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☆ America’s military has the edge in space. China and Russia are in a counterspace race to disrupt it
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

Direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles are fired from Earth to take out a satellite target in space. Since then, China is believed by analysts to have conducted multiple, nondestructive missile tests that could advance its ability to target satellites. Illustration by CNNThat’s because the US has done extensive non-offensive testing of technologies to approach and rendezvous with satellites, including close approaches of its own military satellites and several Russian and Chinese military satellites, SWF says. Chance Saltzman explained why the US felt it needed to be able to counter other countries’ space capabilities. Its tenets may be more relevant now than ever – but potentially under greater threat amid a new focus on military and space.

Persons: –, Russia’s, ”, Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Zang Jihui, Chance Saltzman, ” Saltzman, Juliana Suess, Kamala Harris, Etienne Laurent, SpaceX’s, Tong Zhao, ” Zhao, doesn’t, RUSI’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Russian, CNN, Getty, Sputnik, Center for Security, Strategy, Technology, Observer Research, Foundation, China, US Space Force, Liberation Army, PLA, Space Force, Washington, CNN That’s, Space, China’s PLA, US Space Command, Vandenberg Space Force, Bloomberg, Union of Concerned, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Modern Defense Technology ”, United Nations Security, US Locations: Hong Kong, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Europe, United States, China, Moscow, North Korea, Iran, Beijing, AFP, Soviet, Soviet Union, America, New Delhi, India, CNN China, Washington, Japan, Guam, France, Australia, Israel, Gaza, London, California, Honolulu, Hawaii, powerlines

☆ ‘How do I live?’ A 10-year-old Ukrainian orphan recalls the brutal destruction of his family
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | Mick Krever | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“Mom was saying, ‘Kolya, Kolya.’ I shouted, ‘Mom, I’m alive.’”He said he frantically scraped the dust from his face and eyes. And I was shouting, ‘Mother, mother, it’s just a dream, a horrible dream.’” Mykola had a similar nightmare days earlier, and felt it might be recurring. Hours earlier, the family had a barbecue, and Mykola senior drank one beer too many and talked passionately about enlisting. In the pitch black, his son clambered outside, the front of their comfortable family home beyond recognition, its gates torn clean away. Video Ad Feedback CNN witnesses Ukrainian soldiers being treated after blast hits dugout 02:04 - Source: CNNThey were quickly tended to.

Persons: Eastern Ukraine CNN — Mykola, Larisa, Mykola Glushko, “, ”, ‘, ’, it’s, ’ ” Mykola, Mykola, clambered, Mick Krever, CNN Mykola, gurney, Ivan Organizations: Eastern, Eastern Ukraine CNN, CNN, Russian, quicken, 93rd Locations: Eastern Ukraine, Pokrovsk, Ukraine, Workers, Moscow, Kharkiv, –, Bakhmut, Russia

☆ Opinion: Alito’s second red flag
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-26 | by ( Kirsi Goldynia | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

This is not the first time Alito has found himself in hot water over displaying a controversial flag on his property. The upside-down flag, a signal of distress, was adopted by Trump supporters who believed the false claim that the election had been stolen. (Alito said his wife had raised the upside-down flag in response to a disagreement with a neighbor. The discovery also comes at a time when the Supreme Court will be making a decision about Trump’s claims of sweeping presidential immunity, his get-out-of-jail-free card for the federal cases he faces. “The notion that the Supreme Court can be trusted to be an arbiter above partisan politics has suffered major blows in recent years.

Persons: ”, Scott Peck, Samuel Alito, “, Alito, Joe Biden’s, Trump, Julian Zelizer, Walt Handelsman, Michael J, Broyde, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Donald Trump, ‘, ’, ” Nikki Haley’s, Nikki Haley’s, Nikki Haley, Haley, Nancy Pelosi, She’s, Joe Biden ‘, I’ve, ” Clay Jones, Drew Sheneman, Judge Juan Merchan, Robert Costello, Michael Cohen, Norm Eisen, Costello, ’ Merchan, cautioning, …, Eisen, Sunak, Rishi Sunak, Henry Nicholls, Holly Thomas, Sunak —, Thomas, Joel Pett, Adolf Hitler, Ruth Ben, Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Said Ben, Anna Sauerbrey, Sauerbrey, Biden, America —, Richard Curtis ’, Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, Laura Beers, it’s, —, Ebrahim Raisi, Frida Ghitis, Ali Khamenei, Peter Kuper, Cagle, “ I’m, What’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al, Masri, Ismail Haniyeh, Peter Bergen, ” Netanyahu, Israel’s, Netanyahu, Kerri Kennedy, Biden “, Israel, ” Don’t, Agency Carrie Sheffield, Noah Berlatsky, Singleton, Biden’s Morehouse, Jill Filipovic, Diddy, Cassie Ventura, Catherine Tan, Shanahan, Brian Castrucci, Frank Luntz, Mark Zandi, Trump Will Cathcart, Joyce M, Davis, Bill Maher, Jimmy Kimmel, Randy Holmes, Bill, ” Nicole Hemmer, Said Will, Maher, Hemmer, ” “ Maher, It’s Organizations: CNN, New York Times, Agency, Trump, South Carolina Gov, Republican, NHS, Labour, Tory, Social, Italiana, European Union, ”, Islamic, Education, Workforce, Harvard, University of California, Columbia University, Columbia, Criminal Court, ICC, Israeli, International Court of Justice, United Nations Security, American Friends Service Committee, RFK, Disney, Entertainment, Democrats Locations: Alito’s Virginia, New Zealand, AFP, ”, England, Trump’s America, America, Italian, Germany, Poland, France, Berlin, Hill, American, British, London, Notting Hill, Iran, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic, University of California Los Angeles, Gaza, United Kingdom, Rafah, Georgia’s, Moscow, Africa

☆ Russia Plans New Offensive in Ukraine’s Northeast, Zelensky Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-26 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Sunday that Moscow’s forces were massing for a new ground offensive on the northeast of his country, a day after a Russian missile strike on a hardware superstore in the city of Kharkiv killed at least 16 people and wounded dozens more, according to Ukrainian officials. “Russia is the only source of aggression and constantly tries to expand the war,” Mr. Zelensky said in a speech delivered in English inside the ruins of a publishing house in Kharkiv that was destroyed last week in a Russian strike. “Russia is preparing for offensive actions,” around 60 miles northwest of Kharkiv, he said, adding that Moscow was gathering “another group of troops near our border.” Mr. Zelensky gave no further details about the potential attack. Moscow surprised Ukraine on May 10 when its troops poured across the northeastern border, punching through Ukrainian defenses and seizing villages close to the frontier. That forced the government in Kyiv to rush in reinforcements in a bid to halt the Russian advance.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr, Zelensky Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Kharkiv, Russia, Moscow, Kyiv

☆ Optimistic About the War in Ukraine, Putin Unleashes a Purge at Home
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-26 | by ( Paul Sonne | Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Periodic outcries over incompetence and corruption at the top of the Russian military have dogged President Vladimir V. Putin’s war effort since the start of his invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. When his forces faltered around the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the need for change was laid bare. When they were routed months later outside the city of Kharkiv, expectations of a shake-up grew. And after the mercenary leader Yevgeny V. Prigozhin marched his men toward Moscow, complaining of deep rot and ineptitude at the top of the Russian force, Mr. Putin seemed obliged to respond. Now, with the battlefield crises seemingly behind him and Mr. Prigozhin dead, the Russian leader has decided to act, changing defense ministers for the first time in more than a decade and allowing a number of corruption arrests among top ministry officials.

Persons: Vladimir V, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Putin Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Moscow, Russian

☆ Russia-Ukraine war: Putin signals he’s open to peace talks, but Ukraine is right to be wary
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Eastern Ukraine CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signaling this week that he is open to peace talks should be viewed with vast, overshadowing caveats, and the weight of Ukraine’s - and the West’s - past experience of Russian diplomacy. Putin questioned the legitimacy of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who Moscow has repeatedly assailed, after Kyiv had to delay elections because of the very war Putin started. Zelensky has said he hopes China - Russia’s most potent ally but only partial supporter in the Ukraine war - will attend. Putin may be talking peace now to suggest to Beijing to not be involved in diplomacy about Russia without Russia present. Valentyn Ogirenko/ReutersUkraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Friday that Putin’s hints at peace talks were directly aimed at sabotaging the summit.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Moscow’s, Alexander Lukashenko, Volodymyr Zelensky, Viktor Yanukovich, Russian Yanukovich, Lukashenko, Tatyana Makeyeva, –, Zelensky, Valentyn Ogirenko, Dmytro Kuleba, “ Putin, Ukraine ”, MAGA, Dmitri Peskov, Donald Trump, ferociously Organizations: Eastern, Eastern Ukraine CNN —, Reuters, Belarus ’, Kremlin, Kyiv, European Union, NATO, Kharkiv, Reuters Ukraine’s Foreign, Ukraine, American, MAGA Republicans, Congress Locations: Eastern Ukraine, Moscow, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Russia, Istanbul, Kyiv, Donetsk, Belarus, Russian, Syria, Debaltseve, Switzerland, China, Beijing, Valentyn, West, Europe, United States, France, Baltic

☆ Ukraine Steps Up Attacks With U.S. Long-Range Missiles
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Ukrainian army has increasingly used U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to target Russian airfields and warships deep inside Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, but it has been barred by Washington from extending its attacks into Russia proper, limiting its ability to repel enemy assaults. In the past week, Kyiv’s forces launched three attacks using Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS. Ukraine hopes that the strikes, by hurting Moscow’s ability to conduct military operations, will ultimately help relieve troops struggling to contain Russian advances on the ground. But the United States and other Western allies have permitted only the firing of Western weapons into Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine, not into Russia itself, for fear of escalating the war. Ukrainian officials have complained that the policy allows Moscow to launch attacks from inside Russia without risk and handcuffs Ukraine’s ability to repel them.

Persons: ”, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: Army Tactical Missile Systems, The New York Times Locations: U.S, Washington, Russia, Ukraine’s, Ukraine, United States, Moscow

☆ 2 Yale researchers are pulling back the curtain on Russia's sanctions-stricken economy — and it's landed them on a list of Putin's enemies
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewJeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian, two researchers at the Yale School of Management, have been targeted for their views on Russia's economy since the war in Ukraine began. Soaring prices and ailing consumer sentiment have hit key sectors in Russia's economy, and Moscow is paying a huge cost to keep its war machine running. Steven Tian Courtesy of Steven TianAt that time, Tian and Sonnenfeld began noticing cracks forming in Russia's economy. "Putin has no grand strategy other than to hope Trump wins and cuts a favorable deal with Russia," Tian said. Positive forecasts on Russia's economy are based on a lack of visibility, Sonnenfeld and Tian say.

Persons: —, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Steven Tian, they've, Vladimir Putin's, Tian, Putin, he'd, Sonnenfeld, I've, Biden, Steven Organizations: Service, Yale School of Management, Business, Yale, IMF, Trump Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Russia

☆ European banks in Russia face 'awful lot of risk', Yellen says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Kent Nishimura | Getty ImagesU.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters that European banks face growing risks operating in Russia and the U.S. is looking at strengthening its secondary sanctions on banks found to be aiding transactions for Russia's war effort. "We are looking at potentially a tougher stepping-up of our sanctions on banks that do business in Russia," Yellen told Reuters in an interview, declining to provide specifics and not identifying any banks at which they could be aimed. Speaking on the sidelines of a G7 finance leaders meeting in northern Italy, Yellen said that sanctions related to banks' dealings in Russia would only be imposed "if there was a reason to do so, but operating in Russia creates an awful lot of risk," she added. European Central Bank policymaker Fabio Panetta had clear instructions for Italian banks on Saturday telling reporters that lenders must "get out" of Russia because staying in the country brings a "reputational problem." Raiffeisen is the largest European lender doing business in Russia, followed by UniCredit.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Kent Nishimura, Yellen, Central Bank policymaker Fabio Panetta, Joe Biden's Organizations: Treasury Department, Getty, Treasury, Reuters, Bank International, Central Bank, UniCredit, United Arab Locations: Washington , DC, Russia, U.S, Italy, Ukraine, China, United Arab Emirates, Turkey

☆ She kissed a woman on the Trans-Siberian Railway 32 years ago. Then she flew across the world to find her
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

The bus was ferrying travelers to the train station to board the Trans-Siberian railway. Like Marie-Claire, Elaine had been working in Japan for a while, teaching English. Flirting in MongoliaMarie-Claire and Elaine were strangers who happened to be both traveling via the Trans-Siberian railway. She also shared the news with her extended network of New York friends. Elaine, Marie-Claire and their son Marcello have a family motto, based around their shared initials, EMC.

Persons: CNN — Marie, Claire Martineau couldn’t, Elaine Comerford, Marie, Claire, Elaine, ’, Elaine broached, they’d, “, Claire couldn’t, ” Marie, they'd, Claire Martineau Marie, who’d, ”, she’d, That’s, ” Elaine, “ Marie, Wolfgang Kaehler, we’d, Steve, ” Here's Marie, Claire Martineau, you’ve, Elaine didn’t, weren’t, Diane, “ Diane, ‘ Let’s, She’d, Claire’s, –, Marie Claire, Marcello, Here's Marie, “ We’ve, We’ve, we’ve, Anna Maria, Cliare, it’s Organizations: CNN, CNN Travel, Queens, Maison Internationale, EMC Locations: France, Japan, Europe, Eastern Europe, Budapest, Vienna, Boston , Massachusetts, Boston, New York City, Marie, New York, Beijing, China, Moscow, Mongolia, Russia, Asia, Mongolia Marie, Siberia, Germany, Turkey, Greece, Hungary, ”, Austria, Manhattan, Queens, Midtown, –, Provincetown , Massachusetts, Thailand, Vietnam, Colombia, Ecuador, United States, Anna Maria Island , Florida, Florida

☆ Russia's pulling combat forces from another continent to fuel its latest offensive push in Ukraine, Western intel says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewRussia has moved some combat forces from Africa to help support its latest offensive efforts in northeastern Ukraine, according to a new Western intelligence assessment. The Russian defense ministry created the Africa Corps last year as a way to expand its footprint on the continent and also in the Middle East. Photo by Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty ImagesRussia's defense ministry "almost certainly redeployed detachments from the Africa Corps to the Ukrainian border during April 2024 in preparation for this offensive," the defense ministry said. Other Africa Corps detachments are believed to have deployed to Syria, Libya, Burkina Faso, and Niger, the UK said. French Army via APThe recent deployment of certain Africa Corps units to the Kharkiv region appears to underscore Russia's commitment to its new offensive.

Persons: —, Wagner, Kostiantyn Liberov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Africa Corps, Business, Nazi, French Army, AP, Libkos, Staff of, Armed Forces, Facebook Locations: Russia, Africa, Ukraine, Moscow, Vovchansk, Ukraine's Kharkiv, Kharkiv, Ukrainian, Syria, Libya, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali

☆ The West is tapping Russian money to arm Ukraine. Much more could follow
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —Money generated by Russian financial assets frozen in Europe will soon start flowing to Ukraine, giving Kyiv a boost as it struggles to counter an advance by Moscow’s troops. The plan “would essentially bring forward that flow of interest proceeds from the assets… (through a loan) given to Ukraine,” Yellen told broadcaster Sky News in an interview this week. “Ukraine has substantial needs, and being able to marshal significant resources to help Ukraine is important,” she said. Most of the frozen Russian money is held in Europe, and the euro is the world’s second-most important currency after the US dollar. This would give Kyiv access to a much larger amount of money than using future or current windfall profits from Russian assets.

Persons: Janet Yellen, ” Yellen, Gabriel Bouys, Joe Biden, ” Lee Buccheit, Trade Valdis Dombrovskis, Yellen, there’s, —, Buchheit, Putin, ” Organizations: London CNN, Union, Sky News, “, US, Getty, University of Edinburgh Law School, CNN, EU, Trade, Reuters, Russia, Ukraine, World Bank Locations: Europe, Ukraine, West, Italy, Russia, Ukraine’s, Kharkiv, Frankfurt, Germany, “ Ukraine, Stresa, AFP, EU, Belgium, Kyiv

☆ 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

☆ Russian strikes key Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, killing at least 7, as ground troops advance
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Olga Voitovych | Sharon Braithwaite | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A wave of Russian strikes Thursday pummeled several locations in Kharkiv, including a printing house, killing seven people, as the Kremlin’s forces move closer in on the region. Russian forces have taken advantage of a weakened front line in Ukraine, and for the past two weeks have advanced towards Kharkiv, which was liberated from Russian control earlier in the war. The Ukrainian state railway network was attacked in the early morning, according to a statement from the company. Earlier this month, the US approved a $400 million package of air defense munitions and other weapons to Ukraine. But senior officials in Kyiv have warned that recent flush of aid will not be enough to fend off further Russian advances.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Moscow’s, ” Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Kharkiv Locations: Kharkiv, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Lyubotyn, Kyiv

☆ Putin has 'both eyes' on a strategic island belonging to new NATO member Sweden, army commander says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewRussian President Vladimir Putin is targeting a strategic Swedish island that offers mastery over the Baltic Sea, the commander-in-chief of Sweden's army warned this week. Putin's goal is to gain control of the Baltic Sea," Micael Bydén told German news outlets, according to Politico's translation of his remarks. Sweden joined NATO in early March, and the alliance is now the dominant force in the Baltic Sea, thanks in large part to its control of Gotland. Advertisement"If Russia takes control and seals off the Baltic Sea, it would have an enormous impact on our lives — in Sweden and all other countries bordering the Baltic Sea," Bydén said. Swedish military officials watch a Swedish C-130H take off from a non-traditional runway on Gotland Island on October 23, 2021.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Micael Bydén, Bydén, Patrik Orcutt, Ulf Kristersson Organizations: Service, Business, NATO, Nordic, Russia's Ministry of Defence, Moscow Times, US Army, Politico, Sweden's, Financial Times, Gotland Regiment, US Locations: Swedish, Baltic, Gotland, Putin's, Sweden, Russian, Kaliningrad, It's, Rhode, Russia, Bydén, Moscow, Lithuania, Finland, Latvia, Ukraine

☆ Russian media cited fake rumors of a Mossad agent named 'Eli Copter' being involved in the helicopter crash that killed Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewAn online joke about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi being killed in a helicopter crash by a Mossad agent named "Eli Copter" has fooled several media outlets — including Russian state TV host Vladimir Solovyov. Raisi, 63, died on Sunday in a helicopter crash alongside several senior officials in northwest Iran, with state media saying the vehicle struck a mountainside. An Israeli official said Tel Aviv was not involved in the crash, which Solovyov challenged. AF - The IDF Mourns The Loss Of Their Undercover Agent, Eli Copter pic.twitter.com/G0tok0TFyV — Associated Fress (@AssociatedFress) May 19, 2024Several people reporting about Raisi's death seemed to have missed the joke. Haik later quoted the Hamas message on i24, saying that the involvement of "Eli Copter" was a rumor that couldn't yet be confirmed.

Persons: —, Ebrahim Raisi, Eli Copter, Vladimir Solovyov, Solovyov, Daniel Haik, Eli Copter pic.twitter.com, Haik Organizations: Service, Business, Tel, Russia Media Monitor, IDF, Hamas, Telegram, i24 France, Kremlin, West, Washington, Observatory, MIT Media Lab, Center for Locations: Iran, Israel, Tel Aviv, Russia, Tehran, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ Russia Detains Another Defense Official, in New Sign of Putin Shake-Up
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Anton Troianovski | More About Anton Troianovski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Russia has jailed a top defense official, the fourth in a month, state media reported on Thursday, expanding President Vladimir V. Putin’s biggest shake-up of his military leadership since the invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. A Moscow military court ordered Lt. Gen. Vadim Shamarin jailed for two months on Wednesday on suspicion of “large-scale” bribery, state news agencies said. General Shamarin was a deputy head of the Russian military’s main commanding body, the general staff, and oversaw its communications directorate. Image A photograph of General Shamarin, released by the Russian Defense Ministry. Credit... Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, via Associated PressThe detention of General Shamarin is the latest in a series of high-profile arrests that have coincided with Mr. Putin’s appointment of a new defense minister, Andrei R. Belousov, earlier this month.

Persons: Vladimir V, Vadim Shamarin, General Shamarin, Shamarin, Putin’s, Andrei R Organizations: Russian Defense Ministry . Credit, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Associated, Mr Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian

☆ Inside the White House, a Debate Over Letting Ukraine Shoot U.S. Weapons Into Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( David E. Sanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since the first American shipments of sophisticated weapons to Ukraine, President Biden has never wavered on one prohibition: President Volodymyr Zelensky had to agree to never fire them into Russian territory, insisting that would violate Mr. Biden’s mandate to “avoid World War III.”But the consensus around that policy is fraying. Propelled by the State Department, there is now a vigorous debate inside the administration over relaxing the ban to allow the Ukrainians to hit missile and artillery launch sites just over the border in Russia — targets that Mr. Zelensky says have enabled Moscow’s recent territorial gains. The proposal, pressed by Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken after a sobering visit to Kyiv last week, is still in the formative stages, and it is not clear how many of his colleagues among Mr. Biden’s inner circle have signed on. It has not yet been formally presented to the president, who has traditionally been the most cautious, officials said. The State Department spokesman, Matthew A. Miller, declined to comment on the internal deliberations over Ukraine policy, including Mr. Blinken’s report after his return from Kyiv.

Persons: Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Antony J, Matthew A, Miller, Blinken’s Organizations: State Department, The State Department Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia launches tactical nuclear weapons drills, warning the West against direct involvement in the war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Russia's latest non-strategic nuclear weapons drills are being watched closely by Ukraine and the West, coming at a time when Moscow is warning Kyiv's Western allies against any direct involvement in the war in Ukraine. Russian soldiers patrol a street on April 11, 2022, in Volnovakha in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine. Announcing the exercises earlier in May, Russia's Ministry of Defense directly linked the exercises to "provocative statements and threats of individual Western officials against the Russian Federation." Earlier this week, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on allies to get more directly involved in the war, such as by helping to intercept Russian missiles. The Kremlin accused Zelenskyy of "hysterics" and said Kyiv's request was due to "unfavorable conditions" for Ukraine on the battlefield.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy Organizations: Russia's Ministry of Defense, Russian Federation, Kremlin Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Volnovakha, Donetsk People's Republic, Russian

☆ Russia's fearsome S-400 air-defense system isn't quite living up to the hype in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Russian S-400 surface-to-missile systems in the Victory Day parade in Moscow's Red Square on i in May 2023. Ukraine in September said it destroyed two Russian S-400 batteries in Crimea, a region annexed by Russia in 2014. Rajan Menon, the director of the Grand Strategy program at the US think tank Defense Priorities, described the S-400 as Russia's "top-of-the-line air defense system." A rocket launches from a S-400 missile system at the Ashuluk military base in Southern Russia in September 2020. A Patriot air defense system test-fired during a training in Chania, Greece, on November 8, 2017.

Persons: —, Fredrik Mertens, John Hoehn, it's, Hoehn, AP Mertens, Mertens, Ian Williams, Mattias Eken, Rajan Menon, Vitaly Nevar, Mick Ryan, you've, DIMITAR DILKOFF, Ryan, haven't, hasn't, KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV, might've, Eken, Anthony Sweeney, Army Menon Organizations: Service, Business, Hague, Strategic Studies, NATO, SA, International Institute for Strategic Studies, US Patriot, Reuters, RAND Corporation, Ukrainian Air Force, Forbes, Directorate of Intelligence, Ministry of Defence, South Korea Defense Ministry, AP, Patriots, Storm, Missile Defense, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Defense, REUTERS, Australian Army, Getty, Victory Day, Patriot, Army Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia, Moscow, Crimea, Screengrab, Soviet, US, Russia's, Ukraine's Luhansk, South Korea, Kaliningrad, Southern Russia, AFP, Chania, Greece, United States, West, NATO

☆ 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

The “Code 9.2” drone unit, from the 92nd assault brigade, are moving into a new launch position from where they are about to conduct a rare and potent mission: flying drones into Russia and dropping mines onto key roads inside enemy territory. It is only when the dark has set in that their work can begin. Before operators Andrey and Artem can leave the bunker to begin work, a noise sends them rushing back in for cover. It is only when the dark has set in that the work of Ukrainian drone unit 'Code 9.2' can begin. Artem and Andrey race to attach the mines to the drone, using only red lights.

Persons: Andrey, Artem, “, ” Andrey hisses, ”, Vladimir Putin, Brice Lainé, Ukraine’s, Sasha, Volodymyr Zelensky –, – Organizations: Ukraine CNN, 92nd, CNN Locations: Russian, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Russia, Belgorod, Kharkiv, Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Donetsk, –, “, Moscow

☆ Russian Forces Close In on Ukrainian Town in Northeast
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Russian forces on Tuesday inched closer to the central part of Vovchansk, a town in Ukraine’s northeast that they have been attacking for the past 10 days as part of a new offensive in the region. Roman Semenukha, the deputy head of the military administration in the northeastern Kharkiv region, said on television on Monday that Ukrainian forces had lost about 40 percent of the town, with Russian troops pushing from the north. Open-source maps of the battlefield compiled by independent groups also show that Russia now controls the northern part of the town, which had a prewar population of 17,000. Vovchansk, which lies just five miles from the Russian border, has been a prime target of Moscow’s new offensive. Both U.S. officials and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia have said the offensive is part of an effort to establish a buffer zone.

Persons: Roman Semenukha, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: U.S Locations: Vovchansk, Ukraine’s, Roman, Kharkiv, Russia, Russian

☆ Opinion: Hardened like diamonds, these Gen Z protesters fight for a European future
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Opinion Will Cathcart | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

They snatch protesters from the crowd and drag them back into a mass of black uniforms. Will Cathcart Will CathcartHundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Georgia in recent weeks to protest the government’s adoption of a Kremlin-inspired “foreign agents” bill. As with the foreign agents law, the bill’s authors claim it promotes transparency, an absurd notion. The foreign agents bill is a symptom of a deeper issue – money. The pressures of authoritarian intimidation and systematic violence have hardened Georgia’s young protestors like diamonds.

Persons: Will Cathcart, Mikheil Saakashvili, Cathcart Will Cathcart, Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Hans Gutbrod, ”, Salome Zourabichvili, aren’t, Gen Z, Europe –, Giorgi Arjevanidze, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Party ” –, Mamuka Mdinaradze, Shalva Papuashvili, – “, “, James O’Brien’s, Ivanishvili, Zviad Organizations: CNN, Tbilisi CNN — Riot, Georgian, Ilia State University, European Union, Getty, Global, Party, Georgian Orthodox Church, US, State, Eurasian Affairs, Fletcher School of Law, NATO, Special Forces Exchange Locations: American, Tbilisi, Georgia, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Europe, AFP, Georgian, Soviet, Russian, United States, Brussels, Washington, Moscow, EU

As Ukraine struggles to hold back Russian advances, the country’s officials say they are once again facing the formidable challenge of keeping electricity flowing as Moscow’s forces increasingly strike power plants. To conserve energy, the government has ordered nationwide rolling blackouts for Monday night, broadening the smaller regional ones that have become the norm in recent weeks. “This is another frontline in the war,” said Maxim Timchenko, the head of DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private electricity company, on social media last week. He said the company’s workers were engaged in a “race against time” to restore power to consumers. The nationwide blackout, scheduled from 6 p.m. to midnight, will affect the entire country for the first time this year, but it is unclear if it will continue past Monday.

Persons: ”, Maxim Timchenko Locations: Ukraine

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