Ukrainian forces repelled several waves of Russian assaults in the eastern Donetsk region over the last day, the military said on April 17, as Moscow’s forces launched scores of missile and air strikes on urban settlements in two southern regions, causing deaths among civilians and damaging infrastructure.
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Over the past 24 hours, the Russian military launched 25 missile strikes from S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems and 42 air strikes on the cities of Zaporizhzhya and Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhya region, and the town of Snihurivka in the Mykolayiv region, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in its daily report.
“There are dead and wounded among the civilian population, high-rise and private residential buildings have been damaged, and education institutions, hospitals, churches, and other civilian infrastructure objectives have been destroyed and damaged,” the military said, without specifying the number of casualties.
Zaporizhzhya administration chief Yuriy Malashko said on Telegram that at least one civilian was wounded in the city as a result of Russian shelling.
Ukrainian defenders repelled more than 60 attacks by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine during the day on April 16, where Russian forces, despite significant losses, continue to concentrate their offensive actions on the cities and towns of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, and Maryinka in Donetsk region.
Bakhmut, where heavy fighting has been going on for months, and Avdiyivka remain the epicenter of the battle for Ukraine’s industrial east, the military said.
Separately, Russia’s Defense Ministry said fighters from the Wagner mercenary group have captured two more city blocks in Bakhmut. The claim could not be independently verified.
Ukraine has indicated it will soon launch a counteroffensive to take back more territory.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claims seven British mercenaries were killed in fighting in Ukraine. The ministry gave no further details, nor did it give details on the location of the battle. Neither British Defense Ministry officials or the British government have commented on the statement by Russia.
Amid The Ruins Of War, Ukrainians Celebrate Orthodox Easter
In sacred cathedrals, ruined churches, on the streets, and in the trenches, Orthodox Christians in Ukraine took time to celebrate Easter in the days leading up to April 16.
On April 17, Ukraine’s agriculture minister said Kyiv would aim to secure the reopening of food and grain transit via Poland as a “first step” at talks in Warsaw after Poland and Hungary announced bans on some imports from Ukraine.
A senior EU official said on April 17 that member countries’ envoys in Brussels will discuss the issue. The official, speaking under condition of anonymity, said low global prices and demand meant the grain was staying in the bloc rather than being sold.
“We expect Poland and Hungary to offer some explanation and there will also be reaction by the European Commission,” said the official.
On April 16, the day Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter, Russia and Ukraine completed a prisoner exchange that resulted in the return of 130 Ukrainian prisoners, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said.
Yermak did not say how many Russians were released in what he called a “great Easter exchange.”
Last week, 106 Russian prisoners were swapped for 100 Ukrainians, the two governments reported.
Zelenskiy congratulated Orthodox Christian Ukrainians on the occasion of Easter, saying that despite 417 days of war with Russia, the country retains an “unshakeable faith” in victory.
“We are not only waiting and asking, but we are winning and creating this victory ourselves,” Zelenskiy said in a video address on April 16. “With all our strength, we fight for our land and ask for the help of heavenly forces.”
In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended an Easter service at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, both of whom have been outspoken supporters of Russia’s massive February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
During the service, Patriarch Kirill described the Russian invasion and the war, which has killed tens of thousands and left millions of people displaced, as “sad events that may be described as an internal feud that are now taking place on our historic Russian land.”
