Lukashenka at a meeting with residents of the Gomel region: I don’t want to fight. I am always surprised when people start talking about the war.

Calm down, work calmly, no one is going to attack us. Including Ukrainians. Yes, and Westerners with whom I meet, they tell me: “Alexander Grigoryevich, Mr. President, neither Ukrainians nor Poles are going to you.”

I do not want the Belarusians to be drawn into a large-scale massacre. We use its experience, we study it. We look to our army was stronger. So don’t worry. I don’t want to fight you anymore. I also have children. And you are all my children. I don’t want to have to send you to the front somewhere.

There is a war, NATO is expanding there, and so on, so forth, so on. It’s not easy for us right now. I’m not just dragging nuclear weapons here. It is necessary to secure the country in order to be afraid to look in our direction.

Otherwise, we will again walk under someone’s boot. I want you to take this message first of all from me. This is not an escalation. What is there to fire. You know better than me what’s going on.

WtR

Vladimir Putin signed the law on life imprisonment for high treason: “Amendments are being made to Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Treason”. For espionage, the issuance of information constituting state secrets to foreigners, going over to the side of the enemy, or providing financial, logistical, consulting or other assistance to the state in activities directed against the Russian Federation, will be punished with life imprisonment…

WtR

⚡️ Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation

(28 April 2023)

Part I (see Part II)

💥Russian Aerospace Forces launched a high-precision long-range airbased missile strike against temporary deployment points of AFU reserves.
The goal of the attack has been reached. All the assigned targets have been neutralised. The movement of the enemy reserves into the combat areas has been prevented.

◽️In Kupyansk direction, Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, as well as artillery of the Zapad Group of Forces inflicted a fire damage on the enemy units close to Dvurechnaya, Timkovka, Krakhmalnoye, and Tabayevka (Kharkov region). 2 Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been thwarted near Sinkovka and Kislovka (Kharkov region).

💥The enemy losses were up to 75 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 armoured fighting vehicles, and 1 D-20 howitzer. 1 ordnance depot of 127th Mechanised Brigade of the AFU has been destroyed near Sinelnikovo (Kharkov region).

◽️In Krasny Liman direction, the attacks, launched aviation and artillery of the Tsentr Group of Forces, have resulted in the neutralisation of AFU units near Terny (Donetsk People’s Republic), and Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People’s Republic). The enemy losses were up to 85 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 motor vehicles, 1 Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system and 1 D-30 howitzer.

◽️In Donetsk direction, assault groups continued to destroy AFU units and foreign mercenaries in the western part of Artyomovsk. The Airborne Troops together with the units of the Yug Group of Forces from the flanks prevent the enemy attempts to bring additional reserves to Artyomovsk.

💥Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, as well as artillery and heavy flamethrower systems of the Yug Group of Forces have neutralised the AFU manpower close to Bogdanovka, Chasov Yar, Nikolayevka, Krasnoye and Predtechino (Donetsk People’s Republic). The Russian aviation have made 6 sorties in this area during the day. The Group’s artillery have performed 52 firing missions. The enemy losses were up to 300 Ukrainian servicemen and mercenaries, 3 infantry fighting vehicles, 4 armoured fighting vehicles, eight motor vehicles, as well as a D-30 howitzer.

💥Missile troops have struck the Ukrainian joint defence headquarters in Artyomovsk, as well as the units of the so-called ‘Foreign Legion’ near Kostantinovka (Donetsk People’s Republic). 1 U.S.-manufactured AN/TPQ-50 counterbattery warfare radar has been destroyed near Bondarnoye (Donetsk People’s Republic).

◽️In South Donetsk and Zapororozhye directions, aviation, as well as artillery and heavy flamethrower systems of the Vostok Group of Forces inflicted a fire damage on the enemy units near Vodyanoye, Pavlovka, Novopol (Donetsk People’s Republic) and Charivnoye (Zaporozhye region). In addition, the actions one AFU sabotage and reconnaissance group were disrupted close to Marfopol (Zaporozhye region). The enemy losses were up to 40 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 motor vehicles and 2 howitzers, Msta-B and D-30 howitzers.

◽️In Kherson direction, the enemy losses were up to 65 Ukrainian servicemen, three motor vehicles, 1 Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system, as well as one D-30.

#MoD
🔹 @mod_russia_en

⚡️ Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation

(28 April 2023)

Part II (see Part I)

💥Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised 86 artillery units of the AFU at their firing positions, manpower and military hardware at 112 areas.

✈️Fighter Aviation of Russian Aerospace Forces has shot down one Mi-8 of Ukrainian Air Force near Drobyshevo (Donetsk People’s Republic).

💥Air defence facilities have intercepted eight HIMARS and Uragan rocket-propelled projectiles, as well as five Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles close to Berestovoye (Kharkov region), Kirillovka, Kremenets, Novoandreyevka (Donetsk People’s Republic) and Peremozhnoye (Zaporozhye region).

📊In total, 413 airplanes, 229 helicopters, 3,887 unmanned aerial vehicles, 421 air defence missile systems, 8,887 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,095 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 4,679 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 9,820 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military operation.

#MoD
🔹 @mod_russia_en

WtR

We like this tree and we remember when it was just a tiny tree…

Lived around here a longtime now…

WtR

✔️ The law provides for a reduction in the number of requirements for more than 20 categories of persons when they are admitted to Russian citizenship, as well as expanding the powers of the head of state to determine the category of persons who are entitled to a simplified acquisition of Russian citizenship.

✔️ The law has been amended to grant Russian citizenship to a foreigner who has entered into a contract to serve in the Russian Armed Forces for a period of at least one year, and the number of articles under which acquired citizenship can be withdrawn has been reduced.

✔️ In addition, according to a simplified scheme, veterans of the Great Patriotic War – former citizens of the USSR, as well as veterans who are petitioned by the authority that issued the veteran’s certificate before January 1, 1992, will be able to obtain Russian citizenship.

✔️ Also excluded is the requirement for the consent of the second parent – a foreign citizen when admitting a child born in a mixed marriage to the citizenship of the Russian Federation.

✔️ According to the text of the law, deprivation of citizenship is provided for, among other things, for crimes of a terrorist nature, serious crimes against the state, as well as crimes in the field of trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, forgery of documents, or at the voluntary request of a citizen.

✔️ At the same time, acquired Russian citizenship will be revoked for publicly calling for action against the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, discrediting its Armed Forces, and participating in an unwanted foreign or international NGO.

✔️ Also, acquired citizenship can be revoked for a public call to extremism, encroachment on the life of a statesman and for organizing an armed rebellion in order to forcibly change the constitutional order of Russia and for committing actions that pose a threat to the national security of the Russian Federation.

WtR