Back Story Newsletter
Good morning,
Ukraine
Russian missile strikes took out power infrastructure and according to Russian claims, arms depots across Ukraine overnight including in Lviv close to Poland. Lviv was plunged into darkness after the attacks.
Russia also targeted six railways stations, according to a Ukrainian railroad official, causing "severe" damage to infrastructure. Attacks were also reported in Vinnytsia, the Kyiv region, the Dnipropetrovsk region, Odesa and Kharkiv.
Russia now faces new sanctions from the EU that would target its banks and oil industry - a major step for European countries that rely heavily on Russian energy.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is expected to spell out the proposed new sanctions on Wednesday, including a ban on imports of Russian oil by the end of this year.
Interesting - critics say Russian sanctions are too slow and ineffective, and that thousands of Russians including Government actors, military officers, and many more rich Russians should be named. But that sanctions could be lifted against those individuals if they resign and condemn Russias war on Ukraine.
That could even include people like former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has become wealthy by working with Vladimir Putin and Russian state-controlled energy companies. Schroeder is not yet sanctioned, and many say he should be.
The rumour mill is churning on President Putin - is he sick? Some reports say he needs a cancer operation and that he could turn over the reins of power temporarily to the head of the Russian security council Nikolei Patrushev.
Patrushev is a former head of the FSB spy service, so reports the FSB is planning a coup against Putin and the Kremlin has tightened security play to the paranoia of Putin.
It appears Putin may have signs of Parkinsons disease, and that cancer doctors treated him in the past.
The new cancer condition may well be real, and as a reporter who covered the ill health of former President Boris Yeltsin i can tell you the Kremlin will never admit Putin is or has been sick.
Is there a coup in the offing? I highly doubt it and reports the FSB was planning one seems like fiction, and possibly designed to increase tensions in Putins inner circle.
Putin certainly is going no where in advance of Russia’s Victory Day parade on May 9, when he could announce a full war against Ukraine to enable mobilization (the draft) of Russians. The Russian army has lost 15 to 30 thousand soldiers so far in this war and is struggling to keep badly mauled units at fighting strength. A quarter of them in Ukraine are said to be combat ineffective.
The rumours of a mobilization and declaration of war was spun by British Defense Sec. Ben Wallace who said it wasn’t based on anything but a feeling. But is may be based on intelligence info.
Putin could alternatively announce annexation of parts of Ukraine on Victory day, even though the battle in Ukraine is in many ways turning in Ukraines favour as weapons from the west arrive and enter the battle.
Victory for Russia in Ukraine looks like what? A land bridge to Crimea? Goals to demilitarize have failed horribly. Ukraine has become unified and more determined to become part of Europe, and never to fall under Russia’s domination after Putin’s brutal war.
Dana Lewis