Russian Digest 5/1
Top stories I'm keeping an eye on
Governor of the Kursk region Roman Starovoit in the Telegram
"Today at about 11:20 a.m. on the 67th kilometer of the Suja-Sosnovy Bir railway, a partial collapse of the bridge structures was discovered."
"The railway branch was used to move warehouses. There are no casualties. Nothing threatens the lives and health of citizens."
Starovoit later said that the bridge structure collapsed as a result of the sabotage.
"Unfortunately, the information was confirmed, it was sabotage. A criminal case has been opened," he said.
The governor also published a photo of the destroyed bridge.
2. Russians plunder $5M farm vehicles from Ukraine -- to find they've been remotely disabled
Russian troops in the occupied city of Melitopol have stolen all the equipment from a farm equipment dealership -- and shipped it to Chechnya, according to a Ukrainian businessman in the area.
But after a journey of more than 700 miles, the thieves were unable to use any of the equipment -- because it had been locked remotely.
Over the past few weeks there's been a growing number of reports of Russian troops stealing farm equipment, grain and even building materials - beyond widespread looting of residences. But the removal of valuable agricultural equipment from a John Deere dealership in Melitopol speaks to an increasingly organized operation, one that even uses Russian military transport as part of the heist. via CNN
3. The Governor of the Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov said that a fire broke out at a facility of the Russian Defense Ministry located in the region.
“There is information about one victim among local residents. The wound is light, nothing threatens life, ” he said.
The facility is located, according to the governor, on the border of the Borisov and Belgorod districts with the Yakovlevsky urban district. On May 1, there were reports on social networks of explosions in this part of the region; the authors of the reports have identified these places in different ways. via Meduza
4. Romania DDoS attack shows Ukraine allies are in Russia’s crosshairs
Government websites in Romania have been crippled by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) cyberattack carried out by Russia-supporting cybercrime gang Killnet, the country’s prime minister confirmed today. The attack is the latest sign that Russia is targeting neighboring countries, which have offered support to Ukraine during the ongoing war in Eastern Europe. via Tech Monitor
5. More dangerous lies from Russia and laying of the groundwork for preparations of chemical attacks in Ukraine
“The United States may be preparing a provocation with the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, this may be evidenced by the preparation of a resolution on the possibility of sending American armed forces to the region, Adalbi Shkhagoshev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, told RIA Novosti.”
6. Latest developments in Moldova
Moldova also experienced a cyberattack
