Key developments on April 19:
- Ukraine downs Russian Tu-22M3 bomber for first time, says Air Force
- Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast kill 8, including children, injure over 30
- At NATO-Ukraine Council, Stoltenberg says allies pledge more air defense systems
- Netherlands allocates over $210 million for ammunition for Ukraine
Ukrainian anti-aircraft units shot down a Russian Tu-22M3 bomber for the first time, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on April 19.
The Tu-22M3 bomber crashed in Russia's Stavropol Krai on the morning of April 19, just after Russia launched an attack on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
According to Stavropol Krai Governor Vladimir Vladimirov, the Russian plane crashed in the region's Krasnogvardeysky district. Vladimirov claimed two pilots ejected from the aircraft. One pilot was allegedly killed, and another crew member is missing.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed the aircraft crashed due to a "technical malfunction" while returning to its base airfield after completing a combat mission, according to the Russian state-controlled media.
The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down the aircraft.
"For the first time, the anti-aircraft missile units of the (Ukrainian) Air Force, in cooperation with Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (the military intelligence agency, also known as HUR), destroyed a Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bomber – the carrier of Kh-22 cruise missiles, which the Russian terrorists use to attack peaceful Ukrainian cities," Oleshchuk said.
According to Ukraine's military intelligence, the Russian aircraft was shot down around 300 kilometers from Ukraine with the "same means that were previously used to shoot the Russian A-50 long-range radar detection and control aircraft."
A source from the military intelligence told the Kyiv Independent that the plane had been shot down by a Soviet-era S-200 anti-air system. The system dates back to the 1960s and has been previously described as a largely obsolete weapon.
Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the second Russian aircraft was forced to turn around after the first one was attacked.
"It means that another series of missiles was not launched at Ukraine," Yusov said.
The Ukrainian Air Force also reported downing two Kh-22 cruise missiles.
Russian forces regularly use Tu-22M3 long-range strategic and maritime strike bombers, commonly armed with AS-4 heavy anti-ship or Kh-22 cruise missiles, in airstrikes against Ukraine. Some of these planes carried out the heavy bombardment of Mariupol in 2022 using unguided bombs.
In August 2023, military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said Russia fielded 27 operable Tu-22M3 strategic bombers.
"Ukraine needs more means, more missiles, in order to better protect its front-line territories from Russian terrorism," Oleshchuk said.
Kateryna Denisova
Russian attacks on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast kill 8, including children, injure over 30
Russian forces attacked Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with missiles in the morning of April 19, killing at least eight people, including two children, and injuring at least 35, local authorities reported.
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak said that the strikes caused a fire at a five-story building in Dnipro, partially destroying it.
Dnipro Mayor Boris Filatov reported that the attacks struck "the very center of the city."
Russia also reportedly attacked the infrastructure facilities of Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine's state-owned railway company, killing one and injuring seven railroad workers. The railway station in Dnipro briefly suspended operations.
The number of casualties in Dnipro totaled two killed and 24 wounded, Lysak said.
The governor added that the Russian attack damaged over 10 houses in the Synelnykove district in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing five civilians, including an eight-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, and injuring seven other people.
Lysak later said that another child, a six-year-old boy initially pronounced dead, was hospitalized in serious condition and managed to survive.
Alexander Khrebet
At NATO-Ukraine Council, Stoltenberg says allies pledge more air defense systems
NATO allies have pledged to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems, including Patriots, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO-Ukraine Council on April 19.
President Volodymyr Zelensky requested the gathering earlier this week amid Russia's intensifying aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities that continue to highlight the growing shortage of sufficient air defense systems.
"In addition to Patriots, there are other weapons that allies can provide, including (the French system) SAMP/T, and many others, who do not have available systems, have pledged to provide financial support to purchase them for Ukraine," said Stoltenberg.
In a Telegram post accompanying his televised remarks at the meeting, Zelensky said that Ukraine needs a minimum of seven Patriot systems, which would "save many lives."
Iran's massive drone and missile attack on Israel at the weekend has raised questions in Kyiv about the differences in how NATO countries help defend the skies of Israel and Ukraine.
Zelensky again referenced Iran's attack and the subsequent NATO defense, saying it had demonstrated the effectiveness of NATO's air defense capabilities. He added that NATO's intervention to protect Israeli skies "destroyed" the "dangerous myth" that NATO actions to defend a non-alliance member means that NATO is directly involved in a war.
Russia's recent strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure destroyed several thermal power plants across the country, including the Trypillia plant, the main electricity supplier to Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Cherkasy oblasts.
Kyiv has ramped up its calls on allies to provide Ukraine with more air defenses, in particular with U.S.-made Patriot systems that can intercept ballistic missiles.
Chris York
Netherlands allocates over $210 million for ammunition for Ukraine
The Netherlands has allocated more than 200 million euros (roughly $210 million) to new initiatives for quick delivery of air defense and artillery ammunition for Ukraine, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said on April 19.
Ukraine has been facing increasingly critical ammunition shortages, compounded by intensifying Russian attacks and delays in U.S. assistance.
"Air defense equipment and artillery ammunition are desperately needed in Ukraine. The situation may turn critical," Ollongren said during an online meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council.
President Volodymyr Zelensky requested the gathering earlier this week amid Russia's intensifying aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities that continue to highlight the growing shortage of sufficient air defense systems.
"The resources to which the Netherlands is now contributing are already on the European continent and will go to Ukraine as quickly as possible. We must now all do everything we can to support Ukraine," the Dutch defense minister noted.
Asami Terajima
