The 57th day of the Ukrainian people’s heroic struggle against the russian military invasion goes on.
The enemy continues offensive action in the Eastern Operation Area to establish full control over the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. It also keeps dealing missile and bomb strikes on military and civil infrastructure across Ukraine.
There has been no enemy activity in the north of Ukraine, with no sign of offensive groups being formed. A substantial reduction in the intensity of military equipment convoy movement on the territory of belarus has been reported.
A partial siege of Kharkiv and the destruction of municipal infrastructure by shelling continues. Russian occupation troops on the temporarily occupied territory of the Kharkiv Oblast are restricting locals’ ability to move towards the settlement under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and blocking humanitarian aid delivery from the Ukrainian side.
In the Donetsk Oblast, the enemy has been trying to take over Mariupol. It has been launching airstrikes and attempting onslaughts in the seaport and AzovStal Mill areas. The latest news is about putin ordering his invaders to abandon Azovstal.
The self-declared occupation administration on the temporarily occupied territory of the Kherson Oblast has announced the mobilization of the local male population. Moreover, according to available information, a so-called ‘referendum’ has been slated for May 1st, and a ‘population census’ for May 2nd through May 10th in the part of the Oblast taken over by russia. The locals are banned from moving between population centers.
Shellings of Mykolayiv continue, the enemy trying to improve its tactical positions and get closer to the city. The attempts have been unsuccessful, though.
Northern oblasts
Kyiv
Emergency staff is dismantling the tower blocks damaged by the russian occupation troops in Kyiv.
Kyiv Oblast
The works to clear the rubble from destroyed buildings have ended in Borodyanka. 41 bodies of perished locals have been extracted. Besides, there were two mass graves with the bodies of nine peaceful civilians, among the 15 y.o. girl, have been discovered in the village.
Gas supply employees from the Zhytomyr Oblast assisting with restoring de-occupied territories of the Kyiv Oblast have restored gas supply to 150 buildings in Gostomel.
Zhytomyr Oblast
The air-raid continues to be heard in the Oblast. Eight thousand Easter cakes for service members were consecrated in Zhytomyr during the day. Parcels for service members are being collected at the Zhytomyr Volunteer Center.
Chernihiv Oblast
Three more bodies of the victims of russian airstrikes in early March, one on Chornovola Street and two more at the Gagarin Stadium, have been discovered by State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) rescuers in Chernihiv.
The monument to Zoya Kosmodemyanska in the courtyard of School No. 10 has been taken down by municipal service staff.
Sumy Oblast
Restoration works are underway in the Sumy Oblast. Over the past four days, Ukrainian services have removed about 600 tons of building structures from the site of a powerful air strike in the city of Sumy. Also, the territory of the oblast is being cleared of explosive items.
Eastern oblasts
Kharkiv Oblast
On this day, the russian occupation troops again shelled the districts of Kharkiv from multiple rocket launchers. The number of bombardments was close to 15. Artillery fire hit the areas of Saltivka, the Kharkiv Tractor Plant, and Oleksiyivka. The enemy fired at Derhachi, the Zolochiv area, and the Chuhuiv Raion in the Oblast. As a result of shelling by the invaders, five civilians were injured.
However, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) hold the line. Heavy fighting continues in the Izium sector. Here, Ukrainian defenders destroyed another enemy Su-34 fighter-bomber.
Donetsk Oblast
Kramatorsk
No destruction or casualties caused by the enemy were reported. The situation remains alarming. The AFU and the Territorial Defense units are preparing to confront the enemy. The municipal services of the city work as normal. Volunteers continue to work for the benefit of the city.
The regional coordinator of the Active Community AUI in Kramatorsk continues to coordinate the work of the humanitarian aid center.
Pokrovsk and Pokrovsk Raion
The enemy is trying to continue the offensive – stepped up the use of operational-tactical aviation and air reconnaissance. Russian occupation troops inflict systematic airstrikes on military and civilian targets. Over the past day, the russians have been shelling civilians along the entire front line, most actively at the area of Mariinka, Avdiivka, and Ocheretyno.
In the Avdiivka area, the russians tried to break through the defenses but failed. In the city itself, during the day, russian shells damaged several residential houses, an agricultural enterprise, and a medical institution. Yesterday, the gas pipeline and power supply lines were cut off; in the evening, the supply of electricity was resumed, and now the work is underway to resume gas supplies.
In Ocheretyno, several houses were damaged, and power lines were cut off.
In the Mariinka community, the settlements of Mariinka, Krasnohorivka, and Novomykhailivka are under bombardment. Power supply lines are damaged, and now specialists are working on their restoration. On April 20th, the russians wounded three civilians in Mariinka.
The AFU give a worthy rebuff to the enemy. The Territorial Defense Forces units patrol the territory of the Pokrovsk community around the clock. The last day in the Pokrovsk community was relatively quiet. The utility companies continue to operate as normal. The Pokrovsk community has received 40 000 liters of water from Morshynska TM for shelters and is starting to deliver them.
Bakhmut
People are very concerned. The situation is extremely tense because fierce battles are being fought around the city within a radius of 40-60 km. The Active Community AUI coordinator was busy advising the local people on the issues of evacuation and humanitarian aid.
Mariupol
On the outskirts of the village of Manhush, russian occupation troops started to prepare a mass burial site for the civilians killed by them. The invaders dig trenches about 30 meters long and dump the bodies of Mariupol residents there with dump trucks.
The invaders are destroying the cultural heritage of Mariupol. It is what the “Youth” Palace of Culture, the most favorite cultural institution of residents, looks like now.
The russians also steal and take away cultural property from Mariupol. Yukhym Harabet’s unique collection of 700 exhibits from the Mariupol Museum of Medallion Art was taken to Donetsk.
Despite the difficult security situation, the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol to the safer territory of Ukraine continues. Four evacuation buses managed to leave yesterday. Today, women, children, and the elderly are also being evacuated.
Luhansk Oblast
Street fights in Luhansk Oblast do not stop. People do not leave the bomb shelters. Russian army destroys houses in Rubizhne and Novodruzhsk. There are no surviving food stocks left in Severodonetsk, and there are no surviving houses in Popasna. People receive food exclusively from humanitarian goods.
Ukrainian reconnaissance has released records of intercepted conversations between the russian military, which say they were ordered to kill all prisoners of war (soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine) in the area of Popasna in Luhansk Oblast.
More than 100 people have died since the start of the russian military invasion of Popasna. The city still has more than 2.5 thousand inhabitants. Despite intense fighting, Ukrainian authorities are trying to evacuate as many civilians as possible. Currently, the occupiers control half of the city of Popasna. From there, the russians deported civilians to the temporarily occupied territories.
Southern oblasts
Zaporizhzhia Oblast
The situation in the Oblast is complicated. Active battles are taking place in the Polohy Raion in the direction of Polohy – Huliaipole. The Ukrainian defense forces of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast continue to resist heroically.
During the day, the russian invaders fired with the use of tanks, multiple rocket launcher “Grad”, artillery, 120 mm mortars, and large-caliber machine guns in the following areas: Orikhiv, Huliaipilske, Malynivka, Stepnohirsk, Neskuchne, Pavlivka, Novodanylivka, Poltavka, Zaliznychne, Preobrazhenka, Vremivka, Huliaipole, Belogiria, Temyrivka, Novoandriyivka. In Orikhiv, one injured resident is known.
As a result of the shelling in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, there is no electricity supply in 78 settlements and no gas supply in 81 territories.
The air defense unit of the National Guard in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, based on MANPADS, destroyed an enemy helicopter K-52 “Alligator”. It is known that this is one of the newest units of russian combat aircraft, which is in the enemy’s service.
The russian occupiers continue to terrorize the local population. They block humanitarian aid, prevent the evacuation of civilians, kidnap and rob people. Last night, the russians abducted a deputy in the Melitopol Raion and a military chaplain with relatives in Berdyansk.
Zaporizhzhia
The city is restless, and air raids are often heard. The occupiers fired two missiles at Zaporizhzhia – the Oblast Military Administration reported 2 “arrivals”. 8 people were injured; details are not disclosed. In the Oblast, an explosive wave from a missile strike knocked out windows in 4 cars of the Zaporizhzhia-Lviv evacuation train. No one was injured.
An extended curfew is set in Zaporizhzhia for the Easter holidays: it will last from 19:00 to 05:00 for three days. In the Oblast center, the Security Service of Ukraine exposed the “bot farm”. More than 50 000 fake accounts spread fakes and justified armed aggression against Ukraine. The process was led by the aggressor country. The work of the “bot farm” was stopped; hardware complexes, almost 500 GSM modules, and more than 3 thousand SIM-cards were confiscated.
A citizen of russia was detained in Zaporizhzhia. He worked as a driver: he transported humanitarian aid to Melitopol and passed on data on the defense of the city and Oblast to curators from Moscow. Three of the four buses of the evacuation convoy arrived in Zaporizhzhia with people who managed to leave Mariupol yesterday.
Yakymivka
In Yakymivka, the occupiers hung a russian flag in the center of the village. However, it did not last long – an unknown Ukrainian patriot removed it.
Kherson Oblast
An evacuation convoy was organized today, accompanied by representatives of the Red Cross, which was to evacuate part of the population from the occupied territories of the Novovorontsov and Vysokopil communities of the Kherson Oblast to Kryvyi Rih. But by evening, it became known that the russian occupiers did not miss the bus.
Mykolayiv Oblast
The Mykolaiv branch of Suspilne News came under rocket fire from the russian occupation troops.
Central oblasts
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
The occupiers fired on the city of Zelenodolsk and the village of Velyka Kostromka from the Uragan MLRS. People and houses were not affected. Russian occupation troops hit the communications and left the city without light and water. During the day, specialists restored communications.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, law enforcement officers found three people who may be involved in cooperation with the aggressor country. They were handed over to the Security Service of Ukraine.
In Kryvyi Rih, 3000 new berets were made for the defenders of Kryvbas. It’s done at the initiative of local businesses.
The situation in Dnipro is stable and under control. The evacuation continues. Utilities work normally. There are significantly fewer people willing to leave the Dnipro for safer oblasts of Ukraine or abroad, about 250-300 people a day.
In Dnipro, deputies of the City Council renamed 30 streets whose names were associated with russia. The Dnipro City Council supported the Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on recognizing russian military aggression as genocide of the Ukrainian people.
12000 Easter cakes were handed over from the Dnipro to Kharkiv. The regional coordinator of AUI “Active Community” in Dnipro helps with employment for citizens living in Novomoskovsk and Pavlograd. In particular, he made a list of available vacancies.
Kirovohrad Oblast
The day passed quietly without air alarms. The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) protect the Oblast’s borders and military facilities. Troops are on duty at checkpoints and patrol the city with police officers.
In Kropyvnytskyi, the keys to the apartment on Zhadova Street were handed over to a family of doctors – IDPs from Luhansk Oblast. The Head of Kirovohrad Oblast State Administration, Andriy Raikovych, congratulated the new owners.
The Haivoron community invites citizens to join the “Decorate the Easter Tree of Victory” campaign, which will take place during the Easter holidays. Citizens are encouraged to make an Easter egg in any technique (Easter egg, Easter egg, decoupage, ribbon decoration, quilting, applique, etc.) and attach a colored ribbon to hang on a tree.
The Dolyna community is preparing to plant an apple and pear orchard. The coordinator of AUI “Active Community” took part in the master class “Easter Good”, which took place in the Kirovograd Regional Library for Youth Evgeniy Malaniuk. Its participants were immigrants from Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Kherson, and young men and women from Kropyvnytskyi. Together they made Easter eggs and got acquainted with the “Active Community of Kropyvnytskyi”. Participants of the event received memorable patriotic souvenirs in memory of the regional coordinator of AUI “Active Community” Anatoliy Stoyan. He also continued to take part in weaving camouflage nets and sorting things brought by citizens for IDPs.
Poltava Oblast
In the russian-Ukrainian war, during brutal battles, two more faithful sons of Poltava Oblast died while performing combat missions. One comes from Lubny Raion, the other from Kremenchuk. Farewell to the heroes will take place on April 22nd.
Mobile brigades have started operating in Poltava, providing social and psychological assistance to people who have survived violence and IDPs who have been forced to leave combat zones.
The Oblast’s military administration distributed more than 6.6 thousand food kits for IDPs in the city. Since yesterday, three humanitarian aid centers have been launched in each city district. Today, another delivery point will open – “Good Wardrobe”. Lilia Garbuzyuk, Active Community Coordinator, is preparing IDPs lists to provide them with humanitarian aid.
The city is collecting food that can be added to the Easter basket for the military. Easter cakes and delicacies are made in Poltava Higher Vocational School, named after Chepiga for soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and IDPs.
The following restrictions will apply in Poltava Oblast during the Easter holidays:
– Easter can be consecrated only outside curfew and in the absence of air alarms;
– services will be held only inside the temple and without believers (no more than 10 people can be present at the service).
Western oblasts
Lviv Oblast
The air-raid warning went off twice in Oblast. Another 1353 people, who forcibly left their homes, received shelters in Lviv Oblast. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 325 000 IDPs have been resettled. 136 000 of them have registered in the Administrative Services Center and received the IDPs status. Now they can get 2000 hryvnias of social assistance from the state for adults and 3000 hryvnias for children.
The Lviv Oblast State Administration has initiated a project of people’s diplomacy from Ukraine in those countries that are hesitant about their position in the russian-Ukrainian war. The project started with a trip to the Unfair art fair in Milan, which lasted from April 7th till 10th. People’s Artist of Ukraine Volodymyr Kozyuk and sculptor Viktor Prodanchuk donated their works for sale at this fair. The funds were used to buy medicines for the military and people with disabilities. This money has already been transferred to Lviv Oblast. It will be distributed soon.
Drohobych
Today the Drohobych community met another deceased Hero and Defender of Ukraine, Roman Purii.
During City Council’s session “Considering de-russification measures in the city,” they decided to rename the streets in Drohobych, giving them the names of current Heroes and Defenders of Ukraine.
The Drohobych community is dismantling the Soviet Memorial of Glory called “Cemetery of Soviet Soldiers,” known as “Eternal Fire,” at the intersection of Sambirska, Ivana Franka, Lesia Ukrainka, and Sichovykh Striltsiv streets. This memorial for the victims of the German-Soviet war was built in 1974 and used to bury the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD), Ministry of Internal Affairs, People’s Committee for State Security (NKDB), Ministry for State Security, Committee for State Security (KDB) members, who died in the postwar period in battles with fighters for independent Ukraine (Video https: // fb. watch / cxcahO5V1z /)
Drohobych City Hospital received an ambulance vehicle from Norway. With the start of the russian aggression, nine ambulance vehicles were sent to Drohobych from sister cities, and foreign partners from Poland, Italy, Sweden, and Norway. 5 cars were sent to the frontline for the needs of soldiers.
The Regional Coordinator of Active Community AUI in Drohobych prepared and conducted a focus group study considering the needs of IDPs.
Rivne Oblast
The situation is relatively calm; there have been no air-raid warnings. The AFU soldiers patrol the border with belarus. Territorial Defense Forces patrol and stand guard at the checkpoints.
Today, the Rivne Oblast Military Administration Head, Vitaliy Koval, is working in Chernihiv Oblast. According to his words, Rivne Oblast has taken over Chernihiv Oblast.
Citizens are united. They help volunteer headquarters financially and not only. Pets also need volunteer help. The NGO “Eco-Rivne Oblast” and the team of the All-Ukrainian Association of Animal Advocates Organizations in Ukraine have been helping animals since the beginning of the war. Several trucks of animal food from abroad arrived in Rivne Oblast for our younger friends who suffered in the war. (https://www.facebook.com/koval8/posts/536102091460205)
There is a hotline for psychological support in Rivne Oblast.
Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Kamianets-Podilskyi
The situation in the community is calm, and everything is under control. City authorities gave another ambulance vehicle to one of the military units.
The city government is actively working with foreign partner cities to receive humanitarian aid for the needs of people who have found refuge in the town and transfer the necessary items to the cities currently under fire. Secondary School №8 students gave patriotic drawings and delicious Easter cakes to the frontline.
Thanks to volunteers and humanitarian aid from abroad, more than 3000 officially registered IDPs sheltered in the city receive food every day. People prepare the city for the Easter holidays by planting trees and flowers, tidying up the streets and sidewalks, cleaning up areas after curbs, cleaning roads, and carrying out landscaping work in public places. People organize leisure activities for children. Extracurricular institutions and sports schools work with the children every day.
Active Community AUI coordinators transported humanitarian aid to the needy in Kyiv Oblast.
Chernivtsi Oblast (Bukovyna)
As of today, there are no active hostilities in Bukovyna, but since the beginning of the war, it has been actively helping the AFU.
In Bukovyna, IDPs can receive help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The NGO «Sprava Kolpinha v Ukraini” (The Kolping Case in Ukraine), based in Chernivtsi, handed over water filter bottles to the Bukovynian police for the Ukrainian army and civilians.
Martin Seiler, President of the General Council of Deputies of the German Swabian District, arrived in Chernivtsi Oblast on a friendly visit.
Zakarpattya Oblast
5 audio tales of the Zakarpattya writer were created and recorded in Uzhhorod. Exclusive Zakarpattya audio tales are published in the most popular telegram channels.
Sakura trees start to blossom in Uzhhorod.
Transcarpathian Tourism Center students made patriotic talismans for Ukrainian soldiers. These are bracelets, hearts, and angels.
Active Community AUI coordinators present the book called “The city where the war started”.
Last modified: 26 Квітня, 2022
