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☆ Exclusive: US prepared ‘rigorously’ for potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in late 2022, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Jim Sciutto | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Russian officials alleged Ukraine would build and detonate a dirty bomb against Russian forces and then blame the attack on Russia. Western intelligence agencies had received information that there were now communications among Russian officials explicitly discussing a nuclear strike. “It’s never a cut-and-dry, black-and-white assessment,” the first senior administration official told me. Secretary of State Antony Blinken communicated US concerns “very directly” with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, according to senior administration officials. “We conducted a number of quiet conversations with core allies to go through our thinking,” the first senior administration official told me.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Powers, “, ” “, Chris McGrath, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, “ It’s, NurPhoto, Antony Blinken, Sergey Lavrov, Mark Milley, General Valery Gerasimov, Joe Biden, Bill Burns, Sergey Naryshkin, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, Alexandr Demyanchuk, ”, … Organizations: CNN, US, National Security Council, Kherson City, “, UN, United Nations, Russian, Russian Armed Forces, CIA, Indian, Shanghai Cooperation Organization Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, “, Russian, Kherson, Ukrainian, France, Turkey, ”, Kyiv, India, China, Samarkand

☆ The horror of Henry Kissinger’s legacy in Southeast Asia goes on
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —Fifty years after Henry Kissinger drove American foreign policy in Southeast Asia, the region continues to live with the fallout from the bombing and military campaigns backed by the former secretary of state, who died last week. That’s more than the Allies dropped during World War II, according to an account by Yale University historian Ben Kiernan. Experts say the devastation – which is especially acute for people in rural areas – will go on for years to come. That’s Kissinger’s legacy,” said Bill Morse, president of the nonprofit Landmine Relief Fund, which supports organizations including Cambodia Self-Help Demining. They play catch with it and it blows up 10 year old children … (unexploded ordnance) are where the injuries are coming from now,” he said.

Persons: Henry Kissinger, Kissinger, Richard Nixon, ”, Youk Chhang, Chhang, Nixon, Vietnam –, CNN It’s, Gerald Ford, Suharto’s, “ Kissinger, Chong Ja Ian, Ben Kiernan, …, That’s, Bill Morse, Morse, Le Duc Tho, “, Barack Obama Organizations: Hong Kong CNN —, Center of Cambodia, CNN, National University of Singapore, ”, Yale University, Paris Peace Accords, MPI, Getty, NPR Locations: Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Khmer Rouge, Phnom Penh, Khmer, Laos, East Timor, United States, Missouri, destabilized, Paris, United Kingdom

☆ Despite losing limbs, Ukrainian sappers return to work clearing land mines
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Vitalii Hnidyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Oleksii Poliakov, member of the National police special demining unit works with mine fuses during a demining operation near Izum town, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, October 24, 2023. By May the following year he was back at work, standing on a prosthetic limb, sweeping for and defusing mines. But she has accepted it," he told Reuters while working in the Kharkiv region this week. Valeri Onul, another sapper, also returned to work in the unit despite losing a leg in a blast in November. Even in the immediate aftermath of the blast, he said he was sure he would return to mine-clearance work when he had made a recovery.

Persons: Sofiia, Ilkiv, –, Valeri Onul, Tom Balmforth, Deborah Kyvrikosaios Organizations: National, REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Izum, Ukraine, Kharkiv region, KHARKIV, Russia, Kherson, Kharkiv, Dementiivka

☆ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet with senators at the U.S. Capitol
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Julie Tsirkin | Summer Concepcion | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to visit the Capitol and meet with senators on Thursday, a Senate leadership aide told NBC News. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will host an all-senators meeting with Zelenskyy on Thursday at 10 a.m. More from NBC News:Zelenskyy is also expected to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, a person familiar with the plans previously told NBC News. "I hope we finally have put to bed the notion about whether or not Ukraine is welcome in NATO. It is an investment in global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way," he told U.S. lawmakers.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, Zelenskyy, Kevin McCarthy's, Joe Biden, Biden, Antony Blinken, Blinken Organizations: Capitol, NBC News, NBC, White, United Nations General Assembly, Zelenskyy, NATO, State Department, U.S Locations: Ky, New York City, U.S, Ukrainian, Vilnius, Lithuania, Ukraine, Kyiv, United States

☆ Blinken, in Kyiv, Says U.S. Will Send $1 Billion More in Aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The aid will also include demining assistance to clear Russian land mines and prevent the remnants of war from causing further harm to civilians, Mr. Blinken said. It includes ammunition made with depleted uranium for Abrams tanks, which are scheduled to arrive in Ukraine this fall, Mr. Blinken said. Mr. Blinken traveled by train to Kyiv with Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, according to a State Department statement. He was replaced by Rustem Umerov, who has been the chairman of Ukraine’s State Property Fund. A senior State Department official told reporters traveling with Mr. Blinken that the effort was aimed at “putting global support on a long-term, sustainable path.

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, Biden, Dmytro Kuleba, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Mr, Zelensky, ”, “, Lynsey Addario, Mr, Mette Frederiksen, Blinken’s, Oleksii, Rustem Umerov, Umerov’s, Tyler Hicks, Putin, Vladimir V, Russia, Erin Mendell, Anushka Patil Organizations: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kyiv, United, Pentagon, The New York Times, Ukraine’s, Department, Property Fund, 22nd Mechanized Brigade, State Department Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, U.S, United States, matériel, Kostyantynivka, Ukrainian, ”, Russia, “, Denmark, Ukraine’s, Bakhmut, Israel

☆ Why F-16 jets can’t come soon enough for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Dnipro, Ukraine CNN —The depth and frequency of craters across the frontline city of Orikhiv are a blunt example of why Ukraine needs F-16 fighter jets urgently. Ukrainian troops amassed around the city have the unenviable task of pushing through minefields towards an enemy that has long anticipated their advance. Russian jets fire half-metric-ton bombs that glide in from afar – from outside of the reach of Ukraine’s air defenses – and then devastate Ukrainian positions at will. So when Ukraine says it urgently needs F-16s, it is because Ukrainian troops are dying daily because of Russian air superiority. Portuguese Air Force F-16 military fighter jets participate in NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission in Lithuanian airspace near Siauliai, on May 23.

Persons: Stringer, “, Petras Malukas Organizations: Ukraine CNN, NATO, CNN, Portuguese Air Force, Air Policing Mission, Getty Locations: Dnipro, Ukraine, Orikhiv, Russian, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s, Moscow, Siauliai, AFP

☆ Russia's planting mines everywhere, even cruelly hiding explosives in everyday items like fridges, toys, and children's books, Ukrainian military engineers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Russian soldiers who previously occupied Ukrainian territory left it littered with land mines. Moscow's troops hid explosives in every items like toys, fridges, and even children's books. For instance, they cruelly hide explosives in everyday household items like refrigerators, toys, and even children's books. Military sappers inspect an area for mines and non-exploded shells left after Russia's invasion in Kyiv Region, Ukraine April 21, 2022. REUTERS/Mykola TymchenkoUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned in April 2022 that Russian soldiers retreating in the north at the time had left mines everywhere, creating a "complete disaster."

Persons: it's, Mark Milley, sapper, Gleb Garanich, Oleksandr, Mykola Tymchenko, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Maksym Trykur, Trykur, That's, Europe's Organizations: Service, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Ukrainian Armed Forces, REUTERS, Ukraine's, Transport Service, State Emergency Service, Special Transport Service, Mining, Mines Locations: Ukrainian, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russian, Izium, Kharkiv region, Kyiv, Kyiv Region, Udy, Kharkiv, Africa

☆ Russian land mines pose a persistent and deadly threat in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

What lies beneath Land mines left by Russian forces in Ukraine pose a deadly threat to Kyiv's military - and civilians in liberated territory. On average, anti-vehicle mines caused more incidents with multiple fatalities than anti-personnel mines did. GICHD has documented at least 12 types of anti-personnel mines and nine types of anti-vehicle mines in use in Ukraine. Formerly occupied towns in Kyiv; Sumy, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv oblasts all saw a large number of mines, especially anti-personnel mines, left in place, Mathewson said. Ukraine is a signatory to the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, and had been destroying its anti-personnel mines when the war began.

Persons: Mark Hiznay, ”, Adam Komorowski, Tymur Pistriuha, Hiznay, PARM, GICHD, Andro Mathewson, “, Komorowsi, Mick Ryan, Mathewson, Nacho Doce, Pistriuha, Komorowski, ” Ryan, Ryan, Jack Watling, Watling, ” Watling, demining Organizations: Russian, Reuters, HALO Trust, Human Rights Watch, Advisory, Geneva International Centre, Humanitarian, Ukrainian Deminers Association, Ukrainian, U.S . Army, Australian Army, REUTERS, HALO, Mines, Royal United Services Institute, United, Surveyors, State Emergency Service, Dnipro River’s Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Eastern Europe, South America, Caribbean, Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Germany, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia oblast, Kherson, Iraqi, Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, ”, Vuhledar, United Nations, Nova, Izium

While it still maintains some combat power in reserve, it has now deployed the “main bulk” of the forces committed to the counteroffensive forces, one of the US officials said. “The second wave of the [Ukrainian] counteroffensive has begun” on the Zaporizhzhia front, said Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Russian-installed military-civilian administration in the region. The New York Times was first to report on the commitment of additional Ukrainian forces to the counteroffensive. Zelensky said last week that one reason for the slow progress of the counteroffensive was its later-than-planned start. However, some Ukrainian military officials have recently noted that Russia’s advantage in electronic warfare has blunted the effectiveness of drone operations.

Persons: “, Vladimir Rogov, Rogov, ” Rogov, Bradley, ”, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s, Volodymyr Zelensky, Lloyd Austin, ” Austin, they’ve, Oleksii Reznikov, Reznikov, Putin, Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Denys Shmyhal Organizations: CNN, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Leopard, Brigade, Artillery, Bradley, US, The New York Times, Ukraine’s, Aspen Security, United, Army Tactical Missile Systems Locations: Ukraine, Russian, “, Robotyne, Orikhiv, Papua New Guinea, Crimea, Donbas, St . Petersburg, Russia, Kyiv, United States, France, United Kingdom, Ukrainian, Odesa, Moscow

☆ Ukraine's military is overcoming Russia's dense minefields and its counteroffensive is poised to 'gain pace,' Zelenskyy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine's counteroffensive was poised to "gain pace." Russia's dense minefields have slowed Ukraine's counteroffensive, Ukrainian officials said. OLEKSII FILIPPOV/AFP via Getty ImagesDespite the mine threat, Zelenskyy insisted that Ukraine's counteroffensive was about to "gain pace." But it is not clear how much of Ukraine's forces have so far joined the counteroffensive efforts. Multiple Ukrainian officials recently said that the bulk of Ukraine's forces had not yet been dispatched to the frontline.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, OLEKSII FILIPPOV, Jake Sullivan Organizations: Analysts, Service, Aspen Security, Financial Times, CNN, Russian, US Army Special Forces, Ukraine, Washington Post, State Emergency Service, Getty, US National Security Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Florida, Brovary, Kyiv, AFP

☆ An area of Ukraine approximately the size of Florida is now riddled with land mines, which could take hundreds of years to reverse: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukrainian troops face a perilous challenge in their continued fight against Russia — land mines. The mines have blighted an area of Ukraine roughly the size of Florida, per The Washington Post. Greg Crowther, the director of programs for the Mines Advisory Group, a nongovernmental organization that aids individuals affected by land mines, told The Post that the mine situation in Ukraine was unlike anything seen in recent decades. The report also detailed the lengths taken by Russian forces to make vast expanses of Ukrainian farmland either too difficult to navigate or effectively unusable. "To date, the Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts remain the most contaminated regions of all the liberated territories, as Russian forces had been present there for a longer period of time," the report says.

Persons: Greg Crowther, Vladislav Sokolov, Sokolov Organizations: Russia, Washington Post, Service, Russian, The Washington Post, Moscow, Mines Advisory, Post, World Bank Locations: Ukraine, Florida, Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Kramatorsk, Donbas

A dog named BradleyThe armored fighting vehicles are so admired by Ukrainian soldiers that running around Kach’s team’s camp barking is “Bradley” – the brigade press officer’s 6-month-old rescue puppy. Russian artillery started to pick off the vehicles sent out to de-mine the area. The 47th ran into trouble very quickly trying to pierce the Russian line in their newly acquired armor. Outside loud booms from Ukrainian artillery cannons sweep across the heavily damaged and now largely empty town. They have more guns, they have more shells and they have more people so we must counter that with our … professionalism.”These days, that means the slow grind of the exposed troops fighting from trench to trench, assaulting tree line to tree line under heavy fire.

Persons: Ukraine CNN —, ”, “, Kach, Bradley, “ Bradley ” –, Seb Shukla, “ It’s, Rob Lee, ” Lee, Tral, Stanislav, ” Stanislav Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Bradley, CNN, 47th Mechanized Brigade, US, Foreign Policy Research Institute, ” Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia, Kharkiv, American, Germany, Kach’s, Crimea, Donbas, Azov, German, “, Russian

☆ While the Russian invasion has shown the world the next generation of high-tech warfare, old-school tactics are decimating Ukrainian troops: land mines, booby traps, and tripwires
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mines cause more wounds among troops than artillery, a Ukrainian medic told the NYT. At the same time, fiberglass rods are used instead of metal detectors to find electrically triggered mines, Insider previously reported. Wounds caused by plastic mines are particularly difficult to treat, as medics cannot locate where plastic shrapnel is embedded in the body using traditional methods like X-rays. Russian troops aren't the only ones deploying antipersonnel mines as they continue their invasion of Ukraine. Insider previously reported Human Rights Watch this month urged Ukrainian officials to investigate reports of butterfly mines being used against Russian soldiers.

Persons: Valery Zaluzhny, Maksym Prysyazhnyuk, Prysyazhnyuk, Mark Kimmitt Organizations: Service, Washington, Troops, Mines, New York Times, Times, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, of, Russian Federation, United States Department of Defense, United Nations Commission, Rights Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Wall, Silicon, Brig

CNN —Russia has a stockpile of cluster munitions and will consider using them against Ukraine “if they are used against us,” President Vladimir Putin said. “Russia has a sufficient supply of various types of cluster munitions,” the Russian leader said during an interview with a pro-Kremlin journalist. What are cluster munitions? Cluster munitions contain multiple explosives that are released over an area up to the size of several football fields. Putin also claimed that Russia has not yet used cluster munitions, despite evidence to the contrary.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, “, ”, Connie Chen, Henrik Pettersson, Joe Biden, Putin, Biden, Jen Psaki Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Geneva International Centre, US Defense Department, White House, United Nations Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Kharkiv, Ukraine’s

☆ South Korea to provide more demining equipment to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, July 16 (Reuters) - South Korea will provide more demining equipment to Ukraine, a South Korean official said on Sunday, following President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Kyiv on the weekend where he pledged more military and humanitarian aid in the fight against Russia. "We are thinking to expand support on mine detectors and demining equipment as Ukraine's demand for them was assessed to be desperately huge," Yoon's deputy national security adviser, Kim Tae-hyo, told a briefing. South Korea is a U.S. ally and major arms exporter but it has been resisting Western pressure to help arm Ukraine directly, citing business ties with Russia and Moscow's influence over North Korea. In a press conference after the meeting on Saturday, Yoon has said South Korea will provide "a larger scale of military supplies" to Ukraine this year, following last year's provision of non-lethal supplies such as body armour and helmets. Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yoon Suk, Kim Tae, Yoon, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Soo, hyang Choi, Michael Perry Organizations: South Korean, Russia, NATO, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Ukraine, Kyiv, Lithuania, Poland, U.S, Russia, North Korea

☆ Ukrainian units are leaving behind their Western tanks and advancing slowly on foot after coming up against dense Russian minefields, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian forces have faced dense minefields while carrying out counteroffensive operations. It has forced Ukrainian units to move slowly on foot rather than using tanks or other vehicles. Ukrainian officials are now calling for F-16 jets and more mine-clearance equipment. Ukrainian units are leaving behind the battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles donated by Western allies and advancing slowly on foot, The Washington Post reported. Ukrainian soldiers walk to the frontline in Bakhmut, Ukraine on December 16, 2022.

Persons: Valery Zaluzhny, Bradley, Zaluzhny, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Mark Kimmitt, Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Western, Washington Post, Anadolu Agency, Getty Images, Post Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russia, Washington, Bakhmut, Crimea, Brig

[1/8] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands after a joint statement, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 15, 2023. South Korea is a U.S. ally and the world's ninth biggest arms exporter, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank. In a press conference, Yoon said South Korea plans to provide "a larger scale of military supplies" to Ukraine this year, following last year's provision of non-lethal supplies such as body armour and helmets. Yoon said South Korea also plans to provide Ukraine with $150 million in humanitarian aid this year, following about $100 million in 2022. Yoon said on Saturday South Korea has delivered safety equipment and humanitarian aid that Ukraine needs, since May, including mine detectors.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Yoon Suk, Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon, Zelenskiy, Yoon's, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Pacheco Pardo, Joyce Lee, Olena, Josh Smith, Hyonhee, William Mallard, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: South, REUTERS, NATO, Russia's, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Ukraine, Brussels School, Saturday, Seoul's, Seoul's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, U.S, Seoul, SEOUL, KYIV, Lithuania, Poland, South Korea, Stockholm, North Korea, Korea, South

Dnipro, Ukraine CNN —The much-anticipated and controversial American-made cluster munitions that the United States agreed to supply to Kyiv are now in Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian general and the Pentagon. On Thursday afternoon the Pentagon confirmed the presence of the munitions in country, saying “There are cluster munitions in Ukraine at this time.”Tarnavsky is commander of the “Tavria” Joint Forces Operation, which is operating on a large section of the southern Ukraine front. But they are very worried.”Eyebrows were raised at the US delivery of these cluster munitions, which are banned in over 100 countries. The general says Ukraine is carrying out “large scale offensives,” while also admitting Ukrainian troops have made modest gains, especially in the south. Russian lossesA rising star in the Russian military, Lt. Gen. Oleg Tsokov, was injured and killed in the Russian-occupied city of Berdyansk, on the Azov Sea.

Persons: Oleksandr Tarnavsky, Tarnavsky, Defense Lloyd Austin, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, “, ”, ” ‘, ” Tarnavsky, Oleg Tsokov, Tsokov, Tarnavskiy, He’s, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Pentagon, CNN, ”, Forces, Russian, Defense, ” Kyiv, Russian Telegram, Military Locations: Dnipro, Ukraine, United States, Kyiv, Ukrainian, ” Brig, Austin, Russian, Berdyansk, Azov

☆ The US isn't too concerned about creating a lasting nightmare for Ukrainian civilians with mines and bomblets because Russia already did it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

US officials have broadly dismissed concerns around the indiscriminate risk of cluster bombs to civilians. Ukraine will use US-provided cluster munitions in specific situations, US officials said. The remains of artillery shells and missiles including cluster munitions are stored on December 18, 2022 in Toretsk, Ukraine. It could be near the soaring failure rate for Russia's cluster munitions, alleged to be as high as 40%. These include Russian antipersonnel mines, but also a variety of cluster munitions.

Persons: —, they're, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Joe Biden, Pierre Crom, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, they'll, YASUYOSHI CHIBA, Colin Kahl, I'm, Kahl Organizations: Service, US, NATO, MSNBC, Rights Watch, National, Ukraine, Getty, Cluster Munitions, Human Rights Watch, World Bank Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Lithuania, Toretsk, Izium, Zarichne, AFP, Lebanon, Crimea, Russian

Senator Tim Kaine and Representative Barbara Lee raised concerns on Sunday over the decision by President Joe Biden's administration to send cluster bombs to Ukraine to combat the Russian invasion. "Cluster bombs should never be used. That's crossing a line," she told CNN on Sunday, adding the United States risked losing its "moral leadership" by sending cluster bombs to Ukraine. He added that Russia is using cluster munitions in Ukraine and "indiscriminately killing civilians," while the Ukrainians will be using them to defend their own territory. U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said Ukraine's counteroffensive was going slowly and that the cluster bombs could be a "game changer" for the Ukrainians.

Persons: Gabriel Jenko, Tim Kaine, Barbara Lee, Joe Biden's, Antonio Guterres, Kaine, Biden, Lee, John Kirby, Kirby, Michael McCaul, McCaul, Kanishka Singh, Joey Roulette, Doina Chiacu, Scott Malone, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Munitions, U.S . Army, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Democratic U.S, United, United Nations, Fox News, Senate Armed Services Committee, White, Cluster Munitions, CNN, White House, Democratic, Republican, U.S, Representatives Foreign, Sunday, Thomson Locations: Hovey, South Korea, Handout, Ukraine, Russian, United States, Russia, United

☆ Democrats Denounce Biden’s Decision to Send Cluster Munitions to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden’s decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine has angered a wide swath of Democrats, who are accusing his administration of making a hypocritical decision that risked the moral standing of the United States. The move answered a monthslong clamor from congressional Republicans to supply Kyiv with the weapons, but Mr. Biden’s political allies denounced it. “A victory for Ukraine is an essential victory for democracies across the globe, but that victory cannot come at the expense of our American values and thus democracy itself,” Representative Chrissy Houlahan, Democrat of Pennsylvania and an Air Force veteran who co-chairs a bipartisan congressional caucus on unexploded ordinance and demining, said in a statement on Friday. “I challenge the notion that we should employ the same tactics Russia is using, blurring the lines of moral high ground.”She and other Democrats argued that cluster munitions of the kind the administration plans to send to Ukraine pose indiscriminate harm to civilians long after they are used in combat.

Persons: Biden’s, Chrissy Houlahan, “ Organizations: Republicans, an Air Force Locations: Ukraine, United States, Pennsylvania, Russia

☆ Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia: Russian accounts admit Ukrainian forces are making some gains in heavy fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Tim Lister Josh Pennington Maria Kostenko Helen Regan | Tim Lister | Josh Pennington | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The channel said Monday that Ukrainian forces were trying to take higher ground to “create conditions for advancing,” and assessed that their aim was to advance toward the Russian-occupied hub of Staromlynivka. CNN cannot independently verify battlefield reports and other accounts paint a gloomier picture for Russian forces around Makarivka. Ukrainian deputy defense minister Maliar said Monday that Makarivka was one of seven villages recaptured by Ukrainian forces in the past week. Meanwhile, one of the most prominent Russian bloggers, Voenkor Kotenok, said late Monday that a senior Russian officer was killed as troops of Russia’s Fifth Army were forced to leave Makarivka. ‘Ultimate goal’In his nightly address Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the fighting in the Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia border region is tough but Ukrainian forces are recapturing territory.

Persons: Kryvyi Rih, Oleksandr Vilkul, Hanna Maliar, Kyiv’s, Vladimir Rogov, ” Rogov, Anatolii Stepanov, ”, Rogov, Maliar, Makarivka, “, Neskuchne, Voenkor Kotenok, Voenkor, Sergei Goryachev, Goryachev, WarGonzo, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Igor Zhovkva, ” Zhovkva Organizations: CNN, Air, Saturday, Russian Telegram, ”, Getty, Makarivka, 127th Division, Donetsk, “, Donetsk ”, Russia’s Fifth Army, Staff, Arms Army, Russian Defense Ministry, United Group of Forces, Ukrainian Ground Forces Locations: Ukraine’s, Donetsk, Russian, Ukrainian, Kryvyi, Moscow, Velyka, Ukraine, Russia, Urozhaine, Staromlynivka, Zaporizhzhia, AFP, Makarivka, ”, Orikhiv, Crimea

☆ Draining of Ukraine's Kakhovka reservoir offers a reminder of past and present wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On a drizzly morning near the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, a team of divers and underwater demining experts from Ukraine's State Emergency service grappled on Monday with the steering element of a S-300 missile. He said the amount of explosive or dangerous items the unit had been called out to deal with had grown several times since the Kakhovka dam was destroyed last Monday. Ukraine's environment minister said the Kakhovka reservoir, which was the body of water contained by the dam, had lost nearly three-quarters of its volume. REUTERS/Alina SmutkoThe S-300, used by both Russia and Ukraine, is a Soviet-era missile built to intercept aerial targets, such as larger missiles. The destruction of the Kakhovka dam has provided other historical echoes: In 1941, retreating Soviet forces blew up Zaporizhzhia's huge Dnipro Dam to slow a German assault.

Persons: ZAPORIZHZHIA, Oleksandr Chechko, Alina Smutko, Chechko, UNIAN, Max Hunder, Timothy Heritage, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Nazi, Soviet, Thomson Locations: Nazi, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine's, Norway, Russia, Dnipro, Soviet, Ukrainian

☆ Draining reservoir from Ukraine's destroyed dam is revealing World War II weapons
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Sam Fellman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The draining reservoir is revealing weapons that date back to World War II. The lurking dangers are also a reminder of the heavy fighting Ukraine saw in World War II. "The water area of the reservoir is contaminated with ammunition. S-300s are Russian-made surface-to-air missiles, and Smerch rockets are heavy rockets fired from mobile launchers. The older dangers lurking in the area are a reminder of the heavy fighting Ukraine saw in World War II.

Persons: —, Oleksandr Chechko, Julian Borger Organizations: Authorities, Service, Soviet, Nazi, Ministry, Internal Affairs, Ukrainian, Nazi Wehrmacht, Red Army Locations: Ukraine, Russia

☆ Ukraine dam blast a result of Russian invasion -UK minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Stefaniia Bern | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On a visit to Ukraine, Cleverly reaffirmed London's support for how Kyiv defends itself against the Russian invasion and said Britain would continue to help provide Ukraine with the weaponry it needs. Speaking to Reuters in Hrebelky, east of Kyiv, Cleverly said he had heard reports of an explosion at the Kakhovka dam in a Russian controlled-part of southern Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia traded blame, saying it was an intentional attack by the other's forces. "But it’s worth remembering that the only reason this is an issue at all is because of Russia’s unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine." He met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday to discuss how Britain could continue to best support Ukraine "from the battlefield to banking guarantees".

Persons: Development Affairs James, James, I’ve, ”, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Dmytro Kuleba, Elizabeth Piper, Timothy Heritage, Bernadette Baum Organizations: State, Foreign, Commonwealth, Development Affairs, Halo Trust, REUTERS, Ukraine Says Britain, British, Kyiv, Reuters, Ukraine, Stefaniia, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Hrebelky, Kyiv region, U.S, Britain, Kyiv, Russian, Russia, Russia's, Belgorod, United States, Stefaniia Bern

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