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Embassy of Ukraine in the USA

 

WAR BULLETIN

April 6, 6.30 p.m. EST

 

President Zelenskyy: “If there is no really painful package of sanctions against Russia and if there is no supply of weapons we really need and have applied for many times, it will be considered by Russia as a permission. A permission to go further. A permission to attack. A permission to start a new bloody wave in Donbas”.

Minister D. Kuleba: There are 10 powerful blows to Russia's economy, financial system and trade inflicted by our partners just in these three days.

The main focus of enemy's efforts is to conduct offensive operations in order to break through the defenses of the Joint Forces in the Donetsk direction and take full control of the city of Mariupol.

 

 

WAR ROOM

 

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Russian enemy continues to prepare for an offensive operation in eastern Ukraine in order to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The Russian occupiers are regrouping troops and conducting reconnaissance, trying to improve the tactical position of separate units in the South Buh area and gain a foothold on the administrative borders of the Kherson region.

The main focus of enemy's efforts is to conduct offensive operations in order to break through the defenses of the Joint Forces in the Donetsk direction. It is also trying to take full control of the city of Mariupol.

The regrouping of Russian troops and the restoration of combat capability of the Central Military District units deployed to the Bryansk and Kursk oblasts are nearing completion.

Training and relocation of units of the occupying forces of the armed forces of the Russian federation to the territory of Ukraine are underway. The enemy planned to move units of the 38th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 35th All-Military Army of the Eastern Military District from the territory of the republic of Belarus to the Belgorod Region. The movement of some units of the Central Military District to this region is also recorded.

In the Volyn and Polissya directions, no significant changes were found in the position and condition of the enemy troops. Units of the Eastern Military District withdrawn to the territory of the Gomel region are completing the regrouping.

The movement of Russian enemy units to railway stations for loading and subsequent redeployment is noted.

The enemy continues to block Kharkiv in the Slobozhansky direction. Mostly at night, the Russian occupiers shell the city using multiple rocket launchers, artillery, and mortars. In the area of ​​the city of Izyum, the enemy did not take active action. By forces of separate divisions of the 20th all-military and 1st tank armies of the Western military district, it carries out regrouping.

To increase the efficiency of the transfer of military cargo, the enemy began to use the railway. The arrival of railway echelons with weapons and military equipment from the Valuyki station (Russian federation) to the Kupyansk railway station (Ukraine) has been recorded.

In the Donetsk and Luhansk directions, the enemy's main efforts are focused on hostilities in the areas of the settlements of Popasna and Rubizhne and the establishment of control over the city of Mariupol.

The enemy carried out artillery shelling in the areas of Kreminna, Pisky, Ocheretino, Rozivka, Novobahmutivka, Novosilka Druha, Marinka and Krasnohorivka.

In the areas of Popasna, Stepny, Novotoshkivske, Rubizhne, Severodonetsk, and Solodky, the enemy carried out assault operations but was unsuccessful.

The storming of the city of Mariupol continues, while the enemy is actively using aircraft.

In the South Bug direction, the enemy continues to shell the settlements of Shcherbaki, Komyshuvakha, Novodanylivka, Mala Tokmachka, Huliaipilske, Lukyanivske, Preobrazhenka, and Huliai Pole.

As a result of the offensive actions of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the enemy lost control over the settlement of Osokorivka.

The Defence Forces of Ukraine continue to hold certain borders, destroy the enemy and liberate Ukrainian lands from the invader.

 

Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine

Iryna Vereshchuk: The Red Cross has its own experience of what Russia's promises are.

She announced that the military of the so-called DPR finally released the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, who tried to get to Mariupol the day before.  The Red Cross representatives tried to reach agreement with the Russian side on the opening of a humanitarian corridor from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol and were captured by the so-called DPR representatives.

I look forward to the public statement of the International Committee of the Red Cross leader Peter Maurer about the worth of Russia's promises and assurances that the humanitarian corridors will work, she stressed.

https://bit.ly/3LIR9hx

 

Iryna Vereshchuk: We will seek the release of all Ukrainian hostages

Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Iryna Vereshchuk, said she called on the representatives of international legal organizations to join the process of release of Ukrainian hostages.

Currently, there are about 600 Russian prisoners in Ukraine and we are constantly negotiating their exchange for our defenders. We compile lists and involve the International Committee of the Red Cross in the process. But there is another problem. The Russians are holding hostages not only the military but also many civilian Ukrainians: mayors, journalists, volunteers, clergy, and ordinary workers who have never taken up arms. Russia requires the exchange of prisoners of war for soldiers, civilians – only for civilians.

"Russia has ratified the rules of international humanitarian law but now does not stick to them. The Geneva Convention prohibits the exchange of military for civilians. Therefore, I appeal to the international community and human rights organizations to demand the release of Ukrainian civilians from the occupiers! - summed up the Deputy Prime Minister.

https://bit.ly/3jfDpyB

 

Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine

Prosecutors jointly with Security Service of Ukraine and other experts document war crimes in Bucha and Borodyanka, Kyiv region. During the armed aggression, the enemy launched numerous attacks on the peaceful town of Borodyanka - aerial bombardments, shelling from multiple rocket artillery systems and prohibited cluster munitions. The settlement was under constant attack by the Russian forces.

Kyiv region prosecutors, Security Service of Ukraine investigators and experts recorded numerous unexploded shells and numerous craters created as a result of artillery shelling during investigations in these areas. The destruction of civilian infrastructure in the settlements was also extensive: bombed private and multi-storey residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, medical facilities, churches, shops, garages and warehouses, damaged public and private vehicles. There are no military facilities in the vicinity of the locations where the shells of the Russian invaders hit. In addition, other critical evidence of armed aggression by the Russian Federation has been identified and documented.

https://www.facebook.com/pgo.gov.ua/posts/344832904346216

 

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights

Russian forces are escalating the genocide of the Ukrainian people in Mariupol.

Residents report that no one is allowed in / out of the city.

Another filtration camp has appeared in Mangush and now all those leaving for Berdyansk have to go through filtration.  Hard and long.

The occupiers are carrying out a "sweep" - trying to identify all the "Nazis", which include all those who disagree with their regime and occupation.

Deportation of Ukrainians to the Russian Federation is carried out on a regular basis, according to witnesses, the last operating hospital in the city of Mariupol № 4 with all staff and patients was admitted to the filtration camp.

There are testimonies of the city's citizens about the delivery of special equipment to Mariupol - mobile crematoria and equipment for dismantling debris.

Pro-occupation residents and terrorists of the illegal pseudo republic DNR are collecting the bodies of those killed and tortured inhabitants in the city for further destruction in mobile crematoria or simply at campfires.

The website of the occupying power revealed the order of the so-called "head of the DNR" Denis Pushylin to the so-called "prosecutor general's office" to provide proposals for regulatory legal regulation of the “denazification of Ukraine”.

This order is aimed at creating additional grounds for prosecuting our citizens in the temporarily occupied territories for the pro-Ukrainian position and "legalizing" the filtration camps in Dokuchaevsk and Mangush.

Such actions of the Russian Federation and its puppet pseudo-state formation "DNR" fall under the definition of the crime of "genocide" in accordance with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and Article 6 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

https://bit.ly/3r7h0rx

 

 

POLICY

 

President of Ukraine

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with members of the Cabinet of Ministers and representatives of the Office of the Head of State on the implementation of the state budget for the current year and the introduction of an embargo on trade with Russia.

According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, in the first quarter the state budget was implemented by 110%. This was facilitated due to the results of the first two months of this year and advance tax revenues.

In the second quarter, according to the Prime Minister, a significant shortfall in Ukraine's state budget is expected as a result of Russia's military invasion.

The participants of the meeting discussed possible sources of filling the state treasury. In particular, donor assistance, special drawing rights from the IMF, etc.

In case of unfavorable developments, the possibility of temporary reduction of certain social expenditures starting from May is being considered. According to the participants of the meeting, in order to prevent the implementation of such a scenario, it is necessary to start the functioning of the domestic economy as soon as possible - both heavy industry and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The President instructed the government to formalize the cessation of Ukraine's trade with Russia. In fact, import and export operations with the aggressor state were completely terminated with the start of the war.

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/prezident-ukrayini-proviv-naradu-z-chlenami-uryadu-shodo-pit-74141

 

Address by President Zelenskyy

It seems that the attitude to the modern Russian state is finally changing in the world. After what the world saw in Bucha when Russian troops retreated.

Now the attitude to everyone in Russia will be simple: you support either the search for peace or unjustified massacre.

 

Killed Ukrainian men and women in Bucha, in Irpin, in other cities that Russian troops entered is the last argument. The last argument for every citizen of Russia to decide whether you are for war or for peace. If for war, then you will forever - until the end of your life - be outcasts and in the end you will lose everything. And if for peace, if you feel even a little bit of shame for what the Russian troops are doing in Ukraine, then now is a key moment for such citizens of Russia: you have to demand - exactly demand - an end to the war. It is better now, demanding peace, to lose something, to somehow face the Russian repressive machine than to be equated with the Nazis for the rest of your life. This applies not only to any public person in the Russian Federation, not only to businessmen, but also to ordinary citizens.

Nazism has no future. Mass killings have no future. Everyone in Russia who will not demand an end to this shameful war and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine has no future.

It seems that the Russian leadership is really afraid that the anger of the world because of what they saw in Bucha would be repeated because of what they will see in other cities, from where we will definitely drive out the occupiers. We have information that the Russian troops have changed their tactics and are trying to remove the killed people from the streets and basements of the occupied territory. Killed Ukrainians. This is just an attempt to hide the evidence and nothing more.

But they will not succeed, because they killed a lot. Responsibility cannot be avoided.

We already know about thousands of missing people. We already know about thousands of people who could be either deported to Russia or killed. There are no other options for their fate.

The situation now is that thanks to an objective investigation, thanks to witnesses, thanks to satellite surveillance of events on earth, thanks to other tools that help establish the truth we will find out all the circumstances regarding the majority of our missing citizens. Regarding most of Russia's war crimes in Ukraine.

If the world has started a debate about whether it is permissible to call what the Russian military did on the territory of Ukraine genocide, the search for truth can no longer be stopped. You can't roll it back in any way. One can only quickly abandon further aggression against Ukraine and thus try to somehow reduce the damage to Russian statehood and to those who personally adopt key decisions in Russia.

If not, if nothing changes, then it is suicide. Suicide for anyone who chooses to continue the war.

Today, Western countries announced a new package of sanctions against the Russian Federation. New investments in Russia are blocked, restrictions are applied against several systemic banks in Russia, personal sanctions are added, as well as other restrictions. This package has a spectacular look. But this is not enough.

Still it can hardly be called commensurate with the evil that the world saw in Bucha. With the evil that continues in Mariupol, in the shelling of Kharkiv, in Russia's attempt to launch a new global bloody offensive in Donbas...

We will continue to insist on a complete blockade of the Russian banking system from international finance. We will also continue to insist on one or another format of the democratic world's refusal to buy Russian oil. It is the export of oil that is one of the foundations of Russia's aggression. One of the foundations that allows the Russian leadership not to take seriously the negotiations on ending the war and on the liberation of Ukrainian territory.

Some politicians are still unable to decide how to limit the flow of dollars and euros to Russia from the oil trade, so as not to jeopardize their own economies. But that's why people go into politics. To solve such problems, difficult tasks. To solve them quickly and in a principled fashion. If you are not capable, then you shouldn’t have started political activity.

The embargo on Russian oil supplies will be applied anyway. The format will be found. The only question is how many more Ukrainian men and women the Russian military will have time to kill, so that you, some politicians - and we know you, can borrow a little determination somewhere.

It is good that the United States Department of the Treasury has suspended Russia's ability to use US bank accounts and related assets to pay its debt. It's tangible. And I'm grateful for that. But much more needs to be done to stop the war.

If there is no really painful package of sanctions against Russia and if there is no supply of weapons we really need and have applied for many times, it will be considered by Russia as a permission. A permission to go further. A permission to attack. A permission to start a new bloody wave in Donbas.

It is still possible to prevent this. It is still possible to impose such sanctions, which Ukraine insists on, our people insist on. It is still possible to give us weapons that will really stop this aggression. The West can do it.

Just as it could have applied preventive sanctions last year to prevent this invasion. If the mistake is made again, if there is no preventive action again, it will be a historic mistake for the whole Western world.

I addressed the parliament and the people of Ireland today. This country was one of the first to come to our aid after February 24. And it is one of those who shows principled leadership in the European house to put effective and decisive pressure on Russia.

As a result of my address, we have good news: Ireland fully supports Ukraine's accelerated accession to the European Union. And it will do everything to increase the pressure on Russia as much as necessary to end this war.

Tomorrow I will address the parliaments and nations of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus.

In the afternoon I held a meeting with members of the Cabinet of Ministers in Kyiv. The key issues are the implementation of the state budget and economic activity in our country. We must do everything possible to restore the work of domestic enterprises, trade activities, and revive small and medium-sized enterprises throughout our territory where it is safe and possible to work.

The economy is also a frontline on which we fight for our freedom, for our state, for our people. Therefore, we need to constantly look for ways to adapt to the circumstances. Now we need to be as creative and bold as possible in solving economic issues. It depends not only on government officials and the central government in general. In general, it also depends on all leaders at the local level, on the political and business communities.

We must all find the necessary ideas, the necessary solutions to stabilize the country's economy together. If we need to relocate businesses from certain areas, we have to do it. If we need to update legislation and give businesses more room for development, MPs must do so quickly. If we need to create special conditions for the return of people, and the security situation in a particular area allows, every leader at any level must make every effort and do everything possible to return people to such safe areas.

Today, the 42nd day of the Russian invasion has come to an end. This is not too much for military history. But for the life of a particular person - it is tangible. Right now, many of our people who left their cities, their communities after the invasion of Russia may wonder: what next? And where next? In particular, Ukrainians abroad. In particular, Kyivans and residents of other cities in the north and center of our state who moved to the western regions.

And I call on all community leaders in areas where there is no threat of direct confrontation with the enemy on the ground to do everything possible for people to return, for people to work, for economic processes to restart. To restore normal life as much as security allows.

This applies to the entire horizontal of local government - mayors, deputies of city and regional councils. Look for solutions for every district, for every region! Together with the government, together with us, with the Office of the President, together with the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada. A working economy is just as important as our brave, strong army.

The Russian occupiers continue to accumulate fighting force to realize their ill ambitions in Donbas. They are preparing to resume an active offensive.

We are preparing for a further reduction of Russia's military potential. Manpower and equipment. We will fight and we will not retreat. We will look for all possible options to defend ourselves until Russia begins to seriously seek peace.

 

This is our land. This is our future. And we will not give them up.

I never tire of thanking each of our defenders everyday - all our Armed Forces, intelligence, special services, the National Police, everyone who allows us to hope and believe in victory. Allows us to count on peace.

Sincere gratitude! Sincere respect!

And before delivering this evening's address, I traditionally signed decrees on awarding our heroes. 168 servicemen of the Armed Forces. And 3 servicemen from the Main Directorate of Intelligence.

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/yaksho-ne-bude-spravdi-bolisnogo-paketu-sankcij-proti-rosiyi-74149

 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

D.Kuleba: This was the most difficult wave of sanctions in terms of diplomatic work. President Zelensky held many talks and speeches, bringing to the attention of partners the importance of new sanctions that really punish. At my level, I also openly told my partners: we are grateful for all the steps taken, but the war continues, so new sanctions are needed.

There are 10 powerful blows to Russia's economy, financial system, trade and remnants of Russian influence abroad inflicted by our partners just these three days:

- The United States, Britain, the EU and the G7 have completely banned all new investments in Russia

- The United States, the EU and the G7 have imposed new sanctions against Russia's largest banks: Alfa-Bank and Sberbank. In general, the United States has already blocked the Russian banking sector

- Putin's daughters, Lavrov's daughter and wife, Mishustin (Russian Prime Minister, whose name you do not have to know), loser Dmitry Medvedev, who recently wrote an article about how Russia plans to use force to change consciousness of Ukrainians, a number of members of the Russian Security Council

- Great Britain freezes assets of Moscow Credit Bank, imposes sanctions on oligarchs Rothenberg and Michelson

-18 countries (EU, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Greece, Portugal, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Macedonia, Luxembourg, Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark) together expelled 318 (!) Russian "diplomats" »

- The Netherlands has arrested 14 yachts belonging to Russian citizens

- Denmark froze the assets of Russian citizens in the amount of 11.8 million dollars

- The US Treasury has suspended the ability of Russia to service the debt from the blocked accounts in American banks. Today, for the first time, Russia failed to make a payment in foreign currency and reached the finish line to default

- The United States is going to apply a full blockade to a number of the largest state-owned enterprises in Russia

- The EU's fifth sanctions package has been made much stronger than planned: a ban on Russian coal imports worth 4 billion euros a year; complete ban on transactions for 4 Russian banks, including VTB (23% of the banking sector); banning Russian ships from accessing EU ports; a ban on Russian and Belarusian road carriers, which will severely limit the ability of Russian industry to obtain key goods; targeted bans on exports of goods worth 10 billion euros in sensitive areas (quantum computers and advanced semiconductors, some items of machinery and transport equipment)

I am grateful to all partners for these decisions. But we are looking for a complete oil, gas and coal embargo as well as  for the closure of world ports for all Russian ships and goods and for the disconnection of all Russian banks from the swift.

https://www.facebook.com/UkraineMFA

 

Ministry of Culture and Information Policy

The world must recognize the genocide of the Ukrainian nation committed by Russian troops, - said the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations

The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations called on all countries to recognize the genocide of Ukrainians during the full-scale Russian invasion and condemn the "Russian world" ideology as justifying the genocide of people and the destruction of entire states.

https://bit.ly/3DQmRGL

 

 

 

 

ECONOMY

 

Ministry of economy of Ukraine

The government has expanded the access of agricultural enterprises to concessional lending

For the timely start of the sowing campaign and its successful implementation, the Government has activated additional mechanisms for lending to farmers. In particular, it is about expanding the program "5-7-9%", under which any Ukrainian company can get a loan of up to 60 million UAH at 0% stake.

Since the beginning of the war, 826 businesses have received loans from state-owned banks totaling UAH 1.1 billion. Of all loans issued under the 5-7-9% program, 42% fell on the agricultural sector. Twelve thousand farms used them. The proceeds go to the purchase of fertilizers, fuel, and means of protection for plants.

In general, starting from February 24th, state-owned banks have increased their loan portfolios by a total of UAH 12.5 billion, which is equivalent to a 15% increase in 2021.

https://bit.ly/3r79xbS

 

The National Bank of Ukraine

NBU Leadership Meets with U.S. Federal Reserve System

On 5 April, NBU Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko and his deputies Sergiy Nikolaychuk and Yuriy Heletiy had an online meeting with Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Oksana Markarova, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA, has also joined the meeting.

At the start of the meeting, Kyrylo Shevchenko thanked the Federal Reserve System chairman for the U.S. support of Ukraine. The parties discussed 40 days of Russia’s war against Ukraine and its effects on global economy and financial markets.

They also focused on the issues of stabilization of macroeconomic and financial situation in Ukraine. The NBU and Fed stressed the importance of regular and frequent communications during the times of economic and financial uncertainty.

https://bit.ly/3DQ2gSX

 

Ministry of energy of Ukraine

The power system of Ukraine operation as of April 6th, 2022

Over the past 24 hours, the gas supply has been restored to 33,626 consumers.

Power supply to more than 18.2 thousand consumers was restored.

Ukrainian energy power engineering specialists are making every effort to quickly restore the energy supply to Ukrainian citizens. However, emergency recovery work is difficult or impossible in some areas due to the intensification of hostilities and the emergence of new damage.

As of April 6th, more than 1,260 settlements in Ukraine remain without electricity, with more than 758.4 thousand consumers. More than 304 thousand subscribers remain without a gas supply.

Electricity:

Ukraine's energy system is balanced and works steadily. Frequency in the network at the standard level of 50 Hz.

Atomic generation:

Ukraine's existing nuclear power plants generate electricity steadily. Their total current capacity provides the necessary amounts of electricity for the country's needs.

Radiation, fire prevention, and environmental conditions at the industrial sites of nuclear power plants and adjacent territories have not changed and are within current standards.

Gas transmission system:

The company maintains operational and technological control over the Ukrainian GTS and fulfills its obligations to transport gas to consumers.

As of April 6th, 48 gas distribution stations in seven regions of Ukraine were shut down, primarily due to the destruction of regional and city gas networks.

Hydroenergy:

All Hydroelectric and Pumped-storage hydroelectricity powerplants that are part of Ukrhydroenergo operate according to the dispatcher’s schedule and fulfill their obligations to regulate the frequency and capacity of the country's energy system. The stations are ready to skip the spring floods.

https://bit.ly/3Ji9cJL

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Embassy of Ukraine in the USA

 

WAR BULLETIN

April 5, 5.30 pm EST

 

WAR ROOM

 

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The forty-first day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to a Russian military invasion continues.

Measures to regroup the troops of the Russian Federation continue. The enemy did not abandon the purpose of the operation to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russian enemy is trying to improve position of its units in the Tavriya and Pivdennobuzhsky operational districts.

Russian fascists, ignoring the rules of international humanitarian law, continue to use aircraft and artillery to strike at civilian infrastructure and industry. Thus, as a result of the shelling of the city of Rubizhne, Luhansk region, the occupiers damaged a tank with nitric acid.

In the western military district of the Russian Federation, in order to recruit units that have suffered losses on the territory of Ukraine, covert mobilization measures are being carried out. In addition, the command of the armed forces of the Russian federation is trying to make up for the loss of personnel by involving representatives of military schools. The Chita Suvorov Military School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia conducted a written survey of teaching staff on their readiness to take part in a "special operation" outside the Russian Federation. Many teachers have given up on possible involvement in the "performance of tasks" and are ready to be discharged from military service.

The export of military equipment of the armed forces of the Russian Federation from the territory of the republic of Belarus by railways and military aero planes continues in the Siversky direction. At the same time, the movement of certain units of the armed forces of the republic of Belarus in the direction of the state border of Ukraine was detected. The rotation of units involved in strengthening the protection of the state border of Belarus is not ruled out.

In the Slobozhansky direction the blockade by the Russian enemy of the separate area of the Kharkiv region proceeds. In the settlements of Velykyi Burluk, Prykolotne and Fedorivka, the Russian occupiers are searching for pro-Ukrainian residents and illegally detaining them.

In the city of Izyum, the Russian occupiers are fabricating evidence on the war crimes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. To this end, they are shelling the settlement and creating a kind of "documentation".

In the Donetsk direction, the enemy, with the support of aircraft and artillery, continues to storm the city of Mariupol.

In the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporizhzhia region, in the city of Berdyansk, local residents are being detained.

In Tokmak, medical staff at local health facilities are being forced to sign so-called "contracts" with the Russian Ministry of Health.

https://bit.ly/3uWv8VN

 

Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine

Since the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, law enforcement officers have registered 415 criminal proceedings under Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - high treason and 222 under Art. 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - collaborative activities. Currently, 94 people are reasonably suspected of high treason and defecting to the enemy, another 27 - in collaboration.

Among the suspects are Illia Kyva, a former People's Deputy and "talking head" of Russian TV propaganda broadcasts, the Deputy of Melitopol, who declared herself "mayor", Deputy of Poltava regional council, Deputy of Energodar city council, who helped organize the work on Zaporizhzhia NPP in the interests of Russia.

Deputy Head of the Berdyansk Regional State Administration, Mayor of Kupyansk, Head of the Southern Territorial Community, who appealed to the local council to block the issuance of firearms by the military formation of Ukraine. The day before, the judge and the chief of the Starobilsky District Court of Luhansk oblast staff were also notified of the suspicion.

We do not turn a blind eye to such shameful facts in the prosecutor's office. The day before, on the point of high treason, the head of one of the district prosecutor's offices of Mykolaiv oblast was detained. Found out "werewolf" among the staff of the Head of the Mykolaiv Regional prosecutor’s offices. Exposed the Special Prosecutor in the Military and Defense Spheres of the Southern Region and Security Service of Ukraine investigators.

We have recorded that this, shamefully speaking, Prosecutor performed the criminal tasks of the representatives of the aggressor state. The supporter of the "Russian world" systematically "leaked" with the enemy information on the quantity and places of detention of prisoners of war of the Armed forces of the Russian Federation, resulting of attacks on the Mykolaiv oblast. He also shared with the "customer" data on the dead servicemen and civilians and other information that was interesting for the occupiers.

In exchange for this information, he hoped to continue working in the prosecutor's office in the event of an enemy capture of the region but forgot that such actions include life imprisonment. His activities were stopped in time, and more serious consequences were avoided.

The alleged activities in favor of the enemy and cooperation with the aggressor are currently being investigated among law enforcement officers, employees of correctional colonies, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, executive service bodies, the forest industry, customs officers, assistants to People's deputies of Ukraine, and other citizens of Ukraine.

We will show traitors true colors. We know all of you! Those who repaint and change their shoes on the fly will face the maximum penalty. "Russian world" will not save you.

https://bit.ly/3DFdkSY

 

During the occupation of the city of Bucha, servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, in violation of international humanitarian law, killed civilians and set their bodies on fire in order to cover up the crime.

https://bit.ly/3DL0QsM

 

In the village Velyka Dymerka, Brovary district, 11 civilians were killed as a result of the use of firearms and artillery by Russian servicemen. In the village of Bogdanovka, a local resident died from shrapnel wounds during the shelling of the settlement by the occupiers.

https://bit.ly/37j9538

 

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights

Shocking new evidence of Russia's violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War continues.

Among the 86 soldiers released from Russian captivity were women who had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment in captivity.

The women were taken to Belarus and then to a pre-trial detention center in Bryansk, Russia, where the women were tortured and threatened.

https://bit.ly/38wYiDl

 

POLICY

 

President of Ukraine

Speech of President V.Zelenskyy at the UN Security Council

I am sure that all the representatives of the UN member states will hear me today. Yesterday I returned from our city of Bucha, recently liberated from the troops of the Russian Federation.

It is difficult to find a war crime that the occupiers have not committed there. The Russian military searched for and purposefully killed anyone who served our state. They executed women outside the houses when approaching and simply calling someone alive. They killed whole families - adults and children, they tried to burn their bodies.

How is this different from what the ISIS terrorists were doing in the occupied territory?

Except that it is done by a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. They promote hatred at the state level and seeks to export it to other countries through its system of propaganda and political corruption. They provoke a global food crisis that could lead to famine in Africa and Asia, and will certainly end in large-scale political chaos in countries where food price stability is a key factor of domestic security.

So where is the security that the Security Council must guarantee? There is no security. Although there is a Security Council, as if nothing happened.

So where is the peace that the United Nations was created to guarantee? It is obvious that the key institution of the world, which must ensure the coercion of any aggressors to peace, simply cannot work effectively.

I would like to remind you of the first article of the first chapter of the UN Charter. What is the purpose of our organization? To maintain peace. And to force to peace. Now the UN Charter is being violated literally from the first article. And if so, what is the point of all other articles?

Today, it is as a result of Russia's actions on the territory of my state, on the territory of Ukraine, that the most heinous war crimes of all time since the end of World War II are being committed. Russian troops are deliberately destroying Ukrainian cities to ashes with artillery and air strikes. They are deliberately blocking cities, creating mass starvation in them. They are deliberately shooting at columns of civilians on the roads who are trying to escape from the territory of hostilities. They are even deliberately blowing up shelters where civilians are hiding from air strikes. They are deliberately creating conditions in the temporarily occupied territories so that as many civilians as possible are killed there.

The massacre in our city of Bucha is just one, unfortunately, of many examples of what the occupiers have been doing on our land for 41 days. And there are many other such places that the world has yet to find out the full truth of: Mariupol, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Okhtyrka, Borodyanka and dozens of other Ukrainian communities, each of which is like Bucha.

I know, and you know very well, what the representatives of Russia will say in response to the accusations of these crimes. They have said this many times. The most illustrative was after the downing of a Malaysian Boeing over Donbas by Russian forces with Russian weapons. Or during the war in Syria.

They will blame everyone, just to justify themselves. They will say that there are different versions, and which of them is true is allegedly impossible to establish yet. They will even say that the bodies of those killed were allegedly “planted”, and all the videos are staged.

But. Now is the year 2022. There is conclusive evidence. There are satellite images. It is possible to conduct a full, transparent investigation. That is what we are interested in. Maximum access of journalists. Maximum cooperation with international institutions. Involvement of the International Criminal Court. Full truth, full responsibility.

The power of the UN Charter must be restored immediately. The UN system must be reformed immediately so that the right of veto is not the right of death. So that there is a fair representation of all regions of the world in the Security Council.

The aggressor must be forced to peace immediately. Determination is needed. The chain of mass killings from Syria to Somalia, from Afghanistan to Yemen and Libya should have been stopped a long time ago to be honest.

Immediately bring the Russian military and those who gave them orders to justice for war crimes in Ukraine. Everyone who gave criminal orders and fulfilled them by killing people will face a tribunal similar to the Nuremberg trials.

I want to remind Russian diplomats that a man like von Ribbentrop has not avoided punishment after World War II. And I also want to remind the architects of Russia's criminal policy that punishment has reached Adolf Eichmann as well. None of the culprits will escape!

But the main thing is that today is the time to transform the system, the core of which is the United Nations. To do this, we propose to convene a global conference. And we ask to do it already in peaceful Kyiv - in order to decide.

Therefore, we must do everything in our power to pass on to the next generations an effective UN with the ability to respond preventively to security challenges and thus guarantee peace. Ukraine is ready to provide a platform for one of the main offices of the updated security system.

Just as the Geneva office specializes in human rights, just as the Nairobi office specializes in the field of environmental protection, the Kyiv U-24 Office can specialize in preventive measures to maintain peace.

I want to remind you of our peaceful mission in Afghanistan. When, at our own expense, we Ukrainians evacuated more than a thousand people from this country. And it was the hottest phase. But people needed help - and Ukraine came. Just like other states.

We evacuated people of different nationalities, different faiths. Afghans, citizens of European countries, USA, Canada. We did not distinguish who needs help, whether these are our people or not. We saved everyone.

Therefore, Ukraine has the necessary moral right to propose a reform of the world security system. We have proven that we help others not only in good times, but also in dark times.

And now we need decisions from the Security Council. For peace in Ukraine. If you do not know how to adopt this decision, you can do two things.

Remove Russia as an aggressor and a source of war from blocking decisions about its own aggression, its own war. And then do everything that can establish peace.

Ukraine needs peace. We need peace. Europe needs peace. The world needs peace.

https://bit.ly/3LDUwWS

 

Speech by the President of Ukraine in the Cortes Generales of Spain 

I am addressing you with the hope that you will understand most of all our pain from the war and our hope for peace. Because for us in Ukraine now absolutely everything that is the basis of public life for you is under threat. We are one of the largest countries in Europe. And one of the most variegated. But united by democracy and respect for every person, for every community.

Russia came to our land with the war not yesterday and not the day before yesterday. It's been a long time. We have been protecting our country from brutal, unprovoked aggression since 2014. First - the occupation of our Crimea. Then - the war in the Ukrainian Donbas. Now - already 41 days of full-scale invasion. The worst war in Europe since World War II.

I know that for your country, for Spain, it is important for a democratic system to be protected. For peace on the European continent to be guaranteed.

Imagine that people now - in Europe - live for weeks in basements to save lives. From shelling, from air bombs. Daily! 2022, April - and the reality in Ukraine is as if it’s April 1937. When the whole world learned the name of one of your cities - Guernica. Imagine that in ordinary cities, conditions can be artificially created where more than a hundred thousand people live for weeks without water, without food, without medicine.

What is even worse is that we still do not know how much longer the war will last until the world finally does everything necessary for peace.

Really powerful sanctions are needed. The most powerful. How can we allow Russian banks to generate profits while the Russian military tortures ordinary civilians to death in Ukrainian cities? How can European companies trade in a state that is deliberately destroying our people?

I know that many of your companies have already stopped financing the Russian military machine through taxes. I want to thank you, your citizens, and your government. I am grateful to these companies, to your entire state and society for the principled stance on sanctions.

But at the same time, I want to turn to some companies, such as Maxam, Porcelanosa, Sercobe and other companies - I think you know them better than I do - to stop doing business with Russia.

Now the fate of not only our state is being decided on the territory of Ukraine. But also the fate of the whole European project, of the values that united us all. Us with you. Of democracy that united us all. Of human rights, which have become a fundamental value for all of us.

I am grateful to your country for supporting common European decisions for peace. But all of us in Europe, all of us in the world need to do even more to force Russia to seek peace. So that Russia finally starts to respect international law.

What is needed for this?

Everyone in Europe must simply stop being afraid. Stop being weak. They have to become strong. Put values and democracy above the threats that Russia spreads.

I am sure fear is not about you. But I ask you to do everything so that other European countries do not have fear as well. You can help us. Help the world. Give us the weapons we need. And we appreciate that help, that weaponry - all that you have already given us. You can support further sanctions that are needed. And you can also destroy the fear of Russia wherever you can see it.

Because democracy should not fear. Freedom must be protected. Human rights must be above all calculations. The right to peace. The right to life. The right to happiness, to free development. The right to family security. The right to the future of children. The right to a decent old age of parents. The right to respect for every community. The right to be with you, Spain, together in a European family.

https://bit.ly/3NTaxtS

 

Prime Minister of Ukraine

The business lending during martial law was discussed during a meeting in Kyiv on April 5th by the Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and representatives of state-owned banks and business associations in Ukraine.

D.Shmyhal emphasized that Kyiv and neighboring regions have already been liberated from the occupiers. Kyiv city is also returning to work.

"People need to be returned, and the bankers need to be returned to work. Officials made some trips to the regions, where they checked the activities of enterprises. They start their work. The sowing campaign is actively going on. The war continues. The military is doing its job heroically, and everyone else also has to do their job well," said Denys Shmyhal, adding that banks should become the driving force behind the Ukrainian economy.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3J5gSyN

https://bit.ly/3xawgro

 

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba

To avert ‘new Buchas’, impose the mother of all sanctions: stop buying oil, gas, and coal from Russia. Stop financing Putin’s war machine. Russian economy — and its war — would stop in the matter of months. A few months of tightening your belts are worth thousands of saved lives.

https://bit.ly/3Kj4NHN

 

The Bucha massacre must eliminate any hesitation and reluctance on the West to provide Ukraine with all necessary weapons, including aircraft, tanks, multiple rocket launchers, and armored vehicles, to protect our country and liberate it from the Russians.

The same with sanctions. If any of my colleagues from Europe or overseas try to tell me that any sanctions are inappropriate, too harsh, and should not be imposed, I will consider it as a betrayal of the Bucha victims and the civilians of other cities who have been murdered. The massacre in Bucha changes the game's rules on how the West should continue to support Ukraine.

Read the full interview of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for BBC Hardtalk: https://cutt.ly/qFqH4C0

https://bit.ly/3uaDZnu

 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

OPERATIONAL SITUATION ON THE DIPLOMATIC FRONT

A critical day at the UN. Today, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to the UN Security Council. In his speech, the Head of State called for the United Nations' transformation and took the initiative to convene a global conference in peaceful Kyiv.

️ Sanctions

The European Union imposes the fifth package of sanctions against Russia for its vicious war against Ukraine. New restrictions include a ban on imports of 4 billion euros a year from Russian coal and a ban on Russian ships entering EU ports.

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions against the Russian darknet market Hydra as part of a coordinated international effort to prevent the spread of cybercrime, dangerous drugs, and other illegal "offers" from this Russian site.

️ Global support

44 US congressmen sent a letter of appeal to US President Joe Biden calling for additional military assistance to Ukraine and provided a list of necessary equipment

The Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic unanimously passed a resolution condemning war crimes committed by the Russian military in Ukraine

Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to Ukraine, Kaimo Kuusk, is preparing to return to Kyiv

️ Deputinization of the world

The United States, in coordination with Ukraine and other UN member states, will demand the suspension of Russia's membership in the UN Human Rights Council

Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, and Romania today announced the expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats

European Union also declares 19 Russian diplomats non-grata for activities contrary to their diplomatic status

️ Russian criminals on the way to jail

The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office, on March 5th, launched three new investigations into war crimes during the war in Ukraine involving persons covered by French protection and legislation

The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Maria Peichynovych-Burych, called for an urgent and complete investigation of war crimes committed in the Kyiv oblast

https://bit.ly/3DR7PRi

 

ECONOMY

 

NBU Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko’s interview with Toronto Centre about ensuring Ukraine’s financial stability in wartime and large-scale cooperation with international partners:

https://bit.ly/3Kh35GM

 

ENERGY

 

Ministry of energy of Ukraine

Information on energy supply in Ukraine as of April 5

Over the past 24 hours, electricity supply to more than 123,7 thousand consumers has been restored.

In particular, in Chernihiv region - 100 thousand consumers (data for the past two days), in Zaporizhzhya – 8,5 thousand, in Donetsk - more than 4,6 thousand, in Kyiv – 4,1 thousand, in Sumy - almost 4 thousand, in Kharkiv – 1,5 thousand, Luhansk - 500, Mykolayiv - 370 consumers.

Gas supply was restored to 832 consumers.

As of April 5, more than 1,245 settlements in Ukraine remain without electricity, in total more than 759,3 thousand consumers.

More than 334 000 consumers remain without gas supply.

Electricity

Ukraine's energy system is balanced and stable. Frequency in the grid is maintained at the standard level of 50 Hz.

All types of power plants operate stably in the network, providing electricity to consumers.

Atomic generation

Ukraine's existing nuclear power plants are producing electricity steadily. Their total current capacity provides the necessary amounts of electricity for the needs of the country.

Radiation, fire and environmental conditions at the industrial sites of nuclear power plants and adjacent territories have not changed and are within current standards.

Gas transmission system

The company maintains operational and technological control over the Ukrainian GTS, fulfills its obligations to transport gas to consumers.

Hydroenergy

All hydro power plants that are part of Ukrhydroenergo operate according to the dispatch schedule and fulfill their obligations to regulate the frequency and capacity of the country's energy system. The stations are ready to manage spring floods.

https://bit.ly/3NQbrHz

 

Ukrenergo

Since the beginning of the invasion, cyber attacks on Ukrenergo have tripled since the pre-war period. In February-March, the number of attacks was the largest, their peaks - on the eve of the invasion and connection of Ukrainian power system to ENTSO-E. All of them were unsuccessful, but they continue.

“We understand perfectly well who is carrying out the attacks. At some point, our system was scanned, without hiding, from the IP address of one of the federal services of Russia. This is an attempt to hinder further integration into ENTSO-E,"- Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, Chairman of the Board of Ukrenergo, told Interfax Ukraine.

The fact that Ukrenergo did not suffer from cyber attacks is the result of persistent and professional work of our specialists, who in recent years have built an effective cyber defense system.

More in the full interview: https://bit.ly/3NSOVh,  https://bit.ly/3r6VuTT

Embassy of Ukraine in the USA

 

WAR BULLETIN

April 5, 11.00 a.m. EST

 

WAR ROOM

 

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 05.04 were approximate:

personnel - about 18500,

tanks ‒ 676,

APV ‒ 1858,

artillery systems – 332,

MLRS - 107,

Anti-aircraft warfare systems - 55,

aircraft – 150,

helicopters – 134,

vehicles - 1322,

boats / cutters - 7,

fuel tanks - 76,

UAV operational-tactical level - 94.

special equipment - 25.

mobile SRBM system - 4.

Data are being updated. The calculation is complicated by the high intensity of hostilities.

 

The forty-first day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people to a Russian military invasion began.

A Russian enemy is regrouping troops and concentrating its efforts on preparing an offensive operation in the east of our country. The goal is to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The Russian enemy is trying to improve the position of units in the Tavriya and Pivdennobuzhsky operational areas.

The units withdrawn from Polissya and Sivershchyna are moving to new operational areas. The redeployment of troops of the Central Military District from the territory of Ukraine has been completed. The designated units of the above, after the completion of the restoration of combat capability, will be moved to the area of ​​the settlement Valuyki and included in the offensive groups of troops.

The movement of columns of armaments and military equipment on the territory of Belarus in the direction of the railway stations Gomel, Yelsk, and Mozyr for loading on railway echelons is noted. A significant part of the aircraft and helicopters of the Air and Space Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian federation were relocated from the airfields of the Republic of Belarus to the territory of Russia.

The Russian enemy concentrated its main efforts on preparations for the resumption of the offensive with the help of separate units of the 6th and 20th All-Army, 1st Tank Army, Baltic and Northern Fleets, as well as attempts to surround the Joint Forces. The enemy replenishes supplies of food, fuel and oil, and ammunition.

The Russian occupiers continue to blockade Kharkiv, continuing artillery shelling and further destroying the city's residential neighborhoods and infrastructure.

In the direction of Slovyansk, the Russian enemy is trying to resume offensive operations. In the direction of Barvinkove it has partial success, advanced 7 km, and took control of the village of Brazhkivka. Also, it was attacked by the battalion tactical group of the 1st Tank Regiment in the direction of the settlement of Sulyhivka, but had no success.

The Russian enemy is working to restore the bridge in the city of Izyum to improve the movement of Russian troops in this direction and to ensure the crossing of the river Siversky Donets.

In the Donetsk and Luhansk areas, the Russian occupiers are focusing their efforts on taking control of the Popasna and Rubizhne districts, establishing full control over Mariupol, and preparing offensive operations near the Zolota Nyva settlement.

In the areas of Borivske, Novoluhanske, Solodke, Marinka, Zolota Nyva, the enemy continued artillery shelling of positions of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and civilian infrastructure.

The Russian enemy carried out assault operations near the settlements of Novotoshkivske, Nyzhne, Popasna, Kalynove, Stepne, Rubizhne, Troitske, Novobakhmutivka, and Novoselivka Druha, but was unsuccessful.

Russian invaders inflicted massive artillery and airstrikes on the city of Mariupol.

In the direction of the Pivdennobuzhsky direction, the occupying forces carry out assault actions with the support of artillery for the purpose of taking control of the settlement of Alexandrivka, having partial success. In the area of ​​the settlements of Lyubyne, Myrne, and Kopani, the Russian occupiers fired artillery at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Russian troops carried out attacks on Mykolaiv with cluster munitions forbidden by the Geneva convention. Civilian quarters and medical facilities, including a children's hospital, came under enemy fire. There are dead and wounded, including children.

The Russian occupying forces continue to suffer losses. They have big problems with the staffing of combat units and support units. The enemy's personnel were demoralized, which led to an increase in the number of desertions and the refusal of servicemen of the armed forces of the Russian federation to take part in the war on the territory of Ukraine.

 

Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine

Prosecutors jointly with police officers of the Kyiv Region found a torture chamber in the town of Bucha. Law enforcers found the bodies of five men with their hands tied in the basement of a children's sanatorium. Russian servicemen had tortured unarmed civilians and then killed them.

Murders and injuries of civilians, as well as damage to the EU Advisory Mission in Donetsk - some proceedings have been initiated. Under the procedural guidance of the district prosecutor's offices of the Donetsk oblast, the pre-trial investigation is carried out in 7 criminal proceedings on violations of the laws and customs of war (Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the investigation, on April 4th, 2022, the army of the Russian Federation carried out artillery shelling of Heorhiivka, Pokrovskyi district, as a result of which the building and the yard of the educational institution were damaged, two residents were injured.

The enemy fired on the Bakhmut district for several hours - the Vozdvyzhenka village was damaged, from where a woman with multiple shrapnel wounds was taken to the hospital. As a result of prolonged shelling, residential buildings and the territory of one of the workshops of the Avdiivka Coke Plant were damaged in the urban-type settlement New York in Toretska Regional state. Information about the victims is being clarified.

The wounded from the Luhansk oblast are taken to Bakhmut Hospital every day. Currently, emergency assistance is being provided to two residents of Lysychansk who have suffered mine injuries, fractures, and injuries due to the shelling of residential areas.

The shelling of Mariupol by the Russian occupiers continues. It is now known about the death of another resident and the injury of another, as well as the damage to the premises of the Regional Office of the European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM).

On April 5th, 2022, Russian troops and representatives of fake "republics" again covered the urban-type settlement New York in Toretska Regional state with mortar fire. According to preliminary data, one civilian was seriously injured. As a result of the Slovyansk shelling, a critical infrastructure object was damaged.

https://bit.ly/3NOL8lf

 

 

Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine

On April 5, there are planned 7 humanitarian corridors:

1. From Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia by own transport.

2. Planned evacuation from Tokmak to Zaporizhzhia.

4. From Severodonetsk to Bakhmut.

5. From Lysychansk to Bakhmut.

6. From Popasna to the city of Bakhmut.

7. From the village of Gorske to Bakhmut.

https://cutt.ly/7D6XlOa

 

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights

As of 10 o'clock on April 5, 2022, according to the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, as well as other sources that need confirmation, since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, 165 children died (+4 per day) and 266 children were injured (+2 per day).

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.

It became known that during the occupation of the village Vorzel of Kyiv region, the aggressor's militants threw a smoke grenade into the basement of one of the houses where a 14-year-old child and a woman were staying, after which they fired on a child and his mother.

Russian troops continue to shell Mykolaiv, which is prohibited by the 1949 Geneva Convention and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Cluster Munitions and on Their Destruction by Cluster Munitions. Civilian quarters came under enemy fire: an orphanage, 11 kindergartens, 12 schools, 1 vocational school, 2 branches of out-of-school educational institutions and medical institutions. One child died as a result of the shelling of a children's hospital. The enemy systematically continues to destroy Ukraine's civilian infrastructure. So far, 869 educational institutions have been damaged by bombing and shelling during the Russian invasion, 83 of which have been completely destroyed.

https://bit.ly/3j9BED8

 

Mass cases of torture of civilians are recorded in the territories liberated from the occupiers.

Killed children under the age of 10 with signs of rape and torture were found in the city of Irpen.

In the Kyiv region, the «Prolisok children's camp» housed the base of an army unit for three weeks. Five corpses of men with their hands tied behind their backs were found in the basement of the building. They were tortured and then killed in cold blood. One of the victims had his skull crushed with butt blows with special hardness. Others were shot in the back of the head or chest.

In the village of Viktorivka in the Chernihiv region, which has been under occupation for 25 days, Russians held people hostage in the basement, from the elderly to newborns. Residents were escorted to collect at least a bucket of water. No medication was given, even to those whose lives depended on certain medications. A man with asthma has died. Russian militants ordered the hostages to bury the body next to them in the woods. Due to inhumane living conditions and infections brought by the occupiers, a number of diseases began, including chickenpox.

At least three tortured peaceful Ukrainians have already been found in the Konotop district of Sumy region on the sites of former enemy camps.

Torture and killing of civilians is a crime against humanity and a war crime under Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, for which Russians are awaited by an international military tribunal.

https://bit.ly/37hExPA

 

Residents of the temporarily occupied Izyum in the Kharkiv region are forcibly deported by Russian occupiers to the territory of the Russian Federation.

The enemy creates filtration corridors, camps, through which he deports Ukrainian citizens to Russia. This is not the first time Russian troops have used such tactics. After bringing the city to a critical situation, the enemy offers a conditional corridor to Russia, ostensibly to save people, leaving people no choice.

Currently, Russian media report that they have deported 615,000 people from Ukraine, including 121,000 children. Such treatment of civilians is a crime against humanity and a war crime as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms guarantees that no one may be expelled from the territory of the state of which he or she is a national.

Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the UN International Criminal Court classifies "deportation or forcible transfer of population" as a crime against humanity that entails international criminal responsibility.

https://bit.ly/3x4gaQ4

 

Mass violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are recorded in the territories temporarily occupied by the enemy.

Most of the occupied settlements of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions remain in a difficult situation due to the actions of the racist occupiers, lack of medicines and food, and in some districts - water supply and communications.

In Polohy, Zaporizhia region, Russian soldiers seized and mined the territory of the Central District Hospital. Staff and patients were forbidden to return to the hospital. The wounded occupiers remained in the room.

Around Nova Kakhovka, the enemy increased the checkpoints. The invaders detain civilians and force them to dig trenches. Increasingly, the occupiers are illegally taking cars from locals.

Wages will be reduced in the temporarily occupied areas where the racists have established pseudo-authorities.

The self-proclaimed "mayor" of Kakhovka, Pavlo Filipchuk, told public utilities that Russia could not pay salaries such as Ukraine. Employees will receive half as much for their work.

The men of the temporarily occupied Melitopol are sent "service summons" to the occupiers in the so-called "people's militia".

Terror, cruel and degrading treatment of civilians in the occupied territories is a war crime under 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.

https://bit.ly/3NOXWI7

 

Every day of the war in Ukraine there are more and more cases of sexual violence by the Russian occupiers. Rape has become another weapon of the racist army against civilians in the occupied territories.

In the Kharkiv region, the Russian occupier raped a 29-year-old woman caring for her immobile mother for more than a week. The woman repeatedly experienced sexual violence on his part, but was unable to reach law enforcement. Soon a militant broke her phone. A week later, the racist began to talk to the woman about love and offered to send her away from the war. In response to the woman's refusal due to the inability to leave the mother, the villain simply shot the old woman in front of her daughter. The woman managed to escape and is now undergoing rehabilitation.

In the village of Mala Rohan in the Kharkiv region, a Russian soldier beat and repeatedly raped a 31-year-old woman who was hiding at a school with her 5-year-old daughter, mother, sister, brother and other residents of the village. Holding a weapon near her head, the racist repeatedly sexually assaulted a woman who he said reminded him of the girl he went to school with. A Russian soldier cut the woman's neck and cheek with a knife, cut her hair, and hit her in the face with a book. When the racists left, the woman and her family managed to walk to Kharkiv and receive the necessary medical care.

These horrific stories once again confirm the brutal atrocities of the Russian occupiers in our Homeland.

The perpetration of sexual violence in armed conflict is a war crime and a violation of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.

Article 27 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, 1949, prohibits encroachment on the honor of women and guarantees protection against rape, coercion into prostitution or any other form of encroachment on their morals.

https://bit.ly/3uV0MTA

 

POLICY

 

President of Ukraine

There is ample evidence that it is Russian troops who destroy peaceful cities, torture and kill civilians - address of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Ukrainians

I’ve visited Stoyanka, Irpin, Bucha - cities in the Kyiv region, which we liberated from the occupiers. We are already doing everything possible to identify all the Russian military involved in these crimes as soon as possible to punish them. This will be a joint work of our state with the European Union and international institutions, in particular with the International Criminal Court.

I discussed this issue today with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. And also with Chancellor of Austria Nehammer. We agreed on his visit to Ukraine in the near future.

I also discussed the investigation into the war crimes of Russian troops with Polish President Duda. We also talked about new sanctions against Russia, humanitarian and defense cooperation with Poland.

All crimes of the occupiers are documented. The necessary procedural basis is provided for bringing the guilty Russian military to justice for every crime they commit.

We are interested in the most complete, transparent investigation, the results of which will be known and explained to the entire international community. We provide maximum access for journalists to Bucha and other liberated cities of Ukraine for the world to see what Russia has done.

Russian propagandists are constantly trying to reject accusations of the Russian military. As like they did when the occupiers shot down a Malaysian Boeing over Donbas. They blamed Ukraine and came up with various conspiracy theories. Now they are doing the same thing by trying to distort the facts.

After the revealed mass killings of civilians in the Kyiv region, the occupiers may have a different attitude to their crimes in parts our country where they came. They are already launching a false campaign to conceal their guilt in the mass killings of civilians in Mariupol. They will do dozens of stage interviews, re-edited recordings, and will kill people specifically to make it look like they were killed by someone else.

Therefore, Russian propagandists and their leaders can now succeed in only one thing: making their work enough for the verdict of the future tribunal, which will be similar to the verdict of Julius Streicher, one of the ideologues of Nazism. The end of their life will be behind bars.

The sanctions response of the democratic world to Russia’s massacre of civilians must finally be powerful. Did hundreds of our people really have to die in agony for some European leaders to finally understand that the Russian state deserves the most severe pressure?

Only now do we hear from all world leader’s statements that should have been made long ago, when everything was already completely clear.

Ukraine must get all the necessary weapons to liberate our cities. If we had already got what we needed - all these planes, tanks, artillery, anti-missile and anti-ship weapons, we could have saved thousands of people. I do not blame you - I blame only the Russian military. But you could have helped.

We have already started preparing all the necessary work to restore normal life in the liberated areas. Mine clearance of the territory is carried out. In the near future we will restore electricity supply, restore water supply. We will provide medical care, normal access to goods - as much as possible in the current conditions. We will rebuild the destroyed housing and infrastructure.

Today I expressed condolences to the President of the Republic of Lithuania and to the entire Lithuanian people over the brutal murder of the world-famous documentary filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravičius by the Russian occupiers in Mariupol.

We continue to prepare for even more brutal activity of the occupiers in the eastern and southern directions of the country. Russia concentrates a significant amount of military and equipment there, proving that sanctions imposed against Russia are not enough.

Full address: https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/ye-bezlich-dokaziv-sho-same-rosijski-vijska-znishuyut-mirni-74089

 

Resolving the issues of Donbas and Crimea by military means will have a very high price for Ukraine, and this is well understood, first of all, by our military - Volodymyr Zelenskyy

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that the issue of the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea should not be conneced to the negotiation process with Russia to end the war and withdraw Russian troops from the territories of our state where they entered starting from February 24. This was stated by the President in an interview to the Ukrainian media.

He is convinced that resolving all issues in a package and thus ending the war with Russia is difficult and unlikely. Especially when there are tanks on our territory, rockets hit our cities, when there are difficult situations in blocked cities, such as Mariupol.

Responding to calls for the military liberation of all temporarily occupied territories, the President stressed that one of the most powerful groups of Ukrainian troops are fighting in Donbas, in the Joint Forces Operation area. They oppose the enemy, which significantly outnumbers them. And if you give them the command to go on the offensive now, it will cost thousands of lives.

The President noted that today the de-occupation of Mariupol by military means is very difficult. And its defenders, who are fighting in extremely difficult conditions, know this very well. There is an agreement on this issue with Turkey, which is ready to transport the wounded and killed in Mariupol from Berdyansk.

"We have all the infrastructure ready to take out the wounded and dead. We are waiting for Putin's approval. I talked to Erdoğan, Erdoğan talks to him. And now this moment depends on him. If we succeed, we will see the result in the coming days. If it fails, we will know for sure that the President of the Russian Federation personally does not give such an opportunity. Although everyone is putting pressure from different sides, because it is considered a humanitarian step," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The Head of State also rejected the possibility of returning the occupied Crimea by force. The President explained that Ukraine's proposals in negotiations with Russia on Crimea do not mean that the topic of de-occupation of the peninsula will not be raised for 10-15 years. On the contrary, according to him, the agreement should stipulate that during this period the parties must resolve the issue of Crimea through diplomacy.

"The proposed format is not to solve it now, but to solve it at least tomorrow, during this period. I think this is not a bad decision. But I think so now. Today, if there were such agreements on Crimea, I believe this would be a victory for Ukraine," the President underlined.

https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/rozvyazannya-pitan-donbasu-ta-krimu-vijskovim-shlyahom-kosht-74109

 

Ministry of Foreign affairs of Ukraine

Dmytro Kuleba: “The Bucha massacre must eliminate any hesitation and reluctance on the West to provide Ukraine with all necessary weapons, including aircraft, tanks, multiple rocket launchers, and armored vehicles, to protect our country and liberate it from the Russians.

The same with sanctions. If any of my colleagues from Europe or overseas try to tell me that any sanctions are inappropriate, too harsh, and should not be imposed, I will consider it as a betrayal of the Bucha victims and the civilians of other cities who have been murdered. The massacre in Bucha changes the game's rules on how the West should continue to support Ukraine. "

Read the full interview of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for BBC Hardtalk: https://cutt.ly/qFqH4C0

https://bit.ly/3uaDZnu

 

Сomment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on Russia's attempts to use food exports as a weapon

On April 1, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev threatened the world community with restrictions on the Russian export of agricultural products to "unfriendly" countries.

We would like to emphasize that the official representative of Russia openly referred to food exports as a weapon. Thus, it reaffirmed the status of Russian Federation as an aggressor not only in the military and energy sectors, but also in the food dimension.

This statement is another evidence of Russia's destructive actions, which violate the basic principles of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) – to achieve food security and to defeat hunger. The intentions of the Russian side also undermine the ability of the world community to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Such policy of the aggressor state questions the expediency of its membership in FAO and other international organizations.

It is worth mentioning the fact that the statement of the former president of the Russian Federation is full of factual errors and deliberate manipulations. For example:

• in 2020, Russia imported at least $6.82 billion worth of food and agricultural products from the EU, the US and Canada (not "nothing", as stated by the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation);
• in terms of grain production, Russia is outgone not only by China and India, as according to Medvedev, but also by the United States, the EU and Brazil;
• the Russian Federation includes in the list of "unfriendly" countries its own competitors in the food market;
• if Russia redirects its trade flows from one country to another, it will in no way affect the global grain balance and market saturation.

What does really affect the world food prices, and will affect even more dramatically in the next season is the Russia's blockade of the shipments from the Ukrainian ports, the planting of mines along sea routes, the impeding of sowing campaign in Ukraine due to hostilities and deliberate destruction of the Ukrainian agricultural machinery and infrastructure.

We call on the international community to condemn Russia's actions, to demand withdrawal of its troops from Ukraine and the end to the blockades of the Ukrainian ports, to strengthen economic sanctions in order to stop armed aggression against Ukraine, to prevent further humanitarian catastrophe and worsening of world hunger.

https://mfa.gov.ua/en/news/comment-ministry-foreign-affairs-ukraine-russias-attempts-use-food-exports-weapon

 

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, APRIL 4 (PUTIN'S WAR)
2.  Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s Interview with Michel Martin of NPR (US seeks ouster of Russia from UN Human Rights Council)
3. 'Integrated deterrence': GOP charges Pentagon's new buzzy strategy is broken
4. Top Marine Defends Corps’ Lighter Direction
5. Public approval: Biden loses to Zelenskyy
6. Ukraine War Update - April 5, 2022 | SOF News
7. The Consequences of War Crimes
8. Release of Ukraine Intelligence Represents New Front in U.S. Information War With Russia
9. Head of MI6 says mass executions seen in Bucha, Ukraine, were part of Putin's invasion plan
10. John Bolton: Putin's 30 or 100 Year War For Ukraine
11. FDD | Priority #1 for NATO: Upgrading Air and Missile Defense in Eastern Europe
12. FDD | The Kremlin’s Latin American Echo Chamber
13. FDD | Corporate Transparency Would Reduce Systemic Cyber Risks
14. In pictures: Bodies and tanks mark path as Russia moves troops from Kyiv
15. Biden urges Putin war crimes trial after Bucha killings
16. Orde Kittrie on “How to Include Far More Lawfare Ammunition in Next UN General Assembly Resolution on Russian Invasion”
17. Leaderless, Cut Off, and Alone: The Risks to Taiwan in the Wake of Ukraine
18. Rebalancing the Army for Military Competition
19. Russia was caught red-handed lying about war crimes in Ukraine
20. Ukrainian Nuclear Disaster Expert Talks Worst Case Scenarios Due To Russian Invasion
21. Analysis | The unique, damaging role Fox News plays in American media
22. Putin’s Doomsday Threat
23. America Must Spend More on Defense
24. The Next Sino-Russian Split?
25. China’s New Focus on US Cyber Activities
26. US deployment of missiles to Philippines would be dangerous

Korean News Content:

1. President-elect Yoon's Advance Team
2. Deputy Secretary Sherman’s Meeting with Republic of Korea President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol's U.S.-ROK Policy Consultation Delegation
3. Special Representative for the DPRK Kim’s Meeting with Republic of Korea (ROK) Special Representative Noh
4. North Korea tries to cover up failed ICBM launch
5. U.S. to cultivate options in waters near Korea over Pyongyang's provocation: Pacific commander
6. U.S. agrees on need to upgrade alliance with S. Korea: Seoul delegate
7. S. Korean, U.S. nuclear envoys agree to push for new UNSC resolution on N. Korea
8. U.S. looks forward to working with new S. Korean gov't on N. Korea: State Dept.
9. Pyonghattan: Escapees from North Korea’s Capital
10. Prisoners in Military Uniform: Human Rights In The North Korean Military : Research Reports
11. Most South Koreans believe their country should have closer ties to US, poll says
12. Yoon administration's agenda items narrowed to 115: spokesperson
13. N. Korea has large arsenal of 'theater-class' missiles: U.S. commander
14. Yoon's delegation makes rounds in Washington
15. North Korea's harsh rhetoric seen as attempt to tame South Korea
16. Yoon's relocation plan to Yongsan to gain momentum
17. Yoon's spokeswoman defends Seoul's right to launch preemptive strike
18. USFK chief expresses condolences over deaths of 4 pilots in KT-1 crashes
19. Korea voices concerns over reported signs of civilian killings in Ukraine war
20. US agrees to upgrade strategic alliance with Korea: Yoon’s delegation
21. What to Make of Kim Yo Jong’s Verbal Attack of South Korea’s Defense Minister
22. John Batchelor Interview: #NorthKorea: Expect more provocations

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, APRIL 3 (PUTIN'S WAR)
2. Retired Army major general: The Russian military invasion has peaked (Interview with retired US Army Major General Mike Repass)
3. Spies come in from the cold as intelligence goes unexpectedly public in Ukraine war
4. Russia shifting focus to show a victory by early May in eastern Ukraine, US officials say
5. What Does Arming an Insurgency in Ukraine Mean?
6. War-Gaming Taiwan: When Losing to China Is Winning
7. Solomon Islands Says It Will Not Allow China Military Base
8. The KMT’s Defense Policy: Toward a Symmetric Posture
9. Zelensky invites Merkel, Sarkozy to Bucha to look at results of concessions to Russia
10. An elite Ukrainian drone unit on quad bikes ambushed Russian forces, helping to defeat Putin's plan to capture Kyiv, report says
11. Finland appears closer to joining NATO despite Russia's threat of military consequences if it does
12. How two dozen retired generals are trying to stop an overhaul of the Marines
13. What Lessons is China Taking from the Ukraine War?
14. Navy and Marines Divided Over the Amphibious Fleet’s Future as Delays and Cancellations Mount in FY 2023 Budget Request
15. Options to Modify Title 10 U.S. Code to Improve U.S. Security Force Assistance
16. Why China won’t mediate an end to the Ukraine war by Joseph S. Nye
17. Pentagon policies don’t do enough to prevent harm to civilians: report
18. Navy SEALs can’t use Washington parks for training, judge says
19. Biden Told the Truth: Putin Has to Go By Garry Kasparov
20. Latest atrocities in Ukraine were inevitable and won’t be the last
21. Ukraine War Update - April 4, 2022 | SOF News
22. Wargaming a Long War: Ukraine Fights On

 

Korean News Content:

1. Normalization of Korea-U.S. alliance will be key topic in meetings
2. Why South Korea’s Place Is in the Quad
3. Kim's sister in North Korea enraged by Seoul's preemptive strike comments
4. N.Korean Hackers 'Stole Missile Intercept Technology'
5. Yoon seeks to strengthen alliance with U.S., joint efforts to denuclearize N. Korea: delegation chief
6. S. Korea urges N. Korea to stop escalating tensions
7. Yoon to complete Cabinet nominations by next week
8. Hope and worry coexist about prime minister nominee Han
9. Jim Rogers to serve as inter-Korean cooperation project adviser for Paju city
10.  Fears grow over China's retaliation to Korea's planned fines for shipping firms
11. Korea to conduct full-fledged solid-fuel space rocket launch in 2025
12. Yoon faces familiar dilemma over restoring Japan relations
13. Two Koreas hold daily liaison call despite Pyongyang's renewed threat
14. Many North Koreans react to test launch of Hwasong-17 with criticism
15. How Washington and Seoul Can Get on the Same Page to Deter North Korea