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☆ Russia is finally getting serious about its war, and it spells trouble for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Much of the war in Ukraine has gone poorly for Russia. But Russian President Vladimir Putin's war machine looks very different today than it did at the start of the conflict. The Russian military continued to suffer from other problems in the first year of fighting, racking up troop and equipment losses while failing to capture significant amounts of Ukrainian territory. AdvertisementThe following month, a top US official and general said, respectively, that the Russian military was "almost completely reconstituted" and had "grown back" to its pre-war strength. The employment of glide bombs to support ground maneuver is the primary example of how Russia's military is successfully learning from its past shortcomings, Barros said.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Miguel Diaz, Canel, Maxim Shemetov, George Barros, Russia's, Stringer, They've, Chris Cavoli, Andrei Belousov —, Sergei Shoigu, Barros, It's, Andrei Belousov, VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV, Oleksandra Novosel, Biden, Sergey Pivovarov, Mick Ryan, Jack Watling Organizations: Service, Business, Cuban, Institute for, Ukraine, REUTERS, Allied, US European Command, Sputnik, Security, Defense, Getty, JSC, UA, PBC, 42nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, Russian, Kharkiv, Royal United Services Institute Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Ukraine —, —, Russian, Kharkiv, Kherson, Robotyne, Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia, Soviet, Shevchenkivskyi, Avdiivka, Washington, Russia's Rostov, Australian, Kyiv

☆ The model for NATO defending Ukrainian airspace from Russian attacks already exists, says German politician
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Germany is showing cross-party support for defending Ukraine's border regions from NATO territories. A German politician said the Western defense of Israel from Iran is a blueprint for protecting Ukraine. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThe Western response to Iran's barrage of attacks against Israel represents a potential model for defending Ukraine's border regions from NATO territories, a German politician has said. Calls have been growing for NATO countries to use air defenses based in eastern Europe to take down Russian missiles and drones targeting Ukraine.

Persons: —, Anders Fogh Rasmussen Organizations: NATO, Kyiv, Service, NATO's, Business Locations: Germany, Ukraine's, Israel, Iran, Ukraine, German, Europe, Poland, Romania

☆ Ukraine can still beat Russia. It just comes down to enough Western aid.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

With 14 to 21 well-equipped brigades, Ukraine could eject Russian forces from all Ukrainian territory, according to an American expert. One is Ukraine amassing a sufficiently powerful ground combat force that can defeat the estimated 500,000 Russian troops in Ukraine. With Russian forces solidly dug in behind minefields and fortifications across eastern and southern Ukraine, that Baltic scenario bears similarities to the situation that Ukraine faces today. Given sufficient quantities of munitions, Ukraine could inflict enough losses to decisively attrit Russian forces that have already sustained an estimated 500,000 casualties. He started with a 2023 Estonian Ministry of Defense plan that laid out a roadmap for Ukraine to defeat Russia.

Persons: one's, Michael Bohnert, Bohnert, isn't, Chasiv, — Bohnert, they've, Andrei Belousov, Putin, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Business, RAND Corp, RAND, US Army, NATO, Russian, Anadolu, Getty, Estonian Ministry of Defense, Atlantic, Storm, Bohnert, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, American, Russia, Russian, Baltic States, United States, U.S, Chasiv Yar, Estonian, Iraq, Afghanistan, Europe, America, China, Israel, Forbes

Ukraine has asked the Biden administration to provide more intelligence on the position of Russian forces and military targets inside Russia as Ukrainian troops struggle to hold ground in the war, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials. A group of Ukrainian Parliament members also met with members of Congress in Washington to press for the United States to allow Kyiv to use American weapons in Russia. Ukraine’s requests have become more urgent in recent weeks as Russia has taken advantage of delays in shipments of American weapons and intensified military operations in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine. But White House officials said the administration’s longstanding policy remained unchanged: The United States is not encouraging or enabling attacks inside Russia. American officials, seeking to avoid escalating the war, have insisted they do not want U.S. weapons used in cross-border attacks or their intelligence reports used to target sites in Russia.

Persons: Biden Organizations: White Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Washington, United States, Kyiv, Kharkiv, U.S

☆ Russia-Ukraine war: Exclusive satellite images show destroyed jets and building at Belbek airbase
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Paul P. Murphy | Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Satellite images exclusively obtained by CNN show three destroyed Russian jets and damaged buildings at Belbek airbase in occupied port city of Sevastopol on Wednesday. Satellite images exclusive to CNN show destroyed jets and building at Belbek Airbase in Crimea on May 15, 2024. Satellite image ©2024 Maxar TechnologiesSatellite images exclusive to CNN show destroyed jets and building at Belbek Airbase in Crimea on May 15, 2024. Satellite images exclusive to CNN show destroyed jets and building at Belbek Airbase in Crimea on May 15, 2024. Satellite image ©2024 Maxar TechnologiesSatellite images exclusive to CNN show destroyed jets and building at Belbek Airbase in Crimea on May 15, 2024.

Persons: Mikhail Razvozhaev, “, ” Razvozhaev, Belbek, Dmytro Pletenchuk, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, don’t, Christopher Cavoli, ” Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, ” CNN, Black, NATO, Allied Locations: Sevastopol, Crimea, Russia, Belbek, Russian, Belbek Airbase, Ukrainian, Atesh, Moscow, Ukraine, Azov, Kharkiv, Vovchansk, Ukraine’s, Brussels, Beijing, China

☆ Ukraine appears to have launched its biggest drone attack ever, with reports of explosions at two major Russian ports
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine may have launched its biggest drone attack ever, per the Kyiv Independent. Russia shot down a total of 102 aerial and six naval sea drones overnight, it said. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementUkraine appears to have launched its biggest drone attack ever, with reports of explosions at two major Russian ports.

Persons: — Organizations: Kyiv Independent, Service, Russia's Defense Ministry, Fleet, Business Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk, Russian, Crimea, Krasnodar, Kursk

☆ Zelensky Signs Law Allowing Convicts to Fight for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday signed into law a bill allowing some Ukrainian convicts to serve in the country’s military in exchange for the possibility of parole at the end of their service, a move that highlight’s Kyiv’s desperate attempts to replenish its forces after more than two years of war. Parliament passed the bill last week, and political analysts were unsure whether Mr. Zelensky would enact it given the sensitivity of the matter. The measure echoes a practice that Russia has widely used to bolster its forces and that Ukraine ridiculed at the beginning of the war. Ukrainian officials have said the measure could allow up to 20,000 prisoners to be mobilized. Mr. Zelensky also enacted a law on Friday that increases fines for evading the draft.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, highlight’s, Zelensky Organizations: Ukrainian, dodgers Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian

☆ Neither Russia nor China wants the Ukraine war to end, but for different reasons
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewRussian President Vladimir Putin is on a two-day visit to China, and he's bringing along a large trade delegation. But Russia has also become increasingly reliant on China since it started the war in Ukraine. For instance, Russia is now "exporting raw materials to China while China sends finished goods, especially cars, to Russia — the latter at the expense of Russia's indigenous auto industry," she added. However, some analysts say China has more to gain from a continuing war. China and Russia are forging a partnership increasingly reminiscent of a great power alliance," wrote Michta.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, It's, Putin, Xi —, Michta, Russia —, Europe —, China's Organizations: Service, Business, Center for, Bilateral, West, Center, Global Energy, Columbia University, Kyiv —, US Army Locations: China, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Siberia, Europe, Beijing

For the Ukrainian border town of Vovchansk, they’re getting worse. Locals in the town lived through occupation and liberation for seven grueling months in 2022. The Russian military claims the action has left close to a dozen villages under its control. Maria, 85, evacuates the Ukrainian town of Vovchansk. The Russians held our boys there.” There has been widespread reporting of mistreatment of Ukrainian civilians under Russian occupation, allegations the Kremlin has typically dismissed as fake.

Persons: they’re, Vladimir Putin’s, Mykola, –, “, ”, Maksim, Maria, haltingly, Inna, they’ve, Vovchansk Organizations: Ukraine CNN —, Locals, CNN, Russian Locations: Vovchansk, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Moscow, Kyiv, Russia, Kharkiv

☆ Exclusive satellite images show destroyed Russian jets and building at Crimean airbase
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Paul P. Murphy | Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Launching an offensive into the Kharkiv region, Russian forces quickly advanced several kilometers, managing to reoccupy several villages that were liberated during Ukraine’s successful offensive in September 2022. By threatening Ukraine’s second most populous city, Russia hopes to pin Ukrainian resources in the region, exposing the front elsewhere. While Russia lacks the forces to assault the city itself, the operation is designed to create a dilemma. This risks leaving Ukrainian forces in Donetsk even more vulnerable if Russia commits its reserves in that direction. Russian forces are also applying pressure near Kupiansk, to Kharkiv’s east, and in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia.

Persons: Ukraine’s Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Russia, Donetsk, Kupiansk, Sumy, Chernihiv

☆ Defending in Its North, Ukraine Faces Pressure All Along Front Line
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Maria Varenikova | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian forces said on Thursday that they were slowing the pace of an offensive push by Russia in their country’s northeast, even as they struggled to contain new Russian assaults at several other locations on the front line, with Moscow seeking to stretch Kyiv’s troops to break through their defenses. The Ukrainian military reported late Wednesday that it had repelled four ground attacks in the northeastern Kharkiv region, where Russian forces surged across the border last week and quickly captured a dozen or so villages and about 50 square miles of territory. “Over the course of the day, our Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine — all units involved — have managed to partially stabilize the situation,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Wednesday evening. “Our attention is constantly focused on the front line, on all combat zones.”Ukrainian civilians who were evacuated on Thursday said that Russian forces had been fighting in small units that slip through the forest and into villages. They have popped up unexpectedly on streets in the town of Vovchansk, a village a dozen miles to the east of Kharkiv city that is now contested between the two armies.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: Russian, Defense and Security Forces Locations: Russia, Moscow, Kharkiv, Ukraine, Vovchansk

☆ Ukraine's getting more longe-range missiles that leave the Russians with 'nowhere to hide'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The number of missiles isn't publicly known, but ATACMS missiles average about $1.3 million each. These air-dropped missiles can fly at low altitudes to avoid detection and have been used to strike Russian naval headquarters and vehicle-repair depots in the occupied Crimean peninsula. The arrival of Storm Shadow missiles — and, several months later, ATAMCS — presented new challenges for Moscow, but Ukraine has received so few it has had to bee choosy over what to target. Indeed, Kyiv has used the American missiles in recent weeks to strike Russian airfields and troop gatherings. Missiles like ATACMS and Storm Shadow "will enable Ukraine to neutralize Russia's advantages and eventually enable them to regain the initiative," he added.

Persons: —, Ben Hodges, John Hamilton The, Jake Sullivan, Grant Shapps, Ben Stansall, Dan Rice, you've, Rice, ATAMCS —, Serhii, Hodges, Moscow's, Jack Watling, Watling Organizations: Service, US, Business, US Army, Army Tactical Missile System, White, MGM, Tactical Missile Systems, Biden administration's, Republicans, Congress, Kyiv, General Staff, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Storm, Shadow, Farnborough, American University Kyiv, Artillery Rocket Systems, Getty, Missiles, Russian Defense Ministry, Royal United Services Institute Locations: Ukraine, New Mexico, Washington, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Italy, France, Crimean, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Donetsk Oblast, Berlin, Avdiivka, Anadolu, Kharkiv

☆ Robert Fico: Slovakia’s prime minister out of ‘life-threatening situation’ following assassination attempt
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, is out of danger after being shot five times and undergoing surgery, officials say, following an assassination attempt that rocked the central European country and sparked global condemnation. Footage from the scene showed the injured prime minister being bundled into a vehicle by his staff, before it speeds away with him inside. undefined — Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico walks during the European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on April 18, 2024. Unlike the president, whose role has limited scope, the prime minister holds rank as the decision-making head of government. Fico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018.

Persons: CNN —, Robert Fico, Fico, Tomáš Taraba, “, Zuzana Čaputová, Kenzo Tribouillard, Šutaj Eštok, ” Fico Organizations: CNN, EU, Getty, Ukraine, Kyiv, NATO, Reuters Locations: Handlova, Banská Bystrica, Brussels, AFP, Slovakia

☆ The US Secretary of State gave a war-time rock performance at a bar in Kyiv, leaving some Ukrainians scratching their heads
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Slinging a crimson electric guitar onto his shoulder, Blinken told the crowd he knew they were facing a "really, really difficult time." So much of the world is with you and they're fighting not just for a free Ukraine, but for the free world. "For ten years, we've been explaining to the free world that we are defending it too," he wrote. Residents self-evacuate from a multi-story residential building hit by a Russian UMPB D-30 glide bomb on May 14, 2024 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The lyrics of "Rockin' in the Free World" are often seen as a criticism of American patriotism and George H.W.

Persons: —, Antony Blinken, Neil Young's, Blinken, Ukraine, Antony, Muddy Waters, Bohdan Yaremenko, Trump, he's, we've, Oleg Simoroz, Valeriy, it's, Matviyenko, Yevhen, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Illia Ponomarenko, George H.W, Bush, Donald Trump, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Biden Organizations: Service, Business, U.S, US State Department, Blinken, Music Diplomacy Initiative, Facebook, AFP, Ukrainian NGO Agency, Getty Images, Ukrainian, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kyiv, Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Soviet Union, State Department Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Russian, Kharkiv, United States, Muddy, Ukrainian, Russia, KABs, Sumy, Getty Images Russia, Polina, Soviet

☆ Opinion: Putin’s lightning assault jolts Europe awake
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

View more opinion on CNNCNN —It was a carefully choreographed show of force in Beijing Thursday as Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived for yet another meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Frida Ghitis CNNOn Wednesday, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times and gravely wounded in an assassination attempt. Russia’s lightning assault, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who cancelled all his foreign travel, aims to force Ukraine to stretch its defenses. Security officers move Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in a car after the assassination attempt in Handlova, Slovakia, on Wednesday May 15. Every day, the stark reality that what began in Ukraine will change Europe for years to come becomes more inescapable.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Robert Fico, Fico, Putin, —, Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, David Cameron, “, Fico —, Radovan Stoklasa, Sergei Shoigu, Andrey Belousov, laughably, Rishi Sunak, Mark Rutte, Russia's, Alexander Ryumin, Emmanuel Macron, ”, Mikko Heiskanen, Xi Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, CNN CNN, Frida Ghitis CNN, Wednesday, Slovakian, Kyiv, British, Putin, Kremlin, Moscow, European Union, Reuters, Europe, Russia, Republicans, Russian, West, NATO, Institute for, ” Locations: Beijing, Europe, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Russia, Georgia, Soviet Republic, Moscow, Moldova, Slovak, Slovakia, “, Handlova, Iran, North Korea, China, Norway, London, British, Netherlands, ”, Germany, Berlin, Finland

Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg and other European leaders are condemning the attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: "Shocked and appalled by the shooting of Prime Minister Robert Fico. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family,” she said on X.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: "The attack on Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico is appalling. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni: "I learned with deep shock the news of the cowardly attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez: “Horrified and outraged at the attack on the Slovak Prime Minister.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Zuzana Caputova, Sergey Dolzhenko, NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg, Robert Fico, Jens Stoltenberg, Ursula von der, “, Fico, ”, state's, Zelensky, Viktor Orban, ” Orban, Giorgia, Pedro Sanchez, ” Sanchez Organizations: Slovak, NATO, European, Slovakia’s, Spanish, Slovak Prime Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungarian, Spain

☆ Live updates: Russia's war in Ukraine, Blinken in Kyiv, Kharkiv under attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

An apartment is being damaged by an airstrike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 14. Pavlo Pakhomenko/NurPhoto/APRussia is continuing its push into northeastern Ukraine since making several advances there over the past week after launching a surprise cross-border assault. These are Moscow’s most significant gains since Kyiv’s forces recaptured the Kharkiv region in 2022. On Tuesday, at least 21 civilians, including two 12-year-old girls and an 8-year-old boy, were wounded in Russian attacks on the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest, according to prosecutors. In the neighboring Sumy region, officials have also ordered a “voluntary evacuation” for several towns where attacks have increased, according to the military administration.

Persons: Pavlo Pakhomenko Locations: Kharkiv, Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine's, Sumy

☆ US Secretary of State Blinken rocks out in Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Henry Zeris | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Yoav Gallant, Israel defense minister, says he would oppose ‘Israeli military rule’ in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jeremy Diamond | Tamar Michaelis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly rule out Israeli governance over Gaza and to lay out his post-war plans, warning that he opposes Israeli rule in the Palestinian enclave. Israeli military officials have quietly warned that the lack of a long-term strategy for post-war governance will result in this pattern repeating throughout Gaza. “I will not agree to the establishment of Israeli military rule in Gaza. Netanyahu also said that a complete routing of Hamas would be his prerequisite for a new civilian government in Gaza. The public clash between Gallant and Netanyahu follows repeated calls by the US for Israel to produce a clear plan for post-war Gaza.

Persons: CNN —, Yoav Gallant, Benjamin Netanyahu, ’, ” Gallant, “⁠, ”, Gallant’s, Antony Blinken, Israel, Netanyahu, “, CNN Netanyahu, “ I’m, Fatah, Benny Gantz, Gallant Organizations: CNN, CNN — Israel’s, Hamas, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian Locations: Gaza, Israel, ”, Kyiv, Ukraine

☆ Ukrainian officials want the green light to strike targets in Russia with US weapons, saying they couldn't do anything about enemy troops massing nearby: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewUkrainian parliamentary officials are pushing the Biden administration to remove restrictions on Kyiv striking targets in Russian territory with its arsenal of US weapons, Politico reported. Ukraine knew for weeks that Russia was massing troops at the border, with intelligence officials saying in early May that Moscow was gathering some 50,000 to 70,000 personnel there. Speaking to Politico, Ustinova said the Russians had become "smart now because they know there is a restriction for Ukrainians to shoot at the Russian territory." Ukraine has been attacking targets beyond the border — more recently on Russia's oil facilities — but only with its own drones. The policy has been criticized as a means of effectively shielding Russia from significant Ukrainian counterattack.

Persons: —, Biden, David Arakhamia, Oleksandra Ustinova, Ustinova, it's, isn't Organizations: Service, Politico, Business, Ukraine, Kharkiv, NATO, Kremlin, US Locations: Washington, Russia, Kharkiv, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, Mariupol, Vovchansk, West

☆ Ukraine Says It Is Engaged in Fierce Fighting With Russia in Northeast
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After surging across the border last week, Russia’s army appears to be advancing more slowly in northeastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials and military analysts said on Wednesday, with the two sides engaged in fierce combat around villages about five miles from the border. In a sign of the concern that Russia’s northeastern offensive is causing in Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine canceled his participation in all international events for the coming days, including a visit on Friday to Spain where he was expected to sign a security agreement. Civilians continued to flee areas of northeastern Ukraine under heavy shelling by Russian forces, the Ukrainian officials said, warning that their troops had to contain relentless assaults and that the situation on the ground could change fast. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, told Ukrainian television on Tuesday that conditions in the area under attack were moving “toward stabilization,” with additional Ukrainian units being rushed in to repel Russian advances. But he added that “the situation is quite tense and is changing very quickly.”

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyrylo Budanov, ” Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Spain, Russian

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Under heavy Russian fire, Ukraine withdraws troops from parts of besieged Kharkiv region
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) performs "Rockin' in the Free World" with members of The 1999 band at the Barman Dictat bar in Kyiv on May 14, 2024. The United States will back Ukraine until the country's security is "guaranteed," Blinken said in a speech in Kyiv on May 14, 2024. The band's singer told the crowd he had a "secret guest" for them as he invited "the biggest friend of Ukraine, Antony Blinken" onstage, to cheers from the crowd. But they need to know, you need to know, the United States is with you, so much of the world is with you," he said. "They're fighting not just for a free Ukraine but for the free world, and the free world is with you too," he added.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Neil Young's, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine, Holly Ellyatt Organizations: Ukraine, Ukraine's Foreign Locations: Kyiv, United States, Ukraine, Kharkiv

☆ Russian Disinformation Videos Smear Biden Ahead of U.S. Election
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | Steven Lee Myers | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last month, a video began circulating on social media purporting to tell the story of an internet troll farm in Kyiv targeting the American election. Speaking in English with a Slavic accent, “Olesya” offers a first-person account of how she and her colleagues initially worked in support of President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. Then, she says, after a visit by mysterious Americans who were “probably C.I.A.,” the group began sending messages to American audiences in support of President Biden. “We were told our new target was the United States of America, especially the upcoming elections,” the woman in the video says. U.S. officials say the video is consistent with Russian disinformation operations as internet warriors aligned with Russia appear to be honing their strategy.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden, “, Donald Trump Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, United States of America, Russia

☆ This year's biggest air battles are showing the US what it could need most in a missile war with China
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jake Epstein | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, FileThe war has shown how effective air defenses can be at denying air superiority, protecting key areas, and threatening high-value aircraft, as well as the costs when capabilities are degraded. Ukraine's air defenses, like its Soviet-era S-300s and US-supplied Patriots, have defeated enemy missile and drone strikes, hindered Russian air operations, and shot down numerous fighter-bombers and other Russian planes. "Ukraine and NATO might reduce risks with a two-prong strategy of strengthening air defenses and boosting infrastructure resilience." Needing more interceptors for the PacificFrom the fights this year, the US can see how it'll need to employ air defenses in a potential showdown with China. Running out of air defenses before the enemy runs out of air threats spells trouble.

Persons: —, Bradley Martin, Evgeniy, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Firefighters, Archer Macy, Martin, Shaan Shaikh, We've, Amir Cohen TPX, Shaikh, it's, Andy Wong, Thomas Shugart, Shugart, Joshua Smoot, Heath Collins, Navy Carlos Del Toro, Macy, Mark Wright Organizations: Service, Business, US Navy, Ukraine, AP, Patriots, Institute for, Emergency, Ministry, RAND Corporation, NATO, Western, Central Command, Combat, Navy, RAND, Patriot, US, Missile Defense, Center for Strategic, International Studies, REUTERS, China, Pentagon, Defense, Center, New, Air Force, 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, Andersen Air Force Base, US Air Force, Aegis, Missile Defense Agency, Former Navy, CSIS, Pacific Missile, AP Air Locations: China, Ukraine, Israel, Navy, Russia, Congress, Avdiivka, Kharkiv, Russian, Kyiv, NATO, Yemen, Gulf of Aden, Iran, Red, Screengrab, French, Ashdod, South Korea, Japan, Guam, Beijing, New American, Gen, Kauai, Hawaii

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