April 14th,2022
1. Moscow gave a very strong warning to Kiev
Moscow has so far refrained from attacking Ukrainian decision-making centers, but if Kiev continues attempts to carry out acts of sabotage or conventional attacks inside Russia, this will change, the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman warned on April 13th.
“We have seen attempts at sabotage and attacks by the Ukrainian military against facilities in Russian territory. If such attempts continue, the Russian Federation’s Armed Forces will strike at the decision-making centers, including Kiev – something we have so far refrained from,” said Major-General Igor Konashenkov, the Russian MoD official spokesman.
While he did not specify which strikes or attempts at sabotage he was referring to, on April 11th Russia declared a heightened terrorism alert in three regions bordering Ukraine – Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod – and several border municipalities in the regions of Krasnodar, Voronezh and Crimea.
On March 29th Ukraine fired three Tochka-U missiles at a military unit near Belgorod. The internationally banned cluster munitions injured eight Russian citizens and damaged 21 vehicles as well as some buildings.
April 1st two Ukrainian helicopters fired missiles at a fuel depot near Belgorod that caused extensive material damage.
April 13th Ukrainian troops fired at Russian border guards in Kursk Region.
April 14th two Ukrainian military helicopters fired missiles at residential houses located in Klimovsky District, Bryansk Region. Seven civilians have been injured. The same day Ukrainian troops shelled village Spodaryusheno in Belgorod Region.
2. Western arms delivery convoys will be targeted
Sergei Ryabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister said. that Russia will perceive convoys delivering arms from NATO states to Ukraine as legitimate targets for its military once they reach Kiev controlled territory.
3. More information on the U.S. biolabs in Ukraine
Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian MoD's radiation, chemical, and biological protection forces, also told reporters on Thursday that the "American curators of biological laboratories in Ukraine were most interested in dual-use projects, many of which are aimed at studying potential agents of biological weapons, such as the plague and tularemia, as well as pathogens of economically significant infections".
Kirillov added that such projects as P-364, 444, and 781, aimed at "studying the spread of pathogens of dangerous infections through insect vectors, wild birds and bats, were funded in the interests of the U.S. Department of Defence".
He also said that Russian intelligence found three Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) fitted with chemical sprayers in the Kherson region of Ukraine in March.
"We're concerned over the fact that on 9 March, in the territory of the Kherson region Russian reconnaissance units discovered three UAVs equipped with 30-litre containers and equipment for spraying chemicals. According to available data, in January 2022, Ukraine purchased more than 50 similar devices that can be used to apply biological formulations and toxic chemicals", Kirillov stated.
Separately, the head of the Russian MoD's radiation, chemical, and biological protection forces revealed the names of American and European employees of the Ukrainian Science and Technology Centre (STCU), which was engaged in research in the interests of the US military biological programme.
"I will give the names of officials who were involved in the implementation of military biological programmes. The post of Executive Director of the STCU is held by U.S. citizen Curtis Bjelajac. Born on 27 August 1968, in California, he studied at the Anderson University of Management in California […and] has been working in Ukraine since 1994", Kirillov said. According to him, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation Programmes Phillip Dolliff supervises on behalf of Washington.
Kirillov noted that the documents obtained by the Russian MoD confirm the connection between the STCU and the U.S. military department through the Pentagon's main contractor, the engineering firm Black & Veatch. The MoD has the correspondence of the vice president of this company, Matthew Webber, where he expresses his readiness to work with the STCU within ongoing military biological research in Ukraine.
"From 2014 to 2022, the Ukrainian Science and Technology Centre implemented more than 500 research projects in the post-Soviet republics", such as Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and Azerbaijan, the MoD official said.
In a separate development last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will demand explanations about the purported involvement of U.S. President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, in financing biological laboratories in Ukraine that were tracked by Russian forces in the course of their ongoing special military operation there.
Sergei Ryabkov Deputy Foreign Minister said Washington refused to give straight answers about Pentagon-funded biolabs in Ukraine.
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists refused to publish comment on the U.S.-Ukrainian biolabs in Ukraine. At the same time, it denied the fact that the Pentagon was directly involved in illegal activity in this domain in Ukraine confirmed by respective official U.S. and Ukrainian documents published already. The Joint Parliamentary Commission in Russia is studying this issue in detail. The results will be published.
4. Ukrainian troops still shell Donbass
Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to shell residential areas of the DPR and LPR.
For the last 57 days 1798 such facts have been recorded in the DPR where 20585 (20585) .different munitions gave been employed, including 25 cases of using cluster missiles Tochka-U, 6 MRLS “BM-27 Uragan”, and 2000 missiles of “Grad” BM-2 MRLS.
As the result, totally 78 civilians have been killed, 307 civilians injured, including 24 children.
The LPR has been also shelled with 122 mm artillery. No casualties reported.
5. Situation on the battlefield
During the operation to liberate Mariupol city, during the night 134 Ukrainian servicemen have voluntarily surrendered.
The total number of servicemen of the 36th Marine Brigade who voluntarily surrendered was 1,160. Among them 176 officers.
Among them there was a British citizen who earlier was spotted in Syria. Ukrainian POW confessed that there are nearly 250 foreigners inside “Azovstal” (Azov Still Mill), including career active NATO officers.
During interrogation Ukrainian POW admit that the morale in the remaining Ukrainian troops staying in Mariupol is very low. They do not understand what for they were fighting, and why they have been kicked away and forgotten by the current Ukrainian military-political leaders. They also believe that Zelensky made a severe blunder when he attacked Donbass.
During the day, Russian high-precision weapons destroyed 12 enemy assets. Among them: two depots of missile and artillery armament of the Ukrainian troops in Velikaya Mikhailovka and Bogatyr; one Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet, one Mi-8 helicopter and one Bayraktar TB-2 unmanned aerial vehicle at Dnepr airfield.
Operational-tactical and army aviation hit 48 military assets of Ukraine. Among them: 2 command posts, 1 radar station, 2 positions of multiple rocket launchers, 1 artillery battery, 6 depots of missile and artillery weapons, as well as 48 areas of concentration of Ukrainian weapons and military equipment.
Missile troops and artillery hit 770 assets, including 9 command posts, 101 strong points, 548 areas of concentration of Ukrainian manpower and weapons, 110 artillery firing positions, one S-300 anti-aircraft missile system and one ammunition depot.
In total, from February 24th,131 aircraft and 104 helicopters, 245 anti-aircraft missile systems S-300, Buk-M1, Osa-AKM, 448 unmanned aerial vehicles, 2,179 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 248 multiple launch rocket systems, 944 field artillery and mortars, as well as 2,088 special military vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation.
Written by Vladimir P. Kozin
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