Ministry of Culture Commission in Lavra and reactions to video of execution of a military man: highlights of April 12

The commission of the Ministry of Culture entered the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

The commission of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy has finally managed to get into the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. Several times, access to the premises was blocked.

The commission inspected building 112, noting the emergency condition of the building. According to the Minister of Culture, this building has been an integral element of the spatial composition of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra for more than 100 years, an example of public and social architecture in the style of classicism, designed by the famous architect P.I. Sparro.

“The photo shows the consequences of the UOC-MP's use of the Book Warehouse of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, built in the second half of the nineteenth century, which is a monument of architecture and urban planning of local importance,” the minister writes.

Reaction to the execution video

The Security Service of Ukraine has launched a pre-trial investigation into a video circulated on social media showing the occupiers executing an allegedly Ukrainian soldier: a man's head was cut off with a knife. CNN journalists have found another video showing the execution of two Ukrainian soldiers.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine emphasized that from the first minutes of the video's appearance, all competent Ukrainian services have been carefully studying it frame by frame to identify the war criminals. However, the ministry asks to stop the dissemination of this and other similar videos, as Russia is trying to intimidate Ukrainians.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that the killing of a Ukrainian prisoner is a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions. It called on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to immediately address the execution.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that “every leader must respond” to the execution, and Ukraine “is not going to forget and forgive the killers”.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine stated that it was appalled by the extremely brutal execution videos and that they should be properly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice.

New data on leaked documents

The New York Times, citing an analysis of leaked US classified documents, writes that the United States considered four scenarios for the course of the Russian-Ukrainian war in the event of unforeseen events: the possibility of the deaths of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the removal of the Russian leadership by the Russian armed forces, and a Ukrainian strike against the Kremlin.

Reuters found in the leaked Pentagon documents that Serbia had allegedly agreed to supply weapons to Ukraine. However, Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic called the published information a lie and denied any military supplies to Ukraine or Russia.

In addition, after the leak, the United States and Latvia confirmed that they had sent their military to Ukraine. However, they are not taking part in hostilities against the Russians.

Other news:

• The Offensive Guard will have a new ninth brigade, the “Charter” brigade.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submits a bill to terminate the agreement on mutual protection of state secrets with Belarus.
• Ukraine resumes electricity exports to Poland on April 12.
• The UK imposes sanctions on Oksana Marchenko and relatives of Russian oligarchs. The United States sanctioned another Russian PMC and a Chinese company that helped the occupiers.
• Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal discussed Ukraine's need for a counteroffensive with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
• Taiwan believes that China is preparing to start a war.
• Russia builds a 120 km defense line in Zaporizhzhia, fearing an offensive on Melitopol.