“Ukraine – Russia”

Swedish prosecutor casts doubt over theories that independent group was responsible for pipeline blasts

The Swedish prosecutor investigating the Nord Stream sabotage attack has said the “clear main scenario” was that a state-sponsored group had been involved, seemingly casting doubt over theories that posited an independent group was responsible for the pipeline blasts.

Mats Ljungqvist told Reuters on Thursday that though a non-state-backed plot was still theoretically possible, the type of explosive used in the bombings ruled out a “large portion of actors”.

According to a UN report, the three underwater explosions that ruptured the gas link between Russia and Germany north-east and south-east of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm on 26 September 2022 were equivalent to the power of several hundred kilograms of explosives.

Desperate tactics used by both sides to secure a crucial victory in the city are taking a mental toll on soldiers

At Ukraine’s military academies, they still teach the doctrines of Georgy Zhukov, the celebrated Soviet general, whose victory at Stalingrad reversed the fortunes of the Second World War.

But they are taught about him as an example of what not to do. Given that the focus of the present war in Europe, the Battle of Bakhmut, is being described as Ukraine’s Stalingrad, that is a gamble of which the academies’ recruits are only too aware.

“We are taught many ways of how not to fight,” said Second Lieutenant Roman, an open-faced 23-year-old, freshly commissioned into the Ukrainian army’s 80th brigade. “We aren’t taught so many ways of how we are supposed to do it.”

The last anyone heard from Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich before his arrest was last Wednesday. He’d just arrived at a restaurant in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city, an 1,800-kilometre drive from Moscow, east of the Ural Mountains. A colleague had texted him, wishing him luck. “I’ll let you know how it goes,” Gershkovich responded.

The fog of war …

Kostroma is not a bad place to go looking for the effects of the Ukraine war on Russia. For this city is home to a celebrated regiment that bears its name and has been in the forefront of all the main battles in the Kremlin’s campaign against its neighbours.

The 331st Guards Parachute Regiment, often called the Kostroma Airborne Regiment, has been the subject of investigations by BBC’s Newsnight since shortly after last February’s invasion. These have revealed the price paid by the regiment and its home community. We had confirmed 39 fatalities by April last year, 62 by late July, and now the toll has reached 94.

#Ukraine: A Russian 2S9 Nona 120mm self-propelled mortar was destroyed by the Ukrainian 128th Territorial Defence Brigade in Klishchiivka near Bakhmut, #Donetsk Oblast.

Spectacular explosion included. pic.twitter.com/LLwVjeXwhR

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 5, 2023

The news that a young woman anti-war activist, Darya Trepova, is suspect number one in the bombing assassination of Russian pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky may shock those schooled to believe that political violence is an all-male preserve. But it will come as no surprise to anyone with the sketchiest knowledge of Russian history. For in Russian politics, as Rudyard Kipling wrote, ‘the female of the species is more deadly than the male’.

In spite of the US’s drive towards energy independence in recent years, the world remains depressingly reliant on OPEC for oil

Just when we thought inflationary forces were softening, the price of crude oil has shot up sharply on Monday in response to an announcement by OPEC that it will try to reduce production. A barrel of Brent crude, which touched $120 last summer before falling back to $75 last month, reached $85 at one point yesterday. Some analysts expect it to hit $100.

Astrologer: Danger of nuclear attack on Hitler’s birthday greatest!

It is the absolute horror scenario: A nuclear bomb attack by Russia. A Ukrainian astrologer has now predicted that one day this month is particularly likely to happen: April 20!

This is the most dangerous day this month.

Astrologer Vlad Ross, in an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Glavred , indicated that April 20 is particularly dangerous for the world from a world perspective. Because on the day, which also happens to be the 134th birthday of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, there is a solar eclipse.

The detention of Darya Trepova for the murder of Russian pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky has raised questions about the young woman’s background and politics.

Russia media reports say Ms Trepova, 26, handed Tatarsky a statuette which was believed to contain the explosives that killed him and injured more than 30 people. Later in a video released by the Russian Interior Ministry, she is seen admitting she brought the statuette to the cafe where the blast took place.

However, her statement was most likely obtained under duress, and she does not say whether she knew about the explosives.

Darya Trepova: Russia releases video of suspect in cafe killing of Vladlen Tatarsky

Russia’s Interior Ministry releases a video showing Darya Trepova, the main suspect behind the murder of Vladlen Tatarsky, speaking to security forces after her arrest pic.twitter.com/7wKwL6LAJA

— RT (@RT_com) April 3, 2023

A Russian war propagandist who called for the destruction of Ukraine was killed in a bomb attack in St Petersburg.

Video shows the moment pro-Putin cheerleader Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, was handed a statuette of himself by an unnamed woman that was believed to have contained the explosive just minutes before he was blown to bits at the political event in the cafe.

Around 100 people were at the event, with at least 25 injured by the blast and four in a critical condition.

The moment of the explosion in a cafe in St. Petersburg today, during which Russian military propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky was reportedly killed pic.twitter.com/UNGrcFArKj

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) April 2, 2023

As Russia has intensified efforts to envelop the fortified town of Avdiivka, Ukraine’s military has this week insisted that its opponents are failing to make progress. Avdiivka’s strategic importance was highlighted earlier this month when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy name-checked it alongside other eastern battlegrounds like Bakhmut and Vuhledar as a place where “the future of all Ukrainians is being fought for”.

#Ukraine: A Ukrainian Krab 155mm self-propelled howitzer along with an ammo truck was destroyed by a Russian Lancet loitering munition. pic.twitter.com/9NdEcgCxKb

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 2, 2023

It is 10 minutes’ walk from the nearest Ukrainian village in the country’s eastern Donbas region, and the only clue to what lies around the corner are the deep track marks through the grass. A minute further, in the wooded valley beyond, is a cluster of tanks, nestling, concealed among the trees. Alongside are their crews, waiting and preparing, amid talk that a Ukrainian counteroffensive is on its way.

The youngest is Danill, who is particularly eager to talk. He is 21, already a lieutenant. A recent graduate of Lviv’s army academy, he helped in the defence of Kyiv, guarding an approach road with a rocket-propelled grenade before finishing his course. Then, a month ago, he joined the elite 214th Opfor battalion. The armoured unit has been operating for months in defence of Bakhmut city, but incomer Danill, a junior tank commander, has yet to see the fierce combat there.

Here is a comparison between the M67 and ASM against the same bunker. pic.twitter.com/ZbwIWyfxd5

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 2, 2023

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Staff, believes it’s unlikely that Ukraine will accomplish its goal of recapturing all of its territory that’s under Russian occupation by the end of the year.

Milley’s assessment, which is in line with a similar assessment of his from the fall, is a stark one given Kyiv’s stated goals of pushing all Russian forces out of Ukrainian territory, Crimea included.