On the ground, the Russian forces continued to gain ground on April 9 and 10 in Bakhmout, but suffered “probably significant losses”, noted, Monday, April 10, the Institute for the study of war.
The leak of classified American documents, particularly related to Ukraine, poses a “very serious” risk to the national security of the United States, the Pentagon said on Monday. While South Korea, concerned by these leaks, indicated that they were falsified documents.
In addition, the Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Mourza, accused in particular of high treason and who faces 25 years in prison, said he was “proud” of his political commitment, during a statement in his trial, emblematic of the repression all azimuths in Russia.
Russia gained ground in Bakhmut, says Institute for the Study of War
According to the latest analyzes of theInstitute for the Study of War (ISW), published on Monday and based on geolocation images, Russian forces are said to have further gained ground around Bakhmout. Russian military bloggers also claimed that Russian forces advanced in northwest Bakhmut and in the center of the city near the railway line on April 9-10. Ukrainian spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces Colonel Serhiy Cherevaty said on April 9 that the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) began to appear in Bakhmout to reinforce those already present, including the Wagner Group which lost powerful in recent days.
For its part, the Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian ground attacks in Bakhmut and near Bohdanivka (6 kilometers northwest of Bakhmout) and Khromove, ISW reported.
In one of the usual propaganda videos of the Kremlin forces, Denis Pushilin, leader of the separatist republic of Donetsk, appeared this Monday April 10 alone, in the middle of the debris. From the buildings visible, the 41-year-old politician appears to be in Freedom Square in central Bakhmout. In recent months, Russian troops had already advanced north and south of the city, cutting several Ukrainian supply routes and seizing its eastern part.
Russian opponent Kara Mourza, who faces 25 years in prison, says he has no regrets
Referring to his positions against the Russian offensive in Ukraine and against Vladimir Putin, the Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Mourza said Monday “subscribe to every word of what I said and what I am accused of in this charge”. “Not only do I not repent of all this, but I am proud of it”, he added during this last statement of the accused before the statement of the sentence by the court and published on Telegram by journalist Alexei Venediktov. “I only blame myself for one thing […] I failed to convince enough of my compatriots and politicians of democratic countries of the danger that the current Kremlin regime represents for Russia and for the world,” he added.
The Russian prosecutor’s office last week requested 25 years in prison against this opponent in the context of this trial which is taking place behind closed doors. Vladimir Kara-Mourza is targeted by three serious charges: “high treason”, spreading “false information” about the Russian army and illegal work for an “undesirable” organization. In pre-trial detention since April 2022, Vladimir Kara-Mourza is a long-time opponent of Vladimir Putin. He almost died after being, according to him, poisoned twice, in 2015 and 2017, assassination attempts which he attributes to Russian power.
Leak of secret US documents: significant number are forgeries, according to Seoul
A “significant number” of classified US intelligence documents on South Korea leaked in recent weeks among others have been “falsified”, the South Korean presidency said on Tuesday. The leak, which the Pentagon says poses a “very serious” risk to US national security, has caused diplomatic embarrassment. Some of the leaked documents do indeed appear to indicate that Washington collects intelligence on its allies, such as Israel and South Korea.
According to press reports, several documents point to concerns among senior South Korean national security officials, who fear that weapons and ammunition produced in their country end up being used in Ukraine. Such an eventuality would constitute a violation of Seoul’s policy of not selling any weapons to countries at war.
The revelation of alleged talks about Ukraine between senior national security officials has sparked criticism in South Korea over the vulnerability of communications within the country’s key administrations, such as the presidency. South Korean President Yoon Seok-youl’s office, however, defended itself on Tuesday, saying it had “ironclad security” and that the wiretap accusations were “insane lies”.
During a telephone call on Tuesday, the American and South Korean defense ministers, however, estimated that “a significant number of the documents in question have been falsified”, according to a press release from the South Korean presidency.