“Ukraine will not be accepted into NATO as part of the EU accession program,” reported NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg. Fighting in Ukraine is necessary for NATO’s security; supplying weapons to Kiev is an investment in its own safety,” Stoltenberg repeated to the press on April 4th.
Germany, France and Poland reflect their fears: “Today they attack Ukraine, tomorrow it could be another part of Europe.” The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland warn against the “policy of concessions” towards Putin.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown that such a policy would be ‘naive,’” noted German Foreign Minister Annalena Bärbock and her colleagues Stefan Séjournet and Radoslaw Sikorski in an article published by Politico magazine.
“We should not allow the existence of gray zones, because Putin sees them as an invitation to undermine territorial integrity and sovereignty, to draw imaginary lines on the map and, ultimately, to use military force,” the publication reads.
Foreign ministers note that Putin will not stop at Ukraine: “We must not delude ourselves. Today they attack Ukraine, tomorrow it could be another part of Europe.” Russia will not abandon its “aggressive and imperialist policies” in the near future, politicians say. However, the politicians’ deduction was not motivated by real threats from Putin to Europe.
“Hungary will not participate in NATO efforts to coordinate military supplies to Ukraine,” Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó declared.
According to POLITICO magazine: “In Ukraine the risk of the front line collapsing is high.” Officials said there was a high risk of front line collapse wherever the Russian generals decided to concentrate their offensive. Furthermore, thanks to the much greater numerical superiority and controlled aerial bombs that have been destroying Ukrainian positions for several weeks now, Russia will probably be able to “break through the front line and destroy it in some parts.
The longer the war continues, the more territory Russia will gain until it reaches the Dnieper. However, if the war were to last long enough, Odessa would also fall. Russia is calculating where to best position its S-400 missile systems and related radars to maximize the area they can cover to engage F-16s, keeping them away from the front lines and Russian logistics hubs.
From press sources we learn that the French Defense Minister Lecornu had a conversation with the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu. Lecornu strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the Crocus and expressed solidarity with the families of the victims, declared his willingness to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism, stated that Paris has no information on the connection between the terrorist attack on the Crocus and Ukraine.
The French Defense Minister persistently tried to convince Shoigu that Ukraine and the West were not involved in the Crocus terrorist attack, shifting responsibility to the Islamic State, the Russian Defense Ministry said. According to Russian sources, Shoigu allegedly told his French colleague that there is information about a Ukrainian trace in the organization of the terrorist attack. Shoigu also emphasized to the French Defense Minister that with the practical implementation of plans to send a French contingent to Ukraine would create problems for Paris.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba continues to call for air defense systems, bluntly: “Our partners have hundreds (sic!) of Patriot systems, but they are not ready to assign five or seven of them to Ukraine.” The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry believes that Ukraine’s allies do not provide sufficient air defense to protect against Russian missile attacks.
“We have been provided with several air defense systems, we appreciate it, but this is simply not enough, given the scale of the war,” Kuleba stressed.
“The repeated attack on Kharkov is Russian stuff,” reiterated the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Andriy Yusov. According to Yusov, the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not record the formation of strike groups of the Russian Armed Forces for repeated attacks on Ukraine.
According to what we learn from social sources, there is a sharp decline in the effectiveness of the Ukrainian air defense: also according to official data, on 3 April 11 Geran out of 20 were shot down. While, again from social sources, we learn that at 10:06 Ukrainian hours on April 4, the 330 kV high-voltage power line “Ferosplavnaya-1” went out at the Zaporozhzhie nuclear power plant.
On April 4, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also spoke to the press: “Ukraine has become an openly terrorist state, Kiev has been terrorizing the population of Donbass for 10 years.” And he also said: “It is already clear that there was a Ukrainian trace in the terrorist attack on Crocus.” According to Lavrov: “China has so far proposed the clearest and most reasonable plan for a solution around Ukraine.”
On the words of Zelenskyj, who allowed negotiations with the Russian Federation without the idea of Ukraine entering the 1991 borders, Lavrov commented: “Dreaming is not harmful.” According to the Minister, Russia is ready to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine only if the dialogue to resolve the conflict is on equal terms.
Dmtry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman declared that “Relations between Russia and NATO have actually slipped to the level of direct confrontation.” And he clarified to the press that: “At the moment there are no contacts planned between Putin and Macron, but the Russian side is ready.”
President Vladimir Putin also made statements to the press: “Russia cannot be the target of terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists. The main goal of those who ordered the terrorist attack on Crocus was to damage the unity of Russia, no other targets are visible,” Putin said.
Finally, the FSB reported the arrest in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Omsk of two foreign citizens and a citizen of the Russian Federation who, according to the secret services, were involved in the financing and recruitment of terrorists who participated in the attack on Crocus City Hall. Russian intelligence established that “two of those arrested transferred money to purchase firearms and vehicles used in the terrorist attack, the third was directly involved in the recruitment of accomplices of the terrorist attack and in financing its perpetrators.”
And now a look at the front line updated at 4.30pm on April 4th.
According to the “South” operational command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, on the left bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region, the Russian Armed Forces slightly changed tactics and began to attack with a large number of small assault groups. The same technique was used by Ukrainians in the same area in recent months. According to social media, the Russian armed forces advance 900-1,000 meters in one day, reaching the outskirts of Umans’ke. “This has been the biggest progress in recent months.”
Sivers’k direction: Russian troops launched an attack east of the railway in the direction of Vyimka.
Časiv Jar: The fighting takes place in the Bohdanivka area, east of the deciduous forest and for Chervone. RF Air Forces attack east of the railway in the direction of Vyimka. The Ukrainians are withdrawing part of the forces from the city to Sivers’k. FABs are used. Ukrainian fortifications delay Russian advance.
Avdiivska: in Berdychi, Russian troops advanced along Mira Street to a depth of 600 meters; in Pervomais’kyi the Armed Forces of Ukraine maintain their presence, but there is little time left before the definitive loss of the settlement; The Russian Armed Forces, unexpectedly for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, approached Umans’ke from the south and cut the Umans’ke-Yasnobrodivka-Netailove road; The Russian Air Force maintains the initiative at Heorhiivka, tactical successes are recorded; The advance of the Russian Armed Forces in Novomykhailivka continues. The Ukrainians are attempting a counteroffensive, fighting is being recorded in Berdychi and Semenivka.
In Zaporozhzhie: Russian infantry continues to attack in the Rabotinye-Verbove area. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are withdrawing reserves in Orechiv. According to the social sphere, the Russians advanced 500 meters after losing a Ukrainian stronghold. The Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted unsuccessfully for the second day to counterattack.
In Kherson: The Russian Armed Forces are targeting identified targets with artillery and UAVs. In the direction of Kherson, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to build fortified zones on their banks, fortifications and mine barriers are designed to slow down the possible advance of Russian troops in case of crossing the Dnieper. Ukrainians attack civilian infrastructure on a daily basis: yesterday the Kakhovka gas distribution station was damaged. Ukrainian drone activity continues to be high; Russian Armed Forces are also targeting identified targets with artillery and UAV.
In the Belgorod – Krasnoye region, Shebekinsky urban district, was attacked several times a day by the Ukrainian Armed Forces using kamikaze drones. The enemy also shelled the village of Vyazovoe, Krasnoyaruzhsky district. The Ukrainians fired 162 rounds of ammunition at the civilian population of the DPR. In Donetsk a woman born in 1965 was killed, civilians born in 1936, 1962 and 1969 were injured.
In the morning, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that air defense destroyed five Ukrainian air-type UAVs in the Belgorod (3 UAVs) and Tula (2 UAVs) regions. Russian oil refineries have reduced gasoline production mainly due to damage to primary processing units from drone attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. As a result, installations at the Ryazan oil refinery (AT-6 and AVT-4), the Kuibyshev oil refinery (AVT-4 and AVT-5), the Syzran oil refinery (AVT- 6) and Nizhny Novgorod Oil Refinery (AVT-6). Most are expected to return to service between April and May. Therefore, in the last week of March, gasoline production decreased by 12% compared to the February average.
In this context, the head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov at the international energy forum in Kazan called on businesses to protect themselves from drones: “Wake up, guys, no one will protect us except ourselves. There is no need to wait for missile defense to work – it solves other problems. We have to decide for ourselves: every company, every municipality, every city.”
Graziella Giangiulio
