As the war enters its 778th day, these are the main developments.
Here is the situation on Friday, April 12, 2024.
Fighting
- Russian missiles and drones destroyed a large electricity plant near Kyiv and hit power facilities in several regions of Ukraine. The attack completely destroyed the Trypilska coal-powered thermal power plant near the capital, a senior official at the company that runs the facility told the Reuters news agency.
- In Ukraine, parliament passed a controversial new law on mobilisation as it seeks to replenish the military’s ranks. The law – which was watered down from its original draft – will make it easier to identify every draft-eligible man in the country, where many have dodged conscription by avoiding contact with authorities.
Politics and diplomacy
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said that drone attacks on the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine must stop because of the risk of opening “a new and gravely dangerous” stage in the war. Grossi was speaking at a special meeting of his agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors to discuss the attacks.
- Ukraine needs military aid and air defence systems in the face of Russia’s intensifying attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as he criticised his country’s allies for engaging in “lengthy discussions” and “turning a blind eye”.
- The president travelled to Lithuania to participate in a regional security summit, saying that “Russian evil is a threat not only to Ukraine but to every nation bordering Russia and to everyone who values international law”.
- Ukraine risks collapsing under Russia’s onslaught without US support, a disaster that could embolden China and prompt a new crisis in East Asia, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told US lawmakers during a state visit to Washington, DC, urging them to overcome “self-doubt” about the country’s role on the world stage.
Weapons
- Ukraine and Latvia signed a 10-year security agreement envisaging annual Latvian military support for Ukraine at 0.25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Zelenskyy said. “Latvia also made a 10-year commitment to assist Ukraine with cyber defence, demining, and unmanned technologies, as well as support for Ukraine’s EU and NATO accession,” he wrote on X.
