The southern Ukrainian city was attacked, Russia did not want to negotiate at the leadership level

“Odesa was attacked from the air,” Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Minister, announced on the Telegram app. “Firefires were recorded in some areas. Many missiles were shot down by the air defenses.”

Reuters news agency, citing Sergey Bratchuk, a regional government spokesman, said that one of Odessa’s “critical infrastructure” was attacked on the morning of March 4. “We hope there will be no casualties,” Bratchuk said.

Smoke rises from one of the sites hit by an air strike in Odessa. Video: Richard Gaisford

According to the Dumskaya news agency, many locals also reported hearing loud explosions and seeing black smoke rising from Odessa, marking a major assault by Russian forces on the city center. City residents are on high alert and awaiting evacuation orders.

Odessa is the city that owns the largest strategic seaport of Ukraine in the Black Sea, with a population of about 1 million people.

Russia says not ready to open leadership talks

Vladimir Medinsky, an adviser to President Vladimir Putin and chief negotiator of Russia, today (April 3) said Moscow’s position on the status quo of the Crimean peninsula and eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region remains unchanged. and the current peace negotiation process is still not enough for a leadership meeting.

“The draft agreement is not yet ready to be submitted to a meeting at the highest level,” Medinsky wrote on Telegram. This is seen as a move to deny earlier statements by Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia that Russia has agreed “verbally” to Kiev’s main proposals for an early end to the current conflict.

“I also reiterate that Russia’s position on Crimea and Donbass remains unchanged,” Medinsky said.

US says Russia wants to complete military operation in Ukraine by early May

CNN, citing sources in the US intelligence community, said Russia is changing its strategy to focus on gaining control of the Donbass region and other regions in eastern Ukraine, with the goal of completing them by May 9.

According to US officials, the Kremlin is under pressure to achieve a military victory, and eastern Ukraine is the most likely battlefield for these goals. A US official added that Moscow may aim to gain control of the Donbass and other regions in eastern Ukraine by May 9, which is “Victory Day” in Russia.

May 9 is an important milestone for Russians. This is the day the Allies, including the Soviet Union, won a decisive victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. In Russia, May 9 every year is often celebrated with a large parade of troops and military equipment on Red Square in front of the Kremlin.

In addition, US intelligence also said that in the context of winter ended, the snow melted and the ground became muddy, which would make the operation of Russian motorized units more difficult. Therefore, Russian forces want to advance to occupy areas in eastern Ukraine before the terrain becomes unfavorable.

Even so, Western officials note that any deadline Moscow sets will not change the fact that Russia appears to be preparing for the prospect of protracted conflict.

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