A Russian female lawyer was fined 1 million yuan for criticizing the government’s “invasion of Ukraine”, expressing that she does not regret defending her rights. 7.1 million people in Ukraine fell into poverty and were forced to pawn their property to survive. Even so, in order to defend their country from being ruled by a dictator, the Ukrainian people voluntarily increased their taxes early to support the country, and the people in the occupied areas also risked retaliation pay taxes. Four days before the Beixi pipeline explosion, Russian military ships were photographed moving around.
Ukraine is ready to counter-offensive, and the Russian army is attacking all parts of the country again. There are frequent explosions in Russia.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters reported that the Russian army launched an attack on various parts of Ukraine at around 2:30 am on May 1. A total of 18 missiles were fired, 15 of which were destroyed. Dozens of people were injured, including children.
Sergiy Lysak, governor of Dnipro region, posted on social media: “Thirty-four people have been injured, including five children, as a result of the missile attack in the Pavlograd region, the youngest being An 8-year-old girl.”
Pavlograd suffered two blows overnight, causing damage or damage to 19 apartments and 25 private houses.
Meanwhile, Russian forces also killed one person and wounded three others in the southern Kherson region, another official said.
Kiev local officials also wrote on social media that this is the second wave of attacks on Kiev in three days, but this time all missiles heading towards the capital were destroyed. “According to preliminary reports, there are no civilian casualties, and no houses or News of damage to infrastructure.”
On the other hand, Reuters quoted Alexander Bogomaz, Governor of Bryansk Oblast in western Russia, as saying that at 10:17 local time on May 1, an unidentified explosive device exploded in Bryansk-Une (Bryansk-Unecha) line 136 km explosion, causing a freight train derailed. There were no casualties in the incident, and he did not name who was responsible for the incident.
Photos on social media showed several carriages overturned at the scene of the accident, billowing smoke. The incident took place about 60 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border.
In addition, Pogomaz alleged on April 30 that a border village was shelled by Ukraine, killing four people and wounding two.
In addition, a factory manufacturing multiple rocket systems and artillery in the Perm region of Russia exploded and caught fire for unknown reasons, and pictures of the fire also flowed out on Twitter.
The Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula was also attacked on April 29, which caused a fire at a fuel depot in Sevastopol, which Russia blamed on Ukrainian drones. The Ukrainian army said on the same day that the fire at the oil storage facility destroyed a total of more than 40,000 tons of fuel and more than 10 oil tanks. These fuels were mainly used by the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
A day earlier, Russia carried out its largest air strike on Ukraine in two months on the 28th, hitting an apartment in the central Ukrainian city of Uman, killing at least 23 people, including a baby boy. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack on the Crimean fuel depot, but military intelligence has suggested it was retaliation for the attack on Uman.
“This is a ‘punishment from God’, especially for the perpetrators of the killing of civilians in Uman,” said Andriy Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense’s intelligence service.
He warned the people of Crimea to “avoid in the near future near military installations and facilities used to support the army of the aggressor”.
On the same day, Ukraine stated that preparations for the counteroffensive were nearing completion. According to Reuters, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in an online press conference on the 28th when discussing the issue of the counteroffensive, “As long as there is God’s will, plus the weather and the decision of the commander, we will launch an operation. .”
Wagner speculates: the Ukrainian army will launch a counter-offensive before 5/15, which may become a tragedy for Russia
Most of the fighting in Ukraine in recent weeks has been centered in the eastern Donbas region, especially in Bakhmut.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian military said that in the past few weeks, the Russian army has been talking about the road of life (road of life) and covering the area with continuous artillery fire. Let the Russians cut off our supply routes.”
The report pointed out that the Road of Life refers to a traffic artery between Bakhmut and the neighboring town of Tsarsufya to the west, which stretches for about 17 kilometers. If Bakhmut falls, Tsasufya may be the next location to be attacked by the Russian army. But it is commanding and the Ukrainian army is believed to have fortified the area.
Ukrainian ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrsky said on the 1st that his troops had carried out a small counterattack in Bakhmut and drove Russian troops from some positions, but the situation on the ground remained “difficult”.
Ukrainian forces have repelled more than 36 enemy attacks on the eastern front from Bakhmut to Maryinka, Ukrainian authorities announced on Monday.
Russia has continued to attack Bakhmut since last summer, but has so far failed to capture Bakhmut. However, it still controls about 80% of the area, and the main Russian force in the area is the mercenary force Wagner Group (Wagner Group).
The Russian state-run TASS news agency reported that Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, predicted on the 29th that Ukraine would launch a counteroffensive by mid-May.
Prigozin said that the last heavy rainfall in the area will occur on May 2, and then the weather will turn dry and the wind will dry the soil, so tanks and artillery will be able to be transported. Problems to be solved, now ready to launch a counter-offensive”.
He speculated that the Ukrainian army may “give us a rest” on May 9, “but the offensive will 100% start before (May) 15.”
Fears of retaliation by Russians in Ukraine have grown more than a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, with many cities canceling traditional celebrations on May 9 of “Victory Day” commemorating Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
The “New York Times” quoted leaked Pentagon documents on April 25 and pointed out that the Ukrainian army did plan to launch a counteroffensive in May, when it would send 12 brigades, each with about 4,000 soldiers.
Prigozin mentioned that the Wagner Group may “soon become history” given Wagner’s current artillery and ammunition needs at the front, and warned that “this counteroffensive may become a tragedy for our country”.
Prigozin is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is the head of a private military group. He is caught in a power struggle with the Russian Ministry of Defense. He is willing to provide more ammunition to the Wagner Group. A few days ago, he revealed that if he does not receive more ammunition assistance, Wagner may withdraw from Bachemt.
In an interview with pro-Kremlin Russian war correspondent Semyon Pegov, Prigozin claimed that the Wagner Group had only received 10% to 15% of the shells it needed and that supplies had dwindled from enough to last several weeks to the remaining Just a few days.
Abandon Putin?The CCP Rarely Voted “Yes” to the UN General Assembly Proposal Experts Analyze Xi Jinping’s Secret Plans
On April 26, the United Nations debated and voted on a proposal to strengthen cooperation with the European Commission. The text mentioned, “After Russia’s “aggression” (aggression) in Ukraine, Europe is facing unprecedented challenges, and cooperation between the United Nations and the European Commission needs to be strengthened.”
Russia protested the term, and the meeting voted on whether the expression should be retained, with 81 votes in favor and 10 against, with 48 abstentions, including China, South Africa, India and Brazil. It is worth noting that when the General Assembly voted on the entire bill, 122 countries voted in favor, including China, India, and Brazil, with 18 abstentions and 5 against, including Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea, and Nicaragua.
Since the UN vote was on the same day as the phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Chinese Communist Party voted “yes” for the first time. The outside world speculates whether Beijing’s attitude towards the Russia-Ukraine war has changed, and some even speculate on Xi Jinping Putin is about to be betrayed.
In this regard, Zhang Jiadong, a professor at the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in China, pointed out that the bill clearly defines Russia’s actions against Ukraine as “aggression”, but China still voted in favor, which is “intriguing”. He mentioned that the core of the resolution is the cooperation between the United Nations and Europe, not the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Judging from the acceptance of the resolution by China, India, Brazil and other countries, it is clear that Europe is much more important than Russia.
Current affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan pointed out in the “Vision Quick Review” program that Russia and Ukraine are still in a stalemate on the battlefield, the balance has not been broken, and the Ukrainian counteroffensive has not really started. Can Russia withstand the threat of obtaining weapons supported by NATO? Ukraine’s counter-offensive is still unknown; in particular, “Alliance with Russia to Resist the U.S.” is a basic strategy of the CCP authorities. It is not easy to give up because of local damage or low-intensity shocks, especially for people like Xi Jinping who think of “turning sesame cakes” to govern the country. Therefore, Xi Jinping will not really want to do it with Putin right now. cutting.
As for why Xi Jinping agreed to vote yes in the second round, Tang Jingyuan analyzed three important factors. The first is that Xi Jinping had just expressed “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity” on the phone with Zelensky that day. This was because the CCP’s ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, had aroused anger in Europe. He had to make an important statement to mend China-EU relations , and the UN resolution also has an expression of “respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of any country”. If the CCP continues to abstain from voting on this resolution, Xi Jinping’s statement on the phone call with Zelensky will be immediately dismantled. purpose will not be achieved.
The second factor is the name of the bill “Cooperation Bill between the United Nations and the European Commission.” Its core content is about relations with Europe, and the CCP wants to stabilize China-EU relations. This is not much less important than the phone call with Zelensky , and on the surface, this bill has no direct relationship with the Russo-Ukraine war, so the sensitivity has dropped a lot. Therefore, after weighing the balance, the CCP believes that maintaining Sino-European relations is more important, so there is a change in the position of the second round of voting. India and Brazil should also be out of this consideration, also voted in favor of the second round.
The third factor is that Xi Jinping should have obtained Putin’s consent, because the CCP abstained in the first round of voting on deleting the expression “aggression”. It was only in this “form of performance” that I cast a “yes vote”. In other words, maintaining China-EU relations, continuing to divide Europe and the United States, and the CCP’s urgent need for European technology and funds to help restore China’s economy are obviously much bigger and more important than an incidental UNGA vote. .
Tang Jingyuan pointed out that Xi Jinping just doesn’t want to lose big things because of small things and affect his future plan of “a hundred years of change”. From this perspective, saying that Xi Jinping abandoned Putin is just an illusion, or Xi Jinping is trying to promote his “peace plan.” And the expedient measure adopted is not to really cut off Putin now. And to a certain extent, it also means that Russia can agree with the CCP to play a double act in the voting of some less direct and less important resolutions.
Ukraine is about to launch a counteroffensive. Tang Jingyuan believes that Putin has begun to enter the stress test period of Ukraine’s major counteroffensive. The more pressure Putin puts on, the more urgent he needs the CCP to intervene to promote peace talks, or to push for a delay. On the one hand, the flexibility to use expedient measures will be correspondingly greater.
According to Tang Jingyuan’s analysis, the most important reason why the CCP attaches so much importance to China-EU relations is that the degree of collapse of the Chinese economy is still expanding. The severity of the CCP’s economy is directly proportional to its demand for EU relations. This should be The main internal motivation for the CCP to vote in favor of the UN General Assembly.
Defending Rights and Not Regretting Russian Female Lawyer Severely Fined 1 Million for Criticizing the Government’s “Invasion of Ukraine”
The Associated Press reported that a female lawyer in Tomsk Oblast, Siberia, Russia, was prosecuted for publicly condemning the government’s invasion of Ukraine on a social platform, and was sentenced to a high fine of 1 million on Friday (28th). ruble.
Marina Novikova, a 65-year-old lawyer, was convicted by a district court of “spreading false information about the Russian military” in a Telegram post condemning the Russian invasion and criticizing the government. The act has been criminalized since Putin launched an offensive against Ukraine last year.
Prosecutors had asked for a three-year prison sentence for Novikova. Novikova herself said frankly that she could not pay the huge fine and would rather be sent to prison by the court. “I am ready to pay the price for defending my rights. I have long known that it is impossible to be released without charge.”
According to official Russian data, the average salary in the Tomsk Oblast is 56,000 rubles.
The surge in similar cases prosecuted shows that the Russian authorities have not only targeted journalists and prominent dissidents, but also extended their tentacles to the general public, implementing increasingly stringent control over speech.
Ukraine’s 7.1 million people trapped in poverty forced to pawn their property to survive
Ukraine continues to be under relentless artillery fire from the Russian army, and its economy relies mainly on foreign aid. The Guardian reported that the World Bank recently reported that Ukraine’s poverty rate will rise from 5.5% to 24.2% in 2022, with 7.1 million people falling into poverty, with the worst in rural areas. By the end of 2022, the unofficial unemployment rate will reach 36%, and inflation will soar to 26.6%.
With their savings running low, many have been forced to pawn their possessions to get by. Stepanov, a cashier at the Treasure pawn shop in Kiev, the capital, described the hardships of life. He said that the price of everything has risen, food is the most expensive, and car fuel is not cheap. Some supplies even increased by 40-50%. When the pawn shop is at its busiest, 50 people come in a day to pawn mobile phones and household equipment.
People in difficult situations can only rely on NGO assistance. Priests in the outskirts of Kiev set up six free bread distribution centers. On most days, about 500 people lined up to receive free bread. Tables and tents were set up outside the center to provide free second-hand shoes, clothes and children’s toys.
A local, Veronika Pravyk, was rummaging through clothes and trying to find free diapers and baby formula for her toddler. These things are sometimes available, but not today, he said, “I never thought we would have a life like this, where everyone is suffering the same”.
Defend the country from dictatorship Ukrainians pay taxes early to support the country and people in the occupied areas also risk retaliation to pay taxes
While many are plunged into poverty, the Ukrainian people are determined to defend their country. What is the tax situation in war-torn Ukraine? The Economist pointed out that after the Russian invasion last February, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko reasonably estimated that government revenue would plummet as economic activity shrank. But while Ukraine’s GDP plunged 29 percent last year, its annual income was only 14 percent lower than a year earlier.
The article titled “Patriotic Ukrainians Are in a Hurry to Pay Taxes” stated that war-induced declines in tax revenues for imports and tourism, and blackouts caused by Russian attacks on power plants and power grids, interfered with the automatic operation of taxable transactions. The “unique results” of . One explanation is that corporations and taxpayers eager to support national defense pay higher taxes than required.
Statistics from the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance last year showed that related donations increased from US$880 million in March last year to more than US$28 billion in May. That’s a lot of money. According to Maksym Dudnyk, a tax partner at PwC, excluding donations, Ukraine’s total annual revenue reached $37 billion last year.
He said the general thinking among Ukrainians is: “If Ukraine wins, you have your own country, but if Russia wins, the brutal dictator will take your money anyway, so why not help now”?
Many Ukrainians also pay their taxes in advance, the article said. Constantin Solyar of the Kiev law firm Asters recalls that shortly after the Russian invasion, a client asked how his company paid taxes in advance. “I was so moved that I almost shed tears.” , the situation of paying taxes in advance has become the norm. Over the past year, almost all of the more than 100 clients he has served have paid taxes in advance.
Illya Sverdlov of Kinstellar, another law firm, pointed out that this kind of behavior has a very good publicity effect. Some companies publicize the deeds in the media, and many people silently join in paying taxes. ranks. Many Ukrainians who have settled abroad for many years have also begun to pay taxes to the state, and the number of people who have tried their best to evade taxes has obviously decreased.
Perhaps most surprising, the article says, is that the Ukrainian State Tax Service continues to receive tax payments through its website from territories occupied by Russia (although not Crimea, which is firmly under Russian control).
Ukrainian Finance Minister Machenko said that people in these areas are under enormous pressure to pay taxes to Russia, and many local companies must also bribe Russian commanders and militias to obtain business licenses. Even so, 2.3 million people in the region paid taxes to Ukraine worth $9.5 billion last year. They dared to pay taxes to the state at the risk of reprisals from the murderous and brutal Russian “punishers”.
Four days before the Beixi pipeline explosion, Russian military ships were photographed moving around
Now, Danish media has revealed that a few days before the explosion, images captured Russian naval ships operating in the waters around the Nord Stream pipeline.
The Nord Stream pipeline that exploded in September last year was determined to be man-made sabotage, but the culprit behind it has not yet been identified. “The Guardian” reported that the Danish daily “Information” (Information) pointed out that a Russian navy ship numbered SS-750, which is specialized in submarine operations, was photographed operating in the Baltic Sea four days before the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline. It was carrying a mini-submarine at the time.
The Danish military confirmed a total of 26 photos taken by Danish patrol boats, the report said. Swedish prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist (Mats Ljungqvist), who is in charge of investigating the case, admitted that he had noticed the images, but could not comment on the importance of these photos to the investigation.
The “New York Times” disclosed in March that new intelligence discovered by US officials pointed the finger at pro-Ukrainian groups for destroying Nord Stream, but Zelensky was not involved.
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