Key developments on April 12: * Energy minister says Ukraine's energy system stable, urges citizens to prepare for 'any scenarios' * Bloomberg: Ukrainian army collapse 'cannot be ruled out,' US official says * Netherlands allocates additional $1.5 billion in aid for Ukraine * Ukraine additionally allocates close to $100 million for fortifications
According to one official, supplies from China are helping Russia launch its "most ambitious defense expansion since the Soviet era and on a faster timeline than we believed possible early on in this conflict."
Editor’s note: The Kyiv Independent is not disclosing the full names of the soldiers introduced in the story, as they didn’t have a formal authorization to speak to the press. DONETSK OBLAST – Mykhailo arrived at a dugout less than an hour after it was hit by Russian drones.
The planned rotation at the front continues, with "thousands" of Ukrainian soldiers released during the audit sent to combat units, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on April 12.
Russian attack on the regional center of Sumy injured at least three, causing severe damage to civilian infrastructure, local military administration reported on April 12.
A Ukrainian drone strike on Belgorod on April 12 damaged an administrative building of a "resource supply company," injuring two people, Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed.
The possibility of a collapse of Ukraine's army "cannot be ruled out" and Ukraine is at its "most fragile moment in over two years of war," according to U.S. officials, Bloomberg reported on April 11.
Ukraine has brought back the bodies of 99 soldiers who died during Russia's full-scale invasion, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War reported on April 12.
The first issues with purchases for electronics started back in December 2023, mainly related to finished products, Kommersant said, citing representatives of the Russian business.
Russia is sending troops from its far eastern Pacific Fleet to replenish personnel losses in Ukraine, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) said on April 12.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a nearly four-hour meeting until late on April 11, according to Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the large-scale strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure are "a response" to the attacks on Russian energy facilities, Russian state-controlled news agency Interfax reported on April 11.
"Since our last briefing to this Council almost a month ago, Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns have become a daily destructive pattern. This includes intense and systematic targeting of Ukrainian energy infrastructure across the country," U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca said.
In Rostov Oblast, the drones were downed at 3:10 a.m. local time over the mining city of Novoshakhtinsk, the regional governor, Vasily Golubev, claimed.
This number includes 840 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Ukrainian air defense units destroyed 16 of the 17 Shahed-type drones that Russia launched overnight, the Air Force reported on April 12.
Eleven-year-old Oleksandr Reshetniak from Kharkiv Oblast still vividly remembers holding the stump of his torn-off leg, trying to stop the bleeding. On Jan. 17, Oleksandr and his 13-year-old cousin Alina were heading to a grocery store in his native village of Malyi Burluk, near Kupiansk, in the east of Kharkiv
"The overall message I would give you is (Russia's military has) grown back to what they were before (February 2022)," said General Christopher Cavoli, the top U.S. commander in Europe, in a written statement to Congress.
Adil Muhammad, a Somali, sits in a Russian military uniform among other prisoners of war (POWs) in a press conference in Ukraine’s capital in mid-March. The former infantryman was captured in combat near Marinka in Donetsk Oblast while fighting with the Russian army in Ukraine in early 2024, five
There are few details known about the case, Mediazona reported, and the circumstances of his alleged surrender were not clarified. The soldier was also charged with desertion, the court file said.
France has paid Russia 600 million euros ($644 million) for liquified natural gas (LNG) imports in just the first three months of 2024, making it the fastest-growing consumer of Russian LNG in the EU, Politico reported on April 11.
A Russian attack overnight on April 11 destroyed the Trypillia Thermal Power Plant in the city of Ukrainka in Kyiv Oblast, Andrii Hota, the chair of Ukraine's state energy company Centerenergo's supervisory board, told Interfax-Ukraine.
The U.S. is deepening cooperation with the Moldovan government amid potential threats from Russia to undermine its stability, Ned Price, deputy to the U.S. representative to the U.N., told a Kyiv Independent reporter on April 11.
Russia has to participate in a global peace summit "sooner or later," even if it does not attend its first meeting, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said in Bern, as reported by the Associated Press (AP) on April 10.
Ukrainian air defense destroyed 57 of the 82 missiles and drones launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force said in its morning update on April 11.
Beijing reacted to the criticism of its partnership with Moscow, claiming that both countries have a right to carry out "normal cooperation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference on April 10.
This number includes 810 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
The attacks damaged energy facilities in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Lviv oblasts.
Russian forces struck nine communities in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast in 28 separate attacks throughout the day, the regional administration reported on April 10. At least 119 explosions were recorded.
Russian nationalist Igor Girkin, who was convicted of extremism back in January, will ask to be sent to fight in Ukraine. Girkin, also known by his alias "Strelkov," is an ex-intelligence officer who played a pivotal role in Russia's aggression against Ukraine in 2014.
Key developments on April 10: * Parliament starts considering updated mobilization bill in 2nd reading * Germany delivers artillery shells, drones, armored vehicles to Ukraine * Russian attacks against Kharkiv, Odesa oblasts kill 7, including 2 children, injure 18 * Ukrainian military denies Russia gained foothold in Robotyne * UK government, BAE Systems sign agreements
General Christopher Cavoli said that Russian forces were firing five shells for every one shell that Ukraine fired, a disparity which he warned could increase to 10 to one in coming weeks.
