President Volodymyr Zelenskiy inspects new defense fortifications in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine near the Russian border in Kharkiv region, April 9, 2024

Tuesday’s Coverage: Air Defenses Down All 20 Russian Drones Overnight

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1552 GMT:

At least three civilians — two women and a 14-year-old girl — have been killed in Russian aistrikes on a clinic and a pharmacy in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine.

The victims were in the village of Lyptsi. Two more people were injured, and rescuers are searching through the rubble for others.

Two guided bombs destroyed a clinic in Vovchansk, injuring one person, and a man was wounded when a Russian munition struck a bus.

UPDATE 1542 GMT:

Switzerland has confirmed that it will host a two-day high-level conference in June on the 10-point Ukraine Peace Formula.

The Swiss Federal Council said in a statement:

There is currently sufficient international support for a high-level conference to launch the peace process.

The conference will be held June 15-16 at the Bürgenstock resort in the canton of Nidwalden outside the city of Lucerne. It will aim to create a framework favourable to a comprehensive and lasting peace in Ukraine as well as “a concrete roadmap for Russia’s participation in the peace process”.

Switzerland has said Russia will not be invited. Russian officials have already rejected the summit and any discussions based on the Peace Formula.

The Formula was launched by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in November 2022 at the G7 summit in Bali, Indonesia. It includes respect for Ukrainian territorial integrity and sovereignty, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the return of POWs and deported civilians, and nuclear and food security.

UPDATE 1535 GMT:

Ukraine and the UK have signed a framework agreement for cooperation in defense and arms production.

The framework was signed at a military industry conference in Kyiv attended by about 30 British defense companies.

The UK’s BAE Systems, one of the first Western defense companies to set up a local entity in Ukraine, signed an agreement with the British Ministry of Defense to conduct maintenance, repair, and overhaul of light guns on the ground.

Many companies attending the conference were drone producers, significante given Ukraine’s objective of producing about 1 million first-person view drones this year and increasing its production of longer-range attack drones to conduct strikes deep inside Russia.

UPDATE 0915 GMT:

Three civilians, including a 13-year-old boy, have been killed by a Russian strike on Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Tuesday’s attack partially destroyed a two-story building. A 60-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman were also slain.

The assault damaged 27 houses, three high-rise buildings, two infrastructure facilities, and an administrative building.

Russian forces also injured three civilians on the outskirts of Slovyansk.

UPDATE 0901 GMT:

A European Union court has removed sanctions against Russian billionaires Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The court ruled that the European Council did not present enough evidence that the twom en were involved in efforts that “undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”.

In February 2022, days after the launch of the invasion, the Council said Aven was “one of Vladimir Putin’s closest oligarchs”.It declared that Fridman “has managed to cultivate strong ties to the administration of Vladimir Putin, and has been referred to as a top Russian financier and enabler of Putin’s inner circle”.

Long-term partners, Avon and Fridman have earned billions of dollars in Russia from oil, banking, and retail business. They remain on the UK sanctions list.

Both men have been guarded in their criticism of the Russian invasion. Fridman said in its first weeks taht it was a “tragedy” and that war “can never be the answer”.

Leonid Volkov, an ally of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, posted:

Fridman and Aven have never said a word publicly against the war, nor have they clashed with Putin.

The EU court just gave them what they wanted on a silver platter…What signal does the court send to Putin, his friends, the Russian oligarchs?

UPDATE 0809 GMT:

The US State Department has approved a $138 million sale to Ukraine of spare parts and equipment to ensure essential repairs of HAWK air defense missile systems.

The HAWK is a medium-range, surface-to-air guided missile protecting against low- to medium-altitude warplanes.

The Department said in a statement, “Ukraine has an urgent need to increase its capabilities to defend against Russian missile strikes and the aerial capabilities of Russian forces. Maintaining and sustaining the HAWK missile system will enhance Ukraine’s ability to defend its people and protect critical national infrastructure.”

UPDATE 0801 GMT:

Ukraine’s military has claimed its first successful attack on a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea.

The missile ship Serpukhov, docked off the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, was set afire on Monday. Ukrainian military intelligence said the warship was “disabled” with “its means of communication and automation completely destroyed”. A video appeared to show a fire breaking out on the vessel.

A source from Ukraine’s military intelligence confirmed that its operatives were behind the attack.

The 74-meter (242-foot) Serpukhov is a Buyan-M missile corvette with a variety of weapons systems.

UPDATE 0749 GMT:

Ukraine air defenses downed 14 of 17 Iran-type attack drones launched by Russia overnight.

Twelve drones were downed over the Mykolaiv region and two over Odesa in southern Ukraine. Energy infrastructure in Mykolaiv was damaged, disrupting power supply for several hours. There were no casualties in the attacks, the military said.

We kick off with the news that Ukraine’s air force has reported that Ukraine downed 14 of 17 attack drones launched by Russia and two of several guided missiles targeting Odesa and the Mykolaiv region.

Ukraine Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on the Telegram messaging app early on Wednesday morning that Russia also launched two Iskander-K cruise missiles and one Iskander-M ballistic missile, but he did not say what happened to those weapons.

Two Kh-59 guided air missiles that Russia launched towards the Black Sea port of Odesa were destroyed, Oleshchuk said on the Telegram messaging app.

The south command of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on Telegram that 12 drones were downed over the Mykolaiv region and two over Odesa.

Energy infrastructure in Mykolaiv was damaged as a result of the attack, disrupting power supply for several hours. There were no casualties in the attacks, the military said.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Kharkiv on Tuesday, amid deadly Russian attacks on the country’s second city.

At the end of March, Russia launched its largest missile and drone assaults of 2024, trying to break Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. While those attacks have diminished, the Russians have continued to target Kharkiv, about 40 km (25 miles) from the border.

See Ukraine War, Day 773: 6+ Killed, 11 Wounded in Latest Russian Attack on Kharkiv

Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk, and other senior officers discussed the deployment of additional air defense units and methods to repel Russia’s guided aerial bomb carriers.

Meetings also considered the consequences of the Russian shelling on capacity for power generation and the current situation of supply. Energy Minister German Galushchenko, Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov, and Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the chairman of the board of State energy firm Ukrenergo, were among the attendees.

Steps for education among the ongoing Russian attack included a plan for off-line education, funds for the construction of school shelters, and the purchase of school transport.

In his daily video address to the nation, Zelenskiy said:

The entire city of Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region deserve our gratitude and honor, as does every Ukrainian community and person who refuses to bow to the enemy and makes every effort to safeguard life.