Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Korrespondent] 23.56 On the evening of Saturday, April 4, Kharkiv was hit by another strike from the Russian military. The strike was recorded near residential buildings in the Shevchenkivskyi district. Enemy drones damaged three dormitories and three high-rise buildings. There is no information about casualties yet.
22.43 Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky met with sergeants and soldiers of the airborne assault and assault units. They talked about the needs of servicemen, problems, vision of the front, issues of support and much more that "is not always visible from the offices."
"The most important thing in the Defense Forces is people. The task of commanders and chiefs is not only to set a task and demand its fulfillment, but, first of all, to provide, train, and preserve the lives of their soldiers. This should work through mutual respect between the commander and subordinate. And this is what fundamentally distinguishes the Ukrainian army from the Russian occupation army," said Syrsky.
The Commander-in-Chief reported that during the conversation he heard directly from sergeants and soldiers their feedback on the service, visions of actions on the battlefield, options for countering enemy UAVs. They discussed issues of training of servicemen, especially newcomers, the coordination of military teams, etc.
22.24 The Defense Forces of Ukraine responded to the report of the Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets about large-scale violations in the Uzhhorod District CCC and SP. The work of a special commission has been initiated to verify the facts indicated in the statement of the Ombudsman's representative and to clarify other violations.
Based on the results of the commission's work, all materials will be transferred to law enforcement agencies, where they will be given a proper legal assessment.
21.01 Russian troops launched a missile strike on the Konotop district of Sumy region. Residential buildings were damaged in the Popivska community. Two people were injured. The man was treated on the spot. A 65-year-old woman was hospitalized with injuries.
20.29 The number of injured as a result of Russian strikes on the market in Nikopol has increased to 27, five people have died. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA Oleksandr Ganzha.
According to him, eight victims have been hospitalized. A 14-year-old girl was transferred to a regional hospital.
Ganzha added that another man, 42 years old, was injured in another Russian attack in the Nikopol region. He is receiving outpatient treatment.
"In the Nikopol region, the district center, Chervonogryhorivska, Pokrovska, Marhanetska, Myrivska communities were affected. More than three dozen trade pavilions, an agricultural enterprise, a private house, an outbuilding, and a car were damaged," the head of the OVA noted.
19.32 An American delegation led by US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner may visit Kyiv after April 12. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham may also be part of the delegation. This was reported by the head of the President's Office, Kirill Budanov.
Not much is happening with Hezbollah and Hamas, so the team might was well make themselves useful elsewhere.
According to him, Ukraine may receive stronger security guarantees after the visit of the American delegation.
"We have long defined what we want. I think it will be implemented soon. What happens next is another question. But in terms of security guarantees, we have definitely made progress - we are already moving forward," Budanov said.
18.31 The Ukrainian Navy does not confirm its involvement in the incidents with Russian An-26 and Su-30 aircraft in temporarily occupied Crimea and suggests that the cause could have been an accident or the actions of the Russian systems themselves. This was stated by the Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk.
"We cannot confirm our involvement in these events regarding the specified aircraft (An-26 - ed.) with passengers on board, there were allegedly 29 people, including crew members. According to the information available at the moment, it was most likely an accident," he said.
The spokesman added that in the conditions of active operation of Russian air defense systems and electronic warfare in Crimea, the possibility of influence by the enemy's own means, in particular through GPS jamming, or errors in the operation of air defense during combat operations, cannot be ruled out.
According to him, the Ukrainian Navy is also not involved in the incident with the Su-30 and cannot confirm the fact of the plane being shot down.
"Most likely, there was an accident related to the operation of the specified aircraft. This may be due to the extreme operating conditions of these aircraft," the spokesman noted.
17.19 A Ukrainian pilot shot down two Russian Shahed attack UAVs with Sting interceptors while being 500 kilometers away from them, the press service of the Wild Hornets defense company reported.
It is noted that the Russian "Shaheeds" were hit from a distance of 500 kilometers by the pilot of the Bulava unit Roman, call sign Hulk.
"This is the first time in the world that someone has tried to shoot down not one, but two Shaheds at such a distance from the operator's launch point," the company said.
15.58 The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, after monitoring the Uzhhorod RTCC and the Joint Venture by its representative, stated about illegal detention, unsanitary conditions, and ignoring diseases in the center's premises.
"Today, the system of mobilization measures has built its own model of permissiveness. The premises of the CCC and the Joint Stock Company have actually turned into places of deprivation of freedom without any legal grounds. There is still an opinion in society that raising such facts means playing into the hands of Russian propaganda. In reality, it is lawlessness that plays into the hands of the enemy, because legal protection mechanisms do not work, and the situation is only getting worse every day...
"Here (in the Uzhhorod RTCC - ed.) people were held for weeks - detention for 21, 24, 30 and even 50 days was recorded! In the video, there is a veteran who shows his UBD certificate, but even this status did not become a basis for his release. Documents and phones were confiscated from people without proper registration, depriving them of the right to protection," Lubinets said.
According to the ombudsman, the conditions of detention humiliate human dignity: for 40-60 people - only three mugs and eight metal plates, people are forced to eat in turns from one dish without processing, there is no confirmation of the organization of food. There is also complete unsanitary conditions - one toilet and one shower for such a number of people, there is no bed linen.
15.32 Five people were killed and 23 injured as a result of a Russian UAV strike on Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
At around 9:50 a.m., Russian military drones struck the market. In addition, two more men were injured in a second strike by the Russian military on the same civilian facility. Commercial premises were damaged.
Three of the injured, a 14-year-old girl and two men, ages 28 and 72, are in serious condition. The condition of the other victims is assessed by doctors as moderate.
9.58 Cases of sabotage among Russian military personnel are being recorded in the Konstantinovsky direction. Russians are deliberately disabling equipment to avoid being sent to the front line. This was stated by the partisan movement ATESH.
9.25 Russia attacked Ukraine with 286 attack drones from six directions. Air defense forces managed to shoot down most of the enemy drones. The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on Telegram.
7.59 Russians attacked Kyiv with drones on Saturday morning, April 4. An office building in the city caught fire due to falling debris in one of the districts. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported this on Telegram.
7.38 Russia has lost another 1,110 soldiers in the war against Ukraine over the past 24 hours, according to data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
03.50 Russians hit Sumy with attack drones. A fire broke out on the upper floors of one of the high-rise buildings. At least three people were injured.
03.25 Drones attacked the Russian city of Togliatti, located in the Samara region, on the night of Saturday, April 4. Social media reports of a large-scale fire at one of the chemical plants. It is not known exactly which plant is burning. According to some reports, it is Togliattikauchuk, according to others, it is KuibyshevAzot. Still others write that fires are being recorded at both plants.
01.30 In temporarily occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhia region, a substation was attacked, after which the city lost power. The occupation authorities announce a power outage in the southern part of Zaporizhia region after the attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited 20:18 FPV fighter operators from the Zapad group shot down seven aircraft-type reconnaissance UAVs and a loitering munition of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Khar'kov region.
FPV drone crews of the Sever group destroyed The Buk-M1 air defense missile system and other enemy equipment, as well as enemy manpower, in the Sumy region.
Russian naval riflemen from the Center group burned armored vehicles, NRTKs, heavy copters, repeater antennas, and pickup trucks carrying enemy personnel in the Dobropillya direction.
Drone operators from the Vostok group destroyed artillery guns and drone control posts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Zaporizhzhia region.
19:47 Khar'kov direction. Volchansky section
The troops of the North Group of Forces continue to build on their success in the direction of Rubezhnoye and attack east of the Volchansk farmsteads.
Despite the enemy's efforts, our units have driven the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of Verkhnyaya Pisarevka and continue to advance through the forested area in the direction of Losevka and Bugayevka with the aim of securing the flanks before the start of the battle for Rubezhnoye.
17:31 Servicemen of the 59th Tank Regiment deliver provisions, ammunition and medicines to the forward units of the West group.
15:20 In the period from 09:00 Moscow time to 15:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 21 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type over the territories of the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions.
14:56 A crew of the Orlan-10 UAV from the 71st Guards Motor Rifle Division of the Sever group discovered positions of Ukrainian Armed Forces militants in the Khar'kov region.
13:32 Attack aircraft of the 80th Guards Tank Regiment of the 90th Guards Tank Division of the Center group completed preparations and began to carry out combat missions in the Dnepropetrovsk direction.
12:36 Summary of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the special military operation.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to conduct a special military operation.
Units of the "North" force group improved their position along the forward edge. They defeated the personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' mechanized and airmobile brigades and the territorial defense brigade near the villages of Myronivka, Novaya Sich, and Myropolske in Sumy Oblast.
In the Khar'kov region, units of three mechanized brigades, a motorized infantry brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a territorial defense brigade, a National Guard brigade, and two border detachments of the Ukrainian Border Service were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Proletarske, Izbitske, Pokalyane, Veseloe, and Zemlyanki in the Khar'kov region.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 170 servicemen, eight vehicles, and three field artillery pieces. An electronic warfare station and 13 ammunition and supply depots were destroyed.
Units of the "West" force grouping improved their tactical position. They defeated the personnel and equipment of five mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a territorial defense brigade near the settlements of Chervony Oskol, Monachynivka, Palamarevka, and Nechvolodovka in the Khar'kov region, and Adamivka and Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy's losses amounted to more than 190 soldiers, a tank, two US-made M113 armored personnel carriers, 27 vehicles, two field artillery pieces, and an ammunition depot.
Units of the Southern Group of Forces occupied more advantageous positions and lines. They defeated formations of three mechanized brigades, a mountain assault brigade, and an assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the settlements of Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Reznikovka, and Konstantinovka.
The enemy lost up to 185 troops, four armored combat vehicles, including two M113 armored personnel carriers and a US-made HMMWV armored car, 10 vehicles, and six field artillery pieces, including a US-made 155mm Paladin self-propelled gun. An electronic warfare station and nine ammunition and supply depots were destroyed.
Units of the Center Group of Forces improved their position along the forward edge. They defeated the personnel and equipment of three mechanized brigades, an airborne assault brigade, an assault brigade, two assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a naval infantry brigade, and four National Guard brigades near the settlements of Petrovka, Staroraiske, Varvarovka, and Maryivka in the Donetsk People's Republic, and Novopidgorodne and Raipole in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to over 375 servicemen, a tank, 10 armored combat vehicles and 15 cars.
Units of the "East" force group advanced deep into the enemy's defenses. They defeated formations of two mechanized brigades, two airborne assault brigades, two assault brigades, and three assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the settlements of Velykymykhaylivka and Kolomiytsy in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and Verkhnyaya Tersa, Vozdvizhevka, and Komsomolske in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The enemy lost more than 335 servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, 12 vehicles, an artillery piece, and an electronic warfare station.
Units of the Dnepr group of forces defeated the manpower and equipment of two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a marine brigade in the areas of the settlements of Orekhov, Kirovo and Preobrazhenka in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Up to 50 servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, 11 vehicles, an electronic warfare station, and a supply depot were destroyed.
12:27 Over the past 24 hours, in response to terrorist attacks by Ukraine on civilian targets in Russia, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation inflicted a group strike with long-range high-precision air- and ground-based weapons, as well as strike unmanned aerial vehicles, against military-industrial and energy facilities of Ukraine used in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
11:44 Footage released defeats of Iris-T radar of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the help of the Geranium kamikaze UAV near the village of Kiryakovo in the Poltava region.
11:38 Engineers of the Dnepr troop group are clearing routes for equipment and personnel in the Orekhov direction of the Zaporizhzhia region.
09:10 Soldiers of the 6th Tank Regiment of the 90th Tank Division of the Center group sharpen skills at training grounds in the rear area of the SVO zone.
BMPT Terminator crews complete loading procedures and study tactics and fire engagement techniques. Assault units practice operating as part of armored groups to capture and hold strongpoints.
08:21 During the past night, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 85 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type over the territories of the Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, Oryol, Rostov, Samara, Saratov, Tula regions, the Republic of Crimea and over the waters of the Black Sea.
07:34 Changes on map over the past 24 hours:
Advance in the Ryasnoye area
06:03 Crew of the T-72B3M tank of the Southern Group of Forces destroyed enemy UAV control center.
Prepping for a spring offensive?
[ZeroHedge] All German men aged between 17 and 45 now need approval from the Bundeswehr - i.e., the German army - for longer stays abroad. Under the new Military Service Act, this applies to trips abroad lasting more than three months, the Defence Ministry has announced. The daily Frankfurter Rundschau was the first to report on the change.
The rule is part of what is known as the Military Service Modernisation Act, which came into force on 1 January 2026. The law is intended to ensure that the Bundeswehr is fit for the future in terms of personnel and organization. Plans include, among other things, a more attractive form of voluntary military service, broader registration of young men and new legal instruments to enable faster action if needed.
WHAT THE NEW LAW SAYS
Specifically, this concerns paragraph 3 of the Conscription Act, which governs the scope and duration of compulsory military service in Germany. Paragraph 1 states: "Compulsory military service is fulfilled by military service or [...] by civilian service." The provision applies to all men of conscription age between 18 and 45.
The newly worded paragraph 2 now says: "Male persons who have reached the age of 17 must obtain approval from the competent Bundeswehr careers centre if they intend to leave the Federal Republic of Germany for longer than three months [...]."
It is still unclear what consequences people face if they fail to obtain approval before a longer stay abroad, although in a country where the wrong retweet gets you a prison sentence we can only imagine.
As long as military service remains voluntary, this approval is deemed to have been granted, a ministry spokesman said. The aim, he added, was to find a straightforward arrangement for people travelling abroad. For as long as military service is voluntary, approval is in principle regarded as granted.
However, the necessary administrative regulations have not yet entered into force. In theory, therefore, it still formally applies that 'approval from the competent Bundeswehr careers centre must be obtained' before travelling abroad for more than three months. The spokesman stressed, however: 'Since, under current law, military service is based exclusively on voluntary service, such approvals are in principle to be granted.'
THE REASONING AND THE BACK STORY
Since Russia's attack on Ukraine around four years ago, the defence of Europe has once again moved more sharply into focus. Against this backdrop, the previously suspended system of conscription is also being hotly debated once more.
At the beginning of this year, the Military Service Modernisation Act came into force. In future, young men are once again to be systematically registered and called up for assessment. The federal government aims thereby to increase the strength of the Bundeswehr from the current roughly 184,000 to between 255,000 and 270,000 service personnel by 2035.
A spokeswoman for the Defence Ministry told IPPEN.MEDIA: "In an emergency we need to know who is potentially staying abroad for a longer period."
THE IMPACT IS 'PROFOUND', MINISTRY ADMITS
This far-reaching encroachment on personal autonomy previously applied only in exceptional cases - namely in a state of tension or defence - that is, when an attack by another country is highly likely.
Now, however, paragraph 2 has been revised. It now additionally states: "Outside a state of tension or defence, sections 3 [...] apply." This means that the rule set out in paragraph 3 now applies as a matter of principle.
The Defence Ministry acknowledges that the impact is "profound". Young men who, for example, want to spend a semester abroad or take a gap year must first obtain approval from a Bundeswehr careers centre. For this reason, "more detailed rules governing exemptions from the approval requirement are currently being drawn up at the Federal Ministry of Defence".
It is still unclear what consequences people face if they fail to obtain approval before a longer stay abroad, although in a country where the wrong retweet gets you a prison sentence we can only imagine.
According to RND, a large newspaper chain, the Defence Ministry initially declined to explain why the public had not been clearly informed about the new rules.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
