Web 57DHYAFZZFLWC April 18 2026 The sooner we focus on stopping wood burning the better
In this Webisode 1 The sooner we focus on stopping burning fossil fuels and stopping burning solid fuels like wood burning the better Excusing burning fossil fuels and burning wood by promising to capture carbon is only used today to collect subsidies while producing no usable ways to capture carbon 2 United States RFK Junior Taking The Hot Seat To Answer For Hot Button Health Care Initiatives 3 Ukraine The Russian war against Ukraine 4 India Solar and wind power are booming in India but they may not be getting to customers Main Content
1A United States The sooner we focus on stopping burning fossil fuels and stopping burning solid fuels like wood burning the better Excusing burning fossil fuels and burning wood by promising to capture carbon is only used today to collect subsidies while producing no usable ways to capture carbon RAWSEP View Carbon Capture does not work after decades of subsidies given for development The solution to Carbon in the Atmosphere is to stop burning Fossils Fuels and stop burning solid fuels whether they are fossil fuels or not such as stop wood burning There are certain fuels that may need to continue to be used such as jet fuel a fossil fuel because the weight of electricity charged batteries may be too heavy to put on airplanes Facing reality about cleaning up the atmosphere after the fact rather than preventing pollution before the fact is a good thing Of course those who are profiting from subsidies for the failed search for Carbon Capture solutions are still promoting that lucrative profit from governments who should spend government money directly on clean energy subsidies instead The story here should be that Trump has slashed subsides or entirely ended subsidies for clean energy itself From the article Excerpts edited by Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501C3 nonprofit organization The long term case for carbon removal Microsoft has been the biggest supporter of the much hyped market for carbon removal technologies which are designed to remove a key planet warming gas from the atmosphere But now the tech giant is stepping back from an industry it almost single handedly was propping up With the company now telling some partners that it is pausing future purchase commitments for carbon removal credits the outlook for the hundreds of companies looking to sell those credits is grim In an article I just published I take a close look at the retreat of Microsoft and what it means for an industry that its proponents say is destined to play an important role in beating back global warming In the short term there is little to celebrate Microsoft has been the largest funder of carbon removal efforts accounting for seventy nine percent of the purchases made to date which are worth a combined Eleven point Nine billion according to CDR dot fyi a data provider And this is only the latest in a series of setbacks Ever since President Trump returned to office the federal government has slashed support for the field and companies have backed off their sustainability commitments But seen another way the market for carbon removal is just getting started The industry backers are in other words trying to create a brand new market for technologies that are still in their infancy A theory of change Proponents of carbon removal say that there is so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that it will not be enough to simply reduce emissions In the long term we will need to actively scrub CO2 from the sky and find ways to store it Right now the carbon removal capacity of the world is minuscule For now it is an open question as to whether the industry can stay alive until the hoped for demand arrives
1B California How Newsom Boosted His Book Sales With 1 point 5 Million Dollars From His PAC RAWSEP View The editor of RAWSEP bought the Newsom Autobiography and found some passages illuminating and reinforced her view that Newsom is the best Democratic candidate for president in the 2028 election In the view of the editor of RAWSEP There appears to be no scandal in giving away free books to donors Reading an entire book rather than grabbing headlines seems to be preferable to most readers in our busy world This book shows that Newsom is thoughtful normal and chooses to act kindly toward his fellow man rather than choosing the easy and unkind way The book is a best seller although some copies were purchased by the Newsom team for distribution free to donors to Newsom as is common practice for books written by politicians The Editor of RAWSEP believes that getting the word out about the Newsom human world view and kind approach to representing the needs of the public is valuable to the both the public and to the Newsom campaign Getting readers for the book is a win for both From the article headline Governor Gavin Newsom offered supporters who gave any amount a copy of his book Roughly 67 000 donors received the memoir accounting for about two thirds of its total print sales Governor Gavin Newsom of California sitting and talking at an event in February to promote his memoir Young Man in a Hurry A Memoir of Discovery Next to him is a table with several copies Governor Gavin Newsom of California at an event in February to promote his memoir Young Man in a Hurry A Memoir of Discovery Excerpts edited by Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501C3 nonprofit organization The New York Times April 16 2026 In November Governor Gavin Newsom of California rolled out an intriguing offer to his formidable email list of supporters Donate anything to his political group and he would send them a copy of his forthcoming book Young Man in a Hurry A Memoir of Discovery Make a contribution of any amount today and I will send you a copy he wrote It turned out about sixty seven thousand supporters did just that The books those donors received account for roughly two thirds of the print copies of the memoir that have been sold On Wednesday new federal records revealed that the political action committee of Newsom paid one million five hundred sixty one thousand eight hundred seventy five dollars to buy and distribute copies of his book through the donation program A spokesman for Newsom said his PAC the Campaign for Democracy Committee wound up netting more money from contributors attracted by the book offer than the cost of sixty seven thousand copies of the book that the PAC provided Newsom does not receive royalties for books sold through the program We were thrilled with the response Our goal was to deepen the relationship between him and the millions of folks who have already expressed support for the work of Governor Newsom And as it turns out the tactic more than paid for itself The Newsom team said that the sixty seven thousand books that supporters received after sending donations were part of the ninety seven thousand four hundred print copies of the memoir of Newsom that have been sold since publication The team of Newsom had hailed his book sales back in March including a map in a news release showing all the sales by location across the country With more than ninety one thousand sold through organic in person and online non bulk purchases in the United States the memoir surged on bestseller lists within hours The book also appeared on the New York Times best seller list Sales of a book include a mix of organic and bulk sales so the best seller ranking of the book in the New York Times is accompanied by a dagger The PAC of Newsom made two payments totaling more than 1 point 5 million dollars to the Porchlight Book Company listing the purpose as books at cost The money was by far the biggest expenditure for the federal PAC of Newsom in the first quarter of 2026 The PAC of Newsom had first offered his book to supporters in November days after California voters passed a redistricting ballot measure that he had championed called Proposition 50 The measure redrew the map of California to allow Democrats to pick up as many as five extra House seats We just spent a bunch of money on passing Prop 50 he wrote in the email so now I need to refill that coffers at my Campaign for Democracy for the fights ahead including helping other states pass redistricting to stop Trump from rigging the next election Many ambitious politicians write books hoping for attention and to draw in new supporters it is a good book Newsom teased in his email Very personal Not your normal political book at all The PAC of Newsom whose stated mission is to confront and defeat un American authoritarianism renewed the book offer in January It was included in the fine print of several other email solicitations as well it is not uncommon for political committees to dangle books for donations
2A United States The New Normal of RFK Junior As Trump nominates a new uncontroversial CDC director a more restrained version of the health secretary is appearing Excerpts edited by Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501C3 nonprofit organization The Atlantic April 16 2026 The White House has reportedly urged Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Junior to avoid talking about vaccines but this morning he had no choice When he appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee the first of seven congressional testimonies that he is scheduled to give in the coming days as part of the 2027 budgeting process members pressed him on the issue which he has written and spoken about nearly nonstop for two decades He mostly sidestepped those questions declining to repeat claims he has made before about the supposed links between vaccines and autism no such links have been found or about how contracting measles might boost the immune system of a person The opposite is true When asked whether an unvaccinated girl who died of measles in Texas last year might have been saved by the shot the health secretary responded it is possible certainly RFK Junior recently seems to be steering clear of public statements about vaccines because the White House fears that his anti-vaccine agenda will tank Republicans in the midterms Instead he has touted the new inverted food pyramid of the government and the return of whole milk to school cafeterias The first episode of his new podcast released this week features the celebrity chef Robert Irvine the man making my dream come true RFK Junior says by revamping military meals who sits with RFK Junior in front of shelves displaying several of the conspiracy theory laden books of RFK Junior and a picture of his father Celebrity Chef Irvine has a history of embellishing his résumé which he has called Errors in my judgment!
2B United States RFK Junior Taking The Hot Seat To Answer For Hot Button Health Care Initiatives Excerpts edited by Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501C3 nonprofit organization KFF Health Newsletter April 16 2026 Starting today on Capitol Hill Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Junior will likely face questions from lawmakers regarding the court blocked changes to the childhood vaccine schedule the upheaval at HHS during his tenure and the budget of the department Capitol Hill aides say Plus the latest on the peptide push of RFK Junior The Washington Post Congress Set To Grill RFK Junior Over Public Health Upheaval Budget Health Secretary RFK Junior is set for a marathon of congressional hearings starting Thursday where lawmakers will have the opportunity to grill him for the first time in over seven months Since then RFK Junior overhauled the childhood vaccine schedule to recommend fewer shots a move which alarmed medical experts and has been blocked by a federal judge His health department has undergone a major leadership shake up And RFK Junior has leaned into his messaging around food and nutrition as GOP pollsters warn of the political risks of vaccine skepticism ahead of the midterms Roubein and Weber 4 16 The Hill Protect Our Care Report Slams RFK Junior Ahead Of Hearings The progressive health care advocacy group Protect Our Care is releasing a highly critical review of the first 14 months Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Junior in office ahead of a marathon series of hearings he will have in the House and Senate this month to defend President The Trump budget request In the report titled RFK Junior versus Public Health shown first to The Hill Protect Our Care highlights the actions of the secretary on vaccines medical research food as well as his apparent aims of mobilizing his Make America Healthy Again base as a key voting block ahead of the midterms Choi 4 15
2C United States Vaccine Hesitancy Webinar From questions to confidence What changed my mind on vaccines Excerpts edited by Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501C3 nonprofit organization Katelyn Jetelina April 17 2026 The US is living through a moment where most families trust in vaccines but for a growing number that trust has to be earned Behind the statistics and the headlines are families navigating fear confusion unanswered questions and conflicting information On April 27th our very own Dr Elisabeth Marnik Executive Director of The Evidence Collective and author of the New York Times essay I Grew Up Unvaccinated Now I am an Immunologist will moderate an intimate conversation with three others who grew up anti vaccine or vaccine hesitant They will share openly about their journeys including the questions they had what helped them and how they ultimately found trust Understanding how people move through doubt may be one of the most important things we can do right now Together this panel will walk us through What shaped their early beliefs about vaccines The moments conversations or evidence that cracked things open What it actually feels like to change your mind and how the people around you react What they wish outsiders understood about the process How to have more productive conversations with skeptics in your own life
2D United States Tetanus Deaths Still Happening in the US CDC Report Shows Fatalities occurred in roughly 1 in ten tetanus cases Excerpts edited by Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501C3 nonprofit organization MedPage Today April 16 2026 A photo of a man about to step on a rusty nail Key Takeaways From 2009 through 2023 there were 402 tetanus cases reported to the CDC with 37 tetanus associated deaths Most tetanus deaths occurred in adults ages 65 and older with a case fatality rate of 63 point 3 percent in those ages 80 and older In tetanus cases in which vaccination status was known 43 point 9 percent occurred in people who did not have a documented history of tetanus vaccination Despite tetanus being preventable with vaccination cases continue to occur in the US with deaths mostly affecting older adults the CDC reported From 2009 through 2023 there were 402 tetanus cases reported to the CDC in 47 states and the District of Columbia with 16 states reporting 37 tetanus associated deaths wrote Michelle Hughes PhD of the CDC National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and colleagues in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Surveillance Summaries On average there were 26 point 8 reported tetanus cases and 2 point 5 deaths annually with a mean annual incidence of 0 point 08 cases and 0 point 008 deaths per 1 million population The case fatality rate was 12 point 4 percent among people with tetanus whose vital status was known Most tetanus deaths 85 percent occurred in adults ages 65 and older with a case fatality rate of 30 point 8 percent in those ages 65 to 79 and 63 point 3 percent in those ages 80 and older Tetanus infections are caused by the spore forming bacterium Clostridium tetani with exposure typically occurring through deep or contaminated wounds Symptoms include generalized spasms rigidity seizures and lockjaw and severe complications can include aspiration pneumonia hypertension pulmonary embolism and death Nearly everyone 94 point 9 percent with reported tetanus was hospitalized Prevention measures for those with at risk wounds include tetanus toxoid containing vaccine TTCV and tetanus immune globulin Despite being preventable tetanus remains a risk for those who are unvaccinated under vaccinated or who do not receive recommended wound management Hughes and colleagues wrote Sustained routine vaccination with TTCV and prompt identification and management of tetanus prone injuries are essential to preserving the current low incidence of this potentially fatal disease Of note reported tetanus cases have dropped more than 95 percent since the introduction of routine childhood tetanus vaccination in the late 1940s and deaths have declined more than 99 percent The current US incidence rate is far below the estimated global incidence of ten point 3 cases per 1 million in 2019 A majority of tetanus cases occurred in men sixty two point 2 percent and mean age was 43 years Incidence rates were greater in men than women in every age cohort to age 64 and equal at ages 65 to 79 at 0 point 09 per 1 million However incidence flipped in those ages 80 and older with an incidence rate of 0 point 27 per 1 million in women versus a rate of 0 point ten per 1 million in men Tetanus incidence was greatest among those ages 80 and older at 0 point 20 cases per 1 million population and lowest among children and adolescents ages 17 and younger at 0 point 05 cases per 1 million population The high risk among the elderly may reflect that they were born before the primary series of tetanus vaccines was recommended for routine use in 1947 Case fatality rates were greater in men than women in every age cohort from 18 to 80 years and older In contrast to the high case fatality rates in older adults the rate in adults ages 18 to 34 was 1 point 2 percent The increased tetanus incidence and associated deaths among older age groups especially women suggest waning of vaccine induced immunity and underscore the need for focused vaccination and wound care prevention efforts among these groups Hughes and team wrote In tetanus cases in which vaccination status was known 43 point 9 percent occurred in people who did not have a documented history of tetanus vaccination The tetanus Vaccination status was not known in fifty seven percent of the four hundred and two cases Among those who developed tetanus but had received at least one dose of tetanus vaccine 58 point 8 percent had their most recent dose at least ten years before tetanus onset None of the tetanus deaths occurred in people who had had at least three doses of a tetanus vaccine Of the reported tetanus cases 86 point 8 percent were linked to an acute wound but only forty five percent of people with wounds sought medical care Study limitations included the passive nature of surveillance which may have led to underreporting of cases
2E United States House Lawmakers Grill RFK Junior on Mercury Rule HHS Job Cuts RFK Junior says fired HHS workers failed at their job by not addressing chronic disease Excerpts edited by Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501C3 nonprofit organization MedPage Today April 17 2026 A screenshot of HHS Secretary RFK Junior speaking during this hearing HHS Secretary RFK Junior positions on mercury contaminants HHS personnel cuts raw milk and other controversies were front and center at a House hearing on Thursday Representative Josh Harder Democrat of California said that the Environmental Protection Agency EPA repeal in February of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule meant that coal burning power plants are now allowed to emit more than twice as much mercury as they were before How are these actions consistent with your agenda to make our children healthy? he asked RFK Junior during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing to review the HHS budget for the 2027 fiscal year Those are actions that are not taken by my agency and I am not familiar with exactly what is happening at EPA RFK Junior replied I would have to ask EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin about that Convenient Amnesia You are the Secretary of Health and Human Services You made a career out of fighting mercury pollution Harder said noting that RFK Junior brought lawsuits targeting coal burning utilities specifically over their mercury emissions before his time in Washington Are you telling me that you do not have an opinion about this mercury rule? RFK Junior said he did not think any mercury was good The Trump administration said in January 2025 that it was cutting its funding for Gavi and RFK Junior said in June that the US would withhold financial support from the organization calling on it to re earn the public trust and start taking vaccine safety seriously Harder kept pressing but RFK Junior said that I am not going to comment because I do not know anything about it Harder did not like that answer It sounds like pretty convenient amnesia to me he said Questions About Job Cuts RFK Junior also was asked about HHS job cuts I have Seventy Seven Thousand federal employees in my district said Rep Steny Hoyer Democrat of Maryland When we talked last year I asked you about this and you said to me that some HHS personnel that should not have been cut were cut I do not know whether you still believe that but that is what you said last year How many full time employees do we have in HHS now? When I talked to you there were sixty two thousand down from eighty two thousand RFK Junior replied We are now at seventy two thousand and we are hiring twelve thousand employees Your judgment is that the other Twenty Thousand who were fired were not capable? Hoyer asked RFK Junior replied that They presided over the biggest decline in health in the history of the world We have the sickest population on the face of the earth That is a failure of government They were not looking at chronic disease They were focused on other things Hoyer said he disagreed that the workers were fired for incompetence Most of us believe that they were fired to reach a number a lesser number he said it is ironic that you have just told me we have reached back to that number The recent recall of cheese made with raw milk was on the mind of Representative Rosa DeLauro Democrat of Connecticut She noted that it took 18 days after nine people were sickened and three were hospitalized from the time the FDA issued a recall recommendation for the company to actually recall the product which it only did under protest And the FDA said only that it was providing information about the recall recommendation so consumers could decide whether they would still eat the cheese RFK Junior replied that raw milk was regulated by the states rather than the federal government Raw milk sales are illegal across state lines but some states allow it to be sold within its borders
3A Ukraine The Russian war against Ukraine Russia slams Ukrainian cities in mass missile attack overnight at least seventeen dead over one hundred injured Russian missiles destroyed homes burned buildings and killed civilians in The Ukraine major cities in a mass overnight strike on April 16 with residential neighborhoods in Kyiv Dnipro and Odesa bearing the brunt of the attack Excerpts edited by Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501C3 nonprofit organization Kiev Independent April 17 2026 A view of Kyiv as smoke rises following an overnight Russian missile strike in which at least 17 people were killed and over one hundred injured on April 16 2026 in Kyiv Ukraine Russia slams Ukrainian cities in mass missile attack overnight at least seventeen dead over one hundred injured Russian missiles destroyed homes burned buildings and killed civilians in major cities in Ukraine in a mass overnight strike on April 16 with residential neighborhoods in Kyiv Dnipro and Odesa bearing the brunt of the attack Ukrainian drone strikes turn major Russian oil refinery into volcano along the Black Sea The Tuapse Oil Refinery a Rosneft facility is one of the 10 largest refineries in Russia The Ukraine critical Patriot shortage prompts Zelensky to chase down partner pledges There are many political commitments from our partners that have already been announced but not yet implemented President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian drones strike oil tanker on Black Sea coast Russia says Ukrainian drones attacked a Liberian flagged oil tanker off the Black Sea coast injuring a Turkish captain Russian officials reported on April 16 Ukraine is becoming a global player amid Iran war European defense deals Ukraine is riding high on a series of deals that promise to intertwine its wartime defense tech industry now known for producing drones in high demand worldwide with European arms makers For four years Ukraine Daily has brought you the latest updates from Ukraine no matter the circumstances Ukraine war latest Ukraine unveils new drone assault units Russia kills 17 in mass attack A new model of warfare is being introduced drone assault units which combine aerial and ground drones with infantry into a single system the Defense Ministry said Kyiv continues to promote the production of cost effective drones that aim to bolster The Ukraine defense and reduce human casualties Another Orban? Here is why you should care about the Bulgarian upcoming elections A new Russian friendly leader may soon emerge in the EU and NATO this time in the Balkans A week after Kremlin ally Viktor Orban lost his reelection campaign in Hungary The Bulgarian former President Rumen Radev is poised to win the April 19 snap parliamentary election Human cost of war At least 7 killed 64 injured in Russian strikes across Ukraine over past day Russian forces launched 324 drones and three Iskander M ballistic missiles into Ukraine overnight the Air Force said At least 22 killed 131 injured in Russian strikes across Ukraine over past day A mass Russian missile and drone attack early on April 16 struck major Ukrainian cities including Kyiv Odesa and Dnipro General Staff Russia has lost One million three hundred fifteen thousand and seventy troops in Ukraine since February 24 2022 The number includes One thousand one hundred casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day Opinions and insights Surviving the Russian human safari in Kherson Since Kherson was liberated in late 2022 Russian forces have settled just across the Dnipro River They do not need expensive missiles anymore They send waves of cheap off the shelf commercial drones to hunt civilians in the streets in real time The locals have a name for it the human safari writes Yuriy Boyechko CEO of Hope for Ukraine Using Christianity for political power is wrong Trump We are increasingly seeing moments where the language of faith is used to elevate political figures and justify the consolidation of power This is not what Christianity is about and it never has been writes Roman Sheremeta Chair of the Economics Department at the Weather head School of Management International response Kyiv unlocks 3 point 2 billion dollars after reform push Despite initially making good progress on a lengthy list of reforms required by the EU since 2024 Kyiv slowed down last year and has now missed deadlines on almost 20 required changes Russia threatens action against Finland Baltics if Ukrainian drones strike via their airspace The Baltic states have rejected similar accusations calling the Moscow claims false and denying that Ukraine used their airspace for attacks Bipartisan US senators meet Ukrainian PM push continued support for Kyiv US senators from both parties met with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko in Washington on April 16 according to a press release published by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee EU moves toward 20th Russia sanctions package as Slovakia threatens veto EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said April 16 that the bloc is preparing to advance its 20th package of sanctions against Russia even as Slovakia has indicated it may block the measure UK transfers about 1 billion dollars in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine The United Kingdom has transferred 752 million pounds about 1 billion dollars in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine The Ukraine Finance Ministry said April 15 In other news Top Zelensky allies Yermak Arakhamia targeted in new searches summons source says Yermak and Timur Mindich a close Zelensky associate and a major suspect in the Energoatom case have received summonses to attend hearings at the High Against Corruption Court but did not show up according to the source Mindich was not available for comment Sanctioned Russian linked crypto exchange halts operations after 13 million dollar cyberattack Grinex a sanctioned cryptocurrency exchange with ties to Russia said it has suspended operations after a cyberattack resulted in the theft of more than 1 billion rubles 13 point 1 million dollars Ukraine expects Israel to seize grain it says Russia stole from occupied territories The statement follows the arrival of the Russian bulk carrier Abinsk in Haifa carrying nearly 44 000 tons of wheat that Kyiv says originated from occupied areas The Ukraine court releases Russia friendly lawmaker to house arrest after nearly 3 years in custody Nestor Shufrych was arrested in 2023 on treason charges and later accused of financing The Russian National Guard in occupied Crimea to protect his real estate on the peninsula
3B Ukraine The Russian war against Ukraine Mass Missile Attack by Russia in Kyiv and Dnipro in Mass Missile attack overnight Excerpts edited by Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501C3 nonprofit organization Kiev Independent Thursday April 16 Twenty-Twenty Six The Russian war against Ukraine Apartment buildings in flames in the Ukrainian city Dnipro regional capital of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in the aftermath of a Russian missile attack overnight on April 16 Twenty-Twenty Six Russia slams Kyiv Dnipro in mass missile attack overnight The attack killed at least seven people including a Twelve year old boy Dozens of others were injured as missiles struck residential buildings It could not be any worse Zelensky sounds alarm on Patriot air defense missile shortage The situation is in such a deficit it could not be any worse Volodymyr Zelensky said adding that the war in the Middle East is negatively affecting Ukraine and reducing its chances of receiving military aid Russia warns Europe over drone support for Ukraine calls it escalation Russia has warned that European support for The Ukraine drone capabilities could lead to unpredictable consequences accusing several countries of becoming part of The Kyiv strategic rear the Russian Defense Ministry said on April 15 A new model of warfare The Ukraine Defense Ministry announces drone assault units Ukraine has introduced drone assault units that combine aerial and ground drones the Defense Ministry announced on April 15 The Ukraine air defenses sharpening aim at Russian missiles drones minister says We strengthened our air defense with the cruise missile interception rate of almost Eighty percent and drone interception rising to Ninety percent Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine hits major Russian oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai media officials report The Tuapse Oil Refinery a Rosneft facility is one of the Ten largest refineries in Russia Explosions rock 2 Russian gunpowder factories as fire breaks out Explosions were reported in Kazan Tatarstan around 7 pm local time on April 14 while a similar incident occurred near Samara the following day at around One pm local time Ukrainian drones strike major Russian petrochemical plant in Bashkortostan military says Ukrainian drones reportedly struck a petrochemical plant in Sterlitamak in The Russian Bashkortostan Republic on April 15 independent Russian Telegram channel Astra said Ukraine war latest Ukrainian deep strikes hit over 70 Russian industrial targets including oil and gas sites in March Syrskyi says Fifteen of the 76 targets were oil refineries according to Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi The situation along the front line however is more challenging Nearly Two Thousand Ukrainian civilians trapped in Russian occupied Kherson Oblast town facing humanitarian catastrophe Oleshky is an occupied frontline city on the eastern bank where civilians live amid a Russian military presence and attacks from both Ukrainian and Russian forces Moscow walks away with billions as The Trump Russian oil waiver expires While Trump administration officials suggested that Moscow would not benefit from the waiver it is evident that Russia has in fact gained from it EU renews vows to kick Russian steel addiction buy Ukrainian As of July Twenty-Twenty Six the EU is expected to limit steel imports to Eighteen point three million tons per year a forty seven percent on what is currently allowed
3C Ukraine War Notes Hungarian Victory for Peter Magyar defeats the direct agent of Russia inside the European Union and NATO named Victor Orban Excerpts edited by Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501C3 nonprofit organization Kiev Independent April 17 2026 Hello dear readers this is Francis Farrell reporting to you back in Kyiv after a week spent in Budapest Covering the election there I was able to witness how my second home country was taken back by its people from a corrupt autocratic leader who by the time the vote came around had been exposed as a direct agent of Russia inside the EU and NATO By the time you read this my big report from the Hungarian elections where I got up close and personal to The Orban last moments and spoke to ordinary Hungarians of all ages and walks of life will be out on our YouTube channel Given the fact that it was such an important election not only for Ukraine but for me personally as someone with half Hungarian descent and a Hungarian passport it would mean a lot to me if you could check it out it is rare in this war or in the increasingly insane historical timeline that we are living in globally that there is such an unequivocally positive moment a setback for the relentless march of dictators imperialists and lies So it should make for satisfying viewing for the average War Notes reader With The Orban Hungary vetoing a 90 billion Euro loan for Ukraine passed by the European Council it was also crucial for the existence and continued defensive fight of the Ukrainian state that he was toppled I was not in Kyiv during Euromaidan in 2014 but from everything I have heard about the atmosphere there specifically in the moment when it was clear that the revolution had won and the corrupt in favor of Russian dictator Viktor Yanukovych had fled I imagine there was something similar emotionally to what I and millions of other Hungarians felt on April the 12th The big difference of course was that in Hungary victory came without violence without the loss of dozens of the lives of people on the main square but simply through the democratic institution of elections not quite free or fair but not compromised either And of course if we are talking about the days after the election victory has come without outside aggression without annexation and occupation thanks to the European Union and NATO Simple pleasures it would seem not too much to ask for… but exactly what Ukraine so badly deserves but is so unjustly deprived of Before we get back to Ukraine and the hot war here I do want to say that traveling to Hungary was a reminder that in a time when new wars seem to be breaking out at an unprecedented rate for the 21st century and when in so many of the countries where you our readers are located democracy is increasingly under threat from populists with close ties to Russia all of these events are tightly interconnected within the bounds of a larger struggle This is clear for us here at the Kyiv Independent and that is why we will not stop working from the front line to the regional battlegrounds to bring you exactly what is happening on the ground What the West does not understand about Russia from a Lithuanian who knows The Lithuanian parliamentary speaker Juozas Olekas said peace with Russia can be secured only from a position of strength and warned that unless Moscow is stopped in Ukraine it will continue its aggression deeper into Europe If that sounds like an important mission to you please consider supporting our reporting by becoming a member of the Kyiv Independent community On the front line in the last two weeks we have not seen too much movement General Staff figures for daily Russian losses remain high which would suggest that assault operations have continued at their normal pace but it is also possible more than likely that while keeping the pressure on Russian forces are regrouping and putting the final pieces in place for a new wave of spring and summer offensive efforts after their initial plans over February and March did not get anywhere So instead of trying to tie everything into one consistent picture I want to point out a few things to take note of from last week Firstly what was most read about around the world and what was most felt in the rear was of course The Russian big mass attack early in the morning yesterday It was the first large combined missile attack on Kyiv as well as other cities including Odesa and Dnipro for over a month After being in Australia for the holidays and missing a lot of the other attacks that came since I must say this one came as a bit of a shock to the system Something about the way the ballistic missiles landed this time really shook me on the inside and made me just want to curl up in bed even deeper More important than my heart rate at 3 A M is the question of The Ukraine Patriot interceptor missile stocks Over the last month or two I could not help but notice the fact that while the Iran war broke out and the acute shortage of interceptor missiles for the advanced US made Patriot system was exacerbated several times over by new demand Russia was not actually firing many ballistic missiles at Ukraine at all But now as President Zelensky himself has admitted the situation with the stockpiles is as dire as it has ever been while Russia continues to build Iskander ballistic missiles at a rate of around 60 per month according to The Ukraine military intelligence Now I thankfully do not have the full inside picture on The Ukraine missile defense situation but if I am not mistaken the logical conclusion is that we could soon be entering a new phase in the long range air defense game While Ukraine continues to improve and expand its efforts to suppress the threat from Shahed type drones with interceptors it might simply run out of answers to The Russian ballistic missiles in the short term I hope that The Kyiv efforts to do the rounds of partner countries and find whatever they can are as successful as possible and that the war in Iran ends permanently as soon as possible but in the meantime we could see a situation where anything Russia does want to hit with an Iskander it will Along the front line Russian forces have made more concerning incursions along the state border in The Ukraine northeastern Sumy Oblast It was about a year ago that after Russian forces took back all of Ukraine occupied Kursk Oblast they then made a serious push into Sumy Oblast threatening to bring the regional capital of Sumy into first person view FPV drone range Now while that part of the front has long stabilized we see new efforts to infiltrate across the border in several locations that have now swallowed several villages There is no cause to panic right now but it is just another reminder that the challenge of defending an incredibly long front line that also includes hundreds of kilometers of the state border with an overstretched military against a more numerous enemy is always going to be incredibly tough for Ukraine More and more Russia is failing to make real gains in the highest intensity areas of the front line and so it makes perfect sense for them to poke and prod along the border and create more dilemmas for The Kyiv defense Lastly on not only a positive but an emotionally stirring note the 1st Corps of The Ukraine National Guard better known as Azov posted a video yesterday showing footage from their FPV drones flying through the central streets of Donetsk which Russia occupied with its proxy separatist invasion all the way back in 2014 First and foremost the post was an announcement that the drones of the corps were now controlling all roads in and out of the occupied regional capital an impressive feat given that central Donetsk is over 50 kilometers from the nearest Ukrainian controlled territory Full control of these roads is a bit of an overstatement as the simple fact that Ukrainian drones have reached those areas on several occasions does not mean that any Russian vehicle coming in or out of Donetsk is going to be struck That is not the case even 20 kilometers from the front line let alone 50 But it is an important milestone The last time Ukrainian forces were pushed away from the outskirts of Donetsk was with the loss of the cities of Avdiivka in 2024 and Krasnohorivka later that year Since then FPV range has gradually increased but so has the distance of Ukrainian forces from the city Now in a development that must surely mean so much for Ukrainian soldiers and civilians alike from occupied Donetsk Russian soldiers understand that when roaming around in the proud Ukrainian city they are being watched and hunted That is all for me this time have a lovely safe weekend
3D Ukraine One story about Ukraine The Strait of Hormuz in opened during a ceasefire agreement according to Iran Excerpts edited by Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501C3 nonprofit organization Kiev Independent April 17 2026 Oil prices plummet as Iran says Strait of Hormuz completely open Roughly 20 percent of the oil and liquefied gas of the world usually flows through the strait every day stoking fears that an extended closure could cause a severe global energy crisis Brent crude oil a widely used global benchmark rose to near one hundred twenty dollars a barrel in March prices last seen in 2022 after The Russian full scale invasion of Ukraine Prices fell by 10 percent to below ninety dollars a barrel on April 17 after the ten day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect The war in the Middle East has been a boon for Russia which reaped a windfall from higher energy prices and more demand for its oil and gas after the US temporarily waived global sanctions on purchasing Russian oil The waiver expired on April 11 The International Monetary Fund IMF on April 14 upgraded The Russian growth forecasts for 2026 by 0 point 3 percent off the back of higher energy prices The fund now forecasts that The Russian economy will grow by 1 point 1 percent in 2026 The main driver of the upgrade to The Russian growth this year comes from an increase in the price of oil and gas said the director of the European Department at the IMF on April 17 But the fund also said that it was monitoring The Ukraine strikes on the Moscow energy infrastructure About 40 percent of The Russian oil export capacity was reportedly disabled in March by long range Ukrainian drone strikes and tanker seizures We are noting the destruction of some of the refining and export capacity the IMF director said In case you missed Incredible record Ukrainian drone manufacturer shows remote control of interceptor from Two Thousand kilometers away Ukraine wins debt relief and International Money Fund IMF flexibility in DC but growth outlook dims Moscow walks away with billions as The Trump Russian oil waiver expires
4 India Solar and wind power are booming in India but they may not be getting to customers Excerpts edited by Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501C3 nonprofit organization The New York Times April 16 2026 Last year after years of building solar parks and wind farms India said it could generate more than half of its electricity from renewable sources Getting that electricity to homes and businesses is a whole other challenge The war in Iran has exposed the limits of the outdated rickety grid of India which is struggling to deliver reliable affordable power for its 1 point 4 billion people The critical challenge for India is storing surplus energy from peak production and delivering it consistently when people need it Battery systems and transmission lines cannot be built fast enough Only about a quarter of the power generated by new sources in India actually reaches consumers compared with more than half in China As a result India is still relying on oil and gas imported from the Persian Gulf to bridge the gap a vulnerability rippling across the economy as supplies are disrupted