LIVE-TEXT The war in Ukraine, year 2, day 59. Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian Mi-24 helicopter / Ukraine conquers new positions on the left bank of the Dnieper / Pesko’s son, buried in Wagner / Zakharova causes a scandal, after the journalists who they accompany Lavrov to the UN, they did not receive visas / Russia bombards Kharkiv with S-300 missiles

UPDATE 20:00 China’s ambassador to France: “The countries of the former Soviet Union are not sovereign states.” Baltic countries’ anger: “Unacceptable words”

The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in separate statements, considered unacceptable the statements of Lu Shaye, the Chinese ambassador to France. Shaye, in a recent interview with the French news channel LCI. The Asian questioned the sovereignty of the former Soviet republics, including the three Baltic countries.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis tweeted that “if anyone is still wondering why the Baltic states don’t trust China to ‘broker peace in Ukraine’, here’s a Chinese ambassador claiming that Crimea is Russian and that our countries’ borders they have no legal law. the base”. His Estonian counterpart, Margus Tsahkna, said the Chinese ambassador’s comments were “false and a misinterpretation of history”, while Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevics said the remarks were “completely unacceptable”.

UPDATE 19:50 EU: since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, hacker attacks have increased by 140%

“Since the start of Vladimir Putin’s desired war in Ukraine, cyber attacks” against the European Union “have increased by 140%”. This is what the European commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Breton, said during the Questions Politiques program of France Inter. The Russian president “is afraid of the European project and is doing everything to divide Europe and weaken it”, the commissioner emphasized.

UPDATE 19:40 Peskov’s son fought for Wagner

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s son, Nikolai Peskov, said he served with the Wagner mercenary group in Ukraine. “I considered it my duty… I couldn’t sit on the sidelines and watch friends and other people go there,” Peskov Jr. said in an interview with the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. “When I went, I had to change my last name. “No one really knew who I was,” he added, speaking of nearly six months of service, after which he received a medal for bravery, according to a CNN report.

UPDATE 19:30 Lavrov, in New York: no meeting with Blinken is scheduled

No meeting between American foreign ministers Antony Blinken and Russian Sergei Lavrov is scheduled for the next few days in New York. This was stated by the deputy head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Ryabkov in Moscow. The meeting had been hypothesized considering the presence in New York of Lavrov, who will preside over some sessions of the UN Security Council.

UPDATE 18:30 Podoliak: the countries of the former USSR have a status established by law

“All the countries of the former Soviet Union have a sovereign status clearly enshrined in international law. With the exception of Russia, which fraudulently took over the mandate in the UN Security Council”. Mikhailo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian president, wrote on Twitter, commenting on the words of the Chinese ambassador to France, Lu Shaye.

UPDATE 17:30 Kiev: massive Russian bombing of the Kherson region

Russian forces “massively” bombed the village of Kizomis, in the Kherson region, injuring two women. This was reported on Telegram by Alexander Prokudin, the head of the Kherson regional military administration, quoted by Ukrinform. “The Russian army massively bombarded the village of Kizomis in the Bilozerka community. By noon, Russian artillery was attacking the settlement. The enemy targeted a local school building, a police car and about 25 residential buildings,” Prokudin wrote. An 85-year-old woman was injured in the head and chest as a result of the bombing, and another 57-year-old woman suffered an injury to her hand. Both were hospitalized.

UPDAET 17:10 Moscow: visas refused to Russian reporters who go with Lavrov to the UN

Russian journalists accompanying Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have not obtained visas to enter the United States to cover the UN Security Council meeting to be chaired by Moscow. Spokesperson Maria Zaharova denounced this, as reported by Tass. “There are 40 minutes left until he leaves. Journalists do not have visas. The US Embassy responded that it was “being worked on”. It is a clear manipulation of freedom of expression and a violation of the rights of journalists,” he added.

UPDATE 16:50 Lavrov: we will not forget, we will not forgive

“We will not forget, we will not forgive,” threatened Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov.

UPDATE 16:00 Forces from Kiev take up positions on the left bank of the Dnieper

Ukrainian forces advanced on the left bank of the Dnieper River in the previously Russian-held Kherson region, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said, citing Russian military bloggers among others. Russian forces withdrew from the city of Kherson last fall, concentrating on the left bank of the river.

UPDATE 15:30 Ukraine: more than 3,000 people return to Belgorod, after fleeing the explosion of a bomb

More than 3,000 civilians displaced from Belgorod after a bomb accidentally dropped by Russian forces have returned to the city, Governor Viacheslav Gladkov said, adding that the second unexploded explosive device had been defused by the bomb squad. The local authorities ordered the evacuation of 17 apartments located 200 meters from the bomb.

UPDATE 15:00 Heavy fighting in Bahmut

Russian regular forces and fighters from the private military company Wagner are launching non-stop assaults on the eastern city of Bakhmut, according to Ukrainian commanders on the front lines.

The situation there “remains extremely tense”, Iurii Fedorenko, commander of a company within the 92nd Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine, told Ukrainian television.

“The fights are extremely difficult,” Fedorenko said. “The enemy is using all available attack and assault potential, both in terms of equipment and in terms of manpower.”

UPDATE 14:00 Ukraine makes progress in Kherson

The spokesperson of the Southern Command of Ukraine, Natalia Humeniuk, wants the population to have “patience” in connection with reports of a possible Ukrainian advance on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, in the Kherson region.

Humeniuk’s comments come a day after the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think-tank that analyzes the war in Ukraine, confirmed that Ukraine had taken new positions on the eastern bank.

Stressing that “very difficult work” continues in the south of the country, Humeniuk said he could not confirm or deny the ISW report because “the conditions of a military operation require silence until it is safe enough for our servicemen.”

Ukraine appears to have made some progress in the Kherson region.

UPDATE 13:00 Spanish Leopard 2 tanks will arrive in Ukraine in a few days

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles confirmed that six German-made Leopard 2 tanks are on their way from Spain to Ukraine and will arrive within a week, CNN reported.

Speaking to reporters on April 22, the minister said the Leopard tanks had left the Spanish port city of Santander “along with 20 heavy transport vehicles” and that the journey by sea was expected to take five to six days.

“In six days, passing through another country, they will reach Ukraine,” said Robles, quoted by CNN.

A week earlier, Robles said Spain would deliver four more Leopards to Ukraine after repairs “as soon as possible,” according to CNN.

UPDATE 11:00 Russia has lost 186,420 soldiers since the beginning of the war

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported on April 23 that Russia has lost 186,420 troops in Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion.

This number includes 690 losses suffered by the Russian military in the last day alone.

According to the report, Russia also lost 3,675 tanks, 7,131 armored fighting vehicles, 5,730 vehicles and fuel tanks, 2,837 artillery systems, 539 multiple launch missile systems, 289 air defense systems , 308 planes, 294 helicopters, 2,402 drones and 18 boats.

UPDATE 09:30 Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian Mi-24 helicopter

Ukrainian air defenses shot down a Russian Mi-24 helicopter and four drones, including Russian-made Orlan-10 and Zala reconnaissance drones, as well as two kamikaze drones, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced in its morning update.

It appears that Russian troops are concentrating their efforts to carry out offensives towards Bahmut, Avdiivka and Marinka in the Donetsk region. Ukrainian troops repulsed 58 Russian attacks in these directions on April 22, according to the army.

UPDATE 07:30 The financier of the Wagner group pleads for Moscow to maintain the current front line

Yevgeny Prigozhin advocated for Russia to focus on maintaining the current front lines, rather than making new gains, so that Russian forces could regain combat effectiveness for further offensive operations.

The Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update that Prigozhin is not advocating for Russia to end the war and negotiate with Ukraine and the West, as some Russian and Western sources have reported, but condemns the Kremlin faction that hopes to end the war through negotiations.

“Prigojin is actually arguing that Russia must face the upcoming Ukrainian counter-offensive with full force and try to maintain the current front lines without ending the war or entering into peace negotiations,” ISW said.

UPDATE 4:51 – An exploding mine injured two people in the Mykolaiv region, reports The Kyiv Independent

UPDATE 2:57 – Reuters: Russia advises its citizens to avoid traveling to Canada

The Russian Foreign Ministry warned its citizens on April 22 to avoid traveling to Canada, citing the numerous cases of discrimination against Russians, including physical violence, Reuters reports.

UPDATE 1:53- Russia attacks five communities in the Sumi region

Russian forces shelled five communities in the Sumi Region on April 22, firing more than 64 artillery shells, the Military Administration of the Sumi Region reported on Facebook.

UPDATE 22:53 – Russia bombards Kharkiv with S-300 missiles

Russia attacked Kharkiv with S-300 surface-to-air missiles late on April 22, Governor Oleh Syniehubov and Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram. Both the city and the surrounding areas were attacked.