Victorious news of 793rd day of war: Ukraine destroys Russian helicopter in Moscow, launches cyberattack on services of United Russia party

Ukrainian intelligence destroyed a Russian Ka-32 helicopter at the Moscow airfield 

On the night of April 26, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine destroyed a Russian Ka-32 helicopter, which was located at the airfield in Moscow.

"On the night of April 26, 2024, a multi-purpose enemy Ka-32 helicopter was destroyed at the Ostafyevo airfield of the Russian Ministry of Defence in Moscow," the statement says.

The intelligence officers noted that this airfield belongs to the Russian Ministry of Defence. It is operated jointly with Gazpromavia, which is part of Gazprom. 

The destroyed helicopter was used in the interests of the Moscow aviation center, namely to support the operations of the Russian occupation army. 

Ukrainian intelligence launched cyberattack on United Russia

Employees of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence have conducted a "large-scale cyberattack" on the services of the ruling United Russia party. This was reported by sources of Radio Liberty.

The sources noted that the Russian party's websites and servers, as well as ER.RU and edinros domains, are currently under attack.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, some of the resources of United Russia are currently down, although the party claims that "the work of critical digital infrastructure is being maintained".

"On Friday morning, the Russian ruling party announced a large-scale DDoS attack on all its electronic services, linking it to the 'Dictation of Victory' campaign scheduled for today," the publication adds.

Switzerland approves $5.5 billion in aid to Ukraine

On April 26, a Swiss parliamentary committee voted to support CHF 5 billion ($5.5 billion) in aid to Ukraine as part of a broader package aimed at improving Switzerland's defense capabilities.

The upper house's security committee, backed by lawmakers from center-left and center-right parties, approved the package to provide 10.1 billion francs in additional funds for the army, which included aid for Ukraine.

In a statement, the parliament said that the multi-billion franc package was intended as an extraordinary contribution to Swiss security and peace in Europe due to Russia's war against Ukraine.

The Ukrainian part of the package provides support for the reconstruction and repair of civilian infrastructure, the parliament said. The committee voted in favor of the plan less than two months before Switzerland is to host a high-level international conference. The conference aims to help bring peace to Ukraine.

Missiles for Patriot from Spain

The Spanish Defense Ministry excludes the supply of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, but will give Kyiv missiles for these systems as compensation. Government sources said that the decision to provide a small number of missiles came after the Spanish Defense Ministry refused to supply to Ukraine a Patriot battery deployed since 2013 on the border of Turkey and Syria.

The Spanish army has three batteries, each with their own missile launchers, radar and control station, purchased from Germany in 2004 and 2014. One of these batteries is located in Adana, Turkey, and the other two are at the Marine Corps base in Valencia, and one of them is used to train Ukrainian and Spanish soldiers in the use of the system.

The Spanish Ministry of Defense has categorically refused to supply the systems to Ukraine, claiming that they are the only effective systems in the event of a missile attack, which "was demonstrated during the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East," and that the Spanish armed forces are "insufficiently equipped."

However, according to the sources, the government agreed to provide a batch of Patriot missiles as compensation. This will be a very limited number, as the Spanish military reserve is about 50 units, and the interceptors are very expensive, with each unit costing more than a million euros.

Shipments of American weapons and equipment to Ukraine have begun

The US has already begun sending artillery shells, some weapons and equipment to Ukraine, the Pentagon said.

Some weapons from the aid package could be delivered to Ukraine from US warehouses in Poland in a very short time, said John Kirby, the White House National Security Council's strategic communications coordinator.

According to him, the first equipment under the recently announced military aid package will be delivered to Ukraine within a few days. He reminded that the United States has large weapons depots in Poland.

"There are things on this list that can be delivered there (to Ukraine - ed.) in a very short time, in a matter of days... Other things will take longer," Kirby said.

According to him, the United States, in particular, is already beginning to deliver artillery ammunition to Ukraine.