U.S. intelligence agencies estimate that 20,000 Russian militants have been killed in Ukraine since December and another 80,000 have been wounded in the fighting, John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said on Monday, adding that half of the dead belonged to Wagner’s group and were mostly former prisoners, “thrown into hostilities in Bakhmut without sufficient training.”

Basic information about the war in Ukraine, day 433, TEXT:

06:24 The authorities of the Republic of Moldova detained Marina Tauber, a deputy of the SOR party and the leader of the protests, which in Chisinau are called an attempt by Moscow to destabilize the country. Tauber was detained while trying to leave the country, the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office of Chisinau reported.

00:30 VIDEO Zelensky: From midnight to seven in the morning, 15 Russian missiles were shot down. For each such attack, the Russian occupiers will receive our response

A brief summary of recent events:​

• The head of the Russian group of Wagner mercenaries again appealed to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow with a request to receive additional ammunition. Yevhen Prigozhin says that his soldiers need at least 300 tons of artillery shells per day.
• Kyiv declared that it “does not know” about a peacekeeping mission with the participation of the Vatican to resolve the conflict with Russia: President Zelensky did not agree to such negotiations on behalf of Ukraine. The reaction came after Pope Francis said that the Holy See is participating in a secret mission regarding the peace plan in Ukraine
• An American volunteer died in Ukraine. A former US Marine was reportedly killed on the outskirts of Bakhmut. According to CNN, on April 19, Cooper “Harris” Andrews was allegedly hit by a mortar
• The US claims that the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine has failed. According to White House estimates, over the past five months of fighting in Ukraine, Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties.
• Is Ukraine running out of anti-aircraft missiles? Military analyst Michael Clarke believes that Ukraine may run out of missiles as it tries to preserve reserves for a counteroffensive.
• Russian troops are “preparing for a possible evacuation of the Zaporizhzhia region.” The Ukrainian resistance forces said that Russian troops are beginning preparations for a possible evacuation of the region.
• Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Xi Jinping’s China are working hand in hand to protect their strategic interests in the Arctic, incompatible with those of the Atlantic alliance.
• A former high-ranking Russian official suggested in one of the main programs of Kremlin television that the killing of a foreign diplomat was “within the framework of international law”, referring directly to the Polish ambassador in Moscow.
• Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin’s right-hand man in Russia’s Security Council, criticized Twitter for blocking some of his posts, but admitted that Moscow also used the social network for “propaganda purposes”.
• In the Bryansk region of Russia on the border with Ukraine on Monday, an “explosive device” derailed and set fire to a freight train.
• Ukrainian counterattacks have pushed Russian forces out of some positions in Bakhmut, but the situation remains “difficult,” a senior Ukrainian general said.

——————

• The events of Monday, the 432nd day of the Russian invasion, were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro