[Korrespondent] 22:01 Poland, Slovakia and Hungary have banned the import of Ukrainian grain and some agricultural products from Ukraine. More details in the material Stab in the back .
21:55 The United States will allocate $ 20 million to strengthen control over the use of American aid by Ukraine, said USAID administrator Samantha Power. According to her, the United States wants to help Ukraine increase the transparency of its budget.
21:29 Two former prisoners from Wagner PMC told Russian human rights activists about their crimes in Ukraine. More about this in the material Terrible Confessions of the Wagnerites .
21:23 Russia has switched to a strategic defense operation. Its task now is to hold the occupied territories, with the exception of two districts, Budanov said in an interview with NV. He also noted that the counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is going according to plan, but the details of its implementation will not be disclosed. “In short, it will be amazing and fast,” added the head of the GUR MOU.
20:41 Budanov said in an interview with NV that he knows the name of the Russian who executed the Ukrainian military man from the resonant video: "Who he is, we know ... Somehow it happened that almost all of those who did such things, where do we it was clearly known, they don't exist anymore, so I don't think this person will be an exception." The head of the GUR added that such cases are rare.
20:04 The office of the Prosecutor General announced that it was checking information about the murders of children by mercenaries of PMC Wagner under Article 438 of the Criminal Code - a violation of the laws and customs of war.
19:23 Lavrov claims that Russia is allegedly interested in the "conflict" in Ukraine to end as soon as possible.
19:12 NATO is changing its defense concept after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, writes The New York Times. So, if earlier the alliance allowed the occupation of the territories of member countries until the allied forces came to the rescue, now this will not happen. NATO is moving away from a strategy of deterrence, will increase troops on the eastern border, increase defense spending and set clear guidelines for all members in the event of war.
18:36 Zelensky said in an evening video message that he had held preparatory meetings for the next meeting in the Ramstein format: "We expect solid decisions that will correspond to the prospects on the battlefield. Enough ambitious prospects, which we are bringing closer with all our might. And we are bringing closer not only for ourselves - not only for Ukraine, but for our entire anti-war coalition."
18:17 Representatives of Ukraine and Turkey will discuss the problems that have arisen with the implementation of the grain agreement, according to the Turkish Ministry of Defense. At the invitation of Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for Improvement, Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov will visit Turkey tomorrow.
17:46 The Russians fired at Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region, one person was injured, the mayor of the city Alexander Sayuk said. Five private houses, four- and five-storey buildings were damaged.
17:12 At least 50 vessels with Ukrainian grain are blocked by Russia in the Black Sea, Borrell said: "The consequences of this war are affecting us all. Russia is once again blocking 50 ships with urgently needed grain in the Black Sea. The EU supports the efforts of the UN and will continue to promote exports through Corridors of solidarity that made it possible to deliver 25 million tons of grain to the world."
In turn, US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink accused Russia of trying to stifle the Ukrainian economy and slow down the flow of food instead of complying with the terms of the grain deal.
16:38 During his visit to Iraq, Kuleba met with Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country Fuad Hussein, thanked him for supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, discussed Zelensky's peace formula and the export of Ukrainian grain.
16:07 Kazakhstan and Armenia are probably helping Russia bypass sanctions, Spiegel writes. These countries have significantly increased their imports of goods from Germany and have significantly increased supplies to the Russian Federation. For example, Armenia quadrupled its exports to Russia over the course of two years, to about $2.5 billion. Moreover, the deliveries included not only traditional fruits, nuts and cognac, but also high-tech goods, including machinery and electronic equipment.
Similar dynamics is observed with Kazakhstan. The changes in trade flows are so massive that EBRD analysts are already talking about a Eurasian bypass.
15:53 The G7 countries will keep the price ceiling for Russian oil at $60 per barrel, despite calls from some countries to reduce the price cap, Reuters writes citing a source. According to one of the Western officials, Russian oil is sold at a discount of about $30 against Brent.
15:28 Latvia has banned ten citizens of the Russian Federation from entering the country who are associated with the sentencing of oppositionist Vladimir Kara-Murza, the Foreign Ministry said.
14:55 Two former mercenaries of PMC Wagner from among the prisoners told the human rights project Gulagu.net about the war crimes they committed at the front on the orders of the command. Former prisoner from the Saratov correctional colony No. 13, Azamat Uldarov, and his "colleague" from the Voronezh IK-1, Alexei Savichev, were pardoned by Putin's decree after participating in the war as part of the Wagner PMC. According to them, Prigozhin personally orders executions of the civilian population and approves of the brutality.
So, according to Savichev, after the February exchange of prisoners in the Bakhmut area, when the journalists left, the mercenaries were ordered to ambush and shoot all civilians over 15 years old. Then, from 20 to 24 people were shot, of which about ten people were teenagers. “There is an order to clear the house. Who was there doesn’t matter. If you don’t follow the order, they reset you,” the former mercenary added.
Uldarov, in turn, said that when the Wagnerites entered Soledar and Bakhmut, they killed children: “I followed the order with this hand, killed the children. women, men, pensioners and children, including small five-year-olds. According to the ex-commander of the Wagner unit, he killed not only peaceful Ukrainians, but also liquidated "his own".
In addition to the execution of the civilian population, former mercenaries told about the explosion of a pit with more than 50 wounded prisoners and other terrible stories.
14:42 On April 17, Russia blocked inspections of ships in Turkish territorial waters for the second time in nine months, so the grain initiative was in jeopardy, the Ministry of Infrastructure said. The agency reported that since November 2022, under various pretexts, Russians have been sabotaging and delaying inspections, which has already led to a reduction in exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to world markets by 15-18 million tons.
Since April, Russian representatives of the SKC have been trying to interfere in the activities of Ukrainian ports and exporters, imposing their own criteria for determining specific vessels participating in the Initiative. Thus, the Russian side is trying to establish control over the number of the loaded fleet and the directions of its work, which is another attempt to dictate its policy to the whole world, the ministry stressed.
14:29 Zelensky held a regular meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander. Among other things, the participants of the meeting considered the issue of providing the Defense Forces with weapons and ammunition, in particular, their own production, analyzed the state of fulfillment of contracts with Ukrainian manufacturers and the prospects for increasing the production of all types of missiles and ammunition. In addition, we continued to consider the issue of manning and equipment for the newly created brigades.
14:00 Energoatom preliminary estimated the damage from Russian aggression at 32 billion hryvnia. We are talking about the property and infrastructure of the Zaporozhye NPP and other separate divisions of the state enterprise, damaged or destroyed by the occupiers.
13:57 The SBU exposed a network of six pro-Kremlin Internet agitators, among which was the leading engineer of the aviation security unit of the state-owned enterprise Antonov. The attacker was detained in Kyiv.
13:44 Former US Navy soldier Sarah Beals hosted the Donbass Devushka channel, through which secret Pentagon documents were distributed, writes The Wall Street Journal. It was on her Telegram channel that the first four merged documents of the US Department of Defense first appeared, including an edited document on losses in the war between Ukraine and Russia. Beals herself told the WSJ that she co-administers the channel with 14 other people, but declined to name them. According to her, the post about the data leak was not published by her.
13:38 The Moscow City Court sentenced opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in a strict regime colony. He was found guilty under articles on "fakes" about the Russian army, cooperation with an "undesirable" organization and "high treason."
13:16 The city council of Ternopil decided to terminate the right to use the land plot by the diocese of the UOC-MP.
12:49 The Armed Forces of Ukraine are taking part in the largest national exercise of the Swedish Armed Forces Aurora-23 in more than 25 years, which began on April 17. The exercise will be attended by the Land Forces, the Navy, the Air Force and the National Guard of the Swedish Armed Forces, together with international partners. 14 countries and about 26,000 military personnel are taking part in the exercises, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
12:41 The United States expects the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive on April 30, Newsweek reports, citing secret Pentagon documents. Sources in the intelligence community told the publication that the data on the date of the offensive is based on the interception of telephone conversations and is likely to be true.
According to Newsweek, the total equipment needed for the nine brigades is 253 tanks, 381 mechanized vehicles, 480 motorized vehicles and 147 artillery pieces, as well as 571 armored HMMWVs.
12:33 Russia is probably increasing the production of Lancet-type drones, since in recent months there have been more such UAVs, Yuri Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said. At the same time, he noted that the Ukrainian air defense had learned to counteract these Lancets, shoot down and set traps for them. "They often try to hit our air defense facilities with them - radar stations, launchers. There is still a danger. Therefore, we also need to increase the cover of our air defense, our armored vehicles against drones," Ignat added.
12:09 Head of the Ministry of Digital Development Mikhail Fedorov, in response to the latest rumors about the distribution of subpoenas in Dії, assured that such a service is neither in development nor in plans. Also, the comment appeared in the official telegram channel of Diya: "Our team digitizes public services to make your life easier. Diya is not a service for distributing subpoenas. Sleep well, we are not public services."
11:42 In order to stop the terror of Ukrainian cities from the air with Russian-guided bombs, Ukraine needs more missile defense systems and aviation with air-to-air missiles that can hit targets at distances of more than 100 km, Yermak said. "Destroying their aviation at distant borders will save civilian lives and infrastructure," the head of the President's Office stressed.
11:34 Reznikov apologized for comparing Ukraine's losses in the war with Russia with the death toll in the earthquake in Turkey: "I sincerely apologize to everyone in Ukraine or Turkey who was hurt by my comments in an interview with the Spanish newspaper La Razon. Ukrainians sympathize with Turkish people. We understand what it is like to bury thousands of innocent people, friends and neighbors. I am grateful to our Turkish friends for their unwavering support and strong stance on Crimea since the beginning of the Russian invasion."
11:26 Of the Ukrainian servicemen who returned after Russian captivity, 86% reported direct physical torture, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets said in an interview with the UP. He clarified that this figure coincides with the estimates of the UN international mission, which also confirms the facts of torture.
Lubinets noted that he could not disclose details about the types of torture that Ukrainian servicemen were subjected to, since the voicing of such information by the Ukrainian side leads to an even greater tightening of torture of prisoners of war remaining in the Russian Federation. "We are recording, we are accumulating information, including for the International Criminal Court. We do not name any details," the Ombudsman explained.
11:17 The United States, Britain, Canada, France and Japan have formed an alliance aimed at ousting Russia from the international nuclear energy market. The agreement was reached on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Japan. The five countries agreed that they would use the respective resources and capabilities of each state's civilian nuclear energy sectors to undermine Russian control over supply chains.
11:12 SBU detained the former "chief" of the Kherson railway station, who helped Russia transfer military trains to Ukraine. After the capture of the regional center, a local resident voluntarily agreed to cooperate with the enemy and joined the ranks of the local occupation "administration" of the Russian Federation. The detainee participated in organizing the transportation of military equipment, weapons and ammunition from the territory of the Russian Federation to Kherson, which was captured at that time.
10:53 The United States believes that Russia should pay for the restoration of Ukraine, and are discussing with allies how to get around legal restrictions on the use of frozen Russian assets, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. According to her, the United States has already begun to transfer to Ukraine the capital confiscated from Russian individuals, but so far cannot do this with the frozen state assets.
10:22 Over the past nine months, the Ombudsman's Office has received dozens of videos of probable executions of the Ukrainian military, Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets told the UP: "We do not publish them, of course. But all this accumulates. We open criminal proceedings. This is done by the Office of the Prosecutor General" .
"This is cutting off heads, genitals, ears, noses, limbs, phalanges on the hands, various videos that the Russian military themselves publicly record," he said. According to Lubinets, some of the criminals who carried out the executions were verified, and one of them was killed in a clash with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ombudsman added that there is no effective mechanism for punishing Russian war criminals yet.
09:51 Slovakia has completed the transfer of all 13 MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine, Defense Minister Yaroslav Nagy said.
09:36 The genetic DNA materials of the military, who serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as law enforcement officers, will be digitized and stored in a personal file. The appropriate equipment for the selection, digitization and storage of DNA samples has already been purchased, said the Minister of Reintegration Irina Vereshchuk. "Undoubtedly, during the war, this is very important. The genetic material of all our defenders should be stored in a single database of genetic traits. It is thanks to the availability of genetic samples that the identification process will be simplified. I hope that the relevant authorities will speed up the process of launching this procedure," she said.
09:03 The G7 countries agreed to better respond to the evasion of sanctions and the supply of weapons to Russia, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
08:35 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of April 17.
- personnel - about 182,660 (+590) people liquidated,
- tanks - 3660 (+3),
- armored combat vehicles - 7087 (+4),
- artillery systems - 2804 (+9),
- MLRS - 538 (+0),
- air defense systems - 285 (+1),
- aircraft - 308 (+0),
- helicopters - 293 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 2347 (+8),
- cruise missiles - 911 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 5672 (+14),
- special equipment - 328 (+2).
08:29 The Russian army continues to focus its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions, actively using operational-tactical and army aviation. Bakhmut and Marinka remain at the epicenter of hostilities. During the day, the Defense Forces repelled more than 60 enemy attacks, the General Staff said in the morning report .
07:57 Danilov said in an interview with TSN that the Ukrainian side does not yet see signs of weapons made in China on the front. Thus, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council commented on the information of The Washington Post, citing secret Pentagon documents that China allegedly agreed to provide lethal assistance to Russia.
Danilov assured that as soon as the Chinese weapons are noticed, Kyiv will formally address Beijing, as was the case with Iranian drones, and also inform the Ukrainian society and the whole world. "But based on China's global issues, we do not see why it should now supply weapons to the Russian Federation. China's position is neutral - they do not support either side," he added.
05:01 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that the Russian command is reinforcing the PMC Wagner militants with modern means to capture Bakhmut. Analysts note that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation took this step even despite the obvious conflict with Prigozhin's group.
In particular, the mercenaries got modern T-90 tanks. Experts also noted that recently Prigozhin has become less likely to attack the Russian command. At the same time, the Wagner group returned 130 Ukrainian prisoners of war on April 16, which indicates that the PMC could carry out the exchange independently of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
03:19 G7 must prove to Putin that he will not achieve his goals in Ukraine, said German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock. She stressed that during the meeting in Japan, the G7 representatives will reaffirm and strengthen their commitments to support Ukraine. "Now it's about showing Putin our determination that he will not achieve his goals also because of exhaustion and fatigue," Burbock said.
00:37 Belgorod publics report that UAVs allegedly struck an electrical substation, part of the city was de-energized, rolling blackouts began. The region's governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported two fires "at civilian facilities."