Prisoner exchange, Zelenskyy's conversation with Xi Jinping, and downing of a plane in Russia: today's highlights

What did Zelenskyy and Xi Jinping talk about?

On April 26, Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on the phone with President Zelenskyy for the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion. The conversation was initiated by the Ukrainian side.

During the conversation, Zelenskyy told Xi Jinping that the situation at the front was difficult, but that Ukraine would continue to liberate its land, including the occupied Crimea. The President of Ukraine also emphasized that all states should refrain from supporting Russia in the war, including military-technical cooperation and arms supplies.

Xi Jinping said that China always stands on the side of peace, and its main position is to facilitate peace negotiations. China emphasized that they did not create the “Ukrainian crisis” and are not a party to it.

Against the backdrop of this conversation, it became known that Zelenskyy had appointed a new Ukrainian ambassador to China, former Minister of Strategic Industries Pavlo Riabikin. And China will send its special representative to Ukraine, Li Hui, a former Chinese ambassador to Russia.

Prisoner exchange

Ukraine has returned 44 more people – military personnel and two civilians – from captivity in the course of a regular prisoner exchange. The defenders who fought for Mariupol, Azovstal, and Kherson Oblast, fought against the occupiers in eastern Ukraine, and fought in the Kharkiv and Sumy sectors were returned from captivity.

Among those released are wounded and those with the consequences of severe torture, who were tortured by the Russian occupiers in captivity.

This is the fourth exchange this month. According to the Coordination Center, a total of 2,280 Ukrainians have been released from captivity as of April 26, and preparations for the next exchanges are underway.

What is happening in Russia?

A MiG-31 fighter jet crashed in the Murmansk region of Russia. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that it was conducting a training flight, crashed, and went down in a deserted area. The pilots ejected and were evacuated by a search and rescue helicopter.

Meanwhile, the Russian Emergencies Ministry reported that the fire in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia, which broke out on April 25, damaged more than 200 buildings and killed two people. According to media reports, the village of Sosva, where the situation was most difficult, was almost completely burned down.

The preliminary cause of the fire is the burning of sawdust at a local sawmill. The fire could have spread to the residential sector due to a sharp gust of wind. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has opened two criminal cases in connection with the fire in the village of Sosva – on the negligence of officials and causing death by negligence.

In the capital of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicosia, the building of the Russian Center for Science and Culture caught fire, with no casualties. According to media reports, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the building.

Evacuation from Sudan

In the morning, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry reported that 91 Ukrainians were evacuated from Sudan on April 24-26. Four Sudanese (and their family members) and 51 foreigners – citizens of Georgia, Peru, Canada, and St. Kitts and Nevis – were also evacuated.

The charter flight with 64 Ukrainians who have expressed a desire to return home has landed at the Polish airport. They will soon cross the border into Ukraine. Evacuation from Sudan continues.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine told hromadske that the operation to return Ukrainians from the embattled Sudan can be called “unique”. It was more difficult than the evacuation of people from Kabul in 2021.

How many occupiers are currently fighting against Ukraine?

The Military Media Center, a media platform of the Defense Forces coordinated by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, reported that Russia is currently using up to 370,000 military personnel and about 5,900 pieces of heavy weapons in the war against Ukraine.

According to the ministry, Russia has so far engaged 48 brigades and 122 regiments in the war, and the occupation forces number about 315 units.

Other news:

• The Leopard 2 tank service center for Ukraine will start operating in Poland in May.
• DPR militants sentence Ukrainian marine to 22 years in prison.
• The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine buys some products twice as cheaply as the Ministry of Defense, media report.
• Russian troops shelled the area of Antonivka Bridge in Kherson Oblast: an Italian journalist was injured and a civilian was killed.
• The Ukrainian government launches a unified platform for Ukrainian arms manufacturers, Brave1.
• The Czech Republic imposed sanctions against Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill.
• Bucharest announces that the European Commission will ban the export of Ukrainian grain to Romania.
• Italy promises to allocate another €1 billion to Ukraine and supports Ukraine's early accession to the EU.