Macron hopes for an “Olympic truce” and European Commission approves a reform plan for Ukraine: highlights for April 15

Zelenskyy: The West can protect Ukraine like Israel

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that by protecting Israel's skies, Western countries “prevented the success of terror and the loss of infrastructure and forced the aggressor to cool down”.

Therefore, he said that Western countries do not need to activate Article 5 of NATO to protect Ukraine, but only political will is enough.

At the same time, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron explained that the Royal Air Force would not shoot down drones over Ukraine because “involving NATO forces in direct conflict with Russian troops would lead to a worrying escalation”.

Macron hopes for an “Olympic truce”

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed hope that an “Olympic truce” in Ukraine and Gaza will be achieved during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

He said he would ask China to help in this regard. The French leader will discuss this with Xi Jinping during their upcoming meeting in Paris.

The Netherlands and Denmark allocate aid

The Dutch government will allocate an additional 4.4 billion euros for military and humanitarian support to Ukraine for 2024-2026.

At the same time, Denmark has allocated $43 million to develop its business in Ukraine.

European Commission approves reform plan for Ukraine

The European Commission has approved a reform plan for Ukraine, a comprehensive strategy for the next four years that paves the way for a €50 billion aid package.

In total, the plan identifies 69 reforms and 10 investments, broken down into 146 qualitative and quantitative indicators. The reforms cover 15 areas, including energy, agriculture, transport, human capital, as well as state-owned enterprises, business environment, decentralization, and more.

A command post is hit in Crimea

On April 15, the Ukrainian military launched a missile attack on a command post in occupied Crimea. High-ranking Russian officers were present there.

Shelling

In Siversk, 4 men aged 36 to 86 were killed as a result of Russian shelling on April 14.

On the afternoon of April 15, Russian troops struck the village of Lukiantsi in Kharkiv district with a guided aerial bomb, killing two men aged 63 and 65.

Disputes over a stele at the entrance to Donetsk region

A group of people have updated a sign at the entrance to the Donetsk region, painted with messages from the military. This caused a wave of controversy and criticism on social media. Some users talk about the destruction of the memory that this sign contained, while others say that it has improved the object.

New commander of the West Operational Command

Brigadier General Volodymyr Shvedyuk has been appointed commander of the troops of the West Operational Command.

He addressed the military and stated that he wanted the command to become “a model of military excellence and tactical skill”.

Forests worth UAH 250 million cut down in Prykarpattia

Law enforcement officers in Prykarpattia exposed the management of a forestry enterprise that had been illegally cutting down forests in a protected area for years.

They sold the cut timber to the public and embezzled the money. Over the years of deforestation, environmental damage amounted to almost UAH 250 million.

Other important news of the day:

• Activist Pavlo Petrychenko, author of a petition to restrict online casinos, was killed in the war.
• Defense budget allocates $6 billion for arms procurement in 2024, Ministry of Strategic Industry reports.
• Shmyhal calls it “inappropriate” to reallocate funds from the telethon to equipment for the Armed Forces.
• Serbia plans to buy French fighter jets, abandoning Russian ones, the Financial Times reports.