30 soldiers dead. The withdrawal of peacekeeping forces from Nagorno-Karabakh has begun

The Kremlin has confirmed the start of the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Nagorno-Karabakh. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov says so, as reported by Tass.

«Chernihiv. Rescue operations continue after a Russian missile attack. People are trapped under the rubble. At the moment, 10 people are dead and 20 injured. My condolences to the families and friends. Unfortunately, the death toll could rise,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram. «This would not have happened if Ukraine had received sufficient air defense equipment and if the world’s determination to counter Russian terror had been sufficient. Support matters”

The death toll in Chernihiv has risen to 8, another 18 civilians have been injured, said Mayor Oleksandr Lomako, explaining that rescue operations are still ongoing.

The toll of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine has surpassed the 50,000 mark: the count in the second year of the war was almost 25% higher than in the first. The update was carried out by BBC Russia and the independent media group Mediazona. In the second year of fighting, more than 27,300 Russian soldiers died. «The overall budget is 8 times higher than Moscow’s official admission. The number is likely to be much higher”, writes the BBC, speaking of a “meat grinder strategy”, i.e. the way in which Moscow sends waves of soldiers to advance relentlessly to try to wear down the Ukrainian forces.

The monitoring group Crimean Wind reports that during the night there were explosions and large fires in and near the Russian military airport of Dzhankoy, in Crimea, a peninsula unilaterally annexed by Moscow ten years ago. Ukrainian media show the image of the flames at the airport posted by Crimean Wind. According to residents, the explosions occurred before the air raid alert was announced. «The VIIRS/Suomi NPP satellite recorded six outbreaks of powerful fires at the Russian military airport Dzhankoya. The time of recovery was 3.41 am Moscow time,” says Crimean Wind.

Russian forces targeted 13 communities in Sumy Oblast, northeastern Ukraine, in 35 separate attacks throughout the day on April 16. This was reported by the regional administration, reported by the Ukrainian media, adding that one person was injured. In the last 24 hours, at least 218 explosions have been reported in the region.

“We are actively working to ensure that the first global peace summit in June (in Switzerland) produces results. I am grateful to all leaders and states who have expressed their willingness to participate in it over the last week”, “in particular I thank German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his leadership and international communication on this issue, as well as for the signals we have received from Beijing. China can truly contribute to the restoration of just peace in Ukraine and international stability.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this on social media after the meeting between Scholz and Xi.