Russian Digest 4/9

Top daily stories I'm keeping an eye on

1. Microsoft on Thursday disclosed that it obtained a court order to take control of seven domains used by APT28, a state-sponsored group operated by Russia's military intelligence service, with the goal of neutralizing its attacks on Ukraine.

   "We have since re-directed these domains to a sinkhole controlled by Microsoft, enabling us to mitigate Strontium's current use of these domains and enable victim notifications," Tom Burt, Microsoft's corporate vice president of customer security and trust, said. via Hacker News

2. The head of the administration of the Lugansk region, Serhiy Gaidai, said that as a result of Russian shelling, a tank with nitric acid exploded, located near the city of Rubizhne. via Meduza

3. Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said that the Russian occupiers were dropping parachute bombs on the city and asked people not to approach such bombs. 

   Source: Mayor of Kharkiv

   Direct speech: "Kharkiv faced the bombing of the news with types of bombs. The Russian aggressor drops them on parachutes. I ask you never to approach such parachutes and immediately inform rescuers about them." 

   Details: According to him, since the beginning of the invasion, the Russian occupiers destroyed 1,716 houses. via Ukrainian Pravda

4. Russia reorganized the command of its flagging offensive in Ukraine on Saturday, selecting for the mission a general accused of ordering strikes on civilian neighborhoods in Syria, as Western nations poured more weapons into the country in anticipation of a renewed Russian assault in the east.

   The appointment of the general, Aleksandr V. Dvornikov, as the top battlefield commander came as Britain announced that it was sending missiles that target aircraft, tanks and even ships, and as Slovakia handed the Ukrainian military a long-range S-300 air defense system, with the blessing of the United States. via NYT

5. The Russian Defence Ministry earlier this week announced that Ukraine is preparing an attack on a chemical plant in the city of Pervomaisky, Kharkiv region. Journalists at the Russian media outlet The Insider found out that such a factory was shut down years ago.

   Russia's Defence Ministry accused Ukrainian authorities of preparing an attack at a chemical plant that no longer exists