Thread by @TWMCLtd

Hello Day 244 and here's the start of another daily thread covering #Russia's illegal war of aggression in #Ukraine.

For the second successive night no widespread bombing or use of attack drones.

There was still a lot of news yesterday, catch up here:

In the early hours this morning the @TheStudyofWar published its daily report/review. Relying on the @ukrpravda_news interview with #Ukraine's Military intelligence chief I tweeted in yesterday's thread, ISW suggests a high-level split in the #Kremlin.

understandingwar.org/backgrounder/r…

A leap in some categories in #Russia's losses today. 3 x Ka-52 attack helicopters in a day, which UK Intel notes in the next tweet.

Tanks destroyed also well above the mean again, possibly due to #Ukraine's partial counter in #Bakhmut and fierce RU resistance in #Beryslav

Here is the #UK daily report then. Verified losses being those with independent footage/photos of a hit on the battlefield. Obviously not every downed aircraft can be filmed and under Martial Law there are heavy restrictions on the public publishing material.

1/

A thread within a thread from occupied #Melitopol' now where the biggest explosion of the day so far may have occurred.

A car bomb looks to have exploded in the car park outside a business centre. Inside the building was the HQ of #Russia's local propaganda #Zaporizhzhia TV

2/
The Occupiers say 5 people were injured in this morning's explosion in #Melitopol'

There is a TV Tower for "ZaTV" next to the building and #Russia's installed local "Head" Balitsky is thought to hold regular meetings in the basement of the business centre,

#RussiansGoHome

3/

Another propaganda state channel from #Russia was soon at the scene to report on the destruction of the local brainwashing channel, whose offices were badly hit in #Melitopol' today.

However, "ZaTV" is still on air according to local invaders.

#StopRussia #RussiansGoHome

A big fire broke out in occupied #Luhansk region last night.

The blaze, seen here, was at a disused mine in Yuvileine, a few km west of #Lugansk city centre.

Some messages on chat sites report the sound of explosions but unverified

#StopRussia

Occupying authorities say over 1,200 people are without electricity in the Kirovsky district of #Donetsk city after a power line was damaged. 17 substations could not operate and power was cut around 11:30am

#StopRussia #StandWithUkraine

Shelling hit the village of #Shchurove in #Donetsk region this morning.

Here we can see some damage caused. The settlement is in the forest, just west of #Lyman.

#SaveUkraine #StopRussia

Early this morning the President of #Germany finally came to #Kyiv

There's been a lot of distrust of Frank Steinmeier in #Ukraine for many years.

Nonetheless a warm welcome including Iris flowers, hinting at the urgent need for the other three Iris-T air defence systems!

1/3
Two football stories concern #Ukraine today: one legitimate, one less so in my opinion

Firstly, let's clear up calls for 🇺🇦to replace #Iran in next month's @FIFAWorldCup for supplying weapons to #Russia

Shakhtar's CEO made the appeal y'day ahead of the UCL clash with Celtic

2/3
There's virtually zero chance #FIFA will kick out #Iran, especially with the #WorldCup kicking off in 4 weeks.

In any case, even if Iran was banned, they'd be replaced with a side from the Asian Confederation, not #Ukraine.

3/3
The other story concerns #Russia saying teams from Occupied regions will compete in its national leagues.

Head of #Ukraine Football, Andriy Pavelko, an ExCo member of #UEFA says "we will demand the expulsion of #Russia from UEFA + FIFA for gross violation of the statutes."

Some people asking "isn't #Russia already banned?"
It's banned from competitions right now but not from the organisations.

IN THEORY any player who plays against an unaffiliated team faces a lifetime ban, so anyone playing in RU league may NEVER be able to play again!

In about 45 minutes I'm hoping to do a live Q&A about #Ukraine on here

Going live now... Ask any questions there

While I was on the broadcast @CarolynnePries1 found some developing stories, such as another case of careless smoking in #Russia.

Some residents reported an explosion at a service station in #Elizavetinskaya just west of #Krasnodar and a big fire followed.

#RussiaOnFire

Some things still shock me.

Here on a TV show, a priest in #Russia criticises women for abortions and not having more babies to give sons to the war.

If they had more children, "losing one in the war wouldn't be so bad!"

#StopRussia #RussiaIsATerroristState

⚡️Breaking⚡️

Another chapter in #Norway's growing potential Russian Spy problem.

A man from #Brazil has been arrested, except Norwegian police think he's from #Russia and a spy.

nrk.no/tromsogfinnmar…

#RussiaOnFire

Looks like a potential for sabotage/arson here.
A disused oil storage tank burned strongly in #NizhnyNovgorod

The Emergency Situations dept says there were no injuries nor risk of the fire spreading.
69 firefighters were needed to tackle the blaze

More bomb threats causing problems in #Russia

It's reported all schools in the city of #Chita were evacuated due to the scare.

Chita is around 200km (125 miles) from the border with #Mongolia

mkchita.ru/incident/2022/…

Meanwhile in #Kherson city, the Occupiers are tightlipped about what happened here.

A fire at, or near, the Police training centre.
It's now been extinguished but no word on whether it was an accident or arson.

#Resistance #KhersonIsUkraine

This is the most popular and understable response to that inhuman "religious" freak from #Russia who blamed women for having abortions or not having enough children.

A graphic example of the losses being suffered by #Russia around #Berislav which I mentioned earlier in the thread.

#Ukraine also claims in #Kherson region destruction of 2 warehouses with ammunition, a tank, an MT-LB, 6 units of military vehicles and 2 solders' hideouts

Another lethal explosion and fire at a factory in #Russia today.

One died and three suffered serious burns in the blast in #Volgograd - windows a kilometre away shattered.

Employees believe accumulations of aluminium dust led to the problem.

#RussiaOnFire

Oh, welcome back #Chornobaivka!

The famous airfield in #Kherson looks to have been hit again.

You want the meme again don't you? Hold on...

Yay, it's back!
#Chornobaivka #Chernobaevka
#KhersonIsUkraine

OMG someone opened the doors of the zealots' lunatic asylum (#Durdom) today!

Looking more like a Monty Python sketch, it's reported these are members of the Russian Orthodox Church in #Mariupol' carrying out an exorcism of the #Azovstal steel plant🤡🤡

Ben Wallace stays as UK Defence Secretary in Rishi Sunak's new Cabinet

A very welcome reappointment. Keep up the good work @BWallaceMP

Apartment block ablaze in #Donetsk

As the label says, it's in the Kirovskyi raion (district) of the occupied city.

#Donbas #Donbass #DonetskIsUkraine

Earlier today I reported on the car bomb in Occupied #Melitopol.

Now the first video of the explosion itself, from CCTV

#StandWithUkraine #RussiansGoHome

In #Dnipro this evening a big fire after an explosion.

Local authorities say a Russian missile was shot down but fragments landed on a gas/petrol station.

No news on casualties yet,

Another chapter for #RussiaOnFire this evening.

A warehouse complex is burning fiercely in #StPetersburg

Some locals talk about paints and varnishes being there, others about fuels and lubricants.

The fire in St Petersburg is growing despite the best efforts of firefighters.

#Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations says 12,000 m2 is now ablaze at the warehouses.

160 people and 45 pieces of equipment are trying to control the flames.

#RussiaOnFire

In #Dnipro the explosion at the gas station (see earlier in the thread) has killed two people, including a pregnant young woman.

Another three have been injured.
#RussiaIsATerroristState #StopRussia

Always nice to see continuing support around Europe for #Ukraine. This is the #Poznan opera house in #Poland lit in yellow and blue. Sent in by @charlie_poole

#StandWithUkraine #StopRussia

#Belarus has ruled Joseph Brodsky's children's book "A ballad about a small tugboat" is extremist.

This is serious - apparently the paranoid illegitimate "president" Lukashenka thought the boat resembled the White-Red-White flag of free Belarus!

#BelarusIsATerroristState

LOL

#Armenia has banned the editor-in-chief of #Russia's propaganda channel "RT" from entering the country.

Margarita Simonyan announced the news herself on her Telegram page