Contents
In this week's summary:
- The Easter truce was in effect for 30 hours, leading to a drop in the intensity of fighting.
- Russian troops are storming Oleshnya and Gornal, the last settlements in Russia's Kursk Region controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
- Large-scale mechanized assaults by the Russian Armed Forces led to the formation of a vast “gray zone” in Chasiv Yar.
- The Russian command is developing an offensive through a “weak link” in the Ukrainian defense southwest of Toretsk.
- In the Pokrovsk sector, the Russian Armed Forces are focusing their efforts on attempts to reach the border of the Dnipropetrovsk Region.
- During an air raid on Kyiv, a missile hit a residential building, killing 12 people and injuring more than 90.
- The Ukrainian project Hochu Nayti (“I Want to Find”) reports receiving more than 84,000 applications from the relatives of missing Russian servicemen.
- In Krasnodar, Russian deserters and soldiers who refuse to go to war revolted on the premises of the military commandant's office.
Situation at the front
On Apr. 19, 2025, Vladimir Putin suddenly declared an “Easter truce” for 30 hours: from 6:00 p.m. on Apr. 19 to 0:00 on Apr. 21. Volodymyr Zelensky, in turn, promised to “mirror” this measure. Following the truce, both sides accused each other of mass violations (1, 2), but the intensity of fighting on the front has nevertheless decreased (although not to the minimum figures for 2025). The Ukrainian project Oko Gora ✙ Novosti i Analitika summarized the results of the truce based on the statistics of the AFU General Staff, comparing the data for Apr. 20 with the average indicators for the previous seven days:
- The number of clashes decreased by 26% (96 vs. 129).
- Russia's losses of killed and wounded dropped by 46% (670 vs. 1,236).
- The use of FPV drones, MLRS, and artillery shrunk by 70%.
Additionally, the number of airstrikes and glide bombs used decreased by 100%, with none recorded on Apr. 20. Both sides took advantage of the truce to evacuate their dead and wounded, rotate troops, bring in supplies, and clear areas of mines.
In Russia's Kursk Region, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the liberation of the Oleshnya farm, one of the last two settlements remaining under AFU control in the region. However, Russian pro-war bloggers denied (1, 2, 3) these reports, citing sources in the Russian army. Ukrainian paratroopers, in turn, showed the destruction of Russian armored vehicles by FPV drones near Oleshnya. The Russian Armed Forces took control of the Gornal monastery by dropping a heavy bomb on it before engaging the enemy in the village of Gornal.
In the Bakhmut sector, Victory Day posters have been put on display in the destroyed city of Bakhmut. Regarding the situation in the sector, Ukrainian military observer Kostiantyn Mashovets writes (1, 2, 3) that the Russian Armed Forces are still struggling to control all of Chasiv Yar and are trying to improve their positions for a further offensive to the north of the city near Hryhorivka and the south near Stupochky. Mashovets describes Russia's recent actions in this area as unsuccessful, stating that large-scale mechanized assaults in the city limits of Chasiv Yar have only resulted in the formation of a vast “gray zone” in which neither side can gain a foothold.
In the Toretsk sector, the Russian Armed Forces are mounting their offensive southwest of Toretsk. Russian forces occupied Kalynove and entered Novospaske. According to DeepState, the Russian Armed Forces have found a “weak spot” in the Defense Forces of Ukraine's lines, breaking through the Valentynivka-Panteleimonivka line and bypassing the Leonidivka-Shcherbynivka line, which has so far defied Russian attacks. The Russian Armed Forces are also storming AFU positions north of Toretsk towards Dyliivka. The Russian assault units prefer to conduct attacks on motorcycles, though during one such attack, they failed to overcome mine barriers.
In the Pokrovsk sector, Ukrainian National Guard fighters counterattacked near Udachne. On the western flank of the sector, the Russian MoD announced the capture of Bohdanivka. Both Ukrainian and Russian sources report (1, 2, 3, 4) westward pressure near the administrative border of the Dnipropetrovsk Region. On the eastern flank, the Russian Armed Forces claim the capture of Tarasivka (1, 2). Russian fighters in the sector ride into battle on white Niva SUVs without the slightest signs of camouflage, writes the Ukrainian channel Ofitser ✙.
Mutual strikes and sabotage
During the week, the AFU Air Force reported (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) downing 323 Shahed drones and other UAVs of unidentified types out of the 696 launched at Ukrainian territory. Another 285 UAVs were “radar lost” under the influence of electronic warfare tools. In addition, Ukraine reported Russia's launch of 81 missiles of various types, with 70 of them fired on the night of Feb. 24 (48 of them were shot down). Meanwhile, no launches of Russian long-range drones or missiles were reported on the night of Apr. 20.
On the night of Apr. 24, a Russian missile hit a residential building in Kyiv's Sviatoshynskyi District, killing 12 people and injuring more than 90.
The Russian MoD, for its part, reported the destruction of 218 Ukrainian fixed-wing UAVs. In addition, the ministry unexpectedly reported the launch of 48 UAVs by the Ukrainian side on the night of the truce on April 20, but did not mention any interceptions. Normally, the Russian MoD reports only the number of destroyed, not launched, enemy drones.
According to data collected by CIT volunteers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), a total of at least 60 civilians were killed and 550 more were injured from 8:00 p.m. on Apr. 17 to 8:00 p.m. on Apr. 24 as a result of attacks on civilian infrastructure launched from both sides. At the same time, as of 8:00 p.m. on Apr. 20, seven civilians were reported injured and none killed during the 26 hours of ceasefire.
Losses
A vehicle exploded in Balashikha near Moscow when Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, was nearby. The general died on the spot. Moskalik is the third Russian lieutenant general to be killed since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
The BBC Russian Service and Mediazona, jointly with a team of volunteers, have updated their count of confirmed Russian war dead based on open-source reports. The list now includes 104,763 names. In the past two weeks, 2,880 new names have been added.
The independent Russian publication Verstka writes, citing the Ukrainian project Hochu Nayti (“I want to find”), that as of April 2025, the project has received over 84,000 applications from people searching for missing Russian servicemen and has processed at least 58,000 names of missing soldiers. The month with the highest number of applications — more than 1,680 — was August 2024, when the AFU began its incursion into Russia's Kursk Region.
In Russia's Krasnodar garrison, servicemen imprisoned for going AWOL staged an escape attempt from the military commandant's office. According to the Russian Telegram channel Baza, some 100 soldiers attempted to break free, making an opening in the fence and making it out onto the premises of the commandant's office. Seven eventually escaped but were caught later, while a few others were detained on the spot. The captive soldiers' relatives told Astra that there was a “riot” at the commandant's office. The prisoners revolted because, previously, “commanders had released several detainees for money,” while the rest — “missing an eye or a leg, or with mental disabilities” — had remained in captivity for six months.
Weapons and military vehicles
German researсher Christoph Trebesch of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy argues that European countries could make up for reductions in U.S. aid to Ukraine by increasing contributions by as little as 0.21% of the EU's total GDP (from €44 billion to €82 billion). For now, Kyiv’s European partners plan to reorient their assistance strategy towards financing the Ukrainian defense industry instead of focusing on arms purchases. Nevertheless, the process of delivering French Mirage-2000 fighter jets to Ukraine continues, with the first group of pilots and other personnel having already returned to Ukraine after training. In addition, Japan will support Kyiv with satellite intelligence, and Denmark will allocate €42.5 million for the purchase of artillery rounds for the Defense Forces of Ukraine through Estonia.
Meanwhile, the Russian defense industry has handed over a new batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers (presumably consisting of two units) to the Air Force. The Russian Armed Forces also received North Korean 240-mm multiple-launch rocket systems with the name code M-1991. Russian troops are already outfitting the new weapons with makeshift armor in frontline workshops.
Russia is also modernizing Shahed-type drones, equipping them with new warheads and replacing Western components with Chinese analogs. Russian frontline craftsmen have made their mark with drones carrying shotguns — similar to those already used by the Ukrainians. However, the Russian version lacks the ability to reload in the air. Russian soldiers will also find it easier to shoot down enemy drones once film director and Putin ally Nikita Mikhalkov hands over his U.S.-made Marlin Model 55 shotgun, which he received as a gift from Viktor Chernomyrdin during the latter’s tenure as prime minister from 1992-1998.