Recovery workers on the site of a Russian missile strike on Sumy in northern Ukraine, April 14, 2025

Thursday’s Coverage: Zelensky — “Moscow Doesn’t See Ukraine as a Country”

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1257 GMT:

Amid the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and mass killing of civilians, Donald Trump says he cannot understand hatred of Russia.

Trump recalled a commemoration of World War II:

I spoke to President Putin at the time. He lost 51 million people. He fought with us in World War II. Russia did fight. It’s interesting, isn’t it? It fought with us in World War II, and everyone hates it.

And now everybody hates Russia and loves Germany and Japan. It’s a strange world.

UPDATE 1238 GMT:

The European Union has delivered another 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine as part of a G7 loan.

Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal posted about the fifth tranche of funds from the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration) initiative, “The funds will be directed toward key expenditures of the state budget….Together, we will make (Russia) pay for all the damage caused to Ukraine.”

European Commission President Ursula vin der Leyen wrote, “We are with Ukraine for the long haul.”

Ukraine has received a total of 7 billion euros ($8 billion) under the ERA, funded by the windfall profits generated from frozen Russian sovereign assets.

UPDATE 0823 GMT:

At least four civilians were killed and 24 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses downed four missiles and 28 of 55 drones launched by the Russians overnight. Another 15 drones were lost to electronic counter-warfare.

One civilian was murdered and seven wounded, including an 11-year-old child, in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. Russian forces attacked with 16 unguided rockets, six guided bombs, and more than 20 drones, striking houses and factory buildings.

In the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, one person was killed and three injured amid almost 500 strikes including 283 drone attacks and 10 airstrikes.

Two civilians were slain and five injured in the Donetsk region in the east.

Casualties were also reported in the Sumy region.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that Kyiv’s forces are repelling the Russian offensive in the border area of the Sumy region in the northeast of the country.

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky reported on a meeting with military commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi: “Our units in Sumy region are gradually pushing back the occupiers.”

Russia has claimed gradual advances in the area, as Vladimir Putin tries to establish a “buffer zone” amid his rejection of any ceasefire. More than 200 villages have been evacuated.

The war monitor DeepState assesses that the Russians have occupied more than 190 square km (73 square miles) of the “gray area” in Sumy. The forward wave of the assault is around 20 km (12.5 miles) from the suburbs of Sumy city, whose civilians are being bombarded by rockets, drones, and artillery.

Last week three civlians were killed and 28 injured, including three children, in a rocket assault. The Russians committed other mass murders last month.

Ukraine War, Day 1,179: Russia Murders 9 Civilians in Sumy

Presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak echoed Zelensky’s message, “I think [Ukraine’s] military has the situation under control and I think we shall see a different picture in the coming days.”