WAR IN UKRAINE: April 4, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 405
Russian investigators have detained a woman in the hunt for the killers of a pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in a blast at a St Petersburg cafe. Darya Trepova, 26, was earlier placed on the interior ministry's wanted list. Her arrest was later confirmed by Russia's Investigative Committee. Russian media reported that Tatarsky was passed a statuette shortly before the blast, and there is speculation a device could have been hidden inside. More than 30 other people were wounded. Authorities said the attack in the centre of Russia's second biggest city was being treated as a "high-profile murder" and that it had been carefully planned and involved several people - BBC
The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group says he has raised a Russian flag over Bakhmut's city hall in Ukraine. In a night-time video, Yevgeny Prigozhin said Bakhmut was now Russian "in a legal sense". In a night-time video, Yevgeny Prigozhin said Bakhmut was now Russian "in a legal sense". Ukraine has insisted its army still holds Bakhmut - an eastern city which Russia has spent months trying to capture - BBC
Poland says it has already transferredsome of its promised MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, after fellow NATO member Slovakia announced it had shipped an initial batch of its own - RFE/RL
The Netherlands has allocated an aid package to Ukraine in the amount of 274 million euros, the government reported. The money will be used, in particular, for humanitarian aid, support for agriculture, and non-lethal weapons - Suspilne
Detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has filed an appeal against his arrest in Russia, the Russian state news agency TASS reported Monday. The agency cited the press service of the Lefortovo Court of Moscow, which took the American journalist into custody last week. Gershkovich is currently being held in a pre-trial detention center at the notorious Lefortovo prison until May 29. He faces up to 20 years in prison on espionage charges. The Wall Street Journal has vehemently denied the spying accusations against Gershkovich. No date for hearing the appeal has been set - Evan Gershkovich
More people today face danger from mines and unexploded ordnance than even two years ago, due to fighting in Ukraine and Ethiopia that has contaminated wide swaths of neighborhoods and farmland. Life-altering injuries too many people have already suffered show how everyday activities like planting a garden or even walking in one’s community take on a deadly level of risk. Children are particularly vulnerable to the damage caused by these explosive weapons. The effects of landmines and explosive remnants of war on people living in, returning to, or passing through contaminated areas will endure for years. More financial resources and equipment are needed to remove unexploded ordnance and to educate communities on how to protect themselves - ICRC
Alcohol continues to be a blight on Russia’s armed forces, with Britain’s Defense Ministry suggesting a significant minority of non-combat related deaths have been caused by drink. “While Russia has suffered up to 200,000 casualties since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a significant minority of these have been due to non-combat causes,” the U.K. said Sunday, noting that a Russian Telegram news channel recently reported there have been ”’extremely high” numbers of incidents, crimes, and deaths linked to alcohol consumption among the deployed Russian forces. “Other leading causes of non-combat casualties likely include poor weapon handing drills, road traffic accidents and climatic injuries such as hypothermia,” the ministry said - CNBC
