Apr 3: E-Stories
Day 404: Bakhmut Avdiivka Kostiantynivka Patrushev Tatarsky RU-UN EU 200UAathletes Ukrenergo 650sanctioned Rosomak NATO Gershkovich Danilov-Crimea Twitter A&P Zabrisky UKDef Davis Zelensky Khara
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…
General Staff: Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Marinka under heavy fire. The General Staff reported on April 1 that the fiercest battles take place in Donetsk Oblast, near the strategic city of Bakhmut, as well as Avdiivka and Marinka.
At least three civilians have been killed and six wounded in Russian shelling of Kostiantynivka on Sunday morning, Reuters quotes a senior Ukrainian official as saying. “Russians have carried out massive shelling of the town of Kostiantynivka,” Andriy Yermak – a senior member of the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s staff, said on the Telegram messaging app. Zelensky’s office say 16 apartment buildings, eight private houses, a school and an administrative building were damaged.
Julia Davis: Military correspondents and bloggers reportedly being investigated: Igor Strelkov (Girkin), Semyon Pegov (WarGonzo), Yuri Podolyaka, Vladlen Tatarsky, Sergey Mardan, Igor Dimitriev, Kristina Potupchik, as well as authors of GreyZone and Rybar.
Patrushev said that the goal of Russia is to destroy the EU because it’s a tool of USA dominance. Instead European nations should be dominated by Russia. While destruction of USA is a common theme, first time Russia speaks so openly about destroying EU.
Military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky (Maxim Fomin real name), who was killed in the bomb blast in a cafe in St Petersburg on Sunday, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent of the influential military bloggers who have provided an often critical running commentary on Russia’s war in Ukraine. The interior ministry said 19 people were injured in the blast. Tatarsky was holding an event at the cafe, which used to belong to Wagner Group head Evgenii Prigozhin, for followers of his coverage of the war. It is unknown at this time who could have set off the bomb.
22:11 up-date: “Russian police detained Darya Trepova, suspected in bringing a statue with explosives that killed Russian propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky. Darya is 26y.o. and according to reports is local antiwar activist, detained twice for antiwar protests.”
Russia assumed charge of the UN security council on Saturday – causing fury inside Ukraine with president Zelensky, labelling the situation “absurd and destructive … It’s hard to imagine anything that proves more the total bankruptcy of such institutions.”
The EU will stand against any abuse during Russia’s leadership of the United Nations security council over the next month, its top diplomat, Josep Borrell, has said. Borrell told Agence France-Presse: “Despite being a permanent member of the security council, Russia continuously violates the very essence of the UN legal framework. “The EU will stand against any abuse by [the] Russian presidency.” (Monique: This is not good enough.)
Dmitry Polyanskiy: Watch Ambassodor Nebenzia’s Press conference with a presentation of priorities of Russian Presidency of the UN Security Council in April 2023 at 12.30 EST on April 3 at the UN WebTV.
Minister: Russia's war has killed over 200 Ukrainian athletes. Russia's war has killed 262 Ukrainian athletes and destroyed 363 sports facilities in Ukraine, Youth and Sports Minister Vadym Gutzeit said during a meeting on April 1 with Morinari Watanabe, president of the International Federation of Gymnastics, and President's Office Head Andriy Yermak.
Guardians who refuse to evacuate children from Sloviansk to lose custody. Guardians of children who have not yet evacuated from Sloviansk, located in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk Oblast and the site of constant Russian assaults, will lose custody and children will be forcibly evacuated, according to a decision by the city's commission for the protection of children's rights.
Ukrenergo said it has fully restored power to the country after a “massive missile attack” on 9 March. The company said there were no restrictions on energy consumption after it finished its work in the central region, Sky News reported.
Shmyhal: Bucha could be a trial site for 'Russian war criminals.' Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 1 that the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, which endured a brutal weeks-long Russian occupation in spring last year, should be considered a trial site for "Russian war criminals."
Zelensky imposes sanctions on 650 Russian officials, collaborators, companies. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed two decrees to impose sanctions on more than 650 individuals and legal entities “working for Russian aggression,” as well as those connected to the Russian military industry.
German defense minister: NATO countries to send total of 160 tanks to Ukraine. NATO countries plan to send two battalions of German Leopard-2 battle tanks and four battalions of Leopard-1 tanks to Ukraine, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told Die Welt. kThe 160 tanks account for roughly half the 300 tanks requested by Ukraine for its counteroffensive.
Polish minister: Decision to send fighter jets to Ukraine 'an example for other countries.' European Affairs Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk singled out Germany, saying that Berlin is often preoccupied with formality and procedures over practical action to help Ukraine.
Ukraine to buy 100 Polish Rosomak armored vehicles. The Polish-made Rosomak will be bought with U.S. and EU funds, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Twitter on April 1.
Editors sign letter condemning ‘unjust’ arrest of US journalist in Russia. More than three dozen editors of news organisations from across the world have signed a letter condemning the detention of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
“Gershkovich’s unwarranted and unjust arrest is a significant escalation in your government’s anti-press actions,” says the letter. “Russia is sending the message that journalism within your borders is criminalized and that foreign correspondents seeking to report from Russia do not enjoy the benefits of the rule of law.”
Russian FM Lavrov held a phone call with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, Reuters reports. Lavrov reportedly claimed Washington was trying to politicise the case of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been accused of spying in Russia, calling this unacceptable. The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov told Blinken that Gershkovich’s fate would be determined by a court. The conversation was initiated by Blinken, the Russian side said.
According to Reuters, the principal deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel, said:
Secretary Blinken conveyed the United States’ grave concern over Russia’s unacceptable detention of a US citizen journalist. The secretary called for his immediate release.
What will Ukraine do when it takes back Crimea?
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, has outlined a series of steps the government in Kyiv would take after the country reclaimed control of Crimea – including dismantling the strategic bridge that links the seized Black Sea peninsula to Russia, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, but most of the world does not recognise it as Russian territory. The peninsula’s future status will be a key feature in any negotiations on ending the current fighting.
Kyiv has ruled out any peace talks with Moscow until Russian troops leave all occupied territories, including Crimea. Danilov suggested:
Prosecuting Ukrainians who worked for the Moscow-appointed administration in Crimea, adding that some would face criminal charges and others would lose government pensions and be banned from public jobs.
Expelling all Russian citizens who moved to Crimea after 2014, and nullifying all property deals made under Russian rule.
Dismantling the 12-mile (19km) bridge that Russia built to Crimea.
Twitter down-ranked Ukrainian accounts…
In November 2022 when Musk took over Twitter, many Ukrainians and friends had noticed that their engagements and visualisations had decreased dramatically. I had observed the same. My Twitter account is very modest. I had roughly 1.2million impressions per month from November 2021 to November 2022. In December my Twitter engagement dropped sharply to roughly a little over 280,000 or 20% of what it was normally. Added to this, I also lost a lot of followers. I checked with my Ukrainian friends and others who were taking up advocacy for Allied assistance to Ukraine: same thing. There’s a reason for why this happened. Please read the full thread below.
‘My country has fallen out of time’: Russian author Mikhail Shishkin’s letter to an unknown Ukrainian- Mikhail Shishkin
A year after Putin’s invasion, the award-winning novelist reflects on the silence of his compatriots, the betrayal of his mother tongue, and his hopes for the future.
My dearest one,
They stole the language from us. We spoke and corresponded with you in the language of great Russian literature. Now, for the whole world, Russian is the language of those who bomb Ukrainian cities and kill children, the language of war criminals, the language of murderers. They will be tried for crimes against humanity. I would like to believe that all those who prepared and participated in this war, who supported it in one way or another, will be put in the dock. But how can one go to trial for a crime against language?
My father went to the front when he was 17 to avenge his brother who was killed by the Germans. After the war, he hated Germans and everything German all his life. I tried to explain to him: “But Dad, there is great German literature! German is a beautiful language!” These words had no effect on him. What will we be able to say after the war to the Ukrainians whose homes were bombed and looted by the Russians, whose families were killed? That the great Russian literature is beautiful? And that the Russian language is so wonderful? [continue reading]
