Käitumisjuhised 9. maiks jäägu sinna, kus need ka kohale jõuavad
(Propastop)
“9. mai, mis sel aastal on teisipäev, on päev nagu iga teine, mil kehtivad Eesti Vabariigi seadused ning nende rikkumisega tegeleb politsei oma tavarutiinide kohaselt. Üksikutele rikkumistele sel päeval on antud liiga suur tähelepanu ning tõmmatud neid väheseid juhtumid rambivalgusesse.”
—
“Kaitsepolitseiameti peadirektor Arnold Sinisalu on sel aastal öelnud, et mitte kõik need inimesed, kes lähevad sinna (pronkssõduri juurde – toim) 9. mail, ei ohusta vahetult meie põhiseaduslikku korda. „Paljude nende jaoks on see sõjahaud ja sellisena seda ka mälestatakse. Jah, on inimesi, kes on kasutanud vaenulikku sümboolikat, aga see ei ole pelgalt julgeolekuküsimus. See on pigem küsimus, kuidas seal avalikku korda järgitakse.“
https://www.propastop.org/2023/05/01/kaitumisjuhised-9-maiks-jaagu-sinna-kus-need-ka-kohale-jouavad/
“Estonian police bans public meetings supporting aggression before 9. May.” - BNS / Postimees
“Arvamus: Moskva kirik tuleks Eestis likvideerida, mitte lasta neil 9. mail teiste haudadel talluda.” - Postimees
“Moskvale alluv kirik loobus mälestustalitusest 9. Mail.” - ERR
____________
Cover photo:
Kõrvemaa Nature Preserve, Estonia
Foto: Peeter Karask
____________
Friday 5. May
Paldiski salapärane tuumaobjekt ‘tiksub’ 2040. aastani ja läheb siis maa alla
Kaido Einama - Postimees
“Salapärane tuumaobjekt Leetse tee ääres Paldiski lähistel on aiaga piiratud ja võõraid sinna muidugi ei lasta, kuid neljapäeval tehti uksed siiski korraks lahti ja sai vaatama, mida pea ainukeses allveelaevnike treeningkeskusest alles jäänud hoones hoitakse. Ülejäänud paarkümmend ehitist on lammutatud, püsti on vaid tuulutuskorsten, mida ei saanud õhku lasta, kuna see võib reaktori betoonsarkofaagile mõrad sisse lüüa.”
—
“Kui väljast paistab tuumaobjekti ja radioaktiivsete jäätmete vaheladustuspaika ümbritsev hoone välja igati euroremonditud, siis sisemuses on näha, kuidas see kõik nõukogude ajal oli. Turvatud betoonkambrist pääseb alla sarkofaagi juurde, kus asub madal kelder ja kus müüonskanner oma tööd teeb vähemalt augustini.”
Demineerijad leidsid Järvamaalt 2500 lõhkemata lennukipommi
(ERR)
“Rahvusarhiivist leitud andmete järgi asus 1944. aastal praktiliselt samas kohas lennukipommide ladustamisala, kus sel nädalal demineerijad oma otsimisoperatsiooni käigus 2500 lõhkemata lennukipommi leidsid.”
—
[2,500 unexploded aircraft bombs from 1944 were found in Järvamaa.]
https://www.err.ee/1608969055/demineerijad-leidsid-jarvamaalt-2500-lohkemata-lennukipommi
Riik kutsub 607 Lõuna-Eesti kaitseliitlast välkõppekogunemisele Okas
(ERR)
“Vastavalt valitsuse otsustatud piirarvule kutsutakse kaitseväe juhataja ettepanekul lisaõppekogunemisele Okas kuni 607 Kaitseliidu Lõuna maakaitseringkonna Tartu, Põlva, Võrumaa, Valgamaa ja Sakala maleva koosseisus maakaitse üksustesse kuuluvat reservväelasest kaitseliitlast.”
https://www.err.ee/1608968731/riik-kutsub-607-louna-eesti-kaitseliitlast-valkoppekogunemisele-okas
“Estonia calls up over 600 Kaitseliit volunteers for snap training event.” - Postimees
“Danish battalion in Latvia will strengthen Estonia's security.” - Baltic Times
Rektorid soovivad, et Vene üliõpilastel lubataks Eestis õpinguid jätkata
(ERR)
“Eesti ülikoolides õpib 342 Venemaa kodakondsusega üliõpilast, kellest 178 peaksid lõpetama sel kevadel, kuid paljud neist soovivad jätkata oma õpinguid Eesti kõrgkoolides järgmisel õppeastmel. Praeguse seisuga nad seda teha ei saa.”
“Russian citizens should be able to graduate from higher education.” - Baltic Times
Reflections on the Holocaust in Estonia
by Menachem Z. Rosensaft - Just Security
“Thirty-six years ago, I first learned about the perpetration of the Holocaust in Estonia when I, as the son of two survivors of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, played a small role in the ultimately successful efforts to have a war criminal from the World War II era, a man named Karl Linnas, deported from the United States to that country.”
—
“I want to lay out the case, including some of the gruesome details, regarding Karl Linnas not because I would ever suggest that he was representative of the Estonian people or Estonian society during the years of the Holocaust. He was not. I am doing so because he and a host of other Nazi collaborators like him are very much a part of Estonia’s recent past, a past that must be confronted and cannot be ignored or glossed over.”
Claim: Russian military death toll in Ukraine rises to 175,160
(Ukrinform)
“… from February 24, 2022 to April 3, 2023, including 610 invaders over the past day alone."
Estonia's president to attend King Charles III coronation on Saturday
(ERR)
“President Alar Karis will join around 100 heads of state for the event, taking place at Westminster Abbey.”
https://news.err.ee/1608967003/estonia-s-president-to-attend-king-charles-iii-coronation
“Finnish President Niinistö to attend Charles III coronation.” - Yle
Thursday 4. May
Some in Moscow want to cancel the Saimaa Canal Accord with Finland
By Paul Goble
“Now that Finland has joined NATO, some Russian politicians and commentators are calling for Moscow to cancel the 1963 agreement under the terms of which Finland has rented a canal passing through Russian territory between its lake system and the Gulf of Finland. The accord, the only case in which Russia has rented its territory to a foreign state, ran out in 2013 but was renewed for another 50 years at that time is subject to review and potential cancellation every ten years. This year is one of those times, and some want Moscow to punish Finland for joining NATO by taking that step …”
http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2023/05/some-in-moscow-want-to-cancel-saimaa.html
 |
| The Saimaa Canal was built by the Dutchy of Finland, then part of the Russian Empire, almost 200 years ago. Joseph Stalin seized control over its southern portion in 1940. |
“The Saimaa canal reopened for seasonal traffic on Tuesday.” - Yle
Estonia's marriage equality bill completed and awaiting feedback
(ERR)
“The Ministry of Social Affairs on Thursday sent out for coordination draft legislation to allow two adult persons to get married irrespective of their gender. The possibility of entering into registered partnership agreements will also be retained. While Estonia passed the Registered Partnership Act back in 2014, its implementing provisions, or other amendments necessary for its full implementation, were shelved for years.”
https://news.err.ee/1608967144/estonia-s-marriage-equality-bill-completed-and-awaiting-feedback
 |
| Postimees On-Line Poll 3. May |
Estonia and The Importance of Not Letting History Be History
By Alexander Brotman
(Geopolitical Monitor)
“One of the most important building blocks for any state is a thorough understanding of its past and how the past can help inform its future. As many states have imperial legacies or were tossed back and forth amongst empires over centuries, the past can be both a weapon and a tool depending on who wields it. In Estonia, the past has been wielded effectively since independence was regained in 1991 in service of a renewed sense of nationhood and identity in the modern Europe of the 21st century. This does not mean that it has always been an easy journey for Estonia, as its occupier and aggressor across the Narva River is often all too eager to attempt to stifle its progress as a multi-ethnic European state. Furthermore, Estonia has had to contend with countless controversial monuments from its time under Soviet occupation that either inspire or disgust based on the intended audience.”
https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/estonia-and-the-importance-of-not-letting-history-be-history/
Estonia and IAI sign one of the largest procurement deals in country's history
(Shephard Media | EDR | Estonian World)
“Long-range loitering munitions are an important addition to the development of Estonia’s defence capability,” says defence minister Hanno Pevkur. “The introduction of this new capability allows us to attack the enemy from a longer distance. … The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the ongoing war in Ukraine have demonstrated the high effectiveness of this type of offensive weapon,” notes Ramil Lipp, armament manager at the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments.”
—
—
https://estonianworld.com/security/estonia-to-buy-kamikaze-drones-from-israel/
“Estonia Taps Israel Aerospace Industries to Supply Loitering Munitions.” - Defense Post
Baltics and Poland to back Ukraine's membership of NATO
(Latvian Broadcasting)
“The Baltic countries and Poland will work on a joint declaration supporting Ukraine's accession to NATO, Saeima Speaker Edvards Smiltēns (United List) said after a meeting with his Estonian counterpart Lauri Hussar in Riga.”
“Zelenskyy visits war crimes court in The Hague seeking ‘justice for Ukraine’.” - TVP World
The Counteroffensive
By Anne Applebaum and Jeffrey Goldberg
(The Atlantic)
“The future of the democratic world will be determined by whether the Ukrainian military can break a stalemate with Russia and drive the country backwards—perhaps even out of Crimea for good.”
—
“The old Ukrainian army had been shaped by years of negative selection, attracting the least educated and the least ambitious. The new one is now being shaped by the best educated and the most ambitious. In recent months, that army has evolved even further. In training camps in NATO countries, Ukrainian troops are learning to use Western battle tanks, to operate new kinds of artillery, and above all to carry out the combined-arms operations that will be part of the summer offensive—to achieve “interoperability,” as Reznikov put it, at a level the army has never previously attempted.”
“US Intel Leaks Highlight Russia's Limited Options in Face of Ukraine's Counteroffensive.” - Russia Matters
“Ukraine forms eight new ‘storm’ brigades for counterattack.” - The Guardian
Wednesday 3. May
Estonia drops from fourth place to eighth in the world press freedom index
(ERR)
“Although press freedom is guaranteed on the legal and political levels, journalists face the risk of self-censorship due to anti-defamation legislation and cyber-bullying.”
—
“Reporters Without Borders (RSF) finds that "media ownership in Estonia is so concentrated that it can be considered an oligopoly. The owners of the two major media groups (Postimees Grupp and Ekspress Grupp) also have stakes in other business sectors. Estonian private media are operating within a small market with limited access to funding, which constrains them to looking for new revenue sources such as organizing events. The budget for public broadcasting is increasingly limited and may be subject to political influence."
“Shadow of war in Ukraine hangs over press freedom in Europe.” - Voxeurop
Estonia, Sweden will soon make defense plans together
(Baltic Times)
“In his address at a state dinner in honor of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden on Tuesday evening, Estonian President Alar Karis said that Estonia and Sweden will soon be drawing up defense plans together, and the Baltic Sea will become NATO's inland sea.”
https://www.baltictimes.com/karis__estonia__sweden_to_soon_make_defense_plans_together/
“Sweden's King And Queen Visit Baltic Neighbor Estonia.” - Republic World
Kremlin hijacking green movement in Baltic states ‘to fight Nato’
(The Times)
“Russia is trying to hijack environmental campaign movements around the Baltic to spread its influence and turn public opinion against Nato’s military presence, leaked documents suggest. As Finland has joined the alliance, Sweden prepares to follow suit and the three Baltic states have stepped up their defences, Moscow’s room for manoeuvre in the region has become increasingly constrained. …”
“NATO fears Russia will sabotage undersea cables to disrupt countries supporting Ukraine.” - Yahoo
“Russia has mined European undersea pipelines and cables, Nato fears.” - The Times
“Vene sõjalaevad olid Nord Streami intsidentide kohas enne toruplahvatusi.” - ERR
“Nord Stream: Report puts Russian navy ships near pipeline blast site.” - BBC
US Marines in Finland
(NATO)
“In chilly and challenging southern Finland, US Marines and the Finnish Navy’s Nyland Brigade recently trained together in the lead-up to the Finnish-led exercise Freezing Winds 22. Over three rigorous months, the newest member of NATO showed their US friends how to navigate Finland’s icy waters during the longest deployment of US Marines to the country.”
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_214258.htm?selectedLocale=en
“Director General of the NATO International Military Staff visits Finland.” - NATO
Finnish newspaper hides Ukraine news reports for Russians in online game
(The Guardian)
“The Helsingin Sanomat newspaper uses secret room in first-person shooter game Counter-Strike to bypass Russian censorship.”
“Press Freedom Index: Finland now less safe for journalists.” - Yle
How Journalist Vira Hyrych Was Killed By A Russian Missile
(RFERL)
“RFE/RL producer Vira Hyrych is among the numerous journalists killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. A year after she was killed, her son says those responsible must be held accountable.”
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-journalist-vira-hyrych-killed-russian-missile/32387290.html
The war against pro-democracy leaders in Russia and Belarus
(RFERL | Globe and Mail)
“In his closing statement to a Moscow court, just before he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his outspoken opposition to the invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Kara-Murza reminded those in attendance that Russia had been down this repressive direction before.”
—
“I’ve been surprised by the extent to which my trial, in its secrecy and its contempt for legal norms, has surpassed even the trials of Soviet dissidents in the 1960s and ‘70s,” Mr. Kara-Murza told the court on April 17. “We’ve gone beyond the 1970s – all the way back to the 1930s. … (to Joseph Stalin’s purges, show trials and extra-judicial executions).”
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-russia-putin-opposition-navalny-kara-murza-yashin/
—
https://www.rferl.org/a/week-in-russia-gutterman-kara-murza-treason-putin-dissent/32373368.html
“Moscow Theater Director Yevgenia Berkovich Detained On Suspicion Of Justification Of Terrorism.” - 4. May
“How A Widowed Ukrainian Soldier Endured Russian Captivity.” - 1. May
“Belarusian lawyer Anastasia Lazarenka, Who Advised Imprisoned Activists, Goes On Trial.” - 2. May
“Belarusian Ex-Presidential Candidate Viktar Babaryka Hospitalized After Reportedly Being Beaten In Prison.” - 27. April
“Jailed RFE/RL Journalist Ihar Losik Returned To Solitary Confinement In Belarus.” - 6. April
“Minsk Court Hands Prison Term To Cousin Of Belarusian Platoon's Deputy Commander Fighting With Ukraine.” - 28. April
- Putin’s Forever War -
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment 3. and 4. May
(ISW)
“Russia accused Ukraine of conducting a drone strike against the Kremlin.”
—
“Russia likely staged this attack in an attempt to bring the war home to a Russian domestic audience and set conditions for a wider societal mobilization.”
—
“The rapid and coherent presentation of an official Russian narrative around the strike suggests that Russia staged this incident in close proximity to the May 9th Victory Day holiday in order to frame the war as existential to its domestic audience.”
—
“The Kremlin may be planning to conduct other false flag operations and increase disinformation ahead of a Ukrainian counteroffensive in order to increase domestic support for the war.“
—
“Russian sources continue to respond to the May 3 drone strike on the Kremlin.”
—
“Russian forces are likely unable to conduct a “significant offensive” in 2023 due to munitions and manpower shortages regardless of the success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive”
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-3-2023
—
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-4-2023
Russian forces are unlikely to be able to mount a significant offensive operation this year
(CBS News)
“… even if the anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive is not fully successful, the country's top intelligence official told lawmakers Thursday. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said the Russian military had gained less territory in April than in any of the prior three months, and was facing "significant shortfalls" in munitions and personnel constraints.”
“Did Russians Try To Kill Putin?” - 19fortyfive
Or:
“Putin Might Have Staged Drone Attack On Kremlin.” - 19fortyfive
“Droonide mäng Moskvas ehk Kevad on tulemas.” - Postimees
Possible False-Flag: “Drone Explodes Over Kremlin.” - Vice
“Drone Attack Reported In Russian Regions Close To Ukraine.” - RFERL
“Putin claims he’s cancelling public celebrations over safety fears. The truth is more humiliating.” - The Guardian
“At least six Russian regions have scrapped 9 May Victory Day parades.” - The Guardian
“Why fighters from post-Soviet world flock to Ukraine’s banner.” - Christian Science Monitor
Yevgeny Prigozhin: Wagner Group boss says he will pull fighters out of Bakhmut
(BBC)
“… on 10 May because of ammunition shortages.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65493008
“Prigožin lubas väed Bahmutist välja viia.” - Postimees
Moscow is instructing Russian propaganda outlets how to cover Kyiv’s looming counteroffensive
(Meduza | Daily Beast)
“New guidelines sent by the Putin administration to Russia’s pro-government media outlets and obtained by Meduza confirm that the Kremlin is preparing for multiple scenarios. Meduza explains how the Russian authorities plan to use their propaganda apparatus to prepare citizens for what’s to come.”
—
“Meduza has obtained a copy of new guidelines compiled by the Putin administration for Russia’s propaganda media. Among other things, it includes the Kremlin’s instructions for how pro-government news outlets should report on Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive.”
—
“If the offensive is a failure, the Russian authorities will be able to say that Russia’s army adeptly repelled an extremely powerful attack. The value of this victory will increase significantly.”
—
“If Ukraine, with the help of weapons from the U.S. and Europe, is successful and takes territory, the loss will be explainable, too; after all, the West has focused a tremendous amount of effort on the front, but its successes — when compared to those efforts — have been very modest. In other words, overall, the Russian army has held its own.”
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2023/05/03/if-ukraine-succeeds-it-should-be-explainable
—
“How Russia fights its information war.” - Deutsche Welle video
“Kas Venemaa valmistub uueks ‘Talvesõjaks’?” - Diplomaatia
Putin spent 20 years rebuilding Russia's military, then destroyed it in Ukraine
An interview with Mark Galeotti
(Insider)
“So he came to power with no military experience and yet with a very clear belief that Russia needed to be a serious military power. His idea of great-power status is a very 19th-century one, which includes the fact that a great power has the capacity to intimidate or coerce other countries to do what it wants, and for that end, he felt that Russia needed a strong military.”
—
“… its real problem is this: that Putin has not learned the lesson that Stalin learned. Stalin, famously and disastrously, involved himself right at the beginning of the Second World War in terms of asserting that, of course, Germany was not going to attack when it attacked.
Russia weaponizes school kids in occupied parts of Ukraine
(Euromaidan Press)
“Russia has changed the national education program and included mandatory “basic military training” and “patriotism” lessons in the school curriculum in the occupied territories, the Institute of Mass Information said April 5. Today, in Russian classes, boys and girls learn to use assault rifles and provide battlefield first aid, while they also absorb the Kremlin’s standpoint on the war in Ukraine, which portrays the 2014 annexation of Crimea as a “reunification” and the invasion as a “liberation.”
—
“In the occupied territories of Ukraine, Russian authorities are trying to weaponize the education process with even greater ferocity and cynicism, compelling schools and universities to promote military service, indoctrinating young minds with propaganda narratives, and threatening those who resist Russia’s armed aggression with deportation or torture.”
“Behind the Lines: Russia Brainwashes Ukraine’s Youngsters.” - CEPA
__________
_____
—
