Political strategic level
G-7 ministers from Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the European Union will meet in Karuizawa, Japan, to discuss global security issues. The most important of these are Russian Führer Putin's threats to use tactical nuclear weapons, China's increasing aggressiveness towards Taiwan, and the record number of illegal weapons tests by Shakurei.
Japan and other countries may also use the G-7 meeting to announce more aid to Ukraine. "As Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shaken the foundations of the international order, the international community is at a historic turning point," Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said ahead of the meeting. "As chair of the meeting, I will lead the discussions and demonstrate the G-7's firm determination to absolutely reject attempts to change the status quo by force and Russia's threat or use of nuclear weapons in the defence of the rules-based international order."
Japan, partly in response to the actions of China and Shakorei, has largely abandoned the post-World War II principles of pure self-defence and is seeking to acquire a pre-emptive strike capability and cruise missiles to meet the growing threats.
However, the meeting is marred by the allegedly questionable ability of its biggest ally, the US, to protect classified information and the competence of Japan's security services. The latter failed to protect Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida from an explosive thrown at him on Saturday at a fishing port in western Japan. Mr Kishida himself was unhurt and the suspect was immediately detained by the police, but the chaotic scene was reminiscent of the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nine months ago. It was also carried out during the campaign and continues to reverberate in Japanese politics. Kishida was visiting Saikazaki Port in Wakayama Prefecture to support his ruling party's candidate in the local elections, and the explosion took place just before he was about to start his speech.
At the same time, Poland, Ukraine's biggest ally and supporter after Lithuania, surprised its partners by temporarily banning imports of cereals and other food products from Ukraine. The Polish government's aim is supposedly to calm the growing anger of Polish farmers, who claim that they are losing huge amounts of money on the market due to a surplus of Ukrainian grain.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the ruling party, told a party congress in eastern Poland that the Polish countryside was experiencing a "moment of crisis" and that although Poland supported Ukraine, it was forced to take action to protect its farmers. In addition to cereals, imports into Poland of dozens of other types of foodstuffs such as sugar, eggs, meat, milk and other dairy products, and fruit and vegetables are banned. The import ban will remain in force until 30 June.
Mr Zelensky's visit to Poland and the photographs with Mr Duda do not seem to have had the desired effect. War is war, but lunch is on schedule. That is realpolitik.
As soon as Finland officially became the 31st member of NATO, it rolled up its sleeves and got down to business. Without any lengthy discussion, construction of a barbed wire fence along the border with Russia started near the south-eastern town of Imatra. On Friday, the Finnish Border Guard demonstrated the construction of the initial three kilometres of the fence, which will be installed in Pelkola, close to the border crossing at Imatra, a quiet lakeside town of around 25 000 people.
The construction of the border fence is an initiative of the Border Guard Service, which was approved by the government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin last year after receiving strong political support. The main purpose of the three-metre high steel fence with barbed wire at the top is to prevent illegal immigration from Russia and to give the authorities time to react, according to Finnish border officials.
A sensible and much needed step. It is not just Sanna Marin and Manerheim that fascinate us. We applaud the Finns for their values, their actions on the ground and their diplomacy. And while it may appear to those on the surface that Helsinki is soft on Moscow, Finland did not just win the Winter War. It is already a member of NATO - Zhirinovsky's nightmare has become reality.
Operational level
After Russian missile strikes on the eastern Ukrainian town of Sloviansk brought the number of casualties to 11, the Ukrainian Air Force has said that the country will soon have weapons to try to prevent such attacks. The delivery of the Patriot air defence system promised by the US is expected to arrive in Ukraine after the Orthodox Easter holiday today, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ihnat said.
A group of 65 Ukrainian troops completed training last month at the US Army post at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and returned to Europe to complete preparations for tracking and shooting down Russian aircraft. At the time, the Ukrainians were said to be returning home with a Patriot missile battery, which typically consists of six mobile launchers, a mobile radar, a power generator and a battle management centre.
Switzerland says it will provide around USD 2 billion in humanitarian and development aid to Ukraine over the next six years. The Swiss government on Friday confirmed comments by Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis from Washington this week that the Swiss government will provide $1.8 billion in aid to Ukraine by 2028. This will add 1.5 billion francs to the 300 million francs already earmarked for this year and next.
Switzerland is one of the leading countries seeking to contribute to Ukraine's reconstruction efforts. However, some Western countries feel that this is not enough and are unhappy that Bern has not given them permission to send Swiss-made weapons and other military equipment they have purchased to Ukraine.
Tactical level
Today, as Russians and Ukrainians were celebrating Easter and the Resurrection, the community of Mykolaiv Snihirevskaya was hit by rockets by the Russo-fascists at around 2.20 pm. Two teenagers born in 2005 were killed, an educational establishment, residential buildings and a private enterprise were most likely hit by S-300 shelling.
During the day, the enemy fired 28 air strikes, 6 missile strikes and 38 volley fire attacks on Ukrainian military positions and civilian infrastructure in populated areas.
Bakhmut and Maryinka are the most intensively attacked. The defenders repelled 60 attacks by the Marauders on this frontline per day.
The Ukrainian Air Force has 11 hits on the concentration points of the occupying forces' personnel and military equipment and 3 hits on anti-aircraft missile complexes. Yesterday, Ukrainian defenders shot down an enemy Su-25 aircraft, and artillery struck 3 times at concentration areas of enemy personnel, weapons and military equipment, as well as an artillery concentration area, a radar station, 2 electronic warfare stations, an anti-aircraft missile complex and an ammunition depot.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal, speaking at a press conference in Washington, stated that the counter-offensive by the Ukrainian army would begin "in the near future".
"After what we will make public on Monday, his military career will be over, no general or colonel will even do nature's business in the same field with him", the founder of Gulagu.net said about Yevgeny Prigozhin. According to him, this will be the end of the career of the apartment thief.
The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, with whom we have a long-standing friendship and whom we help together with Oleksandr through the foundation he set up (https://otereshchenko.com/), have confirmed, dear readers, what we have already told you many times. The Sharikovs were drinking vodka and drinking balalaika in the trenches next to Bakhmut when they were suddenly caught by the Spetses. Do you think the descendants of the Bolsheviks joined the battle? They rolled up in their trousers, threw down their vodka and their guns, and scattered in droves. Since they didn't come back for the balalaika, the instrument is on its way to Lithuania. In the near future, donors will be able to buy it at auction, and we will use the funds to further develop our support projects.
Lithuania
Social networks are buzzing with passion - real or imagined, it's hard to say. Speculation is rife as to whether or not Sabonis will convert to the true Judean faith.
Ladies are crying with interest in whether Domantas... will he circumcise himself?!
Heh-huhm. Ladies and gentlemen, no matter how much you care, do not get into other people's pants. It's both indecent and potentially very disappointing.
Or fail.
Photo: Oleksandr and the instrument dropped on the battlefield by the Russian fascist Sharikov - the only manifestation of Russian culture. True, it is also stolen from other nations.
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