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☆ Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin says he will resist Russian military efforts to take control of mercenary group
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Peter Gelling | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Wagner mercenary group has played a key role in the Ukraine War. Russia's military may be now trying to take control of Wagner and Prigozhin is having none of it. The move is widely seen as an effort to bring the Wagner Group under official military control, the BBC reported. He eventually became known as Putin's Chef before graduating to more consequential affairs and establishing the Wagner mercenary organization. Wagner has also accused the Russian military of mining the roads the mercenary group used to retreat from Bakhmut.

Persons: Wagner, Prigozhin, —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Nikolai Pankov, Sergei Shoigu, Putin Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, BBC, Defense Ministry Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, Africa, Russia's, Syria, Libya, Bakhmut

☆ Ukraine Claims First Gains, if Slight, in Counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Andrew E. Kramer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After a week of mostly silence about its newly launched campaign to drive Russian occupying forces from Ukrainian territory, Ukraine’s military on Sunday claimed its first small gains as fighting raged in at least three sectors of the front. The military operation is expected to be vast, but for the moment it appears to consist mostly of probing attacks and feints. Ukraine’s 68th Brigade posted video on Facebook of its soldiers raising the nation’s blue-and-yellow flag over the village of Blahodatne, in the eastern region of Donetsk. A deputy defense minister said Ukraine’s forces had also taken the nearby village of Makarivka, and the Ukrainian Volunteer Army said it had reclaimed a neighboring settlement, Neskuchne. Ukraine will be victorious.”

Persons: “, ” Organizations: Sunday, Brigade, Facebook, Ukrainian Volunteer Army Locations: Ukraine’s, Blahodatne, Donetsk, Makarivka, Neskuchne, Ukraine

☆ Ukrainian forces suffer ‘stiff resistance’ and losses in assault on Russian lines
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Jim Sciutto | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Ukrainian forces have suffered losses in heavy equipment and soldiers as they met greater than expected resistance from Russian forces in their first attempt to breach Russian lines in the east of the country in recent days, two senior US officials tell CNN. One US official described the losses – which include US supplied MRAP armored personnel vehicles as “significant.”Ukrainian forces managed to overrun some Russian forces in the east around Bakhmut. Today is a successful day for our forces.”Both US officials say the losses are not expected to impact the larger planned Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russian Ministry of Defense claimed Wednesday that the Ukrainian offensive close to Bakhmut was “thwarted”. The enemy was destroyed.”Moscow often inflates claims regarding Ukrainian losses on the battlefield.

Persons: Hanna Maliar, ” Maliar, Bakhmut, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, Dmitry Peskov Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, Russian Ministry of Defense, Armed Forces of, Wall Street, NATO, Kyiv ” Locations: Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Western, Armed Forces of Ukraine, South Donetsk, Donetsk, Artyomovsk, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Dnipro, Kherson, Ukraine’s, “, Crimea

CNN —US and western officials see signs that Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia is beginning and have noted a “substantial increase in fighting” in the east of the country over the last 48 hours as Ukrainian troops probe for weaknesses in Russian defensive lines, a senior NATO official said on Tuesday. The destruction of a sprawling dam in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Kherson region, which triggered a wave of evacuations on Tuesday as floods of water spilled from the Nova Kakhovka hydro-electric plant, could complicate some of Ukraine’s plans, officials told CNN. The dam’s destruction could now make it more difficult for Ukrainian troops to cross the Dnipro River and attack Russian positions there, said two western officials. Ukrainian forces are also conducting operations south of Donetsk city in eastern Ukraine, which appears to be a new effort, the western official said. The counteroffensive is expected to be carried out on multiple fronts, a senior US military official said.

Persons: “, ’, Hanna Maliar, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Mark Milley Organizations: CNN, NATO, Nova, Wall, Joint Chiefs, Staff Locations: Russia, Kherson, Dnipro, Ukrainian, ”, European, Washington, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Ukraine, Europe

☆ Kyiv warns against loose talk as Russia claims to repel a Ukrainian ‘large-scale’ offensive attack in Donetsk
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Nathan Hodge Sebastian Shukla Olga Voitovych Sana Noor Haq | Nathan Hodge | Sebastian Shukla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Monday’s announcement from the Russian side was no exception: The Russian military claimed in a statement to have killed 250 Ukrainians and destroyed armored vehicles used in the assault, but provided scant evidence. A spokesperson for the Ukraine Armed Forces, Bohdan Senyk, told CNN that Ukraine does “not have information” on a purported “large-scale offensive” in Donetsk. Gerasimov, who is chief of Russia’s General Staff, was put in overall command of Russian military operations in Ukraine early this year. Ukrainian troops are pictured near the town of Avdiivka in Donetsk on May 31, 2023. He claimed that Ukrainian troops have increased the intensity of their shelling, and fired Storm Shadow missiles.

Persons: Bohdan Senyk, “, ”, Valery Gerasimov “, Gerasimov, Wagner, Viacheslav Ratynskyi, Zelensky, Sean Gallup, Zaporizhzhia, Vladimir Rogov, ” Rogov, Muhammed Enes, Hanna Maliar, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Jake Sullivan –, Joe Biden’s, –, Washington, ” Sullivan, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria Organizations: CNN, Russian Defense Ministry, Russian, Ukraine Armed Forces, Russia’s, Staff, Reuters, Getty, Novosti, Storm, Anadolu Agency, Wall Street, Kyiv Locations: Ukrainian, Donetsk, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Avdiivka, Russian, Azov, “

☆ Bakhmut: Russia has claimed to control the besieged city, but Ukraine says it's still fighting. Here's what we know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Ukraine has claimed it still controls parts of Bakhmut after Russian forces said they had finally captured the besieged eastern city. Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said Monday that Ukrainian forces were still in control of some buildings in the southwest of Bakhmut, two days after Russia claimed to have captured the city. Russian forces, bolstered by members of the Wagner mercenary group, have taken heavy losses trying to capture the city. Only two roads out to the west have remained outside Russian control, though for Ukrainian forces trying to re-supply the city, the drives in have been treacherous. Before the war, around 70,000 people lived in Bakhmut, a city once famous for its sparkling wine.

☆ Bakhmut: Wagner forces claim to have taken the eastern Ukrainian city. But Kyiv's forces could still exact a heavy toll
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Sam Kiley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Kyiv rebuffed claims that Russian forces have captured the city in the eastern Donetsk region. LIBKOS/APYevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner private military group, pictured in a screengrab from May 20, 2023, insisted that his men captured Bakhmut after months of fighting. A Ukrainian serviceman checks Russian positions in Bakhmut on May 11, 2023. He said regular Russian troops were incompetent cowards. And they’re being flanked to the north and south by Ukrainian troops.

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskyy denies that Bakhmut is occupied by Russian forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Her comments came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the Group of Seven summit in Japan, appeared to suggest that Bakhmut had fallen. And the spokesman for Ukraine's Eastern Group of Forces, Serhii Cherevaty, said that the Ukrainian military is managing to hold positions in the vicinity of Bakhmut. Russian forces still seek to seize the remaining part of the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control, including several heavily fortified areas. Prigozhin tried to use the battle for the city to expand his clout amid the tensions with the top Russian military leaders whom he harshly criticized. "We fought not only with the Ukrainian armed forces in Bakhmut.

☆ Zelenskyy appeared to confirm Ukraine is no longer in control of Bakhmut: 'For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian forces have been waging a monthslong battle in Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine. The fighting has reduced the city to rubble and claimed thousands of lives. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared to confirm at the G7 summit that Ukraine is longer in control of Bakhmut. During a meeting with President Joe Biden on Sunday at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Zelenskyy told reporters that he believes Ukraine has lost control of the city. ... For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts."

Russia’s claim of victory in Bakhmut suggests that the brutal urban combat that marked the deadliest battle of its war in Ukraine might be over. Those gains will allow Ukrainian troops to continue raining artillery on Russian forces trying to hold Bakhmut, according to Ukrainian officials. A battle on May 6 breached Russian lines south of the village of Ivanivske and forced Russian soldiers into a disorganized retreat. Image Ukrainian soldiers west of Bakhmut after rotating out of the city, this month. A Russian capture of Bakhmut “will mean nothing, actually,” predicted Colonel Serhiy Hrabsky, a commentator on the war for the Ukrainian news media.

☆ Live updates: Russia's war in ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Heather Chen | Andrew Raine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The move is in response to the "regularly anti-Russian sanctions" imposed by the US administration, according to a statement from Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday. Hours earlier, at the Group of Seven summit, the Biden administration unveiled new sanctions targeting Moscow for its war in Ukraine. An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine claims the explosions took place at a base for Moscow's forces. US diplomatic appointment: US President Joe Biden formally nominated James O'Brien to serve as the top State Department official for European affairs — a key role for guiding Washington's response to Russia's war in Ukraine. NATO developments: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told CNN he is still not prepared to support Sweden's NATO membership, repeating his claim that Stockholm has allowed terrorist organizations to harbor in the country.

☆ Russia's Wagner group claims to have captured Bakhmut but Ukraine says it still controls a part of it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Darya Tarasova Sugam Pokharel Thom Poole Rob Picheta | Darya Tarasova | Sugam Pokharel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied claims Bakhmut has fallen to Russia after the chief of the mercenary Wagner group said his forces had taken complete control of the eastern Ukrainian city following months of brutal fighting. In a later update the Armed Forces of Ukraine said: “The battles for the city of Bakhmut continue”. Wagner received a message of praise from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian forces, bolstered by members of the Wagner mercenary group, have taken heavy losses trying to capture the city. Before the war, around 70,000 people lived in Bakhmut, a city once famous for its sparkling wine.

☆ Ukraine says it shot down 6 of the high-powered Kinzhal missiles that Russia boasted were unstoppable
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine says it shot down six of Russia's "unstoppable" Kinzhal missiles over Kyiv early Tuesday. In total, a barrage of 18 missiles were intercepted from land, sea and air, officials claimed. According to the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's army, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, six Russian MiG-31K jets launched the Kinzhal missiles overnight. "It was exceptional in its density — the maximum number of attack missiles in the shortest period of time," said Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, of the barrage, per The Telegraph's translation. Firefighters work at a site of a vehicle parking area damaged by remains of Russian missiles, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 16, 2023.

☆ Russia's new drone strikes are to create the impression of limiting Ukraine's counteroffensive but are having little actual impact, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But the strikes don't appear to be having any real impact on Ukraine's efforts, they said. The earlier assessment added that Russian forces were "more focused on sustaining a regular series of missile strikes than the actual effectiveness of the strikes." It's not clear exactly when the expected Ukrainian counteroffensive will start, but Ukraine's deputy defense minister said that when it does "Russia will be in panic." However, it added that Russian forces have used significantly fewer high-precision missiles in these latest strikes, in comparison to earlier campaigns against Ukraine's critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, it added, Ukrainian forces "have been more effective in shooting down Russian precision systems."

CNN —Two senior Russian military officers have been killed in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday, the latest high-profile losses for Moscow in a grinding war with its western neighbor. The ministry said the two officers – Col. Vyacheslav Makarov and Col. Yevgeny Brovko – were in killed in action while leading Russian troops in the Donetsk region. “The commander of the 4th motorized rifle brigade, Colonel Vyacheslav Makarov, being at the forefront, personally led the battle,” a Russian Defense Ministry briefing read. The Donetsk region of Ukraine includes the city of Bakhmut, which has seen some of the fiercest and most relentless fighting of the war. The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukraine has made “massive attempts to break through the defense of our troops to the north and south of Artemovsk,” referring to Bakhmut by its Russian name.

☆ Russia's army took just 6.8 square miles of Ukrainian territory in April, less than a 0.02% increase, US think tank says, as military losses mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia increased its Ukraine territory by 0.016% in April, the Institute for the Study of War told Insider. That's just 6.76 square miles, as its troop losses continue and Ukraine readies for a counterattack. Washington DC-based think tank Institute for the Study of War told Insider that Russia held just 6.76 square miles more Ukrainian territory on April 31 than it did in April 1, according to its mapping data. Russia saw territorial gains of 0.039% in February, the think tank previously told Insider, followed by 0.28% in March, the equivalent of 115.9 square miles. Ukraine's prime minister told Sky News last week that the offensive will start at the "proper time, when it will be absolutely ready."

☆ Ukraine says it offered to return 3,000 dead Russian soldiers for burial, but Russia refused because it wouldn't admit the death toll
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia refused to acknowledge more than a handful had died, per Ukraine's defense minister. Reflecting on what he called "the cynicism of the Russians," Reznikov said that Ukraine had counted around 3,000 Russians killed, per translations provided by the filmmaker. The idea of sunflowers — Ukraine's national flower — being fertilized by the bodies of Russian soldiers is a common symbol of resistance in Ukraine. But Maurer said officials were too scared to tell anyone above the defense minister, according to Reznikov's recollection. Anastasia Vlasova/Getty ImagesInsider could not independently confirm the numbers of Russian dead at that time.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Grain deal meeting set to take place; Russia targets Ukraine's capital and other regions in drone strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Air raid alerts sounded in various parts of Ukraine overnight as Russian forces reportedly launch a mass drone strike against the country. The capital Kyiv was among the locations targeted by Russian forces again last night, marking the third time in six days that the city has been targeted. Ukraine's Air Force Command said Wednesday that its defense forces had destroyed 21 of 26 Russian "Shahed-136/131" type one-way attack drones overnight. The drones had been launched from both the north, from the Bryansk region in Russia and to the north of Ukraine, and the south, from the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov. In other news, the deputy defense ministers of Russia, Ukraine and Turkey will reportedly meet in Istanbul on Friday May 5 to discuss a possible extension of the grain export deal that has helped to ease vital agri-food exports from Ukraine and cap global price rises.

☆ Russia appears in disarray as Ukraine prepares counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine CNN —Ukraine’s much-anticipated counteroffensive appears imminent – and the way each side is preparing speaks volumes about their readiness. Kyiv’s front lines are abuzz with vehicle movement and artillery strikes, with regular explosions hitting vital Russian targets in occupied areas. Its defense minister has said preparations are “coming to an end” and President Volodymyr Zelensky has assured a counteroffensive “will happen,” while demurring on any exact start date. Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesThe “Butcher of Mariupol,” as Mizintsev is known, surely had enough failings over Russia’s disastrous war to merit his firing. By removing key ministers in the moments before its army faces Ukraine’s counter-assault, Moscow sends a message of disarray.

☆ Opinion: Russia has stifled another Putin opponent. Here’s how the West might help him
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Opinion Casey Michel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Editor’s Note: Casey Michel is the director of the Human Rights Foundation’s Combating Kleptocracy Program. While the West must continue to call for the release of those two high-profile political prisoners, it should not overlook Kara-Murza. US lawmakers in the US Congress have issued a range of congressional resolutions and individual statements highlighting Kara-Murza’s plight. The disjointed Western response to Kara-Murza’s plight only works to Russia’s advantage. It’s long past time to create a coordinating body to ensure that Western sanctions packages are aligned and airtight.

☆ Opinion: How the battle for Bakhmut exposed Russia’s ‘meat-grinder’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Michael Bociurkiw | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

It will also be recorded in history as a battle that exposed more than anywhere the meat-grinder approach of Russian fighting. Taking Bakhmut would be the first Russian gain since it captured (and later lost) the key southern Ukrainian city of Kherson in November. That Ukrainian forces have demonstrated such endurance in the battle for Bakhmut should come as little surprise. Like the current battle for Bakhmut, it too became emblematic of Ukraine’s tenaciousness to defend itself against Russia’s aggression – particularly considering the Ukrainian Armed Forces were far less prepared and equipped. “The battle for Bakhmut in winter-spring 2023 will surely enter the history books as the bloodiest battle in Europe since World War II,” said Masliychuk.

☆ Going to war? Good news! The United States is 13 years behind in ammunition production.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Since production capacity changed after the Cold War, the US can no longer keep up with wartime demands. In fulfilling those promises, The New York Times reported the US has sent Ukraine so many stockpiled Stinger missiles that it would take 13 years of production at recent capacity levels to replace them. US officials in January proposed a production increase up to 90,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition each month to keep up with demand. The United States has rarely seen production shortages in ammunition and missiles to the degree the country currently faces. While improvements to production facilities have been budgeted for going forward, the US is currently pushing suppliers to capacity to meet current wartime demands in Ukraine and keep pace with China's production.

☆ As Russian forces bear down on Bakhmut, Ukraine admits situation there is 'more and more difficult'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Ukrainians watching a movie on TV at a humanitarian aid center in Bakhmut on Feb. 27, 2023 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday night that the situation in the Bakhmut area "is getting more and more difficult." She said Russia was employing the tactics of "exhaustion and total destruction" but said that Russian forces were experiencing significant losses, losing between 600 to 1,000 people daily, she claimed. She added that Ukraine's forces were conducting defensive operations in the face of the "numerical superiority of the enemy." A view of damage after attacks as Russia-Ukraine war continues in Bakhmut, Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2023.

☆ Russia will resort to drafting college students to throw more troops at the front lines, Ukrainian intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia is preparing to draft college students to the front lines in its war in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian intel, universities have set up "notification offices" to inform students. "Notification offices" are already being set up to help draft the students and ship them to the frontlines, Ukrainian intelligence alleged. The intel also said that full-time students are being assigned to work at these notification offices "without their consent or even prior notification." The draft efforts will continue through the next few months, but will finish by the spring, Ukrainian intel said.

☆ Some Russian units have suffered up to 80% losses in the east, Ukraine claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Some Russian units in the east have had 80% casualties, Ukraine's deputy defense minister said. This includes NATO intelligence that says Russia is losing 2,000 men for every 100 yards it gains. Hanna Maliar said in a statement on Thursday that up to 80% of personnel had been incapacitated in some Russian army units, including units of the Wagner paramilitary group. But other reports, accounts by Russian soldiers, as well as Western intelligence updates have all pointed to high losses within Russia's army, particularly in recent weeks. Meanwhile, the UK Ministry of Defence said on Friday that up to 200,000 Russian soldiers had likely been killed since the invasion started in February 2022.

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