The US Navy overspent $400 million in aid to Ukraine in 2022 and then manually edited records to correct the appearance of embezzled funds, according to a new report from the Pentagon’s inspector general. The investigations continue.
Still on the subject of supplies, the United States can provide assistance “on loan to Ukraine”, said the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson. He believes that in this way it is possible to somehow reassure conservatives who believe that the United States is doing “too much” for Ukraine. Furthermore, the possibility of providing Ukraine with aid in the form of revenue from frozen Russian assets is being considered.
Pope Francis has proposed that Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners using the “all for all” formula. “Demanding respect for the principles of international law, I hope for a general exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine: all for all!” – said the pontiff in the traditional message “To the city and the world” (Urbi et Orbi) on the occasion of Easter.
Sending French troops to Ukraine is possible, said the president of the French National Assembly, commenting on Macron’s preliminary statements. Yael Bron-Piwe said this during a press conference in Odessa. “In his statement, the President of the Republic said that he does not exclude anything a priori. In the position that France has demonstrated, demonstrates and will demonstrate until the end of the war, until the victory itself, nothing is excluded, everything remains. I will not further interpret the words of the President, the position is quite clear”, he underlined.
In Germany, however, they have a different opinion, the danger of Ukraine’s defeat in the war is growing, according to German opposition leader Merz in Die Welt. The official said he was watching events in Ukraine with “growing concern.” “Russia has put its entire economy on a war footing and is producing weapons and ammunition in quantities that significantly exceed its current needs. This means that Russia is rearming itself massively, much more than it uses in the war against Russia. ‘Ukraine,’ he noted.
Finland does not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine. Not now, but in the future,” the country’s Foreign Minister told the Financial Times. ”This is not the time to send troops and we don’t even want to discuss it at this stage. But in the long term, of course, we shouldn’t rule anything out,” said Elina Valtonen. According to the Minister: “He doesn’t know what the conflict will lead to and what will happen in the future, so he doesn’t reveal all his cards.”
According to British Intelligence: Satellite images show that the Russian Black Sea Fleet has positioned four pontoons at the entrance to the port of Novorossiysk to strengthen defenses and prevent attacks by Ukrainian unmanned vessels against Russian naval vessels.
According to pro-Russian social media sources, the Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons deployed at the Polish Malbork air base have carried out two take-offs in the last 24 hours after detecting Russian aircraft over the international waters of the Baltic Sea.
Sergei Kuzan, head of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation stated that: “Moldova should ask Ukraine to deal with Transnistria, because Moldova cannot deal with the problem alone. And the sooner the “Transnistrian enclave” is liquidated, the better it will be for regional security.”
Among the relevant news from the Ukrainian social sphere is the news that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine confirms the cancellation of the general elections (which should have taken place today, March 31, 2024). The Ministry claims that the elections were canceled in accordance with the Ukrainian Constitution because martial law was introduced in the country.
On the military front we learn that a new group of Ukrainian soldiers who have completed combat training with the British are arriving from Great Britain in Rzeszow and will then return to Ukraine. Not only in the Kiev region have 10 thousand anti-tank guns been installed, source of the Kiev Regional Military Administration (KRMA) Ruslan Kravchenko: “The fortifications include an extensive system of trenches, shelters and other types of shelters. Barrier lines will be installed: “dragon’s teeth”, anti-tank ditches and other non-explosive barriers. Previously, Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that the construction of three lines of fortifications 2 thousand kilometers long had begun in Ukraine.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko admits that the city could become again a target for Russian ground forces. “Kiev was and remains a target for Putin, because the capital is the heart of the country,” says Klitschko in an interview with BILD. “But we are much better prepared than two years ago. If Putin made such a decision, it would be a bloody decision,” he observes. “We urgently need more air defense systems, more anti-aircraft missiles!”
Despite some successes of the Russian army at the front and attacks on power plants, Kiev is not ready to discuss negotiations or a “freezing” of the war, as suggested to the Bundestag by the leader of the SPD parliamentary group Rolf Mützenich. “This is the wrong attitude, we need more support instead. We will not give any territory to Russia. This cannot be a compromise,” Klitschko said.
According to the Flightradar24 channel, a Chinese Y-20 military transport plane has arrived in Russia following a strange route. On the subject of freezing the conflict, the Russian President’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, spoke over the weekend: “The geopolitical reality has changed since the beginning of the special operation, the borders of Russia and Ukraine have changed and everyone will have to do their take into account the fact that the Russian Federation has four new entities,” he told RIA Novosti.
The Russian army is working to stop Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, Peskov added.
President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on spring conscription: from April 1 to July 15, 150 thousand people between the ages of 18 and 30 should be conscripted. Defense Minister Sergei Shoighu reiterated that the new recruits are not destined to hold positions in the special operation. Since January, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost more than 80 thousand servicemen, 14 thousand weapons, including more than 1.2 thousand tanks, Shoigu said. Since the beginning of the year, 403 square kilometers of territory have come under the control of the Russian army, the minister explained.
Russia has called on the Kiev government to immediately stop all support for terrorist activities and compensate the damages caused to the victims, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. In connection with a series of terrorist attacks, Russia demands that Ukraine arrest the head of the SBU, Malyuk. Ukrainian authorities have received requests for the arrest and extradition of all those involved, the diplomatic service noted. Meanwhile, it has been learned from the Russian press that there are 10 accused in the attack on the Crocus City Hall. Their hearing is set for May 22.
Not only that, the Kremlin has made it known that it will analyze the situation in relation to the expiration of Zelensky’s mandate in May, Peskov said, on which date Russia will pronounce its position on the matter. Putin fired Sergei Belousov from his post as deputy director of the Federal Judicial Service (FSSP). While Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin appointed Vladislav Isaev as general director of the Zaporozhzhie nuclear power plant by decree.
Finally, the FSB announces that the smuggling channel for the supply of explosives from Ukraine via the EU in the form of religious materials has been blocked in the Pskov region. 27 homemade bombs and 70 kg of explosives were seized and the transporter was arrested. The exogenous, powerful explosive substance was hidden in the icons seized in the Pskov region.
And now a look at the front line updated at 2.00pm on April 2nd.
Many comments on the Ukrainian attack on Elabuga which missed the UAV production plant by only two buildings. This could be the longest Ukrainian attack on Russia ever, with a range of around 1,000 km.
A drone attacked an oil refining complex in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, on Tuesday morning, an emergency services representative told RIA Novosti. “At 04:22 Moscow time, a drone attacked the Taneko plant, part of Tatarstan’s oil refining complex,” the agency’s interlocutor said. He added that following the kamikaze drone attack a fire broke out, which was put out after 20 minutes. The agency’s interlocutor noted that the production process was not interrupted.
The number of victims in Tatarstan has risen to 12, all of them are students of the Alabuga Polytechnic University, the Unified Duty Dispatch Service told RBC. The drone attack in Tatarstan was carried out on businesses in Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk.
At night, Geranium UAVs hit Ukrainian targets in Kryvyi Rih, Pavlohrad, Dnipro, Zaporozhzhie. FAB with UMPC once again hit targets in Kharkov and the Kharkov region. Russian analysts have identified the trend of the official Ukrainian spokepersons to exaggerate the results of attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities in order to deceive the Russian command. Thus, in Kharkov, despite the defeat of the CHPP-5, power outages in many areas do not exceed 4 hours a day. Furthermore, Ukrainian statements about the extent of damage to the Dnieper hydroelectric power plant turned out to be exaggerated, although significant.
In the direction of Kherson, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to expand the control zone to Krynki, small groups of infantry launched counterattacks, but were repelled by return fire. The destruction of Ukrainian ships on the Dnieper continues.
On the Zaporozhzhie front, the offensive of the Russian Armed Forces from the south is blocked. Continuous attempts to attack the village from the southern part are fraught with difficulties: it is located on a plain. Russian forces now hold positions on the streets in the rural area, near the school and post office in the centre. The heights beyond Orichiv from the north are of great interest, but this would require wider coverage of the area by the attacking units and the highest degree of coordination. From the west, pressure continues on Rabotinye and Russian troops advance north-west of Verbove.
West of Avdiivka battles are taking place for Semenivka, Russian troops are breaking through in the direction of Tonenʹke-Umansʹke, social sources report that the Russian armed forces are advancing up to 1 km. Russian units are pushing back Ukrainian armed forces in Vodyanoy and Pervomais’kyi.
The advanced units of the Russian Army remain about 600 meters from the outskirts of Časiv Jar, an important forest has been occupied. There is progress from Bohdanivka. The Ukrainian armed forces are strengthening their positions in the city, turning residential buildings into strongholds.
It was reported that Russian special forces units captured three fortresses above Bilohorivka, over which battles had previously taken place. The replacement of the Russian assault brigades and, consequently, the mid-level command on the ground has taken effect. Previous assault operations, according to estimates from the ground, with significant losses, looked extremely strange.
In the Lyman direction, the Ukrainians are transferring units of the 3rd separate assault brigade (3 separate assault brigades, the core is from the Azov battalion) Borova and Izyum, which are located 20 and 50 km from the current LBS, respectively. Apparently, the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is considering the possibility of retreating towards the river. Fragment and hold positions on advantageous lines, simultaneously extending Russian units in depth and slowing the advance of the Russian army due to their units left in the path.
MLRS and drone attacks continue in the Belgorod region. 10 civilians were injured. At the same time, the air defense shoots down most of the targets: yesterday, 36 Vampire MLRS rockets and 5 aircraft-type UAVs were destroyed. In the evening it was reported that 6 UAVs had been destroyed in the Black Sea.
Graziella Giangiulio
