Wall Street journalist Evan Gershkovich, seized by Russian security personnel on March 30

Ukraine War, Day 408: China and Europe Send Messages to Russia

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1858 GMT:

Russia State outlet RT France has been put into liquidation by a French court./p>

Xenia Fedorova, RT France’s former President, said more than 100 employees will be made redundant.

The European banned Russian State outlets RT and Sputnik in March 2022, soon after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

UPDATE 1152 GMT:

Ukraine’s military unsuccessfully attempted to regain control of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant last October, according to “anonymous sources from Ukrainian special forces, military intelligence, and Navy”.

Russian forces occupied the plant in March 2022, soon after the launch of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, and have used the site to bomb Ukrainian towns and cities across the Dnipro River and a large steel plant in Nikopol.

During the night of October 19, about 600 Ukrainian soldiers boarded 30 armed speedboats with large-caliber machine guns, MK-19 grenade launchers, and anti-tank weapons. The soldiers attempted to land on the left bank of the Dnipro River in a 4.8-km (3-mile) cross but were unsuccessful.

The Ukrainians planned an infantry-only battle, believing the RUssians would not jeopardize the nuclear plant with the use of artillery. However, the Russians fired from tanks as well as artillery. Defense was dense and the area was mined.

A few Ukrainian special forces teams engaged in a three-hour firefight with the Russians on the outskirts of Enerhodar, adjacent to the power plant. However, the commander decided to retreat instead of risking heavy casualties.

UPDATE 1038 GMT:

Ukrainians have paid tribute to the victims of the Russian missile attack on the Kramatorsk railway station in eastern Ukraine on April 8, 2022:

UPDATE 1031 GMT:

The organization Save Ukraine reports that more than 30 Ukrainian children have been reunited with their families after illegal deportation to Russia.

Mykola Kuleba, the founder of Save Ukraine, said, “Now the fifth rescue mission is nearing its completion. It was special regarding the number of children we managed to return and also because of its complexity.”

Kuleba said two children were left behind because their grandmother died suddenly on the trip.

He said of the deportations, “There were kids who changed their locations five times in five months. some children say that they were living with rats and cockroaches.”

On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Russia’s “Children’s Rights Commissioner” Maria Lvova-Belova over the deportations.

See also EA on The Pat Kenny Show: Putin Faces A War Crimes Arrest Warrant

UPDATE 1026 GMT:

The latest Russian attacks across the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine have killed four civilians and injured one.

Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said three people were killed in Bohorodychne and another in Torske.

UPDATE 1005 GMT:

Russia has been defeated in elections to three UN bodies this week.

Russia lost by a large margin to Romania for a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women. Membership of the executive board of the UN children’s agency UNICEF went to Estonia, and Armenia and the Czech Republic won in secret ballot votes for seats on the commission on crime prevention and criminal justice.

The votes in the 54-member UN Economic and Social Council follow six non-binding resolutions in the 193-member General Assembly condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On February 23, the Assembly voted 141-7, with 32 abstentions, for a call on Moscow to end its assault and withdraw its forces.

UPDATE 0657 GMT:

In a sign that Ukraine has withstood six months of Russian missile and drone strikes on energy infrastructure, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko says Kyiv can resume exports of electricity.

“The most difficult winter has passed,” Halushchenko said in a statement on the ministry’s website. He noted that the power system has been working normally for almost two months.

The minister explained, “The next step is to resume electricity exports, which will allow us to attract additional financial resources for the necessary reconstruction of destroyed and damaged electricity infrastructure.”

UPDATE 0618 GMT:

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has banned high-ranking officials from traveling abroad, reports the Russian outlet The Bell, citing “two sources familiar with the new working conditions”.

The ban applies to ministers, their deputies, heads of staff, and heads of departments. Travel abroad is allowed only if necessary for work and with the permission of the Prime Minister.

Restrictions on staff of the Presidential administration are not as stringent, but they can only vacation in countries deemed “friendly” or “neutral”. Most reportedly “do not even try” to obtain an exit permit.

Russian intelligence agencies are confiscating foreign passports from some current and former officials. The leadership of the Central Bank has “strongly recommended” employees not to visit “unfriendly” countries, and top managers of State companies and some businessman are banned from going abroad.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed the restrictions: “In some cases, general rules apply, in others, decisions are made for each individual employee.”

UPDATE 0607 GMT:

US officials say Russian State or pro-Russian activsts are probably behind the leak of classified American military documents about the invasion of Ukraine.

The documents, posted on social media, present charts and details about weapons deliveries, battalion strengths, and other sensitive information. The most recent is dated March 1.

Military analysts said the documents appear to have been modified as part of a Russian disinformation effort. They overstate American estimates of Ukrainian war dead and understating estimates of Russian troops killed.

Bellingcat analyst Alec Toler noted that the documents first appeared on March 4. It is unclear why they only received headline coverage outside Russia more than a month later.

However, Ukraine Presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak assesses:

If the operation is by Russian State actors, it may have had unintended consequences at home. Russian military bloggers are expressing concern about the documents pointing to an imminent Ukrainian counter-offensive. Some suggested the documents are fakes, intended to confuse and mislead Russian military commanders.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia’s State security service has formally charged US journalist and political prisoner Evan Gershkovich with espionage.

Russian news agencies said the Wall Street Journal reporter denied the charges, statement that he was working as a journalist.

Gershkovich was seized in Yekaterinburg in southwest Russia on allegations that he was collecting state secrets about the military-industrial complex.

The 31-year-old journalist has also worked for The New York Times, The Moscow Times, and Agence France Presse from 2020 to 2022. He was working on a story about the views of locals in Yekaterinburg about the Wagner Group mercenaries when he was seized.

Analysts have speculated that Moscow may have seized the reporter as leverage for the release of Russian intelligence operatives detained abroad.

The Wall Street Journal said in a Friday staement that the detention is “a vicious affront to a free press, and should spur outrage in all free people and governments throughout the world”.

We’ve seen media reports indicating Evan has been charged. As we’ve said from the beginning, these charges are categorically false and unjustified, and we continue to demand Evan’s immediate release.

Journalist organizations and international leaders, including US President Joe Biden, have called on Moscow to release Gershkovich.

The Democratic and Republican leaders in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, issued a statement on Friday emphasizing that “journalism is not a crime”.

“We strongly condemn the wrongful detention of US citizen and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and demand the immediate release of this internationally known and respected independent journalist,” they wrote. “Russian authorities have failed to present any credible evidence to justify their fabricated charges.”