#Russia are succeeding in their assault on #Kharkiv due to: delayed #US aid, poor fortifications and #Russia battlefield tactics and #russia is benefitting from the US preventing #Ukraine from using #US weaponry on Russia territory, Max Boot writes for the Washington Post.
Last night Blinken played Neil Young's song 'Rocking' in the Free World' in a #Kyiv bar with the #Ukrainian band 19.99. While a 19.99 band member said the performance was important, many in #Ukraine feel the performance was disrespectful given the situation on the front.
Russian attacks in #Kharkiv region are pushing Ukrainian forces to the brink, Ukr intelligence head #Budanov said in a video call from a bunker in Kharkiv, writes the NYT.
“We don’t have anyone else in the reserves,” he said.
65-year-old Serhii Kotsar, a resident of #Vovchansk, has little left after his childhood home was struck by a Russian bomb, #Kyiv Independent writes.
As a result of the Russian attack, his cat Elia was burned, she survived, but was badly injured. Apart from her, Serhii has other pets, which unfortunately had to be evacuated by volunteers.
South Korean President #Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday #Seoul would keep strong ties with #Ukraine and a "smooth" relationship with #Russia, while ruling out direct weapon shipments to #Kyiv.
As a major arms exporter, Seoul has long been asked by #US and European allies to do more to help Kyiv.
But Yoon told reporters that it was his "firm stance" not to provide lethal weapons to countries in conflict.
After #Russia invaded #Ukraine in February 2022, Western nations were quick to offer #Kyiv their support. The #US leads in military aid, while #Germany is the top European donor and a critical supporter of Ukrainian refugees.
These figures reflect publicly declared support and exclude aid for things like maintaining Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
A girl walks among blooming tulips in a park, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine May 1, 2024. REUTERS/Alina Smutko TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Huge Soviet-era monument taken down in Kyiv as Ukraine continues 'derussification' #TheArtNewspaper
“A Soviet-era monument believed to glorify Ukraine’s ties to Russia is being dismantled on orders of the Kyiv city government in the latest stage of derussification following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Kyiv’s Department of Territorial Control announced the start of the monument’s removal in a Facebook post on 30 April, stressing its massive size: “The sculptural composition is large, consists of about 20 elements weighing between 6,000kg and 7,000kg each. Due to the complexity of the design, dismantling may take a few days.””
The Russians have executed at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers since December while they were trying to surrender, and possibly six more who were about to surrender or had already surrendered, Human Rights Watch has reported.
Human rights activists stress that these cases should be investigated as #war crimes.
The editor of the #Kyiv Independent Olga Rudenko has spoken of the pressure on full press freedom in #Ukraine. With the possibility of elections starting last year, some journalists have reported “undue interest” from Ukraine's intelligence service.
"We can write what we want, but bad actors try to intimidate us" Rudenko told the #Guardian. She also pointed out that press freedom is much worse in #Russia.
There are moments in our lives that unexpectedly become pivotal.
Like when Alessandra learned there is no word for privacy in #russian making her think about how each #language carries the different culture of its people...
A couple takes a selfie next to blossoming lilac trees at a botanical garden, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine April 28. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
"We are given a certain amount of time during the day to prepare for night work. During the day we can sleep an extra 4 hours, and sometimes an extra hour of sleep gives us a lot. The body has already adapted," Kostiantyn said.
The first thing the Mobile Air Defense Fire Group receives is an order to go out.
Usually, this happens before the air raid alert starts in the #Kyiv region.
Before the U.S. president signed a long-awaited weapons package this morning, the Biden administration secretly sent long-range missiles to Ukraine in March. Kyiv has already used the Army Tactical Missile Systems twice, striking targets deep beyond Russian enemy lines. The U.S. is sending more long-range ATACMS as part of the new $1 billion aid package. Politico has more on the weapons, and why Ukraine had been requesting them for years.
President Volodymyr #Zelenskyy sharply criticized German Chancellor Olaf #Scholz for refusing to provide #Kyiv with German-made #Taurus cruise missiles and suggested the reluctance is based on his desire to keep the weapons for #Berlin's own defense against a threat from #Russia
“As far as I understand, the chancellor believes that, as he is a representative of a non-nuclear state, this is is the only weapon that #Germany has, is the most powerful one”
This morning I was passing by what was once the media hub in central #Kyiv. Once bursting with journalists from every corner of the globe, it now looks empty.
Many media outlets have taken their focus off the war in #Ukraine.
The difference between the actions of the terrorists in Crocus and the Russians in Ukraine is only in scale. The evil is the same. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been dying at the hands of Russian terrorists for much more than two years.
Citizens of a neighboring country calmly coexist in their heads with two mutually murderous: "ISIS terrorism against Russians is bad, but Russian terrorism against Ukrainians is good."
Putin is terrorist #1
We live next to an obsessive neighbor with a manic disorder called "Kyiv in 3 days".
As long as the terrorist is alive, he will not abandon his intention to seize Ukraine. Therefore, the topic of the fortifications of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and other regions, which tomorrow may face a new onslaught of the enemy, is a priority today.
At least 13 people were injured in the attack, which included #Iskander and #Kinzhal missiles and damaged, among others, a kindergarten and residential buildings.
#French lawmakers have approved a security agreement with #Ukraine in a symbolic vote which forced opposition parties to publicly reveal their doubts about sending military aid to #Kyiv.
Seven of the 10 political groups in the parliament favored the security agreement. The strongest opposition came from the far left, with communist MPs and members of Jean-Luc #Mélenchon’s #France Unbowed movement voting against, while the far-right National Rally abstained.
The # of Russian attacks using chemical weapons has increased. Last week #Russia dropped grenades with suffocating gases about 50 times, says military spokesperson.
From Feb 2022 to Dec 2023, #Ukraine found Russia used chemical attacks 400 times.
#Russia is producing about 3x the amount of artillery munitions that the US and #Europe send #Kyiv, says CNN citing #NATO and European intelligence sources.
A NATO official told CNN that there is now a 'production war', which is critical to determining the 'outcome in #Ukraine'.
The entire charade of "give Ukraine just barely enough to hold on" just extends the war and its suffering. You need to speak in the only language #Putin understands. Too many in the West think avoidance works, that you can manage Putin from a distance and he'll just... go away.
No. The mob boss just sees weakness and he is emboldened to do worse.
#Macron said he could envision sending troops to #Ukraine only if #Russia breaks through towards #Odesa / #Kyiv, said the leader of an opposition party.
The French government said their forces would only act as instructors or demining specialists.