25 April. Russian attacks once again concentrated around Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka. Russia carried out three missile strikes (including two against Kupiansk), 13 air raids and 49 artillery shellings. In Kupiansk, Russian S-300 missiles destroyed the Local History Museum, killing two people and injuring ten. In Marhanets and Nikopol, artillery fire wounded two women and damaged numerous buildings.

On 26 April, Petro Andriushchenko, adviser to the Mayor of Mariupol, reported that Russian forces were expanding their positions near Manhush and Berdiansk in preparation for repelling the planned Ukrainian counteroffensive.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that since the beginning of the war Ukraine had received 230 tanks and more than 1,550 armoured vehicles. The Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Christopher G. Cavoli, stated that Ukraine had received over 98% of the promised combat vehicles and that a sufficient number of Ukrainian personnel had been trained to form nine new armoured brigades. In addition, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held his first telephone conversation with Xi Jinping since the start of the invasion. Xi committed to sending a delegation for peace talks, while Zelenskyy appointed Pavlo Riabikin as Ukraine’s new ambassador to China.

27 April. At approximately 2:00 a.m., Russian forces shelled Mykolaiv using Kalibr missiles, one of which struck a high-rise residential building. One person was killed and 23 were injured, including one child. Russian forces also attacked the village of Odradokamianka, killing a woman and seriously wounding her husband. In the Melitopol area, 20 Russian soldiers reportedly died as a result of poisoning with an unknown substance. In Melitopol, Oleksandr Mishchenko, the occupying authorities’ collaborating police chief, was killed. On the same day, President Putin signed a decree authorising the deportation of Ukrainians from occupied territories if they refused to accept Russian citizenship.

28 April. At 4:40 a.m., Russia launched a massive missile strike against civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Dnipro and Uman. Of 23 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles and two “attack drones,” 21 were intercepted. In Uman, at least two missiles struck a nine-storey apartment building, killing at least 23 people and injuring 17. In Dnipro, two people were killed and three wounded.

Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov stated that Ukraine was ready to launch a counteroffensive, weather conditions permitting. The National Resistance Center reported preparations for the evacuation of the management of Russian companies from Crimea.

29 April. The pro-Russian head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, blamed Ukrainian drones for an attack on a fuel depot in Sevastopol at around 4:00 a.m. Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence, confirmed the destruction of “ten fuel storage tanks” containing 40,000 tonnes of petroleum products supplying the Black Sea Fleet, calling it “divine retribution” for Russian attacks on Uman. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the incident caused panic in Crimea, with families of Russian soldiers beginning to leave the peninsula en masse. Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command, confirmed that these developments formed part of preparations for the counteroffensive. Meanwhile, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, warned that due to ammunition shortages his forces were suffering losses in Bakhmut five times higher than usual and threatened to withdraw units if logistics were not restored. Ukrainian command insisted that supply routes to Bakhmut remained open and that the so-called “road of life” from Chasiv Yar had not been cut. In an interview with Swedish television SVT, President Zelenskyy announced the forthcoming counteroffensive, stressing that it depended on arms deliveries and weather conditions.

30 April. An intense missile strike took place late in the evening. At approximately 11:20 p.m., Russian forces attacked Pavlohrad, a key logistics and railway hub. Thirty-four civilians were injured and dozens of buildings were damaged. Earlier that day, missiles had also struck Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka, while in Kherson one person was killed by shelling. Meanwhile, in Berdiansk another wave of prisoner mobilisation was observed: around 400 convicts were reportedly incorporated into Russian field units, while in Luhansk Oblast up to 200 prisoners were being prepared for combat operations, with Russian commanders allegedly authorised to use weapons against deserters. Ruslan Muzychuk, spokesperson for the National Guard of Ukraine, stated that on some sectors near Bakhmut and Marinka the distance between opposing forces was as little as 50–100 metres, underscoring the ferocity of the fighting. Across the border, the governor of Bryansk Oblast accused Ukraine of shelling the village of Suzemka, allegedly killing four civilians.

Illustrative photo generated by AI