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☆ Andrey Belousov: Shifting his fishing buddy sideways, Putin chooses an economy expert for the war in Ukraine. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Alexandra Prokopenko, a former adviser at Russia’s Central Bank, put the shakeup down to the growing interrelationship between the war and Russia’s economy. “Putin’s priority is war; war of attrition is won by economics,” Prokopenko wrote in a thread on X. Russia's President Vladimir Putin, center-right, with Sergei Shoigu, at Red Square for the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2024. Putin has shifted Shoigu sideways to a post as the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, meaning that Shoigu is not completely out of the picture. Discussing Shoigu’s new appointment, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the former defense minister would remain immersed in matters of military production.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, shakeup, Andrey Belousov, Sergei Shoigu, Alexandra Prokopenko, ” Prokopenko, Belousov, Vladimir Putin, Natalia Kolesnikova, Prokopenko, Pyotr Stolypin, Putin, Shoigu’s, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, ” Peskov, General Valery Gerasimov, Nikolai Patrushev, Patrushev, Mikhail Mishustin, Dmitry Patrushev, “, ”, Tatiana Stanovaya Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russia’s Central Bank, Russia's, Victory Day, Getty, NATO, Putin, US Congress, Ministry of Defense, Security, Russia’s General Staff, subjugating, Security Council, Federal Security Service Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, AFP, Europe, Kyiv, Shoigu, Russian, Japan, Soviet Union, subjugating Ukraine, Patrushev

☆ Facing an Endless Barrage, Ukraine’s Air Defenses Are Withering
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Josh Holder | Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

Facing an Endless Barrage, Ukraine’s Air Defenses Are WitheringThis is what a year of Russian missile strikes on Ukraine looks like. Ukrainian air defenses used to intercept most missiles, but in recent months, more and more have made it through. Ukraine has made increasingly desperate pleas for more air defenses from its Western allies. But it could be months before enough weapons arrive to significantly bolster Ukrainian air defenses. Ukrainian air defenses downed the first seven — but had no choice but to let the next four pass, he said.

Persons: Jan, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ”, Tom Karako, Maj, Ilya Yevlash, Konrad Muzyka, Odesa, Yevlash, Justin Bronk, Mr, Bronk, Barber Organizations: Russian, New York Times, Ukrainian Air Force, Patriot, United, Kremlin, PBS, Missile Defense, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Ukrainian Air, Patriots, Rochan Consulting, Kyiv Kharkiv Dnipro Odesa, Kyiv Kharkiv Dnipro Odesa Kyiv, Kyiv Kharkiv Dnipro Kyiv, Royal United Services Institute Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, United States, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Washington, Poland, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Texas, London

☆ Russia is surging across the frontlines, and Ukraine seems unable to stop it
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

First, and most acutely troubling, is the northern border near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city. Russian forces have crossed the border in multiple locations and claim to have seized nine villages. The town of Lyptsi is at risk, say some military bloggers, and from there Russian forces could hit Kharkiv with artillery. Netailove and Krasnohorivka slightly further south show Russian forces making further gains to the west of Avdiivka, and threatening another key hub – Pokrovsk. An evacuee arrives by bus at an evacuation point in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, on May 12.

Persons: ” “, ”, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Chasiv Yar, evacuee, Roman Pilpey, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Andrey Belousov Organizations: CNN, Getty, Biden, National Security Council, Washington Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Kharkiv, Ukraine’s, Vovchansk, Lyptsi, Kyiv, Chasiv, Kramatorsk, Avdiivka, Donetsk, Verbove, Ukraine's Kharkiv, AFP, –, Europe

☆ Opinion: Eurovision’s slogan is ‘United by Music.’ The reality turned out very different
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Opinion Louis Staples | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The Eurovision Song Contest is a glittery and eccentric spectacle that rivals the Super Bowl for its attraction to audiences. When combined with the jury vote, Israel’s impressive public vote tally saw Golan finish in fifth place overall. Despite this, the EBU has always insisted that Eurovision is an apolitical music competition between broadcasters, rather than a political competition between governments. The 2023 contest in Liverpool was a moving display of unity — so much that Liverpool’s slogan, “United By Music,” was adopted by Eurovision for all future contests. On Saturday, there was very little sense that Eurovision was “united by music.” Some fans boycotted, while others mobilized online to vote for Israel.

Persons: Louis Staples, Celine Dion, Louis Staples Louis Staples, Greta Thunberg, Eden Golan, Israel, —, Lasagna, Golan, Nemo, Russia —, ”, Turkey, Isaac Herzog, Bambie, Joost Klein, AVROTROS, Martin Österdahl Organizations: Guardian, Rolling Stone, Wired, CNN, Super Bowl, Hamas, European Broadcasting Union, Eurovision, EBU, “ United, Music, Israel, Ukraine, Twitter, Facebook Locations: London, Slate, Switzerland, Swedish, Malmö, Gaza, Europe, Turkey, Israel, Russia, Greece, Cyprus, Ukraine, Liverpool, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Dutch

☆ Russia claims to have captured five border villages in Kharkiv amid fresh offensive
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Radina Gigova | Josh Pennington | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, said it continued efforts to repel the stepped-up Russian attacks while hundreds of Ukrainian civilians have been evacuated from the northern Kharkiv region. Ukraine’s Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, disputed that the five villages in the Kharkiv Region had been captured in a statement on Saturday. The grey zone represents territory currently contested rather than under full Russian or Ukrainian control. At least three people died as a result of Russian strikes on Kharkiv region overnight, according to the head of the region’s military administration. Its forces attacked Kharkiv region after the full-scale invasion began in 2022 but were forced out in a Ukrainian counteroffensive later that year.

Persons: CNN —, Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleh, ” Syniehubov, “, Andrey Bocharov, ” Organizations: CNN, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, “, Sever Group of Forces, Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, The Defense Forces Locations: Kharkiv, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Keramik, Donetsk, Ukrainian, Kharkiv Region, Strilecha, Oliynykove, Volgograd

☆ Ukraine war: With a surprise cross-border attack, Russia ruthlessly exposes Ukraine’s weaknesses
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Analysis Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The town of Vovchansk in the northern Kharkiv region, liberated from Russian occupation more than 18 months ago, awoke Friday to intense shelling and aerial bombardment. As of Saturday, it appeared the Russians still held a handful of Ukrainian border villages, with intense aerial bombardment continuing in the Vovchansk area. Barros says that it is instead to compel Ukrainian forces to pivot from Donetsk to Kharkiv region. Gunners fire at Russian positions in the Kharkiv region on April 21. In Krasnohorivka, for example, Ukrainian units were able for months to use apartment buildings and a brick factory as defensive positions.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Vadym Skibitsky, George Barros, Sever, “, ” Barros, Anatolii Stepanov, Barros, exacerbates, Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy, Zelensky, Chasiv, Chasiv Yar, Skibitsky, Stanislav, ”, that’s Organizations: CNN, Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Institute for, ” Gunners, Getty, Manpower, Reuters, Gunners, Kharkiv, United States, Zelensky Locations: Vovchansk, Kharkiv, Russia, Donetsk, Ukraine, North, Washington, “ Russia, Ukrainian, AFP, Sumy, Donetsk oblast, Belgorod, Russian, Chasiv Yar, Chasiv, ”, Kreminna, Kharkiv oblast

☆ ‘They Are Erasing Streets’: Russian Attacks Bring War Nearer Kharkiv
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Jeffrey Gettleman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

After all-night air raid alarms, a weary Kharkiv woke up Saturday morning to a heavy gray sky and the disconcerting news that the Russian Army continued to press its advance on nearby Ukrainian territory. All night, dull explosions from battlefields 40 miles away echoed across Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. Thousands of people are fleeing the border areas and arriving at shelters in Kharkiv. Until Friday, she had spent her entire 55 years in Vovchansk, a small town near the Russian border. She was born there, married there, worked in a factory there and raised two children there.

Organizations: Russian Army Locations: Kharkiv, Ukraine’s, Ukraine, Tetiana, Vovchansk, Russian

☆ Joost Klein: Eurovision disqualifies Dutch act over incident involving female crew member
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Matt Wells | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Malmo CNN —The Eurovision Song Contest was thrown into fresh turmoil Saturday when organizers disqualified the Dutch entrant hours before the grand final for a backstage incident involving a female crew member. “Swedish police have investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production crew after an incident following his performance in Thursday night’s Semi Final. While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the Contest,” the EBU said. The EBU said the disqualification of Klein did not involve any other performer or member another country’s delegation. Tensions brew in Malmo ahead of finalThe alleged incident involving Klein happened on Thursday evening after the second semi-final, the EBU said.

Persons: Joost Klein, ”, Klein’s, AVROTROS, Klein, Eden Golan, Israel, Switzerland’s Nemo, France’s, Alyona, Jerry Heil, Golan Organizations: Malmo CNN, European Broadcasting Union, Swedish Police Authority, CNN, Malmo Arena, EBU, Security, RAI, Croatia, Israel Locations: Malmo, Sweden, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, Gaza

☆ Opinion | The Limits of Moralism in Israel and Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Foreign policy can make a mockery of moral certitude. It’s why the “good war” of World War II involved a partnership with a monster in Moscow and the subjection of half of Europe to totalitarian oppression. But in active controversies the tragic vision can seem like a cold way of looking at the world. A “realist” foreign policy can slide from describing power to excusing depredations. It can underestimate the power of a righteous cause — as I underestimated, for instance, Ukraine’s capacity to defend itself in 2022.

Locations: Moscow, Europe, Vietnam, Beijing

☆ Zelensky sacks bodyguard chief after foiled assassination plot
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the head of the the agency responsible for his protection after two of its officers were detained over an alleged assassination plot against him. The sacking of State Guard Service (UDO) chief Serhii Rud was revealed in a decree published on the presidential website. According to Ukrainian state media Ukrinform, Rud was appointed to be Zelensky’s top bodyguard in October 2019. Earlier this week it emerged that Ukraine had detained two security officials allegedly involved in a Russian plot to assassinate Zelensky. The prosecutor’s office said one of the suspects received two drones and ammunition from Russia’s state security service (FSB), which they intended to transfer to another accomplice to carry out an explosion.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, UDO, Serhii Rud, Rud, Zelensky, ”, General’s, Vasyl Maliuk, Kyrylo Organizations: CNN, State Guard Service, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Defence Intelligence Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russia

Ukraine rushed reinforcements to its northern border on Friday after Russian forces attempted to break through Ukrainian lines along several sections, applying new pressure on forces already stretched thin along a 600-mile front. The Russian assaults began at around 5 a.m. Friday with massive shelling and aerial bombardments of Ukrainian positions followed by armored columns trying to punch through at several points along the border, according to a statement from Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense. “As of now, these attacks have been repelled, and battles of varying intensity are ongoing,” the ministry said. “To strengthen the defense in this sector of the front, reserve units have been deployed.”The breadth and intent of the Russian border incursions remained unclear. Military analysts have said Russia may be trying to force Ukraine to expend valuable resources in defending the region just as Russian assaults in eastern Ukraine are intensifying.

Persons: “ Organizations: Russian, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, Military Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia

CNN —Russian forces have made two cross border assaults inside northern Ukraine, according to information from Ukrainian sources and officials – in what President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling a ‘new wave of counteroffensive actions” by Russia. In the first development, Russian soldiers penetrated at least one kilometre towards the town of Vovchansk, a Ukrainian military source told CNN. The source said the Russian ground assault towards Krasne was carried out by four Russian battalions - about 2000 men. “But our military and military command were aware of this and anticipated their forces to meet the enemy with fire. Syniehubov insisted the latest Russian ground assaults did not put the city, which lies just 30 kms south from the Russian border, under heightened risk.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, “, DeepStateMap, ”, ” Zelensky, Oleh Syniehubov, Syniehubov Organizations: CNN, Russian, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, CNN Russian, Staff, “, National Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Vovchansk, Ukrainian, Krasne, Russian, Moscow, “ Russia, Kharkiv

☆ Russia sees window of opportunity to expand attacks as Ukraine awaits further US aid, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Jim Sciutto | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian authorities say Russia fired more than 50 missiles and 20 drones, targeting energy infrastructure around the country. But months of inaction has resulted in real costs for Ukrainian forces on the battlefield in both territory and casualties, these officials say. Russian forces are expected to attempt to make further progress and consolidate earlier gains, before this window of opportunity closes. Western and Ukrainian officials view the near-term threat of stepped-up attacks as tied to Russian plans for a larger offensive early this summer. US and Ukrainian officials remain concerned about a further partial mobilization by Russia to send more manpower to the frontlines, as Ukraine is struggling with its own manpower shortage.

Persons: ”, Oleksiy Goncharenko, Mike Johnson, ” Goncharenko, Chasiv Organizations: CNN, ” CNN Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, Avdiivka, Pokrovsk, Chasiv Yar, Bakhmut

☆ Ukraine Strikes More Russian Oil Facilities in a Bid to Disrupt Military Logistics
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Radiy Khabirov, the head of Russia’s Bashkiria region, near Kazakhstan, said a drone hit the Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery, one of the country’s largest, around midday on Thursday, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The facility is more than 700 miles from the Ukrainian border, in a sign that Ukraine is increasingly capable of striking further into Russia. An official from Ukraine’s special services, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, said Ukraine was behind the assault. The official said Ukraine was also responsible for two other drone strikes overnight that hit oil depots in Russia’s Krasnodar region, southeast of Ukraine. Military analysts say they are an attempt by Ukraine to disrupt the Russian military’s logistical routes and combat operations by targeting the facilities that supply fuel for its tanks, ships and planes.

Persons: Radiy Khabirov Organizations: Military Locations: Russia, Kyiv, Bashkiria, Kazakhstan, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russia’s Krasnodar

☆ Prisoners in Ukraine to be granted parole for military service
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Radina Gigova | Olga Voitovych | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Some Ukrainian prisoners will be able to apply for early parole and join the army under a new law aimed at boosting Kyiv’s manpower in its fight against the Russian invasion. The new law requires that convicts join the military of their own free will. Those who leave the military before their contract is up face additional prison terms of between five and 10 years. Shuliak said those released on parole to serve would have the status of “military personnel,” and therefore be subject to the same restrictions governing their behaviour. Contracts can be terminated in some circumstances, such as ill health or if the former prisoner commits a new crime.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Kostiantyn, ”, Olena Shuliak, Shuliak Organizations: CNN, Russian, Verkhovna Rada, Organization of State Power, Self, Government, Regional, Urban, National Guard Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Russia Hits Ukrainian Power Plants, Further Straining Energy System
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A large Russian missile and drone assault caused serious damage to several power plants across Ukraine early Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said. Ukraine’s largest private electricity company, DTEK, said in a statement that three thermal power plants had been hit, further straining Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity, which was already reeling from previous assaults. Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s national electricity company, said that it might have to cut power to some domestic and industrial customers on Wednesday evening as a result. “You have to be prepared for this,” Volodymyr Kudritskyi, the head of Ukrenergo, told the Ukrainian news media. The attacks have hit Ukraine at a particularly difficult moment.

Persons: Volodymyr Kudritskyi Locations: Russian, Ukraine

☆ Russia pounds Ukraine with biggest airstrikes in weeks
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Olga Voitovych | Martin Goillandeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Russia carried out a “massive” missile attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure overnight into Wednesday, according to local authorities, in the biggest aerial onslaught by Russian forces for weeks. Russia used 76 air attack weapons in the assault, including 55 missiles and 21 drones launched from Russia and Russian controlled areas, according to Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk. Rescuers assess the ruins of a building, damaged by a Russian missile attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine on May 8, 2024. Handout/Ukrainian Emergency Service/APMoscow has stepped up efforts to paralyze Ukraine’s energy system in the past month, as Kyiv’s troops struggle to hold positions on key frontlines particularly in the east. The latest Russian attack hit three thermal power plants run by Ukraine’s biggest power company, DTEK.

Persons: Mykola Oleshchuk, Herman Halushchenko, ” Halushchenko, Maksym Kozytskyi, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian Air Force, country’s Energy, Emergency, AP, Ukraine’s, Nazism Locations: Russia, Russian, Ukraine’s Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano, Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Kyiv region, Ukraine, Handout, AP Moscow, Avdiivka, Ukraine’s, Chervonohrad, Stryi

☆ Ukraine’s Parliament Passes Bill Allowing Some Convicts to Serve in the Army
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine’s Parliament passed a bill on Wednesday that will allow some convicts to serve in the military in exchange for the possibility of parole at the end of their service, a move aimed at replenishing the army’s depleted ranks after more than two years of war. The bill must still be signed into law by President Volodymyr Zelensky. It was not immediately clear if he would do so, given the sensitivity of the matter. The policy echoes a practice used by Russia, which has committed tens of thousands of convicts to the war, allowing it to gain the upper hand in bloody assaults by sheer force of numbers. Olena Shulyak, the leader of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, said that the decision to mobilize and parole a prisoner would be made by a court and would require the prisoner’s willingness to join the army.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Olena Shulyak, Volodymyr Zelensky’s Organizations: People Locations: Russia

☆ Britain to Expel Russian Defense Attaché and Close Some Diplomatic Sites
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Britain’s diplomatic feud with Russia escalated on Wednesday after the British government announced it would expel a senior Russian diplomat who officials claim is an “undeclared” military intelligence officer, and also shut down several Russian diplomatic facilities in the country. The government accused Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the Federal Security Service, or F.S.B., of a pattern of “malign activity” in Britain and Europe, including hacking and leaking trade documents relating to the United States, and targeting of British lawmakers through malicious email campaigns. James Cleverly, the British home secretary, told Parliament that the government was announcing the retaliatory measures “to make clear to Russia that we will not tolerate such apparent escalations.”Britain’s action came two days after the Russian Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the British ambassador to Moscow to lodge a “strong protest” over remarks the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, had made about Ukraine’s using weapons supplied by Britain to strike Russian territory.

Persons: James, ”, David Cameron Organizations: Federal Security Service, Russian Foreign Ministry Locations: Russia, British, Russian, Britain, Europe, United States, Moscow

CNN —Vladimir Putin has formally begun his fifth term as Russia’s president in a carefully choreographed inauguration ceremony, in a country he has shaped in his image after first taking office nearly a quarter of a century ago. Putin won Russia’s stage-managed election by an overwhelming majority in March, securing for himself another six-year term that could see him rule until at least his 77th birthday. Attendees wait in the Kremlin as Putin arrives for his inauguration ceremony. Putin waves during his inauguration ceremony. To ensure it has enough drones and missiles to bombard Ukraine, Russia has also entered into deeper partnerships with Iran and North Korea.

Persons: CNN — Vladimir Putin, Putin, – Putin, “, Matthew Miller, Putin’s, Maxim Shemetov, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Alexey Navalny, Navalny, ”, ” Putin Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, US State Department, Reuters, US Embassy, Presidential Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Kremlin, Moscow, Russian, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Iran, North Korea

☆ Oleksandr Pielieshenko: Olympic weightlifter from Ukraine dies fighting in war with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Kevin Dotson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Weightlifter Oleksandr Pielieshenko, who competed for Ukraine at the 2016 Rio Olympics, has died while fighting in his country’s war with Russia, according to statements from the Ukraine Olympic Committee and the Ukraine Weightlifting Federation posted Monday. The 30-year-old Pielieshenko was a two-time European gold medalist, winning the 85kg weight class at the 2016 and 2017 European Weightlifting Championships. “We express our deepest condolences to the family and everyone who knew Oleksandr!” the Ukraine Weightlifting Federation said Monday in its statement. CNN has reached out to the Ukraine Olympic Committee and the Ukraine Weightlifting Federation for more information. Ukrainian national weightlifting coach Viktor Slobodianiuk said in a social media post: “War takes the best… Honored Master of Sports of Ukraine, two-time European champion, Olympic weightlifting contestant Oleksandr Pielieshenko heroically died defending Ukraine from invaders.

Persons: Oleksandr Pielieshenko, “, Ukraine Oleksandr Pielieshenko, ”, Oleksandr, Bright, Viktor Slobodianiuk Organizations: CNN, Ukraine Olympic Committee, Ukraine Weightlifting, Olympic, Armed Forces, Ukraine Weightlifting Federation, Sports Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine Says It Foiled Russian Plot to Kill Zelensky
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Constant Méheut | More About Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine’s security services said on Tuesday that they had foiled a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top military and political figures. Two Ukrainian colonels accused of participating in the plot have been arrested on suspicion of treason. According to the Ukrainian agency, the agents working at Russia’s direction were tasked with identifying people close to Mr. Zelensky’s security detail who could take him hostage and later kill him. It is not the first time that Ukraine has reported a potential assassination attempt aimed at its top leaders. Mr. Zelensky himself said in an interview with an Italian television channel earlier this year that his security services had told him of more than 10 such attempts.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, —, Vasyl Malyuk, Kyrylo Budanov, Zelensky Organizations: Russia’s Federal Security Service Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Italian

☆ Putin orders tactical nuclear weapons drills in response to Western ‘threats’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Anna Chernova | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian forces to rehearse deploying tactical nuclear weapons, as part of military drills to respond to what he called “threats” by the West. Since invading Ukraine in 2022, Putin has repeatedly made veiled threats to use tactical nuclear weapons against the West, but Monday marked the first time Russia has publicly announced drills. “During the exercises, a set of measures will be carried out to practice the issues of preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” Russia’s defense ministry said. Non-strategic, or “tactical,” nuclear weapons can be used in battlefield situations, carrying less power than strategic nuclear weapons, which have the potential to level entire cities. Putin said Russia would not be the first to test nuclear weapons, but would do so in the event of a US test.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Emmanuel Macron, I’m, ” Macron, Ludovic Marin, David Cameron, ” Cameron, Macron, “, Joe Biden, ” Organizations: CNN, Russia, Economist, Getty, United, Ukraine, Kyiv, State Department, US, military’s, Staff, Southern Military District Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Western, Europe, AFP, United Kingdom, United States, Moscow, Hiroshima, Nagasaki

☆ DNA Tests and Stranded Bodies: Ukraine’s Struggle to Name Its Dead
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Maria Varenikova | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The bodies of the two Ukrainian soldiers lay motionless in a field for months. The soldiers’ relatives identified their bodies from aerial footage gathered by drone. Andriy Zaretsky — were dead. Yet more than four months later, the Ukrainian military still lists them as missing, even though subsequent drone footage provided by a fellow soldier weeks later showed them still lying there. This confusion, and the lengthy, difficult process of obtaining official declaration of the deaths, is far from isolated, and has emerged as another painful consequence of the two-year-old war.

Persons: Serhiy Matsiuk, Andriy Zaretsky —, ”, Zaretsky’s, Anastasia Locations: Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s

☆ Thousands of Ukrainians have been sent to Russian prisons. Ukraine says they’re being held as bargaining chips
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

The Ukrainian government says there are thousands of people like Dima, civilians arrested by Russia who have been held in arbitrary detention for years. In the early weeks of the war, Russian troops took over their home, parking their tank in the garden and stealing anything of value. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia opened a second pre-trial detention facility in Simferopol, SIZO No. Detained civilians, however, are stuck in limbo. Mariana Checheliuk's photos were among those displayed by relatives of detained civilians at a recent protest in Kyiv.

Persons: Ukraine CNN — “, ”, Vasyl Khyliuk, Dmytro Khyliuk, Dima, –, Ivana Kottasova, Dmytro Lubinets, Lubinets, ” Achille Després, Cross, it’s, Vasyl, ” Vasyl, Halyna, “, Dmytro Khyliuk’s, Russia —, Khyliuk, Anastasiia, MIHR, Pantielieieva, CNN “ We’ve, ” Pantielieieva, Yulia Khrypun, Serhii, ’, Serhii Khrypun, Yulia, ” Yulia, Mariana Checheliuk, Mariana, Natalia Checheliuk, ” Natalia, ’ ” Natalia, Alexander Ermochenko, Mariana –, Mila, Natalia, Volodymyr, Zelensky, Mariana Checheliuk's Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Ukrainian Independent, Agency, Kyiv, CNN, Russian Federation, International Committee, Ukrainian, Organization for Security, Getty, Media Initiative, Human Rights, Penal, Russian Investigative Committee, Russian Prison Service, ICRC, Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Russian Federal Security Service, Russian National Guard, Directorate, General Staff, Serhii, Crimean Human Rights, Maxar Technologies, Volunteers, Russia, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Security Service of Ukraine, Ukraine’s, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Information Bureau, Ministry, “, Headquarters Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Dima, Ukrainian, Kozarovychi, Russia, Geneva, Europe, Novozybkov, Russia’s Bryansk, Russia’s Vladimir, Mordovia, Russian, Moscow, Bryansk, Nove, Tokmak, Melitopol, Olenivka, Kursk, Crimea, Kamensk, Russia’s Rostov, Yulia Khrypun Russia, Chonhar, Kherson, Crimean, Crimean Tatars, Simferopol, SIZO, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, ‘, Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, Bezimenne, Donetsk People’s Republic, Azovstal, Donetsk, Taganrog, Kamyshin, Russia’s Volgograd, Qatar

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