The Kyiv Independent

⚡Latvian schools to stop teaching Russian as foreign language. Children in Latvia will no longer learn Russian as a foreign language in schools from 2026, but instead will be required to learn a language of the European Union or the European Economic Area, Latvia's Education Ministry announced on April 23.

⚡️ National Guard: Russia would need years to capture Kharkiv. Russian forces would need years to occupy the city of Kharkiv, Oleksandr Pivnenko, a commander of Ukraine’s National Guard, said in an interview with the Liga.net media outlet on April 23.

⚡CNN: Some US military aid for Ukraine already in Poland, Germany. Some of the U.S. military aid for Ukraine is already in Germany and Poland, cutting down the time needed for the weapons and equipment to reach the front line, CNN reported on April 22, citing a source familiar with the provision of aid.

⚡️ SBU detains man suspected of directing Russian attacks on Ukrainian special forces base The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained a man in Kharkiv suspected of helping direct Russian aerial attacks on the base of an elite Ukrainian military unit. In a post on Telegram on April 23, the agency said the man helped Moscow’s forces to identify the location of the Kraken special unit.

⚡Ukraine's parliament passes law adapting education policy to match EU standards. Ukraine's parliament passed a bill with overwhelming support on the second reading that adapts the country's education policy to match EU standards, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on April 23.

⚡️Governor: 5 injured in Russian attack on Kostiantynivka. Russian forces struck the city of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast on the morning of April 23, wounding five people, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported.  The victims of the Kostiantynivka airstrike “were traveling in a car and found themselves in the epicenter of the explosion,” the Interior Ministry said on Telegram.  Screenshot: Interior Ministry/Telegram

⚡️Military: Russian forces using chemical weapons to storm Ocheretyne, situation 'difficult.' Russian forces are deploying chemical weapons in an attempt to capture the village of Ocheretyne in Donetsk Oblast, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia Group of Forces, said on April 23. In a post on Telegram, Voloshyn said Moscow's troops were using the "entire arsenal of weapons available… including chemical poisons" to attack Ukrainian positions, adding the situation was "difficult."

⚡️Explosion reported in Poltava. An explosion was heard in Ukraine's central city of Poltava at around 3 p.m. local time, Suspilne news outlet reported on April 23. The Air Force earlier warned about two Russian missiles flying toward the city.

⚡️Governor: Russian attack on Dnipro district injures 4. Russian forces launched a missile attack against the Dnipro district in the afternoon, wounding four people, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak reported on April 23. 

⚡️Ukraine faces energy deficits, to restrict power supply for business, industry. Ukraine faces power deficits caused by Russian attacks on its energy system, forcing Kyiv to temporarily restrict power supply to businesses and industrial facilities on April 23, Ukraine's state-owned energy operator Ukrenergo reported.