Highlighted events on day 1,145 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:
Current situation as of Monday, April 13:
Combat Operations
- In the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy, at least 34 individuals, including 11 children, were casualties of a Russian missile strike, with 117 more people injured, according to Ukraine’s state emergency service. This marked the most lethal assault in Ukraine this year.
- The Ukrainian Air Force reported that they defended against 55 Russian drones, shooting down 43, with the targets being the northern, southern, and central parts of the country.
- Russia’s Ministry of Defence announced that they had seized the Donetsk region’s village of Yelyzavetivka.
- Moscow’s Defence Ministry claimed that 12 Ukrainian drones were destroyed in Russia’s Rostov region and one in the Belgorod region.
- Talk of energy infrastructure strikes: Russia alleged that there were two attacks on their energy facilities despite a mutual agreement on a 30-day halt to such strikes.
- Interfax reported that Russia downed a Ukrainian F-16 fighting jet.
Politics and International Response
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded increased pressure on Russia following the lethal strike on Sumy, branding it as the act of “filthy scum”.
- US President Donald Trump was briefed on the attack as a “mistake,” calling it a “horrible” act without providing further details.
- European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the Sumy attack, pushing for tough actions to enforce a ceasefire.
- Keith Kellogg, the US special representative for Ukraine, decried the “horrifying attack” as crossing “any line of decency,” while Friedrich Merz, Germany’s Chancellor-elect expressed his belief that this constituted a “grave war crime”.
- Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, advocated for a lasting ceasefire, referencing a “devastating pattern” of recent strikes on Ukrainian cities.
- Zelenskyy called on Trump to visit Ukraine, seeking to convey the severity of Russia’s destruction of Ukraine.
- The ongoing dispute over energy strike moratorium was highlighted through statements by the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.
- Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, stated that while US-Russia relations are progressing, rebuilding them would be “very challenging” and would need “intense” diplomatic work.
