Small Wars Journal

5/14/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary

Sat, 05/14/2022 - 10:30am

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, MAY 13 (PUTIN'S WAR)
2. RUSSIAN ANNEXATION OF OCCUPIED UKRAINE IS PUTIN’S UNACCEPTABLE “OFF-RAMP”
3. Is Putin Sick – Or Are We Meant to Think He Is?
4. Interview: Why The 'Failure' Of Russian Spies, Generals Is Leading To 'Apocalyptic' Thinking In The Kremlin
5. DARPA wants to model how ‘disinformation’ flows from fringe to mainstream platforms
6. Modern Resistance – Learning From Non-Western Examples
7. Escape From Moscow
8. With eye on China's zero-Covid chaos, Taiwan seizes chance to open up
9. China builds simulated Taiwan port, ship to test missiles: military analyst
10. Strategies of Unusual Size
11. Can Russia and the West Survive a Nuclear Crisis in Ukraine?
12. Could a Korean-Style Armistice End the Russia-Ukraine War?
13. Chinese Views of the US and Russia After the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
14. Why Ukraine Is the Best Place to be a Comedian
15. Europe’s new Iron Lady: Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas
16. The Covert Operation to Back Ukrainian Independence that Haunts the CIA

Korean News Content:

1. N. Korea leader says his country faces 'great turmoil' due to COVID-19 spread
2. Seoul could offer vaccine, medicine if Pyongyang requests
3. Rubio, Kaine Introduce Bill to Reauthorize North Korean Human Rights Act
4. How will South Korea-China relations unfold under Yoon administration?
5. Does US support Yoon's hawkish stance on North Korea?
6. Korea, U.S. resume combined medical support exercise
7. Project Reveal: North Korean Digital Controls
8. Managing Instability in North Korea
9. North Korea: Kim Jong-un declares Covid outbreak a ‘great disaster’
10. EXPLAINER: What's behind North Korea's COVID-19 admission?
 

This unsettling Army recruitment video is a master class in psychological warfare

Fri, 05/13/2022 - 1:42pm
The must watch video is at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA4e0NqyYMw This is so important I am not waiting until tomorrow to send this out.  I really want to highlight it.
 
Kudos to 4th PSYOP Group. Whenever anyone asks me what is PSYOP I will be showing this video from now on.  This is very well done though I know it will generate a lot of controversy.  This illustrates irregular war thinking* better than anything else I have seen in recent years. I will be linking this video in every future paper I write on irregular, unconventional, and political warfare.

“Irregular Warfare Thinking”*

Because IW is the dominant form of war in the emergent human domain.  

We need to infuse “irregular warfare thinking”* into DOD and “political warfare thinking” into the US government.

*What is “Irregular warfare thinking?”  It is thinking about the human element in the full spectrum of competition and conflict up to and including conventional and nuclear war. It includes but is not limited to all aspects of lawlessness, subversion, insurgency, terrorism, political resistance, non-violent resistance, political violence, urban operations, stability operations, post-conflict operations, cyber operations, operations in the information environment  (e.g., strategic influence through information advantage, information and influence activities, public diplomacy, psychological operations, military information support operations, public affairs), working through, with and by indigenous forces and populations, irregular warfare, political warfare, economic warfare, alliances, diplomacy, and statecraft in all regions of the world.  

Irregular warfare is the military contribution to political warfare.  Political warfare is the action of the whole of government in strategic competition.

V/R
Dave Maxwell
 
Read the entire Task and Purpose article below at the link HERE.

This unsettling Army recruitment video is a master class in psychological warfare

“Everything is a weapon. Even this video.”

taskandpurpose.com · by Haley Britzky · May 13, 2022
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A new and somewhat unnerving recruiting pitch from the Army’s 4th Psychological Operations Group asks viewers one simple question: “Have you ever wondered who’s pulling the strings?”

The three-and-a-half minute, movie trailer-esque video was released by the 4th PSYOP Group on Youtube on May 2. Since then it’s brought in almost 250,000 views, and it’s not hard to see why: This is not your father’s recruiting commercial.


Read the remainder of this article HERE.

5/13/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary

Fri, 05/13/2022 - 9:22am

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, MAY 12 (PUTIN'S WAR)
2. Flag Officer Announcements (New JSOC Commander)
3. US intelligence community launches review following Ukraine and Afghanistan intel failings
4. U.S. Embraces Finland’s Move Toward NATO Membership. What About Ukraine?
5. Marine Raiders tackle ‘influencing’ to disrupt adversaries before the fight
6. Here’s what US Army leaders are learning from the Russia-Ukraine war
7. The Russians Lost An Entire Battalion Trying To Cross A River In Eastern Ukraine
8. FDD | Biden Should Press WHO to Suspend Russia
9. F.B.I. Told Israel It Wanted Pegasus Hacking Tool for Investigations
10. Are the U.S. and Russia Destined for War over Ukraine?
11. Seven (Initial) Drone Warfare Lessons from Ukraine
12. No Marshall Plan for Ukraine
13. Lawmakers worry Army doesn't have basing agreements for long-range fires
14. Why the West just can’t get enough of Zelensky
15. Challenge of maintaining US ‘arsenal of democracy’
16. Satellite images ‘suggest China is practising missile strikes on targets in Taiwan and Guam’
17. Afghanistan: Resistance Front claims killing of 22 Taliban members in Panjshir
18. The US may be using Ukraine as a blueprint for how Taiwan could stop a Chinese invasion
19. Will Ukraine Break The Back Of Beleaguered US Indo-Pacific Strategy? – Analysis
 

Korean News Content:

1. N. Korea reports 6 deaths after admitting COVID-19 outbreak
2. Analysis: COVID crisis could deepen N.Korea food shortages amid drought warnings
3. North Korea fires 3 ballistic missiles amid first virus outbreak
4. Yoon offers to send COVID-19 vaccines to N. Korea
5. N. Korea appears ready for nuclear test: presidential official
6. Top S. Korean, U.S. diplomats agree to continue consultations on N.K. humanitarian aid
7. U.S. supports efforts to contain COVID-19, vaccinate people in N. Korea: State Dept.
8. Explainer: How North Korea's COVID-19 outbreak could ignite a major health crisis
9. Allies' North Korea policy at crossroads amid COVID spread in Pyongyang
10. Biden considering Korea DMZ visit when traveling to Asia this month
11. Why Did N.Korea Finally Admit COVID Outbreak?
12. Reps. Steel, Kim Push Administration to Reaffirm Commitment to U.S./South Korean Alliance - OKN
13. North Korea’s Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site: A New Practice Creates a New Analytical Challenge
14. North Korea in a sudden shock Covid crisis

5/12/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary

Thu, 05/12/2022 - 9:40am

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 11 (PUTIN'S WAR)
2. Finland's leaders say country "must apply for NATO membership without delay"
3. Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning and the Future of National Security
4. Marine Colonel in Ukraine explains where US aid is falling short
5. Training, Logistics Snafus Show How US Advisors Could Help Ukraine, Volunteers Say
6. Why American veterans are dropping everything to train Ukrainians
7. Female Instructors Now Train SEAL and SWCC Candidates | SOF News
8. Why Ukraine’s undersized military is resisting supposedly superior Russian forces
9. Austin Says 2023 Budget Built on New Defense Strategy
10. Within FY23 Budget Request, Three Approaches Help DOD Meet Defense Strategy
11. DOD’s Pacific Plans Aren't Scaled Back to Finance Ukraine Aid, Say Austin and Milley
12. Bombshell health claim about Chinese president Xi Jinping
13. Intelligence-sharing with Ukraine designed to prevent wider war
14. Russia says Finnish entry to NATO poses threat to which it will respond
15. COVID claims 1 million U.S. lives
16. The World Should Be Worried About a Dictator’s Son's Apparent Win in the Philippines
17. Nominee says no strings attached in humanitarian assistance to North Korea
18. Exploring the Civil-Military Divide over Artificial Intelligence
19. Russia suffers heavy losses in failed Donbas river crossing
20. 50 years after return, Okinawa's strategic importance grows for U.S.
21. How Starlink Scrambled to Keep Ukraine Online
22. Building a Cyber Force Is Even Harder Than You Thought
23. FDD | IRGC-Controlled Iranian Airline Makes Unexplained Flights to Russia Amidst Invasion of Ukraine
24. The War in Ukraine Will Be a Historic Turning Point
25. World War II Is All That Putin Has Left
26. The Secret War for Germany: CIA’s Covert Role in Cold War Berlin Explored through Recently Declassified Documents

Korean News Content:

1. N. Korea fires unspecified ballistic missile toward East Sea: S. Korean military
2. N. Korea confirms first case of omicron variant of COVID-19: state media
3. North Korea admits to coronavirus outbreak for the first time
4. Presidential office says humanitarian aid possible in theory after N.K. reports COVID-19 case
5. Minister nominee says he's open to visiting N. Korea as special envoy
6. U.S., other UNSC members condemn N. Korean missile launch but Russia, China
7. 8th Political Bureau Meeting of 8th Central Committee of WPK Held (COVID admission)
8. North Korean Cyber Warriors Are Fueling Kim Jong-un’s Nuclear Weapons
9. Seoul brings back CVID terminology at the UN
10. China-South Korea Relations Under South Korea’s New Yoon Administration: The Challenge Of Defining ‘Mutual Respect’
11. S. Korean military to revive 'provocation' reference to N.K. missile tests: sources
12. S Korea’s ‘Mr Clean’ faces tough presidency. Is he up to the job?
13.  Farewell Moon, howdy Yoon in South Korea
14. Hwasong political prison inmates may be working to restore the Punggye-ri nuclear test site
15. US Marine's life in the hands of Biden, Blinken in North Korea extradition fight
16. U.S. prepared for any kind of engagement with N. Korea: Campbell
17. S. Korea seeks to resume construction of two nuclear reactors in 2025: sources

5/11/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary

Wed, 05/11/2022 - 9:41am

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, MAY 10 (PUTIN'S WAR)
2. US, Western Europe fret over uncertain Ukraine war endgame
3. Ukrainians stop Russian gas at one hub, make gains in east
4. Fact Sheet on U.S. Security Assistance for Ukraine
5. Small Drones Are Giving Ukraine an Unprecedented Edge
6. Special Ops Software Office Takes on Pentagon Bureaucracy
7. Rather than wreck it, Berger’s vision will save the Marine Corps from itself
8. First Public UFO Hearing In Over 50 Years To Be Held By Congress Next Week
9. Putin’s Bad Math: The Root of Russian Miscalculation in Ukraine
10. Will Washington Learn from China’s Successful Stroke in the Solomon Islands?
11. To Win Wars, Cut the U.S. Defense Budget
12. Russia hacked an American satellite company one hour before the Ukraine invasion
13. RUSSIAN GENERAL OFFICER GUIDE - MAY 11
14. Ukraine Accuses Russia of Stealing Its Grain
15. Intelligence and the War in Ukraine: Part 1
16. Ukraine After the War
17. America Must Embrace the Goal of Ukrainian Victory
18. Threading the Needle in Southeast Asia
19. The Ukraine War Might Kill China’s Nuclear No First Use Policy
20. What Victory Will Look Like in Ukraine
21. China’s Covid crisis is Xi’s to lose
22. Russia actually isn't as good at information warfare as everyone thought

Korean News Content:

1. New defense minister orders 'stern, immediate' response if N. Korea provokes
2. A New President Faces Familiar Challenges in Seoul
3. Shrimp to Whale by Ramon Pacheco Pardo — how South Korea became a powerhouse
4. Individual and group protesters flock to presidential office in Yongsan
5. Yoon Starts Presidency by Meeting Foreign Dignitaries
6. U.S., S. Korea share common objective of denuclearizing Korean Peninsula: State Dept.
7. N. Korea likely to continue nuclear, missile development in 2022: US military
8. Britain firm on N. Korea sanctions, expects cooperation with S. Korea on Ukraine: minister
9. Former deputy national security adviser tapped as new spy agency chief
10. Yoon expresses hope for reopening of Seoul-Tokyo air route to bolster exchanges
11. Yoon Suk-yeol has busy second day as president with a more casual style
12. China tries to prevent South Korea from joining US-led coalition
13. State Dept. reacts to Yoon's North Korea policy
14. Outnumbered ruling party faces difficult challenges
15. Visiting Japanese reps pledge warmer ties
16. Yoon says inflation is biggest problem in first secretary meeting
17. U.S. 'second gentleman' gets a kick out of Seoul
18. Yoon's inauguration ceremony raises hope for inclusive, multicultural society
19. Cadres involved in most recent ballistic missile launches recalled to Pyongyang
20. N. Korea permits mass mobilizations of factory workers to agricultural areas

Ukraine: WAR BULLETIN May 10, 6.00 pm EST

Wed, 05/11/2022 - 6:32am

 Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations

 

WAR BULLETIN

May 10, 6.00 pm EST

 

WAR ROOM

 

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 10.05 were approximate:

personnel - about 26000 (+350),

tanks ‒ 1170 (+25),

APV ‒ 2808 (+44),

artillery systems – 519 (+6),

MLRS - 185 (+0),

Anti-aircraft warfare systems - 87 (+0),

aircraft – 199 (+0),

helicopters – 158 (+0),

UAV operational-tactical level - 380 (+3),

cruise missiles - 94 (+0),

warships / boats - 12 (+0) од,

vehicles and fuel tanks - 1980 (+10),

special equipment - 41 (+0).

The seventy-sixth day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to a Russian military invasion continues. The enemy continues to conduct full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine.

The enemy does not stop conducting offensive operations in the Eastern Operational Zone in order to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and maintain the land corridor between these territories and the occupied Crimea.

Russians focuse the main efforts of the aviation group on supporting the actions of units in the eastern operational zone: in the Slobozhansky, Donetsk directions and in the area of ​​the Azovstal plant.

Artillery continues to be used along almost the entire line of contact.

There is a high probability of missile strikes on civilian and military infrastructure throughout Ukraine.

The possibility of sabotage of the chemical industry of Ukraine with further accusations of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not ruled out.

In the Siversky direction, the enemy continues to provide enhanced protection of the Ukrainian-russian border in the Bryansk and Kursk regions. It fired multiple rocket-propelled grenades from the area of ​​the border settlements of Velyka Pisarivka, Bilopillya, Krasnopillya and Yunakivka in the Sumy region.

It is expected that the enemy will continue to demonstrate along the section of the state border of Ukraine in order to restrain the actions of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and prevent their regrouping in other areas.

In the Slobozhansky direction, the enemy maintains certain forces and means of air defence in the Belgorod region in full readiness for use. It continues to focus its efforts on the defence of the occupied borders in order to prevent the advance of units of our troops towards the state border of Ukraine. Conducts air reconnaissance.

In the Izyum direction, Russians replenished ammunition, fuel and logistics.

The enemy continues to prepare for offensive operations in the areas of Lyman and Severodonetsk.

Fighting continues for the settlements of Voevodivka, Toshkivka and Nyzhne of the Severodonetsk district of the Luhansk oblast, as well as Kamyanka of the Yasynuvata district of the Donetsk oblast.

In Mariupol, the enemy continues to destroy the infrastructure of the Azovstal plant with artillery and airstrikes. Fighting continues.

Russian ship groups continue to carry out tasks to isolate combat areas, conduct reconnaissance, launch missile strikes on important objects of civil and military infrastructure of our state, support units in the coastal direction and block civilian shipping.

During the previous day in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts defenders of Ukraine successfully repulsed fifteen enemy attacks, destroyed one anti-aircraft missile system, 9 tanks, 3 artillery systems, and 25 units of armoured combat vehicles, 3 units of special engineering equipment and 3 enemy vehicles.

In order to prevent the advance of units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine and to strengthen its troops, the enemy additionally moved to the territory of Kharkiv oblast up to five hundred mobilized persons from the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

In the Izyum direction, the enemy continued to create favorable conditions for the offensive, for which it replenished ammunition and logistics, conducted engineering equipment for advanced positions, and strengthened air reconnaissance.

Unsuccessful attempts to establish control over Rubizhne continue in the Severodonetsk direction.

The enemy carries out assault operations in the areas of the settlements of Nyzhne, Toshkivka, Orikhove, Luhansk region, which has no success.

The enemy is trying to gain a foothold in the area of ​​the settlement of Oleksandrivka, is carrying out assault operations in the area of ​​the settlement of Shandryholove, Donetsk region, has no success.

In the Donetsk direction, the occupiers attempted assault operations in the direction of the town of Maryanka, the settlements of Kamyanka, Yasynuvata district, and Novomykhailivka, Pokrovsky district, Donetsk oblast. They were unsuccessful.

In the city of Mariupol, the enemy continues to focus its efforts on blocking and destroying our units in the area of ​​the Azovstal plant. With the support of artillery and tank fire, it conducts assault operations.

The situation in the Zaporizhzhya and South Buh directions has not changed significantly.

An intensified level of terrorist threat continues to operate in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova. Mobilization activities are not being carried out in the region, and local armed groups and a task force of Russian troops continue to be on high alert.

The enemy continues to suffer losses on the territory of Ukraine. Thus, according to available information, units of the 138th separate mechanized brigade of the 6th Combined Arms Army of the Western Military District due to significant losses in the Kharkiv region were withdrawn from Ukraine to the Belgorod region of the russian federation. A significant part of the remaining military personnel under the contract wrote reports on dismissal.

As a result of coordinated actions of the personnel of the units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region, the settlements of Cherkasy Tyshky, Rusky Tyshky, Rubizhne, and Bayrak were liberated.

 

Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine

Between 7 and 10 March 2022, the Russian military systematically opened fire on the town of Izium. As a result of the shelling, public infrastructure and residential buildings were destroyed.

On 10 May 2022, the bodies of 44 local residents were found under the rubble of a destroyed five-storey building in temporarily occupied Izium. To date, the bodies of the dead have been removed from under the rubble and 14 people have already been identified.

https://www.facebook.com/pgo.gov.ua/posts/367357915427048

 

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights

Since the beginning of the full-scale  Russian invasion of Ukraine, at least 116 buildings of spiritual significance have been destroyed, including 91 Orthodox churches. Mosques, synagogues, Catholic and Protestant churches, religious educational institutions and important administrative buildings of religious organizations were also destroyed. The largest number of facilities destroyed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been found in Donetsk, Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.

https://www.facebook.com/denisovaombudsman/posts/538058091008801

 

Russian invaders are trying to sell grain stolen in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.

Some of the grain stolen by the emeny in Ukraine is in the Mediterranean Sea on dry cargo under the Russian flag. The most likely country of destination is Syria. From there, grain can be smuggled to other countries in the Middle East.

The occupiers continue to export food stolen from Ukraine to Russia and the temporarily occupied Crimea.

In Polohy, Zaporizhia region, grain and sunflower seeds in storage are being prepared for transportation to Russia.

A convoy of Russian grain trucks left Energodar in the direction of Kamyanka Dniprovska under the protection of the military. The final destination of the column is the temporarily occupied Crimea.

In the village of Volokhiv Yar in the Kharkiv region, collaborators are helping the occupiers remove grain from hangars. Grain trucks go to the Russian border.

One and a half thousand tons of grain were exported by grain trucks from Malaya Lepetykha, Kherson region, to the occupied Crimea.

There is information that in addition to grain, the occupiers export to the Crimea large quantities of stolen vegetables in Ukraine - beets, potatoes, cabbage.

The theft of food from the occupied territories violates the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and War Crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

https://bit.ly/3Pa0O33

 

POLICY

 

President of Ukraine 

Address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Ukrainians

Today has been a difficult day. There was news - both ordinary and tragic. I'll start with international contacts. I continued to address foreign parliaments. Those states and nations whose support is important to us. And especially now.

In my address to the Slovak Parliament, I thanked for the strong defense, sanctions and other support. I explained our view on why energy cooperation with Russia cannot be considered in isolation from the aggressive policy of this country. And on the Ukrainian example, recalling the history of so-called gas friendship with Russia, I showed what mistakes should be avoided.

Addressing the Maltese Parliament, I recalled the heroic battle for Malta in World War II, which is very similar in fact to our current struggle in the war for independence and freedom against Russia.

Then, 80 years ago, the fate of the entire confrontation in the Mediterranean depended on the battle for Malta. The Allies won. The Nazis lost.

We are doing everything to ensure that the confrontation on our land ends in this way now as well. And for this we need principled support and sanctions. In particular, from Malta.

I held talks in Kyiv with the foreign ministers of Germany and the Netherlands. We talked about the strengthening of Ukraine, about the faster end of this war. We also discussed the details of how our friends can join the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.

I am also grateful to them for resuming the work of embassies in our capital. This is an important gesture that confirms Europe's confidence in Ukraine's future.

In total, 36 foreign missions are already operating in the capital.

The Armed Forces of our state provided us all with good news from the Kharkiv region. The occupiers are gradually being pushed away from Kharkiv.

I am grateful to all our defenders who are holding the line and demonstrating truly superhuman strength to drive out the army of invaders. Once the second most powerful army in the world.

But I also want to urge all our people, and especially those in the rear, not to spread excessive emotions. We shouldn’t create an atmosphere of specific moral pressure, when certain victories are expected weekly and even daily.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are doing everything to liberate our land and our people. To liberate all our cities - Kherson, Melitopol, Berdyansk, Mariupol and all others.

Today, a special group of international experts chaired by Michael McFaul and Andriy Yermak proposed a roadmap for energy sanctions. This is a detailed document that describes what needs to be done to make it really difficult for Russia to finance this war, but at the same time - so that the global economy does not suffer losses due to restrictions on Russian energy resources.

This is a rationally drafted document, and work has already begun on its implementation.

And the tragic news on which I want to end this address today. The first President of Ukraine Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk died today.

He was not just a politician. And not just a historical figure. He was the man who knew how to find wise words and say them so that all Ukrainians could hear them.

This is especially important in difficult, crisis moments. When the future of an entire country may depend on the wisdom of one person.

Leonid Makarovych showed just such wisdom in the late 1980s, when the Ukrainian movement emerged. He passed 1991 brilliantly, and it is only now that it may seem as if it was easy for him then.

And no matter what happened later, Leonid Kravchuk always stayed with Ukraine.

Perhaps it was because of his wisdom that he was cheerful in a special way. He always valued life, every minute of it. But he always found much more than one minute to help sort things out and give advice. And I am personally grateful to him in particular for that.

As a child he survived World War II, survived the occupation. Leonid Makarovych knew what freedom costs. And with all his heart he wanted peace for Ukraine. I'm sure we will implement it. We will achieve our victory and our peace.

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/zbrojni-sili-ukrayini-roblyat-use-dlya-zvilnennya-vsih-nashi-74965

 

Speech by President V.Zelenskyy at the National Council of the Slovak Republic

I want to start with words of gratitude for all the help that Slovakia has given to Ukraine. We greatly appreciate your defense support and determination in this support, which proves that you realize that freedom without force is just a fantasy and nothing more.

Last year, we, with your President, Ms. Zuzana Čaputová, signed a Declaration of Recognition of the European Perspective of Ukraine. The significance of that step has now only grown stronger.

Russia's war against our state is not only an attempt to seize our land, subdue our people and erase Ukrainian identity. In fact, it is against the very project of a common alliance based on common values on our continent - respect for life, human rights, inviolability of borders and freedom.

The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Mr. Eduard Heger, was one of our first foreign friends to visit the suburbs of Kyiv and see with his own eyes what the Russian occupiers have done there.

Last week, Bucha and Borodyanka were also visited by your colleagues from the Slovak Parliament. They also saw with their own eyes what evil Russia is carrying.

Thousands of crimes by Russian occupiers against civilians have been recorded in the Kyiv region alone.

We are at the epicenter of two ideas confrontation: the European democratic idea that the freedom and life of everyone matters and the cruel tyrannical idea that only a person who can subdue other people matters.

If we don't stop it together, Russian troops will repeat the crimes they committed in Bucha and Borodyanka on the land of every state they can reach, in particular on the territory of your state.

The first and foremost tool to win this confrontation is weapons. Ukrainians will always remember how Slovakia gave our country at a crucial time what really helped us. There is potential to continue this cooperation, in particular, in the issue of aviation – aircraft, helicopters.

You know, our flag reflects our fertile land – fields of yellow wheat. And also our beautiful blue sky. We have people to defend our land. But in the skies we need more support, including yours.

The second tool is sanctions against Russia. They create a truly reliable protection for the European idea. Because if the source of aggression weakens, life becomes more secure for everyone in Europe.

The EU is now agreeing on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. This is the required package, including the energy restrictions that are provided for in it. I understand that this is a challenge for you and some other countries. For Slovakia, the issue of Russian oil and the possibility of its replacement is not a matter of immediate action. We understand everything.

Not so long ago, Ukraine was one of the biggest sales destinations for Gazprom and depended not only on Russian gas, but also on Russian political decisions. Any attempt to move at least to market conditions in supply ended in gas wars, and ultimately in a bonded gas agreement, which posed a direct threat to our sovereignty.

Ukrainian politicians have also been playing for a long time with the issue of the Russian Black Sea Fleet placement on the territory of Ukraine – in our Crimea. In particular, the so-called lease for the fleet was linked to the gas issue - feigned discount on Russian gas if the Russian fleet remains on Ukrainian territory.

This fleet was just a cover to capture a territory. An umbrella for issuing passports to our people in Crimea by Russia. For propaganda and creeping annexation, which could only be completed by the invasion, and it happened in 2014.

This is what I advise all our friends, who may become at least one percent more politically dependent on Russia, to avoid.

We were the first to see Russia breaking agreements when it simply stopped liking them. We saw Russia turn commercial ties into a chain to keep another state close to it.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet was used to capture Crimea. Now it is blocking the sea for us and firing missiles at our peaceful cities.

Russia is trying to use gas now to have the entire European continent obedient, but its energy is not just a commodity. It should be abandoned, especially oil, because it's really a question of freedom. Yes, protecting freedom has a price.

The third aspect is the future of the EU. Russia's attempts to blackmail, split and weaken Europeans clearly show that all of us on the continent must respond with even greater unity, integration, and joint protection of our values. This is an important element of the very force that makes freedom not just a fantasy.

Even more unity in Europe is possible only in one case. The issue of granting EU membership candidate status to Ukraine in June this year is a matter of protecting the entire European project.

As well as the issue of economic support for Ukraine. Russia is doing everything to destroy our economy. As an example, most of the Russian missiles that hit Ukrainian land hit the economic infrastructure. Therefore, the priority is to establish alternative routes for our exports, in particular, through the territory of Slovakia. And greater financial support for Ukraine from the EU.

We must strengthen our unity and put pressure on Russia until we see that victory has been achieved.

I know that a donors' conference will be held in Bratislava in June to activate assistance for Ukraine. I am grateful to everyone who participates in its organization, including the GLOBSEC think tank. I believe that we will be able to discuss specific projects to restore normal life in different regions of Ukraine at this Bratislava site.

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/promova-prezidenta-ukrayini-u-nacionalnij-radi-slovachchini-74949

 

Speech by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Parliament of Malta

These days you are recalling the 80th anniversary of the extraordinary events that have affected not only the lives of your people, but the whole of Europe.

The Battle of Malta during World War II was one of the crucial to defending freedom.

The outcome of the confrontation in the Mediterranean, northern Africa and southern Europe largely depended on the resistance of your people, your island.

Malta withstood the brutal siege, the brutal bombing. Together with its allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, it was able not only to defend itself, but also to become an outpost of freedom, that is, to play a significant role in the further liberation of Europe.

Today's events in our part of the continent remind me of your heroic history.

Just as the fate of Europe in 1940-1942 depended on the resilience and courage of Malta, today it is on the resilience and courage of Ukrainians, namely Ukrainians, our people, and certainly not the deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, but ordinary resilient people that the victory of freedom on our continent depends. Because we are once again opposed to tyranny, and it has very far-reaching ambitions. By attacking Ukraine, Russia has only just begun its aggression against a united Europe.

Just think of this terrible figure: 2154 Russian missiles hit our cities and communities in a little over two months. 2770 appearances of enemy planes in our sky were recorded.

Thank God, Britain and the United States have accomplished this mission - with the Spitfires, which changed the course of the battle for Malta and helped destroy the ambition of the then aggressor to capture your island.

And now we need a similar mission from our partners. To destroy the ambition of the current aggressor to capture Ukraine and other European countries.

We need aircraft, helicopters, special artillery and other weapons, because now, as 80 years ago, Europe's future is decided on the battlefield.

As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 226 children died. Thousands more adults were killed! And these are only those whose deaths have been officially recorded.

About 12 million Ukrainians have become IDPs. About 5 million of them left our country.

 

I'm sure you fully understand why this war needs to end as soon as possible. Why Russia must be forced to liberate the occupied Ukrainian territory as soon as possible.

There are only three tools to ensure this.

The first - I have already mentioned it - is weapons that allow us to withstand on the battlefield and save our people who are being killed by the Russian military. Killed every day and night.

The longer the delay with weapons, the more deaths.

The second is sanctions on Russia. They are needed not as an end in themselves, but to bring peace closer.

What is most painful for Russia? Losing revenues from energy exports, from trade in energy. And also a complete blockade of banking operations.

This is exactly what needs to be done. The aggressor must receive the greatest damage from aggression.

Having launched a full-scale war against our state, Russia has blocked our ports in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. And this is a complete blockade of our agricultural exports. And this, in turn, is the path to a large-scale crisis in the global food market. If we fail to export wheat, barley, corn and vegetable oil, there will be a physical shortage of food in North Africa and parts of Asia, and prices will rise significantly.

What's next? The threat of political chaos and a new migration crisis.

Unfortunately, you can also feel the extremely negative consequences of these crises in your neighboring regions.

So we need to act now, we need to act fast.

An embargo on Russian oil, oil blends and petroleum products is a necessary condition for ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I know that this is a very sensitive topic for you, as well as for some other European countries. Given that vessels under your flag are used to transport, in particular, Russian oil. But every dollar and every euro you can earn on this will be offset by very significant and painful losses if the food crisis - and therefore the migration crisis - cannot be stopped - and if the Russian invasion goes further into Europe.

And the third aspect.

After thousands of war crimes of the Russian army in Ukraine... After thousands of murders, thousands of tortures, rapes, robberies... It is now dangerous to accept people with Russian passports, especially those formally or informally connected with the Russian state. Dangerous for all Europeans and also for Maltese.

It is time to end the current privileges for Russian citizens. From gold passports with privileges to dual citizenship.

Please do not allow yourself to be used, do not allow to use your island!

This has long been more than just business in Russia, but the structures associated with the aggressive Russian state.

I am grateful to you for the decisions that Malta has already supported. I am also grateful for the decisions you will support in the future to protect Europe.

And I believe that soon we will be able to develop our cooperation in a united Europe on a new level. When Ukraine will receive first the status of a candidate, and then full membership in the European Union.

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/promova-prezidenta-volodimira-zelenskogo-u-parlamenti-malti-74961

 

Yermak-McFaul's expert group has developed a roadmap for energy sanctions

The international working group on sanctions on Russia headed by Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, and Ambassador Michael McFaul, Director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), presented the second document, The Energy Sanctions Roadmap: Recommendations on Sanctions on the Russian Federation.

Following the presentation of the Action Plan on tightening sanctions on Russia, an international expert group continued its work and prepared a document detailing energy sanctions, helping governments and companies around the world formulate proposals for sanctions on Russia. The application of energy sanctions should increase the cost of invading Ukraine for Russia and help the Ukrainian state protect its territorial integrity, freedom and democratic values.

The authors of the roadmap for energy sanctions point out that Russia's budget is based on revenues from the sale of energy, primarily to European countries. Since February 24, the European Union has paid about USD 800 million daily for Russian oil and gas.

The document contains recommendations for political action that will help deprive Russia of this income, minimizing disruptions in markets and the world economy.

The expert group supports the decision of the European Commission to impose a total ban on imports of all Russian oil, and substantiates the gradual embargo on gas imports from Russia. In addition, experts provide suggestions, including specific mechanisms, on how to ensure the managed phased implementation of such a ban, while minimizing profits from Russian oil exports during the transition period. Such mechanisms may be considered a priority by individual countries. The case is about a regulated import tax (or tariff) and keeping funds for energy on a special escrow account.

Particular attention has been paid to additional sanctions to prevent circumvention of restrictions imposed on the energy sector. In particular, these are targeted sanctions against maritime export service providers bypassing the controlled sales regime.

In addition, the roadmap proposes the strategy to prevent the consequences, which makes Europe independent of Russian energy and counters the use of energy resources as weapons.

The document also emphasizes the importance of disconnecting Russia from financial flows from gas exports, as Europe pays Russia much more for gas than for oil during the war.

The expert group emphasizes that the European embargo on Russian energy should be part of a coordinated strategy of the EU and the United States, which will include synchronous diplomatic steps and cooperation with stakeholders in the private sector.

Members of the Yermak-McFaul international expert group call on governments, as well as public and private companies, to take the roadmap as a basis for further public promotion of energy sanctions against Russia to deprive it of the opportunity to finance an unfair war of invasion against Ukraine.

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/ekspertna-grupa-yermaka-makfola-napracyuvala-dorozhnyu-kartu-74941

 

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba

Before our meeting in Kyiv, @ABaerbock visited Bucha where Russians committed horrific war crimes, including murder of civilians, rape, and looting. Russia continues its attacks and war crimes now. We value Germany’s support aimed at helping Ukraine stop Russia and its barbarism.

https://twitter.com/DmytroKuleba/status/1524049127843192832

 

Welcomed my Dutch counterpart @WBHoekstra in wartime Kyiv. Visit to Irpin left a deep impression on him. We agreed to work together on strengthening Ukraine and ensuring justice for the victims of Russian war crimes. The Netherlands remains unwavering in its support of Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/DmytroKuleba/status/1524033103500648450

 

 

State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection of Ukraine

The National Centre for Operations and Technology Management of Telecommunications Networks (NTNOC) acting under the State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection of Ukraine is efficiently ensuring the whole range of network management activities during wartime.

The work does not stop even at the weekend. The NTNOC-coordinated emergency repair team has completed repairs of fiber optic communication lines in Sloviansk and Bakhmut of Donetsk region, ensured availability of telecom services to residents of those towns.

Ukrtelecom specialists have spent the first week of May addressing the impact of accidents in 11 regions of Ukraine and restoring communication services in dozens of settlements. Most of the damage was caused by warfare and resistance to russian troops attacking Ukraine.

The State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine -managed Concern for Radio Broadcasting, Radio Communications and Television keeps providing frequencies for Ukrainian TV broadcasting. So, Ukrainians can receive real-time information on the situation in Ukraine. Satellite broadcasting is operating steadily.

 

Ministry of Culture and Infornmation Policy of Ukraine

Ukrainian journalists were awarded the collective Pulitzer Prize.

The world is captivated by the courage and endurance with which the Ukrainian media cover the war in Ukraine, unleashed by Russia.

Ukrainians are in good company. This year, the Washington Post was awarded a collective award for community service. The Miami Herald team received the award for breaking news. The New York Times team was honored for its national coverage.

https://bit.ly/3sqobMi

It's time for a new U.S.-Korea alliance for a free, unified peninsula

Tue, 05/10/2022 - 11:17am

It's time for a new U.S.-Korea alliance for a free, unified peninsula

By David Maxwell & Chung Kyung-young

https://www.upi.com/Voices/2022/05/10/Korean-US-alliance-north-korea-peace/2101652190076/

upi.com

1/4

A photo released April 17 by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows the test-fire of a new type of tactical guided weapon from an undisclosed location. Photo by KCNA/ EPA-EFE

 

May 10 (UPI) -- A small group of civil society stakeholders from the Republic of Korea (South Korea), North Korea, the United States, Japan and China recently convened in the mountains of Virginia to address the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and examine what it will take to bring peace, prosperity and respect for human rights to all Koreans on both sides.

This followed a major conference held by the Global Peace Foundation, "U.S.-ROK Alliance for A Free and Unified Korea."

 

For more than seven decades, the complexity and uncertainty in Northeast Asia have led to a "strategic planning paralysis" that allowed only thinking about the symptoms and not treatment of the root cause of insecurity and suffering. The overwhelming consensus among the participants was that the primary reason for the current situation is the division of the Korean Peninsula since 1945.

The ROK-U.S. alliance's nearly sole focus has been on security. The alliance has successfully deterred a resumption of hostilities since 1953 and this has allowed the miraculous political, economic, and cultural achievements of the ROK. However, the threat from the Kim family regime has only grown. Today, the North is a rogue and failing nation that has weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them on the peninsula, throughout the region, and possibly even to the U.S. homeland. For more than three decades, the ROK and United States, as well as China, Russia and Japan, have failed to negotiate the denuclearization of the North.

What we have learned is that the Kim family regime continues to execute a dual focused strategy of political warfare and blackmail diplomacy combined with developing advanced warfighting capabilities. These two lines of effort serve two objectives: deterrence against the alliance and domination of the peninsula under northern ruleKim Jong Un demonstrated his hostile policy toward the ROK and United States with 15 missile tests since January, possible preparation for a nuclear test and statements threatening a pre-emptive strike.

Continued at this link: https://www.upi.com/Voices/2022/05/10/Korean-US-alliance-north-korea-peace/2101652190076/

5/10/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary

Tue, 05/10/2022 - 9:25am

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 9 (PUTIN's WAR)
2. Putin’s Victory Day Speech Forgoes an Opportunity to Escalate Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
3. Russia pounds Ukraine's vital port of Odesa, Mariupol plant
4. Marcos Jr. won Philippine presidency, unofficial count shows
5. What the Marcos' return to power means for the Philippines
6. The Biggest Reason Russia’s Military Is Struggling
7. SOF News Update - May 10, 2022 | SOF News
8. Don’t Cling to Hopes That Putin Will Ever Face Justice
9. Russian brags of using horrific torture methods on Ukrainian civilians
10. WET BLANKET ‘Cancer-stricken’ Putin watches military parade with BLANKET over his legs as rumours swirl around tyrant’s health
11.  Qatar is Hamas' patron. Its 'moderate' rebranding is a dangerous delusion | Opinion
12. Opinion | Putin is trapped in a quagmire and doesn’t know how to get out
13. New Mideast task force can counter Iranian arms smuggling, but more capabilities are needed
14. Guam’s THAAD missile defense battery will relocate to new Marine Corps base
15. ‘Nazi’ lies, missing jets and rare dissent: What happened, what didn’t, and why on Putin’s Victory Day
16. Biden Signs Lend-Lease Act to Supply More Security Assistance to Ukraine
17. A More Talkative Place: Why the Human Domain Still Matters in Strategic Competition — #Reviewing Brutality in an Age of Human Rights
18. It’s Time to Secure the Water Sector from Cyber Threats
19. From Tycoons to Pop Singers, Ukrainians of All Walks Come Together on the Front Lines
20. To Really Hurt Russia’s Economy, Target Investment and Human Capital, Not Gas
21. Japan's push to double defense spending ties directly back to Ukraine
22. Exclusive: Putin 'has recognized he has no victory to celebrate,' US ambassador to UN says
23. The Coup in the Kremlin
24. Opinion | Ukraine’s soldiers are inspiring. Their bodies and families are devastated.
25. Analysis | Americans now see both political parties as equally extreme

Korean News Content:

1. Full text of President Yoon's inaugural address
2. South Korea’s new president sworn in, calls on North to denuclearize
3. New South Korea leader offers support if North denuclearizes
4. The tests begin for Yoon Suk-yeol as South Korea’s president
5. Yoon begins term at midnight with military briefing
6. Yoon champions freedom, offers to revive N.K. economy with 'audacious plan'
7. U.S. looks forward to continued cooperation with S. Korea under Yoon: State Dept.
8. Biden's trip to S. Korea, Japan to highlight U.S. focus on Indo-Pacific: Campbell
9. Yoon calls S. Korea-U.S. alliance 'linchpin' of peace, prosperity
10. What To Expect From South Korea Under Yoon Suk-yeol
11. South Korea's Entry into NATO Cyber Defense Centre Is Not Good News For China And North Korea
12. S. Korea-U.S. alliance 'nearly at its best': outgoing defense chief
13. Xi invites Yoon to visit China at convenient time
14. N. Korea's difficult economic situation forces people to risk their lives to make ends meet
15. Washington presses Seoul to give weapons to Ukraine
16. North Korean leader sends 'Victory Day' message to Putin

Ukraine: WAR BULLETIN May 9, 6.00 pm EST - The seventy-fifth day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to Russian military invasion continues.

Tue, 05/10/2022 - 7:49am

Embassy of Ukraine in the USA

 

WAR BULLETIN

May 9, 6.00 pm EST

 

WAR ROOM

 

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 09.05 were approximately:

personnel - близько/ about 25650 (+150),

tanks ‒ 1145 (+15),

APV ‒ 2764 (+23),

artillery systems – 513 (+4),

MLRS - 185 (+6),

Anti-aircraft warfare systems - 87 (+1),

aircraft – 199 (+0),

helicopters – 158 (+2), UAV operational-tactical level - 377 (+17),

cruise missiles - 94 (+2),

boats / cutters - 12 (+0),

vehicles and fuel tanks - 1970 (+9),

special equipment - 41 (+2).

The seventy-fifth day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to Russian military invasion continues.  Russian enemy continues to conduct full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine.

The enemy does not stop conducting offensive operations in the Eastern Operational Zone in order to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and maintain the land corridor between these territories and the occupied Crimea.

The greatest activity of Russian occupiers is observed in Slobozhansky and Donetsk directions.

At the same time, there is a high probability of missile strikes throughout Ukraine.

In the Volyn, Polissya and Siversky directions, no signs of Russian enemy offensive groups were formed. Certain designated units of the Republic of Belarus continue to carry out tasks to strengthen the protection of the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.

The enemy did not conduct active offensive operations in the Slobozhansky direction. It focuses on the regrouping of units, replenishment of ammunition, fuel, maintenance of previously occupied positions and prevention of advancement of units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine towards the state border.

In the Izium direction, Russian enemy's main efforts by units of the 1st Tank Army, the 20th Combined Arms Army of the Western Military District and the 29th, 35th, 36th Combined Arms Armies, the 68th Army Corps of the Eastern Military District and the Airborne Forces focuses on preparing for the continuation of the offensive in the directions of Sulyhivka - Nova Dmytrivka and Sulyhivka - Kurulka.

In order to prevent the advance of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russians concentrated up to nineteen battalion tactical groups on the territory of the Russian federation in the Belgorod region. The transfer of personnel and military equipment to the replenishment of units that have suffered significant losses in Ukraine continues.

In the Donetsk direction, the enemy, with the support of aircraft and artillery, focused its efforts on trying to take control of the settlements of Rubizhne, Popasna, and preparing to continue offensive operations in the settlements of Siversk, Slovyansk, Lysychansk, and Avdiivka. It has increased its firepower and is trying to break through the defences of our troops.

In the Tavriya direction, the enemy is conducting demonstrations to bind Ukrainian troops, improving the logistics system.

Russian enemy did not conduct active hostilities in the South Bug area. It focused on shelling the positions of units of Ukrainian troops using available artillery, including multiple rocket launchers.

In the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia oblast, cases of seizure of personal documents from the local population without good reason were noted, the return of which will take place if the people latter will participate in ceremonial events on the occasion of Victory Day.

On the territory of the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Russian enemy was actively preparing for ceremonial parades.

The situation in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova has not changed. Local armed formations and units of the task force of Russian troops continue to be in combat readiness "Full".

In the previous day, the air defence units of the Air Force and the Land Forces had hit ten air targets of Russian occupiers, including six Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicles, one Forpost UAV and three cruise missiles.

In the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, the defenders of Ukraine have successfully repulsed six enemy attacks, destroyed 20 tanks, one artillery system, 28 units of armoured combat vehicles, one special armoured vehicle and 5 units of enemy vehicles.

There is a high probability of Russian missile strikes on civilian and military infrastructure throughout Ukraine.

The enemy holds the border guards of the Federal Security Service at checkpoints and in the border areas of the Bryansk and Kursk regions. Carries out engineering and fortification equipment of defense positions near the state border of Ukraine. The main efforts continue to be focused on preventing the advance of Ukrainian troops toward the state border of Ukraine.

In the Izyum direction, the replenishment of material and technical means is being replenished, and Russian units are being prepared for further offensive operations in the Izyum-Barvinkove and Izyum-Slovyansk directions. The enemy is conducting air reconnaissance.

The battle for Rubizhne continues in the Severodonetsk direction. The enemy is trying to improve the tactical situation, capture the city and create favorable conditions for further development of offensive operations in the areas of Lyman and Severodonetsk. It made an unsuccessful attempt to attack the settlement of Voevodivka. It was not successful and the enemy resigned.

In the Lyman direction, the enemy is trying to advance in the areas of Oleksandrivka and Shandryholove. In the Bakhmut direction, it fought unsuccessfully in the area of ​​the settlement of Toshkivka. In the Avdiivka direction, it is trying to improve the tactical situation in the areas of the settlements of Novoselivka, Novoselivka Druha, and Verkhnotoretske. The fighting continues.

In the Novopavlovsk and Zaporizhzhia directions, certain units are regrouping troops in order to prepare for further active action. It is expected to increase this enemy group at the expense of units that performed tasks in the area of ​​Mariupol.

In the South Buh and Tavriya directions, russian enemy regrouped the existing units in order to improve the tactical position of its troops. Increases fire and air defense systems and improves engineering equipment positions. In order to prevent the transfer of units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine to other areas, their shackles conduct demonstrative actions.

The situation in the Bessarabian direction in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova remained unchanged.

In the Black and Azov Seas, russian Black Sea Fleet ships continue to carry out tasks to isolate the area of ​​hostilities and reconnaissance.

Almost along the entire line of contact, the enemy continues to use all available artillery and aircraft to fire on the positions of Ukrainian troops, the destruction of civilian and military infrastructure. In the city of Mariupol, despite the declared "silence", Russians resumed shelling and assault on the Azovstal plant.

In the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the enemy continues to carry out measures of the administrative-police regime. The celebration of the so-called "Victory Day" was simulated for the Russian media in some of the occupied settlements.

The losses of the enemy exceed the indicators of manning, which significantly affects the overall moral and psychological state and becomes a prerequisite for the refusal of personnel to continue to participate in hostilities against Ukraine.

 

Ukraiuian Commissiner for Human Rights

In the Kherson region, the occupiers are forcing local entrepreneurs to obtain temporary work permits and threatening to confiscate property.

Rashists are trying to force people to cooperate. Local businesses are being bypassed for pressure.

The first to be repressed are food producers, to whom they come with weapons and demand to continue working.

The Rs also set conditions - it will be possible to work only with a "temporary permit" to work from the "military-civil administrations". In case of refusal, they promise to change the management and staff of enterprises.

Such actions by russian invaders in the temporarily occupied territories are a war crime defined by the Statute of the International Military Tribunal and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and a violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

Violations of property rights and threats to confiscate private property in occupied territories are contrary to Articles 31 and 33 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

They strictly prohibit the occupying State from applying coercion of a physical or moral nature to persons in the temporarily occupied territories, as well as from looting and confiscating property.

https://bit.ly/3FrzARa

 

As of 10 a.m. on May 9, 2022, according to the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations, as well as other sources that need confirmation, 226 children (+1) have been killed and 415 children (+2) injured since the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine.

It is impossible to establish the actual number of dead and wounded children due to the fact that the occupying forces are actively fighting in Ukrainian cities.

Two girls aged 9 and 13 were wounded by enemy troops in the villages of Bilohorivka and Shipilove in the Luhansk region.

Yesterday it also became known about the death of a 13-year-old girl who was in one of the cars of a convoy of private cars, which were fired upon by the occupiers in the Chuhuiv district of Kharkiv region on May 4. Until now, the child was searched by relatives and hoped she was alive.

During the last evacuation from the territory of the Azovstal plant, the occupiers separated the mother from her 4-year-old daughter. The mother remained in a filtration camp in the temporarily occupied territory in the Donetsk region.

The actions of the Russian occupation forces are a direct violation of Ukraine's children's right to life and security, guaranteed by The Hague and Geneva Conventions and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

https://bit.ly/3whttdQ

 

The Russians continue to use the TOT Crimea as a military base to attack and shell mainland Ukraine.

In the village of Filatovka, Krasnoperekopsky district, an accumulation of Russian military equipment was noticed, including anti-aircraft and missile systems.  Its number has increased significantly in recent days.

Near the administrative border between TOT Crimea and Kherson region there is a railway warehouse with fuel and lubricants.  More than 200 armored combat vehicles of various types, from trucks to command.

The use of the peninsula and the waters of the Black and Azov Seas as a military base to carry out devastating attacks on peaceful cities of Ukraine and on the civilian population has become a shameful practice of the occupiers.

As the last example - striking with 4 Onyx missiles from the Bastion complex in the Odessa region. In addition, fearing opposition to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine among the residents of the Crimean Autonomous Republic and the city of Sevastopol, the occupier is urgently creating several new punitive "police" units in Sevastopol.  Such a department has already been opened in the city of Inkerman, next to the Cossack Bay.  Also, in Sevastopol, an additional 500 surveillance cameras are being installed.

https://bit.ly/3wgs1IF

 

Little girl Alice from Azovstal is safe. A four-year-old child was separated from her mother by Russians. According to available information, the woman was sent to a special filtration camp. Alice was temporarily sheltered by an employee of the Zaporizhzhia Military Administration. Alice's relatives were found. In the near future, the child will be transferred to relatives in a safe region of Ukraine.

The occupiers are grossly violating the rights of Ukrainian children guaranteed by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

https://bit.ly/393eOLt

 

POLICY

 

President of Ukraine 

Address by President V. Zelenskyy on the Day of Victory over Nazism in World War II

On August 24, 2021, the whole country celebrated the 30th anniversary of our independence! Our soldiers, our defenders, our equipment were moving along the Khreshchatyk, our "Mriya" was flying in the sky!

"There is nothing more dangerous than an insidious enemy, but there is nothing more poisonous than a feigned friend." These are the words of the great Ukrainian philosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda. On February 24, we realized this truth when a feigned friend started a war against Ukraine.

This is not a war of two armies. This is a war of two worldviews. The war waged by barbarians who shell the Skovoroda Museum and believe that their missiles can destroy our philosophy. It annoys them. It is unfamiliar to them. It scares them. Its essence is that we are free people who have their own path. Today we are waging war on this path and we will not give anyone a single piece of our land.

Today we celebrate the Day of Victory over Nazism. And we will not give anyone a single piece of our history. We are proud of our ancestors who, together with other nations in the anti-Hitler coalition, defeated Nazism. And we will not allow anyone to annex this victory, we will not allow it to be appropriated.

Our enemy dreamed that we would refuse to celebrate May 9 and the victory over Nazism. So that the word "denazification" gets a chance. Millions of Ukrainians fought Nazism and went through a difficult and long journey. The Nazis were expelled from Luhansk, the Nazis were expelled from Donetsk, and Kherson, Melitopol and Berdyansk were liberated from the occupiers.

The Nazis were expelled from Yalta, Simferopol, Kerch and the entire Crimea. Mariupol was liberated from the Nazis. They expelled the Nazis from all over Ukraine, but the cities I named are especially inspiring us today. They give us faith that we will drive the occupiers out of our own land for sure.

On the Day of Victory over Nazism, we are fighting for a new victory. The road to it is difficult, but we have no doubt that we will win. What is our advantage over the enemy? We are smarter by one book. This is a textbook on the history of Ukraine. We would not know grief if all our enemies could read and draw the right conclusions.

On February 24, Russia launched an offensive. Treading on the same rake. Every occupier who comes to our land treads on it. We have been through different wars. But they all had the same final.

Our land was sown with bullets and shells, but no enemy was able to take root here. Enemy chariots and tanks drove through our fields, but it did not bear fruit. Enemy arrows and missiles flew in our skies, but no one will be able to overshadow our blue sky.

There are no shackles that can bind our free spirit. There is no occupier who can take root in our free land. There is no invader who can rule over our free people. Sooner or later we win. Despite the horde, despite Nazism, despite the mixture of the first and the second, which is the current enemy, we win, because this is our land.

Because someone is fighting for the father tsar, the führer, the party and the chief, and we are fighting for the Homeland. We have never fought against anyone. We always fight for ourselves. For our freedom. For our independence. So that the victory of our ancestors was not in vain. They fought for freedom for us and won. We are fighting for freedom for our children, and therefore we will win. We will never forget what our ancestors did in World War II. Where more than eight million Ukrainians died. And every fifth Ukrainian didn’t return home. In total, the war claimed at least 50 million lives. We do not say "we can repeat". Because only a madman can wish to repeat the 2194 days of war. The one who is repeating the horrific crimes of Hitler’s regime today, following Nazi philosophy, copying everything they did. He is doomed. Because he was cursed by millions of ancestors when he began to imitate their killer. And therefore he will lose everything.

And very soon there will be two Victory Days in Ukraine. And someone will not have even one left.

 

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a video conference with President of the European Council Charles Michel who visited Odesa. The meeting was also attended by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

The President congratulated the President of the European Council on the anniversary of the victory in World War II and thanked him for the visit to Ukraine.

"I am very pleased that today, at the highest level, the European Union supports Ukraine, at a time when manifestations of Nazism, unfortunately, exist and are being revived. But they should not be spread, and we are doing everything for this together," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

He stressed the importance of preventing a food crisis in the world, which could be caused by Russia's aggressive actions. After all, Russian warships in the Black Sea are blocking the passage of merchant ships to Ukrainian ports.

For his part, the President of the European Council who visited the Odesa seaport where the blocked ship with Ukrainian grain is located stressed that wheat should be available to all people in the world so that famine does not spread across the planet.

The interlocutors stressed the importance of taking immediate measures for Russia to unblock Ukrainian ports for grain exports.

"The European Union supports Ukraine not in words but in deeds. Today, financial support is also very important for us," the President said, noting that he counts on the assistance of the President of the European Council in the dialogue with African and Asian countries to support Ukraine.

The President of Ukraine also thanked for the sanctions policy of the European Union. He stressed that Ukraine is waiting for the adoption of the next packages of sanctions against the aggressor country.

"I am confident that the EU and the world will not stop at six sanctions packages. But what matters is not the number of these packages, but their effectiveness. I am convinced that the main result is peace on our land and therefore in Europe," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President also thanked Charles Michel for supporting Ukraine on its path to European integration.

For his part, the President of the European Council assured that the European Union will continue to provide maximum financial and defense assistance to Ukraine. The EU has already approved a plan to support our state.

“There must be a "Marshall Plan" for your initiatives. We must mobilize global support so that you can cope with humanitarian challenges and start rebuilding Ukraine's economy," said Charles Michel.

He also said that in June the European Council will consider Ukraine's application for EU candidate status.

Charles Michel noted that the Ukrainian people today are fighting not only for their homeland, but also for the common European values of democracy and freedom. And the European Union supports Ukraine and is impressed by the resilience and courage of our people.

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/glava-derzhavi-obgovoriv-z-prezidentom-yevropejskoyi-radi-pi-74929

 

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a video conference with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

During the conversation, the President announced the transfer of the second part of the completed questionnaire to obtain the status of a candidate for membership in the European Union.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the second part of the questionnaire was passed to Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Matti Maasikas.

He stressed that obtaining Ukraine's EU membership candidate status is of great importance for the Ukrainian people and our Armed Forces, which are defending their homeland.

For her part, Ursula von der Leyen noted that the European Commission will work hard to review the completed questionnaire submitted by Ukraine to make a decision in June this year.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also stressed the importance of adopting the sixth package of EU sanctions against Russia, and thanked those European countries that support the introduction of an embargo on oil and gas from the aggressor country.

The President of the European Commission noted that the EU is working on imposing an embargo on imports of Russian oil products.

Ursula von der Leyen stressed that today Ukraine is fighting for common European values and democracy, so the EU will continue to provide its support, including financial support. She announced the work on the creation of the Trust Fund for the reconstruction of our country.

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/otrimannya-ukrayinoyu-statusu-kandidata-na-chlenstvo-v-yes-m-74933

 

 

The First Ladies of Ukraine and the United States met in Uzhhorod

First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska and First Lady of the United States Jill Biden met in Uzhhorod. The visit of the wife of the President of the United States took place as part of her tour of Eastern Europe. Jill Biden has already visited Slovakia and Romania. For security reasons, her arrival in Uzhhorod was kept a secret.

The First Ladies visited a school in Uzhhorod, which housed internally displaced persons from the regions of Ukraine where hostilities took place, in particular from the Chernihiv region.

Olena Zelenska also invited Jill Biden to facilitate the work of the national program of psychological assistance to the population, which is being implemented under the patronage of the wife of the President of Ukraine.

"Everyone in Ukraine has suffered a psychological trauma. Some people, unfortunately, have become victims of sexual violence, there are people who have seen the murder of their loved ones. Another category is people who have lost their homes and everything they had. And the main category is the servicemen who protect us and who need psychological help," she said.

According to Olena Zelenska, an interdepartmental working group is currently working to create a long-term platform for psychological assistance, in particular to train psychologists who could work with PTSD - post-traumatic stress disorder.

"We want to adapt and translate from English those programs and practices that already exist in the United States. The United States has a powerful program to combat PTSD. We will be very glad to see its details, we will also be grateful for the financial assistance to this program, because the economy of Ukraine has suffered great losses," she said.

For her part, Jill Biden said she had visited Ukrainian refugees - children and women - in Romania and Slovakia.

The First Lady of Ukraine also visited the Zakarpattia Regional Clinical Hospital where 32 wounded Ukrainian servicemen are being treated.

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/pershi-ledi-ukrayini-ta-ssha-zustrilisya-v-uzhgorodi-74921

 

Prime Minister of Ukraine

The Prime Minister of Ukraine called on Norway and allies to join forces to unblock Ukrainian seaports.

The support of Ukraine in counteracting Russian aggression and the future restoration of the state were the issues for discussion by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and the President of the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) Masud Gharahkhani in Kyiv.

Denys Shmyhal thanked Masud Gharahkhani for his personal role in strengthening support for Ukraine and for this visit at a crucial time for the whole of Europe.

The parties discussed the Ukraine Recovery Plan and Fund. Denys Shmyhal stressed that after the war Ukraine need the help of partners, funds and technology to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure and change our country in line with European standards. He stressed that Ukraine calls on all our allies to choose one or another region or city for reconstruction.

Norwegian Storting President Masud Gharahkhani noted that Ukraine was fighting for freedom and democracy, while Norway would help Ukrainians in any possible way. He stressed that Ukraine would win the war – it is vital for the future of Europe.

https://tinyurl.com/5n7t9an7

 

Prime Minister met with President of the Bundestag: We expect assistance from Germany and German companies in rebuilding Ukraine.

Four areas of cooperation are seen as of strategic importance for Ukraine: weaponry, sanctions, finance and the European perspective. Denys Shmyhal welcomed the decision of the Bundestag to provide Ukraine with heavy weapons. According to him, this type of weapons can help our country protect both Ukrainian and European borders.

President of the Bundestag Bärbel Bas noted that her visit to Kyiv was a sign of Germany's solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in this struggle. The top official assured that Germany stands firmly on Ukraine's side and strongly supports Ukraine's accession to the EU.

Moreover, the President of the Bundestag said that Germany accelerated the process of abandoning Russian oil and gas and wanted to tighten sanctions to demonstrate russia its readiness to resort to such moves to support Ukraine.

https://tinyurl.com/yc6uepkn