May 7, 2022
1. Inhuman treatment of civilians in Ukraine by AFU
Russian Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine continues to accumulate facts of the inhumane treatment of civilians by Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). It has been reliably established that Ukrainian army units and nationalist battalions are setting up powerful fortifications in large enterprises, including the chemical industry, at the orders of their US and UK handlers.
For example, the militants have placed heavy weapons on the territory of the Azot company in Severodonetsk, Lugansk People's Republic, and are holding more than a 1,000 factory workers and local residents in underground facilities as "human shield". At the same time, the nationalists have been systematically firing MLRSs in Pervomaisk, Stakhanov and Kalinovo, thus provoking the Russian Armed Forces to retaliate in order to further accuse the Russian military of killing civilians and causing a man-made disaster in the republic. The neo-Nazis also booby-trapped tanks containing chemicals (ammonia, ammonium nitrate, nitric acid) for immediate detonation in case they were forced to abandon their positions.
The implementation of this cynical crime will lead to the chemical contamination of air, terrain and water sources. At the same time, there is a particular danger of highly toxic substances entering the Seversky Donets River, which is the main waterway and source of drinking water for eastern Ukraine and the Donbass republics.
The commission of similar inhuman provocations by militants of nationalist battalions, according to testimonies of captured AFU soldiers, is also planned at other facilities within the boundaries of the so-called "triangle of chemical industry" (Severodonetsk, Lisichansk and Rubezhnoe; total area - 338 sq km, population - about 300,000 people), where more than 30 chemical companies are concentrated, the largest being Ukrkhimenergo, Severodonetsk-based ORGHIM, Energohimmash, Zarya, LLC, Severodonetsk Chemical and Metallurgical Plant, Severodonetsk Novofert Liquid Chemical Fertiliser Plant, Yuzhny Chemical Plant, and Benzol Chemical Company.
In addition, according to reliable information, the Ukrainian Security Service is planning provocations using chemical weapons in the settlements of Vysokopolie, Ivanovka, Knyazevka and Topolnoe in Kherson region, as well as in Apostolovo in Dnepropetrovsk region by 24:00 on May 6, 2022 to further accuse the Russian Armed Forces. Moreover, while previously in preparation for such provocations the civilian population was withdrawn from the area of planned contamination, now, in order to maximise the resonance, no warning was given to the population.
Russia warned the "civilized West" as well as the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in advance that the above and other similar provocations about alleged "Russian atrocities" are soon to be widely spread by the Ukrainian authorities through the Western media and in various Internet resources.
On May 7, 2022 in Kharkiv Region, nationalists in Tsirkuny gathered local residents under the threat of physical violence and transported them to the southern outskirts of Borshchevaya, where the militants, shielding themselves with "human shield", were moving towards the frontline towards the Russian military units, provoking them to open fire on civilians. As a result of the spot fire, the Ukrainian nationalists were defeated: some of the personnel were eliminated and the rest scattered. However, no civilians were harmed.
Such actions by militants completely replicate Nazi tactics during the Great Patriotic War and once again demonstrate the inhumane attitude of the Kiev regime towards its own people and its complete disregard for all norms of morality and international humanitarian law.
2. Exodus of refugees
Despite all the difficulties and obstacles posed by Kiev, over the past 24 hours, without the involvement of the Ukrainian authorities, 17,419 people, including 2,449 children, have been evacuated from dangerous areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics and Ukraine to the Russian Federation. Since the beginning of the special military operation, a total of 1,147,374 people have been evacuated, including 203,799 children. The state border of the Russian Federation was crossed by 148,586 personal vehicles including 1,944 per day.
50 civilians with 11 children Some nationalists left Azovstal plant with a white flag on May 7th.
More than 9,500 temporary accommodation centres continue to operate in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and are fully equipped with recreational facilities and hot meals. The refugees are dealt with on an individual basis and are promptly assisted with various pressing issues relating to onward accommodation, employment assistance, places for children in kindergartens and educational institutions, and the provision of entitlements to social benefits.
A significant part of the population forcibly held by radicals in Ukrainian cities is still looking for any opportunities to evacuate to Russia, as evidenced by numerous appeals of citizens through various channels to the official structures of the Russian Federation. Over the past 24 hours, the hotline of the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Response, federal executive authorities, constituent entities of the Russian Federation and various NGOs received 169 requests from foreign and Ukrainian citizens to evacuate to Russia, the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, as well as to the Russian Armed Forces-controlled areas of Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, Kharkov and Kherson regions. In total there are 2,754,846 such appeals from 2,133 locations in Ukraine in the database.
3. More than 18,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid have already been delivered to Ukraine
Russian federal executive authorities, together with the subjects of the Russian Federation, various public organizations, patriotic movements, continue to accumulate humanitarian aid. The greatest contributors to the relief effort were:
Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography, Federal Maritime and River Transport Agency, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Federal Agency for Nationalities, Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation;
Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Dagestan, Crimea, Tatarstan and Chechen republics, Altai and Krasnodar territories, Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Leningrad, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Rostov, Tula regions and Moscow city;
Among political parties and non-profit organisations: United Russia, the People's Front All-Russian Public Movement, the All-Russian Public Organisation of Veterans "Battle Brotherhood", the Russian Humanitarian Mission, the Russian Union of Russian Women, the Almaz-Antey Military Defence Concern, and interregional public organisation Federation of Military Tactical Games.
More than 23,000 tonnes of basic necessities and food kits, including baby food and life-saving medicines, have been prepared at collection points.
Since March 2nd, 18,030.6 tons of humanitarian cargo have already been delivered to Ukraine, 977 humanitarian actions have been carried out, including 6 actions in Zaparozhye and Kharkov regions, as well as in Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, during which 293.6 tons of basic necessities, medicines and food were transferred to the civilian population of the liberated areas.
On May 6th, 4 humanitarian actions have been planned and are currently being carried out in Kherson region, in Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, during which 405 tons of basic necessities, medicine and food will be distributed.
4. The situation at the Black Sea area
75 foreign vessels from 17 countries remain blocked in seven Ukrainian ports (Kherson, Nikolaev, Chernomorsk, Ochakov, Odessa, Yuzhniy and Mariupol). The threat of shelling and high sea-mine danger created by official Kiev in its internal waters and territorial sea prevents foreign vessels from safely leaving the ports and reaching the open sea.
In confirmation of this, the Russian Federation is opening daily from 08:00 to 19:00 (Moscow time) a humanitarian corridor, which is a safe lane south-west of Ukraine's territorial sea, 80 nautical miles long and 3 nautical miles wide.
Detailed information in English and Russian on the modus operandi of the maritime humanitarian corridor is broadcast daily every 15 minutes on VHF radio on 14 and 16 international channels in English and Russian.
At the same time, the Kiev authorities continue to avoid engaging with representatives of states and ship-owning companies to resolve the issue of ensuring the safe passage of foreign vessels to the assembly area.
The danger to navigation from Ukrainian mines drifting off their anchors along the coasts of Black Sea states remains.
The Russian Federation is taking a full range of comprehensive measures to ensure the safety of civilian navigation in the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
5. Ambassador Antonov’s remarks in Newsweek in May, 2022
Russia's envoy to the United States has told Newsweek that leaders of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance do not grasp the true gravity of a potential nuclear conflict erupting, as a tense war of words among powers looms over the ongoing fighting in Ukraine.
As officials and other influential figures of the U.S. and allied nations accuse the Kremlin of summoning the specter of nuclear war over NATO's support for Ukraine against Russia's devastating invasion, Moscow's ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov, disparaged what he called "a flurry of blatant misrepresentation of Russian officials' statements on our country's nuclear policy."
In fact, he said it was those in the Western bloc that have proven irresponsible in their handling of what has been described as one of the most dangerous moments since the Cuban Missile Crisis six decades ago.
"The current generation of NATO politicians clearly does not take the nuclear threat seriously," Antonov told Newsweek.
Those who feel Russia was fueling the hysteria include top U.S. military leaders, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair General Mark A. Milley, who accused Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of "nuclear saber-rattling" after an interview last month in which Moscow's top diplomat said that "the danger is serious, real, and we must not underestimate it."
And while U.S. officials cast Russia as the aggressor in escalating nuclear tensions, Antonov called these accusations "baseless," and "part of a propaganda campaign launched against Russia in response to the steps taken to neutralize threats to our national security emanating from the Ukrainian territory."
He then outlined the "conditions under which the use of nuclear weapons is possible" as per Russia's official doctrine, which he said states that such weapons of mass destruction "can be used in response to the use of WMD against Russia and its allies, or in the event of aggression against our country, when the very existence of the state is jeopardized."
But Antonov believes his Western colleagues misread the weight of the nuclear risk, and that's why Russian officials "have never stopped our efforts to reach agreements that will guarantee that a catastrophic confrontation will not be unleashed."
"It is our country that in recent years has persistently proposed to American colleagues to affirm that there can be no winners in a nuclear war, thus it should never happen," Antonov said.
He noted the inclusion of this "no winners" principle in the joint Russia-U.S. statement adopted after the June 2021 summit held between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and again among the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council in January of this year.
Even before the outbreak of Russia's war in Ukraine on February 24, however, strategic stability between the two nations that hold roughly 90% of the world's nuclear arsenal had eroded. Now, the conflict leaves the future of one of the last bastions of diplomacy between Moscow and Washington even more uncertain.
Antonov called New START "a universally recognized gold standard in the sphere of maintaining strategic stability and transparency between the major nuclear powers," and said that "Russia has repeatedly drawn the attention of the United States that it is important to continue the joint work on an agreement that could replace New START and accommodate new realities of international security and development of military technologies."
"Regrettably, Washington has unilaterally 'frozen' the bilateral strategic stability dialogue that was launched at the Geneva summit, thus jeopardizing the prospects of keeping the foundation of arms control in place," he added. "Russia is ready to resume the consultations as soon as the United States is ready."
The latest report submitted to Congress last month by the State Department assessed that both sides remained in compliance with New START.
The report also said that "the United States has made clear its concerns about Russia's arsenal of theater-range nuclear weapons," which commonly refers to weapons armed with low-yield, tactical warheads, of which the U.S. Intelligence Community assesses Russia possesses between 1,000-2,000, a figure that is "projected to grow."
The U.S. has also developed low-yield warheads for use on submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and Pentagon officials have called for even more applications. U.S. Strategic Command chief Admiral Charles A. Richard told lawmakers in a letter last month that "a non-ballistic, low-yield, non-treaty accountable system that is available without visible generation would be valuable."
Neither Russia nor the U.S. has made any official changes to their respective nuclear policies since the war in Ukraine began more than two months ago. But rhetoric touched upon the potential for nuclear escalation in the opening days of the conflict, especially after Putin announced on February 27 that his nuclear forces were being placed "on a special mode of combat duty." Antonov said Western nations "misinterpreted the decision." But Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu "publicly explained that it was only about the work shifts of strategic forces commands which began to perform combat duties with reinforced personnel.
The Russian diplomat said it was about responding to NATO's own nuclear moves on the continent. "This means that Russia has increased its vigilance against the backdrop of extremely confrontational statements by Western countries," Antonov said, "including NATO member states that possess nuclear weapons."
Among the 30-state NATO alliance, three nations — France, the United Kingdom and the U.S. — possess nuclear weapons. The U.S. has also, however, deployed nuclear weapons to a number of other allied states including Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey.
This nuclear sharing policy, through which such weapons remain solely under U.S. control, has prompted concerns from Russia that Ukraine's NATO aspirations could also bring nuclear weapons to the neighboring former Soviet republic seeking closer ties to the West.
As such, Antonov argued that "it is not us who are the source of unhealthy speculations about unleashing a nuclear war."
"They were initiated by the Kiev regime, which made no secret of its intentions to acquire military nuclear capabilities," Antonov said. "In the same vein — statements made by Polish leaders about their readiness to deploy American nuclear weapons on their territory. And some hotheads on Capitol Hill even allege to call to use nuclear weapons against Russia."
[Russia Ambassador to U.S. Says NATO Not Taking Nuclear War Threat Seriously. By Tom O'Conner//May 5th, 2022//2:48 PM EDT//
6. Situation on the battlefield
AFU continued to shell the DPR and the LPR with heavy weapons. One person has been killed, 5 wounded.
Russian troops disrupted the AFU to retain Zmeiniy island in the Black Sea already captured by the Russian troops.
High-precision air-based missiles of the Russian Air Force have hit 5 areas of manpower and military equipment concentration, as well as 1 ammunition depot near Bakhmut, Donetsk People's Republic.
Operational-tactical and army aviation have hit 18 military assets of Ukraine. Among them: 2 command posts near Skovorodnikovo in Kharkov Region, 5 areas of concentration of personnel and military equipment, 3 ammunition and fuel depots near Dachnoe in Odessa Region.
A large concentration of military equipment from the USA and European countries has been destroyed near the Bogodukhov railway station in Kharkov Region.
The attacks have resulted in the elimination of more than 280 nationalists and up to 48 armoured and motor vehicles.
Missile troops and artillery have hit 44 command posts and 196 strongholds of Ukrainian troops, areas of AFU manpower and military equipment concentration during the night. Russian air defence means overnight have shot down 13 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles near Berezovka in Nikolaev Region, Signalnoe, Luganskoe, Krasnogorovka, Yasinovatoe and Zugres in Donetsk People's Republic, Olgino in Kherson Region, Cherneshchina in Kharkov Region.
3 Ukrainian Tochka-U ballistic missiles and 9 Smerch multiple-launch rockets nave been also intercepted over Izyum city, Kharkov Region.
In total, 152 aircraft and 112 helicopters, 762 unmanned aerial vehicles, 295 anti-aircraft missile systems, 2,895 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 333 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,364 field artillery and mortars, as well as 2,716 special military vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation.
7. Foreign mercenaries in Ukraine: “frustration and terrible disappointment”
Canadian sniper ‘terribly disappointed’ with military reality in Ukraine. A Canadian ex-soldier known as ‘Wali’ has alleged chaos, looting and incompetence in the Ukrainian military.
Once lauded by the international media, a Canadian sniper known as ‘Wali’ has “terrible disappointment.” He claimed there was inadequate weaponry, poor training and heavy losses, as well as profiteering and desertion in the ranks.
When ‘Wali’ answered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call in March and volunteered to fight for Ukraine, he was given lavish coverage by the Western media. A former Canadian soldier who had also volunteered to fight with Kurdish militants in Iraq, Wali was described by Spanish media as “the best sniper in the world.”
However, he said that reality left him disillusioned. Back home in Quebec, Wali told La Presse on Friday that his Ukrainian commanders initially “didn’t know what to do” with foreign fighters like himself. Tired of waiting for an opportunity to fight, he joined the ‘Norman Brigade,’ a private unit led by another former soldier from Quebec.
[more to read: https://www.rt.com/news/555128-canadian-sniper-wali-ukraine/ ]
RT’s Roman Kosarev spoke to Vjekoslav Prebek, a Croatian national who fought in the ranks of the Ukrainian military. Prebek says he was a serviceman in a Ukrainian marine brigade that was holed up in the city of Mariupol. He claims to have been taken prisoner during an attempt to flee the besieged city alongside a handful of other fighters.
“We were leaving Mariupol and we were walking on foot for 260 kilometers hiding, walking only during night, avoiding all contact possible,” he said. The plan flopped when the group ran into an artillery unit and surrendered to it.
Prebek’s unit has had multiple foreigners in its ranks, including three British nationals. Several other foreigners went AWOL from the brigade shortly after the ongoing conflict broke out late in February.
He confessed: “I heard also that they [Azov] are very fascistic and Nazi. I heard also about terrible things they did to citizens, captured them even probably shooting at us at some time. I’ve heard there are a lot of criminals, drug users [among them]. I’ve not witnessed anything myself, but I’ve been shown videos that are terrible of what they are doing. Huge atrocities”.
[more to read: https://www.rt.com/russia/555083-ukraine-captured-croatian-fighter/ ]
8. Russia: probes launched into 75 foreign ‘mercenaries’ in Ukraine
Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched at least 75 criminal probes into foreign “mercenaries” fighting against Russian forces in Ukraine, the committee’s chairman, Alexander Bastrykin, has told RT. He claimed that among the individuals are British, American, Norwegian, Canadian, and Georgian nationals.
On the topic of crimes allegedly committed by Ukrainian forces in the two breakaway Donbass republics, Bastrykin said that since 2014, his committee has initiated around 800 criminal investigations into current and former members of Ukraine’s political leadership, as well as the top brass of some of the country’s security services and “radical nationalist organizations.”
He revealed that among the suspects in these cases are Ukraine’s former interior minister, Arsen Avakov, as well as the former governor of Dnepropetrovsk Region, Igor Kolomoisky.
According to Bastrykin, the vast majority of the crimes investigated by the Russian authorities regard the shelling of the civilian population with artillery, ballistic missiles, mortars, and firearms, noting that these actions are classified as inhumane treatment of civilians, the use of banned weapons and methods in an armed conflict, and even as genocide. He said that 115 individuals have been identified in connection with these cases, adding that the number is likely to increase over time as the committee continues to investigate.
Bastrykin claimed that since the start of Russia’s military operation on February 24, Ukrainian forces have committed similar crimes, predominantly targeting the Russian-speaking population of the Donbass who “opposed Kiev’s nationalist policies.”
The head of Russia’s Investigative Committee said it has recognized as many as 59,000 people as victims, and is helping them file lawsuits to claim compensation from the Ukrainian government.
Written by Vladimir P. Kozin
