As of: 04/25/2022 6:15 p.m
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian attacks on train stations resulted in deaths and injuries. Rockets hit a refinery near Kremenchuk. Despite the announced ceasefire, there are no safe escape routes in Mariupol.
According to Ukrainian sources, at least five people have been killed in Russian attacks on the railway infrastructure. 18 other people were injured in the rocket fire in the Vinnytsia region in the center of the country, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said.
Earlier, the head of the Ukrainian railways, Alexander Kamishin, told Telegram that the “Russian troops would continue to systematically destroy the railway infrastructure”. Within an hour, five train stations in central and western Ukraine were shelled, he wrote.
Rocket attack on refinery near Kremenchuk
Russian forces shelled a refinery and a fuel depot near the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk. “High-precision long-range weapons destroyed fuel production facilities at an oil refinery on the northern outskirts of Kremenchuk, as well as storage facilities for petroleum products that fueled military equipment for Ukrainian troops,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
According to the Ukrainian military administration, nine rockets hit the Kremenchuk refinery and thermal power station. There is considerable damage to buildings, but the fires that have broken out have been contained, wrote the head of administration Dmytro Lunin on Telegram. One person was killed and seven others were injured.
Shaded in white: advance of the Russian army. Shaded in green: Russian-backed separatist areas. Crimea: annexed by Russia.
Image: ISW/04/24/2022
Ukraine: Russian advances repelled
According to the Ministry of Defense in Kyiv, the Ukrainian armed forces were able to repel Russian advances in the east of the country. A ministry spokesman said Russian forces tried to break through the lines in the Rubishne, Popasna, Sievjerodonetsk, Maryinka and Avdiivka areas. In addition, an advance from Izyum in the direction of Barvenkovo and Slowyansk is underway.
In the Donetsk area and further south, Russian combat operations were primarily limited to heavy artillery fire on the Ukrainian positions. Only in the small town of Popasna, which has been fought over for weeks, have there been further storm attempts.
conflicting parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body.
No agreement on escape routes from Mariupol
The situation remains critical in the embattled port city of Mariupol. According to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, there was no agreement on an escape corridor from the Azovstal steel plant.
Vereshchuk was responding to Russia’s announcement that an escape route for civilians would be established from the bastion held by Ukrainian troops. “It is important to understand that a humanitarian corridor will only be opened after an agreement has been reached between both sides,” Vereshchuk told Telegram. A unilaterally announced escape corridor is unsafe.
The Russian army had previously announced a ceasefire around the steelworks to allow civilians to withdraw.
City view of Mariupol, steelworks in the background: Up to 100,000 people are said to be stuck in the Ukrainian port city. 1,000 civilians and civilians remain at the Azovstal plant alone.
Image: REUTERS
Ukraine relies on mediation by UN chief
Ukraine is now relying on the mediation of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to rescue those trapped in the steelworks. He is asked to become “the initiator and guarantor of a humanitarian corridor,” said Vereshchuk. Staff from the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross should monitor the possibility of evacuation.
According to information from Kyiv, around 1,000 civilians are said to be staying in the steelworks, including women and children. In addition, according to Russian information, there are still about 2,500 Ukrainian gunmen and foreign mercenaries.
No agreement on evacuation corridor for people from Mariupol
Mathea Schülke, WDR, daily news at 4:00 p.m., April 25, 2022
Kuleba demands faster arms shipments
In the face of ongoing fighting in the country, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the West to speed up arms deliveries. If he wants Ukraine to stop the Russian invaders, win the war and not allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to advance further into Europe, then he must deliver the weapons Ukraine is asking for more quickly, Kuleba told the AP news agency.
He welcomed the additional supplies announced by the US, but also said: “As long as Russian soldiers have a foothold on Ukrainian territory, nothing is enough.”
According to the US government, Ukraine can win the war against Russia with sufficient military support. “They can win if they have the right equipment and the right support,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said after a visit to Kyiv.
Ammunition of Russian design for the Ukrainian military
The US government wants to buy Russian-made ammunition worth 165 million US dollars (153 million euros) for the heavy weapons of the Ukrainian armed forces. Among other things, it is about ammunition for howitzers, grenade launchers, cannons, tanks and mortars, as an agency of the Ministry of Defense announced. The State Department has approved the sale, it said.
The ammunition is very important for Ukraine to get supplies for its existing weapon systems, some of which are still of Soviet or Russian design. The US government has already shipped arms and ammunition from its own stockpiles to Ukraine on a massive scale. However, the weapon systems of the NATO countries are often not compatible with those of Russian design. Washington said Ukraine already had the ammunition to be purchased or similar variants in its stocks, so there would be “no difficulty” in letting the armed forces use them.
Britain: 15,000 Russian soldiers killed
The British government estimates that around 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the start of the war in Ukraine. This figure was given by Defense Secretary Ben Wallace in the British Parliament. “In addition to the death toll, there are equipment losses, and overall, multiple sources suggest that more than 2,000 armored vehicles have been destroyed or captured so far,” Wallace said. “Russia has also lost more than 60 helicopters and fighter jets,” Wallace said.
Ukraine reports significantly higher Russian losses. According to this, almost 22,000 soldiers were killed and 181 combat aircraft, 154 helicopters, 884 tanks and 2258 armored personnel carriers were destroyed. The Russian government, in turn, reported on March 25 that 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed.