As we enter the 795th day of the war, these are the most important developments.
Here is the situation as of Monday, April 29, 2024.
Battle
- Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskii, said Kiev troops had withdrawn to new positions west of three villages on the Eastern Front as the situation on the front had deteriorated. Syrskii said the “most difficult” areas were west of Russian-occupied Maryinka and northwest of Avdiivka, the town captured by Russian forces in February.
- Syrskii also said his forces were closely monitoring the increase in Russian troops in the area of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and just 30 km (19 miles) from the Russian border. “In the most threatening directions, our troops have been reinforced by artillery and tank units,” he said.
- The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops captured the village of Novobachmutivka in the Donetsk region, about 10 km (six miles) north of Avdiivka.
- Moscow-appointed officials in Russian-occupied parts of eastern and southern Ukraine said three people were killed in Ukrainian shelling.
- A Russian drone strike hit a hotel in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, causing a fire that was quickly extinguished. No casualties were reported.
- Russia said its air defenses destroyed 17 Ukrainian drones over its border regions. No damage or losses were reported.
Politics and diplomacy
- Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin, both Russian journalists, were arrested and detained on charges of “extremism” for allegedly working for a group founded by Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, who was suddenly jailed in February the Arctic died. Karelin is a dual Russian-Israeli citizen and had worked with the Associated Press news agency, which said it was “very concerned” about his detention. The two men deny the allegations.
weapons
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again appealed to the international community to provide more air defense systems. In his evening video address, Zelensky said he had spoken by phone with Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the United States House of Representatives, and stressed the need to ship Patriot missile defense systems “as soon as possible.”
- According to a report by state news agency KCNA, North Korea criticized the US for supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine. The United States and others have accused Pyongyang, which is under strict United Nations sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, of supplying Moscow with weapons for the war in Ukraine.