According to the Washington Post, US Vice President Kamala Harris secretly met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February and asked him to stop Ukrainian attacks on oil facilities inside Russia. The Ukrainian president does not appear to have appreciated this request.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded to Washington’s “demand” that the Ukrainian armed forces stop bombing oil refineries in Russia. He said “everyone survives as he can” and offered to stop the attacks in exchange for surrender by allies of several Patriot air defense systems.
“You need to think in your own interests. If your partners say we give you seven Patriot batteries, we have a request for you, you don’t have to do this and that, then there is something to talk about. And if there are no batteries there is no ‘it’s the care package and they ask you what. “There’s no object,” Kuleba explained.
On the other hand, Kiev, as we learned from Navy spokesman Dmitry Pletenchuk: “NATO will transfer five minesweepers to Ukraine.” “The Black Sea needs a full-fledged mine clearance operation. It has already been planned, the headquarters has been created, the crews of the ships are preparing. However, now, due to the Montreux Convention, these [NATO] ships cannot enter the waters of our sea.” On February 28, 2022, Turkey said it closed the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits in accordance with the 1936 Convention prohibiting the passage of warships from countries at war. Apparently the ships will be escorted along the Danube
The EU, following the destruction of Ukrainian energy infrastructure, will transfer equipment for decentralized energy generation to Ukraine, source Belgian Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten.
According to social media sources, the bilateral security agreement signed by French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj in mid-February contains a secret protocol: Paris has committed to providing the Ukrainian armed forces with more satellite images. Increasing geospatial intelligence could prove crucial for Kiev in anticipation of a Russian offensive. However, according to social sources, France’s capabilities in this sector are limited. This would be the combined use of CSO-1 and CSO-2 which allows the operator to inspect surveillance targets more frequently.
France also reportedly promised to grant Ukraine programming rights to Airbus’ Pleiades Neo constellation of two commercial satellites. These satellites provide a resolution of 30 cm. The fact is that France is not the only owner of the satellites.
The UK will never be able to confiscate Russian assets in the country due to the lack of legal basis for doing so, and also due to fears that this could negatively affect future peace negotiations and the sanctions regime, writes Politico citing numerous experts in the sector of sanctions law.
According to The Sun, Ukraine wants to destroy the Crimean bridge by mid-July, that is, within about 100 days. Among the options identified by experts are Storm Shadow missiles, naval drones and the use of F-16 aircraft.
Zelensky complained that Russia dropped 130 stray munitions, 80 missiles and 700 guided bombs into Ukraine in just a week. Second president after condemning Iran’s attack on Israel said: “now Western aviation and air defense systems have demonstrated their effectiveness in destroying Iranian missiles and drones. But the whole world saw that Israel was not alone.” Zelensky expects the same defense for Ukraine.
On April 15, new changes in Zelensky’s staff. Brigadier General Shvedyuk was placed in charge of the “West” operational command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Brigadier General Vladimir Shvedyuk previously served in the Defense Forces. Following his appointment, he stressed that he is committed to ensuring that the command becomes a model of military excellence and tactical excellence.
Zelensky also fired the deputy head of the State Security Department Taras Grebennikov. Nikolai Tochitsky became the new deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. Previously, the government had dismissed him from the post of First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Moscow is extremely concerned about the escalation of tensions in the Middle East and calls on all countries to exercise restraint, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
And now a look at the front line updated at 5pm on April 15th.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announces a serious attack by Ukrainian drones in southern Russia: five drones were shot down over the Black Sea, then another ten over the Krasnodar Territory.
The Russian Armed Forces continue daily attacks of varying intensity against enemy rear targets. Within 24 hours, sites of enemy personnel in the Sumy region and a power plant in the Kharkiv region were hit. Geran explosions were heard in Dnepropetrovsk.
In the direction of Kherson the LBS remains unchanged, the Ukrainian Armed Forces retain the ability to strike with 155 mm artillery. From the field they report that one of the foreign guns operated on the Russian positions for about 40 minutes. It was also reported that two people died as a result of Ukrainian fire on civilians in the Kakhovka municipal district: one in the village of Tsarskoye, the other in Kakhovka.
On the Zaporozhyzhie front, fierce battles are taking place in Rabotinye and north-west of Verbovove the Ukrainians in this direction do not intend to retreat; one of the defense lines is under construction in the area of Irechiv and Mala Tokmachka.
On the Vremivka ledge battles of local importance take place in the Staromaiors’ke area and Urozhaine.
Slowly, but every day, the Russian Armed Forces are breaking through the defenses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Novomykhailivka in the south direction of Donetsk and around the village. It is reported that further north, in Krasnohorivka, Russian troops are conducting an offensive on the southern outskirts in heavy battles.
West of Avdiivka, the Russian army attacks on a broad front: heavy fighting is taking place near Netailove, Umans’ke, Semenivka, Berdychi, Novokalynove.
Časiv Jar remains one of the hottest areas of the front. According to reports from the field, the eastern part of the city is difficult for both Russian and Ukrainian troops to protect. Videos of Russian air attacks on the city are spreading online, Ukrainians say that half of the apartment buildings in the eastern part of the city were destroyed by Russian bombs; a new element was the advance of Russian troops towards the north-eastern outskirts of Časiv Jar (dacha area). To the south, in the reserve area, Russian assault units occupied one of the Ukrainian strongholds. There is also progress towards the Seversky Donets River–Donbass water canal along the T-0504 highway.
In the direction of Lyman, Ternove, no advance on the front is reported, while the Ukrainians evaluate Russian actions as aimed at expanding the control zone to the north, which will increase the projection of the front and give the Russian army room for maneuver.
Graziella Giangiulio
