Monday, April 10

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A citizen inspects a partially destroyed residential building after Russian shelling in the Saltivka district of Kharkiv on April 9, 2023. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Zelensky: ‘Terrorist state’ Russia kills civilians in Zaporizhzhia on Palm Sunday. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an April 9 video message that Russia is once again proving its status as a terrorist state with its attack on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing two civilians, including a 10-year-old girl.

Russian troops shell Kherson Oblast 71 times. According to Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin, a total of 495 shells were fired across Kherson Oblast, hitting residential areas, power lines, a grain terminal, and a shipyard territory.

Official: Russia faces ‘colossal losses’ near Avdiivka and Marinka in Donetsk Oblast. The Russian military has faced “colossal losses” near the towns of Avdiivka and Marinka in Donetsk Oblast in recent days, losing around two companies of servicemen, or up to 400 soldiers, there each day, Ukrainian military spokeseperson Oleksii Dmytrashkovskyi said on April 9.

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Official: Kidnapped Ukrainian children punished for refusing to sing Russian national anthem. Daria Herasymchuk, Ukrainian presidential advisor for children’s rights, said on April 9 that after returning to Ukraine from Russia, children complain of beatings and other punishments for refusing to sing the Russian anthem and for mentioning that they are Ukrainians.

Ukraine’s central bankers in Washington for annual IMF and World Bank meetings. Chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andrii Pyshnyi, and his deputy Sergiy Nikolaychuk, are in Washington, D.C. as part of an official Ukrainian delegation to the 2023 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Ukraine’s central bank said in a Facebook post.

Official: Russian forces begin demolishing central railway station in Mariupol. Russian troops are demolishing occupied Mariupol’s central train station and several surrounding buildings, nearly destroyed during Russia’s brutal siege of the city, exiled Advisor to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andriushchenko said on Telegram on April 7.

Pentagon document leak

New York Times: Leaked Pentagon documents indicate Ukrainian air defenses in danger. Ukraine’s air defense network is in danger of being overwhelmed unless it is fortified by a large number of additional munitions, according to an analysis of leaked Pentagon documents and U.S. officials who spoke to the New York Times.

CNN: Ukraine alters military plans after Pentagon document leak. Ukraine has changed some of its military plans following a leak of dozens of Pentagon documents, a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN.

The Guardian: France denies its soldiers present in Ukraine. According to the Guardian, the French Defense Ministry denied the presence of its soldiers in Ukraine, responding to information from allegedly classified papers that were said to be leaked online earlier this week.

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Ukraine war latest: Russia continues deadly attacks over weekend; Patriot systems expected ‘in the near future’

Russian forces continued attacks on civilians across Ukraine on April 9 as Pope Francis used the traditional Easter mass to pray for both Ukrainians and Russians.

Photo: Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Human cost of Russia’s war

Governors: Russian attacks hit 8 regions, kill 5 civilians. Russian attacks were reported in eight out of Ukraine’s 24 oblasts on April 8-9 – Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, and Donetsk. According to the regional governors’ reports, five civilians were killed, and at least eight were injured.

Yermak: Russian attack on Druzhkivka injures 2 civilians. The Russian military shelled the town of Druzhkivka in Donetsk Oblast using multiple launch rocket systems on April 9, according to President’s Office Head Andriy Yermak.

Civilian hospitalized, in critical condition after Russian shelling in Kharkiv Oblast. The injured man, a local from the village of Karaichne, is in his thirties.

International response

Macron on Russia’s war against Ukraine: Now is not time for negotiations. Both France and China see it to be too early for peace talks on Russia’s war against Ukraine as “today, the time is military”, French president Emmanuel Macron said in an April 9 interview with Les Echos.

Poland suspends Ukrainian grain imports until July. Earlier news about the grain import suspension didn’t specify the time frame of the agreement.

Hungary to strengthen control over Ukrainian grain imports. Hungary will introduce new measures to curb grain volumes coming from Ukraine, including tariffs and quantitative limits on imports of Ukrainian grain and oilseeds, Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy said on April 9.

Pope Francis prays to ‘shed light of Easter’ on Russian people. Pope Francis prayed for Ukrainians and Russians during his traditional Easter Sunday address on April 9.

In other news

Latvia to build new 64-kilometer fence on border with Belarus. Latvia plans to begin construction of a 64-kilometer stretch of fence along its border with Belarus in April, media outlet Delfi reported on April 9.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleksiy Sorokin, Alexander Query, Olga Rudenko, Francis Farrell, Natalia Datskevych, Daria Shulzhenko, Toma Istomina, Asami Terajima, Haley Zehrung, and Lili Bivings.

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