Despite the dire humanitarian situation in Kherson, residents are still celebrating its liberation two weeks after the Ukrainian Armed Forces entered the city. With Russian forces finally gone from the city, local residents share stories of living under occupation.
Olena Makarenko is a Kyiv-based journalist and documentary filmmaker. Since November 2015, Olena has been covering the events in Ukraine for foreign audiences. She has authored two short documentaries: “The Court” (2018) about establishing the Anti-Corruption Court in Ukraine and “Life-Long City” about an activist in Kryvyi Rih.Read more
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"When Ukraine appeals to partners for air defense systems that they have - in warehouses, in storage bases, but that are needed here, right here, to protect lives - we are talking about a true alliance," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
In an interview with C-SPAN, Don Bacon laid out the dire situation Ukraine finds itself in on the battlefield, saying if the bills don’t pass “the Russians will be in Kyiv.”
"From our intense work with both parties and committee approval of voting procedures today, I am cautiously optimistic this time," Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, told the Kyiv Independent on April 19.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on April 19 that Senate Democrats will support House Speaker Mike Johnson's series of bills that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel, and other priorities if they pass the House.
The announcement followed comments earlier in the week from finance ministry official Lev Denisov, who said that the initial 2.3% estimate would be revised upwards due to the "strong growth of the economy" at the beginning of 2024.
In a post on Telegram, the head of the city's military administration, Roman Mrochko, said the victim was walking the streets when she was hit in an attack launched from the occupied east bank of Kherson.
According to one of the unnamed U.S. defense officials, some of the proposed military equipment is located in Europe and could reach Ukraine within days after a successful vote, while other material would likely take a few weeks.
Kropotov, the commander of the 59th Guards Communications Brigade, was killed in a Ukrainian strike on his headquarters on April 13, according to a Telegram post from a Ukrainian colonel, Anatolii Shtefan "Shtirlitz."
Specifically, the country is devoting 150 million euros ($160 million) to Germany's Immediate Action on Air Defence initiative. The Netherlands has also allocated 60 million euros ($64 million) for the purchase of short-range air defense hardware, for example, to combat Russian drones.
"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 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
A story by the Kyiv Independent's reporter Francis Farrell, "One Night in Bakhmut: Civilians Wait for the End as Russia Draws Closer," has been shortlisted for the European Press Prize 2024 in the "Distinguished Reporting" category.
The news follows a similar warning received by Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) on April 18 that the ECB was requesting an accelerated wind-down of its business in Russia.
"A Belarusian working for Russia who ordered two Poles to assassinate Navalny's associate – detained," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X. The two attackers are also in custody, he added.
Russia launched an artillery attack against the Kutsurub community in Mykolaiv Oblast on April 19, killing an elderly woman and injuring her husband, Governor Vitalii Kim reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that China is supplying Russia with semiconductors and other dual-use technologies that can be used for military purposes.
Myroslava, a 17-year-old girl from Ukraine, returned home after she was illegally deported to Russia a year and a half ago, the Reintegration Ministry reported on April 19.