EU says 500,000 shells delivered, the rest by end of year; ‘billions’ to fix energy systems damaged by Russian attacks. What we know on day 762
The Russian ambassador ignored a summons to appear at Poland’s foreign ministry on Monday after the Polish military said a missile launched at Ukraine violated Polish airspace. Poland would decide on next steps in coming days as it could not ignore such “a sign of contempt” from the ambassador, said Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s deputy prime minister and defence minister.
The Russian embassy in Warsaw confirmed Sergey Andreev had been summoned but wanted to see “evidence” before any meeting. The Polish foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, spoke about the missile incursion with the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, on Monday.
Ukraine has received 500,000 artillery shells from the EU and the rest of the promised million will be delivered by the end of the year, according to the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell. “Additionally the European defence industry is also providing to Ukraine 400,000 shells through commercial contracts. The Czech initiative to buy ammunition outside the EU comes in addition to these efforts. However, it is far from being enough and we have to increase both our capacity of production and the financial resources devoted to support Ukraine.”
Iceland has announced it is joining the Czech initiative, which is aiming to deliver at least 800,000 shells sourced from around the world, in addition to the EU commitments.
By this summer, the EU would have also trained 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers, Borrell said.
The US Congress has adjourned again for two weeks without its lower house considering an aid bill worth $60bn to Ukraine’s defence against the Russian invasion, Lauren Gambino writes. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican and chair of the House foreign affairs committee who supports arming Ukraine, told CBS News on Sunday that Mike Johnson – the House speaker who has held the bill in limbo under pressure from Donald Trump – was committed to holding a vote on Ukraine assistance upon Congress returning from the Easter holiday.
Ten people including a teenage girl were wounded on Monday when two Russian missiles were fired at Kyiv. Officials said an arts academy building and a gym were damaged. The head of Kyiv’s military administration, Sergiy Popko, said Russia had attacked with two ballistic missiles launched from the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it showed again that Ukraine needed better air defence systems from its allies. “It means safety for our cities and saved human lives,” Ukraine’s president said. “All of us in the world who respect and protect life need to stop this terror.”
The eastern city of Chasiv Yar was facing a “difficult and tense” situation, a Ukrainian army official said late on Monday. Russian forces were “trying to push through our defences in order to reach Chasiv Yar”, said Oleg Kalashnikov, from Ukraine’s 26th Artillery Brigade, adding that the Russians were dropping powerful guided bombs “on populated areas and on our fortified positions”.
Ukraine said Russian drones hit the southern regions of Mykolaiv and Odesa. About 300,000 people in Odesa were left without electricity on Monday night after energy infrastructure in the Black Sea territory was damaged.
In the eastern Kharkiv region, a 65-year-old man reportedly died in the courtyard of his home during Russian shelling.
In Russia, a fire broke out at a power plant in the southern region of Rostov, the local governor said, after a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks. Two power units at the Novocherkassk power station, one of the largest in south-west Russia, Vasily Golubev said. The Rostov region borders Ukraine and the regional capital is home to the military command headquarters for Russia’s offensive.
The cost of repairing the damage caused by Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure last week will probably run into the “billions”, Ukraine’s energy minister, German Gerashchenko, has said.
