QUICK READING April 30: Poland transfers weapons worth 1.6 billion USD to Ukraine

The wreckage of a Russian Mi-8 helicopter crashed near Kiev – Photo: REUTERS

* According to the assessment of British defense intelligence on April 30, Russia is merging and redeploying armed units that have been heavily damaged in the first phase of the war in Ukraine. According to the British Ministry of Defense, Russia is hoping that phase 2 will improve combat effectiveness by shortening the geographical distance between units, the supply distance and simplifying the command system.

* Polskie Radio, the Polish national radio station, revealed Over the past few weeks Warsaw has delivered to Ukraine about 200 T-72 . tanks, dozens of infantry fighting vehicles, 2S1 Carnation self-propelled howitzers, unmanned aerial vehicles and Grad multiple launch rocket systems. Poland’s prime minister previously said it had transferred $1.6 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine, but did not specify the amount, according to CNN.

* In an interview with Xinhua News Agency (China) published on April 30, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: Russia has received a request to assist in the evacuation of a total of more than 2.8 million people from Ukraine to Russia. However, since February 24, only about 1.02 million people have been evacuated to Russia, of which more than 120,000 are third-country nationals.

On the same day, according to the newspaper The GuardianMr. Lavrov criticized the West for meddling and imposing its thinking on other countries to solve Western problems.

He also described the military campaign in Ukraine as a contribution to the process of liberating the world from Western neo-colonialism. He called on these countries to accept the “new geopolitical reality” as soon as possible because it benefits the West itself and internationally.

* French TV channel BFMTV on April 29, citing a source from the Elysee Palace, said: President Emmanuel Macron plans to have a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on April 30, but a specific time has not been determined.

* Ukraine cancels some agreements with Russia, Specifically cancel the cooperation agreement between the two sides on fisheries; terminate the agreement on government cooperation in the field of science and technology, cancel the agreement between the two governments on avoiding double taxation on income and assets as well as preventing tax evasion, according to TASS news agency.

Satellite image shows Kalibr cruise missile being loaded onto a Kilo-class submarine in the port of Sevastopol, Crimea annexed by Russia in 2014 – Photo: MAXAR

* Ministry of Defense of Russia April 29 reported that the country used a Kilo . class submarine diesel-powered in the Black Sea to air strikes on targets in Ukraine with Kalibr cruise missiles, according to Interfax news agency. This is the first time that Moscow has announced the use of its submarine fleet to attack its neighbour.

In addition, satellite images released by the space technology company Maxar Technologies (USA) at dawn on April 30 (Vietnam time) show that the Kalibr missile is being loaded onto a Kilo-class submarine in the port of Sevastopol. of the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea.

* Czech TV channel Ceska Televize on April 29 quoted a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense of this country as saying that so far, The Czech Republic has donated nearly 3 billion crowns to the military (about 130 million USD) to Ukraine. However, details of the aid were not disclosed.

Ceska Televize also said Czech is discussing a new model of cooperation with Germany regarding military assistance to Ukraine.

* On April 29, Russia confirmed that it carried out a missile attack on the capital Kiev. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had deployed “high-precision, long-range weapons” capable of “destroying the buildings of the Artyom rocket and space company in Kiev”.

According to AFP news agency, this is the first air strike by Russian forces in Kiev in nearly two weeks. An American journalist was also killed in the strike. At the moment, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is visiting Kiev and his spokesman said the missile hit a target just a few kilometers away.

Ukrainian soldiers next to the remains of a Russian Mi-8 helicopter that crashed near the capital Kiev, Ukraine – Photo: REUTERS

* On April 29, PGNiG, Poland’s largest gas company, said it would supply gas to customers in areas where Novatek Green Energy (Russia) stopped providing this service.

The supply disruption is due to Novatek being hit by Western sanctions. The RIA news agency quoted a Novatek spokesman as saying the company would resume gas supplies as soon as possible.

* According to AFP news agency, after nearly two months, Fighting in the port city of Mariupol has stopped. However, explosions still reverberated in the area of ​​Azovstal Steel Plant – the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in this city. AFP reporters heard shelling in Azovstal in the morning and afternoon of April 29.

In the port area, many administrative buildings were badly damaged, with walls burned and collapsed. Damaged containers caused cargo to spill outside.

* Office of the President of Ukraine said Russia is attacking the front lines in the Donbass . region east of the country with rockets, artillery, mortars and planes to prevent Ukrainian troops from regrouping, Reuters news agency reported.

Ukrainian soldiers in a supermarket in the city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region on April 28 – Photo: REUTERS

* Kiev admits Russian forces control a series of villages in the Donbass region, according to AFP news agency. However, the Ukrainian army also had small victories along the front lines.

Meanwhile, a senior official from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said Russia had made only “small” and “uneven” advances in its efforts to encircle the forces’ positions. amount of Ukraine.

In the Kharkov region, Ukraine says it has regained control of the strategically important village of Ruska Lozova. However, the large city of Kharkov in this region is still being hit by rockets.

* April 29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia does not consider it to be at war with NATO through Ukraineas such a development would increase the risk of a nuclear war, according to RIA news agency.

Lavrov also blamed Kiev for the stagnation in peace talks between the two countries, saying Ukraine had changed its stance in the negotiations.

Ukrainian President Zelensky also expressed pessimism about peace talks with Russia.

* According to Reuters on April 29, Ukraine, supported by about 38 European members of the World Health Organization (WHO), sent a letter to the regional WHO to call for an urgent meeting on the impact. of the Russian military campaign on health and medical care in Ukraine.

The letter calls on Hans Kluge, WHO European director, to hold a meeting before May 9 when it comes to attacks on health facilities in Ukraine that disrupt vaccination campaigns, and expressed concern about the risk of chemical and radioactive leaks.

The letter also calls on WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to address the issue at a World Health Assembly meeting in May.