Apr 13: E-Stories
Day 414: UASitRep Nikopol Zapo Bakhmut Crimea ICBMs Belgorod CH SouthAfrica WorldBank RUtravelban EU-UA Kuleba UK Ramstein EE Macron A&P UAArtHistory KyivIndie Cleverly YellowRibbon Lucas DiscordLeaks
Catching up…
EA Worldview’s Ukraine Up-date- hop over to Scott’s amazing hourly Ukraine up-date page. I’ll fill in with some bits and bobs.
Ukrainian Art History: Before Easter, Ukrainians have a tradition of painting eggs – pysanky. In different regions, they have specific ornaments and colors. Here you can see women from the village of Targan, Kyiv region. So you can see typical embroidery, pysanka, and painted walls for the Kyiv region.
Stories we’re following…
Zelensky: Ukraine at critical juncture in war, important not to lose sight of victory. Ukraine is at a critical juncture in the war and both the country and its allies must not lose sight of the path to victory, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on April 11.
Governor: Russia shells Nikopol, injuring 4 people. Russian troops shelled the residential area of Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on April 12, wounding four civilians, according to Governor Serhii Lysak.
Russia strikes front-line towns in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Russian troops carried out an air strike on the front-line towns of Orikhiv and Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on the morning of April 11, according to the regional administration.
General Staff: Ukraine repels 72 Russian attacks over past day. Russian forces are concentrating their efforts on conducting offensives toward Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Marinka in Donetsk Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in its morning update.
Ukraine’s military destroys Russian equipment in Ukraine’s south. Ukraine’s rocket and artillery forces killed 35 Russian troops and destroyed three reconnaissance drones, one anti-drone rifle, one armored fighting vehicle, and one Grad multiple rocket launcher, Ukraine’s Southern Command said on April 11.
Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for the UAF, has denied a claim by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s private Wagner mercenary group, who said Russian forces now control more than 80% of Bakhmut city. “This statement by Prigozhin is not true,” Cherevatyi told CNN. He added:
I’ve just been in touch with the commander of one of the brigades that are defending the city. I can confidently state that the Ukrainian defence forces control a much larger percentage of the territory of Bakhmut. Prigozhin needs to show at least some victory in the city, which they have been trying to capture for nine months in a row, so he makes such statements.
The Russian-appointed leader of Crimea has said Moscow’s forces are ready for a possible Ukrainian assault, days after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reaffirmed Kyiv’s intention to take back the Black Sea peninsula that Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Associated Press cites Sergei Aksyonov as saying that Russian forces in Crimea had built “modern, in-depth defences” and had “more than enough” troops and equipment to repel what may be an impending Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Russia conducts test launch of intercontinental ballistic missile. The missile was reportedly launched from the Kapustin Yar rocket launch complex in Russia's southern Astrakhan Oblast and hit a target at a training ground in Kazakhstan, Russian state-controlled media reported on April 11.
Drone crashes outside airport in Russia’s Belgorod region. Nobody was injured but a fence and an alarm cable were damaged. According to the channel Astra, the drone fell outside of Shukhov Airport at around 4:30 p.m. local time. SHOT reported that it was a “plane-type” vehicle.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Dept of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is further curbing Russia’s access to the international financial system through facilitators and their businesses. The United States, in coordination with the United Kingdom, is targeting the facilitation network of Alisher Usmanov, who is subject to sanctions in multiple jurisdictions. This action also includes designations to reinforce existing measures and further disrupt Russia’s importation of critical technologies used in its war against Ukraine. In total, OFAC is designating 25 individuals and 29 entities with touchpoints in 20 jurisdictions. [this is huge- continue reading]
Politico: China and Russia are in advanced secret talks with Iran to replenish the Islamic Republic’s supply of a key chemical compound used to propel ballistic missiles. Such a move would mark a clear violation of U.N. sanctions and possibly help Moscow replenish its depleted stock of rockets [continue reading].
South Africa said on Wednesday an international arrest warrant for Putin over the Ukraine war was a “spanner in the works” ahead of a BRICS summit in the country in August. Pretoria, which has close ties with Moscow, has been faced with a diplomatic dilemma since the international criminal court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March.
Travel ban, loss of rights, cancellation of benefits. What threatens the Russians according to the new law on military duty. The State Duma urgently, in one day, in three readings at once, adopted a law on electronic subpoenas for those liable for military service. According to the new document, summonses will not only be delivered to homes and handed over, catching people on the streets, but now they can be sent electronically and by registered mail. In addition, a unified register of persons liable for military service will be created, so even the absence of an account on the State Services will not help to avoid receiving a summons: the summons sent to you is considered automatically delivered after seven days. [continue reading]
In the Komi Republic, a 61-year-old maid was detained for attempting to set fire to a military registration and enlistment office, Astra writes. The woman allegedly threw two Molotov cocktails at the front door of the building.
Inspections resumed on Wednesday aboard ships operating under the Ukraine Black Sea grain deal, after a one-day halt the day before, Ismini Palla, UN spokesperson for the initiative, has told Reuters.
The World Bank is ready to play its role in rebuilding Ukraine after the devastation of Russia’s invasion, but the numbers are too large for international financial institutions alone and western European countries will have to chip in, World Bank President David Malpass said on Tuesday.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke on Tuesday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. The two discussed ongoing preparations for Ukraine’s spring counteroffensive, including security assistance pledges from allies and partners. Secretary Blinken underscored Ukraine’s success as vital to peace and security in Europe, and reiterated the United States’ commitment to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
EU Parly President Roberta Metsola gave the opening address at the First Inter-Committee meeting of the European Parliament and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at 11 a.m.; Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk delivered an address afterward.
On April 11th, Canada sanctioned an additional 34 Russian entities and 14 Russian individuals. Several of these are linked to the "Wagner" terrorist group – which Canada still refuses to designate a terrorist group.
Reuters: Britain added eleven new designations to its Russia-related sanctions list, an update to the government website showed on Wednesday morning.
Next Ramstein summit to take place on April 21. The 11th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group will take place at the Ramstein Air Base on April 21, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on April 11.
EU reacts to Ukrainian POW's alleged execution, stresses 'firm commitment' to holding war criminals to account. The European Union's spokesperson Nabila Massrali said on April 12, as cited by CNN, that the video purportedly showing the beheading of a Ukrainian prisoner of war, if confirmed, serves as "yet another brutal reminder about the inhumane nature of the Russian aggression."
Reuters: Leaked US document claims Serbia agreed to supply weapons to Ukraine. Serbia agreed to provide Ukraine with lethal aid or has already sent it, according to an alleged secret Pentagon document said to be leaked, Reuters reported on April 12.
Reuters: Iran has used earthquake relief flights to bring weapons and military equipment into its strategic ally Syria, nine Syrian, Iranian, Israeli and Western sources said. The sources told Reuters that the goal was to buttress Iran's defences against Israel in Syria and to strengthen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Reuters is the first to report this development.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will be traveling to Beijing from Thursday to Saturday, EU officials say. Borrell will conduct the annual EU-China strategic dialogue with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. He will also meet China’s paramount foreign policy chief, Wang Yi, as well as the new Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who’s been sanctioned by the U.S.
President Biden in Ireland Up-date: The president will making a speech on Wednesday use his speech to talk about the “historical context” of the 1998 pact, “high-tech innovations” and “trade and economic prosperity” between the U.S. and U.K., reporters were told on the flight over. The Telegraph reports on four suspected pipe bombs, which were discovered at the scene of a dissident republican march in Derry/Londonderry on Tuesday.
Afghans who worked for a French-led secret intelligence cell for years have been abandoned by France following the Taliban takeover. The little-known spy unit, known as Shamshad, has come to light after being kept quiet by the French government for years. Its goal was to gather intelligence that could be used to protect France’s interests in Afghanistan, including safeguarding French territory from terrorist groups. [continue reading]
Alexey Navalny needed an ambulance due to unexplained symptoms. His lawyer suspects slow poisoning. Despite his health problems, Navalny was sentenced to his 13th stint in solitary confinement on Monday.
Decode39: “Italian MPs trip to Taiwan falls through amid growing int’l tensions”
Estonia: Internal Security Service 2022-2023 Yearbook
The Internal Security Service (ISS), also known by is Estonian acronym Kapo, published its 2022-2023 Yearbook on Wednesday.
Topics covered include the identification of over two dozen individuals who had links to terrorism and extremism and who had applied to, or even been accepted on, the e-residency program.
In another case, Russian security services had attempted to recruit refugees fleeing its own war prosecuted on Ukraine. The vulnerable individuals were targeted, sometimes using stick-and-carrot methods, in order to engage in work aimed at destabilizing the Estonian state and its sovereignty.
The full text is available in .pdf format below, or by clicking the link to the ISS website here.
5 Things the Leaked Pentagon Documents Reveal About Russia’s Army- The Moscow Times
Here’s what the estimated 100 leaked Pentagon documents have revealed about the Russian military:
Up to 43,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in action as of early 2023, with an estimated total casualty count between 189,500-223,000.
The U.S. intercepts included specific Russian attack plans and dates for Ukrainian infrastructure and military targets, including power plants, bridges, a drone storage area, an air defense gun and Ukrainian soldiers.
A top-secret document contained the Russian General Staff’s detailed strategy to combat NATO tanks due to arrive in Ukraine in April with long-, medium- and short-range “fire zones” covered by specific weapons and unit types as well as by training Russian soldiers on the tanks’ vulnerabilities.
U.S. intelligence appears to have penetrated nearly every Russian military body including the General Staff, the Defense Ministry and the GRU military intelligence agency, as well as the private mercenary group Wagner.
Edward Lucas, Toxic Treatment: Vladimir Kara-Murza, CEPA
As you read this, one of the bravest people I know is in a Russian jail cell, facing a 25-year sentence. Vladimir Kara-Murza was arrested in April 2022 after returning to Russia to campaign against Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin dismisses the opposition as an irrelevant and unpopular bunch of foreign stooges. Yet it belies that claim by persecuting them assiduously. Already more than 500 Russians have been sentenced for anti-war activities. Many more, like Kara-Murza, are in detention.
The indictment claims that Kara-Murza’s public criticism of the regime is treasonous. “This is our enemy who must be punished,” said a prosecutor, Boris Loktionov. Kara-Murza (who pleaded not guilty) is indeed one of the Kremlin’s foremost critics. Formidably well-connected (he was a pallbearer at Senator John McCain’s funeral), he was a leading Russian voice in an international campaign to punish individuals personally responsible for state repression. These sanctions, spearheaded by the former Moscow-based financier Bill Browder, are named after Sergei Magnitsky, a whistle-blower who died in prison in 2009 after exposing a $230m official tax fraud. The judge in Kara-Murza’s case, Sergei Podoprigorov, is himself subject to these sanctions for his role in sentencing Magnitsky.
Kara-Murza had made a complete recovery from the two near-fatal poisonings he suffered in 2015 and 2017. But a year in detention, including a spell in solitary confinement, has harmed his health. His wife Evgenia tells me his symptoms have returned. Numbness is spreading in his feet and his left hand. He has lost 40 lbs (17kg). Russian law precludes the detention of people with Karamurza’s condition, polyneuropathy. But these and other safeguards are routinely ignored. The trial is being held in private, with no outside observers. [continue reading]
Programming note…
10 popular misconceptions about Ukrainian history, debunked
by Asami Terajima and Iryna Matviyishyn
Understanding Ukraine's origins becomes even more complex as Russia has been on a centuries-long quest to distort Ukrainian history in an attempt to justify its brutal invasions.
While most of the Kremlin's disinformation campaign is dismissed by Ukraine, the West, and many around the world, the wide net that Russia’s false narratives have cast globally have allowed historical misconceptions to arise.