It is likely to be a "very difficult summer" for Ukrainian forces in the face of increased Russian attacks, military analyst Sean Bell says. Listen to a Daily podcast on whether the UK should send troops to Ukraine as you scroll.
Monday 29 April 2024 18:16, UK
Ukrainian troops are still defending their positions on the frontline while grappling with depleted weapons supplies and increased Russian attacks.
Western support is on full display in the pictures below, with soldiers of the Ukrainian army's 25th separate airborne brigade operating a German-made Marder infantry fighting vehicle.
An update now on our previous post, as Odesa governor Oleg Kiper reports that two people and a dog have died as a result of this afternoon's missile attack.
A further eight people have injuries of "varying degrees of severity", including a 12-year-old boy, he said.
Victims are being provided with medical aid.
"Sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased," Mr Kiper wrote on Telegram.
At least eight people have been injured in a Russian missile attack on Ukraine's southern Odesa region, according to governor Oleg Kiper.
Mr Kiper also reported damage to residential buildings and civil infrastructure.
Emergency services are on site, he said on Telegram.
Ukraine's air force reported a harder-to-intercept ballistic missile threat before the strike.
Unverified footage is circulating on social media of a fire that purportedly broke out after the attack.
If you're just joining us or briefly dipping in, here's a quick rundown of all the key events of the day so far:
A woman has reportedly been injured after a "series of explosions" hit Kharkiv, according to the city's mayor.
Igor Terekhov wrote on Telegram that a high-rise building has been partially damaged.
"There is information about one injured woman," he said.
Germany's public prosecutor general's office has taken over a probe into the deaths of two Ukrainian soldiers in the country due to a possible political motive.
The two men, aged 36 and 23, were stabbed in southern Germany where they had been recuperating. Police said they were discovered outside a shopping centre in Murnau on Saturday night.
A 57-year-old Russian citizen was later arrested on suspicion of murder.
Preliminary investigations suggest the three people knew each other, but no names have been released in line with German privacy rules.
"The motive for the crime is currently unclear, although a political motivation cannot be ruled out and is being investigated in all directions," the prosecutor general's office in Munich said.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba is in contact with German law enforcement about the case.
It's likely to be a "very difficult summer" for Ukrainian forces in the face of increased Russian attacks, says our military analyst Sean Bell.
Ukraine's army chief said yesterday that troops had been forced to make a tactical retreat from three villages in the eastern Donetsk region.
Oleksandr Syrskyi also warned of a worsening battlefield situation for Kyiv.
Bell says Ukraine has run "desperately short of weapons" on the front line during the winter - and with the ground hardening as spring arrives, Russia is now "mounting multiple attacks" while "taking advantage" of Ukraine's weapons shortage.
The boundary of Russian-controlled territory has "shifted west" since its seizure of the key town of Avdiivka earlier this year, Bell adds.
"Russia knows... its got a window of opportunity where it can push hard. It does appear their 'special military operation' was all about the Donbas, so that's where we're expecting the priority.
"The evidence suggests that Russia is massing its forces for a major summer offensive in the Donetsk region."
Ukraine is "on the back foot" as it awaits a massive arrival of military aid as part of the US's new aid package, Bell explains.
"It is going to be a very difficult summer for Ukraine," he says.
We've more to bring you now from Jens Stoltenberg's visit to Kyiv today for talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy (details on their joint news conference in our 13.42 post).
The NATO secretary-general vowed that members would speed up the flow of military aid to Ukraine, saying the alliance has "not delivered what we have promised over the last months".
"Serious delays in support have meant serious consequences on the battlefield," he said.
However, Mr Stoltenberg noted the recent passing of a massive US aid package for Kyiv and a similar, smaller commitment from the UK.
He also said Germany had agreed to supply Ukraine with another air defence system, while the Netherlands had also ramped up its aid.
There are "new commitments to come", he said.
"This will make a difference – as the lack of support made a difference," he added, seemingly referring to Ukrainian battlefield losses in recent months.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has given "new impetus" to calls for the EU to be enlarged beyond the 27 members, the president of the European Council has said.
The alternative would be a "terrible, irresponsible mistake", Charles Michel said.
Discussing an enlargement in 2004, when 10 mostly ex-communist nations such as Poland and Hungary joined the bloc, Mr Michel said it had been a "call of history to unite European countries", the 20th anniversary of which is on Wednesday.
He added: "Twenty years later we face a similar challenge because there is this geopolitical chaos, including because of this war by Russia against Ukraine.
"And facing this chaos is the geopolitical strategy to reunify once again."
Applicants to join the EU include six Balkan countries, plus Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
Ukraine is by far the biggest prospective member.
"Because of the war launched by Russia against Ukraine, there is a new impetus, a reinvigoration of the enlargement strategy," Mr Michel said.
"It is challenging. But what is the alternative? The alternative would be a terrible, irresponsible mistake from the EU."
He suggested the EU and candidate countries should carry out the reforms necessary for enlargement by 2030.
Fresh supplies of weapons from the US have begun to arrive in Ukraine but the process needs to speed up, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
Speaking alongside NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg at a joint news conference in Kyiv, the Ukrainian president said there had been "timely support for our army".
He added, however: "Today I don't see anything positive on this point yet.
"There are supplies - they have slightly begun. This process needs to be sped up."
A new $61bn (£48bn) US military aid package was finally signed into law last week after months of deadlock in the US House of Representatives.
Kyiv is hoping its critically low stocks of artillery shells will soon be replenished.
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