These are the key events on day 1,142 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here is where things stand on Friday, April 11:
Fighting
- Russia said its aerial defence systems destroyed 48 Ukrainian drones overnight and into the early morning in the Bryansk, Kursk, Kaluga, Belgorod, Moscow and Oryol regions, as well as the Russian-annexed Crimea.
- The Russian Ministry of Defence said its forces captured the border village of Zhuravka in Ukraine’s Sumy region.
- Ukrainian authorities recorded 145 Russian drones in its airspace in overnight attacks, of which 85 were destroyed while 49 were “lost” due to electronic warfare measures, Kyiv’s air force said.
- At least 13 people were injured by Russian drone attacks in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the southern city of Mykolaiv overnight, local authorities said. The drone assaults also damaged nine apartment blocks, dozens of garages and an administrative building.
- At least one person was killed and three were injured by a Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s Dnipro city. The attack damaged civilian infrastructure and sparked a huge fire, the regional governor, Serhiy Lysak, said.
- A person was also killed in a separate drone strike on a residential building in the city of Zhytomyr, west of Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said.
- Footage from a Ukrainian surveillance drone obtained by The Associated Press news agency showed four Ukrainian prisoners being shot dead by soldiers wearing Russian uniform markings.
- The Kremlin’s shorter version of the video, which was posted by a Russian military blogger, showed the Ukrainian soldiers lying on the ground alive. The video’s caption said the “enemy decided not to be killed and came out with their hands up”. The video did not show their execution.
Ceasefire
- Moscow’s Defence Ministry accused Ukraine of carrying out 11 attacks on Russian energy infrastructure over the past 24 hours despite a mutually agreed 30-day moratorium on energy strikes.
Politics and Diplomacy
- Russia released Russian American ballet dancer Ksenia Karelina, who was serving a 12-year prison sentence, in a prisoner exchange with the US, the Reuters news agency reports, citing Karelina’s lawyer.
- Karelina was found guilty of treason by a Russian court for donating $52 to a US charity aiding Ukraine. She was swapped for Arthur Petrov, a German Russian citizen arrested in 2023.
- China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called for a “sober” view of its role in the Ukraine crisis after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s intelligence had information about 155 Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russian forces against Ukraine. A spokesperson for the ministry also warned against making “irresponsible” remarks about the presence of Chinese fighters in Ukraine.
- President Zelenskyy accused Russia of working systematically in China to recruit fighters for the war in Ukraine. He also said, “Everything necessary must be done to ensure Russia has no such similar opportunities to prolong and expand the war.”
- The United States and Russia held talks in Istanbul, Turkiye, on normalising diplomatic relations between the two countries. The talks were led by Russia’s new ambassador to Washington, Alexander Darchiev, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Sonata Coulter.
- Defence ministers from some 30 countries who are part of the “coalition of the willing” met in Brussels to discuss a “reassurance force” for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow. However, key questions about its mission and any support from the US remained unanswered.
- The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, is stepping down after three years of service, the US Department of State said.
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