According to Bellingcat investigators, leaked classified documents from the Pentagon may have first appeared on a gaming server. Pope Francis asks Russians to learn the truth about the war. Metropolitan Epiphanius, head of the OCU, will hold a service at the Lavra on Easter. The fiercest battles continue for Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka. We have collected the key news of April 9.
Leaked documents
Bellingcat investigators have discovered that the leak of classified Western intelligence documents may have started on a now-deleted Discord server as early as March.
Discord is a messaging platform popular among gamers. The classified documents were dated early March and published on the platform around that time. They spread through servers run by fans of the computer game Minecraft and supporters of a Filipino YouTube blogger. And from there to other sites such as 4Chan, before appearing on Telegram and Twitter.
Participants in the deleted server said that it had 20 users who were interested in video games, music, Orthodoxy, and the fandom of one YouTuber. As noted, this server was not particularly geopolitical, although its users held a strong conservative stance on several issues.
Pope Francis’ message
In his Easter message, Pope Francis asked God to “shed the light of Easter on the people of Russia” and help Ukrainians on their path to peace.
He also asked Russians to learn the truth about their country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Strikes in Zaporizhzhia
On the night of April 9, Russian occupation forces attacked Zaporizhzhia, hitting a house. Two people were killed.
Later, on April 9, Russians conducted an air strike on one of the communities in Polohy Raion of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. According to preliminary information, a two-story school building was destroyed; the blast wave damaged 3 houses.
Easter in the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery
On Easter, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius, will hold a service at the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery.
According to him, the service will most likely take place in the morning after the curfew, which was decided not to be canceled for Easter in Kyiv. However, the OCU promises to announce the exact time of the service later.
On Palm Sunday, the head of the OCU held a service in the Refectory Church of the so-called Upper Lavra.
At the same time, a service of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate was held in the Lavra. The clergy of the UOC-MP were collecting signatures for an appeal to the president, but could not explain their demands and forbade to film the process.
Situation at the frontline
According to the General Staff, the occupation forces continue to focus their main efforts on conducting offensive operations at the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Marinka directions.
The fiercest fighting continues for Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Marinka.
The spokesperson for the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Serhii Cherevatyi, said that Russia is sending units of its regular troops, including paratroopers, to fight for Bakhmut, as the potential of the Wagner PMC is declining.
Zelenskyy’s visit to Germany
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is planning to deliver a speech at the Charlemagne International Prize award ceremony in Aachen, where this year’s winners are President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people. It is planned that Zelenskyy will personally travel to Aachen.
This would be Zelenskyy’s first visit to Germany since the start of the full-scale war. However, Bild notes that due to a planned counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Defense Forces, Zelenskyy may stay in the country and join via video link.
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