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which was expanded greatly in the 1950s and ’60s
The city has been a major bituminous-coal mining centre
with coke-chemical and metalworking industries
Головна Сторінка » English stories » Kharkiv Judge on Order: Ukraine Could Lose More than Half a Billion Hryvnias Due to Manipulation of Auto-assignment of Cases
Slidstvo.Info journalists have uncovered cases of manipulation of the automatic distribution of cases in the Kharkiv District Administrative Court in favour of judge Olena Zaichko
such methods are used to find the ‘right’ judge who will make the ‘right’ decision in a case
in one of which the judge ordered the state to pay the MP’s company more than half a billion hryvnias
the Kharkiv District Administrative Court received a lawsuit from the MP’s metallurgical plant
in which he asked the court to order the state to return the company’s allegedly overpaid tax — more than half a billion hryvnias
So many lawsuits are usually filed to circumvent the automatic distribution of cases and to have the case heard by the ‘right’ judge who will make the ‘right’ decision
only one judge opens the case and in the process obliges the state to pay the MP UAH 582.2 million
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In early June 2024, the competition for the position of a member of the High Council of Justice ended. The competition was conducted by the Ethics Council, and among the 13 participants was judge Olena Zaichko of the Kharkiv District Administrative Court
Slidstvo.Info journalists have already written about this judge. Zaichko could have asked her colleagues to spoil a disc with a recording of a court hearing in order to change her decision to the opposite
the local businesswoman did not pay almost UAH 7.5 million in taxes to the budget
One of the stages of the HCJ selection process is an interview with the Ethics Council
where candidates often answer uncomfortable questions
the manipulation of the automatic system of auto-allocation in favour of a judge
The automatic distribution of cases among judges is an important part of the judicial system
heads of courts used to solely assign cases to judges
which created corruption schemes whereby it was possible to buy the ‘right’ judge for money
as a system was introduced that uses certain algorithms to determine the judge who will hear the case
It became harder to negotiate with this system than with the head of the court
the request to select the right judge has not disappeared
so schemes have been invented to circumvent this algorithm since the auto-allocation was introduced
‘unnecessary’ judges can allegedly go on holiday or fall ill before the auto-allocation
thus leaving the system to select only one ‘necessary’ judge
Another scheme is to file a lot of lawsuits so that the ‘right’ judge will definitely receive your lawsuit and open a case
Members of the Ethics Council found at least 6 cases where plaintiffs manipulated the auto-allocation system so that Judge Zaichko would hear the case in the Kharkiv District Administrative Court
the judge was asked about only one such case
in which the plaintiff wanted to recover more than half a billion hryvnias from the state budget
the Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant Private Joint Stock Company filed a lawsuit with the Kharkiv District Administrative Court
asking it to order the state to refund the company’s overpaid tax of UAH 582.2 million
The company is owned by the family of Serhiy Taruta
the plant filed 22 absolutely identical lawsuits in court
the case was not opened because the plaintiff did not pay the court fee; in three cases
a judge of the Kharkiv District Administrative Court refused to open the case because the plant
was suing the state without any grounds; in 17 cases
judges did not open the case because there were already identical lawsuits in court; and only Olena Zaichko opened the case on the plant’s claim
Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant did not give up and six months later filed a new lawsuit with the Kharkiv District Administrative Court with the same demands
asking for judicial control over the execution of the court’s decision
The scheme repeats itself: 25 identical lawsuits are filed with the court within nine days
one judge even notes that the plant is abusing its rights by filing many lawsuits
Zaichko begins to hear the case, grants the plant’s claim, but by the time the decision is executed, the appeal cancels it
‘I cannot be responsible for the plaintiff’s actions. I do not know what the plaintiff was guided by when he took certain actions,’ Zaichko comments on this situation during an interview with the Ethics Council
The judge also says that she did not know about other identical lawsuits
‘As can be seen from the rulings of Zaichko’s colleagues
they checked whether a similar claim had been filed with the court in the Specialised Court Case Management programme and then returned it to the plaintiff
we should be sceptical about the judge’s explanation that she was unaware of identical claims,’ says Yelyzaveta Karachentseva
Bankruptcy proceedings have now been initiated against Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant
According to the YouControl analytical system
this company is headed by Taras Shevchenko
he said that he did not know about the above-mentioned lawsuits because he had just stopped heading the plant
Shevchenko could not say who had replaced him
the Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant is owned by ISD Corporation
The journalists of Slidstvo.Info called him to find out the MP’s opinion on the lawsuits filed in court
I became the head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration and since then I have had nothing to do with this plant and ISD Corporation
it does not mean that I am involved in the business
the business is in bankruptcy proceedings and there are no shareholders‘ meetings,’ Taruta says
Slidstvo.Info journalists managed to identify four more cases mentioned by the Ethics Council
when plaintiffs manipulated the auto-distribution system so that their case was considered by Judge Zaichko
One of these cases also concerned the refund of allegedly overpaid tax and also the company of MP Taruta’s family
PJSC Alchevsk Coke Plant filed a lawsuit with the court
but this time for a smaller amount of UAH 14.1 million
In total, the plant filed 15 identical lawsuits, one of which was used by Zaichko to open the case when other judges did not. The appeal also cancelled the judge’s decision
the plaintiffs were not companies but ordinary people who filed between 23 and 15 identical lawsuits
and only Zaichko opened court cases and satisfied their claims
The Court of Appeal did not cancel the judge’s decision in only one case – when the judge cancelled the decision of the Pension Fund and ordered to pay the plaintiff a pension for years of service
DEJURE Foundation lawyer Yelyzaveta Karachentseva says that in all these cases
the plaintiffs used the so-called ‘fan’ lawsuits to circumvent the system of automatic distribution of court cases
‘The plaintiffs filed identical lawsuits until the case came to Zaichko
This is evident from the dates of filing claims
as there were about 10 identical claims in a short period of time
It can be seen that the plaintiffs themselves were not interested in having their case heard by other judges
did not correct the deficiencies of the application
and withdrew the claim,’ says the DEJURE Foundation lawyer
Yelyzaveta Karachentseva also emphasises that Zaichko’s colleagues almost always did not open a case because the court already had identical claims and there were judges who directly stated that the plaintiffs were abusing their right
‘Zaichko has access to the court’s case management software and is able to check the history of lawsuits
Since there are all the signs of manipulation of the automated distribution
the judge issued rulings pointing out similar abuses and even imposed fines,’ says Yelyzaveta Karachentseva
There is a tendency that participants in competitions from the Ethics Council
who feel that they will receive a negative opinion from this body
The Ethics Council told Slidstvo.Info journalists that a total of 157 participants took part in their competitions
‘The overwhelming majority of candidates (25 people) who submitted such applications did not indicate the reasons for terminating their participation in the competition
Other candidates gave various reasons (for family reasons
etc.),’ the Ethics Council responded to a journalist’s request
The DEJURE lawyer says that contestants perceive negative decisions from the Ethics Council as a recognition of their dishonesty
such a decision would have become a ‘mark’ for the judge
reminding everyone that she had participated in cases with signs of manipulation of the autodistribution
But the judge avoided this by withdrawing her candidacy from the competition
this is the only punishment that Olena Zaichko faces
as all the detected cases of manipulation of the auto-distribution took place in 2018-2020
The time when Zaichko could be punished for this is already over
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The aircraft belonged to the 277th Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 303rd Mixed Division of the 11th Krasnoznamennaya Army of the Russian Air Force and Anti-Missile Defense of the Eastern Military District
Most likely, it was the Su-34M crash that VGTRK's military correspondent Evgeny Poddubny unknowingly reported on his Telegram channel:
the Russian air defense system “intercepted itself” near Alchevsk
the missile turned around and flew in the opposite direction
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Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur
Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war
Isabel joined Newsweek in 2021 and had previously worked with news outlets including the Daily Express
You can get in touch with Isabel by emailing i.vanbrugen@newsweek.com or by following her on X @isabelvanbrugen
either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter
or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources
Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content
A video circulating on social media reportedly shows the moment a Russian air defense system malfunctioned and the missile appeared to turn back towards the point where it was fired from
In the Ukrainian city of Alchevsk in the Luhansk region
an air defense missile appeared to change trajectory after launch
The video was first published by the Telegram channel Kyiv Operative on Friday
Alchevsk is currently under the occupation of Moscow-backed separatist forces
📽️In occupied #Alchevsk, Russian surface-to-air missile refused to carry out orders of the invaders. #UkraineRussiaWar pic.twitter.com/qZjaLaMBff
The clip shows the moment one of the missiles turned sharply and flew in the opposite direction a few seconds after launch
creating a large explosion upon impact and sending sparks into the sky
Multiple sirens and alarms can be heard going off in the background
While it appears that the missile fell near the launch site
it is still unclear whether any equipment was destroyed or damaged
or whether there were any casualties among Russian-backed separatist forces
The cause of the bizarre malfunction is not clear
the explosion caused a fire not far from residential buildings in the area
Some videos from the scene in the aftermath of the explosion showed a large fire and a patch of grass burning where the rocket fell
The person recording the clip said the missile struck on Alchevsk's Sarmatskaya Street—a street on the eastern outskirts of the city
Russian forces attempted to launch missile strikes in the city
but the first rocket exploded in the sky over the city shortly after launch and fell apart
Some local media reports claimed that Russia's own anti-air defense systems may have been intercepted
It isn't clear what type of air defense system missile was in the video
In a separate incident on Friday, a Russian military aircraft crashed and caught fire in western Russia on Friday
killing four people and injuring five others
Citing the Russian defense ministry, the Russian state-run news agency Interfax reported that the IL-76 military transport plane crashed near the city of Ryazan after attempting an emergency landing due to an engine malfunction while on a training flight
The plane "partially collapsed" as it attempted to land
Four people died and five were injured and taken to hospitals in Ryazan
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian foreign ministry for comment
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground
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Russia is destroying Russian Orthodoxy in Ukraine, hiding behind the protection of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, said Natalia Mudrenko
an adviser at the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations
during a meeting of the UN Security Council
Mudrenko’s statement came after Russia accused Ukraine of persecuting the Russian church in Ukraine
“Moscow has once again used the Council’s platform to promote the interests of the Russian Orthodox Church
That Church has been responsible for providing ideological support of the aggression and its leader
has translated military propaganda narratives in tune with the Kremlin,” Mudrenko said
Mudrenko stated that Russia is stealing Ukrainian dioceses
and the Russian Orthodox Church is involved in the occupation
Russians seized all three Crimean dioceses of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate
“These actions were taken against the very church whose rights the Russian delegation pretends to protect by requesting this meeting,” the diplomat emphasized
Patriarch Kirill of the Moscow Patriarchate instills in Russians the belief that the war against Ukraine is a “god-pleasing cause.”
“He does not waste time preaching about peace and does not refer to biblical commandments like ‘thou shall not kill’ but directly calls for mobilization
he calls on the church to ‘pray for the authorities and the military and also be on the front lines,'” Mudrenko said
Russian priests who try to speak about peace as the main value face internal church repression
the adviser to the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN added
The Russians have spread to the occupied territories the repressive practices that have long existed in Russia
The recent data shows that more than 500 religious facilities in Ukraine have been damaged
Ukraine accused Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) of the Russian Orthodox Church of justifying Russia’s armed aggression
constituting an attack on Ukraine’s territorial integrity and inviolability
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With the occupation of Ukrainian territories
the russian federation gained control over the powerful industrial cluster of Donetsk
While some industrial plants were completely destroyed as a result of the invasion (for example
then factories and mining enterprises in the Zaporizhzhia region or in the territories of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions
were not damaged and retained their production capabilities
by seizing the iron ore deposits of the Zaporizhzhiaregion
the russians received a closed cycle for the production of various types of steel and products made from it
the Kremlin did not miss the opportunity to use it
the Southern Mining and Metallurgical Complex
operating on occupied territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions
began supplying steel to the russian federation
This company is the managing superstructure of the following enterprises: Enakievo Metallurgical Plant
Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant and Stakhanov Ferroalloy Plant
is a businessman affiliated with Medvedchuk
They helped him take the enterprise away from another fugitive oligarch from Ukraine
The directors at the mentioned factories are party members from United russia and are actively campaigning for elections
the Alchevsk Metallurgical Complex sold 2 billion rubles worth of products to Uralvagonzavod (22.5 thousand tons of rolled metal products)
Other steel plants also joined the production of steel for the russians: Enakievsky and Makeevsky
Some russian sources write that in 2022 the products were used to produce railway carriages
there are serious doubts that the supply of billions of rubles worth of steel from different plants on the occupied Donbass was used to produce carriages alone at one of the largest enterprises of the russian military-industrial complex - Uralvagonzavod
the supply of ore from the occupied part of the Zaporozhye region
russia is literally plundering Ukrainian mineral resources to continue the war against Ukraine
The cooperation between Uralvagonzavod and SMMC continued in 2023; in the summer
representatives of the company again came to Alchevsk
Final statistics for the year were not published
but representatives of enterprises announced an increase in production
a thick sheet workshop opened at the Alchevsk plant
It is plate steel that is used in the production of armor plates for tanks
Now we can be sure that Donbass steel is definitely used for the production of tank armor
the russians are exploiting Ukrainian resources and turning the industrial potential of Donbass against Ukraine
There are probably other examples of the exploitation of Ukrainian resources and production facilities in the occupied territories
but the case of SMMC and Uralvagonzavod is the most eloquent
the participation of these enterprises in the military-industrial complex chain makes them completely legitimate tar\gets for possible missile attacks from Ukraine
A trip to the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine reveals militants unhappy with the ceasefire and increasingly out-of-step with Moscow
Portraits of Putin and Stalin adorn the room where the rebel commander
In this former KGB complex in the industrial town of Alchevsk in the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic, members of Shevchenko’s militant Ghost Brigade are growing restless as a shaky ceasefire holds in eastern Ukraine
stuck between Syria and a ceasefire they are reluctant to respect
Fighters insist that the war is not over – it’s only the tactics that have changed
View image in fullscreenPro-Russian rebels hang around at their base in the frontline village Pervomaisk. Photograph: Pierre Crom“Our republic is not yet independent – it depends on help from Russia,” said Aleksey Markov
a nuclear physicist from Moscow and Shevchenko’s second-in-command
another of the Ghost Brigade’s upper ranks
accuses Moscow of threatening to withhold humanitarian aid to prevent rebels from taking unilateral action
“The Kremlin tells us: ‘An offensive would be bad politically
Otherwise we won’t send our white trucks’,” he said
View image in fullscreenReligious images on the rifle of one of the Ghost Brigade fighters
Photograph: Pierre CromShevchenko’s rebels are keen to launch a new push to consolidate their breakaway territory
Markov said the conflict continues “just in different ways” – fewer artillery attacks but more “special ops”
“We get help from the Russian people but the Kremlin is ignoring us,” he said
View image in fullscreenA rebel fighter stands guard in trenches on the frontline near Zholobok
is a former Soviet soldier who later worked in customs
He became commander of the Ghost Brigade when his predecessor, a local maverick and Soviet idealist called Aleksey Mozgovoy, was killed in a roadside ambush in May
View image in fullscreenA communist flag on a wall inside the rebel base
Photograph: Pierre CromAfter Mozgovoy’s death
But there were also rumours of an enemy within – rebel chiefs taking out rivals to bolster their own power
“We need a court to find the truth,” he says
There is nothing more to know until that is complete.”
View image in fullscreenA militant cleans his gun on the northern frontline of Luhansk
Photograph: Pierre CromThe commander’s rebel stronghold is just 40 miles from the Russian border
Soviet-era blocks rise from the rolling steppe on the town’s southern flanks
a coke furnace and steel works dominate the landscape
The ranks of the Ghost Brigade are drawn from disparate regions of Russia, Ukraine and even western Europe
They occupy a stretch of the front running through the deserted village of Jolobok
calm has been restored - punctuated by the sporadic rattle of gunfire
View image in fullscreenA child plays in a destroyed Ukrainian tank
scrawled with the slogan Save the Donbass people from Ukrainian army
Photograph: Pierre CromThe rebels on front-line duty endure poor conditions
rubble-strewn houses and slip through alleyways to avoid sniper bullets
Food is prepared in a derelict yard next to an exploded shell
“It’s very frustrating,” says Markov as he inspects the front
We lose them and we have to start from scratch.”
View image in fullscreenFried aubergine and boiled buckwheat prepared in a makeshift frontline kitchen
Photograph: Pierre CromA short walk away over shattered glass
a middle-aged soldier placidly cleans his machine-gun in a firewood shed
just a few hundred metres from Ukrainian positions
View image in fullscreenLuhansk residents Vladimir
A $36 million Russian Su-34 bomber was reported to be shot down by its own forces. A friendly fire accident took place over the Luhansk region in Ukraine on Monday.
The fighter jet went down near Alchevsk, in an occupied area. Alchevsk is currently under the occupation of Moscow and separatist forces.
Images of the still smoking plane were shared by the Strategic Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the video, the Russian cameraman talks about a Ukrainian plane being shot down. But all the physical inscriptions identify the Su-34 as belonging to Russia’s Air Force.
According to the Ukrainian news outlet Glavred, the video of the downed Su-34 aircraft was first posted on local outlets by Russians believing that a Ukrainian plane had been shot down. After it was determined that a Russian bomber was downed the video was deleted.
A Russian Telegram user named Ruslan wrote: “The jet is ours, unfortunately. Sometimes it happens. I heard the info from a friend, I thought bulls**t, but it was confirmed.”
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Separatist commander Aleksey Mozgovoi has a fearsome reputation and a bounty on his head in the rebel badlands of the Luhansk People’s Republic
He tells Oliver Carroll in Alchevsk that hopes for a lasting Ukraine ceasefire are minimal
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Scarred by decades of political corruption and many months of war
the rebel-held town of Alchevsk in eastern Ukraine has few attractions
Its biggest draw is undoubtedly Commander Aleksey Mozgovoi
the enigmatic leader of the rebel “Ghost” battalion
who has taken up residence in the former security services building on Lenin Street
An apparent Renaissance man with a reputation for poetry
He organised the infamous “people’s courts”
which claimed to have issued death sentences to alleged rapists in October last year
a Gazprom worker from Russia’s Krasnodar region
waits patiently for an audience with Mr Mozgovoi
whose office windows are protected by sandbags
Andrei fought as a rebel volunteer throughout the winter
He says that he – like many others – was attracted to Mr Mozgovoi’s battalion by a desire to correct a historical injustice
and to protect “the Slavic people” from being routinely humiliated
Andrei is not the only Russian in the region
Two Russian officers are said to have been captured by Ukrainian forces in the town of Schastya
about 25 miles to the north-east of Alchevsk
A video of the interrogation of one of the men
was released by Ukrainian security services on Monday
The man is seen to admit to being a sergeant from a special forces unit in Tolyatti
He says he was operating as part of a 14-man group
that there were six to eight such groups operating out of Luhansk
A member of the Ukrainian Aidar volunteer battalion
who had witnessed the capture of the soldiers
told The Independent that a battle had broken out at the edge of Schastya
The clash left one Ukrainian paratrooper dead
and the two enemy reconnaissance officers seriously injured
so he had no choice but to start speaking,” the officer said
Local rebel forces have denied that the two men were Russian soldiers
publishing documents apparently showing that the men were locals and members of the “Luhansk People’s Militia”
has also dismissed the reports as being “no matter” for the Russian government
But Ukrainians claim that Russians fighting in eastern Ukraine are assigned rebel aliases
and have previously produced dual documents found on Russian soldiers
They are the “green men” that mysteriously appeared before the annexing of Crimea last year
The detention of suspected Russian soldiers in Ukraine again raises questions as to the durability of a ceasefire that has been largely holding across much of the region – to the relief of many civilians and business owners
set up to facilitate dialogue between the parties to the conflict
has reported an increase in ceasefire violations across the region – up to 80 from approximately 40 earlier in the month
Nearly half have been recorded in the seaside village of Shirokine
though areas around Donetsk airport and Horlivka show signs of becoming similar hotspots
Rebel leaders have offered mixed messages over the last few weeks about the ceasefires agreed in Minsk. In Alchevsk, Mr Mozgovoi warns: “Escalation and more deaths are inevitable. There is no sense for us to lay down our arms while there is a government in Kiev that is against the Ukrainian people.”
Mr Mozgovoi likens the Minsk process to unsuccessful secret negotiations between Kiev and Luhansk separatists last April, which saw Yulia Tymoshenko brokering a deal with the then leader of the Luhansk movement, Valery Bolotov. Mr Mozgovoi was cut out of those negotiations.
“We weren’t negotiating with the right people then, and we’re not negotiating with the right people now,” he says. “There is no way that we can reach an agreement with the current Kiev government.”
Known for his uncompromising toughness, Mr Mozgovoi is keen to present himself as the conscience of the separatist movement in the region. He identifies himself in total opposition to the interests of fellow separatist leaders in Luhansk and claims that “conscience” is what drives him.
“If we are to live by our conscience, everything will work out for us,” he says. He takes a long pause, before continuing. “But, oh, how hard it is to live by conscience.”
Mr Mozgovoi’s independent approach has not been received well by everyone. Some, indeed, question whether he will be able to survive for long in the wild frontier lands of the “Luhansk People’s Republic”.
Over the past six months, several of the most unwieldy rebel leaders have been removed – and many assume Mr Mozgovoi is next on the list. It is well known that Mr Mozgovoi is on difficult terms with the Kremlin-annointed leader of the Luhansk republic, Igor Plotnitsky.
Mr Mozgovoi, with steely gaze, tells The Independent that he has considered such an eventuality: “They wouldn’t risk making anybody a hero, but let’s just say we’re prepared for such a turn of events.”
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Головна Сторінка » English stories » Teenage shapeshifters: how little Ukrainians are being raised to become Russian soldiers
the Russian Federation has been instilling a pro-Russian position in Ukrainian children in the temporarily occupied territories
One of the main components of this policy is military and patriotic education
The Slidstvo.Info journalists identified three Ukrainian women who are currently serving in the Russian army
When the Russians occupied a part of the eastern territories of Ukraine
a 23-year-old resident of Makiivka with the call sign “Zvezdochka” (from Russian “a little star” – transl.)
is a telling example of how Russia is training young Ukrainians to become universal soldiers who fight with arms on the side of the Russian Federation
a 23-year-old resident of Makiivka with the call sign “Zvezdochka”
“Little Zvezdochka” (also known as “Daughter of the Regiment”) is happy to conduct active outreach activities on social media
Anya never tires of repeating that the war caught her as a child
A screenshot from the “Zvezdochka’s” page
when the Russians occupied the eastern territories of Ukraine
she started visiting the battalion based near her home
She really wanted to be useful to the people of Russia
but the commander offered her an alternative: she would wash the soldiers’ clothes
collect ammunition and clean their weapons
Among Anna’s vivid childhood memories is when she found her profile on the Myrotvorets website (a non-governmental organisation that publishes personal data of people considered by the site’s authors to be enemies of Ukraine – ed.)
“It was ridiculous,” the girl commented on this case to the propaganda media
Myrotvorets does have information about Zvezdochka: she appears there as a victim of psychological violence and Russian-terrorist propaganda
and later as a fighter with an illegal armed group
Anna Lisovenko’s profile on the Myrotvorets website
the girl has been enrolled in the reserve of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic Youth Parliament
a propaganda project that trains personnel for the occupation administration
Since the start of the full-scale invasion
Anna has returned from her studies in Moscow – where she studied economics – to the occupied Donetsk region and joined the Russian international battalion “Pyatnashka”
Anna has been a volunteer fighter with the occupying subversive assault brigade ‘Veterans’
she distributes walkie-talkies and establishes contacts
She posts almost every step she takes on social media
It seems that Anna always has flags of the Russian Federation and the pseudo-republic of the Donetsk People’s Republic in her handbag for emergencies
a few highly pathetic quotes and a stuffed animal – everything she needs to create content for her followers
Just 9 years of propaganda and an ordinary Ukrainian child has become a rabid defender of the Putin regime
“Little Zvezdochka” poses with another victim of Russian propaganda
who goes by the call sign “Docha” (from Russian “a daughter” – transl.)
Bohdana posts videos with eloquent statements: “I
am a private of the ‘Prizrak’ (from Russian “a ghost” – transl.) brigade
worked for the State Security Service under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine before Russia invaded Donetsk Oblast in 2014
she and her father are currently serving in the aforementioned illegal military formation ‘Prizrak’
16-year-old Bohdana Neshcheret with the call sign “Docha”
The girl became popular when she was 9 years old thanks to the poems she read to Russian soldiers
Then Bohdana became friends with “Uncle Lesha” – collaborator Oleksiy Mozgov
“Docha” with collaborator Oleksiy Mozgov
Bohdana received a second wave of popularity last autumn
The girl from Alchevsk managed to talk to Vladimir Putin
The girl told the Russian dictator about her poetic abilities
and he suggested that she publish a collection
the collection of poems with “odes to Donbas” is going to be published – Bohdana shared sketches of future books on her VKontakte page
It’s a pity that neither the girl nor her parents understand the true cost of such fake recognition
A post with a sketch of the future collection on Bohdana’s page
Another girl who claims to have a great future in propaganda is 20-year-old Nastya Bartenyova from Yenakiyevo
but now combines her work as a military correspondent with her service in the Russian army
“I can say that my old dream has come true
I serve in the armed forces of the Russian Federation
I can’t believe it now,” Nastya says on the air of the propaganda show
Her colleagues in the unit gave her the nickname “Bantik” (from Russian “a bow” – transl.) for her striking look – long nails
she is engaged in the repair and accounting of communication equipment
“Bantik” works as a communications officer
She also runs a propaganda telegram channel called “Nastyushka na Voinushke” (from Russian “Nastya at war” – transl.)
more than 100,000 Ukrainian children – mostly abducted or fraudulently taken – are currently living in the territories controlled by Russia
“The Russians are doing everything according to the textbook of genocide
giving children from one ethnic group to another… They are nullifying them as much as possible and erasing their belonging to the Ukrainian nation
some kind of janissaries who will then go against Ukraine,” comments Daria Gerasymchuk
Advisor to the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights
Russian propaganda has a ready-made plan for Ukrainian children – to turn them into trained Russian patriots
According to the monitoring of the Almeda Centre for Civic Education
Russia is imposing propaganda on children through the education system
and is also fostering in Ukrainian children a willingness to die for dictator Putin
The result of Russia’s criminal policy is the stories of bizarre role models such as “Zvezdochka”
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People in the Russian-annexed regions are returning to the territories under the control of the Ukrainian army and settling in safe areas.
A humanitarian corridor was created last year due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia since Feb. 24, 2022.
The corpses of soldiers are exchanged, and civilians are allowed to pass through the corridor created between the village of Kolotilovka in the Belgorod region of Russia and the village of Pokrovka in the Sumy region of Ukraine.
Citizens, who are coming to the Ukrainian-controlled territories from the regions annexed by Russia, are supervised by the Ukrainian Security Service in the Sumy region.
After necessary procedures, civilians are transported to the capital Kyiv, and Kharkiv by volunteer teams to settle them in safe cities and villages in Ukraine.
Vitaly Dmitryuk, the head of the charity fund “The Way of Ukraine,” told Anadolu that citizens from the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, including Crimea annexed by Russia, returned to Kyiv-controlled territories via the humanitarian corridor in the Sumy region.
Civilians were first sent to Russia, he said, adding that they must decide where to go within two weeks after reaching Russia.
“Citizens are told that they would be sent either to Ukraine or to Russia's remote regions such as Tula and Dagestan as part of the distribution program. This is why people are shocked and confused about what to do," he said.
Working with other charities, he said, they evacuated citizens from Sumy to the capital Kyiv, and Kharkiv. The routes were determined by the Ukrainian administration, he added.
‘About 150 people pass through humanitarian corridor daily’
“We welcome the arrivals and bring them to Kharkiv. After the necessary payments are made, we drop people off at stations according to their destination. Between 100 and 150 people pass through the humanitarian corridor daily. We take care of 30 to 40 of them. We assist nearly 600 people a month,” Dmitryuk added.
Elena Guliyenko, a Gagauz Turk from Ukraine, said that she came to Kharkiv from the city of Alchevsk in the Luhansk region, annexed by Russia.
Guliyenko, who was born in Comrat, the capital of the autonomous region of Gagauzia of Moldova, said she moved to Alchevsk in 1988 after marriage.
“I lived under occupation for nine years. I went through a very difficult period. My family lost everything, my children were left on the street. They left Alchevsk. I didn't want them to stay there. I had to leave too,” she said.
Stressing that she was pressured to obtain a Russian passport, she said she did not accept either the so-called Luhansk People's Republic or the Russian passport.
“The system is set up in such a way that you have to have a Russian passport even to pay for internet service. I did not want to get a Russian passport because Russia deprived us of everything,” she added.
Urging people to give support to Ukraine, she said: “If Ukraine collapses, the wars will not end.”
She added that she could not even go to the funeral of her parents who died in Moldova due to the situation in the Luhansk region.
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Russian blogger and photographer Angelina Latipova arrived to the occupied Severodonetsk and posed for photos against the background of burnt down houses that had been shelled by Russia
She posted the photos on Instagram, Realna Gazeta writes
who came to the occupied Luhansk oblast from Moscow
claims that she was filming a video with the locals' stories
"We spent the last few days in Luhansk: talked a lot with the locals, filmed the city landscapes. Today we stopped by Alchevsk, too. Going to Severodonetsk tomorrow. After we come back, we plan to edit together a video with the stories of Donbas people," she wrote
Angelina has over a dozen photos from the occupied territory on her social media
she poses sitting on the ruins of the city mutilated by her country: in courtyards
on a bench near a porch or on the ruins of one of the houses
which was nearly destroyed by the war unleashed by Russia
as a tourist attraction and calls the burned-down Ukrainian tank "the city's main sight."
Moreover, the Russian woman admitted to looting: she took a Ukrainian comic book about Taras Bulba from a half-ruined school and posed with it on the ashes
Latipova also posted photos of Luhansk on her Telegram channel
the young woman lived downtown and made photos of it
the Russian woman is fascinated with the aesthetics of Russia's dilapidated cities
As IMI reported, journalists from the American NBC illegally arrived in Crimea
Reprinting and disseminating our information is allowed, but under strictly condition of reference to the source
Kolkata,UPDATED: Oct 8, 2024 18:59 ISTAmid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, a video of a malfunctioning missile has gone viral on social media. The clip allegedly shows an Iranian missile taking a U-turn soon after launch and destroying the launcher instead of proceeding toward its intended target
India Today Fact Check found that the video shows a Russian missile malfunctioning and is unrelated to the Israel-Iran conflict
Reverse-searching keyframes from the viral clip, we came across the clip uploaded to some news YouTube channels, including The Sun on June 24
Captioned "Russian missile fails and 'boomerangs’ back at Russian troops"
the description of this video states the incident occurred in the Ukrainian city of Alchevsk in Luhansk
under the occupation of pro-Russian separatist forces
On June 24, 2022, the Daily Mail reported the missile was likely an S300 operated by Ukrainian pro-Russian separatists from the breakaway Luhansk People's Republic
On September 30, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk
and Kherson to consolidate its control over them
Liva
Большинство людей предусмотрительно не ожидают от будущего ничего особо хорошего
Война ускорила втягивания Израиля в воронку ограничения гражданских свобод
Множество немцев не представлены в политическом поле Германии
В мире больших денег и геополитических интересов несколько тысяч жизней кажутся не слишком большой ценой
В ходе Холодной войны любой враг Советского Союза был полезен для его противников
Постсоветские либералы не имеют с либерализмом ничего общего
которую так любили высмеивать российские консерваторы