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“What we are in now is a production war,” a senior NATO official told CNN. “The number one issue that we’re watching right now is the munitions,” the NATO official said. There is also a limit to Russian production capacity, officials say: Russian factories will likely hit a peak sometime in the next year. “If we were talking about this last fall, we would have talked about how they were targeting critical infrastructure,” the NATO official said. “In the short term — say, the next 18 months or so — it may be unsophisticated, but it’s a durable economy,” the NATO official said.

Persons: ”, Abrams, “, — “, Joe Biden, Inna Varenytsia, it’s, Putin’s, Steven Basham, “ It’s, Maxym, Russia’s ‘, Basham Organizations: CNN, Army, NATO, ”, Reuters, Ukraine, European Command, US Army, ” Intelligence, US European Command, Pentagon Locations: Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Avdiivka, that’s, Iran, North Korea, Kreminna, Germany, Pennsylvania , Iowa, Texas, Moscow, Tehran, Bohorodychne, Donetsk, Russian

☆ Russia’s ‘Merchant of Death’ Is Looking to Forge a New Life in Politics
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Valerie Hopkins | More About Valerie Hopkins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As an arms trafficker, he operated in some of the world’s most dangerous places, becoming one of the world’s most wanted men and earning the nickname “Merchant of Death,” not to speak of a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S. But now, nine months after returning to Russia in a prisoner exchange, Viktor A. “I’ve been for 15 years locked up in your federal system,” he said in an interview conducted in somewhat stilted English at his party’s Moscow headquarters. “So what do you expect for me, that I have to take time to take vacation? He was long suspected of having links to Russia’s military intelligence agency, the G.R.U.

Persons: Merchant of, ”, Viktor, Vladimir V, “ I’ve, I’ve Locations: U.S, Russia, Ulyanovsk, Moscow, Thailand, Manhattan

☆ Ukraine war live updates: U.S. slams Russia’s ‘sham elections’ in occupied areas; Kyiv hits out at Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

The West has sharply criticized elections taking place in occupied areas of Ukraine over the weekend, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken describing them as "nothing more than a propaganda exercise." Russian-installed authorities are holding elections in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The Kremlin is thought to be seeking to tighten its grip on the partly controlled territories it illegally annexed a year ago. The Russian embassy in the U.S. has reportedly defended the regional elections in occupied areas of Ukraine and accused Washington of meddling in its internal affairs. A Ukrainian official, meanwhile, slammed Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for ordering his Starlink satellite communications network to be turned off near Crimea last year to thwart a Ukrainian attack on Russian warships.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Tesla, Elon Musk Organizations: U.S, SpaceX Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Russian, U.S, Washington, Crimea

☆ Russia’s ‘August curse’ sees war come home
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Matthew Chance | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Moscow CNN —In years past, the month of August was often greeted in Russia with a degree of caution, even alarm. Russians spoke in whispered tones of their “August curse” to explain the unusually high number of deadly accidents, terrorist attacks, or outbreaks of war. For a long time now that curse seemed to have been lifted and almost forgotten, reducing the month to just another hot summer interlude. In the Black Sea, Russia’s military and commercial fleets have come under attack from Ukrainian naval drones this month, threatening Russian supply and trade routes. There has been a strict crackdown on dissent in Russia, particularly around criticisms of the war in Ukraine.

Persons: We’re, ”, Russia’s Organizations: Moscow CNN —, CNN, Kremlin Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Sergiev

☆ Turkey eyes recalibration with the West as Russia’s isolation grows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Zeena Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

His delicate balancing act has given Turkey a unique position of being the only NATO nation whose ear Russia has. “By backing Sweden’s NATO bid…Ankara is signaling a recalibration in ties with the West, which have been strained for a while now,” said Memet Celik, editorial coordinator for the pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper. “In a larger sense, Russia’s unjustified war against Ukraine reminded the West of the importance of geography, hard military power, and alliance commitments – and thus the value of Turkey,” he said. Turkey, however, is likely to continue to be relevant to both Russia and the West. “Due to proximity, power, and relations with both Kyiv and Moscow, Turkey will be a key player in conflict resolution and whatever peace deal ultimately emerges,” said Outzen.

Persons: CNN —, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, ”, Memet Celik, Joe Biden, Washington, Biden, Tuesday’s, ” Erdogan, Rich Outzen, –, “, ” Viktor Bondarev, Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia’s ‘, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Putin’s, Outzen, Russia’s “, Ukraine ”, Sinan Ulgen, Erdogan’s, Russia aren’t Organizations: CNN, Nordic, European Union, NATO, …, Daily, West, White House, Atlantic Council, Ukraine, “, Ankara, Russia’s Federation, Committee, Defense, Security, Putin, Kyiv Locations: NATO, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Turkey, Turkish, … Ankara, Daily Sabah, Vilnius, Lithuania, Ankara, “, “ Ankara, Istanbul, “ Turkey, Celik

☆ In Finland, NATO’s Newest Member, Blinken Details Russia’s ‘Failures’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Michael Crowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Friday took the stage in NATO’s newest member, Finland, to say that further strengthening Ukraine’s defenses against Russia was a “prerequisite” for diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine and to warn against short-term cease-fires that might play to Moscow’s advantage. In a powerfully symbolic address at the City Hall in Helsinki, Finland’s capital, Mr. Blinken cataloged the many ways the war by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had backfired since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He noted, for one, Finland’s decision last year to break from decades of firm neutrality and join the NATO alliance in a major strategic blow to Mr. Putin, who calls NATO’s expansion a grave threat to Russian security. Mr. Putin’s war “has been a strategic failure — greatly diminishing Russia’s power, its interests and its influence for years to come,” Mr. Blinken said. “When you look at President Putin’s long-term strategic aims and objectives, there is no question: Russia is significantly worse off today than it was before the full-scale invasion — militarily, economically, geopolitically,” he added.

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, Vladimir V, Putin, “, Mr, Putin’s Organizations: City Hall, NATO Locations: NATO’s, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Helsinki, Finland’s, Moscow

Peskov did not provide any evidence to his claims, nor additional details regarding the alleged attack, saying that information would be released later. Earlier this week, Russia claimed Ukraine launched a drone strike targeting the Kremlin in an attempt to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it a “planned terrorist attack.” Ukraine has strongly denied any involvement. The United States had nothing to do with this. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty ImagesRyabkov also accused US officials of trying to “promote the idea of Washington’s non-involvement” in the purported drone attack, TASS reported. “Washington has long been a direct party to the Ukrainian conflict and aims to destroy sovereign Russia,” he said, according to TASS.

☆ Opinion: The chilling logic behind Russia’s deportation of children
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Opinion Kristina Hook | Oleksandra Gaidai | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Writing in 1914, historian Marian Dubiecki recounted Moscow’s deportation of Polish children following the 18th century Kościuszko Uprising. More recently, testimonies of rescued Ukrainian children recount extensive ideological coercion, often violent, while in Russian custody. Kristina Hook and Oleksandra GaidaiRussian perpetrators now demonstrate radicalization dynamics well-known to genocide scholars, and their dehumanizing ire has turned toward Ukrainian children. One state TV pundit openly speculated about drowning or burning Ukrainian children. Children are falsely told that their families have abandoned them and that they are “children of Russia” forever.

☆ Opinion: Top secrets come spilling out
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. Writing for CNN Opinion, Rep. Justin Pearson noted, “This should be a chastening moment for revanchist forces in Tennessee’s legislature and across the country. Over the long haul, the undemocratic machinations employed to oust us from office are destined to fail. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once famously said that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice. “As a Jewish historian,” Perry wrote, “I worry about the tension between preserving the memory of past hardships while not locking our entire history into a tale of oppression.

☆ Opinion: How the battle for Bakhmut exposed Russia’s ‘meat-grinder’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Michael Bociurkiw | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

It will also be recorded in history as a battle that exposed more than anywhere the meat-grinder approach of Russian fighting. Taking Bakhmut would be the first Russian gain since it captured (and later lost) the key southern Ukrainian city of Kherson in November. That Ukrainian forces have demonstrated such endurance in the battle for Bakhmut should come as little surprise. Like the current battle for Bakhmut, it too became emblematic of Ukraine’s tenaciousness to defend itself against Russia’s aggression – particularly considering the Ukrainian Armed Forces were far less prepared and equipped. “The battle for Bakhmut in winter-spring 2023 will surely enter the history books as the bloodiest battle in Europe since World War II,” said Masliychuk.

☆ Russia’s ‘Energy Weapon’ Is Hurting China Too
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Nathaniel Taplin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Europe has had a tough winter—but warm weather and a herculean effort to find new natural gas supplies has limited the economic damage from Moscow’s decision to curb gas exports to the continent. Some of that damage is instead showing up in a very different gas market and one Russia is counting on for its growth: China. Unlike in Europe, winter in parts of Northern China is proving to be bitterly cold. Moreover China’s energy sector reforms since 2020—and a major policy push in recent years to use more gas for environmental reasons—have left some Chinese city utilities more exposed to rising global prices. One result has been the curtailment of gas supply to some residents, who pay lower regulated prices for gas than industrial customers.

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