Events on April 26 in the review of “Babel”: the Russians brought into combat readiness troops in Transnistria, prisoners from Chechnya are sent to war

From the very beginning of Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, Babel has been conducting daily online text events and promptly informing about the main news on the Telegram channel. We also do a daily digest of the highlights of the day in case you havenʼt been able to follow online.

The day before, Ukrainian forces destroyed 10 Russian air targets: 3 planes, 3 cruise missiles, and 4 drones. Troops of the Russian occupiers lost another 13 units of equipment in the south of Ukraine. Yesterday, the occupiers fired 17 times at the civilian population of Luhansk Oblast, fighting continues in Popasna and Rubizhne. One person died as a result of a morning missile strike on Zaporizhzhia. One missile exploded in the air, and two hit the territory of one of the enterprises. The occupiers continue to bomb the Azovstal plant, where the defenders of Mariupol are located. Last night alone, Russia launched 35 airstrikes, setting fire to a shop and damaging civilians who had taken refuge there. Last night, the Russians deported 474 people, including 69 children, from Mariupol to a filtration camp in the village of Bezymiane.

The government is allocating an additional 400 million hryvnias to restore the countryʼs critical infrastructure. Kharkiv Oblast will receive UAH 250 million — to eliminate the consequences of hostilities and restore critical infrastructure; Chernihiv Oblast — 150 million hryvnias to restore water supply. In total, the government has already allocated 1.4 billion hryvnias for the reconstruction and reconstruction of five regions.

The United Kingdom will abolish duties on all goods from Ukraine. London has announced that tariffs will be reduced to zero, and all quotas will be abolished in response to a direct request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. They added that the move would boost Ukrainian businesses involved in key exports, including barley, honey, canned tomatoes and poultry. Britain will also supply 22 more ambulances to Ukraine and fund the training of Ukrainian doctors to work with mass victims.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Transnistria reported that two explosions took place in the village of Mayak in the morning. The two most powerful antennas were shut down, both broadcasting Russian radio. Moldovan President Maya Sandu has convened a meeting of the countryʼs Security Council over the situation in Transnistria. She said the blasts involved forces inside the region who were not controlled by the countryʼs constitutional authorities — they wanted to drag Transnistria into the war. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, in the Transnistrian region, units of the task force of Russian troops have been brought to full combat readiness.

In Chechnya, prisoners, including relatives of oppositionists, are being sent to war with Ukraine. The Chechen branch of the Russiaʼs Federal Security Bureau collects information about prisoners in local prisons to send them to the combat zone. In particular, we are talking about probation; convicted of crimes of small and medium gravity, as well as convicted of serious and especially serious crimes.

The first meeting between NATO Defense Ministers and Allied partners from more than 40 countries took place at Rammstein Military Base in Germany. The topic of the meeting was military assistance to Ukraine. The German Ministry of Defense has already announced a decision to supply Gepard anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the group would meet monthly to discuss Ukraineʼs needs.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said her country would send an "indefinite number" of 155-millimeter M777 howitzers to Ukraine. She added that Canada would also send thousands of rifles, hand grenades and missiles.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has decided to withdraw the right to host the 2023 World Cup in Russia. The organization explained its decision by "concern for the safety of players, fans, journalists and officials". The war in Ukraine is not mentioned in the statement.