Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili highlights Georgia’s stalled EU accession, rising anti-Western rhetoric, and the ruling party’s troubling alignment with Russian interests, while affirming Georgian people’s support for Ukraine.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.Read more
"In Belgorod Oblast, our military advanced and increased our zone of control," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 19, citing reports from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
"The Verkhovna Rada, as it adopted (martial law), can cancel it, even if there are some decisions that require it," Defense Committee Secretary Roman Kostenko said in an interview with New Voice.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary ceasefire on the Easter weekend, ordering a halt to all military action from 6 p.m. Moscow time on April 19 until midnight on April 21.
Another 277 Ukrainian soldiers returned home in a major prisoner swap with Russia mediated by the United Arab Emirates, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on April 19.
Iran filed a case at the International Court of Justice on April 17, seeking to overturn a ruling by the International Civil Aviation Organization that held Tehran responsible for the 2020 downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia deployed eight missiles of different types, and 87 long-range drones – 33 of which were shot down and 36 turned out to be decoy, on April 19.
"I encourage all my colleagues in Congress to come here," U.S. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a pro-Ukraine Republican representing Pennsylvania, said during his visit to the front line.
Russian troops are solidifying their presence in the village of Kalynove in Donetsk Oblast as they prepare for an advance toward Stara Mykolaivka and the road to Kostiantynivka, Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState reported on April 18.
Moldova's parliament voted on April 17 to hold elections on Sept. 28 – a vote that could potentially threaten the majority currently held by pro-Western President Maia Sandu's party.
The U.S. indicated during recent talks in Paris that it has developed a draft concept for how a comprehensive ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia might be monitored if one can be achieved, a Western official said.
The attacks come shortly after Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that the 30-day partial ceasefire on energy infrastructure strikes had expired.
Lithuania will upgrade and fortify a second route through the Suwałki Gap, a strategically critical stretch of land along the Polish border viewed as one of the most likely targets for a future Russian attack on NATO.
A court in St. Petersburg sentenced 19-year-old Darya Kozyreva to two years and eight months in a penal colony for allegedly "discrediting" the Russian army.
Recognizing Russia’s control of Crimea would mark a significant win for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long pushed for international legitimacy over the territory.
"If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say: 'you're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people,' and we're just going to take a pass. But hopefully we won't have to do that," U.S. President Donald Trump said.