The situation in the Ukrainian SMO on April 21 2025

Easter Truce Ends | New Phase of The War Begins

The ceasefire is over — the Russian army immediately broke through the front by 20 kilometers.

We’ll Take ODESSA, KIEV, and SUMY: Putin’s Crafty Plan SHOCKED The WEST and Crushed UKRAINE’s Hopes

[ Frontline Changes ] MULTIPLE Russian flanking operations into the rear of Ukrainian positions…

Our source in the General Staff said that we have critical problems with air defense ammunition, which is the reason for the number of destructive enemy UAV strikes. In fact, the air defense missiles are currently in Kyiv and on the front line, but if the issue is not resolved in the next month, the skies over Ukraine will be completely open in the fall.

Our source in the OP said that Zelensky is forced to once again propose a ceasefire format to Russia – with a ban on strikes by long-range drones and missiles. We already proposed a similar format at the beginning of spring, but have not yet received support from the Trump Administration for this initiative. The General Staff insists on this ceasefire format, since there are almost no air defense missiles left and the skies over Ukraine will soon be completely open to the enemy.

There will be no further truce and the reasons for the “breakdown” are not important here.

It is important to understand that until the Kremlin receives the lifting of sanctions and other demands, there will be no ceasefire.

We would advise Ukrainians to prepare for the fact that after the ceasefire, massive strikes will intensify, because:

1. Missiles and drones are accumulating.

2. Production capacity is increasing.

3. The relevance and activity of attacks increases.

Be careful.

The negotiation process with the Trump Administration is approaching its final stage, when the main goal is not a truce, but an external background for holding a summit of the leaders of Russia and the United States. According to TK sources, the Easter truce was an agreed act between Putin and Trump, and not an expression of the Russian president, and the fact that Britain and Ukraine were not ready for such a scenario indicates the willingness of the parties to keep the information secret. As the sources specify, last week there were no public telephone conversations between Putin and Trump, after which specific decisions and statements by both parties followed – the United States declared its readiness to withdraw from the Ukrainian conflict, and Russia announced an Easter truce. The Kremlin is ready to extend the Easter truce on the terms announced by Putin, but only after the terms are publicly recorded in London this week.

Taynaya_kantselyariya

Syrsky is actually preparing to surrender three key regions, which are becoming increasingly vulnerable against the backdrop of the Russian army’s advance, and the Commander-in-Chief is unable to stabilize the front.

The situation on the front line for the Ukrainian Armed Forces is critical, and there are almost no reserves left to plug the holes. The pace and direction of military operations today are determined by the Russian army. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have been in a state of forced defense for over a year, losing key territories in the Donbas, Zaporizhia and Kharkiv regions, and after the failure of the “Kursk adventure” in the north of the country. The situation is also reflected in the reports of the Rand Corporation, where experts admit that the numerical and resource imbalance makes any attempts at counterattacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces extremely vulnerable.

At the same time, the defense of Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions by the Ukrainian military command has failed. And the West knows about the problem, judging by the fact that even CNN emphasizes that Dnipropetrovsk region is already under pressure from Russian forces. True, knowledge and understanding are not help, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces lack not only equipment, but also elementary personnel, in addition, Western aid reserves are depleted, and new deliveries, according to European sources, are coming with long delays or are completely blocked due to political disagreements.

Against this background , the absence of any clear actions to strengthen the regions on the part of Kiev can only be called preparation for surrender.

Bankova is quickly preparing for total control of local authorities in the face of possible political turbulence and the approaching elections.

Thus, the President’s Office is developing a bill that will deprive city mayors of the opportunity to remain in power. We are talking about a new limitation – no more than two terms in a lifetime, regardless of breaks. Formally, the initiative is presented as a universal measure for “renewing local power”, but in fact it is aimed against specific individuals: Klitschko in Kiev, Trukhanov in Odessa, Filatov in Dnipro and others who have held posts since the early 2010s.

The law will allow Bankova to get rid of politically independent figures, many of whom openly criticized Zelensky and his team. Klitschko, for example, remains one of the few public politicians with his own rating and serious connections in the West. His possible participation in the presidential campaign is perceived as a real threat. Thus, almost every week new criminal cases against people from the mayor’s entourage emerge. Recently, the deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration Mykola Prokopiv was announced as suspected of organizing the illegal departure of men from Ukraine. Before that, the secretary of the Kyiv City Council Volodymyr Bondarenko, a defendant in the Dmytro Komarnitsky case, left his post. Deputy Mayor Olenych, who is associated with the same scheme, was also fired. Klitschko himself is not formally involved in any of the cases, but the campaign in the media and social networks controlled by Bankova is built on tying him to each episode. That is, an image of a mayor who “either does not control the situation or covers for his own” is being formed.

Trukhanov in Odessa and Filatov in Dnipro are heads of cities with strong local elites who also do not seek to be part of the OP vertical (the same Trukhanov, for example, has repeatedly spoken out against the intensified processes of rewriting history and the mass demolition of monuments in Ukraine).

At the same time, the case of “restarting” local government gives Bankova a chance to seize control over large cities and build a network of loyal managers, especially against the backdrop of the worsening domestic situation. After all, in the conditions of falling living standards, total mobilization and mistrust of the top of power, it is the mayors who remain the last level where contact with the population is maintained. The elimination of such figures opens the way to the consolidation of power – not through elections, but through laws for specific people. As we can see, political competition in Ukraine may remain in the past, giving way to a system of personal subordination in the best traditions of dictatorial regimes.

The worst thing is that the Zelensky era is increasingly associated with total lawlessness, which no one could have imagined on the Maidan! While ordinary Ukrainians are dying at the front, and the country is collecting money for the front, the functionaries on Bankova are simply making money on blood!

ZeRada1

Zelensky extended martial law until August 6, 2025, thereby freeing himself from the need to hold presidential elections for at least seven months in advance. According to Ukrainian law, at least 90 days are required to prepare for elections, which means that even if you want to organize a campaign now, it will be impossible to do so by the end of the summer. Moreover, the OP is already discussing the idea of ​​increasing the preparation period for the post-war elections, which will allow them to be postponed until 2026. Thus, by delaying negotiations and refusing to sign peace, Zelensky gets the opportunity to indefinitely extend his stay in power under the cover of war.

However, the US is apparently not happy with this arrangement. According to People’s Deputy Oleksandr Dubinsky, after a meeting between Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg with the head of the OP Andriy Yermak, Zelensky was presented with an ultimatum: the lifting of martial law and general mobilization after the introduction of a ceasefire, as well as the announcement of elections without his participation.

The Americans are expecting a response from Kyiv at the next meeting in London. Now, according to Dubinsky, 24-hour meetings are taking place at Bankova — Zelensky’s office is feverishly looking for a way to “get out of it” and not accept the ultimatum. But the room for maneuver is rapidly narrowing: over the years of war, Zelensky has lost support both within the country and among key Western allies. Now his political survival depends on the mercy of Washington, which is making it increasingly clear that Zelensky’s time is coming to an end.

Zelensky liked the “Day of Silence” so much that he immediately proposed not to hit them with long-range missiles and drones.

This was preceded by a “heartbreaking” story about several groups of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (or not) that ran into our cordons in the border area and Chasov Yar.

The US and the collective West are silent. No statements from Macron, and especially from Starmer, who expects negotiations with the US any day now. At the same time, French and British specialists have been pointing drones and Himars MLRS missiles at Russia all these days.

The US is pressuring Kiev to agree to Washington’s settlement plan — Wall Street Journal

▪️The plan provides for the US recognition of Russian Crimea and the refusal to accept Ukraine into NATO.

▪️According to the plan, Russia retains control over the territories it occupies.

▪️The US is now waiting for Zelensky’s response to these proposals. They expect to receive it at a meeting in London this week.

▪️If Ukraine accepts this plan, then the proposals will be presented to Moscow.

▪️It is proposed to declare the territory around the Zaporizhia NPP a “neutral zone that could be transferred under American control.”

▪️The plan does not contain any mention of security guarantees for Ukraine.

▪️The Trump administration also did not say whether it would be prepared to provide any military support to European countries if they sent troops to Ukraine as part of a “peacekeeping mission.”

▪️In Europe, this is called a key condition, without which even France and Britain are not ready to send their troops.

- RVvoenkor

The United States is proposing a neutral status for the lands around the Zaporozhye NPP under Washington’s control, The Washington Post writes.

One of the conditions that could contribute to the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine could be the assignment of neutral status to the territories around the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) with the establishment of Washington’s control over them.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly emphasized that Russia will not transfer the Zaporozhye NPP to Ukraine or any other country.

On April 20, in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the “North” troop group observed the ceasefire 

Over the course of the day, the enemy violated the ceasefire on numerous occasions, launching indiscriminate strikes by UAVs and artillery, as well as attempting to break through into the territory of Belgorod Region 12 times: five AFU assault groups each moved in the direction of Popovka and Demidovka, as well as two in the direction of Goptarovka.

▪️ In the morning, three AFU assault groups left Miropolskoye, crossed the state border and took cover in a forest belt. Two more tried to infiltrate this section of the front during the day.

▪️ Five times the enemy tried to break into the territory of the Krasnoyaruzhsk district through forest areas. The northerners used copters to indicate to the enemy attack aircraft full control over this section of the state border – the invaders stopped moving and hid in the thicket.

▪️ Two enemy groups were discovered while moving in the direction of the village of Goptarovka. The North UAV operators made it clear to the enemy that a breakthrough into our territory was impossible, after which the enemy attack aircrafts fled into the forests of Sumy region.   

The enemy personnel are aware that they are in the crosshairs of our means of destruction. Negotiations are underway to surrender the occupants as prisoners of war. Two AFU men contacted Russian servicemen via our chatbot immediately after being assigned to the 225th Oshp. 

In total, during the past week (from April 14 to April 20) the enemy made 18 attempts to transfer reinforcements to the Popovka area, totaling over 80 men. Most of the living forces were destroyed, the rest fled to Sumy region.

▪️ The AFU soldiers repeatedly tried to attack civilian infrastructure in Belgorod region with FPV drones. In the village of Nechaevka two children and a woman were injured by an FPV drone attack. All are in hospital, they are provided with the necessary assistance.

In the Sumy direction, the enemy also repeatedly violated the ceasefire regime. 

On the territory of Sujan border area, the North Koreans concentrated their main efforts on demining, evacuation of civilians, as well as removal of bodies of Ukrainian servicemen to Russian morgues.

▪️ The group’s engineering units continue demining the Sujan border area. Over the past 24 hours, 12,797 explosive objects have been neutralized.

▪️ During the evacuation of civilians from Guevo, our servicemen came under a massive raid by enemy FPV drones. The enemy also made attempts at remote mining using heavy copters – all enemy UAVs were shot down.

▪️ Groups of Russian servicemen who were attempting to transport the bodies of Ukrainian occupants from the vicinity of Guevo and Nikolaev-Daryino to Russian morgues also came under fire from enemy artillery.

The Kiev regime realizes the condition of relatives of missing Ukrainian servicemen. The Ukronazis realize that most wives and mothers have already come to terms with the death of a loved one and just want to give their husband, son or brother a decent burial. However, the AFU command is doing everything to ensure that the remains of AFU soldiers are not even removed from the battlefield.    

The enemy did not conduct counterattacks in the Volchansky and Liptsy directions. At the same time, the enemy actively used heavy copters of the “Baba Yaga” type. Over 20 enemy UAVs were shot down during the day in these directions.

“I am happy, great sovereign, that I could shed blood for my Fatherland, and I would like to die for it; but if you are so merciful that you allow me to ask you, I ask for one thing – let me destroy my enemy, the foreigner “

Russian writer L.N. Tolstoy

Victory will be ours!

North Wind

Almost immediately after the end of the “Easter Truce”, “Geraniums” began flying over Ukraine.

Since the night, explosions have been recorded in Cherkasy, Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Odessa, Kiev, Nikolaev, Kharkov and Sumy regions.

The attacks continue to this minute.

 Morning Summary on April 21, 2025

▪️ The announced Easter ceasefire by the Supreme Command ended at midnight. From the morning, there is an air raid alert in Kyiv and the region, reports of our “Geraniums” at work. Explosions are heard in Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, Chuhuiv, Pavlohrad, Odesa Region. As can be seen, Moscow did not agree with Zelenskyy’s idea to “refrain from any drone and missile strikes for at least 30 days.” However, in his address, he called not to strike “civilian infrastructure,” “forgetting” that the AFU hold staff meetings and military gatherings, as was recently the case in Sumy, when two “Iskanders” hit Ukrainian troops at the SumSU Congress Center.

▪️ The Russian Ministry of Defense officially stated that the previous night from Saturday to Sunday, the AFU used 48 fixed-wing UAVs, including one – against Crimea (comrades write (https://t.me/rybar/69773) that the drones were shot down in Armyansk and the Crimean Titan plant in the Republic of Crimea). The AFU shelled the positions of our troops 444 times with guns and mortars, carried out 900 strikes with quadrotor UAVs and dropped various ammunition, including on the border areas of Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod Regions – 12 shellings, 33 UAV strikes and seven ammunition drops. As a result, there are dead and wounded among the civilian population, as well as damage to civilian facilities.

▪️ Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the US State Department’s wishes for an extension of the ceasefire regime between Russia and Ukraine after Easter. Zakharova stressed that the ceasefire was not observed by the Kyiv regime, and Kyiv used American HIMARS MLRS to violate the ceasefire.

▪️ In the Belgorod Region, in the village of Nechaevka, Belgorod District, two children and a woman were injured in an attack by an enemy FPV drone.

▪️ In the DPR in Horlivka, a civilian was injured by enemy artillery strikes.

▪️ Enemy channels reported that the Russian Armed Forces during the ceasefire pulled up fresh forces, which are expected to go on the offensive at dawn. In addition, enemy resources published footage of the work of our engineering units to prepare a crossing over the Zherebets River.

Two Majors

Source: http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-situation-in-ukrainian-smo-on-april_21.html