Apr 29 Buonsera! Up-date
Catching up…
The first deliveries of LNG arrived in Poland from the United States yesterday.
The New York Times: E.U. countries are likely to approve a phased embargo on Russian oil as early as next week, European officials said. An oil embargo, expected to be difficult and costly to Europe, was considered unlikely when the war began. But positions have hardened.
Reuters: A source in the President’s office revealed to Reuters that the evacuation of civilians from Azovstal plant in Mariupol is planned for today.
The BBC - China's state-owned oil and gas giant CNOOC says it has no concrete plans to pick up Russian energy investments being abandoned by Western firms following the invasion of Ukraine.
Kazakhstan ‘does not and will not provide sanctions evasion mechanisms’, foreign minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi assured, according to Ukraine FM Kuleba. “We also discussed cooperation within international organizations” Kuleba about his call with Tileuberdi.
Stripes: NATO Chief says Finland and Sweden would be embraced with open arms should they decide to apply to join the 30-nation Alliance, and could become fully-fledged members quite quickly.
The BBC: two British volunteers providing humanitarian assistance in Ukraine have been captured by the Russian military, an aid organisation has said. The non-profit Presidium Network said the men were detained at a checkpoint near the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine on Monday.
Vera Gyrych, a journalist for Radio Liberty in Ukraine has been killed during Russian shelling of Kyiv, the station has said. She was at home when a missile hit her building.
Britain will send investigators to Ukraine to help gather evidence of war crimes, including sexual violence, the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has said. Ukrainian prosecutors and the international criminal court (ICC) have been investigating potential war crimes in Ukraine since Russia’s 24 February invasion.
Kyiv Independent: The International Atomic Energy Agency DG Rafael Grossi said on April 28 the IAEA was reviewing Ukrainian reports that a missile had flown directly over a nuclear power plant. If a missile goes astray, it could potentially lead to a nuclear accident.
Mirela Zarichinova : Despite enormous Russian pressure on the Bulgarian government and a very unstable coalition, yesterday the ruling party finally took a firm stand against Russian imperialism. And the deputy PM Assen Vassilev made history with his radical stance.
Russia is still losing…and we’re loving it…
The Battle for Kyiv showed the vulnerabilities of the Russian forces as they failed in their first offensive: lack of coordinated command and control, over-extended or poor supply lines (logistics, logistics, logistics) and low morale amongst the troops. Security advisor, Glen Grant, has also pointed to the antiquated strategy and tactics of the Russian armed forces.
The D Brief: "The Russians have not overcome all their logistics and sustainment challenges," and "they're only able to sustain several kilometers or so [of] progress on any given day," according to the Pentagon official, who emphasized that logistics is "pretty much the most obvious thing that we're seeing them trying to learn from." They're also seemingly "trying to better integrate air-to-ground operations in the Donbas," the defense official said, but cautioned that "command and control…is not optimal yet."
And now this….
Amazing…’Time’ українською мовою…
From the BBC - The Bear Next Door
Five cultural figures from the front line of Russia's border with Europe - Lithuania, Finland, Moldova, Latvia and Estonia - explore their national psyche in uncertain times. Their words weave with sounds and encounters from their home city as they explore their country's history, ambitions and distinctive character in the 21st century.
Our essayists across the series include a rapper and media commentator, a former President, a celebrated art critic, a dystopian novelist, and a distinguished literary director.
Today - Former Estonian President (2006-2016) Toomas Hendrik considers his nation's post-Soviet rebirth as a world-leading digital society, a cradle of e-commerce, telecommunications and digital democracy.
We’re signing off….thanks for reading…
Mo & Scott