Bob Homans Sitrep April 17

20220417

Ukraine – 4/17 Sitrep
Compiled by: Bob Homans
@rhomansjr
April 17, 2022

A Funding  Appeal

We have generally not included funding appeals in these emails, but this one deserves your consideration.  

I have known Kateryna since 2014.  Kateryna played a significant role during the 2013/2014 Euromaidan Revolution, but I first met her when she was working as the Assistant the President of one of Kyiv’s most prestigious universities.   She contacted me because she somehow knew that I had graduated from Harvard College.   Her university was celebrating a major anniversary, and she asked me to see if they could invite Drew Gilpin Faust, at the time the President of Harvard University, to make the keynote address.   Other than being an alumnus, I have absolutely no standing at Harvard University, but I knew people who did.   Eventually, I got an email from someone in President Faust’s Office, saying that President only makes limited foreign trips and that she would be unable to attend.   Even though I was unsuccessful in completing my assignment, Kateryna and I have been friends ever since.

In addition to taking up beekeeping, Kateryna has been through one of Ukraine’s sniper schools.   Since the war started last February 24th, her group of volunteers provides as-needed assistance to the Ukrainian Army and territorial defense forces.    It is groups like Kateryna’s that help keep Ukraine’s Army and territorial defense forces in the field.   They are also examples of Ukraine’s volunteer and civil society organizations that form the backbone of Ukrainian Society.

The link is to Kateryna’s PayPal account.   Any contribution will be most welcome and put to excellent use.

Thank you!

4/17 Sitrep (my comments in Bold Face)

Fresh Graveyard in Irpin

INTERNATIONAL

Demonstrations protesting the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place yesterday in Berlin, Zurich, Paris, Stockholm, Vilnius, Hanover, Denchlynhen, Erfurt, Budapest, Denver, New York City, and two one-man protests in Moscow and Khabarovsk.

A Ukrainian girl sang the Ukrainian National Anthem at Yankee Stadium.

Russia postponed its planned rotation of its forces occupying Syria because of the war in Ukraine.

Russia is offering 3-month military service contracts to attract soldiers to its invasion force.

Germany’s Quantum drone manufacturer delivered to Ukraine drones that specialize in providing artillery targeting information.

Latvia’s president stated that Sweden’s and Finland’s membership will strengthen NATO, ensure that the Baltic region remains at peace and reduce the Russian threat.  He urged the two countries to quicken their NATO applications.

Russia is requiring that kindergarten teachers explain to their children why Russia invaded Ukraine.

French cosmetics company L’Occitane is closing all its stores and internet sales in Russia.

The Russian government is releasing and firing its military commanders for failing to meet expectations in Ukraine.

Three Russians beat a Ukrainian in a Spanish bar yesterday for saying, “Glory to Ukraine”.   Note 3 Russians – a Russian never has the guts to take on anyone by themselves.

Russian news commentators admitted that Ukraine won a major victory by sinking the Moskva.  However, they added that responsibility for the victory was NATO commanders and equipment.  

As we now know, the allegation that the sinking of Moskva was a NATO operation is total nonsense.   The planning and execution of the operation that resulted in the sinking of Moskva was all Ukrainian, and the equipment was either Ukrainian (Neptune Missile) or operated by Ukrainians (Turkish drone).  

In contrast, the Russians likely lost their flagship not only because of the missile strike, but also likely due to shoddy seamanship, including being unable to execute proper counter-flooding to keep the Moskva stable and allow her to get back to Sevastopol, non-existent damage control procedures, and being unable to rescue survivors, who were instead picked up by a Turkish ship responding to an SOS.   Among other things, the result of the poor seamanship by the crew of Moskva may include several nuclear weapons lying at the bottom of the Black Sea.

Putin made it a criminal offense to discuss Soviet and Nazi cooperation.    For many years it has been a criminal offense in Russia to accuse Soviet soldiers of war crimes, including but not limited to the rape of approximately 4 million German women during the final assault on Berlin, in the Spring of 1945, and the ethnic cleansing that was conducted during the same period, in what was then called East Prussia.

Russia sanctioned members of the British Parliament, Cabinet, and leading politicians.

In a captured conversation between Russian field commanders, Ukraine’s intelligence service revealed that they consider new recruits are addicts, pensioners, criminals, and prostitutes good for slaughter.

Russia’s ruling party, United Russia, is demanding that Putin release the entire command structure of the Black Sea Fleet and the Invasion.  Their actions deserve a criminal investigation.   In contrast, the crew of the sunken nuclear submarine “Kursk,” likely lost due to a fire on August 12, 2000, when the boat was submerged during exercises in the Barents Sea, was honored by Putin when he declared a national day or mourning.   The loss of “Kursk” may have also been due to poor seamanship and damage control procedures.  Yet another example of Russian double standards.

Russia issued an ultimatum to Russian companies listed on western stock exchanges in the west.  It is demanding that they immediately delist or face nationalization.

Russian media released a video report of the Head of the Russian Navy meeting with the commander of the Black Sea Fleet.  The men reviewed a cadet lineup and claimed they were sailors from the Moskva.

France seized 41 real estate assets belonging to a sanctioned Russian with an estimated market value of 620 million USD.

US officials are concerned that at the rate Ukraine is using munitions it may not have enough to withstand the coming Russian attacks in eastern and southern Ukraine.  The officials estimate that Ukraine is using close to 1,000 artillery shells a day.

As of today Italian, Belgian, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, and Romanian ports are off limits for Russian vessels.

The delegation of Georgian parliamentarians, headed by the parliamentary speaker, visited ruined cities outside of Kyiv and said that they saw similar Russian destruction in the Georgian invasion of 2008.  The speaker said, “These atrocities must be punished.”

Finns mocked Russian claims that Finland faces military punishment by sending five tractors to the Russian border to haul Russian military equipment.

The “Economist” estimates that Russia suffers more casualties in 24 hours in Ukraine than in the entire seven-year war in Syria.

The Pentagon believes that Russia will start another major offensive in days.

The UN warns that world hunger will be widespread as a result of the invasion.  To avert it the UN would like to see Russia lift the blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.

Russian crude oil exports and its state bank, Sberbank, will be the main targets of the next round of EU sanctions.

Latvia donated 100,000 Euro to the International Criminal Court to support it in gathering evidence of war crimes in Ukraine.

Putin signed into law permission to transfer roubles from Pension funds to support commercial banks without having to follow prudential and fiduciary procedures.

NATIONAL

The city of Lviv plans to rename 30 streets after notable events and cities highlighted by the invasion.  Currently the streets are named after notable Russians.

Russia announced plans to re-educate Ukrainian teachers in Crimea this summer so that they meet Russian requirements.

Ukraine’s center for strategic communications said that Russia is planning a deep fake.  The fake will show Zelensky saying there is no need to be concerned about the defense of eastern Ukrainian cities as they are mostly Russian speaking.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Interior says that it has identified 200 billion UAH or approximately 8 billion USD in Ukrainian banks owned by 7,000 Russian or Belarus companies.

Ukraine’s military intelligence says it has compiled a list of 1,237 Russian soldiers involved in war crimes.

Ukrainian Vice Premier of Occupied territories estimates that Russians are holding 700 Ukrainian POWs and approximately 1,000 civilians.

Ukrainian forces clearing Russian mines and unexploded ordinance in Sumy found ampules of sarin at an abandoned Russian camp.  Sarin is a chemical weapon last used on a civilian population in the Tokyo subway by the Om Shinrikyo Sect killing over a hundred. 

Spokesperson for Russian oligarch Abramovich denied rumors that he came to Kyiv to help move peace negotiations forward.  Abramovich has lost 10s of billions of dollars because of the invasion.

Daily Bulletin of Ukraine’s General Staff:

·        Russia lost over 50 pieces of equipment and a significant number of soldiers in ground attacks in Donbas over the last twenty-four hours.

·        Ukraine’s air defense force hit one fighter bomber, a helicopter, five tactical drones and six cruise missiles

·        In Kherson Russian forces are building defensive fortifications and are not counterattacking.

·        The General Staff continues compiling daily reports of looting, property destruction, killing of civilians, and illegal arrest and torture by Russian soldiers.

·        All of Ukraine is still subject to rocket and cruise missile attack

·        Russia continues aerial bombardment of Mariupol

UNICEF reports that 1.4 million Ukrainians in eastern Ukraine are without potable water and another 4.6 face difficulties in accessing water.

Ukraine is negotiating with Russian forces to return 3 million UAH stolen from the Melitopol post office to pay people’s pensions.

Ukraine’s prosecutor general has registered 6,999 war crimes, charged 580 individuals, and opened 3,190 treason prosecutions.  202 children have been killed and 361 wounded.

KHARKIV

Russian artillery fire hit a large open-air market in Kharkiv and set off fires amongst the stands and pavilions.

Yesterday Russians launched 23 fire attacks using artillery, mortars, and ballistic rockets of six districts in the city of Kharkiv killing 3, wounding 31, of which 3 are children.

Russian soldiers in the occupied portions of Izium are trying to convince its citizens to leave and go to Russia.  Their arguments are that Kyiv and Kharkiv have fallen and that the Russians need to complete clearing Izium of nationalists and Nazis.  As there were no takers the Russians forced another 50 people onto buses and drove them to Russia. The Russians are being assisted by local collaborators.

The governor of Kharkiv Oblast advised civilians near the front to evacuate.  The city of Kharkiv is safe.

DONBAS

The head of the Donetsk administration said that Russia continues to shoot civilians saying that reports reached them today of three civilians shot in the streets.

In Luhansk oblast shelling of Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, and Kremenoi continues sporadically.  Ground fights occurred at Popasno and Rubizhno.

In Donetsk oblast ground attacks were repulsed at Mariinka and Krasnohorivka.  Sporadic shelling of Avdiivka, Toretsk and Ocheretuna.

Crude remains at the oil refinery in Lysychansk were set afire once again by shelling.  The refinery, which has been inoperable for the last ten years, has now been set afire for a third time since the start of the invasion.

In occupied Donbas authorities are starting to recruit children to form auxiliary forces to support military forces according to Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman.

Russia’s Federal Security Bureau arrested the deputy head of the occupied territory military for publicly discussing use of chemical weapons against Ukraine.

Russian attacks have levelled Akhtyrka, a small town in Donetsk Oblast with the ground.

The military administration in Luhansk expects the massed Russian attack to begin once the rains stop.  The administration said that soldier numbers have increased to the thousands and equipment to the hundreds of units.

NORTHERN UKRAINE

Retreating Russian forces left behind the bodies of dead Russian soldiers.  They are being discovered on a daily basis.

Kyiv, and the outlying city suburb of Brovary, were hit by rocket attacks in the last twenty four hours.  In addition to damage to infrastructure one person was killed in Kyiv, and twenty wounded, and one person killed in Brovary and seven wounded.

Traffic is now permitted on the Kyiv Warsaw highway as soldiers have completed building temporary bridges in place of those destroyed to halt the Russian invasion.

SOUTHERN UKRAINE

Hulai Pole and Polohe in Zaporizhia Oblast were hit by artillery fire causing significant damage to residential housing.

Unidentified fighters attacked Russian forces in Tokmak, Zaporizhia Oblast, that were unloading munitions.  In the attack the munitions were destroyed and Russians liquidated.

Russian occupiers have started printing bulletins in Nova Kahovka for a referendum.  The referendum is to approve the creation of the Kherson Peoples Republic.

A rocket hit and destroyed a Kindergarten in Mykolaiv yesterday.

In Berdiansk and Kahovka Russian forces are demanding that Ukrainian businesses reregister under Russian law.  The registration fee is 30% of annual income.

Representatives from Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear energy agency came for a visit to the Zaporizhia nuclear generator and were asked by Ukrainian staff to leave.

The head of Mykolaiv administration said that a firefight in Nova Kahovka broke out between Russian forces and militia men from occupied Donbas. 

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