The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
Russia’s war against Ukraine
A view of damage after a Russian guided aerial bomb hit a residential neighborhood in Zaporizhzhia on April 22, 2025. The Russian strike killed a 69-year-old woman and injured 38 others, including children. (Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Putin offers US to freeze Ukraine war along current front line, FT reports. This could be the first formal indication from Russian President Vladimir Putin since the full-scale war began in 2022 that Russia may consider scaling back its territorial demands.
Zelensky rules out recognizing Crimea as Russian, warns against playing into Putin’s ‘game.’ “There is nothing to talk about. This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Explosions rock what could be one of Russia’s largest weapons arsenals in Vladimir Oblast. According to Ukrainian defense media outlet Militarnyi, the facility in question is Russia’s 51st Arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate – one of Russia’s largest weapons arsenals.
Ukraine shares evidence of Chinese citizens, companies involved in Russia’s war. During a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Ma Shengkun, Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgen Perebyinis shared evidence that companies are producing military equipment for Russia.
Crimean Tatar Mejlis rejects any international recognition of Crimea as Russian, chairman says. “Crimea is the homeland of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and an integral part of Ukraine. Accordingly, no one can decide the fate of Crimea under any circumstances, except for the Ukrainian state and the Crimean Tatar people,” said Refat Chubarov.
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Russia used Easter truce to regroup in Lyman sector, launched offensive after, military says. “This so-called truce did more damage to us,” Anastasiia Blyshchyk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s 66th Separate Mechanized Brigade, said.
Russia, Ukraine continued in hostilities despite Easter truce, UN says. Russia was the first to declare an Easter ceasefire starting at 6 p.m. local time on April 19 and ending at midnight on April 21. Zelensky accused Russia of nearly 3,000 ceasefire breaches during that period.
Ukraine’s Naftogaz loses almost 50% of gas production in winter due to Russian attacks. The energy situation was most critical in the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Mykolaiv, and Kherson.
SBU charges 14 Russian Orthodox Church leaders for role in seizing churches in occupied Ukraine. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has formally charged 14 high-ranking metropolitans and archbishops of the Russian Orthodox Church for their involvement in the illegal seizure of Ukrainian churches in Russian-occupied territories, the agency announced on April 22.
Sean Penn makes his 4th visit to Ukraine during full-scale war, meets special forces. American actor and film director Sean Penn met with the soldiers of the 3rd Regiment of the Special Operations Forces stationed in Kropyvnytskyi.
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Chechen scholar: Russia’s violence in Ukraine is driven by desperation
The Kyiv Independent spoke with Chechen political scientist Marat Iliyasov about the lead-up to the Chechen wars, their consequences for Chechnya’s cultural identity, and what lessons the world can take from this dark period as Ukraine’s future remains far from certain amid Russia’s ongoing aggression.
Photo: Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent
This Ukrainian mining company is losing hope in Trump’s minerals deal
“When Trump’s administration talks about direct negotiations with Russia without including Ukrainians, it means that maybe this national resources deal will not be a win-win. Maybe this deal will be a win-lose,” Ostap Kostyuk, CEO of Zavalivskiy Graphite, told the Kyiv Independent.
Photo: Dominic Culverwell/The Kyiv Independent
‘I didn’t have time to think. I just acted’ – how brave teen rescued people in Sumy attack
“I immediately fell to the ground and felt shards of glass and metal raining down on me,” 13-year-old Kyrylo Illiashenko said. “I waited until it stopped, then got up and tried to open the bus doors.”
Photo: Sumy Oblast Military Administration/Telegram
‘There was no ceasefire’ — US-brokered energy truce fails to secure lasting results in Ukraine
Among the reasons why the energy ceasefire failed was the lack of proper monitoring by an intermediary, such as satellite monitoring by the U.S., and clearly written terms, experts said.
Photo: Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images
Human cost of Russia’s war
Russian bombs kill 1, injure 38 in Zaporizhzhia amid Kyiv’s calls for civilian infrastructure truce. Thirteen injured victims are currently in the hospital, including five children, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported.
Russia launches drones at Kherson, Kharkiv; casualties reported. The attack on the southern city took place shortly before massive drone attacks against Kharkiv, which have so far injured four people.
Russian attacks across Ukraine kill 5, injure 16 over past day. Russian forces launched 54 drones from the Russian cities of Kursk, Bryansk, Millerovo, and Primorsk-Akhtarsk, as well as from Cape Chauda in occupied Crimea against Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.
General Staff: Russia has lost 943,060 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The number includes 1,130 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Who does Crimea really belong to?
International response
EU will never recognize Crimea as Russian, Kallas says. “Crimea is Ukraine. It means a lot for the ones who are occupied that others don’t recognize this as Russian.”
US envoy Witkoff expected to visit Moscow this week, Putin aide says. “We are expecting (him),” Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said when asked if U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff would arrive in the coming days.
Rubio, Witkoff decline to attend Ukraine peace talks in London. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff were originally expected to attend, but have since pulled out, U.S. and European officials told the Financial Times.
US judge orders Trump administration to restore Voice of America. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered the reinstatement of all employees and the restoration of VoA programming so that it can “serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news.”
Russia’s Easter truce was a stunt to appease Trump, French minister says. “The Easter truce that Putin announced, somewhat unexpectedly, was more of a PR move — a charm offensive intended to prevent President Trump from becoming impatient or upset,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.
Russia intensifying hybrid attacks against Europe, Dutch intelligence says. “We see that the Russian threat against Europe is increasing, including after a possible end of the war against Ukraine,” MIVD director Peter Reesink said in the agency’s annual report.
Switzerland joins EU sanctions against Russian state media. The Swiss sanctions against eight Russian propaganda outlets will come into force on April 23, 2025.
Japan to provide Ukraine with geospatial intelligence, media reports. Japan’s Kyushu University Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS) has agreed to provide Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, Intelligence Online magazine reported on April 21.
India’s Russian oil purchases nearing 2-year record. India’s imports of Russian crude are likely to hit 2.15 million barrels per day in April, the highest volumes since May 2023, Bloomberg reported on April 22, citing Kpler data.
Australia reacts to Russia’s ‘you have no cards’ warning regarding rumored military base in Indonesia. “I have no wish to help promote Russia’s propaganda messages.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
In other news
Russian car market faces 50% drop in demand, CEO warns. Maxim Sokolov, the chief executive of Russia’s largest state-owned car manufacturing company, said that AvtoVaz itself is expecting a 33% year-on-year drop in Lada car sales in April.
Most Americans say US losing global credibility under Trump, poll shows. Concerns about the U.S. global credibility under Trump are shared by roughly one-third of Republicans.
Zelensky plans to attend Pope Francis’s funeral. President Volodymyr Zelensky might attend Pope Francis’s funeral in the Vatican, as the preparations for the ceremony are underway, European Pravda reported on April 22, citing its source.
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