Oorlog in Oekraïne #963 Incoming!

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Kremlin spokeswoman: Nato drills in Finland "increase risk of military incidents"
Finland applied to join the Nato alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Nato military exercises, scheduled to begin in Finland on Friday 26 April, have been criticised by Russian officials.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said last month that the exercises, especially those that take place in the Nordic region, send a message to Russia that the defence alliance has the ability to act if a member country were attacked.

On Wednesday the exercises were described by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as "provocative in nature".

Finland applied to join the Nato alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Hosting or partaking in military drills are a regular feature of Nato membership.

Throughout this spring, the Finnish Defence Forces will host a series of military exercises and drills alongside other Nato members.

"A significant number of soldiers from the nations of the alliance will participate in training the defence of Finland," according to a press release by the Finnish Ministry of Defence.

In comments reported by Russia's state news agency RIA on Wednesday, Zakharova noted that the drills will take place in close proximity to the Russian-Finnish border.

"Nato military exercises near the Russian borders are provocative in nature. Their task is to exert military pressure on the Russian Federation through a demonstration of force," Zakharova said.

She added that the drills "increase the risks of possible military incidents."

Earlier this week, Russia said it had established a brigade equipped with the Iskander-M ballistic missile system in the Republic of Karelia, a Russian region which shares an extensive border with Finland, describing the move as an 'adequate response' to Finland joining Nato.

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Russian Deputy Defense Minister held on suspected treason, not just corruption

Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was arrested on charges of high treason, not merely corruption as initially reported, according to two independent sources cited by the Russian news outlet Vazhnye Istorii on April 24.

One source explained the situation, saying, "Bribery is for the public. They don't want to talk publicly about high treason yet - it's a big scandal: he is a Deputy Defense Minister, after all."

Another source commented on the improbability of an arrest solely for corruption: "No one would arrest him for corruption. Everyone there [in the Kremlin] has known about this for a long time. Putin gave the order after he was convinced that it was a case of treason."

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Perspective Market of Ukrainian Short-Range EW Systems

^{EW systems from the Kvertus company. Photo credits: Militarnyi}

In Ukraine, more than 50 manufacturers are working on the development of more than 100 electronic warfare (EW) and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) systems.

Ukrainian companies receive active support from Brave1 (a cluster for the development of military technologies in Ukraine) in the codification of their products.

The development of EW and SIGINT systems is a response to the threats that arise on the dynamic frontlines.

“The system from a year ago won’t cut it today,” says Oleh Donets, Head of Cooperation and Partnership with the Security and Defense Forces of Brave1, EW/SIGINT direction leader.

Much attention is now paid to short-range EW systems that must counteract FPVs and drones that drop explosives while hovering over the military.

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Russian “Akhmat” Vehicle Equips Mega-Grill Against Drones

The Russians showed a Z-STS ‘Akhmat’ armored vehicle, covered by a huge ‘grill’ to counter drones.

The corresponding video was released on social media.

The video shows an armored vehicle, the upper, rear, front, and side projections of which are completely covered with grids.

The structure has only one entrance: a door is located in the rear part of the structure. So the only way to get in and out of this ‘barbecue’ is to go through the door or crawl under the structure.

This design significantly increases the chance of survival of the armored vehicle if targeted by a kamikaze drone. However, at the same time, it significantly complicates and delays the troops and crews boarding and dismounting. In combat conditions, such delays can cost lives.

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The goal of 100K artillery shells per month is back in sight, Army says
The new supplemental renews the push to boost production sixfold since Russia’s Ukraine invasion.

The U.S. Army is on a path to triple its monthly production of 155mm shells following the passage of the Ukraine supplemental, its vice chief of staff said today.

“With the supplemental that just thankfully passed last night, we’ll be at 100,000 rounds by next summer,” Lt. Gen. James Mingus said at an event hosted by think-tank CSIS.

That’s more than three times the 30,000 shells that the service’s factories are expected to turn out this month, Mingus said, and will represent a sixfold increase since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Army officials have said reaching their 100,000-round goal depended on $3.1 billion requested in a previous version of the Ukraine supplemental.

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European Commission proposes sanctions against ships transporting equipment from North Korea to Russia – Reuters
The European Commission will suggest sanctions against the vessels delivering North Korean military equipment to Russia, as well as tankers that violate the G7 countries’ price cap on Russian oil.

Source: Reuters with reference to sources in the EU

Details: The European Commission is finishing its proposal concerning the 14th sanctions package against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

"Western powers have accused North Korea of supplying weapons, including ballistic missiles and munitions, to power Russia's war machine.

The United States said in February that North Korea had delivered more than 10,000 containers of munitions and related material since September," Reuters said.

The European Commission also aims to implement sanctions against oil tankers of the so-called "shadow fleet" that export Russian oil, bypassing the price cap set by the Group of Seven (G7) countries.

It is expected that 40 companies will be added to the list of persons and legal entities subject to sanctions. The list includes the Russian companies that procure equipment for the armed forces, as well as third-country companies that sell electronics, semiconductors and chips that have military uses to Russia.

Third-country companies are based in the UAE, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye and China and sell equipment of European and American origin to Russia.

Sources of Reuters report that the European Commission holds non-official discussions with the member states before presenting its proposal.

Background:
Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President of the European Commission, confirmed that the EU had started working on the next 14th sanctions package against Russia due to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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White House explains why US sent Ukraine ATACMS missiles back in March
Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser to the US President, has confirmed media reports that Ukraine has already received ATACMS missiles and explained why the weapons were handed over back in March.

Source: Jake Sullivan during a briefing at the White House on 24 April, European Pravda reports

Quote: "That shipment started moving in March as part of the PDA [a mechanism that allows the US president to transfer weapons from army stockpiles – ed.] that the president authorised on 12 March, and those missiles have arrived in Ukraine."

Details: Sullivan said that in February, US President Joe Biden ordered that Ukraine be provided with "a significant number of ATACMS missiles for use inside Ukraine’s sovereign territory".

Biden's adviser noted that Washington made the decision on ATACMS after Russia used North Korean ballistic missiles against Ukraine and began massive attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Sullivan also reiterated that the main reason for not providing Ukraine with ATACMS had been "because of readiness concerns" [US combat readiness – ed.], but these were overcome by ordering a significant batch of the missiles from the manufacturers.

"And as a result, we can move forward with providing ATACMS while also sustaining the readiness of US forces," he concluded.

Background:
• Reports in the US media said, citing sources, that Ukraine received ATACMS as part of a previous US$300 million military aid package announced in March, and has used them at least twice against Russian targets in temporarily occupied Crimea and Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
• As reported on 24 April, US President Joe Biden signed legislation enacted by Congress that provides for about US$61 billion in additional military and economic aid to Ukraine, as well as help for other US allies.

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Seven Russian officers killed in strike near Mariupol
At least seven Russian officers have been killed in a missile strike near occupied Mariupol, a Ukrainian official has claimed.

Petro Andryushchenko, an aide to Mariupol’s exiled Ukrainian mayor, said at least six missiles struck a camp being used by the Russian military in Babakh-Tarama, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

The attack caused at least seven fatalities, while more than ten other people were injured.

“All of them [the victims] are officers, no soldiers live there,” he said in a post on Telegram.

Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted key Russian bases deep behind enemy lines, using long-range missiles and drones.

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Explaining Washington’s REPO Act that could kick-start the confiscation of frozen Russian assets
The U.S. on April 20 became the first nation to adopt legislation green-lighting confiscating frozen Russian assets for Ukraine.

President Joe Biden signed the REPO Act alongside a $95 billion foreign aid bill that included $61 billion for Kyiv on April 24, setting the legal basis for liquidating immobilized Russian assets held in the U.S.

Since the West froze around $300 billion belonging to the Russian Central Bank (CBR) at the start of the full-scale invasion, discussions among the G7 countries about what to do with the assets have been divisive.

Some have argued that the liquidated assets should go to Ukraine’s reconstruction while others have pointed toward bolstering the country’s troubled war effort.

Legal barriers and lobbying from opponents have so far held up the transfer of funds to Ukraine. At the same time, Kyiv’s allies struggle to fund the war-torn country. Proponents have cited the assets as a clear solution.

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Russia cancels Immortal Regiment procession due to security concerns
The annual Immortal Regiment procession has been cancelled due to security concerns, co-chairman of the movement’s committee and State Duma Deputy Yelena Tsunaeva announced in a press conference on Tuesday.

The march will not go ahead as usual on 9 May — Victory Day, a holiday marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany — following an increase in Ukrainian drone and missile strikes. The decision comes a month after the deadly Crocus City Hall terror attack, in which at least 144 people were killed.

The Immortal Regiment procession commemorates Russians who fought in the Second World War, with people marching in cities across the country holding photos of their relatives.

The procession started off as a grassroots movement in the Siberian city of Tomsk in 2012 and then spread across Russia. Since 2015, the local authorities have been involved in the marches, hijacking the events for propaganda purposes.

In 2022, the march went ahead as planned, despite the war in Ukraine, with Russian President Vladimir Putin in attendance, but by 2023, organisers had abandoned the idea, citing security concerns.

Russia appears to be repressing public displays of mourning or grief. Besides cancelling this event for the second year in a row, relatives of soldiers killed in Ukraine have also been silenced.

Ukraine had warned that Russian forces would try to capture the town of Chasiv Yar in the disputed Donetsk region by 9 May in order to parade their triumph on Victory Day.

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Hackers hacked the website of the Czech news service, publishing fake news about Ukraine
An unknown attacker hacked the website of a Czech news service and published fake information about an attempt by Ukrainians to assassinate the President of Slovakia. Source: The Record

According to the state-run Czech News Agency (CTK), the attacker posted the false article directly on its website, meaning the story was not disseminated among the service's customers.

The article has since been retracted, with CTK declaring it fake and saying it had informed the country's intelligence agencies and cybersecurity authorities about the hack.

The headline of the fake article claimed that Slovakia's domestic intelligence service, the Security Information Service (BIS), "foiled an assassination attempt on the newly elected Slovak President Peter Pellegrini." Readers noted that the name of Peter Pellegrini was misspelled in the article.

CTK called the incident an act of disinformation. No evidence linking the hack to a specific attacker has yet been released, and the news agency said it would not release further information.

Similar postings of false stories on hacked legitimate news sites have previously been described by Mandiant as information operations and attributed to a notorious group of hackers linked to the Belarusian government.

The group, tracked as Ghostwriter, as well as UNC1151 and Storm-0157, is known to target journalists with spear phishing emails to gain access to their organization's content management systems.

Let us recall that after the discovery of Russian influence networks in the Czech Republic and Poland, Peter Fiala, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, expressed confidence that similar announcements would follow in other countries.

Let us remind you that several Czech banks, as well as the website of the Prague Stock Exchange, were subject to cyber attacks by the pro-Russian hacker group NoName057 (16), which demands an end to support for Ukraine.

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NYT: Project Maven AI having mixed results on Ukraine's battlefields
A massive and experimental artificial intelligence (AI) project developed by the U.S. military has had mixed results on the battlefields of Ukraine, as those behind it struggle to get "21st-century data into 19th-century trenches," the New York Times (NYT) reported on April 23.

Project Maven began in 2017 and is the Pentagon's main effort at adopting the still fledgling field of AI for war, paving the way for algorithms to make decisions instead of soldiers and commanders.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine presented the first opportunity to test how the system would work in a conventional ground war between two armies.

A mass of data from countless sources – from satellites to the Instagram feeds of Russian soldiers – has been fed into Project Maven, far more than humans could sort and verify unaided.

"At the end of the day, this became our laboratory," Lieutenant General Christopher T. Donahue, the commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, told the NYT.

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"We send our congratulations to the Russian commander with the nickname "Dachnyk".
How the hell are you? Did you enjoy driving a Chinese golf car on our land?
"Dachnyk" was wounded in the head and hand, unfortunately, he survived.
Another 300 and one 200"- Strike Drones Company of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade

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European Commission disburses additional ¤1.5 billion in bridge financing to Ukraine
Today, the European Commission disbursed the second instalment of exceptional bridge financing to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility, amounting to ¤1.5 billion.

The disbursement follows the positive assessment by the Commission of the agreed policy conditions linked to reforms in the area of judiciary, anti-money laundering, public finance management, business environment and agriculture, as well as reporting requirements to ensure the transparent and efficient use of the funds. A general precondition for the support under the Ukraine Facility is to respect effective democratic mechanisms.

In March, the EU released the first instalment of the exceptional bridge financing, of ¤4.5 billion. With today’s payment, the EU has disbursed ¤6 billion to Ukraine to support the country’s macro financial stability since the entry into force of the Ukraine Facility on 1 March.

Total EU support to Ukraine and its people since February 2022 now amounts to ¤98.5 billion.

“Ukraine is carrying a heavy burden on its shoulders for all of us. The additional ¤1.5 billion we disburse today will ensure that Ukraine can continue to keep the State and basic services running for the population, while it fights back the aggressor,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

She added the Commission would work closely with the Ukrainian authorities to ensure the implementation of the Ukraine Plan, which she expected the Council to agree on swiftly.

“This will pave the way for regular and predictable disbursements under the ¤50 billion Ukraine Facility,” Von der Leyen said.

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Op donderdag 25 april 2024 09:08 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Ze konden wèl snel leveren. Dat is ook een voordeel.

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