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Situation Summary
Intense fighting continued in the Donetsk region, with Russian forces reportedly making territorial gains and seizing several settlements north and west of Donetsk city. On 23 April, a mistake during Ukrainian rotations left Ocheretyne, northwest of Avdiivka, undefended, enabling Russia to occupy most of the village.1Fabrice Deprez, ‘Russian advance blamed on Ukrainian troops rotation blunder,’ Financial Times, 24 April 2024 Meanwhile, Ukraine reportedly regained some lost positions east of Chasiv Yar. Russian forces also marginally advanced south of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhia region and in the direction of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region. In the Kherson region, Ukrainian forces advanced in northern Krynky on the southern occupied bank of Dnipro. On 21 April, Ukrainian forces hit the Russian ‘Kommuna’ salvage ship near Sevastopol in Crimea, reportedly putting it out of order. Amid continued Russian offensives and Ukraine’s ammunition shortages, the United States approved a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine on 23 April.2Dmytro Basmat and Elsa Court, ‘US Senate passes $61 billion in aid to Ukraine,’ Kyiv Independent, 24 April 2024
Russian shelling, missiles, and airstrikes killed over a dozen civilians in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Sumy regions. Among the strikes, there were several notable strikes targeting rail infrastructure. On 25 April, Russian missiles struck Udachne in the Donetsk region, killing three railway employees and wounding four others; a railway connection point in Smila in the Cherkasy region, wounding six civilians; and a railway station in Balakliia in the Kharkiv region, wounding 11 civilians.
In occupied Ukraine, two Russian soldiers shot dead seven people in Abrykosivka and Podo-Kalynivka in the Kherson region on 23 April, including a Russian-installed town head, four more civilians, and two members of Russian forces, and set their houses on fire. The attack was reportedly in response to the victims’ refusal to provide them with housing and money. Similar killings are not uncommon in occupied regions, with the most recent incident recorded a month ago, when Russian soldiers killed three civilians in Kohany in the Kherson region on 15 March.
