Megathread for news/updates/discussion of Russian invasion of Ukraine - April 4-5

I hope people haven't lost interest and are following the atrocities in Bucha. Several hundred people appear to have been butchered as Russia lost the territory and retreated.

This is not normal in war. These are heinous crimes Russia has the audacity to claim are faked (!) by the West and the US in particular.

I found a translated article from a Russian media outlet being discussed in some of the Ukranian war subreddits. It's not pretty, and directly advocates for the ethnic cleansing of the Ukrainian people.

It's important to highlight what the state-run media on the other side is saying, especially when the Russian population supports the war.

Satellite images show bodies lay in Bucha for weeks, despite Russian claims.

An analysis of satellite images by The New York Times rebuts claims by Russia that the killing of civilians in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, occurred after its soldiers had left the town.

When images emerged over the weekend of the bodies of dead civilians lying on the streets of Bucha — some with their hands bound, some with gunshot wounds to the head — Russia’s Ministry of Defense denied responsibility. In a Telegram post on Sunday, the ministry suggested that the bodies had been recently placed on the streets after “all Russian units withdrew completely from Bucha” around March 30.

Russia claimed that the images were “another hoax” and called for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on what it called “provocations of Ukrainian radicals” in Bucha.

But a review of videos and satellite imagery by The Times shows that many of the civilians were killed more than three weeks ago, when Russia’s military was in control of the town.

One video filmed by a local council member on April 1 shows multiple bodies scattered along Yablonska Street in Bucha. Satellite images provided to The Times by Maxar Technologies show that at least 11 of those had been on the street since March 11, when Russia, by its own account, occupied the town.

To confirm when the bodies appeared, and when the civilians were likely killed, the Visual Investigations team at The Times conducted a before-and-after analysis of satellite imagery. The images show dark objects of similar size to a human body appearing on Yablonska Street between March 9 and March 11. The objects appear in the precise positions in which the bodies were found after Ukrainian forces reclaimed Bucha, as the footage from April 1 shows. Further analysis shows that the objects remained in those position for over three weeks.

I got Putin wrong, says chastened German President

"My adherence to Nord Stream 2 was clearly a mistake," he said. "We were sticking to a bridge in which Russia no longer believed and which other partners had warned us against."

Steinmeier was a prominent member of a wing of his Social Democratic Party, led by former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, that argued close economic ties to Russia were a way of anchoring it within a western-oriented global system.

The now-cancelled Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which critics said would have weakened Ukraine by cutting it out of the energy transit business, was a centrepiece of that strategy.

That has triggered a growing backlash, with critics on social media repeatedly tweeting past pictures of him affectionately embracing Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, while Ukraine's ambassador Andrij Melnyk has been outspoken in his criticism.

"We failed to build a common European house," Steinmeier said. "I did not believe Vladimir Putin would embrace his country's complete economic, political and moral ruin for the sake of his imperial madness," he added.

"In this, I, like others, was mistaken."

Macron wants complete stop of coal and oil exports from Russia to EU after Bucha "war crimes"

French President Emmanuel Macron said it’s “his wish” to see a total block on Russian exports of coal and oil to the European Union “this week," following the discovery of what he described as “war crimes” in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

Speaking Monday on French broadcaster France Inter, Macron said there are “very clear signs” war crimes have been committed in Bucha and, “it’s pretty established that it’s the Russian army” who are responsible for them.

Germany and France expel Russian diplomats after Bucha

Germany will expel a "significant number" of Russian diplomats, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Monday in a statement, linking the expulsion to the reported atrocities in Bucha, Ukraine.

France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs announced later Monday that it would also expel numerous Russian diplomats "whose activities are contrary to our security interests."

India condemns killings in Ukraine's Bucha in apparent hardening of stance

India on Tuesday condemned the killings of civilians in Ukraine's Bucha and called for an independent investigation, having earlier declined to explicitly criticise the invasion of Ukraine by its long-time partner Russia.

"Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing," T.S. Tirumurti, India's permanent representative to the United Nations, told a meeting of the Security Council.

"We unequivocally condemn these killings and support the call for an independent investigation."

Tirumurti delivered his speech shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a phone conversation with India's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The United States has repeatedly urged India to condemn Russia's aggression since the Feb. 24 invasion.

India heavily relies on Russia for military hardware. New Delhi has repeatedly called for an end to violence in Ukraine, but has abstained from various U.N. resolutions on the war in a tricky attempt at balancing its ties with Moscow and the West.

Inside Cyber Front Z, the ‘People’s Movement’ Spreading Russian Propaganda
https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kbjny/russia-cyber-front-z-telegram

Twitter will no longer amplify or recommend Russian government accounts

Twitter accounts operated by the Russian government will no longer "be amplified or recommended to people on Twitter, including across the Home Timeline, Explore, Search, and other places on the service," the company said in a blog post.

"This measure drastically reduces the chance that people on Twitter see Tweets from these accounts unless they follow them," said Yoel Roth, Twitter's head of site integrity, in a tweet. Twitter added that the policy could be expanded in the future to cover other situations "beyond interstate armed conflict."

Twitter's announcement comes after critics highlighted the discrepancy between the company's earlier actions to limit Russian state media on its platform — such as content from Sputnik and RT — and its comparatively hands-off approach to Russian government accounts. Some, including a number of US lawmakers, have called for Twitter to ban Russian government accounts outright.

Tuesday's announcement stops short of a complete ban, in another example of the policy tightrope that social media companies have had to walk since Russia's invasion. The Russian government collectively has millions of followers across numerous accounts, including several operated by the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia's foreign and defense ministries, and diplomatic missions.

Related article, submitted a few weeks ago:
Russian government accounts are using a Twitter loophole to spread disinformation

Twitter has recognised the disinformation possibilities of state-affiliated media, putting warning labels on their content and not recommending or amplifying them.

However, these rules do not apply to government-controlled accounts not labelled as media, such as foreign embassies.

As a result, these accounts are flooding the platform with propaganda. This is a critical gap in Twitter’s moderation practices, and one that has received little attention.

US to move to suspend Russia from UN Human Rights Council

The United States will push to remove Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council over Ukraine’s accusation that invading troops massacred civilians in the town of Bucha, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Monday.

“In close coordination with Ukraine, European countries and other partners at the UN, we are going to seek Russia’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council,” Thomas-Greenfield told reporters following a meeting with Romania’s prime minister in Bucharest.

Thomas-Greenfield called Russia’s participation in the Human Rights Council a “farce” during the remarks from Bucharest on Monday.

“It hurts the credibility of the Council and the UN writ large. And it is simply wrong. Which is why we believe it is time for the UN General Assembly to suspend them,” she said.

Sample of the rhetoric coming out of Russia right now.

Also, here is a few short Twitter threads from a Russian studies prof at Warwick. I think they're just scratching the surface of what someone could very well write a book about but interesting thoughts on the GPW origin story for Russian propaganda and it's transcendence into an alternate state of reality. 1 2 3.

Ukraine’s intelligence publishes list of Russian military stationed in Bucha

Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate published the names, ranks and passport details of Russians serving in the 64 Motor Rifle Brigade which occupied Bucha prior to March 31. “All war criminals will be tried and prosecuted for crimes against the civilian population of Ukraine,” the intelligence said.

Link to the gur.gov.ua list of allegedly involved Russian personnel

Czech Republic sends tanks, infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine

The Czech Republic has sent T-72 tanks and BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, a Czech defence source told Reuters on Tuesday, confirming a local media report.

Public broadcaster Czech Television initially reported the shipment, showing footage on Twitter of a train loaded with five tanks and five fighting vehicles. It said the shipment was a gift agreed with NATO allies.

The broadcaster said the information was confirmed by the head of the Czech lower house's European Affairs Committee Ondrej Benesik, who told Reuters he received the information from his Christian Democrat Party's expert on defence.

Defence Minister Jana Cernochova told parliament she would not confirm or deny details of Czech aid to Ukraine.

"I will only assure you that the Czech Republic ... is helping Ukraine as much as it can and will continue to help by (supplying) military equipment, both light and heavy," Cernochova said.

A spokesperson for the Defence Ministry said the Czech Republic had sent military aid worth nearly 1 billion crowns ($45 million) to Ukraine since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24 but declined to give any further details.

Moscow Outraged That Kazakhstan Becoming ‘a Second Ukraine’
https://jamestown.org/program/moscow-outraged-that-kazakhstan-becoming-a-second-ukraine/

Moscow-based commentators who remain convinced that Russia saved the current government in Kazakhstan by intervening there in January (see EDM, January 19, 21) are outraged that the Central Asian country is not supporting Russia in the Ukrainian conflict but rather publicly taking positions that challenge all of the Kremlin’s claims. Some, like Regnum journalist Bogdan Bezpalko, are beginning to use increasingly bellicose language, such as calling the Kazakhs “little Nazis” and arguing that “Kazakhstan is on its way to becoming a second Ukraine.” Unless this large steppe republic that Russia has long counted on as its closest partner in Central Asia changes course, such writers argue, Kazakhstan will suffer mightily for its failure to support Moscow now (Regnum, April 1). Senior Russian officials have not yet used equally incendiary language, and there is little prospect that Russia, its forces already overextended in Ukraine, will move militarily against Kazakhstan anytime soon. But it seems certain that the Kremlin is equally outraged by Kazakhstan’s stance and, when it can, will take measures to try to force Nur-Sultan to change its position (Politnavigator.net, March 4).

Biden calls for Putin to face war crimes trial over civilian killings in Ukraine

Joe Biden has called for Vladimir Putin to be tried for war crimes as western leaders prepared a fresh round of economic sanctions against Moscow amid mounting global outrage over claims of civilian killings by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

The US president was responding to harrowing images broadcast around the world after the discovery over the weekend of a mass grave and bodies in civilian clothes, some with their hands bound, in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv.

“You may remember I got criticised for calling Putin a war criminal,” Biden told reporters at the Fort McNair army post in Washington. “Well, the truth of the matter – we saw it happen in Bucha – he is a war criminal.”

“But we have to gather the information. We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue to fight, and we have to get all the detail [to] have a war crimes trial. This guy is brutal and what’s happening in Bucha is outrageous.”

U.S. stops Russian bond payments in bid to raise pressure on Moscow

Under sanctions put in place after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, foreign currency reserves held by the Russian central bank at U.S. financial institutions were frozen.

But the Treasury Department had been allowing the Russian government to use those funds to make coupon payments on dollar-denominated sovereign debt on a case-by-case basis.

[...]

The move was meant to force Moscow to make the difficult decision of whether it would use dollars that it has access to for payments on its debt or for other purposes, including supporting its war effort, the spokesperson said.

Russia faces a historic default if it chooses to not do so.

[...]

The country has a 30-day grace period to make the payment, the source said.

In shattered Chernihiv, Russian siege leaves a city asking, ‘Why?’ (Washington Post)

Chernihiv, a regional capital, is the largest Ukrainian city besieged by Russian troops to come back under complete Ukrainian control, though residents are preparing for what they fear could be a Russian return in the coming days.

On Monday, the first day a route from Kyiv to Chernihiv reopened, Washington Post reporters interviewed local people who provided accounts of atrocities that echo those emerging in other cities Russians have occupied, from Kyiv’s suburbs to wide swaths of the country’s east and south that remain under Russian control.

Residents here described violence and brutality by soldiers that added to the growing litany of potential Russian war crimes committed during the war in Ukraine.

U.S. Switchblades And Pumas Join The War

The U.S. Army use the drone under the name RQ-20 Puma; made by AeroVironment of California, it’s a hand-launched drone with a 15-foot wingspan. It is one of the heftier hand-launched craft, weighing over 20 pounds, and is correspondingly capable, with a flight endurance of more than five hours and a control range of more than 25 miles.

The Puma boasts a Mantis i45 sensor, like a miniature version of the sensor ball in Reaper-class drones, a gimballed sensor that swivels as the drone flies and provides a stabilized view of any point on the ground below. It has a low-light camera and an advanced thermal imager, both with a powerful zoom capability. This makes it useful for night operations, where Ukrainian tactical drones have been highly successful due to the Russian lack of effective night vision gear.

[...]

The Switchblade 300 loitering munition is another AeroVironment product, a truly tiny drone no bigger than a baguette that weighs less five pounds and has a small explosive warhead. This type of portable lethal drone has been highly successful in Afghanistan and elsewhere for finding and finishing high-value targets at ranges of up to six kilometers. But once fired, it cannot be recalled, so if the operator fails to find a target it is a Switchblade wasted. Only very limited numbers are being supplied to Ukraine – 100 in the first batch, and likely a similar number in the second batch.

The Puma solves the problem with the aid of AeroVironment’s Sensor-to-Shooter (S2S) Kit, first introduced last year. This allows AeroVironment’s other drones, including the Puma, to pass data via their proprietary digital data link directly to a Switchblade.

[...]

An additional and perhaps equally great benefit is that the Puma can act as an airborne communication relay. Normally the Switchblade is limited to a range of about six kilometers, a limitation imposed by control distance; with a flight time of over fifteen minutes and a cruising speed of over 60 mph, it can in principle hit far more distant targets. All it needs is great communications range, which Puma could provide.

'Fortnite' players raised $144 million for Ukraine relief efforts

Epic Games and Microsoft have wrapped up their campaign to support Ukraine relief efforts through Fortnite after raising an impressive $144 million. Both companies donated their proceeds from the game for the last two weeks to humanitarian causes supporting people affected by the war. The funds will go to Direct Relief, UNICEF, UN World Food Program, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and World Central Kitchen.