Frank Sophon

Five people were killed and at least 19 others injured after Russian strikes hit a market in Nikopol, Dnipro region, on April 4, in broad daylight. Among the wounded is a 14-year-old girl. She was hospitalised in critical condition. The attack caused fires and severe damage. Earlier today, Russia also attacked Sumy (at least 7 civilians were injured), Kharkiv (3 people were injured), settlements across Dnipro region (3 civilians were injured, including a 5-month-old baby and a 6-year-old child), and Kyiv. This attacks followed yesterday’s Russian strikes that brought death and destruction. Ukraine proposed an Easter ceasefire, but Russia continued to respond with more strikes, rejecting diplomacy and peace efforts. Strong international pressure on the aggressor state must follow.

Russian losses this March have reached their highest level since the start of the war: our drone strikes alone resulted in 33,988 Russian servicemembers killed or seriously wounded, while artillery and other strikes eliminated another 1,363 Russian occupiers. That means more than 35,000 Russian losses in just one month – and these are clearly verified losses. We have video documentation of every such strike in our system. I thank all our warriors for their precision. I will especially recognize the warriors of the Special Operations Center “A” of Ukraine’s Security Service, the “Magyar's Birds,” the State Border Guard Service special unit “Phoenix,” “Lasar’s Group,” and the 95th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade – these are the most effective units in the use of drones. The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov, briefed me on the performance of all units at the front. We have clear and verified reports for every direction and every type of strike. We are ready to provide the relevant data to our partners. Essentially, Ukraine’s Defense and Security Forces have denied the occupier the ability to dictate the situation on the front line. Importantly, the results in the destruction of Russia’s air defense systems have also significantly increased, with 274 such systems hit in March alone. There have also been tangible results in the destruction of Russian depots and military logistics. The Ministry of Defense, together with the Armed Forces, will present a detailed report to the public for March – data that may be made public. I also approved with the Minister today a number of tasks for the coming weeks. In particular, we are preparing decisions to strengthen the Ukrainian infantry, the army contract system, and measures to address AWOL cases – measures that must genuinely work in practice. We are also preparing decisions to scale up the export opportunities of our weapons manufacturers and joint productions with partners. I thank our Defense Forces for the results! Glory to Ukraine!