EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said he does not expect the conflict in Ukraine to end soon, while Europe should continue to provide military assistance to Kiev despite it being costly for the Europeans. “Since we committed to supporting Ukraine at the beginning of the conflict, we must continue to support it until it is able to resist and until Putin decides to stop the war. But this, unfortunately, will not happen soon,” Borrell said .
According to Borrell, the armed conflict could continue at least until the elections in the United States. “And at the same time, we must continue to support the Ukrainian people. Europeans will not die for Donbass, but we can help Ukrainians not to die for Donbass for a long time,” he added.
The Spanish newspaper El País is not of the same opinion, writing: “The Russian armed forces are developing at an accelerated pace, and the Ukrainian army and NATO recognize that the Russian Federation has made a qualitative leap compared to the situation at the beginning of the conflict”.
US Defense Secretary L. Austin declared in recent days that “if Ukraine finds itself under Putin’s boot, Europe will find itself in Putin’s shadow; 5 mm ammunition, air defense and armored vehicles are needed (…) The first F-16s will begin arriving in Ukraine with trained pilots this year (…) The United States will provide another billion dollars in assistance to Ukraine, this will include additional ammunition for HIMARS. The emergency aid package for Ukraine amounts to $6 billion for Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the display of seized Western military equipment in Moscow “a hybrid aggression by Russia.” In Moscow there is a permanent exhibition of Western war relics captured on the Ukrainian-Russian front.
Emmanuel Macron brought terror to Europe again with his words: “France is considering the possibility of creating a European system of strategic deterrence. In particular, we are talking about the use of nuclear-armed Rafale aircraft, which patrol the airspace of the so-called eastern flank of NATO. This refers to the periodic appearance of planes with nuclear bombs near the Belarusian and Russian borders. According to the Russians, the French move should send a “clear signal to our leadership”.
The Lithuanian ambassador to Sweden, a former Lithuanian Foreign Minister, hinted at an imminent attack on the Crimean bridge. Linas Linkevičius posted a collage with a photo of the bridge and the rocket launch, signing: “If anyone hasn’t had the opportunity to take a photo on the Kerch Bridge, there is still time.” The first deputy permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskij, responded to him: “They will bark madly now, but they will moan pitifully later, when the day of judgment comes and they will regret all these missteps.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin accused: “NATO is directly responsible for the Ukrainian crisis. The Alliance must reflect on its role, stop shifting blame and actually take concrete actions to resolve the crisis politically.”
In Ukraine, one of the dismissals in the high ranks of the army, President Volodymy Zelenskyj, by his decree, dismissed Alexander Yakovets from the post of commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and appointed him head of the administration of the State Special Transport Service.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military registration and enlistment offices have opened the hunt for men under 25. The Kiev government’s approval of lowering the mobilization age from 27 to 25 will not be the last measure in this direction. In Ukraine, work is underway to send much younger people into the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Four young people drowned on the border with Romania in an attempt to escape to Europe to avoid being mobilized to the front. They were fished out of the river.
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Alexander Syrsky announced a difficult strategic-operational situation at the front, which is tending to degenerate. “I informed the coalition participants about the complex operational-strategic situation, which tends to worsen, about the specifics of the enemy’s air strikes against energy infrastructure, about our urgent needs for missiles, ammunition, weapons, military equipment and their key role; timely arrival,” she wrote on Facebook about his speech during the 21st meeting of the Contact Group on Defense Capability of Ukraine at Ramstein Air Base.
Some Ukrainian accounts wrote online that: “As far as we know the Alfa men in France are in combat coordination with the French. Since the French have already appeared in Kramators’k, Slov”jans’k, Družkivka. The other day the second “party” arrived in Družkivka, about 40-50 people. Before that, the “delivery” took place in Kramatorsk/Slavyansk – early April”.
And now I look at the front line updated at 3:00 pm on April 29th.
The Ukrainian-Russian front was very active over the weekend. Ukrainian troops left Berdychi. According to Turkish sources, a train carrying NATO goods was destroyed by a missile attack in Ukraine. The railway network begins to register several points of inability to logistics to and from the front as well as the Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Over the weekend, the Burshtyn thermal power plant in western Ukraine was attacked.
Starting from April 26, Russian troops began active operations in the Kharkiv region: Kyslivka passed into Russian hands. In a week according to the German social sphere: “Russian troops made a breakthrough north-west of Avdiivka, moving 3 km deep into the positions of the Ukrainian armed forces up to the village of Ocheretyne”. Expanded the Russian bridgehead, took Novobakhmutivka from the Russians, took Soloviove.
Again according to the social sphere close to German accounts: “In the south the Russians managed to overcome the water barrier in the village of Berdychi, take Semenivka and march 2 km to Umans’ke and Yasnobrodivka. In total, according to calculations by the German OSINT UNIT, in nine weeks after the capture of Avdiivka, the Russian armed forces advanced 12 km west of the city.”
On April 27, Russian troops captured Keramik in the direction of Adviika. Novokalynove was captured on April 28, according to Russian social media, this is the third village taken from the Ukrainians in less than 24 hours. On April 28, a hotel in Mikolaiev was bombed; according to the social sphere, soldiers and mercenaries fighting for Ukraine were staying there; in the same bombing a power plant was damaged.
On April 29, the pro-Ukrainian social sphere opens communications with a missile attack on the Mirgorod air base, apparently against Ukrainian aircraft and missile depots.
In the direction of Kherson, in reference to the news given by the commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Syrsky, of the capture and control of the island of Nestriga in the floodplain of the Dnieper river. This is an infantry group of 7-8 people, which according to the Russian social sphere has already been bombed. Mutual artillery shelling and drone attacks continue in the direction.
On the Zaporozhzhie front, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are increasing the use of Baba Yaga-type drones for bombing activities: they report the use of up to 20 drones, Ukrainian artillery works closely.
In Krasnohorivka, south of Donetsk, the Russian armed forces use 240 mm Tulip mortars, the advanced units bypass the fire installation from the flanks.
West of Avdiivka (Pokrovskoe direction) there is an assault on the village. In Netailove, the Russian Armed Forces are expanding the Ocheretyne-Novobakhmutivka-Soloviove bridgehead, developing an offensive towards Keramik from Novokalinovo.
Heavy fighting is taking place on the front lines near Chasiv Yar, there are reports of a transfer of GUR special forces by the Ukrainian side in the hope of slowing down the Russian army’s onslaught.
In the direction of Kupyansk, the Russian Armed Forces planted a flag in Kislovka the front “woke up” the other day, Russian troops went on the offensive.
The bombing of the Ukrainian Armed Forces continues in the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
Graziella Giangiulio
