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☆ Ukraine drone attack sparks fire at Russian oil refinery; two injured as houses burnt in Kharkiv
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Ukraine attacked an oil refinery in Russia's Kaluga region in the early hours of Friday, setting the facility on fire, according to Russian media reports. Several explosions were heard in the Dzerzhinsky district of the Kaluga region, which borders the broader Moscow region, The Moscow Times reported, citing Russian Telegram channel SHOT. CNBC could not independently verify the reports. Vladislav Shapsha, governor of the Kaluga region, said in a Google-translated post via Telegram that the fire was promptly extinguished, and the extent of the damage was still being assessed. He did not say at what facility the incident took place.

Persons: Vladislav Shapsha Organizations: Moscow Times, Russian Telegram, CNBC Locations: Ukraine, Russia's Kaluga, Dzerzhinsky, Kaluga, Moscow

☆ China is untangling its economy from the West. It could be preparing for long-term tensions — and an invasion of Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

What's more, Xi Jinping has told the Chinese military to prepare for war and said that reunification with Taiwan is inevitable. But not everyone thinks a Chinese military move is necessarily imminent. If China was actively preparing for a near-term invasion of Taiwan, Kennedy said there are a few things he might expect to see first. AdvertisementIf China does invade, the global economic impact would be huge, and despite its efforts to secure its economy, China would likely be far from unscathed. "Any action against Taiwan would be disastrous for China's economy," Chilukuri said.

Persons: —, Vivek Chilukuri, Scott Kennedy, It's, Chilukuri, Xi Jinping, China's, Jinping, Kennedy, he'd Organizations: Service, Business, West, Center, New, New American Security, Center for Strategic, International Studies Locations: China, Southeast Asia, Europe, US, Taiwan, New American, United States, Russia, Ukraine, Hong Kong

☆ Zelensky sacks bodyguard chief after foiled assassination plot
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the head of the the agency responsible for his protection after two of its officers were detained over an alleged assassination plot against him. The sacking of State Guard Service (UDO) chief Serhii Rud was revealed in a decree published on the presidential website. According to Ukrainian state media Ukrinform, Rud was appointed to be Zelensky’s top bodyguard in October 2019. Earlier this week it emerged that Ukraine had detained two security officials allegedly involved in a Russian plot to assassinate Zelensky. The prosecutor’s office said one of the suspects received two drones and ammunition from Russia’s state security service (FSB), which they intended to transfer to another accomplice to carry out an explosion.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, UDO, Serhii Rud, Rud, Zelensky, ”, General’s, Vasyl Maliuk, Kyrylo Organizations: CNN, State Guard Service, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Defence Intelligence Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russia

A double line of concrete pyramids snakes its way across undulating farmland outside the city of Kherson. Anti-tank fortifications known as dragon’s teeth, the pyramids are a sign of the new defenses Ukraine is building in the south against an anticipated Russian offensive. In a village nearby, residents were focused on a more immediate task: collecting donations of building supplies. The people of the Kherson region have been slowly rebuilding their homes and livelihoods since a Ukrainian counteroffensive forced Russian troops out of the area west of the Dnipro River 18 months ago and ended a brutal occupation. Many have fixed their roofs, windows and doors, yet as they start to plant crops and tend their vegetable gardens, they are bracing for another Russian attack.

Locations: Kherson, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Dnipro

☆ House committee asks Microsoft's Brad Smith to attend hearing on security lapses
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, speaks at Gateway Technical College in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, on May 8, 2024. A House committee wants Microsoft 's top lawyer, Brad Smith, to attend a hearing this month on exploits of the company's software that resulted in hackers obtaining U.S. government officials' emails. A proposed hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security, at 10 a.m. But Smith might not necessarily show up at the time the committee asked about in a letter it sent him on Thursday. Committee chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., and Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in their letter inviting Smith to the hearing that they were encouraged by the company's plans to overhaul its security practices.

Persons: Brad Smith, Gina Raimondo, Don Bacon, Nicholas Burns, Smith, We're, Satya Nadella, Charlie Bell, Mark Green, Bennie Thompson, Green, Thompson, Chris Krebs Organizations: Microsoft, Gateway Technical College, Homeland Security, Rep, CNBC Locations: Sturtevant , Wisconsin, Washington, U.S, China

☆ A Ukrainian captain says his unit shot down every drone it met despite having 'antiquated' guns
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian platoon has shot down all of the drones it's encountered, its captain told The Guardian. Oleksandr Zhygun said his soldiers are using "antiquated" guns to do it, per the outlet. AdvertisementA Ukrainian captain operating near Kyiv said his platoon has shot down every Russian drone it has encountered, despite having what he describes as "antiquated" guns. But in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian troops are struggling against Russia's night-vision drones, a Ukrainian soldier told the Kyiv Post last month. Asked whether Ukraine could still win the war, Zhygun told The Guardian it was a "difficult" question and that they needed more air defense systems.

Persons: Oleksandr Zhygun, —, Zhygun's Kalashnikov, Yehven, Dolin, Zhygun, Ukraine's Organizations: Ukrainian, Guardian, Service, Ukraine's 241st Brigade, Territorial Defense Forces, Soviet Union, Patriot, Republicans, The Institute Locations: Ukraine, Soviet, Kyiv, Afghanistan, Ukrainian, Kyiv Post, Russia, Ukraine's, Avdiivka

☆ Sexism, Cheating, and Nightclubs: Inside the Dark Heart of Chess
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

Socialites are playing chess on "The Real Housewives of New York City." In 1990, according to the US Chess Federation, only 4% of chess players were women. Out in the world, chess' resurgence has been accompanied by a wave of new clubs and events. I made a pilgrimage to the Marshall Chess Club, a 109-year-old institution in Greenwich Village. The following evening, I went to an East Village bar and found a very different scene at Club Chess.

Persons: we'd, she'd, I'd, festers, Judit Polgár, Gary Kasparov, —, Juliana Gallin, Jennifer Shahade, Alejandro Ramírez, Ramírez —, Ramírez, Shahade, Levy, Hikaru Nakamura, Rey, Anna Cramling, Miguel Pereira, Cramling, Nakamura, Bill Withers, Frank Marshall, Alexander Luke Bahta —, athleisure, you've, it's, Magnus Carlsen, Hans Niemann, Carlsen, Niemann, Dean Mouhtaropoulos, I've, Kasparov, they're, Vladimir Kramnik, Chess.com, Kramnik, Fabiano Caruana, Dan Timbrell, doesn't Organizations: Mechanics ' Institute, Housewives, New, US Chess Federation, FIDE, Washington Post, Marshall Chess Club, Chess, The Guardian, New York, whacking, Computer, YouTube Locations: San Francisco, New York City, Berkeley , California, Greenwich Village, hipsters, American, East, Canadian, Romanian, Netherlands, It's, New York, Russian

☆ Ukraine lawmakers just passed a bill that'll allow the country to mimic Russia's tactic of drafting convicts to fight in the war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The bill, if enacted, imitates the Russian approach of using prisoners to fuel its war efforts. AdvertisementLawmakers in Ukraine passed a bill on Wednesday that would allow the country's military to recruit prisoners to fight on the battlefield. The bill, which has yet to be signed into law by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will allow Ukraine to mimic the Russian tactic of drafting convicts for their war effort. Related storiesBut while Russia hasn't imposed many restrictions on which prisoners they conscript, the Ukrainian bill is a lot more particular on who gets selected. The passing of the bill comes at a precarious time for Ukraine, which has to reckon with what US officials are calling a reinvigorated Russian army.

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vsevolod Vukolov, Russia hasn't, Shulyak, Christopher Cavoli, didn't Organizations: Service, Lawmakers, Russian, Kommersant, Washington Post, Pravda, US, Armed, BI Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian

☆ Ukraine Strikes More Russian Oil Facilities in a Bid to Disrupt Military Logistics
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Radiy Khabirov, the head of Russia’s Bashkiria region, near Kazakhstan, said a drone hit the Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery, one of the country’s largest, around midday on Thursday, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The facility is more than 700 miles from the Ukrainian border, in a sign that Ukraine is increasingly capable of striking further into Russia. An official from Ukraine’s special services, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, said Ukraine was behind the assault. The official said Ukraine was also responsible for two other drone strikes overnight that hit oil depots in Russia’s Krasnodar region, southeast of Ukraine. Military analysts say they are an attempt by Ukraine to disrupt the Russian military’s logistical routes and combat operations by targeting the facilities that supply fuel for its tanks, ships and planes.

Persons: Radiy Khabirov Organizations: Military Locations: Russia, Kyiv, Bashkiria, Kazakhstan, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russia’s Krasnodar

CNN —Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said his forces were “always ready” to combat external threats, as he addressed crowds gathered at Moscow’s Red Square on Thursday to celebrate the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Around 27 million people in the Soviet Union died in World War II, more than in any other country. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu salutes soldiers as he is driven along Red Square. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS in an interview that “unfriendly countries” were not invited for a third Victory Day since the war in Ukraine began. His Victory Day address comes just days after the Russian leader was inaugurated for a fifth term in office, in a carefully choreographed ceremony.

Persons: CNN —, Vladimir Putin, “, Putin, ” Putin, ”, Sergei Shoigu, Alexander Nemenov, Sefa, Shoigu, Alexander Lukashenko of, Emomali, Serdar, Miguel Diaz, Thongloun, Maria Zakharova, ” Zakharova, Mikhail Klimentyev, Reuters Putin Organizations: CNN, Nazi, Russian, Getty, Canel, Russian Foreign Ministry, TASS, Sputnik, Reuters, Kyiv, Kremlin Locations: Soviet, Nazi Germany, Russia, Ukraine, “ Russia, AFP, Red Square, Anadolu, Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Cuba, Laos, Guinea, Bissau, Russian, United States

☆ Treasury launches ‘Project Fortress,’ an alliance with banks against hackers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The new public-private partnership, dubbed Project Fortress, underscores the real danger US officials and bank executives believe cyberattacks pose to the economy. But Project Fortress is not just about playing defense. Project Fortress has been in the works for several months, with Treasury rolling out various parts of the alliance in pieces, the source said. One of the key elements of Project Fortress is the cyber hygiene tool run by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The federal government has recently flexed its offensive capabilities, including ones that are part of Project Fortress.

Persons: Wally Adeyemo, Janet Yellen, Adeyemo, Jamie Dimon, Brian Moynihan, Jane Fraser, Robin Vince, ” Vince, Vince, Jerome Powell, ” Adeyemo, Sean Lyngaas Organizations: New, New York CNN, Treasury, CNN, Bank Policy, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, BNY, Washington, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, Infrastructure Security Agency, JPMorgan Locations: New York, Washington

☆ Russia sees window of opportunity to expand attacks as Ukraine awaits further US aid, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Jim Sciutto | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian authorities say Russia fired more than 50 missiles and 20 drones, targeting energy infrastructure around the country. But months of inaction has resulted in real costs for Ukrainian forces on the battlefield in both territory and casualties, these officials say. Russian forces are expected to attempt to make further progress and consolidate earlier gains, before this window of opportunity closes. Western and Ukrainian officials view the near-term threat of stepped-up attacks as tied to Russian plans for a larger offensive early this summer. US and Ukrainian officials remain concerned about a further partial mobilization by Russia to send more manpower to the frontlines, as Ukraine is struggling with its own manpower shortage.

Persons: ”, Oleksiy Goncharenko, Mike Johnson, ” Goncharenko, Chasiv Organizations: CNN, ” CNN Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, Avdiivka, Pokrovsk, Chasiv Yar, Bakhmut

☆ Warren Buffett said he could make a 50% return on $1 million and predicted higher taxes. Here are 14 Q&A nuggets.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewWarren Buffett let slip a slew of intriguing facts and anecdotes during Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting on Saturday. But the Berkshire CEO also warned of higher taxes, teased a potential Canadian investment, and revealed a $500 million gift of Berkshire stock. Cash hoardBerkshire's mountain of cash and Treasury hit a record $189 billion last quarter, and it's likely to swell to more than $200 billion this quarter, Buffett said. Taxing timesThe government will probably raise taxes in the coming years in a bid to balance its budget, Buffett said. Pocket changeBuffett claimed that if he had only $1 million to invest instead of nearly $200 billion, he could earn a 50% annual return.

Persons: —, Warren Buffett, Buffett, he'd, Costco Buffett, Charlie Munger, Charlie, Talia Lakritz, he's, Todd Combs, Ted Weschler, Greg Abel, Greg, Munger, Abel, haven't, Ruth Gottesman, Sandy Gottesman, Brent N, Clarke, Garry Kasparov, Kasparov, B Organizations: Service, Paramount, Business, Treasury, Costco, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Getty, Berkshire, Nebraska Furniture Locations: Berkshire, Russian, Omaha, Costco . Berkshire, Wisconsin, Canada, Nebraska

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Putin says Russia 'will not allow anyone to threaten us' as Moscow revels in military pomp
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

There might be inclement weather in Moscow on Thursday but Russia's leadership and military are out in force for the annual "Victory Day" military parade. President Vladimir Putin, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, is watching on as thousands of Russian troops, tanks, armored vehicles and weaponry are paraded through Red Square in Moscow. The May 9 event commemorates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II but the Kremlin keen to cast parallels between the Red Army's victory in 1945 and the current conflict in Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir Putin Organizations: Nazi, Kremlin Locations: Moscow, Nazi Germany, Ukraine

☆ Russia again had only one tank in its big Victory Day military parade, and it was a World War II relic
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Ella Sherman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewRussia often uses its annual Red Square military parade in Moscow as an opportunity to show off its weaponry. This T-34, the legendary Soviet tank from World War II, was the only Russian tank on display at the Victory Day parade in Red Square today. A military parade on Victory Day in Red Square, Moscow, Russia, in May 2022, to mark the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. A RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system drives on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2024. AdvertisementWhile the Russian tank display was notably lacking, other modern Russian weapons did make an appearance, such as Russia's intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Persons: —, @maxseddon, Vladimir Putin, Novozhenina, Ukraine's, NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA Organizations: Service, Red, Soviet Union, Business, Soviet, Nazi, REUTERS, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Victory Day Locations: Russia, Moscow, Soviet, Nazi Germany, Square, Ukraine, Red Square, Donetsk

☆ Amid pomp and propaganda, Russia holds Victory Day military parade as war rumbles on
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia May 9, 2022. Mikhail Metzel | Sputnik | ReutersRussia kicked off its 79th "Victory Day" military parade on Thursday as the war with Ukraine rumbles on into a third year. Russian paratroopers march during the Victory Day Red Square Parade on May 9, 2023 in Moscow, Russia. He said participants in the "special military operation" — code for the Russian war against Ukraine — are also marching this year. The Yars ballistic missiles take part in a rehearsal of the Victory Day parade in Moscow, Russia, May 7, 2022.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Metzel, Suvorov, Sergei Shoigu, Ukraine —, Bai Xueqi, Alexander Lukashenko, Anatolii STEPANOV, ANATOLII STEPANOV, Stepanov Organizations: Nazi, Sputnik, Reuters, Kremlin, Getty, Youth Army, Russian Defense, Ukraine, Russian Air, Xinhua News Agency, West, NATO, Afp Locations: Nazi Germany, Red, Moscow, Russia, Reuters Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, China, Kostyantynivka, Donetsk, AFP

☆ Russia’s Victory Day parade masks simmering tensions inside Putin’s government and beyond
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over a pared-back Victory Day parade Thursday, showcasing his country’s unity and resolve to continue the war on Ukraine. But since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the massive military parade has been somewhat downsized. “The fate of the motherland, its future depends on each of us … We celebrate Victory Day in the context of the special military operation. All of Russia is with you!”But this year’s Victory Day is also happening against the background of a bribery scandal roiling Russia’s Ministry of Defense. Under Putin, Victory Day has assumed greater importance in national life.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Putin —, “, ”, Timur Ivanov, Mikhail Klimentyev, Alexander Nemenov, Ivanov, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu’s protégé, —, Alexey Navalny, Stanislav Krasilnikov, Maria Pevchikh, that’s Organizations: CNN, Nazi, “, Ministry of Defense, Defence, Sputnik, Getty, Financial, Corruption Foundation, AP, ACF, Prestige, — Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Nazi Germany, Russian, It’s, AFP, Mariupol, Putin’s Russia, Sochi, Moscow

☆ Russia's jamming of American weapons in Ukraine is showing the US what it needs to be ready for in a future fight
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Chris Panella | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Russia's electronic warfare has repeatedly foiled American precision weapons in Ukraine. Those could include different weapons, specific countermeasures, and the targeting of enemy jamming systems. Any fixes developed to effectively counter the challenge posed by electronic warfare won't just benefit Ukraine. Electronic warfare is a broad term that includes a variety of inexpensive options. Felicia JagdattEfforts to adapt precision weapons to the threat is just one facet of a multi-layered solution, Withington said.

Persons: —, Antonio Aguto, They'll, Mark Cancian, Denis Abramov, Thomas Withington, That's, JDAMs, Withington, Daniel Patt, Harry S, Cancian, it's, Doug Bush, that's, Bush, Felicia Jagdatt Organizations: Service, Systems, Attack Munitions, Security, Marine, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Business, DoD, Russian Defense Ministry, Royal United Services Institute, Getty, Hudson Institute, Truman, US, Intelligence, US Air Force, Army, US Army Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, Russia, China, Withington, Bliss, Texas

☆ Prisoners in Ukraine to be granted parole for military service
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Radina Gigova | Olga Voitovych | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Some Ukrainian prisoners will be able to apply for early parole and join the army under a new law aimed at boosting Kyiv’s manpower in its fight against the Russian invasion. The new law requires that convicts join the military of their own free will. Those who leave the military before their contract is up face additional prison terms of between five and 10 years. Shuliak said those released on parole to serve would have the status of “military personnel,” and therefore be subject to the same restrictions governing their behaviour. Contracts can be terminated in some circumstances, such as ill health or if the former prisoner commits a new crime.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Kostiantyn, ”, Olena Shuliak, Shuliak Organizations: CNN, Russian, Verkhovna Rada, Organization of State Power, Self, Government, Regional, Urban, National Guard Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Opinion: Russia can lose this war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Opinion Timothy Snyder | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And far too many of us, during Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, have believed that. Of its three most consequential foreign wars, the Red Army lost two. And the Russian army of today is not the Red Army. It was disproportionately Ukrainians who fought their war to Berlin in the uniform of the Red Army. Russia can lose this war, and should, for the sake of Russians themselves.

Persons: Timothy Snyder, Richard C, Levin, “, ”, Read, Leonid Brezhnev, Putin, Alexander Nemenov, Brezhnev, Vladimir Putin, Robert Nickelsberg Organizations: Global Affairs, Yale University, CNN, Russia, Getty, Red, Red Army, Soviet, Lease, Russian Empire, Russo, Fascism Locations: Nazi Germany, Russia, Ukraine, AFP, Poland, Afghanistan, USSR, Soviet Ukraine, Berlin, United States, Russian, Crimean, Japanese, Europe, Pacific, Kabul, Soviet Union, Crimea, Japan, Soviet, Ukrainian

☆ Russians are so desperate to see Western pop stars, they are paying to go on 'concert vacations' abroad
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The company has sold 150 concert vacations since last year, according to The Telegraph. Russian music fans, however, appear to be so desperate to see their favorite artists that they are paying thousands to go on "concert vacations" abroad. A spokesperson for the operator told The Telegraph that it had sold 150 concert vacations since it launched its packages in the fall of last year. One of the packages — a five-day trip to see Ed Sheeran perform in Belgrade, Serbia, in August — costs around $1,123. "Western superstars don't perform in Moscow anymore," Jonny Tickle, a British man living in Moscow, wrote on X.

Persons: Ed Sheeran, James Blunt, —, Snoop, Sheeran, Jonny Tickle, Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Adele, Tickle, Guy Berryman, hadn't, Coldplay, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, Elzy, Vakarchuk Organizations: The, Service, Express, The Telegraph, Scorpions, Ukraine, Europa, Coldplay, Russian Express Locations: Russian, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Zagreb, Croatia, Dubai, Belgrade, Serbia, Moscow, British, Dua, Munich, Budapest, Vienna, Ukrainian, Brussels

☆ Britain to Expel Russian Defense Attaché and Close Some Diplomatic Sites
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Britain’s diplomatic feud with Russia escalated on Wednesday after the British government announced it would expel a senior Russian diplomat who officials claim is an “undeclared” military intelligence officer, and also shut down several Russian diplomatic facilities in the country. The government accused Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the Federal Security Service, or F.S.B., of a pattern of “malign activity” in Britain and Europe, including hacking and leaking trade documents relating to the United States, and targeting of British lawmakers through malicious email campaigns. James Cleverly, the British home secretary, told Parliament that the government was announcing the retaliatory measures “to make clear to Russia that we will not tolerate such apparent escalations.”Britain’s action came two days after the Russian Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the British ambassador to Moscow to lodge a “strong protest” over remarks the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, had made about Ukraine’s using weapons supplied by Britain to strike Russian territory.

Persons: James, ”, David Cameron Organizations: Federal Security Service, Russian Foreign Ministry Locations: Russia, British, Russian, Britain, Europe, United States, Moscow

☆ A Ukrainian tank crew says the Abrams is still being used on the front lines, but isn't finding 'tank-on-tank' battles where it has the edge
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Ukrainian tank crew told state media they're still using the Abrams tank on the front lines. A Ukrainian Abrams commander told Army TV that the tanks weren't withdrawn but are used situationally. AdvertisementA Ukrainian tank crew says the US-supplied Abrams is still viable on the front lines, but the tank-on-tank battles where it excels have been few and far between. Advertisement"WHERE IS UKRAINIAN ABRAMS: how the legendary American tank fights at the front," its title reads. At least five Abrams tanks have been reported lost in combat, with another three damaged.

Persons: Abrams, Ukrainian Abrams, —, Kyiv hadn't, Dmytro, Alexey, Biden Organizations: Pentagon, Abrams, Army, Service, Associated Press, Kyiv, Mechanized Brigade, Ukraine's Defense Ministry, YouTube, ABRAMS, Business Insider, Russian, AP, Russia, Congress Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Hill

☆ Britain summons Russian ambassador, targets Moscow-owned homes and charges five alleged spies
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Russia has faced waves of sanctions from the UK and other Western nations since launching its full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, though President Vladimir Putin has sought to downplay their significance. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron described the new measures as an “unequivocal message to the Russian state” that “their actions will not go unanswered.”“Since the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s attempts to undermine UK and European security have become increasingly brazen,” Cameron said. Moscow has in the past sought to sanction Western individuals in tit-for-tat moves, barring dozens of British figures from entering the country after a previous wave of measures from London last year. “In the coming days, we should expect accusations of Russophobia, conspiracy theories and hysteria from the Russian government,” Cleverly said as he detailed the measures in Parliament on Wednesday. “This is not new, and the British people and the British government will not fall for it and will not be taken for fools by Putin’s bots, trolls and lackeys.”

Persons: James, attaché, “, Seacox Heath, ”, Vladimir Putin, Putin, David Cameron, Russia’s, ” Cameron Organizations: London CNN, Moscow, Russian, Foreign Office, National Security, British, “ Locations: United Kingdom, Russian, Highgate, London, Sussex, England, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, British

☆ Russia pounds Ukraine with biggest airstrikes in weeks
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Olga Voitovych | Martin Goillandeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Russia carried out a “massive” missile attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure overnight into Wednesday, according to local authorities, in the biggest aerial onslaught by Russian forces for weeks. Russia used 76 air attack weapons in the assault, including 55 missiles and 21 drones launched from Russia and Russian controlled areas, according to Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk. Rescuers assess the ruins of a building, damaged by a Russian missile attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine on May 8, 2024. Handout/Ukrainian Emergency Service/APMoscow has stepped up efforts to paralyze Ukraine’s energy system in the past month, as Kyiv’s troops struggle to hold positions on key frontlines particularly in the east. The latest Russian attack hit three thermal power plants run by Ukraine’s biggest power company, DTEK.

Persons: Mykola Oleshchuk, Herman Halushchenko, ” Halushchenko, Maksym Kozytskyi, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian Air Force, country’s Energy, Emergency, AP, Ukraine’s, Nazism Locations: Russia, Russian, Ukraine’s Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano, Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Handout, AP Moscow, Avdiivka, Ukraine’s, Chervonohrad, Stryi

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