DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Do We Need Language to Think?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Carl Zimmer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For thousands of years, philosophers have argued about the purpose of language. Starting in the 1960s, Noam Chomsky, a linguist at M.I.T., argued that we use language for reasoning and other forms of thought. “If there is a severe deficit of language, there will be severe deficit of thought,” he wrote. Dr. Fedorenko went on to become a cognitive neuroscientist at M.I.T., using brain scanning to investigate how the brain produces language. And after 15 years, her research has led her to a startling conclusion: We don’t need language to think.

Persons: Plato, ”, Noam Chomsky, Evelina Fedorenko, Chomsky’s, Fedorenko

For much of the war, Ukraine has been constrained when it comes to using powerful Western weapons against Russia. Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty ImagesNortheast of Kharkiv, Russian forces continue to maintain a foothold in the town of Vovchansk. But “most of the city is under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces” Voloshyn told CNN. Further south along the eastern front line, Russians have made advances to the west of the city of Avdiivka which fell to Russian forces in February. Western weapons and a new push to draft more soldiers in to the Ukrainian military could give Ukraine the boost it needs.

Persons: Kyiv’s, Russia hasn’t, Defense Lloyd Austin, CNN’s Wolf, Valentyn Ogirenko, Yehor Cherniev, ”, Moscow’s, Kostiantyn, Nazar Voloshyn, Ukrainian Defense Forces ” Voloshyn, Yurii Fedorenko, HRMMU, Chasiv Yar, “ Organizations: CNN, Ukraine’s Security, US, ”, Defense, Ukrainian, National Security, Intelligence, HIMARS, Russian, Kharkiv –, Ukrainian Defense Forces, “, …, 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, UN, Rights, NATO Locations: Ukraine, Kherson, Moscow, Russia, Kharkiv, France, Germany, “, Russian, Hlyboke, Lyptsi, Ukrainian, Vovchansk, Chuhuiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, Donetsk, Luhansk, Chasiv, Avdiivka, Voloshyn

☆ Ukraine: Russia is capturing its biggest swath of territory since July 2022, as Kyiv desperately awaits US weaponry
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Russian forces have used the “artillery drought” hampering Ukraine’s defenses since December to push forward on the eastern front near Avdiivka, making the largest advance since the early months of the war. Only on Sunday did the top Ukrainian military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, admit the fall of a series of villages that his subordinates had insisted for days were still contested. The resulting fallback showed Russian forces had, in just over two months, made the most substantial and swift progress since July 2022’s advances near Severodonetsk, according to a CNN analysis. DeepStateMap, which updates the frontline situation daily, showed significant losses near Avdiivka. Yurii Fedorenko, commander of the Achilles attack drones company at the 92nd separate assault brigade in that area, said the next two months marked a “window of opportunity” for Russian forces.

Persons: Chasiv, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ruslan Mykula, ” Mykula, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksandr Ratushniak Oleksandr Ratushniak, Chasiv Yar, Col Nazar Voloshyn, ” Voloshyn, Druzhkivka, Novozhenina, Yurii Fedorenko, “ Organizations: CNN, Sunday, Kurakhove, Ukraine’s, Airborne, REUTERS, Reuters, Russian Locations: Ukraine, Avdiivka, Donetsk, Mariupol, Russia, Pokrovsk, Chasiv Yar, Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Russian, Avdiivka’s, Severodonetsk, Ocheretyne, Kurakhve, Kupiansk, Kharkiv, Moscow

Ahead of the encroaching Russian forces, Ukrainian volunteers have been evacuating civilians from Ocheretyne and other villages, posting videos on social media showing older residents leaving badly destroyed apartment buildings, along with their pets, and with belongings packed into cardboard boxes. A photograph taken on April 11, 2024, near the town of Chasiv Yar, in Donetsk region, shows smoke rising from fires after bombing. Anatolii Stepanov/AFP/Getty ImagesAbout 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Ocheretyne, on another piece of higher ground, the town of Chasiv Yar is also firmly in Russian sights. “The situation around the town of Chasiv Yar is difficult,” Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for the Ukrainian Ground Forces’ “Khortytsia” operational-strategic group, told CNN. Ukraine’s vulnerability in the face of the FAB threat highlights another huge need for Kyiv – more air defenses.

Persons: Oleksandr Syrskyi, Novokalynovo, Boris Rozhin, Anatolii Stepanov, Velyka, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Mike Johnson, Jake Tapper, “, Vladimir Putin doesn’t, Lloyd Austin, Chasiv Yar, ” Nazar Voloshyn, Yurii Fedorenko, Yar, Chasiv, ” Voloshyn, Zelensky, Victoria Butenko Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, United States Congress, Russian, Getty, Ukraine’s Eastern Command, ” Artillery, US, House Defense, House, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kremlin, Nazi, Ukrainian Ground Forces, Separate Assault Brigade, Reuters, Ukrainian Telegram, FAB, Kyiv, NATO Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ocheretyne, Avdiivka, Ukrainian, Novokalynove, Donetsk, Ocheretyno, AFP, Tonenke, Pokrovsk, Europe, Russia’s, Chasiv, Nazi Germany, Kalynivka, Ivanivske, Zaporizhzhia region, Chasiv Yar, Kharkiv

Mr. Putin himself is under an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children, as is his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. The two entities placed under sanctions are a Russian-owned camp and an organization that has overseen Ukrainian children who were sent to a camp in the Chechen Republic. “Children are literally being ripped from their homes in the year 2023 by a country sitting in this very chamber,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. Some are pressured into accepting Russian citizenship, and others have been adopted by Russian families, Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. “You will hear Russian officials say that their transfers of children are part of humanitarian evacuations,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday.

Persons: Ramzan Kadyrov, Aymani Nesievna, Kadyrova, reeducation, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Maria Lvova, Biden, ”, “ It’s, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Ms, Thomas, ARTEK, AKF, Galina Anatolevna Pyatykh, Irina Anatolyevna Ageeva, Irina Aleksandrovna Cherkasova, Mansur Mussaevich Soltaev, Magomedovich Khuchiev, Konstantin Albertovich Fedorenko, Alievich, Olena Oleksandrivna Shapurova, Vladimir Vladislavovich Kovalenko, Vladimir Dmitrievich Nechaev, “ Organizations: State Department, Kremlin, International, Court, Ukraine, Security, U.S ., Federal, Educational Institute International Children Center, Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation, The State Department, Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Youth Army Locations: Russia, Russian, United States, Ukraine, Chechen, Chechen Republic ., U.S, Crimea, Chechen Republic of Russia, Belgorod, Russia’s Kaluga, Russia’s Rostov, Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, Sevastopol, Crimean

☆ Russia-Ukraine War U.S. Officials Say It Appears Likely Putin Ordered Prigozhin Killed
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Mr. Putin himself is under an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children, as is his commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. Seven of the people targeted by the new sanctions are Russian officials, and the other four, including Ms. Kadyrova, have ties to the camps. “Children are literally being ripped from their homes in the year 2023 by a country sitting in this very chamber,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. Some are pressured into accepting Russian citizenship, and others have been adopted by Russian families, Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. “You will hear Russian officials say that their transfers of children are part of humanitarian evacuations,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said on Thursday.

CNN —Ukrainian forces spared the life of a Russian soldier when he surrendered to a drone on the battlefield just moments before its operators were about to open fire, a Ukrainian commander has confirmed to CNN. Following the surrender, reporters at the Wall Street Journal interviewed the Russian soldier at a detention facility in the Kharkiv region on May 19, under the supervision of a guard. The reporters also spoke with the Ukrainian drone pilot, according to the paper, who said he decided to spare his life after watching his pleas. “This is probably an unprecedented case when, through the coordinated work of the brigade and the aerial reconnaissance component, we managed to capture the occupier,” Ukrainian commander Fedorenko said. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Russian soldier and former prison marshal was working as a liquor-store manager before he was drafted in September last year.

Persons: Yuriy Fedorenko, Achilles ”, “, ” Fedorenko, ”, Fedorenko, Russian Wagner Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, 92nd Brigade, Wall Street Journal Locations: Russian, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Ukraine

☆ Live updates: Russia's war in Ukraine, fresh attacks on Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Tara Subramaniam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

There’s been little change on the front lines in Ukraine over the past day, according to the Ukrainian military — but plenty of shelling. “Ukrainian defense forces repelled numerous enemy attacks near the town of Mariinka,” it said. The General Staff said the Russians had launched more attacks with S-300 missiles against the town of Kostiantynivka, which lies west of Bakhmut. Geolocated social media video also shows Russian attacks in the Kharkiv region, where the two sides are separated by the river Oskil in some areas. The General Staff said that in Russian-occupied areas, civilians were still being pressured to take Russian citizenship.

☆ A year into war, Ukraine's Zelenskiy defies Putin against the odds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/4] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sings the national anthem during his visit in Kherson, Ukraine November 14, 2022. Nor does Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched his "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022 and appears to be preparing for a long war. They underestimated his leadership qualities," said Volodymyr Fesenko, a Kyiv-based analyst who said Putin misjudged Zelenskiy. "(Putin) prepared a special operation not a full-fledged war ... because he thought Zelenskiy and the Ukrainian army were weak and that they would not be able to put up lengthy resistance. Anton Grushetsky, deputy director of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, put public trust in Zelenskiy at 70% to 80%.

Search resuls for: "Fedorenko"

9 mentions found