that's not fought with guns or drones, but with silence and stigma. It's a war against women, against their voices, and their rightful place in Russian society. From overlooked female leaders to silenced journalists and ridiculed activists, Russia's women are fighting not just for recognition, but for the basic right to have their ideas heard and respected.

This silent war traces the roots of feminism's struggle in the land of the Tsars, through the Soviet pretense of equality, to today's harsh realities under Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime. Today, women's rights are slipping backwards, erased from public discourse and reduced to mere shadows of their potential.