Running Newsticker for the War in Ukraine

....errmmm....it's about a soldier that goes to war having been indoctrinated by propaganda....it's Within Temptation....gotta be good.....

 

“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” – Horace Mann

The West's aging political class needs to win this for humanity.

“"The West has the advantage, but it must decide to use it," the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S. think tank, said Wednesday. "All it needs to do is stand up" and mobilize in support of Ukraine's war effort.

"Mobilizing would mean surging its military production, sparing more of its existing military capabilities and economic assets, and accepting a higher threshold for pain and risk now to avoid more cost and pain and risk in the future," the ISW said.”

“The West should also help Ukraine exploit vulnerabilities in Russia's military, such as its Black Sea Fleet, the ISW said. Ukraine has estimated that Russia may have lost around a third of its Black Sea Fleet after Kyiv successfully targeted its vessels and bases with missiles and drones during the many months of conflict.

"Russia cannot defeat Ukraine or the West — and will likely lose — if the West mobilizes its resources to resist the Kremlin," the ISW said.Correction 3/31/2024, 10 a.m. ET: This article has been corrected to change a reference to Russia's defense spending.”
NEWSWEEK, Russia-Ukraine War Analysts Reveal Plan to Defeat Putin, Story by Ellie Cook, 3/31/24.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...lysts-reveal-plan-to-defeat-putin/ar-BB1kHfVl

 

The French are taking their responsibility seriously.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 31, 2024

Click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• The Kremlin-controlled Russian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate (ROC MP) reportedly directed all its clergy to change their liturgy to include pro-war prayers in support of Russia’s war of conquest against Ukraine and is likely threatening to defrock ROC MP clergy who do not support the war.
• The ROC MP leadership has intensified internal scrutiny against ROC MP clergy and has reportedly defrocked several clergy members who refused to promote Kremlin-introduced prayers supporting Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• Russia conducted another series of missile and drone strikes largely targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure on the night of March 30 to 31 as delays in US security assistance continue to degrade Ukraine’s air defense umbrella and enable Russia to significantly damage Ukraine’s energy grid.
• Ukrainian forces appear to have repelled a Russian battalion-sized mechanized assault near Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, on March 30 — the first battalion-sized mechanized assault since Russian forces began the campaign to seize Avdiivka in late October 2023.
• French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced on March 31 that France will provide an unspecified number of Aster 30 surface-to-air missiles and “hundreds” of armored vehicles and other equipment to Ukraine.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on March 31 the scheduled decree authorizing Russia’s semi-annual spring military conscription, which will conscript 150,000 Russians between April 1 and July 15.
• The Russian military command reportedly appointed Chief of Staff of the Russian Ground Forces Colonel General Alexander Lapin as commander of the newly formed Leningrad Military District (LMD).
• The Kremlin continues efforts to enforce Russian federal laws in post-Soviet countries where Russia has no legal jurisdiction.
• Russian authorities conducted a counterterrorism operation and detained suspected terrorists in the Republic of Dagestan on March 31.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Avdiivka and southwest of Donetsk City on March 31.
• The Russian government continues to fail to properly compensate volunteer and irregular forces fighting in Ukraine, despite recently passing new legislation that simplifies the access to veteran statuses for these servicemen and their families. . . . .

 

Ukraine's economy recovers.

“Ukraine’s economy grew 5.3% last year as it reasserted control of a Black Sea export corridor and harvested a bumper crop despite continued Russian missile and drone attacks.
The economy expanded 4.7% in October through December, for a third straight quarter of growth, according to preliminary data from the State Statistics Service on Thursday. The economy shrank almost 30% in 2022 after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion.”
BLOOMBERG, Economics, Ukraine’s Economy Grew 5.3% in 2023 Defying Russian Attacks, By Volodymyr Verbianyi, March 28, 2024 at 9:50 AM EDT.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...last-year-after-collapse-in-first-year-of-war

 

We see more and more evidence that Putin's Russia is an outlaw state. Meanwhile support for Ukraine continues to broaden and deepen.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 1, 2024

Click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• A joint investigation by 60 Minutes, the Insider, and Der Spiegel strongly suggests that the Kremlin has waged a sustained kinetic campaign directly targeting US government personnel both in the United States and internationally for a decade, with the likely objective of physically incapacitating US government personnel.
• The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is intensifying efforts to falsely implicate Ukraine in the March 22 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack while denying any Islamic State (IS) responsibility or involvement in the attack.
• Russian authorities are taking measures to further crack down against migrant communities in Russia following the Crocus City Hall attack.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Avdiivka and in the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast amid continued positional engagements along the entire line of contact on April 1.
• The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) continues to reassure the Russian public that Russian military conscripts will not deploy to most of occupied Ukraine nor participate in combat operations in Ukraine amid the start of the spring semi-annual military conscription call-up that started on April 1. . . .

The US is taking steps to increase its domestic production of artillery shells to support Ukraine. Bloomberg reported on March 27 that the US and Turkey are discussing American purchases of Turkish explosives to increase US artillery shell production.[58] Bloomberg reported that the Pentagon contracted US defense company General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems to build three 155mm artillery shell metal parts production lines in Texas with Turkish subcontracts and that one Texan plant is scheduled to start production in June 2024. US Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Doug Bush stated on February 5 that the US Army aims to double the US monthly production of 155mm shells from 28,000 shells per month in October 2023 to about 60,000 shells per month in October 2024 should the proposed Congressional supplemental appropriations bill pass, but noted that US shell production in part depends on US domestic production of explosive materials.[59] US imports of Turkish explosives will likely help boost domestic US artillery ammunition production.

Ukraine’s European and Asian partners continue providing Ukraine with military and financial aid while ramping up their own defense industrial capacities. Germany announced on March 28 a new aid package for Ukraine, including ammunition for Leopard tanks, 40mm and 155mm artillery ammunition, and reconnaissance drones.[60] Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder announced on March 29 that Belgium approved a military aid package for Ukraine that will allocate 100 million euros (about $107 million) to maintain and support the future Ukrainian fleet of F-16 fighter jets.[61] German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall stated on March 25 that the European Union (EU) allocated over 130 million euros (about $139 million) to Rheinmetall to increase its production of ammunition as part of the Act of Support in Ammunition Production (ASAP).[62] The Ukrainian Ministry of Finance stated on April 1 that Japan allocated $118 million to Ukraine as part of World Bank projects aimed at restoring Ukraine’s healthcare system and residential infrastructure.[63] The Japanese government also eased its defense equipment transfer regulations on March 26, which will allow the export of fighter jets that Japan is set to jointly develop with the UK and Italy and aims to deploy by 2035.[64] The updated Japanese regulations state that Japan can export the trilaterally developed fighter jets to third countries, but not to countries where there are ongoing hostilities. Japan previously revised its export policy to backfill US stockpiles of Patriot missiles in December 2023, allowing the US to send more Patriot missiles to Ukraine.[65]

European countries continue efforts to provide Ukraine with critical artillery ammunition, including through the Czech-led initiative to source artillery ammunition for Ukraine from outside the EU. Italian outlet Corriere della Sera reported on March 28 that unspecified sources stated that the Czech-led initiative concluded contracts worth about 1.8 billion euros (about $1.93 billion) for one million artillery shells for Ukraine and that Ukraine will begin receiving the shells in April 2024.[66] Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski stated on March 29 that the Czech-led initiative is already organizing the transportation of artillery ammunition to Ukraine.[67] Sikorski also announced that Poland would “double” its contribution to the initiative but did not offer specifics. The head of the German Ministry of Defense’s situation center for Ukraine, Major General Christian Freuding, stated on March 27 that Germany will transfer 10,000 artillery shells from German arsenals to Ukraine in the coming days.[68] Freuding stated that Germany will also support the Czech-led artillery ammunition coalition and purchase 180,000 shells, which Ukraine will receive in the second half of 2024. Freuding stated that Germany agreed to supply Ukraine with another 100,000 shells at the end of 2024 as part of a bilateral agreement with an unspecified third country. Iceland announced on March 25 that it will join the Czech-led initiative to procure artillery ammunition.[69] . . . .

 

Hooray for Speaker Mike Johnson and his bid to get Ukraine aid at last
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opin...n&cvid=d93e72bf51b54d4c98691fde43ec8b53&ei=19
Three hearty cheers for Speaker Mike Johnson for vowing to bring a vote on military assistance for Ukraine when the House returns on April 9, despite resistance from misguided Republicans.

Johnson says he’ll push for further aid for the besieged US ally, which is now extremely low on ammo and risks major setbacks in its war to repel Russia.

 

Sanctions are biting Russia while Ukraine's allies commit to more aid.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 2, 2024

click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law on April 2 that lowers the Ukrainian military’s mobilization age from 27 to 25 years of age.
• Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed on April 2 that Russian forces seized about 400 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in the first three months of 2024 — a rate of advance not necessarily reflective of wider Russian offensive prospects due to the impact of US security assistance delays.
• Ukraine conducted long-range unidentified unmanned aerial systems (UAS) strikes against Russian military production and oil refinery infrastructure in the Republic of Tatarstan, over 1,200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin’s address at the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) board meeting on April 2 illustrated Russia’s dissonant response to the March 22 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack as Russian authorities simultaneously pursue law enforcement actions against migrant communities while also baselessly implicating Ukraine. Putin also attempted to address intensified debates about migration that have emerged following the Crocus City Hall attack but continued to express an inconsistent and vague stance on the issue.
• Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Deputy Chief Major General Vadym Skibitskyi stated on April 2 that the GUR believes that Russian forces will likely temporarily pause strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure in order to replenish low missile stockpiles.
• US sanctions against Russia continue to impact Russian financial ties to post-Soviet countries, as Kyrgyzstan’s national payment system Elkart announced on April 2 that it would stop processing transactions using the Russian “Mir” payment system to prevent secondary sanctions.
• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reportedly proposed a NATO aid package that would send $100 billion of military assistance to Ukraine over five years.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Kreminna and Avdiivka amid continued positional engagements along the entire line of contact on April 2.
• Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated on April 2 that the Russian military intends to finish and deploy several newly constructed small missile and patrol ships in 2024.
• The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) is increasing its law enforcement presence in occupied Ukraine in order to intensify Russian control over Ukrainian civilians and strengthen security over critical infrastructure. . . .

 

Western Europe's instinct for collective self defense kicks in.

Sky News
Russia-Ukraine latest: NATO considering €100bn package to 'Trump-proof' war effort NATO foreign ministers are meeting today in Brussels and will discuss long-term support for Ukraine, including a proposal for a €100bn five-year fund..

LIVE47 minutes ago
https://news.sky.com/story/russia-ukraine-latest-war-putin-live-updates-12541713

 

Hats off to the Finns.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 3, 2024

Click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• Russian forces appear to have increased the number and size of mechanized ground assaults on select sectors of the frontline within the past two weeks, marking a notable overall increase in Russian mechanized assaults across the theater.
• Russian forces may be intensifying the overall tempo of their offensive operations in Ukraine.
• Ukrainian sources continue to stress that the piecemeal and delayed arrival of new Western systems to Ukraine will allow Russian forces to adapt to and offset the likely operational benefits these systems would otherwise provide to Ukrainian forces.
• The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed that the March 22 Crocus City Hall attack has caused a significant increase in Russian contract service applicants amid reported Russian efforts to increase force generation this spring.
• Republic of Tatarstan Head Rustam Minnikhanov warned that Russian companies and local authorities must defend themselves against Ukrainian drone strikes and not rely on Russian air defenses following the April 2 Ukrainian strikes on Russian military production and oil refinery infrastructure in Tatarstan.
• Russian-backed former Ukrainian separatist politician Oleg Tsaryov complained on April 3 that no current Russian political party adequately represents the political interests of Russian ultranationalists, highlighting a possible source of discontent between the pro-Russian ultranationalist community and the Kremlin.
• Ukraine and Finland signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement on April 3.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Bakhmut and Donetsk City and in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area.
• Russian authorities continue to expand social benefits for Russian military personnel. . . .

 

Czechs know that appeasement doesn't work.

"PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic will donate tens of millions of euros to an initiative it is leading to buy hundreds of thousands of artillery ammunition rounds for Ukraine, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
Two years after Russia's full-scale invasion, the most pressing need for Ukraine is artillery ammunition as the sides use heavy cannon fire to hold largely static, entrenched positions along the 1,000-km (620-mile) front line.
The Czech-led donation effort has won over about 18 countries, with Germany pledging the highest contribution so far, 576 million euros for 180,000 artillery rounds"
U.S. News & World Report, Czechs to Give Tens of Millions of Euros for Ukraine Ammunition Plan, PM Says, By Reuters, April 4, 2024.
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/a...-of-euros-for-ukraine-ammunition-plan-pm-says

 

NATO Proposes $100 Billion, Five-Year Fund to Aid Ukraine
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...100-billion-five-year-fund-to-support-ukraine

• NATO also proposing to coordinate weapons aid to Kyiv

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is proposing to establish a fund of allied contributions worth $100 billion over five years for Ukraine as part of a package for alliance leaders to sign off when they gather in Washington in July.

 

Russian information operations messaging seems to be more scattered as they face multiplying challenges.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 4, 2024

Click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov claimed that NATO and Russia are in “direct confrontation,” likely as part of ongoing Kremlin efforts to intensify existing information operations meant to force the West into self-deterrence.
• Russian Chief of the General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov appealed to Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS) members to increase cooperation against perceived Western threats as part of the effort to posture against the West.
• The Kremlin leveraged this overall information operation about escalation with NATO to target France specifically, following French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent calls for the West to expand the level and types of security assistance it sends to Ukraine.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also promoted information operations feigning interest in negotiations, and Lavrov’s and Shoigu’s likely coordinated informational efforts may signal a new round of intensified Russian rhetoric about negotiations.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin continues attempts to balance the Kremlin’s opposing efforts to set social expectations for a protracted Russian war effort and to assuage Russian society’s concerns about the economic consequences of the war and labor migration.
• Russian forces conducted a roughly reinforced company-sized mechanized assault towards Chasiv Yar (west of Bakhmut) on April 4 and advanced up to the eastern outskirts of the settlement.
• Russian forces also recently made confirmed advances near Bakhmut and Donetsk City.
• An unspecified senior NATO official reportedly told Russian opposition news outlet Vazhnye Istorii that NATO intelligence agencies have not observed indications that Russia is preparing for a large-scale partial mobilization wave. . . .

An unspecified senior NATO official reportedly told Russian opposition news outlet Vazhnye Istorii that NATO intelligence agencies have not observed indications that Russia is preparing for a large-scale partial mobilization wave.[70] Vazhnye Istorii reported on April 4 that the unspecified senior NATO official stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to postpone any large-scale mobilization because he wants to “demonstrate strength and confidence” after the March 2024 Russian presidential election and has “many” other domestic problems to solve. The unspecified NATO official stated that the Kremlin aims to conduct a normal conscription cycle without another wave of mobilization and assessed that Russia lacks the amount of ammunition and maneuver units needed to launch a ”successful major offensive.” ISW continues to assess that Russian authorities would likely intensify crypto-mobilization efforts before deciding to conduct another unpopular wave of mobilization.[71] . . . .

 

Ukraine continues to mind its business.

AGRICENSUS, Ukraine’s grain export volumes significantly up year on year in April, 48 minutes ago | Yana Sukharska”.
https://www.agricensus.com/Article/...ificantly-up-year-on-year-in-April-34542.html

 

General Freuding top expert for the Ukraine in Germany

english under title available

Nachgefragt: Panzergeneral Freuding zum Ukraine-Frontverlauf: Ist Russland im Vorteil? | Bundeswehr (youtube.com)

 

The Ukrainians are hitting inside Russia, but delays in Western support are hindering the overall Ukrainian effort.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 5, 2024

Click here to read the full report with maps
Key Takeaways:

• Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and Ukrainian forces reportedly conducted one of the largest series of drone strikes against military facilities within Russia, targeting at least four Russian airbases, on the night of April 4 to 5.
• The recently intensified tempo of Russian offensive operations in Ukraine will likely result in increased manpower and materiel losses, but the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) appears to be successfully mitigating these losses.
• Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal indicated that Ukraine is starting to staff new units, but that Ukraine needs further Western military assistance to properly equip them.
• Shmyhal also reported that Russian missile and drone strikes have damaged or disrupted roughly 80 percent of electricity generation at Ukrainian thermal power plants (TPPs) in recent weeks, as Russian forces continue to exploit the degraded Ukrainian air defense umbrella in an effort to collapse Ukraine’s energy grid.
• Ukrainian officials continue to warn that Russian forces are systematically and increasingly using chemical weapons and other likely-banned chemical substances in Ukraine.
• An unattributed drone reportedly struck a military unit in the pro-Russian Moldovan breakaway republic of Transnistria on April 5 amidst an assessed ongoing Kremlin hybrid operation aimed at destabilizing Moldova from within.
• Russia reportedly has conducted thousands of cyber-attacks against Czechia’s rail transport infrastructure and that of other European states as part of a broader effort to degrade NATO members’ transport logistics since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Avdiivka amidst ongoing positional fighting along the entire line of contact on April 5.
• Russia’s defense industry continues to mobilize to meet the Russian military’s needs in Ukraine.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on April 4 that Russia will open two youth centers aimed at indoctrinating Ukrainian youth into Russian culture and historical narratives in occupied Zaporizhia and Kherson Oblasts in the near future. . . .

Russian sources highlighted how Russia’s force-generation efforts are creating tensions within Russian society and impeding Russia’s military capabilities. A Russian insider source claimed on April 5 that the Russian MoD needs to address several force generation issues ahead of the summer 2024 Russian offensive to ensure that Russia can break through Ukrainian defenses.[79] The insider source claimed that the Russian MoD needs to accumulate manpower reserves, better prepare and motivate volunteer servicemen, provide rotations and improve salaries for Russian personnel who were mobilized in fall 2022, and recruit a high number of reserve officers with technical specialties. A prominent Russian milblogger responded to the insider source, claiming that the Russian military command needs to address the tension that inequalities in treatment and compensation that volunteer and mobilized Russian military personnel experience compared to contract servicemen.[80] The milblogger acknowledged that it will be difficult for the Russian MoD to develop a plan for these issues given that the Russian military command often receives inaccurately positive reports about a wide range of issues, likely including force generation issues, from their subordinates.[81] The milblogger also questioned if Russia has the training capacity to train a significantly larger number of incoming personnel. . . . .

Russian forces are attempting to equip their armored vehicles with electronic warfare (EW) to protect them against Ukrainian drone strikes. Russian tank manufacturer Uralvagonzavod reported that it has begun equipping Russian tanks and other armored vehicles with a new standard EW system to counter drones.[82] Russian and Ukrainian sources amplified imagery of Russian tanks, possibly a T-72 and T-90, jerry-rigged with an EW system and diesel generator to power the EW system.[83] Head of Ukrainian outlet Censor Yuri Butusov reported that the placement of the EW system on the tanks worsens the tank’s visibility and impedes machine gun fire from the tank. Butusov noted that Russian forces are willing to sacrifice some tank performance for increased protection from Ukrainian drones because the drone threat is so great.[84] . . . .

 

Russia continues to scrape the bottom of the world's barrel for their military.

THE GUARDIAN, Fugitive former US city councillor enlists with Russia for war in Ukraine, Mota, wanted on child sexual abuse image charges, enlists after apparently volunteering for assault on Avdiivka, The Guardian, 22 hours ago, April 5, 2024.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...cillor-enlists-with-russia-for-war-in-ukraine

 

These are the times that try men's souls.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 6, 2024

click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated that Ukraine does not have enough materiel to contest the battlefield initiative.
• Zelensky stressed that additional Western security assistance is necessary for Ukrainian forces to effectively defend Ukraine’s airspace against the intensified Russian strike campaign and increased Russian aviation operations along the frontline.
• Zelensky cautioned that the arrival of all promised F-16 fighter jets from Ukraine’s Western partners in 2024 will provide Ukraine with only 10 percent of the fighter aircraft Ukraine would need to completely defeat Russian aviation and restore Ukraine’s ability to operate effectively in the air domain.
• Continued delays in US security assistance are specifically impacting the capabilities that Ukrainian forces need to respond to the increased tempo of Russian mechanized assaults in eastern Ukraine.
• The Kremlin explicitly threatened its long-term ally Armenia on April 5 over Armenian outreach to the West following Russia’s failure to prevent Armenia’s loss of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023.
• The Russian MFA also continues to threaten Finland and claimed that Finland has “lost its independence in making foreign policy decisions” since its accession to NATO — a narrative that the Kremlin routinely used to falsely claim that NATO was controlling Ukraine and using Ukraine to threaten Russia.
• Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov announced on April 5 that 3,000 former Wagner Group personnel will join the Akhmat Spetsnaz unit following successful negotiations between Akhmat and Wagner commanders.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Avdiivka and Donetsk City.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin passed two laws on April 6, offering Russian society some concession for its sacrifices to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. . . . .

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in a televised interview on April 6 that there is currently no threat of a Russian ground invasion towards Kharkiv City and that all discussions about Russia’s plans to capture the city are information operations aimed at inciting panic in Ukraine.[33]

Ukrainian forces reportedly achieved unspecified tactical successes in the Kupyansk and Lyman directions amid continued positional engagements along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line on April 6. Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that Ukrainian forces have achieved unspecified tactical successes in the Kupyansk and Lyman directions.[34] The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks near Terny (west of Kreminna) and Bilohorivka (south of Kreminna), although Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces are advancing on the outskirts of Terny and near the chalk quarry in Bilohorivika.[35] . . . .

 

Ukraine: Resilience

Reuters
Ukraine's energy system has stabilised, no major power imports expected, ministry saysThe Ukrainian energy system, severely damaged by Russian missile attacks in recent weeks, is now almost completely stabilised and the energy ministry said...
8 hours ago
https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...er-imports-expected-ministry-says-2024-04-07/

 

Russian use of chemical weapons will be another charge against Putin when he stands trial.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 7, 2024

Click here to read the full report
Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate Head Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov reported that Ukraine anticipates Russian offensive operations to intensify in late spring and early summer.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with Chinese officials in China on April 8 and 9 amid Western warnings that China is increasingly helping Russia’s defense industrial base (DIB) and even providing China with geospatial intelligence.
• Russian forces reportedly continue to systematically use prohibited chemical weapons in Ukraine and are attacking Ukrainian positions with chemical substances almost daily throughout the frontline.
• Russian officials accused Ukraine of launching a series of drone strikes against the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) on April 7, but the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) did not attribute responsibility for the strikes.
• Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi openly condemned and is taking action following reports that members of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) may have purposefully intimidated a Ukrainian journalist investigating corruption within the SBU by issuing the journalist a draft summons.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Avdiivka amid continued positional fighting along the entire line of contact on April 7.
• Chieftan of the All-Russian Cossack Society and Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Nationalities Nikolai Doluda claimed on April 7 that more than 30,000 Cossack personnel have fought in Ukraine. . . .

 

All for nothing. Total waste.

“The total cost of Russia's extensive equipment losses in Ukraine is nearing $55 billion, according to a new estimate, with no end in sight to the grueling war and a likely Russian summer offensive on the horizon.”
NEWSWEEK, Russian Losses in Ukraine Approach Grim Milestone, Cost Estimates Show, Published Apr 08, 2024 at 8:01 AM EDT.
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-cost-war-ukraine-tank-losses-military-spending-1887831

 

Russians are having difficulty keeping their story straight.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 8, 2024

Click here to read the ful report.
Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian oil refineries are reportedly forcing Russia to seek gasoline imports from Kazakhstan.
• Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) indirectly suggested that it may have been responsible for an explosion that disabled a Russian Baltic Fleet small missile carrier at the naval base in Baltiysk, Kaliningrad Oblast on April 7.
• Recent discourse among select Russian milbloggers highlights contradictory Russian rhetoric in the Russian information space between narratives that seek to portray Russian forces as more capable than Ukrainian forces and other narratives that seek to criticize the Russian military for shortcomings that result in high Russian infantry casualties.
• The Kremlin-affiliated governor of the pro-Russian Moldova autonomous region of Gagauzia, Yevgenia Gutsul, insinuated that Romanian officials control the Moldovan government — the latest in a series of recent Kremlin efforts to question European pro-Western governments’ sovereignty.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Kreminna, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Donetsk City.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Russian Cabinet of Ministers and Russian machine construction company KONAR JSC to increase the production of components for the domestic machine tools industry, likely as part of ongoing efforts to expand the Russian defense industrial base (DIB) and mitigate the effects of international sanctions. . . .

Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Spokesperson Andriy Yusov stated on April 7 that Ukraine is not involved in any military strikes or operations against the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in response to Russian accusations that Ukrainian forces launched a series of drone strikes against the ZNPP on April 7.[49] Yusov stated that Russian forces often conduct “simulated” strikes against the ZNPP, suggesting that Russian forces may use staged attacks to falsely blame Ukraine for acting irresponsibly around the plant. ZNPP occupation officials claimed on April 8 that Russian forces shot down a Ukrainian drone, which allegedly fell onto the containment unit of reactor no.6, and that the drone did not cause any critical damages or casualties.[50] . . . .

Ukraine’s Western partners continue efforts to provide, source, and finance military assistance to Ukraine. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur stated that Estonia can purchase artillery shells and missiles worth two to three million euros (about 2.1 billion to 3.2 billion USD) outside of Europe and deliver them to Ukraine in the next two months if allied nations help fund the effort.[73] Pevkur stated that European Union (EU) states can provide up to 2.5 million projectiles to Ukraine in 2024 between the ongoing EU shell commitment, the Czech effort to source artillery shells from outside the EU, and additional UK efforts.[74] Lithuania also transferred an unspecified number of M577 Command Post Carrier vehicles to Ukraine that reached the country as of April 6.[75] Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren stated on April 6 that the Netherlands will transfer 24 F-16s to Ukraine after Denmark begins transferring the promised F-16s to Ukraine, which Ollongren stated will begin in summer 2024.[76] Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė announced on April 5 that Lithuania will allocate two million euros to Ukraine to purchase 3,000 first person view (FPV) drone from the United Kingdom (UK).[77] The Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada announced on April 3 that Latvia has provided a comprehensive aid package to Ukraine worth about 10 million euros (about $10.8 million), including 5.3 million euros (about $5.7 million) for reconstruction and 4.3 million euros (about $4.6 million) through the EU’s European Peace Fund to support the Ukrainian military.[78] . . . .

 

Innovation vs. Obsolete Weapons Systems

Foreign Policy
Ukraine's FPV Drones Are Destroying Russian TanksMore than two-thirds of the Russian tanks that Ukraine's military has destroyed in recent months have been taken out using first-person-view (FPV) drones,...
6 minutes ago [April 9, 2024]
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/04/0...e-war-fpv-artillery/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921

 

This is a drop in the bucket, but I like the symbolism.



U.S. transfers seized weapons bound for Houthis to arm Ukraine

The U.S. shipped machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition seized from Iran to Ukraine last week.

Enough to equip roughly 4,000 personnel »

 

The Ukraine forces have every right to damage everything in Russia and the USA should know that and plan accordingly!

 

Russia's position in Armenia is circling the drain.

Ukraine Conflict Updates
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 9, 2024

Click Here to Read the Full Report
Key Takeaways:

• Russian state media highlighted Russia and China’s joint effort to combat perceived Western “dual containment” targeting Russia and China during Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on April 9.
• US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on April 9 that it transferred roughly a brigade’s worth of small arms and ammunition seized from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to Ukraine on April 4.
• The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) is likely responsible for a drone strike against the Borisoglebsk Airbase in Voronezh Oblast overnight on April 8 to 9.
• Russian ultranationalist milbloggers continue to employ virulently anti-migrant rhetoric and calls for xenophobic domestic policies, but in doing so are exposing the inherent hypocrisy in Russia’s treatment of its own indigenous ethnic minority communities.
• The Kremlin will likely be able to leverage a new agreement signed by the Kremlin-affiliated governor of the pro-Russian Moldovan autonomous region of Gagauzia, Yevgenia Gutsul, and a state-owned Russian bank to further its efforts to destabilize Moldovan society, attack Moldova’s democratic government, and prevent Moldova’s accession to the European Union (EU).
• Russia is reportedly considering creating a new ministry for youth policy and patriotic education, likely as part of an ongoing attempt to instill pro-Kremlin and Kremlin-approved ideology in Russia’s next generation.
• Russian military authorities in Armenia detained another Russian citizen in Armenia, likely in an effort to assert military and political power over Armenia and to challenge Armenia’s sovereignty amid a continued deterioration of Armenian–Russian relations.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Kreminna, west of Avdiivka, and south and southwest of Donetsk City on April 9.
• Kremlin officials continue efforts to ease public fears about another possible wave of partial mobilization.
• The Russian occupation regime in Crimea is systematically persecuting clergy and parishes affiliated with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in occupied Crimea. . . . .