The situation as of 8:00, April 9, 2022 (other languages version in PDF)
OPERATIONAL SITUATION
Russian troops are amassing forces for an offensive in eastern Ukraine. At the same time, they continue to strike civilian infrastructure, concentrating their efforts on destroying transport and logistics facilities.
Kharkiv and Luhansk directions:
Russian forces continue to blockade and shell Kharkiv. On the morning of April 8, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Syniehubov reported that 48 strikes had been carried out on the regional center and its surroundings over the past 24 hours. 15 people were injured as a result. There are battles near Izium (near the villages of Brazhkivka and Sulyhivka). The evacuation of the population from Barvinkove and Lozova is ongoing.
In Luhansk Region, Russian troops continue their attacks. According to Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, the situation remains acute in Popasna and Rubizhne, where it is practically impossible to carry out an organized evacuation of the civilian population. Russian troops control the center of Rubizhne. They have been shelling the Hirske community for two days. Lysychansk, Sievierodonetsk, and Kreminna have also been bombarded. At least 5 people were wounded as a result of the shelling of the town of Zolote from multiple rocket launchers. As a result of overnight shelling of Sievierodonetsk, a fire broke out in an apartment building; the number of casualties is being specified.
Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia directions:
The Russian military launched a rocket attack on a train station in Kramatorsk. According to preliminary information, at least 52 people were killed (of whom 5 were children) and another 109 were wounded. According to Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Russian forces deliberately attacked the train station because it was used to evacuate residents of Donetsk region to safer areas of Ukraine.
The shelling of Avdiivka continues — during the day 5 people were killed and 2 were wounded. As a result of the shelling, 1 person was killed and 1 was wounded in Vuhlehdar. 1 person was also wounded in Krasnohorivka. Attacks are taking place in the Ocheretyne, Marinka, Toretsk and Bakhmut areas. The most difficult situation remains in Mariupol.
Southern direction:
The Russian military launched another missile attack on Odesa. No casualties were reported.
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, fighting continues for the village of Oleksandrivka in the Kherson region.
Information confrontation
Data from open sources disproves the Russian disinformation campaign aimed at shifting responsibility for the shelling of the train station in Kramatorsk to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The claim that there are no Tochka-U missile systems in the Russian army is unfounded. There are photos and video materials confirming the presence of these weapons in the units participating in the aggression against Ukraine. Launches of Tochka-U missiles were also practiced during the joint Russian-Belarusian exercises in February 2022.
The State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine warns of a new cyber attack operating through the distribution of dangerous emails. The activity is associated with the operation of the group UAC-0010 (Armageddon), which has already repeatedly carried out cyber-attacks on both Ukrainian state bodies and EU countries.
According to local media reports, Russian troops seized the premises of Ukrtelecom in Enerhodar (Zaporizhzhia region).
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk reported that on April 8, 6,665 people were evacuated through humanitarian corridors. From Mariupol and Berdiansk, 3,544 people traveled to Zaporizhzhia in their own vehicles and buses (1,614 people from Mariupol and 3,544 residents of towns in the Zaporizhzhia region). 1,507 people were evacuated from Luhansk region.
As of April 7, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 3,893 civilian casualties in Ukraine. 1,626 people were killed and 2,267 injured as a result of the Russian Federation attack. According to juvenile prosecutors, more than 475 children were injured in Ukraine (169 were killed; 306 were injured to varying degrees of severity). These figures are not complete, as it is impossible to estimate the number of casualties in places where active hostilities are ongoing.
Vadym Tokar, the village head of Makariv (Kyiv region), indicated that as of April 7, 132 residents had been found dead in the settlement. The village itself was destroyed by 40%.
Chernihiv Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko said that about 700 people had died during the fighting in the city. In addition, 40 people are officially missing.
Mining of Russian military territories in Ukraine remains an urgent threat and prevents the elimination of the consequences of hostilities. On April 7, on the outskirts of the village of Bilka of Okhtyrka district (Sumy region) workers of the Trostianets Electric Networks District blew themselves up by a mine. According to the head of Sumy Regional Military Administration Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, 1 worker died on the spot, 2 were seriously injured, 2 more were contused. On April 8, a brigade of power engineers exploded on a mine on the way to Derhachi in the Kharkiv region, leaving to eliminate the consequences of the shelling. 2 workers were injured.
The head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko stated that men from Mariupol, who were forcibly deported to the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, were handed “military subpoenas”, mobilizing them into the ranks of the Russian army. He also clarified that it is very difficult to trace the location of the residents of blockaded Mariupol after the forced deportation.
According to the Kyiv City Military Administration, as a result of the hostilities 208 residential buildings, 46 schools, 29 kindergartens, 1 children’s home, 13 administrative buildings, 2 sports facilities, 5 social facilities, 17 health facilities, 10 cultural facilities, 48 transport infrastructure facilities were damaged.
The head of the National Police Ihor Klymenko said that since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, law enforcement officers have registered more than 5,000 criminal proceedings for crimes committed by Russian servicemen.
The Association of Ukrainian Cities has released the names of 11 captured Russian mayors, city and village heads (4 in the Kherson region, 2 each in the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, and 1 in the Mykolaiv region).
The International Organization for Migration reports that as of April 6, about 7.1 million people had become internally displaced in Ukraine, bringing the total number of refugees and displaced persons to 11.4 million.
According to the head of the Office of the President Andrii Yermak, the Ukrainian ship “Sapphire”, which was previously seized by the Russian military, has returned to the control of Ukraine. He was taken to the Romanian port of Sulina.
ECONOMIC SITUATION
According to the head of the NBU Kyrylo Shevchenko, the National Bank is noting an improvement in the foreign exchange market, including a reduction in the spread, and is preparing to consider some easing of foreign exchange transactions.
According to the State Statistics Service, annual inflation in Ukraine accelerated to 13.7%, primarily due to rising food and energy prices.
The Chairman of the Board and CEO of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih announced that the company is resuming operations.
POLITICAL AND DIPLOMATIC EVENTS
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell arrived in Kyiv. They met with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi. At the meeting, the Ukrainian side was officially handed a questionnaire, the completion of which is a necessary step to grant Ukraine EU candidate status. EU officials also visited Bucha, where they saw the consequences of Russian military crimes.
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi delivered a speech in Eduskunta, Parliament of Finland. He informed the deputies about the missile strike on Kramatorsk station, and told about the war crimes of the Russian army on Ukrainian territory. Zelensky called on Finland to suspend trade ties with Russia, isolate all Russian banks from the global financial system, impose an embargo on oil supplies and tougher sanctions.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi met with the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Eduard Heger, who is on a visit to Ukraine. The President thanked the Slovak people and personally the Prime Minister of Slovakia for supporting Ukraine and providing real defense assistance, including the S-300 air defense system, which was handed over to the Ukrainian military.
Foreign leaders have condemned Russia’s missile strike on a train station in Kramatorsk, where there are many civilian casualties. US President Joseph Biden called it “another horrific atrocity committed by Russia, striking civilians.” French President Emmanuel Macron has strongly condemned the shelling of Kramatorsk railway station by Russian troops. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that “the targeting of civilians is a war crime”, stressing the importance of bringing Russia and Putin to justice.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, partner countries have expelled 443 employees of Russian diplomatic missions. Japan is banishing eight Russian diplomats and trade officials. In addition, the Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida announced the introduction of a new package of sanctions against Russia – a ban on imports of coal and alcohol, the freezing of assets of Sberbank and Alfa Bank, the suspension of new investments.
The EU Council adopted the 5th package of sanctions against Russia – an embargo on coal from Russia (from August 2022); ban on granting access to EU ports to ships registered under the Russian flag; a ban on any operation involving road transport from Russia or Belarus, which will not allow them to transport goods by road within the EU; ban on exports of high-tech products. Restrictive measures apply to an additional 217 individuals and 18 legal entities in response to Russia’s unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine.
Ukraine’s financial support from international partners is important. South Korea’s foreign ministry said the country would provide Ukraine with humanitarian aid worth a total of $40 million. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson has announced that the United Kingdom will send Ukraine high-quality military equipment for another 100 million pounds. The European Commission has provided a grant of 120 million euros to Ukraine as part of a general emergency financial assistance package. According to Canadian MP Yvan Baker, the Government of Canada has introduced a new budget for 2022-23, which provides an additional $500 million for further military assistance to Ukraine and up to $1 billion in new credit resources for Ukraine.
The State Bureau of Investigation reported it was conducting a pre-trial investigation into the involvement in the collaborative activities of assistants to people’s deputies of Ukraine of the current convocation from the OPZZh (Opposition Platform — For Life) party.
The information in the digest is collected from official sources — reports of state authorities of Ukraine, Ukrainian and international news agencies. The accuracy of the data is carefully checked by the project team and corrected in case of fake news.