Ukraine – 4/29 Sitrep
Compiled by: Robert Homans
@rhomansjr
April 29, 2022
Feodosia/Aivazovsky
Feodosia is a city in occupied Crimea, located between Yalta and the Kerch Straits that separates Crimea from Russia. In December 2008, during an assignment, I visited Feodosia.
Starting in the late 13th Century, Feodosia was occupied by the Genoese, and there is a Genoese castle above the city. Feodosia was also a place where women abducted during Ottoman raids into Ukraine, were kept before being transported to Constantinople and sold into slavery. One can still see the entrances to the underground cells where the women were kept.
The most prominent of the Feodosia detainees was a Ukrainian woman named Roxelana. She became part of the harem of the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent and, later, Chief Consort. Roxelana became Suleiman’s wife, the first woman to actually marry an Ottoman Sultan. Roxelana is a primary example of Ukrainian resourcefulness. Many Ukrainian parents, especially those in Western Ukraine where Roxelana came from, a town called Rohatyn, name their daughters after Roxelana.
My colleague mentions that paintings by Ivan Aivazovsky were looted by Russian troops occupying Melitopol. It is perhaps worth mentioning who Aivazovsky was.
Ivan Aivazovsky, an Armenian, lived and worked in Feodosia, in occupied Crimea. He is perhaps best known as a painter of seascapes. Images of some of his works can be seen here. In December 2008, I had the good fortune to visit the Aivazovsky Museum in Feodosia, located at his house. Having attended an Aivazovsky exhibition in Kyiv, I insisted to my hosts in Feodosia that I visit the Aivazovsky Museum.
During my visit, the Curator told me some interesting things about Aivazovsky:
· Aivazovsky and Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine’s Poet Laurate, attended the Imperial Academy in St. Petersburg at the same time, where they chased the same woman. Aivazovsky eventually won out, when he invited her to accompany him to Italy. This subject came up because I asked the Curator if Aivazovsky and Shevchenko knew each other. She was quite impressed by my asking the question.
· In 1844 Aivazovsky was appointed official painter for the Russian Navy, the Black Sea Fleet. He painted many of his seascapes during his navy service.
· Aivazovsky died in 1900, while at his easel. According to the Curator, he was preparing for an exhibition in Athens, and he likely died of food poisoning, from food he ate while having dinner at the house of a neighbor.
· During his lifetime, Aivazovsky painted over 6,000 canvases. At the time of my visit, the museum had approximately 600, but they only had room to show a portion of their collection at one time. I would not be surprised if many of the paintings in the museum collection have been taken to Russia.
4/29 Sitrep (my comments in Bold Face)
INTERNATIONAL
The US House of Representatives adopted by more than 223 votes Lend-Lease for Ukraine. The Senate supported it earlier. Now the document remains to be signed by President Joe Biden.
Speaker of the US House of Representatives: “The US Congress is ready to support Joe Biden's requests for $ 33 billion in Ukraine, as well as to bring Russian officials and oligarchs to justice for the war against Ukraine."
Pentagon: Biden asks for another $16 billion for Ukraine:
· 6 billion dollars for security, weapons
· 5 billion to supply critical materials from our own stocks
· 5 billion to offset operating costs.
The United States priority is to supply Kyiv with long-range air defense systems such as the S-300, which play a decisive role on the battlefield.
Pentagon: Russia is withdrawing troops from Mariupol and sending them to Zaporizhzhia. Russia continues to strike the city which they wouldn’t do if they controlled it.
Pentagon: The United States has already delivered more than half of the 90 promised 155-mm howitzers to Ukraine.
UK Foreign Office "We can confirm that a British citizen was killed in Ukraine and we support his family."
British Ministry of Defense: Donbas remains Russian's main strategic focus, in order to achieve its stated aim of securing control over the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. In these oblasts fighting has been particularly heavy around Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, with an attempted advance south from Izium towards Slovyansk. Due to strong Ukrainian resistance, Russian territorial gains have been limited and achieved at significant cost to Russian forces.
UK Minister of Defence: The UK can supply Ukraine with weapons that can strike the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Spain delivered 200 tons of military aid to Poland for the Ukrainian military.
Israel, Bulgaria, and Germany called on their citizens to leave the territory of Transnistria "as soon as possible."
Demonstrations in support of Ukraine in the city of Kassel, London, and Dublin.
Bi-2 band canceled a concert in Omsk because organizers hanged a banner "For the President" (with Z symbol).
In Gdansk, the City Council decided to rename the square in honor of Mariupol. Official city website.
Amal Clooney delivered an emotional speech in support of Ukraine at a meeting of the UN Security Council, “Ukraine is a massacre in the heart of Europe,”. She is a well-known lawyer and wife of actor George Clooney. She criticized politicians "calling for justice but not doing it."
Stephen King tweeted that "Putin must disappear before he kills us all. One way or another."
Ozzy Osbourne reacted to the war in Ukraine and said that he was ready to provide his house in the British county of Buckinghamshire to two Ukrainian families.
Russian/Israeli billionaire investor Yuri Milner, whose investments include early positions in Facebook and Twitter, among others, will donate $100 million to refugees from Ukraine. Milner, and his wife Yulia, launched the Tech for Refugees initiative, which will also involve major IT companies, including Airbnb, Flexport and Spotify.
Russia’s Stavropol administration denied two days ago that it is stealing grain from Ukraine. Yesterday a Ukrainian parliamentarian published footage of a convoy of trucks stealing Ukrainian grain and driving to Crimea.
Polskie Radio: Poland handed over 200 T-72 tanks to Ukraine, which will equip two tank brigades. In addition to tanks, Ukraine also received several dozen infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled howitzers 2S1 "Gvozdika", and MLRS "Grad".
DW News: Denmark will send M113 armored personnel carriers, mortars and shells to Ukraine.
Russia lost two military helicopters in Saratov. The pilots ran into each other during training.
More than 3 million Ukrainians have come to Poland since the beginning of the war, according to the state border service of Poland.
CNN: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg believes that if Finland and Sweden apply for membership in the Alliance, this process will take place quickly, and NATO states will find ways to ensure their security until formal accession.
Der Spiegel: The German Parliament voted overwhelmingly to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons. ""For"" was voted by 586 of the 693 MPs present, 100 were ""against"", and seven ""abstained"".
11 passenger buses, donated by Riga to Kyiv, have already crossed the border and are heading to the capital. The buses are loaded with 80 tons of humanitarian aid.
NATIONAL
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Prime Minister of Bulgaria Kirill Petkov met in Kyiv yesterday and discussed joint measures to help end the war.
Operational situation from the General Staff at 06:00 (GMT+3)
· Donbas over the past day, 9 Russian attacks were repulsed, 6 tanks, 1 artillery system, 12 armored vehicles, 1 vehicle and 1 anti-aircraft gun were destroyed.
· Over the previous day, the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit 15 Russian air targets: 1 aircraft, 5 cruise missiles and 9 operational-tactical unmanned aerial vehicles.
· Russian troops continue to block Ukrainian units in Mariupol, near the Azovstal plant.
· Russian troops continue to concentrate their efforts on holding their positions near Kharkiv.
· Russian forces attempted to assault Oleksandrivka, Tavriiske, Ivanivka, and Zahradivka in Kherson Oblast. Failed
· Ukraine regained control of Kutuzivka, Kharkiv region
· Russian forces attempted to take Brazhkivka, Dovhenke and Velyka Kamyshuvakha (Kharkiv region). Failed and retreated.
· The enemy tried to completely capture Rubizhne, but failed, suffered losses and retreated to previously occupied positions.
As a result of a Russian missile attack on Kyiv, "Radio Liberty" journalist Vira Hyrych died.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine: Ukraine has opened more than 8,000 cases of war crimes against the Russian Federation
Russian Ministry of Defense claims that yesterday it destroyed production facilities of Artem rocket and space enterprise in Kyiv.
Minister of Digital Transformation: Elon Musk handed over Tesla Powerwall solar panels and energy conservation systems to Ukrainian hospitals in Borodianka and Irpin.
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine reported a prisoner exchange with Russia. 45 Ukrainians, including 12 civilians, 13 officers and 20 soldiers (of which 5 were injured), were released from Russian captivity.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine: A search of Viktor Medvedchuk's housekeeper uncovered 467,000 US dollars and 87,000 euros. Medvedchuk is Putin’s in law, and he is under arrest in Ukraine facing treason charges.
Defense Express: Chief of the Russian General Staff Gerasimov arrived in Izium to personally command the offensive.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution prohibiting employees of public enterprises and their managers from working remotely outside the country.
DONBAS
Luhansk Regional Military Administration
· Russian troops shelled regional 10 times yesterday. Houses and outbuildings were damaged. No casualties were reported.
· Russian soldiers storm Rubizhne 3-4 times a day and flee from the battlefield
Donetsk Regional Military Administration
· A fuel and oil depot was set on fire in the occupied territory of Donetsk.
· A Russian air strike on the town of New-York in the Donetsk region, three people were killed and three more were injured. The missiles hit an industrial enterprise and residential areas. At least 9 private houses were damaged.
Reuters: Evacuation of civilians from Azovstal in Mariupol is planned for today. Yesterday a medical operating room collapsed in the Azovstal storage facility as a result of shelling and airstrikes by Russian soldiers. Some of the wounded defenders of Mariupol died.
Ukrainian news outlet Defense Express reported on April 27 that Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov will take personal command of the Russian offensive in the Izyum direction. Citing unspecified Ukrainian military sources, Defense Express stated that Gerasimov is already in-theater and will command the offensive “at the operational and tactical level” and claimed the Russian military failed to create a single command structure under Southern Military District Commander Alexander Dvornikov, aka “The Butcher of Aleppo.”
The Russian Orthodox Monastery in Svyatogorsk was hit by Russian shells for the third time since the invasion started.
KHARKIV
Kharkiv Regional Military Administration:
· 2 civilians were killed, 4 were injured as a result of yesterday’s artillery shelling of Kharkiv
· Shelling of settlements in the Kharkiv region continued. In Khroly - 1 wounded, in Kotlyary - 1 wounded, 1 person died, in Pokotylovka - 5 wounded and 2 dead.
· Zolochiv was shelled. Fifteen residential buildings were damaged as a result of the shelling.
· Today, the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the capture of the settlement of Ruska Lozova, This settlement sits on the highway between Kharkiv and Belgorod, Russia, a major staging area for Russian forces invading Ukraine. Ruska Lozova was also the site of a Russian fire base, used to launch artillery and rocket attacks against Kharkiv.
Kharkiv Mayor: 25% of housing in Kharkiv is uninhabitable, about 50% of schools are destroyed by Russians.
Russian officers began to shoot their soldiers to force them to advance into Ukraine - recording of the conversation of the commander of a regiment of Russian soldiers fighting near Izium.
SOUTHERN UKRAINE
Zaporozhia Regional Military Administration:
· In Botievo and Stroganovka, Melitopol region, Russian soldiers force entrepreneurs to open shops and cafes.
· Ukrainian special forces destroyed a rail bridge in Akimovka, Melitopol region. The rail line was used to resupply Russian forces with munitions and fuel.
· Russian forces looted the Melitopol city museum of local lore taking paintings by Aivazovsky (see above) and Scythian gold.
Mayor of Melitopol said that the number of abductions by Russian occupiers at checkpoints and on the streets has increased, so it is dangerous to move around the city and region. He also said, "Everyone will receive a salary, except for collaborators." Civilians in Melitopol have liquidated approximately 100 Russian soldiers in guerilla actions.
The Russian military illegally detained the former deputy of Kherson Regional Council, ex-chairman of Skadovsk District Council Ivan Honcharskyi.
Kherson Regional Council: In Genichesk, Russian soldiers are drawing up teachers lists of those who are ready to teach according to the Russian curriculum. Teachers who agree will spend the summer to the Crimea for retraining, the rest are threatened with expulsion.
Russian forces said they will not return Kherson or any other territory they captured.
Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration:
· Mykolaiv was hit by ballistic rockets. As a result of the shelling, dozens of private households, cars and shops were damaged. Also, Russian shells hit a school playground and the courtyard. Casualties and damages are not yet known.
REST OF UKRAINE
Khmelnytsk Regional Military Administration: A missile hit an infrastructure facility in one of the territorial communities of Shepetivka district, Khmelnytskyi Oblast. The fire has been extinguished.
State Emergency Service: 10 people were injured as a result of Russian missile attack on Kyiv.
Kyiv Military Administration: asks the citizens of Kyiv not to return home yet. "The threat to Kyiv has not disappeared! Yesterday's missile strikes confirm it."
Russian troops launched a missile attack on Fastiv, Kyiv Oblast. There are no preliminary reports of casualties or destruction.
American journalists published a new video taken from a drone over Bucha on March 12-13, during the occupation of the city by Russian troops. The footage shows the same bodies discovered after the liberation of Bucha were lying on the streets. The video once again refutes the Kremlin's fakes about the "staging" in Bucha.
Russians shelled Chernihiv region. About a dozen mortar rounds exploded near Semenovska. The rounds came from the direction of the Russian village of Lomakovka.
Dnipro Regional Military Administration:
· The Russian army launched ballistic missiles at two communities in the region. Initial reports - there are no victims, buildings have been damaged.
· Missiles fired at Velyka Kostroma, Dnipro Region, killed a 71-year-old man and damaged several residential buildings - the village was left without electricity.
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://euromaidanpress.com/
https://invite.viber.com/?g2=AQBD3wxTrZ6XUU7IdXeHUfjVCydekezQCCGuwYnT6qPd1r7n1aVbFIewa6ng6Lis
Gerasimov in Ukraine to take control? This is the definition of a high value target. Zapping him would be a blow on a par with or maybe even heavier than the sinking of the Moskva, because he will be/should be seen as a proxy for putin himself.