TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Museums+Heritage: 12 museums among cultural sites damaged or destroyed in Ukraine confirms UNESCO . “According to a new count, 152 cultural sites in Ukraine have been partially or totally destroyed since the beginning of the war. Last week UNESCO published an updated assessment of the damage caused to cultural sites in Ukraine since 24 February 2022, when the Russian offensive began. According to the checks carried out by its experts, 152 cultural sites have been partially or totally destroyed as a result of the fighting, including 30 historical buildings, 18 cultural centres, 15 monuments, 12 museums, seven libraries and 70 religious buildings.”

The Drum: Digital effort to preserve Ukraine’s cultural artifacts amid war wins Grand Prix at Cannes. “On the second day at Cannes Lions, the Digital Craft Lions Grand Prix — which spotlights the best technological craft in the industry — was awarded to Virtue Worldwide New York for a project designed to protect and preserve Ukrainian cultural artifacts amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It was selected among 661 entries to win the top award in the category.”

Independent (Ireland): Russia-based tech giant Yandex pulls the plug on Irish subsidiary. “Yandex, the Russian tech giant, is shutting down its Irish entity less than six months after registering it here. The company is often referred to as Russia’s Google with its business spanning search, cloud computing and transport apps.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Task & Purpose: Ukraine’s new (and probably fake) war hero is a goddamn goat. “To paraphrase Mark Antony, ‘Cry havoc, and let slip the goats of war.’ Or something like that, because this latest dispatch from the war in Ukraine is about a goat supposedly taking out a platoon of Russian soldiers. The goat in question, at least according to The Telegraph, wandered into a group of Russian soldiers rigging some grenades around a hospital. The goat, carrying on with its goat business, then supposedly prematurely set off the boobytrap. It presumably walked away unscathed, leaving 40 wounded Russian troops in its wake.”

Motherboard: Ukrainians Will Write Your Message on Munitions Aimed at Russians for Donations. “A Ukrainian Telegram account is offering to write a message of your choice on artillery shells that will then be fired at Russian in exchange for $40 per message. The account claims that the funds it raises will go towards arming Ukrainian soldiers.”

Marine Corps Times: Ukraine lessons take center stage in Marines’ new information warfare plan. “The Marine Corps wants all troops to treat information as a core function of waging war. And the Russia-Ukraine conflict is providing a heavy underline to its efforts. On Thursday, the service released its eighth Marine Corps doctrinal publication, this one focused on information.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Bleeping Computer: Ukraine arrests cybercrime gang operating over 400 phishing sites. “The Ukrainian cyberpolice force arrested nine members of a criminal group that operated over 400 phishing websites crafted to appear like legitimate EU portals offering financial assistance to Ukrainians.”

New York Times: Lithuania blames Russia for cyberattacks, citing threats over cargo restrictions.. “Just days after Moscow threatened retaliation against Lithuania for placing restrictions on cargo traffic to the isolated Russian territory of Kaliningrad, computer hackers ‘linked to the Russian state’ attacked dozens of Lithuanian government and private organizations, the Baltic nation’s deputy defense minister said.”

Bleeping Computer: Russia fines Google for spreading ‘unreliable’ info defaming its army. “Roskomnadzor, Russia’s telecommunications watchdog, has fined Google 68 million rubles (roughly $1.2 million) for helping spread what it called ‘unreliable’ information on the war in Ukraine and the failure to remove it from its platforms.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Brookings Institution: Russia’s narratives about its invasion of Ukraine are lingering in Africa. “The information spaces in Africa and other regions of the Global South like India and China have been heavily targeted by Russian disinformation and propaganda campaigns in recent months and years. In the case of Africa at this moment, Russia’s objectives are not only to justify its invasion of Ukraine, but to sway African countries to support Russia’s actions and secure Russia’s influence over the region, especially as the country becomes increasingly isolated from the United States and Europe.”

BBC: Tracking where Russia is taking Ukraine’s stolen grain. “There’s mounting evidence that Russian forces in occupied areas of Ukraine have been systematically stealing grain and other produce from local farmers. The BBC has talked to farmers and analysed satellite images and shipping data to track where the grain is going.”

Center for European Policy Analysis: The Quickest Route to Peace in Ukraine. “As ever, the Kremlin’s information warfare would not work without the impatience, short attention span, and anxiety in Western democracies, which the Kremlin knows very well. It has learned to exploit this with some skill.”

Do you like ResearchBuzz? Does it help you out? Please consider supporting it on Patreon. Not interested in commitment? Perhaps you’d buy me an iced tea. I love your comments, I love your site suggestions, and I love you. Feel free to comment on the blog, or @ResearchBuzz on Twitter. Thanks!