Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 04-10-2024

Gen. Ben Hodges argues that those who fear “escalation” with Russia, if Putin were to be challenged by the West, are dead wrong.

The claims are absurd, but accompanied by a huge propaganda drive aimed at linking Ukraine with terrorism, as well, possibly, an attack on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Russian state-controlled television has posted videos in which the four main suspects of the March 22 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack claim that they were heading to Ukraine for purportedly promised ‘remuneration’ and safe passage. 

Such ‘confessions’ are in keeping with the attempts made by Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Moscow in general to blame Ukraine, but clash with the fact that a faction of ISIS has twice claimed responsibility and produced corroborating evidence.  The ISIS admission, furthermore, closely coincided with the direct warnings that the US issued to Moscow but which the latter chose to ignore. 

Despite the poker face, after almost two-and-a-half decades in power, Putin’s current position indicates that he recognizes that all is not well in his fiefdom.

As Putin enters his twenty-fourth year as president his regime appears stronger than ever: He has no political opponents, his population is deprived of news – replaced with Kremlin propaganda, and the 71-year-old dictator has survived the largest number of sanctions ever imposed on a country. However, increasingly there are signs that the Putin regime is beginning to crack, something which will be exacerbated by the precarious economic situation.

The projected forthcoming ruble devaluation and a lack of foreign currency are recipes for disaster. Russia’s sovereign national wealth fund has become increasingly dried up and no longer has US dollars, British pounds, or euros to balance the ruble whilst the quantity of Chinese yuan and gold are also diminishing.

Stoltenberg's comments came amidst intensified Russian aerial bombardment on Ukraine’s infrastructure in what President Zelensky said was Moscow’s attempts at driving locals out of Kharkiv.

NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine “simply cannot wait” for more air defenses to counter Moscow’s intensified aerial bombardment campaigns that Ukrainian officials said have destroyed nearly all critical energy infrastructure in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city that borders Russia.

“Delays in delivery of air defenses will allow Russian missiles to hit more targets and delays in delivery of ammunition will allow Russia to press along the front line,” said Stoltenberg on Wednesday, April 10.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s latest comments further cemented Washington’s position, though some continued to question the motive behind the Biden administration’s stance.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Ukraine’s recent drone strikes on Russian oil refineries have a “knock-on effect” that could affect the global energy situation and suggested Kyiv focus on “tactical and operational targets” instead.

“Those attacks could have a knock-on effect in terms of the global energy situation. Ukraine is better served in going after tactical and operational targets that can directly influence the current fight,” Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, April 9, Bloomberg reported.

Zelensky said Ukraine could lose the war without US aid, that Russia could target Kharkiv, and that Scholz doesn’t send Taurus missiles because it wants them on hand.

In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed that Ukraine has devised a plan for a new counteroffensive, stressing the critical need for modern weapons.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive plans

The attack caused two power lines to be cut off, resulting in temporary outages for some energy users in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.

Russia hit two energy sites in aerial strikes on southern Ukraine overnight, officials said on Wednesday, the latest in Moscow's targeting of the country's power network.

"The enemy attacked energy facilities in the south of the country," Ukraine's energy ministry said in a statement.

Elections are coming up in the UK this year.

Elections are coming up in the U.K. this year and as someone who has had an active interest in our political economy for more than five decades I thought it interesting perhaps to set out some of the core challenges facing the U.K - my first distinct early memories here were of the 1974 general election, then the winter of discontent from 78’, the miners strike and the Thatcher era.

But now fourteen years of what can only be described as failed and pretty disastrous Tory rule, the U.K. is in a pretty poor shape - lacking direction but where so many core aspects of the U.K. economy just don’t function. I list out some of the key problems/failings below.

The Ukrainian intelligence-affiliated hacker group said they managed to shut off 87,000 sensors and prevent the utility company from responding to accidents and emergency events.

Blackjack, a Ukrainian hacker group affiliated with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said it had launched a cyberattack on Moskollector, a company that operates the communication system for Moscow’s sewage network.

Unnamed government sources told Ukrainian news outlet LIGA.net that Blackjack managed to shut off 87,000 alarm sensors throughout Moscow and the surrounding suburbs, preventing the company from responding to emergency events. The source also claimed that Blackjack destroyed 70 servers and at least 90 terabytes of company data, including emails, backup copies and contracts.

Reacting to the threat posed by hypersonic ballistic missiles fired from Russian-occupied Crimea, Ukraine’s defense forces issued an appeal to residents for help in locating the launchers.

Missile attacks on Kyiv on Feb. 7 and March 25 included the use of “experimental” versions of the Tsirkon hypersonic ballistic missile fired from modified K-300P Bastion-P (NATO: SS-C-5 Stooge) mobile coastal defense missile systems based in occupied Crimea.

This followed several previous instances of the launchers being used to fire Oniks anti-ship missiles against commercial ports in the Odesa region.

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

Europe must prepare for potential war, as a full-scale conflict on the continent beyond Ukraine is “no longer a fantasy”, the EU’s chief diplomat has warned. “Russia threatens Europe,” both through its ongoing war in Ukraine and hybrid attacks on EU member states, Josep Borrell said on Tuesday in a speech in Brussels.“War is certainly looming around us,” said Borrell. “A high-intensity, conventional war in Europe is no longer a fantasy.” It is the first time the former Spanish foreign minister has laid out the Russian threat so explicitly, after recent warnings from military chiefs and leaders in northern Europe about the risk of more Russian attacks beyond Ukraine. The Danish defence minister in February said Russia could test Nato’s solidarity within three to five years. “The Berlin Wall has been replaced with a ring of fires around us,” he said, referring also to the Israel-Hamas war and instability in northern Africa.- FT

David Cameron’s attempt to persuade Donald Trump to permit the US Congress to push through $60bn in military aid for Ukraine appears to have failed, after the British foreign secretary was not even granted a meeting with congressional speaker Mike Johnson, who could in theory put the package to a vote.At a private dinner in Trump’s Florida base, Mar-a-Lago, Cameron had urged Trump to recognise that it was in the US’s interest that Vladimir Putin not be rewarded for seizing land from Ukraine. He also insisted that by the time of a Nato summit in Washington this July, plans would be in place for every Nato member to reach or pass the target of defence spending. He was hoping Trump would signal a change of course at least by easing the path to him meeting Johnson. But Cameron’s arguments – both rational and emotional – seem to have run up against the continued power struggle inside the Republican party, as hardliners, who have cooled on continuing to support Ukraine financially, threaten to oust Johnson if he puts the aid package to a vote when Congress returns from its two-week vacation - Guardian

It seems as if the United States has abdicated its traditional role of leadership in protecting Western values. One hopes a renewed Entente Cordiale could fill the vacuum.

These poignant photographs will preserve for posterity two fateful moments in the history of the 21st century. During a session of geopolitical wizardry, the triumphant Chekist trickster is able to eliminate, one after the other, the last two Emperors of modern-day Rome. The whole world watched first in Helsinki in 2018 and then in Geneva in 2021 as two different statesmen took the stage – it was the same diminutive, little man next to two noticeably taller gentlemen. As soon as the figures appeared in front of the cameras, every single television viewer, and there were tens of millions watching, knew exactly which of them was the alpha male and which one was displaying a deep psychological dependency on his partner.

Sources say Putin "has not forgiven the SBU for the two strikes on the Crimean bridge," as well as the attacks carried out by Sea Baby drones on Russian vessels.

Sources within Ukraine's Special Services told Kyiv Post that the Kremlin is poised to formally accuse Vasyl Maliuk, the Chief of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), of orchestrating the attack on Crocus City Hall. He has also been identified as the Kremlin's primary target.

According to these sources, Vladimir Putin "has not forgiven the SBU for the two strikes on the Crimean bridge," particularly the first strike, which was timed to coincide with the Russian president's birthday, as well as the attacks carried out by Sea Baby drones on Russian vessels.

The EU Parliament’s trade committee gave the green light to a last-minute deal to extend trade liberalisation with Ukraine until 2025, which is key to sustaining the Ukrainian economy.

The European Parliament’s trade committee gave the green light on Tuesday (9 April) to a last-minute deal to extend trade liberalisation with Ukraine until 2025, which Kyiv’s trade minister said is key to sustaining the Ukrainian economy.

With 26 votes in favour, eight against and no abstentions, the international trade committee (INTA) approved the provisional agreement reached in interinstitutional negotiations on Monday, prolonging Ukraine’s trade benefits until June 2025. 

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Washington would "not sit by and say everything is fine" after Beijing renewed pledges of cooperation with Moscow during a visit by Russia's diplomat.

China vowed Wednesday it would not accept "criticism or pressure" over its ties with Russia, after Washington warned that it will hold Beijing responsible if Moscow makes gains in Ukraine.

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Tuesday that Washington would "not sit by and say everything is fine" after Beijing renewed pledges of cooperation with Moscow during a visit by Russia's top diplomat.

UAH bond rates decline further.

The Ministry of Finance decreased interest rates for two out of three offered UAH bonds yesterday, coming closer to a decrease in three-month NBU CDs interest rates.

Competition in 12-month bill purchases caused a significant decline in interest rates. The lowest rate in bids declined by 10bp to 16.05%, and the highest rates fell by 19bp to 16.15%, 10bp below last week's cut-off rate. With such rates in bids and over x2 oversubscription, the MoF satisfied only 17 out of 26 bids with rates up to 16.1%. Due to the cap, most of the bids could be satisfied partially. Both the cut-off and weighted-average rates decreased to 16.1% or 15bp and 13bp lower than last week.

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet currently deploys these helicopters for locating Ukrainian naval drones and landing craft.

A Russian Ka-27 helicopter was reportedly destroyed in Crimea, as announced by Naval Forces of Ukraine spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk on Facebook.

“Minus the Russian Ka-27 in Crimea. It was looking for something. It found it,” he wrote.

Ukrainian servicemen skillfully neutralized a Russian cluster bomb in the Donetsk region, preventing its detonation. Sappers later detonated the bomb due to safety concerns.

Ukrainian border guards detonated a Russian cluster bomb in the  Donetsk region, which had been intercepted without triggering an explosion, the State Border Service reported via Telegram.

In the draft law on mobilization, according to military personnel, there is neither a maximum term of service nor qualitative responsibility for “evaders.”

The Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on National Security and Defense has prepared the final version of the bill on mobilization for the second reading, wrote lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko on Facebook.

According to him, the final version has several positive provisions incorporated, such as demobilization after capture or demobilization of people with disabilities, as well as several bonuses for contractors when issuing consumer loans.

The former Conservative prime minister had dinner Monday with Trump, the ex-president and Republican challenger to Joe Biden in November, at his Florida estate before heading to Washington.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron pleaded Tuesday for US Republicans to approve billions of dollars in military support for Ukraine as he made his case directly to Donald Trump.

The former Conservative prime minister had dinner Monday with Trump, the ex-president and Republican challenger to Joe Biden in November, at his Florida estate before heading to Washington.

With Moscow renewing its offensive amid a deadlock in the US Congress, Campbell warned that Russian territorial gains could "alter the balance of power in Europe in ways that are unacceptable."

The United States warned Tuesday that it will hold China responsible if Moscow makes gains in Ukraine, after Beijing renewed pledges of cooperation during a visit by Russia's top diplomat.

Kurt Campbell, the deputy secretary of state long associated with regearing US policy toward Asia, said that for the United States, maintaining peace and stability in Europe is "our most important mission historically."

The bill has been submitted to the Lithuanian parliament and would deprive Russians and Belarusians of local residence if they travel home more than once a month over espionage concerns.

Lithuanian deputies have submitted a bill to the Lithuanian Seimas to deprive Belarusian and Russian nationals of temporary residency if they travel to their home country more than once a month due to espionage concerns.

The bill also calls for the cancellation of residence for Russians and Belarusians in Lithuania who publicly approved the “crime of Russian aggression” and “deliberately and systematically publicly disseminate false information that is against the interests of society or the state.”

Partisans revealed that due to limited air defense systems, Russia is struggling to fully protect crucial urban facilities in the Russian city of Tula, prompting rapid deployment of the Pantsir-S1.

According to a report from the Atesh partisan movement shared via Telegram, the Pantsir-S1 missile system was recently deployed to the Russian city of Tula in response to Ukrainian drone attacks in the region.

“Atesh inspected the security of the oil storage facility in Tula,” the report said, accompanied by photos of the facility.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian state media highlighted Russia and China’s joint effort to combat perceived Western “dual containment” targeting Russia and China during Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on April 9.
• US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on April 9 that it transferred roughly a brigade’s worth of small arms and ammunition seized from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to Ukraine on April 4.
• The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) is likely responsible for a drone strike against the Borisoglebsk Airbase in Voronezh Oblast overnight on April 8 to 9.
• Russian ultranationalist milbloggers continue to employ virulently anti-migrant rhetoric and calls for xenophobic domestic policies, but in doing so are exposing the inherent hypocrisy in Russia’s treatment of its own indigenous ethnic minority communities.
• The Kremlin will likely be able to leverage a new agreement signed by the Kremlin-affiliated governor of the pro-Russian Moldovan autonomous region of Gagauzia, Yevgenia Gutsul, and a state-owned Russian bank to further its efforts to destabilize Moldovan society, attack Moldova’s democratic government, and prevent Moldova’s accession to the European Union (EU).
• Russia is reportedly considering creating a new ministry for youth policy and patriotic education, likely as part of an ongoing attempt to instill pro-Kremlin and Kremlin-approved ideology in Russia’s next generation.
• Russian military authorities in Armenia detained another Russian citizen in Armenia, likely in an effort to assert military and political power over Armenia and to challenge Armenia’s sovereignty amid a continued deterioration of Armenian–Russian relations.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Kreminna, west of Avdiivka, and south and southwest of Donetsk City on April 9.
• Kremlin officials continue efforts to ease public fears about another possible wave of partial mobilization.
• The Russian occupation regime in Crimea is systematically persecuting clergy and parishes affiliated with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in occupied Crimea.

Ukraine national security chief meets with NATO envoy; Alleged Russian collaborator connected to pro-Kremlin blogger detained near Odesa; Veterans hotline goes online to provide services.

New national security chief meets with NATO representative ahead of Washington summit

Kyiv pushed to have more of its “specialists” at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on April 9 during a meeting between the newly appointed head of the National Security and Defense Council (RNBO) and the Alliance’s main representative in Ukraine, Karen McTear.