Apr 29: Saturday Stories
Day 430: Dnipro Uman UACO Reznikov PutinWarMuseum Pakistan Navalny May9 CourageLessons Bulgaria Peskov Pope Iran RUdomestic A&Ps Fedorov Kuleba UKDef CrimeaTatar Kirillova Seigal Davis Obrien
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…
Uman: 26 killed (including 3 children), 17 injured in Russian attack on Cherkasy Oblast. Russian strike on Uman in the early hours of April 28 left 14 civilians killed and 17 wounded, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles and two drones at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine early on Friday. In total, Ukraine’s air force intercepted 21 cruise missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles.
A 31-year-old woman and her 2-year-old daughter were also killed in Dnipro in another attack, the regional governor, Serhii Lysak, said. Four people were also wounded.
Russia shells Bilozerka near Kherson, 1 civilian killed. Russian forces shelled the settlement of Bilozerka, located near the regional capital of Kherson, on April 28, killing one woman and injuring three, the Kherson Regional Military Administration reported on Telegram.
Russia hits Chernihiv Oblast with guided bombs, damages civilian houses. The attack damaged eight civilian houses, two of which caught fire, the military reported citing the State Emergency Service. No casualties have been reported yet.
“This Russian terror must face a fair response from Ukraine and the world,” president Zelensky wrote in a Telegram post alongside images of the wreckage. “And it will.”
CDS Daily Brief: The Russian military continues focusing its main efforts on offensive actions in the Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Maryinka directions.
While Russian forces have practically stopped their offensive on the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, it has intensified shelling from protected firing positions.
The Russian command is working to ensure security and improve logistics lines through the Kerch Strait to Crimea in preparation for a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The Russian Federation intensified its repressive policy against the representatives of the indigenous people of Crimea - the Crimean Tatars
Oleksii Reznikov told an online briefing on Friday about the Ukrainian counteroffensive: “As soon as there is God’s will, the weather and a decision by commanders, we will do it.” He gave no date for when the counteroffensive would start.
Colonel Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said Russia will not be able to restore the number of long-range missiles it had before the war but will instead look for other methods of terror. "As for long-range cruise missiles, of course, everyone is counting them. They think they may be running out of them. Russia will continue to produce them, but not at the same pace, “ he added.
Vladimir Putin on Friday said Russia needed to act quickly and as a “cohesive team” to counter the west’s “economic aggression”, adding Moscow would expand ties with countries in Eurasia, Africa and Latin America. Russia’s economy has faced multiple challenges this year, including a weaker rouble, lower energy revenues and further isolation as western countries continue to impose an array of sanctions over its war in Ukraine.
CNN: Iranian drones powered by stolen Western technology: New research has revealed the extent to which Iran has built a powerful weapons industry based on Western technology, and how that technology is being used by Russia against Ukrainian cities. Conflict Armament Research, a UK-based organization which investigates weapons’ components, has established that the Shahed-136 drones sold to Russia by Iran are powered by an engine based on German technology – technology illicitly acquired by Iran almost 20 years ago.
Putin signs decree allowing deportation of Ukrainians from occupied territories. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has signed a decree allowing the deportation of Ukrainians in occupied territories who refuse to take Russian citizenship, Russian state media reported on April 27.
Putin's war museums: Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered museums dedicated to commemorating the events of the war in Ukraine to be built, the Kremlin said Friday. The museums, which will be built across the country, will showcase “the events of the special military operation and the heroic deeds of its participants,” a Kremlin statement added.
BBC News: Bakhmut defenders worry about losing support. "We haven't got enough ammunition for our weapon," explains Volodymyr, from the 17th Tank Battalion located near Bakhmut. A year ago Volodymyr and his men were firing all 40 barrels of their BM-21 Grad rocket launcher in one go. Now they can only afford to fire a few at a time at Russian targets. Volodymyr however, is frustrated they can't do more. "We could have provided more support to our guys who are dying there.”
Ukraine has what it needs for the counteroffensive it is expected to begin within weeks, the leader of U.S. European Command told lawmakers on Wednesday. Ukrainians have asked for F-16 fighter jets, but the Pentagon doesn’t believe it’s a priority.
“Over 98 percent of the combat vehicles [the United States has recently promised Ukraine] are already there,” Gen. Chris Cavoli said at a hearing of the House Armed Services committee. “I am very confident that we have delivered the materiel that they need and will continue a pipeline to sustain their operations as well.”
The Kremlin has sacked its deputy defence minister, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, (the “Butcher of Mariupol”) a sign of Vladimir Putin’s continued frustration with the Russian army’s performance since it invaded Ukraine. The Russian ministry of defence has not commented but influential Russian military bloggers have criticised his sacking.
The Russian government has approved a draft law on the long-term savings programme – the money collected from citizens will be used to cover the budget deficit, as reported by Press service of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. Participation in the programme will be voluntary. It can be used by Russian citizens over the age of 18. The generated funds will be invested in OFZ (Federal Loan Obligations), infrastructure bonds, corporate bonds, and other securities.
SBU: Russian soldier admits killing Ukrainian POWs after interrogations. In a conversation intercepted by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), a Russian soldier admitted he has repeatedly killed Ukrainian prisoners of war by cutting their throats.
The anti-Putin activist Alexei Navalny says he is being investigated on terrorism charges that could see him sentenced to 30 years in prison, Reuters has reported. The Kremlin critic is serving sentences totalling 11 and a half years on charges including fraud and contempt of court, which human rights groups say were made up to silence him.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that everything was set for his country to receive a shipment of discounted Russian oil. "As we speak, the Russian oil is being loaded to arrive here," he told the parliament. Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik told Reuters last week that Pakistan had made its first purchase of discounted Russian crude.
Russian authorities announced Tuesday that they will close Moscow’s Red Square to the public for an unprecedented two weeks ahead of the country’s annual parade marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. “In connection with the preparation and holding of solemn events, Red Square will be closed to the public from April 27 to May 10, 2023,” the Federal Guard Service (FSO), which provides security for the Kremlin, said in a statement.
As per Verstka, soldiers returning from the war against Ukraine have begun visiting Russian schools in droves. They hold “Courage Lessons,” speak to students about “Ukrainian fascists,” show videos from the front, and have the children try on military gear. The Russian authorities developed a programme for using servicemen for “patriotic education,” including a special initiative called “Your Hero,” in which demobilized men are taught to work with kids.
Ministry: Ukraine receives $125 billion grant from US. According to Ukraine's Financial Ministry, the money will be used for paying pensions and salaries to Ukrainian emergency and healthcare workers, and social payments, including payments for internally displaced persons.
Defense Minister: Danish Caesar howitzers already in Ukraine. The Caesar self-propelled howitzers pledged to Ukraine by Denmark are already in use by the Ukrainian military, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on April 28, according to Suspilne news outlet.
Denmark confirms sighting of Russian ship near Nord Stream pipeline days before explosion. A Russian SS-750 specialized vessel, which carries a submarine on board, was photographed close to the location of the Nord Steam pipelines that were sabotaged in September 2022. The defense command told Dagbladet Information that the presence of the SS-750 was confirmed with 26 photos taken from a Danish patrol boat on Sept. 22, four days before the explosion.
Russia’s war in Ukraine will be top of the agenda at the G7 summit next month, with the White House announcing on Tuesday that the US president, Joe Biden, will attend the meeting in Hiroshima, Japan. The leaders of the G7 - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - are meeting at the site of the world’s first nuclear attack, with Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, having said he hopes to make nuclear disarmament a key plank of discussions.
EU's permanent representatives have agreed to prolong tariff-free trade with Ukraine for another year to support the Ukrainian economy. European Parliament plenary to vote on it in May.
Read the New York Times article here.
US to impose additional sanctions against Russia, Iran for detaining its citizens. The U.S. is imposing sanctions on groups in Russia and Iran associated with the wrongful detainment of its citizens, CNN reported on April 27.
Preliminary assessment of Ukraine's reforms delayed until June. Matti Maasikas, European Union's ambassador to Ukraine, said in an April 27 interview that an oral assessment of Ukraine's progress in implementing required reforms will be made public in June.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov: Relations with European countries are at their “lowest possible level”, the Kremlin has said, and each wave of expulsions of Russian diplomats was reducing the space for diplomacy.
Monique: Thank goodness our relations are at their ‘lowest point’. When they were at their ‘highest’, Italy was dependent on Russian energy supplies, and Russian rubles held sway over our politicians and business elites. Dependency on Russian energy and stolen rubles had nurtured political and economic corruption. I’m not naive: Russia may still have a hold on many in the Italian establishment; going forward, however, that will have a cost in reputational standing abroad.
CDS Daily Brief: The eRobota grant programs, introduced by the Ukrainian government in the summer of last year, have been in great demand, with more than 4,000 entrepreneurs receiving financial support for business start-ups and expansion, totaling UAH 2.4 billion, according to the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yuliya Svyrydenko.
CDS Daily Brief: According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, Moldova has joined the core group of 35 countries working towards establishing a special tribunal to hold accountable those responsible for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
Occupied territories: To date, the Ukrainian National Police has recorded 27 filtration camps and prisons in the temporarily occupied territories and 7 in the Russian Federation, said the deputy head of the National Criminal Investigation Department - the head of the Main Investigative Department Maksym Tsutskiridze.
Bulgaria faces 'unprecedented increase' in Russian hybrid attacks. Acting Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov said the number of Russian hybrid attacks has increased. The increase in hybrid attacks is "aimed at undermining Bulgaria's stability and thereby (its) democratic values and processes," he said.
PM Shmyhal met Pope Francis in Vatican on Thursday, invites him to Ukraine. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met Pope Francis in the Vatican on April 27, handing him a photo album about Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Pope Francis has arrived in Hungary for his three-day trip. Francis has acknowledged the visit’s content will be affected by current events, even if its main purpose is to meet Hungarian Catholics and Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, on Friday.
Szabolcs Payni reveals: “Unbelievable: using Pope Francis’s visit to Budapest as an excuse, Hungarian President Katalin Novak pardons convicted far-right terrorist György Budaházy and other members of his so-called Hunnia Movement terrorist cell. Their prison sentence is now suspended. Budaházy holds anti-LGBT, racist and antisemitic views. "Are you Jewish?," he asked a reporter in 2016, then refused to answer his questions. He's not showing any remorse over what he did, nor did his views moderate during his years behind bars.”
Russia’s Milestone on the Road to Dictatorship
By Kseniya Kirillova, CEPA, April 24, 2023
New laws and propaganda are straining the time-tested tactics of ordinary Russians resisting the power of the state.
The evolution from authoritarian state to dictatorship can happen in a moment, but more often it’s a lengthier and stuttering process. China’s transformation has taken years, and so too has Russia’s.
Vladimir Putin’s April 14 signature of a law on electronic draft notices marked a milestone where the distance between the country’s nasty starting point and the terminus was closer to the end than the beginning. The bill itself underwent a farcical process. Duma representatives only saw the final 56-page version two hours before the vote and were advised by the Duma chairman that any debate on the issue amounted to sabotage. One human rights activist compared the result to the return of serfdom and the complete destruction of the country’s legal framework.
The extraordinary reach of the law has been criticized even by analysts close to the Ministry of Defense on the Military Review website. They noted that it embodies a presumption of guilt. And that given Russia’s corruption, and the established incompetence of military enlistment and registration offices, citizens will find ways to effectively boycott the system — just as they did with vaccination efforts during the pandemic. Will the state have the courage to call up the young men of Moscow and St Petersburg, the well-educated who complained to such effect last year that most were spared the draft? Regardless, the writer predicts, many will prefer life as an outlaw to a frontline trench in Ukraine.
Dutch to Make Public the Files on Accused Nazi Collaborators
By Nina Seigal, The New York Times, April 25, 2023
Historians and archivists are excited and concerned about providing unfettered public online access to investigators’ files that have been restricted since the end of World War II.
In the aftermath of World War II, more than 300,000 Dutch people were investigated as collaborators, from men who volunteered for the German army to those accused of betraying resisters and Jews, who were often arrested or sent to their deaths.
More than 65,000 accused collaborators ended up standing trial in a special court system that stripped some of certain civil rights, sent some to prison and condemned others to death.
Most of the cases were resolved by 1950 and the filings of the special court — including police reports, witness depositions, material evidence and photos — were packed off to an archive with restricted access for a period of 75 years.
In two years those restrictions will be lifted and a vast trove of about 32 million documents — files on people who stood trial as well as the many others who only came under scrutiny — will be opened to the public. It is a prospect that has some people bracing for possibly discomforting disclosures. [continue reading]