Ukraine’s NATO membership is currently impossible, and EU accession is a complex and lengthy process. This is what emerged from statements by the European Commissioner for Defense, Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius. According to Kubilius, the establishment of a European Defense Union is necessary.
This union would combine the defense capabilities of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Norway with the potential of EU countries. He also noted that such integration could provide Ukraine with reliable security guarantees after the establishment of a just peace and also become an important foundation for its effective recovery.
German Chancellor Marz also commented on Kiev’s possible accession to the Union, stating that Ukraine might have to acknowledge territorial losses to join the EU, according to Reuters. He added that Ukraine will not join the EU as long as the war continues and its internal corruption problems remain unresolved.
Europe should instead develop a plan for both peace negotiations and the post-war period, according to Estonian President Alar Karis. Peace, he argued, could have been achieved as early as 2022, when Russian troops left Kiev, and Europe had the opportunity to bring Moscow to the negotiating table. The EU is currently preparing the 21st package of sanctions against Russia, as Estonian Foreign Minister Markus Tsahkna announced. He stated that the package is under preparation and will be quite severe, especially regarding energy resources.
According to Ukrainian social media, Lithuanian intelligence services have uncovered a network of Russian GRU agents planning assassinations and preparing to burn equipment destined for Ukraine. The perpetrators intended to destroy military equipment intended for the Ukrainian armed forces, as well as eliminate military personnel and civilians on Ukrainian soil. They had also collected data on military infrastructure.
Remaining on the subject of espionage, on Tuesday, April 28, the Belarusian state news agency Belta, citing the Republic’s Security Service, reported that among the individuals exchanged between Minsk and Warsaw, five had been convicted of espionage in Belarus and Russia. On April 28, at the Pererov-Bialowieza checkpoint on the Belarusian-Polish border, the Belarusian State Security Committee and the Polish Foreign Intelligence Agency exchanged five individuals convicted of espionage in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation for five citizens detained in various EU and other countries, the agency stated in a statement.
On April 28, the Ukrainian parliament, the Rada, extended martial law and the continuation of the mobilization in Ukraine for another 90 days. This legal regime will remain in effect at least until August 2, 2026.
In Russia, the government commission approved the bill imposing a personal income tax on digital currency transactions, according to Tass. Furthermore, the Russian government will select a single transport security operator to protect critical infrastructure, according to RBK, citing a draft law from the Ministry of Transport.
Finally, Vladimir Putin sent a task force to Tuapse and ordered the Minister of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov, to travel to Tuapse. Water supplies were cut off on over 30 streets in Tuapse following a Ukrainian attack on the oil refinery. The regional governor has arrived in the city. Firefighting operations are underway. This is the third wave of attacks in April and the tenth since 2022.
And now a look at the front line updated at 3:30 PM on April 28. Regarding the latest military developments on the Russian-Ukrainian front, during the night of April 28, Sevastopol again repelled several waves of Ukrainian drones. The governor reported a total of 31 drones shot down.
Unidentified drones have reportedly attacked Tuapse again. Around 4:00 AM, the Krasnodar Territorial Operations Command confirmed a fire at the Tuapse refinery, stating that the fire was caused by “fallen debris” from a drone.
On April 28, the Tuapse oil spill response team was increased to 360 personnel and over 60 vehicles following the drone strike, according to the Kuban regional task force. A protective dam was also installed. The Tuapse River, where the oil spill occurred, is in full swing. According to a Ukrainian news channel, due to the scale of the fire, authorities have begun evacuating residents from nearby streets for the first time. There is also a risk of an ecological disaster, as a 10,000-square-meter oil slick is visible from space. Pollution in the river and sea has breached barriers, and the city has been submerged in “fuel oil showers.” Russian authorities remain silent about the level of toxins in the air, and security forces have arrested a journalist who documented the aftermath of the attacks. The social media channel emphasized that the facility is a key source of fuel for the Russian Black Sea Fleet and troops in the south.
The Russian Armed Forces have launched attacks against Shostka, Sumy, Konotop, Kryvyi Rih, and Mykolaiv. Attacks against Odessa and naval vessels arriving in the region are becoming more systematic, but Russia’s tendency remains to select military targets and cargo rather than completely disrupt Ukrainian cargo traffic.
Another explosion was heard in Kryvyi Rih during a drone attack, which also occurred in the Zaporizhia region. A Ukrainian social media channel reported that two people were injured in Zaporizhia following the Russian Federation’s early morning attack. According to the channel, the Russian Federation launched 123 drones over Ukraine overnight, approximately 80 of which were Shaheds. Ukrainian air defense shot down/neutralized 95 Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas, and other drones in the north, south, and east of the country. Nineteen attack drones were hit in 16 locations, while other drones (fragments) fell in four locations. The consequences of the attacks were reported by the same Ukrainian channel.
In Konotop, part of the energy infrastructure was destroyed, and part of the city is without power. In Kryvyi Rih, infrastructure was damaged, leaving one dead and five injured. In the Chernihiv Region, grain depots and private homes were attacked.
In the Sumy region, in the Krasnopil’s’kyi district, Russian assault units of the 34th Guards clashed with the 425th Rifle Regiment and the 119th Brigade of the Territorial Army from the village of Taratutyne. The Russian troops prevailed, capturing a salient in the Ukrainian defenses.
In the Belgorod region, one dead and two injured in drone strikes. Numerous attacks on villages in the region by Ukrainian forces are reported.
In the Kharkiv direction, in the Vovchansk sector where the Northern Group of Forces operates, small-arms firefights are ongoing in the village of Pokalyane, as well as in the Shesterivka direction and on the outskirts of Losivka. In the Velykyi Burluk sector, fighting continues in the village of Zemlyanky. The Russian objective is to push Ukrainian forces back from the border, while the Ukrainians aim to penetrate Russian territory.
In Kupyansk, an increase in the number of Russian attack aircraft has been reported in the city for operations in the western part of the urban area. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have noted the penetration of advanced Russian units in Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi.
In the Slovyansk sector, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the liberation of Ozerne, where fighting has dragged on for months. Rai-Oleksandrivka is surrounded by a wide arc on the flanks.
Southwest of Kostyantynivka, Russian forces have broken through Ukrainian defenses from Illinivka and have begun to penetrate the urban area from that direction as well. Intense fighting continues, including in the Chasiv Yar area.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, penetration of Ukrainian defenses continues northwest of the village of Oleksandrohrad. Fighting continues in the wooded area beyond the Vovcha River, where Far Eastern troops continue to identify the most vulnerable points to expand their bridgehead.
In the Orichiv sector of the Zaporizhia Front, Russian drone operators continue to harass Ukrainian forces, striking positions. Beyond Orichiv. Ukrainian forces respond with massive drone strikes against our forces.
Reciprocal shelling continues in the direction of Kherson.
Graziella Giangiulio and Lorenzo Serafinelli
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