Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (front) meets with the Head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Vadym Filashkin (rear) in Donetsk Region, Ukraine on April 19, 2024. (Presidency of Ukraine/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russia will attempt to capture the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, just west of the Russian-occupied Bakhmut, by May 9, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with NBC News published on April 21.
On May 9, Russia celebrates Victory Day, a heavily militarized holiday marking the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in the World War II.
Zelensky's comments align with those made by Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on April 14, amid a deteriorating situation in the region as Ukrainian ammunition and supplies run short.
"I visited the region recently. I talked to the soldiers. The soldiers say that they lack equipment," Zelensky said. "They need to fight Russian reconnaissance drones, which essentially guide the artillery. And we need artillery shells. I hope we will be able to stay, and the weapons will come on time, and we will repel the enemy and then we'll break the plans of the Russian Federation."
For months, Ukraine had repeatedly called on the U.S. to pass the much-needed aid amid dwindling air defenses and ammunition on the battlefield. The U.S. Congress approved a $61 billion aid package on April 20, with the aid package widely expected to be approved by the U.S. Senate in the coming days. U.S. President Joe Biden has promised to quickly sign the bill into law if approved by the Senate.
According to a report by the Institute for the Study of War on April 20, Russian forces may still be able to make operationally significant advances in the coming weeks as U.S. supplies slowly roll into Ukraine.
"The Russian military command will likely intensify offensive operations and missile and drone strikes to pursue operationally significant effects that will certainly become harder to achieve against well-provisioned Ukrainian forces," the ISW report read.
Chasiv Yar, a nearly-emptied and heavily damaged town located around 10 kilometers (six miles) west of Bakhmut, appears to be Russia's next goal. Russia ramped up its offensive on Chasiv Yar after capturing Avdiivka, which lies about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southward, and its tempo of advance declined in early March. Russia sees Chasiv Yar as a crucial milestone for further advances toward Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk, the Ukrainian military said.
About 800 people remain in Chasiv Yar, according to local authorities.
Earlier on April 5, Moscow's proxies claimed that Russian troops had entered Chasiv Yar's suburb, but Ukraine's military later refuted that statement.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
