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[1/2] Russian service members walk near a burnt car following recent shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, September 1, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Friday its troops had broken through Russia's first line of defences in several places, though they have then encountered even more heavily-fortified Russian positions. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv's troops, in a much-vaunted counteroffensive against Russian forces, were advancing in the Zaporizhzhia region. Washington also said on Friday that Kyiv had made notable progress on the southern front in the last 72 hours. "They have achieved some success against that second line of Russian defenses," Kirby said, adding it was up to Ukraine on how to capitalize on that success.

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko, Hanna Maliar, Maliar, John Kirby, Kirby, they've, Mykhailo Podolyak, Tom Balmforth, Trevor Hunnicitt, Susan Heavey, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Deputy, Russian, White, National Security, Kyiv, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Donetsk, Russian, Zaporizhzhia, Washington, United States, Robotyne, Kyiv, Moscow

☆ Exclusive: Ukraine winter wheat sowing seen unchanged despite export crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

However, First Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskiy told Reuters on Tuesday that the possible reduction of winter wheat may total only 0.1%. An expected reduction in the overall winter grain sowing area would come at the expense of other grains, he said, forecasting a drop of 5.4% in barley sowing this winter. Ukraine sowed about 4.1 million hectares of winter wheat for the 2023 harvest, while the area under winter barley stood at around 615,000 hectares. Ukraine is a traditional grower of winter wheat, which accounts for at least 95% of the country's overall wheat output. Ukraine already reduced its sowing area for corn in favour of sunflowers in 2023.

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko, Taras Vysotskiy, Pavel Polityuk, Tom Balmforth, Conor Humphries Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Farmers, Traders, European Union, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Nikolske, Donetsk Region, Russian

☆ After Wagner's Prigozhin, who will stick their head above the parapet in Putin's Russia?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The Kremlin has vehemently denied speculation that the Russian state might have been involved in the crash. It’s worth remembering that Prigozhin never had particularly high name recognition in Russia, at least certainly not before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That changed in late June after Wagner’s march on Moscow raised the unsettling possibility of civil war in Russia. Alexey Navalny, who succeeded Nemtsov as Russia’s most galvanizing opposition leader, is currently in a Russian prison colony, along with many others who have peacefully opposed Putin’s war on Ukraine. Killed the leaders.”No evidence has surfaced that points to the involvement of the Kremlin or Russian security services in the crash.

Persons: Yevgeny, Wagner, Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, “, ” Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Joe Biden, I’d, Biden, Prigozhins —, Prigozhin, Prigozhin —, —, Igor Girkin, ultranationalist, Matthew Chance, bouquets —, Boris Nemtsov, Alexander Ermochenko, Alexey Navalny, Nemtsov, Navalny, ’ ” Organizations: CNN, Embraer, Kremlin, Reuters Locations: Moscow, Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, St . Petersburg, Russia’s

There was no immediate official confirmation that Prigozhin, Russia's most powerful mercenary and a self-declared enemy of the Russian Defence Ministry, was physically on board. Reuters could not confirm that he was on the aircraft though a Telegram channel linked to Wagner pronounced him dead. Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the headquarters of the Southern Military District amid the group's pullout from the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023. Unconfirmed Russian media reports said that Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin's right-hand man, had also been on board and that Prigozhin and his associates had attended a meeting with officials from the Russian Defence Ministry. An unverified video clip posted to social media showed a plane resembling a private jet falling out of the sky towards the earth.

Persons: Wagner, Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Joe Biden, Alexander Ermochenko, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Dmitry Utkin, Andrew Osborn, Max Rodionov, Mark Trevelyan, Grant McCool Organizations: Russian Defence Ministry, Reuters, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Defence Ministry, Embraer, TASS, Southern Military, REUTERS, Russia's, General Staff, Thomson Locations: Moscow, MOSCOW, Russia, Africa, Tver, St . Petersburg, Kuzhenkino, Tver Region, Rostov, Don, St Petersburg, Ukraine, Belarus

The imports would allow New Delhi to intervene more effectively in the market to drive down wheat prices that stoked inflation to a 15-month high in July. "The government is exploring the possibility of imports through private trade and government-to-government deals. The decision will be made cautiously," one of the sources told Reuters, when asked about wheat imports from Russia. Wholesale wheat prices in India surged around 10% over two months to a seven-month high in August on limited supplies. Wheat stocks at government warehouses were at 28.3 million tons on Aug. 1, 20% below the 10-year average.

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko, Sanjeev Chopra, Aftab Ahmed, Rajendra Jadhav, Mayank Bhardwaj, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Nikolske, Donetsk Region, Russian, DELHI, MUMBAI, India, New Delhi, Mumbai

☆ Ukraine reports fierce fighting, 'some success' in counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File PhotoSummary Ukraine says its troops push back Russians in southeastMines hampering advancesCounteroffensive making slower-than-hoped progressKYIV, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Ukraine on Monday reported fierce fighting along its entire front line and "some success" in pushing back Moscow's troops in one part of the southeast where Ukrainian forces are trying to retake Russian-occupied territory. Progress has been hampered by widespread Russian-laid minefields and strong fortifications, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said. But the Ukrainian military had pushed forward around the village of Staromaiorske, around 60 miles southwest of Russian-held Donetsk, and was pressing on two fronts in the south, Maliar said. She also said Russian troops were continuing their assault around the eastern towns of Kupyansk and Lyman, where she said they were regrouping. "The Russians have intensified these offensives after success of the Ukrainian army on Bakhmut axis," Maliar said.

Persons: Lyubov Tolchina, Vitaly, Alexander Ermochenko, Hanna Maliar, Maliar, Dan Peleschuk, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Monday, Troops, Kyiv, Armed Forces, Ukrainian, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Donetsk, Russian, Mines, Staromaiorske, Urozhaine, Moscow, Ukraine's, Kyiv, Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Kupyansk, Crimea, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson

☆ Kyiv says Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant switched to reserve power line
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian service member stands guard at a checkpoint near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant before the arrival of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert mission in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, June 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File... Read moreKYIV, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant again lost connection to its last remaining main external power line overnight and was switched to a reserve line, state-owned power generating company Energoatom said on Thursday. Energoatom said Europe's largest nuclear power plant was on the verge of a blackout as the reserve line had less than half the power capacity of the main power line. The Zaporizhzhia plant with its six reactors has been controlled by the Russian military since the early days of Moscow's invasion in February 2022. 6 to a 'hot shutdown' state is being considered."

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko, Read, Energoatom, Olena Harmash, Angus MacSwan Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, REUTERS, Zaporizhzhia NPP, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia, Russian, KYIV

☆ Russia official blames Ukraine cluster shells for Donetsk fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Firefighters extinguish a fire in the university building following a reported shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander ErmochenkoKYIV, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A university building in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine was in flames late on Saturday following Ukrainian shelling, the Russian-installed mayor of the city said. "As a result of the latest attack on Donetsk, the first building of the university of economics and trade is on fire," Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-installed mayor, said on Telegram. He said preliminary information indicated the cause of the fire was an attack by Ukrainian forces using cluster munitions. Ukraine, which received supplies of cluster munitions from the United States last month, has vowed to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers.

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko KYIV, Alexei Kulemzin, Nick Starkov, Elaine Monaghan, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Firefighters, REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Donetsk, Russian, Ukrainian, United States, Kyiv, Washington

☆ 'Chaos' is fueling fights among Putin's top commanders. These are the players battling for power.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

More than three weeks after the historic challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's authority, there's still internal power plays and high-level purges in motion. "We are seeing a lot of military formations and military figures that are pushing for their own objectives." For example, in Kadyrov's case, he may be pushing for control to shield his fighters from the battlefield in Ukraine and send conventional Russian forces instead. Consequences for disobedienceInsubordination against Moscow's military leadership, such as Teplinsky's criticisms or the Wagner's rebellion, has undermined Russian military leaders but has also come with consequences for members of the anti-Gerasimov camp. The instability increasingly endemic to the Russian military comes as the Ukrainians try to break through their defensive lines.

Persons: Wagner Group's, Vladimir Putin's, Wagner, Putin, doesn't, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Alexander Ermochenko, he's, Stepanenko, Valery Gerasimov, Sergei Shoigu, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov, there's, Gerasimov, Vladimir Putin, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Alexei Nikolsky, Gen, Mikhail Teplinsky, Russia's, Teplinsky, Sergei Surovikin, There's, Friedemann Kohler, hasn't, Russia's Aerospace Forces Sergei Surovikin, Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Staff Sergei Rudskoi, Mikhail Metzel, Ivan Popov, Vladimir Seliverstov, Popov, vilely, Viktor Zolotov, it's, ISW, Vyacheslav Gladkov Organizations: Service, Institute for, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Southern Military, REUTERS, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian Armed Forces, Russian Defense, Russian, Staff, AP, Russia's VDV Airborne Forces, Getty, Russia's Aerospace Forces, Armed Forces, Sputnik, Arms Army, 106th Guards Airborne, Russian MoD, National Guard, Russian National Guard Service, PMC Wagner Group Locations: Russian, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Moscow, Prigozhin, Belarus, Rostov, Don, Russia's Belgorod, Sputnik, Washington, Chechnya, Sochi, REUTERS Maj, Belgorod

☆ Wagner fighters preparing to move to Belarus, senior commander quoted as saying
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File PhotoJuly 8 (Reuters) - Mercenary fighters of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner group are preparing to move to Belarus under the terms of a deal that defused their mutiny against Russia's military leadership, a senior commander of the group was quoted as saying. Since the June 23-24 mutiny, which saw Wagner fighters briefly seize a southern Russian city and march towards Moscow, the exact whereabouts of Prigozhin and his mercenaries have been unclear. He has not posted on his previously preferred Telegram channel - Yevgeny Prigozhin Press Service - since June 26, when he defended his fighters' mutinous actions. Yelizarov said there had been no attempt by Russia's security forces to "hit" Wagner fighters since the mutiny. The attempt would fail, he said, because Prigozhin himself had created and moulded the Wagner fighters "when the state did not need us".

Persons: Wagner, Alexander Ermochenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Anton Yelizarov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Yevgeny, Lukashenko, Yelizarov, King Arthur, Gareth Jones, Alison Williams Organizations: Southern Military District, REUTERS, Yevgeny Prigozhin Press Service, General Staff, Knights, Prigozhin's St, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Belarus, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, Prigozhin's, Prigozhin's St Petersburg

☆ Why did Russia invade Ukraine? Experts break down Putin's motivations and excuses for launching his war.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Insider spoke to three experts about why it happened, and the motives behind President Putin's move. AP Photo/Evgeniy MaloletkaPutin blamed the WestTaylor said the invasion of Ukraine reflects Putin's "grievances that have been brewing for a long time." For Putin, "Russia has a right to rule Ukraine. At the start of the invasion, Putin blamed NATO's expansion into eastern Europe for forcing his hand, echoing a criticism he has made for years. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with war correspondents in Moscow, June 13, 2023.

Persons: Putin's, —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Felipe Dana, it's, George W, Bush, Stephen Hall, Hall, Alexander Ermochenko, Brian Taylor, Thomas Graham, Graham, Evgeniy Maloletka Putin, West Taylor, Taylor, Lithuania — Taylor, NATO didn't, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Omar Marques, They've, Russia's, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Stalin, Zelenskyy, Viktor Medvedchuk, Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, GAVRIIL Organizations: Service, AP, University of Bath, Kyiv, REUTERS, Slavic, of, West, Syracuse University, Yale, NATO, NATO doesn't, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Getty, Nazis, Nazism, Putin, SPUTNIK Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Bucha, Kyiv, Russian Ukraine, Soviet Union, USSR, Russian, Moscow, Luhansk, Belarus, Asia, of Russia, East, Avdiivka, Europe, Ryazan, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Zelenskyy, Afghanistan, Germany

☆ Human Rights Watch reports new evidence of Ukrainian use of banned landmines
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File PhotoWASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday that it uncovered new evidence of the indiscriminate use by Ukrainian forces of banned anti-personnel landmines against Russian troops who invaded Ukraine in 2022. "The Ukrainian government’s pledge to investigate its military’s apparent use of banned anti-personnel mines is an important recognition of its duty to protect civilians," Steve Goose, Human Rights Watch's arms director, said in a statement. Russia did not join the treaty and its use of anti-personnel mines "violates international humanitarian law ... because they are inherently indiscriminate," the report said. Anti-personnel mines are detonated by a person's presence, proximity or contact and can kill and maim long after a conflict ends. Those rockets each indiscriminately disburse 312 PFM-1S anti-personnel mines, said the report.

Persons: demine, Alexander Ermochenko, Steve Goose, Jonathan Landay, Don Durfee, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Rights Watch, Ukrainian, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Donetsk, Ukrainian, Washington, Russian, Izium, Kyiv

☆ Putin strives to reassert control after Wagner mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —For two days after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin called off his abortive mutiny, Russian President Vladimir Putin said nothing in public. Putin thanked security forces at the Kremlin Tuesday, for helping Russia to avoid "civil war." “Putin values loyalty above all else,” Dmitri Alperovitch, a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, told CNN. Lukashenko claimed he told Prigozhin that he would be “crushed like a bug” if he continued his advance towards Moscow, and persuaded him to call of the mutiny. Now that the dust has settled after a chaotic weekend, Putin is attempting to project an image of control.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, ”, Putin, clement, Sergei Guneev, Dmitri Alperovitch, Kirill Shamiev, ” Shamiev, Shamiev, Roman Romokhov, they’ve, ’, Alexander Lukashenko, ” Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Alexander Ermochenko, “ Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Sputnik, Homeland Security Advisory, European Council, Foreign Relations, Don, Getty, Federal Security Service, Novosti, Reuters Locations: Russian, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Rostov, AFP, Kremlin

☆ Analysis: Why Prigozhin's short-lived Russian rebellion failed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Nic Robertson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

When he packed up his tanks and pulled out of the Russian military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, well-wishers rushed up to say thank you. For weeks, months even, he’d been arguing Russia’s war in Ukraine was being badly and unnecessary fought by an elite who couldn’t care less how many Russian lives were lost. Prigozhin claimed his troops were being starved of ammunition by another of Putin’s trusted inner circle, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. What the Russian public was hearing from Prigozhin, about how badly the war was going, was dangerous for Putin. Prigozhin's actions followed months of feuding with Russia's military top brass.

Persons: CNN — Wagner, Yevegeny Prigozhin, he’d, Putin, Prigozhin, Sergey Shoigu, Wagner, Shoigu, boss’s, Mikhail Mizintsev, Sergey Surovkin, ” Prigozhin, Alexander Ermochenko, Reuters Wagner, Don, Roman Romokhov, Ramzan Kadyrov, “, ” Kadyrov, Kadyrov, ”, kingmakers, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko Organizations: CNN, Moscow, Don, Russia’s, Kremlin, Army, Reuters, Getty, Wagner PMC, Shoigu, Ministry of Defense Locations: Rostov, Ukraine, Africa, Russian, Kremlin, Moscow, AFP, Belarus, Russia, Mali, Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya

Moscow CNN —Some Russians greeted the weekend’s armed insurrection led by the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, with sympathy, appearing to welcome the mercenary fighters. Roman Romokhov/AFP/Getty ImagesLocals were also seen booing police cars that arrived as the Wagner fighters vacated Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, in an abrupt de-escalation. Over the weekend, checkpoints had been set up on Moscow’s outskirts, and residents braced for Wagner fighters to enter. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters“It was really uneasy yesterday,” Moscow resident Andrey told Reuters, “But look now, people are walking in the streets and it’s all good. But that sentiment runs counter to the messaging from the Kremlin, which has painted Prigozhin and his Wagner fighters as traitors to Russia.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, “ Wagner, Moscow –, Vladimir Putin, “, Roman Romokhov, ”, Dmitry, Natalia Kolesnikova, Maxim Shemetov, Andrey, ” Oleg, Prigozhin’s, Irada Zeynalova, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Alexander Ermochenko, Don, Putin, hasn’t, Putin – Organizations: Moscow CNN —, Kremlin, Southern Military District, Getty, Rostov, Don, ”, Reuters, NTV, Belarusian, Fighters, CNN Locations: Moscow, Russian, Rostov, AFP, ” Rostov, Moscow’s, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Don

☆ Russia has avoided an armed Wagner insurrection — for now. Here's what we know
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The crisis in Russia erupted Friday when Prigozhin accused Russia’s military of attacking a Wagner camp and killing his men – and vowed to retaliate by force. Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the nation after an insurrection led by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, on June 24. The Wagner group is “an independent fighting company” with different conditions than the Russian military, said retired US Army Maj. Mike Lyons on Saturday. Whatever it is, it’s really bad news for Putin.”Video shows Prigozhin leaving Russian military headquarters 01:46 - Source: CNNWho is Prigozhin? Wagner was thrust into the spotlight during the Ukraine war, with the fighters appearing to win tangible progress where regular Russian troops failed.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Putin, –, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Alexander Ermochenko, Reuters Wagner, It’s, Russia’s, Pavel Bednyakov, ”, Tsar Nicholas II, What’s, Mike Lyons, we’ve, “ Putin, ‘, Jill Dougherty, CNN’s, “, Dougherty, ” Dougherty, it’s, Steve Hall, Hall, ” Hall Organizations: CNN, Belarusian, Kremlin, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Reuters, Sputnik, AP Russia’s Defense Ministry, Putin, Russia, Saturday, US Army, ”, Russian Ministry of Defense, CIA Locations: Russia, Moscow, Belarus, Ukraine, Rostov, Don, Voronezh, Russian, ’

☆ Prigozhin, Wagner Forces Begin Pullback From Rostov
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov as his group pulls out from the city it occupied Saturday. (ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO/REUTERS)

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO Organizations: Southern Military District Locations: Rostov

☆ Russian mercenary boss Prigozhin to move to Belarus under Wagner deal, Kremlin says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves the headquarters of the Southern Military District amid the group's pullout from the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander ErmochenkoMOSCOW, June 24 (Reuters) - Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin will move to Belarus under a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to end an armed mutiny that Prigozhin had led against Russia's military leadership, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Lukashenko had offered to mediate, with Russian President Vladimir Putin's agreement, because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years. Although Putin had earlier vowed to punish those who participated in the mutiny, Peskov said the agreement had had the "higher goal" of avoiding confrontation and bloodshed. Prigozhin had earlier demanded that Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov be handed over to him.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Ermochenko MOSCOW, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Dmitry Peskov, Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin's, Peskov, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Kevin Liffey, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Southern Military, REUTERS, Belarusian, Russia's, Kremlin, Fighters, Defence Ministry, Staff, Russian Defence Ministry, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Belarus

☆ Russia mercenary threat revives concern over nuclear arsenal security
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Jonathan Landay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

To be sure, U.S. officials say they do not see an immediate threat to the security of Russia's strategic and tactical weapons. "We have not seen any changes in the disposition of Russian nuclear forces," said a National Security Council spokesperson in response to questions from Reuters. U.S. intelligence agencies said in their 2023 Annual Threat assessment that "Russia's nuclear material security ... remains a concern despite improvements to material protection, control, and accounting at Russia's nuclear sites since the 1990s." Russia’s nuclear arsenal is the world’s largest, estimated in 2022 at 5,977 warheads by the Federation of American scientists, compared to an estimated 5,428 held by the U.S. “This has always been a super-high (U.S.) intelligence collection priority and the command and control of nuclear weapons in Russia,” said Hoffman.

Persons: Wagner, Alexander Ermochenko WASHINGTON, group's, Wagner's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Marc Polymeropoulos, you’re, Ramzan, Kadyrov, Daniel Hoffman, Dmitry Peskov, Hoffman, “, Putin, ”, Jonathan Landay, Don Durfee, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Southern Military District, REUTERS, CIA, National Security, Reuters, Federation of, U.S, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Moscow, Washington, Europe, Eurasia, U.S, Washington . U.S, Ukraine, United States

☆ Ukraine’s counteroffensive is now underway. Here’s what’s happened so far
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces has not yet gained the momentum that some overly optimistic observers anticipated. Still it is a formidable task: in the south especially, Ukrainian forces must conduct a frontal assault against deeply prepared defensive positions, and critically they lack air superiority. It’s worth noting that Russian units in one heavily-contested area – belonging to the 58th Combined Arms Army – are among the most effective in the military. Ukrainian units in the area have had to adapt, often breaking down into smaller groups that are less easily detected. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, has said that if the offensive succeeds in expelling Russian forces from Ukrainian land, “It will be the last.

Persons: CNN —, pare, Volodymyr Zelensky’s, Mykhailo Podolyak, ”, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Yan Dobronosov, Matthew Schmidt, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Mick Ryan, don’t, Gerasimov, Valentyna, Alexander Ermochenko, Olga Maltseva, Schmidt, “, Richard Haas, Charles Kupchan, Dmytro Kuleba Organizations: CNN, CNN — Ukraine’s, Russian, Ukrainian Land Forces, University of New, Staff, Army, Air Force, Reuters, Separate Territorial Defense Brigade, “ Aviation, Getty, Kremlin Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Donetsk, Russian, Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, “ Ukraine, University of New Haven, Washington, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Zaporizhzhia, AFP

☆ Ukraine's dam collapse is both a fast-moving disaster and a slow-moving ecological catastrophe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Alexander Ermochenko | ReutersThe destruction of the Kakhovka Dam was a fast-moving disaster that is swiftly evolving into a long-term environmental catastrophe affecting drinking water, food supplies and ecosystems reaching into the Black Sea. The Kakhovka Dam was the last in a system of six Soviet-era dams on the river, which flows from Belarus to the Black Sea. When Russian forces seized the Kakhovka Dam, the whole system fell into neglect. Rainbow-colored slicks already coat the murky, placid waters around flooded Kherson, the capital of southern Ukraine's province of the same name. "The canal that supplied our water reservoir has also stopped flowing."

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko, Zelenskyy, Trudeau, Putin, Kateryna Filiuta, Dmytro Neveselyi, we'll Organizations: Ukraine Nature Conservation, Russian, Associated Press, Agriculture, Farmers Locations: Nova, Russia, Ukraine, Hola, Kherson, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarus, Ukraine's province, Kherson province, Maryinske

Kyiv CNN —Editor’s note: The southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol has long been known for its sweet delights. For those of us who rejected Russian passports and are now known as “the unreliable,” the situation is terrible. The Russians are trying to force everyone here to get Russian passports. Everyone was given cash welfare payments until February, but starting in March, only people with Russian passports get them. In this file photo, Russian passports are being issued to residents in the occupied city of Melitopol.

Persons: CNN —, Stringer, “ Melitopol, Russia ”, Russia doesn’t, Alexander Ermochenko Organizations: CNN, Workers, United Russia Party, Getty, Russian Locations: Ukrainian, Melitopol, Honey, Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, Russian, AFP, Crimea, Germany, “, Europe, Zaporizhzhia

Carbon accounting will be in focus at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai this year as countries assess progress against climate goals agreed in Paris in 2015, and de Klerk said it was crucial military emissions were included. "Emissions of conflicts and military emissions are often overlooked," he told Reuters. The report - Climate Damage Caused By Russia's War in Ukraine - was funded by the European Climate Foundation and the Environmental Policy and Advocacy Initiative in Ukraine. HARD TO DECIPHERUkraine's Ministry of Environmental Protection said it was important to initiate discussions about the impact of conflicts on the climate. Government reporting of military and conflict emissions to the United Nations is notoriously hard to decipher.

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko LONDON, Lennard, Klerk, it's, de Klerk, James Appathurai, of Environmental Protection, Bremer, Sarah McFarlane, Valerie Volcovici, Richard Valdmanis, David Clarke Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, European Climate Foundation, Environmental, Initiative, Environment Observatory, of Environmental, United Nations, Brown University, International Institute for Applied Systems, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Shakhtarsk, Donetsk, Russian, Bonn, Belgium, Europe, Hungary, Dubai, Paris, U.S, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Britain

☆ Russia says no threat 'for now' to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after dam breach
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict outside Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander ErmochenkoMOSCOW, June 6 (Reuters) - Russia's state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom said on Tuesday that the breach of a dam in southern Ukraine did not pose a threat to the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for now where it said the situation was being monitored. Yury Chernichuk, director of the Russian-controlled power station, said in a statement on the Telegram messaging application that the situation at the nuclear plant was stable. "At the moment there are no threats to the safety of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Five units are in "cold shutdown" state, 1 in "hot shutdown" state.

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko MOSCOW, Rosatom, Yury Chernichuk, Chernichuk, Andrew Osborn Organizations: REUTERS, Russian, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine's Kherson, floodwater

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