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Morning Headlines
The Kyiv Independent: At least six people were injured in a Russian drone attack on the city of Sumy overnight on April 21, local authorities reported.
Reuters: Japan on Tuesday unveiled its biggest overhaul of defence export rules in decades, scrapping restrictions on overseas arms sales and opening the way for exports of warships, missiles and other weapons.
The Kyiv Independent: Explosions were reported overnight in the Russian city of Novocherkassk in Rostov Oblast. Preliminary reports suggest drones targeted railway infrastructure, sparking a fire in the city and disrupting train traffic due to power outages.
ISW has long assessed that the true Russian inflation rate is higher than the Kremlin publicly claims and that the Kremlin has been spreading narratives that exaggerate Russia’s strength to support its demands at the negotiating table.
More News
The Kyiv Independent: Russian drone attacks on Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv oblasts on April 20 killed three and injured 18 others, authorities reported.
Politico: EU ambassadors are poised to approve a €90 billion loan to Ukraine on Wednesday — if Russian oil transit to Hungary resumes in time.
Meduza: A Ukrainian prankster infiltrated a closed Russian Industry and Trade Ministry drone-production video meeting and recorded a participant saying that 90% of the raw materials used in electrical components are foreign, including copper wire made in China.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian troops will begin testing a new standard control station for fiber-optic drones, the country's defense ministry said on April 20, as part of an effort to replace the mix of different controllers operators must carry to the front.
Ukrainska Pravda: France and Germany are considering proposals to give Ukraine "symbolic" benefits during the EU accession process, without granting Kyiv access to the European Union's common budget or voting rights before full membership.
The Moscow Times: Three civil society groups filed a lawsuit before the African Union's human rights court on Monday, alleging that Mali's military and the Russian private military company Wagner committed "serious human rights violations" against civilians.
United24 Media: The German Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador following recent statements from Moscow that targeted European drone manufacturers supporting Ukraine. The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also summoned the Russian ambassador.
Meduza: Law enforcement officers held at least 40 people who had arrived on a flight from Tel Aviv at Domodedovo Airport for five hours on April 19, a witness told Mediazona. Throughout that time, the Israelis — some holding dual Israeli-Russian citizenship, others only Israeli passports — had no access to food, water, or a bathroom.
The Kyiv Independent: Russian educational institutions — all the way from universities down to preschools — have spent a total of over sixteen billion rubles ($213 million) on drones of various shapes and sizes for "educational purposes," Russian independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported on April 20.
RBC-Ukraine: Claims about a threat of semi-encirclement of Sumy have nothing to do with reality, neither on the ground nor on the map, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Joint Forces grouping said.
The Kyiv Independent: Military communications expert and Defense Ministry advisor Serhii Beskrestnov was injured in what he said was a targeted Russian drone strike on his home outside Kyiv overnight on April 20.
United24 Media: Ukrainian drone units struck key elements of Russia’s air defense network, hitting both a radar system tied to the S-350 “Vityaz” system and a Tor air defense unit.
Ukrainska Pravda: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine has posted a video showing drone strikes on the Russian large landing ships Yamal and Nikolai Filchenkov on the night of 18-19 April. The vessels are estimated to be worth around $150 million.
TVP World: Moscow is systematically manipulating data to fool Ukraine’s Western allies into believing its economy has withstood the strain of four years of war and targeted sanctions, according to Sweden’s military intelligence chief.
Reuters: Russia's Federal Security Service said on Monday that it had detained a 57-year-old German woman with a bomb in her rucksack as part of what it cast as a false-flag operation directed by Ukrainian intelligence.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine, with support from its European partners, aims to develop an anti-ballistic missile air defense system "within a year," seeking to reduce its reliance on the U.S.-made Patriot system, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 19.
worth mentioning
France, Poland boost defence ties with military satellite project
Russia plans major expansion of server shutdowns targeting VPN infrastructure
Russia’s Interior Ministry proposes banning extradition of all foreigners granted asylum in the country
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