Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 04-02-2024

One of the Ukrainian drones responsible for Tuesday’s strike on industrial sites in Tatarstan hit a workers’ dormitory linked to Alabuga's Shahed kamikaze drone assembly plant.

Ukrainian UJ-22 attack drones, which were attributed to Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence directorate, targeted an oil refinery in the city of Nizhnekamsk and a military drone production site in Russia’s Alabuga special economic zone on Tuesday morning.

The fact that Ukraine’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were able to strike at over 1,250 kilometers surprised most people, not the least the public in Tatarstan who, according to Tatar political expert Ruslan Aysin cited by the Moscow Times, “is scared and shocked by the fact that… the war came to them, [so far] from the front line.”

Kyiv Post visited the Kyiv suburb that witnessed the horrors of Russian occupation at the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Following the detention of migrant workers in an anti-terrorist crackdown, employees from the Makhachkala’s mayor’s office were forced to collect garbage from the streets.

After police detained Central Asian migrants working for the contractor employed by the Makhachkala municipal authority, the street cleaning and garbage disposal problems the capital of Dagestan had already been suffering got worse, according to RIA Novosti on Tuesday, April 2.

The city administration posted on its website: “Over the past few days, there has been a deterioration in the sanitary condition of the city; for technical reasons, the regional operator (for the management of municipal solid waste) MBU Makhachkala-1 has encountered difficulties in cleaning the waste and container sites and in removal of solid waste.”

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

Seven aid workers, including an Australian and a British national, have been killed in Gaza. They were working for World Central Kitchen (WCK) and had just dropped off aid at a warehouse. WCK says it is pausing its operations and will make a decision about the future of its work soon. The charity's founder José Andrés blames Israel for the strike, as does the Gaza's Hamas-run media office. A Palestinian medical source told the BBC the workers had been wearing bullet-proof vests bearing the charity's logo. Israel's military says it is conducting a "thorough review" into the incident - BBC

The senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly killed in a strike on Tehran's consulate in Damascus has been named as Mohammad Reza Zahedi, according to Iranian state TV. Smoke was seen rising from rubble of a building that had been flattened, and emergency vehicles were parked outside the scene in the Mezzeh district of the Syrian capital. An Israeli military spokesperson said: "We do not comment on reports in the foreign media." Syrian state television confirmed the consulate building had been attacked. Iranian state TV later said that several diplomats had also been killed in the strike. Iran's foreign minister says Tehran holds Israel responsible for the consequences of the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. Hossein Amirabdollahian  said in a call with his Syrian counterpart  the strike was "a breach of all international conventions".  In a post on X he added: "With extreme brutality, contrary to all international conventions, they targeted my place of residence and the consular section of the embassy...We will reciprocate when we want." Sky News

The politicians allegedly benefited directly from promoting Moscow in European media. Some accused say it’s really left-wing Europe Big Brother trying to undermine popular right-wing politicians.

A scandal over Kremlin hybrid war operations supporting nationalist, Euro-skeptic platforms across the continent widened on Tuesday with pro-democracy agencies identifying two dozen European populist officials, and 14 European far-right political parties, by name, as direct beneficiaries of Moscow promotion.

The purported Russian agents, meanwhile, said it was an attack on free speech and democratic principles.

Although its illegal for the conscripted to be sent to the front line for two years, this may not be the whole story, Ukrainian analysts say.

The Russian Armed Forces plans to conscript nearly 150,000 people between the ages of 18-30 from April 1 to July 15 and many could become a part of the forces in Russia’s ongoing Ukraine invasion.

On Sunday, March 31, Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed off on the twice-yearly routine conscription order – a document posted on the Kremlin’s website showed.

Artem Shylo, a former adviser at the President's office, was detained for allegedly leading a group formed in 2021 that stole funds from Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine’s national railway company.

Former freelance adviser to the Office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Artem Shylo is suspected of heading a group that embezzled money from Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways), Kyiv Post sources in law enforcement said.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) reported on Telegram on Tuesday, April 2 that it, along with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, uncovered a criminal group that had embezzled Hr.94.7 million ($2.4 million) from Ukrzaliznytsia, through a scheme where they purchased transformers at nearly twice their cost.

In an exclusive to Kyiv Post, a partisan movement source revealed Russians focusing air defense in Crimea and on the border, leaving Russian regions exposed.

The Atesh guerrilla movement, via Telegram, reported Russia’s deployment of S-300 air-defense missile systems and Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft artillery systems to safeguard the Kerch Bridge against potential Ukrainian attacks.

“Our agents are vigilantly monitoring the Kerch Bridge area,” read the caption accompanying the photos and footage released by the partisans.

He also revealed that Belarus is training military units and supplying weaponry and equipment to its armed forces.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has openly stated that while his country isn't seeking any conflict, it's actively preparing for war. Lukashenko made the remarks during a visit to Grodno, as reported by the state agency Belta.

"Don't believe anyone that we want to fight. We are preparing for war, and I am talking about this frankly. If you want peace, prepare for war," Lukashenko said.

The Russian state news agency said on Tuesday the Federal Security Service (FSB) had seized tens of kilograms of explosives and bomb components being smuggled into Russia from Ukraine via the EU.

The FSB press service said on Tuesday, April 2, that its agents working with Russia’s Federal Customs Service had stopped a truck ostensibly transporting religious icons and church paraphernalia at the Ubylinka border crossing on the Latvian-Russian border.

Having inspected the cargo it was reported that the consignment concealed explosives and components sufficient to manufacture almost 30 improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The Register of Damages for Ukraine opened formally in The Hague during a conference bringing together senior officials from Ukraine, The Netherlands and European institutions.

Ukrainians can enter claims for damages to their property as a result of Russia's invasion via a new mechanism launched on Tuesday, with officials expecting as many as 10 million requests overall.

The Register of Damages for Ukraine opened formally in The Hague during a conference bringing together senior ministers and officials from Ukraine, The Netherlands and European institutions.

It has been six months since meaningful U.S. aid has reached Ukraine. You now have a list of six institutions that can help.

Friends, It has been 459 days since the U.S. Congress passed legislation to support Ukraine. 

Russia, supported by arms from Iran and North Korea, is now slowly advancing on the front, bombing front-line cities, and sending scores of missiles and drones at cities throughout Ukraine.  Russia has recently destroyed one major Ukrainian hydroelectrical facility, and as write is targeting two others.  The aim is to bring down the Ukrainian electricity grid.

Ukraine’s real GDP recovers 5.3% in 2023

Bonds: Bond yields continue to trend down

The MoF continued to decrease interest rates in the primary bond market, but at a slower pace vs a week before. Yields in the secondary market followed the trend.The Ministry borrowed UAH12bn (US$319m), including US$74m via USD-denominated bills. The MoF sold all offered 13-month and two-year bills, while demand for three-year notes fell short of the supply. In the second consecutive auction, the MoF decreased interest rates for UAH bonds thanks to competition between bidders. See details in the auction review.Competition was the highest for a new 13-month paper. Bidders reacted to a cut in interest rates for the NBU CDs and submitted bids for the shortest paper in the range of 16.12%‒16.45% (down 15‒58bp vs previous week). Due to a cap, only bids with lower rates were satisfied.Since the NBU decision to cut its key policy rate and interest rates for CDs two week ago, the MoF managed to decrease interest rates for one-year bills by 45bp to 16.35%, and by 40bp to 17.2% for two-year paper, and by 20bp to 18.3% for three-year notes.In the secondary bond market, trading in UAH bonds rose and was concentrated in longer maturities. Yields there followed the primary market. Individuals and foreigners increased their portfolios most actively.

Media in Russia were shocked and those in Ukraine pleasantly surprised by a HUR drone attack on a region more than 1,200 kilometers from the nearest Ukrainian border.

Kyiv Post's sources from Ukraine's Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR) confirmed that Ukraine had targeted a drone assembly facility in Yelabuga and an oil refinery in Nizhnekamsk, both in Tatarstan, more than 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) from Ukraine.

The source said that Yelabuga factory strike was a special operation of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry (HUR) and that the strike caused significant damage to drone production facilities.

A five-year investigation suggests that Russia is responsible for attacks with a secret “acoustic weapon” on US officials connected to Ukraine and Georgia. And US officials are publicly denying it.

A former chef of a Russian restaurant chain who was arrested in 2020 in a high-speed chase is a suspected spy, according to a five-year investigation by US investigative TV program 60 Minutes, German magazine Der Spiegel, and The Insider.

At the time of Vitalii Kovalev’s arrest, “police discovered bank account notes, a device used to erase a car’s computer data, and a Russian passport,” The Washington magazine wrote on April 1.

France held an international conference in February in a bid to rally financial and military support for Ukraine. The results will be reviewed by Blinken and French leaders.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Tuesday on supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

France is among major military suppliers to Ukraine, which has faced critical shortages of arms and troops as it holds off an onslaught of Russian attacks.

The NATO military alliance on Thursday marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of its founding treaty in Washington. Here are some facts and figures about the organisation.

The NATO military alliance on Thursday marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of its founding treaty in Washington.

Here are some facts and figures about the organisation forged in the Cold War and re-energised by Russia's war on Ukraine.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• A joint investigation by 60 Minutes, the Insider, and Der Spiegel strongly suggests that the Kremlin has waged a sustained kinetic campaign directly targeting US government personnel both in the United States and internationally for a decade, with the likely objective of physically incapacitating US government personnel.
• The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is intensifying efforts to falsely implicate Ukraine in the March 22 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack while denying any Islamic State (IS) responsibility or involvement in the attack.
• Russian authorities are taking measures to further crack down against migrant communities in Russia following the Crocus City Hall attack.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Avdiivka and in the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast amid continued positional engagements along the entire line of contact on April 1.
• The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) continues to reassure the Russian public that Russian military conscripts will not deploy to most of occupied Ukraine nor participate in combat operations in Ukraine amid the start of the spring semi-annual military conscription call-up that started on April 1.

Star Wars actress and cultural ambassador cancels lucrative contract, settles on a sum of 50 percent of a different, upcoming Netflix production.

Ukrainian actress Ivanna Sakhno recently told local Ukrainian broadcaster TSN that she cancelled her contract with online streaming program Netflix because she didn’t want to play the role of a Russian woman.

The compensation from the contract severance will be the equivalent of about 50 percent of her earnings in a future Netflix project to which she is committed, she said.

In an interview on Sunday’s “Face the Nation” program, the US House Intelligence Committee Chairman says the deadlock on Ukraine may already be broken.

A Republican US House of Representatives lawmaker says that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) will floor a funding bill that includes more than $60 billion for Ukraine when the lower chamber of the legislature reconvenes on April 9.

Speaking to the “Face the Nation” television program on March 31, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) said that “the CIA director and Secretary of Defense…everybody has made it clear that we're at a critical juncture on the ground that is beginning to be able to impact not only the morale of the Ukrainians that fight but also their will to fight.”