The day of the war at a glance
Moscow expels 40 German diplomats – USA delivers tank ammunition to Kyiv
4/25/2022, 9:59 p.m
According to its own statements, Ukraine can push back the Russian army in the east of the country. Meanwhile, Russia is shelling railway stations in western and central Ukraine. The Kremlin expelled 40 German diplomats from the country and the US wants to help Kyiv with ammunition.
According to its own statements, Ukraine can partially push back the Russian armed forces in the east of the country. Meanwhile, Russia is shelling several railway stations in western and central Ukraine. There will also be deaths. The Kremlin is expelling dozens of German diplomats from the country, and the United States wants to support Kyiv with Russian-made ammunition. The 61st day of the war at a glance:
Russia attacks railway stations
Russia apparently suffered setbacks in its major offensive in eastern Ukraine. According to the Defense Ministry in Kyiv, the Ukrainian armed forces have pushed back Russian advances in the east of the country. A ministry spokesman said Russian forces tried to break through the lines in the Rubishne, Popasna, Sievjerodonetsk, Maryinka and Avdiivka areas. In addition, an advance from Izyum in the direction of Barvenkovo and Slowyansk is underway. However, nothing became known during the day about Russian territorial gains.
According to Ukrainian sources, several rockets fell in western and central Ukraine in the morning. Five railway stations were also hit, said the head of the Ukrainian railways, Oleksandr Kamyshin, on the company’s Telegram channel. “Russian forces continue to systematically destroy railway infrastructure,” Kamyshin commented. Accordingly, the route and timetable of several trains had to be changed for safety reasons.
According to information from Kyiv, at least five people were killed in the attacks on the Ukrainian railway infrastructure. 18 other people were injured in rocket fire in the Vinnytsia region in the center of the country, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said.
Meanwhile, Moscow has announced a ceasefire for the besieged steelworks in the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol. According to Kiev, however, no agreement was reached on safe escape corridors from the facility. According to reports, hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are holed up in the steelworks.
Russia retaliates against Germany
The expulsion of 40 German diplomats from Russia is to be understood as a retaliatory measure. The government in Moscow declared them “undesirable persons”. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow announced that a letter of protest against Berlin’s unfriendly policies and the expulsion of 40 Russian diplomats was handed to the German ambassador in Moscow at the beginning of April.
At the beginning of April, the federal government also expelled 40 members of the diplomatic staff at the Russian embassy who are believed to be working for Russian secret services. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticized today’s decision by Russia in clear words.
London counts 15,000 dead Russian soldiers
According to Ukrainian figures, the number of civilians killed in the Ukraine war is now at least 3,818. “Injured: more than 4,000,” Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. However, the statistics are incomplete because the authorities have no access to many places, including the blocked port city of Mariupol. The public prosecutor’s office is currently assuming that at least 215 children were killed and 391 injured. The United Nations has so far recorded around 2,500 civilian deaths, but, like Kyiv, they assume the number of civilian victims to be far higher.
Russia has been very reluctant to publish its own casualty figures in recent weeks. The British government estimates that around 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the start of the war in Ukraine. That number was given by Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace. “In addition to the death toll, there are equipment losses, and overall, multiple sources suggest that more than 2,000 armored vehicles have been destroyed or captured so far,” Wallace said. This number includes at least 530 tanks, 560 infantry fighting vehicles and 530 armored personnel carriers. “Russia has also lost more than 60 helicopters and fighter jets,” Wallace said.
US gives $165 million for ammunition
Meanwhile, after the visit of its foreign and defense ministers to Kyiv, the US announced further military support for Ukraine. Accordingly, the US government wants to buy Russian-made ammunition worth 165 million US dollars (153 million euros) for the heavy weapons of the Ukrainian armed forces. Among other things, it is about ammunition for howitzers, grenade launchers, cannons, tanks and mortars, as an agency of the US Department of Defense announced. The State Department has approved the sale, it said. The ammunition is very important for Ukraine to get supplies for its existing weapon systems, some of which are still of Soviet or Russian design.
SPD leader Saskia Esken spoke up in the debate about German arms deliveries to Ukraine. She opposed the supply of tanks to Ukraine by German industry or from Bundeswehr stocks. The question of direct deliveries by German industry is currently out of the question because the tanks produced cannot be used directly, Esken said. The soldiers in Ukraine are not yet familiar with the weapon systems. For maintenance and repairs, spare parts “that we cannot supply” and fitters are also needed.
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