Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 05-07-2024

On Tuesday May 7, a day after Vladimir Putin ordered Russian non-strategic nuclear drills, President Lukashenko ordered his defense forces to carry out inspections of their nuclear capable units.

Belarusian Defense Minister Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin said on Tuesday that President Aleksandr Lukashenko had ordered a sudden inspection of military units capable of using tactical nuclear arms and other forces.

Khrenin said “A unit of Iskander operational-tactical system and a squadron of Su-25 aircraft are being prepared to carry out their intended tasks.

The Polish State Protection Service said it discovered the device in a routine check on Tuesday, and ongoing investigations are trying to establish its origin.

Polish Special Services said they discovered and dismantled “devices that could be used for eavesdropping” in a room where the Polish Council of Ministers – including Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk – were set to meet in Katowice on Tuesday, May 6.

The meeting continued as planned after the device was removed.

A democratic Belarus will make friendly relations with NATO a priority in its international security agenda, said Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the Belarusian Democratic Movement.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian Democratic Movement, met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

She is widely believed to have won a 2020 presidential election in her country rigged by Moscow’s vassal in Belarus Aleksander Lukashenko and is the head of the Belarusian government in exile, the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus. 

On May 3, IT firms under "Diia City" tax regime met in Kyiv for Tech Summit 2024, introducing Diia City Union to advocate with authorities.

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

Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s military to rehearse the use of so-called tactical nuclear weapons in combat, casting the drills as a response to “threats” from French President Emmanuel Macron. The exercises are the Russian president’s latest salvo in a stand-off with the west over his invasion of Ukraine, during which Putin has repeatedly made veiled threats to use nuclear weapons. Russia said the drills, which cover non-strategic nuclear weapons that can be used in battlefield situations, were a response to “provocative statements” from western officials including Macron. The French president last week reaffirmed that he was leaving open the possibility of sending western troops to Ukraine, as he warned of the threat Russia’s invasion poses to Europe. The Kremlin also signalled its ire with the US Senate, which passed a long-delayed $61bn aid package for Kyiv last month, as well as the UK, whose top diplomat Lord David Cameron said last week that Ukraine could use British-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia. - FT

European intelligence agencies have warned their governments that Russia is plotting violent acts of sabotage across the continent as it commits to a course of permanent conflict with the west. Russia has already begun to more actively prepare covert bombings, arson attacks and damage to infrastructure on European soil, directly and via proxies, with little apparent concern about causing civilian fatalities, intelligence officials believe. While the Kremlin’s agents have a long history of such operations — and launched attacks sporadically in Europe in recent years — evidence is mounting of a more aggressive and concerted effort, according to assessments from three different European countries shared with the Financial Times. Intelligence officials are becoming increasingly vocal about the threat in an effort to promote vigilance. “We assess the risk of state-controlled acts of sabotage to be significantly increased,” said Thomas Haldenwang, head of German domestic intelligence. Russia now seems comfortable carrying out operations on European soil “[with] a high potential for damage,” he told a security conference last month hosted by his agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.  - FT

The 71-year-old Russian leader, who has been in power since May 2000, was re-elected for another six-year term in March in elections where he faced no opposition.

Vladimir Putin starts his fifth presidential term buoyed by minor reported battlefield successes in Ukraine and dubious claims of sustained economic growth, despite Western sanctions.

In his Tuesday, May 7 acceptance speech at the Grand Kremlin Palace, Putin emphasized the need for Russia's state system to be flexible while ensuring the “stability of development.”

The SBU reports that Russia’s FSB aimed to identify military personnel serving as the President’s security detail who could seize him and then execute him.

Two colonels from Ukraine’s Administration of State Guard (UDO) are accused of sharing classified information with Russian agents allegedly planning to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky, Chief of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) Kyrylo Budanov, and Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Vasyl Malyuk.

Today the SBU reported that the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB) had aimed to identify military personnel close to the President’s security detail who could seize him and then execute him.

The decrease in military traffic on the Crimean Bridge is intended to render it less vulnerable to attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces, according to Molfar open source analysts.

According to recent reports in The Independent, Russia has ceased using the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait to transport military supplies to its front-line troops. Instead, it has opted for overland routes passing through the occupied eastern regions of Ukraine.

Satellite imagery provided by Maxar was analyzed by the Ukrainian OSINT agency Molfar, which showed that between February and April 2024, no freight trains carrying military equipment were observed on the railway section of the Kerch Bridge, which connects the Russian mainland to annexed Crimea.

The Russian Defense Ministry published a video showing a Ukrainian unmanned surface vessel (sea drone) equipped with an R-73 anti-aircraft missile attacking Russian helicopter in the Black Sea.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Monday, May 6, published a video on social media that allegedly showed the destruction of a Ukrainian USV equipped with an R-73 anti-aircraft missile. The video shows the Russian army firing from a Ka-29 helicopter, onto the sea drone and seemingly hitting the rocket, which detonates.

The video was filmed from sea level, possibly from a ship or the shore.

An independent investigation reports that the residence in the Gelendzhik Black Sea resort has been extensively renovated to remove much of the previous gaudiness with icons and pictures of war.

Extensive changes have been made to the luxurious complex at Cape Idokopas near Gelendzhik, reputed to be Putin’s Black Sea hideaway, according to a May 6 report jointly released by Alexei Navalny’s FBK Anti-Corruption Foundation and independent news outlet Proekt, to coincide with President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration.

The new look palace

The visit coincided with a meeting of Ukraine’s Stavka command group at which President Zelensky said Ukraine was still awaiting the Western artillery ammunition promised to Kyiv in March.

The most senior officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), General Oleksander Syrsky, finished up two days of command visits to frontline unit headquarters in the threatened Adviivka sector on Monday, as President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the critical weapons needed to stop continuing Russian assaults – Western artillery ammunition – still hadn’t reached Kyiv’s troops in significant quantities.

Syrsky and his command group met with leadership of the veteran 47th and 59th Mechanized Infantry Brigades, and the more recently raised 115th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in a visit that took in half dozen major formations, news reports said.

Starlink operates through a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit, enabling internet access in remote areas where traditional communication infrastructure is unavailable.

Poland has announced its financing of 20,000 Starlink internet devices in Ukraine, essential for the country's military communications amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.

"Today, we have more than 20,000 Starlink devices, the operation of which is financed by Poland," stated Krzysztof Gawkowski, Poland's Minister of Digital Affairs, during a visit to Kyiv, as quoted by the PAP news agency.

The OPCW nevertheless described the situation as "volatile" and "extremely concerning regarding the possible re-emergence of use of toxic chemicals as weapons."

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said Tuesday that information it had received on alleged chemical weapons use in Ukraine was "insufficiently substantiated."

The OPCW also said it had not yet received an official request to investigate these claims, after the United States accused Russia of using the toxic agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops.

During the so-called March "elections," the Russian Federation violated numerous international documents that serve as the foundation for the modern system of international relations.

On May 7, Russia will hold a ceremony to install Vladimir Putin in office. In this way, the Russian authorities are attempting to give the entire world and its own citizens the illusion of legality for the nearly lifelong stay in power of a person who has turned the Russian Federation into an aggressor state and the ruling regime into a dictatorship.

During the so-called March "elections," the Russian Federation violated numerous international documents that serve as the foundation for the modern system of international relations. In particular, the UN Charter, the Declaration on the Principles of International Law, the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and dozens of UN General Assembly resolutions.

Since the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian athletes have had to pay attention to sensitivities with regard to their peers from aggressor countries. Now they have clearer instructions on how to behave.

As the 2024 Paris Olympics loom, Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) has issued stringent directives on May 2 to its athletes, urging them to maintain distance and avoid contact with competitors from Russia and Belarus. The move comes amidst escalating tensions stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus's support for Russian military actions.

Despite initial threats of boycott, Ukrainian athletes are gearing up to participate following the International Olympic Committee’s decision to permit Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals, devoid of national symbols and anthems. However, Ukrainian authorities remain vigilant, emphasizing the importance of preventing potential provocations from what they term as “aggressor states.”

Kyiv Post asks German expert Andreas Unland about the implications of a successful Ukrainian attack on Russia’s main link with occupied Crimea – the Kerch Bridge

Kyiv Post:  There are increasing rumors that a major attack on the Karch Bridge connecting Russia to Crimea is imminent. How high do you think the chances are that such an attack is actually imminent and could be successful? At what point in time?

Andreas Umland: This now seems possible insofar as the Ukrainian army can reach the Kerch Bridge with the ATACMS missiles. However, the question arises as to whether the power of the warheads of the American missiles already makes such an attack worthwhile. As I understand it, Ukraine requested the Taurus cruise missiles from Germany to destroy the Kerch Bridge. In this respect, this may be a technical rather than tactical or strategic decision for Kyiv, depending on the assessment of the chances of success of bombing the bridge with the ATACMS.

The bank, in collusion with the energy traders affiliated with Ihor Kolomoisky, stole 14,000 Mavic drones from the state. Courts prevent refund.

During the last few weeks, the judges of the Kyiv Economic Court and the Pivnichny (Northern) Economic Court of Appeal actually froze the chances of Ukrenergo to recover UAH 1.13 billion. This is part of the funds that United Energy, affiliated with Ihor Kolomoisky, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine received from electricity resale without paying to the state. The firm's debt was to be covered by the guarantor – Bank Alliance. However, it also refused to fulfill its obligations. The amount equivalent to the cost of 14,000 Mavic drones, 57,000 FPV drones or 7,000 155mm shells for the Defense Forces hung in the air. At the same time, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), which investigated the case, is not involved as a party to the court proceedings.

The scheme with the guarantee

Wagner, Russia’s rogue private military company, has extended its African tendrils into Sudan by aiding another rogue militia. Ukraine is trying to help the Sudanese government and people.

In April 2023, a war broke out in Sudan between the rebellious Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese National Army. Its impact has been devasting. Thousands have been killed and millions displaced.

But what’s also alarming is that Russia, utilizing its infamous Wagner group, is backing the RSF, aiming at advancing its interests, among which finding sources to fund its unjust war in Ukraine.

Pielieshenko, 30, won European gold in 2016 and 2017 and narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he came fourth in the 85kg category.

Ukrainian double European champion weightlifter Oleksandr Pielieshenko has been killed in the war against Russia, the Ukrainian weightlifting federation announced on Monday.

Pielieshenko, 30, won European gold in 2016 and 2017, and narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics where he came fourth in the 85kg category.

Since the fall of Avdiivka, better armed and more numerous Russian forces have been steadily advancing westwards.

Russia has redoubled its offensive in Donbas over the past month, making significant advances as Ukraine awaits a boost in Western arms supplies.

Plumes of black smoke could be seen on Sunday near Ocheretyne, Russia's latest conquest since the capture of the strategic city of Avdiivka in February.

The 71-year-old Kremlin chief has ruled Russia since the turn of the century, securing a fresh six-year mandate in March after winning presidential elections devoid of all opposition.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be sworn into office at a lavish ceremony in the Kremlin on Tuesday, embarking on a record-breaking fifth term with more power than ever before.

The 71-year-old Kremlin chief has ruled Russia since the turn of the century, securing a fresh six-year mandate in March after winning presidential elections devoid of all opposition.

Europe is concerned that despite China's official neutrality on the Ukraine war, it is essentially supporting Russia, which is using Chinese machine tools in arms production.

French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping during a summit in Paris on Monday, May 6, to use China's influence to stop the Russian war against Ukraine.

Xi's two-day state visit to France marks his first visit to Europe since 2019. He is also scheduled to hold talks in Serbia and Hungary. However, analysts do not anticipate any major breakthrough on the issues of Ukraine or trade.

The Moscow Times reported on Monday May 6 that an Airbus A321 operated by Nordwind Airlines (North Wind), en route from Moscow to Orenburg had to turn back after suffering a technical emergency.

Another Russian aviation emergency was identified by Artem Korenyako, a representative of the Federal Air Transport Agency, who reported via Telegram that Nordwind Airlines flight NWS077, an Airbus A321 passenger aircraft sent out a distress signal shortly after taking off from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International airport on a flight to Orenburg and had to return.

The aircraft departed at 1:27 p.m. Moscow time and was in the air for almost 40 minutes before landing safely at Sheremetyevo at around 3:05 p.m. According to the TASS news agency the flight commander took the decision to return after the cockpit suffered a sudden depressurization while over Arzamas in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

One of the leaders of Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party told an Italian newspaper about how Putin shocked the former prime minister on a hunting trip in Russia.

In 2013 Vladimir Putin invited Silvio Berlusconi, the former Prime Minister of Italy, to Russia on a hunting trip. When Berlusconi returned, he confided some unsettling details of his trip to his spokesman Paolo Bonaiuti and Fabrizio Cicchitto, who at the time was the leader of Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party in the Chamber of Deputies, Italy’s lower house of parliament.

On May 5, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera published an interview with Cicchitto, in which he recounted Berlusconi’s impressions of hunting with Putin, as well as the friendship between the two leaders.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed the commissioner’s sentiments, stating the need for “superior firepower” rather than mere “political statements” to deter Russia.

The European industry commissioner, Thierry Breton, has announced his efforts to facilitate the transition of European industries towards a “war economy” mode to support Ukraine.

This initiative aims to boost the production of weapons by European companies for Ukraine, as reported by Agenzia Nova.