Ukraine updates: Russian fuel depot hit amid drone barrage
Published April 20, 2024last updated April 20, 2024
What you need to know
Russian authorities on Saturday reported that dozens of Ukrainian drones had been launched overnight.
Belgorod's governor said two people were killed, while in Smolensk in western Russia, the local administrator said a fuel depot had been hit by a downed drone that sparked a fire.
A Russian journalist was also reported to have been killed in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.
Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives has approved a $61billion (€57 billion) aid package for Ukraine.
Here's a look at the latest on Russia's war in Ukraine on Saturday, April 20.
Kremlin says aid will hurt Ukraine
The Kremlin slammed the approval by the US House of Representatives for military aid to help Ukraine in its defense against Russia.
US lawmakers have approved a $61 billion (€57 billion) in aid for Ukraine as part of a package valued at $95 billion (€89 billion) that also includes aid for Israel and Taiwan.
"It will further enrich the United States of America and ruin Ukraine even more, by killing even more Ukrainians because of the Kyiv regime," presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
He also said the provision in the legislation allowing the US administration to confiscate seized Russian assets and transfer them to Ukraine for reconstruction would tarnish the image of the United States.
US House passes bills to aid Ukraine
US lawmakers have approved a $61 billion military aid package for Ukraine.
The US House of Representatives bill is part of a foreign aid and arms package valued at $95 billion (€89 billion) that also includes aid for Israel and Taiwan.
It will head to the Democrat-controlled Senate next, where passage in the coming days is all but assured, and US President Joe Biden said he will sign it immediately.
Biden praised the Democratic and Republican lawmakers saying that "at this critical inflection point, they came together to answer history's call."
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the long-delayed aid package, saying the military and economic assistance would "save thousands and thousands of lives."
The approval comes after months of contentious negotiations in Congress, pressure from US allies, and repeated pleas for assistance from Zelenskyy.
Russia likely to have lost 100 combat aircraft — UK intelligence
The UK's Ministry of Defence (MOD) on Saturday said that a Russian strategic bomber was likely to have been shot down by Ukraine's air force.
"This is the first instance of a strategic bomber being shot down by Ukrainian Air Defence Systems," the MOD said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
The Russian Air Force lost a Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic heavy bomber on Friday and claimed the crash was likely caused by technical issues, while Ukraine claimed it had shot the aircraft down.
"It is highly likely that Russia has now sustained at least 100 fixed-wing combat aircraft losses to date," the MOD said.
Russian newspaper says correspondent killed in Zaporizhzhia region
Russia's Izvestia newspaper on Saturday said that one of its military correspondents was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.
The publication said that Semyon Eremin and his film crew were returning from a reporting assignment to the front-line village of Pryiutne on Friday when they were attacked by several drones.
The paper said that Eremin was wounded and died as a result of his injuries.
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned the attack in a statement.
"We demand that international organizations and human rights structures immediately and decisively condemn yet another brutal murder of a Russian journalist," she said.
Press freedom organization the Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 15 journalists have been killed covering the conflict in Ukraine.
US lawmakers to vote on Ukraine aid package
The US House of Representatives is due to hold a long-awaited voteon a major aid package for Ukraine on Saturday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been making desperate appeals to his allies to provide more military help as resources and ammunition stockpiles dwindle.
Voting on the foreign aid and arms bill, valued at $95 billion (€89 billion), is expected to begin at 1 p.m. local time (1700 GMT/UTC). It includes around $61 billion in aid for Kyiv, as well as security assistance for Israel and Taiwan.
Russia says Ukraine launched overnight drone barrage
Russia's Defense Ministry on Saturday said that Ukraine launched a barrage of drones overnight and that air defenses managed to shoot down 50.
In the southern Belgorod region, situated near the Ukrainian border, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that two people had been killed after their home caught fire following an explosion.
In the western region of Smolensk, regional governor Vasily Anokhin said that Ukraine had fired drones at a "fuel and energy facility" but they had been shot down.
"Air defense forces shot the aerial vehicles down. However, as a result of falling debris, a tank with fuel and lubricants caught fire," Anokhin said.
The AFP news agency cited a source in Ukraine's defense sector as saying that over eight regions in Russia were targeted and that three electrical substations and a fuel depot were struck.
Kyiv has been attacking Russian energy infrastructure in recent months in response to repeated Russian attacks on its critical
infrastructure since the start Moscow's invasion in February 2022.
kb/nm (AFP, dpa, Reuters)