Here is the situation as it stands on Thursday, April 27, 2023:
Diplomacy
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held an hour-long call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two discussed “possible cooperation to reach a fair and sustainable peace deal for Ukraine” and Zelenskyy stressed there can be “no peace at the expense of territorial compromises”.
- Zelenskyy appointed Pavlo Riabikin, a former minister of strategic industries, as Kyiv’s new ambassador to China.
- Russia’s foreign ministry noted China’s willingness to engage in a peace process for Ukraine after Xi’s call with Zelenskyy.
- Russia’s envoy to the United Nations in Geneva said no real progress had been achieved in resolving issues raised by Moscow over the Black Sea grain deal, which is set to expire next month.
- Three Russian military planes were intercepted over the Baltic Sea, according to Germany’s air force.
- Italy’s economy minister said the cost of Kyiv’s reconstruction was likely to exceed $400bn over 10 years as Rome hosted a conference on how to rebuild Ukraine.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to temporarily control the Russian subsidiaries of two foreign energy firms.
- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called again for a “peace group” to broker an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, saying anything could be discussed once the nations sat down to talk peace.
- Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said the European Union was “becoming militarized at a record rate” and claimed there was little difference between the EU and NATO.
- The Kremlin rejected rumours that Putin spends much of his time shielding in a nuclear bunker, and has lookalike body doubles.
- Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny said a new criminal case of “terrorism” had been opened against him, according to Russia’s TASS news agency. He is currently serving a sentence of more than 11 years for fraud, contempt of court and parole violations, all of which he rejects as trumped-up charges intended to silence him.
Fighting
- Russia shelled eight territories in Ukraine over the last 24 hours, killing two people and injuring 16 in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s defence ministry said.
- Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said Ukraine’s counteroffensive was likely to start after May 2 and that his mercenary forces had still not received much-needed ammunition from Russia’s defence ministry.
- Ukraine and Russia exchanged dozens of prisoners of war. Kyiv said 44 people were repatriated from Russian custody, two of them civilians, while Moscow said 40 had returned.
- The United Kingdom’s defence ministry said heavy combat continued in the ruined city of Bakhmut, where battles have been going on for months.
- Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said journalist Corrado Zunino, who works for the la Repubblica daily, injured his shoulder during a drone attack in Kherson.
Weaponry
- The top United States general in Europe, Christopher Cavoli, said Ukraine’s military will get the weapons it needs in time for its upcoming counteroffensive against Russia.
