Ihor Zhdanov, Information Defence Project, Open Policy Foundation

 

Informational Defence of Ukraine provides a daily review of the military-political situation in Ukraine as of April 10th, based on an analysis of open sources.

1. The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions and continue counterattacks.

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the enemy is trying to break through the defences of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the city of Izium and establish full control over Mariupol.

Besides, the occupiers are attempting to improve the tactical positions of their divisions in the Mykolaiiv direction.

In the Slobozhanskyi direction, the enemy continues to partially blockade Kharkiv, shelling the city using jet and barrel artillery systems and mortars. The occupiers are moving additional units to Izium to strengthen the group in this direction.

In the Donetsk and Tavriia areas, the enemy is carrying out artillery and mortar shelling in most areas. The enemy is carrying out assault attacks in Mariupol using air strikes, trying to capture the central part of the city.

In the Pivdennyi Buh direction, the enemy once again tried to establish control over the village of Olexandrivka. The invaders were unsuccessful, losing a tactical group of personnel and equipment.

The total combat losses of the enemy from February 24 to April 10 were approximately: combatants - about 19,300 people, tanks - 722 units, armoured combat vehicles - 1911 units, artillery systems - 342 units, MLRS - 108 units, air defence - 55 units, aircraft - 152 units, helicopters - 137 units, motor vehicles - 1384 units, ships / boats - 7 units, fuel tanks - 76, operational-tactical UAVs - 112, special equipment - 25, TBM / BRBM (tactical ballistic missile / battlefield range ballistic missile) launchers - 4.

In the conditions of constant inflow of wounded servicemen of the armed forces of the russian federation, there is a lack of qualified medical personnel in the occupiers' hospitals. In addition, the enemy is having problems with stocks of medicines, which are not being sufficiently replenished.

On April 9th, the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck at least 13 air targets of the russian occupiers: three planes, one helicopter, five drones, and four cruise missiles.

2. Information summaries and assessments of foreign and Ukrainian intelligence.

According to BBC Ukraine, in the summer of 2021, Western intelligence saw a small group of high-ranking russian officials planning a full-scale invasion of Ukraine: “In summer, we saw a small group of high-ranking officials planning a full-scale invasion.”

According to one official, some russian officials first learned of russia's intention to act against Ukraine when they heard about it from CIA Director William Burns when he arrived in Moscow in early November.

According to UK intelligence, the russians continue to use improvised explosive devices to inflict losses on Ukrainians, lower their morale and restrict transportation.

russia is trying to recruit soldiers in the occupied part of Moldova - Transnistria, according to the UK intelligence. Also, in response to growing losses, the occupiers have tried to increase the number of troops discharged from military service since 2012.

3. The russian occupiers continue to violate international humanitarian law.

Mass genocide of Ukrainians committed by the russian occupiers. The Global Tribunal for putin initiative has already documented 1,188 episodes of russian war crimes committed in Ukraine.

The initiative's base included at least 414 deaths, 392 injuries, 868 artillery shelling and bombings, 559 attacks on civilian objects, and 349 cases of destruction or damage to property.

According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, Ukrainian law enforcement confirmed the deaths of 1,222 Kyiv residents due to the actions of the russian occupiers.

According to the Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova, after the liberation of settlements from the occupiers, there are hundreds of maimed people who have been subjected to terrible torture.

The ombudsman cited several horrific examples of the inhumane treatment of civilians by the russian military:

• in the village of Makariv in the Kyiv region, an 80-year-old man had his hands cut off in front of his daughter. He died after the wounds he received;
• in Irpin, a 20-year-old pregnant woman was raped by two occupiers. She lost a child;
• During the occupation of the villages of Yahidne and Lukashivka in the Chernihiv region, the russian invaders set up their headquarters in the Church of the Ascension. The bodies of people, probably locals, who had been shot dead by the russian military, were found.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba called on scientists from all over the world to investigate the causes of the atrocities of the russian army in Bucha in the Kyiv region.

The russian aggressors kill Ukrainian children. During 45 days of the war, at least 177 children were killed and more than 336 were injured in russia's armed aggression in Ukraine.

Currently, most children are affected in the Donetsk (108), Kyiv (93), Kharkiv (76), Chernihiv (51), Mykolaiiv (40), Luhansk (35), Zaporizhzhia (22), Kherson (29), Sumy (16), Zhytomyr (15) regions and Kyiv City (16).

On April 8th, due to the shelling of a civilian car on the highway near the village Kar’ierne in the Beryslav district in the Kherson region, three children were injured. Also on April 8th, in a village in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a 3-year-old child received mine injuries as a result of the russian shelling. On April 9th, a 9-year-old child was injured in artillery shelling of a residential area in Vuhledar, in the Donetsk region.

As a result of daily bombings and shelling, 938 educational institutions have been damaged, 87 of which were completely destroyed.

The russian invaders shell peaceful towns and villages daily. On the night of April 10th, the russian occupiers continued to fire on Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiiv, and Kherson regions, and the Donbas area.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the occupiers aimed at farms, industrial and infrastructural facilities. At the moment, there is information about one victim.

Because of russian missile strikes on Dnipro, 6 rescuers from the State Emergency Service were injured.

In the Luhansk region, artillery and rocket attacks continued on residential neighbourhoods and places where civilians were being evacuated from hostile areas. In the morning there was a heavy shelling of Severodonetsk, one person was killed and 4 wounded.

The russian troops fired on the Kharkiv district, 2 civilians were killed and wounded.

Abduction of peaceful Ukrainian citizens, hostage-taking and torture. In the settlements of the Melitopol district, the russian invaders continue to search the homes of civilians. They check documents, the availability of transport and food stocks. They interrogate the workplaces of close relatives and demand information about former law enforcement officers, servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and members of the Anti-Terrorist Operation.

In Izium, in the Kharkiv region, the russian occupiers detained Ukrainian writer Volodymyr Vakulenko.

Peaceful protests of Ukrainians in the occupied territories. In Kherson, in the square near the Jubilee Cinema and Concert Hall, the residents organised a peaceful rally which was dispersed by the russian military.

A mini-football tournament under the slogan “Hola Prystan is Ukraine” was held in the occupied city of Hola Prystan in the Kherson region.

4. The evacuation of civilians under attacks from russian aggressors continues.

On April 10th, the work of 9 humanitarian corridors in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions was planned:

• from Mariupol, Berdiansk, Tokmak, Enerhodar to Zaporizhzhia;
• from Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Popasna, Rubizhne, Hirske to the city of Bakhmut.

The occupying forces at a checkpoint in Vasylivka are holding convoys of buses that left Zaporizhzhia this morning to evacuate people from Berdiansk, Tokmak, and Energodar.

At the end of the day, 2,622 people left Berdiansk and Mariupol for Zaporizhzhia in their cars and evacuation buses. 213 of them are from Mariupol, and the rest are residents of the settlements of the Zaporizhzhia region (Polohy, Vasylivka, Melitopol, and Berdiansk).

Despite the shelling, 202 people were taken out of the Luhansk region. These are residents of Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, Rubizhne, Popasna, and Kreminna.

2,824 people have been evacuated today, April 10th.

5. Political and socio-economic situation in Ukraine, losses due to the russian aggression.

Kyiv resumes its work. Business resumes operations in Kyiv: on Saturday, April 9th, the city had more than 900 grocery stores, 35 markets and about 460 coffee shops.

During the 45 days of the full-scale russian invasion, 1,439 couples married in Kyiv. Also during this period, 1189 babies were born in Kyiv.

During the past 24 hours, the Kyiv region has restored electricity supply in 12 settlements and gas supply in 16 settlements, and demining of territories continues.

6. International support and assistance to Ukraine.

Political support for Ukraine and security guarantees. At the level of legal subgroups, the wording of the international agreement on security guarantees of Ukraine is currently being worked out.

According to Mykhailo Podoliak, Adviser to the President's Office: “We do not want to be involved in a direct agreement between Ukraine and russia. Ukraine must stay together with 5-7 counties that guarantee the security, and the russian federation should be on the opposite side”. We are working on the legal document”.

The EU Ambassador to Ukraine Matti Maasikas believes that Ukraine has a chance to gain the status of a candidate country for the EU membership in a few months, possibly in June.

Military assistance to Ukraine. Some NATO countries may begin to teach Ukrainian troops abroad to service and use modern weapons. The goal is to help Ukraine gradually move to new technology of NATO standards from the Soviet-era weapons.

In the near future, Lithuania will organise military exercises for the Ukrainian military, which will help them prepare for work with Western equipment.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has told The Telegraph that NATO is considering a permanent military presence on its border due to russia's attack on Ukraine. It is said that NATO is “in the midst of a very fundamental transformation” that will reflect the “long-term consequences” of russian president putin’s actions.

According to Bild, Ukraine intends to purchase German infantry fighting vehicles Marder directly from the manufacturer - Rheinmetall. According to the publication, the company plans to deliver 35 armoured vehicles by the end of the year.

German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann offers to supply Ukraine with 100 self-propelled howitzers Panzerhaubitze 2000, writes World citing sources in Ukrainian government.

According to the publication, the proposal was sent to the German Ministry of Economy on Saturday. The cost of 100 howitzers, including training kit and spare parts, is 1.7 billion euros. Howitzers are also offered in the version on the Boxer armoured personnel carrier for 1.2 billion euros.

Humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Estonia has provided Ukraine with more than 10 tons of aid needed to repair power grids damaged by the fighting.

The Canadian government plans to organise several charter flights for Ukrainian refugees wishing to leave Europe for North America.

7. Provocations and fakes of the russian aggressors.

Dozens of “dressed up” men gathered in Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region for an artificially organized pro-russian action. The occupiers are also using local printing houses to prepare campaign materials (brochures, booklets, posters, letterheads) to hold a so-called “referendum on the establishment of the Kherson People's Republic.”

8. Political and socio-economic situation in russia, the impact of international sanctions on it.

As a result of sanctions imposed by Western countries, the russian economy is soon likely to cease to be one of the world's largest economies. This was stated by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in an interview with ABC News.

Japanese property insurance companies have completely suspended new and extended contracts with Japanese companies operating in russia.

Japanese energy company Kyushu Electric Power will not buy russian coal this year, which is used as fuel for thermal power plants.