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☆ HIMARS changed the game in Ukraine, but a former US artillery officer says what they need now is a firepower boost with M26 cluster rockets
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

HIMARS rockets proved to be a game-changing weapon for Ukraine when they arrived last year. Now they need is a firepower boost from M26 cluster rockets, a former US artillery officer says. For this reason, HIMARS rockets aren't used against individual Russian artillery pieces and are instead fired sporadically at higher-value targets, Rice said. A top Pentagon official said last month that Russia's cluster munitions, by comparison, have a dud rate of up to 40%. AdvertisementAdvertisementLike he first did with the 155 millimeter cluster munitions, Rice is currently lobbying for Washington to provide the M26 rockets to Ukraine.

Persons: it's, Dan Rice, M777s, Ukraine's HIMARS, Pierre Crom, Rice, Serhii Mykhalchuk Organizations: Service, Artillery, Pentagon, Russia, HIMARS, Kyiv, Getty, Army Tactical Missile Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Washington, Russia, Kyiv, Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast

☆ Russian troops are running out of equipment and feel 'at war' with their own commanders: experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Citing Russian military bloggers, an important source of independent information about the Russian military, US think tank The Institute for the Study of War said that the problems extend "along the entire front line." It reported that in one area, Russian forces lacked light vehicles essential for moving equipment around quickly. In the Kherson region in south Ukraine, Russian military requests for boats have not been met, the ISW said, as Ukraine launches attacks across the Dnipro River on Russian defensive positions. Russian forces began experiencing artillery systems shortages and claimed that Russian forces began to receive "outdated" types of long-range gun, it said. But it is facing strong Russian defenses protected by miles of minefields and is experiencing ammunition and equipment shortages of its own.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Wally Adeyemo, Russia's, Wagner Organizations: Institute for, Service, Kremlin Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Kherson, Russian, Dnipro

☆ Zelenskyy says Ukraine is working with Sweden to produce 'cool vehicles' like CV90s: 'Just what is needed at the front'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on Sunday said he was partnering with Sweden to create new CV90s. The armored combat vehicles, usually made in Sweden, will now also be created in Ukraine. "Everything powerful that serves us now, we must localize and produce," Zelenskyy said. He added: "Armored vehicles – СV90, cool vehicles. "Everything powerful that serves us now, we must localize and produce," Zelenskyy said Sunday.

Persons: Zelenskyy, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Bradley, Marder, С . Organizations: Service, Sunday, Russian, Sweden Ministries of Defense, Gripen Locations: Sweden, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Stockholm, Germany, France, Denmark, Netherlands

CNN —Ukrainian pilots have started joint training on F-16 fighter jets with US instructors in Ukraine, according to Kyiv. It landed at our airfields, we conducted joint training with F-16 pilots … A day ago two of my pilots were tested by US instructors,” Ukrainian Air Force Commander Oleksandr Oleshchuk told Ukrainian state TV on Saturday. An F-16 fighter jet performs at an air show in Houston, the United States, on Oct. 10, 2020. Denmark and the Netherlands have taken the lead in preparing a program to train Ukrainian pilots on the American jet, but the US is still working with other countries to see who may provide F-16s to the Ukrainian Air Force. Denmark said Ukrainian pilots would begin training on F-16 jets later this month, part of a coalition of 11 countries that will be involved in the training program.

Persons: …, Oleksandr Oleshchuk, Oleshchuk, Oleksii Reznikov, Reznikov, ”, Lao Chengyue, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ulf Kristersson, Jonas Ekstromer, Reuters Archer, Volodymyr Zelensky, “ Archer, ” Zelensky, Archer, “, Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, Ukrainian Air Force, Ukrainian Defense, Getty, NATO, Swedish, TT, Agency, Reuters, Sweden Ukrainian, Archer, Sweden’s, Swedish Archers, Gripen Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Houston, United States, Xinhua, Denmark, Netherlands, Harpsund, Sweden, Swedish

☆ Missiles aren't the only threat from North Korea. Its conventional arms are just as deadly
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A fire assault drill by North Korean rocket artillery units at an undisclosed location in North Korea in March 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). In late 2022, CFR estimated North Korea had 1.3 million active military personnel, in addition to a 600,000 strong reserve force. Pinkston pointed out that North Korea is not the only one that can launch an attack at short notice. Holistic perspectiveWhy would North Korea need to develop missiles if it holds such a potent threat over South Korea — even if short-lived? However, Cha pointed out that there have also been studies that have shown the damage inflicted by North Korean artillery is "not that effective."

Persons: that's, Naoko Aoki, Victor Cha, Rand, Daniel Pinkston, Pinkston, Cha Organizations: North Korean, North, Korean Central News Agency, Reuters, Korea's, Rand Corporation ., of Foreign Relations, CFR, Korean, Artillery, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Rand Corp, Samsung Electronics, Rand, . Rand Corporation, LG, South Korean, Troy University, CNBC, Korea People's Army, CSIS Locations: North Korea, Korean, Korea, South Korea, Seoul, Pyongyang, U.S, Paju, counterfire, Washington, United States, Victor, Victor Cha Korea

☆ VIDEOS: Russia shows off purported war trophies — prized Western weapons captured in Ukraine — at a new military theme park exhibit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New photos and videos show a Russian exhibit of captured Western tanks and artillery from Ukraine. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty ImagesAnd destroyed Ukrainian weapons were also included. Prior to this new display of Western assets, Patriot Park had exhibits of captured Ukrainian armored vehicles and patrol boats, as well as T-72 tanks. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty ImagesUkraine has their own exhibit of wrecked Russian military equipment, which opened last June. Ukraine has also managed to capture functional Russian weapons, which has put back in service to help fuel combat actions, including the ongoing counteroffensive.

Persons: it's, that's, Kalashnikov, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Russia's Organizations: Service, NATO, RIA Novosti, Moscow Conference, International Security, Russian, Armored Vehicle Husky, Navistar, Getty Locations: Ukraine, Swedish, Kyiv, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Moscow, Russia, American, USA, Kubinka, AFP, Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine's counteroffensive would fall apart without all the Russian vehicles it has captured, frontline mechanic says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian mechanics are working on the frontlines to rapidly fix and convert captured vehicles. One mechanic told The New York Times that Russian vehicles have been vital in the counteroffensive. "Without the Russian captured vehicles, we would not manage to keep going," he told The Times. "Without the Russian captured vehicles, we would not manage to keep going," he told The Times. He said the brigade captured more than 20 Russian vehicles in the past six weeks of Ukraine's counteroffensive.

Persons: —, Hammer, Oleksandr Saruba, Michael Kofman, Kofman Organizations: New York Times, Times, Service, 35th Marine Brigade, Deutsche Welle, Carnegie Locations: Russian, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine has captured so many weapons that Russia is 'competing with Western countries' to supply it with arms, Ukrainian colonel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

That includes 800 pieces of artillery, tanks, and other vehicles, Deutsche Welle reports. "Russia is competing with Western countries to supply weapons to Ukraine," Col. Oleksandr Saruba told Deutsche Welle. Ukraine has been making use of captured weapons and armor since the outset of the war — in March 2022 it announced that it had captured 24 Uragan missiles and had aimed them back at the enemy. Despite the constant work of Ukrainian repair shops, some captured vehicles use modern parts that aren't manufactured in Ukraine, which still relies heavily on Soviet-era tanks. This has caused the loss of a sizable chunk of the Western-supplied vehicles Ukraine has deployed, leading to a shift in tactics, multiple reports say.

Persons: Col, Oleksandr Saruba, Saluba, Deutsche Welle, Michael Kofman, Kofman, Valery Zaluzhny Organizations: Deutsche Welle, Service, Grad, Deutsche, Russia, Carnegie Endowment, Washington Post Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Ukrainian, Russian, Ukraine's

☆ A busted Russian warship may not have seen an exploding Ukrainian drone boat coming, hinting at problems that have plagued Russia throughout its war
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

A Russian warship was struck by a Ukrainian drone boat that it doesn't appear to have seen coming. Just a few days before this attack, Russian vessels were fighting off drone boats in another incident. "It just seems very strange they didn't respond at all to the incoming drone boats," Clark added. The Russian ship may have assumed it was safe in Novorossiysk, given that the port is roughly 350 miles from the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, but it shouldn't have. The reach of Ukraine's drone boats was hardly a secret.

Persons: Russia's, —, Sutton, it's, Cole, Bryan Clark, Clark, OZAN KOSE Organizations: Service, Ukraine, Russian, —, CNN, US Navy, Navy, Hudson Institute, Getty Locations: Russian, Ukrainian, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Novorossiysk, Moskva, Istanbul, AFP, Sevastopol, Odessa, Ukraine

☆ South Korean defense stocks power ahead as overseas interest grows for weapon systems
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In this handout image released by the South Korean Defense Ministry via Dong-A Daily, a missile is fired during a joint training between the United States and South Korea on June 6, 2022 in East Coast, South Korea. South Korean Defense Ministry | Getty ImagesSouth Korean defense stocks have recorded stellar gains over the past 12 months, with one stock soaring more than 60% as tensions on the Korean Peninsula accelerate. The company manufactures air defense systems, armored fighting vehicles and artillery systems. Escalating tensions in the Korean Peninsula have also kept interest in South Korean weapon platforms high. Tech and industrial baseMorgan Stanley is optimistic about the outlook for the South Korean defense industry.

Persons: Ukraine —, Morgan Stanley, National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak, Maffei, Janes, Youngsoo Han, Kayoung Lee, KAI, Victor Cha, Cha, Yoon Suk Organizations: South Korean Defense Ministry, Getty, Hanhwa Aerospace, Hanhwa Group, Peace Research Institute, The, North, South Korea —, South Korean, K9, Hyundai Rotem, Korea Aerospace Industries, Korean, Poland's, National Defense, Nikkei, NATO, Krauss, South, FA, Samsung Securities, ., Center for Strategic, International, CNBC Locations: United States, South Korea, East Coast , South Korea, Ukraine, South, Stockholm, The U.S, East, Europe, Korean, U.S, Jeju, North Korea, Asia, Russia, Poland, Polish, South Korean, Malaysia, . Tech, Korea

But Ukrainian forces have struggled to breach layers of Russian defenses as tank traps and minefields slow their advance. The Ukrainian military said one Russian position in the Zaporizhzhia sector had been eliminated, along with an ammunition depot. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of Ukrainian Land Forces, posted on Telegram that a “gradual advance continues” in the Bakhmut area. At the same time, Russian military bloggers have posted video of Ukrainian infantry vehicles being struck. They are complex, difficult, and depend on many factors.”Danilov echoed what other Ukrainian officials have said recently.

Persons: ”, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Danilov, ” ISW Organizations: CNN, Russian, Ukrainian Land Forces, Russian Defense Ministry, National Security and Defense Locations: Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia, Slovakia, Russian, Klishchiivka, ”, Bakhmut

☆ Ukraine has 14 kinds of howitzers to batter Russian forces, but each gun brings a new problem for Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine has 14," Patrick Hinton, a British Army captain, wrote in a recent article on Ukrainian artillery for the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank. Ukraine's arsenal of towed 155 mm howitzers includes the US M777, British AS-90, France's TRF1, and the British-German-Italian FH-70. For armored self-propelled 155 mm howitzers, Ukraine has received three variants of the American-made M109, plus Germany's PzH 2000, Poland's Krab, and Slovakia's Zuzana 2. To add to the mix, there is France's truck-mounted 155 mm Caesar gun and Lithuania has sent old US-made M101 towed 105 mm howitzers that were designed in 1941. Crash coursesA Ukrainian serviceman in a PzH 2000 155 mm self-propelled howitzer near Bakhmut in June.

Persons: Patrick Hinton, Muhammed Enes Yildirim, France's TRF1, Poland's Krab, ANATOLII STEPANOV, Cannon, Mykhaylo Palinchak, Hinton, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Artillery, Russia, British Army, Royal United Services Institute, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Anadolu Agency, Getty, British AS, NATO, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, British, US, Bakhmut, Italian, Lithuania, Czech, AFP, Soviet, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Europe, Forbes

☆ After Ukraine's success with US-made HIMARS, European militaries are looking for their own rocket artillery
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Other European countries are pursuing their own rocket artillery, buying HIMARS or building new systems. Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesMultiple launch rocket systems have been around since World War II, when the legendary Soviet Katyusha battered Nazi forces. But Russia adapted and moved its command and supply centers out of HIMARS range, though at the price of compromising some efficiency. Rocket artillery can't replace howitzers, which offer some advantages, such as the ability to fire barrages continuously for hours. Still, rocket artillery is certain to join howitzers as the backbone of Western artillery.

Persons: Lockheed Martin, HIMARS, PATRIK STOLLARZ, Biden, ATACMS, salvoes, Jakub Porzycki Organizations: Russia, Service, Rheinmetall, Defense News, Lockheed, Getty, US State Department, Army Tactical Missile Systems, Ukraine, Storm, Nazi, Anadolu Agency, Russian, GPS Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Germany, Munster, AFP, Poland, France, Soviet, Warsaw, Russia

☆ Russia halts grain deal in what UN calls blow to needy people everywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres signalled that Russia's withdrawal meant that the related pact to assist Russia's grain and fertilizer exports was also terminated. Moscow said it would consider rejoining the grain deal if it saw "concrete results" on its demands but that its guarantees for the safety of navigation would meanwhile be revoked. REUTERS/StringerUkrainian forces have been striking Russian supply lines as it pursues a counteroffensive to drive Russian forces out of its south and east. On Monday it reported two more civilians killed by Russian forces, which it said had begun a major push in the northeast. The grain deal was hailed as preventing a global food emergency when brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last year.

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, Antonio Guterres, Moscow, Antony Blinken, Saraf, Halima Hussein, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Stringer, Hanna Maliar, Serhiy Cherevatyi, Vladimir Putin, Marat Khusnullin, Putin, Artem Dekhtyarenko, Max Hunder, Michelle Nichols, Abdi Sheikh, Ron Popeski, Lidia Kelly, Peter Graff, Philippa Fletcher, Alex Richardson, Grant McCool Organizations: UN, Russian Federation, International Rescue, REUTERS, Stringer Ukrainian, Lyman, Ukrainian Armed Forces, TV, Reuters, Ukraine's Security, Ukraine, United, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Crimea, Ukraine, Russian, KYIV, Russia, Moscow, Ukrainian, Washington, AFRICA Ukraine, East Africa, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia's, Mogadishu, Kyiv, Turkey, Kerch, Kupiansk, Kharkiv, United Nations, New York

☆ A fired general's pleas from the front lines reveal Ukraine is bloodying Russian forces in a critical fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

He said Russia is struggling to knock out Ukrainian artillery while Russian forces suffer "mass deaths." The counter-battery fight is critical in the counteroffensive, and it looks like Ukraine has an edge. After he was fired, he revealed publicly that Ukraine is bloodying his forces in an important fight, the artillery battle. In this fight, Ukraine relies heavily on rocket artillery systems like the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, or howitzers like the 155mm M777s. Russian artillery can have the same effect on Ukraine though if left unanswered, which is a reason why the counter-battery fight matters.

Persons: Ivan Popov, Popov, vilely, Serhii Mykhalchuk, Jack Watling, Gen, Valery Zaluzhny, Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy, Jake Sullivan, Patrick Hinton, Hinton Organizations: Service, Artillery, Arms Army, Getty, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Royal United Services Institute, Washington Post, Publishing, Hudson Institute, NATO, Systems, National, AP, Forbes, British Army's Royal Artillery, Staff's, Military Sciences Research, RUSI Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk Oblast, Kharkiv Region, U.S, Kherson region, Hinton

Summary Russian general says has been dismissedSays top brass betrayed Russian soldiersDefence ministry silent on general's fateSoldiers dying due to lack of artillery, general saysMOSCOW, July 13 (Reuters) - A Russian general said he had been dismissed as a commander after telling the military leadership about the dire situation at the front in Ukraine where he said Russian soldiers had been stabbed in the back by the failings of the top military brass. Popov, who commanded Russian units in southern Ukraine, explicitly raised the deaths of Russian soldiers from Ukrainian artillery and said the army lacked proper counter artillery systems and reconnaissance of enemy artillery. There was no immediate comment from the defence ministry and Reuters was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the voice message. Neither Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin nor General Sergei Surovikin, a deputy commander of Russia's military operations in Ukraine, have been seen in public since the day of the mutiny. For months Prigozhin had been openly insulting Putin's most senior military men, using a variety of crude expletives and prison slang that shocked top Russian officials but that were left unanswered in public by Putin, Shoigu or Gerasimov.

Persons: Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Ivan Popov, Andrei Gurulyov, Popov, Gurulyov, Russia's, Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Sergei Surovikin, Putin, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Russian, Defence, Staff, Arms Army, Reuters, RUSSIAN ARMY Putin, Telegram, Gerasimov, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian, Europe, Russia

☆ The risk of nuclear disaster in Ukraine skyrocketed with the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. Residents nearby are preparing for the worst.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In June, a controlled explosion caused the Ukrainian Kakhovka hydroelectric dam to collapse. The nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant relies on water reserves to cool its power reactors. He also said the loss of the dam could also endanger the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which draws on the reservoir at nearby Kakhovka for cooling. The security of the Zaporizhzhia plant — Europe's largest nuclear power plant — has been of paramount concern since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Russian leader Vladimir Putin targeting the plant early on. Recently, however, the IAEA has received reports of mines placed around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, a violation of the UN principles and a significant risk to the security of the nuclear reactors.

Persons: —, Nadiya Hez, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Grossi Organizations: Service, New York Times, Reuters, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, United Nations Security Council, UN Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Kyiv

☆ Russia's Lancet drone is hampering Ukraine's counteroffensive, smashing Western gear and exposing poor air defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Kieran Corcoran | Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Footage of destroyed Ukrainian vehicles is spreading, often attributed to the Lancet drone. Russian officials have gleefully shared videos of piled-up wreckage, and often cited as the cause the Russian-made Lancet drone. A still image from a video claiming to show the moment just before Russia's Lancet drones hit a cluster of vehicles. obtf_kaskad/TelegramA still image from a video purporting to show the moment just before Russia's Lancet drones hit a cluster of vehicles. "We should also note that we don't know how many of these new Lancet drones Russia has," he added.

Persons: —, James Patton Rogers, Rogers, Olga Skabeyeva, Vladimir Solovyov, Axel Springer, Patton Rogers, Julian Röpcke, Lancets Organizations: Service, Cornell Tech Policy Institute, University of Southern, Donetsk People's, Russian, IRIS, Air, Ukraine — Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russian, —, University of Southern Denmark, Donetsk People's Republic, Germany, Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine has destroyed 2 prized Russian thermobaric rocket launchers. They were taken out by US-supplied howitzers, say reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine appears to have destroyed two Russian thermobaric rocket launchers, using US artillery. If Ukraine continues to damage these systems, it could affect Russia's defensive capabilities, ISW said. Images of destroyed TOS-1A heavy thermobaric rocket launchers have circulated on social media from respected war-monitor platforms. —🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) June 9, 2023The thermobaric rocket launchers are mounted on top of tanks and can launch rockets up to two miles, per Forbes. Serhii Mykhalchuk/Getty ImagesAlthough Russia has a limited supply of highly destructive weapons, Russian sources have highlighted the use of them in striking Ukrainian positions in recent days, ISW said.

Persons: ISW, — Organizations: Service, Washington DC, of Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Western

☆ Biden will ‘at some point’ meet with China’s Xi Jinping, top White House official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Sam Fossum | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —President Joe Biden will “at some point” meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, as the two countries work to reset normal relations amid what has been an extremely tumultuous and tense year in the relationship. And then, at some point, we will see President Biden and President Xi come back together again,” Sullivan told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview on “GPS” that aired Sunday. That is the firm conviction of President Biden,” Sullivan added. The incident marked the second time in two weeks that Chinese military personnel have engaged in aggressive maneuvers in the vicinity of US military personnel near China’s border. Tensions between Washington and Beijing soared in February after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over the continental US and was subsequently shot down by the American military.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Jake Sullivan, “, Biden, Xi, ” Sullivan, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Sullivan’s, Antony Blinken, ”, Qin Gang, Sullivan, Wang Yi, it’s, Zakaria, Zelensky Organizations: CNN, White House, GPS, Canadian, State Department, East Asian, United, Ukrainian, US, Russian Locations: United States, Taiwan, China’s, South, Washington, Beijing, China, reengage, Vienna, Bali , Indonesia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Russian, Berdiansk

WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) - Neither Russia nor Ukraine committed to respect five principles laid out by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi on Tuesday to try to safeguard Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Grossi, who spoke at the U.N. Security Council, has tried for months to craft an agreement to reduce the risk of a catastrophic nuclear accident from military activity like shelling at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant. "Mr. Grossi's proposals to ensure the security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are in line with the measures that we've already been implementing for a long time," Russia's U.N. Western powers accused Russia, whose forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, of putting Zaporizhzhia at risk, with the United States demanding that Russia remove its weapons and civil and military personnel from the plant. Russia denies that it has military personnel at the power plant and it describes the war, which has killed thousands and reduced cities to rubble, as a "special military operation" to "denazify" Ukraine and protect Russian speakers.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Grossi, Vassily Nebenzia, Sergiy Kyslytsya, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Daphne Psaledakis, Arshad Mohammed, Grant McCool Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Ukraine's, . Security, U.S, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia, United States, Moscow

Speaking to reporters in Rome after meetings with his Italian counterpart and Italy’s prime minister, Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were “preparing very seriously.”“There will definitely be very serious steps. Earlier, Zelensky met with Pope Francis, who has been outspoken in his support for an end to the war in Ukraine. Vatican News/APZelensky said last week that his country still needs “a bit more time” before it launches the counteroffensive, in order to allow some more of the promised Western military aid to arrive in country. Russian attacksAs Zelensky toured Europe, Russia’s assault on Ukraine continued. In western Ukraine, at least 21 people were injured following Russian strikes on the city of Khmelnytskyi in the early hours of Saturday, Ukrainian authorities said.

☆ Ukraine's military says it shot down one of its own drones near the capital after it 'lost control' of the aircraft
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Jake Epstein | Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Thought initially to be a Russian drone, the Ukrainian military said it had to shoot down its own drone after losing control. The incident comes a day after a drone incident in the Russian capital. People run as a drone flies in the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 4, 2023. A drone is seen in the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb GaranichSmoke rises over the city after remains of a shot down drone landed on buildings, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 4, 2023.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday his agreement this year to grant the United States access to more military bases in his country was not intended for use for "offensive action" against any country. Speaking to a U.S. think-tank in Washington, Marcos said he had made that point to Chinese officials during recent talks. He also said the U.S. had not asked the Philippines to provide troops in case of war between China and the U.S. over Taiwan. Marcos told the Center for Strategic and International Studies that the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that allows access to bases in the Philippines was conceived to deal with the effects of climate change. Manila's ties with Washington have deepened under Marcos and he granted the U.S. military access to four more bases in February, something China said was "stoking the fire" of regional tension.

☆ Biden to reassure Philippines' Marcos as China tensions flare
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden listens during the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington, U.S., April 29, 2023. Marcos, who became president last year, has sought warm relations with both the United States and China, who are vying for influence in the Asia-Pacific region. "Some of the steps that China have taken have concerned (Marcos), probably even surprised him," said one senior Biden administration official. Experts say the United States considers the Philippines a potential location for rockets, missiles and artillery systems to counter a Chinese amphibious assault. "We're standing shoulder to shoulder in the South China Sea, where our alignment has never been stronger," said one U.S. official.

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