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The most hated Russian tourist in Europe
"Hey, girls, Glory to Russia," she exclaims at two Ukrainian women passing by. "Russia will win, Russia will win," she then starts singing.

The Ukrainian women look puzzled but keep moving without answering.

"Who owns Kherson," she then asks referencing the occupied city in the south of Ukraine, which Ukraine aims to liberate. "Ukraine? Yeah, sure. But now they will hold a referendum! F*** off with your Ukraine," she ends the video, which she shared with her 90,000 followers on a now-deleted Telegram account.

The video is from the start of August, but has already circulated European social media and has made Julia the most hated tourist on the continent.

She had previously bragged on her Telegram account about how she was going on holiday to Vienna, a trip she had paid for in Russian rubbles with a credit card from a sanctioned Russian bank in a booking app.

"1-O to the aggressor," she wrote.

The day after, there were consequences not just for Julia but for her beloved Russia.

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She is just one example of a person posting about her shameless behaviour on social media, but has crystalised the issue of allowing Russian tourists to Europe.

Many countries have stopped issuing visas, but after Russia lifted its remaining coronavirus restrictions last month, Russian tourism to Europe has exploded. Many Russians go through Finland in order to fly to other European destinations after direct routes from Russia were closed after the country's invasion of Ukraine.

A political party in Finland has since paid for an advert to be posted near the Russian border, reading: "While you are enjoying your holiday, many Ukrainians are left without a home to return to."

Russian tourist travelling through the Baltics has also soared, leading several Baltic countries to urge the EU to block visas to Russian tourists.

Some countries are using more creative methods in their approach to Russian tourists.

In Georgia, Russian guests are asked if they ever voted for Putin, and whether they respect the borders of Ukraine and Georgia before they can be served a drink, according to Current Time.

The Moscow Times reported that wealthy Russians have been dismissed when attempting to buy jewellery and luxury bags in Nice, Rome and Berlin.

Other users on Twitter express annoyance with the behaviour of Russians in various European cities. "I'm in Paris today," writes on user, adding "many Russians here enjoying shopping, cages. Brutal, rudeness, a new condescension as they feel (like they are) 'winning'. It's palpable."

What responsibility do Russians have?
Many Europeans are frustrated with seeing Russians on holiday in different European cities, while the Ukrainians are suffering. At stake is whether all Russians are responsible for Putin's actions.

Yes, was Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky's answer recently in the The Washington Posts. Thousands of Russians have fled Russia, including journalists, dissidents and others who are critical of Putin's regime, yet Zelensky has now said that in order to enact change in Russia they should go home.

A blanket ban would hurt them too and could be counterproductive. A spokesperson for Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny argued that such a move would play into Russian propaganda.

For ordinary Russians, the sanctions seem to have come as a surprise. For Julia, it appeared to come as a shock that reality caught up with her personally. She lives in Germany, but her videos have garnered attention.

For months, she has argued for a nuclear strike against Ukraine and that Russia should keep moving its imperialist ventures forward all the way to Berlin, all while posing with Starbucks coffee and enjoying the good life in Europe.

But after her video, her booking to Vienna was cancelled by booking.com and her account was closed, she posted on her Telegram account.

https://streamable.com/1ew8ra

"What the hell, are you happy now? You've ruined my holiday," she complains.

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Part 2) so she went back to #Russia. Started doing Porn online. And then got beat up.
Mother Land will protect you. 🫡 URA!

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Op dinsdag 9 april 2024 21:05 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Voor de mensen die de context niet wisten:
https://www.brusselstimes(...)an-tourist-in-europe
[..]

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[..]

[ x ]

Het deporteren terug naar Rusland was succesvol en ze kwam er al snel achter hoe goed ze het eigenlijk wel niet had in Europa. En hoe slecht in Rusland. Blijkbaar zo slecht dat ze haar uitvlucht in porno moest zoeken daar haar inkomsten vanuit social media ophielden met bestaan door de sancties/verbod erop volgens mij.

[ x ]
[..]
Iets zegt mij dat ze er nu spijt van heeft.

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Op dinsdag 9 april 2024 21:05 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Voor de mensen die de context niet wisten:
https://www.brusselstimes(...)an-tourist-in-europe
[..]

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[..]

[ x ]

Het deporteren terug naar Rusland was succesvol en ze kwam er al snel achter hoe goed ze het eigenlijk wel niet had in Europa. En hoe slecht in Rusland. Blijkbaar zo slecht dat ze haar uitvlucht in porno moest zoeken daar haar inkomsten vanuit social media ophielden met bestaan door de sancties/verbod erop volgens mij.

[ x ]
[..]
Iets zegt mij dat ze er nu spijt van heeft. Al lees ik wel dat het porno verhaal mogelijk niet waar is. En eerst dacht ik dat de volgende website een Russische versie was van wikipedia. Maar op de startpagina ervan wordt geadverteerd met "freedom of Russia". Dus zo te zien is het juist een oppositie website.

https://ruscist.com/wiki/(...)B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0

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Former Minister in Occupied Crimea Imprisoned for Bribery Applies to Fight for Russia in Ukraine
A former minister in Russian-occupied Crimea serving a 10-year sentence for bribery said she has applied to take part in Russia’s war in Ukraine and is awaiting official Kremlin approval.

Vera (Arina) Novoselskaya, former minister of culture in occupied Crimea who is serving a 10-year sentence in Moscow for bribery, has applied to fight for Russia in Ukraine in a likely bid for a potential pardon.

According to a Moscow Public Monitoring Commission representative who visited Novoselskaya in prison, she submitted the application three months ago and “[hoped] that it will be considered in the near future,” as reported by Russian state media TASS.

Maria Botova, a member of the commission, also told TASS that Novoselskaya “spoke very positively about the detention center staff” who made an effort to “make the prison look as little like a prison as possible.”

Kyiv Post is unable to independently verify the authenticity of Botova’s statements on behalf of Novoselskaya.

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While convicts at the initial stages of Russia’s full-scale invasion received pardons after short deployments in Ukraine, recent changes to the legislation in Russia mean that convicts who decided to fight in Ukraine will have their prison sentence converted to a suspended sentence for the duration of their service.

This would mean that Novoselskaya will likely serve throughout the duration of Russia’s war in Ukraine before being released if her application is approved – unless she receives a state award for valor.

In November 2023, Novoselskaya was sentenced by the Zamoskvoretsky Court of Moscow to 10 years in prison for accepting a 25 million rubles ($270,250) bribe in 2018, during the construction of the Crimean State Center for Children’s Theater Arts.

The court also seized Novoselskaya’s and her family’s properties and issued her a 128 million rubles ($1.3 million) fine. She was also deprived of the title of Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation and barred from holding positions in government bodies in the field of education for 15 years. She is also under Ukrainian sanctions.

Novoselskaya was born in Sverdlovsk (nowadays Yekaterinburg) in Russia during the USSR and moved to Crimea in 1979. She served as an assistant to the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada lawmaker Elena Netetskaya prior to the Russian annexation of Crimea and was later appointed the minister of culture in occupied Crimea.

In 2021, Novoselskaya, then the minister of culture in occupied Crimea, was engulfed in a scandal when she was caught saying “F*** your mother” during a live broadcast of a government meeting she joined through video call when she thought the microphone was off.

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Drones attacked a Russian aviation training center

In Russia, combat drones attacked an aviation training center in Voronezh region.

It is also reported that drones hit the main production hall of the aircraft factory.

According to the ASTRA Telegram channel, citing sources, on the night of April 9, two drones attacked an aviation training center.

Russian pilots were being trained at this training center. Both drones hit the target and exploded.

No information has been reported on the damage or fatalities at this time.

A video of the drone attack on the aviation training center was published online.

Earlier it was reported that drones attacked a Russian factory for assembling kamikaze drones.

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Two drones attack aviation training center in Russia's Voronezh Oblast
The Chkalov aviation training center on the outskirts of the city of Borisoglebsk in Russia's Voronezh Oblast was attacked by two drones overnight, the Russian Telegram channel Astra wrote on April 9, adding that no casualties were reported.

Both drones exploded, causing damage to the facade and the windows of the building, Astra claimed.

According to open source intelligence, the base is home to the 160th Training Aviation Regiment which flies Su-25 and Yak-130 jets of the 786th Aviation Training Centre for the Training of Flight Personnel.

This follows an earlier report by the regional governor, Alexander Gusev. He claimed that the local air defense and electronic warfare systems had detected and intercepted an aircraft-type drone over the oblast.

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Op dinsdag 9 april 2024 21:56 schreef Cilantro het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op dinsdag 9 april 2024 22:39 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

[..]
Het is eigenlijk van de zotte dat men hier niet eerder is mee begonnen. De problemen met luchtverdediging duren nu al ruim een jaar.

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Op dinsdag 9 april 2024 22:56 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Ja, als iedereen nou niet zo 'dom' was, dan bestonden deze problemen niet.

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Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, American journalist turned Ukraine Army Sergeant

My greatest badge of victory against the Russians was to be officially sanctioned by them

The story of an American from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, who came to Ukraine as a journalist at the outset of the full-scale invasion before joining the ranks of the country’s Defense Forces in 2022 as a combat medic, gained quite a lot of publicity on social media. During her service she switched from the frontlines to the infowar battlefield where she would brazenly call out Russian propagandists, using an exaggerated version of herself for this persona. Sarah sparked outrage in the Russian establishment by outrageously mocking the Kremlin. As it turns out, it was all part of a sophisticated special information operation that received high praise from strategic communications experts and Ukraine’s security forces.

In an interview with Ukrinform, Sarah spoke of what was going on behind the scenes of her daring and rather controversial project, and shared her thoughts on the best strategy for waging an information war against a highly-skilled adversary with an unlimited psyops budget.

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WHEN I SAW VICTIMS OF RUSSIAN GENOCIDE BEING EXHUMED, I DECIDED TO JOIN UKRAINE’S ARMY
- You’ve come a long way to become a full sergeant with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. You initially came here in spring 2022 to cover the war as a journalist. Could you tell us what inspired you to join the army ranks and how did the process go overall?
- It’s a wild story and I haven't spoken about in some time because it seems lifetimes ago. I got here a week after the full-scale invasion and, when most people were headed to Kyiv, Odesa, or other parts of the hottest areas, I had made a promise to this incredibly patriotic Ukrainian doctor, a surgeon and professor in Ivano-Frankivsk, that she would be my first interviewee once I was credentialed. After four days of waiting, I received my credentials and when everyone else was headed into battle, I headed to Ivano-Frankivsk to keep my promise to Dr. Helena.

When I arrived there, I spent my first night in a bomb shelter because the city was under attack at that point so that was a unique experience. But the next day is when it really got pretty crazy. I was getting my credentials laminated and two guys who were in the print shop said, “Are you press?” I said, yeah. And they said, “You have to come to Kharkiv with us”. I asked them why, and they said it’s because Kharkiv’s under massive attack, the Russians are coming in and out of the city and most journalists are leaving and we're going there in an hour. I said, “Who are you guys?”, to which they said they were with the security forces. So I turned to this doctor who's the only person I knew in the country at that time – I'd known her for a few days. She talked to them and confirmed they were with Ukrainian security services.

I asked her what to do and she said “You're a journalist, you have to go out there to the front,”

And I cried the whole way. They even asked me at one point if I wanted them to drop me off to go back because I was scared. I didn't know what war was. Yet after I arrived, I didn't leave Kharkiv for more than half a year. Because of this I only understood the war from the front lines. I became one of the outreach directors for the territorial district of Zolochiv, under Mayor Kovalenko, which is in the Russian border zone. Living and working there, I witnessed terrorism every day. Finally, after multiple days in Izium of watching the exhuming of the victims of the Russian genocide, I spoke to the man who's now my commander, Major Ilko Bozhko. And I said, “You have mentioned to me for the last couple of months if I want to join the Army. Let’s do it!” And shortly after they brought me to Kyiv where I went through the typical Ukrainian track – I went to the recruitment center, I had to do all the paperwork, take all the tests, and go for my medical evaluation, and now, 16 months later, I've been in service with the ZSU and now I'm a sergeant for the Army.

IN THE INFOWAR, I EXPLOITED THE FACT THAT RUSSIA HATES LGBT COMMUNITY

Сержант ЗСУ Сара Ештон-Сірілло: В інфовійні я використала те, як � Ф ненавидить трансгендерів

- A huge – and very exciting – part of your military career here is about your input into information warfare. What’s the background behind the idea to engage in this effort? Was it just an order you received from superiors or perhaps it was partly your idea?
- One of the most controversial aspects of my time here and something that turned out to be amazing, but was very difficult throughout the entire process. Simply put, Major Bozhko had made contact with Colonel Oleskiy Dmytrashkivskyi, who was head of the Territorial Defense Forces media for the nation and they made the decision that after five months of me fighting at the front, to pull me off the front and bring me to Kyiv to get into comms. And that ended up becoming what the SSU Academy told NATO was the most significant and successful information operation of the war.

Shortly after the move, Colonel Dmytrashkivsky me to the Ministry of Defense and we sat down with the Deputy Defense Minister, Hanna Maliar, who is possibly one of the greatest minds when it comes to information warfare. And Colonel Dmytrashkivskyi understands media. So they gave me a broad outline and told me to basically create something where I would get the Russians’ attention. And we were going to try to use this TDF Media project to draw fire away from President Zelensky, General Budanov, and all the people that would be attacked by Simonian and those other propaganda folks in Russia. And they just told me to come up with something. So, knowing how much Russia hates the LGBT community, knowing how much Russia hates being attacked (because Russia is a bully and we need to punch them back rather than spend time explaining), my team at the TDF Media and I came up with something called “Russia Hates the Truth”. And I said, let's mock them. I'm transgender and I'm going to come at them in a way that they're not expecting. So we created this character that was based off of what they would imagine me to be. So we took their playbook and we engaged in what I call, “escalation theory”: they're coming at us on a scale of point 1, and we're coming at them at point 10…

So no matter how ridiculous whatever it was that would come out of my mouth, it was simply to grab their attention and use up their resources. It ended up becoming so successful that we leaked to Russian media this ridiculous idea that I was going to be named spokesperson in the TDF for the foreign media. But in reality, there's no such position. However, there was so much outrage in Russia that we decided to incorporate it into the character. So then I became “TDF spokesperson”. But again, there was no signature, no order to this end. It was just me talking to the camera, using this title all as part of this information operation. And then all hell broke loose, and ratings were amazing, and every night we were on television in Russia, and I would come up with more and more absurd statements. Until finally, there were political questions as to what the heck was going on. And there was this idea that, okay let's cool it off. So we're going to put out this idea that Sarah Ashton was suspended from the position of spokesperson. But I was never the spokesperson… And that's why if you go back and look at the announcement, it clearly say suspended as spokesperson. And when media were calling, I was trying to tell them – because we had all the documents: “No suspension”. And they still wanted to run with the story, including local media. They didn't want to go deeper, even though we told them, So, I was told to be quiet for a week, and then the following week, the SSU presents to NATO that it was the most successful information operation of the war…

- When was the point where you realized: “Yes, this is actually working”?
- Every day either Simonian or Skabeeva… You know Skabeeva – a wicked, wicked woman. She's truly a heartless, soulless creature. So, ultimately, every day when they were focusing on me over and over and over again, and we were watching tens of millions of views just rack up, we knew it was successful. The moment that a letter was written by a partner nation inquiring as to whether I was some sort of intelligence operative, we knew we sort of hit this crescendo. The best part was we were planning to come back with Season 2. Colonel Dmytrashkivskyi – a brilliant director – sat me down and suggested that in Season 2, I will be hosting the Russia Hates Truth as a guy and just keep on hitting that. But before that happened, I was moved without much notice to the General Staff of the Main Directorate of Moral and Psychological Support for the entire Ukrainian Defense Forces. And I've been with General Staff since.

THE INFO-OP WAS THOROUGHLY PLANNED
- Coming back to the info ops, finding the right triggers for the adversary to react to, predicting such reactions, and crafting multiple scenarios for manipulation is actually Russia has been quite keen on in its hybrid warfare. So basically your idea was to hit Russia with its own weapon – to create rather than react to something, meaning to go on an offensive in the media space. What’s your own assessment of your contribution and how was it perceived by our StratCom pundits?
- I think there were people who were confused by what we were doing because we kept it so close. My job is to respond to command. I was given my orders – whether it is to pick up a rifle and defend the front, as I've done, if my command is to help blow up the Kerch Bridge (and we're going to see it crumble soon enough), or if my job is to create this character. So I couldn't be concerned about what was happening within various command verticals. I trusted my team and friends with the security services to understand what was going on. I think because we're good at keeping our work as it should have been, fully hidden under the guise of operational security, people were confused. This was an entire process of making sure whatever I did was so outrageous and keep following it up in everything I did. So online, I would make crazy statements and I’d do some videos – anything to continuously keep up the character to the point that we've created a position that didn't exist. I spoke to students at SSU Academy about this and broke down how we did it. One of my colleagues in production at TDF Media, Sergeant Ivan, and I would go over every piece of how the show would be, including that one time when I knocked over some Russian cardboard cutouts and we were like: “how can we make sure we do it right?” We were not saying that the Russian people aren't human. We're literally saying these cardboard cutouts aren't human – and they're not – so we staged everything. Even though it looked like I was just talking, we understood every step of what we did, including, when we would do the releases and things of that sort.

So, even when the criticism was coming, I still continued to push it because that was my job. My job was to take the hate both from the Russians and from others, I was not to break character, and I wouldn't break character, until I was told the mission's over. And the folks at SSU Academy when I went ahead and did our presentation in November of 2023 to them, understood it. Because if the analytics are proper enough, you can see and hear past the noise of what's just coming up on hot takes on social media. The folks on social media are important because they can keep the narrative going, but you have to go much deeper.

- Could you share some of the behind the scenes moments from your project, perhaps some of the things that didn’t make the final cut but you now wish they did?
- Absolutely. Dmitry Medvedev blocked me. They all blocked me. Because these people are spineless – Medvedev, Dugin, and others. They think it's going to change things. I called Medvedev a cuck. And the term ‘cuck’ is this sort of sexualized term for the western audience that really is derogatory towards men. And so I called Medvedev a ‘cuck’ and then decided to cut that. And ultimately, the Russians can't handle when these statements are made, because in the end, they don't know how to respond. You hit them, they fall. We've seen this over and over again, and that's why our military and civilian leadership understand how to bring us to victory. That's why President Zelensky, CinC Syrskyi, Chief of Staff Berhalevych are the greatest minds of warfare, diplomacy, and information operations.

- Speaking of information warfare more broadly, do you believe debunking Russian hoax stories is feasible at all? If so, is there any reason to keep trying to sow doubts precisely among the Russians about what they see on Russian government-run television?
- We should ignore it all. The Russian budget is so big that even if we attempt to dispel the rumors or the so-called fakes that they put out, we're not going to be able to break through their info ops defense lines in response. That's why we always have to be on the offensive. As long as we're creating the narrative, as long as we are owning the narrative, as long as we are creating the truth, Russia doesn't know how to handle it and Russia will be too busy trying to defend themselves to be able to attack us with their lies.

WAGNER IS RECRUITING MERCENARIES IN LATINA AMERICA

� Ф має значний вплив на Південну Америку - Сержант ЗСУ із США Сара Ештон-Сірілло

- Speaking globally, Russian propaganda and disinformation have a really vast reach and we see that the coalition supporting Ukraine is still struggling to achieve the critical support from the Global South, including because Russian narratives have been rooted in some of those nations? I know you researched Russian influence on Latin America – so what are your impressions of its scale and what do you think Ukraine and partners should do to win the hearts of the people and governments in the Global South?
Nations in the Americas, throughout Africa, throughout the Near East and Far East are so imperative to a victory for Ukraine because these people understand what it is to be victims of colonialism, to be victims of genocide, which goes back generationally for them. They truly are our partners in understanding what liberty and liberation is because they've been trying to rip off the shackles of enslavement for at least 100 plus years.

When I went down to Latin America, and I was able to take extended leave down there. I spent about three and a half weeks researching what was really happening, and it's far worse than we can imagine. We're lucky because here in Ukraine we have a group called The Bolivar Battalion made up of Venezuelan Freedom Fighters. They understand how bad communism is, they understand how terrible Maduro is, how terrible what's going on in Nicaragua and Cuba. And these are all areas that are within the Russian sphere of influence. In Mexico City, I went and visited the Russian Embassy. I did a live broadcast from outside there. Russia has RT on three different channels in Mexico since I returned. I also found out – and this came directly from the head of the mercenary committee at the United Nations high committee for human rights – that Wagner is recruiting in Mexico. Wagner is recruiting in Peru. They even named some of the organizations that they're recruiting from. We know they're recruiting in Venezuela, we know they are trading soldiers for money in Cuba and we also know that they're recruiting in Colombia. So it's truly the virus of Russkiy Mir. And my statement is this. President Zelensky is leading the world in a global fight for Freedom, Liberty and Liberation. It's all tied in together. So what we're seeing in Africa, what we're seeing in the Americas, and what we're seeing as I stated across the Mid and Far East, is all tied in together to the war that we're fighting in Kharkiv, to the war that we're fighting in Donbas. When we liberate Crimea – and we will liberate Crimea – and when we liberate Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, all of Kherson region…When we stop the terrorism here in Ukraine, you're going to see the rest of the world become more free. No doubt about it.

ON THE FRONT, YOU SEE VERY CLEARLY WHAT YOU’RE DOING FOR VICTORY
- Coming back to your military service as a combat medic with Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces. You were recently awarded the Golden Cross. What is the story behind this?
- I shouldn't have been in a position to win the Golden Cross. Commander Bozhko always tells me our Heroes are the men and women, who are Eternal Heroes, not the ones who return from battle. So it was a complete surprise to me, especially receiving the honor almost a year after our battle.

Here's what took place. I was with the Crimean Tatars unit when the Kharkiv Defense Forces needed a combat medic. They were going to the front. I volunteered. When I got to Sloviansk, we were fighting along with the 66th Brigade, a very professional military. We were told we're going into the woods in Luhansk Region, I can't reveal exactly where. And we were going to hold the defense line against these professional Russian troops. And we are these TDF fighters from Kharkiv Oblast, basically yesterday’s farmers. And our commander, Captain Oleksiy, is a nuclear physicist. It's wild: a nuclear physicist giving us leadership… leading from the very front. We had no weapons except for rifles, bare minimum supplies, and some RPGs. And for a month in the cold, in the snow and ice, we not only held the line against the advancing Russian forces, we actually took part in a counter assault. And finally it became more known that Kharkiv TDF really were these these men and women who were as much a part of the professional military as the 66th, 72nd, 92nd, or 93rd brigades. I was out there with them every day until I was injured. I didn't want to leave the front. But, as I mentioned, Major Bozhko and Colonel Dmytrashkivskyi made the decision to take me off the front. I cried for my first month in Kyiv, I literally cried. Because I didn't want to leave the guys I was fighting with and I didn't want to leave the front because on the front it's very clear what you're doing for victory, you understand your commands and you only hope for the sun to rise. If you see the sun rise, you have done your job. And in Kyiv, it's a much different type of warfare, but one that obviously I was able to adapt to.

- Wrapping this up, how does it feel to have the Kremlin officially designate you as terrorist?
- I was honored to receive the Golden Cross. However, my greatest honor, my greatest badge of victory against the Russianswas was being officially sanctioned and put on their terrorism list. And when it was reported, I was ecstatic – that confirmed our success that the SSU had presented to NATO, it confirmed the success and the vision of Deputy Defense Minister Maliar, Colonel Dmytrashkivskyi, and Major Bozhko as to what we could truly do in asymmetric warfare. We are preparing asymmetric warfare along the physical battlelines under Colonel General Syrskyi and in the strategic operations, strategic communications area as well.

And so my terrorism designation was truly the capstone to that project, “Russia Hates the Truth”. And ultimately, I hope they have reason to charge me with even worse things. Russia doesn't have a justice system. It’s a failed state, Russia is a terrorist cabal, Russia is a terrorist state. We know this, but whatever they call their justice system, bring it on. It's not going to save the Kerch Bridge. It's not going to save them from us taking back Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, and all the temporarily occupied territories. And if you're lucky, we'll give you part of Belgorod back.

- All the best in your future service and your endeavors on the information battlefield.

- Glory to Ukraine and thank you to Ukrinform

- Glory to Heroes!

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Romania builds Europe's largest rail grain terminal to aid Ukraine, providing vital export route
Transshipment terminal for agricultural products near Suceava is to become a strategic hub on the route to the port of Constanta

The Grampet group of companies, the leader in private rail freight transport in Romania, has completed the construction of a transshipment terminal for agricultural products, which will become a strategic hub on the route to the port of Constanta, reported Forbes Romania.

The volume of investments in the creation of a new complex is 10 million euros. The capacity of the terminal allows processing 240,000 tons of grain and other agricultural products per month.

Located in Dornești (Suceava County), on the border with Ukraine, the complex is the first terminal managed by Grup Feroviar Rom�n and the fifth for the Grampet Group.

With a maximum design capacity of 3 million tons, the complex is equipped with a wagon loading station (128 m long) and an unloading station (120 m long), which allow simultaneous loading/unloading of eight wagons.

The capacities are similar to terminals in sea and river ports, which makes it possible to transport products without loss of quality and with a maximum productivity of 500 tons per hour.

"Romania plays an important role in the work of the solidarity lanes created by the EU member states to facilitate the transportation of goods from Ukraine. After the start of the war, the railway operators of the Grampet Group made a significant contribution to the establishment of traffic and the restoration of the main corridors on the North-South axis, providing the transportation of more than 1 5 million tons of cargo from Ukraine," said Gruia Stoica, president of Grampet Group.

The investor says that the complex in Dornești is the largest transshipment terminal for agricultural products in Europe. It is going to be opened immediately after the end of the test period.

At the beginning of March 2024, the construction of the multimodal transport terminal Fishka Nov started in Chernivtsi Oblast on the border with Romania. It will accept wagons from the Ukrainian gauge with a width of 1520 mm and reload them into wagons with a European gauge of 1435 mm.

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Exclusive - Russia seeks gasoline from Kazakhstan in case of shortages, sources say
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has asked Kazakhstan to stand ready to supply it with 100,000 tons of gasoline in case of shortages exacerbated by Ukrainian drone attacks and outages, three industry sources told Reuters.

One of the sources said a deal on using reserves for Russia has already been agreed.

Russian and Kazakhstan's energy ministries did not immediately reply to requests for comments.

Neighbouring Belarus has already agreed to help Russia with gasoline supply.

Drone attacks had knocked out some 14% of Russian primary oil refining capacity as of end-March. So far authorities have said the situation on domestic fuel markets is stable and stockpiles large enough.

Russia is usually a net exporter of fuel and a supplier to international markets but the refinery disruptions have forced its oil companies to import.
The sources said Moscow asked Kazakhstan to set up an emergency reserve of 100,000 metric tons of gasoline ready to supply to Russia.

Moscow imposed a gasoline export ban for six months from March 1 to prevent acute fuel shortages, although it does not apply to the Moscow-led Eurasian economic union, including Kazakhstan, as well as some countries, such as Mongolia, with which it has inter-government deals on fuel supplies.

However, traders said the ban could be widened if the situation in Russia worsens.

Last week, the Orsk oil refinery in the Urals halted production due to widespread floods, which also affected Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan, the world's largest land-locked country, has also restricted fuel exports until the end of the year, apart from for humanitarian purposes.

According to the sources, Kazakhstan's reserves of Ai-92 gasoline stood at 307,700 tons as of April 5 and Ai-95 gasoline stockpiles at 58,000 tons. Diesel reserves were 435,300 tons and jet fuel inventories totalled 101,000 tons.

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Russian pilots "lose" FAB-1500 bomb over occupied Yenakiieve and hit grocery store. VIDEO
A Russian FAB-1500 bomb fell on a grocery store in occupied Yenakiieve, Donetsk region.

According to Censor.NET, a video posted on social media shows that the munition did not detonate

"Russians dropped a FAB-1500 bomb on a shop in the occupied city of Yenakiieve. It did not detonate," the commentary to the video reads.

quote:

Russia Issues Arrest Warrant for Norwegian Ex-Politician

Russia has issued an arrest warrant for a former Norwegian politician who currently serves as a medic in the Ukrainian military, the state-run news agency TASS reported Tuesday, citing law enforcement agencies.

“Sandra Andersen Eira, a Norwegian woman from the International Legion of Ukraine, has been placed on an international wanted list as part of a criminal investigation into the participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict,” TASS’ source was quoted as saying.

Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ruled to place Eira in pre-trial detention in absentia for two months.

She is among nearly 400 people being sought as “foreign mercenaries” by Russia, according to an Interior Ministry database of wanted persons obtained by the independent news website Mediazona earlier this year.

Eira, who served in the representative body of the Sami people of Norway between 2017 and 2021, enlisted as a combat medic with the Ukrainian military shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

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Ukrainian intelligence officers are looking for Bastion missile systems with Zircon missiles in Crimea

Ukrainian intelligence officers are actively searching for Bastion missile systems with Zircon missiles in occupied Crimea.

Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said that local residents are involved in this process, and they can submit information about the detected missile systems to the eVorog chatbot.

According to Fedorov, Russians launch Zircon missiles, which reach Ukrainian cities in minutes, from the Bastion missile systems, and they have already attacked the Kyiv region at least twice.

“According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Russians are trying to penetrate the air defense with Zircon missiles. Zircon missiles are launched using Bastion systems from different parts of Crimea,” Mykhailo Fedorov said.

Fedorov asked Crimean residents to provide any information about the systems: missile launch sites, storage locations, missile storage sites, refueling stations, and information about operators.

SPOILER

quote:

“If you live in occupied Crimea and have such information, as well as photos or videos, submit them in the eVorog chatbot. And be sure to take care of your own safety: afterward, delete your chatbot messages, photos, and videos from the gallery, as well as from the ‘Deleted’ folder. If you have family or friends in the occupied territories, share this message with them. And let them delete it from the correspondence as well,” Mykhailo Fedorov emphasized.

In February and March, during the Russian missile attacks on Ukraine, the Russians used the newest Zircon hypersonic missiles.

The 3M22 Zircon hypersonic missile was developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya for use from the 3S14 universal vertical launcher.

However, the modernization of the Bastion missile system also gave it the ability to launch Zircon missiles.

Initially, the Bastion system was designed to engage surface ships of various classes and types of amphibious assault forces, convoys, and ship and aircraft carrier strike groups, as well as single ships and ground radio-contrast targets in conditions of intense fire and electronic warfare.

The system is also one of the carriers of the Oniks missile. Since the outbreak of the war against Ukraine, Russia has been using this anti-ship system to fire at ground targets in Ukraine.

Комлпекс � Ф «Бастион» запускає по Україні ракети «Оникс»

The Bastion missile system is quite mobile: after the march, the deployment time from the field to the combat state is 5 minutes. The reverse process takes about the same amount of time. In other words, the system arrives at the point determined by the combat mission, quickly fires, and leaves. It is extremely difficult to hit such a target.

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EU sends emergency aid to Ukraine after further attacks on energy infrastructure
Following a series of targeted missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure by Russia over the past weeks, Ukraine's power supply has suffered significant damage. Responding to this crisis, the EU has swiftly mobilised emergency energy assistance which is on its way to Ukraine.

In response to Ukraine's call for assistance, Austria, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands have offered 157 power generators in various sizes via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. To further strengthen Ukrainian energy infrastructure, the EU has also deployed 10 large capacity power generators (1MW) from its own strategic rescEU stockpiles, with a financial value of �3.57 million. Each of these powerful 1MW generators has the capacity to supply electricity to a medium-sized hospital under emergency conditions.

Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “Russia's plan to bomb Ukraine into darkness will not succeed. The EU is working around the clock to sustain power supply in Ukraine. We are mobilising a new batch of generators to Ukraine from our rescEU reserves, which have already proved to be a critical tool in responding to urgent needs in war-torn Ukraine. This underscores the importance of preparedness in efficient crisis response. I also thank Austria, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands for their immediate offers of generators to Ukraine via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.”

The EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre is in close contact with the Ukrainian authorities on the ground to provide further aid as necessary.

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Moscow Marjorie’: Republican accuses Greene of irresponsible Ukraine rhetoric
Former congressman Ken Buck says Marjorie Taylor Greene gets ‘her talking points from the Kremlin’ when opposing Ukraine aid

The far-right Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is ungovernable and should be known as “Moscow Marjorie”, said a former Republican colleague in the US House, accusing Greene of “getting her talking points from the Kremlin” when opposing new federal aid for Ukraine.

“My experience with Marjorie is people have talked to her about not filing articles of impeachment on President Biden before he was sworn into office, not filing articles of impeachment that were groundless based on other individuals in the Biden administration,” Ken Buck, a Colorado rightwinger who left Congress last month, told CNN.

“She was never moved by that. She was always focused on her social media account. And ‘Moscow Marjorie’ is focused now on this Ukraine issue and getting her talking points from the Kremlin and making sure she is popular and she is getting a lot of coverage.”

SPOILER

quote:

Congress returned Monday after a spring recess. Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, must govern with a tiny majority and a restive right. Just before the recess, Greene filed a motion to vacate, a means to remove Johnson from his role.

Greene filed the motion (though did not force a vote) after Johnson relied on Democrats to pass a $1.2tn spending bill and avoid a government shutdown.

Another key issue facing Johnson is how to pass new aid for Ukraine, which has been fighting off Russia’s February 2022 military invasion for more than two years.

Subject to Democratic pressure, Johnson has indicated he will do so – but Greene is among far-right Republicans opposed to new aid, in line with Donald Trump, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee.

Last week, Greene told CNN: “I’m not saying I have a red line or a trigger … but I’m going to tell you right now: funding Ukraine is probably one of the most egregious things that [Johnson] can do.”

Greene also said that on Ukraine, Johnson has “made a complete departure of who he is, and what he stands for, and to the point where people are literally asking, ‘Is he blackmailed? What is wrong with him?’ Because he’s completely disconnected with what we want to do.”

Asked by the rightwing anchor Tucker Carlson if she really thought Johnson was being blackmailed, Greene said: “I have no idea.”

Buck was one of eight Republicans who voted to eject the previous speaker, Kevin McCarthy, last October.

But Buck quit Congress in protest of his party’s domination by Trump supporters, saying: “It is impossible for the Republican party to confront our problems and offer a course correction for the future while being obsessively fixated on retribution and vengeance for contrived injustices of the past.”

Speaking to CNN, Buck dismissed McCarthy’s contention that Greene is “a very serious legislator that deals with policy”, saying: “So many of the statements that Marjorie has made over the years are completely irresponsible.

“The idea that somehow the speaker [Johnson] is corrupt because he believes that we should be supporting an ally that has been invaded by a war criminal, [Russian leader] Vladimir Putin, and the idea that somehow anybody who is in agreement with Ukraine and our Nato allies is corrupt, it’s just another distraction that she uses to take away from the core arguments that are so important.”

Other arguments floated by Greene recently included claiming an earthquake that hit north-eastern states last week and an eclipse of the sun on Monday were “strong signs” from God that Americans should “repent”.

“Yes,” Greene said, “eclipses are predictable and earthquakes happen and we know when comets are passing by, however God created all of these things and uses them to be signs for those of us who believe.”

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Russia to investigate US and NATO officials for ‘financing terrorism’
Russian investigators have opened a criminal case against unnamed “US and NATO officials” they suspect of “financing terrorism”.

The Russian Investigative Committee claimed on Tuesday that funds transferred through commercial organisations, “in particular the oil and gas company Burisma Holdings, operating in Ukraine”, had been used to “carry out terrorist attacks” both in Russia and abroad.

Following last month’s Moscow concert hall attack, several Russian lawmakers and public figures, including former presidential candidate Nikolay Kharitonov, called on the Investigative Committee to investigate “terrorist activity by the US, Ukraine and other Western states against Russia”.

These statements align with the Russian government’s repeatedly stated belief that the West was somehow involved in the Crocus City Hall attack. Kharitonov said on his Telegram channel in March that “the US and its allies are carrying out terror attacks on Russian territories at the hands of the Islamic State terrorist group and the Ukrainian security services”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin doubled down on these claims last week, arguing that Russia could “hardly be an object of attack by Islamic fundamentalists” as the country was “a unique example of interfaith and interethnic unity”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously condemned the Kremlin’s attempts to exploit the Moscow concert hall attack for its own political ends, and accused Putin of attempting to “turn such a situation to his personal advantage”.

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Ukrainian Drones Autonomously Target and Destroy Russian SAM Fleet

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) effectively deployed drones equipped with target auto-acquisition capabilities against the invaders’ air defense systems.

SSU released a video showcasing these drones autonomously locking onto targets and successfully striking them.

Operators were able to target Russian BUK and TOR systems using these drones.

Before the strikes, reconnaissance and target adjustment were likely conducted by Shark drones.

SPOILER

quote:

СБУ уразила парк З� К росіян дронами з автозахопленням цілі

Meanwhile, Russian air defense systems proved unable to detect and counter the Ukrainian drones, resulting in successful strikes against their targets.

“SSU operators destroyed a batch of Russian air defense systems at the front in a week. They added to their account: 2 BUK air defense systems of various modifications and one BUK air defense system target detection station, 2 TOR-M2 air defense systems, Strela-10 air defense systems, Tunguska air defense systems,” the SSU stated.

Such drones only need to reach the target at a relatively high altitude and mark it, and then the drone itself can strike the target.

Presumably, the Ukrainian drone with such technology has full protection from EW systems, because it goes to the target autonomously.

Among the advantages of such drones with machine vision and target capture, the best efficiency of striking moving targets is also noted.

Machine vision technology also gives drones a greater range of use.

Recall that in February 2024, the Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhailo Fedorov stated that two Ukrainian alternatives to the Russian Lancet loitering munition have already passed preliminary tests and will soon be tested in combat conditions.

He declared that drones have a lock-on function that would allow them to target during the terminal flight stage in the absence of direct communication with the operator.

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David Cameron seemingly fails in bid to persuade Trump on Ukraine aid
In trip to Mar-a-Lago, British foreign secretary urged ex-president to recognise US interest in not rewarding Putin for land seizure

David Cameron’s attempt to persuade Donald Trump to permit the US Congress to push through $60bn in military aid for Ukraine appears to have failed, after the British foreign secretary was not even granted a meeting with congressional speaker Mike Johnson, who could in theory put the package to a vote.

Johnson instead found himself assailed by the hard-right Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who renewed her threats of a snap vote to remove him from office for even countenancing a vote.

At a private dinner in Trump’s Florida base, Mar-a-Lago, Cameron had urged Trump to recognise that it was in the US’s interest that Vladimir Putin not be rewarded for seizing land from Ukraine. He also insisted that by the time of a Nato summit in Washington this July, plans would be in place for every Nato member to reach or pass the target of defence spending. He was hoping Trump would signal a change of course at least by easing the path to him meeting Johnson.

SPOILER

quote:

At a joint press conference in Washington on Tuesday, Cameron and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, repeated their long-standing appeals for Congress to unblock the assistance. Cameron insisted he had not come to the US to lecture anyone or interfere with internal American politics, but said he was prepared to drop the “diplospeak” because he felt so emotional about the need for the US and Europe to stand together to defend Ukraine against Russian aggression.

He warned: “Future generations may look back at us and say, did we do enough when this country was invaded by a dictator trying to redraw boundaries by force? Did we learn the lessons from history? And did we do enough?”

But Cameron’s arguments – both rational and emotional – seem to have run up against the continued power struggle inside the Republican party, as hardliners, who have cooled on continuing to support Ukraine financially, threaten to oust Johnson if he puts the aid package to a vote when Congress returns from its two-week vacation.

“This has been a complete and total surrender to, if not complete and total lockstep with, the Democrats’ agenda that has angered our Republican base so much and given them very little reason to vote for a Republican House majority,” Taylor Greene wrote in a fresh attack on Johnson.

Cameron is just the latest in a string of foreign government officials who have called for the US senate to vote on the aid package, which is widely expected to be passed – if Congress were allowed to vote. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Ukraine will lose its battle with Russia without further US aid, including necessary money to develop aid defences.

Cameron took a calculated risk in flying to Florida to try to persuade Trump to change course since there is a history of disagreement over Brexit (which the former prime minister opposed, but Trump enthusiastically supported).

Cameron defended his meeting with Trump as an “entirely proper” encounter with an opposition figure and said it covered “a range of important geopolitical subjects”.

The Trump campaign team said the issues discussed at the dinner were “the upcoming US and UK elections, policy matters specific to Brexit, the need for Nato countries to meet their defence-spending requirements and ending the killing in Ukraine”.

Trump foreign policy advisers have claimed that if elected president, Trump would be able to end the war within 24 hours largely by making territorial concessions to Russia, including ceding Russia permanent control of Crimea and the Donbas – terms that the west would regard as a reward for aggression that would be noticed by China and Iran.

In Washington, Cameron invoked decades of security co-operation between Britain and the US, saying: “I think of my grandfather landing on the Normandy beaches under the cover of an American warship. I think of how I worked together with President Obama to deal with the ISIL threat in Syria and Iraq, how we hunted down those terrible killers of British and American hostages.

“We face a huge threat from an aggressive Putin, taking our country’s territory by force. And it is so important that we stick together. The great lesson from Nato celebrating the 75th anniversary this year is that if we stick together, if we work together, we can create a more secure Europe, but also a more secure US.”

The foreign secreatry added: “I say this as someone who doesn’t just like and respect America, it is someone who loves this country. I mean, of course, I love my own country more than ever. But I do love the United States, I feel passionate about this country, its role in the world. I try to keep the diplomatic language but sometimes it spills over into an emotional language because it’s the right thing for us to do.”

He insisted the American aid package worth $60bn was great value for money since for around 5% of the US defence budget, almost half of Russians pre war military equipment has been destroyed without the loss for single American life.

quote:

U.S. announces $138 million in emergency military sales of Hawk missile systems support for Ukraine
WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has greenlighted an emergency $138 million in foreign military sales for Ukraine to provide critical repairs and spare parts for Kyiv’s Hawk missile systems.

The U.S. announced the move Tuesday saying that Ukraine has an urgent need for the maintenance support to keep the missile system running.

The announcement follows a similar, small-sized round of $300 million in munitions support the Pentagon announced last month after it was able to convert contract savings to be able to offset the cost of providing the aid. Both the State and Defense Departments have been looking for ways to continue to get Ukraine support while a $60 billion Ukraine aid package remains stalled in Congress.

The HAWK is a medium range surface-to-air missile system that provides air defense, which is one of Ukraine’s top security needs.

“Ukraine has an urgent need to increase its capabilities to defend against Russian missile strikes and the aerial capabilities of Russian forces,” the State Department said in a memo outlining the sale. “Maintaining and sustaining the HAWK Weapon System will enhance Ukraine’s ability to defend its people and protect critical national infrastructure.”

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Russia Deploys Starlink on Ukrainian Front Lines for Year – WSJ Investigation
Shadowy supply chain funnels Starlink to adversaries & accused war criminals via backroom deals in Africa, SE Asia & UAE.

Russia has been working for around a year to deploy Starlink, the satellite-internet service developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, on the front lines in Ukraine and started using the terminals extensively earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

Despite banning Starlink, Russia has seen a surge in middlemen purchasing user terminals for Russian forces. This has challenged Ukraine's technological edge, as they also rely on these advanced devices.

Starlink offers fast, secure internet on battlefields in Ukraine and Sudan. It solves communication challenges for troops and commanders while also controlling drones and other crucial modern warfare tech.

The Wall Street Journal tracked Starlink sales on various Russian online platforms, including links to US sellers on eBay. The WSJ investigators interviewed Russian and Sudanese middlemen, as well as followed volunteer groups delivering SpaceX hardware to the front lines.

SPOILER

quote:

A Moscow salesperson, who in an interview identified himself as Oleg, told WSJ that most orders were for “new territories” (Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine) or “for use by the military.” Volunteers were said to deliver the equipment to Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

Searching on the Russian search engine Yandex.ru reveals many dealers, such as Oleg, offering Starlink terminals for sale to buyers in Moscow and beyond the capital.

“Russia has worked for around a year to employ Starlink on the front, according to a person with knowledge of the situation,” the report said.

The Russians began using the terminals widely early this year after they figured out how to register the devices in other countries, the WSJ source said, without elaborating.

The widespread use of easy-to-activate Starlink hardware has drawn SpaceX into the complex geopolitics of warfare, as WSJ pointed out. SpaceX can restrict Starlink access with “geofencing,” blocking it in certain countries and locations, or by deactivating individual devices.

Russia and China prohibit Starlink due to concerns about information control and distrust of US tech. Musk stated that, to his knowledge, no terminals were sold to Russia and that they wouldn’t function within the country.

The WSJ’s investigation uncovered a clandestine supply chain for Starlink hardware, facilitating secretive deals across Africa, Southeast Asia, and the United Arab Emirates.

This has placed thousands of devices in the hands of American adversaries and alleged war criminals. Many of these users access the satellites using Starlink’s roam feature after dealers register the hardware in permissible countries.

In Russia, middlemen acquire the hardware, sometimes from eBay in the US or the black market in Central Asia, Dubai, or Southeast Asia, then smuggle it into the country.

“Russian volunteers boast openly on social media about supplying the terminals to troops. They are part of an informal effort to boost Russia’s use of Starlink in Ukraine,” the investigation reads.

At strlnk.ru, they promise “tested performance” in Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kherson with monthly fees starting at $100. The site lists contacts for a dealer, including a Russian cellphone number and Yandex email. Despite this, the firm’s representative declined to speak with a WSJ reporter.

In Russia, many dealers openly advertise the hardware. Oleg’s employer’s website features embedded eBay listings from sellers across the globe, from Ohio to New Jersey.

When contacted, an eBay spokesperson stated the company follows laws of operating countries and international regulations. However, eBay did not comment on the US listings on Oleg’s employer’s site.

Impact on the Ukrainian front and efforts to end Russian use
A Ukrainian major, using the call sign Angel, told WSJ he first saw Russians using Starlink earlier this year as they hadn’t considered camouflaging the white antenna, which is approximately 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide.

“They’re mostly using the newer models,” he reported, highlighting that the Russian dishes are high-priority targets.

“It means there are drone operators somewhere nearby,” he added.

Ukrainian officials reached out to SpaceX regarding Russian forces using Starlink terminals in Ukraine. They are collaborating on a solution. In March, Ukraine’s telecom regulator issued a decree: Only Kyiv-registered Starlink terminals will operate in occupied areas or the front line. The timing and enforcement of these rules remain uncertain.

US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb stated: “We’re working with Ukraine and we’re working with Starlink” to end Russian terminal use. However, SpaceX and Musk have not responded to requests for comment.

Musk, in conversation with his biographer Walter Isaacson, expressed unease about Starlink’s role in Russia’s war in Ukraine. He asked, “How am I in this war?”

In February, Ukrainian paratroopers reportedly disabled a Starlink satellite communication terminal discovered at Russian troop positions near the front.

The Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) stated: “The Russians have begun utilizing SpaceX’s satellite communication platforms, which has been widely discussed. However, until now, we had not been able to film them.”

Before this statement, Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) revealed the use of Starlink satellite communication systems by Russian troops in occupied Ukrainian territories.

HUR released intercepted radio communications allegedly from Russian military personnel discussing the deployment of Starlink terminals by the 83rd Airborne Assault Brigade in the Donetsk region for establishing Internet access.

In early February, Defense One media outlet reported the Russian military's commencement of using Starlink services for communication several months prior.

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The Taurus cruise missile manufacturer suspends production due to a lack of orders. Experts explain why this is so and what to expect if Berlin decides to hand over "Taurus" to Kyiv.

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Biden administration preparing to prevent Americans from using Russian-made software over national security concern
The Biden administration is preparing to take the unusual step of issuing an order that would prevent US companies and citizens from using software made by a major Russian cybersecurity firm because of national security concerns, five US officials familiar with the matter told CNN.

The move, which is being finalized and could happen as soon as this month, would use relatively new Commerce Department authorities built on executive orders signed by Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump to prohibit Kaspersky Lab from providing certain products and services in the US, the sources said.

US government agencies are already banned from using Kaspersky Lab software but action to prevent private companies from using the software would be unprecedented. Nothing is final until it is announced, the sources cautioned, but the Commerce Department has made an “initial determination” to prohibit certain transactions between the Russian company and US persons, the sources said.

SPOILER

quote:

It’s the latest US government effort to use its vast regulatory powers to prevent Americans from using popular technology that US officials consider a national security risk. It comes as the Senate weighs a bill that would force Chinese-owned TikTok to find a new owner or face a US ban.

One goal of the order would be to mitigate any risk to critical US infrastructure, the sources familiar with the policy process told CNN. A draft of the initial determination to prohibit certain Kaspersky software that circulated last year applied to US persons but could have been amended, according to a source who viewed the draft.

The sources declined to detail the full scope of any final order against Kaspersky products, but its focus is expected to be on the firm’s anti-virus software.

A Kaspersky Lab spokesperson did not respond to questions about a potential prohibition or about how big the company’s market share is in the US.

A Commerce Department spokesperson declined to comment on any potential pending action related to Kaspersky products.

US officials have for years alleged that the Russian government could force Kaspersky Lab to hand over data or use its anti-virus software to attempt to carry out hacking or surveillance of Americans — accusations that Kaspersky Lab strenuously denies.

Under US law, Kaspersky Lab can appeal the “initial determination” to prohibit use of its products or strike a deal with the government that mitigates US security concerns before any final ruling from Commerce is announced.

Commerce Department officials have to carefully consider how practical any such regulation would be for the department to enforce and for users to comply with. It would make little sense, for example, to force a small business somewhere in America to uninstall Kaspersky software if it was disruptive and the business had no bearing on national security.

More than 400 million people and 240,000 companies worldwide use Kaspersky Lab’s software products, according to the company. Just how many of those people and companies are in the US is not clear. But US officials believe the risk posed by the software to US infrastructure is high enough to justify the pending order.

‘A new era’ in Commerce regulation
The Trump administration in 2017 forced US federal civilian agencies to purge Kaspersky Lab software products from their networks, and Congress later codified the ban and applied it to US military networks. But the expected move from the Biden administration would go a step further by using Commerce Department authorities to prevent private companies from using Kaspersky Lab software.

The Commerce authorities are relatively new and derived in part from a 2021 executive order that Biden signed in the name of protecting Americans’ personal data from “foreign adversaries” and a related order signed by Trump in 2019.

Both orders cite a “national emergency” related to security threats to America’s software supply chain and the ability of the Commerce secretary to review risky transactions under a 1977 law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Specifically, the secretary can prohibit, or mitigate the risk from, transactions involving information and communications technology supply chain, according to updated law based on the two executive orders.

The Wall Street Journal reported last year that Commerce was weighing using its authorities to restrict use of Kaspersky Lab software, but that no decision had been made to do so.

But after months of deliberating on how to effectively to use the Commerce Department’s regulatory powers against the use of Kaspersky Lab software, US officials are finally preparing to use the authorities, a US official familiar with the private discussions told CNN.

The pending action “signals a new era in which Commerce will be more willing to intervene in the name of protecting national security,” Henry Young, a former senior counsel at the Commerce Department, told CNN.

Companies “owned or controlled by a foreign adversary should take note” if the Commerce secretary shows “the willingness to prohibit transactions that create an unacceptable risk to US national security,” said Young, who is now senior director of policy at the Business Software Alliance, an industry lobby.

The Commerce Department aims to use its authorities in the most precise way that addresses national security concerns without having adverse impacts on American businesses or consumers, a Commerce official told CNN. The official discussed the department’s general approach to regulating technology transactions and not any specific potential action.

“We will do what addresses the national security risk and no more,” the Commerce official said. “If that involves saying: X, Y, Z critical infrastructure operators in high-risk sectors, you can’t use this software and that software provider can’t transact with you, then we’ll do that. And if it needs to be broader, we’ll do that.”

Major cybersecurity player
Founded in Moscow in 1997, Kaspersky Lab grew into one of the world’s most successful anti-virus software companies alongside American rivals like McAfee and Symantec. Kaspersky Lab’s researchers, recognized as top-tier in the cybersecurity industry, are known for analyzing hacking operations suspected of being carried out by a variety of governments including Russia, the US and Israel, but also cybercriminal threats that affect everyday users.

Some of the speculation and suspicion from US officials about the Russian company centers around Eugene Kaspersky, a charismatic computer expert who co-founded Kaspersky Lab in Moscow in 1997.

Eugene Kaspersky studied cryptography at a KGB-sponsored university — a fact that some US lawmakers like to mention when trying to tie the company to Russian government. Kaspersky Lab has denied having “any unethical ties or affiliations with any government, including Russia.” Kaspersky served as a software engineer at a Russian Ministry of Defense institute after graduation, and that is “the extent of his military experience,” the company says.

Kaspersky has lamented that his company is the victim of geopolitical tensions between the West and Russia — tensions that have only grown sharper since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

But despite the legal battles and years of heated rhetoric, Kaspersky Lab’s relationship with the US government hasn’t always been acrimonious. A tip from the company to the US government eventually led to the arrest in 2016 of a National Security Agency contractor named Harold Martin, who was convicted on charges related to stealing classified information, Politico has reported.

But another reported incident involving a different NSA contractor did nothing to dampen US officials’ suspicions about the Russian software firm.

Hackers working for the Russian government in 2015 stole files on US cyber operations from a different NSA contractor, the Wall Street Journal reported in 2017. The Russian hackers appeared to have targeted the contractor after identifying files through the contractor’s use of a Kaspersky Lab software, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the incident.

Kaspersky Lab said in a statement at the time that the company had “not been provided any information or evidence substantiating this alleged incident, and as a result, we must assume that this is another example of a false accusation.”

quote:

Op woensdag 10 april 2024 02:31 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

Update from Ukraine | USA wants to save Ruzzian Oil facilities from Ukraine. Mobilization in Ruzzia

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Op dinsdag 9 april 2024 22:39 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

[..]
Het is eigenlijk van de zotte dat men hier niet eerder is mee begonnen. De problemen met luchtverdediging duren nu al ruim een jaar.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 09:05 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Ik denk dat er eerder de moeilijkheid is dat die dingen en schaars en zeer gewild zijn. De VS heeft er 100den en lijken mij eerlijk gezegd de partij om ze te leveren itt een Duitsland of Nederland die maar 4 batterijen hebben.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 10:34 schreef ExTec het volgende:
[ x ]

Inb4: ja maar ja maar ja maar ja maar oorlogsmisdaad, hij geeft zich over!

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 12:45 schreef StateOfMind het volgende:
En van Patricia Paay 😱

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 10:34 schreef ExTec het volgende:
[ x ]

Inb4: ja maar ja maar ja maar ja maar oorlogsmisdaad, hij geeft zich over!

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 16:40 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 17:28 schreef StateOfMind het volgende:

[..]
Hij kan dus kiezen, of sterven in een Oekra�ns veld, of zich overgeven en de rest van zijn leven gevangen zitten in Den Haag

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 17:24 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Nou, dan kan Rusland maar beter stoppen.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 17:37 schreef MaxMark het volgende:

[..]
Dit is de eerste keer in tijden dat ik over Oekra�ense tegenaanvallen hoor. Wel goed om te horen, na al dat defensieve werk de laatste maanden.

quote:

Zwitsers organiseren vredesconferentie over oorlog in Oekra�ne
https://nos.nl/l/2516267

Zwitserland houdt op 15 en 16 juni een tweedaagse internationale vredesconferentie over de oorlog in Oekra�ne. De bedoeling is om een route uit te stippelen die moet leiden naar vrede in Oekra�ne, dat in februari 2022 door Rusland werd aangevallen. De top zal worden gehouden in het B�rgenstock Resort, aan het Vierwoudstedenmeer nabij Luzern.

Het aantal landen dat deelneemt is nog niet bekend, maar de organisatoren gaan uit van tachtig tot honderd landen. Mogelijk is de Amerikaanse president Biden een van de deelnemers aan de conferentie, die wordt gehouden aansluitend aan de G7-top van 13 tot 15 juni in Rome.

De kans dat Rusland aanwezig is, wordt bijzonder klein geacht. De basis van de gesprekken op de top is een vredesplan dat in de afgelopen maanden is ontwikkeld door de Oekra�ense president Zelensky en de Zwitserse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Ignazio Cassis.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 18:55 schreef BEFEM het volgende:
Amerika wil niet dat ze winnen, alleen dat ze niet verliezen.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 18:55 schreef BEFEM het volgende:
Amerika wil niet dat ze winnen, alleen dat ze niet verliezen.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 18:57 schreef Ulx het volgende:

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Dit is gewoon panische angst van benzinejunkies die de prijzen bij de pomp al zien stijgen.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 17:37 schreef MaxMark het volgende:

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Dit is de eerste keer in tijden dat ik over Oekra�ense tegenaanvallen hoor. Wel goed om te horen, na al dat defensieve werk de laatste maanden.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 20:19 schreef BlaZ het volgende:
Pervomaiske is ingenomen door de Russen, het heeft ongeveer twee maanden geduurd om dit dorp in te nemen. Dit zal ook de val van Nevelske versnellen aangezien de belangrijkste toegangsweg nu is afgesloten.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 21:06 schreef Nyamuk het volgende:
Als dit waar blijkt te wezen
[ x ]

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 20:54 schreef inslagenreuring het volgende:

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Stelt dat wat voor of praten we over een landbouwloods, boerderij en 2 akkers?

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 21:28 schreef inslagenreuring het volgende:

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Dat lijken me eerder soldaten, of journalisten die in de loopgraven zitten. Ook niet bijster snugger.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 19:43 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Als het niet meer lukt laten ze Oekra�ne natuurlijk keihard vallen. Oekra�ne is echt geen essentieel belang voor de VS.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 21:30 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

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Een klein dorpje van 2200 inwoners voor de oorlog.
Hier ligt het: https://deepstatemap.live/en#13/48.1036/37.6189

De belangrijkste plaats waar momenteel om wordt gevochten is Chasiv Yar, ten westen van Bagmoet. Momenteel wordt dat zeer zwaar gebombardeerd door de Russen (tientallen FAB's per dag).

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 21:32 schreef Nyamuk het volgende:

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Het is best gewoon dat journalisten in oorlogsgebied ook een helm/vest dragen. Maar het is nog vers. Er zal vast wel aanvullende informatie volgen.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 23:04 schreef LethalNinja het volgende:

Ukrainian Army DECIMATED Need 500,000 New Soldiers

Kritisch filmpje over tekort aan soldaten voor Oekra�ne, eerder konden we natuurlijk ook al lezen op diverse websites dat de leeftijdsgrens was aangepast om zo meer soldaten te krijgen. Over Rusland lees ik dat ze soldaten uit diverse landen halen, vaak uit arme gebieden in grensgebieden van Rusland maar ook Pakistan, India en Indonesi�.

Iemand idee waar Oekra�ne nog nieuwe soldaten vandaan kan halen? Ik lees wel eens over oud USA veteranen in Oekra�ne maar dat lijkt mij maar een hele kleine groep.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 19:43 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Als het niet meer lukt laten ze Oekra�ne natuurlijk keihard vallen. Oekra�ne is echt geen essentieel belang voor de VS.

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 23:04 schreef LethalNinja het volgende:

Ukrainian Army DECIMATED Need 500,000 New Soldiers

Kritisch filmpje over tekort aan soldaten voor Oekra�ne, eerder konden we natuurlijk ook al lezen op diverse websites dat de leeftijdsgrens was aangepast om zo meer soldaten te krijgen. Over Rusland lees ik dat ze soldaten uit diverse landen halen, vaak uit arme gebieden in grensgebieden van Rusland maar ook Pakistan, India en Indonesi�.

Iemand idee waar Oekra�ne nog nieuwe soldaten vandaan kan halen? Ik lees wel eens over oud USA veteranen in Oekra�ne maar dat lijkt mij maar een hele kleine groep.

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Ukraine war latest: Parliament starts considering updated mobilization bill

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 23:23 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

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Enig idee waar Rusland een nieuwe economie vandaan gaat toveren?

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Op woensdag 10 april 2024 23:52 schreef inslagenreuring het volgende:

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Heb nog nooit een economie een stad zien bezetten.

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Iemand idee waar Oekra�ne nog nieuwe soldaten vandaan kan halen? Ik lees wel eens over oud USA veteranen in Oekra�ne maar dat lijkt mij maar een hele kleine groep.

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Tuberville suggests Ukrainian leaders are spending money US gives them on 'beach houses all over the world'
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) suggested that Ukrainian leaders are spending United States aid money on "beach houses all over the world."

In an appearance on Newsmax, Tuberville bemoaned the financial situation of the U.S., urging the government to focus on that before sending out any foreign funds. He turned his attention to Ukraine, where he claimed that U.S. aid money was being squandered on the personal needs of Ukrainian leaders.

"We are printing $80,000 a second, borrowing $80,000 a second, $4.6 million a minute!" he said. "And we're thinking about giving Ukraine more money to waste -- these people can't buy any more houses, and what they bought, they've got beach houses all over the world. Let's start thinking about our country."

The Department of Defense Inspector General's Office, as of February, had more than 50 investigations into military aid to Ukraine, but no allegations of corruption have been substantiated.

Among the usually hawkish Senate GOP, Tuberville has stood out in his opposition to Ukraine aid. He has previously argued that the country will inevitably lose to Russia and that the extensive aid given by the U.S. has been squandered due to corruption.

The Alabama Republican previously complained about Ukraine's acquisition of billions of U.S. dollars to finance things unrelated to the military.

"The United States has no strategic interest in the war in Ukraine or in Eastern Europe in general," he said in October. "The requested $60 billion for Ukraine would be in addition to the more than $100 billion that Congress has already agreed to give them -- for everything from Ukraine's farmers to Ukrainian bureaucrat pensions -- at a time when our own farmers are struggling, and too many American pension funds are in trouble. This is a staggering amount of funding, more than Russia's entire annual defense budget."

Ukraine has struggled with corruption since its independence in 1991 and has dealt with allegations of bribery even in recent years amid its war with Russia. However, President Volodymyr Zelensky has worked to improve his country's image, ousting several officials in connection to corruption scandals last year.

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The Kremlin is using the leader of Gagauzia to destabilize Moldova - ISW
The latest statements by the leader of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul, about the possibility of Gagauzia separating from Moldova upon unification with Romania are nothing more than an attempt by the Kremlin to use pro-Russian players in Moldova to destabilize democracy in the country, the Institute for the Study of War said. Source: ISW

Read also: Russian agents launched a scenario of separatism in Gagauzia - RLI

They may also serve as a justification for future hybrid or conventional operations against Moldova.

Earlier, Russian media reported that Evgenia Gutsul visited Moscow again “on a working visit,” without disclosing the details of the visit.

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, analyzing Hutsul’s latest interview with Russian media, emphasize that such statements may be aimed at supporting future actions to destabilize Moldova, as well as at creating a certain mood in pro-Russian regions.

Let us recall that Maia Sandu, President of Moldova, during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, expressed concern about Russia’s renewed efforts to destabilize Moldova and warned of a possible threat to Europe if Russia is not stopped in Ukraine.

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Switzerland will renounce neutrality in case of Russian attack
In the event of Russian aggression, Switzerland plans to cooperate with European NATO allies to ensure its defense, said Viola Amherd, President of the Swiss Confederation and Minister of Defense. Source: Der Standart

She noted that the European Sky Shield initiative provides for maintaining neutrality, but in the event of an attack on the country, neutrality will be suspended, and Switzerland will be able to organize defense together with its partners.

The President expressed the hope that such a defensive system will not have to be used, but cooperation with partners will provide additional security guarantees in the event of a threat.

Switzerland joined an initiative proposed by Germany last year covering joint procurement, training and information sharing, including radar data.

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Defense Sec Austin says Ukraine should prioritize military targets over attacking Russian refineries
According to Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, strikes on Russian oil refineries could negatively affect the global energy situation

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin believes that the Ukrainian military should focus on striking Russian targets that "can directly influence the current fight" rather than attacking oil refineries on enemy territory, reports Bloomberg.

"Those attacks could have a knock-on effect in terms of the global energy situation. Ukraine is better served in going after tactical and operational targets that can directly influence the current fight," he said.

The head of the Pentagon also called on Congress to approve additional military aid to Ukraine and emphasized that such aid would also help increase defense production in the United States itself as this money would help the defense industry.

Austin's statement about the refineries was condemned by Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who accused the White House of obstructing Ukraine's effective actions due to political considerations.

"It sounds to me that the Biden administration doesn’t want gas prices to go up in an election year," he said.

After a series of strikes by Ukrainian drones on oil refineries in the Russian Federation , gasoline production fell. In three weeks of March, Russian oil refineries reduced the output of automobile gasoline by 10%.

On April 2, 2024, a Ukrainian drone hit the primary oil processing facility at the refinery in Nizhnekamsk (Tatarstan), after which a fire broke out there.

Strikes by Ukrainian drones caused damage to Russia's oil refining infrastructure, knocking out 10-15% of its capacities.

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Second Russian man abducted in Armenia over alleged draft dodging
Russian soldiers in Armenia have abducted a Russian citizen suspected of fleeing the country to avoid being drafted into the military, human rights group The Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (HCA) announced on Tuesday.

Anatoly Shchetin is being held at Russia’s military base in Armenia’s second city of Gyumri, and is scheduled to be repatriated to Russia, the HCA said.

“Once again, Russian law enforcement officers have violated Armenian law by kidnapping a person on the territory of Armenia and detaining him in an illegal prison. Now, they are trying to transfer him to the Russian Federation,” a statement by the HCA read.

According to lawyer Anastasia Burakova, if the Russian authorities had followed legal protocol, they would have been required to submit an official extradition request to Armenia’s law enforcement agencies, who, having approved the request, would have detained Shchetin for deportation themselves.

However, Burakova conceded that as the Armenian authorities “respect human rights”, they have therefore not assisted Russia with requests to extradite Russian citizens accused of draft dodging to date. She said that this was most likely why the Russian military had taken matters into its own hands.

In December, Dmitry Setrakov, a Russian conscript who had deserted his unit and fled to Armenia, was abducted by Russian troops and forcibly returned to Russia in what was the first known case of the use of extraordinary rendition on a fugitive conscript.

Setrakov was taken to the regional military police in Rostov-on-Don in Southern Russia, according to Get Lost, an organisation that helps Russian men avoid conscription or to desert.

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Sevastopol’s bays are almost empty as Russian ships flee to Novorossiysk
Russia has almost no warships left in the bays of Sevastopol as remaining big combat units have been withdrawn to Novorossiysk, the Crimean Wind monitoring group reported on Telegram on April 10.

The only Kalibr cruise missile carrier that has yet to fire the missile is the Karakurt-class corvette Cyclone, the group reported.

The following ships remain in the bays of Sevastopol:
● 2 Krivak-class frigates
● 2 Bora-class corvettes
● 2 Stenka-class patrol boats
● 2 Alexandrit-class minesweepers
● 2 Natya-class minesweepers
● 1 Tapir-class landing ship

Ships that are under repair in Sevastopol:
● Ropucha-class landing ship Minsk
● Ropucha-class landing ship Azov
● Ropucha-class landing ship Konstantin Olshansky
● Ropucha-class landing ship Yamal
● Yury Ivanov-class intelligence ship Ivan Khurs
● Submarine Rostov-on-Don (cannot be restored)

Black Sea Fleet transfer to Novorossiysk

The Russians began transferring its Black Sea Fleet ships to Novorossiysk in Oct. 2023.

Russians hardly use Sevastopol bays for ships anymore after successful strikes by Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Joint Command South announced.

Ships began to return to sea en masse from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet base in Novorossiysk in Jan. 2024.

Russia now tries to protect its port facilities in Novorossiysk from possible Ukrainian attacks, notably by blocking the entrance with four barges, British intelligence reported in March 2024.

A Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) operation successfully damaged a Russian missile carrier, the Serpukhov, at its base in Baltiysk, Kaliningrad Oblast on April 7, a HUR source told NV. According to a HUR representative, Andriy Yusov, the Russians could deploy this missile carrier to the Black Sea.

In more than two years of war, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have sunk or disabled a third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

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Eurenco to start mass production of gunpowder in Europe
Eurenco is investing �500 million in the production of gunpowder at its plants in Europe.

The French company announced that its facilities in the French commune of Sorgue and the city of Bergerac, in the Swedish city of Karlskoga, and in the Belgian commune of Clermont will receive production investments.

Eurenco was founded in 2004 and is a European leader in the explosives production.

“Doing more and faster is the task set by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces,” the company noted.

The days when the gunpowder plant in Bergerac was at risk of going bankrupt are over.

This facility, created during the First World War, has once again become strategic for the French state and the entire European military industry since 2023.

The reason for this is the explosive demand for ammunition after the start of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war.

The project called PURPLE involves the launch of a fully automated modular line that combines new technologies to improve reliability and productivity.

“The goal set for us was to produce 1,200 tons of gunpowder as quickly as possible,” Eurenco said.

At the same time, Eurenco is already planning to increase production volumes to 1,800 tons per year. The company’s facilities will also double their capacity to produce the metal charges required for 155-mm shells.

Mass production will begin by the summer of 2025, and the first propellant charges will arrive in Ukraine in the “first half of 2025.”

As previously reported, European arms producers discussed their serious dependence on Chinese materials used in powder production.

Dmitrii #Rogozin talks about how Russian propaganda works during a lecture

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Dmitrii Rogozin, head of the occupation administration of the Zaporizhzhya region and former head of #Roscosmos, talks about how Russian propaganda works during a lecture at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations

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Omega group operators conducted a nighttime assault on a building in the Zaporizhzhia region

Operators of the 3rd Assault Detachment of the “Omega” Special Operations Center of the National Guard of Ukraine conducted a night assault on a building in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The NGU Commander Oleksandr Pivnenko reported on this.

“In one of the settlements, Russians occupied the basement of a completely destroyed building. A combat group of the “Omega” Special Operations Center was sent to do the job. The enemy did not expect our guys to come so close,” the statement reads.

Due to the precise and coordinated actions of aerial reconnaissance, assault aircraft, and fire support, the special forces approached the building and threw grenades into its basement.

SPOILER

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Штурм будівлі

The remnants of the enemy infantry that tried to escape were destroyed by small arms.

Russian losses in the Zaporizhzhia region
Militarnyi previously reported that the Ukrainian military managed to detect and strike the Russian Leer-3 electronic warfare system in the Zaporizhzha direction.

The drone of the LUFTWAFFE unit of the 129th Territorial Defense Brigade detected and adjusted fire at the EW system.

The American HIMARS rocket launcher needed only one projectile to hit the invaders’ position with this system.

On April 3, it was reported that Ukrainian forces managed to detect and destroy a Buk SAM in the Zaporizhzhia region.

To reconnoiter the Russian position, a Kabul 9 Special Purpose Unit of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, established at the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion, was involved.

The unit’s soldiers managed to detect the Russian air defense system near the village of Velyka Bilozerka.

Ukrainian intelligence officers used the reconnaissance drone to adjust the artillery fire that hit the system.

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Ukraine Struck Russian Target Just 7 Miles From Nuclear Storage Site
Ukraine's attack on the Russian Aviation Training Center for pilots Borisoglebsk, Voronezh region, saw drones hit a target just miles from a secret Russian nuclear storage facility.

The Chkalov aviation training center is located less than 11 kilometers (just under 7 miles) from the closed military city of Voronezh-45, where Russian nuclear weapons are stored, Russian independent news agency Agentstvo reported on Telegram.

The latest attack further exposes the risks and dangers associated with Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil, which began shortly after Russia began the invasion and have been growing in range and scope in recent months.

Newsweek reached out to Russian and Ukrainian Defense Ministries for comment.

Multiple videos emerged on Tuesday showing a massive explosion hit the area where the pilot training hub is located, with damage to production facilities confirmed by a Ukrainian official.

"We will not disclose the details, but according to preliminary information, the main production facilities of the enterprise were damaged," Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) representative Andriy Yusov told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

The Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement shortly after claiming that two enemy drones were destroyed by air defenses in the Voronezh region.

The aviation center attacked by drones is located on Narodnaya Street, which is less than 7 miles away from Voronezh-45, which is home to one of Russia's 12 known nuclear weapons storage facilities, according to United Nations data.

The site previously attracted media attention in June 2023, when it was reportedly approached by Wagner troops en route to Moscow during Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny.

SPOILER

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Ukraine's head of military intelligence, commenting on the events in July 2023, claimed, without offering evidence, that Wagner Group mercenaries tried to acquire nuclear devices during their brief rebellion against Russia's military establishment.

"If you are prepared to fight until the last man standing, this is one of the facilities that significantly raises the stakes," Budanov said in an interview with Reuters.

During the mutiny, Wagner's military vehicles diverted east from its path to Moscow and headed towards Voronezh-25, as evidenced by videos posted online and interviews with local residents in Russian media outlets.

Wagner mercenaries reportedly reached the town of Talovaya where they fought with the Russian military, shooting down a Ka-52 "Alligator" helicopter.

Ukraine has ramped up painful drone and sabotage attacks on Russian military sites, refineries and manufacturing in 2024, with recent successful strikes recorded as far as 800 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Dozens of Russia's strategically important facilities and oil plants appear to be within reach for Ukraine, with Kyiv touting imminent plans for mass-producing new drones with even longer ranges, potentially exceeding 1800 miles.

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NATO will build ground forces headquarters in Finland
NATO intends to establish a ground forces headquarters in Finland, which will strengthen the operations of the Allied Forces Command, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Aril Gramm said.

Read also: Russia has threatened that in the event of an escalation with NATO, Finland will be the first to suffer

According to his statement, the formation of a new NATO ground command center will allow “to benefit from the membership of all Scandinavian countries” in the Alliance.

“I envision that we will operate under common leadership and be part of a single regional defense plan. Thus, the Scandinavian countries will have joint deterrence and defense,” Gramm emphasized.

According to the publication, the headquarters will be located in the city of Mikkeli in southern Finland, which is located approximately 100 km from the Russian border.

It is indicated that the new command center will be subordinate to the joint forces command in Norfolk, USA. It is known that at least 375 officers from NATO member countries will be sent to Mikkeli.

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Two men sentenced to nine years in Russian prison for ties to anti-Kremlin militia
A Russian military court sentenced two men to nine years in prison on Wednesday on charges of attempted treason for their ties to the Freedom of Russia Legion, a Russian paramilitary group based in Ukraine, according to state-owned news agency TASS.

Both men were linked to the pro-Ukraine military group in court but sentenced in cases unrelated to each other, independent news outlet Mediazona reported.

Vsevolod Kulikov, a 19-year old student from the central Russian city of Lipetsk, was convicted of attempted treason, “planning to commit a terrorist attack”, and “encouraging another to commit terrorism”. Investigators say that Kulikov sent an application to the Freedom of Russia Legion in 2022 when he was 17 years old and chose to commit arson on a military airfield as part of a “test task”.

In a letter shared by the Letters of Freedom project in January, Kulikov said he was tortured while in pre-trial detention and “forced to admit to crimes he did not commit”.

The court also convicted Vyacheslav Kuznetsov, 36, from the Russian Volga region republic of Tatarstan, for attempted treason in the form of “defecting to the enemy’s side”, as well as for “planned participation in a terrorist organisation”.

According to investigators, Kuznetsov was arrested in June on his third attempt to enter Ukraine via the Belgorod region. Kuznetsov admitted that he had been in contact with the Freedom of Russia Legion and intended to join the military group, the court press service told TASS.

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The Russian Interior Ministry puts SPIEGEL columnist Zygar on a wanted list
The freelance SPIEGEL employee Mikhail Zygar is apparently wanted in Russia "under the criminal code." He is accused of making derogatory comments about the Russian army on social networks.

The Russian Interior Ministry has put Kremlin critic and freelance SPIEGEL columnist Mikhail Zygar on its wanted list. This was first reported by the independent Russian media company Mediazona . As a result, the Interior Ministry database shows that Zygar is being sought “according to the criminal code.” In this context, criminal proceedings were opened against him, but the Interior Ministry did not provide any further details.

According to consistent media reports, the Russian judiciary opened criminal proceedings against the journalist in mid-March . Zygar was accused of allegedly spreading “fake news” about the Russian military. This was reported by the state news agency Ria Novosti and the Tass agency.

On the Telegram channel "Baza", which is said to have a connection to Russian law enforcement authorities, Zygar was accused of spreading false information on social media about atrocities by the Russian army in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. In a post on Instagram, Zygar drew attention to the murder and rape of civilians in the Ukrainian city by Russian soldiers.

After the criminal proceedings against him became known, Zygar himself confirmed that he did not want to be intimidated by the Kremlin. "I am being persecuted for my words, for my texts, for my books," he wrote in his SPIEGEL column . "Apparently they are too true and too painful for the Russian state, officials and propagandists."

The journalist had already left Russia in February 2022. If convicted, he faces up to ten years in prison. Zygar is the former editor-in-chief of the independent broadcaster Dozhd and was added to Russia's list of "foreign agents" in 2022.

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Russia lost 13 aircraft to wartime friendly fire incidents
Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has lost at least 13 military aircraft to friendly fire from its own air defenses, independent Russian outlet The Insider reported on April 10.

The claim rests on numerous reports about friendly fire incidents from Russian sources, including state-run propaganda outlets.

According to the journalists, the latest incident involved a Mi-24 helicopter on April 10. This was the 13th such case, the report said. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that the helicopter crashed while flying over the Black Sea, allegedly due to a technical malfunction. However, some Russian propagandists publicly stated that the Mi-24 crashed after being mistakenly hit by Russian air defenses.

Most of the cases occurred in 2024.

In total, Russia has lost:
● four Su-35 multi-role aircraft;
● three Su-34 fighter-bombers;
● two A-50U airborne early warning and control aircraft;
● one Su-27 multi-role aircraft;
● one Mi-8 transport helicopter;
● one Mi-24 multipurpose helicopter.

One IL-22M1 airborne command post plane managed to land after a ‘friendly’ attack, but based on the photos of the damaged aircraft, it needs long-term repairs, the report added.

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Trump thinks it's not appropriate to visit Ukraine as presidential candidate
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump thinks it is not appropriate for him to visit Ukraine right now since he does not hold office, his campaign said on Wednesday after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged him to come.

Zelenskiy, in an interview with Axel Springer media outlets published on Tuesday, asked Trump to visit the country so he could hear the former U.S. president's ideas for ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

Trump's campaign said on Wednesday there had been no formal outreach from Zelenskiy to the former president.

"There's been no outreach from Zelenskiy, and President Trump has said publicly it wouldn't be appropriate for him to go to Ukraine right now since he's not Commander in Chief," the Trump campaign said in an email.

U.S. presidential candidates often travel abroad to burnish their foreign policy credentials.

Former Republican candidates who have now dropped out, like former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, visited Ukraine during the campaign for the Republican nomination. During his first presidential run in 2016, Trump visited Mexico and met with its then-president, Enrique Pena Nieto.

Trump and hardline Republicans in Congress oppose further aid to Ukraine, with the possible exception of a loan.

He won the Republican nomination in March and will face Democratic President Joe Biden in the presidential election on Nov. 5

Trump, a longtime admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been critical of Washington's support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and has said he could end the war in 24 hours if elected.

Trump told Reuters in an interview last June that the Kyiv government might have to concede some territory to Russia in order to stop the war. If he became president, everything would be subject to negotiation, he said.

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that Trump has privately said he could end the war by pressuring Ukraine to cede Crimea and the Donbas border region to Russia.

In his comments on Tuesday, Zelenskiy said he was open to hearing Trump's proposals but also expressed skepticism.

"If the deal is that we just give up our territories, and that's the idea behind it, then it's a very primitive idea," he said.

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Op donderdag 11 april 2024 02:25 schreef polderturk het volgende:
WAT EEN MEGA LIJST

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Ukraine war: The Indian men traumatised by fighting for Russia
In October last year, David Moothappan saw a Facebook advertisement offering jobs as security guards in Russia.

The promised monthly salary - 204,000 roubles ($2,201; �1,739) - seemed a huge amount to the school-dropout fisherman from the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Weeks later, Mr Moothappan, 23, found himself on the warfront in the Russian-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

"It's death and destruction everywhere," he says, when asked about his time there.

SPOILER

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He and another man from Kerala managed to return home last week. They are among several Indians who were duped by agents into fighting for Russian forces in the country's war with Ukraine over the past few months.

A few have managed to make their way back home but others are still stuck in Russia. Most of them are from poor families and were lured with the promise of jobs, sometimes as "helpers" in the Russian army. At least two Indians have died so far in the war.

India's foreign ministry has said it is "pressing very hard with the Russian authorities" to bring back its citizens who have been tricked into fighting in the war. Last week, foreign minister S Jaishankar called this "a matter of very, very deep concern" for India. The BBC has emailed the Russian embassy in India for comment.

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing.

Mr Moothappan is relieved to be back home in the fishing village of Pozhiyoor in Kerala, but says he can't forget what he saw in the war.

"There were body parts strewn all over the ground," he says. Distraught, he started vomiting and almost fainted.

"Soon, the Russian officer commanding us told me to return to the camp. It took hours for me to recover," he says.

He says he broke his leg around Christmas while fighting in a "remote place" - his family, he says, didn't know about his situation at that time.

Mr Moothappan spent two and a half months in different hospitals in Luhansk, Volgograd and Rostov before recovering partially.

In March, a group of Indians helped him reach the country's embassy in Moscow, which then arranged for him to travel back home.

Some 61km away in Anchuthengu, another fishing hamlet in Kerala, Prince Sebastian has a similar story of escape - and trauma - to tell.

Duped by a local agent, he was deployed in a group of 30 fighters in the Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian town of Lysychansk. After just three weeks of training, he says he was sent to the frontline with several weapons including an RPG-30 (a handheld, disposable rocket-propelled grenade launcher) and bombs, which prevented him from moving quickly.

Fifteen minutes after he reached the front, he says a bullet fired from close range deflected off the tank he was in and pierced below his left ear. He fell - on to what he realised was a dead Russian soldier.

"I was shocked and I couldn't move. After an hour, as the night fell, another bomb exploded. It badly injured my left leg."

He spent the night in a trench, bleeding. He escaped the next morning and subsequently spent weeks in different hospitals.

He then got a month's leave to rest. During this time, a priest helped him contact the Indian embassy which then issued him a temporary passport and arranged for his return home.

He says two of his friends who went with him, also fishermen, are still missing. Neither he nor their families have heard from them in weeks.

Officials in Kerala say they have so far received complaints from the families of four men - Mr Moothappan, Mr Sebastian and his two friends - about being duped by agents.

Mr Sebastian says he and his friends went to a local agent in their village to check if they could find jobs somewhere in Europe (the man is currently absconding).

The agent suggested Russia, speaking of a "golden opportunity" to work as a security guard for a monthly salary of 200,000 rupees ($2,402; �1,898). They agreed instantly.

The friends paid 700,000 rupees each to him for a Russian visa. On 4 January, they reached Moscow, where an Indian agent identified as Alex, who spoke their language, Malayalam, welcomed them.

They spent the night in a flat, following which a man took them to a military officer in the city of Kostroma, 336km (208 miles) away, where they were made to sign a contract in Russian, a language they couldn't read, Mr Sebastian said.

Three Sri Lankan recruits also joined them there. Then the six men were taken to a military camp in the Rostov region, which borders Ukraine. The officers took their passports and mobile phones.

The training started on 10 January. In the following days, they learnt how to use handheld anti-tank grenades and what to do if they were injured.

After this, they were taken to a secondary base known as the Alabino Polygon. There, the training continued for 10 days, "day and night".

"All kinds of armaments were waiting for us there," Mr Sebastian said. "I started enjoying the weapons like toys."

But the brutal reality of the war hit him on the battlefield.

Now, he is hoping to resume fishing. "I have to repay the money I borrowed from lenders and restart my life," he says.

In Pozhiyoor, Mr Moothappan hopes to do the same.

"I was engaged to a girl in my village when I left. I told her I'll return with money and build a house before our marriage," he said.

Now the couple have decided to wait for two more years as Mr Moothappan tries to rebuild his life.

But he's happy that at least he didn't kill anyone in his time on the battlefield.

"One time, the Ukrainians were some 200m away. We were asked to go on the offensive but I didn't fire a single shot at them," he said. "I can't kill anybody."

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Ukrainian Troops Have Set A Bloody Tank Trap On A Key Bridge Outside Chasiv Yar
Russian forces keep trying, and failing, to cross the bridge

Eight weeks after finally capturing the ruins of Avdiivka following a bloody, five-month battle, Russian forces in Ukraine have taken aim at another eastern prize: the former industrial town of Chasiv Yar.

A big battle is coming. One with major consequences for Russia’s 26-month wider war on Ukraine.

Where Ukrainian troops could withdraw from Avdiivka without necessarily risking a broader collapse in their defensive line in the east and a deeper Russian breakthrough, quitting Chasiv Yar could clear path for the Russians to march west.

That “could have dire consequences, as it would provide a direct route for the Russian army to advance toward key cities,” Ukrainian analysis group Frontelligence Insight explained.

Which is why Russian advances on the town’s eastern edge in recent weeks are so worrying for the Ukrainians and their allies. And why the tank trap Ukrainian troops have established at one key intersection outside Chasiv Yar is so encouraging for the Ukrainians and their friends.

SPOILER

quote:

The trap straddles a bottleneck for Russian forces rolling out from their forward base in occupied Ivanivske. That bottleneck is a small bridge on the T-0504 road that threads west out of Ivanivske and through a forest into Chasiv Yar’s southern districts.

If the Russians—possibly from the 11th Air Assault Brigade operating from the ruins of Bakhmut, a few miles to the east—can get over the bridge, they might be able to disappear into the woods and creep toward Chasiv Yar with some degree of concealment from drones and artillery.

If the Ukrainians—from the 42nd and 67th Mechanized Brigades and adjacent units—can concentrate enough firepower on the bridge, they might be able to block Russian assaults on southern Chasiv Yar before they reach the protection of the trees.

So far, the Ukrainians are succeeding. Which means the Russians are failing. On Wednesday, Ukrainian forces—anti-tank missile crews, drone operators, artillery gunners or some mix of all three—hit at least one Russian BMP fighting vehicle as it was crossing the bridge.

The hulk of the wrecked fighting vehicle now joins the hulks of several other burned-out Russian vehicles on and around the tank trap.

Frontelligence anticipated the Russians’ struggles crossing that bridge. “The road connecting Chasiv Yar and Bakhmut has several bridges over the water channel,” the group explained on Monday. “With the right approach and correctly allocated resources, Chasiv Yar could potentially be a very formidable obstacle to advancing Russian troops.”

It’s not clear the Ukrainian brigades always have the resources they need, however. That should come as no surprise, given that Russia-friendly Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives continue withholding aid to Ukraine after six months.

While the Ukrainians were able to direct a lot of firepower at the Ivanivske bridge on Wednesday, last Thursday they watched—ammo-starved and powerless—as a Russian assault group rolled all the way to Chasiv Yar’s easternmost canal district.

Apparently benefiting from a fresh shipment of munitions, the Chasiv Yar garrison surely are hoping the Russians keep trying to cross that one bridge and its overlapping missile, drone and artillery kill zone. Each attempt costs the Russians another armored vehicle or two.

But that doesn’t mean the Ukrainians aren’t also trying to drop the bridge and cut off a main southern vector into Chasiv Yar. That’s easier said than done, of course: the bridge is a small target, and thickly built.

There’s an apparent shell crater in the middle of the bridge that apparently resulted from an early Ukrainian strike on the span. On or around April 2, some enterprising Ukrainian troops strapped explosives to a remote-controlled vehicle—yes, a tiny drone truck—and rolled it into the crater before detonating the charge.

Unfortunately for the Chasiv Yar garrison, the bridge survived the blast. The silver lining, for the Ukrainians, is that mostly intact bridge remains a dangerous chokepoint for the Russians.

quote:

Op woensdag 10 april 2024 22:20 schreef Pegos het volgende:
Ik hoorde vandaag dat er een redelijk invloedrijke Rus, pro-Poetin-propagandist Vladimir Solovjev op de Russische tv zender Russia 1, opperde om geheel Oekra�ne van de kaart te vegen.
Zou deze Rus ook weten dat het dreigen met dergelijke idee�n in strijd is met het oorlogsrecht en dat het het bedreigde land toestaat om hier min of meer preventief op te reageren?

quote:

Op woensdag 10 april 2024 18:37 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Jesus Tittyfucking Christ.

quote:

Kremlin plans on accusing Kyiv’s security chief of masterminding Crocus City Hall attack: sources
Insiders from Ukraine’s Special Services informed the Kyiv Post that the Kremlin is preparing to officially accuse Vasyl Maliuk, the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), of orchestrating the assault on Crocus City Hall. Maliuk has been singled out as the primary target by the Kremlin.

As per these sources, Russian President Vladimir Putin “has not forgiven the SBU for the two strikes on the Crimean bridge,” especially the initial strike, which coincided with the Russian president’s birthday, as well as the assaults conducted by Sea Baby drones on Russian vessels.

“Another sensitive area where the SBU has made significant impact is the country’s refineries and gas stations. Additionally, the Service has been effectively countering Russian agents within Ukraine,” the source revealed.

“Therefore, the detained Tajiks, who were tortured following the attack, will conveniently be found to possess ‘Maliuk’s business cards’,” the source further explained.

SPOILER

quote:

On Friday, March 22, gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, resulting in the deaths of 143 concertgoers..

Four suspects in the attack – all purportedly from Tajikistan, according to Russian state media – have been apprehended, along with several suspected accomplices.

The attack was claimed by the Islamic State (IS). Despite Putin acknowledging the involvement of “radical Islamists,” he persisted in accusing Kyiv of aiding the suspects’ escape into Ukraine, a claim Kyiv vehemently denied.

Individuals from Russian intelligence circles also pointed fingers at the West and Ukraine for the attack, though they failed to provide any supporting evidence.

Putin’s inner circle doubts Kyiv’s involvement
A Bloomberg article disclosed that Putin’s inner circle doubts his claims that Ukraine was involved in the deadly concert hall attack in Moscow on March 22. Nonetheless, they suggest that Putin intends to exploit the tragedy to galvanize public support for the war with Ukraine.

The United States revealed that it had issued both public and private warnings to Russia in early March regarding extremist plots to target a concert hall in Moscow.

Unnamed U.S. intelligence officials later disclosed to American media outlets that they specifically cautioned Moscow about Crocus City Hall being the target of an IS attack.

Alexander Bortnikov, director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), remarked that the information provided by U.S. agencies was only of “a general nature.”

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 00:46 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.washingtonexa(...)uses-all-over-world/
[..]
Een van de senatoren in Amerika die Russische propaganda napraat. Zonder ook maar een greintje van bewijs ervoor te hebben.

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Witnesses in Trump classified documents case will remain secret, federal judge orders
A federal judge decided Tuesday that the names of potential witnesses in the classified documents case against Donald Trump will remain secret – resolving one of the issues that has created a logjam in the criminal case.

SPOILER

quote:

After months of arguing over what pieces of information in court filings should stay redacted, Judge Aileen Cannon agreed with special counsel Jack Smith’s office that releasing names and other identifying information could put them at risk.

Cannon said the prosecution’s request for redactions was “sweeping in nature as applied to all potential government witnesses without differentiation,” but concluded that Smith’s team had proven that witness details needed to be protected “at least at this juncture.”

The judge’s order will allow more records in the case to become public, and witnesses mentioned in the records will be referred to by pseudonyms, she said. But, Cannon said, witness statements can be used in the public filings — unless those statements would be identifying.

Smith had strongly pushed back on a previous order from Cannon for transparency surrounding the identification of witnesses, pointing to fears of witness harassment.

CNN previously reported that the potential witness list includes a number of low-level workers from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

In her order Tuesday, Cannon dinged the special counsel’s office for not raising all of their concerns about releasing witness names in the first-go-around of legal arguments about redactions in this case.

“Although the record is clear that the Special Counsel could have, and should have, raised its current arguments previously, the Court elects, upon a full review of those newly raised arguments, to reconsider its prior Order,” she wrote.

Trump’s lawyers had argued they should be able to name potential witnesses, as is typical in criminal cases.

Trump and his two co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to obstruction, and the former president has pleaded not guilty to crimes related to his alleged mishandling of classified and sensitive government information. The case is being heard before Cannon’s court in Fort Pierce, Florida.

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Conservatives deal another blow to Speaker Johnson, defeating FISA rule after Trump push
House conservatives revolted against GOP leadership and defeated a key vote on the floor Wednesday, the latest blow to Speaker Mike Johnson that comes after former President Donald Trump called on Republicans to kill a controversial surveillance law.

SPOILER

quote:

Trump had urged House Republicans to reject a reauthorization of the law, known as FISA, ahead of the key procedural vote on Wednesday, adding to headaches for GOP leaders who have struggled to build support for the legislation, but were still attempting to forge ahead and advance the bill.

“KILL FISA,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

This marks the fourth time in Johnson’s tenure that the House has defeated a rule vote, a major embarrassment for leadership.

The tally was 193 to 228, with 19 Republicans bucking House GOP leadership and voting with Democrats to sink the procedural vote and take down a rule to govern debate on the reauthorization bill as well as several other bills.

House Republicans have been fiercely divided over how to handle the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act reauthorization, putting pressure on Johnson to find a path forward amid competing factions within his conference. With the threat of a vote on his ouster looming, the Louisiana Republican’s every move is under even more intense scrutiny, and the speaker has once again found himself odds with his right flank over the surveillance law.

Johnson signaled he still believes they can find a path forward on FISA this week despite deep divisions and little progress after two lengthy conference meetings devoted to the topic Wednesday.

“We still have time on the clock this week,” he told reporters. “We are going to try and find a way to unlock the rule and I think it’s possible.”

“We will be talking to members about it tonight, trying to figure that out,” he added.

Johnson had previously announced that the House would take up a FISA reauthorization bill this week. The bill, titled the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, would reauthorize Section 702 of FISA for five years and aims to impose a series of reforms. Now, the fate of the effort is up in the air after the failure of the key vote Wednesday.

Several conservatives announced they would move to sink the procedural vote earlier in the day.

Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, said he would vote against the procedural vote. Additionally, Florida GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna wrote on X, “we are killing FISA,” in response to Trump’s Truth Social post. And Tennessee GOP Rep. Tim Burchett told CNN he would be voting no on the rule. When told that would kill it, he said, “good.”

Tensions rise in House GOP conference
In a sign of rising tensions as Republican infighting intensifies, Rep. Tom McClintock stood up in a conference meeting Wednesday evening and called for “retribution” for any GOP colleagues who oppose key procedural votes, according to a source in the room.

Separately, Johnson has made plans to trek down to Mar-a-Lago on Friday to appear at a joint news conference with the former president to deliver remarks on “election integrity” – a topic Trump cares deeply about. The development was first reported by CNN.

The move comes as the House Republican leader is fending off a challenge to his speakership amid a motion to vacate filed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Georgia Republican has yet to take the necessary step to force a floor vote on the resolution, essentially keeping the threat in her back pocket for now.

Multiple sources close to Johnson and Trump said allies of the speaker have asked the former president to publicly support Johnson, or at least stay out of the back-and-forth altogether.

Johnson told members at a closed-door conference meeting Wednesday morning that he spoke with Trump Tuesday night. But, according to members, Johnson told them they didn’t discuss FISA.

Authority for Section 702 was extended through April 19 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Controversy over surveillance law
The law as it stands allows the US intelligence community to collect the communications records of foreign persons based overseas, but it also allows the FBI to search the data it collects for Americans’ information in what critics have called a “backdoor” search.

The searches of US persons’ information are governed by a set of internal rules and procedures designed to protect Americans’ privacy and civil liberties, but critics say that loopholes allow the FBI to search the data it collects for Americans’ information — as opposed to from foreign adversaries — without proper justification.

The complicated politics surrounding the law have long united strange bedfellows: Some conservative Republicans have joined forces with progressive Democrats to push for reforms to the authority, while security-focused Democrats and Republicans have opposed major new restrictions.

One major sticking point is whether the FBI should be required to obtain a warrant before querying the database for information on US citizens.

In a sign of how challenging the issue has proved for House Republicans to navigate, leadership pulled a pair of surveillance law bills from the floor in December amid internal GOP divisions. In February, a spokesperson for the speaker said the House would consider FISA reform “at a later date” to allow for more time to reach consensus on a path forward.

The authority has also become a high-profile political target of conservative Republicans after it became known that a different section of FISA was inappropriately used to surveil Trump 2016 campaign aide Carter Page.

In his call to “kill FISA,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHERS. THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!!!”

“FISA and Section 702 have been essential to intercepting communications of dangerous foreign actors overseas, understanding the threats against our country, countering our adversaries, and saving countless American lives,” Johnson said in a letter to colleagues on Friday. “Our responsibility now is simple: maintain the tool but strictly prohibit future abuses.”

The speaker went on to say that the bill the House is expected to take up includes reforms “that will establish new procedures to rein in the FBI, increase accountability at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), impose penalties for wrongdoing, and institute unprecedented transparency across the FISA process so we no longer have to wait years to uncover potential abuses.”

Trump’s former Attorney General Bill Barr came out swinging against the former president and House Republicans for tanking the key vote in a phone interview with CNN.

“I think it’s a travesty and reckless,” Barr told CNN.

Barr, who has long been critical of Trump on multiple fronts, went after the former president for urging House Republicans to sink the procedural vote.

“I think that he’s a flawed leader and this shows one of the reasons he is flawed,” Barr said.

Addressing Trump’s claim that the surveillance law was used against him during the FBI investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia, Barr stated that the provisions slated to be reauthorized “had nothing to do with what happened to him.”

Barr also reflected on the national security implications if FISA does not get reauthorized.

“We’re faced with probably the greatest threat to the homeland from terrorist attack and our means of defending against that is FISA. And to take that tool away I think is going to result in successful terrorist attack and the loss of life” he said.

quote:

Judge denies Trump’s latest attempt to delay hush money case
For the third time in three days, a New York appellate judge has denied an attempt by former President Donald Trump to delay his hush money trial.

SPOILER

quote:

Trump on Wednesday asked a New York appeals court for emergency relief to stop the criminal trial scheduled to begin Monday from going ahead so he could appeal a lower court’s ruling on presidential immunity and have the judge recused from the case.

It took Associate Justice Ellen Gesmer just minutes after hearing arguments to reject the interim motion to stay the trial.

Wednesday’s court petition marked the latest in what has been a blitz of actions by Trump at the appeals court this week to try to stop the trial before its scheduled start. The former president still could appeal the denied motions to New York state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals. That court, however, does not have to accept the motion.

Trump attorney Emil Bove said at Wednesday’s hearing that Trump was seeking a stay due to three issue that go to the “core, fundamental fairness” of the trial: recusal, restriction on filing defense motions, and presidential immunity.

“This can only be done once, and it must be done right because of the impact it will have on this election,” Bove said. “There are questions about the judge. There are questions about our ability to file motions.”

The Manhattan district attorney’s office responded by urging the court to reject the latest attempt to delay the trial. “There is a powerful public interest to ensure this trial moves forward on the scheduled date,” Manhattan District Attorney’s Office Chief of Appeals Steven Wu said Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Trump’s legal team asked the appeals court to delay the trial so he could challenge a gag order stopping the former president from making statements about witnesses, family members of the judge and prosecutors, and jurors. Trump’s lawyers also argued that the trial can’t take place in Manhattan because of pretrial publicity. Both times, the requests to take emergency steps to delay the trial were swiftly denied.

Wednesday’s last-ditch motion came on a day when the appeals court’s afternoon calendar was packed with previously scheduled arguments that occupied the main storied courtroom.

To accommodate the emergency action, the basement of the courthouse was transformed into a makeshift courtroom. Tables and chairs were rearranged to create an area that would serve as the bench for the judge, and two tables facing it for the attorneys. It is believed to be the first time such an accommodation was made.

The room, with restrooms off to the side, is usually a waiting area for lawyers before they argue their cases.

Bove said at the hearing that Trump’s attorneys objected to the restrictions on filing motions, arguing that if Trump has a motion to preclude testimony by Michael Cohen and he’s scheduled to start testifying the next day, they can’t file the motion in time.

“That 72 hours in the middle of the trial eliminates our ability to file that motion from one day to the next,” Bove said, adding that it’s not consistent with Trump’s constitutional right to defend himself.

On presidential immunity, Bove said: “This is a situation where the judge has exceeded his authority under circumstances with very, very serious implications.”

Wu responded that Trump is not following proper procedure to challenge the judge’s rulings.

“Even when a trial court may have erred in adopting a procedural order the solution is to wait until final judgment and handle on direct appeal,” Wu said.

Wu also pushed back on claims that Judge Juan Merchan would need to recuse himself from the case. “Their recusal arguments are completely meritless,” Wu said, noting that the advisory committee has looked at this specific conflict and determined there was no conflict.

A lawyer arguing on behalf of the court, Lisa Evans, also weighed in to oppose Trump’s recusal petition, saying, “There’s absolutely no evidence to show that Judge Merchan stands to benefit from the outcome of this trial. There’s no proof.”

In an earlier motion, Trump asked Merchan to delay the trial until the Supreme Court rules on Trump’s claim he is entitled to presidential immunity from prosecution in an unrelated federal criminal case involving his alleged interference in the 2020 election, which the Supreme Court is considering later this month. Merchan denied the motion, saying it was made too late.

Bove argued Wednesday that the ruling precludes Trump from objecting to prosecutors introducing certain evidence, such as tweets he made while president, at trial.

Wu responded that was an incorrect reading of the judge’s ruling.

In a brief two-page notice of petition filed earlier in the day, Trump’s lawyers said Merchan overstepped his authority when he issued a ruling denying Trump’s motion to postpone the trial until after the Supreme Court rules on immunity.

The notice also said Trump is seeking to challenge the judge’s ability to oversee the trial. Previously, Trump filed a motion asking Merchan to recuse himself from the case saying the judge is conflicted based on work his daughter does for a political consulting firm that has worked for Democrats. The judge has not yet ruled on that motion.

After CNN reviewed the notice of petition on the public docket, the filing was sealed.

quote:

Trump looms over fight to oust Speaker Johnson
As Mike Johnson stares down a serious threat to his speakership, he’s taking steps to show alignment with the most powerful figure in the Republican Party: Donald Trump.

SPOILER

quote:

Johnson has made plans to trek down to Mar-a-Lago on Friday to appear at a joint news conference with the former president to deliver remarks on “election integrity” – a topic Trump cares deeply about. The development was first reported by CNN.

Meanwhile, Johnson’s allies have asked Trump to publicly support the speaker, or at least stay out all together of his back-and-forth with House Republicans, according to multiple sources close to both Johnson and Trump. And people have also been counseling Johnson to keep Trump in the loop on a yet-to-be-released Ukraine aid package – a politically perilous policy issue that could draw the ire of Trump, divide the House GOP and end Johnson’s rookie speakership.

The effort to stay in Trump’s good graces could provide Johnson some much-needed political cover as he tries to carefully navigate a tricky stretch of governing and fend off a possible right-wing revolt. Johnson’s strategy also shows the continued grip Trump has on the House Republican Conference.

Johnson has long been a staunch Trump supporter and played an instrumental role behind the scenes in Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election. CNN previously reported that after the election, Johnson sent an email from a personal email account to every House Republican soliciting signatures to support a long-shot Texas lawsuit seeking to invalidate Electoral College votes from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The lawsuit was eventually rejected by the Supreme Court.

But it may prove difficult for Johnson to prove he is moving in complete lockstep with Trump. Aside from promising to deliver some form of funding to Ukraine, which Trump has railed against, the speaker has also been trying to pass a contentious reauthorization of a foreign surveillance law. Those plans were thwarted after Trump encouraged Republicans to kill the bill and hard-liners tanked a procedural vote on Wednesday.

Johnson told House Republicans during a closed-door meeting Wednesday that he had spoken to the former president the previous day. But when asked by CNN if he had sought Trump’s backing amid a potential vote to oust him, Johnson said: “I’m not going to comment on the conversations with President Trump.”

Trump’s team also declined to comment on the call.

Johnson added: “It would be chaos in the House” if a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair were to succeed.

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump’s most loyal supporters who is threatening to force a vote on Johnson’s removal, also told CNN she had recently spoken to Trump but declined to reveal how he feels about her effort.

“I don’t speak for the president,” Greene said, following a tense, 70-minute meeting in the speaker’s office Wednesday.

Asked about Johnson’s upcoming news conference with Trump, Greene said: “Things like that don’t bother me.”

For his part, Trump has said that he does not want to go through another speaker fight, one source told CNN.

‘Trump’s support on anything would be helpful’
Johnson – who has promised to address Ukraine as lawmakers return to Washington from a two-week recess – has so far kept his strategy close to his vest and plans to talk it over more with members of his conference this week.

But the speaker has publicly floated some ideas to make the proposal more appealing to conservatives, such as structuring the aid as a loan – an idea previously floated by Trump.

Several House Republicans told CNN they would feel more comfortable with any Ukraine package if they knew it had Trump’s backing and encouraged Johnson to seek Trump’s buy-in.

“I would hope the speaker is consulting with Donald Trump on just about everything we do,” said Texas Rep. Troy Nehls, a Trump ally. “If he’s not, he should be.”

Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern, the head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, echoed a similar sentiment.

“President Trump’s support on anything would be helpful for the Republican Party,” Hern told CNN.

Some Trump allies who support aiding Ukraine expressed cautious optimism after the former president’s meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron at Mar-a-Lago earlier this week. Cameron described the meeting as “good” and said he would continue to push for Ukraine aid during meetings in Washington with US lawmakers from both parties.

Cameron said he reiterated during the meeting with Trump that supporting Ukraine is an investment in US security and that “the best thing we can do is to keep the Ukrainians in this fight.”

Two sources close to Trump said there was no indication that the former president had shifted his stance on funding Ukraine.

Greene continued to encourage Johnson to drop his plans for both Ukraine aid and the surveillance bill.

“Right now, he does not have my support, and I’m watching what happens on FISA and Ukraine,” she said. “Those are the two things that we’ll be watching.”

quote:

RNC under Lara Trump spreads ‘massive fraud’ claims about 2020 election
The Republican National Committee last week sent out a scripted call to voters’ phones on behalf of new co-chair Lara Trump saying Democrats committed “massive fraud” in the 2020 election.

SPOILER

quote:

It’s the latest example of how the RNC under the former president’s daughter-in-law is perpetuating lies about the 2020 election, even as prominent Republicans say the party needs to look forward to win in 2024.

“We all know the problems. No photo IDs, unsecured ballot drop boxes, mass mailing of ballots, and voter rolls chock full of deceased people and non-citizens are just a few examples of the massive fraud that took place,” the RNC call said. “If Democrats have their way, your vote could be canceled out by someone who isn’t even an American citizen.”

The claim of “massive fraud” in the 2020 election marks a significant shift in messaging for the RNC because lies about the 2020 election had not been a consistent theme in its messaging since Donald Trump left office.

But the call’s message is largely consistent with the views publicly espoused over the past four years by Lara Trump, who was elected as co-chair in early March as part of Donald Trump’s takeover of the GOP. Lara Trump has a long history of echoing his election fraud claims, according to a CNN KFile analysis of her past statements as a commentator and surrogate for the former president.

“I’m sure you agree with co-chair Trump that we cannot allow the chaos and questions of the 2020 election to ever happen again,” said the call, which was obtained by CNN’s KFile from the anti-robocall application Nomorobo, which estimated 145,000 calls were sent with the message from April 1-7.

It comes amid previous CNN reporting about the RNC asking employees who are reapplying for their jobs whether they believe the 2020 election was stolen in an apparent litmus test for hiring. The RNC denied any such litmus test existed. Lara Trump and new chair Michael Whatley succeeded Drew McKissick and Ronna McDaniel, who had earned the ire of the former president because of his dissatisfaction with how the RNC handled claims of fraud around the 2020 election, CNN previously reported.

There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, as even some state GOP election officials and former Trump Attorney General William Barr have acknowledged. The former president and his supporters filed more than 60 court cases in six key battleground states following the election and lost every one of them. And, they have still not brought forth any evidence of the rampant cheating they continue to talk about on the campaign trail.

But in the years since the 2020 election, Lara Trump has continued to push claims of fraud. Her comments have been in line with those of her father-in-law, who’s successfully reshaped the GOP in his image and easily secured his third-straight GOP nomination this year.

Polling, for example, shows that a majority of GOP voters think the 2020 election result was illegitimate. A CNN poll released last September found that 71% of Republicans said President Joe Biden’s “did not legitimately win enough votes to win the presidency.”

From November 2020 to February 2024, Lara Trump propagated the narrative of Democratic cheating in the 2020 presidential election. And even after she was elected co-chair and said claims of a stolen election are “in the past,” she didn’t repudiate those baseless accusations.

“Well, I think we’re past that. I think that’s in the past. We learned a lot. Certainly, we took a lot of notes,” Trump said in an NBC interview when asked whether claims of a stolen 2020 election would be the official position of the RNC in 2024. She went on to tout lawsuits across 23 states “to ensure that it is harder to cheat and easier to vote,” while raising questions about pandemic-era voting procedures during the 2020 election.

In the same interview, Trump also added the GOP needed to “trust mail-in voting.”

Neither the RNC nor Lara Trump responded to multiple requests for comment.

A long history of spreading election lies
As recently as February 2024, Lara Trump said she did not believe Biden received 81 million votes in the 2020 election.

“Does anyone actually believe that in 2020, 81 million people were so inspired by a guy who could only get 10 people (to attended events) …that he had the most massive turnout in the history of elections?” she said at a Trump event in South Carolina just days before she announced her campaign for RNC co-chair. “No, we don’t believe that.”

On her internet show and podcast, and in public events, she often spread outlandish and nonsensical claims about the 2020 election.

On an episode of her show that aired on December 30, 2020, Trump agreed with her co-hosts that the election did not pass the “smell test” and falsely suggested that dead voters helped Biden win.

“Now, I don’t know if this is true, but somebody sent me this. Donald Trump got 74 million votes. There are 133 million registered voters in the United States. If every single registered voter went out and voted, which we know is basically impossible, doesn’t happen, there would only be 59 million votes left for Joe Biden. So how the heck did he get 81 million votes?” she said.

The comments cite a widely debunked analysis that misrepresents the number of people eligible to vote.

“You’re discriminating against all the dead people, Lara. How dare you!” said one co-host.

“Oh yeah, that’s right. That’s true,” she responded.

A CNN analysis previously found no evidence to support this claim, debunking the misinformation spread by Trump supporters online in the aftermath of the 2020 results.

The 2020 election saw a record-breaking turnout, with 155 million people casting their votes, as reported by the US Census Bureau. This marked the highest voter participation of the 21st century, with 66.8% of eligible citizens aged 18 and older voting.

Later in the episode, Trump said, “I think that [Democrats] know that the Republicans are not gonna let it stand. They’re not gonna certify votes for Joe Biden. And it is likely that they will be voting for Donald Trump for a second term.”

In an episode of her podcast weeks earlier, she claimed the odds of Biden winning in swing states were “one in one quadrillion to the fourth power,” as mail-in ballots were counted, failing to cite a statistical analysis.

Though Biden narrowly lost with in-person voters, 46% of voters voted by mail in 2020. As votes were counted, Biden pulled ahead, according to an analysis from Pew Research.

Though nothing was abnormal or illegal about the process, Lara Trump has also referred to the counting of votes nefariously.

“We gotta make up so much for all the cheating,” Trump said on her podcast in September 2023. “We know the Democrats love to do that. We need to go into this thing with such a big lead that they’re like, ‘oh my God, we can’t do a 3:00 a.m. spike with this. We’re never gonna make it.”

quote:

DeSantis tells donors he plans to help fundraise for Trump
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told donors and supporters at an appreciation retreat over the weekend that he would help fundraise for former presidential rival Donald Trump, two sources familiar with the details told CNN.

SPOILER

quote:

“He’s committed to helping Trump in any and every way,” said Texas businessman Roy Bailey, who attended the retreat. “We are going to follow his lead, and we’re excited to do everything we can to get Trump elected.”

“If we can unlock and motivate our donors for Trump and put more fuel in his tank, that’s what we want to do, and that’s what we need to do to make sure [President Joe] Biden is not reelected,” Bailey said.

The appreciation retreat, which was held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, was for large donors, major fundraisers and finance committee members of the DeSantis campaign. DeSantis and his wife, Casey, attended. It was held on the same weekend the Trump campaign announced a record $50.5 million haul at a fundraiser in Mar-a-Lago.

Upon ending his bid for the White House in January, DeSantis endorsed Trump in the Republican primary, but he has not appeared with the former president at any campaign events since. At a news conference in Florida in March, DeSantis was asked if he would join Trump on the campaign trail and he emphasized how Florida was not as competitive a state anymore.

“This is not going to be a state that’s competitive in November, and that’s just the reality. So I don’t anticipate there being much campaign here for the top of the ticket,” DeSantis said. “How I can help nationally, I want to be able to do that, I don’t know exactly.”

NBC News was first to report that DeSantis plans to help fundraise for Trump.

quote:

Trump tells wealthy donors he wants to extend his 2017 tax cuts. Here’s why they’d benefit the most
Wealthy donors forked over a record $50.5 million at a recent fundraising dinner for former President Donald Trump, but they could also reap big benefits if he returns to the White House.

SPOILER

quote:

At the dinner, hosted by billionaire investor John Paulson, Trump told the crowd that one of his core issues for a second term would be extending the sweeping tax cuts that congressional Republicans approved in 2017. While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced taxes for most Americans, the rich benefited far more than others.

The speech outlined yet another divide between Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and President Joe Biden, who is campaigning on raising taxes on the wealthy to fund his social and other priorities while protecting those who earn less than $400,000 a year from tax hikes. Biden’s campaign wasted little time attacking Trump for “promising tax giveaways to billionaire donors.”

“Now, Trump is making it clear to his billionaire buddies that he’ll take his first chance to double down on tax giveaways for the ultra-wealthy – all while he fights to rip away Americans’ health care, gut Social Security and Medicare, and raise costs on working families,” Sarafina Chitika, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said in a statement.

The fate of the 2017 law’s individual tax provisions, which are set to expire at the end of next year, will depend on which party wins control of the White House and Congress in November.

If they are extended, more than 60% of the benefits would go to those in the top 20% of income, according to the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research group. More than 40% of the benefits would go to those in the top 5%.

If Trump achieves his goal, those making between $400,000 and $1 million would get an average tax cut of about $15,000, lifting their after-tax incomes by 3.1%, according to the center’s estimates. Those who earn $1 million or more would enjoy an average tax cut of about $50,000, raising their after-tax incomes by 2.3%.

Only about a quarter of those in the lowest income households would see their taxes reduced. Their tax cut would be $100, on average, which would bump up their after-tax incomes by 0.5%.

The wealthy have already been served well by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which also included multiple corporate tax changes.

“Most everybody in every income group got a tax cut, but the highest-income people got by far the biggest tax cut,” said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the center.

The law reduced individual and corporate income tax rates, repealed personal exemptions, increased the standard deduction and child tax credit, limited or restricted certain itemized deductions and doubled the estate tax exemption, among other provisions.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 03:27 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

[..]
Dit komt niet echt uit de lucht vallen en is vanaf het begin van de oorlog al een enorm probleem. Oekra�ne werkt hard aan het verminderen van de corruptie in het land, maar het heeft nog een zeer lange weg te gaan en staat momenteel op de 104e plaats op de corruptie ranglijst. Dit Russische propaganda noemen lijkt me wat erg onkritisch. Dat het de goede kant uitgaat met corruptie is natuurlijk wel een feit.

Vorig jaar werd de defensieminister nog ontslagen om corruptie:
https://www.nytimes.com/2(...)ding-corruption.html

Recentelijk bleek er 40 miljoen verdwenen:
https://www.washingtonpos(...)on-artillery-shells/

quote:

Opinion: Congress must let Ukraine win, say Barbra Streisand, Sean Penn, Imagine Dragons, Timothy Snyder and other luminaries
Editor’s Note: In this appeal to Congress, more than 35 artists, activists, scholars and others call for funding for Ukraine. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the signatories. Read more CNN Opinion.

CNN — Together we call upon Congress to do the right thing.

Ukrainians are fighting for their existence. On territory that Russia occupies, it tortures Ukrainian citizens, kidnaps Ukrainian children and murders Ukrainian leaders. On territory Russia can reach with its weapons, it strikes civilians and rescue workers. Russian missiles, drones and bombs destroy churches and monuments to the Holocaust. Russian occupation threatens Ukraine’s Muslims, the Crimean Tatars.

Russian leaders say openly that their goal is the destruction of the Ukrainian state and the elimination of Ukrainians as a people. Russian propagandists threaten genocide almost every day. Right now, Russia is using missiles and glide bombs to destroy the ancient and beautiful city of Kharkiv, once home to 1.5 million people, just as Russia destroyed Mariupol, Aleppo and Grozny.

Ukrainians are also fighting for our safety and for everyone’s freedom. By resisting Russian dictatorship, they show that democracy can defend itself. By defending their borders, they are protecting the international order and holding off chaos. By fighting Russia alone, they protect Europe. By showing how hard offensive operations are, Ukrainians make a Chinese war in the Pacific less likely. By fighting a conventional war against a nuclear power, they are making nuclear proliferation and nuclear war less likely.

The Ukrainian armed forces are defending basic American interests. They are doing things that Americans cannot do for themselves. By absorbing the entire Russian attack, they are making other wars in Europe impossible. They deter China without in any way provoking Beijing. By showing that a nuclear power can be resisted, they teach other countries that they need not build nuclear weapons. For two years, Ukrainians have protected us as well as their own people.

Most Americans understand this, and want to help Ukraine. And most elected representatives do, too.

SPOILER

quote:

But we are letting the Ukrainians down. It has been more than 470 days since Congress passed legislation to support Ukraine. That is most of the time since Russia invaded in February 2022. During the period of our inaction, Russia has reconstituted its army. It is preparing a new offensive, testing Ukraine across the front and illegally using CS gas to drive Ukrainian soldiers from their trenches.

If Russia breaks through, this will be our fault. And then we will understand what we have lost.

If Russia breaks through, this will be our fault. And then we will understand what we have lost. Everything that Ukraine is doing for us can be reversed. If Ukraine is defeated, we will find ourselves in a far more dangerous world. It will be a world where we can expect war in Europe and war in Asia. A world in which Russia can cut off the food to the Near East and Africa that Ukraine now supplies. A world without rules and a world full of nuclear weapons.

And then it will be too late to do the thing that, right, now, is easy: help an ally that is in the fight of its life by passing legislation in Congress. Spend about a nickel of the defense department dollar, about a penny on the overall budget dollar, most of which, in any event, stays in the United States.

We should not let our allies down. Around the world, everyone looking on believes that Ukraine is an easy choice for us. It is a democracy, and we claim to support democracies. Its soldiers are doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Ukraine is fighting by itself, and not asking for American troops. What America must do to support Ukraine is minimal. If we cannot keep to our commitments to Ukraine, no one will believe that we will support any of our allies in the future. That will lessen us, and create a world of war.

And Ukrainians are impressive allies. They are fighting well across a very long front. They have cleared the Black Sea of the Russian navy, allowing Ukrainian agriculture to feed the Near East and Africa. They have developed and deployed their own weapons. They are doing everything humanly possible, and taking painful human losses every single day. But they need things that only we can provide to keep up the fight.

Ukrainians are giving us a chance. A chance for Americans to do the right thing, for them, for us, for decency, for humanity. Ukraine can protect itself and bring stability around the world. If we allow Ukraine to lose, though, we are inviting catastrophe for them, and catastrophe for ourselves.

Congress returned to session this week. Time is short and new dangers can arrive very quickly. Together we call upon Congress to do the right thing – right now. Support Ukraine.

Signed:
J.J. Abrams, filmmaker

Jos� Andr�s, chef and activist

Gabrielle Carteris, actor and trade union leader

Mona Charen, journalist

Misha Collins, actor

Rosario Dawson, actor

Felicia Day, actor and writer

Doug Fears, former homeland security adviser

Jonathan Safran Foer, novelist

Francis Fukuyama, political scientist

Mark Hamill, actor

Gale Anne Hurd, producer

Dara Khosrowshahi, entrepreneur

William Kristol, writer

Eric Edelman, diplomat

Imagine Dragons, band

Scott Kelly, astronaut

Daniel Lubetzky, entrepreneur

Michael McFaul, political scientist

Kate McKinnon, actor

Alyssa Milano, actor

Viggo Mortensen, actor

Patton Oswalt, comedian and actor

Phillips O’Brien, military historian

Brad Paisley, musician

Sean Penn, actor

Serhii Plokhii, historian

Ivanna Sakhno, actor

Eric Schmidt, philanthropist

Liev Schreiber, actor

Timothy Snyder, historian

Terrell Jermaine Starr, journalist

Barbra Streisand, singer and actor

Hilary Swank, actor

Peter Wehner, writer and activist

Katheryn Winnick, actor

quote:

Floods ravage regions of Russia and Kazakhstan, but worse is yet to come
Floods have swamped parts of Russia and Kazakhstan after Europe’s third-longest river burst its banks, forcing more than 100,000 people to evacuate and sparking protests against the authorities.

The Ural River, which flows from Russia’s Ural Mountains through Kazakhstan to the Caspian Sea, was swelled this week by snow melt, causing a deluge in dozens of towns and cities along the border.

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the flooding “might be the biggest disaster in terms of its scale and impact in more than 80 years.”

In Russia’s Orenburg region, nearly 13,000 residential buildings were flooded, forcing more than 7,700 people to be evacuated, the local government said Wednesday. Water levels in Orenburg city reached 996 centimeters (around 33 feet), according to the mayor – far exceeding the official critical level of 930 centimeters.

“The forecast is unfavorable. The water level continues to rise in flood-affected areas,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday.

SPOILER

quote:

The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin would on Wednesday receive reports from the governors of the three seriously affected regions: Orenburg, Kurgan and Tyumen. The governor of Kurgan warned the region was expecting a large influx of water from Thursday to Sunday.

Despite the crisis, Putin has no plans to visit the flooded regions, Peskov said, because local officials were carrying out “intense work” and “the population is being provided with all the necessary assistance.”

“Although he is not physically there, he is constantly present on this topic. He constantly deals with these issues throughout the day,” Peskov said.

Residents have repeatedly called on the president for assistance. Video posts on social media showed hundreds of protesters gathering outside the city hall in Orsk, Orenburg, chanting “Shame! Shame!” and “Putin, help!” Other footage showed demonstrators accusing the state of “doing nothing” and criticizing the city’s mayor, Vasily Kozupitsa.

“We feed emergency ministry workers with pies and dumplings and bring them thermoses… Kozupitsa cannot even provide for emergency workers. Shame!” one woman could be heard saying.

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, also criticized the Kremlin.

“The authorities in our country never seem to be prepared for anything. In winter, they are unprepared for frost and snowstorms, in summer - for fires, and in spring - for floods,” she wrote Tuesday on X.

In a thread, Navalnaya also shared Telegram videos showing local officials responding unsympathetically to affected residents. In one video, Orenburg governor Denis Pasler tells a news conference he should be on vacation rather than responding to the floods. In another, he tells the public to put away their phones and not record his comments.

“It’s like in the Soviet Union: if a catastrophe occurs, first, it must be covered up,” Navalnaya added.

In another video, Russia’s Emergency Situations Minister Aleksandr Kurenkov claims that the evacuation was “announced a week ago” and that the public “chose not to leave” because they thought it was a “joke.” But, in an interview with a local news outlet, a resident of Orsk said: “This is nonsense. There was no warning.”

South of the border, more than 96,000 people have been evacuated in Kazakhstan, the government said in a statement. Nearly 3,000 people were airlifted from flood-hit regions and more than 7,600 are staying in temporary accommodation, according to Yerassyl Saipash, a senior officer at the Kazakh Emergencies Ministry.

More than 8.5 million tons of meltwater has been pumped away, Kazakh state media Kazinform reported Wednesday.

Putin and his Kazakh counterpart spoke about the situation on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.

quote:

American drones are glitching and getting lost in Ukraine, giving way to a flood of Chinese drones
• American drones aren't performing as well as those from other countries, like China's, in Ukraine.
• The drones are glitchy, expensive, and get lost during flight, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
• Those problems are opening the door for Ukraine to buy drones from other manufacturers.

The drone war in Ukraine is constantly evolving and forcing both sides to innovate quickly. But for Ukraine, a key partner is having trouble keeping up and letting rivals fill the void.

American-made drones haven't excelled on the battlefield, prompting Ukraine to turn to buying Chinese-made drones.

SPOILER

quote:

The problems with many US-made drones, particularly some of the smaller ones, are that they often don't function as advertised or planned and easily glitch when targeted by Russian jamming, sources told The Wall Street Journal.

They are fragile and vulnerable to electronic warfare. For some of the systems that were sent to Ukraine, issues included not taking off, getting lost and not returning home, or simply failing to meet mission expectations.

Part of the problem is that US technology isn't evolving fast enough, in part due to restrictions on sourcing. Georgii Dubynskyi, Ukraine's deputy minister of digital transformation, told The Journal that "what is flying today won't be able to fly tomorrow," adding that the innovation window in this conflict is small.

"The general reputation for every class of US drone in Ukraine is that they don't work as well as other systems," Adam Bry, the chief executive of American drone company Skydio, told WSJ, acknowledging that his own drone is "not a very successful platform on the front lines."

US drones are also typically far more expensive than comparable models. And at the rate Ukraine is burning through them, it wouldn't be feasible. Instead, Ukraine is turning to systems made by Chinese companies for cheaper and often more reliable alternatives.

Chinese DJI drones have long played a role in the war, with Ukraine buying many of the retail models. Ukrainian forces sometimes strap bombs directly on them for a makeshift one-way attack drone or use them to drop grenades.

Ukraine has often manufactured its own drones through crowdfunding. While that's been successful, the sheer volume of drones being used in the war means both sides need to rely on several outlets to get what they need. There is also state-level support.

Russia has also relied on government support and private outfits, but it also gets unmanned systems from partners, such as the Iranian-made Shaheds. Russia has even developed its own domestic version of this system. But Russia has also bought Chinese-made drone technology.

The reported problems in America's domestic drone industry is concerning given the Department of Defense's prioritization on the development and fielding of uncrewed systems. Replicator, originally unveiled last August, is an initiative to put thousands of uncrewed systems into service by August 2025.

Pentagon "officials state that the Replicator initiative draws from lessons learned in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, in which Ukraine has leveraged large numbers" of cheap attributable systems "to counter the Russian military's advantage in force strength," according to a Replicator document for Congress from this March.

A few months after Replicator was first announced, multiple US defense industry executives and other companies told Defense News there was confusion around plans to build these drones. Many said that details on the program were unclear, especially with Chinese dominance in the small drone industry.

quote:

Russia's artillery advantage over Ukraine could soon reach 10:1 – top US general
US General Christopher Cavoli, the Supreme Commander of NATO's Allied Forces Europe, has warned that without US support for Ukraine, Russia's artillery advantage on the battlefield will be further enhanced.

Source: European Pravda, citing Reuters; Cavoli at a hearing of the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee

Details: Cavoli said that Russia is currently firing five artillery shells for every one fired by Ukrainian forces, and this disparity could increase to 10:1 in the coming weeks.

"If one side can shoot and the other side can't shoot back, the side that can't shoot back loses. So the stakes are very high. They're really dependent this year on us, Mr. Chairman. And without our support, they will not be able to prevail," he added.

The top US general in NATO also warned that without further US support, Ukraine would run out of artillery shells and air defence interceptors "in fairly short order".

Background:
• The US Congress has been unable to approve additional funding for military aid to Ukraine since last autumn due to disagreements over migration policy and pressure from far-right Republicans on House Speaker Mike Johnson.
• Amid the months-long dispute in Congress, Johnson announced that the aid package for Ukraine would include "some important innovations", including the possibility of providing aid on credit.
• However, disputes between Republicans in the House of Representatives may lead to the long-awaited decision on funding to support Ukraine and other allies being postponed again.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 05:20 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Dat er van Amerikaans steun/geld de elite van Oekra�ne allemaal luxe strandhuizen over de hele wereld kopen of gekocht hebben is gewoon pure Russische propaganda wat nagepraat wordt. Dat Oekra�ne problemen heeft met corruptie klopt wel, maar niet op zo'n schaal. En zoals je zelf al zei werken ze er hard aan om dit te verminderen. Wat succesvol gebeurd.

En de artikelen die jij aanhaalt zou ik zelf maar eens lezen als ik jou was. Mr. Reznikov heeft bijvoorbeeld zelf ontslag genomen. Omdat er op zijn afdeling een heleboel dingen fout gingen. Waaronder inderdaad corruptie. Daar hij de eindverantwoordelijke was heeft hij de eer aan zichzelf gehouden.

En het tweede artikel gaat over staatsgeld, niet buitenlande hulp. Wat ook gebeurd was onder Mr. Reznikov. (niet door hem, maar wel op zijn afdeling, er is namelijk geen bewijs gevonden dat hij er direct bij betrokken was)

Ook heeft Amerika grondig onderzoek gedaan (meerdere) over wat er met hun geld en andere hulp van hun zoal gebeurd is. En zij hebben geen bewijs kunnen vinden van grootschalige fraude ermee. En zij houden dit ook nog eens erg goed in de gaten.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 03:27 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

[..]
Dit komt niet echt uit de lucht vallen en is vanaf het begin van de oorlog al een enorm probleem. Oekra�ne werkt hard aan het verminderen van de corruptie in het land, maar het heeft nog een zeer lange weg te gaan en staat momenteel op de 104e plaats op de corruptie ranglijst. Dit Russische propaganda noemen lijkt me wat erg onkritisch. Dat het de goede kant uitgaat met corruptie is natuurlijk wel een feit.

Vorig jaar werd de defensieminister nog ontslagen om corruptie:
https://www.nytimes.com/2(...)ding-corruption.html

Recentelijk bleek er 40 miljoen verdwenen:
https://www.washingtonpos(...)on-artillery-shells/

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 03:27 schreef BlaZ het volgende:
Dit Russische propaganda noemen lijkt me wat erg onkritisch.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 12:10 schreef polderturk het volgende:
De "republikeinen" houden zgn de hulp aan Oekra�ne tegen, toch?

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 12:10 schreef polderturk het volgende:
Nederland is MACHTIGER dan de VS.

Binnen een paar weken gaat dit duidelijk worden.

De VS speelt nu ern smerig spelletje mbt tot Oekra�ne. De "republikeinen" houden zgn de hulp aan Oekra�ne tegen, toch?

Nederland hoeft maar ��N ding te doen om aan te tonen of dit echt waar is.

Als de VS het hulppakket aan Oekra�ne tegenhoudt, dan gaat ASML EUV machines aan China leveren.

Laten we zien hoe de VS reageert en hoe snel ze het hulppakket goedkeuren in de senaat.

Wij als Nederland.

We have the power.
Nederland is MACHTIGER dan de VS

Gewoon wachten en zien.

De VS denkt het zelfde spelletje te spelen als tijdens WOII.

Wij worden onder de voet gelopen en dan komt de VS als reddende engel.

WIJ ALS NEDERLAND ZIJN GAAN ZIEN WIE ER DE BAAS IS.

3-2-1

NWS / Nederland is MACHTIGER dan de VS

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 12:13 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Nope, maar de democraten vinden het fantastisch dat je dat denkt.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 12:27 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

[..]
De EU is de volgende supermacht.

quote:

The US recently sent Ukraine its first batch of new long-range precision bombs with the potential to strike deep within Russian-occupied territory. Despite the weapons’ extended range, however, Ukraine won’t be able to use them to hit military targets inside Russia itself. Why? The US won’t allow it out of fear that American weapons taking out targets within Russia could escalate the conflict.

From American bombs to British and French cruise missiles, Kyiv’s Western partners provide their most potent weapons on the condition that Ukraine only use them within its own borders (including Crimea; the Ukrainian peninsula occupied by Russia since 2014). This restriction is a mistake, and one easily remedied by simply informing Ukraine that it has been lifted. Amid gridlock in Congress and delays in European ammunition production, Kyiv’s Western allies can help Ukraine overnight with this one change in policy.

Limiting Kyiv’s use of Western weapons puts Ukraine in a difficult position because the missiles hitting Ukrainian cities are often launched over Russian territory by planes taking off from airfields inside Russia. The same is true for Russia’s one-way attack drones, which depart bases in Russia only to crash into Ukrainian apartment buildings and explode on impact.

Restricting Ukraine’s use of Western munitions doesn’t entirely prevent strikes inside Russia, but it pushes Kyiv to use more unconventional means – drones, vehicle-borne bombs, and sabotage. Ukraine also uses a limited supply of old, and less precise, Soviet missiles. But Kyiv’s one-way attack drones move slower than Western missiles and bombs, which can make them more vulnerable to Russian air defenses. And when debris from intercepted drones falls on Russian cities, it feeds Putin’s propaganda machine. Clearly, more precise Western weaponry will reduce collateral damage in Russia, and reduce civilian casualties.

While Ukraine is working hard to develop its own long range missiles, it will take time for them to be ready for widespread use on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Western weapons have proven effective when used on Russian military bases in occupied Ukrainian territory, where Kyiv has permission to use munitions like US-supplied ATACMS and cruise missiles from France and the UK. Strikes with these weapons have leveled Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters, wrecked a Russian submarine, and destroyed dozens of Russian helicopters. In response, the Kremlin has moved several of its valuable warships and aircraft out of occupied Ukraine and into bases and ports in Russia.

Restrictions on Kyiv’s use of Western weapons are a gift of particular value to Moscow because Russia has far more aircraft than they have hangars to hold them. This leaves valuable military planes and helicopters out in the open. The Kremlin knows that many of its aircraft are vulnerable to Ukrainian strikes, which is why Moscow’s forces have taken to painting flat aircraft decoys at their air bases. These decoys don’t look very convincing when viewed in high-resolution satellite imagery, but they could mislead Ukrainian attack drones reliant on basic cameras. Advanced Western weapons are less likely to have this issue.
[...]

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 12:30 schreef Zwoerd het volgende:

[..]
Jij denkt dat als de Republikeinen wel mee gaan stemmen, de Democraten het alsnog tegen gaan houden?

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 13:21 schreef Za het volgende:
Het Oekra�ense parlement heeft een controversi�le wet aangenomen om de broodnodige dienstplichtigen te stimuleren en de gelederen van het leger te vullen

Kiev, Oekra�ne (AP) – Het Oekra�ense parlement heeft donderdag een wet aangenomen die bepaalt hoe het land nieuwe dienstplichtigen rekruteert, na maanden van vertraging en nadat duizenden amendementen waren ingediend om het oorspronkelijke ontwerp af te zwakken.

Wetgevers hebben zich maandenlang gebogen over de wet, die naar verwachting impopulair zal zijn . De wet werd ingegeven door een verzoek van het Oekra�ense leger, dat nog eens 500.000 troepen wilde mobiliseren, zei president Volodymyr Zelensky in december.

https://apnews.com/articl(...)8b4ad1296311b8130b92

Oa door de recruterings leeftijd te verlagen van 27 naar 25.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 13:35 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Zal best impopulair zijn. Lieverkoekjes bak je alleen niet in een oorlog. En ik snap het gedoe om die 25 niet zo. Volgens mij kreeg ik een oproep toen ik 18 was.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 14:44 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Johnson moet kiezen. Roemloos of eerloos ten onder. Fucked is hij hoe dan ook al. Kiest hij voor het in stemming brengen heeft hij Oekra�ne maandenlang voor werkelijk niets laten bloeden maar is hij nog even speaker. Doet hij het niet verliest hij zijn baantje omdat MTG/Trump hem gaan wippen, en de Dems hem dan niet gaan helpen. En daarmee is Oekraiens bloed aan zijn handen het enige resultaat van zijn speakertijd.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 15:08 schreef polderturk het volgende:

[..]
Zoals ik heb gezegd.

De EU moet de VS dreigen met het leveren van EUV chipmachines aan China of het stopzetten van het leveren van EUV chipmachines aan de VS als de VS blijven weigeren wapens te leveren aan de VS.

Dit gaat de Democraten in de VS helpen verwacht ik. Een klap in het gezicht van Trumpski.

NWS / Nederland is MACHTIGER dan de VS

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 14:09 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Vijfhonderd stemmen voor. Geen budget voor EU instanties tot er extra Patriots naar Oekra�ne gaan.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 15:22 schreef xzaz het volgende:

[..]
Zo werkt het niet

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 15:24 schreef inslagenreuring het volgende:

[..]
Is dit nu democratisch of ondemocratisch?

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 15:24 schreef inslagenreuring het volgende:

[..]
Is dit nu democratisch of ondemocratisch?

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 15:08 schreef polderturk het volgende:

[..]
Zoals ik heb gezegd.

De EU moet de VS dreigen met het leveren van EUV chipmachines aan China of het stopzetten van het leveren van EUV chipmachines aan de VS als de VS blijven weigeren wapens te leveren aan de VS.

Dit gaat de Democraten in de VS helpen verwacht ik. Een klap in het gezicht van Trumpski.

NWS / Nederland is MACHTIGER dan de VS

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 15:42 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
En dan zeggen de Chinezen "Dank je wel" en gebruiken ze die machines om Rusland te helpen. Dan wat?

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 14:09 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Vijfhonderd stemmen voor. Geen budget voor EU instanties tot er extra Patriots naar Oekra�ne gaan.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 15:54 schreef polderturk het volgende:

[..]
We moeten ermee dreigen.

We kunnen ook weigeren ze te leveren aan de VS.

De VS wil grote chipmachines bouwen.

Hoe gaan ze die bouwen zonder de machines van ASML?

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 15:28 schreef polderturk het volgende:

[..]
Zo werkt het wel.

We gaan eerst dreigen.

Daarna zeggen de Democraten in de senaat:

"Door de Republiekeinen verliezen we de EU en de wereldmacht aan China".

Daarna gaan de Republikeinen bakzeil halen.

Dit is politiek.

Dit is MACHT.

UNLIMITED POWER !!!

You Didn’t Build your PC… This Did. - ASML Cymer Tour

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 15:41 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Een normale stemming in het parlement. Ik zie geen veto's of iets dergelijks.

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Op donderdag 11 april 2024 15:41 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Het is niet zuigend pro-rus, dus het zal vast niet 'democratisch' zijn.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 17:16 schreef inslagenreuring het volgende:

[..]
Doel meer op dat de raad gechanteerd wordt met eigen bevoegdheden, door stemming weliswaar.

Je ziet dat ook in de VS gebeuren.

Vind dat maar aparte ontwikkelingen.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 17:17 schreef inslagenreuring het volgende:

[..]
Dat zeg je vaker ja.

Jij bent dan slikkend pro-oek?

En ja, zo bedoel je zuigend niet

quote:

Op dinsdag 9 april 2024 21:21 schreef StateOfMind het volgende:

[..]
Karma

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 17:32 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Je bent meer van een uitvoerende macht die daar geen last van heeft?

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Op donderdag 11 april 2024 10:17 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Maar het is wel een kremlin talking point. Het doet ook 0,0 af aan dat rus de agressor is.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 18:02 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

[..]
Je opmerking is non sequitur.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 14:09 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Vijfhonderd stemmen voor. Geen budget voor EU instanties tot er extra Patriots naar Oekra�ne gaan.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 18:09 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

[..]
Welke landen hebben deze systemen eigenlijk en zijn er voldoende raketten beschikbaar in Europa? Ik dacht namelijk dat er simpelweg geen patriot raketten beschikbaar waren.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 18:08 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Dat hoeft ook niet. Dat er corruptie is in oekraine is ook gewoon totaal irrelevant. Daar wordt primair op gehamerd door het ultra-corrupte rusland, dat notabene op positie 137 staat (volgens transparancy int).

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 18:16 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

[..]
Dat Rusland zeer corrupt is staat vast, dat is echter vanuit een Nederlands perspectief niet erg relevant aangezien wij niet Rusland maar Oekra�ne financieel steunen. Het probleem is dat Oekra�ne ook zeer corrupt is en dit probleem aanmerken als irrelevant juist de problemen verergerd. Gelukkig is het Oekra�nse leiderschap van mening dat dit een enorm probleem is en juist van wil dit aan te pakken.
Dit is ook echt niet enkel iets waar Rusland op hamert, maar ook iets wat regelmatig terugkomt in Oekra�nse dagbladen en de New York Times en Washington Post.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 13:33 schreef Za het volgende:
[ x ]

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 16:10 schreef xzaz het volgende:

[..]
Nee; onderdelen voor AMSL worden in NA gemaakt. De spiegel wordt van Europa / Zwitserland gevlogen naar NA om daar in elkaar gezet te worden. Dan wordt het in delen weer verscheept naar Nederland om verder ge�ntegreerd te worden.

You Didn’t Build your PC… This Did. - ASML Cymer Tour

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 09:45 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:

[..]
Het maakt natuurlijk geen bal uit wel geld ze verduisteren. Of het nu de steun is of geld wat gaten veroorzaakt waar die steun weer in terecht komt.

Als de corruptie voor de oorlog ongeveer net zo groot was als de Russische corruptie volgens de berichten is, dan heb je dat niet met een paar jaartjes eruit.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 18:01 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 18:38 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
De corruptie was niet zo groot als die van Rusland. Er werd al een tijd gewerkt aan het tegengaan ervan. De oorlog heeft dit in een stroomversnelling geplaatst. En die 40 miljoen waar het tweede artikel over gaat is weer grotendeels teruggehaald van de producent/fabricant die dit verduisterd had. Zij hadden namelijk wel gewoon het geld ontvangen maar niks geleverd.

En de andere berichten van corruptie gaat over het betalen vaan een veel hogere prijs voor producten zoals eieren voor het leger. Of kleding van slechtere kwaliteit. De betrokken ambtenaren zijn hiervoor aangepakt.

Dus ja corruptie is een probleem in Oekra�ne. En daar moeten ze zeker aan blijven werken. Maar het geld vanuit Amerika wordt gewoon goed besteed. En niet om deze gaten op te vullen. De geldstromen vanuit Amerika worden goed in de gaten gehouden door Amerika. Net zoals er ook strenge controle is op wat er met Europees hulpgeld gebeurd.

Maar dat de elite van Oekra�ne van het geld overal over de wereld luxe strandhuizen hebben gekocht is gewoon onzin. Net zoals het onzin was dat Zelenski twee jachten had gekocht van hulp geld. Of zijn vrouw in Amerika voor een miljoen aan juwelen had gekocht.

Dat waren allemaal verhalen vanuit Russische hoek. Pure propaganda dus. Wat op geen enkele wijze werd ondersteund met verifieerbaar bewijs.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 19:34 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Lol, die beelden van de helikopter. Het is duidelijk dat god hun heeft verlaten. Elke keer zie je ze weer bidden, en zie je priesters alles zegenen (van tanks tot soldaten). Voordat ze aan gort geschoten worden, of in dit geval overstromen.

Wanneer krijgen zij de hint nu eens.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 18:16 schreef BlaZ het volgende:
Het probleem is dat Oekra�ne ook zeer corrupt is en dit probleem aanmerken als irrelevant juist de problemen verergerd.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 19:52 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:

[..]
Overdreven Russische propaganda is 1 ding, maar je noemt ook meer waarheidsgetrouwe berichtgeving.
Blaz heeft gewoon gelijk als hij zegt dat corruptie nog altijd een probleem is. Oekra�ne mist het vlees op de botten om het zich te kunnen permitteren.

quote:

Top GOPers’ extraordinary comments on their party and Russian propaganda
Two key GOP chairmen are merely the latest to warn about how Russian influence has infected their party

quote:

Top Republican warns pro-Russia messages are echoed ‘on the House floor’
The latest remarks come after another GOP member said Russian propaganda has ‘infected’ the Republican base

quote:

Fiona Hill: stop ‘fictional narrative’ of Ukraine meddling in US election
Former expert on Russia attacked debunked conspiracy theory used to defend Trump against allegations of bribery

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 10:17 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Maar het is wel een kremlin talking point. Het doet ook 0,0 af aan dat rus de agressor is.

quote:

‘I hope Ukraine will lose’: What MEPs told Russian propaganda channel
A POLITICO review of the 50 videos on Voice of Europe’s YouTube channel revealed 16 MEPs had engaged with the outlet.

BRUSSELS — “If it is a war of civilization, well, I hope the civilization in Ukraine will lose,” said Marcel de Graaff, a Dutch far-right lawmaker, from a TV studio just inside the European Parliament last October.

Another far-right politician jumped in.

“Ukraine has to become a demilitarized buffer zone,” argued Maximilian Krah, a far-right politician from Germany, addressing the other four participants in the studio. The debate was organized by Voice of Europe, an outlet which Czech and Belgian authorities said in March was a front for Russian propaganda and disinformation.

Czech authorities have sanctioned two of Voice of Europe’s executives, one of whom is Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s longtime friend Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian oligarch.

A POLITICO review of all 50 videos on Voice of Europe’s YouTube channel revealed 16 Members of European Parliament had engaged with the outlet — all of them from the hard-right-to-extreme-right. MEPs and politicians from Central and Eastern European governments gave video interviews to a channel with only 351 subscribers on YouTube and a mere 60,000 views since last summer.

However, its reach on social media platforms X and Facebook was much larger, and its account on X is still running. In a long post on X its account blamed “globalist media” for making “wild speculations and absurd accusations” about their Russian connections, which it insisted were baseless.

The 13 MEPs who POLITICO managed to contact denied taking or being offered money.

SPOILER

quote:

Since last August, Voice of Europe organized four debates and one-to-one interviews with the following MEPs: Germany’s Krah and Joachim Kuhs, France’s Patricia Chagnon, Thierry Mariani and Herv� Juvin, the Netherlands’ Marcel de Graaff, Italy’s Matteo Gazzini and Francesca Donato, Slovakia’s Miroslav Radačovsk� and Milan Uhr�k, Estonia’ Jaak Madison, Spain’s Hermann Tertsch and Jorge Buxad�, Croatia’s Ladislav Ilčić, Denmark’s Anders Vistisen and Belgium’s Tom Vandendriessche, according to POLITICO’s review of videos.

While joining the online outlet, several lawmakers dismissed the prospect of Ukraine joining the EU, blamed the start of the war on Ukraine, talked up the level of corruption in Ukraine and the difficulties Ukraine is facing on the frontlines and pressed for urgent peace talks, argued against sending more weapons to Ukraine, while calling for Ukraine to make concessions and warning that the conflict could dangerously escalate. All of these talking points go against standard EU talking points and the hard pro-Ukraine line the European Union takes.

Most of the MEPs said they could not remember who invited them to the debates, how they were contacted or who interviewed them face-to-face in their parliamentary offices.

Lawmakers have raised concerns in recent months about the scale of Russian influence within EU institutions just months before June’s European election.

“The risk for the coming European elections is that bad actors like foreign actors and Russia are going to try to blend in to people’s online spaces when their guard is down,” said Jiore Craig, senior fellow on digital integrity at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an NGO working on disinformation.

Since the revelations, YouTube removed dozens of videos filmed in the Parliament from its website for violating its policy on deceptive content. While Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo claimed MEPs were paid by the organization, there is no evidence that these MEPs took money for these appearances.

So far, only a Munich court specialized in bribery and corruption has opened a preliminary probe after accusations surfaced that one of the Alternative for Germany party’s top candidates for the election, Petr Bystron, had received bribes.

A ‘Pro-Kremlin disinformation machine’
Created in the Netherlands in 2016 and already accused of serving Russia’s interests in 2018, Voice of Europe went on hiatus before re-emerging to publish news with Russian headings in May 2023, subsequently rebranding and publishing on X in June.

A frequent narrative pushed by the MEPs was that peace talks need to be held urgently in order to stop the bloodshed of both Ukrainians and Russians.

“This is a copy paste of the pro-Kremlin disinformation machine,” said Jakub Kalensk� from the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats. “It’s not peace if we have Russian soldiers in Ukraine,” Kalensk� added.

MEP de Graaff — who has brushed off allegations he was paid by Voice of Europe — said in the October debate: “The best way to get peace is to have the Ukrainians surrender.”

Mariani, from France’s National Rally, blamed the EU for triggering the events that led to Russia invading Ukraine, by signing a trade deal with Ukraine a decade ago. “Some countries just want to destroy Russia, which is first impossible and not in the interest of our countries,” Mariani said.

French lawmaker Juvin argued in another panel discussion that the more weapons the West provides to Ukraine, “the more Putin has to push to the West,” and Krah suggested Ukraine should give up its eastern territories and that any notion of Kyiv joining the EU is “just propaganda.”

For three of the panel debates, it was Dutch MEP de Graaff who requested the use of the VoxBox studio and `for a fourth, it was Krah, according to two people familiar with the bookings who were granted anonymity to speak freely about the matter.

Not all the MEPs pushed particularly pro-Russian stances, however. Spanish far-right MEP Tertsch said Putin must suffer some “reverses” in any future peace talks, and added that it’s “very easy” to understand why countries in central and eastern Europe don’t trust the Russian leader. When contacted by POLITICO, Tertsch said: “I am probably the most notorious anti-Putinist in Spanish politics.”

Similarly, Croatian MEP Ilčić said during a panel debate that he did not share Putin’s values and later described himself as “quite anti-Russian.” Estonian MEP Jaak Madison told POLITICO that he told the channel’s interviewer: “‘Russia is our enemy and we have to give weapons to Ukraine.’ They didn’t try to convince me that I’m wrong,” he said.

Whose Voice?
While Voice of Europe presented itself as a media outlet, it remained unclear who all of the editors and journalists working for it are.

“I don’t ask every journalist’s CV before agreeing to an interview,” said Mariani, when asked about who had invited him for the debate.

Chagnon, his far right colleague, also said she couldn’t remember every journalist’s name, including the one who had “a strong accent” and worked for Voice of Europe. She however asked Chris Tomlinson, the moderator, to send her his ID before agreeing to meet him for another debate.

Tomlinson, who previously worked as a journalist at far-right U.S. blog Breitbart and previously wrote for the Brussels-based European Conservative magazine, declined multiple requests to comment from POLITICO, only writing: “Sorry, I do not understand what you are alleging.”

MEP Vandendriessche said he recognized Voice of Europe’s name from the previous parliamentary legislature, before 2019, when he was working as a press officer. He said he was now the victim of a disinformation campaign alleging he was promoted by a Russian disinformation campaign. “How can I be promoted if I gave an interview that has several hundreds of views or that’s it?” he asked.

Joachim Kuhs, the German far-right MEP, did not name Tomlinson but said he did not know that the interview was going to be for Voice of Europe, saying he was under the impression it would be for the European Conservative. Kuhs employs de Graaff’s wife Gabri�lle Popken, in the European Parliament, as an assistant, an arrangement he described as “not unusual.”

“I don’t know who is Voice of Europe,” said Slovak MEP Radačovsk�, who gave a one-to-one interview calling for peace, when he was door-stepped in Brussels. When asked on what conditions peace should happen, Radačovsk� suggested he was working for the common good of all humanity and walked away.

MEP Uhr�k wrote in an email that it was not his role to find out who was interviewing him: “My duty, as part of political job, is to answer relevant questions to the public, not to ask who is asking.”

Another participant in that debate last October, a consultant called Henri Malosse, raised a three point “peace plan” for Ukraine he said was the brainchild of Medvedchuk — since sanctioned by the Czech Republic for being behind Voice of Europe.

When asked why he raised Medvedchuk’s apparent peace plan for Ukraine during one of the debates, Malosse said: “The journalist told me that he prepared a peace plan so I think it’s something interesting.” “I didn’t give any evaluation of that plan, I just mentioned it,” he said. He also couldn’t remember who the journalists were bar a “young man and a young lady.”

Malosse, who owns a legal entity dedicated to business consultancy in France, also said that he was still on Russia’s blacklist — information that POLITICO was unable to confirm.

According to a statement by the Czech secret services, Voice of Europe’s “content was controlled and financed directly by the Russian Federation. Money from Moscow was also used to pay certain political representatives to propagate Russian propaganda …One of the objectives was to try to influence the elections for the European Parliament.”

Disinformation expert Kalensk� said the cumulative impact of disinformation campaigns was what made it dangerous over time, likening it to the erosion of a stone: “If it was just one drop falling once, it wouldn’t make any difference, but it’s the cumulative effect of so many drops falling for so many years, that makes the hole in the stone.”

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 18:01 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

quote:

Satellite images of the damaged aircraft plant in Borisoglebsk have been released

Satellite images of the strike at the 711th Aircraft Repair Plant in Borisoglebsk, Voronezh region of the Russian Federation, have been posted online.

The Schemes project released the pictures.

Satellite imagery from April 9, 2024, shows that the drone was aimed at one of the aircraft plant buildings.

As a result of the powerful explosion, the building’s roof and partially its walls collapsed, making the premises unusable.

SPOILER

quote:

It should be noted that the plant is located 300 kilometers from the border with Ukraine and is used to repair both aircraft and aviation weapons of various classes.

As previously reported, on the night of April 9, 2024, the 711th aircraft repair plant was attacked by drones.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the attack was successfully repelled by air defense, and the consequences were minor.

According to the satellite images, the drones managed to get to the location and caused severe damage to one of the aircraft plant’s buildings.

Безпілотники атакували центр підготовки пілотів у Воронезькій області � Ф [9 квітня 2024]

Since the beginning of 2024, Ukraine has increasingly started targeting oil refining infrastructure, military airfields, and aircraft plants whose products are used in the war against Ukraine.

On April 4, 2024, Militarnyi reported that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced a mass drone attack on the Morozovsk military airfield, where fighter-bombers that strike Ukraine are based.

The drone attack took place on the night of April 4-5. The first explosions occurred around midnight local time.

Vasily Golubev, governor of the Russian region, claimed that the military airfield, located near the city of Morozovsk in the Rostov region, had been attacked by more than 40 drones.

quote:

No appeal for Google in Russia over Ukraine content
A Russian court has dismissed Google's appeal against a 4.6 billion rouble ($49.4 million) fine for its refusal to remove what Russia deems "fake information" about the Ukraine conflict.

Russia’s contentious relationship with foreign tech firms, concerning content, censorship, data, and local representation, has escalated since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Moscow City Court upheld the decision of the Tagansky District Court, rejecting Google’s appeal over the company’s position that content related to the aforementioned military conflict was not “fake information” in any way.

The news about the decision was announced by the Moscow courts’ press service on Telegram.

Russian media outlets have previously reported that the fine also pertained to Google’s negligence in removing extremist content and distributing what Russia labels as LGBT propaganda.

While Alphabet’s YouTube has faced significant criticism from the Russian government, it has not faced the same fate as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, which have been blocked in the country.

The fine, issued in late December, was determined as a percentage of Google’s annual revenue in Russia. Similar turnover-based fines of 7.2 billion roubles in late 2021 and 21.1 billion roubles in August 2022 were previously imposed on the company, with both appeals being rejected.

quote:

Russian schoolgirl placed in pretrial detention for ‘death to regime’ graffiti

A court in the city of Chita in Russia’s Far East has placed a schoolgirl into pretrial detention, local activist Anastasia Shevchenko said on Wednesday, quoting a letter from another defendant in the case.

Lyubov Lizunova, 17, has been charged with incitement to terrorism and extremist activity. She was first detained in 2022 and placed under house arrest.

Independent media outlet Agentstvo said on Wednesday that the case was the first known incidence of a schoolgirl under the age of 18 being remanded in custody for anti-war statements in Russia.

Lawyer Yevgeny Smirnov told reporters that a minor can only be transferred from house arrest to pretrial detention when there has been a change in circumstances, such as the violation of previously imposed restrictions or new criminal charges.

Lizunova was detained in October 2022 alongside Alexander Snezhkov and Vladislav Vishnevsky after they painted “Death to the regime!” on a garage wall in Chita. In addition to the terrorism and extremism charges, Lizunova and Snezhkov were also charged with vandalism motivated by political hatred. All three were added to the government’s register of terrorists and extremists.

Upon their release, the three had their movements strictly limited. However, local news website Chita.Ru wrote in March 2023 that Snezhkov and Lizunova had been apprehended while attempting to leave the country. Snezhkov was placed in pretrial detention and Lizunova under house arrest.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 20:15 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Dat corruptie een probleem in Oekra�ne is ontken ik niet. En daarin ben ik het met jou en Blaz eens. Dat moet gewoon hard aangepakt worden, ongeacht wie er aan meedoet/voor verantwoordelijk is.

Maar dit ging specifiek over het nieuwsartikel, wat dus weer ging over wat die republikeinse senator aan het verkondigen was over die strandhuizen die van Amerikaans geld gekocht werden.

En zelfs een deel van de republikeinse senatoren zijn het er over eens dat een niet insignificant deel van hun partij Russische propaganda aan het napraten is. Waar dit dus een voorbeeld van is.

https://www.washingtonpos(...)da-has-infected-gop/
[..]
https://www.washingtonpos(...)epublicans-congress/
[..]
Zelfs 4 jaar geleden werd hier al voor gewaarschuwd:

https://www.theguardian.c(...)vid-holmes-testimony
[..]
Tuberville die dus MAGA is en onvoorwaardelijk achter Trump staat:

[ x ]

Een duidelijk voorbeeld van het napraten van Russische propaganda door hem.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 18:09 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

[..]
Welke landen hebben deze systemen eigenlijk en zijn er voldoende raketten beschikbaar in Europa? Ik dacht namelijk dat er simpelweg geen patriot raketten beschikbaar waren.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 14:09 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Vijfhonderd stemmen voor. Geen budget voor EU instanties tot er extra Patriots naar Oekra�ne gaan.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 21:07 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:
De Oekra�ense corrupte afdoen als niets of maar roepen dat de Russen het ook doen en erger voegt geen ene bal toe.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 03:27 schreef BlaZ het volgende:
Dit Russische propaganda noemen lijkt me wat erg onkritisch.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 21:07 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:

[..]
Dit weerleggen van je is dan ook wel prima.

Maar Blaz bedoelt meer te zeggen dat de verhalen over corruptie an sich tekenend zijn. Liefst hebben we dan ietwat inhoudelijk een gesprek of discussie.

De Oekra�ense corrupte afdoen als niets of maar roepen dat de Russen het ook doen en erger voegt geen ene bal toe. Natuurlijk gaat dit jou dan weer niet aan.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:06 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:
Oekra�ne is gewoon een corrupt land, net zoals Rusland.

Dat ze oh zo verschrikkelijk lijden betekend niet dat dat geen issue meer is. Zelfde zie je met kritiek op Isra�l, dat is dan ook ineens geen issue meer. Nee, zo werkt het niet.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:06 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:
Oekra�ne is gewoon een corrupt land, net zoals Rusland.

Dat ze oh zo verschrikkelijk lijden betekend niet dat dat geen issue meer is. Zelfde zie je met kritiek op Isra�l, dat is dan ook ineens geen issue meer. Nee, zo werkt het niet.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:09 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Open er een topic over.

Dit topic gaat over de agressor rus, die besloot landjepik te gaan spelen.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:10 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Zie, je bent zichtbaar geagiteerd en je weet dat het feitelijk gewoon juist is, daarom reageer je op deze manier.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:06 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:
Oekra�ne is gewoon een corrupt land, net zoals Rusland.

Dat ze oh zo verschrikkelijk lijden betekend niet dat dat geen issue meer is. Zelfde zie je met kritiek op Isra�l, dat is dan ook ineens geen issue meer. Nee, zo werkt het niet.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:19 schreef polderturk het volgende:

[..]
En daarom mag volgens jou Rusland een genocide uitvoeren op Oekra�ners?

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:21 schreef Straatcommando. het volgende:

[..]
Dat zegt ie toch niet joh

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:10 schreef Straatcommando. het volgende:

[..]
Bedankt voor je bijdrage maar weer.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:19 schreef polderturk het volgende:

[..]
En daarom mag volgens jou Rusland een genocide uitvoeren op Oekra�ners?

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:30 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Nee, hij voelde alleen de noodzaak om even te benadrukken dat ze daar corrupt zijn.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:34 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Natuurlijk niet... wat een niveau.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:30 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Nee, hij voelde alleen de noodzaak om even te benadrukken dat ze daar corrupt zijn.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:36 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Het tweede zinnetje, daar reageer je niet op. En dat is precies het punt.

quote:

Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:17 schreef polderturk het volgende:
Door gebrek aan steun vanuitde VS ben ik bang dat Oekra�ne dit voorstel misschien gaat accepteren.

[ x ]

quote:

“The situation here is developing dynamically, and, unfortunately, it’s not very encouraging... the number of foreign banks that are ready to continue working with us is constantly decreasing,”

quote:

Turkey reportedly proposes new draft peace treaty to Zelensky and Putin
Novaya Gazeta Europe has learned of a proposed peace deal aimed at ending the war in Ukraine that has the backing of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and whose main points are an agreement to freeze the conflict and to refrain from using nuclear weapons.

According to a source familiar with the proposal, Russia and Ukraine are both currently considering the draft text, which is based on initial negotiations carried out shortly after the war began in 2022. The peace plan would likely gain the support of a number of European politicians and will also be proposed to countries in the Global South, the source said.

The draft treaty reportedly proposes the following:
• a commitment by both the US and Russia not to use nuclear weapons under any circumstances, and to resume the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (Start III), including a clause that would prohibit unilateral withdrawal from the treaty.
• non-interference in the internal affairs of another country in any way that could destabilise its government.
• freezing the war along the current front line.
• a commitment to hold referendums in 2040: a national Ukrainian referendum on the country’s foreign policy, and referendums to be held under international supervision in all Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia at the time the conflict was frozen.
• a guarantee that Ukraine remains non-aligned until 2040.
• an exchange of all prisoners of war.
• Russia not objecting to Ukraine joining the European Union.
This is at least the ninth draft of its kind, and it’s unlikely that this latest proposal will be adopted.

The Ukrainian peace plan of 2022 had 10 points, few of which overlap with the Turkish plan, and that included an obligation for Russian troops to withdraw from Ukraine and steps to formalise the end of the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky set two main conditions for peace in 2023; the return of Ukraine’s territory to its 1991 borders and the withdrawal of Russian troops, including the Black Sea Fleet, from Ukrainian territory.

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Op donderdag 11 april 2024 22:17 schreef polderturk het volgende:
Door gebrek aan steun vanuitde VS ben ik bang dat Oekra�ne dit voorstel misschien gaat accepteren.

[ x ]

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Another mouthpiece of Kremlin propaganda tries to escape from justice

One more propagandist pretending to be a journalist has finally left the EU. It’s the German Putinversteher Dagmar Henn. She was a reporter for the well-known Russian propaganda channel RT. Her work has often been criticized, as Henn is a supporter of various conspiracy theories. She justified the actions of Adolf Hitler during World War II. She denied the crimes of the Russian army in Bucha, calling it a fake. She is also the author of the book “Honest Donbas”, which justifies Russian aggression against Ukraine and supports the main narratives of Kremlin propaganda. Thus, Henn cannot be called a journalist, she is just another mouthpiece of Russian state propaganda aimed to influence public opinion in Europe.

It is not surprising that she fled from a completely fair investigation by German law enforcement to Russia, where she has already been granted political asylum.

This is not the first such case. After European countries began to investigate the subversive activities of Russian agents more closely, the number of such asylum seekers in Russia increased.

Earlier, another well-known propagandist who called herself a journalist, Alina Lipp, moved to Russia. Lipp also tried to promote Russian narratives in Germany, but after an investigation into her ties to the Kremlin was published, she was also forced to flee from the police.

It’s important to underline that such actions of European law enforcement officers are not an “attack on freedom of speech” or “restriction of media freedom” – as Russians sometimes try to show. After all, these Russian agents are not real journalists. On the contrary, the actions of the German police in this case are an example to follow for the rest of the EU.

Europe needs to protect itself from Moscow’s propaganda influence. This becomes even more important on the eve of the European Parliament elections. It is not a secret that Russia will try to interfere in the voting process to bring its supporters to the parliament. The goal of Moscow’s “active measures” is to lift sanctions, stop international support for Ukraine and return to business as usual with EU. If this happens, Russia will regain its strength and will be able to start military aggression against EU countries in the nearest future.

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Ukrainian troops eliminated a Russian propagandist near Kreminna

Yevgeny Polovodov, Russian propagandist and press officer of the Russian Ministry of Defense, was killed in the Kreminna sector.

The news was broadcast on Russia’s Rossiya 1 TV channel.

The filming of a report on the service of the Russian tank battalion, which took place on April 10 in the Serebrianskyi forest, was interrupted by an artillery strike by the Ukrainian military.

Several shells hit near the film crew, causing shrapnel wounds to Major Yevgeny Polovodov, a propagandist and employee of the press center of the Russian military grouping “West.”

Polovodov was evacuated from the site of the attack in a UAZ car, which, according to the reporter, was being chased by a Ukrainian FPV drone. However, the wounded invader did not survive the trip.

In addition to the reporter, Artem Yundas, another propagandist, was also injured in the incident, as well as the military personnel who accompanied them in the combat zone.

Евгений Половодов 200

None of the film crew members had any insignia that would allow them to be identified as press. On the contrary, they were dressed in the uniforms of an infantryman of the Russian Armed Forces.

Oksana Romaniuk, Director of the Institute of Mass Information, equated the killed person with a combatant, explaining that “the helmet and body armor should be different from the military, for example, be blue.”

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Battles in the forests of Kreminna
According to the soldiers of the 1st Presidential Burevii Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, since the beginning of the year, both sides in the area have moved to positional combat and focused on artillery and drone strikes.

“The enemy controls our movements and transportation, and we control theirs, respectively. In the Serebrianskyi forest, the enemy focuses on logistical movements, striking logistical “arteries.” This creates difficulties in the supply of ammunition and personnel,” Denys Zelenyi, officer of the operational planning section of the Khoryv Battalion, says.

According to Denys, attempts to influence Ukrainian logistics with artillery remain a key catalyst for constant artillery duels in this area. One of them was even caught on video during the report.

Little remains of the forest from the constant artillery strikes: most of the trees are broken and their branches are covered with a lot of debris.

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ANALYSIS: Ukrainian Air Defenses Fail, Russian Ballistic, ‘Hypersonic’ Weapons Get Through
The Kremlin is ruthlessly exploiting Kyiv’s critical shortage of Patriot air interceptor missiles: Russian ballistic and “hypersonic” missiles on Thursday got through to targets mostly unscathed.

^{Emergency response workers respond to a victim following an April 11 Russian S-300 missile strike hitting the village Liptsy, in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region. Kremlin forces used an inaccurate anti-aircraft missile to make the attack. The weapon hit a store, set fires and trapped people in collapsed debris. Image published by Ukraine’s Ministry of Emergency Situations.}

Russia’s latest wave of missile attacks against Ukrainian energy infrastructure scored a victory on Thursday, with the Kremlin’s hard-to-intercept “hypersonic” and ballistic missiles punching through mostly untouched through thinning Ukrainian air defenses to hit and damage power plants across the country.

Moscow strike planners during the early hours of April 11 deployed Tu-95 strategic bombers, MiG-31K strike fighters, S-300 surface-to-surface missile systems and dozens of Iran-manufactured Shahed kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine’s north, east and south with waves of flying munitions, some carrying warheads with a half-ton of explosives.

According to official Ukrainian military statements, the break-down of strike weapons hurled by the Kremlin into Ukrainian air space numbered slightly more than 80: 24 aircraft-dropped X-series cruise missiles, six strike fighter-dropped Kinzhal “hypersonic” missiles, 12 anti-aircraft S-300 ballistic missiles repurposed for ground attacks, and 40 Teheran-designed flying wing attack drones.

As in past attacks, the strikes appeared to be built on a main effort of cruise missiles carried by the Tu-95 turboprops – the famous “Bear” bomber of the Cold War era – and launched from air space over Russia’s Saratov Oblast.

Parallel attacks by drones and other missiles seemed timed to hit targets simultaneously with the bomber-launched cruise missiles. Ukrainian air defense chat groups reported between seven and 11 Russian Bears were in the air. The Kremlin has used mixed-weapon tactics calculated to over-stress Ukraine’s air defense network since early 2024.

Kremlin missile or drone detonations were reported at twelve locations across a 900-kilometer (560-mile) swath of Ukraine, from the northeastern city of Kharkiv, less than 40 kilometers from the Russian border to the Lviv region, a few dozen kilometers from the Ukraine-Poland line.

Of the 84 Russian weapons fired into Ukraine, according to Ukrainian army official counts, air defenders claimed they shot down or forced out of planned trajectory almost exactly two-thirds of the ingressors, including 20 out of 24 of the cruise missiles (each toting a warhead in the 400-500-kilogram range), and 39 out of 40 of the smaller Iranian drones.

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^{Official Ukraine army graphic of incoming Russian weapons confirmed shot down during missile and kamikaze drone attacks across the country on Thursday, April 11. The image reports air defense forces knocked down 18 cruise missiles and 39 kamikaze drones. “Hypersonic” missiles dropped by Kremlin attack jets and ballistic missiles fired from ground launchers weren’t intercepted, Ukrainian army statements said.}

Air defense officials did not make public how those attacking weapons were shot down. In past battles the Ukrainian military has used a mix of Soviet-era and imported NATO-standard short- and medium-range anti-aircraft missiles to deal with the cruise missiles.

Anti-aircraft cannon like the widely respected German Gephard system, or mobile teams lucky enough to get into the path of an incoming drone and hit it with hand-held anti-aircraft missile machine guns mounted on pickup trucks, have become Ukraine’s main weapons to take on the Iranian drones.

All six of the Kinzhal “hypersonic” missiles hit targets and weren’t intercepted, official Ukrainian published data showed. The three MiG-31K attack jets dropping the weapons flew back to a base in Russia’s Nizhniy Novogorod Olblast without incident.

^{(Clockwise) MiG-31 attack jet carrying an Kinzhal missile, a Kinzhal missile, and a strike on a target in Ukraine by a Russian Kinzhal missile. War Zone graphic published on March 21, 2022.}

Russian mil-bloggers on Thursday morning were quick to point to at least two successful missile strikes against the Kyiv region Tripolska power plant, a coal- or oil-fired facility usually delivering about half of metropolitan and rural districts around the Ukrainian capital with power.

Social media images posted by the pro-Russia mil-blogger Readovka and rapidly re-published across Ukrainian news platforms showed a massive blaze pumping billowing black smoke into a clear blue sky. At least one missile also hit a second power plant in the Kyiv region, Ukrainian news reports said.

^{Tripolske central heating plant in Kyiv region burns fiercely following a Russian missile strike during the early morning hours on Thursday, April 11. The Ukrainian social media image was published by the pro-Russian mil-blogger Readovka. Kyiv regional authorities confirmed local energy infrastructure had suffered substantial damage in the attacks.}

All twelve of the S-300 ballistic missiles, likewise flying at a speed well beyond the capacity of anything but modern anti-aircraft missiles to intercept, likewise weren’t touched by Ukrainian air defenses, those reports said. Ten weapons hit local power grid infrastructure causing power outages to more than 300,000 people and forcing the city’s metro to shut down. Emergency response teams were working to fix the damage, a city government statement said.

Russia’s Kinzhal missile, according to its manufactures, flies at Mach 5 hypersonic speed. Combat use seems to show its actual velocities are slower than Kremlin advertisements, but nonetheless, the weapons are difficult to intercept. The slower S-300 still flies at multiples of the speed of sound and in a ballistic arc.

The Ukrainian military’s only missile capable of knocking down a Kinzhal or hitting an incoming ballistic missile, thus far in the Russo-Ukraine War, has been the US-made Patriot.

A US halt to all arms supplies to Ukraine, effective since the end of December due to Congressional deadlock over foreign military aid and migration law reform has left Ukraine critically short of irreplaceable American Patriot missiles. The shortages were first reported in early January.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the Thursday strikes: “Russian terrorists again targeted critical infrastructure facilities. There was another vile missile attack on Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region. Objects in other regions were also targeted: Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa and Lviv. We need air defense and other defense support, not [Western nations’] turning a blind eye and long discussions.”

^{Image of Thursday, April 11 Russian missile and kamikaze drone strike locations published by the pro-Kremlin blogger Dva Mayora. According to official Ukrainian sources, most of the depicted hits by the Moscow-supported information were actually weapons intercepted and shot down by defense forces. About 8-10 Russian weapons fired – all ballistic missiles or hypersonic missiles – appear to have penetrated the Ukrainian air defense network and obtained useful hits, Kyiv Post researchers found.}

Damage to an energy facility from falling drone debris was reported in the Odesa region. Of a multi-missile strike aimed at a Zaporizhzhia power station, two missiles were destroyed but one got through.

In comments made prior to the Thursday morning air strikes, Ukrainian Prime Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the Washington Post newspaper he feels like he has been “hitting his head against a wall” trying to convince countries allied with Ukraine to transfer some of their Patriot systems to Ukraine’s military to protect Ukrainian air space.

“Nice and quiet diplomacy didn’t work,” Kuleba, Kyiv’s top diplomat, told The Washington Post in an interview this week. “We’ve tried everything, and nothing seems to work.”

During testimony in Congress on Wednesday, April 10 – about six hours before the Russian Bear bombers started launching cruise missiles at Kyiv, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia and cities elsewhere in Ukraine – Assistant Defense Secretary Dr. Celeste Wallander, and General Christopher Cavoli, commander of US Forces Europe, testified to the House Armed Services Committee that the US is doing a great deal to support Ukraine’s defenses.

^{Kyiv Post graphic showing the theoretical maximum ballistic missile intercept range for a Patriot missile stationed in central Kyiv. The location of the launcher is notional. Actual positions of Patriot systems are a military secret in Ukraine. The graphic shows that the Thursday, April 11 successful Russian missile strike against the Trypylska power station south of Kyiv struck at the edge of a possible Patriot missile protective envelope covering the capital, or just outside of it.}

Cavolia and Wallander said more needs to be done, including to help Ukraine defend itself from Russian air attacks. Most Congress members speaking during the proceedings spoke in favor of that position.

Congressman Matthew Gaetz (R-Florida), in a minority view, questioned the wisdom of American military assistance to Ukraine because Ukraine – in his view – can never recover Donbas and Crimea, and with the reintegration of those two territories as Ukrainian war aims, US support to Ukraine would place America in a “new forever war.”


Administration officials have repeatedly stated the US has no intention of deploying combat troops to Ukraine. Cavoli in testimony said Ukrainian soldiers were wholly responsible for defending their country, but they need modern weaponry.

Gaetz told the committee that impending delivery of US-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine was an example of ineffective and wasteful American military assistance to Ukraine.

This was inaccurate. A coalition of states including Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain and Romania are financing the transfer of a planned total 42 jets to Ukraine and training of pilots and ground crew.

American participation in the overwhelmingly Europe-led and -financed initiative has been limited to partial training for a minority of the Ukrainian pilots, and a Washington green light to hand the jets over to Ukraine in the first place. Denmark and the Netherlands bought the aircraft from the US in the 1990s.

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EU Parliament approves option allowing members to block Russian LNG imports
The European Parliament voted on April 11 to pass rules allowing member states to ban imports of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG), Reuters reported.

Despite Brussels' target to be free of Russian fossil fuels by 2027, several EU members remain heavily reliant on Russian gas, and imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) from Russia reached record heights last year.

The new policy aims to create a legal route for blocking gas deliveries by preventing Russian and Belarusian companies from booking gas infrastructure capacity.

This would allow European energy firms to leave contracts with Russian suppliers without paying fees.

This measure is a part of Brussels' strategy to reduce the bloc's energy dependency on Russia amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Some countries, such as the U.K., Latvia, and Lithuania, have already stopped buying LNG from Russia unilaterally, while Finland announced in January that it plans to ban Russian LNG from 2025.

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Grid protected the AS-90 from the Russian Lancet

The protective net at the prepared defensive position protected the Ukrainian AS-90 ACS from the impact of the Russian Lancet barrage ammunition.

Khorne group Telegram channel released footage from the Russian drone and the results of the strike.

The Russian military published a video showing the detection of a Ukrainian AS-90 after a combat mission and its alleged strike by a Lancet attack drone. However, this turned out to be untrue.

The Russian drone hit a hole between the wooden shelter pillars, which was additionally reinforced with anti-drone nets.

The nets stopped it and saved the self-propelled gun from defeat and probable destruction.

SPOILER

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Сітка врятувала AS-90 від влучання російського дрона "Ланцет" [Квітень 2024]

The protective position for the Ukrainian self-propelled vehicle is quite high quality: it is a full-size caponier over 3 meters high, which makes it possible to completely hide the ACSs from close artillery explosions.

The fortification is covered with pine beams in a single roll, additionally reinforced with nets and well camouflaged from reconnaissance drones.

Accordingly, such a structure allows disguising the self-propelled gun after completing the combat mission from counter-battery fire, drops from drones, and barrage ammunition.

Anti-Drone Protection
Ukrainian enterprises have been producing and supplying metal structures to Ukrainian units for a long time to protect against Russian attack drones.

The protective structure is a mobile shelter 10 meters long, five meters wide, and five meters high, weighing about a ton. It consists of a steel frame and a camouflaged metal mesh stretched over it.

The structures are universal, as they can be used to disguise and protect most models of equipment in combat positions, namely self-propelled artillery installations, tanks, and vehicles for transporting people.

The first samples of the “Lancet catchers” at the front proved to be a reliable tool that stops enemy drones and protects equipment.

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A Russian soldier who voluntarily surrendered is on trial in Russia
The First Eastern District Court of Khabarovsk considered an appeal against the arrest of a serviceman accused in a criminal case of voluntary surrender.


Mediazona reported on this.

Initially, the South Sakhalin Garrison Military Court assigned the serviceman to the detention center.

This is the first known case in Russia against a military officer for voluntary surrender (Article 352.1 of the Criminal Code).

In addition, he is accused of desertion during the mobilization period (Article 338(3) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Under the first article, the defendant faces up to 10 years in prison, under the second – up to 15.

SPOILER

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The defendant’s name is classified on the website of the 1st Eastern District Court, where the appeal against his arrest was considered on April 11.

Militarnyi previously reported that a Ukrainian reconnaissance drone detected a Russian invader trying to surrender and led him to the positions of the Ukrainian military.

The detected Russian invader completely disarmed and undressed himself in front of the Mavic 3 drone that was monitoring the battlefield.

After that, he followed the drone to one of the trenches, where Ukrainian soldiers were waiting for him.

The captured Russian looks exhausted and probably injured in the video. The Ukrainian military found him a place in a trench and gave the Russian soldier water.

Other details of the surrender to the Russian invader are currently unknown.

However, this is not an isolated case, in particular, due to the Russian tactics of using mobilized soldiers as cannon fodder during assaults and poor treatment in the rear.

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Demissionair kabinet trekt miljarden extra uit voor Oekra�ne en om NAVO-norm te halen
Het kabinet trekt dit jaar 400 miljoen euro uit voor steun aan Oekra�ne. Dat melden bronnen aan de politieke redactie van RTL Nieuws. Dat komt bovenop de ruim twee miljard euro die al was gereserveerd voor 2024.

Ook volgend jaar kan Oekra�ne rekenen op financi�le steun uit Nederland. In de Voorjaarsnota zet het demissionaire kabinet hiervoor alvast 1,5 miljard euro apart. Het geld is vooral bedoeld voor militaire steun, maar ook voor waarheidsvinding, herstel en wederopbouw.

Daarnaast maakt het kabinet geld vrij om de NAVO-norm te halen. Het zorgt ervoor dat de Nederlandse uitgave aan Defensie tot 2026 boven de 2 procent zit. In 2024 is het 2,15 procent, in 2025 2,05 procent en in 2026 is dat 2,22 procent. Daarna valt het terug naar 1,9 procent.

Het is vervolgens aan een nieuw kabinet om te zorgen dat de afgesproken NAVO-norm daarna ook wordt gehaald.

Oekra�ne heeft het steeds moeilijker op het slagveld. Er is een nijpend tekort aan munitie en materieel. En ook financieel heeft het land snel meer armslag nodig, zeker ook omdat een miljardensteunpakket van de Verenigde Staten nog steeds niet is goedgekeurd door het Amerikaanse Congres.

Het kabinet staat sinds de Russische aanval begon vierkant achter Oekra�ne. Het nam een voortrekkersrol als het gaat om wapensteun. Er is in totaal al voor ruim 2,8 miljard euro aan militaire goederen naar Kyiv gestuurd. Onlangs tekende premier Mark Rutte op bezoek in Charkiv nog een tienjarige veiligheidsovereenkomst met Oekra�ne.

'Nul terughoudendheid'
"Het kabinet is demissionair, maar op gebied van Oekra�ne is er nul terughoudendheid. Er is inmiddels een tienjarige veiligheidsovereenkomst gesloten en nu komt dus weer extra geld om het land te steunen", zegt politiek verslaggever Fons Lambie. "In de Kamer is een flinke meerderheid die oproept om Oekra�ne te blijven steunen, ook al is de grootste partij – PVV - in het verleden kritisch geweest op steun aan Kyiv."

"Ook het extra geld om de NAVO-norm te halen, is opvallend. Vorig jaar haalde Nederland de 2 procent n�t niet, ondanks de extra investeringen. Dat zou toch pijnlijk zijn voor demissionair premier Rutte, die nu in de race is om de nieuwe secretaris-generaal van het bondgenootschap te worden."

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Belarus continues its militarization in agreement with Russia
On April 5, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, ordered the suspension of Belarus' participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), as Belarus continues to militarize and maintain close ties with Russia.

Withdrawing from the treaty hides the monitoring of the numbers and activities of its armed forces from the West's scrutiny. The Security Pact limits the use and movement of conventional armed forces and is designed to regulate military tensions in Europe. Signed in 1990, its purpose was to prevent Cold War rivals from building up forces that could be used for a rapid offensive , the National Resistance Center said.

The decision came after Belarus had already limited the treaty's application to Poland and the Czech Republic in hopes of continuing to use it to gather intelligence on the size of Western military forces for Russia. However, this strategy became untenable as other Western countries, including the United States, began to withdraw from the treaty.

SPOILER

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Russia formally withdrew from the treaty last November, saying US-led NATO expansion had made the treaty untenable. Russia has already transferred soldiers and weapons to the republic, including nuclear missiles that threaten all of Europe.

In response, NATO immediately suspended its activities within the framework of the CSTO, to which the majority of its members signed. in the NATO statement at the time. Russia's decision to withdraw from the CSTO comes less than a week after President Vladimir Putin withdrew his country's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which bans all nuclear weapons tests, and conducted a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads . from one of his submarines. Russia also suspended the SNO treaty signed in January 2021.

Both the United States and Russia pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, with each country citing violations by the other as grounds for their withdrawal as one Cold War-era security pact crumbles after another.

The decision to suspend the CSCE was justified by claims that the actions of NATO member states and their allies rendered the treaty invalid. However, Lukashenko's draft law does not reach a full recall, preserving the internal procedures for compliance with the requirements in the Armed Forces of Belarus. The Belarusian government insists that it abides by its treaty obligations, including limits on arms and personnel. prevention of escalation of military tensions. Despite an updated agreement in 1999 to reflect geopolitical developments such as NATO expansion and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the USSR, these amendments were never adopted, and only Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Russia ratified the adapted treaty. The Ministry of Defense of Belarus cites the West's refusal to accept inspections and non-compliance with some provisions of the agreement from 2022 as reasons for the suspension. The ministry also said that despite the suspension, there are no plans to significantly increase military capacity, arguing that current levels remain well below the treaty's maximum limits.

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Russia Is Persecuting Christian Churches in Occupied Ukraine
Anyone who believes Russia is ‘protecting Christianity’ is ignoring the record of Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian churches.

The issue of religious persecution has emerged as an objection to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plans for military funding for Ukraine. Many congressional Republicans evidently believe that Russia is “protecting Christianity,” as Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) said on Monday. These Republican members are being duped by Russian propaganda, including the claim that Russia’s war against Ukraine is against Satanism. “The overthrow of faith and traditional values and the suppression of freedom are resembling a ‘religion in reverse’ — pure Satanism,” Putin said two years ago, in a speech on Russia’s intent to annex occupied Ukraine.

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Moscow’s invasion and devastation of Ukraine have contributed to the assessment, by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), that Russia ranks among the world’s religious persecutors of greatest concern. Russia, they find, “egregiously” and “systematically” persecutes a wide array of Christian churches, except the Ukrainian Orthodox Church–Moscow Patriarchate, which Putin co-opts. A Ukrainian delegation of diverse religious leaders told a Hudson Institute gathering last year that they fear that a victorious Russia would crush their religious institutions. Credible reports on Russia-occupied Ukraine validate this.

Last December, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church posted on its site that in 2022 the Russian authorities in occupied Zaporizhzhia banned all Greek Catholic churches there as well as Caritas and the Knights of Columbus, Catholic aid organizations. According to the post, the bans were based on “groundless” accusations that church buildings were storing explosives and firearms, that its members were participating in anti-Russian protests, and that the charities were spying for the Vatican and Washington. All real property of the Greek Catholic Church in Zaporizhzhia was transferred to the Russian administrative authorities, church leases were terminated, and its leaders were barred from registering to legally carry out their ministries. The office of Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia confirmed for me that the post represents the official position of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.

Mission Eurasia, an American Christian charity, finds that in spring 2023 “almost all non-Orthodox churches in occupied territories were stripped of their right to hold church services.” Forum 18, a Norwegian news service dedicated to religious freedom, reports that, in the occupied Luhansk region, Protestants, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine have not been allowed to register their places of worship and only two Pentecostal churches were allowed to register, last January. Moreover, in 2022 in Lysychansk, Russian administrators reportedly seized the city’s largest Protestant church and informed another that Baptists, Pentecostals, and Seventh-day Adventists were banned as “extremists.” USCIRF also reported that Russian authorities in Mariupol had banned “all Protestant and non-Orthodox churches.”

Mission Eurasia found that the “scale of the destruction of evangelical prayer houses is vast.” It has mapped more than 600 religious buildings damaged or destroyed by targeted Russian missiles, suicide drones, artillery strikes, and other violence. Affected were the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church, Evangelical and Baptist churches, and the Seventh-day Adventists. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have seen 110 of its Kingdom Halls damaged.

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church now has “no clergy left” in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson, in addition to Zaporizhzhia, according to Mission Eurasia. It cites Forum 18’s Felix Corley, adding that Ukrainian Greek Catholic churches have been closed and their priests expelled from the occupied regions.The Kyiv-based Institute for Religious Freedom reports that Russian militants calling themselves “Cossacks” have shut down Catholic churches in Donetsk and and closed them to worshipers. Storing weapons, promoting “neo-Nazi goals” — such claims are “the kind of classic accusations they’re making against the [Ukrainian] Greek Catholic Church,” said Corley.

In November 2022, Fathers Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta, Ukrainian Catholic Redemptorist priests, were arrested by Russian authorities at their church in occupied Zaporizhzhia. They were then “tortured without mercy” before being sent to prison, according to Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. According to Mission Eurasia, Russia’s “widespread” torture of detained Christian leaders in occupied Ukraine, includes “mock executions, threats of rape, electrical torture, and hours-long group beatings.” It finds a “practice of arbitrary arrests and kidnappings of religious figures, holding them in basements in horrific conditions and inflicting violent torture on them.”

USCIRF reports that Russian soldiers in Kherson abducted Orthodox priest Sergey Chudinovich after he refused to allow the military to distribute aid at his church. Russian forces detained him in a cold basement and “beat, strangled, and attempted to rape him with a baton” until he agreed to cooperate.

USCIRF reports also that Evangelical deacon Anatoliy Prokopchuk and his son Oleksandr were found dead, with signs of severe torture, in a forest two days after Russian forces abducted them in Kherson in 2022. Father Stepan Podolchak, a Ukrainian Orthodox priest, died in Kherson, the Ukrainian military administration (in exile) stated on February 15, 2024, two days after Russian forces abducted him from his home. Bruises were found on the priest’s body. Bishop Nykodym (Kulygin) in the neighboring diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine told Forum 18 “that Russian occupation forces ‘tortured Father Stepan to death.” Podolchak held religious services in Ukrainian and refused to affiliate with the Moscow Patriarchate.

Many churches are closed on accusations that they have Western ties and are “enemies of the people” and “extremist” for simply praying in Ukrainian. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Greek Catholics both conduct liturgies in Ukrainian, making them prime victims of Russian persecution, but other Christians are also affected. USCIRF reports, for example, that Russians torched a library of Ukrainian spiritual literature in the Tavriski Christian Institute in Kherson.

To thwart underground churches, the Russian-occupation authorities repurpose closed churches, spy on believers’ homes, and deport church leaders. A cross at a church that was seized in Zaporizhzhia was sawed off so that the building could be cynically repurposed as a “Ministry of Culture” office.

I’ve previously written about the weaponized Moscow Orthodox Patriarchate. But even churches affiliated with it in occupied Ukraine have not been completely spared. They experience “threats, attacks, illegal arrests, and torture for retaining their Ukrainian identity and for refusing to pray for ‘the victory of Russian arms,’” states Mission Eurasia.

In an interview with Our Sunday Visitor in February, Archbishop Gudziak warned about Russian occupation: “We cannot be naive about this. . . . Your fellow Catholics, your fellow Christians, Protestants and others, will not be able to pray freely. Their churches will be closed” and “taken over by the Russian Orthodox Church, as it did with Ukrainian Catholic churches after the liquidation” of its “visible structures.”

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Ukrainian Evangelical Christians facing torture, destruction of churches in Russian-occupied areas
Christians in Ukraine have faced torture, the destruction of their churches and other horrors at the hands of Russian forces, according to multiple religious freedom advocates who have called on Republican leaders to take notice of their plight.

In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Dr. Richard Land, the former president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, joined several advocates in asking Johnson to remember the persecuted Christians when considering efforts to support Ukraine.

SPOILER

quote:

According to the letter, the Russian government has harmed Christians by torturing them and forcibly removing pastors from their positions. They add that Russian soldiers have targeted retired Baptist pastors they believe are not "pro-Russia" and whom they suspect of being supportive of the West. Land, who is also executive editor of The Christian Post, and the other religious freedom advocates noted in the letter that no Baptist churches are left in the Ukrainian city of Melitopol.

"We desire peace. But more than that, we desire a peace that is based on the principles of justice," the letter states in part. "Our God is both perfectly just and the author of perfect peace."

"We appreciate your leadership, are praying for your wisdom and courage as you consider support for Ukraine," the document concluded.

Steven Moore, who has been on the ground in Ukraine since the beginning of the war to deliver aid, warned that the treatment of Christians at the hands of Russian forces is an underreported threat.

Moore is the former chief of staff to former Republican Rep. Pete Roskam of Illinois and the founder of Ukraine Freedom Project, a nonprofit he founded after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine in 2022. The organization has provided over $1 million in aid to the front lines, including medical supplies, food, generators, power banks and drones.

During an interview with CP, Moore said he repeatedly encountered Ukrainian Christians who told him stories of their persecution at the hands of Russian forces. In the process of providing humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Moore eventually met a man named Victor, a Christian who once served as an Evangelical pastor.

"If you know anything about Evangelical Christians in Ukraine, it's that they're super open about their faith," Moore said.

Victor told the nonprofit founder that he was held captive for over 20 days and tortured with electrical tasers during an armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine in 2014. He told Moore that during his torture, a Russian Orthodox priest attempted to cast out the demons that supposedly resided in him for being an Evangelical.

Through his friendship with Victor, Moore began to meet other Christians who had faced persecution. Another of Moore's friends, Mark Sergeyev, is the youth pastor of Melitopol Christian Church, which Russian forces shut down in 2022. In the same city, attendees of Grace Baptist Church were subjected to fingerprinting after Russian soldiers in full combat gear interrupted a worship service.

Last summer, Moore told CP that he became focused on telling the stories of persecuted Christians in Russian-occupied territories to members of Congress and Republican opinion leaders. From September 2023 to January, Moore said he visited around 100 congressional offices in Washington, D.C., to discuss Russia's treatment of Christians.

"Republicans should know this. Evangelical Republicans should know this," Moore said. "People who worship God the way that they do are being tortured and murdered for their faith."

According to the former chief of staff, many of the people he met with said the personal accounts were "revelatory information" to them, and many congressional staffers were even driven to tears. Moore told CP that Russia's persecution of Christians is not being reported enough.

One of the reasons Moore said many haven't heard these stories is due to the tight control of information in Ukraine. The nonprofit founder also blamed pundits and social commentators like Tucker Carlson as another factor preventing people from learning about the plight of Christians in Russian-occupied territories.

The former Fox News host has faced criticism and accusations of spreading "Russian propaganda" by suggesting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also persecuting Christians in Ukraine. Zelensky also declined Carlson's request for an interview.

Moore contends that Ukraine is not persecuting Christians.

"It's untrue," Moore said. "It's a Russian narrative, and what those people are doing is covering up for the real truth that the Russians are suppressing hundreds of thousands of Evangelical Christians in occupied territories."

Many others, however, have condemned Ukraine's crackdown on churches, including CP columnist Hedieh Mirahmadi, who warned against the persecution of priests and parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church after Ukraine's domestic security agency [SBU] launched a counterintelligence operation against the UOC.

Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Zelensky's government has escalated its actions against UOC churches and leaders, including the arrest of 68 priests and Metropolitan Pavel.

In an op-ed published in National Review in January, Nina Shea, a human rights lawyer and director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the conservative Washington-based think-tank the Hudson Institute, asserted that Ukraine's strategy to crack down on what it perceives as "weaponized" religious institutions might be extreme but is justified.

According to Moore, many Evangelical Christians say the ongoing Russian occupation is worse for them now than when they lived under the Soviet Union.

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Trump poses unique challenges for jury in his hush-money trial

SPOILER

quote:

Three months ago, Donald Trump took the stand before a jury of nine in a New York courtroom without his typical bombast or ranting. The former president’s complaints about the case and his sparring with the judge took place out of the jury’s sight in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case, and he gave quick, scripted testimony lasting about three minutes.

The following day, however, Trump found a way to protest the trial with the jury’s eyes on him, storming out during the closing argument delivered by Carroll’s lawyer. “The record will reflect that Mr. Trump just rose and walked out of the courtroom,” Judge Lewis Kaplan announced, in case any jurors had missed it.

That same afternoon, the jury returned an $83.3 million verdict against Trump for defaming Carroll — a massive figure that the columnist’s attorneys attribute in part to Trump’s protest.

“I think it hurt him terribly,” Carroll attorney Roberta Kaplan told CNN’s Anderson Cooper at the time of Trump’s stunt. “I mean, our whole case was about the fact that Donald Trump is unable to follow the law, unable to follow the rules. He thinks they don’t apply to him.”

Beginning Monday, Trump will once again sit before a jury in New York, this time with even higher stakes. The jury of 12, along with six alternates, will be chosen from hundreds of New Yorkers after an exhaustive jury selection process that could stretch beyond the first week of the trial.

Choosing a jury will be no easy task when the defendant is a former president who has been at the center of the US political world for nearly 10 years now and a figure in the New York tabloids going back decades.

“The problem for both Donald Trump’s attorneys and the prosecution’s attorneys is they’ve got to figure out how to pick a jury for the case who are neutral — and good luck,” said Steve Tuholski, a partner at Delphi Litigation Strategies who works on witness training and jury selection. “I can’t imagine there are many people, especially in New York, that haven’t made up their mind one way or the other about whether he’s a snake or the Messiah. There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground.”

The hush-money case is the first of four criminal trials Trump will potentially face — and potentially the only one before the 2024 election, even as Trump has campaigned in part on fusing his legal peril with his bid for the White House.

The presumptive Republican 2024 nominee will have plenty of incentive to make an impression on both the jury deciding his guilt or innocence and the broader public, whose opinion of the first criminal trial of a former president in US history could be a determining factor in whether Trump is reelected in November.

The vetting process
Court officials expect about 100 prospective jurors at a time will be brought into Judge Juan Merchan’s downtown Manhattan courtroom to be vetted when jury selection begins Monday.

Merchan released this week the questionnaire that will be presented to potential jurors, which contains multiple questions that could signal political views to the lawyers on both sides.

There are questions about news consumption, affiliations with groups like the Proud Boys, QAnon and Antifa, and whether prospective jurors or anyone in their circle attended a Trump rally or an anti-Trump event. Potential jurors will be asked if they’ve ever read books or listened to podcasts from Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and a key witness for the district attorney, or if they’ve read any of Trump’s own books.

Those in the jury pool will also be asked if they have views on whether a former president can be charged in state court and how Trump is being treated in this case.

The questions will be used for the judge to strike jurors at the outset, if they don’t believe they can render a verdict fairly. They will also be used by lawyers for both sides to strike jurors for any reason — a key part of the jury selection process.

Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a CNN legal analyst and former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, said that Trump’s attorneys will be looking for jurors who are sympathetic to Trump, of course — but also for anyone who might be an “independent thinker,” willing to stand alone and let a jury hang. A unanimous verdict is required for conviction

“If you’re Trump, you’d love an acquittal, but if you can’t get an acquittal, you’d want them to hang, because then there’s no conviction before the election,” Agnifilo said. “You’d want somebody who’s strong enough to be a holdout and somebody who is an independent thinker, who is not going to go along with the group.”

The district attorney’s office will be trying to find jurors who are productive, constructive people who have to make decisions regularly and are capable of judging credibility, Agniflio said, criteria that could cover both office managers as well as parents.

“Sometimes parents are always good, because parents have to listen to what their kid is saying, and sometimes have to make a credibility determination: ‘Is he telling the truth? Is he not telling the truth?’” she said.

One source close to Trump said there is worry that some prospective jurors may have ulterior motives for wanting to be involved in the former president’s trial.

Leaving politics aside
Trump’s lawyers have already argued that he can’t get a fair jury in New York County, which is Manhattan, because the jury pool there is biased against him. They filed a petition this week, which was denied, to delay the trial so the venue could be moved to a different county.

“In terms of pretrial publicity in this county, this case stands alone,” Trump attorney Emil Bove said at Monday’s emergency appeals hearing.

In the 2020 election, Manhattan voters chose President Joe Biden over Trump 86% to 12%. But just having political views about Trump, for or against, won’t be a reason for potential jurors to be dismissed.

“People are going to have an opinion about Trump. That doesn’t mean they can’t be fair and impartial about the evidence and their burden,” Agnifilo said.

The political makeup of Manhattan also doesn’t mean Trump won’t have any supporters among the jury pool. During the Carroll defamation trial — which was in a federal court, meaning the jury came from Manhattan as well as parts of nearby counties — two prospective jurors said they believed the 2020 election was stolen, and three said they contributed to Trump’s campaign or a group supporting it.

All three of those jurors said that wouldn’t affect their ability to be fair and impartial.

Trump took a keen interest in jury selection at the Carroll trial, turning behind him toward the jurors in the gallery behind him to watch as they responded to political questions. When Kaplan asked jurors a series of questions individually, Trump turned in his chair to watch each person speak.

In the defamation case, the jury was fully anonymous, meaning no identifying information about the jurors was made public or shared with the attorneys for either side.

In the hush-money case, the jury will be known to the attorneys, but Merchan has written that identifying information about jurors will not be publicly released to protect privacy and avoid “exposing them to an atmosphere of intimidation.”

Merchan warned Trump in his gag order that the former president can’t make public comments or direct anyone else to make public comments about jurors involved in the proceedings.

A ‘dynamic and unpredictable situation’
Once a jury is selected, they will be able to watch Trump throughout the duration of the trial, which is expected to last six weeks.

That means they can see the former president’s reaction to the district attorney’s allegations, to witness testimony from Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen, and will potentially see him testify and face questions from the district attorney’s office, should Trump choose to testify.

During the defamation case in January, Trump’s conduct sitting at the defense table became a point of contention, when he made comments calling the case a “witch hunt” and a “con job” in the presence of the jury while Carroll was on the stand. When the jury was excused at a break, Carroll’s lawyers told the judge what Trump was saying and said they believed it was audible to the jury.

That prompted Kaplan to admonish Trump and warn him he could be removed if he continued to be disruptive — prompting the former president to respond that he would “love it” if the judge booted him from the trial.

While the jury was present, Kaplan tried to keep a tight rein on Trump as well as all of the attorneys involved. It took longer for the judge to negotiate Trump’s testimony outside the jury’s view — “I want to know everything he is going to say,” Kaplan told Trump’s attorney — than the three minutes Trump spent on the stand.

Elie Honig, a CNN senior legal analyst and former federal and state prosecutor, warned that Merchan could face a “much more dynamic and unpredictable situation” with Trump in front of the jury for the upcoming hush money trial.

“Something that gets blurted out in front of a jury is permanent,” he said. “As much as a judge will instruct a jury to disregard that, you can’t un-ring the bell.”

Of course, Trump’s conduct can cut both ways for a jury. Tuholski, who works to help prepare witnesses for trial, said that a jury will often sour on witnesses who argue with the judge or don’t answer the questions they’re asked.

“In my world, witness demeanor is almost as important and sometimes more important than the actual witness testimony they offer,” he said.

quote:

Hear how Trump plans vengeance if he wins White House
CNN's Phil Mattingly takes a look into former President Donald Trump's rhetoric as it gives a glimpse of what another Trump presidency might look like.

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Pastors respond after Trump says Christianity is under attack
Former President Donald Trump is stoking fears that Christianity is under attack, a theme many Christian nationalists believe is true. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan reports from Wisconsin where the movement has united three pastors to combat what they say is a threat.

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Trump and allies push for Nebraska law change to prevent Biden win
Former President Donald Trump and his allies have ramped up pressure for Nebraska lawmakers to change the state's unique system of dividing electoral college votes. CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports.

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State prosecutor to investigate Georgia Lt. Gov. Jones and his role as Trump fake elector
A state prosecutor will investigate whether Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones violated criminal law in his efforts to help former President Donald Trump subvert the 2020 election results in the state.

SPOILER

quote:

Peter Skandalakis, director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, has appointed himself to investigate the matter, according to a news release.

Jones, a Republican, was one of the 16 fake pro-Trump electors in the Peach State who signed on to the “unofficial electorate certificate” in a plan to subvert the Electoral College in the 2020 election. Jones was a state senator at the time.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat who is overseeing the sprawling election interference case against Trump and his 14 remaining co-defendants, was disqualified from investigating Jones in 2022. A Fulton County judge ordered Willis not to move ahead with a case against Jones, whom she had labeled a “target,” after she hosted a campaign fundraiser for his political opponent.

It took nearly two years for Skandalakis to announce his decision that he would appoint himself to spearhead a potential case against Jones. As director of the bipartisan group that oversees all prosecutors in the state, he was responsible for finding a replacement for Willis to decide whether a case should move forward.

Jones told CNN in a written statement: “I’m happy to see this process move forward and look forward to the opportunity to get this charade behind me. Fani Willis has made a mockery of this legal process, as she tends to do. I look forward to a quick resolution and moving forward with the business of the state of Georgia.”

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Trump is recreating his web of chaos at home and abroad in a preview of what a second term could look like
Some top Democrats worry that Americans have forgotten the chaos that raged every day Donald Trump was president, and that voters’ faded recall of the uproar will end up handing him a second term.

SPOILER

quote:

The presumptive GOP nominee is, however, doing a good job of jogging memories as he blazes a trail of disruption through Congress, immigration and national security policy, reproductive health care and the nation’s top courts.

After storming to the Republican nomination, Trump is again the epicenter of controversy. His volatile personality, loyalty tests, rampant falsehoods, thirst to serve his political self-interest and the aftershocks of his first term are compromising attempts to govern the country. And the election is still seven months away.

Many of today’s most intractable conflicts in US politics can be traced to Trump and the turmoil that is an essential ingredient of his political appeal to base voters who want Washington and its rules ripped down – no matter the consequences.

Events this week – and over the first three months of this year – illustrate how much Trump has shaped the political tumult:

— On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson suffered another stunning defeat, further gutting his authority, after hard right GOP members blocked a bill to reauthorize a critical surveillance spying program at Trump’s behest.

— Another measure critical to America’s capacity to wield its global power and its international reputation – a $60 billion arms package for Ukraine – is still going nowhere. Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is threatening to topple Johnson if he dares to pass it.

— Nationwide chaos is, meanwhile, spreading in the wake of the Trump-built Supreme Court conservative majority overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. In the latest stunning twist, Arizona is about to revert to a near total Civil War-era abortion ban.

— Bipartisan efforts to solve a border crisis are in tatters after Trump’s House followers in February killed the most sweeping and conservative bill in years. The ex-president appeared to want to deprive President Joe Biden of an election-year win and to continue his searing claims that America is being invaded by undocumented migrants he calls “animals.”

— Some of the nation’s top courts are being tied in knots by Trump’s incessant, and often frivolous, appeals as he desperately tries to postpone the shame of becoming the first ex-president to go on criminal trial. His unchained social media posts may be coming perilously close to infringing a gag order ahead of his hush money trial beginning Monday.

— The Supreme Court will later this month wrestle with Trump’s claims of almost unchecked presidential power – a constitutional conundrum that no other president in two-and-a-half centuries of American history ever raised. The suit is largely a ruse to delay his federal election interference trial – and it is working.

Trump’s entanglement in some of the most intense political storms rocking Washington, and reverberating even beyond US shores, offers fresh evidence of his power – expressed through his capacity to make key elements of the Republican Party bend to his will. It highlights his mercurial personality and a political style that relies on instinct rather than long-term strategy. And it is leaving no doubt that the mayhem that burst out of the Oval Office during his administration would return at an even more intense level if he gets back there in 2025.

Trump delivers a blow to Johnson – then invites him to Mar-a-Lago
Trump dispensed his orders to his acolytes in the House with the words “Kill FISA” on his Truth Social network.

The former president was referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which national security officials say is critical to allowing espionage agencies to listen to communications of suspected terrorists and US adversaries. Some of those key powers need to be reauthorized by Congress by the middle of the month.

Critics of the law, including some civil liberties groups and some conservatives, argue that Section 702 of the act, which allows the surveillance of foreigners outside the US, is unconstitutional because sometimes Americans in contact with those targets get swept up in the net. But Trump is bent on vengeance against the FBI over its investigation into contacts between his 2016 campaign and Russia. He claimed in a social media post that FISA was “ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHERS. THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!!!”

On Wednesday, 19 Republicans – including some of Trump’s loudest backers in the House – bucked Johnson and voted with Democrats to block consideration of the bill, dealing yet another blow to the speaker’s fast-ebbing authority and provoking a potential national security crisis.

Bill Barr, Trump’s former attorney general, told CNN’s Annie Grayer on Wednesday that the actions of his former boss and allies were “a travesty and reckless.” Barr argued that the ex-president was being driven by “personal pique rather than rationality and sound policy.” He said Trump’s complaints about the investigation into his 2016 campaign had nothing to do with the FISA section that needs to be reauthorized. And in a chilling warning, Barr accused the ex-president of putting US national security at risk. “We’re faced with probably the greatest threat to the homeland from terrorist attack and our means of defending against that is FISA. And to take that tool away, I think, is going to result in successful terrorist attacks and the loss of life,” he said. On Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Wray — also a Trump appointee — is expected to tell Congress that FISA is an “absolutely indispensable tool.”

Johnson’s latest humiliation came as he’s fighting for his job on another front. He held tense crisis talks on Wednesday with Greene, who is threatening to call a vote to oust him. The speaker may be the most conservative person to ever hold his job, but the Georgia lawmaker is accusing him of becoming a Democrat in all but name. Johnson’s crime was to keep the government open by passing budget bills and his consideration of the delayed Ukraine funding, which is also opposed by the former president.

“If he funds the deep state and the warrantless spying on Americans, he’s telling Republican voters all over the country that the continued behavior will happen more, spying on President Trump and spying on hundreds of thousands of Americans,” Greene told CNN’s Manu Raju on Wednesday. She added: “The funding of Ukraine must end. We are not responsible for a war in Ukraine. We’re responsible for the war on our border, and I made that clear to Speaker Johnson.”

Trump’s role in these two issues that threaten to bring Johnson down make it all the more curious that the speaker plans to travel to Mar-a-Lago on Friday to hold a joint news conference with the Republican presumptive nominee.

Johnson badly needs Trump to wield his influence with the restive GOP majority if he is to survive. And his pilgrimage to the Florida resort will make a strong statement about who really runs the House majority. There is a clue to a potential quid pro quo in the announced topic of their press conference – “election integrity.” That’s the code in Trump’s world for false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Johnson was a prominent purveyor of falsehoods about a stolen election and his continued willingness to buy into them might be the price for securing Trump’s support now.

Ukraine’s future may depend on the speaker sacrificing his future
Trump’s transformation of the GOP from a party that used to laud President Ronald Reagan’s victory over the Kremlin in the Cold War to one that often seems to be fulfilling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy goals is striking.

The GOP’s blockade of more funding for Ukraine threatens America’s global authority and reputation as a nation that supports democracies and opposes tyrants like a Russian leader who is accused of war crimes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that the war will be lost if the US arms don’t arrive. He told CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen on Wednesday that “what we have now is not sufficient. If we want to truly prevail over Putin.”

A few hours later, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of US European Command, backed up Zelensky’s warnings. “If one side can shoot and the other side can’t shoot back, the side that can’t shoot back loses. So the stakes are very high,” Cavoli told the House Armed Services Committee.

Yet Trump has vowed to end the war in 24 hours if he wins a second term. That can only happen one way – by Zelensky giving territorial concessions to Putin, who launched an illegal invasion and to whom the former US president has often genuflected.

News that Johnson is heading to Mar-a-Lago is yet another reason for US supporters of Ukraine to worry.

Abortion chaos
One of Biden’s goals is trying to remind suburban, moderate and independent voters who may be alienated by Trump’s constant chaos how disorientating life could be when he was president.

That’s one reason why the Biden campaign has seized on the fallout of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade to highlight the pandemonium that can result from Trump’s leadership.

The overturning of the nationwide constitutional right to an abortion was based on the reasoning that state legislatures that are closer to the people than the judiciary are the appropriate place for such a divisive moral question. In an ideal world or a political vacuum, that might be the case. But the decision took little account of the corrosive polarization of America’s politics and the result has been a confusing patchwork of state laws and court decisions. Many patients are being deprived of vital health services – for instance after miscarriages. Some IVF fertility treatments have been stopped in Alabama, for example, and the Supreme Court has been forced to consider an attempt to halt nationwide access to a widely used abortion pill.

Anti-abortion campaigners are, meanwhile, pushing hard for total state and national bans on the procedure while abortion rights advocates are seeking to inject the issue into key election races — with significant recent success in even some red states.

Trump this week tried to defuse the growing threat to his campaign from his and the conservative Supreme Court majority’s handiwork, insisting he’d leave the issue to the states. His damage control effort didn’t even last 24 hours. The Arizona Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate a 160-year-old ban triggered a backlash that went right back to the former president.

Trump had another go on Wednesday, pledging that he wouldn’t sign a federal ban on abortion as president – as many conservatives are pushing him to. But given how many times he’s shifted his position on the issue, it’s hard to know what he really thinks.

For once, Trump could end up being the chief victim of the chaos he wreaks.

quote:

The Influence of Russia on Bulgaria Happened due to Corruption in the Country
Bulgaria’s outgoing prime minister said that “much of Russia’s influence, for example, on the energy sector of Bulgaria was due to corruption.”

According to the Bulgarian prime minister, corruption in Bulgaria remains the main channel for Russian interference and contributed to the collapse of the ruling coalition. Nikolai Denkov asserted that the government he had led for less than a year has sought to root out bribery and deep-rooted ties to Moscow in EU and NATO member states bordering the Black Sea.

“Much of Russian influence, for example, on the energy sector of Bulgaria, was due to corruption,” Denkov said, referring to energy deals made by previous governments in favor of Russian energy giant Gazprom.

He added that his We Continue the Change party remained committed to fighting both corruption and Russian influence. Bulgaria has not had a long-term government since the collapse of the center-right government led by Boyko Borisov in 2021 amid mass protests against systemic corruption.

Among the deals Borisov made while in office was the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, which Denkov and other Bulgarian politicians believe was beneficial to Gazprom. Denkov added that such agreements “should be investigated.”

Russia continues using its tactics of funding European politicians to have an impact on internal affairs of various EU countries, and Bulgaria is a perfect example of the effective application of the Russian tactics. Prominent politicians should be aware of the influence of the Russian Federation on Europe and do their best to prevent the Kremlin from infiltrating EU countries.

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Boris Johnson warns Trump: You can’t make America great again if Ukraine falls to Putin
Former PM invokes Reagan as he urges Republicans to back funding package for Kyiv and calls for Ukraine to join Nato

Donald Trump will fail to “make America great again” if he lets Ukraine fall into the hands of Vladimir Putin, Boris Johnson has warned.

The former prime minister urged Republicans in Congress, who have stalled a $60 billion aid package for Kyiv, to unite against Russia to maintain America’s status as the world’s pre-eminent superpower.

Invoking Ronald Reagan, he said the move would deter China from attacking Taiwan, while issuing a defence of Nato and hitting out at Western countries for appeasing Vladimir Putin.

He also called for Ukraine to be allowed to join Nato.

SPOILER

quote:

Speaking on Wednesday at a conservative conference in Canada alongside former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott, Mr Johnson said:

“The resolution to this problem is the security and the stability that comes with certainty about where Ukraine is and what Ukraine is,” he told an event at the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference in Ottawa, where he appeared alongside former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott.

“Ukraine has chosen to be a free, independent European nation oriented towards the west, towards the EU, towards Nato.

“And Ukraine must join Nato. That is the only logical way through this.”

He said fears such a move would provoke Mr Putin could not prevent action.

“We tried that ... and look where that left us,” he said. “With the worst war in Europe for 80 years.

“Nato is the body that gives certainty and stability and will bring peace. But in the meantime, give those Ukrainians what they need.”

Mr Johnson endorsed Mr Trump’s run for the presidency in January at the start of the primary season, saying he did not believe the Republican would “abandon” Ukraine. However, his comments on Wednesday suggest that belief has wavered.

It follows reports that Mr Trump has drawn up a plan to let Moscow seize parts of eastern Ukraine and maintain its grip on Crimea.

“If you are the party of Ronald Reagan, if you want to make America great again, then you don’t begin a new Republican presidency – which may well happen… by conceding victory to Vladimir Putin,” Mr Johnson said.

“It would be a disaster for the West and it would be a disaster for America… Ukrainians are a free sovereign, independent, European nation and what has happened to them is criminal and barbaric”.

Mr Johnson endorsed Mr Trump in a Daily Mail column this year, noting that he had supplied Javelin anti-tank weapons that had proved critical in the Battle for Kyiv in the early days of the war.

“I �cannot believe that he will want to go down in history as the president who abandoned a country that he has already signally helped to keep free”, he wrote in January.

However, the Washington Post reported last week that Mr Trump would pressure Ukraine to make peace with Russia by ceding Crimea and the Donbas border region if he wins the presidential election in November.

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban said last month that Mr Trump would not “give a penny” to Ukraine, following a meeting with the former US president.

At the same time, Joe Biden’s attempts to keep military aid flowing to Kyiv have been blocked by Republicans in the House of Representatives.

Mike Johnson, the House Speaker, has so far refused to introduce a vote on the package – but has indicated he will do so this week. The move could lead to an attempt by supporters of Mr Trump to unseat him.

Mr Johnson said he believed the House Speaker was a supporter of Ukraine and argued that sending military aid was in the US’ own national interest.

“If you’re worried about the long-term ability of America to remain the superpower, if you’re worried about democracy around the world, if you’re worried about security, then investing in the security of Ukraine is the most cost-efficient thing you could possibly do,” he said.

“I would say, Mike – there aren’t any American boots on the ground in Ukraine, and yet those Ukrainians are fighting for freedom and security everywhere”.

Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, was snubbed when he attempted to meet the House Speaker to discuss the Ukraine package on a visit to Washington this week.

He did, however, meet with Mr Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort, where he reportedly urged the former president to help push the aid package through Congress.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson said an Israeli airstrike on a convoy of aid workers last week was “appalling” but criticised those calling on Britain to suspend arms sales to Israel.

“Logically, what we seem to be saying by that action is that we’re willing to see Hamas win,” he claimed.

The move would allow Hamas to repeat its Oct 7 massacre “again and again”, Mr Johnson said, adding that there was a “clear moral difference” between the actions of the terrorist group compared to Israel.

“Israel and the IDF have done their best to minimise civilian casualties, minimise suffering, and Hamas as far as I can see are trying to maximise suffering,” he said.

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Russia's FSB says British special forces operating in Ukraine
The SBS is a special forces regiment of the British navy that traces its history to the early days of World War Two.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that Britain's Special Boat Service had been operating in Ukraine and helping Ukrainian forces carry out attempted operations against Russian forces.

The Ukraine war has triggered the deepest crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. President Vladimir Putin has said that NATO military personnel are present already in Ukraine. The US and key European allies have said they have no plans to send ground troops to Ukraine.

The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said it had foiled a plan by British special forces to land Ukrainian sabotage soldiers on the Tendrov Split, a sandbar in the Black Sea. It said it had captured a senior Ukrainian naval special forces soldier, and gave his name and date of birth.

Direct involvement by the UK in conflict
The FSB said the Ukrainian special forces unit was "supervised by a unit of the Special Boat Service (SBS) which indicates the direct involvement of Britain in the conflict."

A spokesperson for Britain's Defense Ministry had no immediate response to a Reuters request for comment.

The SBS is a special forces regiment of the British navy that traces its history to the early days of World War Two.

The SBS has served in some of the biggest conflicts of the past 70 years including the Korean War, Northern Ireland, the Falklands War, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Op donderdag 11 april 2024 23:56 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://russiavsworld.org(...)escape-from-justice/
[..]
[ x ]
Tja, opgeruimd staat netjes. En ze komt er waarschijnlijk snel genoeg achter dat het leven in Duitsland stukken beter was.

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Op donderdag 11 april 2024 18:36 schreef bleiblei het volgende:

[..]
Er klopt niet veel van wat je post .
1 tipje van de sluier:
https://www.zeiss.nl/metr(...)ites/oberkochen.html

En dan zijn er nog een aantal punten die onder de categorie klok-klepel vallen.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 04:13 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.telegraph.co.(...)ukraine-tony-abbott/
[..]

SPOILER

[..]

quote:

Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 10:29 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Prioriteiten.

[ x ]

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 12:04 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Dit is een grap toch?

quote:

Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 01:26 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]

quote:

Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 12:04 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Dit is een grap toch?

quote:

Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 01:19 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/(...)ra-uit-voor-oekraine
[..]
[ x ]
[ x ]

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 12:12 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Nee, als het een grap was had er iets gestaan van "Een man komt bij de dokter. Zegt 'Als ik hier druk heb ik pijn. En druk ik daar ook. En daar ook.' Zegt de dokter:'Ik zie het al, uw vinger is gebroken.'"

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 12:22 schreef QAnonn het volgende:

[..]
[ x ]
De reacties onder het originele twitter bericht zijn minder positief.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 13:25 schreef xpompompomx het volgende:

[..]
[ afbeelding ]

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 13:27 schreef QAnonn het volgende:

[..]
Dat is niet de bedoeling begrijp ik

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 12:22 schreef QAnonn het volgende:

[..]
[ x ]
De reacties onder het originele twitter bericht zijn minder positief.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 12:12 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Nee, als het een grap was had er iets gestaan van "Een man komt bij de dokter. Zegt 'Als ik hier druk heb ik pijn. En druk ik daar ook. En daar ook.' Zegt de dokter:'Ik zie het al, uw vinger is gebroken.'"

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 13:34 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Wie in godesnaam verzint er wetten als de Vrijheid van koelkast wet?
En de blijf van onze huishoudelijke apparaten af wet.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 13:28 schreef xpompompomx het volgende:

[..]
Negatieve boze reacties van kortpittige Ria's op sociale media zijn vooral allesbehalve verrassend.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 15:07 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 14:28 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]
65 toestellen om te vliegen volgens mij. 10 voor onderdelen.
24 NL
19 DK
12 NO

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 17:12 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

[..]
En die Griekse F16's?

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 16:01 schreef Aether het volgende:
[ x ][ x ][ x ]

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 18:12 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Die wapens maken ook weinig verschil. Ze houden de patstelling in stand, maar niet dat er gebied terugveroverd wordt.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 18:17 schreef Zwoerd het volgende:

[..]
En wat als die wapens er niet waren?

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 18:20 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Dan werden ze veel meer overlopen, maar daarom is vrede ook zo belangrijk.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 18:26 schreef Zwoerd het volgende:

[..]
Dan maken die wapens toch wel een verschil?

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 18:30 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Dat is de vraag. Feit is gewoon dat er aan de lopende band mannen sterven en het front niet echt veraderend.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 18:32 schreef Zwoerd het volgende:

[..]
En zonder de wapens wordt Oekra�ne overlopen.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 18:33 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Daaruit volgt niet dat er meer doden zouden vallen.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 07:21 schreef Korenfok het volgende:

[..]
Mensen als zij hebben waarschijnlijk een goed leven in Rusland, ze zullen echt niet in een afthans fabriekje geplaatst worden om te werken, net als mensen als Snowden die krijgen gewoon de oliarch lifestyle aangeboden.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 11:16 schreef NeeOfTochJA het volgende:

[..]
Daarom noemt Trump het ook Make America great again en niet make Ukraine great again.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 15:39 schreef xpompompomx het volgende:

[..]
DO. IT. NOW.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 12:22 schreef QAnonn het volgende:

[..]
[ x ]
De reacties onder het originele twitter bericht zijn minder positief.

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Ukrainian Railways initiates construction of major European routes
In an effort to facilitate integration with the European Union, Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) has initiated the construction of a European-gauge railway, stretching from the Ukrainian border town of Chop in Zakarpattia Oblast to the administrative center city, Uzhhorod.

The community of Chop is located on the corner of the Slovakia-Hungary-Ukraine border, sitting mere kilometers away from the EU member states.

The railway's construction entails building 22 kilometers of European-standard track. Once it is complete, the railway will provide direct passenger routes from Uzhhorod to several European destinations

According to Ukrzaliznytsia CEO Yevhen Liashchenko, the project's preparatory phase is underway, with main construction set to commence in May.

The project includes reconstructing outdated infrastructure elements and modernizing dispatching technology.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the railway will facilitate direct rail connections to major European cities, including Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest.

Ukrzaliznytsia also plans to introduce 18 new container routes across Europe by September 2024, further expanding Ukraine's rail connectivity within the continent.

The project is co-financed with 50% grant from the EU Connecting Europe Facility, and will cost $33 million.

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EU to approve Ukraine reform plan in May, unlocking billions in aid – Bloomberg
The European Union is moving toward approval of Ukraine's reform plan in May, which would unlock an additional �1.9 billion in EU financial assistance in late spring.

Source: European Pravda, citing Bloomberg

The European Commission is examining the reform plan that Ukraine has committed to implement to receive financial aid, but the commission has no serious questions about it.

EU member states may start approving the plan as early as next month, a person familiar with the matter told the agency.

The EU has planned to allocate almost �16 billion to Ukraine this year, part of the EU's �50 billion Ukraine Facility for the 2024-2027 period.

Last month, Kyiv submitted a plan containing investment and reform proposals that would gradually unlock most of the EU's aid by 2027.

As part of the plan, the European Commission plans to disburse �1.5 billion in transitional funding in the second half of April.

The rest of the funding planned for this year will be disbursed in two tranches once the Ukrainian government has implemented the agreed reforms.

Among the agreed reforms for the second half of the year are the adoption of a medium-term state debt management strategy, a review of state budget expenditure, and an increase in staff at the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

EU finance ministers are expected to discuss Ukraine's plan on Friday in Luxembourg.

Ukraine has already received the first tranche of �4.5 billion of the planned EU financial assistance for this year.

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Russian military personnel deserting en masse in Kherson region - ATESH
Russian military personnel are arriving in the temporarily occupied districts of the Kherson region, where they are reportedly deserting in large numbers, according to the partisan movement ATESH.

It is noted that Russian occupiers are refusing to carry out combat missions and are deserting their temporary deployment areas. Interestingly, some of those who officially went on leave as deserters were later found in the occupied territory of the Kherson region.

Meanwhile, movement agents also report the arrival of a large number of personnel from the occupation army in Novooleksiivka.

"These military personnel are accommodated in vacant abandoned houses. Most of them have multiple tattoos on their bodies. The local population believes that these are people who were previously in places of detention," the message reads.

Agents of ATESH also report that units of the Russian National Guard have been instructed to capture Ukrainian partisans who provide information about the whereabouts of Russian occupation troops. Additionally, there are reports of the disappearance of Russian military personnel in the settlement.

Situation in the temporarily occupied territories
Partisans have discovered a radar station of the Russian occupiers in the temporarily occupied Crimea. It is installed in the area of the Balaklava Thermal Power Plant.

Russian military personnel are also moving self-propelled artillery units towards Dzhankoy in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

In addition, partisans have observed the movement of a large number of Russians to the temporarily occupied Dzhankoy in Crimea.

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UK defense chief considering transfer of prototype laser weapon to Ukraine to bolster air defenses
This is a prototype of the DragonFire laser weapon, capable of shooting down Russian missiles and drones

Britain is considering transferring to Ukraine a prototype DragonFire laser weapon, thanks to which the Defense Forces will be able to shoot down Russian drones and missiles, said Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, reports The Daily Telegraph.

During a visit to the DragonFire laboratory, Shapps said that delays to the deployment of this weapon is "the biggest waste of money in defense".

The DragonFire system is the result of a �100 million joint investment between the Ministry of Defense and industry.

"What I want to do is speed up what would usually be a very lengthy process, possibly up to 10 years, down to a much shorter timeframe and get it deployed, potentially on ships and potentially on land," he said.

Britain wants to install DragonFire in service by 2027, Secretary Shapps said. At the same time, the country is studying the option of sending the system to Ukraine ahead of schedule, even if the weapon prototype is not 100% finished.

REFERENCE
The DragonFire's range is classified, but it is a line-of-sight weapon and can hit any visible target. This directed energy laser weapon system uses British technology to deliver a high-powered laser over long distances. The accuracy required is equivalent to hitting a �1 coin from a kilometer away.

On January 19, 2024, DragonFire fired its first high-powered shot at aerial targets during tests at the Hebrides test range.

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Ukraine returns bodies of another 99 fallen defenders
After identification, the bodies will be handed over to the families for burial, said the Coordination Headquarters

On April 12, Ukraine returned the bodies of 99 fallen soldiers, reported the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

77 bodies of defenders who fought on the Donetsk axis, 20 fallen soldiers from the Zaporizhzhya axis and two defenders from the Kharkiv axis have been repatriated.

The repatriated bodies and remains of service members will be transported to state institutions. Representatives of law enforcement agencies and forensic medical experts will identify the victims. After identification, the bodies will be handed over to the families for burial, the Coordination Headquarters said.

On February 25, 2024, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced for the first time that around 31,000 Ukrainian military personnel had been killed since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion. He did not provide figures for wounded or missing soldiers.

Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that as of March 1, the remains of 2,800 fallen Ukrainian troops had been identified, and efforts to locate relatives of the deceased were ongoing.

On March 29, the bodies of 121 more Ukrainian soldiers who had died in combat were repatriated.

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Bizarre world of political vendetta in Russia: Macron’s ‘French broiler’ in Khabarovsk supermarket – Video

In an attempt to take avenge and humiliate French President Emmanuel Macron for his support of Ukraine, Russians have resorted to petty mischief by alluding to his alleged “unconventional sexual orientation” and comparing him to a “rooster.”

This seems to be the logic behind the placement of an image of Macron in the form of a rooster on the packaging of Russian meat products in a Khabarovsk supermarket shared on social media on April 11.

But, this comparison insult seems to have fallen short and missed its mark. The Russians failed to take into account that in France, the rooster is a national symbol and there is no prejudice against it, unlike the Russian view on the matter.

It is unlikely that Macron will ever know that somewhere in Khabarovsk he was called a “French broiler”.

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They defeated France in Khabarovsk! 🤡

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Thousands of Russian soldiers are fleeing Putin’s war in Ukraine – they have nowhere to go
Asylum claims from Russia have surged since the full-scale invasion

If the choice was death or a bullet to the leg, Yevgeny would take the bullet. A decorated hero of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Yevgeny told his friend and fellow soldier to please aim carefully and avoid bone. The tourniquets were ready.

The pain that followed was the price Yevgeny paid for a new chance at life. Like thousands of other Russian soldiers, he deserted.

SPOILER

quote:

“I joke that I gave birth to myself,” he said, declining to give his full name for fear of retribution. “When a woman gives birth to a child, she experiences very intense pain and gives new life. I gave myself life after going through very intense pain.”

Yevgeny made it out of the trenches. But the new life he found is not what he had hoped for.

Five officers and one soldier who deserted the Russian military have given interviews. All have criminal cases against them in Russia, where they face 10 years or more in prison. Each is waiting for a welcome from the West that has never arrived. Instead, all but one live in hiding.

For Western nations grappling with Russia’s vast and growing diaspora, Russian soldiers present particular concern: Are they spies? War criminals? Or heroes?

“I did the right thing,” said another deserter who goes by the nickname Sparrow, who is living in hiding in Kazakhstan while he waits for his asylum applications to be processed. After being forcibly conscripted, he ran away from his barracks because he didn't want to kill anyone. “I’d rather sit here and suffer and look for something than go there and kill a human being because of some unclear war, which is 100 percent Russia’s fault. I don’t regret it.”

Asylum claims from Russian citizens have surged since the full-scale invasion, but few are winning protection. Policymakers remain divided over whether to consider Russians in exile as potential assets or risks to national security.

Andrius Kubilius, a former prime minister of Lithuania now serving in the European Parliament, argues that cultivating Russians who oppose Vladimir Putin is in the strategic self-interest of the West. Fewer Russian soldiers at the front, he added, means a weaker army.

“Not to believe in Russian democracy is a mistake,” Kubilius said. “To say that all Russians are guilty is a mistake.”

Independent Russian media outlet Mediazona has documented more than 7,300 cases in Russian courts against AWOL soldiers since September 2022; cases of desertion, the harshest charge, leapt sixfold last year.

Record numbers of people seeking to desert — more than 500 in the first two months of this year — are contacting Idite Lesom, or “Get Lost,” a group run by Russian activists in the Republic of Georgia. Last spring, just 3% of requests for help came from soldiers seeking to leave; in January, more than a third did, according to the group’s head, Grigory Sverdlin.

Overall, Sverdlin’s group says it has supported more than 26,000 Russians seeking to avoid military service and helped more than 520 active-duty soldiers and officers flee — a drop in the bucket compared with Russia’s overall troop strength, but an indicator of morale in a country that has made it a crime to oppose the war.

“Obviously, Russian propaganda is trying to sell us a story that all Russia supports Putin and his war,” Sverdlin said. "But that’s not true.”

The question now is, where can they go?

Farhad Ziganshin, an officer who deserted shortly after Putin's September 2022 mobilization decree, was detained in Kazakhstan while trying to board a flight to Armenia because local authorities found his name on a Russian wanted list.

“It’s not safe to stay in Kazakhstan,” Ziganshin said. “I just try to lead a normal life, without violating the laws of Kazakhstan, without being too visible, without appearing anywhere. We have a proverb: Be quieter than water and lower than grass.”

He's still waiting on his asylum applications.

German officials have said that Russians fleeing military service can seek protection, and a French court last summer ruled that Russians who refuse to fight can claim refugee status. In practice, however, it’s proven difficult for deserters, most of whom have passports that only allow travel within a handful of former Soviet states, to get asylum, lawyers, activists and deserters say.

Fewer than 300 Russians got refugee status in the U.S. in fiscal year 2022. And less than 10% of the 5,246 people whose applications were processed last year got some sort of protection from German authorities.

But Russians continue to flee. Customs and Border Patrol officials encountered more than 57,000 Russians at U.S. borders in fiscal year 2023, up from around 13,000 in fiscal year 2021. Affirmative asylum requests nearly quadrupled, to almost 9,000, in the year ending September 2022, the latest data available.

In France, asylum requests rose more than 50% between 2022 and 2023, to a total of around 3,400 people, according to the French office that handles the requests. And last year, Germany got 7,663 first-time asylum applications from Russian citizens, up from 2,851 in 2022, Germany’s Interior Ministry told AP in an email. None of the data specifies how many were soldiers.

Another Russian officer, nicknamed Sportsmaster, made a video diary of his escape. As he was about to leave Russia, he did what he could to make a grand gesture to demonstrate his opposition to the war.

“They wanted to force me to go fight against the free people of Ukraine,” he said to his camera. “Putin wanted me to be in a bag, but it’s his uniform that will be in a bag.”

He shoved his military uniforms in two black trash bags and threw them in a dumpster.

“The worst thing that could have happened has happened,” he said after crossing out of Russia with the remnants of his former life stuffed in one small backpack. “Now only good things are coming.”

Sportsmaster is an optimist. In fact, deserters have been seized by Russian forces in Armenia, deported from Kazakhstan and turned up dead, riddled with bullets, in Spain.

“There is no mechanism for Russians who do not want to fight, deserters, to get to a safe place,” Yevgeny said. He urges Western policymakers to reconsider. “After all, it’s much cheaper economically to allow a person into your country — a healthy young man who can work — than to supply Ukraine with weapons.”

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Ukraine approves additional payments for soldiers, police officers serving at 'zero line'
Ukrainian soldiers and police officers who serve directly at the contact line of the front will receive an additional payment of Hr 70,000 ($1,785) per month, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on April 12.

Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, adopted the resolution on additional payments on April 11.

The personnel serving at the"zero line" will get the additional financial reward together with a monthly salary of Hr 20-25,000 ($510-637) and combat payments of Hr 100,000 ($2,550).

Shmyhal said that a one-time financial reward accrues every 30 days for conducting combat missions at the contact line.

Roman Kostenko, a secretary at the Parliamentary National Security Committee, wrote on Facebook on April 6 that the provision for additional payment was previously included in the mobilization bill. However, it was excluded at the last moment before the bill's approval.

After an initial, contentious version of the mobilization bill was withdrawn in January, a new, updated version passed the first reading on Feb. 7. Lawmakers have proposed 4,294 amendments to the bill since then.

On April 11, Ukraine's parliament passed another updated version of the bill, which included the right of disabled soldiers and those who have returned from captivity to discharge themselves and the introduction of mandatory medical commission checks for those who previously held the "partially eligible" status, among other key points.

President Volodymyr Zelensky also signed three separate laws on mobilization in early April: on the lowering of the conscription age to 25, the introduction of an electronic register for conscripts, and the canceling of the "partially eligible" status.

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Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 18:54 schreef Perrin het volgende:
[ x ]

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Russia hits rescuers in Kupiansk, Kharkiv region, with double-tap strike
KUPIANSK, UKRAINE, Apr 12 — On the afternoon of April 11, the Russians shelled Kupiansk, destroying one house and damaging others. Rescuers arrived at the site after the shelling, and Russians attacked the site again in a double-tap strike, the State Emergency Service said. The Prosecutor’s Office’s preliminary assessment is that Russians used artillery to hit the town.

“The rescuers had to clean up [the hit site] under repeated shelling. Russia does not stop its insidious terrorist strategy, each time striking at rescuers who are working to save lives and property of civilians,” the SES wrote.

Russian Federation often employs double-tap attacks to inflict terror on civilians. Their army came back to this tactic in Ukraine with the double-tap strike on Odesa in mid-March, which killed 20 people, including first responders and volunteers who came to the hit site to help. In just April, Russian ‘double-tap’ strikes killed at least ten people in Kharkiv, including rescuers.

Read more
Over the past day, the Russian army shelled about 20 settlements in the Kharkiv Oblast. The Russian attack injured three people, said Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.

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Russia Is Buying Politicians in Europe. Is It Happening Here Too?
A former CIA officer explains how a vast, pro-Putin corruption network uncovered in Europe is a warning sign for the U.S.

Democrats for years have warned about Russian influence in the Republican Party under Donald Trump. But now even some prominent GOP members of Congress are sounding the alarm.

“I think Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base,” Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Puck’s Julia Ioffe last week. Representative Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, went further, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper a few days later, “We see directly coming from Russia attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor.”

Which Republicans might they be referring to? Representative Ken Buck didn’t hesitate to point a finger at Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, saying on Monday, “Moscow Marjorie is focused now on this Ukraine issue and getting her talking points from the Kremlin and making sure that she is popular and she is getting a lot of coverage.”

They’re saying aloud what they once whispered behind closed doors. Back in 2016, when he was a Republican congressman but not yet House speaker, Kevin McCarthy said in a private meeting with GOP leaders, “There’s two people, I think, Putin pays: [Representative Dana] Rohrabacher and Trump … swear to God.” (Rohrabacher, once dubbed “Putin’s favorite congressman,” lost his seat in 2018.)

SPOILER

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McCarthy, confronted with the leaked audio in 2017, claimed it was a joke. But anyone paying attention to how Russian intelligence services run influence operations—which I do, as a former CIA officer—knows it is anything but. It raises a legitimate, and deadly serious, question: Have Russian operatives paid any Republican officials?

Consider the news last week that authorities in several European countries had uncovered a vast corruption network, in which European politicians were paid to spread anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia propaganda. The network, according to intelligence sources cited by Czech media and confirmed by the country’s prime minister, was orchestrated by pro-Russia Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk. Politicians from Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Hungary were allegedly paid directly with cash or through cryptocurrency exchanges.

The case highlights an important misunderstanding that arose during Trump’s first presidential campaign, about how malign influence operations work: They are not simply, or even primarily, bot or troll networks on social media that amplify lies and propaganda. They’re human intelligence operations too—not unlike what you might see in a Hollywood film. Operatives of Russia’s security services meet with politicians, journalists, activists, and other influencers and pay them to carry out certain tasks.

The idea is to push narratives and policies that help Russia but to mask them behind a local face. (In the aforementioned case, the popular website Voice of Europe was allegedly used to push the propaganda and to facilitate payments.) This provides Russia plausible deniability, but it also makes it more likely that audiences will trust the messages. It serves a purpose within Russia too, as domestic propaganda purportedly showing that people in other countries agree with the Kremlin’s positions.

The Voice of Europe scandal is merely the latest example of Russian influence on the continent. Last year, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project revealed that politicians in Germany, Italy, and Cyprus were paid by Russian operatives to introduce legislation literally written by Russian intelligence officers. The OCCRP also uncovered examples of parliamentary staff members, party activists, and members of think tanks publishing articles in European press outlets under their name, while the articles were actually written by Russian handlers. One activist from Austria even complained to his handler about the quality of one article that had been coordinated with the Kremlin. “I am not a robot,” he said. Nevertheless, he published the article under his name in a Swiss media outlet.

It is na�ve to think the same pattern does not exist in the United States, given the ample evidence of coordinated pro-Russian talking points from several Republican politicians. Just this week, Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke to Steve Bannon about Ukraine’s persecution of Christians, which is a Kremlin talking point aimed at boosting the pro-Moscow wing of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church. The U.S. should be spending money on the border with Mexico, not on Ukraine aid? That’s a Kremlin talking point. Russia invaded Ukraine to defend itself against an expanding NATO? That’s a Kremlin talking point. Call for a cease-fire, and give Russia Crimea and eastern Ukraine? That’s a Kremlin talking point.

While we cannot say for sure if any Republican officials are on the Russian payroll in ways similar to their European counterparts, we can be sure that they’ve been approached. As the director of national intelligence wrote in 2021, Russian intelligence operatives and their proxies “sought to use prominent US persons and media conduits to launder their narratives to US officials and audiences. These Russian proxies met with and provided materials to Trump administration-linked US persons to advocate for formal investigations; hired a US firm to petition US officials; and attempted to make contact with several senior US officials. They also made contact with established US media figures.”

As for payments, we’ve seen a disturbing pattern. In 2017, Andrew Intrater donated $250,000 to Trump’s inauguration fund and, a few months later, donated $35,000 to Trump’s reelection campaign. Intrater is a cousin of Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch who was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018 for his connections to Putin. We know that oligarchs play an integral role in funding Russian influence operations. One oligarch revealed to special counsel Robert Mueller that Putin held quarterly meetings with his oligarchs to discuss strategic spending.

In 2018, a Texas-based firm donated money to House Speaker Mike Johnson. That firm is 88 percent owned by three Russians. And last week, we learned that Trump Media received loans from a Russian bank to help the company stay afloat before it went public and at a time when no U.S. bank would lend to Trump.

Any donations that might have been made through anonymous LLCs to PACs—perhaps with attached quid pro quos—are likely to remain opaque, due to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. And we cannot say if the financial transactions we do know about are nefarious. But the pattern paints a disturbing picture, particularly given many House Republicans’ rabid opposition to Ukraine aid and Trump’s reported Ukraine peace plan, which would cede Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine to Russia. A similar plan was floated by Paul Manafort, Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman, and his partner Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian intelligence operative, during the 2016 election.

Among the entities promoted by the Voice of Europe propaganda network was Hungary’s Center for Fundamental Rights, which “considers preserving national identity, sovereignty, and Judeo-Christian social traditions as its primary mission.” CFR is funded by the government of Viktor Orb�n and has twice organized a conference in Budapest for the Conservative Political Action Committee, which helps shape policy on the American right. The Heritage Foundation—which has spearheaded Project 2025, the authoritarian blueprint for a future Republican administration—has become increasingly cozy with Hungary, and even hosted Orb�n privately last month. It is quite possible, perhaps even likely, that some people who are on the Russian payroll were at the Heritage event, their role to influence and build support for pro-Russian policies.

We now have overwhelming evidence of vast pro-Russian influence operations throughout Europe that seek to exploit politicians, media personalities, and others—and some of these efforts have been successful. Here in the United States, while a pattern has emerged, we don’t know the full extent of the influence yet. But it would be foolish, not to mention dangerous, to think we are immune.

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Trump thought Ukraine ‘must be part of Russia’ during presidency, book says
Ex-president ‘could not get his head around the idea that Ukraine was an independent state’, former adviser Fiona Hill tells author

As president, Donald Trump “made it very clear” that he thought Ukraine “must be part of Russia”, his former adviser Fiona Hill says in a new book about US national security under threat from Russia and China.

“Trump made it very clear that he thought, you know, that Ukraine, and certainly Crimea, must be part of Russia,” Hill, senior director for European and Russian affairs on the US national security council between 2017 and 2019, tells David Sanger, a New York Times reporter and author of New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West.

“He really could not get his head around the idea that Ukraine was an independent state.”

SPOILER

quote:

This, Sanger writes, meant Trump’s view of Ukraine was “essentially identical” to that of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who would order an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a year after Trump left office.

Before triggering the invasion, Putin said in a speech: “Ukraine is an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space.”

Last month, in a speech marking 10 years since the annexation of Crimea, Putin declared that parts of occupied Ukraine were part of a “New Russia”.

New Cold Wars will be published in the US on Tuesday. The Guardian obtained a copy.

The book appears with the Ukraine war grinding into its third year but with $60bn of new US military aid to Kyiv blocked by far-right Republicans in the US House, acting in accordance with Trump’s wishes as he runs to defeat Joe Biden in a presidential election rematch and return to power.

The House speaker, Mike Johnson, has indicated he wants to pass Ukraine aid but he faces strong opposition, not least from Trump, with whom Johnson is due to appear in Florida on Friday. Biden has strongly condemned Republicans’ hold on Ukraine aid, as have lawmakers from both parties. Biden and other senior figures have also condemned Trump’s words in support of Putin, including a stunning promise to “encourage Russia to do what the hell they want” to US Nato allies he deems financially delinquent.

On Thursday, Alexander Vindman, formerly the top Ukraine aide on Trump’s national security council, told CNN that without new US aid, Ukraine’s position had become “quite precarious”.

Like Hill, Vindman was a key witness in Trump’s first impeachment trial, over his attempts to blackmail Ukraine by withholding military support, in an attempt to extract political dirt on rivals including Biden.

Vindman was fired, after Senate Republicans loyal to Trump assured the president’s acquittal at trial. Hill left office on her own terms.

Vindman was born in Ukraine. Hill was born in Britain. Now a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC and chancellor of Durham University in the UK, Hill’s thoughts on Trump, Russia and Putin remain eagerly sought, particularly given her co-authorship of Mr Putin: Operative in the Kremlin, a well-regarded biography.

In Washington in February, Hill told a conference staged by anti-Trump conservatives that Trump “idolises” Putin for his autocratic leadership and longevity in power.

That view, Hill said, contributed to Trump’s furious rejection of intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Trump win.

She also said she had spoken to European leaders at the Munich security conference, finding them nervously preparing for a possible second Trump administration.

“The prime ministers and presidents and foreign ministers and others … all know how capricious Trump is,” Hill said. “And that’s really what they’re worried about, because it doesn’t matter how many people that they know who become secretary of state or secretary of defense, it comes down to Trump himself and the unpredictability of his personality.”

Hill’s words to Sanger about Trump’s view of Ukraine, though brief, seem guaranteed only to add to such worries.

The result of growing qualms about Trump, his attitude to Russia and other idiosyncrasies, Hill said in February, “is that [European leaders] have started to lose faith in the United States. And it’s very distressing to hear.”

quote:

Russia sends bombers against Ukraine from a base near Norway
Norwegian intelligence alerts Ukraine when Russian bombers take off to attack. Often it is the Norwegian air defense system that stops the missiles.

A huge runway of 3,500 meters opens up inside the slightly sparse pine and spruce forest. Based on this, stands for aircraft spread out.

This is the Olenja base in the middle of the Kola Peninsula in northwest Russia.

From the main railway in Murmansk and southwards there is a side track. There, railway wagons are loaded with rockets and bombs.

A good 150 kilometers from the Norwegian border is now one of the most important bases for the Russian warfare against Ukraine.

Norwegian radar stations have a good enough range to see Russian bombers taking off from the Olenja base on the Kola Peninsula.

Thus, they can alert Ukraine when the Russian Tupolev TU-95 bombers launch their missiles at a safe distance from Ukraine.

Ukraine then has three hours to prepare its missile defences. Often it involves Norwegian-developed NASAMs air defense systems.

SPOILER

quote:

The planes take off - the alarm goes off
From Vads� and Vard�, information is passed on to Ukraine, which makes it possible for the Ukrainians to prepare when the bombers take to the wings from the Olenja base.

When the rockets reach Ukraine, it is very often Norwegian-developed NASAMS air defense systems that try to shoot them down, which NRK was able to document in Kyiv in July 2023.

Just after midnight on 15 February this year, there was an urgent message from the Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram.

Russian strategic bombers of the type TU-95 had taken off from the Olenja base. The Ukrainians had to get ready for new airstrikes in a few hours.

Just a few days earlier, the Ukrainian edition of the online newspaper RBC had published new satellite images from Olenja.

They showed great activity, and what they interpreted as preparations for a new attack with strategic bombers.

The same thing happened on April 11. Then there was another massive attack against Ukraine. At least seven bombers from the Olenja base took part.

But why attack Ukraine from a base about as far away as it is possible to get in the European part of Russia?

Moves the bombers further away
The reason is clear: several successful Ukrainian attacks on the main base of the strategic Russian air defense forces near the city of Engels on the Volga River.

After the attacks, the Russians decided to move a large part of the aircraft to the base at Kola, according to The Barents Observer.

What happened during the night and early morning of February 15 was quite typical of how the massive Russian attacks on Ukraine are now taking place.

The message from the Ukrainian Air Force that the planes had taken off was sent out at 00:49.

It was assumed that they would be ready to launch their cruise missiles around 04:00.

The planes from the base at Kola flew southeast before sending their deadly cargo over Ukraine at a safe distance, before returning to the Kola Peninsula.

At the same time, the Russian defense forces sent both drones and ballistic missiles against those President Putin once called "his Ukrainian brothers".

Became known after Castro visit
The Olenja airport south of Murmansk was completed in 1957.

It became "world famous" when the Cuban leader Fidel Castro landed here on his visit to the Soviet Union in 1963. It was only one year after the dramaticThe Cuban Missile Crisis.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, several decades followed in which activity at the base decreased sharply.

Olenja was primarily used to store bombers of the TU-22M3 type. Most of these are unusable, and are still scattered throughout the area.

Many hoped at the time thatthe era of the cold warwith fear and suspicion was over.

Now there was to be cooperation. There was even speculation about whether Russia could become a member of NATO.

Close on
It didn't work out that way. After Russia intervened militarily in the former Soviet republic of Georgia in 2008, and in 2014 did the same in Ukraine, relations with the West and NATO have deteriorated rapidly.

After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Europe is once again on the brink of a major conflict.

The fact that Russia is now using the Kola and Olenja bases so actively in the war against Ukraine means that Norway and the new NATO country Finland are getting close to the conflict.

On 17 March , the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat published new satellite images from Monitorwar which show that the number of aircraft at the Olenja base has now risen to 60.

The base is used because the Russian defense has believed that it will not be possible for Ukraine to attack targets so far away.

Knows about Norwegian intelligence stations
As the crow flies, it is 1,750 kilometers from the Ukrainian border to Olenja airport.

But after Ukraine has shown it can attack targets as far away as Tatarstan, it may be a matter of time before Olenja airport is also within range.

In that case, it will bring the actual war to the North Calotte and very close to the borders of Norway and Finland.

There is no doubt that Russia is fully aware of Norwegian intelligence stations in South Varanger .

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Trump and Johnson build alliance on the falsehood of the stolen election
House Speaker Mike Johnson will stand Friday with Donald Trump at an appearance that will amplify the former president’s most damaging falsehood: that America’s democratic elections are catastrophically tainted by fraud.

The country’s most powerful elected Republican, who is seeking to save his job under threat from Trump-aligned members of his own party in Congress, will travel to meet the true power in the GOP at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The visit comes as the the ex-president’s allies are eviscerating his authority and even threatening to topple him.

SPOILER

quote:

It also takes place three days before Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, becomes the first former president to go on trial, with the beginning of jury selection in a New York case related to a hush money payment to an adult film star. And there will be another twist Friday in the legal saga over Trump’s forthcoming trial in Florida over his hoarding of classified documents. Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon, whose no-rush management of pre-trial litigation means it’s increasingly unlikely the case will be adjudicated before November’s election, will hear an attempt by two of Trump’s co-accused to have the case dismissed.

The announced topic of Johnson and Trump’s joint public statement on Friday is “election integrity” – the catch-all term for the stew of conspiracy theories and lies about the 2020 election that Trump is now using as the foundation of his 2024 bid for a new term. The price for Republicans seeking the ex-president’s support has long been a willingness to promote his fictional stolen election conceit. So Johnson’s visit to Trump’s residence may suggest he’s ready to make a similar down payment if the ex-president prevents his ouster as speaker.

The two GOP leaders are expected to draw attention to what they say are state proposals and lawsuits that would allow non-citizens to vote, CNN’s Kristen Holmes and Fredreka Schouten reported Thursday. Some cities or jurisdictions do allow non-citizens to cast ballots in non-federal elections — for positions on school boards for example. But federal law bans non-citizens from voting in federal elections and any who do risk fines, prison terms and deportation. Given these punishments, many voting rights groups assess there’s no widespread problem to address. The state of Georgia, with nearly 8 million registered voters conducted a statewide audit and found that 1,634 potential non-citizens had tried to register to vote between 1997 and early 2022 but none were successful.

But given Trump’s incessant attempts to blur distinctions, and to falsely claim undocumented migrants vote in US elections in large numbers as part of a Democratic plot, the distinction is likely to be lost on many people who are not familiar with the subtleties of the issue.

The stolen election falsehood that dominates the GOP
Johnson’s willingness to lend the authority of his office to Trump’s “election integrity” campaign shows how Trump’s stolen election conspiracy theory has consumed almost every pillar of power in the GOP.

The Republican National Committee has become even more vociferous in campaigning and fundraising on the false premise that the 2020 election was corrupt since Trump took it over and installed loyalists after becoming the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

CNN’s KFile reported that the RNC sent out a scripted call to voters’ phones on behalf of new co-chair Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, that said Democrats committed “fraud” in the 2020 election. It warned that if “Democrats have their way, your vote could be canceled out by someone who isn’t even an American citizen.” Trump’s election falsehoods also inspired many GOP state legislatures to pass laws in the name of election security that may make it harder to vote and could make it easier for political officials to interfere in elections. Trump’s multiple failed lawsuits and even his own Attorney General William Barr offered testimony to the lack of widespread voter fraud in 2020. But Trump remains locked in his false reality.

Trump and Johnson are also expected to relitigate the 2020 election during Friday’s press conference, a Trump adviser told CNN. The House speaker is no stranger to satisfying Trump’s craving for validation of his stolen election narrative. After the 2020 election, Johnson, then a Republican back bencher, emailed every House Republican seeking signatures for an amicus brief in a Texas lawsuit seeking to invalidate electoral college votes from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Trump first raised the falsehood of non-citizens corrupting US elections back in 2016, claiming with zero evidence that millions of undocumented immigrants voted for his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, costing him a popular vote win even though he was victorious in the Electoral College.

In the 2024 election, the new focus on the idea that non-citizens are corrupting US voter rolls provides neat synergy with one of Trump’s chief election themes: that the country is facing an invasion from undocumented migrants who are bringing crime and disease to the country due to President Joe Biden’s perceived failures during a crisis at the southern border. The ex-president also frequently cites a tenet of the racist “great replacement theory” that Democrats are importing foreigners en masse to register them to vote in the 2024 election. “IT’S SO THEY CAN VOTE, VOTE, VOTE,” Trump said on his Truth Social network in December. No facts back up these claims of a Republican presumptive nominee who has warned immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of the country.

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network this week, Johnson expanded on the theme, describing an alleged Democratic plot to fix the electoral map. “It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but I think it’s actually true, that the ultimate design is to turn some of these illegals into voters for their cause and to change the census outcome in 2030,” Johnson said. “It sounds like some sort of crazy, you know, criminal design. And in my view it is.”

The impact of Trump’s election falsehoods
The former president’s stolen election narrative gathered pace on election night 2020, and at first appeared like a face-saving effort to salve his ego and to hide his embarrassment that he had lost to Biden. But within days, it had become a fully fledged effort to overturn a result that made Trump a one-term president. Two days after the election, Trump declared, “If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us.”

From small beginnings, the conspiracy theory wreaked enormous damage, including the incitement of a mob attack on the US Capitol by Trump’s supporters in a bid to thwart the certification of Biden’s election victory on January 6, 2021. The ex-president’s attempt to steal the election from Biden led to two of his four criminal indictments. Trump’s campaign of falsehoods convinced millions of his supporters that he was ousted from office unfairly, damaging trust in the integrity of US democracy. And the falsehood has now become the backbone of another Trump presidential campaign as he dismisses efforts to enforce legal accountability for his alleged crimes as an attempt to Democrats to interfere in the 2024 election.

Johnson is in deep political trouble
There’s barely a Trump event when he doesn’t renew his false claims of electoral fraud. So, one way for Republicans to build new credibility in his eyes is to give credence to his conspiracy theory.

Johnson badly needs Trump’s help. His speakership — propped up by the slimmest of majorities — is hanging by a thread. This week, he was humbled when 19 Republican lawmakers — including some key Trump allies like Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz – blocked a procedural vote on reauthorizing surveillance authorities on foreigners overseas that US intelligence agencies described as vital in the battle against terrorism. They were acting on the orders of Trump, who claims he was spied on by US espionage agencies in his 2016 campaign. The bill now looks set to pass after leadership cut the length of the authorization from five to two years on the assumption that Trump will win November’s election and can change it himself. “We just bought President Trump an at bat,” Gaetz told CNN.

Johnson is facing an even more serious challenge from another Trump acolyte, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has threatened to oust the speaker if he allows a vote on Biden’s long-delayed $60 billion arms and ammunition package for Ukraine. Greene is in regular contact with Trump and is often seen at his rallies. Johnson held a tense meeting with Greene this week that did little to ease her criticism, and he may be hoping that Trump’s influence could help.

But Greene warned Thursday that even if the former president endorsed Johnson in Mar-a-Lago on Friday, she’d continue her campaign against the speaker, arguing that any vote she called on replacing Johnson was an internal matter in the House. “Totally two separate issues. Hopefully they have a great meeting tomorrow,” Greene told CNN’s Manu Raju. Pressed on whether she would back down if Trump asked her to, the Georgia Republican dodged. “I support President Trump, I’m one of his biggest fighters here in Congress. He knows it, I love the president, he loves me, we’re fighting hard for him to win and that’s all that matters.”

It is not immediately clear why Trump would welcome the chaos of yet another power struggle in the GOP majority in the House, which could deflect attention from his presidential election campaign and potentially hamper the chances of both he and House Republicans in November’s election.

So, he may have an incentive to stabilize Johnson’s leadership for now — although the former president’s political favors are notoriously fickle and can change at any moment depending on what best suits his own political needs. One person who found that out to his cost is Kevin McCarthy, the former House speaker who was kicked out last year in a revolt of far-right Republican members. The Californian did more than anyone to rehabilitate Trump’s political image, traveling to Florida to meet the ex-president while he was in disgrace weeks after the US Capitol riot. But when McCarthy — who did everything he could to please Trump — fell into mortal political peril last year, Trump made little effort to save him.

The ominous echo of a previous speaker’s visit to Trump’s ornate Mar-a-Lago estate will be resonating over Johnson’s pilgrimage on Friday.

quote:

House passes modified surveillance bill after it failed earlier this week
The House on Friday passed a modified surveillance bill, just two days after an earlier version failed to advance in a public rebuke to GOP leadership.

The bill, which reauthorizes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, now goes to the Senate ahead of an April 19 deadline.

SPOILER

quote:

The passage of the legislation is a win for House Speaker Mike Johnson – after GOP leadership’s defeat on the floor just two days ago – and comes as the Louisiana Republican faces direct challenges to his leadership. GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia filed a resolution last month that could force a vote to remove Johnson from the speakership, and Greene has been citing that threat to escalate pressure on Johnson over issues such as changes to the FISA reauthorization and aid to Ukraine.

Greene was seen on the House floor speaking to Johnson, who later told reporters the two spoke about “all sorts of things.”

“Marjorie and I agree on our conservative philosophy,” Johnson said. “We just have different ideas sometimes on strategy. The important part of governing in a time of divided government like we have is communication with members and understanding the thought process behind it, that they have a say in it.”

The final vote was 273-147 with 147 Republicans and 126 Democrats voting in favor of the reauthorization, and 59 Republicans and 88 Democrats voting against it.

The new version of the FISA bill would be a two-year reauthorization instead of five years, meaning that if former President Donald Trump won the presidential election this year, the legislation would be up in time for Trump to overhaul FISA laws next time around. That change helped appease the conservative House members who originally opposed the bill, sinking it Wednesday.

Johnson organized a classified reading room off the House floor for members to view classified information ahead of Friday’s vote, according to a GOP leadership aide.

Johnson is also scheduled to meet with Trump in Florida later Friday.

As a rank-and-file member of the House, Johnson was opposed to the reauthorization of section 702 of FISA, explaining that only after receiving classified briefings did he gain a “different perspective.”

“When I was a member of (the House Judiciary Committee) I saw the abuses of the FBI, the terrible abuses over and over and over… and then when I became speaker I went to the SCIF and got the confidential briefing on sort of the other perspective on that to understand the necessity of section 702 of FISA and how important it is for national security,” the Louisiana Republican said earlier this week. “And it gave me a different perspective.”

“That’s part of the process, you have to be fully informed,” he added.

White House National Security communications adviser John Kirby reiterated the White House’s support for the reauthorization ahead of the final House floor vote expected later Friday.

“We strongly support the bipartisan effort here to get … 702 reauthorized and we even support – not all – but we support a lot of the reforms that are being considered,” Kirby told reporters Friday.

While Kirby would not say how a failure to reauthorize FISA or Section 702 would impact current surveillance efforts with regard to Iran, he did note the intelligence successes it has contributed to, calling it “critical for all threats.”

quote:

Some Trump stock investors have already lost half their money
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group are in free fall.

The Truth Social owner’s share price dropped another 5% as of mid-day Friday, leaving it on track for a seventh losing day out of the past eight.

The only gain during that span was a tiny one of 0.8% on Tuesday.

SPOILER

quote:

Trump Media is now trading below $31. That’s a far cry from the intraday spike to nearly $80 on March 26, the day it went public on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “DJT.”

In fact, anyone who bought Trump Media at the closing high of $66.22 on March 27 has now lost more than half of their money.

The steep selloff has put a dent in former President Donald Trump’s net worth.

Trump owns a dominant stake of 78.8 million shares in the company, which generates little revenue and is losing users.

At the closing high for Trump Media’s stock price, the former president’s stake was valued at $5.2 billion. The value of those shares has since plummeted to about $2.4 billion.

“Truth Social created a free-speech beachhead against Big Tech for a fraction of the start-up and operating costs that the legacy tech corporations incurred. We have no debt, more than $200 million in the bank, and the support of hundreds of thousands of retail investors who fervently believe in our mission,” Trump Media spokesperson Shannon Devine said in a statement to CNN.

The steep losses underscore why some experts warned retail investors to tread very lightly with this stock.

Trump Media disclosed losing $58 million in 2023 on very light revenue of just $4.1 million.

And yet the company is still being valued in the billions of dollars, leaving experts scratching their heads.

One common way to value stocks is to measure their price-to-sales ratio. Even if Trump Media’s share price crashed to just over $1, it would still have a much steeper price-to-sales ratio than Meta, Pinterest, Snap, Reddit or even Rumble, according to Renaissance Capital’s Matthew Kennedy.

Billionaire Barry Diller, the chairman of Expedia and People Magazine owner IAC, even told CNBC that Trump Media is a “scam” and people buying it are “dopes.”

Shannon Devine, a Trump Media spokesperson, recently denounced the criticism, saying it’s “unsurprising to see die-hard Trump haters and leftwing flacks blow a gasket now that Truth Social has become a public company that, still today, refuses to suppress political expression.”

Even though Trump Media stock is tumbling lately, it does remain up more than 74% on the year when accounting for gains from the blank-check company it merged with.

quote:

Belgium to investigate suspected Russian interference in EU elections
Belgium will investigate suspected Russian meddling in European Parliament elections after the country’s intelligence services confirmed “pro-Russian interference networks,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Friday.

Moscow’s objective “is to help elect more pro-Russian candidates to the European Parliament” in order to weaken the EU’s support for Ukraine, De Croo told reporters.

A recent investigation by Czech authorities uncovered a “pro-Russian influence operation in Europe” involving espionage, said De Croo, which highlighted that Moscow has approached EU members of parliament and even paid some to promote a “Russian agenda.”

“Belgian intelligence services confirmed the existence of pro-Russian interference networks” with activities in several European countries including Belgium, said De Croo, adding that Belgium’s judicial authorities confirmed that Russian interference would be subject to prosecution.

“The cash payments did not take place in Belgium, but the interference does,” De Croo added.

He did not name suspects or give further details of agencies or people alleged to be involved in the influence peddling.

SPOILER

quote:

‘A new reality’
Russia has not publicly commented on Belgium’s allegations.

“The goal is very clear: a weakened European support for Ukraine serves Russia on the battlefield, and that is the real aim of what has been uncovered in the last weeks,” he said. “These are very serious concerns and that is why I have taken action… we cannot allow this type of Russian menace in our midst. We need to act and we need to act both on the national level and we also need to act on the EU level.”

He went on to say that Belgium has a responsibility as one of the seats of EU institutions “to uphold that every citizen’s right to a free and safe vote can be maintained,” but that “more tools to fight Russian propaganda and to fight Russian disinformation” are also needed on an “EU level.”

“We are in a new reality and we need to adapt to that new reality,” he said.

Belgium currently holds the presidency of the EU. The next elections to the European Parliament will take place from June 6-9, according to the European Council.

The EU has donated billions to Ukraine in military support since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and has sanctioned Russian officials. But Viktor Orban – Hungarian Prime Minister and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin – has held up Kyiv’s membership negotiations with the EU and delayed aid deals.

Far-right and populist parties, some of whom are considered sympathetic to the Kremlin, are expected to make gains at the European Parliament elections. There are concerns that this would influence – and possibly weaken – the EU’s overall support for Ukraine.

European support for Ukraine has become increasingly important as US support for Kyiv has faltered in recent months. European officials regularly discuss how possible it would be for the gap in funding to be plugged and fear what implications a Donald Trump return to the White House might mean.

quote:

Russian weapons and trainers arrive in Niger weeks after US military agreement ends
Russia has delivered military equipment to Niger that will provide the African country with the “latest generation of anti-aircraft defense systems,” Nigerien state broadcaster RTN said Thursday.

The equipment arrived in Niamey on Wednesday along with 100 Russian military instructors who will install the system and train Nigerien soldiers to use it, RTN added.

Russian state media RIA Novosti said early Friday that Russian military instructors arrived in Niger “to train local forces in the fight against terrorism.”

SPOILER

quote:

“This means that Russia is returning to Africa,” an RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the scene, adding that NATO troops have also been arriving in Niamey to further catch a transfer flight to Agadez where “right now about 1,100 American soldiers are located.”

The arrival of Russian instructors followed a recent phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Nigerien General Abdourahamane Tiani on March 26 when the two leaders discussed “ensuring security and combating terrorism.”

Since seizing power in a coup last year, Niger’s junta has been strengthening military ties with Russia while turning away from the US and France.

Last month, the junta said it was ending an accord with the US that allowed military personnel and civilian staff from the US Department of Defense to operate in Niger.

France, Niger’s former colonial ruler, withdrew its troops from the African nation at the end of 2023.

Niger’s junta-controlled neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso have also turned to Russia for military support, deepening Western concerns about Russia’s expanding influence in Africa’s troubled Sahel region that has battled a spate of coups and Islamist insurgents for years.

‘Outpace the US’
Political analyst Mamadou Thior said former French colonies in the Sahel were reconsidering their military strategies.

“What we are witnessing with Mali, Burkina Faso, and now Niger is a renewal in their military strategy because they no longer want to have Western militaries on their territories,” he told CNN.

“Russia is trying to show that it can outpace the US in Africa. The Russians see countries that are in crisis, and they come in to help. Once it’s done, they have a stronghold there and they try to have a base and try to get out the former forces, whether the US or European forces or even those who are under the flag of the United Nations.”

Hundreds of Wagner contractors, a private Russian military group, are in Mali, at the invitation of the country’s military junta, to assist in its fight against insurgents.

Earlier this year, a group of Russian soldiers arrived in Burkina Faso months after the junta-led nation expelled French troops from its soil.

Wagner mercenaries had previously operated in the Central African Republic (another former French colony) since at least 2018, training the local army and combating rebels in the nation’s civil conflict.

Security consultant Mamadou Adje told CNN that Russia’s support for Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso will be more profitable to their junta leaders who will not be pressured by the Russians into ensuring a swift return to democracy.

“The fact that they will have the support and the protection of the Russians who will not question the democratic setting of their military governments … made them decide to be with the Russians and not the Americans,” said Adje, a retired Senegalese colonel who previously served in Mali and Burkina Faso under West African regional bloc ECOWAS.

Supporters of Niger’s junta have mobilized for protests on Saturday to rail against the presence of US military personnel still stationed in the country. There are approximately 648 US military personnel still deployed in Niger, according to the White House.

“Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso are already in the pocket of the Russians,” Adje said.

quote:

Op zaterdag 13 april 2024 00:49 schreef Cilantro het volgende:
[ x ]

quote:

Op vrijdag 12 april 2024 22:24 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://edition.cnn.com/2(...)-analysis/index.html
[..]

SPOILER

[..]

Johnson op het matje geroepen door Trump gaat met hangende pootjes naar Mar-a-Lago om zijn kont te kussen in de hoop zijn baan te kunnen behouden. Wat natuurlijk weer gebruikt zal worden door Trump in zijn propaganda oorlog over dat de verkiezingen van hem gestolen zijn. Ironisch genoeg is ��n van Trump zijn hoofdpunten voor de aankomende verkiezingen het houden van eerlijke verkiezingen/verkiezingsintegriteit.

https://edition.cnn.com/2(...)orization/index.html
[..]

SPOILER

[..]

Deze FISA wetsontwerp werd waarschijnlijk door Trump gebruikt als pressiemiddel voor Johnson om hem te laten zien wie de baas is. En dat Johnson zeker niet buiten zijn boekje moet gaan door bijvoorbeeld de hulp van de democraten te accepteren. Nu deze wet op enkele punten aangepast is is hij wel door de stemming gekomen. Hoofd punt is dat de duur terug gebracht is van 5 naar 2 jaar zodat Trump wanneer hij weer president wordt hier inspraak op zal krijgen. En het zou mij niks verbazen dat tegen die tijd hij deze wet zal gaan gebruiken tegen zijn (politieke) tegenstanders.

https://edition.cnn.com/2(...)th-social/index.html
[..]

SPOILER

[..]

Helaas is hij vandaag na dit artikel weer iets omhoog gegaan en is hij met een kleine winst ge�indigd van 0.56 procent. De prijs per aandeel is nu 32,59 dollar. Hij was vandaag wel even onder de 30 dollar per aandeel geschoten.

https://clerk.house.gov/D(...)1209?CongressNum=118
De petitie heeft er vandaag weer ��n stem bijgekregen en staat nu op 195 stemmen.

quote:

Op zaterdag 13 april 2024 02:16 schreef Elizium het volgende:

[..]
Verkeerde topic?

quote:

Op zaterdag 13 april 2024 02:22 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Nee, Trump en Johnson beide zijn op dit ogenblik relevant tot deze oorlog. daar zij de reden zijn dat de hulp aan Oekra�ne al iets van een half jaar vast zit.

En Trump zit mogelijk in de zak van Putin, Russisch geld heeft hem al meerdere keren van de ondergang gered in de laatste 30 jaar ofzo. En hij is de hoofdreden/de leider van de pro Russische groep bij de republikeinen. (MAGA)

quote:

Only political platform for peace talks is proposed by Kyiv, says Zelensky in Vilnius
The only platform for peace talks is the one proposed by Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during the Three Seas Summit in Vilnius.

“The only political platform for peace talks is our proposed platform, which is the June peace meeting. Most of the civilised world, those who care, will attend this meeting,” Zelensky told a press conference on Thursday, asked whether the US failure to approve aid for Ukraine would force Kyiv to come to the negotiating table with Russia.

“There, we will outline a clear plan to end this war from the perspective of a just peace,” he added.

SPOILER

quote:

The Swiss government announced on Wednesday that the country would hold a summit in mid-June to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine. Russia said it would not attend the meeting, adding that the conference was pointless.

According to the Ukrainian president, the peace plan will be based on UN resolutions and the document will be then processed at a “technical level”.

“Later, it will be possible to join this format in one way or another. All this will be discussed at the first summit and Russia will have to implement these steps for the sake of a just peace,” Zelenky said. “This is the only format we see.”

He noted that the loss of military support would be “very difficult for Ukraine, we will lose people, we will lose soldiers who are very dear to us”.

“The issue is not only about territory. Others are spreading the Russian narrative that it is only about territory. No, it is primarily about people, but territories are also important for us because if you do not restore territorial integrity, it means that you don’t respect your sovereignty, you turn it into a frozen conflict, and it is only a matter of time before Putin comes back,” Zelensky pointed out.

Ukraine has consistently stated that peace with Russia is only possible when Moscow leaves all the occupied territories of Ukraine.

A 60 billion US dollar (55.34 billion euro) funding package for Ukraine is currently stalled in the US Congress.

quote:

Putin mocks planned Ukraine conference and says Russia won’t accept any enforced peace plans
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Thursday mocked a scheduled round of Ukraine peace talks in Switzerland, warning that Moscow will not accept any enforced plans that ignore its interests.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Thursday mocked a scheduled round of Ukraine peace talks in Switzerland, warning that Moscow will not accept any enforced plans that ignore its interests.

Switzerland’s government said Wednesday it will host a high-level international conference in June to help chart a path toward peace in Ukraine after more than two years of fighting, and expressed hope that Russia might join in the peace process someday.

Putin charged that Russia hadn’t been invited to join June’s talks, while pointing at Swiss recognition that a peace process can’t happen without Russia.

“They aren’t inviting us there,” Putin said. “Moreover, they think there is nothing for us to do there, but at the same time they say that’s it’s impossible to decide anything without us. It would have been funny if it weren’t so sad.”

SPOILER

quote:

Russia has dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula requiring Moscow to pull back its troops, pay compensation to Ukraine and face an international tribunal for its action.

Speaking during Thursday’s meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow, Putin said that Russia is open for negotiations, but will never accept “any schemes that have nothing to do with reality.”

Putin has repeatedly said that he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to protect Russian interests and prevent Ukraine from posing a major security threat to Russia by joining NATO. Kyiv and its allies have denounced Russia’s military campaign as an unprovoked act of aggression.

Putin has claimed that Russian forces have the upper hand after the failure of Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year, arguing that Ukraine and the West will “sooner or later” have to accept a settlement on Moscow’s terms.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned last week that prospective negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine could be successful only if they take Moscow’s interests into account, dismissing a planned round of peace talks as a Western ruse to rally broader international support for Kyiv.

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WSJ: Putin wants to restart Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
Russian President Vladimir Putin told nuclear safety experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that he wants to restart the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the Wall Street Journal reported on April 12.

The six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility, have been shut down since September 2022 due to safety concerns. The plant is located near the front lines and has been occupied by Russian forces since March 2022.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the IAEA received reports from inspectors stationed at the plant indicating that Russia wants to restart at least one of the ZNPP reactors sometime this year. One diplomat said Russia may aim to bring the plant online in time for the 40th anniversary of the facility's connection to the Soviet Union's electrical grid in December.

During IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi's meeting with Putin in Russia in March, Grossi asked the Russian president directly if the plant would be restarted, according to people familiar with the talks.

Putin told Grossi it would, but did not specify a timetable.

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Multiple people who have worked at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant told the Wall Street Journal that Russia lacks the necessary personnel to restart the reactors safely. The move would also heighten the dangers at a nuclear facility that already faces severe risks in an active military zone.

These dangers recently led the IAEA to call an extraordinary meeting in Vienna on April 11 at the request of Ukraine and Russia following reports of drone attacks on the plant.

Grossi called the strikes a "major escalation" in nuclear danger in Ukraine.

Bringing even one reactor at the ZNPP back online would mean raising the core temperature at the plant by hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit, and experts doubt whether Russia has enough technicians and resources to manage the transition.

"You can't just recruit these people off the street and tell them how to go run a power plant," said U.S.-based nuclear oversight officer Morgan D. Libby, who worked at plants in the former Soviet Union, including the ZNPP.

"I think they're kidding themselves that they have sufficient numbers of people to run a unit."

Ukraine's nuclear energy agency Energoatom has said that the only way to prevent nuclear and radiation emergencies is to comply with the IAEA's demands for military restraint, withdraw Russian troops and their equipment from the plant, demine nearby territories, and return control over the plant to the agency.

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On the border of Estonia and Russia, FSB officers beat Ukrainians - media
The Russian FSB subjected Ukrainian refugees to beatings at border crossing points with Estonia. According to the report, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the FSB has viewed Ukrainians as potential enemies. Source: Postimees

At the Kunichyna Gora and Shumilkino road checkpoints on the border with Estonia, persecution of Ukrainian citizens has also intensified.

According to Ukrainians who crossed the border, they were subjected to harassment, including profiling interviews, questionnaires, communications checks and data seizures, as well as beatings in order to obtain the desired answers.

FSB officers forced them to take off their clothes to be photographed and made video recordings of their testimony, which could be used to incriminate them.

Ukrainians were detained under fictitious offenses and asked to take lie detector tests, causing delays for others crossing the border.

It is noted that at the end of 2023, the FSB began to persecute people from Estonia and other EU countries. There were reports of violence, but no information of physical violence against Estonians. However, Estonians who visited the Russian Federation spoke about the use of other methods described by the Ukrainians.

Let us remind you that on the Estonian-Russian border, the Russian FSB is investigating people’s feelings towards the EU.