Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 04-06-2024

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• On 28 March 2024, a Crimean Telegram channel reported that an SU-27 aircraft operating over Crimea had been shot down by Russian air defence in an incident of friendly fire. The Russian-installed Governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razozhaev, stated that there was a technical failure and that the pilot survived.
• Ukraine had conducted strikes against targets in Sevastopol and the Black Sea Fleet on 24 March 2024. This almost certainly led to local Russian air defence being at a heightened readiness. There have been previous unconfirmed reports of similar instances of friendly fire occurring, usually following periods of Ukrainian action against Russian forces in the illegally occupied territory. There is a realistic possibility that rather than a technical issue, the increased pressure and tension amongst Russian air defence operators induced by the fear of further Ukrainian action leads to them inadvertently engaging their own pilots and aircraft.
• This event, and others if confirmed, likely highlights the lack of situational awareness and coordination between elements of the Russian armed forces, while further demonstrating the second-order impact of Ukrainian actions.

Implementing Critical Policy Changes in the Third Year of War

The negative news coverage of the Ukraine-Russia conflict has unleashed a flood of dire predictions. However, doomsayers’ forecasts are overly grim and the outcome can be much more favorable for Ukraine with the right support and proper adjustment of both the United States’ and Ukraine’s strategy.

The single most important factor outside of Ukraine’s control determining outcomes in the third year of war will be Western - and specifically American - military support. No single country or combination of countries can match the United States’ security assistance. Currently, American security aid is frozen in a political battle over congressionally appropriated funds.

Emergency services had been working through the night after a dam burst in the city of Orsk, near the border with Kazakhstan.

Russia said Saturday it had evacuated more than 4,000 people in the Orenburg region, which lies near the Kazakhstan border, due to flooding after a dam burst.

Emergency services had been working through the night after a dam burst in the city of Orsk, near the border with Kazakhstan.

After a year of mostly-frozen front line, Russian forces are pushing against a Ukrainian army struggling with manpower and ammunition shortages amid delays in Western aid.

Sitting in a steamy kitchen, Ukrainian soldier Anton was ready to go on a new rotation to defend Chasiv Yar, a strategic town for troops fighting for control of the eastern Donbas region.

After a year of mostly-frozen front line, Russian forces are pushing against a Ukrainian army struggling with manpower and ammunition shortages amid delays in Western aid.

Expressing his hopes for unity, the Patriarch suggested that an agreement on a common date for Easter, which is calculated differently, could be reached as early as next year.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has issued a plea for Eastern- and Western-rite Christians to come together and celebrate Easter jointly, as reported by Catholic Culture.

Expressing his hopes for unity, the Patriarch suggested that an agreement on a common date for Easter could be reached as early as next year.

Norwegian film-maker and volunteer Harald Omland explains why he is so committed to helping Ukrainians in their current hour of need.

The affected pipeline served as a crucial link, transporting oil products from a local tank farm to tankers docked in the portside area of the "Azov Seaport."

An oil pipeline in the village of Azov, located in Russia's Rostov region, was rocked by an explosion early morning on Saturday, April 6, according to a report from Ukraine's Military Intelligence.

Fierce fighting rages on between Ukrainian and Russian forces near the town of Chasiv Yar, a Ukrainian stronghold in the east.

Fighting raged on Friday (5 April) between Ukrainian and Russian forces near the town of Chasiv Yar, a Ukrainian stronghold in the east, but Kyiv denied that Moscow’s troops had reached the suburbs.

Russian forces are inching forward in eastern Ukraine after capturing the bastion town of Avdiivka in February. Kyiv’s soldiers are trying to dig in, facing long-term shortages of artillery shells with US aid stuck in Congress.

Military analysts at ISW highlighted that geolocation footage revealed only explosions and activation of Russian air defence systems near all air bases, except for the one near Yeisk.

According to the latest report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), there is no visual evidence suggesting Ukrainian troops damaged or destroyed aircraft or infrastructure at any of the four air bases targeted by drones early morning Friday, April 5.

Military analysts at ISW highlighted that geolocation footage revealed only explosions and activation of Russian air defence systems near all air bases, except for the one near Yeisk.

Ivan Korcok, a 60-year-old pro-Western former foreign minister, and Peter Pellegrini, 48, a Ukraine-sceptic, are vying to replace the outgoing liberal President Zuzana Caputova.

Slovaks voted Saturday to choose a new president with the outcome determining whether the EU and NATO member shifts further towards Russia amid deep divisions over the war in Ukraine.

Ivan Korcok, a 60-year-old pro-Western former foreign minister, and Peter Pellegrini, 48, a Ukraine-sceptic backed by the ruling populists, are vying to replace the outgoing liberal President Zuzana Caputova.

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

An aid organisation has called for an independent investigation into the killing of seven of its workers by Israeli drone strikes in Gaza. It comes after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said "grave mistakes" led to the fatal targeting of staff from charity World Central Kitchen (WCK). An Israeli military inquiry led to two senior officers being dismissed. However, the CEO of the aid group said the Israeli military "cannot credibly investigate its own failure in Gaza". In a statement, Erin Gore continued: "[The IDF's] apologies for the outrageous killing of our colleagues represent cold comfort. It's cold comfort for the victims' families and WCK's global family." - BBC

Israel and the U.S. are convinced Iran is preparing to retaliate for the Israeli strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria, U.S. officials say. Israel on Monday struck an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, and killed a number of senior leaders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to the Pentagon. The U.S. has picked up intelligence that Iran is planning a retaliatory attack that would include a swarm of Shahed loitering drones and cruise missiles. Officials say the timing and target are unknown, but a proportional response to the Damascus attack would be to hit an Israeli diplomatic facility. The attack is likely to come between now and the end of Ramadan next week - CBS News

After nine months of hesitating over the issue, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed to lower the draft age for calling up reservists from 27 to 25. The reactions in the press are mixed.

After nine months of hesitating over the issue, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed to lower the draft age for calling up reservists from 27 to 25. This will allow the army to enlist up to 400,000 new recruits for service on the front. Previously, younger men could only be deployed as conscripts away from the front. The reactions in the press are mixed.

No alternative

The Ministry for State Security in Transnistria issued a statement confirming the attack but stopped short of directly blaming Ukraine.

A military base in Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova, was reportedly targeted by an explosive drone on Friday, April 5, according to pro-Russian separatists.

The incident, occurring in the district of Rybnitsa near the Ukraine border, resulted in minor damage to a radar station, with no reported injuries.

The Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar in the eastern Donetsk region appears to be their next major target.

Ukraine warned on Friday that a key frontline town was coming under "constant fire" from advancing Russian troops as Moscow said it had captured another small village.

Russia's advances on the battlefield came as Ukraine said it had destroyed at least six military planes at a Russian airbase in one of its largest overnight drone attacks in weeks.

Thousands of Ukrainians with disabilities still live in closed institutions. Human rights defenders are trying to change that.

You can listen to the article in audio format by following the link provided.

More than 40,000 people – that’s the number of Ukrainians who were living in institutions by the start of the Russian full-scale war. These places are homes to children, the elderly, and, for the most part, persons with disabilities – especially those with intellectual disabilities.

Kharkiv major Terekhov said Iranian-made drones had carried out the attack, hitting at least nine high-rise buildings, three dormitories and a petrol station.

An overnight Russian drone attack on Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv killed six people and wounded 10 others, national emergency services and the city's mayor said Saturday.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said in a Telegram post that "six people were killed and at least 10 injured as a result of an enemy strike".

Having addressed alcohol abuse among its troops the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) is now facing the threat to morale and efficiency posed by online gambling as does society as a whole.

The problem of gambling addiction is as prevalent in the AFU as it is in the whole of Ukrainian society but the potential for harm goes beyond the threat for individuals.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the annual turnover of gambling in online casinos, is estimated at Hr.150 billion ($3.8 billion) or more than Hr.400 million ($10.1 million) a day. By comparison, the total value of donations to the AFU in 2023 was around Hr.46 billion ($1.2 billion) a third of that spent on gambling.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and Ukrainian forces reportedly conducted one of the largest series of drone strikes against military facilities within Russia, targeting at least four Russian airbases, on the night of April 4 to 5.
• The recently intensified tempo of Russian offensive operations in Ukraine will likely result in increased manpower and materiel losses, but the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) appears to be successfully mitigating these losses.
• Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal indicated that Ukraine is starting to staff new units, but that Ukraine needs further Western military assistance to properly equip them.
• Shmyhal also reported that Russian missile and drone strikes have damaged or disrupted roughly 80 percent of electricity generation at Ukrainian thermal power plants (TPPs) in recent weeks, as Russian forces continue to exploit the degraded Ukrainian air defense umbrella in an effort to collapse Ukraine’s energy grid.
• Ukrainian officials continue to warn that Russian forces are systematically and increasingly using chemical weapons and other likely-banned chemical substances in Ukraine.
• An unattributed drone reportedly struck a military unit in the pro-Russian Moldovan breakaway republic of Transnistria on April 5 amidst an assessed ongoing Kremlin hybrid operation aimed at destabilizing Moldova from within.
• Russia reportedly has conducted thousands of cyber-attacks against Czechia’s rail transport infrastructure and that of other European states as part of a broader effort to degrade NATO members’ transport logistics since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Avdiivka amidst ongoing positional fighting along the entire line of contact on April 5.
• Russia’s defense industry continues to mobilize to meet the Russian military’s needs in Ukraine.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on April 4 that Russia will open two youth centers aimed at indoctrinating Ukrainian youth into Russian culture and historical narratives in occupied Zaporizhia and Kherson Oblasts in the near future.