Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 04-14-2024

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

Overnight, 350 missiles and drones were launched at Israel in Iran's attack. The IDF says 99 percent intercepted. Iran has warned Israel and U.S. against retaliation - Haaretz

President Joe Biden made clear the US will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran, according to a senior administration official. But he said Washington's commitment to Israel’s security against Iranian threats remains "ironclad." US forces intercepted more than 70 drones and at least three ballistic missiles, according to US officials. The US assessment is that Iran’s attacks had been largely unsuccessful - CNN

Former UK military officer Adrian Simpson discusses why and how he and his colleagues from Britain are helping Ukrainians.

The strategic prospects for Ukraine's energy infrastructure in response to continuous Russian assault.

The complete destruction of the Trypillya power plant on the morning of April 11 came after a series of similar attacks on Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy and other regions’ energy facilities. Russia has been systematically targeting such sites for almost a month now. Notwithstanding the devastation to communities – the destruction or severe damage to all major Ukrainian power plants has made many contemplate how Ukraine is going to rebuild its energy assets during – and following – the war.

In late November 2022, just a few weeks after the first Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, our firm was approached by a foreign energy engineering company looking to buy a local Ukrainian counterpart. The underling strategy was evident – the more Russia bombed the Ukrainian power plants, the more reconstruction would be needed afterwards. This presents business opportunities for companies like the one that came to us.

Serhiy Kolyada on Rasscist fantasies, realties and brutal obscenity.

On all sides of the political spectrum, at this crucial moment in Ukraine and the West’s history, the US Congress is failing the cause of freedom because of its cowardice.

Sometimes we should throw niceties out of the window and tell our friends what we are thinking, especially if we perceive disaster ahead. So, if you’ll forgive me, I’m going to say what I’m thinking right now. For those easily offended, bear in mind that this article has the word “opinion” in capital letters right before the title.

The wording of this opinion might invoke the sensation: “Who does this person think he is?” For the record, I’m a concerned European expressing a personal view. My country allows that, and Ukraine is fighting for that. It is a most fundamental type of freedom. That’s why Britain is standing with Ukraine without hesitation. Which brings me at once to my point.

The following is the response of Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on Iran's attack on Israel as posted on its on official site of April 14.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly condemns the massive Iranian attacks against the State of Israel.

Such actions are completely unacceptable, irresponsible and carry the risk of unprecedented further escalation of the situation in the Middle East.

Normally police in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone would have their hands full watching over the radioactive cars and policing poachers. But the war has made all their tasks more difficult.

A police car in the United States is likely to have roughly three years or 60,000 miles of service before it’s sold, probably at auction. The police cars in Ukraine at the Chornobyl police station have an entirely different life cycle. The Russians have disrupted this cycle and, in the process, created a global health risk.

Life cycle of a Chornobyl police car

Iran Using Lessons Learned from Russian Strikes Against Ukraine to Hit Israel.

The composition of the ongoing Iranian attack on Israel is similar to the composition of Russian strikes that have repeatedly targeted Ukraine. These Russian strikes have attempted to determine the optimal package to penetrate Western air and missile defenses.

Russia has experimented with combinations of ballistic and cruise missiles alongside Iranian drones in Ukraine. Iran’s use of drones and missiles shows how Iran is learning from the Russians to develop increasingly dangerous and effective strike packages against Israel.

Today’s hero’s in Ukraine are those who learn to adapt to the atrocities inflicted on the them by Russia’s brutal attack. Valeriy Kucherenko is one of many.

Valeriy Kucherenko is a decorated “Hero of Ukraine” but the battle he is currently fighting is learning how to eat and use the toilet alone.

Seriously injured in October, the burly 30-year-old is a double amputee with two prosthetic arms.

The drone at the center of the Iranian-Russian axis and Tehran’s attacks on Israel has been harassing Ukrainians for nearly two years.

The Iranian military has launched a wave of drones at Israel. While the total amount of drones and the intended targets of this attack are unknown, all available evidence suggests that this swarm is composed of Shahed loitering munitions. For nearly two years, these drones have been a fixture of Moscow’s air raids on Ukrainian cities. These drones should viewed as a symbol of the shared threats seen among the United States’ allies abroad and the increased technical cooperation within the axis of authoritarian powers.

After months of importing Shahed-136 drones, the Russian Federation began producing its own clone of the UAV formally known as the “Geran-2.” On April 2, the Ukrainian military destroyed a Shahed factory in Tatarstan, Russia. The strike was achieved using a Cessna-type aircraft modified for unmanned flight and carrying an explosive payload. A video shared after the attack features a young Kenyan woman who worked in the facility referring to the Ukrainian military as “barbarians.” Investigative reporting from 2023 suggests that the parent company of the facility has used academic exchanges for foreign students in Russia as a cover for employing African minors in the factory.

Buckling under the waters of disastrous floods and dam breaks, parts of Russia near the border of Kazakhstan are facing the worst natural disaster in decades.

Russian emergency services on Saturday said they had evacuated thousands of people from the southern regions bordering Kazakhstan as flood water continued to rise.

Fast-rising temperatures have melted snow and ice, and along with heavy rain have caused a number of major rivers that pass through Russia and Kazakhstan to overflow this month.

Russia continues to torture priests and destroy Ukrainian churches – IRF released new report in English and in Ukrainian.

During the full-scale invasion, Russian troops have damaged or wholly destroyed at least 630 churches, prayer houses, and other religious facilities in Ukraine.

The Institute for Religious Freedom published this new data in the report “The Impact of the Russian Invasion on Faith-Based Communities in Ukraine.” The IRF research contains the results of monitoring and surveys on the situation of Ukrainian religious communities in the territories occupied by Russia.

Iran's massive retaliatory attack on Israel concluded and world awaits to see the consequences.

Iran's unprecedented overnight attack on Israel has been "foiled", the Israeli military said Sunday, with hundreds of missiles and drones intercepted with the help of the United States and allies.

The attack which began late Saturday marks a major escalation of the long-running covert war between the regional foes, and comes against the backdrop of the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Ukrainian Air Force said it hit an “enemy facility” in Russian-occupied Luhansk region with air-launched missiles. The General Staff said the target was a Russian command center.

Ukrainian pilots carried out an effective strike on an “enemy facility” in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region on April 13.

Explosions were reported in the area of a machine-building plant.

Encouraging anything that can be construed as a victory for Russia will have grave geopolitical implications, starting with the end of the current world order.

Donald Trump is reported to have said that he can stop Russia’s war against Ukraine by forcing Ukraine to give up occupied Crimea and the Donbas. Ukraine agreeing to territorial concessions would set off a chain reaction leading to the end of the post-World War II order and augur a dark age of might-is-right imperialism.

It’s vital to understand that Ukraine giving up Crimea and the Donbas isn’t just a geopolitical event affecting Ukraine. Look at the international landscape. China is openly talking about invading Taiwan. Armenia and Azerbaijan clash over Nagorno-Karabakh. Iran has just launched a heavy barrage of drones in a massive strike on Israel in retaliation for its alleged strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria. The consequences of the unprecedented Iranian attack are yet to be seen. The crisis is ongoing.  There are many more frozen and active conflicts around the world.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian forces are pursuing at least three operational-level efforts that are not mutually reinforcing but let Russian forces prioritize grinding, tactical gains on a single sector of their choice at a time. Ukrainian forces will increasingly struggle to defend against these Russian efforts the longer Ukraine lacks further US military assistance.
• The Russian military command likely assesses that Ukrainian forces will be unable to defend against current and future Russian offensive operations due to delays in or the permanent end of US military assistance.
• The offensive effort to seize Chasiv Yar offers Russian forces the most immediate prospects for operationally significant advances as the seizure of the town would likely allow Russian forces to launch subsequent offensive operations against the cities that form in effect a significant Ukrainian defensive belt in Donetsk Oblast.
• Russian threats to Druzhkivka and Kostyantynivka are very operationally significant since these “fortress” cities help form the backbone of the Ukrainian defense in Donetsk Oblast and of eastern Ukraine in general.
• Russian forces may not be able to seize Chasiv Yar rapidly and would likely struggle to leverage its operational significance immediately as long as Ukrainian forces have the resources needed to hold their positions.
• Ukrainian artillery and air defense shortages resulting from the lack of US security assistance are allowing Russian mechanized forces to make marginal tactical advances, and future Russian mechanized assaults may be able to achieve more significant gains should the US continue to withhold assistance to Ukraine.
• Germany announced that it will immediately transfer another Patriot air defense system to Ukraine in response to recent very urgent Ukrainian requests for additional Patriot systems to defend against the increased Russian strike campaign and ongoing Ukrainian efforts to expand Ukraine’s air defense capabilities.
• Russian forces made confirmed advances near Chasiv Yar (west of Bakhmut) and Donetsk City.
• Bloomberg reported on April 12 that Russia still relies on Chinese companies to supply most of the foreign-produced machine tool components and microelectronics to Russia’s defense industry for Russian weapons production.