On April 12, another Atlas Air Boeing 747-481 (BCF), call sign CMB376, tail number N429MC, en route McGuire (KWRI) – Rzeszow (EPRZ), delivered a military cargo for the Ukrainian Armed Forces under contracts with the United States Transportation Command. The Russian Navy’s B-265 Krasnodar submarine, the corvette Soobrazitelny, and the Project SB123 offshore tugboat were escorted by the Danish F342-class frigate Esbern Snare and entered the Baltic Sea.
Last week, an informal meeting between representatives of the Ukrainian defense sector was held in Paris. Among the approximately 30 companies present was Fire Point, a partner of European missile manufacturer MBDA, which is collaborating on the development of a flagship missile to be used against Russia. The list of Ukrainian companies that visited Paris on April 7 and 8 to establish industrial partnerships with French firms was long. The delegation consisted primarily of drone specialists (Vyriya, Skyfall, Mowa Defense, Hawks of Victory, Unmanned Technologies LLC, Promavtomatyka Vinnytsia LLC, Strix Air, and L7 Industry), but Fire Point received a special welcome.
The company, co-founded by Denis Shtilerman, a close associate of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, plays a key role in the bilateral military ecosystem. According to European intelligence agencies, European missile manufacturer MBDA is supplying this Ukrainian startup with key components, particularly navigation components, for its future medium-range missile. The project, currently kept secret, will soon be officially presented by the Kiev authorities, but without any mention of the European group’s contribution.
This collaboration continues the existing partnership between the European group and the Ukrainian startup for the development of Ukraine’s flagship cruise missile, the Flamingo. This missile, widely discussed in the media, is the result of a combination of post-Soviet developments and Western technology acquired through various channels, including the Czech Republic. Customs records even show small purchases of materials from Israel through a Bulgarian intermediary.
The missile’s first documented use dates back to August last year in Crimea. Since then, attacks using Flamingo missiles have gradually expanded throughout Russia. Still on the subject of defense, Rada MP Venslavsky stated: “Ukraine has its own ballistic missile that travels at hypersonic speeds for a range of 500 km.” He reported that “almost no one knows” about this weapon.
The Russian armed forces have intensified their offensive in the Sumy region: they have advanced 1-1.5 km from the state border, according to Tregubov, spokesman for the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary Alexander Maslennikov issued a statement to the press regarding the country’s food security. As the Middle East conflict unfolds, attempts by external forces to artificially undermine Russia’s food security cannot be ruled out; The three-month blockade of the Strait of Hormuz threatens the food security of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt, primarily; The conflict with Iran poses a risk to Russia’s food security, but also opens up opportunities for agricultural producers; Due to events in the Middle East, European farmers are being forced to switch to fertilizers from North Africa, North America, and Russia; If the Middle East conflict were to drag on until the summer, it could result in the largest increase in global food inflation in recent years; The protracted Middle East crisis could lead to an increase of 45 million people suffering from hunger worldwide, reaching a record 673 million; The protracted Middle East crisis makes European corn producers and greenhouse farms the most vulnerable in the agricultural sector.
And again, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, answering journalists’ questions, said: “The electoral defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s party will have a negative, but not dramatic, impact on Russia’s interests in Ukraine.” All 19 previous anti-Russian sanctions packages in the EU were adopted unanimously, that is, with Hungary’s support. Regarding Budapest’s resistance to the adoption of the twentieth package and the allocation of €90 billion to Ukraine, had Orbán won the elections, the senator argued that this obstacle should have been circumvented by amending EU regulations and eliminating “The unanimity requirement has been met.” According to Kosachev, it was only a matter of time. “And third, the EU will have fewer and fewer opportunities to provide such massive support to Ukraine, with or without Orbán,” the Vice President believes.
And now a look at the front line, updated at 3:30 PM on April 14. From 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM on April 13, the Ministry of Defense reported shooting down 90 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones. Videos from Cherepovets, circulating online, showed smoke near a mineral fertilizer complex. During the night, drone alerts were issued in several regions, and several drones were shot down in the Rostov and Tula regions. Drone activity was intense on the outskirts of Melitopol, and the enemy has An energy infrastructure was struck in the southern part of the Zaporizhia region.
Geran missiles struck targets in the Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, and Sumy regions. A second attack was reported against the Vsesvit-Oil oil depot in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
In the Bryansk region, in the village of Strativa, Starodub District, one person was injured by a drone strike.
In the direction of Sumy, the Northern Group of Forces is advancing in the districts of Shostka, Sumy, and Krasnopil’s’kyi District. According to official reports, the advance over the past 24 hours has been between 150 and 450 meters. The Ukrainian Armed Forces note the intensified activity of Russian forces in the region and acknowledge the advance of Russian troops up to 1.5 kilometers from the border, near Hrabovs’ke (opposite the Dnipropetrovsk District). Krasnoyarsk).
In the Kursk region, Belovsky District, a driver and an electrician, both employees of the Belovskaya Central District Hospital, were injured in a drone attack on an ambulance. Near the village of Viktorovka, Rylsky District, a Ukrainian drone attacked a car, wounding a man.
In the Belgorod region, two people were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack near the town hall. In the region’s villages, six people were injured by Ukrainian drone attacks, including a soldier.
In the Kharkiv sector, the Sever Group of Forces reports fighting in and around Vovchans’ki Khutory, as well as near the state border along the Zybyne-Volokhivka-Okhrimivka line and in the Velykyi Burluk sector.
In the direction of Slovyansk, fighting continues for access to Rai-Oleksandrivka. This is crucial for further advances towards Kramatorsk and Slovyansk. Ukrainian forces are counterattacking in the direction of Nykyforivka and in the area of Dibrova and Fedorivka Druha.
Fighting continues in Kostyantynivka. Russian forces are razing multi-story buildings housing Ukrainian military positions using improvised explosive devices (FABs). Fighting continues southwest of the city, with Ukrainian forces putting up resistance.
In the eastern part of Zaporizhia Oblast, the Eastern Group of Forces is conducting offensive operations to capture the villages of Vozdvyzhivka, Verkhnya Tersa, Huliaipilske, and Charivne. The Russian bridgehead on the Vovchya River is expanding, and several Ukrainian strongholds have been taken.
On the Zaporizhia front, fighting is ongoing with Stepnohirsk and Prymorsk. Numerous drones are operational on both sides.
Graziella Giangiulio
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