Ukrainian intelligence intercepted a phone conversation between a Russian soldier in Ukraine and his wife in which the soldier says that it’s Putin’s own forces that recently struck a location inside Russia, rather than Ukrainian personnel as claimed by Russian authorities. After the soldier’s wife brought up the incident in the Russian town of Klimovo that apparently wounded a little over half a dozen people, the soldier stated: “That was ours fucking stuff up… It’s necessary. They do that to provoke the [Ukrainians]. And that’s why they hit it… We talked to the bosses and they said that’s how it is. The same shit was happening in the Chechen War, they blew up apartments in Moscow, as if it were terrorists. It was really the FSB.” The FSB is a Russian government security agency also known as the Federal Security Service.
⚡️Akhmetov pledges to rebuild Mariupol.
Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man, told Reuters that his holding would play a key role in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine and Mariupol in particular. The oligarch built part of his fortune thanks to two plants in Mariupol.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 16, 2022
As reported by The Daily Beast, “The unnamed soldier in the intercepted call goes on to say there was “no way” the Ukrainians could have reached the town of Klimovo, in the Bryansk region, from where they were, and tells his wife he plans to “refuse” to go further with the war in Ukraine.” There have been significant morale problems reported on the Russian side in association with the war. Recently, for example, The Kyiv Independent shared an English summary of revelations from Ukrainian military authorities who stated that Russia had been unable to bulk up its personnel to the necessary extent with residents of the North Caucasus region. “The main reason is the unwillingness of the local people to fight in the war against Ukraine, according to Ukrainian intelligence data. Due to an acute shortage of military personnel, the Russian military command plans to conduct a nationwide mobilization in parallel with the spring conscription, which is running from April 1 until July 15,” the outlet added. Thousands of Russian soldiers are already believed to have died amid fighting in Ukraine.
⚡️More than 10,000 volunteers register to help rebuild Ukraine.
The volunteers currently work in the demined areas of Kyiv Oblast. They are cleaning the streets by picking up dismantled debris and participating in the search operations, according to the State Emergency Service.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 16, 2022
As previously reported here, in a captured and recorded phone conversation that circulated last month and involved a pair of Russian soldiers, one of the duo complained about operations in a particular region of Ukraine: “Basically, it’s a shitshow here, I’ll put it that way.” The Russian soldier making these comments was apparently around the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. The soldier also stated that Lieutenant-General Yakov Rezantsev had previously insisted to soldiers there that their efforts would soon conclude. As the soldier put it, “Do you know what he told us? ‘It’s no secret to anyone that there are only a few hours until this special operation is over.’ And now those hours are still going.” Rezantsev was recently reported to have died in the war. Meanwhile, the Russian soldier speaking on that call intercepted by Ukrainian security personnel “said soldiers are complaining about having Kevlar vests that lack the hard-armor panel, but they are ignored,” The Daily Beast says. According to the soldier, a military leader presented with problems suffered by personnel “just says, ‘Son, be strong,’ and then he fucks off. It’s such trash here… our own plane dropped a bomb on us.”
⚡️Luhansk Oblast Governor: Russian occupiers open fire in central Lysychansk, thwarting evacuation.
Serhiy Haidai said residents decided to stay in basements and only one person has been evacuated.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 16, 2022
