Current War Situation in Ukraine (April 22 Update)
- russian forces continue attacks along the Svatove-Kreminna line. tough fighting continue in Bakhmut;
- attacks along the Avdiivka- Donetsk City line.
- russians strengthen their positions in southern Ukraine, preparing for a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive.
- Representatives of the wagner group told that they committed violence against children in Ukraine.
- They killed children because they got an order to not leave anyone alive in Soledar and some parts of Bakhmut.
- The youngest was 5 years old.
- The other told that he shot minor children in Bakhmut because of tattoos. He killed approximately 24 children from 15 to 17 years old.
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed six brigades of the russian army during the last two months;
- 70-80% of the elite troops of the russian army have been destroyed.
As of April 21, 2023:
- 21 oblasts have already started field operations by the beginning of April (in 2022 – 15 oblasts).
- 1 mln ha of spring crops have already been planted in Ukraine;
- It is 18 % of the projected grains and legumes area in 2023 — 5.457 mln ha
- (2022: 5.906 mln ha);
- 278.4 K ha of grains and legumes were planted last week; In 10 oblasts planting of sugar beet is in progress;
- Sumy oblast is the leader in planting corn – 34,4 K ha (total – 137,3 K ha).
Source: The Agrarian Ministry
- Since the beginning of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, about 27,7 mln tons of agricultural products have been exported (including 7.5 mln tons of wheat (56% of its export in the current 2022/23 season), 13.9 mln tons of corn (60 %)).
- March (2023) – 3.8 mln tons were shipped from Ukrainian seaports (including 908 th. tons of wheat, 2,3 mln tons of corn).
- April 3-9 (2023) – during the 36th week of operation of the “grain corridor” 655.9 K tons of agricultural products were exported, which is 23% less than a week before.
- April 11 and 17 – russia blocked the operation of the “grain corridor” twice in almost 9 months.
- During these days, not a single vessel was inspected.
- russian representatives are trying to impose their own criteria for determining the order of ships.
- Less than half of the planned 10 inspections are carried out every day. Over the past 3 months, the world has not received 10 mln tons of Ukrainian food, and this negative trend is gaining momentum.
‼ russia threatens to withdraw from the "grain agreement" (May 18)‼
There will be no extension unless the West meets the demands of russia:
- to remove obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizer;
- to reconnect russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the SWIFT payment system;
- to resumpt supplies of agricultural machinery and parts;
- to lift restrictions on insurance and reinsurance;
- to resumpt of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline;
- to unblock assets and the accounts of russian companies involved in food and fertilizer exports.
Import Ban for Ukraine
- Hungary and Poland banned imports of grain and other food from Ukraine in order to protect the local agricultural sector;
- EU countries were not the final point of destination for Ukrainian grain, which followed to African and Asian countries through European ports; Due to low cost of Ukrainian grain, a vast part remained in the EU countries, which influenced the inner prices.
Photo: ua.depositphotos.com
“Ukrainian agricultural exports may decrease by 8- 10% due to the ban of imports of agricultural products by Poland, Slovakia and Hungary”
Taras Vysotskyi, Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine
- According to the assessment of European Commission, farmers from Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia lost €417 mln.
- Inspections of Ukrainian products by the Czech supervisory authorities did not reveal an unsatisfactory sample. Thus, they are not going to ban the import.
- Grain exports to Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia increased from
- $24 mln in 2021 to $2.4 bln last year.
From April 21, new laws for the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products through the territory of Poland will come into force.
❗❗❗ Additional control measures include:
- electronic seals (free for Ukrainian carriers);
- cargo tracking in the SENT system;
- physical escort of goods on the territory of Poland from April 21 to 26.
