TheOldGuy @TheOldGuy@qoto.org

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.
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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.
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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.

Estonian intelligence: The probability of the collapse of the Ukrainian front is decreasing

The head of the Intelligence Center of the Estonian Defense Forces, Colonel Kiviselg, believes that Russia is trying to use the last window of opportunity before the arrival of Western military equipment and ammunition in Ukraine to intensify attacks.

According to a representative of the Estonian secret service, the main activity of the Russian forces is still focused on the pressure on the city of Chasiv Yar west of Bakhmut, on the Mariinka direction west of Donetsk, and on attacks on settlements on the railway connecting Avdiivka with Pokrovsk.

"Russia, in flagrant disregard of international humanitarian law and in deliberate war crimes, is employing tactics of repeated air and missile strikes against civilians in Ukraine, similar to those previously tested in Syria," said Timothy Hanway, the Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Mission to the OSCE.

"I must underscore the credible reports that the Russian military is conducting successive strikes in Ukraine against civilians, including medics and those providing aid to victims of initial strikes. The Russian government is repeating its actions in Syria, where numerous airstrikes have resulted in civilian casualties, including emergency responders and humanitarian workers," the American diplomat said.

Hanway highlighted a specific incident, the March 1, 2022 "Kalibr" strike on Svobody Square in front of the Kharkiv regional state administration.

"Five to seven minutes after the rescuers arrived, a second strike with a similar missile targeted the building. This suggests a deliberate targeting of rescuers and those injured in the first attack," Hanway said.

He noted that additional evidence of such Russian attacks has since emerged. Using these tactics, the occupiers have caused the deaths of over 90 medical workers, police and firefighters, and injured nearly 350 civilians across Ukraine, according to Hanway's report.

In Britain, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has charged five men with crimes against national security on behalf of Russia.

The men are accused of setting fire to Ukraine-related commercial property in East London in March. Another man is charged with "possession of information relating to terrorist activity".

According to Sky News, 20-year-old Dylan Earle is linked to the outlawed PMC "Wagner". According to the version of the investigation, in addition to arson, he was involved in fraud, research and intelligence on targets, and tried to recruit people to help foreign intelligence services.

This is the first case in which charges have been brought under the new security law, which is designed to ensure a tougher end to hostile actions against Britain, including espionage, writes Bild.

Trials are not supposed to be thrillers. They are supposed to prove guilt. That sometimes is boring.
https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/its-down-to-the-nitty-gritty-now/55738/

Not many people favor an absolute ban on abortion. Or even a strict ban like Arizona. The Republicans will find that out in Roevember.
https://www.palmerreport.com/politics/all-time-high/55727/

Good morning Resisters.

Biden just Roes the vote

https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/this-is-a-real-problem-for-donald-trump-2/55710/

From President Zelensky

38 years ago, a disaster occurred in Chernobyl. A radiation accident, the consequences of which went far beyond the borders of this region of ours, all of Ukraine, and even all of Europe. The world felt that catastrophe. But still it was localized. The unfolding of the catastrophe was stopped - stopped thanks to the fact that the cowardice of our people did not happen, the indifference of Ukrainians did not happen.

People saved Ukraine in the 22nd year, and Putin will lose only to people, to all our people. Any evil cannot stand against a brave people who do everything to protect life. This is exactly how our people are. We can do what would be impossible for many others in the world. We can make life win. And we must always remember that everyone's life depends on each person's personal choice and courageous actions.

We would now like to express our respect to all the people in Slavutych - to each and every one who preserved the courage and devotion to protecting life, which saved us all in 1986 and which helped Ukraine in the spring of 22. Slavutych did not submit to the occupiers. Showed his character. Fought He defended himself. And we saw you in this square. We saw the heroism of those of our people who worked in shifts at the station during the russian occupation. All this helped our entire state to stop the unfolding of the disaster brought by the russian army.

Thank you to all those who protected life 38 years ago! Thank you to everyone who stood up to the enemy in the 22nd year! We are proud of everyone who is fighting for Ukraine and life now and will definitely win.

POST 4: CHERNOBYL

The run-up to the Chernobyl disaster began shortly after the Soviet Union began its military nuclear weapons program in the early 1950s. By its very nature, the program was declared top secret and accidents were therefore not reported to the IAEA (even though Russia was a member). This created the impression in the West that the Soviet Union's nuclear industry was accident-free and that its reactors were extremely safe. ERROR, BIG ERROR.

Soviet nuclear agencies were even forbidden to share information about accidents, design errors etc. with each other!! Thus, operators could not learn from each other's mistakes.

The Soviet Union's nuclear program was initially military in nature and was only used to generate electricity for civilian use much later.

The RBMK-1000 reactor (which was used, among others, in Chernobyl) is a descendant from a military reactor. To save time and cost, the designers did not put the RBMK-1000 through a prototype phase. It was immediately put into production and operationally deployed.

One of the drawbacks of the RBMK-1000 was its sheer size. The core had a height of 7m and a diameter of 11.8m! The reactor carried a fuel load of 192 tons enriched uranium.

Looking at a photo of a Western NPP one will notice one or more dome shaped structures. These are very specialised structures that not only protect the reactor cores, but contain them in case of accidents.

The size of the RBMK-1000 reactor simply made it impractical and too costly to enclose it in such a special containment. The RBMK-1000 reactors of the ChNPP were housed in typical industrial structures. The two powerful explosions simply blew the reactor and the surrounding structures apart.

🇺🇦 @ukraine_report 🇺🇦

POST 3: CHERNOBYL

It was initially almost impossible for the Russians to believe and accept the reality, i.e. that an RBMK-1000 reactor actually EXPLODED!!

In the institutes / institutions where Russian nuclear operators received their training, students were taught what could go wrong with a nuclear reactor. The most common problems are cooling pipes that burst / leak and cause the reactor to overheat.

Another problem is when uranium fuel rods rupture and generate an excess of superheated high pressure steam that can lead to powerful steam explosions.

But one thing has been drilled into their heads to the point of boredom....... a nuclear reactor, and specifically the RBMK models, CANNOT EXPLODE!!

Well, on Saturday, April 26, 1986 at 01:23:40 this doctrine was proved wrong with disastrous consequences.

🇺🇦 @ukraine_report 🇺🇦

POST 2: CHERNOBYL

The then communist government of the Soviet Union kept the large population under control by, among other things, controlling the publication and distribution of information very, very strictly. They actually micro managed it.

During the operation of a nuclear reactor, nuclear fission takes place and in the process by-products are formed. Each of the 4 RBMK-1000 reactors of the ChNPP formed approximately 100 by-products!!

One of these is plutonium, a highly reactive metal. Plutonium (and some of the other byproducts) pack together on the nuclear fuel rods inside the reactor. When the fuel has completed its cycle, it is taken to a special plant. One of the processes of such a plant involves stripping and collecting the plutonium. Reactors are sometimes specifically developed to create plutonium which is then harvested for use in nuclear weapons programs.

The former Soviet Union was indeed a member of the IAEA and under their agreement nuclear accidents and incidents must be declared. Investigations into the causes are then launched and measures introduced to prevent future recurrences.

However, the Russians did not declare their accidents and incidents because their entire nuclear program, i.e. civilian as well as military, was classified as top secret.

One of the disadvantages of this was that it created the illusion in the West that the Russian nuclear industry, equipment and technology was very reliable and safe.

Cesium is one of the dangerous isotopes formed during nuclear fission and is usually the dominant scapegoat when nuclear contamination occurs.

🇺🇦 @ukraine_report 🇺🇦

POST 1: CHERNOBYL

Early morning, Saturday, April 26, 1986. Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP), Ukraine, Soviet Union.

Reactor No. 4, an RBMK-1000, is scheduled for shutdown for maintenance. The closing program includes a turbine test. A minimum output of 700 MWt (Mega Watt thermal) was prescribed for the test.

The night shift came on duty at midnight. The reactor's thermal power output has already been reduced from 3200 MWt to ​​1600 MWt.

The deputy chief engineer, Anatoly Dyatlov, decides to carry out the test on 200 MWt. Leonid Toptunov, the senior reactor engineer on duty, switches the computerized control system to another control mode. This will help him control the reactor at such a low power output. (The RBMK-1000 is notorious for been difficult to control at low power output.)

Toptunov neglects to program the minimum level at which the computer must stabilize the power output. As a result, the output drops to 30 MWt, which is only about 1% of the reactor's maximum output. The reactor is highly unstable and according to nuclear standards and protocols the test had to be canceled and the reactor stabilized and shut down.

However, this is not done. The test must continue and Toptunov and another operator succeed in pushing the output up to 200 MWt. Due to the build-up of Xenon-135 gas in the reactor core and additional factors, they cannot get it higher.

At 01:23:04 the test starts and is over after only 36 seconds at 01:23:40. Toptunov's supervisor, Aleksandr Akimov, orders the reactor to be shut down.

Toptunov presses the red AZ-5 button to initiate the shutdown. Dyatlov, Akimov and Toptunov are blissfully unaware that during the 36 seconds of the test, things have started to go horribly wrong in the reactor core.

The AZ-5 has the expected effect of reducing the reactivity in the core for a mere 1 second. However, then design flaws and other factors kick in and push the already highly unstable reactor over the edge.

At 01:23:44 reactor No. 4 explodes with a force equivalent to the detonation of 60 tons of TNT. The explosion destroys the reactor and hurls the 2000 ton shield that sits on top of the reactor into the air like a coin. It destroys a section of the reactor chamber and breaks open the roof before falling back and landing diagonally on top of the exposed reactor. Large-scale nuclear radiation and contamination begin immediately.

The final events within the reactor core that caused the first explosion lasted approximately only 2 seconds. It happened so quickly that it exceeded the capabilities of the measuring instrumentation within the reactor and could not be measured.

It has been reconstructed post facto using advanced mathematical models, but it is still not 100% accurate.

Two seconds later, at 01:23:46 a second and more powerful explosion rocks the reactor.

At that time, the biggest nuclear disaster in the world took place. Radioactive material is spread over most of Western Russia and Europe. Russia's economy was crippled due to the disaster with half a million workers carrying out the clean-up work at a cost of an estimated 18 million roubles.

Along with Japan's Fukushima disaster, it is the only other disaster that has been classified as a Level 7 nuclear disaster. (The Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear explosions do not qualify as disasters because both are acts of war.)

The RBMK reactor program was finally shut down in 1988. The construction of Chernobyl's No. 5 & ​​6 reactors was also stopped due to, among other things, political pressure after the disaster.

On Friday, 26 April 2024, the disaster happened 38 years ago, however the world is still living with the consequences.

🇺🇦 @ukraine_report 🇺🇦