Ukraine updates in English

[US7IGN]

Perhaps this was already discussed long ago and I don’t recall, but why does conscription ( or voluntary) military service not start at age 18, as it does in most other countries?

Only the authorities know the answer to this question.

Anyone can volunteer to serve at the age of 18, but for various reasons almost no one does this anymore. And it's not a matter of fear of death. This did not stop thousands of people in 2022. Now many of those who volunteered then would not do so again.

As for young people. I don’t know the demographic figures, but it seems that those between 18 and 30 are proportionally smaller than others. Everyone agrees that a 40+ year old person with illnesses and no training does not make a very good stormtrooper. And others are not needed. Also young people, who was born and raised in a free country after Ukraine gained independence in 1991, has completely different views on life and requires a completely different attitude towards themselves. You can just look at how young people feel about work. They want to earn a lot, work a little, and have their incompetence respected. They were also brought up completely differently and do not tolerate coercion and violence. In Ukraine, mobilization is based on coercion and violence.

Also an interesting observation. For a long time I could not understand why the huge money that soldiers receive does not return to the country’s economy. Recently, the state admitted and even adopted special legislation to limit gambling, which has become an addiction for many soldiers. Not only do they lose all the money they receive, but they also get into debt. I see one of the reasons is that military service is a one-way ticket from which you most likely will not return. It can be assumed that if there was a rotation, the soldiers saved their families, built housing and were interested in the future, then they would spend this money more profitably. Apparently gambling addiction is a natural psychological reaction to their condition.

[US7IGN]

The Ukrainian authorities have submitted to the Council of Europe a statement on withdrawal of derogation from compliance with the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms.

According to the application, during the war, Ukraine will stop observing such provisions of the Convention as: inviolability of housing; confidentiality of correspondence, telephone conversations and other correspondence; non-interference in personal and family life; freedom of movement and free choice of residence; the right to freedom of thought and speech; free expression of views and beliefs, as well as the right to collect, store and disseminate information; the right to hold meetings, rallies and strikes; the right to own, use and dispose of one's property.
https://rm.coe.int/0900001680af4532
https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/by-non-member-states-of-the-coe-or-the-european-union?module=declarations-by-treaty&numSte=005&codeNature=10&codePays=U
https://rm.coe.int/1680af452a

By the way, at one time russia was punished with this. On September 16, 2022 russia officially ceased to be a member of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, welcomed the completion of the procedure for russia's expulsion from the Council of Europe. In his tweet on March 16, he commented on the relevant decision of the Council of Ministers.
"I welcome the decision to immediately exclude russia from the Council of Europe just taken by the Council of Ministers. No place for russia in European bodies as it wages a barbaric war of aggression against Ukraine and commits multiple war crimes." https://twitter.com/DmytroKuleba/status/1504081546331963398

[US7IGN]

Today the weather is great again. During the day it was 24C and the sun was shining. If you walk along the streets of Kyiv, it doesn’t say anything about the war. But there are not many people on the streets and they look tired. However, most of them is constantly filled with news that does not improve your mood at all. Time and time again I am glad that I have a radio and the wonderful ability to switch completely by putting on headphones. At 21 MHz there was a good propagation and one after another I worked VY2RCAF, BX2AK, KW7Q, DP0POL/MM.

On April 30, the Polish government approved the announced draft amendments to the law “On assistance to citizens of Ukraine.” It provides for the extension of temporary protection for Ukrainians fleeing the war until September 30, 2025. https://www.stopcor.org/ukr/section-zarubezhom/news-polskij-uryad-shvaliv-zmini-u-zakonodavstvi-schodo-zahistu-ukraintsiv-yaki-vtekli-vid-vijni-podrobitsi-30-04-2024.html

The Poles have unlocked all checkpoints on the border with Ukraine. https://vechirniy.kyiv.ua/news/97769/

The US Treasury Department allowed operations with russian banks for settlements in the energy sector. We are talking about "VTB", "Centrobank", "Sberbank" and "Alfa Bank". This is stated in the license issued by the American ministry. The license of the Ministry of Finance also mentions the banks "Otkritie", "Sovkombank", "Rosbank", "VEB.RF", "Bank Zenit" and "Bank St. Petersburg". The ban on operations has been lifted until November 1, 2024, but the permit may be extended. https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/932846/download?inline

The russians actively and effectively use the tactics of infiltrating reconnaissance drones in the deep rear of Ukraine, where they hunt for important objects and launch ballistic missiles. This circumstance allowed the russian army to inflict several tangible blows on the Armed Forces and Ukrainian infrastructure dozens of kilometers from the front line. This is possible due to constant modernization, as well as mass production and use of Orlan, Zala and Supercam drones in connection with Iskander missile systems or other long-range systems. And if the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not find means to counter such attacks, then, judging by the trends, these strikes will no longer be a tactical, but a strategic advantage of the russia in the war. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c1rvlv593n3o

In the conditions of the growing number of people in need of support, the government is preparing a transition from the post-Soviet model of social protection to an effective social policy. According to him, the government creates incentives for people to return to economic activity and focuses on supporting those who really need it. Source: https://biz.censor.net/n3486501

[N0TZU]

The Ukrainian authorities have submitted to the Council of Europe a statement on withdrawal of derogation from compliance with the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms…

Stunning. They expect the EU to approve their violation of human rights, I doubt that will go well. This hands the anti-Ukraine isolationists another rationale for their views, making further aid from here more difficult.

[US7IGN]

Stunning. They expect the EU to approve their violation of human rights, I doubt that will go well. This hands the anti-Ukraine isolationists another rationale for their views, making further aid from here more difficult.

Apparently during war people should not have any rights.

Also, now there is a new procedure for mobilizing vehicles for those who have more than one car. A person learns that his car is subject to mobilization only when it is seized. https://auto.24tv.ua/yak_vyluchatymut_avtomobili_dlia_zsu_opysana_protsedura_n53223

Meanwhile, queues appeared at the mobilization centers. The overwhelming number of those standing in the queues are, after all, conscripts who have reasons for deferment or have reasons for reservations. Judging by the situation over the past few days, the queues have indeed increased, but not of people who are conscripted or volunteer, but who are sent by companies for reservations. Under the current conditions, the mobilization centers will have to register at least 93 men per hour, and it is clear that the centers will not be able to keep up. https://toneto.net/news/kultura/u-ki--vskomu-ttsk-pom--tili-veliku-chergu-z-cholov--k--v-na-onovlennya-danih--v--yskov---nazvali-prichinu--foto----v--deo-u-subotu--4-travnya--nabere-chinnost---zakon-pro-zabezpechennya-prav-v--yskovih-na-sots--alniy-zahist-gittya-stolits--

On May 18, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine will launch an electronic cabinet for conscripts, which will provide an opportunity to update their data without visiting the mobilization center. Now this application is literally being created, and we are receiving all the necessary documents to make it available to all our citizens," said Kateryna Chernogorenko, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization. https://mil.in.ua/uk/news/e-kabinet-vijskovozobov-yazanogo-zapratsyuye-18-travnya/

Let me remind you that according to the latest changes to the legislation, from May 18 all men must receive military documents and keep them with them at all times. This will be checked by the police and fines start at $250. Criminal liability and a ban on driving are also provided for.

Apparently, so that people are not so sad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs created an AI bot that will communicate with people and answer their requests. https://shotam.info/mzs-ukrainy-predstavylo-shi-avatara-viktoriiu-iaka-teper-komentuvatyme-konsulsku-informatsiiu/

[US7IGN]

The weather is great outside, but the mood is still bad because of the daily news about explosions in Odesa and other cities and the constant fighting at the front.

I found Macron's interview interesting, which he gave to The Economist, in which he tries to declare France's leadership in Europe and exaggerates its contribution to helping Ukraine. On the other hand, this kind of competition still helps Ukraine, and it seems that his words about the possibility of introducing foreign troops in the event of a request from the Kyiv authorities or a breakthrough by the Russians at the front are quite serious. https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/05/02/emmanuel-macron-in-his-own-words-english

The Ukraine military intelligence agency’s deputy head, Major-General Vadym Skibitsky sounds troubled as he assesses Ukraine’s battlefield prospects. Things, he says, are as difficult as they have ever been since the early days of russia’s full-scale invasion. And they are about to get worse. He predicts that russia will first press on with its plan to “liberate” all of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, a task unchanged since 2022. He says a russian order has gone out to “take something” in time for the pomp of Victory Day in Moscow on May 9th, or, failing that, before pootin’s visit to Beijing a week later. The speed and success of the advance will determine when and where the russians strike next. “Our problem is very simple: we have no weapons. They always knew April and May would be a difficult time for us.” The russian army is not the hubristic organisation it was in 2022, says the general, and is now operating as a “single body, with a clear plan, and under a single command”. Looking at a wider horizon, the intelligence chief suggests russia is gearing up for an assault around the Kharkiv and Sumy regions in the north-east. https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/05/02/ukraine-is-on-the-brink-says-a-senior-general

UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has said it is up to Ukraine to decide how to use British weapons and insisted it has the right to strike targets on russian territory. During a visit to Kyiv, he said the UK would provide £3bn ($3.75bn) per year for as long as necessary. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c163kp93l6po

In January of this year, the presidents of Switzerland and Ukraine agreed that the founding "peace summit" will be held in Switzerland. Later, the date and place of this event were announced: it will take place on June 15-16 this year at the Bürgenstock resort near Lucerne. It will take place a week after the elections to the European Parliament, and will remove part of the purely political burden from the shoulders of the leaders of the European states. Secondly, it will take place a few days after the "Big Seven" summit, which will take place on June 13-15, very close by, in the Italian Puglia. This circumstance should facilitate logistics for the leaders of the "Seven" countries, primarily US President Joe Biden, whose presence in Bürgenstock will automatically give the "peace summit" the status of global importance. A separate intrigue is connected with the participation in the "Ukrainian summit" of russia's BRICS partners. Of course, invitations will be sent to them, but it is not at all a fact that they will all respond to them, informed interviewees of the BBC already admit today. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c0v0rwwl3dno

"We have to win. We have no alternative. I don't know what that victory will be, I don't know the specific day. I don't know exactly how it will happen... But I know we have no alternative. So we have to win. And we we will win," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week in an interview with Fox News.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6351647494112

[US7IGN]

The Ministry of Defense adopted changes to the regulations on the military medical commission in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which determines suitability for military service in the presence of certain diagnoses.
The requirements for conscripts have been significantly reduced, everyone has to pass commissions anew, and only very seriously ill people are recognized as unfit. For everyone else, there will now be a place in the trench.
People immediately paid attention to such strange provisions as fitted to service in military support units, mobilization centers and higher military training institutions, training centers, educational institutions, medical units, units of logistics, communications, operational support, security those with following diseases:
chronic viral hepatitis with moderate functional disorders
disease caused by HIV with immune subcompensation
lower lip cancer, skin cancer
mild mental symptoms
mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of psychoactive substances
mood disorders (affective) with infrequent attacks and long periods of full clinical health
neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders
mild mental retardation
epilepsy with isolated and rare (convulsive and non-convulsive) epileptic seizures without mental disorders.

These regulations also applies to those who fought during the civil war in 1917-1920s and the Second World War.

The first wave of mobilization under the new law should be more than 100,000 within three months, said Oleksandr Fedienko, member of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence.

From May 18, conscripts must always carry military registration documents with them. Within nine months, men with limited fitness must re-pass the military medical board, and those who evade the draft will be restricted in their right to drive a car.

The main clause of the law on mobilization — demobilization and its terms with the document — was removed at the request of the head of the Commissar Syrskyi. https://kanaldim.tv/novyj-zakon-pro-mobilizacziyu-eksperty-proanalizuvaly-potreby-vijska-ta-imovirnist-demobilizacziyi/

The official website of the President of Ukraine has rejected a petition to lift the ban on arms assistance to the Azov brigade from the US.
"Azov" defended Mariupol in 2022 with limited resources and outdated weapons. This was the result of amendments effective since 2017 in the laws of the United States, which block "the provision of weapons and the provision of training or other assistance to the Azov battalion," the brigade noted. https://myc.news/ua/obshestvo/peticiyu_ob_oruzhii_dlya_azova_otklonili
They believe that the president of Ukraine should deal with this issue, not the United States. I am surprised that they still retain their identity after all the efforts of the authorities to mix volunteers from 2014-2022 with mobilized ones and replace their commanders. Perhaps they can pose the same threat as in the case of Wagner in russia.

From the public part of the Register of Court Decisions, decisions made in cases involving conscripts and military servicemen will be removed - the practice of mobilization will become closed to the public. https://sud.ua/uk/news/publication/299655-verkhovnaya-rada-namerena-zapretit-publikovat-v-reestre-sudebnye-resheniya-po-mobilizatsii-i-voennomu-uchetu

[US7IGN]

"In March, the government attracted a record amount - more than 9 billion dollars. In April, they received another 1.5 billion euros within the Ukraine Facility. In general, since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has already attracted about 12 billion dollars in financial aid," the Prime Minister of Ukraine emphasized.
https://weukraine.tv/ekonomika/ukrajina-u-berezni-zaluchila-rekordnu-sumu-mizhnarodnoji-dopomohi-pro-jaki-hroshi-jdetsja/

The company that owns one of the most popular adult video services, PornHub, has registered as a VAT payer as an electronic service provider in Ukraine.
https://24tv.ua/business/pornhub-legalizuvavsya-ukrayini-servis-dlya-doroslih-splachuvatime_n2547767

I do not understand how this company officially works in Ukraine, where the distribution of pornography is a criminal act.


A wave of Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries deep inside russia has left the Kremlin racing to defend its own territory while still waging war on its neighbor. But the attacks have also achieved the unthinkable — leaving the world’s largest petrostate running low on petrol.
Diesel prices for russian consumers have skyrocketed, rising almost 10 percent in the past week alone, according to the government’s figures. Petrol costs have also hit a six-month high, up more than 20 percent from the start of the year as supply tightens and more and more facilities are forced to suspend production.
Last Wednesday, two fuel storage facilities owned by russian energy giant Rosneft, around 500 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, were severely damaged by drones as fuel went up in smoke. More than a dozen refineries across nine russian regions have been similarly hit this year, with officials in Kyiv saying the industry is a legitimate war target.
It's both a political and military problem for Moscow. As well as being essential for Russia's war effort, cheap fuel is a key part of President Vladimir Putin's offer to the public, an antidote to lagging wages and a weak ruble.
https://www.politico.eu/article/vladimir-putin-russia-diesel-prices-skyrocket-ukraine-war-drone-strikes-oil-refineries/

I don't know what it is related to, but fuel prices have also increased in Ukraine.
Oh well. The mutual destruction continues, and the winners are outside Ukraine and russia.

[UT7UX]

You can just look at how young people feel about work. They want to earn a lot, work a little, and have their incompetence respected.

So, I feel I'm young. 

[US7IGN]

So, I feel I'm young. 

Good to see you're ok!

[ke6sls]

Long time no read from you Eugene!  Hope you and family are well.

73
Jaye

[US7IGN]

Today Ukraine celebrates Easter. My wife baked Easter cakes, but I can only look at them.

[US7IGN]

Every day the air alarm sounds, but the missiles hit mainly Kharkiv, Odesa and other cities. Apparently the russians decided not to waste missiles on Kyiv, where there are nothing important. Neither military or energy objects.

The Ukrainian military says dozens of North Korean missiles have been fired by russia into its territory. This then raises the question of how many of these missiles the North Koreans can produce. The South Korean government recently observed North Korea has sent 6,700 containers of munitions to russia. More troubling still is that the war is providing North Korea with a shop window to the rest of the world. Now that Pyongyang is mass producing these weapons, it will want to sell them to more countries, and if the missiles are good enough for russia, they will be good enough for others, - especially as the russians are setting the example that it is okay to violate sanctions. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68933778

Their plan to attack in the east is obvious, where every day they destroy fortifications with aerial bombs and then occupy territories with infantry. This does not happen very quickly, but continuously. However, yesterday Ukrainian troops managed to shoot down one russian plane, which pilot lost his caution and flew too far. https://hromadske.radio/news/2024/05/04/zsu-zbyly-rosiyskyy-litak-su-25-na-donechchyni

I'm not sure how true this information is, but according to Stephen Bryen (served as staff director of the Near East Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) article, France has sent its first troops officially to Ukraine. They have been deployed in support of the Ukrainian 54th Independent Mechanized Brigade in Slavyansk. The French soldiers are drawn from France’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, which is one of the main elements of France’s Foreign Legion (Légion étrangère). https://asiatimes.com/2024/05/france-sends-combat-troops-to-ukraine-battlefront/

Together with Cameroon's announcement of permission to use British weapons on russian territory, this could mean a transition to a new level in this war.

[US7IGN]

The National Bank of Ukraine is implementing the largest package of easing currency restrictions for businesses since the beginning of the full-scale war. The purpose of these changes is to improve the conditions for conducting business activities in Ukraine and the entry of domestic businesses into new markets, as well as to support the recovery of the economy and promote the inflow of new investments into the country.
First, all currency restrictions for the import of works and services are abolished. Secondly, the possibility of business to repatriate "new" dividends is ensured. Thirdly, it is possible to transfer funds abroad under leasing / rental. Fourthly, restrictions on repayment of "new" external loans are eased. Fifthly, it is possible to repay interest on "old" external loans. Sixth, restrictions on the transfer of foreign currency from representative offices to the benefit of their parent companies are eased. https://bank.gov.ua/ua/news/all/valyutna-liberalizatsiya-trivaye-nbu-vprovadjuye-naybilshiy-paket-pomyakshennya-valyutnih-obmejen-z-pochatku-povnomasshtabnoyi-viyni

It is obvious that this is the result of the pressure of foreign business, which set the conditions for the continuation of work in Ukraine. Also, people say that there are no problems with reservation employees of foreign companies, while Ukrainian companies lose employees due to mobilization.

Also, "mobilization" is used to counter advocacy activities. If all judges and prosecutors are protected by law from mobilization, then the lawyer can be forcibly sent to the mobilization center directly from the search for which he came to defend the client. On May 3, 2024, the Odesa Oblast Bar Council became aware of the forcible illegal detention of a lawyer during his practice as a lawyer. https://www.facebook.com/unba.odessa/posts/pfbid0qSzwCGpX4Zv7BLwR69gcqQWAcAT7qqVfyupG5EyzTK9dHDQ4agbAZ128X2VCRwPdl

[N0TZU]

You can just look at how young people feel about work. They want to earn a lot, work a little, and have their incompetence respected.

So, I feel I'm young.