Russian Digest 4/19

Top daily stories I'm keeping an eye on

1. Russia has deployed up to 20,000 mercenaries from Syria, Libya and elsewhere in its new offensive in Ukraine’s Donbas region, sent into battle with no heavy equipment or armoured vehicles, according to a European official.

   The official said the estimates of mercenary involvement on the ground in eastern Ukraine range from 10,000 to 20,000 and that it was hard to break down that figure between Syrians, Libyans and other fighters recruited by the Russian mercenary company, the Wagner Group. via Guardian

2. Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev said that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to foreigners who protect Ukraine from Russian invaders. According to him, they should be "denazified first."  Telegram

   "For us , mercenaries are not volunteers . They are not legal combatants, they are not covered by the Geneva Conventions.

   The real volunteers are the Normandy-Neman French Regiment, the 1st and 2nd armies of the Polish Army, which took part in the Berlin Operation with us in 1945, and the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps, which fought side by side with the Red Army. army during the Great Patriotic War (World War II - ed.).

   Therefore, foreign mercenaries in Ukraine who do not surrender to our troops, together with mentors from Bandera, are subject to denazification in the first place. They will have to take full responsibility for their actions. Of course, if they stay alive. "

   Medvedev, who thinks of outdated historical narratives, claims that foreign legionnaires came to Ukraine to seize power. via Medvedev’s Telegram

3. Russia declared Tuesday that the “next phase” of the war in Ukraine was underway, kicking off a major assault on key areas in the east in what senior Defense Department officials said was probably a “prelude” to a larger offensive. As Russia pounded the east with artillery and airstrikes, it gave Ukrainian holdouts in Mariupol a new deadline to surrender.

   The commander of Ukraine’s troops there told The Washington Post that his soldiers would not lay down their arms and would continue to “complete our military tasks as long as we receive them.” The southern port city is key to Moscow’s strategy in eastern Ukraine, and capturing it would give Russia a coveted land corridor linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula to the Donbas region.

   Early Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Moscow would seek the “complete liberation” of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east. Luhansk’s regional governor said that the eastern city of Kreminna is now “under the control” of Russian forces, which could allow them to advance toward Kramatorsk, the capital of the Donbas region. via Washington Post

4. Something to keep a close eye on

   “Hackers hacked the website "Ministry of Emergency Media"

   Unidentified people hacked the website of "Ministry of Emergency Situations Media", which is a departmental media outlet of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia. Recommendations “in the event of a retaliatory nuclear strike from NATO countries” appeared on the main page of the site. The date of the possible attack in the text was April 24, the day of the celebration of Easter. Subsequently, the department denied the information posted on the portal. Shortly after the article appeared, the resource became unavailable.

   “According to operational data, during the mass celebrations on the occasion of the celebration of Easter on April 24, 2022, a threat of a retaliatory nuclear strike from NATO countries is possible. The Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation urges citizens to independently bring the basements of their houses, as well as nearby bomb shelters, into a habitable form, ”the note said. The article also suggested that citizens stock up on fuel, drinking and technical water, long-term storage food and basic medicines.

   “Hello, dear subscribers and readers of MChS Media. We regret to inform you that the site www.mchsmedia.ru has been hacked. The published information is not true. At the moment, troubleshooting is underway, ” the publication’s group on the VKontakte social network reports.

   In mid-March, the official website of the Russian Emergencies Ministry was subjected to a cyberattack. At that time, the main page contained materials condemning the Russian military operation in Ukraine. via Kommersant

5. Command of the 144 Motor Archery Division (v/h 23060, Smolensk) secretly transports their families from the Bryansk region into the depth of the Russian Federation.

   According to available data, their families were taken out: commander of the 254 motor rifle regiment (v/ch 91704, Klintsy) - Colonel Danshin I. A. , commander of the 1032 separate battalion of material supplies (v/p 14370, Honorary) - Deputy Colonel Samedov M. N.

   In order to prevent panic situations among the locals, information about the need to evacuate families is carefully hidden. via Roman Tsymbaliuk Facebook