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☆ Russia rebuilt its war machine 'faster than we expected' and is now cranking out artillery shells at a breakneck pace, NATO defense official says
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewRussia has successfully rebuilt its "war-stage" economy much faster than expected, and it is now cranking out far more artillery ammunition than it was prior to the beginning of the Ukraine war, a NATO defense chief said Tuesday. Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow was producing up to 400,000 152mm rounds per year. But that figure has since swelled to 2 million rounds annually, according to Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Lithuania's minister of national defense. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via APDespite international efforts to inflict economic pain on Russia over its war, through actions like sanctions, Kasčiūnas said Moscow's "war-stage economy" has recovered "faster than we expected." Dmytro Smolienko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty ImagesKasčiūnas delivered his remarks alongside Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur and Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds.

Persons: —, Laurynas, Kasčiūnas, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Dmytro Smolienko, Hanno Pevkur, Andris Sprūds Organizations: Service, NATO, Business, POLITICO, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, —, Publishing, Getty, Estonian Defense, Latvian Defense Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Soviet, Washington ,, Europe, Zaporizhzhia Region, Baltic

☆ How airpower experts think Ukraine could pull off bursts of air superiority to get F-16s into the fight and score breakthroughs
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

An Air Force F-22 Raptor flies alongside two Polish F-16s in formation during the NATO Air Shielding media day at Lask Air Base, Poland. Air Force Staff Sgt. The air force could support these operations using HARM missiles. This sets up Ukraine's air force to gain air superiority over specific areas, allowing their pilots to strike Russian units, logistics, and transportation networks and deny movements of reinforcements. An F-16 aircraft is pictured after the first delivery of Norway's old F-16 fighter aircraft to Romania at Rygge Air Force Base, Norway.

Persons: —, David Deptula, Christopher Bowie, nonresident, Danielle Sukhlall, Volodymyr Zelensky, Alexander De Croo, Ludivine Dedonder, Didier Lebrun, Photonews, Bowie, SAMs, That's, it's Organizations: Service, Business, US Air Force, Mitchell Institute, Center for Strategic, An Air Force, NATO Air, Lask, Base, Air Force Staff, Defence, Ukrainian Air Force, Getty, Russia's, Rygge Air Force Base, OLE BERG, NATO, Fighting Falcons Locations: Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Avdiivka, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia, Russian, Romania, Norway, AFP

☆ Le Pen promises French far-right will rein in aid to Ukraine, slams soccer star Mbappé
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Joseph Ataman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Le Pen: Mbappé not representativeLe Pen directed most of her ire closer to home. “I’m not contesting the existence of these comments,” Le Pen said, referring to the accusations levelled against her candidates. Top of the list of sensitivities is likely to be foreign policy, where Le Pen and Macron rarely see eye to eye. Many held similar suspicions ahead of the election of hard-right culture warrior Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in 2022. “It’s a form of interference, and in that sense, I find it unacceptable,” Le Pen said of the post.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron’s, Emmanuel Macron, ”, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Kylian Mbappé, Le Pen, Macron, Le, Jordan Bardella, CAESAR, Roman Pilpey, Pen, Mbappé, “, ” Mbappé, “ It’s, Kylian, Franck Fife, ” Le Pen, Bardella, CNN Le, Florent de Kersauson, Daniel Grenon, Grenon, “ I’m, “ That’s, Francois Lo Presti, Vladimir Putin, She’s, Putin, Giorgia Meloni, she’s Organizations: Paris CNN —, CNN, Macron, soccer side’s, Ukraine, National Rally, National Assembly, National, 55th Artillery Brigade, Getty, CNN Le Pen’s, BFMTV, Kyiv, ” Locations: Ukraine, Russia, France’s, Donetsk, AFP, Washington, Kyiv, France, Paris, Hamburg, Germany, Algeria, Cameroon, United States, Brittany, “, ”, Henin, Beaumont, Brussels, Crimea, 2014, Russian, Italian, There’s, Moscow

☆ Zelensky issues fresh weapons plea after 7 killed in Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia region
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-30 | by ( Alex Stambaugh | Maria Kostenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —At least 7 people, including children, were killed and at least 31 injured after Russia launched a missile strike on the town of Vilniansk in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region on Saturday, according to Ukrainian officials. “[Today] is a day of mourning in Zaporizhzhia region for those killed in the enemy attack on Vilniansk,” Ivan Fedorov, the head of Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said on Sunday. “There is unspeakable pain.”Three children were among those killed and eight children were among the injured, Fedorov said. In the Donetsk region, Russia has made advances towards Chasiv Yar as it attempts to capture the strategic hilltop town. As Zelensky repeats his appeals for more long-range weapons, these developments have again highlighted Ukraine’s reliance on ammunition and weapons from the United States and other allies.

Persons: ” Ivan Fedorov, Fedorov, Ihor Klymenko, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, Reuters “, ”, Chasiv Yar, Zelensky, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Oleksiy Goncharenko, ” Goncharenko Organizations: CNN, Russia, Ukraine’s, National Police, Reuters, Biden, Trump Locations: Vilniansk, Ukraine’s, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Donetsk, United States, Ukrainian

☆ Russia Maintains Punishing Pace of Deadly Strikes on Ukrainian Cities
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-30 | by ( Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Russian missile attack on a small town in southeastern Ukraine and the fiery inferno that followed killed at least seven civilians, including three children, the country’s authorities said as they surveyed on Sunday the deadly toll of two days of fierce Russian assaults. Yuriy Borzenko, chief doctor of Zaporizhzhia Regional Children’s Hospital, said in a phone interview that, aside from those killed, dozens of others, including a pregnant woman and five 14-year-old girls, were being treated for wounds after the attack on the southeastern town, Vilniansk, which took place on Saturday. The girls were out for a walk together in the afternoon sunshine, Dr. Borzenko said, when explosions from the projectiles tore through the center of the town, engulfing shops, cars and homes in flames. Shrapnel had embedded in the skull of one of the girls, who was left in a coma, he said, “still in between life and death.”“Her parents are in really bad shape, I just saw them,” he added. As the attacks have rained down, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has reiterated his plea to loosen restrictions on the use of long-range American missiles known as ATACMS so that Ukraine can target warplanes at Russian air bases before they take to the sky on bombing runs.

Persons: Yuriy Borzenko, Borzenko, “, ” “, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: Children’s Hospital Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Vilniansk

☆ Major Ukraine summit ends with fresh plea for peace but key powers spurn final agreement
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A two-day summit in Switzerland dedicated to forging a path forward to end the war in Ukraine concluded with key powers spurning a joint communique agreed to by more than 80 other countries and international organizations. The world cares deeply about the war provoked by Russia’s aggression,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. The sides also said that all children and civilians that were unlawfully displaced must be returned to Ukraine. And Ukraine must disarm so that is vulnerable to future Russian aggression down the road. No responsible nation could say that is a reasonable basis for peace,” Sullivan said.

Persons: spurning, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Kamala Harris, Ursula von der Leyen, Jake Sullivan, ”, Putin, ” Sullivan Organizations: CNN, United Arab, European Union, Kremlin, NATO, Russian, Luhansk –, US National Security, Ukrainian Locations: Switzerland, Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Ghana, Canada, Chile, Lucerne, Argentina, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, China, Moscow, Russian, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Harris

☆ Ukraine peace summit to kick off in Switzerland without China and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Nearly 100 countries and organizations are attending a major conference in Switzerland dedicated to setting out a path toward peace between Ukraine and Russia, but there will be no delegation from Moscow. The meeting, which is being held at a resort near Lucerne, will be attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who wants to gather support for the 10-point peace plan he first outlined late in 2022. It has said that any such meeting needs to be attended by both Russia and Ukraine. On Friday, the day before the summit was set to kick off, Russian President Vladimir Putin restated the Kremlin’s own peace plan, which Ukraine is unlikely to ever agree to. That most of the world is on the side of Ukraine, on the side of life.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Kamala Harris, Fumio Kishida, Ukraine’s , Vladimir Putin, Putin, Zelensky, ”, Zelensky “ Putin, ” Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, White, Japanese, NATO, Russian, Luhansk – Locations: Switzerland, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Lucerne, France, Germany, China, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia

As well as withdrawing from the four occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine, Putin said Ukraine must demilitarize and that Western countries must lift their sanctions on Russia, which have damaged but not crippled its economy. Nearly 28 months later, Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula it annexed a decade ago. Moscow only controls these regions partially, but claimed the whole of each region was part of Russia’s territory in 2022. He asked that his terms for ending the war would need to be cemented in international agreements. “That is why we must not trust these messages, because Putin follows the same course,” Zelensky warned.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, Louisa Gouliamaki, ” Putin’s, Zelensky, Adolf Hitler, ” Zelensky, “, Hitler, ‘, Mykhailo Podolyak, ” Podolyak Organizations: CNN, NATO, Reuters, Sky Tg24 Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Switzerland, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Italy, Europe, Czechoslovakia, Sudetenland, Swiss

☆ Russia's Putin sets out conditions for peace talks with Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during visit to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research on June 13, 2024 in Dubna, Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday set out the requirements for Moscow to start peace talks with Ukraine, more than two years after the Kremlin's full-fledged invasion of its neighbor. He said that Moscow was committed to ensuring the "unhindered and safe withdrawal" of Ukrainian forces if Kyiv agrees to such a concession. If the peace proposal is refused, Putin added, Moscow's future demands will be different. He has also insisted that Ukraine regain the peninsula of Crimea, which Russia annexed illegally prior to the current war, in February 2014.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Organizations: Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Russian Foreign Ministry, NATO —, Google, Tass, CNBC, Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Dubna, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kyiv, ., Crimea

☆ Putin Makes Cease-Fire Offer With Sweeping Demands on Ukraine’s Territory
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin said on Friday that Russia would be ready to order a cease-fire in Ukraine and enter negotiations with its government if Kyiv withdrew troops from the four regions that Moscow has claimed as its own and dropped its aspirations to join NATO. Ukraine’s foreign ministry quickly denounced Mr. Putin’s statement, saying that his goal was “to mislead the international community, undermine diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a just peace and split the unity of the world over the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter.”Mr. Putin’s new announcement stipulates that Ukraine effectively surrender huge swaths of its land to Moscow, including the capitals of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. They represent Mr. Putin’s most concrete set of territorial conditions to stop the war to date. Until now, Mr. Putin has said that any negotiations should take into account “the realities of today,” a stance that some analysts interpreted as offering a cease-fire at the current battle lines.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Putin’s Organizations: NATO, United Nations Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia

☆ Russia accused of using hunger as a weapon of war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Sophie Tanno | Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov, was encircled and captured by Russian forces at the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This included the establishment of ad hoc distribution points for food, water and other basic necessities. They were attacking food distribution points.”There were numerous opportunities for Russian forces to alleviate civilian suffering, he said, but they failed to do so. Ukrainian authorities and some international officials have previously accused Russia of robbing the country of grain and other commodities in areas it occupied. Accusations that Russia is using food as a weapon of war have been mounting ever since the first reports emerged in the spring of 2022 of grain being stolen by Russian troops.

Persons: “, Nikolai Osychenko, ”, Osychenko, Mariupol, Alexei Alexandrov, ’, Yousuf Syed Khan, Cross, ” Khan, Pavel Klimov, Khan, Vladimir Putin Organizations: CNN, Mobile, Team, Global, International Criminal Court, ICC, EU Commission, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Mariupol City, Global Rights, International Committee, United Nations, Reuters, Russian Locations: Russia, Mariupol, Ukrainian, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States, Azov, Russian, Ukraine, Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, Mariupol City, “, Moscow, Syria, Aleppo City

☆ US-made Abrams tanks are fighting a dangerous new kind of war, but Ukrainians are building unusual armor to help them survive it
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

However, one Ukrainian company is building steel screens that can offer the tanks an extra layer of protection. For more than a year and a half, the company has been making protective steel screens for Kyiv's aging T-64 and T-72 tanks. Related VideoJust a few weeks ago, this operation expanded to the Abrams tanks, US-made armor designed and developed during the Cold War to fight the Soviet tank threat. An M1 Abrams tank with protective screens in May. The jury is still out for the Abrams tanks, as they were only recently given the added protection.

Persons: —, Abrams, Oleksandr Myronenko, Christian Carrillo, Metinvest, Myronenko, it's Organizations: Service, Abrams, Business, Metinvest, M1A1, US, Spc, Soviet, Bradley Fighting Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia, Germany, Russia, Soviet

What Ukraine Has Lost A drone photograph shows numerous severely damaged buildings with labels highlighting residential buildings, a football field and a high school. This is the first comprehensive picture of where the Ukraine war has been fought and the totality of the destruction. More buildings have been destroyed in Ukraine than if every building in Manhattan were to be leveled four times over. In mid-May, the Russians bombed some towns in northeastern Ukraine so ferociously that one resident said they were erasing streets. “No matter how unpatriotic it may sound, there’s not much future for her in Ukraine,” Ms. Hrushkovska said.

Persons: it’s, Corey Scher, Den, Finbarr, Jamon, Diego Ibarra Sánchez, Marinka, ”, Iryna Hrushkovksa, “, Hrushkovska’s, Hanna Horban, ” Ms, Hrushkovska, ” Marinka, Celestino Arce, Tyler Hicks, Laura Boushnak, Finbarr O’Reilly, Horban, Horban’s, Vova, Svitlana Moskalevska, Olha Herus, “ Fish, Jan, Serhii Nuzhnenko, Gleb Garanich, Leonid Ragozin, Varvara, Herus’s, Tetiana, Ms, Herus, Reni, Izmail, Vavara, Varvara Hrushkovska, Hanna Kovalenko, “ It's, ” Artem Hoch, Danylo Organizations: New York Times, City University of New York Graduate Center, Den Hoek of Oregon State University, The New York Times, Copernicus Sentinel, Maxar Technologies, Google, Russia’s Defense Ministry, Ukraine ., Museum of Local, People’s Museum, Getty, Ukrainian Army, Reuters, SHEVCHENKA, SHCHORSA, New York, Kyiv Kharkiv, Ukrainian, Chernihiv Kyiv Kharkiv UKRAINE Dnipro, Kherson Mariupol, Kyiv Kharkiv UKRAINE Mariupol, Microsoft Bing, Institute for, American, The New York Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Marinka, Kyiv, Mariupol, Rubizhne, Kherson, Kharkiv, Manhattan, Dresden, London, Gaza, Den Hoek of, Geneva, Donetsk, Izium, Den Hoek, Crimea, Russian, Donetsk City, Vilkhivka, Huliaipole, “, Ukrainian, Berlin, Pavlograd, Soviet Union, NurPhoto, Kolos, Marinka — Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, іі, Marinka’s, Irpin, Ukraine’s, Bakhmut, Ukrainians, Zaporizhzhia, Orikhiv, Dnipro, Nova, Oleshky, Donbas, Chernihiv Kyiv Kharkiv UKRAINE, CRIMEA, Kyiv Kharkiv UKRAINE

☆ Ukraine’s largest hydroelectric dam in critical condition after Russian strikes, authorities say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukraine’s largest hydroelectric dam, the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), is in “critical condition” after it was hit in a Russian strike on Ukraine’s key energy facilities, authorities say. The head of the Zaporizhzhia region military administration, Ivan Fedorov, told Ukrainian television that the power plant can no longer produce electricity. Russia has continued its tactic of striking key energy facilities this week, with the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy warning Sunday of a “significant power shortage” as a knock-on effect of the strikes. Last year, the Nova Kakhovka dam, a major dam and hydro-electric power plant in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine collapsed. Russia denied any involvement in the disaster and in turn accused Ukraine of destroying the dam, without providing evidence.

Persons: CNN —, Ivan Fedorov, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, Joe Biden, “ Organizations: CNN, Dnipro Hydroelectric Power, Ukrainian Ministry of Energy, ” Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy, Frankivsk Locations: Dnipro, Russia, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kirovohrad, Ivano, Kyiv, Russian, Kharkiv, Singapore, Asia, Pacific, Nova, Moscow

☆ Russia Bombards Ukraine with Missiles, Ukraine Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Constant Méheut | More About Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Russian drones and missiles streaked into Ukrainian skies early Saturday morning, Ukrainian officials said, in a large-scale air assault that appeared to be targeting western Ukraine, including regions near borders with NATO allies. The Ukrainian Air Force said some missiles were heading toward the western Zakarpattia and Lviv regions, which border Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Shortly after midnight on Saturday, the Ukrainian Air Force reported launches of attack drones followed by waves of missiles. Debris from a downed Russian drone started a fire at an infrastructure facility in the western region of Vinnytsia, and several explosions were heard in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, local officials said. No casualties were immediately reported.

Organizations: NATO, Ukrainian Air Force, Atlantic Treaty Organization, Polish Army Locations: Ukraine, Zakarpattia, Lviv, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Russian, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia

☆ Russia opens a new front: A visual guide to the Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Lou Robinson | Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

It serves as an example of how Russia has been exploiting Ukraine’s main vulnerabilities: insufficient manpower, artillery shortages, sparse air defenses and inadequate defensive fortifications. In the north, Moscow’s troops are aiming to bring its troops within tube artillery range of Kharkiv city. The nearby Russian city of Belgorod, for instance, has increasingly come under Ukrainian attack in recent months. Since then, Russian troops have made steady progress westwards in the direction of Pokrovsk, which serves as a vital military hub in Ukraine’s war effort. It was first captured by Russian forces in early March 2022 and Moscow again claimed control over it earlier this month, something denied by Ukraine.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, ’, ”, Chasiv Yar, Ukraine’s Organizations: CNN, Russian, Ukraine Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Vovchansk, Ukraine’s, Russian, Belgorod, Avdiivka, Pokrovsk, Bakhmut, Chasiv, Kramatorsk, Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian, Moscow

☆ Russia opens a new front: Mapping three key battles in the Ukrainian war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Lou Robinson | Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In the north, Moscow’s troops are aiming to bring its troops within tube artillery range of Kharkiv city. The nearby Russian city of Belgorod, for instance, has increasingly come under Ukrainian attack in recent months. Since then, Russian troops have made steady progress westwards in the direction of Pokrovsk, which serves as a vital military hub in Ukraine’s war effort. Both Russian military bloggers and Ukraine’s DeepStateMap report small Russian advances into a pocket of recaptured Ukrainian territory. It was first captured by Russian forces in early March 2022 and Moscow again claimed control over it earlier this month, something denied by Ukraine.

☆ Survivors say Russia is waging a war of sexual violence in occupied areas of Ukraine. Men are often the victims
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic and disturbing descriptions of sexual violence. Everywhere that Russian troops were located, we’re seeing cases of sexual violence and gender-based violence. But the real scale of sexual violence committed during the war may never come to light. Ukrainian officials say that it is difficult, but not impossible, to track down individual perpetrators of sexual violence crimes. Some survivors of sexual violence committed by the Bosnian Serb army during the Bosnian war in the early 1990s are only now coming forward.

Persons: Roman Shapovalenko, ”, —, Shapovalenko, ’, “, –, Chris McGrath, Anna Sosonska, Sosonska, ‘, ’ Roman Chernenko, Chernenko, …, ” Sosonska, Anna Mykytenko, ” Mykytenko, Mykytenko, Ukraine –, Vladimir Putin, Aleksey Smagin, Aleksandr Naumenko, Naumenko, – Oleksandr Chilengirov, Dmitry Laikov, Oleksii, ” Andrii, Andrii, Anna Voitenko, Putin, Russia’s, Maria Lvova, Oleksii Sivak, Sivak, ’ ”, ‘ we’re, ” Sivak Organizations: Kyiv CNN —, Russia’s Federal Security Service, Russian, CNN, Getty, United Nations Security, Ukraine’s, GRU, Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Interior Ministry, National Guard, Kyodo, Criminal Court, ICC, UN, Global Rights, European Union, Ministry of Defense, Luhansk People’s Republics, Rosgvardia, Ukrainian, FSB’s Department, Defense, Constitutional, Terrorism, International Court of Justice, Kremlin Locations: Kyiv, Ukrainian, Kherson, Russia, Ukraine, Snihurivka, Moscow, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Crimea, Olenivka, Mariupol, Russian, Geneva, Rome, United States, United Kingdom, Luhansk, Russia’s Rostov, Nova Kakhovka, ‘, Bosnian

☆ Advancing Russian Troops Threaten to Reverse Some of Ukraine’s Hard-Won Gains
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Russian troops in recent weeks have been taking ground from Ukraine all across the front line. And in a surprise offensive, Moscow has made its biggest territorial gains since late 2022. Analysts say Russia is likely to increase its gains in coming months while Ukraine waits for American military aid to reach the battlefield. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed last week that its troops had seized Robotyne, a tiny village in the Zaporizhzhia region in southeastern Ukraine. The village had been retaken by Ukrainian soldiers in August, a much-celebrated, if rare, success in Kyiv’s disappointing summer counteroffensive.

Persons: Here’s, Robotyne Organizations: Russia’s Defense Ministry Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia

☆ Paris 2024: What is an Individual Neutral Athlete at the Olympic Games?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Samuel Joseph | Sam Joseph | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Russian athletes have competed under several different guises throughout the 128-year history of the Olympics, and they will be known by another new name at Paris 2024. Antonin Thuillier/AFP/Getty ImagesHere’s everything you need to know about the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the 2024 Olympics. “The sanctions against those responsible for the war, the Russian and Belarusian states and governments, remain in place for the Olympic Games Paris 2024,” the IOC said in a statement. “No flag, anthem, colors or any other identifications whatsoever of Russia or Belarus will be displayed at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in any official venue or any official function,” the statement continues. Like all other athletes, AINs will need to meet anti-doping requirements to be considered for selection.

Persons: Ukraine –, Igor Kobzar, Antonin Thuillier, –, AINs, Star Pau Gasol, Nicole Hoevertsz, Ryu Seung, Robert Michael, Russia –, Mariya Lasitskene, ”, Daniil Medvedev, “, it’s, Russia ” Organizations: CNN, Olympics, Belarus –, International Olympic Committee, IOC, ATP, WTA, Russian Olympic, Getty, Games, Olympic Games, Star, Athletes ’ Commission, International, Russian Olympic Committee, Paris, Tokyo, Kyodo, ROC, “ Unified, ”, Soviet Union, Unified Locations: Ukraine, Belarus, Belarusian, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Paris, France, Russia, AFP, Russian, AIN, Tokyo, Beijing, China, –, Moscow, Pyeongchang, South Korea, Barcelona, Soviet, Baltic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia

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

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

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

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Putin heaps praise on Xi while in China; Russia says forces advancing 'in all directions' in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Russia's national flag flies beside the Chinese flag in front of Tiananmen Gate next to Tiananmen Square, during the state visit of Russia's president Vladimir Putin in Beijing on May 16, 2024. Leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin framed their nations' ties as a stabilizing force in a chaotic world as they met May 16 in Beijing, where the Russian president is seeking greater Chinese support for his war effort in Ukraine and isolated economy. Russian President Vladimir Putin heaped praise on his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the start of a two-day state visit to China. He said both countries were working for a "multipolar world" and that many of their approaches to global or regional problems were similar. Putin thanked China for its efforts in trying to solve the Ukraine "crisis" and said he would brief Xi on the battlefield situation, with Russia claiming that its forces are advancing in all directions in Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Putin Organizations: Russia's Defense Locations: Beijing, Ukraine, Russian, China, Russia, Ukraine's Kharkiv, Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia

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

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

☆ To Talk With Putin or Iran, the West Turns to the World’s Nuclear Inspector
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( David E. Sanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Rafael Grossi slipped into Moscow a few weeks ago to meet quietly with the man most Westerners never engage with these days: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Grossi is the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, and his purpose was to warn Mr. Putin about the dangers of moving too fast to restart the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russian troops since soon after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But as the two men talked, the conversation veered off into Mr. Putin’s declarations that he was open to a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine — but only if President Volodymyr Zelensky was prepared to give up nearly 20 percent of his country. A few weeks later, Mr. Grossi, an Argentine with a taste for Italian suits, was in Tehran, this time talking to the country’s foreign minister and the head of its civilian nuclear program. At a moment when senior Iranian officials are hinting that new confrontations with Israel may lead them to build a bomb, the Iranians signaled that they, too, were open to a negotiation — suspecting, just as Mr. Putin did, that Mr. Grossi would soon be reporting details of his conversation to the White House.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Vladimir V, Putin, Grossi, Mr, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, United Nations Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Argentine, Tehran, Israel

☆ Ukraine's air-defense problems are letting Russia launch HIMARS-style deep strikes behind the front lines
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Ella Sherman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewUkraine's struggling air-defenses have opened doors for the Russians to launch their own strikes similar to Ukraine's HIMARS attacks. AdvertisementWith better targeting, Russia is executing strikes behind the lines with Iskander tactical ballistic missiles and rocket launchers like the Tornado-S system. "There have been other notable strikes of a kind that Russia has long aspired to but rarely successfully executed." Russia was originally unable to defeat or conduct the same kind of strikes as Ukraine's HIMARS due to a lack of precision, targeting capabilities, and timely intel. "The outlook in Ukraine is bleak," Watling wrote.

Persons: —, Jack Watling, Serhii Mykhalchuk, Watling Organizations: Service, Business, Royal United Services Institute, Russian, Artillery Rocket Systems, Getty, intel Locations: Russia, London, Ukraine, Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donbas

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