Key developments on April 4:
- Russian double-tap attack on Kharkiv kills 4, including first responders
- SBU: Russian forces used cyberattack to target Ukraine's 128th brigade
- German FM says Berlin will initiate search for more air defense for Ukraine
- Energoatom: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant 'on verge of blackout' after recent Russian attack
- Poll: Fewer than 50% of Ukrainians believe war will end with restoration of 1991 borders.
Two Russian strikes on the city of Kharkiv killed four people, including three first responders, and injured 12, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said in the early hours of April 4.
Russian drones first hit the city at around 1 a.m. local time, damaging several homes and a 14-story high-rise building. As a result of this strike, a 33-year-old man and a 71-year-old woman were wounded.
Then, at 1:55 a.m., two more drones struck the city, killing the three Emergency Response workers who were called to the scene following the first attack: 52-year-old Vladyslav Lohinov, 32-year-old Serhii Baidalinov, and 41-year-old Volodymyr Matiushenko.
According to local police, a 69-year-old civilian woman was also killed.
In total, 12 individuals were reported injured as a result of the drone strikes, including an Emergency Service worker, a policeman, and a nurse.
Three high-rise buildings, three firetrucks, a hospital building, and two ambulances were damaged in the attacks.
Separate attacks on Kharkiv Oblast on April 3 injured a 55-year-old woman as well as a 70-year-old man.
Settlements in Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast are subjected to near-daily attacks by Russian forces due to their proximity to the border with Russia.
Martin Fornusek
SBU: Russian forces used cyberattack to target Ukraine's 128th brigade
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on April 4 that it uncovered evidence that Russian forces were able to hack into the devices of military personnel in order to guide a missile to strike the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, killing at least 19 Ukrainian soldiers, in November last year.
Members of the 128th brigade were gathered for an award ceremony in honor of Artillery Day on Nov. 3, 2023, in the front-line zone of Zaporizhzhia Oblast when a Russian Iskander-M missile struck the group.
The brigade later confirmed that 19 of its soldiers had been killed in the attack.
A preliminary investigation found that reports of Russian reconnaissance drones operating in the area, including an air alert, were ignored.
In addition, the soldiers were gathered in the yard of a house, with 10 cars parked outside, which was plainly visible from above.
In the weeks following the attack, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that "all rules of disguise were ignored."
President Volodymyr Zelensky promised to implement changes in the armed forces to address negligence, Soviet-era practices, and bureaucracy.
SBU cybersecurity chief Illia Vitiuk said in an interview on April 4 that Russian soldiers sent phishing messages to hack the messenger applications of specific military personnel. When they managed to "crack" the device, they got access to messengers and computers through mail.
According to the SBU official, the investigation found that one of the devices on which the Signal messenger was installed received a message about the specific date and place of the formation of servicemen. The Russian missile later struck this exact location.
Vitiuk also announced that up to 30 soldiers had been killed in the attack, despite official reports that only 19 service members died.
Martin Fornusek
German FM says Berlin will initiate search for more air defense for Ukraine
Berlin will call on allies worldwide to examine their air defense capabilities and "to provide whatever we all can" to Ukraine, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said after a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting in Brussels on April 4.
As Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine during the spring, the shortage of air defense systems in Ukrainian cities and villages became more tangible.
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia launched over 400 missiles of various types, 600 Shahed drones, and 3,000 guided aerial bombs at Ukraine in March, causing severe damage to the civilian and energy infrastructure.
"We see what's happening in Ukraine, we realize that you need air defense now because it's now that schoolchildren really have to be in safety, that in Odesa the port has to be protected," Baerbock said in a joint video address with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
"We will call on Europe again that everybody has to check where their air defense is, what they can provide for Ukraine, but also have this pledge worldwide, arrange the funding. Because we definitely know: every day, every month counts, and it's not only words, it's action that matters now for you in Ukraine."
In December last year, Germany delivered the second Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
At the April 4 meeting, Kuleba called on partners to supply Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense systems that are vital in protecting Ukraine's airspace, as they have proven effective even against advanced Russian ballistics such as Kinzhal missiles.
"It is impossible to understand why the allies cannot find additional batteries to take them to places where ballistic missiles are fired every day," said Kuleba, as cited by the Foreign Ministry's press service.
"In March alone, 94 ballistic missiles were launched at Ukraine. On average, three per day. This does not happen anywhere else in the world."
Kuleba previously told Reuters that Ukraine's partners had more than 100 Patriot systems at their disposal, but they did not want to share at least five or seven of them – the minimum required number to significantly improve additional protection, according to Kyiv's calculations.
The minister also met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urging Washington "to find ways to provide additional Patriot air defense systems as soon as possible."
"I am grateful to the Secretary for taking action right away to reciprocate this call. We also discussed next steps in the coming days and weeks to unlock supplemental U.S. aid for Ukraine," Kuleba said on X.
Air defense ammunition has been dwindling recently as $60 billion in U.S. aid remains effectively blocked in Congress by political disputes. The American media wrote that Ukraine may soon be forced to "ration" its air defense missiles, targeting only one out of every five enemy projectiles.
Kateryna Denisova
Energoatom: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant 'on verge of blackout' after recent Russian attack
An external overhead line that supplies power from Ukraine's energy grid to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar was disconnected on April 4 after Russian attacks, the state nuclear energy agency Energoatom said.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.
Throughout its occupation, the plant has been repeatedly disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid due to Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure.
As of April 4, the plant is connected to Ukraine's energy system only by one power line, which was recently restored. This situation "threatens to cause an emergency," Energoatom said.
"If this last line of communication with the national power grid is disconnected, the plant will be on the verge of another blackout, which is a serious violation of the conditions for its safe operation," the statement read.
Before Russia's full-scale war, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant had six backup lines and four main lines of 750 kV.
The six reactors at the Russian-occupied plant are currently shut down, but the facility's front-line position puts it at risk. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi has warned that heavy fighting near the plant poses serious threats to nuclear safety.
Kateryna Denisova
Poll: Fewer than 50% of Ukrainians believe war will end with restoration of 1991 borders
Only 45% of Ukrainians said they believe the war will end with Ukraine restoring its 1991 borders, the Ukrainian media outlet NV reported on April 4, citing a poll conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI).
Kyiv has vowed to liberate all of the territories occupied by Russia, including Crimea. Previous polls have indicated that an overwhelming majority of Ukrainians are opposed to territorial concessions in exchange for peace.
According to the IRI poll, the 45% still represented a plurality.
Tied for second place at 16% were two options: Ukraine would regain all of the territory it held up to the beginning of the full-scale war (excluding Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts occupied since 2014), and that Russia would gain some additional territories.
The 45% of respondents who believed that Ukraine would regain all of its territory represented a decrease from a high point in February 2023, in which 74% of respondents believed it was possible.
There was also a generational divide present in the most recent poll, with younger people ages 18-35 less likely (37%) to believe the 1991 borders would be restored, compared to those 51+, 52% of whom believed it was possible.
Despite the less-than-optimistic results, 39% of respondents still said that the restoration of 1991 borders was one of the most important goals of the war.
NV wrote that the survey was conducted throughout Ukraine, excluding territories occupied by Russia.
Nate Ostiller
