Ukraine – 4/7/23 Sitrep
By: Bohdan Chomiak & Robert Homans
April 7, 2023
Bank of America’s Pro-Russian Investment Conference/Financial Times
As the Financial Times reported, “Bank of America cut short an online client conference on geopolitics and apologised to attendees after some balked at what they saw as pro-Russian comments about the war in Ukraine, according to three people who attended the event.”
According to the FT, one of the attendees described the event as “more like the Bank of Russia than the Bank of America.” Another described the event as “relentlessly anti-Ukrainian.”
The FT article described one speaker, Nicholas Petro a professor of political science at the University of Rhode Island (URI), as being particularly anti-Ukraine. Petro’s prepared text, that he shared with the FT, included, “Under any scenario, Ukraine would be the overwhelming loser” in the war. Its industrial capacity would be “devastated”, partly by its economic policy of becoming an agricultural superpower “as recommended by the EU and the United States” and its population would continue to shrink as people left to look for employment abroad. “If this is what Russia meant by removing Ukraine’s capacity to wage war against Russia, then it will arguably have won,” he said.
“He (Petro) said the US government had no interest in a ceasefire because it had the most to gain from a prolonged conflict through a “dramatic increase in EU energy and military dependence on the US.” “ This trope has been shared by many, including Ben Aris Editor of BNE Intellinews, among others.
What is missing from Prof. (and I use the term loosely) Petro’s remarks at the Bank of America Conference described by FT, is the acknowledgement that Ukraine is fighting for its survival, both as a country and as a people, against aggression by a totalitarian State, a state that among other things is an anathema to every single principle of free enterprise to which Bank of America owes its existence. A.P. Giannini, the Founder of Bank of America, got his start in San Francisco, just after the 1906 Earthquake, when he set up a table mounted on 2 sawhorses, where he advanced funds to BofA customers who needed money to survive.
What does Prof. Petro suggest that Ukraine do, given that Ukraine apparently doesn’t measure up to his financial and economic standards, surrender; submit to Russia even knowing what is in store? Probably.
This conference is an example of the one blind spot in Ukraine’s otherwise successful information war with Russia, getting their story out to U.S. financial institutions, including banks and asset managers. As FT reported Tim Ash, often quoted in these emails stated, “I still don’t get why US banks still wheel out speakers at events for clients who so often roll through Moscow’s talking points on the war in Ukraine,”
Timothy Ash, of BlueBay Asset Management, a Russia specialist (also Ukraine and Turkey among others), who attended the conference, wrote on Twitter. He told the Financial Times: “Clearly Moscow is in an information war with the west. It has an interest in influencing how western banks portray the conflict, and banks need to be mindful of that.” “
This has been a problem for Ukraine for years. In March 2014, just after Russia’s invasion of Crimea, a friend of mine who runs a hedge fund in New York told me that representatives of the Russian Federation, likely from the Russian Consulate and UN Mission, were fanning out all over Wall Street, telling firms “let’s get back to business,” and “don’t pay any attention to sanctions.”
Many took Russia’s advice. For example, in November 2017 David Rubenstein, a Founder of the Carlyle Group a major asset manager that, at the time, had substantial interests in Russia, co-hosted an event at Washington DC’s National Cathedral entitled “A Concert for Unity.” I actually received an invitation. The conductor was Valery Gergiev, one of the 511 signers of an open letter to Pres. Putin supporting Russia’s invasion of Crimea.
The National Cathedral is the closest thing we have in the U.S. to a national church, and Dean Randolph Hollerith allowed his institution to be venue for what amounted to Russian propaganda. At the time I contacted every Ukrainian and Ukrainian supporter I could think of. I implored them to go out to the National Cathedral, to share with the attendees their feelings about how Hollerith was allowing his institution to be used. Over 30 people came and 1 was arrested by Washington, DC Police.
Hollerith presided over the funeral of Sen. John McCain, held at the National Cathedral. During the service, McCain must’ve been rolling over in his casket. “Unity?”
Ukraine doesn’t have a comparable effort to counter Russia in the financial sector. This is going to become extremely critical during Ukraine’s reconstruction, starting even now during the war, when Ukraine is going to look at the private sector for a substantial amount of the funding.
There are plenty of prominent supporters of Ukraine engaged in the financial services industry in the U.S. Perhaps a group should be established, whose purpose is to work with Ukrainian Embassy in Washington to counter the type of Russian disinformation that finds its way into conferences and other events as described by the FT, within financial institutions themselves, and within educational institutions like URI.
I am happy to join the effort.
Dirty Russian Money in Favour of Ukraine – Plans on how to do it in Europe/European Pravda
Very interesting article, on the process of recovery of frozen assets in favor of Ukraine. The authors are both from Transparency International, Roland Papp, Senior Policy Officer on Illegal Financial Flows, Transparency International EU and Nataliia Sichevliuk, Legal Advisor at Transparency International Ukraine. Missing from the article is any discussion of Switzerland, a major repository for frozen assets.
In addition to the difficulty of establishing that frozen assets are proceeds from theft, there is also the problem relating to countries releasing the information required to establish that the assets are indeed stolen. In 2014, the UK Serious Fraud Office (UK-SFO) froze $23 million in assets belonging to Mykola Zlochevsky, CEO of Burisma the same company that hired Hunter Biden as a Director. The office of the General Prosecutor of Ukraine, at the time Viktor Shokin, declined numerous requests by the UK-SFO to share information that would show that the funds were stolen. Eventually the UK-SFO had no other choice but to lift the freeze and return the $23 million, plus accrued interest, back to Zlochevsky.
Nice Work, If You Can Get it
Ukrainska Pravda reported that they had found the location of the house owned by the Abbot of the Monastery of the Pechersk Lavra, used by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate. The Abbot has been arrested, and the rest of the monks are under an eviction order.
News From the Battlefield
For the 2nd day in a row, the number of Russian casualties has gone down from numbers in recent weeks.
The latest “Reporting From Ukraine” has a particularly interesting account of the fighting around the City of Avdiivka, in Donetsk Oblast. Avdiivka is less than 10km. from Donetsk City, and it the site (or was) of a large coking plant that serves Ukraine’s steel industry.
He reports that Russian units trying to close a salient around Avdiivka are down to 11% of their original strength, and Ukraine has been able to occupy Russian trench lines. This, even though Russia has brought in replacements, according to Reporting From Ukraine these replacements are largely untrained.
He also describes a Ukrainian drone attack, where a drone entered a door of a building where Russian were hiding and detonated. He also describes how Ukrainians are mining their drones. If a drone gets shut down, when Russians pick up the drone the mine goes off. Insidious.
4/7/23 Sitrep (my comments in bold face)
Russian Invasion of Ukraine 12:00 noon April 6 to 12:00 noon April 7, 2023
Abbreviations:
RMA = Regional Military Administration SBU = Security Service of Ukraine
RASHISTS = russian Facists/all russian invaders
INTERNATIONAL
Friday April 7
11:54: The Polish government is developing mechanisms that will stabilize the situation on the food market. In particular, Ukrainian grain will be transported through Poland to third countries without unloading.
11:37: The Italian Armed Forces' SAMP-T air defense system is deployed in Slovakia to strengthen NATO's eastern flank.
· This is stated in a statement by the NATO Joint Air Command.
09:40: Egypt holds intensive consultations with Israel, the United States and Palestinian factions to de-escalate tensions that arose on Friday night around the Gaza Strip, Al Arabiya TV channel reports.
· On the night of April 7, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officially announced that it had begun to strike at the facilities of the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
07:41: Ukrainian grain will be exported through Poland without unloading, - government spokesman Mueller.
· In recent months, Polish farmers have held protests against a significant influx of Ukrainian grain into the Polish market, which was supposed to transit through Poland to third countries. Therefore, in the near future, Poland will develop new mechanisms that will stabilize the situation caused by the export of Ukrainian grain in the food market.
07:56: Chinese leader confirms he will talk to Zelensky "when conditions arise," says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
· "It was interesting to hear that President Xi reaffirmed his willingness to hold the conversation when the conditions and times are right. I think this is a positive element," she said.
00:24: The IDF officially announced the launch of strikes on the Gaza Strip.
Thursday April 6
23:30: World media about Ukraine April 6
· The New York Times offers an analysis of how Russia's offensive in eastern Ukraine ran aground. After months of moving soldiers into eastern Ukraine, Russia's progress essentially adds to three small settlements and a part of the city of Bakhmut that is a resonant battleground with limited strategic importance.
· Politico According to the publication, Emmanuel Macron could not touch Xi Jinping because of Russia's war against Ukraine. On the second day of the French president's visit, the Chinese leader maintained his longstanding stance on Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, saying "all sides" had a "well-founded security concern" — and did not hint that he would use his influence to help end the conflict.
· CNN Ukraine sees Russia's weaknesses and is preparing to strike back, according to media analysis. "Weather the storm, exhaust the enemy, and then strike back." This has been the mantra of the Ukrainian military for many months, repeated by senior U.S. and NATO officials since winter. Is it possible to fulfill it, and if so, where, when and with what? Perhaps even Ukrainians themselves do not yet know, journalists say, but they are aware that this will be a decisive page in the conflict.
23:25: The United States, Germany and Hungary resist attempts by Poland and the Baltic states to offer Ukraine a NATO membership plan at the alliance's July summit in Vilnius.
22:43 The Times of Israel: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant gave instructions to "consider all options for responding" to rocket fire from Lebanon.
21:41: Greece is ready to transfer another batch of BMP-1 and artillery shells to Ukraine, said Chief of the General Staff of the National Defense of Greece, General Konstantinos Florosa.
· "We are also ready to transfer, in agreement with the International Donation Coordination Center, another batch of BMP-1, 73-mm rockets, artillery and rifle ammunition," the general said in a statement.
21:10: Ukraine's economy will grow by 0.5% in 2023 after falling 29.2% last year. Back in January, the World Bank expected growth of 3.3%.
· This is stated in the Economic Review of the Europe and Central Asia region of the World Bank.
· The GDP growth forecast for 2024 has worsened from 4.1% to 3.3%. The World Bank expects Ukraine's economy to grow by 6.5% in 2025.
20:28: Armenia to take part in NATO military exercises - Pentagon
· According to Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrin Singh, Armenia, Moldova, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Kosovo, which are currently not NATO member states, will take part in the upcoming NATO military exercises.
20:25: The United States praised the skills of Ukrainian fighter pilots
· The United States praised the skills of Ukrainian pilots who were tested to work with F-16 fighters: thus the length of their training program may be reduced.
17:38: Israel announces massive rocket attack from Lebanon
· Around 14:30, 34 rockets were fired at Israeli territory from Lebanon. This was the most massive attack since 2006.
· It is noted that as a result of the attack on the territory of Israel hit at least 9 rockets, 25 were intercepted with the help of the air defense system "Iron Dome".
· According to preliminary data, as a result of the missile strike, one woman received minor shrapnel wounds. Another victim was assisted by doctors on the spot – she was in a state of shock.
16:54: Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a meeting with European politicians said he would call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when the time comes.
· This publication Leparisien reported a French diplomat who attended the meeting.
· At the same time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it "positive" that Xi wants to talk with her Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
15:54: Representatives of the United States of America, Great Britain, Albania, and Malta withdrew from the UN meeting during a speech by Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, who was arrested by the ICC.
· Lvova-Belova switched on via video link to an informal meeting convened by Russia to discuss the "evacuation" of Ukrainian children from the conflict zone.
· Representatives of the United States, Britain, Albania and Malta left the hall during a speech by the Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights. Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, called the move "a clear demonstration of its indifference to the fate of Donbas children and Ukrainian children."
· I wonder why France, a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council, also didn’t walk out.
· If Lvova Belova had lived in 17th Century Salem, Massachusetts, she’d have likely been tried, convicted and executed for witchcraft.
15:20: China is against the use of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons in Ukraine, attacks on its power plants, said leader Xi Jinping.
· French President Emmanuel Macron, in turn, noted the inadmissibility of deploying nuclear weapons outside the territory of their own states.
· The French leader added that countries, including China, should remind Russia of international obligations.
14:46: China hopes peace talks will resume as soon as possible.
· It is reported by CNN with reference to the statement of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
· "I hope that it will be possible to find a political solution and a balanced, effective and sustainable scenario for European security," Xi said.
14:30: British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley in an interview with Politico reaffirmed NATO's promise to Ukraine's membership in the future.
· However, now, according to him, the main attention should be focused on strengthening the defense capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
13:56: The Seimas of Lithuania adopted a resolution inviting Ukraine to NATO at the alliance's summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, 2023.
· The relevant resolution is published on the website of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
13:47: Ukraine and Poland will jointly produce tank shells of 125 mm caliber.
· This was announced by Minister of Strategic Industry of Ukraine Alexander Kamyshin.
· "Yesterday, during the official visit of the President of Ukraine to Poland, the relevant Memorandum was signed by the General Director of the Ukrainian state holding and the management of the Polish manufacturer," Kamyshin said.
13:30: Lithuania announces new €41 million military aid package for Ukraine.
· This was announced by Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas on Twitter.
NATIONAL
Friday April 7
11:04: "In 11 months of operation of the UNITED24 fundraising platform, more than $ 300 million has been raised thanks to donations from more than 110 countries," Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
10:11: The State Border Service published footage of preparations for the offensive of the Ukrainian brigade "Steel Cordon".
· The brigade is fully formed of volunteers who will take part in the assaults.
09:25 Operational Command South: Over the past day, Ukrainian missile and artillery units have eliminated 13 Russians, MLRS Grad, Msta-S howitzer, 3 reconnaissance drones and 2 cars on the southern front. An observation post on one of the islands was destroyed.
07:06 Operational information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
· Over the past day, the enemy inflicted 5 missile and 18 air strikes, carried out 53 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems on the positions of Ukrainian troops and civilian infrastructure of settlements.
· In the settlements of the Dzhankoi district of the temporarily occupied Crimea, the Russian invaders involve the local population in the construction of fortifications
· It is known that men are mainly involved in engineering work, most of whom are drug addicts and people with alcohol addiction.
· Aviation of the Defense Forces over the past day inflicted 6 strikes on areas of concentration of personnel and military equipment of the occupiers,
· In addition, Ukrainian defenders destroyed 3 UAVs of various types ("Orlan-10", "Supercam" and "Lancet-3"), as well as 3 corrected aerial bombs.
· At the same time, units of rocket troops and artillery hit 2 areas of concentration of enemy manpower, 2 fuel and lubricant depots and an enemy electronic warfare station, - the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
00:15: In Irpin, Kyiv region, Professor of the State Tax University Vorobyova Liubov Sergeevna, at the request of students to conduct classes in Ukrainian, began threatening to conduct an exam in Russian.
· The teacher stressed that she has been teaching this way for 35 years and nothing will change.
· The State Tax University is another legacy organization in Ukraine that needs to be either shut down or its curriculum modified. During the Yanukovich Administration the State Tax University was one of the most corrupt institutions in Ukraine. Back then, the price (bribe) for admission was $5,000.00 (as a State university the tuition was supposed to be free). New students were told that they could recover their payment in less than a year, in the form of revenue from extortions obtained from Ukrainian businesses subjected to criminal tax audits. This calculation, that students could recover their fee in less than a year, is net of the share they would be expected to kick back their supervisors.
Thursday April 6
23:58: Against the background of significant losses of the Russian army and in anticipation of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russian army soldiers began to surrender, and last month a record was recorded for the number of appeals.
· This was announced on the air of the telethon by the representative of the state project "I want to live", created for the voluntary surrender of the Russian military, Vitaliy Matvienko.
· "In March, we recorded essentially a record of more than 3,000 appeals, which is twice as many as in 2022," he said.
23:12: NSDC Secretary Danilov said that if Volodymyr Zelensky proposes peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, he will commit "political suicide"
22:51 Operational Co: Due to a powerful storm in the Black Sea, all enemy missiles have been brought to their home base.
22:15: Volodymyr Zelenskyy: It is very important that the content of the visit to Poland, the work of our delegation in Warsaw and in constant communication with Polish partners should be tangible for our front.
· Defending and protecting our people, supporting our resilience, especially soldiers, is the number one issue in all negotiations and meetings. It is defense – weapons for Ukraine, ammunition for Ukraine, new defense systems for Ukraine.
21:26 Operational Command North: Russian occupation forces shelled Sumy region with artillery.
· The military recorded 11 "arrivals". There were no reports of casualties among the local population or damage to civilian infrastructure.
18:24: Ukrainian tankers completed training on the Challenger 2 in the UK and returned home.
17:54: At the front, during enemy shelling in the Kramatorsk sector on April 5, conductor of the Kyiv Opera Kostiantyn Starovytsky was killed
· The artist was only 40 years old – before the start of a full-scale war, Starovitsky was a conductor, director and musician.
· Konstantin Starovitsky from the first days of the full-scale invasion served as a senior rifleman of the security company of the Brovary district territorial center. Then he continued to serve in Kharkiv and Donetsk regions.
17:09: NABU launched a new pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings regarding the transfer of 305 million cubic meters. m. of state gas to a fictitious company in 2020.
16:24 Operational Command South: We have significantly pushed the enemy on the Kinburn Spit
· Although once every two days, the enemy dares to pull out an artillery installation to indicate its presence on the western part of the Kinburn Spit and shell the Dnieper-Bug estuary, hinting at control over sea transport routes. However, the stable presence of the enemy there is not fixed.
16:09: Shareholders of the private joint-stock company "AutoKrAZ" addressed an open letter to the ambassadors of the Group of Seven countries to draw attention to the fact of illegal alienation (actual expropriation) of their enterprise in favor of the state.
· The letter states, in particular, that the shareholders of PrJSC AutoKrAZ do not understand on what basis and, most importantly, for what purpose their property was taken (expropriated) and what the government was guided by when making such an ineffective and incompetent decision. After all, in order for the plant to work in favor of the state, it is not necessary to select shares.
15:09 Deputy Minister of Defense: None of the Russian reports about the situation in Bakhmut are true.
· "When I monitor the enemy's fakes on Bakhmut about what the military command reports to the president, who made what decisions, which plan failed, which of the generals defends what position on the defense of Bakhmut, one thing is very pleasing - we have no information leakage."
· She noted that information that would correspond to reality had never appeared in the media.
15:00 Operational Command South: There are currently 2 Russian submarine and 2 surface missiles on duty in the Black Sea.
· "This suggests that the total salvo of "Calibers" can reach 24 units"
14:11: Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi published a video dedicated to the anniversary of the liberation of Chernihiv region.
· "By April 6, 2022, the Defense Forces had completely de-occupied the region. In the Siversky operational area, control over the State border of Ukraine was restored," Zaluzhnyi wrote.
13:16: With the assistance of the Office of the President of Ukraine and the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a nationwide campaign on the resistance of Ukrainians "Let's Compete for a New Life" was released.
· "Hundreds of thousands of our people protect Ukraine from the enemy. Millions help! They are looking for everything necessary for defense, treating and rehabilitating after wounds, saving after Russian strikes, working for Ukraine and Ukrainians," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote.
13:00: The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published a video of the destruction of the enemy tank T-90 "Proryv".
· According to the General Staff, anti-tankers of the 87th battalion of the 45th separate artillery brigade detected the target, immobilized it, and then finished it off.
12:42: 446 mines and unexploded ammunition was neutralized during the day by pyrotechnicians, the State Emergency Service reported.
Mordor - russia
Friday April 7
07:09: Russia supports pseudo-volunteers in the occupied territories - Center of National Resistance.
· "However, "volunteers" in this case are relative, because for this young migrant workers from the Russian Federation receive money from Rosmoloda, a federal structure responsible for financing Kremlin youth projects. Currently, Russians are actively issuing grants for "volunteering" in the temporarily occupied lands. In addition, the occupiers finance projects on e-sports and children's recreation. That is, in this way they are trying both to imitate "support for the occupation by locals" and to assimilate young people," the CNS said.
00:47 Forbes: During the full-scale invasion, Russia fired about 4750 missiles worth $ 16 billion at Ukraine.
· Russia has almost completely exhausted stocks of the Kalibr and X555/101 missiles. True, this is the main reason for the more expensive use of the X-47 Kinzhal missile, the newspaper notes. However, Russia still has thousands of short-range S-300 missiles that strike at ranges of up to 200 km and destroy frontline cities.
Thursday April 6
22:55: A large-scale fire broke out near the temporarily occupied Simferopol. This is reported by local publics.
20:09: The founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, admitted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not retreating from Bakhmut, and there is no Russian offensive in this direction now.
19:40: We came in, talked to locals, returned: The Russian Volunteer Corps reported a second raid in Russia.
· The group, which calls itself the Russian Volunteer Corps, said it had again penetrated from Ukraine into Russian territory, into the Bryansk region and returned without losses.
· "Despite the fact that Governor Bogomaz has already reported on the "successful repulsion of the attack of the Ukrainian DRG", we are again catching him in lies! In addition to performing combat missions, RDK fighters were also able to communicate with local residents, hand them our leaflets and asked them to hide during the fighting," the appeal says.
19:09: Medical facilities in the temporarily occupied territories are overcrowded with wounded Russians.
KHARKIV
Friday April 7
08:35 Kharkiv RMA: Last day, the enemy used barrel and rocket artillery, mortars and other weapons to shell the border settlements of Kharkiv, Kupiansk, Chuhuiv and Bohodukhiv districts.
· He also said that this morning Vovchansk in the Chuhuiv district was under fire again. Yesterday, as a result of shelling in the village of Karaichne, Vovchanska hromada, a private residential building was damaged and fires occurred.
· Also, as a result of yesterday's shelling of Kupiansk, a private residential building and outbuildings were destroyed. There were no casualties.
Thursday April 6
12:48 Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kharkiv.
DONETSK
Friday April 7
11:21 Institute for the Study of War: Russians lost four thousand soldiers near Avdiivka last week,
· Analysts note that the Russians do not lack artillery ammunition in areas where they prefer offensive operations.
10:42 British intelligence: Russia has deployed additional troops to the Bakhmut area and has become more effective in using artillery in the area, making some progress.
· Russia very likely advanced into the city center and captured the west bank of the Bakhmutka River.
· According to preliminary data, Ukraine's key supply route No. 0506 west of the city is under serious threat. The Russians probably strengthened the area and began using more artillery.
10:23 Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region.
09:58 Donetsk RMA: Around midnight, Russians launched a missile strike on Sloviansk, destroying a private house.
· In the Volnovakha sector, Vuhledar and Prechystivka were shelled without casualties.
· In Donetsk sector in Kurakhivka, the territory of the former mine was damaged.
· In the Horlivka sector in the city of Chasiv Yar, 5 houses were damaged. In Soledar community, 3 houses were damaged in Minkivka, sporadic shelling occurred in Vasiukivka, Fedorivka and Rozdolivka. Another 3 private houses were damaged in Kostiantynivka.
08:26 Donetsk RMA: On April 6, Russians wounded 1 resident of Donetsk region in Bakhmut.
Thursday April 6
23:40: In the City Garden of the temporarily occupied Mariupol, the staircase with the mural "Amazing Stairway to Heaven" was destroyed. This was reported in local publics on social networks.
12:10 Donetsk RMA: On April 5, Russians killed 5 residents of Donetsk region: 2 in Oleksievo-Druzhkivka, 2 in Bakhmut and 1 in Serhiivka. Another 9 people in the region were injured.
ZAPORIZHIA
Friday April 7
08:57 Zaporizhia RMA: Russian troops have increased the intensity of shelling on the demarcation line - Huliaipole, Orikhiv and Vasylivka directions.
· Over the past day, the Russians carried out 92 artillery attacks, 6 MLRS strikes, 11 UAV attacks and 2 air strikes. 31 new reports of destruction were recorded: Russian shells partially damaged apartments, destroyed houses, outbuildings, property, cars and agricultural machinery.
Thursday April 6
21:00 Social Networks: Explosions heard in temporarily occupied Melitopol
DNIPRO
Thursday April 6
18:09: UOC-MP priest detained in Dnipro, who committed lewd sexual acts against his own teenage daughters
· The press service of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office reported that the priest, after the death of his wife, for a long time committed lewd acts against two daughters, aged 13 and 15, remaining at home alone with them.
· "The girls told their older brother about this, who immediately informed the police," the prosecutor's office added. Currently, the children are under the supervision of doctors, and the priest is in custody.
KHERSON
Friday April 7
10:51: Russians shelled Stanislav, Kherson region, with artillery in the morning. The shell hit a residential building, broke through the roof and detonated, Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak said.
· Three people were injured – a 30-year-old woman, a 10-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy.
08:46 Kherson RMA: Russian occupiers fired 46 times at peaceful settlements of Kherson region. They fired 258 shells from mortars, artillery, MLRS, tanks, drones and aircraft
· The residential areas of Kherson were attacked by the Russian army 7 times. The enemy targeted critical infrastructure, the territory of the park, private and apartment buildings
· Last day in Kherson region, due to Russian shelling, 7 people were injured of varying degrees of severity.
06:41: Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed Russians on one of the islands.
· During the last day, Ukrainian missile and artillery units eliminated 13 rashists, MLRS "Grad", howitzer "Msta-S", 3 reconnaissance drones and 2 cars on the southern front. An observation post on one of the islands was destroyed.
Thursday April 6
21:55 Kherson RMA: As a result of evening strikes on Kherson region, the number of wounded increased to 7: 6 people in Zmiivka and 1 person in Kozatske,
20:10 Kherson RMA: Russians shelled Zmiivka in Kherson region, wounded 4 people. The explosives were dropped from a drone.
20:02 Social Networks: Explosions heard in Beryslav district of Kherson region
14:13 Social Networks: Explosions heard in Kherson
MYKOLAIV
Friday April 7
07:41: Today, at 5 a.m., the occupiers shelled Ochakiv again, said Mykolaiv region police chief Serhiy Shaykhet.
· Residential buildings, shops and other infrastructure of the city were damaged. Currently, it is known about two victims who are now being treated by doctors.
SUMY
Friday April 7
09:10 Sumy RMA: At night, 6 shots were fired from the territory of the Russian Federation from the AGS of the Seredyno-Budska hromada.
CHERKASY
Thursday April 6
12:25: The SBU served a notice of suspicion to the metropolitan of the Cherkasy diocese of the UOC-MP, who denied Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.
· According to the investigation, in 2020, the cleric ordered the creation of a new departmental website in the diocese following the template of the Russian Orthodox Church. There he praised Moscow priests who help the aggressor.
· The issue of choosing a measure of restraint is being resolved. An investigation is underway to establish all the circumstances of the crime.
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