The body of a woman killed in a Russian missile attack lies dead in the city of Chernihiv, with a population of 250,000, near the border about 150 km north of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, at about 9 a.m. on April 17, 2024. Three Russian missiles were fired into downtown Chernihiv, a city in northern Ukraine, hitting an eight-story apartment building and killing at least 18 people, Ukrainian authorities said. Ukrainian emergency services said at least 78 people, including three children, were injured in the morning attack. Rescuers searched partially destroyed buildings and high piles of rubble.
The latest Russian shelling of the city of Chernihiv came shortly after the early morning of April 17, when Ukrainian missiles struck an airfield in Crimea. The Russian-Ukrainian war has reached a critical juncture as it enters its third year. With no further military support from the Western powers for the Ukrainian army, the Ukrainian military was at the mercy of the great power of the Russian army. During the winter months, the Russians made no dramatic incursions along their 1,000-km front. Focusing on a war of attrition, the lack of artillery ammunition, men, and armored vehicles in the Ukrainian army allowed the Russians to invade gradually.
In the U.S., congressional authorization, including about $60 billion for Ukraine, was put on hold. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on April 14 that the package would move forward this week. Due to delays in U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, Russian forces have broken out of their positions and have regained mobility on the battlefield. Only the U.S. can provide rapid and massive support; the 27 EU countries pledged a year ago to send one million artillery shells to Ukraine, but the bloc has failed to produce them. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with the West for air defense equipment, including a surface-to-air Patriot guided missile system. He said that if Ukraine had received sufficient air defense equipment, the Chernihiv tragedy would not have occurred. He said he ran out of air defense missiles while defending against a massive missile and drone attack that destroyed one of Ukraine's largest power plants by Russian forces.
Ukrainian forces are building fortifications in anticipation of a major Russian offensive as early as May 2024. Ukrainian forces are attacking with long-range drones and missiles behind Russian lines in an effort to disrupt Russian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Tatarstan region in the early morning hours of April 17. This region is located approximately 1,200 kilometers east of Ukraine and is the same area where Ukraine conducted its most extensive attack on Russian soil in early April. Another Ukrainian drone was shot down over the Mordovia region, about 350 km east of Moscow. It is 700 km from the Ukrainian border.
