United 24
🔘 The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) reported a tenfold increase in civilian casualties resulting from anti-personnel mine explosions in Ukraine in 2022 compared to 2021.
According to the ICBL, landmines were discovered in 11 out of Ukraine's 24 regions, specifically in Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, and Zaporizhia.
Since February 2022, Russian forces have deployed at least 13 varieties of anti-personnel mines within Ukrainian territory.
This has led to 608 civilians being killed or injured by landmines since the commencement of the full-scale invasion. In 2021, the number of civilian casualties was 58.
As per the ICBL, a minimum of 4,341 civilians suffered deaths or injuries due to landmines and explosive devices in 49 countries worldwide in 2022. Alarmingly, half of these victims were children.
In 2022, Ukraine held the unfortunate second position globally in terms of the number of casualties caused by anti-personnel mines, following only Syria, where 834 individuals were killed or wounded.
🔘 The Prime Minister of Finland has claimed that Russia is facilitating the entry of illegal migrants into the country. He mentioned that Russian border guards are implicated in this activity.
The migrants reportedly include individuals from Iraq, Yemen, and Syria who initially entered the Russian Federation through legal channels but lacked authorization to enter Finland.
The Minister of Internal Affairs emphasized that Finland retains the option to close its eastern border and even the entire national border under specific circumstances. [Russia seems to have it's fingerprints over so much nefarious activity]
🔘 The monument to Pushkin in Kyiv was dismantled. https://t.me/United24media/15380
🔘 EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson has urged Hungary to intensify its endeavors aimed at halting the procurement of Russian energy resources. Simson stressed the importance of diminishing vulnerability to Kremlin influence.
🔘 The Financial Times reports that Denmark is considering the possibility of impeding market access for oil tankers originating from the Russian Federation.
The European Union (EU) is planning to direct Denmark to conduct inspections and potentially block tankers transporting Russian oil passing through Danish waters. This move comes in response to Russia's evasion of previously imposed price restrictions.
Denmark intends to inspect vessels passing through its waters lacking Western insurance, leveraging laws enabling states to examine ships they consider environmentally threatening, according to sources cited in the article.
Authorities justify the requirement for adequate insurance from reputable companies due to many Russian oil shipments being transported by aging vessels, part of the so-called "shadow fleet." These older vessels are more prone to breakdowns or oil spills, posing a significant environmental hazard.
The successful implementation of the plan relies on the Danish Navy's capacity to halt and inspect these tankers, along with the potential use of coercive measures if vessels refuse to comply.
The proposal emerged in Brussels following acknowledgments from Western officials that "almost none" of Russia's oil exports were sold below the $60-a-barrel "ceiling" last month. This price cap was imposed by the G7 in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, nearly 11 months ago.
The EU is contemplating additional measures as part of a new sanctions package. These measures include constraints on shipowners who sell their older vessels to Russia's "shadow fleet" and potential sanctions against nations permitting these ships to sail under their national flag.
🔘 Local government in Kherson region report that a number of settlements in the left bank of Kherson region have become deserted due to the war.
Mayor of occupied Nova Kakhovka,Volodymyr Kovalenko,said that, in particular, there are no local residents in the village of Korsunka, and now there is a large amount of damaged equipment belonging to the Russians.
There are also devastated villages in the Oleshky community, which is also under Russian occupation.
🔘 The Financial Times: Kyiv and broking giant Marsh McLennan have agreed on a new public-private partnership to insure grain ships on the Black Sea.
The partnership will offer hull and liability insurance from Lloyd's of London up to $50 million for vessels. This would provide so-called war risk cover in case of losses. The risk is to be shared between insurers and Kyiv, with the state bearing the first portion of any claims up to an undisclosed level.
Financial support will be covered by Ukreximbank and Ukrgasbank. German lender DZ Bank will act as a middleman.
🔘 Russians are using chemical weapons in the hottest spots of the frontline, DeepState reports.
"Two cases of chemical weapons use were recorded in the Svatove and Bakhmut sectors, most likely the enemy used chloropicrin, which is in abundance and has been used against our troops many times," the statement said.
🔘 The Ukrainian economy is not a "special case" for the EU, so Ukraine is able to successfully integrate into the union — a study by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (Wiiw) and the Bertelsmann Stiftung.
Ukraine's economy was compared with the countries of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe that joined the EU in 2004-2013, as well as with the current candidate countries.
“The prerequisite for this, however, is the necessary political will in EU capitals to realize the potential that exists in Ukraine,” says Miriam Kosmehl, Senior Expert Eastern Europe and EU Neighborhood at the Bertelsmann Stiftung.
Nevertheless, there are major challenges, experts say. These include the enormous loss of population due to the war, still widespread corruption, weak rule of law, low productivity of the economy, and low attractiveness for foreign direct investment.
🔘 🇪🇺The European Union has proposed banning the export of machine tools and machinery parts that Russia uses to make weapons targeting Ukraine —Bloomberg.
🔘 The U.S. State Department will provide $1 million to support the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine (ICPA), announced the US State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller.
"The United States remains focused on working with Ukraine and the international community to hold accountable those responsible for international crimes committed in Ukraine," Miller said.
The ICPA will facilitate the investigation of Russia's crimes by providing a platform for Ukraine and partner countries to collaborate in building the strongest possible cases for future prosecution."
🔘 In Lviv, a series of intricate surgeries were executed to reconstruct the faces of military personnel.
Collaborating American and Ukrainian reconstructive surgeons skillfully transplanted bones, tissues, and blood vessels from the leg to restore the faces of soldiers severely injured by landmines and explosives.
🔘 The new head of the British Foreign Ministry, David Cameron, made his inaugural foreign visit to Kyiv. [Good shout 'Call me Dave']
Zelenskyy mentioned that during their discussion, they explored the possibility of supplying weapons for the frontline and bolstering air defense systems, emphasizing the need for ‘protecting our people and critical infrastructure’.
🔘 Satellite images of the Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drone factory in Yelabuz, Tatarstan.