50th day of Russia’s war against Ukraine. War crimes, losses, and statistics.
The Ministry of culture and information policy of Ukraine reports Russia’s war crimes against Ukraine’s cultural heritage as of April 14. According to the Ministry, 10 eastern, southern, and northern regions were damaged: Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Luhansk, Sumy, Zaporizhia, Zhytomyr, Kherson, and Dnipro regions.
Destruction and damage were inflicted on 21 memorials of the beginning of the XXI century, 15 museums and reserves, 17 houses of culture, libraries, theaters, and other objects of cultural value. The shelling damaged or destroyed 74 cultural heritage sites, 13 of which were monuments of national importance. According to the 1954 Hague Convention, this is a war crime. Read more on https://good-time-invest.com/blog/ukraine-14-04-2022/.
Moscow flagship sunk
There are contradictory reports from Ukrainians and Russians about the incident involving Russia’s Black Sea warship “Moscow” (photo). The Ukrainian authorities announced that they had hit her with “Neptune” missiles, causing her serious damage. In retort, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the ship was evacuated after a fire on board that caused the ammunition to explode.
It is the 50th day of the war, and Russia is preparing a “large-scale offensive” in the east in the coming days. Ukrainian officials have warned that the Donbas region will become the new theater of war. Russia has threatened to strike at the Kyiv command center.
As for additional support to Ukraine, US President Joe Biden announced the transfer of artillery, armor and helicopters to Ukraine for $ 800 million in military aid.
Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the ship was evacuated after a fire on board that caused the ammunition to explode and that the source of the fire on the “Moscow” cruiser was located. “There is no open fire. The ammunition explosions were stopped “, states the ministry. The Russians also say that the flagship has not sunk and that it is being towed to port. “The crew was evacuated to other ships of the Black Sea Fleet in the area. Arrangements are made to tow the cruiser. The cause of the fire is being investigated,” the Russians said.
Ukrainian authorities had previously announced on Thursday that they had hit the “Neptune” missile cruiser, causing serious damage.
The attack on the cruiser “Moscow”, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, has symbolic and military value, says Professor Michael Petersen, quoted by the BBC.
In his view, it is the flagship of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea and it is the symbol of the Russian navy power in the Black Sea.
On the other hand, a wave of irony ‘flooded’ the Internet after the attack on the Moskva cruiser: From “successfully intercepted two Ukrainian missiles” to “promoted as a submarine”. “They wanted to conquer Kiev, but in the meantime they lost Moscow,” reads another comment.
Russia warns NATO
Vladimir Putin will consider a series of measures to strengthen Russia’s security if Finland or Sweden join NATO after the Defense Ministry presents its proposals on the subject, the Kremlin reported on Thursday. Dmitry Peskov said the ministry still needed time to finalize the proposals.
Dmitry Medvedev, the vice-president of the Security Council of the Russian Federation and one of the closest allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, had also warned the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that if Sweden and Finland join the military organization, Russia will have to and strengthen defense in the region, including through the deployment of nuclear weapons in the Baltic region.
Lithuania’s Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte on Thursday responded to threats by former Russian President Dimitri Medvedev, who said that if Finland and Sweden join NATO “there will be no more talk” of a nuclear-free Baltic, alluding to the status of the Kaliningrad enclave . “Nothing new” in Moscow’s speech, says Lithuania’s prime minister.
“It’s nothing new with Russia’s threatening again. Kaliningrad is a very militarized area, it has been like this for many years and it is located in the Baltic region“, says the Lithuanian Prime Minister.
“I think that the presence of these countries (Finland and Sweden) as members of the alliance would, in fact, greatly strengthen both the Alliance and the security of these countries and ours. As soon as such a decision is announced, and I hope it will be, I believe that the Baltic countries will have a very serious reason to support it,” Simonyte said.
British Defense Ministry: Vladimir Putin continues to eye eastern Ukraine
In the latest assessment of the war in Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense reports that Tuesday’s speech by Vladimir Putin highlighted his still-alive interest in the Donbas, where Russia is attacking Ukrainian forces in preparation for a renewed offensive. The London government also notes that Ukrainian urban centers have faced repeated attacks without discrimination from Russia throughout the conflict. The cities of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka are also likely to be Russian targets for similar levels of violence, writes the British Ministry of Defense. The combination of large-scale rocket and artillery shells and efforts to concentrate forces on an offensive is a return to traditional Russian military doctrine, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
In its turn, the Institute for War Studies (ISW) released a new assessment of the military situation in Ukraine on Wednesday night, saying that Russian claims about the mass surrender of Ukraine to Mariupol are probably false, but Russian forces have forced Ukrainian troops to abandon the factory. in the northern part of the city on April 13, further coercing the two remaining Ukrainian defense units into battle. ISW also notes that Russian forces are likely to capture the port city of Mariupol next week.
Talks in the US to send a high-ranking official to Kyiv
US authorities are considering sending a high-level official delegation to Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd are potential candidates for the visit, with a visit by President Joe Biden unlikely, Reuters reports. No decision has been made yet. Discussions on this subject were first reported by Politico. Other Western leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, have recently traveled to Ukraine to express solidarity with the country.
“Tortured, tied up, shot in the head”
More and more corpses of civilians tortured and killed by Russians are being discovered by Sumi authorities. The people found have their hands tied behind their backs and are shot in the head, writes CNN. Sumi authorities say the number of bodies discovered after the withdrawal of Russian forces is increasing day by day. The head of the Sumi regional military administration said more than 100 people had been found dead and that there were unarmed civilians. “Many people were found dead with their hands tied behind their backs, with signs that they were tortured and then shot in the head,” said Dmitro Zhyvytskyi. According to him, there are still people being held captive and negotiations are taking place every day so that they can be released in exchange for other prisoners.
Kharkiv Park, bombed by the Russians
The Russians continue to bomb the areas inhabited by civilians. A video shared on Twitter shows the attack on a children’s park in Kharkiv. There are currently no reports of possible casualties. The images capture an intervention by firefighters.
More reports on civilian victims
At least 238 civilians have been killed and 772 others injured in the Donetsk region since Russia’s invasion, according to Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, quoted by The Kyiv Independent. However, the actual number of victims would be much higher, as there are no data on Mariupol and Volnovakha, which were strongly attacked. At the same time, information pointed to hundreds of people were held hostage for a month in the basement of a school near Chernihiv.
Some images with Russian helmets and military equipment abandoned on the field in Ukraine were revealed.
Ukrainian FM Kuleba adopts orphan puppy from Mariupol
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has adopted a puppy from Mariupol, a city devastated by Russian forces. It is about a puppy whose owners disappeared during the siege of Mariupol and whom Kuleba christened Marik. “War brings suffering not only to people but also to animals. And humanity means taking care of both the former and the latter,” Kuleba wrote on Instagram.