Apr 19: E-Stories
Day 420: Avdviivka Donestsk Kherson grain May9 Lukashenko Gershkovich HighTreason Divak G7 EU Absolut EUsanctions semiconductors China A&Ps Scherba ISW UKDef GlastnostGone NATO Maksimova Christie
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.
Stories we’re following…
The Russian forces suffer considerable losses, but continue to focus their main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Maryinka directions— the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Ukrinform reports.
"The enemy is actively employing tactical and army aviation. Over the past day, more than 70 enemy attacks have been repelled in these areas of the front. Bakhmut and Maryinka remain at the epicenter of the fighting," the military said.
UK Defense Ministry: Russia likely diverting resources away from Donetsk sector to Bakhmut. There is a "realistic possibility" Russia has diverted troop resources around Donetsk city toward Bakhmut, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote in its April 18 intelligence update.
President Zelensky visited Ukrainian troops on Tuesday in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, his office have said. Zelensky listened to commanders’ reports on the battlefield situation and gave awards to soldiers, it said.
“I have the honour to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families,” Zelensky was quoted as saying.
Prigozhin ‘seemingly regaining some favor’ with Putin due to feeble winter offensive in Donbas. The Institute for the Study of War said the Russian private military company seems to be getting reinforcements, ammunition, and political recognition, in contrast to Putin's "previous efforts to expend Wagner forces and Prigozhin in Bakhmut" since January 2023.
As reported by Bloomberg, grain supply through the grain corridor remains suspended for a second day in a row due to Russia breaking the conditions of the initiative. The Ministry of Development of Hromadas, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine stated, "Russia still refuses to follow a plan of Ukrainian ports and imposes on Ukrainian ports its own plan, which is unacceptable." The Russians have unilaterally suspended inspections and stopped registering Ukrainian vessels.
"Instead, the Russians are forming their own inspection plan, choosing the vessels from the queue at their sole discretion, which totally contradicts the conditions of the Grain Initiative and is unacceptable for Ukraine," stated the Ministry the day before.
May 9 celebrations to be held without Immortal Regiment march. Russian state media reported on April 18 that May 9 celebrations to commemorate the victory against Nazi Germany will not include the Immortal Regiment March this year.
Lukashenko met Denis Pushilin, leader of Russian proxy regime, in Minsk on Tuesday. Lukashenko allegedly asked Pushilin how Belarus could provide "assistance in the restoration and normalization of people's lives."
Data show tens of thousands of inmates disappearing from Russian prisons, likely to fight as mercenaries in Ukraine. Journalists at Mediazona scoured local prison statistics.
Max Seddon: The first proper picture of Evan Gershkovich, the WSJ reporter arrested in Russia on absurd charges, in court ahead of his appeal against his jailing today. So surreal to see Evan, who's covered so many Kafkaesque hearings as a reporter, in the cage.
CNN: Moscow court denies US journalist Gershkovich's appeal, remands him in custody. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested in Russia on espionage charges, appealed his pre-trial detention terms at a hearing on April 18, according to CNN.
Russia is on a spree of promoting pseudo-peacekeeping initiatives across the EU through its agents of influence, calling for a halt to Ukraine aid and the need to negotiate settlement. The Polish Anti-War Movement was especially active in this regard, according to Obozrevatel, Ukrinform reports.
"Russia is intensively involving fringe, including nationalist, movements in the pseudo-peacekeeping discourse, and also creating its own projects to promote their pseudo-peacekeeping plans, needed only for the sake of one thing – a tactical pause aimed to accumulate military resources to re-activate hostilities," the report says.
Members of the State Duma of Russia have approved amendments that allow life imprisonment for high treason in the third reading, reports RIA Novosti, Russia’s state media. After adopting the law, the court will be able to impose life sentences for spying, providing foreigners with the information classified as state secret, siding with the enemy or providing financial, material-technical, consulting or other aid to foreign states in the activities directed against Russia.
The 29-year-old athlete, Victoria Divak, fell out of an eighth-floor window. She died on the spot from her injuries. According to 112, investigators are inclined to believe that it was an accident. Divak was three-time Russian handball champion.
G7: Third parties aiding Russia's war against Ukraine to 'face severe costs'. The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries issued a joint statement on April 18 saying that third parties aiding Russia in its all-out war against Ukraine will "face severe costs." According to the statement, both undermining and evading sanctions as well as supplying weapons to the Russian military amount to assisting Russia.
Borrell: Russia blocking 50 ships with Ukrainian grain in Black Sea. Russia has "once again" blocked 50 ships carrying "urgently needed" Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on April 17.
Germany has confirmed the transfer of the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine. This is reported on the website of the German government. Earlier, Ukrainian Air Force Spokesman Yuri Ignat already said the system would arrive after Easter.
Poland has said that it has reached an agreement on restarting transit of Ukrainian grains through its territory as of Friday, according to Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus.
Reuters: EU to discuss Hungarian, Polish bans on Ukrainian grain imports this week. The ambassadors of the European Union's member states in Brussels will discuss a decision of Poland and Hungary to ban grain imports from Ukraine this week, Reuters reported on April 17, citing an unnamed senior EU official.
President Zelensky called the dismissal of Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Development Vasyl Lozynskiy a "signal to all whose actions or behavior violate the principle of justice." The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) detained Lozynsky on Jan. 21, allegedly, as he was receiving the bribe in cash.
"I want this to be our signal to anyone whose actions or behavior violates the principle of justice. Of course, now, the main focus is on issues of defense, foreign policy, and war. But this does not mean that I do not see and hear what is being said in society at various levels - both at the central level and in the regions," Zelensky said during his evening address on Jan. 22.
Reuters reports that the US Justice Department on Tuesday announced new charges against four Americans in Florida and three Russians for allegedly working on behalf of the Russian government “to conduct a multi-year foreign malign influence campaign in the United States.”
A federal grand jury in Tampa adds charges to Moscow resident Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov and Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers Aleksey Borisovich Sukhodolov and Yegor Sergeyevich Popov, the department said. a separate unsealed case in Washington charges Russian national Natalia Burlinova "with conspiring with an FSB officer to act as an illegal agent of Russia in the United States."
Poland strengthens security measures along border with Russian exclave Kaliningrad. Poland has started installing additional security surveillance systems along its border with the Russian province of Kaliningrad, RMF 24 reported on April 18.
Agence France-Presse in Stockholm reports that the maker of Sweden’s Absolut vodka has said it is ceasing all exports to Russia after calls to boycott the brand flared up in Sweden and on social media.
Read the full G7 press release here.
Poland this month presented a proposal for a new set of sanctions against Russia for waging war against Ukraine, according to a document seen by Reuters on Tuesday, including a ban on pipeline oil and diamond imports. Warsaw’s proposal would stop Russian oil imports via the northern leg of the Druzhba pipeline going to Germany. It would end imports of Russian diamonds and natural gas, including LNG, and curb nuclear energy cooperation.
EU parliament, states strike deal to boost European semiconductor production. The European Parliament and EU member states reached an agreement on Tuesday on how to boost the supply of semiconductors in Europe, as the bloc races to reduce its dependence on Asian suppliers.
Zelensky sanctions Sergey Shoigu’s daughter, several famous athletes, and the Russian tech giant Yandex. More than 400 individuals and 241 companies in all.
Bloomberg: Macron wants China to help bring Ukraine, Russia to negotiating table. French President Emmanuel Macron wants China to help bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table, Bloomberg reported on April 18.
Reuters: Chinese smartphones comprise more than 70% of Russian market. Chinese smartphone sales comprised 70% of the Russian market, according to the Reuters article citing consumer electronics retailer M.Video-Eldorado.
Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, told his Chinese counterpart on Tuesday that their countries’ military cooperation was a “stabilising” force in the world and helped to reduce the chances of conflict. The Chinese defence minister, Li Shangfu, is in Moscow as the countries look to deepen their military cooperation.
Chen Weihua works for the Chinese state media, China Daily, as Chief of the European Bureau. The ‘multipolar world’ narrative is at the centre of Russian and Chinese foreign policy and the African and South American states have been their primary target for many years.
Put visits the frontline?
Russia state media, RIA Novosti, showed video footage this morning of Putin’s visit to the frontlines. OSINT reseachers were on the case quickly.
This is a clip which was aired and then quickly edited and reposted. In the original clip, Putin asks, “Easter is coming, isn’t it?”, which reveals that the footage was recorded before the Orthodox Easter holidays, perhaps some time last week.
Most analysts have concluded that Putin’s visit is connected with regaining visibility as the wartime chief to counter Prigozhin’s and President Zelensky’s defacto presence on the frontlines.
Another take comes from the Prime Minister of Lithuania, Ingrida Šimonytė, who has stated that Russian propaganda is trying to compare President Vladimir Putin's visit to the occupied territories of Ukraine with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's trips across the contact line. According to LRT, Šimonytė stated that Putin's visit is an attempt by Russian propaganda to "inspire" the unmotivated Russian occupying army.
"It seems that there is an attempt to portray Vladimir Putin as somewhat similar to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who goes to the front line, meets with soldiers close to the line of conflict, and thus demonstrates support for his troops and ordinary Ukrainians who are fighting in this war," said Šimonytė.
Not even Russian milbloggers like Grey Zone was impressed by Putin’s alleged visit to the “front”. He says Zelensky was within 3 to 5km from the frontline in Avdiivka on Tuesday, while Putin was either 60 or 150km away depending on the location in Kherson region, which is being disputed.
No amount of Putin’s or Prigozhin’s propaganda photo ops can cover up the daily losses of Russian forces in Donetsk. Journalists at Liudi Baikala discovered two mass burial sites of the occupiers, including the members of the Wagner Group, near the city of Irkutsk (Russia) at the Alexandrovskoe cemetary.
Out of 53 members of the Wagner Group buried in the second site, only 5 are on the list composed by the journalists; their obituaries were published on social media or in district newspapers—reports Luidi Baikala news.
How the Kremlin is getting rid of foreign journalists in Russia
By Katya Maksimova, The Insider, April 14, 2023
"We are extremely unhappy with the tone of your reporting, Jason.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich became the first foreign media worker in the history of modern Russia to be arrested on charges of espionage. The work of Western journalists has become more difficult after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but now it has become life-threatening to work in Russia. The journalists are monitored by the secret services, they are demonized by Putin's propaganda, the Russian Foreign Ministry is trying to censor the materials. Some receive anonymous threats. Correspondents interviewed by The Insider from Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany and other countries are worried for their safety and are sure that the arrest of Gershkovich will lead to a gradual exodus of Western media from Russia.
Gershkovich knew that he was being followed. Russian security forces harassed the reporter during one of his editorial assignments, recorded his movements on camera and put pressure on sources. The journalist assumed that his phone could be tapped. During another trip, to Pskov, unknown people also followed him and filmed him.
“Spying is always there now if you leave Moscow,” explains a British reporter who knows Evan and who wished to remain anonymous. According to him, the Russian security forces constantly monitor the business trips of employees of foreign editorial offices to the regions. A former employee of the German Deutsche Welle also told The Insider about this. Moreover, they monitor both foreign and Russian employees of foreign editorial offices. This began even before the war, many even got used to the constant presence of security forces in the regions. [continue]
