May 5: E-Stories
Day 436 Kherson Kyiv Rostov Krasnador Zaporizhzhia KremlinDrone May9 BotFarm BEL $500M NordicAlliance Ze-Rutte Ze-Hague RUspiesGER RUinfluencers A&P Matviichuk UKDef NYT MoscowTimes DeadDistrict
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…
23 killed, 48 injured in Russian attack on Kherson Oblast. "A railway station and a crossing, a house, a hardware store, a grocery supermarket, a gas station — what unites these places? The bloody trail that Russia leaves with its shells, killing civilians in Kherson and Kherson Oblast," President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The Russians shelled the only working hypermarket in Kherson, killing four people and injuring 30.
Three people were killed due to the shelling of Stepanivka. The victims were employees of the regional energy company who were performing emergency repair work in the village, said Alexander Prokudin, the head of the regional administration.
Ukraine downs 18 drones, all aerial targets over Kyiv. Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces have launched up to 24 Shahed-136/131 attack drones from Bryansk region and the eastern coast of the Azov Sea in the early hours of May 4.
Explosions reported in Sevastopol, Russian proxy claims drone attack. Two explosions were heard in the Crimean city of Sevastopol on the evening of May 4. Mikhail Razvozhaev, the head of the illegal Russian occupation government of Sevastopol, said that Russian air defense had destroyed a drone near the Belbek military airfield, located just outside of the city.
CDS Daily Brief: Russia is utilizing attack UAVs to exhaust the air defense systems of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, detect the positions of anti-aircraft and radar systems, and exert psychological pressure on the civilian population with night attacks.
The Russian invaders suffered setbacks while attacking near Novoselivka, Dibrova, Bilohorivka, Nevske, and Torske. Positional battles have erupted near Ploschanka and Zhuravka gully. There have been 17 clashes in the area of Bakhmut. The Ukrainian Defense Forces launched an attack on units of the "Wagner" PMC on the northern outskirts of Bakhmut and repelled them.
In the Krasnodar Territory, a drone attacked the Ilsky Oil Refinery, a tank caught fire. The governor of the Rostov region Golubev also reports that the Novoshakhtinsky Oil Refinery was attacked. A day earlier, a fuel depot further to the west caught on fire near a bridge linking Russia’s mainland with the occupied Crimea peninsula.
Russian forces in Ukraine are so degraded they cannot mount any significant offensive moves and are focused for now on consolidating control of occupied territory, the US intelligence chief says. According to AFP, the director of national intelligence Avril Haines has said Putin’s strategy is likely to be to prolong the conflict until western support for Kyiv wanes. She told a hearing of the Senate’s armed services committee:
Putin probably has scaled back his immediate ambitions to consolidating control of the occupied territory in eastern and southern Ukraine, and ensuring that Ukraine will never become a Nato ally.
The challenge is that, even as Putin may be scaling back his near-term ambitions, the prospect for Russian concessions to advance negotiations this year will be low unless domestic political vulnerabilities alter his thinking.
Russia deploys military equipment, explosives at Zaporizhzhia power plant. Russian troops have placed military equipment, weapons, and explosives in the turbine department of the unit four of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, according to the information from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
ISW: Russian occupation authorities continue to announce medical examinations of Ukrainian children, likely in connection with the ongoing deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia under the guise of rehabilitation.
Peskov: Russia considering 'variety of options' on how to respond to Kremlin drone attack. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said "a variety of options" were being considered on how to respond to the alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the Kremlin on May 3, according to Russian state media.
Media: Russia cancels May 9 celebrations in at least 21 cities. Russian authorities have canceled May 9 celebrations in at least 21 cities, Russian independent outlet Vertska reported on May 4.
President Zelensky has said the threats to "physically eliminate" him are of no interest, and that the Russians should think about how to change the political regime in their own country to end the war instead.
"We don't see a strong army on the battlefield, we don't see a strong society that would support their movement forward. We see various radical groups brandishing something nuclear, calling for something to be done against our country," the president said.
The Russian occupiers are bringing government-controlled criminals to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in order to aggravate the situation and intimidate Ukrainians, writes Hanna Maliar, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, on Telegram. “With the goal of intimidating Ukrainian society, the Russian occupying authorities are purposefully exacerbating the criminal situation in the temporarily occupied territories,” she added.
Residents of temporarily occupied Mariupol say that construction workers from Russia are looting their apartments, as reported on the Mariupol City Council channel on Telegram. "Asian and Caucasian construction workers enter half-ruined houses in the middle of the day and rob them. They take out furniture, appliances and all the valuables that remain," the statement said.
SBU, police disband 9 bot farms spreading disinformation. The National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) disbanded nine bot farms spreading information about fake threats in Ukraine, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on May 3.
A court in Belarus has sentenced a dissident journalist to eight years in prison on an array of charges that include plotting a coup, state media in the authoritarian state and close Russian ally reported Wednesday. Protasevich stood accused of committing more than 1,500 criminal offenses. Protasevich appeared to have adopted a pro-government stance after his detention, telling state television in an interview widely believed to have been made under duress that he respected Lukashenko, admitted his “guilt” and no longer wanted to engage in politics.
Moldovan police to fine people wearing St. George's ribbon on May 9. Moldovan police will fine those wearing the St. George's ribbon on May 9 as "a symbol of (Russian) military aggression," Moldovan outlet Newsmaker reported on May 4.
The United Stated has allocated arms and equipment for Ukraine valued at $300 million. According to the Department of State, the security assistance package includes: additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, howitzers, artillery and tank ammunition, anti-tank weapons, rockets, small arms and ammunition, trucks and trailers to transport heavy equipment, and spare parts and other field equipment essential to strengthening Ukraine’s defenders on the battlefield.
A group of Nordic countries have backed Ukraine to become a member of Nato and the EU after a joint statement during president Zelensky’s visit to Finland. The group of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland issued a joint statement in which they said: “The Nordic countries will continue their political, financial, humanitarian and military support for as long as it takes.” Iceland’s prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir said that Ukraine will be the “main focus” of the Council of Europe summit later in May.
Bulgaria to lift ban on Ukrainian imports. Bulgaria will lift its ban on Ukrainian imports once the European Commission's market stabilization measures come into force, Euroactiv reported on May 4.
Julie Davis: Kremlin Cronies Blame Biden, Compare Alleged Drone Attack to 9/11 Vladimir Solovyov outdid himself by comparing the “drone attack” that didn’t cause any loss of life to the tragic events of 9/11. He demanded that Zelensky be killed and Kyiv destroyed.
Zelensky: We all want to see Putin in the Hague. During a speech at the International Criminal Court on May 4, President Zelensky expressed confidence that Putin would be made to face justice for war crimes committed against Ukraine. He called for the creation of a war crimes tribunal separate to the ICC, Reuters reports, adding in his speech:
The aggressor must feel the full power of justice. This is our historical responsibility. Only one institution is capable of responding to the original crime, the crime of aggression: a tribunal. Not some compromise that will allow politicians to say that the case is allegedly done, but a true, really true, full-fledged tribunal.
Listen to president Zelensky’s speech at the Hague min 18:12 to 32:46
Zelensky visits the Netherlands, gives 'impressive' speech to government. President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Netherlands and addressed the Dutch parliament, the Dutch Broadcasting Foundation reported on May 4.
Russia is demoralised on the battlefield and Kyiv believes its planned counteroffensive to recapture occupied land will be successful, Zelenskiy insists.
It is vital that western governments deliver weapons to Kyiv as quickly as possible, Zelensky says, as his nation continues to fight Russia’s invasion.
The Netherlands is working hard behind the scenes to reach consensus with allies about supplying fighter jets to Ukraine, Dutch Prime Minister Rutte said during a press conference, NOS writes.
Belgium is preparing a new package of military aid for Ukraine, De Croo says. Speaking to journalists alongside Zelenskiy, he has also said his government is examining how frozen Russian assets could be used to help Ukraine’s war effort.
Serbia: Six students and a teacher wounded in the attack are being treated in hospital, with two of the students said to be in critical condition. The Interior Ministry, in a May 4 press release, announced extensive controls will be conducted "in order to determine whether owners keep weapons in accordance with current regulations, separate from ammunition, and locked in adequate cabinets and safes."
Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader, and three of his subordinates were convicted of sedition over the Jan. 6 riot. The jurors in the case failed to reach a decision on the sedition charge for a fifth defendant, Dominic Pezzola, although he was convicted of other
It's a very strange situation, can a NATO country be for Russia and against NATO?"
"I think this is inadequate behavior. I am speaking my subjective opinion. An ally is not just a word, it is a meaning. It is an alliance of states with the same view of security and values. They have different attitudes to certain issues, but there is a treaty of allies who protect each other and their respective values."
"And if all allies say that Russia calls us an enemy, we must put Russia in its place, then one state cannot say - no, Russia is our ally. It can't be like that. Then you are no longer an ally of the Alliance. And so, if you are a de jure ally and de facto work against it, you should not advise Ukraine to join or not to join NATO. And you should not create obstacles." [Source]
Germany confronts Russian espionage- NYT
In Berlin, parliamentary buildings sit next to Russia’s diplomatic mission. For years, a silent espionage struggle played out here, as German lawmakers were warned by intelligence offices to protect themselves by turning computer screens away from the window, stop using wireless devices that were easier to tap, and close the window blinds for meetings.
Tensions over Russian espionage were something Germany’s government long seemed willing to ignore. That has become increasingly difficult since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as a Cold War-style chill settles across the continent and recasts relations with Russia.
Late last month, Russia exposed what it described as a “mass expulsion” of its diplomats in Germany when it announced a tit-for-tat expulsion of more than 20 German diplomats from Moscow. It was a rare sign, security analysts say, of Berlin’s counterintelligence effort after years of increasingly brazen Russian intelligence operations on German soil.
Background: At least twice, Russian groups suspected of having Kremlin links have hacked German politicians and Parliament. In 2021, police arrested a security guard at the British Embassy who had been spying for Russia. And late last year, a German intelligence officer was unmasked as a mole passing information on surveillance of the war in Ukraine to Moscow.
Russia Probes Influencers’ Earnings for Tax Fraud- The Moscow Times
Russian authorities are inspecting social media influencers' income for signs of tax evasion amid several high-profile cases against Instagram stars, the Vedomosti business daily reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources close to the government.
Experts estimated the total value of Russia’s influencer marketing and native advertising industry at 12 billion rubles ($150 million) in 2022.
Russia’s tax service is seeking to regulate the influencer industry with an ambitious 2023 target for the state budget, according to Vedomosti.
On Tuesday, the Federal Tax Service appeared to have targeted yet another popular blogger, model Oksana Samoylova, after it suspended financial operations for two companies she owns, according to data from SPARK-Interfax.
Russia banned U.S. social media giant Meta — the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp — by declaring it “extremist” in the early weeks of its full-scale military operations in Ukraine.