Russia uses banned chemical weapons. The city of Chasiv Char was “charred”.

The Ukrainian prime minister has fired Illia Vitiuk, the man in charge of cybersecurity at the SBU. Vitiuk had already been suspended from his position due to an investigation into suspected corruption. Local media reported it. The Kyiv Independent underlines that this is yet another episode that demonstrates the growing pressure of the authorities on the media.

The Russian Air Force bombed the Kharkiv region with guided aerial bombs. Six children were injured during the attack. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the telegram channel of the head of the Kharkiv regional state administration, Oleg Sinegubov.

“In April alone, the Russians used more than 300 missiles of different types, almost 300 drones and more than 3,200 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine. Our cities, from Sumy to Odessa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Mykolaiv , Kherson, suffer this vile terror every day and every night.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote this on Telegram, underlining how “thousands of lives were saved thanks to the help of the countries that supported our air shield”.

Russian forces managed to break through and gain a foothold in Ocheretiny in the Avdiivka area of ​​Donetsk, Ukrainian defenses deployed reserves to stabilize the situation. The spokesman for the ‘Khortytsia’ military command Nazar Voloshyn reported this on TV, quoted by Rbc-Ukraine. “The situation is such that the enemy managed to break through to this settlement. One part, under enemy control, is under our fire control. We are taking measures to drive them out from there. Heavy fighting is underway, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are controlling the situation,” Voloshyn said.​​​​​​

Ukrainian soldiers prepare a trench in the Donetsk region (Ansa)

The Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, proposed the activation of a “permanent table to support Italian companies active in Russia” during a meeting that started from the ‘Ariston case’. The meeting was attended by Confindustria, Ice, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, trade associations and companies with significant investments in the Russian Federation. The head of the Farnesina explained that “the embassy took immediate action” but that other companies also need to be reassured. “We consider” the Russian choice of Ariston “a violation of international law” and “therefore we have sent this strong message to the Russian Federation”, he reiterated.

Ground troops in Ukraine are not ruled out if Moscow “breaks through the front lines” and Kiev requests it. French President Emmanuel Macron said this in an interview withEconomist. “If the Russians were to break through the front lines, if there was a Ukrainian request – which is not the case today – we should legitimately ask ourselves the question,” the French president told the British weekly. “Ruling it out a priori does not mean learning the lesson of the last two years”, when NATO countries had initially ruled out sending tanks and planes to Ukraine before finally changing their minds, he added.

Russian forces have captured the village of Berdichy, in the Avdiivka area of ​​Ukrainian Donbass. Russian agencies reported this, citing the Ministry of Defense.

The US State Department’s accusations that Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine, particularly chloropicrin, are “heinous and unfounded”. This was stated by Moscow’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, quoted by the Ria Novosti agency. Russia has in turn repeatedly denounced the use of chemical weapons by Ukrainian forces.

The US State Department has indicated that Russian troops used chloropicrin, a banned chemical, against Ukrainian armed forces, confirming Kiev’s accusations. “The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and is likely driven by Russian forces seeking to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and gain tactical advantages on the battlefield,” the State Department noted.

Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed 12 Ukrainian drones over five Russian regions last night. The Russian Ministry of Defense made this known. “Air Defense Forces on duty destroyed and intercepted 12 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, including five over the Bryansk region, one over the Kursk region, one over the Belgorod region, two over the Rostov region and three over the Krasnodar Territory “, the ministry said.

Yesterday’s Russian missile attack injured at least thirteen people in Odessa, the port city in southwestern Ukraine. The mayor of the city, Gennadyi Trukhanov, reported this on Telegram, explaining that “civilian infrastructure was destroyed” and “13 people were injured”.