[FoxNews] Jareh Sebastian Dalke admitted to trying to sell classified info to an undercover FBI agent believed to be a Russian official.
A federal judge laced into an ex-National Security Agency worker who admitted to attempting to sell classified secrets to Russia, sentencing the "treasonous" former U.S. intelligence employee to 21 years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore said he could have put Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 32, behind bars for even longer, calling the 262-month sentence "mercy" for what he saw as a calculated action to take the job at the NSA in order to be able to sell national security secrets. The nearly 22-year sentence was the same as what prosecutors sought.
"This was blatant. It was brazen and, in my mind, it was deliberate. It was a betrayal, and it was as close to treasonous as you can get," Moore said, according to The Associated Press.
According to court documents, Dalke, who worked at the NSA for about a month from June 6 to July 1, 2022, as an Information Systems Security Designer, admitted that between August and September 2022, in order to demonstrate both his "legitimate access and willingness to share," he used an encrypted email account to transmit excerpts of three classified documents to an individual he believed to be a Russian agent.
That person was an FBI online covert employee. All three documents from which the excerpts were taken contain NDI, are classified as Top Secret//Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) and were obtained by Dalke during his employment with the NSA, federal prosecutors said.
Dalke was said to have told the undercover FBI agent that he wanted to "cause change" after questioning the United States’ role in causing damage to the world, but he also said he was $237,000 in debt, according to court documents. He allegedly said he had decided to work with Russia because his heritage "ties back to your country."
Dalke was initially paid $16,499 in cryptocurrency for excerpts of some documents that he passed on to the agent to show what he had, and then he offered to sell the rest of the information he had for $85,000, according to the plea deal. Prosecutors say $85,000 is about what he would have earned at the NSA in a year.
The agent directed him to go to Denver’s downtown train station and send the documents using a secure digital connection during a four-hour window. Dalke arrived with his laptop and first used the connection to send a thank you letter that opened and closed in Russian and in which he said he looked "forward to our friendship and shared benefit," according to the plea deal.
Moments after he used his laptop to transfer all the files, FBI agents arrested him.
According to his indictment, the information Dalke sought to give to Russia included a threat assessment of the military offensive capabilities of a third, unnamed country. It also includes a description of sensitive U.S. defense capabilities, some of which relates to that same foreign country.
Speaking outside court after the hearing, FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek said he could not provide details about what the documents contained, but he said Dalke knew the risk they posed.
Dalke's attorneys had asked for the Army veteran, who pleaded guilty to espionage charges last fall in a deal with prosecutors, to be sentenced to 14 years in prison, in part because the information he sold in 2022 did not end up in enemy hands and cause damage.
Assistant federal public defender David Kraut also argued for a lighter sentence because he said Dalke had suffered a traumatic brain injury, had attempted suicide four times, and had experienced trauma as a child, including witnessing domestic violence and substance abuse. Research has shown that kind of childhood trauma increases the risk of people later engaging in dangerous behavior, he said.
Later, Dalke, who said he was "remorseful and ashamed", told Moore he had also suffered PTSD, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
He denied being motivated by ideology or earning money by agreeing to sell the secrets. Dalke also suggested he had an idea that he was actually communicating with law enforcement but was attracted to the thrill of what he was doing.
Moore said he was skeptical of Dalke’s claims about his conditions since the defense did not provide any expert opinions or hospital records.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:55 Authorities for monitoring sanctions against North Korea at the UN confirmed that Russia hit Kharkov with a North Korean Hwasong-11 ballistic missile on January 2, which is a direct violation of Security Council sanctions.
22:46 In Odessa, the number of victims as a result of a missile attack has increased to 32, said Oleg Kiper, head of the OBA. Four people were killed, and another died as a result of a stroke caused by the attack. There are 25 wounded in hospitals, including two children and a pregnant woman. Seven people are in serious condition, including a four-year-old child. According to preliminary data, the Russians fired a ballistic missile with cluster munitions at one of the most popular locations among Odessa residents and guests of the city.
22:43 Ukraine will not be accepted into NATO either now or in the next few years, said Special Assistant to the US President Thomas Wright: “Since Ukraine is now in the midst of war, we will be able to take steps that would strengthen its defense and security here and now, and also in the next few years, so that when this moment arises, when Ukraine joins, it would be in a stronger position."
22:38 Ukraine is already receiving weapons that the United States previously announced as part of a new military assistance program, said White House Speaker Karine Jean-Pierre.
22:36 Odessa publics report that the vice-rector of the International Humanitarian University Boris Vasiliev died in the palace of students of the Law Academy. The rector of this university is ex-people's deputy Sergei Kivalov, who was wounded.
22:33 Telegram is the absolute leader for communication and news consumption in Ukraine. At the same time, the Russian origin of the messenger has constantly caused controversy about the reliability of its use in conditions of war with Russia. A new reason for such conversations is the blocking of official chat bots of Ukrainian intelligence and the SBU on Telegram. The work of the bots was quickly restored, but the sediment, as they say, remained. Read more in the article Disputes around Telegram in Ukraine.
22:27 Zelensky said in an evening video message that he held a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Headquarters today. I heard a detailed report from Syrsky on the situation at the front. In addition, there was a report from the heads of the Main Intelligence Directorate, the Security Service of Ukraine, and representatives of the Coordination Headquarters regarding negotiations on the release of prisoners. “It is extremely important that our state has clear communication with the relatives of prisoners. For each name, for each person, it should be clear - as much as possible - what work is being done so that our people return home,” the president emphasized.
21:52 Odessa was initially attacked with ballistics, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.
21:35 On May 16, NATO will hold a meeting of the highest military body - the Military Committee. A meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council will also take place as part of the meeting.
21:19 Now the most “hot” is in the Avdeevsky direction. Under the pressure of the occupiers, the Defense Forces retreated to the west of Berdychi, Semenovka and Novomikhailovka. At the same time, there are sections of the front where it was possible to improve the tactical position of the Ukrainian troops. More details about the situation from the military and analysts themselves can be found in the article Where the Russian army presses and where it retreats.
21:06 The missile that Russia hit Odessa today contained shrapnel - it is used to destroy manpower, said Dmitry Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces: “The type of weapon is still being established. But I can state that on the walls around the affected object there are visible holes from shrapnel, which is used to destroy personnel and to conduct military operations, but not for attacks on civilian infrastructure and civilians."
20:58 The number of victims of the Russian strike on Odessa has increased to four people, 28 people were injured, including two children (16 and five years old) and one pregnant woman. Four of the wounded are in serious condition, said the head of the OVA Oleg Kiper.
20:50 The death toll as a result of the attack on Odessa has increased to three, 20 people were injured, said the mayor of the city Gennady Trukhanov and showed a photo of the burning building of the Odessa Law Academy:
20:31 The situation in the Chasov Yar area in the Donetsk region is complex, but controlled, there are no Russian troops in the city, said Nazar Voloshin, speaker of the operational-strategic group of troops Khortitsa: “The enemy has concentrated efforts in several directions, creating a significant advantage in forces and means. attacks in some directions and even has tactical successes... In the surrounding area there were attempts by the enemy to bypass the city near the villages of Ivanovsky and Bogdanovka. The enemy’s goal is to take the city in a vice and go around it in a circle. But all the enemy’s attempts are suppressed by our units.”
20:20 Germany transferred IRIS-T missiles and ten Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, the country’s government reported. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also received a SKYNEX anti-aircraft missile system with ammunition, almost 30 thousand ammunition for Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, a TRML-4D air surveillance radar, etc.
19:29 The Russians launched a missile attack on Odessa - according to preliminary information, two people and a dog were killed, eight people were injured, including a 12-year-old child, said Oleg Kiper, head of the OVA. Residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged. Local media write that the blow was struck at the palace of students of the Odessa Law Academy, which is called “Harry Potter’s castle.” Its owner is ex-People's Deputy Sergei Kivalov, who, according to social networks, was also wounded as a result of the attack.
18:38 The Russians attacked the Kievsky district of Kharkov, preliminary - KAB. One person was wounded, said the head of the OVA, Oleg Sinegubov. In addition, the Russian army carried out strikes with at least five KABs on populated areas of the Kharkov region, so far there were no casualties.
18:16 Ukraine did not introduce new restrictions as part of the derogation from obligations under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms, but reduced their list, said Minister of Justice Denis Maluska. He recalled that Ukraine, even after the introduction of martial law in 2022, warned the Council of Europe about possible restrictions on certain rights - this is what all countries in a state of war do. “And in April 2024, we once again clarified the list of existing restrictions and reduced it,” Maluska explained. Thus, according to him, Ukraine did not suspend protection in April, but reviewed and revoked the “warning about a possible restriction of certain rights.”
17:27 In German Bavaria, a 57-year-old Russian killed two Ukrainian servicemen. The suspect has already been detained. According to the preliminary version of the local police, a Russian citizen inflicted fatal wounds on Ukrainians with a knife. Everything that is known is in the material Murder of Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters in Bavaria.
16:48 Ukraine will soon receive the first ten of 50 ACSV 8x8 armored personnel carriers from Canada, Defense Minister Bill Blair said. According to him, at the beginning of summer the armored personnel carriers will be sent to Germany, where the Ukrainian military will become familiar with them, after which the soldiers will undergo training on the armored personnel carriers. The cars will arrive in Ukraine in the fall.
16:13 Zelensky said that military assistance from the United States has already begun to arrive: “Something has already begun to arrive, I won’t say in detail what exactly. Unfortunately, not everything is yet ready to fill our army and equip the appropriate number of brigades ". At the same time, the president noted that over the past six months, “systems or sometimes parts from the corresponding systems have been received thanks to funding that was provided for by nine agreements on security guarantees.”
15:42 Stoltenberg promised to “do everything” for Ukraine to become a NATO member. At the same time, he added that Kyiv will not receive an invitation to the summit in July: “In order for this decision to be made, we need all members of the Alliance to agree to this, we need consensus. Not a majority, but for all 32 members of the Alliance agreed. I do not expect that we will be able to reach such an agreement at the summit in July. But I think that we will be able to demonstrate that we are bringing Ukraine closer to membership."
The Secretary General also admitted that in recent months the allies have not provided the necessary support to Ukraine: “The United States has spent months unable to accept a package for Ukraine. European members of the Alliance have not delivered the amount of ammunition that they promised. We saw the consequences on the battlefield. Ammunition shortages allowed the Russians to advance on the front line. Insufficient air defense allows Russian missiles to hit more targets." Stoltenberg added that NATO countries should transfer weapons to Ukraine as a priority.
15:34 Zelensky said at a joint press conference with Stoltenber that there are no specifics yet on the supply of additional Patriot systems to Ukraine. According to him, there are only “first steps”, and currently an analysis is underway “in which countries there is what.” At the same time, the president assured that when the new systems arrive in Ukraine, “you and I will feel it.”
15:19 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Kiev on an unannounced visit and has already met with Zelensky, the NATO press service reported. This is Stoltenberg's third visit to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.
14:33 The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the capture of the village of Semenovka in the Avdeevsky direction, this is confirmed by the map of the Ukrainian Deep State project. Ukrainian analysts also report that in this direction the Russians have advanced to the west of Ocheretino - towards Novoaleksandrovka, and also to the south, in the village of Netailovo.
13:51 The Russians shelled Kizomys, Kherson region, one person was killed, OVA reported.
13:28 In the combat units of the Southern Military District of the Russian Army, more than 18 thousand Russian military personnel left their service without permission, reports the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. Of these, about 12 thousand are from the 8th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Armed Forces, which the Russian leadership constantly uses in combat operations in eastern Ukraine. Approximately 10 thousand of them were called up through mobilization, the remaining 2000 are contract soldiers. At the same time, in the 58th Combined Arms Army, which is also part of the Southern District of the Russian Army, the desertion rate is about 2,500 people.
12:50 According to the UN Monitoring Mission, during March 2024, 604 civilians were killed or wounded in Ukraine as a result of Russian strikes. British intelligence notes that the number of civilian casualties has increased by 20% compared to February. The casualties are due to enemy missile and air strikes, as well as an increase in shelling on the front line.
12:37 In the east of the country, the Russians attacked an energy facility, the Ministry of Energy reported. The equipment was damaged and the overhead line was disconnected. In the Donetsk region on the afternoon of April 28, due to the blackout of one of the overhead lines of the oblenergo, the substation and the household consumers connected to it were de-energized. Ukrenergo reported that due to the fighting there are new blackouts in the Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, Kharkov, and Kherson regions.
12:19 As a result of Russian aggression, Ukraine has lost half of its terminals, said Deputy Head of the Sea Ports Administration Dmitry Barinov. According to him, since 2022, there have been 39 missile and UAV attacks on Ukrainian ports. 215 objects were damaged, 153 vehicles and eight civilian ships were destroyed.
Barinov also recalled that before the war there were 18 ports in Ukraine: “They occupied five in Crimea. Then four more - Mariupol, Berdyansk, Kherson and Skadovsk. But we conquered Kherson. Unfortunately, we cannot use the Nikolaev region now, because that military operations are very close there."
11:39 Ukraine is developing ways to safely base F-16 fighters after receiving them, said Air Force spokesman Ilya Yevlash: “These are colossal means if we are talking about digging underground storage facilities and bunkers. This also takes time. Therefore, other methods are now being developed, how to arrange, where to place. We understand that this will be dispersed use on various types of runways, airfields, where it will be difficult for the enemy to find them.”
Yevlash added that "a different set of methods will be used to mislead the enemy and at the same time effectively use" the aircraft. According to him, “there are already a number of developments and thoughts on how it will be possible to deploy F-16 aircraft in Ukraine.”
11:05 Ukraine’s return of control over the island of Nestryga in the Kherson region will significantly improve the quality of counter-conversion measures, said Dmitry Pletenchuk, speaker of the Southern Defense Forces. He clarified that “we are not talking about strategy, but about portioned battles, this is more of a tactical significance. Locations that do not allow the enemy to approach our positions are important.”
10:54 European banks paid Russia more than 800 million euros in taxes in 2023 - this is four times more than before the full-scale war, writes the Financial Times. The newspaper calls this an example of how foreign companies are helping Moscow maintain financial stability during the war, despite Western sanctions. Seven assets of European banks remain in Russia.
10:23 Official Ukrainian bots on Telegram, which help in the fight against Russian aggression, have resumed work, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security reported. We are talking about the GUR and SBU bots, as well as the Ministry of Digital Development bot єVorog.
09:42 Latvia transferred equipment to Ukraine for energy restoration, writes Delfi. The assistance package from Latvenergo included: a 250 MVA transformer, which was previously used at the Riga HPP; compressed air compressor GR110; 60 tons of transformer oil.
09:08 In the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours, three people were wounded as a result of Russian shelling - in Krasnogorovka, Zhelanny and Ptichye, said the head of the OBA Vadim Filashkin.
09:01 The Russians fired at the village. Streleche, Kharkov district, one person was wounded. Two more people were injured as a result of shelling from the MLRS in Kupyansk, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov.
08:54 Over the past 24 hours, Russian troops shelled ten settlements in the Zaporozhye region 346 times. As a result of the attack on the Zaporozhye region, one person was wounded, said the head of the OVA, Ivan Fedorov.
08:29 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of April 29:
personnel - about 467,470 (+1320) people,
tanks - 7285 (+6),
armored combat vehicles - 14,007 (+16),
artillery systems - 11 985 (+37),
MLRS - 1051 (+1),
air defense systems - 778 (+2),
aircraft - 348 (+0),
helicopters - 325 (+0),
UAV of operational-tactical level - 9528 (+21),
cruise missiles - 2124 (+0),
ships/boats - 26 (+0),
submarines - 1 (+0),
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 16,109 (+44),
special equipment - 1974 (+3).
07:57 Over the past 24 hours, 131 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report. In particular, the Defense Forces repelled 55 enemy attacks in the Avdeevsky direction - in the areas of the settlements of Novokalinovo, Keramik, Arkhangelskoye, Umanskoye, Sokol, Ocheretino, Kalinovo, Solovevo, Novopokrovskoye, Novoselovka Pervaya and west of Semenovka, Donetsk region. Another 29 attacks were repulsed in the Bakhmut direction - in the areas of the settlements of Verkhnekamenskoye, Vyemka, Grigoryevka, Ivanovskoye, Kleshcheevka, Novy, Andreevka in the Donetsk region.
In addition, in the Liman direction, 18 attacks were repelled in the areas of the settlements of Kopanki, Novosergeevka in the Kharkov region, as well as Makeevka, Nevskoye, Serebryansky forestry in the Lugansk region and Terny in the Donetsk region; on Novopavlovsky - 15 attacks in the areas of Krasnohorivka, Georgievka, Vodyanoy, Novomikhailovka, Urozhaynyy, Donetsk region; in Kupyansky - six attacks in the areas of Berestovo, Kharkov region and Stelmakhovka, Lugansk region; on Orekhovsky - four attacks in the Staromayorsky districts of the Donetsk region; in Kherson - five attacks in the area of the village of Krynki, Kherson region.
06:26 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) states that the withdrawal of the Defense Forces from positions west of Avdievka has not yet contributed to the rapid advance of Russian forces. The Russian Army did not achieve relatively quick tactical successes west of Ocheretino, Solovyevo, Berdychi and Semenovka after the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from tactical positions in this area. According to analysts, this indicates that the Armed Forces of Ukraine retain the ability to slow down the advance of the Russian Federation.
00:31 Telegram blocked a number of official chat bots, including the Chief Intelligence Bot, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense reported. The department emphasized that this happened contrary to the rules and statements that Telegram management publicly declared. The GUR warned that the enemy is now creating bots with similar names, to which no personal data can be sent. GUR is already resuming the bot’s work on other platforms, and communication channels via Signal and WhatsApp are also available.
In addition to the GUR bot, a number of other chat bots through which Ukrainians transmitted information about the movement of Russian troops, “martyrs,” etc. were blocked. In particular, the chat bot єVorog, launched by the Ministry of Digital Development in 2022, as well as the chat bots of the SBU, stop_russian_war, were blocked.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The General Staff assessed the situation at the front on April 29
In the Avdeevsky direction, defenders repelled 18 attacks by Russian occupiers, in the Novopavlovsky direction - 15.
During the day, 93 clashes were recorded at the front. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced this in an evening report on Monday, April 29.
In total, Russian troops carried out four missile and 35 air strikes, and carried out 56 attacks from multiple launch rocket systems on positions of Ukrainian troops and populated areas.
In the Kupyansky direction, soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled seven attacks in the areas of settlements of Novosergeevka, Kharkov region; Stelmakhovka, Lugansk region.
In the Liman direction, nine attacks carried out by the enemy with the support of aviation were repelled in the area of the settlements of Tverdokhlebovo, Nevskoye and Serebryansky forestry in the Lugansk region; Terny, Torskoye and south of Zarechny, Donetsk region.
In the Bakhmut direction, soldiers of the Defense Forces repelled 27 attacks in the areas of Belogorovka settlements, Lugansk region; Verkhnekamennoye, Novy, Ivanovskoye, Kleshchievka, Andreevka, Razdolevka and Chasov Yar in the Donetsk region, where the enemy, with the support of aviation, tried to improve the tactical situation.
In the Avdeevsky direction, defenders repelled 18 attacks in the areas of the settlements of Arkhangelskoye, Novokalinovo, Ocheretino, Sokol, Solovyevo, Semenovka and Orlovka in the Donetsk region, where the invaders, with the support of aviation, tried to oust Ukrainian units from their occupied lines.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, the Defense Forces continue to contain the enemy in the areas of the settlements of Konstantinovka, Georgievka and Urozhaynoye in the Donetsk region, where the enemy, with the support of aviation, tried to break through the defense 15 times.
In the Orekhovsky direction, the Russians, with the support of aviation, attacked the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces five times in the area of Staromayorsky, Donetsk region, and Novodarovka, Zaporozhye region.
In the Kherson direction, the enemy does not abandon his intention to oust the Ukrainian Armed Forces units from the bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnieper. Thus, within 24 hours, with the support of aviation, he made one unsuccessful attack on the positions of Ukrainian troops in the area of the village of Krynki, Kherson region.
During the day, Defense Forces aircraft carried out strikes on five areas where enemy personnel were concentrated. Units of the missile forces inflicted a defeat on the area where Russian personnel were concentrated.
Let us remind you that over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liquidated 1,320 occupiers. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army has lost 467,470 soldiers.
There are currently no Russian troops in Chasov Yar. In the surrounding area, there were enemy attempts to bypass the city near the villages of Ivanovskoye and Bogdanovka.
The situation in the area of Chasov Yar in the Donetsk region is complex, but controlled; there are no Russian troops in the city. This was stated by the speaker of the operational-strategic group of troops of Khortitsa Nazar Voloshin during a telethon on Monday, April 29.
According to him, although the situation has become tense, it still remains under control.
“Of course, the enemy is trying to seize the strategic initiative, to break through the front line. The enemy has concentrated his efforts in several directions, creating a significant advantage in forces and means. He attacks in several directions and even has tactical successes,” Voloshin said.
However, according to him, there are currently no Russian troops in Chasov Yar. “In the surrounding area, there were attempts by the enemy to bypass the city near the villages of Ivanovskoye and Bogdanovka. The enemy’s goal is to take the city in a vice and go around it in a circle. But all enemy attempts are suppressed by our units,” the speaker said.
According to Voloshin, over the past 24 hours, 170 mortar and artillery attacks were recorded in this direction. “The enemy continues to storm the city of Chasov Yar,” he added.
Let us remind you that earlier President Vladimir Zelensky said that Russia aims to capture Chasov Yar by May 9. If the Ukrainian troops hold out, then the Russian plans to launch a counteroffensive in June will be defeated.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The situation at the front has worsened.
Now the “hottest” place is in the Avdeevsky direction. Under the pressure of the invaders, the Defense Forces retreated to the west of Berdichev, Semenovka and Novomikhailovka.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky said yesterday that the situation at the front has worsened and in some places the Russian army is having tactical successes. According to him, the most difficult situation is now in the Pokrovsky and Kurakhovsky directions, as well as in Avdievsky, where the Defense Forces were forced to retreat to other positions.
“The situation at the front has worsened. Trying to seize the strategic initiative and break through the front line, the enemy concentrated his main efforts in several directions, creating a significant advantage in forces and means. He is actively attacking along the entire front line, and has tactical successes in some directions,” the commander-in-chief said.
At the same time, according to him, there are sections of the front where it was possible to improve the tactical position of our troops. Read more about the situation from the military and analysts themselves in the story.
SEIZURE OF VILLAGES
After Syrsky’s statement, on the morning of April 29, Ukrainian military blogger Bogdan Miroshnikov reported that the situation in the Donetsk operational zone is very difficult. According to him, after the loss of the western part of Berdichi, the opportunity to cut off the enemy “guts” in Ocheretino was actually lost.
"It is Ocheretino that is controlled only behind the pond in the eastern part. This is approximately 10% of the area. Most of Novokalinovoye is controlled by the enemy. The occupier has broken through to Umanskoye and Netaylovo. Fighting continues. Fighting is also ongoing on the outskirts of Novopokrovsky. Well, stop the enemy in Karlovka, That’s how it is in Karlovka. What can you do,” Miroshnkov commented on the situation.
This situation occurred, according to the blogger, due to a shortage of shells and exhaustion of the Defense Forces units.
The information that the Russian army has occupied Berdich (located south of Ocheretino) and advanced into Kislovka (in the Kupyansky direction) is confirmed by analysts from DeepState. As of April 28, the enemy controlled about 80% of Ocheretino, the rest of the village was “in question.” Heavy fighting was also reported in Krasnogorovka and Novokalinov.
Today, April 29, DeepState experts updated the map and reported that the invaders advanced to Netaylovo, near Novoaleksandrovka and captured Novomikhailovka (Maryinsky district, Donetsk region).
According to the latest map update, the Russian army has about 10-11 km left to the Pokrovsk-Konstantinovka highway. Over the past 24 hours, they have advanced two kilometers in the direction of the highway.
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEFENSE FORCES
Yesterday’s breakthrough towards Novoaleksandrovka indicates that in the near future the Russians will be focused on expanding the breakthrough and creating conditions for entering the operational space in the direction of the Konstantinovka-Pokrovsk highway, they add in the 46th separate airmobile brigade.
To achieve this, as noted in the brigade, the occupiers will implement:
Exit to the Sokol-Novopokrovskoye line. The development of events in this scenario will worsen the condition of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units on the Berdich-Semyonovka-Umanskoye line. And in the event of successful action in the direction of Umansky, create conditions for an operational cordon and expulsion of our troops from this area.
Exit to the Arkhangelskoye – Keramik line. The development of events in this scenario opens up opportunities in the future for the Russians to implement the “Toretsk option” - the encirclement of the city of Toretsk. But this path is significantly complicated by the presence on the northern front of Chasovoy Yar and Konstantinovka, the capture of which is not even visible.
In general, as the military notes, the majority of the defense area in the Avdeevsky direction from Solovyov to Karlovka is limited by obstacles in the form of the Volcha River and the Karlovsky Reservoir.
“This factor may complicate the withdrawal of units from the Berdichie-Semyonovka-Umanskoye-Netailovo line. Already now, the defense area from above is locked by the invaders in Solovyov. Moreover, for evacuation to this entire area there are only 4 bridges (highlighted in black) suitable for evacuating equipment and personnel. Three of them are located in the settlement of Novoselovka Pervaya, which, after the loss of Ocheretino, is within the reach of even enemy company artillery, not to mention larger artillery,” the message says.
In addition, if the Russians enter Karlovka, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will lose a single evacuation route north of Karlovka, and here the Yasnobrodovka-Umanskoye border units will also be forced to retreat to the Novoselovka Pervaya area. The enemy also understands this, therefore, he has increased his efforts in the direction of Karlovka and is expanding his breakthrough towards Sokol-Novopokrovsky, they add in the 46th brigade.
In turn, a lieutenant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the call sign Alex notes that the situation in the Avdeevsky direction is really the most difficult, even compared to Chasovy Yar. The latter, he said, has experienced units and clearly defined boundaries.
“I thank the command of the 47th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, who did not hold the boys near Berdich to the bitter end, because there could have been sad consequences. The boys were very exhausted,” the military man wrote.
WHERE IS SUCCESS IN THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE
Syrsky officially reported the tactical success of the Defense Forces. According to him, Ukrainian defenders in the Kherson direction managed to advance in the Veletensky area and establish control over the island of Nestriga. Also, our units will improve their tactical position in the Sinkovka area (Kupyanskoye direction) and Serebryansky forestry (Limanskoye direction).
As Dmitry Pletenchuk, a representative of the Southern Defense Forces, explained, the deoccupation of Nestriga Island is not of strategic, but of tactical importance. This is due to the fact that the Russians used it to establish firing positions and attacks on populated areas on the right bank of Kherson.
“This is primarily important for the quality of counter-sabotage measures. This location was freed from the possible presence of the enemy on it,” he said on Public Radio.
According to Pletenchuk, this island is closer to the right bank of the Kherson region and was actually the last one before the mouth of the Dnieper River.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] As a result of an attack on a traffic police squad in the village of Mara-Ayagy in Karachay-Cherkessia, internal service lieutenant colonel Anton Valikov and police sergeant Andrei Artamonov were killed, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.
As the " Caucasian Knot " reported, last night there was an attack on security forces in the village of Mara-Ayagy, Karachay district, during which five alleged militants were killed. Two security forces were killed and four more were injured. The killed suspected militants were identified as participants in the April 22 attack on police officers in Karachaevsk, Sledkom reported.
As a result of an attack on a traffic police squad in the village of Mara-Ayagy, the deputy head of the Shchuchansky Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kurgan Region, Lieutenant Colonel of the Internal Service, Anton Valikov, and a policeman (driver) of the service group (investigative-operational group) of the DC OP No. 1 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kurgan Region were killed. Kurgan police sergeant Andrei Artamonov, the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD) reported today in his telegram channel.
Three police officers and one OMON officer from the Russian Guard department in Karachay-Cherkessia were injured in various ways, the report said.
Let us remind you that in Karachaevsk on the night of April 22, an attack was committed on police officers. Lieutenant Murat Kalakhanov and Sergeant Roman Gushchin were killed, another security officer was wounded. Five suspects were put on the wanted list : Akhmat and Ruslan Elkanov, Kazbek Dzhazaev, Ruslan Semenov and Vladimir Averyanov.
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[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
The units of the Zapad Group of Forces have occupied more favourable lines and defeated manpower and hardware of 63rd Mechanised and 57th Motorised Infantry brigades of the AFU and the 5th Brigade of the National Guard close to Grigorovka (Donetsk People's Republic), Sinkovka (Kharkov region), and Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic).
Russian troops have repelled three attacks by formations of the 77th Airmobile Brigade of the AFU and the 1st Brigade of the National Guard near Stelmakhovka (Lugansk People's Republic). The enemy losses were up to 40 servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, and three motor vehicles.
The units of the Yug Group of Forces have improved position along the front line and inflicted a fire defeat on manpower and hardware of 46th Airmobile and 79th Air Assault brigades of the AFU close to Krasnogorovka and Konstantinovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The enemy losses were up to 395 servicemen, three tanks, four armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, one U.S.-made 155mm M198 howitzer, one 122mm D-30 gun, and one Bukovel-AD electronic warfare station.
The units of the Tsentr Group of Forces have liberated Semyonovka (Donetsk People's Republic) and defeated formations of 68th Infantry, 23rd and 115th Mechanised brigades of the AFU, the 109th Territorial Defence Brigade and mercenaries of the Foreign Legion near Novoaleksandrovka, Arkhangelskoye, Tarasovka, and Zavetnoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
During the day, 10 counterattacks by assault groups of 24th, 100th Mechanised, 142nd Infantry, 98th Assault, 68th Jaeger brigades and the 78th Separate Air Assault Regiment of the AFU have been repelled close to Leninskoye, Novgorodskoye, Ocheretino, Semyonovka, Novobakhmutovka, Netailovo, Novokalinovo, and Berdychi (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses were up to 370 servicemen, two armoured personnel carriers, and four motor vehicles.
In the course of counter-battery warfare, one 155mm U.S.-made M777 howitzer, one 152mm D-20 gun, one 152mm Msta-B towed howitzer, two 122mm D-30 howitzers, one 105mm U.S.-made M102 light howitzer, and one 100mm MT-12 Rapira anti-tank gun.
The units of the Vostok Group of Forces have defeated manpower and hardware of the 72nd Mechanised Brigade and the 123rd Territorial Defence Brigade near Staromayorskoye and Vodyanoye (Donetsk People's Republic) and occupied more advantageous lines.
In addition, the servicemen have repelled two counterattacks by assault groups of the 58th Motorised Infantry Brigade of the AFU near Urozhaynoye (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU losses were up to 125 servicemen, three pickup trucks, one 155mm U.S.-made M777 howitzer, and two 152mm Msta-B howitzers.
The units of the Dnepr Group of Forces have inflicted a fire defeat on manpower concentration areas of the 118th Mechanised Brigade of the AFU and the 3rd National Guard Brigade near Stepnogorsk and Preobrazhenka (Zaporozhye region). The enemy losses were up to 45 servicemen, two motor vehicles, and one Anklav-N electronic warfare station.
The Operational-Tactical Aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Group of Forces have struck one workshop for the assembly of unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as enemy manpower and military hardware in 110 areas.
Air defence facilities have shot down 22 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, one Uragan multiple-launch rocket system launcher projectile, and one U.S.-made JDAM guided aerial bomb.
In total, 593 airplanes, 270 helicopters, 23,609 unmanned aerial vehicles, 509 air-to-air missile systems, 15,880 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,275 MLRS combat vehicles, 9,209 field artillery guns and mortars, and 21,387 special military vehicles have been neutralised since the beginning of the special military operation.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront]21:05 Explosions occurred in the city of Shostka, Sumy region in northern Ukraine - local media 19:51 Pelican radar, one of the latest developments in the Ukrainian defense industry, destroyed by RF Armed Forces.
As the Telegram channel “Donbass Resolves” reports with reference to military channels, a sample of this radar, intended for issuing target designation to anti-aircraft missile systems, was “covered” in the Kharkov region.
19:20 Explosions occurred in the city of Shostka, Sumy region in northern Ukraine, the Strana publication reported. No other details are provided.
18:49 Operational situation in the Avdeevsky direction, area of the settlement. Ocheretino:
After lunch, our front-line and tactical aviation worked at enemy locations, using NURs and FABs.
The enemy is trying to use smoke screens to cover their positions and make it possible to retreat another kilometer back into their positions.
Our attack aircraft are gradually advancing under the cover of T-80BVM tanks.
18:35 The sounds of explosions were heard in Odessa in southern Ukraine. This was reported by the Ukrainian publication “Strana”. No other details are provided.
18:34 Explosions occurred near the village of Vesyoloye, Khar'kov region.
18:32 Local authorities confirm the attack on facilities in the Kiev district of the city.
18:15 A series of explosions occurred in Khar'kov in eastern Ukraine. The mayor of the city, Igor Terekhov, announced this. Now the air raid warning is sounding in the Kharkov region.
18:09 An explosion occurred in the Dnipropetrovsk region. A cruise missile struck enemy targets.
17:56 Explosions in the Liptsy area of the Khar'kov region. A bomb attack was carried out on enemy targets.
16:50 About 300 Ukrainian drones were neutralized over the past week over Donetsk, Makeyevka, Yasinovataya and Avdievka, the DPR defense headquarters reports.
In the Kirovsky and Petrovsky districts of Donetsk, three Baba Yaga-type drones controlled by the Starlink system were intercepted - these devices carried improvised explosive devices. In the Budennovsky district of the city, an AUTEL reconnaissance copter was neutralized.
15:50 Russian tanks are storming the enemy in columns in the vicinity of Chasov Yar - they help our motorized rifles move forward confidently -video.
14:45 Avdievsk direction: advance of the Russian Armed Forces to Ocheretino. Situation as of 14:00 April 29, 2024
In recent days, Russian troops have been systematically expanding their success north of Avdievka.
The situation in Ocheretino is gradually becoming clearer: judging by new footage, the Russian Armed Forces have advanced to the west by almost one and a half kilometers, including taking control of the territory of the Altkom brick factory.
On the eastern outskirts of the village there are battles in the area of the kindergarten, where enemy activity still remains. Also, Ukrainian formations hold defenses in five-story buildings, where they have equipped firing points.
At the same time, the assault on the remaining positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Solovyevo is completed, after which Russian troops will likely advance both west towards the village of Sokol and south towards the Novopokrovskoye - Novoselovka Pervaya line.
14:20 Consequences of artillery attack of the Petrovsky district of Donetsk by the VFU -photo.
13:52 Summary of the Russian Ministry of Defense on the progress of military operations for the day. Main:
The group of Russian troops “Center” took control of the village of Semenovka in the DPR, repelled 10 attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and Ukrainian losses amounted to 370 military personnel.
Russian air defense systems shot down 22 Ukrainian drones, a 220mm BM-27 Uragan MLRS shell and a JDAM guided bomb. In addition, the Ukrainian drone assembly workshop was hit.
Russian military personnel of the “South” group defeated Ukrainian troops in the Krasnogorovka and Konstantinovka regions of the DPR, Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 395 soldiers.
Units of the Vostok group of troops occupied more advantageous positions, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 125 military personnel;
Military personnel of the “West” group defeated the Ukrainian Armed Forces and repelled three attacks, Kyiv lost up to 40 soldiers; The Dnepr group of troops destroyed more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers.
12:52 In Netailovo, our troops made significant progress along the reservoir along Chkalov Street, as a result of which most of the street was liberated. There is also progress along Bezkaravainaya Street.
12:46 They report a powerful attack on the Mirgorod airfield in the Poltava region.
12:27 Destroyed mortar crew of Ukrainian nationalists in the Krasnogorovka area
Thanks to artillery reconnaissance of the 238th Artillery Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, an enemy mortar crew was discovered, which was firing from the village of Krasnogorovka. Kuban artillerymen used a 152mm 2A65 Msta-B howitzer against the target, inflicting accurate and deadly fire on the mortar position, destroying manpower and the mortar itself.
11:55 Personnel the first destroyed American M1 Abrams tank evacuated from the Avdeevsky direction of the Northern Military District zone.
11:39 Soldiers of the Akhmat special forces have been almost completely surrounded for about 4 months held defense of a settlement on the front line in Donbass, said a direct participant in the events, a company commander with the call sign “Shcherbak”.
“We were cut off from the road and were there for about four months. It was difficult to bring personnel, food, and provisions there. The UAV operators dropped water and food from the sky, they collected wheat somewhere, but (despite this situation - ed.) all positions were held,” the fighter said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
11:05 Enemy for the morning acknowledges further advance of Russian troops in the Ocheretino area, which advanced further to the northwest, taking an important height outside the populated area. The cleanup continues in the northern regions of Ocheretino.
10:50 In Chasov Yar, Russian paratroopers continue the hunt for Ukrainian Armed Forces equipment used for “mosquito logistics” -video.
10:45 The offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is disrupted: personnel destruction of armored vehicles and assault groups by fighters of the 106th Airborne Division of the Russian Federation in the Zaporozhye direction.
10:27 On the Tabaevsky ledge in the Kharkov region, our troops broke through the defenses and came close to the settlement. Sandy, reports Whisper Front.
10:14 Situation on the Rabotino-Verbovoye section at 10.00:
At night, fighting continued in the Orekhovsky direction. Russian artillery attacked enemy fortifications in the Rabotino area. The downpour hampered the work of UAV operators on both sides.
North-west of Verbovoy, the initiative remains entirely with the RF Armed Forces. Our assault teams are moving forward. The enemy is actively striking with cluster munitions and dropping mines from drones along supply lines near the front lines.
09:30 Summary as of April 29 from military correspondent Evgeny Lisitsyn:
Zaporozhye direction: active fighting continues on the Rabotino-Verbovoe line. The actions are complicated by intense artillery fire and mining from the enemy, as well as the active use of drones;
Artyomovsk direction: stability in this direction, with continued high levels of military activity. Our guys are preparing for new assault operations, expecting a breakthrough of the Ukrainian defense for further advance to the west. FABs are flying at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and artillery is hitting;
Donetsk direction: the initiative is entirely on the side of the Russian Armed Forces. The zone of control is being expanded in the south and active assault operations are underway in the direction of Nevelskoye.
Fighting with the Ukrainian Armed Forces continues, especially fiercely in the Krasnogorovka area and north of Pervomaisky.
The clearing of Novokalinovo and Keramika is underway, with further advance to the north towards Arkhangelskoye.
The Ukrainian garrison, which retreated from Ocheretino, retreated to this settlement, and the Russian Armed Forces have already attempted to storm the outskirts of this village. Now fighting is taking place on the outskirts of this settlement;
Kherson direction: there have been no significant changes in the balance of forces in the Kherson direction. Attempts continue to dislodge the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the basements in Krynki. The work of enemy artillery and a huge number of Ukrainian drones make each assault as dangerous as possible for our soldiers.
08:11 Calculation of the Tor-M2 air defense system of the group covering the state borderdestroyedreconnaissance drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
During the combat work, the Thor crew took up a position, using a 360-degree radar, detected approaching enemy UAVs and launched missiles. Targets are destroyed.
08:00 Su-25 attack aircraft crews interfered with rotation of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the zone of responsibility of the group of troops “South”. This was reported to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Artemy Sharapov
[REGNUM] Russian troops deployed in the SVO zone are constantly experimenting with military equipment, improving its combat qualities. One of the most sensational developments was the T-72 tank, equipped with a makeshift defense system. On the Internet the car was nicknamed “Tsar-Grill”. Continued on Page 49
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Denis Davydov
[REGNUM] The details of the Chernobyl accident in 1986 have long been of no interest to anyone - too much time has passed to figure out who was to blame and what happened then. But the Chernobyl exclusion zone has flown into the realm of legends. As soon as you mention that you have been to these beautiful places, a set of standard jokes about giant tomatoes, talking mushrooms and glows at night are immediately poured out.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Russian military has completely liberated the village of Semenovka in the Donetsk People's Republic from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Ministry of Defense reported this on April 29.
“Units of the Center group of troops liberated Semyonovka in the DPR and defeated the formations of the 68th Infantry, 23rd, 115th Mechanized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the 109th Terrorist Defense Brigade and the Foreign Legion mercenaries in the areas of Novoaleksandrovka, Arkhangelsk, Tarasovka and Treasured in the DPR,” said the official representative of the department, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov.
In addition, the position of the Russian troops “West” and “South” also improved. During the battles with them, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost a total of up to 435 military personnel.
As Regnum reported, a day earlier the Russian Armed Forces liberated Novobakhmutovka in the DPR. Within 24 hours, units of the Center group repelled ten counterattacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces attack aircraft, eliminated up to 380 military personnel and several pieces of equipment, including a tank, an armored vehicle, two M777 howitzers and an M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery unit.
After this, retired US Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson said that if the Russian military continues to advance at this pace, they will take control of Odessa, and there will be nothing left under Ukrainian rule except Kiev. According to him, the West’s attempts to influence the outcome of the conflict by supplying weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine are not successful.
The next day, the deputy battalion commander of the 5th Separate Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mikhail Onufer, noted that the liberation of the Russian Armed Forces of the city of Chasov Yar in the DPR would become for them the starting line for an offensive in the direction of Konstantinovka, which would give them the opportunity to work from the height at which it is located, pulling up anti-aircraft systems there and camouflage military equipment between the houses.
Footage of the assault on Krasnogorovka 04/27/2024
Again the breakthrough of armored vehicles into the city and the landing of troops to support the assault operations in the city. There is intense fire in the city from both sides.
The fighting for Krasnogorovka continues. There is a mix-up in the center near the Refractory Plant, as well as in the north-eastern outskirts.
PS. The Russian Ministry of Defense today announced the liberation of Semenovka.
Clean-up operations also continue in Berdychi, Keramika and Novokalinovo. They will be announced soon too.
Our troops also advanced from Ocheretino to the northwest and took an important height. In the northern regions of Ocheretino, cleanup is still ongoing.
The liberation of the village of Ocheretino by the Russian military will give them a significant advantage in the combat zone. Retired General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Sergei Krivonos announced this on April 29on the Ukrainian TV channel “Direct”.
According to Krivonos, the flight of Ukrainian fighters from positions in Ocheretino is a serious systemic failure, since this is a rather large settlement and there are industrial buildings and multi-story buildings in it.
“Given the steppe zone, the use of these high-rise buildings and industrial zones will allow the enemy to observe much further ahead,” he said.
Taking control of Ocheretino will open the way for the Russian army to Mirnograd and further to the center of the Pokrovsky region of the DPR - the city of Pokrovsk, the retired general noted.
“To say that I am dissatisfied is to put it mildly, I just want to ask certain commanders questions: how long can you keep stepping on the same rake?” - he added.
As Regnum reported, on April 22, co-chairman of the coordinating council for the integration of new regions, head of the “We are together with Russia” movement, Vladimir Rogov, said that Ukrainian fighters had fled their positions from the village of Ocheretino. He clarified that after this, the Russian military entered the village and raised state flags in its center.
Forbes American columnist David Ax wrote on April 27 that Ukrainian troops would lose positions in several villages in the Ocheretino region. He called the most realistic outcome for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the current situation a retreat to the west.
Official representative of the Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov said on April 26 that the group of Russian troops “Center” repelled eight Ukrainian attacks in one day, including in the Ocheretino area.
The Russians managed to break through and gain a foothold in a part of the Ocheretine village.
by Ivanna Kapustyanska
The defense forces withdrew from the settlements of Berdychi, Semenivka and Novomykhailivka to more prepared and protected positions in order to protect personnel.
This was announced by the spokesman of the Khortytsia OSU, Nazar Voloshyn, on the air of "Hromadskyi Radio".
According to him, it was no longer possible to protect these settlements, so the Defense Forces withdrew to more prepared and protected positions.
"Keeping the entire personnel there was a threat to the lives of the military. The units of the Defense Forces withdrew to more prepared and protected positions, with the aim of regaining those positions that the Russian army has so far captured," he said.
Voloshyn added that the current situation in this direction is extremely dynamic. Some settlements "change hands" in a day. According to him, the Russians managed to break through and gain a foothold in a part of the village of Ocheretine.
"The part where the enemy is located is completely under our fire control. All measures are being taken to knock the enemy out of this part, heavy battles are ongoing, but the situation is under the control of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I want to emphasize that in order to increase our tactical success in the Ocheretiny region and to break through our defenses, the enemy deployed four brigades of the Russian Armed Forces in this direction," he notes.
The defense forces are trying to stabilize the situation, in particular, in the Avdiiv region, and regain control over Ocheretyn.
"For this purpose, the leadership decided to introduce additional forces and resources from the reserve," says the spokesman of the "Khortytsia" OSU.
Earlier, the head of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky reported that the enemy is actively attacking along the entire front line, in some directions and has tactical successes. There is a dynamic change in the situation, individual positions change "from hand to hand" several times during the day, which gives rise to an ambiguous understanding of the situation.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] The Podlyot radar complex was struck by a Ukrainian drone earlier this week, and footage showed how the system was devastated.
The clip shows a kamikaze drone, a Polish-made Warmate operated by Ukrainians, flying into the spinning radar dish of the system, which supposedly can simultaneously detect up to 200 targets up to a range of 190 miles.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The investigation into the Katyn tragedy of 1940, when thousands of Polish officers and soldiers were shot, was hardly objective. This opinion was expressed by the former Prosecutor General of Russia Yuri Skuratov, who held this post until 2000.
“I don’t know what prompted the new investigation after I left. But I have great doubts that this investigation was objective. There was probably some kind of political decision,” Skuratov noted in an interview with the TASS analytical center.
He added that during his tenure as prosecutor general (since October 1995), the “Katyn case” was not investigated. According to him, initially there were statements by the first and only president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, who gave the Poles copies of some political documents. Then in 1993 there was a statement by the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin.
According to the former Prosecutor General, Polish law enforcement agencies turned to the Russian side with a request to participate in the investigation. Moscow agreed, but on the condition of a parallel investigation into the case of genocide in 1920, when 60 thousand Red Army soldiers who were captured on Polish territory died, and in fact were killed. However, Skuratov pointed out, after that the Polish side took a break and fell silent.
As Regnum reported, in April–May 1940, 4,421 Polish officers deported to the territory of the Soviet Union were shot in the Katyn Forest, 18 km west of Smolensk. Their remains were buried here.
Residents of Smolensk erected a memorial stone at the site of the tragedy. In 2000, Russia’s first international memorial complex-monument to the victims of the totalitarian repression “Katyn” was created there. Next to the burials of Poles in the memorial complex lie the ashes of almost 10 thousand repressed Soviet citizens.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics.
The Zvezda TV channel raises the issue of falsification of the Katyn case. The truth makes its way.
How a provocation developed in the Abwehr and implemented by Joseph Goebbels became a catalyst for the destruction of the USSR
THE BOMB PLANTED BY GOEBBELS
The Russian FSB published archival documents confirming that the mass execution of Polish officers in the Smolensk region was organized by the Hitlerite Gestapo, and not at all by the Stalinist NKVD, as was claimed in the years "perestroika". Among the declassified materials are certificates from military counterintelligence SMERSH, interrogation reports of Poles who served with the Germans, and testimony from former SS man Arnaud Duret, who participated in the burial of executed Poles.
According to the latter, in September 1941 he was sent to a penal company to dig graves for mass burials in the Katyn Forest. SS units brought the bodies of the dead there and threw them into a ditch 15-20 meters deep. He estimates that they buried up to 20 thousand bodies there. Later, in 1943, when Arno came on vacation, he saw in the newspapers a photograph of a ditch, under which it was written that the Russians had done it.
“I told my mother that it was not the Russians who did it, but the Germans, but my mother didn’t believe me,” Duret recalled. According to him, he did not tell anyone else about this because he signed a non-disclosure agreement.
Another prisoner of war, Eduard Potkansky, admitted during interrogation that the Germans shot many Polish officers in the Katyn Forest for the purpose of provocation against the Soviet regime. In June 1943, the Nazis showed their work battalion the graves, next to which lay personal belongings, money and documents of the killed. However, they were in a form “in which they could not have been preserved in the ground since 1939,” when NKVD officers allegedly carried out executions.
The FSB removed the secrecy label from these and other archival materials on the eve of the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Katyn, which is celebrated in Poland annually on April 13, although the mass execution of captured Poles, as established by Nikolai Burdenko’s commission, occurred in the fall of 1941. However, for some reason Warsaw chose the same day as the memorial date when, in 1943, Berlin announced the “brutal crime of the Bolsheviks,” who allegedly shot 20 thousand Polish officers in the Katyn Forest. A few days after the newspapers of the anti-Hitler coalition published the stunning news, Joseph Goebbels wrote in his personal diary: “The Katyn affair is becoming a colossal political bomb, which under certain conditions will cause more than one blast wave.”
The words of the main propagandist of Nazi Germany turned out to be prophetic. Half a century after the Nuremberg Tribunal, which condemned the Nazis for the execution of the Poles, a “blast wave” again covered Europe. And the head of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, blamed Stalin and the NKVD for the crime. During Wojciech Jaruzelski's visit to Moscow on April 13, 1990, he gave him copies of the “execution lists” with the names of Polish officers allegedly executed in the Katyn Forest. Although in fact these were stage lists of captured Poles sent to NKVD camps.
On the same day, the TASS agency, “expressing deep regret,” admitted Soviet responsibility for Katyn, thereby overthrowing the verdict of the International Military Tribunal. Based on this fact, the Prosecutor General's Office will initiate a criminal case, which will then be closed after the death of the perpetrators. However, Warsaw, at the instigation of Gorbachev, already believed that the execution of the Poles was the work of Stalin’s NKVD. This is where the collapse of the Warsaw Bloc countries, and then the entire socialist system, will begin.
President Boris Yeltsin will go even further - he will hand over to the Polish side not copies, but genuine lists of “package No. 1” as evidence of Russia’s guilt in the Katyn massacre. The head of state will decide to take this step, despite the fact that the Constitutional Court, obedient to him, was never able to establish the authenticity of archival materials. But Yeltsin didn’t care much about this - he needed a tool with which to discredit the CPSU. The “Katyn Affair” was perfectly suited for this purpose.
An aerial view of the exhumation site with rows of bodies of Polish officers lying on the ground near the mass graves (filmed by Nazi cameramen).
It was these supposedly authentic documents that were presented in 2009 to the European Court of Human Rights as the main evidence of Russia’s guilt in the Katyn case. Relatives of the 12 executed Polish officers were counting on huge financial compensation. Poland was also going to file a claim for $100 billion. But the incredible happened: on June 18, 2012, the Strasbourg court decided that our country was not responsible for the execution of Poles in Katyn, and the “documents” presented as evidence of guilt were fake. True, by that time Russia had already rushed to apologize for what it had not done.
So, what is the essence of the “Katyn Affair”? When and by whom was it fabricated? And most importantly - for what?
EVIDENCE THAT CANNOT BE DESTROYED
As you know, in 1939, after the Wehrmacht attacked Poland and the flight of its government to Romania, the USSR sent troops to take protection of the population of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine. At the same time, more than 150 thousand Polish soldiers, without offering resistance, surrendered. Of these, 42 thousand returned to the territory occupied by the Germans, and another 42 thousand were liberated in the territory occupied by the Red Army (Red Army). The rest were interned in three camps west of Smolensk. With the beginning of the war, the NKVD tried to organize the evacuation of captured Poles, but only 3 thousand were taken out; the rest expressed a desire to stay in the camps, waiting for the Germans and hoping that they would return them home.
However, in order to secure the rear in the occupied territory, SS units executed all the Poles in the fall of 1941. Most of them were killed in the Goat Mountains, which would later be called Katyn. The execution was carried out without disguise as the “NKVD handwriting”, using German-made pistols. If the Germans had known that they would later need to shift the blame onto the Soviet security officers, they would probably have shot them with Russian revolvers and Mosin three-line guns. But no one set such a task.
In the spring of 1943, after the Battle of Stalingrad, Western states began to realize that the days of the Third Reich were numbered, and began to prepare for the opening of a second front in Europe. The Nazis urgently needed to split the ranks of the anti-Hitler coalition, and then they remembered the mass grave near Smolensk.
This is how the Abwehr came up with a plan for the Katyn provocation, in which not only the “dead”, but also the “living” Poles were supposed to participate. That is, those who had already been shot, and those to whom these remains needed to be demonstrated. The Polish government in exile, warmed by the British in London, was supposed to stir up an international scandal.
In order to give a larger scale to the “crime of the Bolsheviks,” in Berlin they decided to increase the number of victims in the place where representatives of the Polish Red Cross were supposed to arrive. The Germans opened the graves in the Goat Mountains and brought remains there from other burial sites, carefully checking the bodies and confiscating documents with dates after April-May 1940. For greater persuasiveness, papers with the “needed” dates were placed on the corpses, but here the Gestapo made a mistake, since many of the owners of the documents later turned out to be alive: Remigiusz Bezhanek, Franciszek Biernacki and others.
However, the Nazis did not have time to check all the remains - a commission of the Polish Red Cross had already arrived, and the bodies “unprepared” for inspection were transferred to a separate ditch, to which experts were not allowed. However, there was no need to guard him - the International Commission already worked under German control and did not even keep its own list of identified bodies.
But even such an obedient commission could not ignore the shell casings with German markings discovered in the graves. To explain this, the Nazis said that the NKVD shot Poles with German pistols using cartridges supplied to the USSR back in the 1920s. The question arises: why would security officers use ammunition with a long-expired shelf life, which usually does not exceed five years? After all, the cartridges would inevitably misfire. In addition, the Nazis never provided documents confirming the supply of 7.65 mm Walter pistols to Russia.
By the way, half a century later, during our own excavations in 1994-1995. In Kozye Gory, Polish experts discovered 79 steel cartridges with the date “41” stamped on them, which could not possibly have been used in April 1940.
As for other evidence, it later disappeared. From the end of March to the beginning of June 1943, after the exhumation of the remains of 4,243 Polish officers, the names of 2,730 of them were established. The Germans transferred the documents and objects found on the corpses to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Krakow, from where they were taken to Germany, where, according to rumors, they were soon burned during the bombing. It is no longer possible to establish who these documents belonged to. The ends are hidden.
EXECUTION WITH GERMAN HANDWRITING
Moscow resolutely rejected Berlin's accusations, and as soon as the Red Army liberated the Smolensk region, a commission of forensic experts headed by Nikolai Burdenko was sent to Katyn. After exhuming the remains, she carefully examined everything that could be collected from the site of the mass execution. Then, in the clothes of some of the bodies, receipts and receipts were found dating from June - August 1941, which did not fit into Goebbels’ scheme. Based on the data received, the commission was able to expose the Abwehr’s provocation and came to the conclusion that the mass execution in the Katyn Forest was carried out by the Nazis after the occupation of the Smolensk region.
It is noteworthy that local residents, whose testimony was cited by the Germans to accuse the Soviet regime, recanted their testimony when they were questioned by the Burdenko commission. Some of the international experts whom the Germans brought to the burial site also renounced their testimony. In particular, pathologist Marko Markov did not sign the German protocol, because he believed that the remains presented for inspection had lain in the ground not for three years, but clearly less. By the way, Markov left detailed memories of this terrible story, in which he expressed doubt about the German version of events.
It should be emphasized that the materials of the Burdenko commission were presented to the international tribunal in Nuremberg, which held the Hitler regime responsible for this atrocity. However, very few years will pass, former allies will become irreconcilable enemies, and the Cold War period will begin. Western countries will shake off the archival dust from the Katyn Affair, and the Nazi version will once again become the main ideological tool of anti-Soviet propaganda. The task of Russia's enemies was to destroy the Soviet Union, but first they needed to discredit the CPSU. And Goebbels’ plan turned out to be very useful.
ARCHIVAL FAKES?
The propaganda campaign in favor of the version of the USSR's guilt in the Katyn Affair, which unfolded in the early 1990s, was based on archival materials that were later found to be fake. The most important document allegedly confirming the fact of the execution of captured Poles by NKVD officers is considered to be a “note” from the Chairman of the KGB of the USSR Alexander Shelepin dated March 3, 1959, addressed to the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Khrushchev. It reported that 21,857 officers, gendarmes “etc. persons of the former bourgeois Poland" were shot based on the decision of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee of March 5, 1940. However, it is worth noting that in 1940 the party had a different name - the VKP(b). It is strange that until now none of the historians have paid attention to this error, which sticks out like an awl from a bag.
How did this archival document come about? It is assumed that having headed the KGB, Shelepin received access to the records of captured Poles and came to the conclusion that it would be advisable to “destroy documents on all persons executed in 1940 as part of the said operation.” Perhaps it was from here that the notorious “execution lists” of Polish officers in Katyn arose, which in 1990 were slipped to Mikhail Gorbachev as a “gesture of goodwill” towards Poland. Subsequently, the son of Lavrenty Beria would write:
“During Jaruzelski’s official visit to Moscow, Gorbachev gave him only copies of the lists of prisoners of war and internees of the NKVD of the USSR found in the Soviet archives, which included the names of Polish citizens who were in the Kozelsky, Ostashkovsky and Starobelsky NKVD camps in 1939 - 1940. None of these documents speak of the participation of the NKVD in the execution of prisoners of war.”
The execution of Poles was discussed in another document from “package No. 1” - a 4-page letter from Beria dated March 5, 1940, addressed to Stalin, where the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR proposed that the cases of Polish citizens held in NKVD camps be “considered in a special manner, with the application of capital punishment to them - execution."
According to the famous historian Yuri Zhukov, when he turned to the archives of the President of the Russian Federation for this document in the early 1990s, he was provided with a photocopy of Beria’s note on one page. The resolution in the upper left corner, as the historian explained, was covered during copying.
“I believe she rejected the People’s Commissar’s proposal to be shot,” Zhukov told the author. “Otherwise they wouldn’t have hidden her.” They needed to blame everyone and everything for our past. Therefore, all my attempts to obtain the original document were rejected - a state secret.”
Today, a color scan of this note, known as “Beria’s letter No. 794/B dated March 5, 1940,” is circulating on the Internet, with all 4 pages of it printed on typewriters with different fonts. Historians note that this is the first sign of forgery when they try to add or change any phrases in the text.
On the title page there are sweeping signatures of Stalin, Voroshilov, Molotov and Mikoyan, who supported Beria’s proposal to shoot captured Poles. Moreover, they were all made with the left hand and a pencil of the same color. This is the same resolution of the members of the Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, which was supposed to be proof of the guilt of the Stalinist regime in the Katyn tragedy. It was this “letter”, along with other archival materials from “package No. 1”, that Boris Yeltsin presented to the Constitutional Court of the RSFSR, where the “CPSU case” initiated by him was considered, but for some reason the accommodating Constitutional Court refused to recognize them as authentic documents.
“YAKOVLEV GROUP”
In 2010, State Duma deputy Viktor Ilyukhin and research experts Sergei Strygin and Vladislav Shved became aware of how the falsification of the aforementioned “Beria’s letter” was being prepared, which proposed shooting more than 25 thousand Polish prisoners of war. Ilyukhin, at a plenary session of parliament, released information that in the early 1990s, a group of specialists in forging archival documents was allegedly organized, headed by Alexander Yakovlev, a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee.
“In 1943, Goebbels, trying to destroy the anti-Hitler coalition and quarrel between the USSR and the USA, spread a lie that Stalin and Beria ordered the execution of 10 thousand Polish officers,” said Ilyukhin. - This lie was supported by the Polish government in exile, which was most motivated by a sense of anger at the Soviet Union for the defeat of the Polish army in Western Belarus and Ukraine and the annexation of these territories to the USSR. The well-known Alexander Yakovlev actually advocated for such a compromise of the USSR that the whole world would turn away from our country. After this, the greatest fraud and falsification of archival documents of the CPSU Central Committee took place.”
The “Yakovlev Group” worked in the structure of the security service of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, located in the village of Nagornoye, Moscow Region, until 1996, and then was relocated to another locality - Zarechye. From there, according to Ilyukhin, hundreds, if not thousands of false documents were thrown into the archives, and the same number were falsified by introducing distorted information into them and forging signatures.
One of the members of this group gave Ilyukhin samples of forms, seals, stamps and postmarks of counterfeiters, which the deputy demonstrated by making a video message, but the official media ignored him. Viktor Ilyukhin initiated a parliamentary review of archival documents, but his death from a heart attack prevented him from completing the work begun, as always happens in such cases.
It is noteworthy that in 2004, the Main Military Prosecutor's Office of Russia confirmed that the NKVD troika imposed death sentences on 14,542 Polish prisoners of war, but the death of only 1,803 people was reliably established. And where, in this case, did the rest go?
Researchers admit that after the publication of new archival data in the early 1990s, complete clarity on the “Katyn case” did not emerge. Moreover, digital copies of documents from “package No. 1,” which, by order of the president, were previously posted on the website of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, have now become inaccessible. Is this due to the fact that their authenticity raises questions among lawyers?
The forgery of documents has been recognized by the courts.
The results of studies of signs of forgery of the “Katyn” documents from “package No. 1” have been published in many publications and are well known. To date, their falsity has been determined by decisions of at least three Russian courts. In addition to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, which received documents as evidence of the alleged guilt of the CPSU (b) - CPSU in the execution of captured Poles, they were also considered by the Basmanny and Tverskoy district courts of Moscow on October 13, 2009 and September 21, 2010. And everyone, having verified the falsification of archival materials, refused to recognize as true the information that Stalin and members of the Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks had decided on capital punishment for the Poles.
I would like to hope that the time will come when the impartial court of history will give an objective assessment not only of all the facts of this tragedy, but also of those individuals who tried to speculate on it, fabricating fakes to discredit the Soviet Union. Involuntarily, I recall the sincere confession of the main ideologist of the CPSU A. Yakovlev: “We had to partially lie, be hypocritical, dissemble - there was no other way. We had to break the totalitarian communist party."
But they broke something completely different. As the former Soviet dissident and philosopher Alexander Zinoviev put it, “they aimed for communism, but ended up in Russia.”
(c) Evgeniy Kirichenko
And to the heap. Today, former Prosecutor General of Russia Skuratov spoke on the topic of Katyn.
Former Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Skuratov doubts the objectivity of the investigation in Russia of the “Katyn case,” which led to the admission of guilt by the NKVD in the execution of Polish officers and soldiers in 1940.
“There was probably some kind of political decision. After all, we were still full of desire to please the West, and a lot of different kinds of concessions on our part were thrown into this firebox, so to speak,”
PS. My position on this matter has not changed since the 2000s - the Poles were shot by the Germans in 1941.
Trying to nobly spread the cost of maintaining the things?
[Breitbart] “Let’s put everything on the table and look at what truly protects us in a credible way,” he continued, but maintained that France would keep “its specificity but is ready to contribute more to the defence of European soil”.
“Being credible also means having long-range missiles that would deter the Russians. And there is nuclear weapons: French doctrine is that we can use them when our vital interests are threatened. I have already said that there is a European dimension to these vital interests,” the president said.
Macron’s comments drew condemnation from both sides of the political aisle in France, with François-Xavier Bellamy, the leader of the centre-right Les Républicains (LR) in the upcoming European Parliament elections, declaring: “A French head of state should not say that.”
“This is exceptionally serious because this touches on the very nerve of French sovereignty,” Bellamy added.
Conservative populist National Rally MEP Thierry Mariani responded: “Macron is becoming a national danger… After nuclear weapons, there will follow France’s permanent seat on the UN Security Council, which will also be sold off to the European Union.”
The suggestion was also criticised by the left, with the La France Insoumise (LFI) parliamentary group proclaiming that Macron “has just dealt a new blow to the credibility of French nuclear deterrence”.
“Under the cover of defending European soil, Macron wants to liquidate French strategic autonomy,” LFI deputy Bastien Lachaud added.
Since the United Kingdom left the European Union under Brexit, France has stood as the lone nuclear-armed power in the bloc. While Britain’s nuclear weapons are still available for the protection of Europe under the terms of the NATO alliance, there have been growing calls from globalists to strengthen the power of Brussels and even potentially to entrust the EU with its own dedicated army.
As opposed to the United States and the Soviet Union (now Russia), France has long adopted a nuclear weapons strategy of “minimum deterrence”, boasting an arsenal of around 290 nukes compared to around 3,700 in the U.S. and around 4,500 in Russia. The “deterrence of the strong by the weak” operates under the assumption that the ability to launch precision strikes against an enemy’s critical infrastructure will be enough to prevent countries like Russia from launching an attack on France.
Although a member of NATO, France has maintained some of its independence after it withdrew from the Western alliance’s Nuclear Planning Group (NPG), meaning that its nuclear policy is solely at the discretion of the French president. The nuclear doctrine of the country stipulates that nukes can only be used under extreme circumstances of self-defence or in situations where the “vital interests” of the nation are at stake.
President Macron has argued that such “vital interests” of France also include a “European dimension”, suggesting he would be willing to put the use of nuclear weapons on the table if another EU member state were attacked.
Conversely, Macron said in 2022 that France would not use nukes if Russia launched a nuclear attack on Ukraine, saying: “Our doctrine is based on the fundamental interests of the Nation and they are very clearly defined. If there were a nuclear ballistic attack in Ukraine, these interests would not be called into question.”
However, while the French leader was initially a proponent of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow and appeared to be hesitant to broaden the conflict, he has since recast himself as one of the leading hawks in Europe, similarly calling for a “debate” about sending NATO troops into Ukraine.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
