Fire at Russia’s Taneko oil refinery in the Republic of Tatarstan after a Ukrainian drone strike, April 2, 2024


Tuesday’s Coverage: Iran Warned Russia About Possible Attack By Islamic State


Map: Institute for the Study of War


UPDATE 1444 GMT:

US officials have confirmed that Washington gave Russia specific intelligence about a possible Islamic State attack on the the Crocus City concert hall, just over two weeks before ISIS killed at least 144 people in the venue.

The March 7 warning identified the concert hall, suggesting that the attack could come within days.

Iran also warned Tehran of a possible assault by Islamic State-Khorasan, the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan which killed 94 people and wounded 284 in southeast Iran on January 3.

The Kremlin is denying that either message was given.

Some Western officials said Russian authorities paid some attention to the US warning, delivered by the CIA station in Moscow, and took steps to investigate the threat. However, when the attack failed to materialize immediately, Russia appeared to have lowered its guard and may have considered the American message to be false.


UPDATE 1424 GMT:

An abducted Ukrainian priest is being tried by Russian authorities for “spying for Ukraine”.

Father Kostiantyn Maksymov was seized in occupied Tokmak in southern Ukraine in May 2023, after he opposed attempts to forcibly merge the Berdyansk Diocese into the Russian Orthodox Church.


UPDATE 1416 GMT:

One person has been killed and two wounded by a Russian missile on the Sumy region in northern Ukraine.

The missile was fired on the Krasnopillia community at 9:25 a.m. The wounded were a father and his 4-year-old son. Five cars, a store, and a community cultural center were damaged.


UPDATE 1404 GMT:

Ukraine has confirmed its latest bilateral security agreement with Finland.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb signed the agreement in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Ukraine has established the pacts with countries such as Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Canada during 2024.

Finland supported Wednesday’s agreement with the announcement of €188 million in military aid, including air defense systems and large-caliber ammunition.


UPDATE 1341 GMT:

At the Restoring Justice for Ukraine conference in The Hague, 44 nation-states have approved a political declaration supporting the creation of a special tribunal to investigate and prosecute Russia’s crimes in its 25-month invasion.

We reiterate the strong condemnation…of the ongoing acts of aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

These acts, including the attempted illegal annexation of regions of Ukraine, are blatant violations of the Charter of the United Nations, notably the prohibition of the use of force. [They] constitute breaches of international law entailing the state responsibility of the Russian Federation; threaten international peace and security; challenge the respect for the rules-based international order; and undermine democratic values.

The countries welcomed initiatives to use frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine, and welcomed the offer of the Netherlands to host a mechanism for compensation.


UPDATE 0825 GMT:

Ukraine air defenses downed all four Iran-type attack drones fired by Russia overnight.

Russian forces also launched three S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles.


UPDATE 0819 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has signed a bill to lower the mobilization age for combat duty from 27 to 25.

The bill was approved by Parliament in May 2023, but Zelenskiy had held off signature while discussing with military leaders how to maintain resistance against Russia’s 25-month invasion.

The President signed other bills requiring men given military waivers on disability grounds to undergo another medical assessment, and creating an online database of those eligible for military service.

At a joint press conference alongside visiting Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Zelenskiy said Kyiv is preparing to mobilize an additional 300,000 soldiers by June 1.


UPDATE 0804 GMT:

Three civilians were killed and 21 injured in Russian attacks across 13 Ukrainian regions on Tuesday.

A missile strike on Dnipro city in the afternoon wounded at least 18 people. Twelve, including five children, were hospitalized.

An educational institution, where children were hiding in a bomb shelter, was hit. Three other educational institutions, nine apartment buildings, and 25 cars were damaged.

A 58-year-old man was killed immediately during a Russian attack on the village of Novoosynove in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine. His 11-year-old son died in hospital.

In the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, three residents of Mykolaivka were injured.

A 79-year-old man was killed in the village of Tokarivka in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.


UPDATE 0712 GMT:

The Netherlands has pledged €10 million ($10.8 million) to help Ukraine investigate Russian war crimes.

Dutch Foreign Minister Bruins Slot made the pledge at the Restoring Justice for Ukraine conference in The Hague on Tuesday.

More than 60 countries were invited to the event, chaired by Slot, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Dutch Justice Minister Dilan Yesilgoz, and the European Union’s Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders.

The Netherlands launched the Dialogue Group in 2022 to coordinate international efforts in pursuit of justice for Ukraine throug international support; actions taken by regional and international institutions; national investigations, and documentation initiatives by civil society groups.

Slot noted progress in all four workstreams, particularly in investigations of Russian crimes committed against children.


ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine has carried out its deepest strike inside Russia in response to Vladimir Putin’s 25-month invasion, with a drone hitting an oil refinery 1,200 km (744 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

Ukraine officials said UJ-22 drones of the military intelligence agency GUR attacked the Taneko oil refinery, Russia’s third-largest, and other industrial facilities in the Republic of Tatarstan.

One UAV hit the primary refining unit at Taneko, which has an output of 360,000 barrels of oil per day. Industry sources said the damage was not extensive and personnel returned to the refinery later in the day.

The press service of the head of the Tatar Republic, Rustam Minnikhanov, posted on Telegram:

Drone attacks took place against factories in Tatarstan at Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk….[They] did not cause serious damage and the activity in the factories was unaffected. Unfortunately, in Yelabuga, people were wounded.

The special economic zone near Yelabuga has chemical, mechanical engineering, and metal treatment factories. One is believed to be used for the assembly of Iran-type Shahed/Geran “kamikaze” drones.

Sources said the drone facility was struck, starting a fire. Tatarstan’s Health Ministry said at least 13 people, including two 17-year-olds, were injured when a UAV landed on a workers’ dormitory. The Ministry said all the injured were students at the Alabuga Polytechnic College, and at least four were foreign nationals from Africa and Southeast Asia.

The investigative news site Protocol reported in July that many of the students assemble drones at the Alabuga factory. They are forced to work under difficult conditions, with little pay and threatened fines of their parents if the students refuse to work or are expelled.

Ukraine has expanded its assault on essential Russian infrastructure in 2024, notably with strikes on the country’s biggest oil refineries. Industry experts estimate that the attacks have now affected up to 14% of Russian output.