The destroyed Trepilska thermal power plant after a Russian missile strike near Kyiv, Ukraine, April 11, 2024

Sunday’s Coverage: Kyiv — “Situation on Eastern Front Has Deteriorated Significantly”

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1338 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has confirmed the completion of a bilateral security agreement with Latvia.

The pact, signed with Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs during a weekend summit in Lithuania, is Ukraine’s ninth with a European partner.

UPDATE 0832 GMT:

As Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warns the US Congress about the Trumpist-hard right Republican blockade of $60.1 billion in aid, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said:

They should have (already) done it.

Our situation is as follows: since fall 2023, we have been assured by Republicans and Democrats that everything will be voted on. House Speaker Mike Johnson recently said it would be done, but again – there was no decision. That’s why I’m not willing to predict anything.

Kuleba said Kyiv has asked to loan vitally-needed air defense systems, amid Russia’s missile and drone assaults trying to break energy infrastructure and civilian morale.

When we sit behind a closed door, I say to all my partners: “My dears, whatever you want — you want to rent, let’s rent. If you want him [the Patriot system] to cover your border, let’s do it, but let’s do it.”

He said negotiations are underway on the transfer of two Patriot batteries and one SAMP-T air defense system battery to Ukraine. If completed, “it would be a matter of weeks” before the systems were operational.

Germany agreed last weekend to give one Patriot system to Kyiv, and Ukraine has asked for an additional German IRIS-T battery.

Ukrainian officials says Russian troops are using a new approach in their assault on energy facilities, pursuing more precise and concentrated attacks.

“Their tactics have changed – unfortunately, not for the better for us,” said Deputy Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk. “Almost all of our year-long efforts to rebuild and repair were destroyed in a matter of days.”

UPDATE 0733 GMT:

One civilian has been killed and two wounded by Russian bombing of a five-story apartment block in the town of Ocheretyne in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Three people were slain in the region on Saturday.

Twelve civilians, including a child, were injured from fragments of a downed Russian missile near Dnipro in south-central Ukraine.

Thirty homes were damaged in the settlement of Liubymivska.

Four people were injured in 11 artillery attacks on Nikopol, across the Dnipro River from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: As Ukraine tries to withstand Russia’s assault on the ground and from the air, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has told the US Congress that “there is no more time to waste”.

Since October, Trumpists and hard-right Republicans have blocked a $60.1 billion US aid package to Kyiv. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said there will be a vote this week on the package, passed by the Senate in January. However, there are concerns that he — installed as Speaker by the Trumpist-hard right faction as they launched their blockade — will continue to delay any action.

In last night’s address, Zelenskiy summarized the latest aerial assault of Russia’s 25 1/2-month invasion:

Over the last week, Russian terrorists used nearly 130 [Iran-made] “Shahed” drones against Ukraine….More than 80 Russian missiles and nearly 700 guided aerial bombs were also used.

He noted loopholes in sanctions against Moscow, and the protracted wait for the vote on “the vital assistance package” from the US.

Rhetoric does not protect skies. Thoughts do not limit the production of terrorist missiles and drones….

There is no more time to waste. Wherever life is threatened by terror, it must be protected through real action. Every effort must be made to prevent the evil of war from spreading throughout the world, whether in Europe, the Middle East, or elsewhere.

Ukraine Commander-in-Chief: Russia Seeks Breakthrough in East by May 9

The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s military, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, has warned that Russia is seeking a major advance in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine for “Victory Day” celebrations on May 9.

Syrskyi said on Saturday that “the situation…has deteriorated significantly in recent days”. He cited Russian armored assaults in
three directions west of Bakhmut, the city in the Donetsk region seized by Moscow’s forces in May 2023.

The commander added on Sunday that the Russians want the capture of Chasiv Yar in the next three weeks, for the celebration of the Soviet victory over Germany in World War II.

Chasiv Yar is about 10 km (6 miles) from Bakhmut.