This is Snezhana.

She was born on 14.04.2014 - the very day that the Kiev regime started its "anti-terrorist operation" against the people of Donbass.

Snezhana lives in the town Makeevka near Donetsk, which has been regularly shelled by Ukrainian military for 8 years.

#See4Yourself / #Think4Yourself

💬 Russian MFA Spokesperson Maria Zakharova on the anniversary of the Ukrainian assault on the Donbass.

▪️ On April 13, 2014 the Kiev regime began a civil war under the name Anti-Terrorist Operation against Donbass civilians who refused to accept the anti-constitutional coup by neo-Nazis.

❗️For eight years we have been witnessing Kiev’s war crimes and the West’s indifference to the tragedy in Donbass.

Our attempts to make Kiev abide by the #MinskAgreements failed, including due to the position of the Western countries who were playing their own game with their military buildup in Ukraine, turning it into a bridgehead against Russia while hiding behind talk of “engagement” in the political process of peace negotiations.

🛡 Having exhausted diplomatic means of protecting Donbass and ensuring its own security, Russia was forced to launch a special military operation.

(excerpt from weekly briefing of 14.04.22)

🇷🇺🇺🇦Emergency Statement of the Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response in Ukraine

📑 Full Text

#MoD #Russia #Ukraine #HumanitarianResponse #HumanitarianAid
@mod_russia_en

Evidence in Mariupol suggests 🇺🇦 military was stockpiling banned land mines. Kiev violates the Ottawa convention as a signatory.

🇷🇺🇺🇦Briefing by Russian Defence Ministry (Part 1)

▫️The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine.

💥During the night, high-precision air-based missiles destroyed an ammunition factory near Brovary in Kiev region.

✈️💥Operational-tactical and army aviation hit 68 military assets of Ukraine. Among them:

▫️2 radar stations for target illumination and targeting of S-300 anti-aircraft missile system near Krivaya Luka and Krasnoarmeisk as well as 1 Osa AKM anti-aircraft missile system near Severodonetsk;

▫️6 missile-artillery weapons and fuel depots, as well as 40 areas of concentration of Ukrainian military equipment and manpower in Kremennaya, Krasnyi Liman, Kolodesi, Torskoe, Yampolovka and Novoselovka.

💥Army aviation hit 4 concentrations of manpower and equipment as well as a convoy of vehicles on the march during the night. More than 50 Ukrainian servicemen, 7 IFVs and APCs and 14 armoured vehicles were destroyed.

💥Missile troops and artillery struck 814 assets, including 17 command posts, 111 artillery firing positions and 684 enemy strong points and areas manpower concentration.

💥Russian air defence means shot down 10 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles near Avdeevka, Bairak, Lozovaya, Malaya Kamyshevakha, Novoprokofievka, Pologi, Chernobayevka, Shirkoe and Yasinovataya.

📊In total, 134 aircraft, 470 unmanned aerial vehicles, 249 anti-aircraft missile systems, 2,290 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 254 multiple launch rocket systems, 992 field artillery and mortars, as well as 2,166 units of special military vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation.

📌 Part 2

#MoD #Russia #Ukraine #Briefing
@mod_russia_en

🇷🇺🇺🇦Briefing by Russian Defence Ministry (Part 2)

▫️During the offensive to liberate Mariupol city, a special operation to free hostages held by Ukrainian Nazis in Turkish mosque was carried out in Primorskiy district on April 16 at the request of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

▫️As a result of the courageous actions of the Russian special operations group, the mosque was released and 29 militants, including foreign mercenaries, were killed.
Hostages, citizens of a CIS country, released and taken to a safe location.

▫️A Ukrainian group encircled and completely blockaded in Mariupol on the territory of the Azovstal plant has been asked to voluntarily lay down arms and surrender in order to save their lives.

▫️However, the Kiev nationalist regime, according to the radio intercept, forbade negotiations on surrender, ordering Azov Nazis to shoot on sight any willing to lay down arms among Ukrainian soldiers and foreign mercenaries.

▫️In total, according to the Ukrainian servicemen who surrendered, up to 400 foreign mercenaries are now encircled on the territory of Azovstal plant as part of the Ukrainian grouping.

▫️Most of them are citizens of European countries as well as Canada. We previously reported that radio conversations between militants in Mariupol were conducted in six foreign languages. In the case of further resistance, they will all be eliminated.

▫️Since the start of the special military operation, the Kiev nationalist regime has brought 6,824 foreign mercenaries from 63 countries to Ukraine.

▫️The largest group came from Poland - 1,717 people. About 1,500 mercenaries came from the US, Canada and also Romania. From the UK and Georgia, each up to 300 people.

▫️193 people arrived from Turkish-controlled areas of the Syrian Arab Republic.

▫️The majority of the mercenaries are now deployed in Ukrainian groups in Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, Nikolaev and Mariupol. Their deployment in the groups is handled by the "regional coordination headquarters" of the so-called "International Legion of Defence of Ukraine" in Belaya Tserkov city.

▫️As a result of the hostilities, the number of mercenaries has steadily declined and currently stands at 4,877.

▫️Russian Armed Forces have eliminated 1,035 foreign mercenaries in combat operations. Another 912 mercenaries refused to take part in the hostilities and escaped from the country.

❗️Let me remind you that foreign mercenaries do not have the status of "combatants" under International Humanitarian Law. They came to Ukraine to make money by killing Slavs. So the best that can happen to them is criminal liability and long terms of imprisonment.

📌 Part 1

#MoD #Russia #Ukraine #Briefing
@mod_russia_en

⚔️ On April 17, 1944, the Red Army liberated right-bank Ukraine from the Nazi invaders, having completed the Dnieper-Carpathian offensive.

The Red Army victory in western Ukraine invigorated the national liberation movement in central and southeastern Europe considerably. The frontline was pushed back closer to food, oil and other raw material sources that were vital for Germany.

☝️ The success of Soviet troops had huge international political repercussions. Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria started looking for ways to withdraw from the war, while the Soviet Union’s allies expedited preparations for landing their troops in France.

Here's how the Western mainstream media and politicians whitewash the neo-Nazi #Azov Battalion, that has committed countless atrocities and crimes, targeting & killing civilians outright and using them as "human shield" (watch Mariupol residents give first-hand accounts). From terrorists to "patriots" in the eye of Western media.

📹 Donald Courter / @rtnews

#Think4Yourself

While awaiting a response from Boris Johnson on his future, 🇬🇧 UK national Aiden Aslin (aka Cossack Gundi) also speaks about his neo-Nazi “comrades” from Azov and the tactics they’ve been using in Mariupol.

It’s no surprise that they were abducting and torturing civilians, not to mention using them as “human shield”.

🗓 The Convention on Diplomatic Relations was adopted on this day 6️⃣1️⃣ years ago, in Vienna. It is one of the main international treaties offering a legal framework for diplomatic relations.

🌐 All UN member states, except Palau and South Sudan, signed and ratified the Convention.

📜 The Convention contains rules related to the appointment and seniority of heads of missions and members of diplomatic staff, declaring a member of a diplomatic mission persona non grata, ensuring the security of embassies and consulates, etc. A considerable part of the Convention is devoted to diplomatic privileges and immunities.

▪️ Unfortunately, the provisions of the Convention today are often violated by the Western nations' authorities.

💬 #Zakharova: Our diplomatic property was confiscated in the United States - five large diplomatic facilities. They were seized from us in violation of the Vienna Convention and common sense, and most importantly, in violation of US law.

Read more

🇷🇺🇩🇿 Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation with the President of Algeria Abdelmadjid Tebboune

The leaders of the two states have exchanged congratulations on the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations’ establishment, celebrated this year, noting stable onward development of friendship ties between Russia and Algeria.

🔸Intent to continue the bilateral coordination in the OPEC+ format and within the framework of Gas Exporting Countries Forum has been confirmed.

🔸Concern has been expressed in connection with the escalation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, the importance of stepping up international efforts in the Middle Eastern settlement has been underlined.

🔸Situation in Ukraine has also been touched upon.

The Russian Defence Ministry has reliable data on the true losses of the Ukrainian army, the national guard and joined foreign mercenaries.

❗️As of today, the real documented irreplacable losses of the Ukrainian side amount to 23,367 people.

📑The documents available to the Russian Defence Ministry also indicate a large number of deserted servicemen, wounded and missing.

We publish separate data on the losses of the national guard of Ukraine, obtained from real Ukrainian documents. They disclose information about significant losses among the military personnel of military unit 3057 and the punishers of the Azov special purpose detachment that is part of it (as of March 29, 2022).

Data on combat and non-combat losses in military unit 3057 and circumstances of soldiers' deaths:
📌 Part 1
📌 Part 2
📌 Part 3

Data on the losses of military personnel of military unit 3057 due to injury or trauma:
📌 Part 1
📌 Part 2
📌 Part 3
📌 Part 4

The criminal Kiev regime does not recognize its losses, with this publication we prove once again that we are showing the truth!

#MoD #Russia #Ukraine
@mod_russia_en

🕯 Руководство и коллектив Министерства иностранных дел России с глубоким прискорбием узнали о кончине видного государственного деятеля современности, бывшего директора Службы внешней разведки, первого Заместителя Министра иностранных дел Российской Федерации, Чрезвычайного и Полномочного Посла Вячеслава Ивановича Трубникова.

Вячеслав Иванович был действительно масштабной личностью. Его жизненный путь – пример честного, доблестного служения Отечеству. Где бы ни трудился В.И.#Трубников – будь то во внешней разведке или на Смоленской площади – он неизменно способствовал продвижению и защите национальных интересов, в целом укреплению безопасности Родины. Его заслуги получили самое широкое признание и по праву отмечены многочисленными наградами.

🕯 Отечественная дипломатическая служба понесла тяжелую утрату. Мы сохраним светлую память о Вячеславе Ивановиче. Выражаем искренние соболезнования его родным и близким.

#ПамятиДипломатов

⚡️Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, Head of the Russian Federation Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response - Head of the National Centre for State Defence Control of the Russian Federation:

▫️Taking into account the catastrophic situation at the Azovstal metallurgical plant in the city of Mariupol, from 14:00 (Moscow time) on April 19, 2022 the Russian Armed Forces have opened a humanitarian corridor for the withdrawal of Ukrainian servicemen and militants of nationalist formations who voluntarily laid down their arms.

▫️For this purpose, a ceasefire has been introduced, any hostilities have been stopped, units of the Russian Armed Forces and formations of the Donetsk People's Republic have been withdrawn to a safe distance along the entire perimeter of Azovstal.

▫️In the immediate vicinity of the metallurgical plant, three humanitarian convoys are deployed in three directions:
🔹the first one is from the western direction on Shevchenko street;
🔹the second is from the eastern direction on Pobeda avenue;
🔹the third is from the north direction on Taganrogskaya street.

▫️Each humanitarian convoy consists of 30 buses and cars for transporting people, 10 ambulances with medical and nursing teams. In addition, meeting points and temporary accommodation have been deployed in all three directions, food and primary medical care facilities have been organized.

▫️On all routes of movement of humanitarian convoys, the Russian Armed Forces, together with the formations of the Donetsk People's Republic, strictly observe the ceasefire.

▫️Once again, we call on the official authorities of Kiev to show prudence, to give appropriate instructions to the militants about ending senseless resistance and leaving the hotbed of resistance. But realizing that the commanders of Ukrainian units may not receive such orders and commands from the Kiev authorities, we urge them to make such a decision on their own and lay down their arms.

❗️I would like to emphasize that the leadership of the Russian Federation guarantees the preservation of life, complete safety and the provision of qualified medical care to all those who have laid down their weapons. Russia has repeatedly, including through the surrender of Ukrainian marines who have laid down their arms and surrendered in practice, confirmed its humane attitude towards prisoners of war and its full compliance with the norms of international humanitarian law. And this time the Russian side guarantees compliance with the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war.

▫️This statement was brought to the Ukrainian side through the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Ukraine Vereshchuk Irina.

#MoD #Russia #HumanitarianResponse
@mod_russia_en

⚡️Over the past day, a number of publications have been recorded in the Ukrainian media, in which official representatives of Kiev claim that a large number of civilians are allegedly on Azovstal. We are sure that this is just another information scam created solely to save the nationalists.

❗️We appeal to the representatives of the Kiev authorities: "if someone from the civilian population is on Azovstal, we demand to take all measures for their release and exit through the created humanitarian corridors." At the same time, the Russian leadership guarantees the safe evacuation of all, without exception, civilians and their movement as part of humanitarian convoys in any direction they choose.

❗️At the same time, we declare that the forcible detention of civilians as a "human shield" in accordance with the norms of international humanitarian law is terrorism, and the officials of the Kiev authorities and the direct perpetrators of this inhumane action on Azovstal are war criminals and terrorists.

Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, Head of the Russian Federation Joint Coordination Headquarters for Humanitarian Response - Head of the National Centre for State Defence Control of the Russian Federation

#MoD #Russia #Ukraine
@mod_russia_en

Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan are having talks in Novo-Ogaryovo

The President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Armenia exchanged greetings on the 30th anniversary of Russia-Armenia diplomatic relations.

🔹Armenia is Russia's important economic partner, with mutual trade having grown 12.8% in 2021.
🔹The talks will focus on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.

Nikol Pashinyan noted Russia's contribution to ensuring stability and security in Nagorno-Karabakh.

🇷🇺Today at 15:12 Moscow time, Sarmat, land-based intercontinental ballistic missile, was successfully launched from a silo at the Plesetsk state testing cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk Region.

🚀The launch objectives have been met in full.

▫️The design characteristics during all phases of its flight are confirmed. The training combat sections arrived in the target area at Kura training ground on Kamchatka Peninsula.

▫️Flight tests of the prospective heavy-lift missile with a dividing warhead made it possible to assess the correctness of the design and technical solutions used during the development of Sarmat missile system.

▫️This launch is the first in the state test programme. After the completion of the testing programme, Sarmat missile system will enter service with Strategic Missile Forces.

▫️At the Uzhurskiy missile formation in Krasnoyarsk Territory, preparations are underway to rearm the main missile regiment with the new missile system. Promising Sarmat missile system will replace Voyevoda.

🔹Sarmat system is a product solely of Russian industry cooperation. The missile's mass and energy characteristics have expanded its range of weaponry, both in the number of warheads and in types, including gliding hypersonic section.

🔹The new missile is capable of hitting targets at long ranges using a variety of flight trajectories.

🔹Sarmat missile has unique characteristics that allow it to be guaranteed to overcome any existing and promising anti-missile defence systems.

🔹Sarmat is the most powerful missile with the world's longest distance to hit targets, which will significantly enhance the combat power of our country's strategic nuclear forces.

#MoD #Russia #Sarmat
@mod_russia_en