Flooding in Russia’s Orenburg remains “critical”.

According to the mayor of Orenburg, the situation regarding flooding in the city is still extremely severe. He warned that water levels are expected to continue rising in the upcoming days, as reported by Reuters.

Over 4,000 individuals in the Orenburg region near the border of Kazakhstan have been evacuated due to the flooding caused by a dam breach, as declared by Russia on Saturday.

In addition, the Orsk oil refinery, situated in Orenburg, has halted its operations temporarily on Sunday. This decision was made to prevent any potential ecological risks, as stated by the plant’s press service via a Russian news agency.

This image was extracted from a video released by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry on April 6, 2024. It exhibits rescuers crossing a flooded street en route to evacuate residents during a flood in the town of Orsk, located in the Orenburg region near the southern end of the Ural Mountains. Photograph: Russian Emergencies Ministry/AFP/Getty ImagesShare

Russian drone strike in Kharkiv kills six people, hits high-rises

During an overnight drone attack carried out by Russia in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, six individuals lost their lives and at least 10 others were injured, as stated by national emergency services and the city’s mayor on Saturday.

According to a Telegram post by Igor Terekhov, the attack specifically targeted the Shevchenkivskyi area in the north of the city, as reported by Agence France-Presse.

Terekhov further revealed that Iranian-made drones were responsible for the attack, causing substantial damage to at least nine high-rise buildings, three dormitories, and a petrol station.

The region’s governor, Oleg Synegubov, had earlier confirmed the deaths of two men in Shevchenkivskyi.

Authorities also confirmed the deaths and stated that eight additional individuals were hospitalized “with blast injuries and shrapnel wounds”.

Among the wounded are a 25-year-old woman, a 52-year-old woman, and six men aged between 23 and 76.

Furthermore, it was reported by the police that a separate attack on Mala Danylivka, a village on the outskirts of Kharkiv, resulted in no casualties.

Photos released by the police on Telegram displayed several fires in residential areas, including one near a high-rise apartment building.

Authorities informed that several buildings, including residential blocks and a petrol station, suffered damages as a result of the attack.

This incident occurred simultaneously with Ukraine’s air force reporting the presence of multiple groups of Russian drones across the country.

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An undisclosed intelligence source from Ukraine has described the operation targeting the Morozovsk air base as a highly significant one.

Although the specifics of the attack were not revealed, the source stated that six Russian warplanes were completely destroyed and eight more sustained substantial damage in a joint operation involving the SBU security service and the military.

According to Reuters, the Ukrainian source reported that the Morozovsk air base was utilized by Russian tactical bombers for launching guided bomb attacks on Ukrainian military forces and frontline towns and cities.

Maxar Technologies satellite image of Russian Sukhoi Su-34 jets at Morozovsk Airbase
Russian Sukhoi Su-34 military aircraft are pictured at Morozovsk Airbase, Russia March 27, 2021. Photograph: Maxar Technologies/Reuters

The Guardian was unable to independently verify these claims, including Moscow’s assertions regarding the interception of drones.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has significantly escalated its drone attacks on Russian targets. On Tuesday, they executed a strike on the main unit of Russia’s third-largest oil refinery in the Tatarstan region, which is more than 1,100 km (690 miles) away from Ukraine – representing their deepest incursion into Russia since the war began in February 2022.

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‘They have an abundance of them’: At Nato, Kuleba emphasizes the necessity of Patriots

Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, sends his well wishes to Nato on their birthday. Speaking alongside Jens Stoltenberg, Kuleba highlights the ongoing challenge of “unprecedented missile and drone attacks.”

“I don’t want to dampen the mood… the birthday celebration, but my primary message today centers around the importance of Patriots,” he asserts.

Kuleba adds:

The ability to save Ukrainian lives, protect the Ukrainian economy, and safeguard Ukrainian cities relies heavily on the availability of Patriots and other air defense systems in Ukraine.

He also underscores the fact that “supplying Patriots is dependent on our allies, as they possess an abundant supply of them.”

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, arrives for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on April 3. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty ImagesShare

Nato chief proposes ‘consistent’ aid to Ukraine as ‘long-term’ package considered

Arriving for the Nato ministers’ meeting this morning, Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance’s secretary-general, argued for a change in the way aid is provided to Ukraine.

He indicated that officials will now discuss how Nato could assume more accountability for coordinating military equipment for Kyiv, and that ministers will consider a multiyear package.

Previously, Nato as an organization had refrained from offering direct lethal military assistance to Kyiv, as coordination efforts were led by a US-led contact group.

“The urgent needs of Ukraine have immediate consequences on the battlefield,” stated the Nato chief. “Therefore, we must alter the dynamics of our support.”

Stoltenberg added:

It is crucial that we provide Ukraine with reliable and predictable security assistance for the long term, reducing our reliance on voluntary contributions and increasing NATO commitments, minimizing short-term offers and focusing on multiyear pledges.

As a result, ministers will explore how NATO can take on greater responsibility for coordinating military equipment and training for Ukraine, integrating these efforts within a robust NATO framework. Additionally, we will discuss a long-term financial commitment to sustain our support.

This ministerial meeting will pave the way for consensus on these matters as we prepare for the Washington summit.

NATO allies currently provide 99% of all military support to Ukraine.

By expanding our efforts within NATO, we can increase efficiency and effectiveness.

When asked about his proposal, Stoltenberg declined to provide specifics but indicated that allies are deliberating on how to institutionalize support within the Nato framework and ensure its predictability.

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Ukrainian strike targets Russian facility producing long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, claims Kyiv

New information has emerged regarding the Ukrainian drone strike that took place this morning, hitting a Russian region located over 1,000 km away from Ukraine, marking Ukraine’s furthest-reaching attack.

According to a source within Kyiv’s intelligence agency, the attack was aimed at Tatarstan, specifically targeting a facility where Russia manufactures Shahed drones, which are frequently used in attacks on Ukrainian territory. This follows an announcement from Ukraine’s military spy agency about the significant damage inflicted on a military target.

Based on photographic evidence shared online, Reuters analysis indicates that one of the drones also struck a unit within Tatarstan’s Taneco oil refinery, impacting approximately half of its annual production capacity.

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Opening summary

Welcome to our live coverage on Ukraine. It is just after 10am in Kyiv and in Moscow and I’m Donna Ferguson. Here are the headlines:

• France’s top diplomat has said China must speak clearly to Russia over its war in Ukraine. “We expect China to send very clear messages to Russia,” said Emmanuel Macron’s foreign minister, Stéphane Séjourné, after meeting his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing. “We are convinced that there will be no lasting peace if it is not negotiated with the Ukrainians. “There will be no security for Europeans if there is no peace in accordance with international law.”

• Ukraine’s air force shot down two out of three Russia-launched Shahed drones on Sunday night, according to Ukrainian military officials. However, no further details were provided by the general staff.

• Russian attacks resulted in the deaths of at least three people in various regions of eastern Ukraine, local officials confirmed on Sunday. Additionally, two more individuals were killed in the Lviv region, which is far from the frontlines. In Kharkiv, a city frequently targeted by Russia’s attacks on infrastructure, a strike hit civilian targets in the evening, said the regional governor, Oleh Synehubov. Reports from regional news outlets indicated that bombs were dropped in different areas of the region, although no injuries were reported. Furthermore, local prosecutors revealed that heavy shelling on Sunday resulted in the death of a man in the town of Borova, located southeast of Kharkiv.

• Police in Ukraine’s Donetsk region reported that Russian shelling struck 14 towns and villages, causing two deaths in Krasnohorivka, which is west of the Russian-held regional center of Donetsk.

• Aside from the frontlines, Russian attacks targeted infrastructure in Lviv. The regional governor, Maksym Kozitskyi, confirmed that two bodies were found amidst the rubble after cruise missile strikes.

• According to the Ukrainian local regional military administration, Russian forces launched 39 attacks on the border territories and settlements of the Sumy region on Sunday. These attacks involved 157 recorded explosions from various types of ordnance, such as artillery shells, mortars, exploding drones, drone-dropped mines and grenades, and rockets fired from helicopters. Sumy has experienced relentless Russian attacks in recent weeks, leading to forced evacuations.

• In Russia’s Belgorod region, near the border, the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported that a woman was killed during an attack on a border village. However, there has been no independent confirmation of the accounts of military action from either side.

• In his Easter message, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, expressed resilience and determination. He stated, “Our spirit does not give up. There is no night or day when Russian terror does not try to break our lives,” and shared his message on social media following Russian missile strikes.

• To mark two years since the liberation of Bucha from a month-long occupation by Russia at the start of the war, Zelenskiy visited the city alongside Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and several foreign ambassadors. Together, they laid a lamp at the town’s wall of remembrance, which lists the names of the 509 identified civilians killed during Bucha’s occupation.

• France has pledged to provide Ukraine with hundreds of old armored vehicles and new surface-to-air missiles. The French defense minister, Sebastien Lecornu, announced that President Emmanuel Macron had tasked him with preparing a new aid package that includes functional but outdated equipment, as well as new missiles.

• In Kyiv, protesters took to the streets to demand the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war from the Azov brigade. Relatives and friends of captured soldiers, some dressed in military attire, waved placards at passing traffic.

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‘We defend ourselves, we endure, our spirit does not give up,’ Zelenskiy says in Easter message

“There is no night or day when Russian terror does not attempt to disrupt our lives,” Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote in an Easter Sunday message to Ukrainians on social media, following Russian missile strikes on the country overnight.

“But we stand strong, we persevere, our resolve does not waver and we believe we can overcome death. Life will triumph,” he said.

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Opening summary

• Russian missile and drone attacks overnight caused significant damage to Ukrainian thermal and hydro power plants, according to Ukrenergo, the electricity grid operator. Emergency shutdowns occurred in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where critical infrastructure was targeted. Explosions were reported in other regions as well. Poland responded to the missile attack by scrambling planes. A Russian fighter jet crashed off Sevastopol, Crimea, and the pilot was safely rescued. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the US House of Representatives to pass a military aid package for Ukraine, highlighting the urgency of the situation. Zelenskiy also warned that Russia could escalate the war to Nato soil. The US is instructing American companies to halt the shipment of missile and drone components to foreign parties that could potentially divert them to Russia. A Russian journalist has been sentenced to two years in prison for speaking out against Moscow’s military offensive on Ukraine. Meanwhile, central and eastern European countries commemorated the 20th anniversary of Nato’s expansion.

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Russia denies any intention to attack NATO countries, according to President Putin

In a statement released on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured that Russia has no plans to attack NATO member countries such as Poland, the Baltic states, or the Czech Republic. However, he warned that any F-16 fighters supplied by the West to Ukraine will be shot down by Russian forces. These comments come amidst increasing tensions between Russia and the US-led military alliance, with Moscow accusing the US of supporting Ukraine against Russia. President Putin stated that Russia considers the deployment of F-16s to Ukraine as a potential threat and warned that they would be targeted if used from airfields in third countries. He also claimed that F-16 fighters could potentially carry nuclear weapons. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had earlier announced that the aircraft should arrive in Ukraine in the coming months, with Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands among the countries pledging to donate F-16s.