Latest news with #Skhemy
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Russia turning Kerch airport in Crimea into military base, may launch Shahed drones from there
The Kerch airport, located in the east of occupied Crimea, is being converted from a civilian to a military facility, according to data from the Russian property registry and satellite images from Planet Labs. Source: Skhemy, a Radio Liberty project Details: Registry documents indicate that on 4 March 2025, the Russian authorities granted indefinite use of part of the airport's land to Russia's Ministry of Defence. Satellite images taken in February and June 2025 show new construction, including protective and camouflage structures around the runway. Planet Labs satellite photos indicate that the redevelopment of the Kerch airport is ongoing. The Kerch airport as of 5 June 2025. Photo: Skhemy Experts suggest these facilities could be used to house equipment related to unmanned aerial vehicles or air defence systems. Aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi, to whom the images were shown by journalists, pointed to the size of the camouflage shelters, noting they could potentially serve as technical bases for UAVs or house air defence systems such as the Pantsir-S1 or Tor-M2. "These could be platforms for launching or assembling drones, as well as positions for air defence systems," Khrapchynskyi said. He also noted that the runway's characteristics make it suitable for drone launches. The Kerch airport as of 5 June 2025. Photo: Skhemy Previously, the airport area had been used as a parking zone for freight vehicles awaiting ferry transport. However, in March 2025, this facility was relocated, officially explained as a "reorganisation of the company's operations". The last regular passenger flight from the Kerch airport took place in 2007. Background: On the night of 8-9 June, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, in coordination with other defence forces units, carried out a strike on the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ukrainian suspected of arson linked to Starmer was likely recruited by Russia via Telegram, journalists say
One of the four suspects in a series of arson attacks on property linked to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer may have been recruited by Russian intelligence via the Telegram app. Source: Skhemy, an investigative reporting project by Radio Liberty, as reported by European Pravda Details: After analysing the Ukrainian suspect's activity on social media and messenger apps, journalists came to the conclusion that 21-year-old Roman Lavrynovych, suspected of setting fire to property linked to Starmer, may have been recruited by Russian security services via Telegram. Skhemy's investigation revealed that Lavrynovych had been actively searching for work in Telegram groups for foreigners in London from 2022 to 2025. Most of the work he sought was in construction or hospitality, often for cash. His last post seeking work in one of these groups appeared on 3 May – five days before a car linked to Starmer was set on fire in London. It is reported that Lavrynovych last accessed Telegram in the early hours of 13 May, just a few hours before he was arrested by police following another arson attack on a building also connected to the UK prime minister. His latest job-seeking posts on Telegram channels were made in early May. On 2 May, for example, he wrote in the London UA group: "Looking for a job, open to any options". Two hours later, a user named Yurii replied: "Message me privately". Yurii had joined the group just a few days earlier. Skhemy also found that Lavrynovych had listed the UK as his place of residence and had provided a UK phone number in his profile on the Russian social media platform VKontakte as early as 2016. Lavrynovych is facing three counts of arson with intent to endanger life. Earlier, three people had already been charged in the case: Ukrainians Petro Pochynok (34) and Roman Lavrynovych (21), and Stanislav Karpiuk (26), a Romanian citizen of Ukrainian origin. Pochynok and Karpiuk are charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life. All three are expected to appear at the Old Bailey on Friday 6 June. On 2 June, London police announced that a fourth man had been arrested in connection with the series of arson attacks linked to the UK Prime Minister. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russian military wife urging her husband to rape Ukrainian women convicted in Ukraine
The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv has convicted in absentia of violating the laws and customs of war and sentenced to 5 years in prison a Russian citizen, Olga Bykovska, who urged her husband, a Russian soldier, to rape Ukrainian women. Source: Skhemy, a Radio Liberty project Details: The decision, the text of which has been seen by Skhemy, was adopted by the court on 24 March 2025. The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) released audio of a conversation between a Russian soldier and his wife, which was intercepted in April. The woman gives her husband permission to rape Ukrainian women, but "use protection". Journalists of the Ukrainian and Russian services of Radio Liberty identified the couple as Olga and Roman Bykovsky living in Feodosia, occupied Crimea. The Russian woman was served with a notice of suspicion of violating the laws and customs of war and put on the international wanted list. Ukrainian law enforcement officers completed the investigation and sent an indictment against Olga Bykovska (née Pinyasova) to court in December 2022. The court has now sentenced her to 5 years' imprisonment from the date of her arrest. Bykovska is currently on the international wanted list. She also has to compensate the state for more than 15,000 hryvnias (US$361,66) in procedural costs, including a forensic linguistic, semantic and textual examination and an examination of the sound recording of the Bykovskys' voices. The court also reviewed the video version of the Schemes investigation and the conversations between the journalists and the Bykovskys, which formed the basis of the criminal proceedings. The verdict will become effective after the deadline for filing an appeal. The investigation was conducted by the SSU Main Investigation Department under the supervision of the Prosecutor General's Office. Paratrooper Roman Bykovsky took part in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He and his wife are from Oryol Oblast of the Russian Federation. In a conversation with Radio Liberty journalists, Bykovsky said that the voice on the SSU recording was not his. At the same time, his voice is the same as in the recordings of law enforcement officers. Olga Bykovskaya's voice also completely matches the voice on the audio recording posted by Ukraine's Security Service. During a conversation with journalists, Olga reported that her husband was in Sevastopol, being treated in a hospital after being wounded. Where exactly, she said she did not know. After that, Bykovskaya interrupted the conversation and dropped further calls. Neither Roman Bykovsky nor his wife responded to messages on social media. After the conversation, Olga deleted her account on Vkontakte, a popular Russian social media site. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Satellite images of Ukrainian strike on Russia's Engels airfield revealed
Satellite images from Maxar have captured the aftermath of a Ukrainian defence forces strike on ammunition depots at a Russian strategic aviation airfield. Source: Skhemy, a Radio Svoboda project Details: The images from 21 March show damage to the ammunition depots at Engels-2 military air base in Russia's Saratov Oblast. Craters from explosions have appeared in place of some buildings. The ammunition depots at Engels-2 airfield as of 21 March 2025 Photo: Skhemy The ammunition depots at Engels-2 airfield as of 7 December 2024 Photo: Skhemy The airfield is known as the base from which Russian strategic aviation aircraft have repeatedly taken off to carry out large-scale missile strikes on Ukraine. Aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi told Skhemy that these depots housed containers for Kh-101 and Kh-555 missiles, which Russia uses for attacks on Ukraine with Tu-160 and Tu-95 aircraft. He also noted the likelihood that a missile pre-flight preparation centre located there had also been destroyed. Background: Local authorities reported that a fire broke out at the military airfield in Engels, Russia's Saratov Oblast, following a drone attack. Additionally, local Telegram channels stated that authorities had begun evacuating houses located near the airfield. Later, this information was confirmed by Saratov Oblast Governor Roman Busargin. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that on the night of 19-20 March, the Ukrainian defence forces attacked Engels-2 airfield, which caused a fire and explosions. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
