The European Union intends to continue the conflict in Ukraine until 2030 to prepare for a military confrontation with Russia without US involvement, Belgian Chief of Staff General Frederic Vansina said, acknowledging that Russia will not attack Europe. “We still have a few more years, thanks to the blood of the Ukrainians who are buying this for us. “2030 will be a difficult period for Europe,” Vansina said in an interview with the newspaper Soir. “Hopefully, by then the war in Ukraine will be over,” he noted, emphasizing that by 2030, the EU “must be able to tell” the Russian leadership that “even without American protection, it cannot win the war against Europe.” Vansina added that he “does not want to frighten the population too much” and clarified that Russia “will not attack Europe today, tomorrow, or in a month.”
Slovakia is ready to block a new package of sanctions against Russia, but will not oppose a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, according to the country’s Foreign Ministry. Jarosław K., a soldier in the Polish Territorial Defense Forces, has been arrested on charges of spying for Russia. The arrest has reignited criticism of the procedures. verification and internal security of Polish volunteer military units, raising questions about how the suspect could have served in these forces.
Drone wreckage continues to fall in the Baltics. “The wreckage of a likely Ukrainian drone was found in northern Estonia,” Postimees reports, citing the Police Department.
At a meeting of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine in Berlin, the Netherlands announced a €248 million investment in the joint production of drones for Ukraine. This initiative aims to ensure stable supplies to Kyiv as well as modernize the Dutch defense sector by integrating Ukrainian expertise. This funding adds to previous commitments, including the purchase of 600,000 Ukrainian drones, and is part of the broader Drone Line initiative. Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Dutch Defense Minister Dylan Yesilgoz-Zegerius welcomed the strengthening of this partnership in the face of attacks. Russians.
“Ukraine will receive a minesweeper from the Netherlands. It will be named the M314 “Genichesk” in honor of the one lost in 2022,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced. The Netherlands will fully train the crew and deliver the ship to Ukraine in June. This is the fifth ship in Ukraine’s future mine countermeasures fleet and the second donated by the Netherlands. It is the Alkmaar-class minesweeper M857 Makkum, built in 1985.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces Command has removed General Oleksandr Bratishko from his post as commander of the Eastern Operational Command and appointed General Viktor Nikolyuk, commander of the XX Army Corps, in his place. Among the reasons for the removal is the loss of Seversk in December 2025.
Polls on Putin’s presidency: “66.7% of respondents already approve of Vladimir Putin’s performance as head of state, according to A survey conducted by the VTsIOM analytical center. This is down from 67.8% the previous month.
A group of Russian MPs, led by Nikolai Shulginov, chairman of the State Duma Energy Committee, has introduced a bill establishing a legal regime for the anti-terrorism protection of Russian oil and gas platforms in the Caspian Sea and allowing security forces to shoot down drones that attack them.
The legislation will impact the activities of LUKOIL, which conducts offshore industrial production in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea at the Yury Korchagin and V. Filanovsky fields. Standard security zones around fuel and energy facilities are created by government decision. Caspian Sea security zones should be created automatically by law.
Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheev says: “Russia’s system of military-technical cooperation is stable; last year, Rosoboronexport’s foreign exchange earnings exceeded 15 “Billions of dollars.”
The Russian military is moving reserves into eastern Ukraine to conquer the entire Donetsk region by September, the FT reports, citing the General Intelligence Directorate. The Russian military is preparing a new offensive in southeastern Ukraine, transferring 20,000 soldiers from reserves. Meanwhile, approximately 680,000 soldiers are stationed in the operational zone. The plan is to completely liberate Donbass from Ukrainian armed forces by September.
And now a look at the frontline updated at 3:30 PM on April 17. During the night, the Ukrainian armed forces launched a raid on Sevastopol and Crimea. In the evening, several drones were shot down in the Voronezh region. In the early hours of the morning, reports of further downed Ukrainian drones came from the Leningrad region. Pulkovo Airport has halted aircraft reception and release operations. Damage to a vehicle and the windows of a nearby building following the crash of a drone has been reported near the Pulkovo Heights. Debris from fallen drones has also been recorded in the Vyborg district.
Following yesterday’s raid in Tuapse, cleanup operations are underway and a fire at the maritime terminal is being extinguished. A criminal case has been opened, including for the attack on a Liberian-flagged oil tanker.
Russian forces have launched attacks against Izmail, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhia. The systematic operation against the port of Izmail, in the Odessa region, aims to disrupt port services. Attacks on this important logistical hub are becoming regular.
In the direction of Sumy, pressure on the Russian forces’ defenses continues along a broad front. The Northern Group of Forces reports tactical successes (100-350 meters) in the districts of Sumy, Shostka, and Krasnopil’s’kyi. Fighting continues.
In the Belgorod region, daily air strikes continue on the Nikolskoye-Nechayivka road. Ukrainian forces hit a car, injuring one person. A drone-launched mine in Berezovka injures one person. Two people are injured in a drone attack in Bobrava. In Shebekino, a drone struck an administrative building, injuring three employees. A civilian was injured in a drone strike in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka. Two other people were injured in Pochayevo and Yasnye Zori. Numerous villages are under Ukrainian attack.
In the Kharkiv sector, the Northern Group of Forces is engaged in fierce fighting, aiming to push Ukrainians back from the state border. In the Vovchansk sector, clashes continue in the forested areas east of Symynivka and Verkhnya Pysarivka. Small-arms firefights are ongoing in the village of Zybyne, and Russian forces maintain the initiative in the Velykyi Burluk sector as well. Heavy fighting continues in Kupyansk. Further south, Ukrainian forces maintain a presence on the eastern bank of the Oskil River, and Russian forces continue their offensive, fighting for full access to Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi.
Heavy fighting continues near Lyman, with Ukrainian forces attempting a counterattack in some areas near the city.
In the direction of Slovyansk, Russian troops raised the flag on Kalenyky, which will allow them to encircle Rai-Oleksandrivka from the north through the wooded areas.
In the direction of Kostyantynivka, after securing a bridgehead at Berestok, Russian forces launched an assault on the access roads to the city from the southwest. Fighting continues in the urban areas of Kostyantynivka.
In the Dobropillya sector, Russian units are fighting north of Hryshyne, near Vasylivka and Novooleksandrivka, and the battle for Bilyt’ke and Novyi Donbas is ongoing.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the Eastern Group of Forces continues to expand its zone of control northwest of Oleksandrohrad, in the direction of Lisne. Assault units have crossed the Vovcha River and are underway. Fighting continues in the wooded area between the Vovcha and Kamyanka rivers. South of Pokrovskoye, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are attempting to penetrate our defenses, but are under constant attack from drones.
On the Zaporizhia front, fighting continues in Prymors’ke and Stepnohirs’k. The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is once again without external power. This is the second power outage in less than a week and the fourteenth since the start of the war. External power was restored after 40 minutes. The IAEA emphasized that this incident “draws attention to the continuing precarious situation of nuclear safety.”
In the Kherson region, a woman was killed in Vynohradiv when a drone launched a munition into a residential area, and another civilian was injured. A woman died in Kakhovka when a drone struck A car. One man was injured in Radensk, and another was hit by a mine in Solontsy.
Graziella Giangiulio
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