Attack on an aviation center in Russia and Vitiuk's suspension after journalists' investigation: April 9 highlights

Attack on an aviation center in Russia

Overnight on April 8-9, the Borisoglebsky Aviation Training Center was damaged in a drone attack on Russia's Voronezh Oblast.

A source in the special services told hromadske that the drone attack on the aviation center was organized by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. According to our interlocutor, the aircraft repair plant 711 was damaged.

Vitiuk suspended after journalists' investigation

Illya Vitiuk, head of the cybersecurity department of the Security Service of Ukraine, has been suspended from his duties while the circumstances surrounding the investigation by Slidstvo.Info journalists are being checked. The special service says he was sent to the combat zone.

In addition, the head of the Solomyanskyi military commissariat in Kyiv was transferred to a lower position in a combat unit after an attempt to serve a draft summons to Slidstvo.info journalist Yevhen Shulhat.

The Rada Committee approved the draft law on mobilization for the second reading vote

The Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security and Defense has approved the second reading of the draft law on mobilization. This version will be submitted to the parliament on April 10, according to the committee's chairman, Oleksandr Zavitnevych.

Numerous discussions and deliberations in the committee, among other things, were aimed at working out the bill "so thoroughly as to avoid destructive actions in the parliament" during its consideration, "to prevent politicization and PR campaigns of any lawmaker or even entire groups and to delay the adoption of the law by such actions."

Ministry of Culture responds to criticism of draft reservation

The Minister of Culture Rostyslav Karandeyev called the latest criticism of the mobilization of circus, media and other institutions' employees' reservations disrespectful to cultural workers.

The ministry emphasized that "Ukrainian culture is an important tool for resilience and resistance to Russian aggression." As of April 9, 1,150 cultural workers and slightly more than 700 media professionals have been deferred from mobilization.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal instructed ministries to introduce an updated regulation on reservations that would ensure fair granting of deferred mobilization.

Ukrainian hackers destroy Moscollector's databases

Ukrainian cyber specialists, who may be affiliated with the Security Service of Ukraine, have destroyed the IT infrastructure of Moscollector, an institution responsible for the functioning of underground water pipes, communication cables, power cables and heating networks in the Russian capital.

Murder of a teenager: the court remanded the attacker in custody

The Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv has remanded Artem Kosov, an employee of the Department of State Protection, in custody. He was suspected of murdering a young man at a Kyiv funicular station.

He does not admit his guilt. The parole office assured that the man was not allowed to go home – he was kept in a pre-trial detention center until the court hearing.

Demobilization will be considered separately

The provisions on demobilization and rotation of military personnel have been excluded from the government draft law on mobilization, which is being prepared for the second reading. This decision was made by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security and Defense, Ukrainska Pravda reports, citing its own sources in the committee.

It is noted that the exclusion of these provisions was initiated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Russian attacks

On the night of April 9, Russians shelled Poltava Oblast: 16 people were injured, four of them children aged 5-11.

Russian troops also attacked Kharkiv once again. Four people were reported injured. Amid the latest shelling of Kharkiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to the city.

In Chernihiv Oblast, Russians shelled Semenivka, killing a civilian.

In the afternoon, the Russian forces fired an Iskander-M ballistic missile at the coastal and recreational area of Odesa Oblast.

A person died in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, as a result of a Russian bomb. The Russian troops also shelled Slovyansk during the day for the first time in a while: two residents were wounded.

NATO troops rented cottages of Russian elite

During NATO exercises, Swedish and Norwegian troops lived in rented cottages belonging to the Russian elite. These cottages are located in the middle of a military base of the Norwegian Armed Forces in the north of the country.

The Norwegian security service said that it was aware of the lease of the "Russian houses" that the Norwegian Armed Forces had signed with their owners.

Other news

• Two more children, one of whom is an orphan, were returned from Russian occupation.
• The IAEA is convening an extraordinary meeting of the Board of Directors to discuss the drone explosion at the ZNPP.
• Pro-Russian blogger Anatoliy Shariy's ex-associate was fired from a department at a military university "under public pressure," Detector Media reports.
• The Russian Federation accuses a Ukrainian oil and gas company, where Joe Biden's son worked, of "financing terrorist attacks."
• March 2024 was the tenth consecutive warmest month on record.