Ukraine – 4/18/23 Sitrep
By: Bohdan Chomiak & Robert Homans
April 18, 2023
News From the Battlefield
According to “Reporting From Ukraine,” Russians keep getting pounded around Avdiivka, just northwest of Donetsk City. Reporting From Ukraine stated that Igor Girkin, one of the more famous Russian military bloggers, convicted for his participation in the 2014 MH-17 shoot down, and who led the takeover of Sloviansk earlier in 2014, said that the ratio of Russian losses around Avdiivka is greater than in Bakhmut.
The photographs of the land in Reporting From Ukraine’s video reminds me of what the surface of the Moon looked like to the crew of the Apollo 11 lander “Eagle,” just before it touched down on the Moon’s surface on July 20th, 1969. Before Russia’s latest invasion, this used to be the best and most productive farmland in the World.
Reporting From Ukraine’s account of the tank battles, where Ukraine is inflicting large casualties on the Russians, make me wonder what will happen once Ukraine begins deploying its Western tanks and armored personnel carriers. The Latest Denys reports that several the more than 100 U.S. Bradleys are already in Ukraine. He mentions how effective the Bradleys were in Iraq, against the T-70s tanks employed by Saddam’s Republican guard.
April 18, 2023 Sitrep
Russian Invasion of Ukraine 12:00 noon April 17 to 12:00 noon April 18, 2023
From Bohdan –
“I am upset with Microsoft. The reason is that I received a "FREE" update to Windows. After rebooting Windows switched to Russian from English. When I went to reset to English, Windows told me that the only operating language in the region was Russian. I understand russian well, so thats not the problem. The problem is that for Ukraine they make it russian even though Windows can operate in Ukrainian. I have had similar problems with Microsoft in the past and wrote them many times to get them to change their policy. It seems Microsoft in this region is still run out of Moscow. Perhaps Microsoft would act better if they were on the sanctions list.”
The Continuing Dismantling of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
Abbreviations:
RMA = Regional Military Administration SBU = Security Service of Ukraine
RASHISTS = russian Facists/all russian invaders
INTERNATIONAL
Tuesday April 18
11:15 AM: Protests against pension reform erupt again in France - local media.
· At night, riots continued in some cities of the country, in particular in Paris. In Lyon, protesters set fire to a police station.
9:59 AM: Brazil repeats Russian and Chinese propaganda about Ukraine, says White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby.
· "Obviously, we want this war to end. That could happen right now, today, if Putin stops attacking Ukraine and withdraws his troops.
· Brazil's recent comments that Ukraine should consider ceding Crimea as a condition for peace are simply wrong, especially for a country like Brazil, which voted at the UN to respect the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity," the White House spokesman added.
8:02 AM: China will develop a mutually beneficial strategic partnership with Russia and continue to work with the international community to find a political solution to the "crisis in Ukraine". This was stated by spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Wang Wenbin.
08:00 AM: The Pentagon kills senior ISIS commander Abd al-Hadi Mahmoud al-Haji Ali in a helicopter raid in northern Syria.
12:10 AM Bloomberg: Taiwan will acquire up to 400 land-based Harpoon anti-ship missiles to repel a possible attack from China.
Monday April 17
11:50 PM: The United States will send a prosecutor to The Hague to investigate Russian crimes against Ukraine.
· US Attorney General Merrick Garland said that an international investigation team was created, which included seven countries. They will investigate international crimes committed in Ukraine.
· In addition, the United States plans to send a permanent legal advisor to Kyiv. He will work with Ukrainian partners on a range of complex justice issues.
11:11 PM The New York Times: After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NATO is preparing for combat operations on its borders.
· As noted, the alliance decided to move to the strategy of "deterrence by deterrence", that is, to convince the enemy that the attack will not allow achieving the intended goals. In practice, this means that borders will be better protected, military spending will increase, and troop concentrations near Russian territory will increase.
10:30 PM: The US administration has new legislation to transfer the assets of Russian oligarchs to the reconstruction of Ukraine, US Attorney General Merrick Garland has said.
· According to him, the KleptoCapture task force continues to initiate court cases and arrest Kremlin aides and the Russian military, who are subject to sanctions.
10:10 PM: China's intelligence services have opened a "police station" in New York for espionage, according to the US Department of Justice.
· According to the ministry, they were engaged in various activities in the United States, including participation in counter-protests and the persecution of specific Chinese dissidents.
· If convicted as agents of the PRC, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.
9:51 PM: A 62-year-old Ukrainian who set himself on fire near the Consulate General building on April 13, RMF24, died in Krakow.
· As previously reported by Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko, the man's condition from the very beginning of his stay in the hospital was critical.
9:30 PM: Russia blocked 50 ships carrying Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea.
· This was announced by the head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell on Twitter.
· "The EU supports UN efforts and will continue to facilitate exports through solidarity corridors, which have allowed the delivery of 25 million tons of grain," Borrell said.
8:00 PM Sky News: German and British air forces intercepted Russian fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft approaching NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea.
· "We often see Russian military aircraft flying over the Baltic Sea, so for us it was a normal interception," said a Swedish Air Force pilot.
7:43 PM Reuters: The German government demands that Russia's civil nuclear power be included in the new EU sanctions package.
· "Nuclear technology is an extremely sensitive area. There can no longer be "business as usual," Habeck said.
· 6:03 PM: The Czech Republic is not going to follow Ukraine's closest neighbors to ban imports of Ukrainian grain to protect local agricultural producers.
5:30 PM: German police handed over powerful truck cranes to Ukrainian border guards, according to the SBGS.
· "Heavy-duty truck cranes, among other things, are capable of lifting weight up to 50 tons. This equipment has already arrived in Ukraine and will help strengthen our borders," the statement reads.
4:51 PM The Guardian: The British Parliament has announced the launch of an investigation into Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over his declaration.
· In addition, the investigation concerns the wife of Prime Minister Akshata Murthy. It is noted that we are talking about Murthy's actions in the child care agency.
04:31 PM Reuters: The G7 countries have decided to keep the price ceiling on Russian oil at $60 per barrel.
· The Group of Seven countries decided to keep the restrictions at the same level in order to "reduce the ability of the Russian Federation to finance the war against Ukraine," the newspaper writes.
4:11 PM: Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held talks in Baghdad with Deputy Prime Minister and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein.
· Kuleba spoke about the efforts of the Ukrainian Defense Forces to repel Russian aggression and liberate the occupied territories. He paid special attention to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Formula of Peace for the establishment of a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
03:52 PM: Latvia has imposed new restrictions against 10 Russian citizens, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs has said.
· Rinkevics condemned the unjust and harsh sentence against Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza. The minister decided to impose a ban on entry into the country to 10 citizens of the Russian Federation who are associated with the sentencing of the oppositionist.
3:32 PM: In Sudan, 1,126 people were injured and 83 people were killed, Al Hadath TV channel reported.
· Among the dead were three United Nations staff and two others were injured.
3:11 PM: The grain deal is again under threat of shutdown, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine said.
· Today, the Russian side for the second time blocked inspections of ships in the territorial waters of Turkey. Representatives of the Russian Federation impose their own criteria for determining the vessels to be checked.
2:54 PM Reuters: European Union ambassadors in Brussels will discuss this week the decision of Poland and Hungary to ban imports of grain and other food products from Ukraine.
2:06 PM: Oil prices were stable on Monday morning as investors followed China's economic data for signs of recovering demand in the world's second-largest oil consumer.
1:39 PM: Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said his country is temporarily suspending imports of grain and a number of other products from Ukraine
1:15 PM: According to preliminary estimates, the value of Energoatom's property destroyed and damaged due to Russian aggression has already reached UAH 32 billion.
1:11 PM: Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said the country would suspend imports of grain and other products from Ukraine.
· A similar decision was previously made by Poland and Hungary.
12:51 PM: Poland admitted that the unexpected participation of Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko in the "grain negotiations" could lead to a change in the already agreed text of the agreement on the conditions of import and transit of Ukrainian agricultural products
12:07 PM Yonhap: South Korea, the United States, and Japan have launched joint missile defense exercises in the Eastern Sea.
· This step is due to the growing threats from North Korea, which regularly tests ballistic missiles and other weapons.
NATIONAL
Tuesday April 18
11:36 AM: The SBU detained the daughter of former Gauleiter Chornobaivka Yuriy Turulov, to whom the SBU had previously served a notice of suspicion.
· The defendant was one of the first to support the Russians and voluntarily joined the ranks of the local occupation administration. It forced local teachers to join the process of Russification of settlement educational institutions and their transfer to settlements in Russian rubles.
· In addition, she organized and personally participated in numerous propaganda actions of Russians in the occupied part of Kherson region.
9:39 AM: "Since February 24, Ukraine has returned 2235 Ukrainians from Russian captivity. We remember everyone. We will return each and every one," Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
7:13 AM General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Over the past day, the Russians inflicted 4 missile and 41 air strikes, carried out 57 MLRS attacks on the positions of Ukrainian troops and civilian infrastructure of settlements. There are wounded among civilians
· Russian troops suffer considerable losses, but continue to focus their main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Kupiansk, Liman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinsky directions. Actively used operational-tactical and army aviation. During the day, in these sectors of the front, more than 70 attacks of the Russian Federation were repulsed. Bakhmut and Marinka remain in the epicenter of hostilities.
· Aviation of the Defense Forces over the past day inflicted 12 strikes on areas of concentration of personnel and military equipment. A Russian Merlin-type reconnaissance UAV was also shot down
· Missile troops and artillery units hit 2 areas of concentration of manpower, weapons and military equipment, as well as 1 station of electronic warfare of the Russian Federation.
Monday April 17
8:18 PM Main Intelligence Directorate, Ministry of Defense: On March 31, 2023, an attempt at the so-called "winter-spring" offensive of the Russians failed.
· According to him, Russia currently has no potential for a strategic offensive operation and will not have in the near future.
· "Russia has moved to a strategic defensive operation to hold the captured territories and deter Ukrainian counteroffensive," Budanov said.
· Intelligence knows who exactly executed the Ukrainian military, said the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov.
· "It so happened that all those who did such things no longer exist. I do not think that this person will be an exception," Budanov said.
6:31 PM Update from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 18:00 on April 17:
· "During the day, the enemy inflicted 34 air strikes, carried out 31 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems. There are wounded among the civilian population.
· The Russian aggressor continues to use terror tactics, the likelihood of missile and air strikes throughout Ukraine remains high."
· "The enemy suffers considerable losses and focuses its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Kupiansk, Liman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinsky directions.
· During the day, in these sectors of the front, our defenders repulsed more than 50 enemy attacks. Bakhmut and Marinka remain at the epicenter of hostilities."
· "To replenish their own losses in manpower, about 200 newly mobilized Russian servicemen have arrived in Zaitsevo, Donetsk region, from the reserve of the Russian occupation forces.
· Due to the lack of clear instructions for their further use, a short period of individual and collective training and an unsatisfactory level of staffing with material property, these servicemen are looking for a reason to avoid participating in hostilities."
· "Aviation of the Defense Forces during the day inflicted 12 strikes on areas of concentration of the occupiers.
· Also, an enemy reconnaissance UAV of the "Merlin" type was shot down.
· During the day, units of rocket troops and artillery hit 2 areas of concentration of enemy manpower, as well as 1 enemy station of electronic warfare."
05:53 PM: The Armed Forces of Ukraine are taking part in the largest national exercise of the Swedish Armed Forces "Aurora-23" in 25 years, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
· The exercise involves 14 countries and about 26,000 troops, the goal is to strengthen the combined capacity to counter the armed attack on Sweden.
· The exercise began on April 17, 2023. They are held in the air, on land and at sea in many parts of the country.
04:05 PM: On Wednesday, April 19, EU ambassadors are due to vote to extend duty-free trade with Ukraine until June 2024, but the situation is complicated by the ban of Hungary and Poland on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products.
2:51 PM: Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a new meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Headquarters.
· During the meeting, the participants heard information about the situation on the front line, and intelligence reported on the likely actions of the enemy. In addition, the Stavka discussed:
· issues of weapons and ammunition, including own production;
· prospects for increasing domestic production of all types of missiles and ammunition;
· manning new brigades.
2:30 PM: The service of issuing subpoenas through the Diia application is neither in development nor in plans, says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.
12:49 PM: The National Bank has published a study of business expectations of Ukrainian enterprises for the first quarter of 2023.
· There is a positive trend. Enterprises significantly weakened their negative expectations regarding the volume of production of goods and services in Ukraine in the next 12 months: the response balance was "minus" 16.7% (in the fourth quarter of 2022 - "minus" 32.3%).
· The dynamics of mitigation of negative expectations is observed for the third quarter in a row.
12:33 PM: Gas storage operator Ukrtransgaz has started the season of pumping gas into underground storage facilities
Mordor - russia
Tuesday April 18
8:26 AM Institute for the Study of War: PMC Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin likely regains Putin's favor.
· This is happening, according to analysts, due to the inability of regular troops of the Russian Federation to fulfill the tasks that Putin set for them during the winter offensive in the Donbas. The ISW added that Wagner forces receive reinforcements, ammunition and political recognition.
12:35 AM: Russian military does not understand the purpose of his stay in Kharkiv region, where Russians are "not peaceful", - Defence Intelligence Directorate.
· The Russian is afraid that he may be poisoned in the occupied territories. He also believes that in Ukraine there was an alleged "civil" war with the so-called "LPR/DPR".
Monday April 17
11:30 PM: In Tyumen, Russia, a strong fire, according to media reports. There is no information about the victims at this time.
9:11 PM: Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov says Russia wants to end the "conflict" in Ukraine as soon as possible.
· According to Russian media, during one of the foreign trips, Lavrov suddenly changed his aggressive rhetoric to "peacekeeping".
6:10 PM: Last year, 17,000 prisoners "disappeared" in Russian colonies, most of them went to fight against Ukraine.
· "Most prisoners disappeared in the Samara region: at the beginning of 2022, 10.2 thousand people were kept in colonies in this region, and at the beginning of 2023 - only 7.5 thousand," the report said.
5:12 PM: New interception of the Security Service of Ukraine:
· The Russian military talks about their crimes on the territory of Ukraine: about the murder of minors and women on orders.
· "Currently, SBU investigators are investigating more than 34 thousand. proceedings under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the laws and customs of war)," the Security Service reported.
2:11 PM: The SBU served a notice of suspicion to former Vinnytsia journalist Yulia Tarapati, who is currently deputy editor-in-chief of Evening Moscow.
· Since February 24, 2022, it has been following the Kremlin's instructions to distribute publications justifying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation and denying the involvement of the occupiers in the mass killings of civilians in the Kyiv region.
1:31 PM: The Russian and Belarusian national ice hockey teams will not be allowed to participate in international competitions until the end of the war in Ukraine, International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif has said.
· The national teams of Russia and Belarus have been suspended from international tournaments since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In March, they extended their suspension for the 2023/24 season.
KHARKIV
Tuesday April 18
10:13 AM Kharkiv RMA: In Vovchansk, which Russia massively shelled yesterday, 8 private residential buildings were destroyed, fires occurred.
· At least 4 residential buildings were damaged as a result of shelling in Kozacha Lopan. In Petropavlivka village, 2 residential buildings and an outbuilding were damaged. In Zelenyi Hai village, an infrastructure facility, an outbuilding and a residential building were damaged.
LUHANSK
Tuesday April 18
8:58 AM Luhansk RMA: Three civilians killed and one injured in Russian air raid on Svatovshchyna.
· "Yesterday, a Russian shell hit a private house in which people were staying, a fire broke out. Unfortunately, due to heavy shelling, it was not possible to save people from under the burning rubble," Artem Lysohor said.
DONETSK
Tuesday April 18
9:30 AM: Russians attacked Sloviansk overnight with S-300 missiles and kamikaze drones, - Mayor Vadym Lyakh.
· 5 high-rise buildings, 7 private houses, a security facility, a medical facility, an entertainment center, a business center, cars were damaged. No casualties.
7:18 AM Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region
Monday April 17
2:29 PM Donetsk RMA: 5 houses damaged in Novoukrainka in Volnovakha sector.
· In Donetsk sector, 2 houses in Solovyove of Ocheretynska community were damaged, 3 shelling of Kurakhove and sporadic shelling of Avdiivka were recorded.
· In the Horlivka sector in Kostiantynivka, the enemy targeted the territory of the enterprise, damaged 3 buildings and a car.
· In the Lysychansk sector, Zvanivka and Pereizne were also under fire, and Russians shelled Siversk during the day.
ZAPORIZHIA
Tuesday April 18
11:48 AM Zaporizhia RMA: Over the past day, communities in the line of fire were subjected to 4 MLRS attacks, 2 air and 55 artillery strikes.
· Once again, the Russians targeted Malynivka, Plavni, Kamianske, Novodanylivka and 15 other settlements. No people were injured. So far, 12 infrastructure facilities have been reported.
KHERSON
Tuesday April 18
10:31 AM: Russians shelled Kherson, Central Market area. As a result of the shelling, 6 people were injured, the President's Office reported.
10:20 AM Kherson RMA: Russian army shelling downtown Kherson. Residents are asked to stay in shelters.
10:09 AM Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kherson
9:15 AM Kherson RMA: Russians shelled peaceful settlements of Kherson region 57 times.
· Russian troops attacked Kherson 6 times, firing 14 shells at the city. Russians targeted the territory and facilities of the children's health camp of the Bilozerska community and a power line in the Chornobaivska community. One person was injured.
Monday April 17
10:50 PM Kherson RMA: In the Beryslav district of Kherson region, a tractor hit a Russian mine.
· As a result, the driver was injured. Now doctors are providing him with the necessary medical care.
MYKOLAIV
Tuesday April 18
8:41 AM: Snihurivka, Mykolaiv region, was attacked by "Shaheds" at night, - the head of the VA Ivan Kukhta.
· 7 Russian UAVs hit 2 industrial infrastructure facilities on the territory of populated areas
TERNOPIL
Monday April 17
1:51 PM Mayor of Ternopil: In Ternopil, the UOC-MP banned the use of land.
· "Today, at an extraordinary session of the Ternopil City Council, a decision was made to terminate the right to use the land plot to the administration of the Ternopil diocese of the Moscow Church. We are talking about a plot at 1 Yevhen Konovalets Street in Ternopil," he said.
Comparing Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Russian invasion of Ukraine using Wikipedia and Ukraine Ministry of Defense Daily Bulletins. Soviet and Russian military losses not including captured equipment.
SOURCES
● https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/
●
https://espreso.tv/
● https://cutt.ly/Blyskavka