5:25 PM
The Russian government wants to call up conscripts online as of November 1 and ban them from leaving the country
As of November 1, conscripted Russians will no longer receive the call for military service on paper, but online via the digital government service Gosoeslaani. The measure should make it more difficult to avoid conscription. Men who have received an online summons are no longer allowed to leave the country. If they do not report to a recruitment office, punitive measures such as fines, a driving ban and a ban on buying and selling real estate follow.
This is stated in a plan presented by the Russian government. The Russian parliament passed a law last year calling for a reform of the way conscripts are drafted.
In the current system, a call for military service is only legally valid if a conscript receives a paper call from a civil servant. Many conscripts try to avoid this by living at a different address than where they are registered, or by leaving Russia. However, the online call is legally valid as soon as it appears in the digital portal. A conscript then has twenty days to report.
This will make it a lot easier for the authorities to keep conscripts in Russia from next autumn. It is already forbidden for drafted men to leave Russia, but because the border service does not know who has been drafted, this ban is not enforced. The authorities can give the border service access to that information via Gosoeslaani.
Daan de Vries
15:04
Macron wants discussion about the use of French nuclear weapons for European defense
French President Emmanuel Macron wants to open a discussion about the possibility of using the French nuclear arsenal to defend the rest of the European Union. According to French nuclear doctrine, the country may use its nuclear weapons if France’s ‘vital interests’ are threatened. Macron believes that these ‘vital interests have a European dimension.’
Macron said this yesterday in an interview published in a number of French regional newspapers. Since the departure of the United Kingdom, France has been the only EU member state with nuclear weapons. In light of the Russian threat, Macron believes that France should consider making its nuclear weapons available to European allies. France is “ready to contribute more to the defense of European territory,” Macron said.
The president’s words have sparked angry reactions from the French opposition. According to the European party leader of the centre-right Les Républicains, Macron ‘touches the nerve of French sovereignty’. The far-left France Insoumise believes that ‘nuclear weapons cannot be shared’ and the radical right party Rassemblement National calls Macron ‘a national danger’.
With his statements, Macron wants to send another strong signal to Russia. In February, the French president caused a stir by saying that he “does not rule out” that Western troops could become directly involved in the war in Ukraine. Even then, the entire French opposition condemned his statements in strong terms.
Daan de Vries
Read more about Macron’s previous statements about Western troops here: With statement about Western troops in Ukraine, Macron issues a warning to Moscow
2:10 PM
Russia claims capture of village north of Donetsk
Russia says it has captured the village of Novobachmutivka, in the eastern Ukrainian province of Donetsk. It is yet another sign that Russia is threatening to break through the Ukrainian lines in this part of the front.
Novobachmutivka, which had about 200 inhabitants before the invasion, is located about 20 kilometers north of the provincial capital Donetsk. Ukraine has been having a particularly difficult time in that area for several weeks. The Russian advance began in February with the capture of Avdiivka, a suburb of Donetsk, which Russia managed to capture after months of fighting. From Avdiivka the Russians gradually advanced towards the northwest.
In recent weeks, the Russian offensive has focused on the slightly larger village of Ocheretyne, which is located a few hundred meters north of Novobachmutivka. This week, Russian soldiers reached the edge of the village itself, but part of Ocheretyne is still in Ukrainian hands.
The Russian successes can partly be traced back to the ammunition shortages faced by the Ukrainian army. Now that the United States has recently resumed its arms support to Ukraine, Ukraine has prospects for improvement. In the meantime, Ukraine will face a “difficult period” until early June, Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence, predicted last Monday.
Daan de Vries
11:02
17 drones downed over Russia, including near oil depot
Russian air defenses shot down 17 Ukrainian drones last night, the Ministry of Defense reports. Three drones crashed near an oil depot in Kaluga province, south of Moscow. According to local authorities, the depot remained undamaged. The anti-aircraft defenses intercepted the other fourteen drones above the provinces of Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod bordering Ukraine.
Ukraine has not confirmed the attacks, as it rarely does when attacking Russian territory. Yesterday, Ukraine claimed responsibility for a drone attack on an oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar province. The attack caused a major fire, partially putting the refinery out of action.
With attacks on the Russian oil industry, Ukraine hopes to damage the Russian economy, which is heavily dependent on fossil fuels. In recent months, Ukrainian drones have hit oil refineries and depots in several places in Russia.
The United States last month called on Ukraine to stop attacking Russia’s oil industry. The Americans fear that the attacks will lead to rising fuel prices. In an interview in the American newspaper The Washington Post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that his country has the right to defend itself. Attacking Russia’s fossil infrastructure is a legitimate military strategy, Zelensky said.
Daan de Vries
Read more about the Ukrainian attacks on the Russian oil industry here.
05:09
Two Ukrainians stabbed to death in Germany, a Russian arrested
Two men from Ukraine were stabbed on Saturday on the grounds of a shopping center in Murnau am Staffelsee, in the German state of Bavaria. Both victims died. The police have arrested a 57-year-old Russian as a suspect. It is not yet known whether the stabbing has anything to do with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The victims, a 23-year-old and 36-year-old man from Ukraine, were attacked around 5:15 p.m. in front of a grocery store in the German town of about 12,000 inhabitants. The older of the two died on the spot from his injuries, the other man in hospital a short time later. The perpetrator fled, but was arrested in his home after a manhunt.
The police have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the stabbing incident. It is unclear whether the three men knew each other. “We are still at the very beginning of the investigation,” a police spokesperson said.
10:55, Yesterday
Russian journalist from Forbes placed under house arrest
A journalist from the Russian edition of Forbes, Sergei Mingazov, has been placed under house arrest. This was reported by the Russian state news agency RIA. He is accused of spreading disinformation about the Russian military. According to Forbes, Mingazov was arrested by Russian authorities on Friday.
Mingazov’s lawyer, Konstantin Bubon, said in a post on Facebook that the reason for the arrest were messages Mingazov posted on Telegram about Butcha. In that city, near the capital Kyiv, the Russian army carried out a massacre shortly after the invasion of Ukraine. Mingazov could face a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Since the start of the invasion, Russia has been cracking down on journalists who are critical of the war. According to the NGO Reporters Without Borders, 64 journalists have been detained since 2022. One of them is the American journalist Evan Gershkovich, from The Wall Street Journal. He is accused of espionage. Various independent media, such as The Moscow Times and Novaya Gazetawere also labeled as ‘foreign agents’ and were therefore forced to move abroad.
Thom Canters
08:30, Yesterday
Ukrainian power plants damaged by attacks
Russia has attacked power plants in three different regions, according to Ukraine. Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenkoin reported this in a message on Telegram. The attacks took place in the central Dnipropetrovsk province and the western provinces of Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk.
According to Halushchenko, several power stations suffered damage and one person was injured. Dtek, the country’s largest energy producer, said four power stations were attacked, without providing further details on where exactly they were located.
Russia bombards Ukraine with drones and missiles almost every day. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia fired 34 missiles into Ukraine last night, 21 of which were shot down.
Lately, these attacks have specifically targeted regions that have less good air defenses. Ukraine has long argued that it does not have enough air defense systems to protect the entire country. Earlier this month, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he needed 22 additional Patriot systems. Since then, only Germany has provided one additional Patriot system. The recently approved United States aid package does include Patriot missiles.
Russia, in turn, reports that 66 Ukrainian drones were taken down last night over the southern Krasnodar region and two over occupied Crimea. According to the Russian state news agency Tass, an oil refinery in Krasnodar has been partially put out of action as a result. Ukraine has often targeted the Russian oil industry, which is important for its economy.
Thom Canters
11:30 PM, the day before yesterday
Welcome to the live blog of Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 April
This was the most important news of Friday April 26:
• Russia attacks Ukrainian track to thwart Western arms supplies. This is why three people who worked for the Ukrainian railways have already died in Donetsk.
• The US supplies Ukraine with additional Patriot missiles. These are part of a $6 billion package. Spain refuses to supply Ukraine with Patriot systems, but also supplies missiles.
• Five people have been arrested in the United Kingdom for alleged involvement in arson on behalf of Russia. They allegedly set fire to a building owned by Ukrainians. The Russian ambassador to the UK has been summoned.
Read yesterday’s full live blog here.
