Aug 10 Buonasera Mag
Day 168: Crimea- the Day After, Zaporizhzhia NPP, SBU intercepted RU calls, China, US, Australia, RU visa ban. Articles: Nardelli, the Telegraph, Naylor. Vids: NYC, Lekele Care, Ukrainian Media Center
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 Day After
Zelensky said in his nightly address: “This Russian war against Ukraine and against the entire free Europe began with Crimea and must end with Crimea – with its liberation.”
WaPo: a Ukrainian government official told WaPo on Wednesday that an airfield explosion in occupied Crimea was the work of Ukrainian special forces.
The Saky Russian airbase in Novofedorivka has been damaged by several large explosions that occurred on Tuesday, killing at least one person. Ukraine’s Air Force reports: around 10 Russian aircraft destroyed in Crimea. Yuriy Ignat, a spokesman for the air force, said that Russia had Su-24, Su-30, Il-76, and other airplanes at the Saky airfield in Novofedorivka, Crimea.
At least 60 pilots and civilians serving the military airfield were killed and more than 100 injured as a result of the explosion in Novofedorivka, - adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko.
Ukraine’s army claims to have destroyed 9 Russian planes in the last 24 hours. It did not specify the locations.
The Russian MoD earlier told reporters that several aerial bombs exploded on the territory of the Saki airfield near Novofedorovka in Crimea. According to the ministry, no one was injured and no damage was caused to the aircraft.
NORAD Command has detected and tracked Russian air vehicles approaching Alaskan air space. They did not enter US or Canadian air space.
Intercepted call shows Russian officer ordering murder of civilians. In the intercepted conversation, Russian officer Anton Struev orders a subordinate to kill civilians in Brovary District, Kyiv Oblast, in March, according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Russian forces occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant are reorienting the plant’s electricity production to connect to Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, according to Ukrainian operator Energoatom. “To do this, you must first damage the power lines of the plant connected to the Ukrainian energy system. From August 7 to 9, the Russians have already damaged three power lines.
Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed head of Russian occupied Donetsk said that the first tribunal over the Azov Nazi battalion militants to be held before the end of summer.
Russian occupation officials attempt setting conditions for the facade of a normal school year in occupied parts of #Ukraine but are likely facing resistance from parents and school officials.
China, which Russia has sought as an ally since being cold-shouldered by the West over its invasion of Ukraine, has called the United States the “main instigator” of the crisis, Reuters reported.
Ramani: the EU embargo on Russian coal has completely taken effect. EU hard coal imports from Russia rose from 7% in 1990 to 54% in 2020. Germany was a significant importer of coal from Russia. Given the drastic decline in coal usage in Europe since 1990, the economic impact of sanctions on Russia is more modest than it looks.
U.S. Will Spend $89M To Eradicate Russian Landmines In Ukraine. The $89 million will pay for 100 demining teams to work in Ukraine for the next year, the official said. It will also fund training and equipment for Ukrainian teams, but will not address concerns about sea mines in the Black Sea.
US official: Negotiations with Putin won't work. Kurt Volker, former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine negotiations, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that he doesn't believe that there will be any results from negotiation attempts with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Minister: 39 wagons filled with Australian coal arrive in Ukraine. The coal was delivered to a Ukrainian thermal power plant run by the country's state-owned company Centrenergo.
The proposal to ban Schengen visas for Russians was brought up for discussion by the EU today as reported by the official representative of the German government, Steffen Hebeshreit. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Urmas Reinsalu , said that the country wants to ban the issuance of visas to Russians at the EU level. The European Commission stated that it cannot completely prohibit the issuance of visas to citizens of the aggressor country.
Nardelli, Wickham & Jacobs, Russia Is Scouring the Globe for Weapons to Use Against Ukraine
An official familiar with the matter said the US government believed Russia has been using merchant vessels to move military cargo to the Black Sea, echoing the European intelligence reports. The official asked not to be identified discussing confidential matters.
The Telegraph, ‘I was raped in Ukraine by a Russian soldier - he was the same age as my son’
It is only when Viktoria Martsyniuk feels the soft, gloopy clay running through her fingers that she allows herself to think about what happened to her one awful night in March this year. The invading Russian soldiers had gone on the hunt for women to rape. She was one of their victims. “I like sculpting because it helps keep me calm,” she said. “It’s good to do things with my hands.”
Bucha officials report on the final accounting of the murdered victims by Russian troops- as close as they can get: 458 bodies, of which 419 bore markings they had been shot, tortured or bludgeoned to death.
Ukraine holds burial ceremony for unidentified victims in Bucha. Ukrainian authorities reportedly held a funeral service for 15 bodies discovered in Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, on Aug. 9 four months after Russian troops withdrew from the area.
Naylor, A Small City, its T-34, and the Empire of Putin
On a largely deserted stretch of road between the Estonian city of Narva and the nearby beach town of Narva-Jõesuu, a lone Soviet T-34 tank sits atop a stone pedestal, its gun facing towards Estonia. This mosquito-dense route runs parallel to the 80km-long (50 miles) Narva river – marking the narrow border between Estonia and Russia. It is so close that mobile phones occasionally attempt to connect to Russia’s cell network.
Solidarity from NYC
The mayor of New York raised the Ukrainian flag in the city center The flag will fly until the very victory of Ukraine in the war.
Donations to Leleka Care
A call to action from my trusted friend, Olga Tokariuk.
“Please consider donating to Leleka Foundation, that helps to provide Ukrainian defenders with life-saving tactical medicine kits leleka.care/uk/home/.
This is expensive equipment and as donations dry out, they are struggling to meet the needs of Ukrainian warriors. Therefore they need our support more than ever.”
American extremism and radicalised politics
Ukrainian Media Centre, Amnesty Shame International. How human rights organizations play along with Russia
