Press digest – Ukraine
50th day of heroic resistance of Ukraine against Russian military invasion
#BRAVEUKRAINE
Bravery is Ukraine’s newest export. We tell the world: Be Brave like Ukraine 🇺🇦💪
DESTRUCTION AND LOSSES
📌More than 548 children have become victims in Ukraine since February 24, 2022, as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation. At the same time, 197 children were killed and more than 351 were injured to varying severity. According to the data received by juvenile prosecutors, the most affected children were in the regions of: Donetsk — 115, Kyiv — 105, Kharkiv — 81, Chernihiv — 54, Mykolaiv — 40, Kherson — 38, Luhansk — 36, Zaporizhia — 23, capital — 16, Sumy — 16, Zhytomyr — 15.
📌During the fixation of the criminal offenses committed by the Russian military on the territory of the Gostomel and Bucha, Kyiv region, the bodies of children aged 4 and 10 with bodily injuries, as well as the charred body of a 17-year-old boy were found.
📌It became known that in February, at the checkpoint in the Chornobyl zone near the Dytyatky village of the Kyiv region, Russian servicemen shot at a civilian car that stopped on the roadside. The father and his infant son were killed.
📌The number of children who died as a result of the shelling of the railway station in Kramatorsk, has increased to 7. Two more children died in the hospital.
📌73 bodies have already been excavated from the mass grave near the church in Bucha — Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk.
📌As a result of the shelling of Kharkiv on Wednesday, 4 civilians were killed and 10 were injured.
📌In the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the defenders of Ukraine repulsed 8 enemy attacks, destroyed a tank, 4 units of armored vehicles and 6 military vehicles, as well as 1 artillery system of the enemy.
📌In Kharkiv, the invaders are shelling the city and its suburbia. Intense artillery strikes were recorded in Pivnichna Saltivka, microdistrict 602, HTZ, Zhukovsky village. During the day, 4 civilians were killed and 10 wounded.
📌 Today, Russian troops resumed shelling of the border settlements in the Sumy region with artillery or mortars. 120-mm mines were dropped, private houses were damaged. One of the mines ruined a private house, it just flew straight into the house with the people inside.
📌Due to the massive bombing and shelling by the Russian armed forces of the Ukrainian cities and villages, 1,014 educational institutions were damaged, 91 of them were destroyed.
📌120 schools, 103 kindergartens and 37 universities have been destroyed by the occupiers in Donetsk region since February 24. “Russians don’t care about children – they came here to kill them and their future,” wrote Pavlo Kyrylenko, Head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration.
📌Russian troops have already left more than 219,600 people homeless, as reported by Lyudmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights.
📌In Mariupol, repressions against the civilians continue in the occupied areas of the city. 447 citizens, including 69 children, were deported from the city. At the moment, they are in the so-called “assistance point”.
📌 58 orphan children remain in danger in the temporarily occupied Kherson.
📌Photo of the day
12-year-old Danyk Rak keeps a cat standing on the rubble of his house destroyed by Russian troops on the outskirts of Chernihiv. Danyk’s mother Lyudmila Koval had to have her leg amputated and she suffered a stomach injury. She is still waiting for proper medical care.
Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka
RUSSIAN CONTEXT
⚠️ Forced mobilization measures continue in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It has been established that the Russian command has set a task to mobilize 60-70 thousand people on the territory of the so-called “DPR”. However, these figures were met by only 20 percent.
⚠️Information from British intelligence as of the morning of April 14:
- Putin’s speech on Tuesday underscored his continued interest in Donbass, where Russia is striking at Ukrainian troops preparing for a new attack.
- Throughout the conflict, Ukrainian cities have repeatedly faced indiscriminate attacks from Russia. Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka are likely to be targets of similar levels of violence by Russian authorities.
- The combination of massive missile and artillery strikes and attempts to concentrate forces for the attack are a return to traditional Russian military doctrine. However, this will require considerable effort. Ukraine’s ongoing defense of Mariupol is currently holding back a significant number of Russian troops and equipment.
⚠️The special service of the Russian Federation has started implementing a plan to carry out terrorist attacks on their territory and then to accuse Ukraine in committing those attacks. They said that Ukrainian troops fired on three settlements in the border of Bryansk and Belgorod region.
DEFENSE UPDATES
📌Estimated losses of the Russian Federation Army in Ukraine:
📌President Volodymyr Zelenskiy states that he has not received an official request from German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for a visit to Ukraine and that Ukraine can afford to be among the real friends.
📌Two Ukrainian pilots, Ivan Pepeliashko and Oleksiy Chizh, have been freed from Russian captivity, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. As part of the new exchange, 5 officers and 17 servicemen were returned to Ukraine, as well as 8 civilians, including 1 woman, were freed. In total, 30 of our citizens are going home today.
📌Together with the sunken cruiser “Moscow”, the Russia lost 16 cruise missiles. The total number of cruise missiles on ships in the Black Sea has decreased from 72 to 56.
📌Poland is ready to go to war with Russia if it attacks. This was stated by Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Łukasz Jasina. According to him, NATO is also ready to respond to Russia’s aggression.
“We are always ready for that. And not only us, but our allies. All NATO members are ready. Article 5 of the Washington Treaty states that aggression against any NATO country is aggression against the entire Alliance. And if Vladimir Putin starts an aggression against Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia or Finland, if it threatens NATO, it will be a red line for all of us. But I would like Vladimir Putin never to start any aggression again,” — said Jasina.
📌Russia has officially confirmed: the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet “Moscow” has burned down. However, they did not mention that missiles were fired at the cruiser by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. They claim that the “detonated ammunition” on board caused the fire.
📌The 15th shelling by our Armed Forces of Russian invaders in Chornobaiivka (Kherson region) took place tonight, from April 13 to April 14, 2022. It is noted that today the destruction of the invaders took place, especially solemnly and brightly.
📌The SOF (Special Operations Forces) group of Ukraine blew up a bridge with enemy equipment heading to Izyum. These were the armored car “Tiger”, Kamaz and three Urals, moving to reinforce their troops in the Kharkiv region. Having laid explosives in a certain place, the operators of the SOF were waiting for the enemy. Blowing up the bridge with Russian equipment on it was carried out according to a special plan, destroying the entire enemy column. Our operators, thanks to UAVs, confirmed the defeat of the target. After that, the Ukrainian Defense Forces soldiers have completed the case.
📌 Lviv paratroopers liberated a number of settlements in the south from Russian troops.
📌In Mariupol, part of the 36th Marine Brigade was captured during an attempt to break through. This was stated by adviser to the head of the President’s Office Oleksiy Arestovich in an interview with Mark Feigyn on April 13.
📌In Odessa, the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), detained the head of the Opposition Platform for Life Party fraction of the Mariupol City Council. According to investigators, he carried out an anti-Ukrainian informational campaign, supporting Russia. He was exposed in a rented apartment.
📌Lviv court arrested 154 properties of Medvedchuk and his wife Marchenko, the SBI reported. Among them are a motor yacht, 26 cars, 23 houses and 30 apartments. Shares in the authorized capital of 25 companies where beneficial owners are Medvedchuk or Marchenko were also seized.
📌The Ministry of Education will review the program on World Literature and exclude Russian authors from it. This was announced on April 14 by Minister of Education and Science Serhiy Shkarlet.
📌In Mariupol, Russian invaders force civilians to wear a white ribbon, which is a hostile symbol — they want to make civilians a bait for Ukrainian snipers, — the mayor of the city reported.
📌Liquidation of “Moskva” reduced the number of salvos of Russian missiles in the Black Sea by almost 25%. In the Black Sea, there are a total of nine ships and submarine frigates of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, armed with “Caliber” cruise missiles. Until today, the total salvo was 72, and now it is 56.
📌Moldova accused the Russian army of trying to recruit Moldovan citizens for the war in Ukraine.
📌Hero of the day
Yuriy Tymus’, Major of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Died helping to evacuate wounded soldiers from Mariupol
CYBER-RESISTANCE AND DIGITAL VICTORIES
📌Google One leaves the market of the Russian Federation. Users who bought a subscription to Google One through the App Store started receiving the cancellation letters.
📌 Google removed the Sberbank Android application from the Google Play Market. Before, the company had removed the app from the AppStore.
📌In addition, Google stops monetizing content that spreads fakes about Russia’s war against Ukraine or denies or justifies it. This also applies to materials that deny the tragic events.
📌 Israeli freelancers’ marketplace Fiverr has ceased operations in the Russian Federation. Registration of new accounts is no longer available, neither is the opportunity to sell or buy for the existing accounts.
📌 Infosys has confirmed the closure of its representative office in Russia. This information was confirmed by the CEO of IT giant Salila Pareha to NDTV.
HUMANITARIAN CORRIDORS AND EVACUATION UPDATES
📌 As of April 14, 2,557 people have been evacuated through humanitarian corridors.
📌 2,332 people traveled from Mariupol and Berdyansk by their own transport to Zaporizhia. Out of them, 289 people were from Mariupol, 2,043 people – residents of cities of Zaporozhye region (Polohy, Vasylivka, Berdyansk and Melitopol).
📌 225 people were evacuated from the cities of Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, Rubizhne, Kreminna and Popasna in Luhansk region.
📌Occupying forces again did not deliver on the regime of silence commitments.
PUBLIC AND BUSINESS SUPPORT
📌 “Glory to Ukraine” painted outside Russian embassy in Warsaw as part of city-backed exhibition. The slogan is part of the Free Ukraine Gallery, an artistic initiative calling for an end to the war.
📌Hollywood Ukraine support rally features first worldwide dance flash mob. Demonstrators gathered in Hollywood Sunday to rally support for the “Stand With Ukraine” initiative, which included the first worldwide dance flash mob.
📌The American company Monotype, which owns the fonts Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana, Tahoma and Helvetica, has closed access to their catalog on the site for Russian users.
📌Anonymous hacked Gazprom Linde Engineering. The network leaked data with a total volume of 728 GB.
📌Australia has imposed sanctions against Gazprom, Transneft, Kamaz, Rostelecom and 10 more Russian companies.
📌The legendary american rock band Sonic Youth release live recording from Kyiv to benefit World Central Kitchen and relief to Ukraine.
“Sonic Youth came to the Ukraine and brought progressive thinking, chords I couldn’t comprehend; volume I couldn’t withstand. Three hundred kids walked out with their whole cultural upbringing gone to the grinders.”
📌Lana Del Rey posted a video address by Volodymyr Zelensky from the Grammy Awards and a cover of Time magazine with a picture of a Ukrainian girl Valeria. “He asked us to share. And I think this is so important. It’s the least we can do, ” Lana wrote under a video with Zelensky.
📌Protest against Russian aggression took place in Warsaw under the slogans “Give the orc something from the bag”, “Pantyhose for a bastard” and “Be brave as Ukrainians” on April 14. Toys, lingerie, household appliances and utensils were brought to the Russian embassy and covered with red paint. In this way, the participants imitated the blood of the victims of the war waged by Russia.
📌Screenwriter of the TV show “House of Cards” Beau Willimon will make a documentary about the atrocities of Russian troops in Bucha. Willimon arrived in Ukraine to collect materials about the brutal actions of Russians in the Kyiv region.
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT OF UKRAINE
📌 Latvia has given Ukraine one-third of its defense budget for arming. President Egils Levits called on other countries to join in.
📌Russia has not been re-elected to some UN agencies: Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples (Ukraine is elected); UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations; Executive Bureau of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); UN-Women. Source: Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Serhiy Kyslytsia.
📌The European Union has closed a loophole in legislation that allowed arms to be supplied to Russia, Reuters reports. The EU imposed a ban on arms exports to Russia after the occupation of Crimea in 2014. However, the embargo did not apply to contracts signed before August 2014. This loophole was used by countries with strong defense industries, including Germany and France. Last year, EU countries sold arms and ammunition to Russia for a total of 39 million euros.
📌Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko said that the German government and the Borussia Dortmund club are ready to help rebuild the Chernihiv football stadium destroyed by the occupiers.
📌 Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney confirmed that his country supports the introduction of an embargo on Russian oil. The Minister stated this during a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv.
📌The town of Fuentes de Andalucia in southern Spain was renamed “Ukraine” for a week to express solidarity with Ukrainians.
📌Ireland is in favor of including an embargo on Russian oil in the sixth package of European Union sanctions.
📌 Britain has banned the import of iron and steel from Russia as of April 14.
📌Turkey will maintain a “balanced position” and join sanctions against Russia if they are agreed and approved at the UN level.
📌Sanctions against Russia:
📌 Tweet of the day
Life must win the war. Values must win the war. Europe must win the war. And we will win.