“Ukraine – Russia”

Leaked Documents Reveal Depth of U.S. Spy Efforts and Russia’s Military Struggles

WASHINGTON — A trove of leaked Pentagon documents reveals how deeply Russia’s security and intelligence services have been penetrated by the United States, demonstrating Washington’s ability to warn Ukraine about planned strikes and providing an assessment of the strength of Moscow’s war machine.

The documents paint a portrait of a depleted Russian military that is struggling in its war in Ukraine and of a military apparatus that is deeply compromised. They contain daily real-time warnings to American intelligence agencies on the timing of Moscow’s strikes and even its specific targets. Such intelligence has allowed the United States to pass on to Ukraine crucial information on how to defend itself.

#Ukraine: In #Donetsk Oblast, a Russian 2S3 Akatsiya 152mm self-propelled howitzer was destroyed by Ukrainian forces – possibly using a UK-donated Brimstone missile.

A Polish WB FlyEye UAV was used to track the SPH before it was obliterated. pic.twitter.com/SUucJVxzMi

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 8, 2023

In the dead of night last October a Ukrainian special forces team boarded a 40ft armoured patrol boat, taking up positions at its three heavy machineguns and Mk19 automatic grenade launcher.

They were among nearly 600 elite troops scattered along the north bank of the Dnipro River, which carves through Zaporizhzhia region. The teams boarded more than 30 vessels bristling with weapons, formidable gifts from friends in the West.

Their orders: to launch an assault to recapture the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from the Russians on the opposite bank.

Ukraine and Russia continue to slug it out in the area of the eastern city of Bakhmut, with the Ukrainian military saying that “more than 40” Russian attacks had occurred along the front in the last 24 hours. At the same time, the U.S. government is investigating the leak of documents including details of U.S. and NATO plans to provide military aid for a possible Ukrainian offensive in the coming weeks.

#Ukraine: Yet another 2S9 Nona 120mm self-propelled mortar was destroyed by the Ukrainian 128th Territorial Defence Battalion and the tactical group "Adam" in Klishchiivka near Bakhmut, #Donetsk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/3lSn4KcIbU

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 7, 2023

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.