Daily: 04/11/2022

Поїздка Байдена в Україну наразі не планується – Білий дім

Наприкінці березня президент США Джо Байден побував у Польщі, де зустрівся з українцями у Варшаві, які опинилися там через розв’язану Росією війну проти України

your ad here

Більшу частину траси Київ – Чоп у Київській області очищено – «Укравтодор»

Більшу частину траси М-06 російські загарбники перетворили на цвинтар знищеної техніки, кажуть дорожники

your ad here

Кремль застерігає від подальшого розширення НАТО – після повідомлень зі Швеції та Фінляндії

Через російське масштабне вторгнення в Україну дві північноєвропейські держави планують вступити до НАТО вже влітку

your ad here

Канцлер Австрії назвав «прямими, відкритими і жорсткими» переговори з Путіним

У заяві офісу Негаммера вказано, що канцлер «дуже чітко сказав президенту Путіну, що санкції залишаться і посилюватимуться доти, поки в Україні продовжують вмирати люди»

your ad here

Голови урядів України та Литви відвідали Бородянку на Київщині

«Неможливо описати те, що я тут побачила і відчула», сказала Інгріда Шимоніте

your ad here

В Україні запустили застосунок «ТиХто» для перевірки підозрілих осіб – СБУ

У разі виявлення за допомогою застосунку «фактору ризику», необхідно негайно передати інформацію силовикам

your ad here

Russian Ex-Journalist on Trial for Treason: ‘I Will Fight until the End’

Russian former reporter Ivan Safronov said ahead of the resumption of his treason trial on Monday that he plans to vigorously fight the charges against him and does not fear the prospect of being jailed.

Safronov, who covered military affairs for the Vedomosti and Kommersant newspapers before becoming an aide to the head of Russia’s space agency two months before his arrest in July 2020, faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

He denies accusations of passing military secrets about Russian arms sales in the Middle East and Africa to the Czech Republic, a NATO member, while he worked as a reporter in 2017, calling them “a complete travesty of justice and common sense.”

His detention sent a chill through Russia’s media landscape, where controls were already tight and have been tightened further since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

His trial resumes behind closed doors later on Monday.

Striking a defiant tone in personal correspondence seen by Reuters on Monday, Safronov said he harbored no illusions about the prospect of being imprisoned for his alleged offenses.

“I will fight until the end, there is no doubt about that,” Safronov wrote in a letter sent from Moscow’s Lefortovo prison and dated March 26.

“If it’s a prison term, then it’s a prison term. It absolutely doesn’t scare me,” said the letter, shown to Reuters on condition the addressee remained anonymous.

Safronov has said state investigators pointed to his acquaintance with a Czech journalist he met in Moscow in 2010 who later set up a website which Safronov said he contributed to using information entirely based on open sources.

Since sending troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, Moscow has introduced a law outlawing the use of certain terms to describe its military intervention in Ukraine, which it calls a “special military operation.”

That prompted many independent media outlets to close or relocate.

your ad here

Ericsson зупиняє роботу в Росії

Рішення ухвалене «в світлі останніх подій» та через нові санкції Європейського Союзу

your ad here

Латвійські спецслужби затримали громадянина Білорусі за підозрою у шпигунстві

Затриманий перебуває під вартою, під час слідства у нього вилучили техніку

your ad here

До України прибули французькі жандарми для допомоги в розслідуванні воєнних злочинів – посол

За словами де Понсена, Франція – перша країна, яка надає таку допомогу. Вони почнуть працювати завтра

your ad here

«Йдеться про роки, а не десятиріччя» – у Зеленського назвали час вступу України до ЄС

Голова представництва Європейського Союзу Матті Маасікас повідомив, що 11 квітня разом із урядом України розпочав роботу над опитувальником для України про членство в ЄС

your ad here

Zelenskyy Warns of Larger Russian Operations in East

Ukrainian leader urges US to send more weapons

your ad here

Twitter’s Top Shareholder Elon Musk Decides Not to Join Board

Twitter Inc’s biggest shareholder, Elon Musk, has decided not to join its board, Chief Executive Parag Agrawal said late on Sunday. 

Musk, who calls himself a free-speech absolutist and has been critical of Twitter, disclosed a 9.1% stake on April 4 and said he plans to bring about significant improvements at the social media platform. 

His appointment to the board was to become effective on Saturday and would have prevented him from being a beneficial owner of more than 14.9% of common stock. 

But “Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board,” Agrawal said in a note on Twitter. “I believe this is for the best. We have and will always value input from our shareholders whether they are on our Board or not. Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input,” Agrawal said. 

 

Musk limited his response to a face with hand over mouth emoticon on Twitter. Tesla did not immediately respond to an email sent to the company seeking a comment from Musk. 

News of Musk taking a board seat had some Twitter employees panicking over the future of the social media firm’s ability to moderate content, company insiders told Reuters. 

Before taking a stake, Musk ran a Twitter poll asking users if they believed Twitter adheres to the principle of free speech. 

A day after becoming the largest shareholder, he launched another poll asking users if they want an edit button, a long-awaited feature on which the social media platform has been working. 

The Tesla boss also asked users in a poll if Twitter’s headquarters should be converted into a homeless shelter, a plan backed by Amazon.com Inc’s founder Jeff Bezos. 

On Saturday, he suggested changes to Twitter Blue premium subscription service, including slashing its price, banning advertising and giving an option to pay in the cryptocurrency dogecoin. 

Twitter shares, which soared 27% on April 4 after Musk disclosed his stake, has lost 7.5% since then to Friday’s close. 

“There will be distractions ahead, but our goals and priorities remain unchanged,” Agrawal said in his Sunday note. 

“Let’s tune out the noise, and stay focused on the work and what we’re building.” 

your ad here

French President Narrowly Wins First Round of Voting

Macron and Le Pen in runoff vote April 24

your ad here

Позиція Німеччини «змінюється на користь України» – Зеленський після розмови з Шольцем

Розмова стосувалася притягнення до відповідальності винних у воєнних злочинах, посилення антиросійських санкцій та примусу Росії «шукати мир»

your ad here

China Makes Semi-Secret Delivery of Missiles to Serbia

Russian ally Serbia took the delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system in a veiled operation this weekend, amid Western concerns that an arms buildup in the Balkans at the time of the war in Ukraine could threaten the fragile peace in the region.

Media and military experts said Sunday that six Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport planes landed at Belgrade’s civilian airport early Saturday, reportedly carrying HQ-22 surface-to-air missile systems for the Serbian military.

The Chinese cargo planes with military markings were pictured at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport. Serbia’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to AP’s request for comment.

The arms delivery over the territory of at least two NATO member states, Turkey and Bulgaria, was seen by experts as a demonstration of China’s growing global reach.

“The Y-20s’ appearance raised eyebrows because they flew en masse as opposed to a series of single-aircraft flights,” wrote The Warzone online magazine. “The Y-20’s presence in Europe in any numbers is also still a fairly new development.”

Serbian military analyst Aleksandar Radic said that “the Chinese carried out their demonstration of force.”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic all but confirmed the delivery of the medium-range system that was agreed in 2019, saying on Saturday that he will present “the newest pride” of the Serbian military on Tuesday or Wednesday.

He had earlier complained that NATO countries, which represent most of Serbia’s neighbors, are refusing to allow the system’s delivery flights over their territories amid tensions over Russia’s aggression on Ukraine.

Although Serbia has voted in favor of U.N. resolutions that condemn the bloody Russian attacks in Ukraine, it has refused to join international sanctions against its allies in Moscow or outright criticize the apparent atrocities committed by the Russian troops there.

Back in 2020, U.S. officials warned Belgrade against the purchase of HQ-22 anti-aircraft systems, whose export version is known as FK-3. They said that if Serbia really wants to join the European Union and other Western alliances, it must align its military equipment with Western standards.

The Chinese missile system has been widely compared to the American Patriot and the Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems although it has a shorter range than more advanced S-300s. Serbia will be the first operator of the Chinese missiles in Europe.

Serbia was at war with its neighbors in the 1990s. The country, which is formally seeking EU membership, has already been boosting its armed forces with Russian and Chinese arms, including warplanes, battle tanks and other equipment.

In 2020, it took delivery of Chengdu Pterodactyl-1 drones, known in China as Wing Loong. The combat drones are able to strike targets with bombs and missiles and can be used for reconnaissance tasks.

There are fears in the West that the arming of Serbia by Russia and China could encourage the Balkan country toward another war, especially against its former province of Kosovo that proclaimed independence in 2008. Serbia, Russia and China don’t recognize Kosovo’s statehood, while the United States and most Western countries do.

your ad here

Speeding West, Ukraine Hospital Train Ferries Patients to Safety

As the hospital train sped away from the frontline in war-torn Ukraine, electrician Evhen Perepelytsia was grateful he would soon see his children again after almost losing his life.

“We hope that the worst is over — that after what I’ve been through, it will be better,” the 30-year-old said, lying on a train carriage bed swaddled in a grey blanket.

He was among 48 wounded and elderly patients to be evacuated from embattled east Ukraine this weekend, pulling up in the western city of Lviv Sunday evening after a long trip overnight.

The evacuation was the first from the east since a Russian strike killed 52 people among thousands waiting for the train at the eastern railway station of Kramatorsk on Friday.

And it was the fourth to be organized by medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Inside one of the carriages turned ward-on-wheels, Perepelytsya recounted how he lost his leg to shelling in his hometown of Hirske in the eastern region of Luhansk.

He was standing outside and had just discussed abandoning their home to join their children in the west of the country, he said.

“I took one step forward, and when I made the second, I fell,” he said. “It turned out that it hit very close to me, hit a monument, and a fragment from it tore off my leg.”

Sitting on the end of his bed, his wife, Yuliya, 29, said she had been terrified she would lose him.

“He was unconscious twice in the intensive care unit,” she said. “We couldn’t save his leg, but we saved his life.”

She said their three children were waiting in Lviv with their grandmother.

“We’re not going back,” she said.

The United Nations says at least 1,793 civilians have been killed and 2,439 wounded since Russia launched its invasion, but the actual tally is likely much higher.

More than 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes.

The Ukrainian authorities have in recent days urged all residents in the east of the country to flee westwards to safety as they fear Moscow will unleash the full force of its military there after setbacks around the capital Kyiv.

As the blue carriages pulled into Lviv, medics carried those who were unable to walk on stretchers into waiting ambulances and helped the others on foot or in wheelchairs onto buses.

In one bus, 77-year-old Paraskevia sat patiently with a large white bandage on her eye, and a net over her head to keep it in place.

“My eye hurts,” said the elderly lady from the village of Novodruzhesk in Luhansk, who did not give her second name.

“But the doctors on the train were great,” she added, of the 13 staff members on board, most of them Ukrainian.

In front of her, a 67-year-old who gave his name as Ivan said he had to wait in a basement for two days after being shot in the street.

Neighbors in the town of Popasna, also in Luhansk, bandaged him up as best they could until the medics could arrive.

On the platform, MSF train hospital coordinator Jean-Clement Cabrol caught his breath.

The train had successfully ferried 48 people to safety, but still many more needed help, the doctor said.

Earlier in the war, a first train had traveled to Zaporizhzhia to pick up three families who were wounded while trying to flee the besieged port city of Mariupol.

After that, two operations whisked dozens of patients — mostly elderly people — out of Kramatorsk, leaving just days before the deadly Russian attack.

By the tracks on Sunday evening, the doctor said another train would soon depart to continue evacuations as long as it was possible.

“We are heading back tonight,” he said.

your ad here

У Німеччині відбулися проросійські та проукраїнські акції

У Німеччині живе близько 250 тисяч громадян Росії і, за оцінками, понад мільйон людей російського походження

your ad here

Russia Launches New Attacks in Eastern Ukraine 

Russian forces shelled a school and residential buildings in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, local Luhansk officials reported, even as the officials implored residents to escape the region “before it’s too late.”

Luhansk Governor Serihy Haidai said three apartment buildings in Severodonetsk burned down and two elderly residents had to be evacuated, but there were no casualties.

Separately, Dnipro Governor Valentyn Reznichenko, in southeastern Ukraine, said Russian forces struck targets across the region, wounding one person.

Ukrainian officials and the state railway announced new evacuation routes but voiced fears that the Russian missile attack Friday on a railway station in Kramatorsk that killed 52 people might be scaring off some Ukrainians from trying to flee the region by rail.

The continuing Russian assault on eastern Ukraine was in marked contrast to the scene in Kyiv, the capital in the country’s north. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Saturday strolled through streets that Russia recently controlled or were under near constant attacks before Moscow pulled its troops to concentrate its attacks on the eastern Donbas region.

Johnson said Britain would send 120 more armored vehicles and new anti-ship missiles to Ukraine, part of the West’s continuing military support of Ukraine, short of sending troops to fight alongside Ukrainian forces.

Zelenskyy has continued to contend that the West is not doing enough to help Ukraine, but U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan defended what it has done.

“The speed, scale and scope to equip the Ukrainian army is unprecedented,” Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” show on Sunday. He said the United States “will continue to rally the world” to assist Ukraine.

Sullivan said the Kremlin miscalculated in its February 24 invasion in thinking it would “be welcomed with open arms” into Ukraine.

“But what we have learned,” Sullivan said, “is that Ukraine will never be subject to Russia.”

In a separate interview, Sullivan told ABC’s “This Week” show that Russia was, in part, forced to acknowledge “significant” troop losses this past week because it did not take over Kyiv and the rest of Ukraine as it had expected to quickly accomplish.

Even as it moved troops to eastern Ukraine, Russia left behind a trail of destruction near Kyiv, with hundreds of Ukrainian civilians killed in the suburb of Bucha and elsewhere.

Sullivan said the U.S. believes that the massacre of some civilians was carried out by individual Russian troops “frustrated” at their inability to take control of the region around Kyiv.

He said, however, that responsibility for the slaughter of Ukrainian civilians “lies at the feet” of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“There was a plan from the highest levels of the Russian government to target” Ukrainian civilians, Sullivan said. “This is something that was planned.”

He said the U.S. would continue to “squeeze the Russian economy” with sanctions, projecting that its economy will shrink by 10- to 15% this year, diminishing it sharply as a world economic power.

In Rome, Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday and opened Holy Week by calling for an Easter truce in Ukraine leading to a negotiated peace. He said leaders needed to “make some sacrifices for the good of the people.”

Celebrating Mass before crowds in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis called for “weapons to be laid down to begin an Easter truce, not to reload weapons and resume fighting, no! A truce to reach peace through real negotiations.”

Zelenskyy warned Saturday in his nightly address that Russian aggression is “not intended to be limited to Ukraine alone. To the destruction of our freedom and our lives alone.” The president cautioned, “The whole European project is a target for Russia.”

Ukraine has opened 5,600 war crimes cases since Russia’s invasion, top prosecutor Iryna Venediktova said Sunday, but the country will face a struggle getting Russian officials to court.

She called the missile strike on the train station in Kramatorsk, a city in the Donetsk region, “absolutely … a war crime.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after seeing the devastation in Bucha, said, “If this is not a war crime, what is a war crime? But I am a medical doctor by training and lawyers have to investigate carefully.”

Russian officials have called the Bucha killings a “monstrous forgery.”

The Russian invasion has forced more than 10 million people from their homes in Ukraine or from the country and killed and maimed thousands.

your ad here