The night of the war at a glance
Ukraine: 80 enemy soldiers killed – Zelenskyj praises British help
4/10/2022 7:04 am
While Kyiv sees no movement in the negotiations with Moscow, Ukrainian armed forces report the killing of dozens of soldiers in attacks on Russian units. President Zelenskyy praised Britain’s support for Ukraine after Prime Minister Johnson’s lightning visit.
Kyiv: No progress in negotiations
Ukraine does not expect a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on peace negotiations anytime soon. “To say that they will meet in a week, in two weeks – no, that will not happen,” said presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak on Ukrainian television. Ukraine continues to insist on strong security guarantees and pays a very high price for it, Podoljak said. “Yes, it’s tough, we’re losing people and infrastructure every day. But Russia needs to free itself from its imperial illusions.”
Ukraine’s chief negotiator David Arakhamiya said there was no tangible progress. For Kyiv, territorial unity remains a red line. “We will not give up any areas and we will not recognize anything,” he said, referring to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea annexed by Russia in 2014 and the eastern Ukrainian “people’s republics” of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Zelenskyj appreciates Johnson’s visit
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy thanked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his visit to Kyiv on Saturday. The meeting with Johnson shows that there are “no obstacles to freedom,” the president said. “Britain’s leadership in helping us, particularly on defence, and also leadership on sanctions policy – they will go down in history forever.” He also spoke to Johnson about further financial and defense aid for Kyiv.
London: Russian army uses civilians as shields
British intelligence has found that following the Russian withdrawal from northern Ukraine, there is evidence that non-combatants have been disproportionately targeted. The British Ministry of Defense announced on Twitter that there were mass graves, hostages were used as human shields and civilian infrastructure was mined.
Stoltenberg speaks of “new reality”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg sees the defense alliance in a “fundamental change”. “Regardless of when or how the war in Ukraine ends, the war is already having long-term consequences for our security,” Stoltenberg told the British newspaper “Sunday Telegraph”. “What we are seeing now is a new reality, a new normal for European security.” NATO must now adapt to this “new reality” over the longer term. A “reset” is necessary for this. According to Stoltenberg, he is expecting decisions on this at the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June.
Ukraine: 80 soldiers killed in battles
Russian shelling continues in the Donetsk region. According to Ukrainian sources, at least five civilians were killed and five others injured. Russian artillery shelled settlements in the north-eastern region of Kharkiv on Saturday, Ukrainian authorities said. At least two people were killed and one person injured.
In attacks on Russian troops, Ukrainian forces killed 80 soldiers and destroyed three tanks and one plane and one helicopter each. The information could not be independently verified.
Moscow: Hundreds of thousands of civilians fled to Russia
According to military information in Moscow, more than 700,000 people have been evacuated to Russia from the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and other parts of Ukraine since February 24. On Saturday alone, almost 27,000 people left the contested regions for Russia, said Colonel General Mikhail Mizinzew from the Russian Defense Ministry. 134,000 people have been rescued from the southern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which has been contested since the beginning of March. The figures cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine imposes trade embargo on Russia
Because of the Russian invasion, Ukraine has now completely suspended trade relations with Moscow. “This is the legal enshrinement of the actual suspension of trade relations with the Russian Federation on February 24,” Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said, according to Public Broadcasting Corporation. The government estimates Moscow’s losses from the boycott at the equivalent of around 5.5 billion euros. A partial ban on imports of Russian goods has been in effect since 2015. However, Kyiv continues to transport more than 100 million cubic meters of Russian natural gas westwards every day.
That’s going to be important today
- Pro-Russian demonstrations and pro-Ukrainian counter-events are planned in several German cities. A rally is to take place in Frankfurt under strict conditions. According to the city, up to 2,000 participants are expected. Several groups are calling for counter-demonstrations.
You can read all further developments in our live ticker on the Ukraine war.