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5 miles from the front line Russian defensive line Anti-tank trap Trenches Beyond natural obstacles, miles of Russian defenses — trenches, tank traps and mines — only allow Ukraine’s troops to make incremental progress at best. 10 miles from the front line Russian defensive line If Ukraine can get 15 miles from the front line, to the city of Tokmak, urban warfare will pose its own challenges. 5 miles from the front line Russian defensive line Anti-tank trap Trenches Beyond natural obstacles, miles of Russian defenses — trenches, tank traps and mines — only allow Ukraine’s troops to make incremental progress, at best. 10 miles from the front line Russian defensive line If Ukraine can get 15 miles from the front line, to the city of Tokmak, urban warfare will pose its own challenges. 5 miles from the front line Russian defensive line Anti-tank trap Trenches Beyond natural obstacles, miles of Russian defenses — trenches, tank traps and mines — only allow Ukraine’s troops to make incremental progress, at best.

Persons: Wagner, hasn’t, it’s, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: Infantry, Vehicle, ORIKHIV, Tanks, Supplies Tank, Ukrainian Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Territory, Tokmak, Ukrainian, Ukraine’s, Russian, Crimea

☆ With Wagner’s Future in Doubt, Ukraine Could Capitalize on Chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | Thomas Gibbons-Neff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To some Ukrainian forces, soldiers from the Wagner Group were the best-equipped fighters they had seen since Russia invaded last year. To others, it was their training that distinguished them: Ukrainian soldiers recalled battlefield stories of aggressive tactics or a sniper downing a drone with a single shot. For now, the uncertain status of Wagner is bound to be a relief for Ukrainian soldiers. Though the front lines in Ukraine are likely to remain unchanged in the short term, depending on how events unfold in Russia, the Ukrainian military may be able to capitalize on the chaos and weakening morale to try to make some gains, according to independent analysts and American officials. Still, it is too soon to determine the long-term implications of the feud between Mr. Prigozhin and the Russian military establishment, American officials said.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Wagner, Prigozhin Organizations: Wagner Group Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian

☆ Intense video appears to show how Ukrainian snipers use night-vision technology to devastating effect against Russian attackers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Chilling footage appears to show Ukrainian snipers holding off a Russian assault using night-vision gear. Experts say improved night-vision equipment could give Ukraine a tactical edge against Russia. The footage posted on social media appears to show Ukrainian fighters repelling Russian attacks in the pitch dark. Western-donated equipment includes night-vision goggles and scopes to drones equipped with thermal imaging. Ukrainian military member looking in a thermal weapon sight during advanced training in military tactics on September 11, 2022, in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine.

Persons: —, Serhii, Insider's Chris Panella, George Barros Organizations: Russia, Service, Twitter, Institute for, Getty Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Kyiv Oblast, Russia, Ukrainian

☆ The US Marine Corps' deadliest sniper might never have become one if it weren't for a wild night of drinking and a fake toothache, new book reveals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The deadliest sniper in Marine Corps history is Charles "Chuck" Mawhinney. But even as a Marine, Mawhinney couldn't completely shake his reckless behavior, and a night of drinking cost him his chance to be an aviator. Charles Mawhinney Marine CorpsThe night before an 8 a.m. exam to qualify for aviation training, Mawhinney's friends invited him to get tattoos. Mawhinney qualified for entry into the Marine scout sniper course because he'd already earned distinction as an expert marksman. Mawhinney Courtesy photoIn the middle of this particular dilemma, Mawhinney learned that a Marine sniper with Lima 3/5 needed a spotter.

Persons: Charles, Chuck, Mawhinney, —, Chuck Mawhinney, Jim Lindsay's, he'd, Charles Mawhinney, Mawhinney's, Lindsay, It's Organizations: Marine Corps, Service, Marines, Charles Mawhinney Marine Corps, Marine, Remington, Combat Valor Locations: Vietnam, Lima

☆ They Were Captured by the Russians. Then the Hardest Fight Began.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Carlotta Gall | Daniel Berehulak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Shot through the jaw and tongue by a sniper’s bullet last year in the last days of the grinding siege at the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine, Senior Sgt. Maksym Kushnir could not eat or talk, and could barely breathe. But when he hobbled out of a bunker last May with hundreds of other wounded Ukrainian soldiers in a surrender negotiated with Russian forces, there was no medical help or any sign of the Red Cross workers they had been promised. “For the first three to four days, they did not do anything. They expected me to die on my own.”

Persons: Maksym Kushnir, Sergeant Kushnir, ” Organizations: Russian, Red Cross Locations: Ukraine, Russian

☆ Clandestine Ukrainian unit claims successes against Russian forces in Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Sam Kiley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Because Kyiv region, Chernihiv region, Sumy region are forested areas. An aerial view of a battle field with damaged Russian tanks near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 27, 2023. Brabus and his group, all former soldiers with specialist skills, coalesced around an ex-officer from the Ukrainian forces after Russia's invasion. He said that signals intelligence suggested that Russian units were being swapped over. Ukrainian Armed Forces/ReutersSince Brabus and his group were in Bakhmut, there appears to have been growing anarchy among Russian commanders.

Persons: Brabus, Vladimir Putin, ”, –, “, wasn’t, Yevgeny Prighozhin’s Wagner, He’s, Wagner Organizations: Eastern, Eastern Ukraine CNN, Russian Volunteer Force, Russia Legion, “, NATO, CNN, intel, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Reuters, Russian 72nd Brigade Locations: Eastern Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Chernihiv region, Sumy, balaclava, Bakhmut, Donetsk, Russian, “, Zaporizhzhia

☆ Former Florida Deputy on Trial for Not Confronting Parkland Gunman
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Jane Musgrave | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Opening statements are expected to begin Wednesday in the trial of the school resource officer on duty at the time of the attack, Scot Peterson, who faces 10 charges, including seven counts of child neglect, for not confronting the gunman. A conviction of a member of law enforcement for inaction during a mass shooting could have sweeping repercussions for policing in Florida and beyond, legal experts say. Mr. Peterson faces a decades-long prison sentence on the accusation that he failed in his role as a caregiver for the students. Mr. Peterson was the first officer on the scene, and by his own account he did not rush into Building 1200 at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, where the gunman killed 17 people and wounded 17 others. He instead took cover in the stairway of an adjacent building, and has said he was unsure where the shots were coming from and feared that a sniper was firing from outside.

Persons: Scot Peterson, Peterson, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Organizations: Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School Locations: Parkland, Fla, Florida

☆ Three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian policeman killed in rare border crossing incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Pierre Meilhan Richard Allen Greene Salma Abdelaziz Allegra Goodwin Hadas Gold Amir Tal | Pierre Meilhan | Richard Allen Greene | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Jerusalem/London CNN —Three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian policeman have been killed in a rare border crossing incident. They say the Egyptian policeman shot two Israeli border guards – and that when Israeli back-up arrived later, a firefight ensued that killed both the policeman and a third Israeli. The first two IDF soldiers killed were discovered dead by their lieutenant when they did not answer their radio, according to the spokesman. An ambulance leaves a military base following a deadly shootout in southern Israel along the Egyptian border on June 3, 2023. Tsafrir Abayov/APIsraeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Twitter that Israeli and Egyptian defense ministers have agreed to work together to prevent attacks along their shared border following the incident.

Persons: –, Ohad Danan, Izhad Iluz, Lia Ben, Herzi Halevi, Israel, Tsafrir, Yoav Gallant, “, Mohamed Zaki, ” Gallant, Zaki, Gallant “ Organizations: London CNN —, Israel Defense Forces, Islamic, Staff, AP Israeli, Twitter Locations: Jerusalem, London, Egypt, Sinai, Israel

☆ Russia is asking its schoolchildren to knit socks for soldiers and write poems about the Motherland in an all-out effort to get support for the war
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Peter Gelling | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian schools are introducing programs promoting the military to encourage support for the Ukraine war. Russia asked students to knit socks for soldiers and write poems about military history, NYT reported. Russia is now asking its students to knit socks for Russian soldiers, a seemingly antiquated effort that feels like a throwback to the Soviet era. Russian Ministry of EducationWith Russia stagnant on the battlefield, propaganda steps inRussia first invaded eastern Ukraine in February 2022. But much of the Russian military equipment is outdated, and soldiers have complained of equipment shortages.

Persons: —, Wagner, Bakhmut, Alexandra Arkhipova Organizations: Service, The New York Times, The Times, Times, Russia's Ministry of Education, Russian Ministry of Education, Russia, Wagner Group Locations: Ukraine, Russia, The, Soviet, Crimea, Donetsk, Russian, Bakhmut, Ukrainian

☆ New Hampshire Man Is Arrested After Threatening to Kill U.S. Senator
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Jesus Jiménez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A man from New Hampshire faces up to up to 10 years in prison after threatening to kill a United States senator because he was angry that the senator was “blocking military promotions,” according to federal court documents. The U.S. attorney’s office for the District of New Hampshire announced on Friday that Brian Landry, 66, of Franklin, N.H., had been charged with threatening to assault, kidnap or murder a United States official. Mr. Landry called a senator’s district field office on May 17 and left a threatening voice mail message, according to court documents. The senator who was threatened by Mr. Landry was not named in court documents, which only detailed that the senator has been in office since January 2021. You’re a dead man walking,” he said, adding some expletives.

Persons: Brian Landry, Landry, Mr, Landy, You’re, ” Organizations: United, District, New Hampshire Locations: New Hampshire, United States, U.S, Franklin, N.H

☆ Ukrainian special operators are learning to fight Russia without the 'tethers' other militaries have gotten used to
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Ukrainian special operators in particular have been learning to fight without those "tethers." When Russia launched its attack early on February 24, 2022, Ukraine's government was caught off guard — but the Ukrainian military wasn't. Fortunately for Ukrainian special operators, their supply lines are short — they are fighting on their home turf, after all. Insider understands that the Ukrainian special operators often resort to unconventional methods to overcome logistics challenges on the ground. As the war drags on and the Ukrainian forces advance, Ukrainian special operators will continue to face logistical difficulties.

☆ The Taliban promised to provide security to Afghans. New data shows threat from ISIS is growing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Eliza Mackintosh Ehsan Popalzai Antonio Jarne Lou Robinson | Eliza Mackintosh | Ehsan Popalzai | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

“Currently we don’t have security in Afghanistan at all, whenever we go out we don’t know if we will come home alive or not,” he added. Taliban security forces guard a checkpoint near the foreign ministry in Kabul on March 27, after an ISIS-K suicide bomber struck the site. The data, which is available in a live map, includes 367 pieces of open-source evidence — largely videos and images shared on social media — about 70 ISIS-K attacks since August 2021. As the Taliban try to minimize the threat ISIS-K poses, attacks on civilians continue. Taliban security forces have been waging ongoing operations and night raids against ISIS-K.

☆ ‘The Mother’ Review: Are You My Sniper?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Lisa Kennedy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This arrangement has kept the Mother and child safe for 12 years when Agent Cruise reaches out with news that Zoe (Lucy Paez) has been found by the Mother’s former partners: Adrian Lovell (Joseph Fiennes) and Hector Alvarez (Gael García Bernal). Lovell is a nasty-smooth piece of work. As Alvarez, Bernal basks in some candlelit cruelty when the action shifts to Cuba. Lovell trained the Mother as a sniper in Afghanistan. Apart from some deadpan exchanges between the Mother and Zoe, Lopez plays the role fierce.

☆ An Exodus by Bus From Sudan: Sniper Fire, Desert Journeys and Fear
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Vivian Yee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

ASWAN, Egypt — It was the middle of the night, but the first thing Mawahib Mohammed did was make a beeline for the shower, the first she had taken in a week. As one of the thousands of Sudanese who had crossed the border to Egypt in recent weeks, she had barely slept in six days and used a bathroom only once, she said. When she got out of the shower, she still felt filthy, she said. When Ms. Mohammed, 47, returned to Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, from Dubai four years ago, she had imagined something different: Helping to build a modern, democratic society after a revolution brought down Sudan’s longtime dictator. Instead, over the last week, she and her family found themselves running pell-mell from Khartoum as it veered toward civil war.

CNN —A mural depicting a fallen Ukrainian soldier executed by Russian forces in 2022 has appeared in the heart of Kyiv on the side of a government building. The sighting was celebrated in a Facebook post by the Ukrainian parliament on Saturday. In the video, he was seen pulling a cigarette and saying: “Slava Ukraini (Glory to Ukraine)” – before fighters off camera fired several shots at him. Glory to Ukraine.”Zelensky posthumously awarded Matsiyevsky Ukraine’s highest honor, the “Hero of Ukraine” medal later that month. There, a common idea arose to create a mural in Kyiv,” the Parliament said.

☆ How Ukraine's artillery is doing more damage than Russia's, even with fewer rounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( David Hambling | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

While Ukraine has fewer guns firing fewer shells, it appear to be doing more damage than Russia. But while Ukraine has fewer guns firing fewer shells, they appear to be doing more damage even though, with some notable exceptions, they are using the same weapons as their Russian opponents. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated in February that Russia was firing around four times as many shells as Ukraine. This suggests an improvement of a factor of 7-10, which is roughly what we see in the ratios of artillery shells: casualties above. A vast number of Ukrainian drone videos show this process in operation.

☆ Criminals are buying guns in US states with loose gun laws and then smuggling them to Haiti, UN says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Criminals are using lax gun laws in the United States, specifically in Florida, to traffic guns to Haiti. A UN report found that the United States is the "principal source" for guns and munitions in Haiti. "Weapons are frequently procured through straw man purchases in US states with looser gun laws and fewer purchasing restrictions." Handguns that sell for $400 to $500 in the United States can be resold for up to $10,000 in Haiti, according to the report. Florida recently became the 26th state in the United States to legalize permitless concealed carry.

☆ Canada to send rifles, radios in new C$39 million Ukraine aid package
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OTTAWA, April 21 (Reuters) - The Canadian government on Friday announced C$39 million ($28.9 million) in new military assistance for Ukraine that will include 40 sniper rifles, 16 radio sets and a donation to a NATO fund to help Kyiv in its war against Russia. The contribution to the NATO fund, of about C$34.6 million, will help to provide Ukraine with fuel supplies and other assets. "The donations and support announced by Canada today will help ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to defend its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity," Anand said. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation" to combat what it describes as a security threat. ($1 = 1.3475 Canadian dollars)Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A filmmaker risked sniper fire to capture the Ukraine war for a powerful documentary, and the new trailer just dropped
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine has been ongoing for nearly 14 months. Levy, 74, filmed on battlefields across the country — from Kharkiv in the northeast, Kherson in the south, and the capital city Kyiv. Insider also interviewed Levy this week to discuss his experience while reporting in Ukraine, what he observed on the ground, and his overall thoughts on the war. Courtesy photoQ: Ukraine has sustained huge casualties in defending itself, as you document. Courtesy photoQ: Are you concerned that support for Ukraine is becoming increasingly unfashionable in France and the West more generally?

☆ Biden Must Tread Rocky Path in Belfast Before Tending His Irish Roots
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Though Mr. Biden deplored I.R.A. The events became one of the most infamous episodes of the Troubles, known as Bloody Sunday. Mr. Powell said Mr. Biden had made his own contribution later on by pressing the British government to break an impasse with the European Union over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland. In doing so, he fulfilled a promise he made to Mr. Biden when the two met last fall at a summit in Indonesia, during which the prime minister vowed to resolve the issue. “It is possible that Biden could be seen as adding more pressure on the unionists,” said Katy Hayward, a professor of politics at Queen’s University in Belfast.

☆ US embassy welcomes Finland to NATO with meme on Finnish snipers, a lethal force legendary for punishing invading Soviets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

To mark the occasion, a US embassy posted a meme to Twitter about Finnish snipers. The meme reads "select all images with Finnish snipers" and includes 12 small picture boxes which together make up an image of a snow-covered forest. What followed was a 105-day-long conflict known as the Winter War — a cold affair that saw Soviet forces suffer substantial losses. Given their limited number of troops and equipment, Finnish forces often couldn't go head to head against Soviet forces in pitched battles, so they turned to their snipers. Ski-mounted Finnish troops inflicted heavy losses on the Soviets.

☆ Ukrainian sniper says there's no duels like in movies and that he prefers his AK to his expensive sniper rifle for front-line fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian snipers recently spoke with Military Times about their evolving role in the Ukraine war. The soldier added that he prefers to use a Kalashnikov rifle over his expensive, long-range sniper weapon. "Sniper duels are just a silly thing from the movies," Artyom told Military Times, adding that when Russian troops "really want to get us, they use mortars — or if we're really unlucky, white phosphorus." One of Artyom's students, who goes by Yevhen, said in an interview with Military Times that there is "not much need for snipers" around Bakhmut. "The enemy attempts to take full control of the city of Bakhmut, continuing the assault," it said in a Facebook update.

☆ Factbox: Major school shootings in the United States
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - A 28-year-old woman shot dead three children and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, before police killed her. SANDY HOOK: Dec. 14, 2012 - A man shoots dead his mother, then kills 20 children and six adults before killing himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. UVALDE: May 24, 2022 - A man fatally shoots 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas before he was shot dead by Border Patrol agents. PARKLAND: Feb. 14, 2018 - A former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, opens fire with an assault-style rifle, killing 17 students and educators. He is fatally shot by police.

☆ Ukrainians say Russian drones pose growing threat, more Stingers needed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Mike Collett-White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In a small hamlet west of Soledar, a town to the north of Bakhmut now under Russian control, troops from an anti-aircraft unit in Ukraine's 10th Mountain Assault Brigade were planning to use drones to attack Russian positions. Kamin, 42, showed Reuters some of the shoulder-held weapons the unit has used to reduce the threat of plane and helicopter attacks on frontline Ukrainian positions. "Now it is a war of drones," Kamin said. "The Russians used reconnaissance drones, but now they are also using more drones that are carrying weapons." Despite the growing focus on UAVs, Kamin urged Western allies to supply more anti-aircraft weapons, including U.S. Stingers, which he said he was running out of.

☆ 18 countries sent sharpshooters to a US military base in Germany to see who has the best sniper team in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The 2022 version of the European Best Sniper Team Competition was one of the largest ever. The European Best Sniper Team CompetitionEstonian troops in a replica of a downed UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during the European Best Sniper Team Competition on August 6. An Italian sniper team in a replica of a downed helicopter during the European Best Sniper Team Competition on August 6. The winnersCompetitors in the "1917" event during the European Best Sniper Team Competition on August 6. Snipers and modern warfareA Finnish Army sniper team at the European Best Sniper Team Competition on August 7.

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