Ukraine – 4/27/23 Sitrep
By: Robert Homans & Bohdan Chomiak
April 27, 2023
2 Articles from Meduza IO
Meduza is one of number of Russian news outlets no longer able to operate inside Russia. Meduza is currently based in Latvia. They also have a very good Podcast channel, called “Naked Pravda” (Naked Truth). The first article is entitled “‘State Services R Us’ Building a ‘digital gulag’ for draft-eligible Russians is turning into a major headache for the government IT contractor.”
The article mentioned Mikhail Mishustin, Russia’s current Prime Minister. When Chinese President Xi was in Moscow, he had a separate meeting with Mishustin, without Putin being present, almost as if Xi was casting around for a “Plan B,” in case something happens to Putin.
The article states – “A government insider who spoke with Meduza told us that federal officials led by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and his deputy, Dmitry Chernyshenko, greeted the idea of a unified conscription register with “great enthusiasm.” It was Mishustin, after all, who had digitized Russia’s tax service prior to being appointed prime minister. During a closed meeting within the Presidential Administration, Mishustin and Chernyshenko assured the Defense Ministry that the comprehensive register the military wanted could be created in practice. “Of course we can! We’d be happy to make it,” they said there and then.”
The next paragraph mentions the approximate price for setting up this new system – “This eagerness, the same speaker tells us, can hardly be separated from the truly gargantuan budget reputed to be allocated for the new data project. This is likely to be “tens of billions or rubles,” he says. Forbes Russia also estimates that the project will cost “billions of rubles” (that is, hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars).” Graft is almost certainly one reason for the dreadful performance of the Russian military during the “Special Military Operation.” It is possible that the “digital gulag” will become another major source of graft.
Regarding their interest in establishing a separate relationship with Mishustin, China seems to have done its homework. It is expected that the “digital gulag” won’t be ready until the September 2023 conscription.
The second article, entitled “After the Siege,” shows a series of photographs taken before and after the Russian rape of Mariupol.
News From the Battlefield
Once again, The “Latest Denys,” and “Reporting From Ukraine” seem to be taking different tacks on the situation in and around Bakhmut. Reporting From Ukraine describes some of the munitions now being used in Bakhmut, including Russian 200mm mortars and 500kg air bombs to flatten civilian neighborhoods where Russia claims that there are no civilians left, and Ukraine’s use of JDAM bombs supplied by the US. If Ukraine is using JDAMs in Bakhmut, it may suggest that Ukraine has plenty left over, to use in the upcoming offensive.
4/27/23 Sitrep (my comment in bold face)
Russian Invasion of Ukraine 12:00 noon April 26 to 12:00 noon April 27, 2023
Graham note: It is impossible to accurately compute the number of people who died, or person-years lost due to radiation. Most estimates put the number between the hundreds and low thousands.
Abbreviations:
RMA = Regional Military Administration SBU = Security Service of Ukraine
RASHISTS = russian Facists/all russian invaders
INTERNATIONAL
Thursday April 27
9:59 am: Wreckage of a military object has been found in a forest near the town of Bydgoszcz in north-central Poland, RMF24 reports
· According to RMF FM radio, the object found is an air-to-ground missile.
· "The remains of an unidentified military object have been found. The situation does not threaten the safety of local residents," the Ministry of Defense said on official Twitter on Thursday morning.
8:00 BBC: For the first time in history, the Pope will allow women to vote at the influential world meeting of bishops in October.
07:59: Engineers of the Turkish state aerospace company TUSAŞ prepare for the first flight a new rejection - UAV with low radar visibility ANKA-3, - Anadolu.
12:31 am: The Leopard 2 tank maintenance center will be operational in Poland in May.
· This was reported by Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.
· "The Leopard 2A4 and 2A6 tanks fighting in Ukraine will be serviced and repaired at the Bumar-Łabędy plant in Gliwice," Blaszczak said.
12:15 am: Turkish Vice President denies information about Erdogan's hospitalization and heart attack
· He said that the president only has a cold.
Wednesday April 26
11:30 pm: Slovenia has supplied Ukraine with 20 Valuk armored personnel carriers in complete secrecy.
· According to the publication, transportation to Ukraine was completed this week, and the operation itself lasted several months.
· They were transported to one of the neighboring countries by C17 transport aircraft.
10:59 pm: Russia is using more than 360,000 troops in the war against Ukraine, — Military Media Center.
· According to the MMC, the enemy is directing efforts to reach the administrative border of Donetsk region, as well as to keep the temporarily occupied territories under control.
· It is known that as of today, the enemy uses about 5,900 units of heavy weapons against Ukrainian troops.
10:45 pm: The European Commission will ban the export of Ukrainian grain and oilseeds to Romania until June 5.
· It is reported by Reuters with reference to the statement of the Minister of agriculture of Romania Petre Dai.
· He said that the measures of the European Commission are due to the fact that states will lift their unilateral bans.
10:12 pm: Chinese President Xi Jinping during talks with Volodymyr Zelensky supported the extension of the grain deal.
· This was reported by the press service of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
· According to the agency, the President of Ukraine noted that Ukrainian ports are blocked by Russia, and with them export routes.
9:56 pm: Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone conversation with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
· "We discussed the continuation of defense cooperation and future international events," the president wrote.
9:00 pm: Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir Klitschko held meaningful talks with U.S. government officials.
· "Everywhere they said that Ukraine needs further support from partners - weapons, finances.
· Because the moment now is critical. And the anti-Putin coalition should strengthen assistance to Ukraine," the mayor of the capital wrote.
8:22 pm: 91 Ukrainians have already been rescued from the war-torn Sudan, according to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
· "A charter flight with 64 Ukrainians who expressed a desire to return home, just landed at the airport in Poland.
· As part of the operation, Ukrainian military intelligence officers and diplomats also helped 51 foreigners leave Sudan," the statement reads.
8:05 pm: Italy is ready to provide Ukraine with another €1 billion and supports the country's early accession to the European Union.
· It is reported by ANSA with reference to statements made during the visit of Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to Italy.
· "We all want peace, but it must be a just world that respects the integrity of Ukraine," Italian President Sergio Mattarella said.
7:34 pm: Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Italian investors during a conference on the restoration of Ukraine, which is taking place in Rome.
· "Our experience of protection is successful and scales to the lives of other nations and other countries. It is logical that our experience will become part of a new security foundation of the world.
· I invited Italian businesses, investments, Italian experience to come to Ukraine right now," the president wrote.
6:37 pm: Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced details of a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
· "Particular attention was paid to ways of possible cooperation in order to establish a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine.
· Also during the conversation, we discussed ways to strengthen the Ukrainian-Chinese partnership," Zelensky wrote.
6:20 pm: Ukrainian and Chinese peace plans have found common ground.
· This was announced by the speaker of the President of Ukraine Serhiy Nikiforov.
· According to him, the views of Ukraine and China coincide on the issue of non-use of nuclear weapons, their non-proliferation. Beijing also agreed that nuclear facilities should not be taken hostage.
5:30 pm: The Czech Republic has imposed sanctions on the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, for supporting Russian aggression.
· This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
· He was banned from entering the Czech Republic, carrying out financial transactions through Czech structures, and any of his assets in the country should be frozen.
3:42 pm: At least 38 Russian diplomats in Northern Europe may be undercover spies, according to a joint investigation worked on by Finland's Yle, Norwegian NRK, Sweden's SVT and Denmark's DR.
· The journalists identified several dozen people who are probably employees of the Foreign Intelligence Service, the GRU or the FSB, but worked as allegedly personnel of diplomatic missions in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
2:26 pm: Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke by phone with Volodymyr Zelensky, an aide foreign minister said.
· The conversation took place at the initiative of the Ukrainian side.
1:26 pm: South Africa has refused to leave the court in The Hague ahead of Putin's possible arrival and remains a party to the ICC.
· The office of the President of South Africa said that the country will not withdraw from the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for Putin's arrest.
· A few years ago, former Sudanese President Bashir visited S. Africa to attend a conference, at a time when he was under an ICC arrest warrant for conducting genocide in Darfur. S. Africa let him go.
· I believe that ICC membership is embedded in S. Africa’s Constitution, meaning that for S. Africa to withdraw from the ICC it would require at least an Act of Parliament
NATIONAL
Thursday April 27
11:28 am: "We will not say exactly when, how and where," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteroffensive.
· "This [counteroffensive] will happen unexpectedly for you as well. Because this makes sense of the military operation – no one should know that it has begun. The longer the enemy does not know, the more likely it is that it will be successful," the defense minister said.
· Expectations from the counteroffensive in Ukrainian society are greatly "overheated", - Minister of Defense of Ukraine
· "It's definitely overheated, everyone wants another victory. Previously, they did not believe in victory. Previously, they wanted Ukraine to survive at least minimally, so that at least some part of Ukraine would be preserved. And when the Armed Forces showed success, everyone began to believe in victory - after Zmiyinye, after Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions, after Kharkiv and Kherson regions. They wish you the next victory. This is normal, these are emotions - expectations for success," Oleksii Reznikov
· Russia dreams of negotiations, - Oleksii Reznikov.*
· "She does not know how to save her identity and how to end the so-called 'special military operation' and is looking for options," Ukraine's defense minister said.
9:43 am: Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Timothy Burrow
· "Our state appreciates the UK's leadership position in terms of defense support. It is important that Ukraine receives Western-style military aircraft, as well as various types of weapons necessary to confront the Russian aggressor. I urge Great Britain to take the lead in forming an air coalition for Ukraine," the president said.
8:37 am: Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video with the aftermath of Russian shelling of Mykolaiv
· "At the moment, we know about one dead and 23 wounded, including a child. Eternal memory to the deceased and speedy recovery to the wounded. This next crime against humanity will not get away with terrorists. We will find all the guilty. There will be responsibility for everything," the president said.
7:31 am General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Last day, the Russians inflicted 7 missile and 39 air strikes, carried out 61 MLRS attacks on the positions of Ukrainian troops and critical infrastructure of settlements.
· The main efforts of the Russian troops are focused on conducting offensive operations in the Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinsky directions. Units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine over the past day repelled 54 attacks of the Russian Federation in these sectors of the front. The fiercest fighting continues for Bakhmut and Marinka.
· Aviation of the Defense Forces of Ukraine over the past day inflicted 11 strikes on areas of concentration of Russians.
· Also, 6 unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed. And units of rocket troops and artillery hit 2 air defense systems and 2 more important military facilities of the Russian Federation.
12:46 am: The exchange of prisoners with Russia "all for all" is a task that will definitely be completed.
· This was stated on the air of the telethon "United News" by the representative of the Defence Intelligence Andriy Yusov.
· "This task will definitely be fulfilled. And there is news, but we will not publish them now in order not to interfere with the main key news that will definitely take place," Yusov said.
Wednesday April 26
10:30 pm: Volodymyr Zelenskyy: First of all, I want to thank our entire team involved in exchanges. Another 44 people from Russian captivity were returned home to Ukraine. Most are military, from different directions. And two civilians.
· In total, 2279 Ukrainians have already been returned from Russian captivity during the full-scale war.
6:51 pm Update from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of 18:00 on April 26:
· "During the day, the enemy inflicted 3 missile, 31 air strikes and carried out about 26 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems.
· There are wounded among the civilian population, private residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure destroyed and damaged."
· "The enemy focuses its main efforts on conducting offensive operations in the Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinsky directions.
· During the day, 43 enemy attacks were repulsed. The fiercest fighting continues for Bakhmut and Marinka."
· "Aviation of the Defense Forces during the day inflicted 11 strikes on areas of concentration of personnel and military equipment of the occupiers.
· An enemy Supercam-type reconnaissance UAV was also shot down.
4:54 pm: According to a map from British intelligence, the main fighting continues in eastern Ukraine. While the advance of the enemy is not fixed.
· Local clashes also continue in southern Ukraine. In particular, in Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. The enemy in these sectors of the front took up defense.
4:37 pm:Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk has published the first footage of the Patriot Sam on combat duty in Ukraine.
4:22 pm: On the anniversary of the Chernobyl tragedy, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone conversation with IAEA Director Rafael Grossi.
· "I stressed that only the return of full control over the ZNPP to Ukraine will protect the world from a new catastrophe. He also thanked for the special program of the IAEA on medical support of Ukrainian nuclear scientists," the president wrote.
4:07 pm: Another exchange of prisoners took place - Ukraine returned home 44 people, - the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
· Among them - 36 privates and sergeants and 6 officers. These are military, border guards, national guardsmen, sailors. These are defenders of Mariupol, Azovstal, Kherson region, some of them fought the enemy in the East.
3:52 pm: Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed former Minister for Strategic Industries Pavel Ryabikin as Ukraine's ambassador to China, according to a decree on the president's website.
1:46 pm: Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the occupiers are trying to influence the change in ethnic composition in the occupied territories of Ukraine and are relocating ethnic groups from remote regions of Russia to Ukraine.
· According to Maliar, IDPs from Russia in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine are strongly assisted by local Russian occupation administrations. They provide immediate accommodation for families of newcomers, employment, provision of affordable (preferential) loans for the purchase of housing, business development, etc.
1:07 pm:"The 37th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident – the worst nuclear disaster in the history of mankind.
· We remember all those who struggled with the consequences of the accident, all those whose lives were taken by Chernobyl. And we will not allow anyone to neglect the memory of this catastrophe, its victims, the heroes who gave their lives in the fight against it," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Mordor - russia
Thursday April 27
11:09 am: Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev has been removed from his post as Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, according to Russian media
· He was responsible for the logistics of the army, and even previously headed the National Center for Defense Management of the Russian Federation.
Wednesday April 26
11:51 pm: Explosions were heard near the airfield in St. Petersburg. This was reported in local media.
5:54 pm: A Russian military plane crashed in the Murmansk region due to a fire, according to Russian media.
· It is reported that he fell into the lake, and the pilots managed to eject.
KHARKIV
Thursday April 27
10:17 am Kharkiv RMA: Last day, Russians massively shelled civilians and civilian infrastructure in the settlements of Kharkiv, Kupiansk and Chuhuiv districts.
· A private household, buildings of an oil production enterprise, a fire and rescue unit, private residential buildings, outbuildings, and a shop were damaged. There were no casualties.
09:29 am Kharkiv RMA: Russian artillery shelled the village of Lyptsi, Kharkiv district. There are hits on residential buildings
· Emergency services are working on site. Information about the victims is being established.
DONETSK
Thursday April 27
10:49 am: Almost 4 thousand food sets were delivered by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation to Myrnohrad. This city is located in the Pokrovsk district of Donetskregion. Now local residents have begun to receive humanitarian aid. First of all, we are talking about the most vulnerable categories of the population.
· In total, since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Foundation has donated about 600 thousand food sets to residents of 22 regions of Ukraine. The assistance is provided within the framework of the program "Rinat Akhmetov – Saving Lives".
9:14 am Donetsk RMA: On April 26, Russians killed 3 residents of Donetsk region: in Kostiantynivka, Dyliivka and Zvanivka.
· Another 4 people in the region were injured.
Wednesday April 26
9:25 pm Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region.
5:11 pm: Ukrainian Team volunteers brought Mavic drones with night vision devices and Starlink to the front line in Donetsk region.
· Volunteers of the "Ukrainian team" visited the positions of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade. Black Zaporozhets and the 242nd battalion of the 241st brigade on the front line in Donetsk region.
· "Thanks to the transferred Mavic drones equipped with night vision devices and Starlink systems, Ukrainian soldiers will be able to perform combat missions’ day and night, deftly adjust artillery and destroy garbage," said Artur Palatny, head of the volunteer headquarters of the Ukrainian Team.
2:48 pm: Google has updated online maps of occupied Mariupol. Satellite imagery shows widespread destruction in town, as well as new mass graves.
· "We have worked out a detailed map of all cemeteries. And found new sectors of mass graves at the Novotroitske cemetery (Livoberezhnyi cemetery). The sectors are visually larger than the mass graves in the village of Vynohradne or Manhush," said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol.
12:40 pm Social Networks: Explosions heard in Druzhkivka, Donetsk region.
12:22 pm Donetsk RMA: In the middle of the night, Russians launched a missile strike on Druzhkivka, damaging a residential building and an administrative building. Information about the wounded and dead was not reported.
· In Donetsk sector, 8 houses in Novogrodivka were damaged. In the Horlivka sector, Russians shelled Kostiantynivka three times, as a result of which 7 houses were damaged. In the Lysychansk direction, a house in Siversk was completely destroyed, several more houses were partially damaged.
ZAPORIZHIA
Thursday April 27
10:36 am British intelligence: Russians set up combat positions on Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant reactor buildings.
· "The images show that by March 2023, Russian forces had set up combat positions with sandbags on the roofs of several of the six reactor buildings of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russia has controlled the ZNPP since March 2022. However, this is the first sign that the actual reactor vessels are integrated into tactical defense planning," the report said.
8:58 am Zaporizhia RMA: Over the past day, 83 strikes were carried out on peaceful cities and villages of Zaporizhzhia region: 7 air strikes, 5 UAV attacks, 2 MLRS and 69 artillery attacks. So far, 26 new destructions have been recorded.
· The day was spent under chaotic shelling in Orikhiv, Preobrazhenka, Novodanylivka. Unfortunately, two men born in 1976 and 1979 died in the city. Aviation attacked Gulyai pole: residential buildings in Uspenivka were damaged, people were not injured.
8:41 am: An explosion in the temporarily occupied Melitopol killed 42-year-old police officer Oleksandr Mishchenko, who defected to Russia after the war began, - Russian media.
07:16 am: At 5:15 a.m., an explosion occurred in temporarily occupied Melitopol, the city's occupation administration confirmed.
· The so-called "authorities" reported that an improvised explosive device went off. One person was injured.
Wednesday April 26
7:48 pm Zaporizhzhia Regional Prosecutor's Office: Russian shelling of Orikhiv killed a 46-year-old local resident.
KHERSON
Wednesday April 26
11:59 pm Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kherson.
09:42 pm Operational Command South: Ukrainian military in Kherson region destroyed six enemy BPlA: 5 Lancet shock and 1 Merlin-BP.
8:46 pm: Russian shelling of the Antonivskyi bridge in Kherson region killed Ukrainian journalist Bohdan Bytyk and wounded his colleague from the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
· This was reported by the publication itself and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Antonio Tajani.
· The Italian journalist and his Ukrainian colleague had identification marks that allowed them to be identified as the press.
8:37 pm Social Network: Explosions heard in Kherson.
4:02 pm: A 26-year-old man was injured in an artillery strike by Russian troops on Stanislav, the head of the Office of the President said.
· The Russians also shelled the area of the Antonovsky bridge, as a result of which a foreign representative of the press was injured.
MYKOLAIV
Thursday April 27
7:10 am Operational Command South: published a photo with the consequences of the Russian strike on Mykolaiv.
· One private house was destroyed, another was damaged, a high-rise building and a historic building were significantly damaged.
7:05 am: As a result of the terrorist attack on Mykolaiv with Kalibr missiles, one dead person and 23 wounded are currently known, said Natalia Humeniuk, spokeswoman for OK South.
2:01 am Mykolaiv RMA: So far, five wounded, including two in serious condition.
· As a result of a missile strike on houses in Mykolaiv, 15 wounded and 1 dead
1:06 am Mykolaiv RMA: Previously, Russians shelled Mykolaiv with four S-300s
· One of the missiles hit a high-rise building
· The second arrival was in a private residential building
· Ambulances in Mykolaiv went to the third residential private house
SUMY
Thursday April 27
10:05 am Social Networks: Explosions heard in Sumy region
TERNOPIL
Wednesday April 26
6:05 pm Ternopil RMA: The Ternopil region has become the first region in Ukraine where drone control specialists will be trained.
· Such specialists will be trained at the Ternopil Vocational College with enhanced military and physical training.
· Previously, such a profession was only in higher educational institutions of aviation direction, now in a vocational school.
· The training will last from one and a half months to three years. From September, the college will receive 30 public places for this profession. And now, on the basis of the educational institution, courses are open for those who want to learn how to fly a drone.
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