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☆ Belarus Is Fast Becoming a ‘Vassal State’ of Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Valerie Hopkins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Schools give patriotic lessons and teach students how to assemble rifles, while textbooks have been rewritten to favor Russia’s view of history. These by-now familiar scenes would hardly bear mention in wartime Russia, except that these were drawn recently from Belarus, an autocratic country of 9.4 million neighboring Russia, Ukraine and the NATO members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Long uneasily in the orbit of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Belarus is increasingly doing his bidding, socially, militarily and economically. It is also an important step, democracy advocates and military experts say, toward Russia’s absorption of Belarus, a longtime goal of Mr. Putin. “Belarus’ sovereignty is evaporating very fast,” said Pavel Slunkin, a former Belarusian diplomat who is now a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Persons: Long, Vladimir V, Putin, Moscow —, Mr, ”, Pavel Slunkin Organizations: NATO, European Council, Foreign Relations Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Moscow, “ Belarus, Belarusian

☆ Ukraine races to fix power grid, fearing Russian winter attacks, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, June 22 (Reuters) - Ukraine is carrying out the largest campaign of repairs in modern history to its power system to prepare for another winter of possible Russian air strikes, its energy minister said on Thursday. "Power generation and distribution facilities are being restored, and work is under way to strengthen the power system's resilience to military challenges." Ukraine has nearly doubled electricity tariffs for consumers since June 1 to find funds to prepare for winter, when energy consumption is typically at its highest. About 43% of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been damaged in air strikes, state-owned power distributor Ukrenergo estimates. The energy ministry on Tuesday issued its latest appeal to Ukrainians to reduce use of electric appliances, especially in the evenings, saying power consumption was rising because of hot weather.

Persons: German Galushchenko, Tom Balmforth, Pavel Polityuk, Timothy Organizations: " Energy, German, Telegram, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Ukraine

☆ Russia has been using the Chinese yuan to get around sweeping Western sanctions — but this side door may be closing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The bank made the move over fears of secondary sanctions from the West, per RBC. Russia has been using the Chinese yuan to get around Western sanctions. Russian clients can still make yuan transfers within the Bank of China network, Semyonov added to RBC. The Chinese yuan surpassed the US dollar as the most heavily traded currency in February and March, according to Bloomberg data. Semyonov told RBC that Russian yuan transfers to the US and EU make up just 3% of all transfers in the currency.

Persons: —, Russia's, Pavel Semyonov, Dmitry Lesnov, Semyonov, Finam Organizations: of, RBC, Service, The Bank of, European, Bank of China, EU, Novaya Gazeta, The, Swift, Bloomberg, Reuters Locations: of China, EU, Switzerland, Russia, The Bank of China, European Union, Modulbank, China, Novaya, Novaya Gazeta Europe, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine starts 2023 grain harvest
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

KYIV, June 19 (Reuters) - Farmers in Ukraine's southern region of Odesa have started the 2023 grain harvest, threshing the first winter barley, local officials said. Ukraine is a major global grain grower and exporter, but this year's out is expected to be reduced because of Russia's invasion to around 45 million tonnes from 53 million in 2022. The agriculture ministry said last week Ukraine's 2023 spring sowing was almost complete at almost 13 million hectares. The total sown area as of June 16 included 271,100 hectares of spring wheat, 810,000 hectares of barley, 138,500 hectares of peas, 146,200 hectares of oats, 4 million hectares of corn and other commodities. Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing y Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Pavel Polityuk Organizations: Thomson Locations: Ukraine's, Odesa, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine reports new retaken village in southern counterattack
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian soldiers held up yellow-and-blue national flags in a video circulated on social media, in which they said they were inside Piatykhatky, the eighth southeastern village that Kyiv says it has liberated. "Today, June 18, the forces of 128 assault brigade chased out the Russians from the village of Piatykhatky. A Russian-installed official in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region had said on Sunday that Kyiv's troops had retaken Piatykhatky, but that they had then been pushed out and that the settlement was now located in a "grey" area of control. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces had not only retaken Piatykhatky but had advanced by up to seven km (4.3 miles) into Russian lines in two weeks. Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Lidia Kelly; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Piatykhatky, Hanna Maliar, Maliar, Pavel Polityuk, Lidia Kelly, Tom Balmforth, Timothy Organizations: Reuters, Piatykhatky, Telegram, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Kyiv, Piatykhatky, Zaporizhzhia

A Russian-installed official said on Sunday that Ukraine had taken control of the village, Piatykhatky, in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces had not only retaken Piatykhatky but had advanced by up to seven km (4.3 miles) into Russian lines in two weeks, capturing 113 square km (44 square miles) of land. The reported capture of the villages reflects incremental gains for Ukraine that highlight the challenge of breaking through lines Moscow has spent months strengthening. Russia says it invaded Ukraine to "denazify" it, an argument Ukraine and its Western allies call a pretext for a land grab. While Ukraine conducts what Western governments and analysts say are probing attacks to test Russian forces, officials from two NATO member states said Moscow is redeploying some of its forces as it seeks to predict where Ukraine will strike.

Persons: Ukraine Zelenskiy, Hanna Maliar, Piatykhatky, Maliar, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Vladimir Rogov, Margo Grosberg, Michael Kofman, Denise Brown, Dan Peleschuk, Lidia Kelly, Wendell Roelf, Philippa Fletcher, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Russian Defence Ministry, NATO, Russia, Western, Estonian Defense Forces, Twitter, Russia's Defence Ministry, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, French, KYIV, Russian, Piatykhatky, Moscow, Ukrainian, Novodonetske, Donetsk, Sweden, Estonian, Dnipro, Estonia, U.S, Great Salt, Kherson region, Kyiv, West

The World Bank estimates Ukraine's reconstruction will cost $411 billion, three times the country's gross domestic product. Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, external backers have poured $59 billion into Ukraine for financing needs. "If you have to rebuild, it is logical to rebuild green in line with new technologies... Our vision is to build a 50 million tonnes green steel industry in Ukraine," he told Reuters. To help raise $20-$40 billion in initial funding, Ukraine plans a coalition of industry, public and private sector stakeholders to develop the plan, including doing initial scoping work on projects. "Ukraine's bravery on the battlefield must be matched by the vision of the private sector to help the country rebuild and recover," Sunak will say.

Persons: Pavel Klimov, Rostyslav, Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, Shurma, Rishi Sunak, Matteo Patrone, Ayomide Mejabi, Elisa Martinuzzi, Frances Kerry Organizations: Bank, Reuters, British, Ukraine, Ukrainian Development Fund, BlackRock, European Bank for Reconstruction, London, Republican, Democratic, Russia, NATO, JPMorgan, Jorgelina, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Mariupol, Europe, Ukrainian, London, Britain, Rosario

☆ Putin rebuts key elements of African peace plan for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Putin opened Saturday's talks with representatives of Senegal, Egypt, Zambia, Uganda, Congo Republic, Comoros and South Africa in a palace near St Petersburg by stressing Russia's commitment to the continent. But after presentations from the Comoran, Senegalese and South African presidents, he stepped in to challenge the assumptions of the plan - predicated on acceptance of internationally recognised borders - before the round of statements could go any further. And he said Russia had never refused talks with the Ukrainian side, which had been blocked by Kyiv. Peskov said Putin had shown interest in the plan, whose 10 points South African President Cyril Ramaphosa laid out in his presentation, and Russia would continue dialogue with the African countries. Since the International Criminal Court indicted Putin in March on war crimes charges - which he rejects - South Africa, as a member of the court, finds itself in the awkward position of being obliged to arrest him if he sets foot there.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Putin, Pavel Bednyakov, Sergei Lavrov, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Cyril Ramaphosa, Lavrov, Zelenskiy, Kevin Liffey, Andrew Cawthorne, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Saturday, South, RIA Novosti, REUTERS, Russian, Criminal, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Moscow, Russia, Senegal, Egypt, Zambia, Uganda, Congo Republic, Comoros, South Africa, St Petersburg, Africa, RIA, Black, Russian, Brazil, India, China

☆ Ukraine plans to train 'several dozen' combat pilots to fly F-16s
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, June 16 (Reuters) - Ukraine plans to send "several dozen" combat pilots for training to fly U.S.-manufactured F-16 fighter jets, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on Friday, as western allies prepared the necessary training programmes. "Everything is being done to get it started as early as possible," Ihnat told Ukrainian national television, adding that the pilots picked for training would have combat experience. NATO members the Netherlands and Denmark are leading efforts by an international coalition to train pilots and support staff, maintain aircraft and ultimately supply F-16s to Ukraine. Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren told Reuters this week that training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s could begin as soon as this summer. A final decision has not yet been taken on a request from Kyiv to supply dozens of F-16s, Ollongren said.

Persons: Yuriy Ihnat, Ihnat, It's, Kajsa Ollongren, Ollongren, Pavel Polityuk, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Ukrainian, NATO, Dutch Defence, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, U.S, Netherlands, Denmark, Kyiv, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Britain

☆ South Africa's Ramaphosa arrives in Ukraine on African peace mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, June 16 (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Ukraine on Friday as part of an African peace mission, the South African presidency said on Twitter. Ramaphosa is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday and then travel to Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Saturday. The South African presidency posted footage of Ramaphosa arriving by train in the Bucha area near Kyiv after travelling via Poland. Along with Senegal President Macky Sall, Ramaphosa is heading a delegation including leaders from Zambia, the Comoros, and Egypt's prime minister. The peace mission could propose a series of "confidence building measures" during initial efforts at mediation, according to a draft framework document seen by Reuters.

Persons: Cyril Ramaphosa, Ramaphosa, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Vladimir Putin, Macky Sall, Putin, Pavel Polityuk, Timothy Organizations: Twitter, Ukrainian, Reuters, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, St Petersburg, Bucha, Kyiv, Poland, Russian, Senegal, Zambia, Comoros, Belarus

Henriette Borgund knows attackers can find weaknesses in the defences of a big renewables power company - she's found them herself. She joined Norway's Hydro (NHY.OL) as an "ethical hacker" last April, bringing years of experience in military cyberdefence to bear at a time of war in Europe and chaos in energy markets. They're nervously monitoring a hybrid war where physical energy infrastructure has already been targeted, from the Nord Stream gas pipelines to the Kakhovka dam. It said Russia had tried to destroy digital networks and cause power cuts, and that missile attacks on facilities were often accompanied by cyberattacks. "Companies in the energy space, their core business is producing energy, not cybersecurity," said Jalal Bouhdada, CEO of cybersecurity firm Applied Risk, a division of DNV.

Persons: Nora Buli, Henriette Borgund, she's, shoring, Michael Ebner, cyberattacks, didn't, Swantje Westpfahl, James Forrest, Cem Gocgoren, Stephan Gerling, Mathias Boeswetter, Leonhard Birnbaum, Jalal Bouhdada, Nina Chestney, Christoph Steitz, America Hernandez, Paris Pavel Polityuk, Guy Faulconbridge, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, Norway's Hydro, Reuters, Hydro's Oslo, Hydro, Ukraine, cyberattacks, Germany's Institute for Security, TRITON, Triton, Svenska, ICS CERT, University of Tulsa, E.ON, " Companies, Pravin Char, Thomson Locations: Norwegian, Fosen, Norway, Ukraine, OSLO, LONDON, FRANKFURT, Europe, Nord, Russia, Ukrainian, Moscow, United States, Russian, Capgemini, Saudi, Swedish, DNV, Oslo, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Kiev

☆ Russia tries to signal normalcy as Ukraine forces advance
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Vitalii Hnidyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But corpses of Russian soldiers and burnt-out armoured vehicles lining the roadside in villages newly recaptured by Ukrainian troops attested to Kyiv's biggest advances since last year. Several bodies of Russian soldiers lay in the streets of ruined and depopulated villages. Ukrainian troops in Storozheve told Reuters they had killed around 50 Russians and captured four there. Kyiv says any elections staged by Russians on Ukrainian territory would be invalid and illegal. Ukrainian troops have yet to reach the heaviest Russian defensive fortifications, which are set back from the front line.

Persons: Oleksandr Ratushniak, Moscow's, Oleksii Hromov, Vladimir Putin, Ella Pamfilova, Lloyd Austin, Austin, Vitalii, Pavel Polityuk, Peter Graff, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Ukrainian, Troops, TASS, Defence Ministry, Federal Security Service, U.S . Defense, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Storozheve, Donetsk region, UKRAINE, Russia, Ukrainian, Neskuchne, Moscow, Mala Tokmachka, Bakhmut, Europe, Kyiv, Brussels, U.S, Washington

☆ Ukraine says it has retaken 100 square kilometres of land in counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, June 15 (Reuters) - Ukraine has regained control of over 100 square kilometres, or 38 square miles, of territory in its counteroffensive against Russian forces, a senior Ukrainian military commander said on Thursday. "We are ready to continue fighting to liberate our territory even with our bare hands," Brigadier-General Oleksii Hromov told a media briefing. Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has not officially acknowledged the Ukrainian advances. Each side says the other has suffered heavy losses since the counteroffensive started, and Moscow and Kyiv rarely comment on their own losses. Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Writing by Anna Pruchnicka, Editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Oleksii Hromov, Pavel Polityuk, Anna Pruchnicka, Timothy Organizations: Russian, Reuters, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mala Tokmachka, Velyka, Russia, Moscow, Kyiv

☆ Russian missile attacks on Odesa and Donetsk region kill at least six, Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Emergency services personnel work to control a fire at a business centre and the warehouse of a retail chain, caused by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine in this image released June 14, 2023. State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERSKYIV, June 14 (Reuters) - Russian missiles struck civilian buildings in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa and eastern Donetsk region overnight, killing at least six people, Ukraine's military and local officials said early on Wednesday. Russia launched four cruise missiles on the city of Odesa, the South command of Ukraine's Armed Forces said. The three people killed were working at a retail chain's warehouse when a missile hit, setting it ablaze, the military added. In a separate missile strike, Russian forces killed three civilians in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, the governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Facebook.

Persons: Serhiy Bratchuk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, Lidia Kelly, Pavel Polityuk, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Emergency Service of, REUTERS, Russia, Ukraine's Armed Forces, Facebook, Ukrainian Air Forces, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Odesa, Emergency Service of Ukraine, Handout, REUTERS KYIV, Ukraine's Black, Donetsk, Ukraine's, Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka, Russia, Melbourne, Kyiv

He has also said that there could be "nuclear weapons for everyone" who joined the Russia-Belarus union. Putin said Russia would remain in control of the weapons just as the United States controls its own tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Europe. Putin has repeatedly raised concerns about the 200 U.S. B61 tactical nuclear warheads deployed at bases in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Turkey. Russia's nuclear weapons are controlled and transported by the 12th Main Directorate of the defence ministry (12th GUMO). By putting nuclear weapons back in Belarus, Putin is showing that the architecture of post-Cold War nuclear arms control is crumbling.

Persons: Stringer, Vladimir Putin, Moscow's, Putin, Pavel Zarubin, Su, Lukashenko, Jens Stoltenberg, Guy Faulconbridge, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Kremlin, Street, Ukraine, Sukhoi, of American, WHO, United, NATO, B61, U.S, 12th, Directorate, State Department, Thomson Locations: Kakhovka, Nikopol, Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk region, MOSCOW, Belarus, Russia, Soviet Union, Britain, United States, Belarusian, Lida, Lithuanian, Europe, U.S, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Kazakhstan, States

☆ Taiwan minister meets Czech Senate speaker on trip that has angered China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PRAGUE, June 13 (Reuters) - Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu met the head of the upper house of the Czech parliament on Tuesday as part of a European trip that has angered China. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future. Taiwan has no formal diplomatic ties with any European country except the Vatican. China's Foreign Ministry urged Europe on Friday not to have any official exchanges with Taiwan or support "independence forces" ahead of the trip.

Persons: Joseph Wu, Wu, Milos Vystrcil, Petr Pavel, Marketa, Pavel, Jan Lopatka, Nick Macfie Organizations: Taiwan Foreign, NATO, European Union, China's Foreign Ministry, Thomson Locations: PRAGUE, Czech, China, Taiwan, Central, Eastern, Ukraine, Prague, Brussels, Czech Republic, Beijing, Taipei

☆ Ukraine reports small gains in early stages of counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It does not provide similar detail about fighting on the southern front where the main counteroffensive is expected. However, some prominent Russian military bloggers indicated that Ukrainian forces had taken Blahodatne and Neskuchne, although they said fighting for Makarivka was continuing. It is almost certainly far too early to draw conclusions about the fate of the counteroffensive from early skirmishes that may be more about testing Russian defences than pursuing a major advance. "When we see large, armoured formations join the assault, then I think we’ll know the main attack has really begun." But Yevgeny Prigozhin, the increasing recalcitrant and voluble leader of the Wagner militia, which captured Bakhmut from Ukrainian forces after almost a year of attritional fighting, said on Sunday he would refuse to sign.

Persons: Read, Makarivka, Ben Hodges, Vladimir Putin's, Ramzan Kadyrov, Akhmat, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Bakhmut, Sergei Shoigu, Pavel Polityuk, Tom Balmforth, Anna Pruchnicka, Lidia Kelly, Kevin Liffey, Peter Graff Organizations: Ukrainian, Reuters, Brigade, Marines, Washington -, Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, KYIV, Kyiv, Storozheve, Azov, Crimea, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Bilohorivka, Moscow, U.S, Europe, Washington, Russia, Chechnya, Caucasus, Maryinka, Gdansk, Melbourne

☆ Ukraine says heavy battles ongoing after first counteroffensive gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On Sunday, Ukraine said its troops had made advances on three villages in Donetsk: Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka. Some prominent Russian military bloggers indicated that while Ukrainian forces took Blahodatne and Neskuchne, fighting for Makarivka was going on. While staying largely silent over the past week about its counteroffensive, Ukraine's military has reported daily battlefield successes. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that Kyiv wanted to discuss details of the "aircraft coalition" with its allies at the next meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group on June 15 in Brussels. "At this stage, we are talking about training of pilots ... and our technicians and engineers," Ukraine's Military Media Centre quoted Reznikov as saying.

Persons: Hanna Maliar, Makarivka, Vladimir Putin, Oleksii Reznikov, Reznikov, Pavel Polityuk, Anna Pruchnicka, Lidia Kelly, Robert Birsel, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Brigade, Marines, Reuters, Ukrainian, Ukrainian Defence, Kyiv, Ukraine Defence Contact Group, U.S, Military Media, Thomson Locations: Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Donetsk, Bilohorivka, Luhansk, Storozheve, Ukraine, Blahodatne, Donetsk Region, Russian, Brussels, Zelenskiy, Kyiv, Gdansk, Melbourne

☆ Goldman Sachs slashes oil price forecast by nearly 10% as Russian supply recovers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Goldman Sachs analysts slashed their oil price forecast by almost 10% on the back of whey they see as increasing supply and slower demand for crude. In the same report, Goldman also revised down its WTI forecast for December from $89 per barrel to $81. Overall, the oil cartel made no changes to its planned oil production cuts for the rest of the year. "Significant supply beats from Iran and Russia have driven speculative positioning to near record-lows," Goldman analysts led by the bank's Global Head of Commodities Research Jeffrey Currie said in the research report. Russia's oil production has remained resilient even in the face of Western sanctions, with Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin in April ascertaining that Moscow's oil production will remain stable until 2025, according to the Neftegazovaya Vertikal magazine.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Commodities Research Jeffrey Currie, Pavel Sorokin Organizations: Commodities Research, Deputy Energy Locations: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia

☆ Ukraine says it retakes village in 'first results' of counterattack
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We're seeing the first results of the counter-offensive actions, localized results," Valeryi Shershen, spokesperson for Ukraine's "Tavria" military sector, said on television. He said the village lay on the edge of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzia regions a few kilometres south of the Kyiv-controlled village of Velyka Novosilka. The video from Blahodatne showed Ukrainian troops inside a heavily damaged building as the sound of artillery rumbled in the distance. Ukraine is going to win, Ukraine above everything," an unidentified soldier said in the video on Facebook. Russia has built vast fortifications across occupied territory to prepare for a Ukrainian counterattack using thousands of troops trained and equipped by the West.

Persons: Ukraine's, Shershen, Velyka Novosilka, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Vladimir Putin, Tom Balmforth, Pavel Polityuk, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Soldiers, Ukraine's 68th Jaeger Brigade, Saturday, Facebook, West, Thomson Locations: Russia, KYIV, Ukraine's, Donetsk, Kyiv, Velyka, Russian, Ukrainian, Blahodatne, Ukraine, Crimea, Mariupol, Azov

☆ Russia shells boats in Ukraine flood rescue, three dead - governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KYIV, June 11 (Reuters) - Russian forces shelled three small boats taking elderly residents to safety from inundated areas of southern Ukraine, killing three people and wounding 10, the regional governor said on Sunday. Kherson region's Ukrainian-appointed governor, Oleksander Prokudin said Russian forces were "deliberately trying to disrupt rescue efforts". "Today, terrorists opened fire on three boats that were used to rescue 21 people from the flooded (eastern) bank," Prokudin said on Ukrainian television. Russian forces, he said, were now shelling residents seeking evacuation from submerged areas. "(They have) cast people deliberately into flooded towns and villages and then shell boats used to try to evacuate them," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

Persons: Oleksander Prokudin, Prokudin, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy's, Andriy Yermak, Yermak, Tom Balmforth, Pavel Polityuk, Ron Popeski, Andrew Cawthorne, Ros Russell, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Kherson region's, Telegram, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Dnipro, Nova, Kyiv, Moscow, Kherson, Russian, Russia, Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine says Russia blew up dam to prevent offensive in south
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A local resident looks out of a window of an apartment building in a flooded area after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kherson, Ukraine June 10, 2023. REUTERS/Oleksandr KlymenkoKYIV, June 11 (Reuters) - The Khakhovka dam was blown up by Russian forces to prevent Ukrainian troops from advancing in the southern Kherson region, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on Sunday. Ukraine has accused Russian forces of blowing up the dam from inside its associated hydroelectric power station. A military spokesman has said that counterattacking Ukrainian forces have advanced up to 1,400 metres at a number of sections of the front line near the eastern city of Bakhmut. It gave no details but a published video showed several Ukrainian soldiers planting a Ukrainian flag in the window of a heavily damaged building.

Persons: Oleksandr Klymenko, Hanna Maliar, Maliar, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Pavel Polityuk, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Oleksandr Klymenko KYIV, Ukrainian Defence Forces, Ukrainian Land Forces, Brigade, Forces, Facebook, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kherson, Russian, Moscow, Bakhmut, Blahodatne, Donetsk

☆ Some people in flooded Russian-controlled Ukraine still need rescuing, say relatives
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Lucy Papachristou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

June 9 (Reuters) - Some relatives of people stranded in flooded villages following the collapse of the giant Nova Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine said on Friday that their loved ones were still stuck on roofs with dwindling food supplies and urgently needed rescuing. Volunteers and workers from Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry have been evacuating people from flooded Russian-controlled areas since Tuesday's disaster - which Moscow and Kyiv blame on each other. The Kremlin has praised the rescue efforts, as have some of the people who have been evacuated to safety. Several people told Reuters they had repeatedly called hotlines for Russian emergency services to rescue their relatives, but to no avail. Some people said they couldn’t persuade their relatives to evacuate, with some preferring to wait until the floodwaters retreated.

Persons: Vladimir Saldo, Olya, “, Natalya, ”, ” Pavel Stebo, Stebo, Lucy Papachristou, Andrew Osborn, William Maclean Organizations: Volunteers, Ministry, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Nova, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, Dnipro, Ukraine’s Kherson, Oleshky, Nova Kakhovka, Black, Zhelezniy

☆ China warns Europe against official ties with Taiwan ahead of minister's visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationBEIJING/PRAGUE, June 9 (Reuters) - China urged Europe on Friday not to have any official exchanges with Taiwan or support "independence forces" ahead of a planned trip to the continent next week by Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky confirmed Wu was due to visit Prague next week, saying on Friday state officials were not expected to shift from their existing policy towards Taiwan. Taiwan, which is claimed by China, has no formal diplomatic ties with any European country except the Vatican. Asked about the visit on Friday, Czech Minister Lipavsky said he had "been informed" about Wu coming to Prague. In January, then-Czech President-elect Pavel and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen spoke by telephone shortly after his election, in a diplomatic coup for Taiwan that infuriated China.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Joseph Wu, Jan Lipavsky, Wu, Petr Pavel, Lipavsky, Wang Wenbin, Wang, Pavel, Tsai Ing, Marketa Pekarova Adamova, Liz Lee, Robert Muller, Ben Blanchard, Simon Cameron, Moore, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Taiwan Foreign, Reuters, Foreign Ministry, Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, PRAGUE, China, Europe, Taiwan, Joseph Wu . Czech, Prague, Vatican, Beijing, Czech, Czech Republic, Brussels, Slovakia

MOSCOW, June 8 (Reuters) - For more than 15 months Russia has been fighting a war in Ukraine that the Kremlin refused to call a war - but that is changing: President Vladimir Putin is using the word "war" more often. The Russian media was ordered not to use the word war - and has either complied or shut down. But in response to what Russia said was a major Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow, Putin last week used the word "war" four times in relation to Ukraine, according to a Kremlin transcript of his remarks. "What is more important is what is says about the future: does war mean a more serious approach and what will Russia at war look like?" Attacks far inside Russia that Moscow blamed on Ukraine have stiffened opinion within the Kremlin, emboldening hawks who propose a much tougher approach to a war in which Putin has said Russia has not got even got serious yet.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Pavel Zarubin, Sergei Shoigu, Dmitry Peskov, Sergei Lavrov, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Lyndon B, Johnson, George W, Bush, Leonid Brezhnev, Abbas Gallyamov, Nikita Yuferev, Yuferev, Prigozhin, Putin's, General Augusto Pinochet, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Kremlin, Nazi, Red, Motherland, U.S, Soviet, West, Russia, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian, Moscow, Ukraine's, Crimea, Soviet, Nazi Germany, Russia's Belgorod, Europe, U.S, Vietnam, Afghanistan, St Petersburg, RUSSIA, Chile, Pinochet

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