This is where things stand on Wednesday, April 9th.
Fineting
The Moscow Defense Ministry said the unit had intercepted and destroyed 23 Ukrainian drones overnight at the border of Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions. The ministry also said that Russian forces had conducted a shocking attack and recaptured the village of Gayevo in Kursk, which had been held by Ukrainian forces since August 2024. Moscow said it had attacked Ukrainian troops and artillery forces within Russian territory and pushed Kiyikh sellers back towards the border. The Russian Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian forces have attacked two Russian energy facilities in the past 24 hours. The Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 46 drones and Iskander M ballistic missiles during the night attack, nine of which were fired down, and 31 were lost due to electronic warfare. At least 17 people were injured in Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian cities in Dnipro and Kharkiv, local authorities said. One woman was left in serious condition due to her injuries. Ukraine said its forces raided and destroyed aircraft hangar complexes, several military buildings and technical equipment, killing about 30 Russian soldiers in the village of Ozerki in Russia’s Kursk border area.
Ceasefire
UN Ambassador Dorothy Shea told the UN Security Council that Washington “has no patience” about negotiating a malice or violation of efforts to end the war with Ukraine. “I’ll make a decision in the end [Russian] president [Vladimir] Putin’s commitment to a ceasefire due to Russia’s actions,” Siah said.
Politics and diplomacy
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it would be extremely difficult to imagine the launch of negotiations with the US on a new nuclear weapons reduction treaty due to mutually tense trust with Washington. Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky said his army was engaged in six Chinese soldiers fighting for Russia on the battlefield and was detained as two prisoners of war. Zelensky said he ordered authorities to obtain an official explanation from China as to why the Chinese people are fighting Russian troops. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andri Sibikha said the Chinese indictment case was summoned to the existence of Chinese people fighting for Russia. “Chinese citizens fighting as part of Ukrainian Russian invasion forces are questioning China’s declared stance on peace,” he said.
A new round of new Russia-US consultations will take place Thursday on the recovery of normal functions of Russian and US embassies, Reuters reported citing diplomatic sources. According to the Russian state-owned news agency TASS, the Moscow delegation in the regularization consultation will be led by newly appointed Russian ambassador Alexandr Darchiev, while the US delegation will be led by Secretary of State Sonata Coulter.
assistance
Belgian Prime Minister Bad de Weber said his government has decided to provide Ukraine with a 1 billion euro ($1.19 billion) aid package this year. He also said his country plans to support Kiev with a similar package every year during his term. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses reported that he would effectively attend a Ukrainian Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting on Friday, AFP news agency reported citing US defense officials.
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