The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) launched drone strikes against two oil refineries and a military airfield in Russia’s Krasnodar region overnight on April 27, a source in the security and defense forces told the Kyiv Independent.
Russian forces hit energy facilities in Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv oblasts in a mass missile attack against Ukraine overnight on April 27, causing damage and casualties, Ukrainian authorities reported.
Russia has also reportedly lost 7,268 tanks, 13,971 armored fighting vehicles, 16,019 vehicles and fuel tanks, 11,905 artillery systems, 1,049 multiple launch rocket systems, 775 air defense systems, 348 airplanes, 325 helicopters, 9,485 drones, 26 ships and boats, and one submarine.
Belgium will pledge 200 million euros ($213 million) for the German-led air defense initiative and supply Ukraine with rockets, Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder announced on April 26.
Madrid will provide Ukraine with Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles announced on April 26 at the Ramstein-format summit, without specifying the exact number.
Key developments on April 26: * US to allocate additional $6 billion in military aid to Ukraine * Source: Ukraine destroys Russian Ka-32 helicopter at Moscow airfield * Ukraine retrieves bodies of 140 fallen soldiers * El Pais: Spain to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine * US envoy to OSCE: Russian 'double-tap' attacks have killed
"In coordination with our partners in the F-16 coalition, our country will make every effort to speed up deliveries, if possible, by the end of this year," Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said.
Russian troops are trying to encircle the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, Nazar Voloshyn, the Khortytsia Group of Forces' spokesperson, said on national television on April 26.
Russian forces shelled civilian infrastructure of Bilopillia in Sumy Oblast on April 26, killing two women and injuring three others, Ukraine's Interior Ministry reported.
Ukraine and Latvia are working to increase joint drone production, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on April 26 during a press conference with Latvian counterpart Baiba Braze in Kyiv.
The U.S. will provide Ukraine with a $1 billion military aid package, the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on April 26 before the beginning of the U.S.-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, also known as Ramstein format.
"In March and April (of 2024) alone, Russia’s iterative attacks hitting first responders killed nearly 30 rescue workers in Odesa, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia and wounded more than 20," said Timothy Hanway, the acting U.S. envoy to the OSCE.
Ukraine requires naval vessels for tasks such as the protection of Black Sea shipping routes.
Russian troops carried out nearly 20 attacks on the Nikopol District in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on April 26, injuring at least three people, regional governor Serhii Lysak reported.
The organization is loosely described, but characterized as having the goal of trying to "destroy the multinational unity and territorial integrity of Russia."
The Zaporizhzhia plant – the largest nuclear plant in Europe – has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. The Chornobyl plant was also occupied by Moscow's forces for 35 days at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
The newly appointed Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze arrived in Kyiv on the morning of April 26 and met with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, the ministry reported.
The move is the latest from Western nations responding to calls from Kyiv for more air defenses in the face of escalating Russian missile and drone attacks on cities across the country.
None of the four reported as injured so far required hospitalization, said Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
While the proposal must still get through more legislative steps before becoming law, it was supported by lawmakers from both center-right and center-left parties.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is against sending the weapons to Ukraine because he fears the move will draw Germany into the war.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Dan Cisek said it is a "difficult question" but that the "government of Ukraine has the right to define its policy" on this issue.
The Russian president previously visited China last October to attend the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.
Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court ordered the arrest of Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi, suspected of illegally acquiring state-owned land, Ukrainian media outlets reported early on April 26.
While it is possible that Russian forces may make some gains northwest of Avdiivka, an offensive in the area is "unlikely to develop into an operationally significant penetration, let alone cause the collapse of the Ukrainian defense west of Avdiivka," the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.
Ukraine can still win the war against Russia, but allies have more to do to ensure Kyiv receives "the support we have promised," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on April 25.
This number includes 950 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Russia could lower its level of diplomatic relations with the U.S. if confiscated frozen Russian assets are transferred to Ukraine, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state-controlled media on April 25.
Key developments on April 25: * Denmark announces additional $633 million in military support to Ukraine * NYT: US secretly sent Ukraine over 100 ATACMS last week * Reuters: Satellite imagery shows ship likely used to transfer North Korean arms to Russia docked in Chinese port * Reuters: Next round of EU sanctions on
Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi, suspected of illegal acquisition of state-owned land, submitted his resignation to the Ukrainian parliament on April 25, Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk announced on Facebook.
Ukraine hopes to continue working with Washington regardless of the outcome of the U.S. presidential election this coming November, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Fox News on April 25.
The European Parliament overwhelmingly adopted a resolution condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin's March presidential election as illegitimate, Ukrinform reported on April 25.
