[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A Russian spy chief has been identified as one of the suspected masterminds behind a parcel bomb attack on US-bound flights which sparked a fire at a DHL depot in Birmingham.
Last year, officials feared that Russia was attempting to plant bombs on passenger planes flying to the US and Canada.
It came after electronic massagers began to explode in warehouses across Europe.
Two incendiary devices were shipped via DHL logistic centres in Birmingham and Leipzig in Germany, resulting in blazes.
It is now believed a Russian military intelligence officer may have been the mastermind behind a sabotage plot, The Times reported.
Four people were arrested in connection with the blaze in Birmingham and charged with participating in sabotage or terrorist operations on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency.
No injuries were reported but investigators believe there could have been far more serious consequences had the devices ignited while in flight.
A similar fire then broke out at an airport in Warsaw in the following days.
At the time, the head of Poland's foreign intelligence agency Pawel Szota blamed Russia, although the prosecutor's office statement did not name a foreign government suspected of directing the operations.
The devices were reportedly hidden in massage cushions in the parcels alongside cosmetics and sex toys, which did not raise suspicions during pre-flight security checks, according to investigations by German broadcasters WDR and NDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
European officials previously warned that mass casualties were avoided purely 'by accident' because the bombs did not go off in mid-air.
They suspected that the packages were intended to expose vulnerabilities in western delivery channels to the US.
Reports had previously linked the GRU, Russia's intelligence agency, to the plot.
GRU officer Colonel Denis Smolyaninov is one of the men believed to have been behind the sabotage operation.
He is believed to have been one of ten people involved in the attack, including low-level proxies, that sent the devices through air freight hubs.
According to documents obtained by Dossier Center, the investigative unit funded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Colonel Smolyaninov was plotting to disrupt western aviation since 2014.
The documents, seen by German reporters show that Russian agents had plotted ways to obstruct radio communication between pilots and ground personnel.
If successful, pilots and airport staff would not be able to hear each other, which could cause planes to be misdirected.
In August 2024, two parcels were sent from Warsaw to the US and Canada, containing clothes, trainers and tracking devices in what are believed to have been dry runs.
Several people, including Ukrainians and Lithuanians, have been detained regarding the plot.
Another suspected plotter identified by German media is a Russian named as Aleksandr B, who was arrested in Bosnia-Herzegovina last year suspected of training Moldovans for protests in their home country.
He was extradited to Poland in February on charges of 'co-ordinating acts of sabotage'.
However, the sabotage series appears to have stopped last year. According to German media, the attacks stopped after US officials made it clear to Russia that they knew who was behind it and that no further escalation would be tolerated.
The Russian embassy in Berlin told the German reporters that the sabotage plot claims were 'paranoia' and 'conspiracy theories'.
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Belgorod direction, the Sever Group of Forces have inflicted fire damage on units of three mechanised brigades and an assault regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Velikiy Prikol, Prokhody, Turya, Miropolskoye, and Petrushevka (Sumy region).
In Kharkov direction, clusters of manpower and hardware of a motorised infantry brigade of the AFU and two territorial defence brigades were hit close to Volchansk, Liptsy, and Malye Prokhody (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 50 troops, an armoured personnel carrier, three motor vehicles, and four field artillery guns including a U.S.-made 155mm M777 howitzer. One radar and one ammunition depot have been neutralised.
The Zapad Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions, inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of six mechanised brigades of the AFU, a territorial defence brigade and national guard brigade close to Kupyansk, Sobolevka, Monachinovka, Petropavlovka, Palamarevka, Peschanoye (Kharkov region), Raygorodka (Lugan People's Republic), Kirovsk, and Yampol (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy lost up to 250 troops, seven motor vehicles, a German-made 155mm Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery system, a U.S.-made AN/TPQ-48 counter-fire radar, and two Kvertus and Nota electronic warfare stations. Three enemy ammunition depots were destroyed.
The Yug Group of Forces has liberated Tarasovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
Russian troops hit five mechanised brigades of the AFU, two territorial defence brigades and a national guard brigade near Novoolenovka, Ulyanovka, Chasov Yar, Ivanopolye, Minkovka, Novaya Poltavka, Berezovka, Seversk, and Yablonovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to more than 335 troops, three armoured fighting vehicles, eight motor vehicles, two NATO-made artillery guns, and four ammunition depots.
The Tsentr Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line, delivered strikes on clusters of manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, two assault brigades, an airmobile brigade, a jaeger brigade, a UAV brigade, an assault regiment of the AFU, two naval infantry brigades, and a national guard brigade close to Krasnoarmeysk, Udachnoye, Muravka, Alekseyevka, Grishino, Dimitrov, Zverevo, and Novopavlovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy lost up to 370 troops, two tanks, five armoured fighting vehicles including a U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carrier, two motor vehicles, and two artillery guns.
The Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing to the depths of the enemy's defence, inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, an airborne brigade, and an assault brigade, a jaeger brigade of the AFU and a naval infantry brigade near Tolstoy, Volnoye Pole, Bogatyr, and Zelenoye Pole of the Donetsk People's Republic.
The AFU losses amounted to up to 175 troops, a U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carrier, three armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, two field artillery guns, and an electronic warfare station.
The Dnepr Group of Forces engaged units of a mechanised brigade and two artillery brigades of the AFU near Magdalinovka, Kamenskoye (Zaporozhye region), and Zaporozhye.
Up to 85 troops, six motor vehicles, a counter-fire radar, an electronic warfare station, two ammunition depots, and a materiel depot.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack drones, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged the infrastructure of the military airfield, industrial enterprises manufacturing military products, laboratories for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles and their storage areas, the position of the Czech-made Vampire multiple-launch rocket system as well as temporary deployment areas of armed forces and foreign mercenaries in 147 areas.
Russian air defence means have destroyed nine JDAM guided bombs and three U.S.-manufactured HIMARS MLRS projectiles, four Czech-made Vampire MLRS projectiles as well as 166 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation the enemy lost 661 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 53,200 unmanned aerial vehicles, 604 anti-aircraft missile systems, 23,000 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,546 MLRS combat vehicles, 23,996 field artillery guns and mortars, 34,445 units of support military vehicles.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region.
The Sever Group of Forces hit units of three air assault brigades and a territorial defence brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Gornal and Oleshnya.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and artillery fire engaged AFU manpower and hardware close to Belovody, Varachino, Velikiye Bubki, Vodolagi, Kamyshanka, Kucherovka, Miropolye, Mogritsa, Novaya Sech, Sadki, Yunakovka, and Yablonovka in Sumy region.
In the past 24 hours, the AFU lost over 170 troops, a U.S.-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, an armoured fighting vehicle, six self-propelled artillery systems and field artillery guns, two mortars, six motor vehicles, an armoured recovery vehicle, 11 UAVs, and two ammunition depots.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses amounted to more than 75,710 troops, 412 tanks, 337 infantry fighting vehicles, 311 armoured personnel carriers, 2,284 armoured fighting vehicles, 2,765 motor vehicles, 642 artillery guns, 62 MLRS launchers including 15 of HIMARS and seven of MLRS made by the USA, 29 anti-aircraft missile launchers, one self-propelled anti-aircraft system, ten transport-loading vehicles, 130 EW stations, 18 counter-fire radars, 12 air defence radars, 58 units of engineering and other materiel, including 23 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, five bridge launchers, one engineering reconnaissance vehicle as well as 16 armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the >title.
[Korrespondent] 22.43 Since the beginning of the day, 124 combat clashes have occurred on the front. More than half of the Russian attacks are in two directions. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an operational summary as of 22:00 on Wednesday, April 23.
20.33 Denmark has agreed on about 317 million Danish kroner (about $48 million) for the transfer of artillery ammunition to Ukraine via Estonia. This was reported by the Danish Ministry of Defense.
20.03 The General Staff confirmed the destruction of a plant producing attack UAVs on the territory of the Russian Federation, at a distance of more than 1000 km from the state border of Ukraine. This is stated in a statement by the General Staff.
20:00 Statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukraine does not recognize the occupation of Crimea "harm peace talks with Russia," US leader Donald Trump said.
"Nobody is asking Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian territory, but if he wants Crimea, why didn't they fight for it 11 years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired? There were also large Russian submarine bases in the area for many years before the 'handover to Obama.' He has nothing to brag about," the US leader wrote.
Trump said the situation for Ukraine is now difficult: "You can have peace or fight for three more years before you lose the whole country."
18.50 The Russian invading army has made a significant advance southwest of Toretsk in the Donetsk region. This was reported by the DeepState project. After many attempts, the enemy has found a weak spot in the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and Toretsk's logistics may be at risk, analysts believe.
18.36 Ukrainian drones are becoming more resistant to the Russian army's electronic warfare. This was stated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky.
"We continue to strengthen the technological component of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Our drones are becoming more resistant to enemy electronic warfare, and are capable of seeing the enemy both day and night - both in the open field and in various shelters," the commander-in-chief noted.
18.08 Negotiations between representatives of Ukraine, Great Britain, Germany and France have ended in London. They discussed steps to achieve a fair and sustainable peace in our country, the President's Office reported . American representatives were not present at the negotiations. But the participants in the meeting "stressed their commitment to the peace efforts of US President Donald Trump."
17.53 As a result of Russian drone shelling in the Nikopol district, a woman and her two daughters, a one-year-old and a three-year-old, were injured. This was reported on April 23 by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, Serhiy Lysak.
17.40 China continues to call Ukraine's accusations of aiding Russia "baseless." This was stated at a briefing by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun, responding to the summons of his ambassador to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
17.27 Mercenaries from at least 48 countries are taking part in the war against Ukraine on the side of Russia. Russian media have identified 1,500 of them. This is reported by Important Stories. It is noted that although Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claims that Russia does not need foreign mercenaries, more than 1,500 foreigners could have been recruited into the army through a Moscow recruitment point from April 2023 to May 2024 alone.
17.10 Russian troops launched a missile attack on the territory of the Korovin community in the Sumy region. There are no preliminary casualties. As a result of the enemy attack, civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged. The consequences of the missile attack are being clarified.
17:00 Since the beginning of the day, 83 combat clashes have occurred on the front. More than half of the Russian attacks are in two directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational summary as of 16:00.
16.30 Russia should expand the capacity of its military-industrial complex (MIC) to prepare for future military conflicts. This statement was made by the head of the Russian regime Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin press service reported .
16.25 Since the beginning of the day, the enemy has already managed to use artillery and drones against Kherson. As a result of the latest shelling, four people were injured.
So, at about 13:30, the Russians fired artillery at Kherson.
The shelling left a 78-year-old woman with a blast injury and a chest wound.
While at around 2:00 p.m., a 67-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman were injured by the blast as a result of explosives being dropped from a drone.
Subsequently, Russian troops again attacked the city with artillery, as a result of which the 39-year-old man received an explosive injury, wounding his shoulder and leg.
16.24 In Marganets, the number of victims due to the Russian drone attack on a bus with workers of the enterprise has increased to 49 people. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA Sergey Lisak.
15.32 The European Union's position on supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty remains unchanged: Crimea is Ukraine. This was stated by European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier at a briefing in Brussels.
15.20 A man who was seriously injured during Russia's massive drone attack on April 22 has died in a hospital in Kharkov.
"Unfortunately, a man who was seriously wounded during yesterday's shelling of Kharkov has died in the hospital. Doctors have been fighting for his life since yesterday. Condolences to his family and friends," said OVA chief Oleg Sinegubov.
15:09 In the Toretsk direction, fighters of the 49th separate assault battalion of the Carpathian Sich captured a foreign mercenary who fought on the side of the Russian army.
"Fighters of the 49th separate assault battalion Carpathian Sich captured an exotic occupier - an African mercenary who came to fight for the Russian Federation. Foreigners from all over the world are climbing into Ukraine for rubles," the defenders noted in the message.
According to the mercenary, he studied in Russia for two years and then agreed to go to war with Ukraine in exchange for the promise of earning money and the opportunity to emigrate to Germany.
He was allegedly told that it would be easier to get to Europe through Ukraine.
14:45 The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, stated that the Rada will not return to the issue of lowering the mobilization age.
14.26 A man died as a result of a car explosion on a mine in Balakleya on April 22. This was reported by the National Police in the Kharkiv region.
14.02 The United States has proposed a peace agreement to Russia and Ukraine that would involve an exchange of territories and a freeze on the conflict at approximately the current level of clashes. This was stated by US Vice President J.D. Vance during a visit to India, Bloomberg reports .
13.20 Russian troops have attacked Slavyansk in Donetsk Oblast. There are casualties. This was reported by the head of the city's military administration, Vadim Lyakh.
"FABs, Aleksandrova and Khortytskaya streets. Two people were injured. One of them is in extremely serious condition," he wrote on Telegram.
12.56 Ukraine is currently heroically defending itself and has military and financial assistance from its allies, so there is no reason for it to capitulate. The stake in the war is for Ukraine to determine for itself what compromises it can agree to. This was stated by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski during his speech on Wednesday, April 23, in the Polish Sejm on the tasks of the foreign policy of the Republic of Poland for 2025.
12:55 The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has codified and approved for use the General Chereshnya unmanned FPV aircraft complex.
The complex's copters are based on frames of different sizes. These aircraft have powerful electric motors. Depending on the frame size, drones can carry an explosive charge designed to destroy enemy armored vehicles, cars, and dugouts.
The General Cherry complex can be deployed and prepared for operation in a matter of minutes. This is very important for ensuring the safety of the crew.
11:32 Russians, taking advantage of the ceasefire, have transferred equipment and manpower from Crimea to the Zaporizhia region. Assault actions by Russian troops are expected to intensify along the entire front line in the South. This was reported by the spokesman for the Defense Forces of the South, Vladislav Voloshin, Ukrinform reports.
10.31 An FSB agent has been detained in Cherkasy Oblast. He turned out to be a 42-year-old displaced person from Bakhmut, who moved to the central region of Ukraine in the fall of 2022 and then began working for the occupiers. This was reported by the SBU.
It is noted that after remote recruitment, the suspect prepared coordinates for Russian missile and drone attacks on the region.
9.58 The meeting of the heads of the Foreign Ministries of Ukraine, Britain, the USA, France and Germany, which was to take place on April 23, has been postponed. The level of negotiations in London has now been "lowered" to a meeting of officials. This was reported by the British TV channel Sky News.
9.26 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not take part in talks in London aimed at finding ways to end Russia's war against Ukraine, as "Kiev has made it clear it will reject a key point in the Trump administration's proposal to end the three-year conflict," US television channel CNN reported, citing informed sources.
9.23 On the front of the past day, 144 combat clashes between the Ukrainian Defense Forces and the Russian invaders were recorded. Aviation, missile troops and artillery of the Defense Forces hit 19 areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment, four artillery weapons, an air defense system and a command post of the Russians. This was reported on April 23 by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
8.53 The Russian army struck Marganets with a drone, which resulted in the death and injury of many people. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Serhiy Lysak, on Telegram.
8.23 Ukrainian Defense Forces eliminated 1,210 Russian invaders over the past 24 hours. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on its Facebook page.
7.57 The fall of debris from the Russian BAL caused a fire in a hotel and restaurant complex in the Brovary district of the Kiev region. The State Emergency Service reported this on its Facebook page.
7.26 A potential agreement to freeze the front at current positions may not stop Russia from further aggression. In particular, the Kremlin may use the ceasefire to regroup and pursue larger territorial ambitions if Western military aid to Ukraine is curtailed, the Institute for the Study of War says in its daily report.
02.22 Russians attacked Kharkov twice during the night. The first time was late on Tuesday evening. Then a garage caught fire. And at night, in an hour, there were six hits in the Novobavarsky district, where a large-scale fire broke out.
01.53 UAVs attacked Poltava community with drones. Hitting enterprises and open areas in two districts of the city was recorded. Social networks are reporting power outages in some areas of the city.
01.25 Russians attacked civilian infrastructure in the suburbs of Odessa. At least two people were injured. The civilian infrastructure of the suburbs of Odessa was targeted by the Russians. The attack caused a number of fires.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The Ukrainian Armed Forces are engaged in heavy fighting in Donetsk region.
After many attempts, the enemy has found a weak spot in the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defense, and Toretsk's logistics may be under threat, analysts believe.
The Russian invading army has made significant progress southwest of Toretsk in the Donetsk region. This was reported by the DeepState project on Wednesday, April 23.
It was noted that the enemy occupied the villages of Panteleimonovka and Valentinovka in a relatively short period of time, occupied almost all of Sukhaya Balka, and is already attempting to storm Romanovka.
"The enemy has still not managed to break through the defense of the Ukrainian military in the Leonidovka-Petrovka-Shcherbinovka area. No matter what efforts they make, using constant pressure from infantry with the support of equipment - all to no avail. But a breakthrough through the positions in the area of the village of Panteleimonovka-Valentinovka makes it possible to develop success from the right flank of the Defense Forces in the Toretsk area and, in particular, to bypass the same Shcherbinovka," the report says.
Analysts write that after many attempts, the enemy has finally found a weak spot in the defense in that area and, after Romanovka, in their opinion, will try to reach Aleksandro-Kalinovye and Katerynivka in order to take control of the logistics of Toretsk itself.
Let us recall that as of 16:00, 16 battles took place in the Toretsk direction near Dachnoye, Krymskoye, Toretsk and Leonidovka. Five battles are currently underway, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] On April 22, the Russians lost eight tanks in one day.
The Pokrovskoe direction remains the "hottest". There, the Russians organized more than 30 assaults.
Since the beginning of the day, there have been 83 combat clashes on the front. More than half of the Russian attacks are coming from two directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational report as of 16:00 on Wednesday, April 23.
Thus, in the Kharkov direction, the enemy attempted to break through the defenses near Volchansk and Volchansk Khutors four times.
In the Kupyansk direction, the enemy attempted to advance in the Zagrizove area, but was stopped.
In the Liman direction, the invading army attacked eight times near the settlements of Novoye, Grekovka and Ridkodub.
In the Seversky direction, one assault took place near Belogorovka.
In the Toretsk direction, the enemy attacked 16 times near Dachnoye, Krymskoye, Toretsk and Leonidovka. Five battles are currently underway.
In the Pokrovsky direction, the occupiers carried out 31 assaults in the areas of the settlements of Kalinovoye, Zelenoe Pole, Novotoretskoye, Elizavetovka, Lisovka, Vozrozhdenie, Zvirovoye, Uspenovka, Nadeyevka, Kotlyarovka and Andreyevka. The defense forces repelled 27 attacks, four clashes are ongoing.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, the enemy attacked eight times near the settlements of Konstantinopol, Rozliv, Rivnepol and Novodarovka. Four combat clashes are still ongoing.
In the Orekhov direction, the occupiers tried to advance three times in the Stepovoye, Shcherbaki and Lobkovoye areas. The battle is ongoing.
In the operational zone in Kursk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces units repelled eight attacks by Russians. Three more clashes are ongoing.
Let us recall that in the course of 24 hours on April 22, Russia lost more than 1,200 fighters killed and wounded. The total number of Russian losses is approaching 1 million people.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:55 Russian Ministry of Defense:
From 20:00 to 21:00 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed four Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the airplane type: three over the Black Sea and one over the territory of the Kursk region.
20:53 Electronic warfare specialists from the motorized rifle division of the Zapad group suppressed attack drones of the Ukrainian Armed Forces militants in the LPR.
Radio reconnaissance detected several enemy UAVs. After the EW station was turned on to suppress them, the fighters determined the approximate location of the crash of the disabled drones and transmitted the data for subsequent neutralization by sappers.
20:17 During reconnaissance, the operator of the reconnaissance UAV "Zala" of the Novorossiysk paratroopers discovered a camouflaged M-777 howitzer of the Ukrainian Armed Forces of foreign manufacture.
It fired from a forest plantation at the civilian population of the Zaporizhia region. The target coordinates were transmitted to the command post, where a decision was made to destroy it with a Lancet loitering munition.
The Zala UAV operator recorded the task being completed. More about the work of his unit told commander of a platoon of attack UAVs with the call sign "Falcon".
19:22 Our fighter single-handedly destroyed three Ukrainian Armed Forces militants at one of the LBS sections —video.
18:27 The 44th Army Corps uses an FPV drone as a means of demining in the Khar'kov region —video.
17:49 Russian drone operators destroyed a camouflaged enemy self-propelled gun, as well as an underground fuel depot in a dugout —video.
17:24 Defeat of Ukrainian Armed Forces positions using drops from a quadcopter in the area of the settlement of Druzhba —video.
16:52 Arrival of the LMUR on the Ukrainian Armed Forces' air defense system in the settlement of Zarechnoye in the Krasno-Limansky direction —video.
16:10 Servicemen of the 810th Separate Guards Naval Infantry Brigade as part of the North group of forces are displacing enemy units from key fortified positions located in the area of the settlement of Gornal.
15:20 From 12.40 to 13.40 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the airplane type over the territory of the Belgorod region.
15:03 Ministry of Defense reports about the interception of Ukrainian aircraft-type drones over the city of Yelabuga, Republic of Tatarstan.
15:16 Village Kryukovo, Borisovsky district, Belgorod regionwas subjected toair attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Three civilians were wounded.
The head of the Kryukovskoye rural settlement, Vladimir Alekseevich Kolesnik, and two other men were wounded as a result of the munitions landing. The victims were taken to the Borisov Central Regional Hospital by a passing vehicle. The head of the settlement has a shrapnel wound to the back, two men have mine-explosive, closed craniocerebral injuries and shrapnel wounds to the legs.
Doctors at the district hospital are providing them with all the necessary assistance. For further treatment, they will be transferred to City Hospital No. 2 in Belgorod.
Kazan airport introduces plan "Carpet" for the second time today. Preliminary, there are no casualties as a result of the attack
14:50 The Ukrainian Armed Forces are massively attacking with the help of kamikaze drones, the city of Kamenka-Dniprovska in the Zaporizhia region.
13:49 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the defeat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces formations in the Kursk region.
During offensive operations, units of the North group of forces inflicted defeat on formations of three airborne assault brigades and a territorial defense brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the settlements of Gornal and Oleshnya.
Strikes by operational-tactical, army aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles and artillery fire damaged enemy manpower and equipment in the areas of the settlements of Belovody, Varachino, Velyki Budki, Vodolaghi, Kamyshanka, Kucherovka, Miropolye, Mogritsa, Novaya Sich, Sadki, Yunakovka and Yablonovka in the Sumy region.
Over the course of 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 170 servicemen, and destroyed a US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, an armored combat vehicle, six self-propelled artillery units and field artillery guns, two mortars, six vehicles, an armored repair and recovery vehicle, as well as 11 UAV control points and two ammunition depots.
13:16 Russian Ministry of Defense:
At about 12:20 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle of the airplane type over the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan.
12:29 Crews of T-80BV tanks of the Sever group destroyed camouflaged positions and enemy manpower in the Kursk border area.
The group's tank crews support assault units, ensure their landing in forest belts and populated areas, help to consolidate occupied positions, disrupt the rotation of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel, and destroy enemy strongholds and armored vehicles.
The tank commander with the call sign "Raven" shared the peculiarities of the crew's work -video.
11:54 Governor of Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov:
In the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka as a result of attacks, a civilian was injured by an FPV drone on a private house. A man with a mine-explosive injury and shrapnel wounds to his legs was taken by self-defense fighters to the Shebekinskaya Central District Hospital. All necessary assistance is provided.
11:25 "Gerani" hit an enemy explosives production workshop and warehouse.
n.p. Stepnoe, Zaporizhia region —video.
10:53 Investigators from the Russian Investigative Committee will investigate crimes committed by Ukrainian military personnel against civilians in the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kherson regions, and the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.
10:25 Criminal Kyiv regime continues to shell civilian infrastructure of populated areas of the left bank of the Kherson region, yesterday during the day the Ukrainian Armed Forces released:
– Nine rounds in the village of Novaya Kakhovka;
– Six rounds in the village of Chulakovka;
- According to n.p. Knyaze-Grigoryevka five rounds;
– Four rounds to the village of Aleshki;
- According to n.p. Kakhovka three rounds.
An enemy drone attacked a civilian vehicle in Novaya Mayachki, leaving two people seriously injured. During the night, the Kiev regime continued to shell civilian infrastructure in the settlements of Proletarka, Novaya Mayachka, Korsunka, and Aleshki, firing a total of 15 rounds from barrel artillery. Civilian casualties and infrastructure destruction are being clarified.
09:57 Governor of Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov:
Information about the strikes carried out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on our region over the past 24 hours:
– In the Belgorod district, the settlement of Oktyabrsky, the villages of Bochkovka, Krasny Khutor, Nechayevka, Otradnoye, Petrovka, Chaiki, Cheremoshnoye and Yasnye Zori were attacked by 16 drones, seven of which were shot down.
In the settlement of Oktyabrsky, a private house and an outbuilding were damaged, in the village of Chaiki - an outbuilding.
In the evening, an apartment building in the village of Yasnye Zori was attacked by a drone - the glazing in eight apartments was damaged.
At night, in the village of Otradnoye, a private house was damaged as a result of a drone attack.
- In the Borisovsky district, an attack by one drone was carried out in the village of Gruzskoye. A private home was damaged.
– In the Valuysky municipal district, 26 drones attacked the village of Urazovo, the villages of Borki, Verigovka, Dvuluchnoye, Dolgoe, Kazinka, Kukuyevka, Pristen, Sukharevo, and the hamlets of Kurgashki, Leonovka and Nizhnie Melnitsy, 14 of which were suppressed and shot down.
In the village of Kazinka, a man was injured as a result of a drone attack on a moving car. Doctors from the Valuyskaya Central District Hospital provided the victim with all the necessary assistance, and he will continue his treatment on an outpatient basis.
In the evening and at night, drone attacks damaged a social facility in the village of Sukharevo, one car in the hamlet of Kurgashki, and seven private houses and eight cars in the village of Pristen.
– In the Volokonovsky district, the Stary and Shakhovka farms were attacked by four drones. This morning, early in the morning, a civilian was injured in the Shakhovka farm as a result of an explosive device being dropped from a drone. She was given the necessary medical care at the Valuyskaya Central District Hospital and sent home for outpatient treatment. Two private houses and an outbuilding were damaged in the farm.
– In the Grayvoron municipal district, the city of Grayvoron, the settlement of Gorkovsky, the villages of Kozinka, Kosilovo, Mokraya Orlovka, Poroz and Pochaevo were subjected to four artillery attacks, during which 16 rounds of ammunition were fired, and attacked by nine drones. Two cars and a private house were damaged. During the day, six civilians were injured in the district, including one child.
An employee of an agricultural enterprise injured in a field near the village of Pochaevo was hospitalized in the regional clinical hospital.
In the village of Kosilovo, as a result of a drone attack on a car, four people were injured: a married couple, their son and a 16-year-old girl. The couple received assistance on the spot, they refused hospitalization. Their 19-year-old son was hospitalized in the regional clinical hospital, the 16-year-old girl is undergoing treatment in the children's regional clinical hospital. The sixth victim, who was injured by a drone strike on the Grayvoron-Ilek-Penkovka road, was hospitalized in Belgorod City Hospital No. 2.
– An aircraft-type UAV was shot down by the air defense system over the Ivnyansky district. No consequences.
– In the Krasnoyarsk district, 150 rounds of ammunition were fired during 23 attacks and 61 drones were used against the villages of Krasnaya Yaruga and Prilesye, Grafovka, Demidovka, Ilek-Penkovka, Kolotilovka, Popovka, Repyakhovka, Sergievka and Staroselye. A KAMAZ driver was killed at the turnoff to the village of Sergievka. An Orlan unit employee was wounded in the village of Ilek-Penkovka. The victim was hospitalized in the regional clinical hospital. Two cars were damaged.
A commercial facility was damaged by a drone strike in the village of Krasnaya Yaruga.
– In the Rakityansky district, the village of Ilek-Koshary was attacked by a drone. The building of a manufacturing plant was damaged.
– In the Shebekinsky municipal district, in the city of Shebekino, the villages of Grafovka, Ziborovka, Murom, Novaya Tavolzhanka, Pristen, Rzhevka, the farms of Maryino and Mukhin, 23 drones attacked, 9 of which were shot down and suppressed.
In the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka, an employee of an enterprise was injured. The man is undergoing treatment in the regional clinical hospital.
In the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka, two cars were destroyed by fire, two cars and two buildings of one of the enterprises were damaged.
In the villages of Grafovka and Pristen, one private house was damaged, in the village of Rzhevka - a manufacturing enterprise. In the evening, a car was damaged on the Shamino - Ziborovka highway
. 09:26 In the Khar'kov region, a heavy drone of the Baba Yaga type was discovered by the operator of the UAV GV Sever —video.
08:38 Drone drivers are destroying enemy positions, armored vehicles and concentrations of personnel
– UAV operators from the Yuzhnaya group destroyed the Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer and a fuel and lubricants depot of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the settlement of Kleban-Byk in the DPR;
– A FPV drone crew from the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division of the Dnepr group destroyed a Kozak armored personnel carrier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Zaporizhia region;
– Drone operators of the motorized rifle unit of the “Center” group destroyed military equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Krasnoarmeysk direction;
– UAV operators of the motorized rifle division of the “West” group disrupted the enemy’s rotation, destroying a group of Ukrainian Armed Forces infantry at night;
– FPV drone crews of the Vostok group destroyed a stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the South Donetsk direction.
08:08 Frontline report for the morning of 23.04.2025
Zaporizhzhya Front. They continue fighting in Malaya Tokmachka and several other areas. Russian troops continue to put pressure on the enemy's defense. The Ukrainian Armed Forces periodically try to counterattack. Long-range weapons are actively working on both sides.
Donetsk Front. Heavy fighting is underway here in several directions. Russian troops continue to advance toward the settlement of Bogatyr, gradually recapturing positions from the enemy. There is progress, but it is extremely difficult, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are using all available forces and means to slow down our troops.
Fierce fighting continues in the Pokrovsk direction, which sometimes has a counter-character. No serious changes in the LBS have been reported over the past 24 hours. The Russian Ministry of Defense officially reported the liberation of Sukha Balka.
Kursk region. Russian troops have advanced in the monastery area and continue to push the enemy out of the settlement of Gornal. Also, Russian troops continue to expand their zone of control in the Sumy region.
Belgorod Region. Fighting continues in the area of Popovka and Demidovka. No significant changes in the LBS are recorded.
07:14 During the past night, air defense systems on duty destroyed 11 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
– Three UAVs – over the territory of the Tula region;
– Two UAVs
– Two UAVs over the territory of the Belgorod region;
– One UAV – over the territory of the Bryansk region;
– One UAV – over the territory of the Kaluga region;
– One UAV – over the territory of the Oryol region;
– One UAV – over the territory of the Republic of Crimea.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Elena Kuleshova
[REGNUM] The Great Patriotic War left scars not only on people and in history, but also in human memory. For a long time, it was believed that the figure from school textbooks "twenty million dead" was military losses and "collateral damage".
Over time, our understanding of history has become deeper and it has become clear that those millions of women, children, old people, and teenagers destroyed by the Nazis were not just “losses among the civilian population,” but the result of a planned, deliberate genocide of the Soviet people.
It took quite a long time to reach this understanding: seven years ago, the Russian Search Movement initiated the all-Russian project “No Statute of Limitations”. It was first presented in December 2018 at a meeting of the Russian Organizing Committee “Victory”.
The stated goal of the project was to preserve the historical memory of the tragedy of the civilian population of the USSR - victims of war crimes by the Nazis and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War.
The initiative was supported by over 2 million people, and additional work to find evidence of Nazi atrocities was carried out throughout the country by dozens of local history organizations and hundreds of activists.
In 2025, having summarized the data received, a group of deputies and senators - 20 people in total - submitted to the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs a bill "On perpetuating the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
On April 9, it was sent to the Federation Council for consideration and adopted a week later. On April 21, 2025, the bill was signed by the President of the Russian Federation and acquired the status of a valid law.
The main thing it defines is the concept of "genocide of the Soviet people". It is recognized as "the actions of the Nazis and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, aimed at the complete or partial destruction of national, ethnic and racial groups inhabiting the territory of the USSR, by: killing members of these groups; causing serious harm to their health; forcibly preventing childbirth; forced transfer of children; forced resettlement or other creation of living conditions calculated to physically destroy members of these groups."
In addition, the law defines the forms of perpetuating the memory of victims, the procedure for reburial of their remains, ensuring the safety of burials or unburied remains, and regulates issues of organizing and conducting search work.
The powers of Russian state authorities and local governments working to perpetuate the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Soviet people are also delineated.
Now it has ceased to be simply a statement of fact and is the focus of attention of investigative bodies.
"To date, 19 court decisions have already been made recognizing the crimes of the Nazis and their allies against the peaceful Soviet population as genocide, as a result of which about 4 million civilians suffered. The trials will continue," the authors of the bill claim.
Even after 80 years, activists are finding previously unknown places of mass executions and archival documents confirming the atrocities of the occupiers.
There is a lot of work to be done, because even the register of existing monuments to those killed during the Great Patriotic War is still in the process of being created, although it already includes data from 24 regions.
For example, it included the Zhestyanaya Gorka memorial complex in the Novgorod region. Here, in a concentration camp near the village of the same name, about 3,000 people died in 1942–1943, including children aged 5 to 17. An examination established that children were shot in the back of the head, chopped with knives, stabbed with bayonets, and beaten to death with sticks.
Based on these facts, a criminal case was opened under Article 357 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Genocide”.
Journalist and member of the Human Rights Council Alexander Malkevich told the Regnum news agency that he ardently supports the innovations introduced by the law.
"To be honest, I am surprised that it took so long to get around to eliminating this monstrous injustice. We are only just beginning to guess, especially young and middle-aged people, how many civilians died as a result of genocide. I am a native Leningrader myself and I know, unfortunately, that traces of these monstrous Nazi crimes are still being found in the Leningrad Region. At one time I lived and worked in the Novgorod Region, and unfortunately there is a lot of work there too," says Malkevich.
According to him, it is necessary to collect together all the historical evidence of Nazi crimes, including in the new territories of Russia.
"I hope that there will be strong-willed people who will create a museum entirely dedicated to the history of the fascist genocide, where everything will be shown using interactive technologies: the authentic setting of the concentration camp, and the torture chambers from the dungeons in Rovenki. I have been to Austria and to the Mauthausen concentration camp, where General Karbyshev was tortured. And all this also needs to be shown. To make it so that people literally feel with their skin what ordinary, peaceful people of our country went through during the war with Nazi Germany," our interlocutor is sure.
And now search teams and associations engaged in the search and burial of the remains of the dead will be involved in collecting evidence. For this purpose, their activities are additionally regulated.
Previously, search teams who discovered the burial sites of civilians could be brought to court under Article 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, "Desecration of the bodies of the dead and their burial sites." While the exhumation of the remains of soldiers and officers of the Red Army is regulated by the Law of the Russian Federation of January 14, 1993, No. 4292-1, "On the perpetuation of the memory of those killed in defense of the Fatherland," the work of search teams in this area is legal and honorable.
The law resolves these contradictions by establishing a procedure for coordinating and conducting search operations in relation to the remains of the civilian population. In addition, searchers have the right to initiate a temporary ban on construction, excavation, road and other work if they are carried out at the site of such a burial.
"Over the 37 years of the search expedition's work in the Novgorod region, we have repeatedly found joint burials of Red Army soldiers and civilians and did not divide them - we buried them together. And according to the new bill, if we find civilians who died during the Great Patriotic War, we stop the search work and hand the case over to investigators of the Investigative Committee, who add these cases to the general case of the genocide of the Soviet people," explains Igor Neofitov, Chairman of the Council of Commanders of the "Dolina" search expedition in the Novgorod region, to Regnum News Agency.
And the searchers have quite a few such finds. Neofitov told, for example, how during the retreat of the Red Army in one of the Novgorod villages they did not have time to evacuate a hospital and the Germans shot over 300 wounded soldiers and officers.
Along with them, 209 local residents were shot, in whose houses hospital wards were set up. In the "cauldron" into which the 2nd Shock Army found itself in 1942, there were not only military units, but also over a hundred villages and farmsteads, the majority of whose population perished.
In the Partisan Territory, a vast forested area in the Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov and Tver regions, behind German lines, it was difficult to separate partisans from civilians – everyone, young and old, took part in the popular resistance. It was here, about two years ago, that searchers discovered a dugout containing the remains of two adults and nine children – the Nazis shot them on the spot for “aiding the partisans.”
And this is only the Novgorod region. Taking into account that there are more than 1,500 search teams operating in Russia, the scale of the work and the importance of the legislative initiative become clear.
"I will express the opinion of probably all searchers: this is a very necessary bill, both legally and ideologically. Because we have finally paid attention to the partisans, and the underground fighters, and the concentration camp prisoners, who used to remain somehow on the sidelines. It is good that the law delineates the work, regulates the actions of the authorities and gives search organizations certain powers," says Neofitov.
It is important that the law not only delineates the powers of government bodies at different levels, but also imposes on them the responsibility for the creation, preservation and restoration of monuments and other memorial structures and objects that perpetuate the memory of those who died in the Great Patriotic War.
And although much time has passed, we can still restore the memory of the crimes against the Soviet people, not allowing the history of Russia to be rewritten and distorted, but on the contrary, casting it in bronze for future generations.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Evgeniya Kondakova
[REGNUM] The meeting in London was supposed to be a moment of truth: would Europe and, most importantly, Ukraine accept the plan for resolving the conflict drawn up by the United States? But these hopes were not destined to come true. Everything went wrong from the very beginning.
According to information from leading world media, the plan calls for a halt to military action along the front line, recognition of Crimea as Russian, refusal to accept Ukraine into NATO, and the lifting of all sanctions against the Russian Federation.
But the meeting in London did not become decisive on the path to peace. In fact, it was actually disrupted before it even began.
A few hours before the talks, Volodymyr Zelensky publicly rejected one of Washington's key conditions - concerning Crimea, declaring in his usual rhetoric "there is nothing to talk about - this is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine." It is noteworthy that the leaks published by the press did not say that Kiev was required to recognize the peninsula as part of Russia; the United States was going to do this.
In addition, the Ukrainian delegation, represented by the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, flew to London to discuss not Trump’s plan as a whole, but only one issue – the possibility of a 30-day ceasefire. Although, as demonstrated by the Easter truce initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kiev cannot shut up its guns and ground its drones even for 30 hours.
Such behavior on the part of the Ukrainian side angered the American leadership so much that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to participate in the meeting almost before departure and did not fly to London. The heads of the Foreign Ministries of Germany and France also decided that they did not need to waste time on a trip to Great Britain. Instead of the ministers of the three countries, advisers to the heads of state went.
In the absence of Rubio and the US President's special envoy for the Middle East, Stephen Witkoff, who were leading the negotiations on Ukraine, the State Department announced that Keith Kellogg would represent the United States. Although his title sounds like special envoy for Ukraine, he does not play any key role in this area.
Apparently, he was supposed to explain Washington's position, collect the opinions of those present on this matter and prepare a note for Witkoff, who will soon fly to Russia again for talks with Putin. If in previous cases his plane was tracked on the Flightradar24 system halfway to Moscow or St. Petersburg, and the Kremlin kept saying "if it arrives, we will inform about it in a timely manner", now the meeting was officially announced.
“As if to rub salt into the Europeans’ wounds, Witkoff plans to fly to Moscow later this week for a fourth round of talks with Putin: at the real negotiating table,” laments the Financial Times.
And then the most interesting thing is that in a message published on the Telegram channel following the event in the British capital, Yermak listed participants from Ukraine, Great Britain, Germany and France, but Kellogg is not on this list.
So, there was not a single US representative at all?
At the same time, Yermak did not forget to swear an oath of complete loyalty to the American leader. “We are devoted to the peaceful efforts of US President Donald Trump,” he wrote following the negotiations with the Europeans.
Literally before the start of the meeting in London, US Vice President J.D. Vance made a categorical statement on the topic of settling the Ukrainian crisis: " We have made a very clear offer to both the Russians and the Ukrainians. It is time for them to either say yes, or the US will withdraw from this process."
The parties must stop hostilities along the line of contact and make territorial concessions, he explained.
Almost simultaneously, Rubio's interview with The Free was released, in which the Secretary of State also emphasized that the United States had done everything it could, and if it saw a lack of progress in the negotiation process on Ukraine, it would take on other issues.
"I would say that we have delved into Russia's position. Now we understand it better, since we have really talked to them after three years of silence," the diplomat added.
It's hard to shake the feeling that the more the Trump administration learns about the Ukrainian way of doing things, the more its understanding of Russia's actions grows.
With Ukraine, on the contrary, the misunderstanding is only growing. Reuters learned from its source what Kyiv officials are doing behind the backs of their American counterparts.
"On Tuesday, Ukraine prepared a document for the Europeans in which it stated that there would be no discussions on territorial issues until there was a 'complete and unconditional ceasefire,'" the article says.
This is precisely what caused the breakdown of multilateral negotiations in London, the agency notes.
Trump soon spoke out about everything that was happening.
" Vladimir Zelenskyy boasts on the front page of The Wall Street Journal that 'Ukraine does not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea. There is nothing to discuss.' This statement is very harmful to peace talks with Russia, since Crimea was lost many years ago and is not even a topic of discussion. No one is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian territory, but if he wants Crimea, then why didn't they fight for it 11 years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?" the US President asked on his page on the social network Thuth Social.
It is inflammatory statements like Zelensky's that make this war so difficult to resolve, Trump stressed.
"He has nothing to brag about! The situation for Ukraine is terrible - he can have peace or fight for another 3 years before losing the entire country. I have nothing to do with Russia, but I have a lot to do with wanting to save an average of 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week who are dying for no reason. Zelensky's statement today will do nothing but extend the "killing field", and no one wants that! We are very close to a deal, but a man who "has no cards to play" must finally DO IT," he concluded.
So Zelensky now faces a dilemma: either recognize territorial realities and accept the American plan, preserving the country at least in this form, or lose Washington's support and continue to suffer defeat on the battlefield, since Europe will not be able to completely replace America in arms supplies and financing.
And Russia, having a military advantage, will meanwhile continue to gradually move closer to achieving the goals set by the SVO.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] More than 49,000 people became victims of crimes committed by soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the Kursk region. This was reported by the press service of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation following an operational meeting with the participation of the head of the agency Alexander Bastrykin in Kursk.
“More than 49,000 people have been recognized and questioned as victims in criminal cases, the necessary forensic examinations have been ordered, and the testimonies of victims and eyewitnesses have been recorded,” the publication states.
It is also specified that since the beginning of the invasion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces into the region's territory in August 2024, 191 civilians of the Kursk region have been killed, another 372 people have been injured, including 17 minors. The damage caused by the actions of Ukrainian militants to civilian infrastructure facilities and property of local residents is currently being determined.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, Russian investigators are recording and investigating numerous crimes committed by Ukrainian units during the illegal invasion of the Kursk region. Civilians are telling law enforcement officers about the actions of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and mercenaries.
Thus, on March 29, the official representative of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Svetlana Petrenko, reported the murder of a civilian resident of the village of Pogrebki in the Sudzhansky District by militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. His body was found during an inspection of the house during the investigation of the terrorist attack. The next day, Petrenko also reported the discovery of new facts of looting and terrorist attacks committed by the Ukrainian military near Kursk. Among other things, they placed military equipment in private residential areas and deliberately set fire to the houses of local residents.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking on March 19, emphasized that all Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen, especially foreign mercenaries, who committed crimes against civilians while on Russian territory, are terrorists by law. The head of state demanded a thorough investigation of all the crimes they committed.
The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened 175 criminal cases against 290 captured soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) for crimes in the Kursk region. This was reported on April 23 by the press service of the department.
“175 criminal cases have been opened against 290 captured Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen, of which 41 cases against 98 individuals have already been considered by the court,” the Investigative Committee said on its Telegram channel.
According to the department, since the beginning of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' invasion of the region's territory in August 2024, 191 civilians from the Kursk region have fallen victim to Kyiv's aggression, and another 372 people have been injured, including 17 minors. More than 49,000 residents of the region have also been recognized as victims in criminal cases.
In addition, as part of the investigation into the recruitment and participation of mercenaries in combat operations on the side of Ukrainian formations, criminal prosecution is being carried out against foreigners who are involved in crimes in the Kursk region. Among them are citizens of Paraguay, Denmark, Brazil, Malta, Peru and other countries.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, Russian investigators are recording and investigating numerous crimes committed by Ukrainian units during the illegal invasion of the Kursk region. Civilians are telling law enforcement officers about the actions of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers and mercenaries.
Thus, at the end of January 2025, investigators established the involvement of five Ukrainian servicemen from the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade in the murder of 22 civilians in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye. The militants admitted that from September 28 to November 24, 2024, they killed 11 men and three women there. In addition, they raped and committed violent sexual acts against eight women, who were also subsequently killed.
In early March, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, said that over 3,300 mercenaries were fighting against Russia in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Later, President Vladimir Putin clarified that foreign mercenaries fighting in the special operation zone on the side of the Kiev regime are not subject to the Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Activists in Yerevan organized a torchlight procession to mark the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.
As the Caucasian Knot" wrote , every year on April 23 and 24, residents of Armenia hold events in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Thus, on April 23, 2024, activists in Yerevan organized a torchlight procession in memory of the victims of the genocide.
The events of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire were recognized as the Armenian genocide by more than 30 countries, including Russia. The Turkish authorities do not consider those events to be genocide, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report " The Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire ."
Today, a torchlight procession dedicated to the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide began in Yerevan’s Republic Square, News.am reports.
The event was organized by the Youth Union and the Nikol Agbalyan Student Union. Everyone was able to take part in the procession and carry a torch to the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, symbolizing the struggle for recognition and condemnation of the genocide, the publication writes.
Let us recall that in 2023, events in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide were also held. The stories of ancestors who survived the genocide are passed down in Armenian families from generation to generation, participants in the memorial events told the "Caucasian Knot" at the time.
In particular, Arakel Hovsepyan reported that his grandfather was a deacon in a church. "When the pogroms began, the priest ordered him to ring the bells. From the bell tower, he saw the Turks throwing his mother and sister into a ravine. Another group of Turks locked the priest in the church and set it on fire. My grandfather jumped from the bell tower and ran home, where he saw his father and two brothers hanged," he said.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
