The day of the war at a glance
Kremlin troops are advancing in the east – Putin is threatening the west
4/27/2022, 10:13 p.m
While the Russian army is advancing in eastern Ukraine, President Putin is threatening further gas supply cuts. The Kremlin chief also warns of military counterattacks should the West interfere in the conflict. Meanwhile, the pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria reports another attack. The 63rd day of the war at a glance:
Putin threatens the West
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has again threatened Ukraine’s supporters – with cuts in gas supplies, but also with military consequences. Anyone who wants to intervene from outside and create a strategic threat that is unacceptable to Russia must know that the answer will be “quick, quick,” Putin said in St. Petersburg. The Russian military will not hesitate to use the most modern weapons for this. Russia has “all the tools” for a quick counterattack: “We won’t brag about it for long: we will use it if we have to. And I want everyone to know that.”
Gazprom meanwhile stopped its gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland. The reason given by the group was that the two EU countries had not made any payments in rubles. Moscow threatened other countries with similar steps if the payments were not received in rubles. A corresponding decree by Putin will be implemented, said his spokesman Dmitry Peskov. In March, Putin instructed that “unfriendly states”, including all EU members, only pay for Russian gas in rubles.
Russia: Destroyed “large amount” of Western weapons
After the United States, Germany and other countries promised to supply more arms to Ukraine, Russia says it destroyed a “large amount” of western armaments. Weapons supplied to Ukraine by the US and European countries were destroyed in a missile attack near Zaporizhia in the south-east of the country, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
According to Russian information, the destroyed weapons and ammunition were in warehouses on the premises of an aluminum plant near the city of Zaporizhia. The Russian army did not say what weapons were said to have been destroyed there in the attack with long-range Kalibr missiles. The regional administration of Zaporizhia denied that “no ammunition or weapons depots were hit,” and that the affected factory had “not been in operation for six years.”
Russian army advances in the east
In eastern Ukraine, meanwhile, Russian forces were advancing from the already captured city of Izyum south of Kharkiv toward Barvinkove. In doing so, they captured the towns of Sawody and Welyka Komyshuvahka, the Defense Ministry said in Kyiv. Further east, the Russian army is reportedly advancing on the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region. In doing so, they took control of the villages of Zarichne and Nowotoschkivske.
The Ukrainian General Staff spoke of fierce fighting on the front line around Donetsk. The Russian troops attacked Sieverodonetsk, Popasna, Kurakhove and Liman, capturing the towns of Zarichne and Novotoschkivske. The bombing of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol continues.
Traffic light and opposition agree on arms deliveries
Despite concerns about an escalation of the Russian war of aggression, the German government has decided to also supply heavy weapons to Ukraine. Today, the traffic light coalition and the opposition agreed on a joint motion on the subject, which the Bundestag is to decide on Thursday. So far, both sides wanted to submit separate motions on the subject to the Bundestag. However, the Union faction now wants to join the application submitted by the traffic light and withdraw its own – more extensive – application, it said.
Separatists in Transnistria complain of attack on ammunition dumps
In the Republic of Moldova, meanwhile, fears are growing that the country could be drawn into the war. The reason: the pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria reported shelling on a large Russian ammunition dump in the village of Kolbasna. The separatists have already blamed Ukraine for a series of mysterious attacks in recent days. Kyiv, on the other hand, accused Russia of staging the attacks as a pretext for Russian intervention in the region. A Western expert currently assesses the risk of an escalation in Transnistria as low. The Russian troops there are too weak to advance against the Republic of Moldova or Ukraine, said Marcus Keupp from the Military Academy at ETH Zurich.
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