2 dead after Zaporizhzhia region hit with over 80 Russian attacks, official says
From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv
Yurii Malashko holds a briefing in Zaporizhzhia, southeastern Ukraine, on April 2. (Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/Future Publishing/Getty Images)
Zaporizhzhia's regional military administration said it has recorded more than 80 Russian attacks on the region in the past day, according to a statement released on Thursday.
Yurii Malashko, head of the Zaporizhzhia region military administration, said there were "83 attacks on peaceful towns and villages," consisting of 69 artillery attacks, seven air attacks, five UAV drone attacks and two attacks from a Multiple Launch Rocket System, or MLRS.
Malashko described "chaotic shelling" in Orikhiv, Preobrazhenka, and Novodanylivka, which resulted in the deaths of two men in their 40s.
"Unfortunately, two men born in 1976 and 1979 were killed," the statement said.
Aerial strikes also hit residential buildings in the Huliaipole district, a town in the Zaporizhzhia region on the front lines in eastern Ukraine, but no casualties or injuries have been recorded there.
3:08 a.m. ET, April 27, 2023
Analysis: With Zelensky call, Xi Jinping steps up bid to broker peace — but does he have a plan?
Analysis from CNN's Simone McCarthy
A long-awaited phone call between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday has received a tentative welcome in Washington and parts of Europe for its potential to increase dialogue toward resolving Russia's brutal war in Ukraine.
It also marks the most concrete step made to date by China to take up the role of mediator that it has for months alluded to playing.
But the hour-long conversation, believed to be the first between the two leaders in the fourteen months since Russia invaded Ukraine, also comes with few tangible proposals for how China might help to bridge the devastating, war-torn divide between the two countries.
And its timing — at a moment when Beijing is acutely focused on strengthening ties with Europe amid cratering relations with the United States — also suggests there are more drivers than just peace in China's calculus, analysts say.
Fatal Russian strikes on Mykolaiv targeted civilians, Ukraine authorities claim
From CNN’s Olga Voitovytch and Martin Goillandeau
Firefighters work at a site of a building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Mykolaiv, Ukraine April 27. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters)
The Russian missile attack on Mykolaiv in the early hours of Thursday was launched from the Black Sea and targeted civilian buildings, Ukrainian authorities said on social media.
One person was killed, and 23 were injured, including a child, Vitaliy Kim, the head of the Mykolaiv regional military administration, said on Telegram.
“At night, the enemy attacked Mykolaiv with Kalibr from the Black Sea. 4 missiles were launched using terrain features and trajectory changes to complicate detection. Given that this is a high-precision weapon that works on targeting coordinates, it is an obvious fact of terrorizing civilians,” the Ukrainian Army’s Operational Command “South” said on Facebook.
“As a result of the missile strikes, private houses were destroyed and severely damaged, a residential high-rise and a historic building were damaged,” Kim added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the attack on his Telegram channel, calling it “yet another crime against humanity.”
“We will find all the culprits. There will be accountability for everything,” Zelensky wrote, adding that “the terrorists will not get away.”
2:40 a.m. ET, April 27, 2023
At least 1 dead after Russian missile attack on Mykolaiv, Ukrainian officials say
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Firefighters work at a site of a building damaged by a Russian missile strike in Mykolaiv, Ukraine on April 27. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters)
A Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on Thursday killed at least one person and left 15 others injured, the head of the Mykolaiv regional military administration, Vitaliy Kim, said on Telegram.
“According to the preliminary information Russian forces used four S-300 missiles to target Mykolaiv,” Kim added.
Another city official, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych, wrote in a Telegram post that “one of the rockets hit a high-rise building and another one hit a private house.”
Some houses in the city are without electricity following Thursday's attack, Senkevych added.
1:30 a.m. ET, April 27, 2023
Chinese support for Ukraine grain deal, an emptied Russian base and other headlines you should know
From CNN Staff
Ukrainians are in what a senior US military commander called "a good position" for a counteroffensive against the Russian military.
On Wednesday, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, head of the US European Command, told a congressional committee the US has worked with the Ukrainians on a possible surprise attack.
If you're just now reading in, here's what you should know:
Ukraine grain deal: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Chinese President Xi Jinping gave "words of support" for the Black Sea Grain initiative, just days after Russia threatened to scrap the initiative, which enables the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports onto the world market.
Russian equipment relocated: Russia emptied out a base in northern Crimea, satellite imagery shows. The facility, close to the border of Kherson, housed a significant number of Russian armor, including dozens of armored vehicles such as tanks and artillery pieces. It wasn’t immediately clear why Moscow relocated the equipment but earlier this month, Russian-installed officials in Crimea signaled that they expected a Ukrainian counteroffensive to target the peninsula.
Ukrainian journalist killed: A Ukrainian journalist who was working as a fixer for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica was killed Wednesday in a suspected Russian strike in Kherson that injured his Italian colleague, according to Ukrainian officials. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani earlier described the incident as a drone attack, but the first deputy head of the Kherson regional council, Yurii Sobolievskyi, told CNN that authorities in Kherson are still trying to establish the exact circumstances of the attack.
Russian submarines: Russian submarine patrols have increased throughout the Atlantic ocean despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, according to Gen. Cavoli.
Expelled diplomats: Ten diplomats working at Norway's embassy in Moscow have been told to leave Russia, a spokesperson for Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. According to the spokesperson, Oslo considers Moscow's move to be a reaction to Norway’s expulsion of 15 Russian embassy workers earlier this month on accusations of spying.
Airline restriction: Lot, Poland's state-owned airline, refused to allow Russian tennis player Vitalia Diatchenko on board, in line with restrictions introduced following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the carrier said in a statement to CNN Wednesday. Diatchenko told CNN she is now back in Moscow.
1:50 a.m. ET, April 27, 2023
Chinese president gives "words of support" to Ukraine’s grain deal, Zelensky says
From CNN's Mariya Knight
Volodymyr Zelensky attends a news conference in Zhytomyr, Ukraine on April 24. (Andrew Kravchenko/AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky provided additional details of his earlier phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.
According to Zelensky, Xi gave "words of support for our Black Sea Grain Initiative and its extension, as well as support for our humanitarian efforts, in particular the Grain from Ukraine program.”
Some context: The comments come days after Russia threatened to scrap the Grain Initiative, which enables the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports onto the world market.
Ukrainian Naval Forces in a Facebook update on Wednesday said, “the Black Sea grain corridor is once again suspended by the Russian side,” without elaborating.
As a result, four vessels were unable to leave the Ukrainian ports including one vessel that is waiting for transit, the naval forces said.
12:51 a.m. ET, April 27, 2023
Ukrainian journalist killed in suspected Russian attack that injured Italian colleague, officials say
From CNN's Vasco Cotovio in London, Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv and Nick Paton Walsh in southern Ukraine
A Ukrainian journalist who was working as a fixer for Italian newspaper La Repubblica was killed Wednesday in a suspected Russian strike in Kherson that injured his Italian colleague, according to Ukrainian officials.
"The moment I heard the news about this inauspicious event, I contacted our military forces, who provided me with details on the case. I have been in touch with the journalist (Corrado Zunino), and I will do everything that I can to help him," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with Italian broadcaster SkyTG24.
Kuleba said the Ukrainian had been killed in the incident, adding that Russian fighters "don't care if it's Russian, Italian or Ukrainian, they always shoot."
The first deputy head of the Kherson regional council, Yurii Sobolievsky, also confirmed to CNN that the Ukrainian journalist was killed and the body taken to the local morgue for examination.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani earlier described the incident as a drone attack, but Sobolievskyi told CNN that authorities in Kherson are still trying to establish the exact circumstances of the attack.
CNN has reached out to journalist Corrado Zunino and to Ukrainian authorities for additional information.
The Kremlin did not immediately comment on the incident.
CNN is not reporting the identity of the deceased journalist for the time being to allow time for Ukrainian authorities to notify his next of kin.
12:51 a.m. ET, April 27, 2023
Ukraine is "in a good position" for a counteroffensive, senior US military official says
From CNN's Haley Britzky
The Ukrainians are "in a good position" for a counteroffensive against the Russian military, the senior US military commander in Europe told a congressional committee on Wednesday.
"According to the modeling that we’ve very carefully done with them, the Ukrainians are in a good position," United States European Command head Gen. Christopher Cavoli said, adding that the US has worked with them on a possible surprise attack.
Cavoli also said Russia’s ground force today is larger "than it was at the beginning of the conflict," despite suffering numerous losses in its war against Ukraine.
"The Russian ground force has been has been degenerated somewhat by this conflict, although it is bigger today than it was at the beginning of the conflict," Cavoli told the House Armed Services Committee.
Aside from its ground forces, Russia has a number of options left to them, he said.
The Air Force "has lost very little; they've lost 80 planes," he said. "They have another 1,000 fighters and fighter bombers."
"So they still use all of that conventional power as well, and they mix them all together," Cavoli said.
1:54 a.m. ET, April 27, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Zelensky speak for first time since Russian invasion
From CNN's Steven Jiang, Wayne Chang, Alex Stambaugh and Radina Gigova
From left, Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelensky. (Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping by phone for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"I had a long and meaningful phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine's ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations," Zelensky said.
In the phone call, Xi and Zelensky exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis, with Xi reaffirming China's support for peace talks, according to the Chinese government.
Xi said China will send a special envoy to Ukraine and other countries to help conduct "in-depth communication" with all parties for a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, the government said, adding that Xi also said China is willing to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
China "will neither watch the fire from the other side, nor add fuel to the fire, let alone take advantage of the opportunity to profit," Xi said, acknowledging that the crisis has had a "major impact" internationally and that the "only feasible way out" is "dialogue and negotiation."
The call lasted an hour, and the two leaders "discussed a full range of topical issues of bilateral relations. Particular attention was paid to methods of possible cooperation to establish a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine," according to a readout from Zelensky.
The call was "an important dialogue," the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Andriy Yermak said in a Telegram post.
Some background: China has claimed neutrality in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, with Beijing calling for peace in the conflict. But it has also refused to condemn Russia’s invasion or make any public call for Russia to withdraw its troops. Its officials have instead repeatedly said that the "legitimate" security concerns of all countries must be taken into account and accused NATO and the US of fueling the conflict.
CNN's Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv contributed reporting to this post.
