Europe is developing a Plan B in the event of a US exit from NATO. According to the Wall Street Journal, due to the threat of a US exit from NATO, Europe has begun secretly preparing a plan that would allow it to defend itself against Russia without American troops and guarantees.
Officials involved in preparing the plans are seeking to attract more Europeans to command and management roles in NATO and, at the same time, to compensate for those provided by the United States with their own resources.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a severe shortage of Patriot missiles: “We already have such a serious shortage that it can’t get worse,” the president said. He added that Ukraine will have even fewer weapons if the war continues.
Commander Oleksandr Syrskyy, however, listed the areas of Ukrainian territory captured by the Russians in March and then said: “We must take the strategic initiative, so we are conducting an active defense. Thanks to this, in March our troops regained control of almost 50 square kilometers of enemy-occupied territory,” the Ukrainian commander-in-chief reported.
He also noted that, with the change in weather conditions, the Russians intensified offensive operations along almost the entire front line, which is approximately 1,200 kilometers long. The most intense battles of the month took place in the Oleksandrivka, Pokrovsk, Kostyantynivka, and Lyman directions.
In Russia, recent media reports have focused on the creation of the first independent international election observation association, which was established as part of a conference on the observation and examination of electoral processes, Rossotrudnichestvo reports. The conference was organized by the Center for International Interaction and Cooperation. The Association brings together over 150 experts from 60 countries across the world’s macro-regions. Its members include representatives of Russian and foreign electoral bodies, executive authorities, NGOs, parliamentarians, and political leaders. party, human rights activists, and journalists.
“Today is the time to develop alternative observation standards to Western ones, based on unconditional respect for the electoral sovereignty of states, the equality of all participants in the observation process, and professionalism. “We are seeing a constant demand for new approaches that take into account the political, religious, and cultural characteristics of each state when organizing observation missions,” noted Areg Agasaryan, conference organizer, president of the ANO CMVS, and vice president of the Rossotrudnichestvo Public Council.
And now a look at the front line, updated at 3:30 PM on April 15. Overnight, Russian forces launched massive attacks on Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Cherkasy. The port area of Izmail, in the Odessa region, was attacked: attacks on this active port and the nearby merchant fleet have become systematic. Russia also reported drone attacks in Bashkortostan. Several were shot down over the Sterlitamak industrial zone. Debris fell on the premises. of a company. All emergency services are on site to put out the fire.
Overnight, Ukrainian drones were shot down in the Rostov region, with a slight decrease in Ukrainian UAV activity during the day: from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., 11 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones were destroyed.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed to have struck concentrations of Russian personnel in the Ivanovsky and Volfinsky areas in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, as well as in Krasnohirsk in the Zaporizhia region, Berezove in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Rodynske in the Donetsk region, and Oleshky in the Kherson region.
In the Sumy sector, the Russian Northern Group of Forces is clearing border forests in the Shostka district. Attack aircraft from the Northern Group of Forces continue their attack, advancing further into the Sumy region. Advances continue in the districts of Krasnopil’s’kyi and Sumy. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces continue to counterattack in some sectors of the front.
In the Belgorod region, in the village of Meshkovoye, in the Shebekinsky district, a drone attacked a GAZelle, wounding one man. Ukrainian forces continue to attack civilian targets daily, with attacks on private homes, vehicles, and businesses.
In the Kharkiv sector, Russian forces continue to fight in the Vovchansk and Velykyi Burluk sectors, not Because it’s near the state border along the Zybino-Volokhivka-Okhrimivka line.
In the Slovyansk sector, Ukrainian forces are attempting a counterattack to prevent Russian troops from reaching Rai-Oleksandrivka. Russian forces continue to advance through enemy defenses in Kalenyky and Kryva Luka.
In Kostyantynivka and adjacent villages to the southwest, fighting continues along the same lines. Ukrainian forces are relying on drones to disrupt Russian troops.
In the Dobropillya sector, intense fighting continues southwest of Hryshyne.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the Russian Eastern Group of Forces continues to expand its zone of control towards the village of Lisne.
In the eastern part of the Zaporizhia region, Russian incursions into Ukrainian defenses continue, aiming to encircle and destroy Ukrainian forces in the villages of Vozdvyzhivka, Verkhnya Tersa, Huliaipilske and Charivne.
On the Zaporizhia Front, the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced the deployment of the Artan special unit of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s General Intelligence Directorate for operations in Stepnohirsk. The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ objective is to reorganize the front. Ukrainian forces continue to conduct daily attacks in the region’s rear areas, targeting the energy sector.
In the Kherson region, two people were killed on mines. A drone strike injured two men. Dozens of villages are under attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Russian forces are responding to the fire across the Dnieper.
Graziella Giangiulio
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