April 26, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that for the war in Ukraine to come to an end Russian President Vladimir Putin "needs to make a decision to end this conflict." 

Austin called Putin's decision to attack Ukraine "unjustified." He added that it will be Putin's decision "to de-escalate and then go back to the negotiating table" 

"And we really all would like to see that happen," Austin said. 

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin opened his news conference Tuesday by thanking the countries that have stepped up to help Ukraine noting, "We don't have any time to waste."

"The work that we've done together in record time has made a huge difference on the battlefield. President (Volodymyr) Zelensky made that clear when we met Sunday in Kyiv. And countries all around the world have been stepping up to meet Ukraine's urgent needs," Austin said. 

Austin said Germany just announced today that it will send Ukraine 50 anti-aircraft armored vehicles. This announcement came one day after the British government announced that it would provide Ukraine with additional anti-aircraft capabilities as well, Austin said.

The allies will meet monthly to discuss the Ukraine war strategy, Austin said.

US Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said it was “completely irresponsible” for any senior leader of a nuclear power to start “rattling a nuclear saber” when asked about Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov calling the danger of a nuclear war “serious and real.”

Lavrov said Monday that nuclear deterrence is Russia’s “principled position," but he added “the danger is serious, it is real, it cannot be underestimated.”

Milley said the US military is monitoring the nuclear threat from Russia along with “friends and allies."

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the international community, including the US and Ukraine, are focused on not letting the situation "spin out of control."

Any "possibility of use of nuclear weapons is very dangerous and unhelpful. Nobody wants to see a nuclear war. Nobody can win that," he said.

Top US Gen. Mark Milley told CNN Tuesday that he believes "what's at stake" in this war "is much greater than Ukraine."

Milley continued by saying that if Russia gets away with its aggression in Ukraine "cost-free," then "so goes the so-called international order."

"If that happens, then we're heading into an era of seriously increased instability," Milley added.

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US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley told CNN that the policy of governments supporting Ukraine is to see the embattled country free and independent and a "weakened Russia."

He added that the unity among western countries is key.

"The unity of the West and the unity of NATO, and indeed, the unity of the globe has probably never been stronger than it is in the face of this unprovoked aggression. That's where we're heading."

US diplomats returned to Ukraine today for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The diplomats crossed into the country from Poland and traveled to the western city of Lviv for a day trip, according to the source. 

The visit comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the US would send diplomats into the country starting this week when he visited the Ukrainian capital over the weekend. 

The department plans to reassess the security situation for the diplomats’ day trips into Lviv constantly, the source said. 

The department is also reexamining the security situation in Ukraine more broadly after Russia bombed five railway stations in central and western Ukraine on Monday, according to the source and another source familiar with the discussions. The attacks that rocked the railway stations just hours after Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin completed their visit to Kyiv.

“The Kremlin's brutal tactics and utter indifference to human life are appalling. This is the latest example of attacks that have killed civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure in the Russian government's brutal war against Ukraine,” said a State Department spokesperson when asked about the recent bombings and the plan to send US diplomats back into the country. 

While US diplomats going into Lviv for day trips to not travel on trains, the sources said, the trains are a critical piece of the Ukrainian fight because they are one way that new military equipment is getting into Ukraine. Russia warned the US against arming Ukraine earlier this month in a diplomatic cable.

Wladimir Klitschko, a member of the key military defense in Ukraine and a former world boxing champion whose brother is the mayor of Kyiv, told CNN’s New Day it is not safe for anyone to be in Ukraine right now, including diplomats.

Work has begun in Kyiv on dismantling a monument to "Russian-Ukrainian friendship."

The large monument close to the Dnieper River was erected in 1982 to commemorate the reunification of Ukraine and Russia.

Vilati Klitschko, mayor of Kyiv, said: "The dismantling has started today and we plan to finish it tonight. We are removing the bronze sculpture of two workers, installed in the center of the Ukrainian capital in 1982."

Russia now demonstrated "a barbaric desire to destroy our state and peaceful Ukrainians," Klitschko said.

A road and railway bridge across the mouth of the river Dniester in southwest Ukraine has been heavily damaged in an explosion.

The bridge, which is near the city of Odesa, appears to have been damaged by a missile strike.

"Circumstances and information about the victims are being clarified," authorities said.

Images from the scene show extensive damage to the road portion of the bridge. 

Japan will provide additional relief supplies such as food and medicine to Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said following a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday. 

Japan will also increase its diplomatic efforts to support Ukraine together with other G7 nations, Kishida said, adding that Zelensky thanked Japan for its support.

The two discussed the situation in Ukraine, further sanctions against Russia and assistance toward Ukraine.

This is the fourth time the two leaders have spoken by phone this year, said Kishida.