TheOldGuy @TheOldGuy@qoto.org

The SBU of Ukraine Successfully Neutralized Another Criminal Scheme

SBU and National Police detained "black gunsmiths" who tried to sell trophy grenade launchers and explosives to crime

The Security Service, together with the National Police, prevented the sale of weapons to representatives of criminal circles in the Poltava, Odesa, and Zhytomyr regions.

As a result of comprehensive measures, dealers in trophy weapons, which were illegally exported from places of former battles near the front line, were detained.

Russian anti-tank grenade launchers, Kalashnikov assault rifles, and explosives were among those seized from the suspects.

🔹 Yes, in Poltava Oblast:
a criminal group that tried to sell an arsenal of combat grenades and automatic weapons was neutralized.

To find buyers, those involved used personal connections in the criminal world.

SBU officers detained the organizer and two members of the gang while trying to sell weapons.

🔹 In Odesa region:
a suspicion was reported about a local resident who wanted to sell more than half a kilogram of plastid and devices for mine-explosive substances.

In addition, he tried to implement two combat grenades and almost 5 meters of cord for detonating explosives.

🔹 In Zhytomyr Oblast:
three more arms dealers were exposed. Criminals offered their clients a whole arsenal of trophy weapons.

During the searches, a Kalashnikov assault rifle and a Russian-made Jmil infantry flamethrower were seized from the suspects. More than 20 combat grenades and a large number of cartridges for small arms were also discovered.

Investigations are ongoing in order to bring the culprits to justice for all the revealed facts.

The removed weapons are planned to be transferred to the needs of the Armed Forces.

Complex measures were carried out by SBU employees in Poltava, Odesa and Zhytomyr regions together with the National Police under the procedural guidance of the prosecutor's office.

💔💔 Rest in Peace Nastya

On April 10, 2024, Russian shelling of the village of Liptsi in the Kharkiv region took Anastasia Dolgova's life.

The girl was 14 years old. She was born and lived in Liptsy. Anastasia's mother, Valentina, is a nurse of the local 10th emergency department. She did not leave the region during the full-scale war and saved civilians.

Nastya, on the other hand, studied remotely at the Hlybokiv Lyceum. She adored history, Ukrainian literature, and physical education. In her free time, she played computer games.

"She did not like exact sciences. But with the history teacher, for example, she became friends during online classes, she liked this subject. She was an energetic child - always wanted to run somewhere, go. Very kind, sincere. She helped volunteers distribute food and clothes. She told the news to all the grandmothers in the village, they adored her," said Valentina's mother.

Anastasia is survived by her parents, brother, grandparents, aunt and other relatives.

The Russians are Rushing Reinforcements into their Ocheretyne Breakthrough. For the Ukrainians, the Situation is Desperate.
(1/2)

Six days after breaking through Ukrainian lines west of Avdiivka, Russian brigades and regiments are slowly widening their salient—a five-mile-deep knife wound plunging into Ukrainian territory, its point lodged in the village of Ocheretyne.

The situation is desperate for the exhausted Ukrainian brigades in the area. It’s a foregone conclusion that the Ukrainians will lose a few villages around the Ocheretyne axis.

The real risk, however, is that the Ukrainian Tavriya Operational-Strategic Group—the command responsible for forces west of Adviivka—will have no choice but to cut its losses, retreat a few miles to the west and reconsolidate along a new defensive line threading north to south west of Ocheretyne.

That retreat could surrender tens of square miles of territory and force hundreds of civilians to flee or resign themselves to living under brutal occupation.

Worse, the retreat—if badly executed—would represent an opportunity for the Russians to redouble their local attacks and achieve a second, third or fourth breakthrough that could, like a chain reaction, trigger a wider Ukrainian collapse.

Retreating is extremely risky even when it’s the best option, which is why disciplined armies plan for retrograde action at least as carefully as they plan for offensive action.

“Retreats are the most difficult operations for any commander and force,” historian Andrew O. G. Young wrote in Armies in Retreat: Chaos, Cohesion and Consequences.

How the Russians broke the Ukrainian line west of Avdiivka last weekend is the subject of heated debate in Kyiv and across the 600-mile front line of Russia’s 26-month wider war on Ukraine.

Some observers have blamed the Ukrainian army’s 115th Mechanized Brigade, which recently rotated into positions in Ocheretyne—and was immediately overwhelmed by the Russian army’s 30th Motor Rifle Brigade.

Others have pointed out that the 115th Mechanized Brigade is under-equipped and, like all Ukrainian units, starving for ammunition as it awaits fresh supplies from the United States—supplies that were delayed for six months by Russia-friendly Republicans in the U.S. Congress.

It’s worth noting that all Ukrainian brigades struggle to hold defensive positions under relentless bombardment.

“The aggressor has an advantage in the air and artillery, delivering almost continuous strikes on the Tavriya OSG positions,” the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies reported.

The firepower imbalance might prove decisive as the battle rages on.

Sensing an opportunity and apparently feeling confident in their chances, Russian commanders have shoved the 15th and 74th Motor Rifle Brigades into the salient along with elements of the 90th Tank Division and some special forces.

At least seven Ukrainian brigades and a separate battalion are fighting back: the 23rd, 25th, 47th, 100th and 115th Mechanized Brigades, the 25th Air Assault Brigade, the 3rd Assault Brigade and the 425th Assault Battalion.

The brigades typically deploy just one battalion at a time.

In all, it’s apparent the Russians have more than 10,000 troops in or near the salient.

Just 3,000 or so Ukrainians oppose them, if the Center for Defense Strategies’ estimate is accurate.

Defending is easier than attacking even when the attacker has a firepower advantage, so the Russians aren’t guaranteed to win the battle and compel the Ukrainians to withdraw.

The Center for Defense Strategies highlighted one of the major risks:

“The resupply of the advanced units of the enemy's 30th Motor Rifle Brigade, which has broken through in Ocheretyne, is effectively blocked by the Ukrainian defense forces, who maintain complete fire control over this route.”

In penetrating five miles into Ukrainian territory, the most westerly Russian troops are essentially alone and far removed from their main supply lines. They’re vulnerable.

If Ukrainian troops can starve them before Russian reinforcements widen the salient and stiffen their logistics, the Russian may yet lose this fight.

That’s the optimistic outcome for the outnumbered, outgunned Ukrainian brigades around Ocheretyne. The realistic outcome is that they attempt a fighting retreat to the west.

But the Ukrainians are desperate to avoid retreating. It’s just too risky.

- David Axe, Forbes

UK Charged Men with Helping Russia under New Law

(1/2)

Dylan Earl, 20, from Elmesthorpe in Leicestershire, and Jake Reeves, 22, from Croydon, were investigated following a fire at a warehouse in east London in March.

Three other suspects linked to the fire have been held on other charges.

The investigation is being led by Met Police counter-terror officers.

Mr Earl is accused of planning to target the business, as well as attempting to recruit individuals to materially assist a foreign intelligence service, undertaking fraudulent activity and arson.

Mr Reeves is accused of accepting money knowing that it was from a foreign intelligence service.

The investigation is related to a large fire which broke out on an industrial estate on Staffa Road in Leyton in March, which the prosecution said was started using an accelerant such as petrol.

The charges do not specify who owns the businesses that were targeted, but Companies House records show they are two parcel delivery services: Oddisey and Meest UK.

They are owned by Mykhaylo Prykhodko, also known as Mikhail Boikov, and his wife Jelena Boikova, who both live in London.

Nick Price, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said of Mr Earl: "Included in the alleged activity was involvement in the planning of an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked commercial property in March 2024."

He said Mr Earl is "alleged to have engaged in conduct targeting businesses which were linked to Ukraine in order to benefit the Russian state".

Mr Earl and Mr Reeves are the first people to be charged under a new law designed to update and modernise the offences of espionage, sabotage and foreign interference.

At the time it was passed, the government said it was designed to strengthen the UK's defences against hostile activity by states "targeting the UK's democracy, economy, and values."

Mr Earl appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court last week, but for legal reasons BBC News has not been able to report this until today.

The pair are accused of taking part in the plan along with three other men.

The three others were arrested as part of the investigation but have not been charged under the national security law.

All five are due to appear at the Old Bailey on 10 May.

- BBC

Darwin Award Winners: Russian Soldiers that Occupied Chernobyl early in the War

Russian soldiers invading Ukraine in Feb. 2022 ignored station worker warnings to avoid terrain contaminated by radiation from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, and hundreds of them lived for more than a month in trenches dug into ground saturated with potentially lethal isotopes, eyewitnesses and nuclear scientists said.

Valeriy Semenov, Security Chief at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant from Feb. 23 - April 3, 2022, in an interview with the Kyiv Post said Russian troops entering the premises showed little interest in research compiled over almost two decades on fallout and hot spot sites around the station.

Chornobyl’s reactor No. 4 exploded, caught on fire, and dumped catastrophic volumes of radioactive dust into the land around it and into the atmosphere following an April 26, 1986, failed maximum power test.

It was the worst nuclear power accident in history.

Russian aircraft, in the first hours of the Kremlin’s Feb. 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine, ignored longstanding no-fly rules into air space above the plant. [Furthermore,] Russian armored columns used roads cutting straight across a 2,500 kilometer-square (1,553 mile-square) exclusion zone rigged with barbed wire fences and radiation warning signs.

“Subsequently, Russian aircraft began flying, passing just 30 meters [98 feet] above the station. They traversed over the power unit, including the reactor that was destroyed in 1986,” Semenov said.

“Despite nuclear power plants being deemed closed zones under international law, with overflights of any aircraft prohibited, they disregarded these regulations.”

Doesn't take much to be little Donnie's match.

https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/donald-trump-has-met-his-match/55739/

Trump will go down the tubes

https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/there-it-is-donald-trump-has-already-lost-this-criminal-trial/55733/

Even MAGA love dogs.

https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/kristi-noem-is-straight-up-evil-but-shes-also-a-complete-moron/55747/

Europe is facing destruction, it will have to make important decisions, — Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron delivered a keynote speech at the Sorbonne University in Paris.

"Today we must realize that our Europe is mortal, it can perish. It depends only on our choice, but this choice must be made now," Macron said.

"In the face of military threats, competition from the United States and China, and threats to democracy, Europe must expand its sovereignty, defend its values​, and protect its interests and markets," the French President is confident.

"The time when Europe received energy and fertilizers from Russia, manufactured its products in China, and delegated its security to the United States is finally over," Macron said, calling for strengthening European sovereignty. In particular, he called for the development of a European defense strategy with a common military industry.

Kharkiv Regional Military Administration showed the consequences of a missile strike on the territory of a psychiatric hospital.

A 53-year-old patient was wounded and treated on the spot. All patients are currently being distributed among the hospital's departments.

Russian cruise missile routes tonight

Tonight Russian forces launched 34 missiles of varying types. 21 missiles were intercepted by air defense.

Russians attacked Ukraine's energy infrastructure in Dnipropetrovs'k, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv oblasts.

The equipment was damaged. A shift supervisor was injured at one of the facilities.

DTEK writes that four thermal power plants were damaged as a result of the attack.

According to DW, opinions among Western observers regarding the impact of the US-approved aid to Kyiv are divided, but there is consensus that the coming months will remain extremely challenging for the Ukrainian armed forces.

Franz-Stefan Gadi, a researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, noted that while the ammunition sent by the US is crucial, it may still be insufficient for Ukrainian forces to plan offensive operations. In addition, Western weapons do not address the problem of manpower shortages in the Ukrainian army.

Analysts at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) also believe that US aid, while important, will not fundamentally change the situation on the front lines. "In general, it does not change the rules of the game and will only provide temporary relief," said IfW representative Christoph Trebesch.

Under the current circumstances, Kelly Grieco, a research associate at the Washington-based Stimson Center, believes that Moscow continues to aim to "overwhelm" the West and Ukraine, benefiting from its numerical superiority in the army and its successful increase in artillery production.

Some Western analysts, however, are optimistic that the acquisition of more long-range missiles and a sufficient number of F-16 fighter jets could turn the tide of the war in Ukraine's favor.

Mike Martin, a senior research fellow at King's College London, sees a possible turning point, possibly in the summer, with a coordinated attack using ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles on the Crimean bridge. Its destruction would be a major symbolic blow to Russia.

"The recent American aid package effectively provides a temporary loan, not only to Ukraine, but also to Europe. Subsequent aid from us should follow," concluded Christian Melling, head of the Center for Security and Defense at the German Council on International Relations.

In a powerful act of defiance against Russia's aggression, ordinary Slovak citizens are stepping up where their government has failed. They've launched a massive crowdfunding campaign to arm Ukraine, and their efforts are backed by an inspiring figure: 99-year-old Holocaust survivor Otto Šimko. Swipe to learn more about this extraordinary story of resistance.

European Parliament passes resolution refusing to recognize Putin as the legitimate president of Russia, — Deutsche Welle.

The resolution “On undemocratic presidential elections in Russia and their illegitimate extension to the occupied territories” was supported by 493 deputies, 11 were against, and 18 abstained.

The document calls for sanctions against those involved in organizing and holding illegal elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. It also notes that holding elections in these territories is a blatant and flagrant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and international law, as “people were forced to vote in the presence of armed Russian soldiers.”

Rescuers in the Kherson region got under repeated shelling by Russian forces.

This afternoon, the enemy attacked the suburbs of Kherson once again, causing a residential building to catch fire. The rescuers went to extinguish the fire and were trapped — enemy drones cynically re-attacked the site, damaging the equipment of the State Emergency Service.

One of the rescuers was injured, and the owner of the neighboring house sustained an arm injury. They managed to leave the scene in an ambulance, the Southern Ukrainian Defense Forces reported.

Russia's tactic of targeting police officers and rescuers continues.

Ukrzaliznytsia has become the target of massive Russian attacks today.
⠀
As a result of an enemy shelling in the Donetsk region, three railroad workers were killed while working. All three were electricians on the railroad. Four workers sustained shrapnel wounds and contusions. They are currently hospitalized.
⠀
The occupiers also attacked Kharkiv region, injuring three employees.

In the Cherkasy region, an enemy attack damaged the railway infrastructure, fortunately, without casualties, — Ukrzaliznytsia.

An essential condition for European security is that Russia not win the war of aggression in Ukraine, — French President Emmanuel Macron during a speech at the Sorbonne University.

“Our Europe today is mortal and can die. It can die, and it depends only on our choices. Europe is not armed against the risks we face in a world where the rules of the game have changed.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it is no longer clear where the limits of Moscow's power lie. So we have to build a strategic concept of a reliable European defense for ourselves. Europe cannot be a vassal of the United States,” he said.

Macron called for "producing more and faster" of the necessary weapons, and giving preference to the purchase of European military equipment.

"There is no defense without a defense industry. We have had decades of underinvestment," he said.

Ukraine has handed over to Qatar a list with the names of 561 Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia, — Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Dmytro Lubinets.

"The list is already being processed by the Russian side. We expect a group of Ukrainian children to return home. We discussed the return of so-called "status" children: orphans and children deprived of parental care. Legally, there is no difference between biological parents and official adoptive parents or guardians. Therefore, Russia is obliged to return the children, regardless of their status," he stated.

"Qatar has also agreed to accept the first list of orphans and children deprived of parental care and to work on the issue of their return to Ukraine. According to our data, there may be more than 3,600 such children," Lubinets said.

"The issue of returning home civilians illegally held by the Russia is constantly in the focus of our work with the international community," he added

Lubinets also once again refuted Russian propaganda: there were no direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. All negotiations are conducted through the mediation of Qatar.

"The supply of the Taurus missile depends on Germany, but with the US decision to provide ATACMS and similar moves by London and Paris to furnish Kyiv with long-range cruise missiles, we are hopeful that this may influence Berlin to reconsider its stance," stated an unnamed senior Pentagon official, as reported by Deutsche Welle.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly refused to send the Taurus to Ukraine, citing concerns about escalating the conflict with Russia.

Scholz's stance has drawn strong criticism from the conservative opposition CDU/CSU bloc, with members of the ruling coalition also arguing in favor of providing the Taurus.

"This is a highly advanced weapon system, but its use would require the deployment of German soldiers to maintain control over targets," Scholz told Bundestag lawmakers in March.

Johann Wadeful, the CDU's deputy leader for foreign affairs and defense in the German parliament, expressed frustration at Scholz's refusal to supply Taurus to Ukraine, stressing its importance and sophistication compared to U.S. ATACMS systems.

The Taurus KEPD-350 missile, launched from fighter jets, has advanced capabilities, including a range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles) and high-speed precision targeting.

"It's not a panacea, but Ukraine urgently needs to strike deeper into Russia," Wadeful said.

In response to Scholz's reluctance to send Taurus missiles, Wadeful criticized the chancellor's "stubborn position" and stressed the need for strength, clarity and determination when dealing with figures like Vladimir Putin.

"The United States is poised to unveil a $6 billion arms purchase for Ukraine," Politico reported.

According to two U.S. officials, Washington is finalizing one of its largest-ever military aid packages to Ukraine, consisting of $6 billion in arms and equipment contracts for Kyiv's armed forces.

The package, expected to be announced today, will include Patriot air defense systems, artillery ammunition, drones, anti-drone weapons and air-to-air missiles mounted on fighter jets, according to one official and a third person familiar with the plan.

Funds for the procurement will be provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which awards contracts to U.S. defense firms to produce new equipment for Ukraine rather than drawing from existing U.S. stockpiles.