April 27, 2024
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 03:50 Ukraine: Two dead after Russian attack on Sumy Oblast +++
Russian forces attacked nine communities in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy Oblast last day, killing two people and wounding five civilians, the regional administration said. At least 85 explosions have been reported in the past 24 hours. Russia struck at least 24 times in the region, hitting the municipalities of Khotin, Yunakivka, Bilopillia, Voroshba, Krasnopillia, Nova Sloboda, Shalyhyne, Seredyna-Buda and the regional capital Sumy. Throughout the day, Russia attacked the region with mortar, artillery, grenade launcher and drone attacks. According to the military administration of Sumy Oblast, several unguided rockets hit the city of Bilopillia and surrounding areas.
+++ 02:20 Lawyers for the Russian deputy defense minister are apparently appealing +++
According to a report by the Russian news agency Tass, lawyers for Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov are appealing against a pre-trial detention order against him. A Russian court ruled on Wednesday that Ivanov must be remanded in custody for two months because he is suspected of accepting bribes. According to Russian media reports, 48-year-old Ivanov faces up to 15 years in prison. Ivanov worked in fuel and energy companies and in the Moscow regional government before moving to the Defense Ministry in 2010. In 2016 he was appointed deputy minister.
+++ 00:55 Belgium invests 200 million euros in air defense initiative +++
Belgium will provide 200 million euros for the German-led air defense initiative and supply Ukraine with missiles, Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder says at a press conference. However, the defense minister did not specify the number or type of weapons to be sent to Kiev.
+++ 23:29 Spain confirms planned Patriot delivery +++
Madrid will provide Ukraine with Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles announced on April 26 at the Ramstein format summit. Their confirmation follows media reports that Spain would send a “limited number” of such missiles, as the country only has around 50 in reserve in total. Robles did not say how many of the systems Madrid will supply.
+++ 21:52 Ukraine receives bodies of killed soldiers back +++
Ukraine receives the bodies of 140 dead soldiers back from Russia. The soldiers fought in the areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, the coordination staff responsible for prisoner of war issues told Telegram. Five bodies are from the Sumy section in northern Ukraine. In this area, Russia has no Ukrainian territories under its control. However, at the beginning of March, units of supposedly Russian volunteers made advances into Russian territory from the Sumy region. Once the identity of the dead has been established, they will be handed over to their relatives.
+++ 21:18 Insider: Half of Russian China payments via middlemen +++
As Chinese banks fear US sanctions over Russian payments, insiders say the market for intermediaries is flourishing. Up to half of all Russian transactions in China now go through intermediaries, said four people familiar with the matter, including trade consultants, bankers and importers and exporters. The reason for this is bottlenecks because Russian companies tried to open accounts with VTB Shanghai – the only Russian bank with a branch in China. Therefore, despite high fees and the risk of their transfers being confiscated, businessmen resorted to intermediaries. These are based in Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
You can read all previous developments here.