Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 414

By William On Apr 13, 2023

This is the state of affairs on Thursday, April 13, 2023:

To fight

Since Moscow invaded Ukraine last February, some 354,000 Ukrainian and Russian soldiers have been killed or injured, according to a trove of purported US intelligence documents posted online that warned the war could last well beyond 2023.
Ukrainian officials condemned the Russian military after a video circulating on social media appeared to show the beheading of a Ukrainian prisoner.
The Ukrainian military rejected claims that Russian forces took “more than 80 percent” of Bakhmut, saying that “significantly” more than 20 percent of the devastated eastern city remained in Ukrainian hands.
Britain’s defense ministry said Russian troops had built extensive lines of defense in the Zaporizhia region, which Moscow claims to have annexed along with three other Ukrainian regions but does not control in its entirety.
The Kremlin said steps were needed to digitize draft papers to solve what it called “a mess” at military recruiting offices.
Hundreds of cemeteries near the front lines will be closed this weekend to Ukrainians who want to pay respect to relatives’ graves for Orthodox Easter due to dangers from mines and unexploded ordnance.

Ukraine’s defense minister said the leaked Pentagon documents contained a mixture of true and false information about his country’s military and that accurate intelligence had “lost its relevance”.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is in China to strengthen ties with his country’s largest trading partner and win support for his long-standing push for peace in Ukraine.
Moscow said the US classification of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as “unjustly detained” meant nothing to Russia.
Belarus has extradited a Russian father who was divorced from his daughter and sentenced to two years in prison after she made a Ukraine-themed drawing at school.
Russia imposed sanctions on 333 Canadian officials and public figures, including prominent Olympians, in what it said was a response to Canadian restrictions on Moscow.

The US and UK announced new sanctions against Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Roman Abramovich and their financial networks.
The World Bank said it would fund $200 million to help repair Ukraine’s energy and heating infrastructure, with partners and others to provide another $300 million.
Ukraine demanded more medicines and medical equipment and invited Indian companies to help rebuild the country as Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova ended a four-day visit to New Delhi.
The Kremlin said the prospects for the United Nations brokered grain deal in the Black Sea were not great as promises to remove obstacles to Russian exports of agricultural products and fertilizers have fallen through.
The US Commerce Department said it imposed export controls on more than two dozen companies in China, Turkey and other countries for supporting Russia’s military and defense industries.

Ukraine’s defense minister said he had asked his Spanish counterpart to provide air defenses, including F-16 jets, and more munitions.
Russia released video of what it said was Tuesday’s successful launch of an “advanced” intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the first known successful launch of such a weapon since Moscow exited the nuclear New START treaty with the US.