Ukraine receives 1 billion euros in EU macro-financial aid

4:40 PM

Reuters: Telegram says Ukrainian government chatbots mistakenly blocked.

Telegram chatbots of Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the Digital Transformation Ministry were "temporarily disabled due to a false positive," Reuters quoted a Telegram chatbots on April 29.

4:39 PM

Former UK Armed Forces minister: Ukraine defeat will cost trillions to West in new Cold War.

James Heappey said that Kyiv will need more aid packages to win the battle for "security across the whole European-Atlantic region."

3:46 PM

UDPATED: Ukraine appeals to CoE regarding derogation from parts of Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms due to martial law.

Justice Minister Denys Maliuska said that this is part of Ukraine's regular updates on what restrictions it might impose and is part of Kyiv's international obligations.

3:10 PM

NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg arrives in Kyiv in surprise visit.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Kyiv on April 29 in a previously unannounced visit.

3:07 PM

Czech police conclude Russian agents behind deadly 2014 ammunition depot blasts.

Russian military intelligence operatives were responsible for deadly ammunition depot explosions in Czechia in 2014, the Czech police said on April 29 following a three-year investigation.

2:25 PM

Parliamentary delegation of Polish lawmakers arrives in Ukraine.

A group of lawmakers from the two chambers of the Polish parliament – Sejm and Senate – arrived in Ukraine on April 29, said Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of Ukraine's parliament.

2:04 PM

Media: Deputy minister suspected of illegal acquisition of state-owned land returns to Ukraine.

Law enforcement services did not hand Dmytrasevych a suspicion notice as he was abroad on a business trip. Dmytrasevych crossed the border on April 12.

2:04 PM

Media: Deputy minister suspected of illegal acquisition of state-owned land returns to Ukraine.

Law enforcement services did not hand Dmytrasevych a suspicion notice as he was abroad on a business trip. Dmytrasevych crossed the border on April 12.

1:50 PM

Russian attack on Kherson Oblast kills man.

Russian forces attacked the village of Kizomys in Kherson Oblast on April 29, killing a 60-year-old man, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

1:39 PM

Military intelligence: Over 18,000 Russian troops of Southern Military District have deserted.

Over 18,000 soldiers of the district have allegedly deserted, with around 12,000 of them belonging to the 8th Combined Arms Army – a unit often deployed in hostilities in eastern Ukraine.

1:15 PM

Military: Ukraine regaining control over Nestryha Island in Kherson Oblast complicates Russian advances.

Ukraine's control over Nestryha Island in Kherson Oblast is tactically important and will make it more difficult for Russian forces to approach Ukrainian positions, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Southern Defense Forces, told Hromadske Radio on April 29.

12:55 PM

Air Force: Poland capable of protecting skies over western Ukraine but political will needed.

Poland is technically capable of protecting the skies over Ukraine's western regions with its air defenses, but this requires "political will," Air Force spokesperson Illia Yevlash said on April 29.

12:07 PM

FT: Western banks paid 4 times more taxes to Russia in 2023 than before all-out war.

The largest Western banks that continue to operate in Russia have paid 800 million euros ($857 million) in taxes to its budget in 2023, which is four times more than before Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing its analysis.

12:02 PM

Opinion

Opinion: Trump is Putin's only hope now

11:51 AM

Border Guard: Polish protesters lift blockade at Ukrainian border.

The farmers began blocking trucks at several border crossings in February in protest of Ukrainian agricultural imports and the EU's Green Deal.

11:05 AM

Reuters: Chinese companies go 'underground' on Russia payments.

Some Chinese banks Major Chinese are limiting payments for transactions with Russia due to concerns about U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported on April 29, citing unnamed trading and banking sources familiar with the matter.

10:35 AM

Germany tries extremists suspected of plotting coup, seeking talks with Russia.

German courts will try the first nine members of an extremist group suspected of plotting a coup to overthrow the democratic government, Reuters reported on April 29.

10:31 AM

Ukrainian government chatbots previously blocked by Telegram restored.

Telegram chatbots of Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the Digital Transformation Ministry were restored on April 29 after being previously blocked.

10:19 AM

Minister: Italy has no reason to oppose new EU sanctions against Russian gas.

Italy has overcome its dependence on Russian gas and will not oppose the proposed package of EU sanctions on liquified natural gas (LNG), Italian Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said on April 28.

9:47 AM

Russian attacks against Ukraine injure 7 over past day.

Russia targeted a total of nine Ukrainian oblasts — Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk. Casualties were reported in the latter three regions.

8:49 AM

Latvia donates energy equipment to Ukraine after Russian attacks on infrastructure.

The Latvian state-owned company Latvenergo provided Ukraine with equipment to restore the energy system after Russian attacks, the Delfi media outlet reported on April 28.

8:41 AM

Military intelligence: Telegram blocks several Ukrainian government chatbots.

Chatbots of Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), or the Digital Transformation Ministry, which were used, for example, to gather information on Russian troops in occupied territories, have disappeared from Telegram and are unavailable as of April 29.

8:04 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 467,470 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022.

This number includes 1,320 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

7:09 AM

Mediazona confirms identities of over 51,600 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine.

Through open-source research, Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, together with BBC Russia, confirmed the names of 51,679 Russian soldiers who had been killed since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

5:41 AM

ISW: Russia unlikely to achieve significant near-term gains near Avdiivka, despite limited Ukrainian retreat.

Russian forces are unlikely to achieve "operationally significant penetration" in the areas west of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, despite limited Ukrainian troop withdrawals in surrounding villages, the U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed on April 28.

4:14 AM

FT: Turkey in talks with ExxonMobil to secure LNG deal, aims to reduce reliance on Russian natural gas.

Turkey is in talks with ExxonMobil to secure a long-term liquified natural gas (LNG) deal worth billions of dollars, aiming to diversify its energy sources, says Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar. The potential agreement could provide up to 2.5 million tons of LNG annually for 10 years.