Russia-Ukraine war updates: EU slams attack on Zaporizhzhia plant
- Russia says Ukraine has attacked the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for a third day with a drone, which Ukraine’s military intelligence denies.
- EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell calls the drone attack “reckless” and says it “increases risk of dangerous nuclear accident”.
- Russia says Ukraine has attacked the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for a third day with a drone, which Ukraine’s military intelligence denies.
- EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell calls the drone attack “reckless” and says it “increases risk of dangerous nuclear accident”.
- UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a trip to Washington, DC, to press Congress to pass an aid package for Ukraine. Cameron earlier had met Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump in Florida.
- Ukraine says its air defence systems have destroyed 20 attack drones launched by Russia overnight to target seven Ukrainian regions.
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says during a meeting with his Russian counterpart that Beijing supports the holding of a timely conference between Russia and Ukraine.
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Here’s what happened today
We’re closing this blog soon, and these are the main developments from the day:
- China’s Foreign Ministry says Beijing supports holding a timely conference between Russia and Ukraine.
- The commander of the Ukrainian Air Force says his country’s air defence systems have destroyed 20 attack drones launched by Russia overnight.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia and China have agreed to discuss ways to deepen security cooperation across Europe and Asia.
- Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov says Washington refuses to listen to Moscow about its opposition to Ukraine’s NATO membership, according to the state news agency TASS.
- The Russian-installed regional head of the occupied Kherson region of Ukraine says three people were killed due to Ukrainian shelling a day earlier.
- Russia says Ukraine has attacked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for a third day with a drone, which Ukraine’s military intelligence denies.
Russia says Ukrainian shelling kills civilian in Kherson’s Kakhovka city
Russia says Macron ‘playing with fire’ by suggesting Ukraine troop deployment: Report
The director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second CIS Department says French President Emmanuel Macron is playing with fire by talking about potentially deploying troops to Ukraine, according to the TASS state news agency.
“Such conversations cannot but cause concern. Politicians who are calling for a military intervention in Ukraine are playing with fire,” Alexey Polishchuk said, commenting on Macron’s remarks.
He added that Western politicians were sacrificing their countries’ national interests for a political agenda and election ambitions.
“There is an impression that they do not realize the risks of the crisis escalating and spreading. This is political immaturity. Our warnings about the consequences of flooding the Kyiv regime with weapons are being ignored,” Polishchuk said.
Russian volunteer who helped Ukrainians dies in pre-trial detention
The Russian Federal Penitentiary Service says Belgorod volunteer Alexander Demidenko, who helped Ukrainians return home from Russia, died by suicide in a pre-trial detention centre.
Doctors unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate Demidenko, who allegedly died on Friday. They also found no signs of violent death, the Federal Penitentiary Service told reporters.
Since 2022, Demidenko has been helping Ukrainian refugees get from Belgorod to the checkpoint on the Ukrainian border.
He also provided many of them with overnight accommodation in his house. Demidenko was detained in October 2023.
Trump, Cameron discuss NATO and Ukraine
US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron have had dinner at Trump’s home in Florida in the US.
Trump’s campaign said in a statement that the pair on Monday discussed “the need for NATO countries to meet their defense spending requirements”.
The statement added that Cameron and Trump discussed “the upcoming US and UK elections, policy matters specific to Brexit … and ending the killing in Ukraine”.
Photos: Kyiv holds funeral for Ukrainian soldiers Sehii Konoval and Taras Petryshyn
Russia opens probe into ‘financing terrorism’
The announcement of the investigation comes as Moscow continues to blame the West and Ukraine for last month’s attack on a concert hall that killed 144 people.
Moscow’s Investigative Committee said it is “investigating the sources of income” worth millions of dollars and the “involvement of specific individuals from government officials and public commercial organisations of Western countries”.
“It has been established that financial funds received through commercial organisations, including the oil and gas company Burisma Holding, working in Ukraine over recent years were used to carry out terrorist acts inside Russia,” the committee claimed.
Burisma Holding is also the name of a company that employed Hunter Biden, the US president’s son.
It added the investigation was working to establish “links of the direct perpetrators of terrorist acts with their foreign curators, organisations and sponsors”.
Russia says Ukraine attacked Zaporizhzhia; Kyiv denies claim
Russia says Ukraine has attacked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for a third day with a drone, which Ukraine’s military intelligence denies.
“The unique training centre of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was attacked,” the Russian-controlled plant said in a statement, adding that the drone fell on the roof of the training centre and no one was injured.
The Kremlin added that the drone attacks on the nuclear plant were carried out by Ukraine and were “very dangerous” with grave potential consequences.
However, Ukrainian military intelligence said Kyiv does not target nuclear facilities.
“Ukraine’s position is clear and unequivocal – we do not commit any military actions or provocations on nuclear facilities,” Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence, said on national TV.
EU’s Borrell slams ‘reckless’ attack on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says a drone attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant increases a “risk of dangerous nuclear accident”.
“Reckless drone attack against Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant increases risk of dangerous nuclear accident. Such attacks must stop,” he said on X. “Full support for Director General Rapahel M Grossi and IAEA. Russia should withdraw from Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.”
Reckless drone attack against Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant increases risk of dangerous nuclear accident. Such attacks must stop.
Full support for DG @RapahelMGrossi and @iaeaorg.
Russia should withdraw from Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) April 9, 2024
Zelenskyy reiterates call for military aid during Kharkiv visit
“Kharkiv region is a very important area. We have to be prepared. And the Russians must see that we are ready to defend ourselves,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says on Telegram.
He posted a video showing himself talking to troops and walking through a trench as excavators dug up land.
On an almost daily basis, Zelenskyy has been asking Kyiv’s Western backers to increase their supplies of arms.
He said on Sunday that Ukraine will lose the war if Washington does not deliver sufficient aid and release a $60bn aid package that has been held up in the US Congress since last year.
Just before Zelenskyy’s visit, Russia fired a guided bomb at the city of Kharkiv, injuring at least three people, the mayor said.
Russia denies report it asked Kazakhstan to set up petrol reserve
Russia’s energy ministry says the country has not asked Kazakhstan to set up a petrol reserve for possible supplies.
“The Russian energy ministry has not approached Kazakhstan with a request to set up a reserve or supply motor gasoline to the Russian domestic market,” the ministry said.
“At the same time, it remains possible to supply up to 285,000 tonnes per year of gasoline from Russia to Kazakhstan even during the period of the export ban on the export for this type of motor fuel from Russia, and these supplies are being carried out.”
The ministry added that Russia’s domestic market is fully supplied with petrol and that it had available inventories to meet rising domestic demand.
Three industry sources previously told the Reuters news agency that Russia had asked Kazakhstan to stand ready to supply it with 100,000 tonnes of petrol in case of shortages exacerbated by Ukrainian drone attacks and outages.
Lavrov’s visit to China sets path for Putin: Russia’s Foreign Ministry
The Russian Foreign Ministry says the visit of Russia’s top diplomat to China sets the stage for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the country in the future, according to the TASS state news agency.
“The Chinese leader welcomed the arrival of Sergey Victorovich Lavrov in Beijing as an important stage of comprehensive preparations for the upcoming state visit of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to the People’s Republic of China later this year,” the ministry said.
It added that Chinese President Xi Jinping had expressed condolences over the Moscow concert hall attack and confirmed China’s unwavering support for Russia in fighting “terrorism”.
Artillery attack kills woman and child in Russia’s Bryansk
The governor of Russia’s Bryansk, Aleksandr Bogomaz, says a woman and a child have been killed in a Ukrainian artillery attack in the village of Klimovo.
“The blow was struck in the very centre of the village. Unfortunately, there are dead: a woman and a child. According to preliminary information, three civilians were injured,” Bogomaz wrote on Telegram.
“They are now receiving medical assistance. As a result of the terrorist attack, a residential building caught fire. Several private cars were partially damaged. The investigation of the area that came under fire continues. Operational and emergency services are working on the spot,” he added.
Key events on day 775 of Russia’s war on Ukraine
It’s day 775 of the Russia-Ukraine war, and here are the main updates:
- At least three people were killed and eight injured in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzia when a Russian missile hit several apartment blocks, an industrial building, and medical and educational facilities.
- Officials in Zvyahel in Ukraine’s central Zhytomyr region urged people to stay indoors due to “air pollution” after a Russian drone attack hit infrastructure.
- Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said Russia has struck as much as 80 percent of Ukraine’s conventional power plants and half its hydroelectric plants in recent weeks.
Read our full list here.
At least 16 people injured in Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s Poltava: Official
The head of Ukraine’s Poltava Regional Military Administration, Philip Pronin, says at least 16 people have been injured, including four children, after Russia attacked the region with anti-aircraft missiles.
“A few people continue to receive treatment in medical facilities. One patient is in serious condition, several are in moderate condition, they are provided with all necessary assistance,” he said on Telegram.
“Due to the enemy attack, more than 9,000 household consumers and 120 legal consumers in the Poltava and Shcherbaniv communities were temporarily without electricity at night.
“Energy workers have already restored power supply to all settlements, except for the partially destroyed building,” he added.
Germany’s stock of Patriots ‘nearly depleted’: Foreign Minister Baerbock
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says her country’s stock of Patriot systems is “virtually exhausted” as Ukraine presses its Western allies for the desperately needed missile defence systems.
“Unfortunately, our own Patriot systems are now nearly depleted. It is necessary to conduct a review of all Patriot systems in Europe and the world in order to understand where something can be quickly delivered to Ukraine,” she was quoted as saying by Germany’s NTV broadcaster.
She added that she would be able to provide more information publicly about the issue at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers.
Kyiv’s allies are failing to provide air defence systems: Borrell
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says it is “inconceivable that we are not able to provide them given that the Western armies have about 100 batteries of Patriot”.
“And still, we are not able to provide the seven they are asking [for] desperately,” Borrell said, adding that he would press EU ministers again when they meet in Luxembourg later this month.
“We have to fulfil our moral and political obligation towards Ukraine,” Borrell said. “The situation is extremely difficult. The Russian military machine is running at full speed.”
Borrell’s warning was part of a call for the bloc to step up its defence efforts in the face of greater threats.
“The possibility of a high-intensity conventional war in Europe is no longer a fantasy,” he told a conference in Brussels.
Kyiv says Russian troops killed 54 Ukrainian prisoners of war
The office of the Ukrainian prosecutor general is investigating 27 cases related to the killings of 54 prisoners of war, according to Yuriy Belousov, the head of its department for combating crimes committed in an armed conflict.
A court in Ukraine has already sentenced the first Russian military serviceman for the murder of a prisoner of war in the Chernihiv region.
Belousov said the crime was previously confirmed to have taken place near Krynyk in the Kherson region, but the details were still being checked.
He also urged family members not to announce the names of the dead prematurely.
Zelenskyy pleads for air defence systems to protect Kharkiv from ‘Russia’s constant terror’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Kharkiv needs a “robust defense” to counter Russia’s attacks.
“The world has no right to remain indifferent while Russia deliberately destroys the city on a daily basis and murders people in their homes,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“Ukraine needs greater air defense. I am grateful to everyone who is there for our people – eliminating the consequences of shelling, assisting, supporting, and working hard to keep normal life in Ukrainian cities.”
Kharkiv needs a robust defense. There is a solution to Russia's constant terror: we need additional air defense systems and missiles. The world has no right to remain indifferent while Russia deliberately destroys the city on a daily basis and murders people in their homes.… pic.twitter.com/KopAfqlI2P
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 9, 2024
IAEA chief sees no ‘direct threat’ after drone attack near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it was told about a drone attack near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, but there was no “direct threat”.
“Reported explosion consistent with IAEA team’s observations. No direct threat to nuclear safety this time but latest incident again underlines extremely serious situation, Director General Rafael M Grossi said,” the IAEA said on X.
IAEA informed by ZNPP of drone attack today on ZNPP training center adjacent to site. Reported explosion consistent with IAEA team’s observations. No direct threat to nuclear safety this time but latest incident again underlines extremely serious situation, DG @rafaelmgrossi said
— IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) April 9, 2024
Russia claims Ukraine’s shelling of Kherson killed three people
The Russian-installed regional head of the occupied Kherson region of Ukraine says three people were killed due to Ukrainian shelling a day earlier.
“On the evening of April 8, militants fired at an apartment building in Kakhovka on Liteinaya Street. As a result, two people died, one was urgently hospitalised at a local hospital,” Vladimir Saldo wrote on Telegram.
He added that shortly afterwards, there was a “terrorist attack” on a residential high-rise building.
“Emergency Ministry employees rescued seven people from a burning house. Unfortunately, one person died,” he said.
Ukraine dismisses two military commanders
Ukrainian lawmaker Alexey Goncharenko has announced on Telegram the dismissal of Andrei Kovalchuk and Sergei Litvinov, the commanders of the southern and western command centres of the Ukrainian army, respectively.
Official documents about the change of commanders have not yet been published. Goncharenko did not name the reason behind the dismissals.
In March, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskii, announced personnel changes in the Ukrainian army.
He said the changes were due to the fact that some brigades “manage to hold back attacks and hold positions, while others do not”.
US refuses to listen to Moscow over Kyiv’s NATO bid: Russian envoy
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov says Washington refuses to listen to Moscow about its opposition to Ukraine’s NATO membership, according to the state news agency TASS.
“Dissemination by US officials of statements about Ukraine’s membership in the alliance only confirm that unconditional victory of the Russian armed forces on the battlefield is the only right option for us,” he said.
“Ukraine’s entry into NATO is unacceptable to us under any circumstances. This is a threat to Russia’s national security,” Antonov claimed.
“Only politicians ignorant of the fundamental interests of the Russian Federation can expect that we could accept Kyiv’s accession into a bloc which is hostile to us,” he added.
On Monday, a spokesperson for the US Department of State, Matthew Miller, said Ukraine’s accession to NATO was possible after the war.
Ukraine attacks Russia’s aviation factory in Voronezh: Report
Ukraine’s military spy agency GUR has hit a primary production facility of a Russian aviation factory in the Voronezh region, according to a Ukrainian intelligence source cited by the Reuters news agency.
Earlier, Russia’s Defence Ministry said two drones were downed over the region.
The source told Reuters that the 711th aviation repair plant in Borisoglebsk was hit but did not provide details of the scale of the damage.