U.S. poised to give Ukraine controversial cluster bombs
Confronted with a worrying shortage of artillery ammunition, a counteroffensive that has been slow to launch and increasingly desperate appeals from Kyiv for more weaponry, the Biden administration is facing an imminent decision over whether to supply Ukraine with controversial cluster bombs.
“We have been thinking about DPICM for a long time,” Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday at the National Press Club, referring to dual-purpose improved conventional munitions. “Yes, of course there’s a decision-making process ongoing.”
Senior administration and defense officials have in recent weeks contacted Capitol Hill and allies long opposed to the use of cluster munitions to make the case that they are needed on the Ukraine battlefield and to provide assurances on how they would be used.
Read the full story here.
Confronted with a worrying shortage of artillery ammunition, a counteroffensive that has been slow to launch and increasingly desperate appeals from Kyiv for more weaponry, the Biden administration is facing an imminent decision over whether to supply Ukraine with controversial cluster bombs.
“We have been thinking about DPICM for a long time,” Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday at the National Press Club, referring to dual-purpose improved conventional munitions. “Yes, of course there’s a decision-making process ongoing.”
Senior administration and defense officials have in recent weeks contacted Capitol Hill and allies long opposed to the use of cluster munitions to make the case that they are needed on the Ukraine battlefield and to provide assurances on how they would be used.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest on Ukraine:
- Zelensky denied allegations that Ukraine was planning a false-flag attack on the nuclear plant, saying in his nightly address Tuesday that “the only source of danger to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is Russia and no one else.”
- Russian and U.S. officials have had discussions on a potential prisoner swap that could include detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
- Biden and Kristersson will “reaffirm their view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible,” according to a White House statement issued ahead of the meeting.
- A Russian investigative journalist and a human rights lawyer were brutally beaten in Russia’s Chechnya republic as they were en route Tuesday to a high-profile trial.
More live updates here.
- Zelensky denied allegations that Ukraine was planning a false-flag attack on the nuclear plant, saying in his nightly address Tuesday that “the only source of danger to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is Russia and no one else.”
- Russian and U.S. officials have had discussions on a potential prisoner swap that could include detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
- Biden and Kristersson will “reaffirm their view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible,” according to a White House statement issued ahead of the meeting.
- A Russian investigative journalist and a human rights lawyer were brutally beaten in Russia’s Chechnya republic as they were en route Tuesday to a high-profile trial.
More live updates here.
Zelensky: Georgia should send ex-leader to Ukraine after alarming video
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is demanding that the pro-West former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili — who is in jail for abuse of office charges he denies — be sent to Ukraine for urgent medical care.
Zelensky claimed without evidence that Moscow, via the government of Georgia — where Saakashvili served as president until 2013 — was “killing” the former leader after video emerged of him looking emaciated this week. Moscow has not commented on the recent allegations but has previously dismissed any involvement with Saakashvili as “the theater of the absurd.”
Saakashvili, in an op-ed in Politico in April, said he is now “dying” and has been “systematically tortured, physically and psychologically, and there is currently evidence of heavy metal poisoning in my body. I now suffer from a bewildering array of over 20 serious illnesses, all of which developed in confinement.”
Read the full story here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is demanding that the pro-West former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili — who is in jail for abuse of office charges he denies — be sent to Ukraine for urgent medical care.
Zelensky claimed without evidence that Moscow, via the government of Georgia — where Saakashvili served as president until 2013 — was “killing” the former leader after video emerged of him looking emaciated this week. Moscow has not commented on the recent allegations but has previously dismissed any involvement with Saakashvili as “the theater of the absurd.”
Saakashvili, in an op-ed in Politico in April, said he is now “dying” and has been “systematically tortured, physically and psychologically, and there is currently evidence of heavy metal poisoning in my body. I now suffer from a bewildering array of over 20 serious illnesses, all of which developed in confinement.”
Read the full story here.
Kremlin warns of ‘sabotage’ at Ukrainian nuclear plant under Russian control
KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — The Kremlin said Wednesday that Ukraine is preparing an attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Russia-occupied territory, raising fears of a disaster as each side accuses the other of potential sabotage at the facility, which Moscow’s forces control.
Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have warned with increasing frequency in recent days that Russia has planted explosives around the plant’s nuclear reactors and has mined its cooling pond.
Ukrainian officials have said the odds of an accidental release of radiation at the Zaporizhzhia plan have increased since the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, an act that Kyiv has blamed on Russian forces.
Read the full story here.
KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — The Kremlin said Wednesday that Ukraine is preparing an attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Russia-occupied territory, raising fears of a disaster as each side accuses the other of potential sabotage at the facility, which Moscow’s forces control.
Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have warned with increasing frequency in recent days that Russia has planted explosives around the plant’s nuclear reactors and has mined its cooling pond.
Ukrainian officials have said the odds of an accidental release of radiation at the Zaporizhzhia plan have increased since the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, an act that Kyiv has blamed on Russian forces.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is in Washington for a meeting at the White House with President Biden. Sweden’s application to join NATO has been held up by objections from Turkey and Hungary.
- Kyiv and Moscow traded allegations that a false-flag attack was looming at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine.
- Russian and U.S. officials have had discussions on a potential prisoner swap that could include detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, though they “don’t want them to be discussed in public.”
- A Russian investigative journalist and a human rights lawyer were brutally beaten in Russia’s Chechnya republic as they were en route to a high-profile trial Tuesday.
- Ukrainian forces have gained ground in villages around the Russian-held city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian General Staff spokesman Andriy Kovalov said Wednesday.
More live updates here.
- Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is in Washington for a meeting at the White House with President Biden. Sweden’s application to join NATO has been held up by objections from Turkey and Hungary.
- Kyiv and Moscow traded allegations that a false-flag attack was looming at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine.
- Russian and U.S. officials have had discussions on a potential prisoner swap that could include detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, though they “don’t want them to be discussed in public.”
- A Russian investigative journalist and a human rights lawyer were brutally beaten in Russia’s Chechnya republic as they were en route to a high-profile trial Tuesday.
- Ukrainian forces have gained ground in villages around the Russian-held city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian General Staff spokesman Andriy Kovalov said Wednesday.
More live updates here.
Wagner rebellion raises doubts about stability of Russia’s nuclear arsenal
The rebellion in Russia by Wagner mercenaries confronted Western officials with one of their gravest fears: the possibility of political chaos and instability in the country with the world’s largest nuclear arsenal.
Anxiety over who might gain control of Russia’s weapons of mass destruction has long tempered Western hopes that President Vladimir Putin might be ousted from power. But months of nuclear posturing by Putin and other senior Russian officials, and a new debate among Moscow analysts on using a nuclear weapon on a NATO country, have raised doubts about whether Putin really provides the stability necessary to avoid an atomic Armageddon — or if he is the risk they should fear most.
Russian officials have played on the West’s nuclear fears throughout the war in an effort to undermine Western support for Ukraine and to slow weapons deliveries, a tactic that seems to have worked.
Read the full story here.
The rebellion in Russia by Wagner mercenaries confronted Western officials with one of their gravest fears: the possibility of political chaos and instability in the country with the world’s largest nuclear arsenal.
Anxiety over who might gain control of Russia’s weapons of mass destruction has long tempered Western hopes that President Vladimir Putin might be ousted from power. But months of nuclear posturing by Putin and other senior Russian officials, and a new debate among Moscow analysts on using a nuclear weapon on a NATO country, have raised doubts about whether Putin really provides the stability necessary to avoid an atomic Armageddon — or if he is the risk they should fear most.
Russian officials have played on the West’s nuclear fears throughout the war in an effort to undermine Western support for Ukraine and to slow weapons deliveries, a tactic that seems to have worked.
Read the full story here.
Russian reporter, lawyer beaten in Chechnya ahead of high-profile trial
RIGA, Latvia — A prominent Russian investigative journalist and a human rights lawyer were brutally beaten as they headed to a court in Russia’s Chechnya republic to attend the high-profile trial of Zarema Musayeva, the mother of exiled opposition activists who challenged the Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.
Yelena Milashina, the journalist, has reported for years on Chechnya, the region in the Caucasus where Russia fought two wars, and that is now tightly controlled by Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s. Milashina investigated human rights abuses including the torture and killing of gay men, the persecution of dissenters and the killing of other reporters.
Milashina, along with Musayeva’s lawyer Alexander Nemov, were on the way to the court from the airport in Grozny, the Chechen capital, when another vehicle blocked their car early Tuesday.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — A prominent Russian investigative journalist and a human rights lawyer were brutally beaten as they headed to a court in Russia’s Chechnya republic to attend the high-profile trial of Zarema Musayeva, the mother of exiled opposition activists who challenged the Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.
Yelena Milashina, the journalist, has reported for years on Chechnya, the region in the Caucasus where Russia fought two wars, and that is now tightly controlled by Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s. Milashina investigated human rights abuses including the torture and killing of gay men, the persecution of dissenters and the killing of other reporters.
Milashina, along with Musayeva’s lawyer Alexander Nemov, were on the way to the court from the airport in Grozny, the Chechen capital, when another vehicle blocked their car early Tuesday.
Read the full story here.
Mercenary boss returns to Russia to collect money and guns
RIGA, Latvia — Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin was in Russia on Thursday, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, raising further questions about the murky agreement under which Prigozhin avoided insurgency charges for a failed rebellion that posed a brazen challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority.
The Kremlin, in announcing the agreement on June 24, had said that Prigozhin and fighters loyal to him could avoid prosecution by leaving Russia for Belarus. Russian authorities then quickly began dismantling Wagner’s operations and the rest of Prigozhin’s sprawling business empire.
But on Thursday, 12 days after Prigozhin abruptly turned around columns of fighters that he had sent rolling toward Moscow, Lukashenko said the mercenary boss had been back in his home city of St. Petersburg and may have flown to Moscow on Thursday morning.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin was in Russia on Thursday, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, raising further questions about the murky agreement under which Prigozhin avoided insurgency charges for a failed rebellion that posed a brazen challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority.
The Kremlin, in announcing the agreement on June 24, had said that Prigozhin and fighters loyal to him could avoid prosecution by leaving Russia for Belarus. Russian authorities then quickly began dismantling Wagner’s operations and the rest of Prigozhin’s sprawling business empire.
But on Thursday, 12 days after Prigozhin abruptly turned around columns of fighters that he had sent rolling toward Moscow, Lukashenko said the mercenary boss had been back in his home city of St. Petersburg and may have flown to Moscow on Thursday morning.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed Thursday that the leader of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, is no longer in Belarus but in Russia.
- In Ukraine, four people were killed and 34 others were injured in an overnight Russian cruise missile attack on the western city of Lviv, regional governor Maksym Kozytsky said Thursday on Telegram.
- Both Russian and Ukrainian forces must “immediately stop” using controversial cluster munitions, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
- Fierce fighting continues in the Russian-held town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Telegram.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency did not discover mines or explosives during recent inspections at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine, the U.N. watchdog agency said Wednesday.
More live updates here.
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed Thursday that the leader of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, is no longer in Belarus but in Russia.
- In Ukraine, four people were killed and 34 others were injured in an overnight Russian cruise missile attack on the western city of Lviv, regional governor Maksym Kozytsky said Thursday on Telegram.
- Both Russian and Ukrainian forces must “immediately stop” using controversial cluster munitions, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
- Fierce fighting continues in the Russian-held town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Telegram.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency did not discover mines or explosives during recent inspections at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine, the U.N. watchdog agency said Wednesday.
More live updates here.
Biden approves cluster munition supply to Ukraine
President Biden has approved the provision of U.S. cluster munitions for Ukraine, with drawdown of the weapons from Defense Department stocks due to be announced Friday.
The move, which will bypass U.S. law prohibiting the production, use or transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1 percent, comes amid concerns about Kyiv’s lagging counteroffensive against entrenched Russian troops and dwindling Western stocks of conventional artillery.
It follows months of internal administration debate over whether to supply the controversial munitions, which are banned by most countries in the world.
Read the full story here and follow our live coverage.
President Biden has approved the provision of U.S. cluster munitions for Ukraine, with drawdown of the weapons from Defense Department stocks due to be announced Friday.
The move, which will bypass U.S. law prohibiting the production, use or transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1 percent, comes amid concerns about Kyiv’s lagging counteroffensive against entrenched Russian troops and dwindling Western stocks of conventional artillery.
It follows months of internal administration debate over whether to supply the controversial munitions, which are banned by most countries in the world.
Read the full story here and follow our live coverage.
Russia to close Finnish Consulate in St. Petersburg, expels diplomats
Russia has withdrawn consent for Finland to operate its consulate in St. Petersburg and expelled nine Finnish diplomats, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced Thursday.
The decision was announced just days before NATO heads of state and government gather in Vilnius, Lithuania, for the alliance’s annual summit, which is to be followed by a visit to Finland by President Biden. Moscow’s decision also follows by about a month Finland’s announcement that it would expel nine Russian diplomats.
Although the expulsion of diplomats — nine for nine — appears to be a tit-for-tat move, the closing of the Finnish Consulate in St. Petersburg, a city not far from the Russia-Finland border, suggests an escalation designed to get the attention of Helsinki — and Washington.
Read the full story here.
Russia has withdrawn consent for Finland to operate its consulate in St. Petersburg and expelled nine Finnish diplomats, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced Thursday.
The decision was announced just days before NATO heads of state and government gather in Vilnius, Lithuania, for the alliance’s annual summit, which is to be followed by a visit to Finland by President Biden. Moscow’s decision also follows by about a month Finland’s announcement that it would expel nine Russian diplomats.
Although the expulsion of diplomats — nine for nine — appears to be a tit-for-tat move, the closing of the Finnish Consulate in St. Petersburg, a city not far from the Russia-Finland border, suggests an escalation designed to get the attention of Helsinki — and Washington.
Read the full story here.
Russian missile strike kills five civilians in Lviv, far from front line
A barrage of Russian cruise missiles killed at least five civilians and injured dozens just before dawn on Thursday in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, far from the front lines of the war.
The attack, which local authorities called the worst in Lviv since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, was another demonstration of how civilians are dying every day in Ukraine, despite the Kremlin’s repeated denials that it strikes nonmilitary targets.
Last week, at least 13 people, including a acclaimed writer, were killed when a missile hit a popular restaurant in Kramatorsk, in the eastern Donetsk region.
On Thursday, the Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down seven of 10 Kaliber cruise missiles that were fired from the Black Sea early that morning. Several missiles hit a residential area in Lviv, damaging at least 30 houses and 50 cars. At least 40 people were wounded in the attack, authorities said.
Read more here.
A barrage of Russian cruise missiles killed at least five civilians and injured dozens just before dawn on Thursday in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, far from the front lines of the war.
The attack, which local authorities called the worst in Lviv since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, was another demonstration of how civilians are dying every day in Ukraine, despite the Kremlin’s repeated denials that it strikes nonmilitary targets.
Last week, at least 13 people, including a acclaimed writer, were killed when a missile hit a popular restaurant in Kramatorsk, in the eastern Donetsk region.
On Thursday, the Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down seven of 10 Kaliber cruise missiles that were fired from the Black Sea early that morning. Several missiles hit a residential area in Lviv, damaging at least 30 houses and 50 cars. At least 40 people were wounded in the attack, authorities said.
Read more here.
Biden approves cluster munition supply to Ukraine
President Biden has approved the provision of U.S. cluster munitions for Ukraine, with drawdown of the weapons from Defense Department stocks due to be announced Friday.
The move, which will bypass U.S. law prohibiting the production, use or transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1 percent, comes amid concerns about Kyiv’s lagging counteroffensive against entrenched Russian troops and dwindling Western stocks of conventional artillery.
It follows months of internal administration debate over whether to supply the controversial munitions, which are banned by most countries in the world.
Read the full story here.
President Biden has approved the provision of U.S. cluster munitions for Ukraine, with drawdown of the weapons from Defense Department stocks due to be announced Friday.
The move, which will bypass U.S. law prohibiting the production, use or transfer of cluster munitions with a failure rate of more than 1 percent, comes amid concerns about Kyiv’s lagging counteroffensive against entrenched Russian troops and dwindling Western stocks of conventional artillery.
It follows months of internal administration debate over whether to supply the controversial munitions, which are banned by most countries in the world.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- The White House has approved providing Ukraine with cluster munitions and is set to announce a drawdown of the weapons from the Defense Department on Friday.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are scheduled to meet in Istanbul for talks likely to focus on Sweden’s bid for NATO membership and a soon-to-expire grain deal with Russia.
- Questions remain about the agreement under which the militia leader at the helm of a failed rebellion against Russian defense officials avoided insurgency charges.
- The European Union has moved toward a deal to use half a billion euros ($544 million) from its budget to ramp up production of ammunition and missiles.
- The Czech Republic pledged to send more attack helicopters and large-caliber ammunition to Ukraine.
More live updates here.
- The White House has approved providing Ukraine with cluster munitions and is set to announce a drawdown of the weapons from the Defense Department on Friday.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are scheduled to meet in Istanbul for talks likely to focus on Sweden’s bid for NATO membership and a soon-to-expire grain deal with Russia.
- Questions remain about the agreement under which the militia leader at the helm of a failed rebellion against Russian defense officials avoided insurgency charges.
- The European Union has moved toward a deal to use half a billion euros ($544 million) from its budget to ramp up production of ammunition and missiles.
- The Czech Republic pledged to send more attack helicopters and large-caliber ammunition to Ukraine.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Human rights groups criticized the U.S. move on cluster munitions, describing the weapons, which can leave behind unexploded ordnance that can kill years after a conflict ends, as a “grave threat to civilian lives” that “would inevitably cause long-term suffering.”
- Germany’s foreign minister said Friday that Berlin opposes sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, shortly after the United States committed to doing so, Reuters reported.
- Despite Zelensky’s last-minute appeals, “Ukraine will not be joining NATO” at the alliance’s upcoming summit in Lithuania, Sullivan said at a briefing on Friday.
- Talks between former U.S. officials and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov did not serve any diplomatic purpose, even indirectly, Sullivan said.
More live updates here.
- Human rights groups criticized the U.S. move on cluster munitions, describing the weapons, which can leave behind unexploded ordnance that can kill years after a conflict ends, as a “grave threat to civilian lives” that “would inevitably cause long-term suffering.”
- Germany’s foreign minister said Friday that Berlin opposes sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, shortly after the United States committed to doing so, Reuters reported.
- Despite Zelensky’s last-minute appeals, “Ukraine will not be joining NATO” at the alliance’s upcoming summit in Lithuania, Sullivan said at a briefing on Friday.
- Talks between former U.S. officials and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov did not serve any diplomatic purpose, even indirectly, Sullivan said.
More live updates here.
Ukraine wants and expects an invitation to join NATO. Allies are not sure.
KYIV, Ukraine — Top Ukrainian officials are hoping that next week’s NATO leaders’ summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, will be an epic moment — when Ukraine finally receives a “clear signal” that it will eventually join the alliance, anchoring the country in the West’s security infrastructure and sending an unequivocal message to Moscow.
Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, said the summit “must end” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg “standing next to each other” and proclaiming, in Sak’s words: “Today, we have reached a historical decision. Today, we have invited Ukraine to join NATO.”
“Then everyone drinks champagne,” Sak said.
But just days before leaders arrive in the Lithuanian capital, it’s far from clear that corks will be popping — or that there are even any bottles to put on ice.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — Top Ukrainian officials are hoping that next week’s NATO leaders’ summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, will be an epic moment — when Ukraine finally receives a “clear signal” that it will eventually join the alliance, anchoring the country in the West’s security infrastructure and sending an unequivocal message to Moscow.
Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, said the summit “must end” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg “standing next to each other” and proclaiming, in Sak’s words: “Today, we have reached a historical decision. Today, we have invited Ukraine to join NATO.”
“Then everyone drinks champagne,” Sak said.
But just days before leaders arrive in the Lithuanian capital, it’s far from clear that corks will be popping — or that there are even any bottles to put on ice.
Read the full story here.
Russia makes a land grab ... in Canberra, Australia
RIGA, Latvia — A Russian embassy staffer has been squatting for days on the planned construction site of a new embassy building in Canberra, the Australian capital, after the government last week evicted Russia from the site for security reasons.
Dragging on his cigarette, wearing blue sweatpants and a navy puffer jacket, the staffer, who has not been identified, emerges from a small temporary cabin only to smoke and take food deliveries, Australian media reported. He did not respond to shouted questions from a journalist.
“This is just wild. It’s almost unheard of,” opposition lawmaker Keith Pitt told Sky News. “You can’t just occupy territory and then claim it,” Pitt said, drawing a comparison to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine where the Kremlin aims to annex four regions.
Read the full story here.
RIGA, Latvia — A Russian embassy staffer has been squatting for days on the planned construction site of a new embassy building in Canberra, the Australian capital, after the government last week evicted Russia from the site for security reasons.
Dragging on his cigarette, wearing blue sweatpants and a navy puffer jacket, the staffer, who has not been identified, emerges from a small temporary cabin only to smoke and take food deliveries, Australian media reported. He did not respond to shouted questions from a journalist.
“This is just wild. It’s almost unheard of,” opposition lawmaker Keith Pitt told Sky News. “You can’t just occupy territory and then claim it,” Pitt said, drawing a comparison to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine where the Kremlin aims to annex four regions.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest on Ukraine:
- An apparent renegotiation between Ukraine and Turkey allowed for the return of the Azov Brigade commanders, who defended a steel plant in the southern port city of Mariupol last year during a nearly three-month siege.
- At this week’s NATO summit, Biden faces the challenge of uniting allies as divisions over the Ukraine war mount.
- The leaders of Britain, Germany and Spain said they would not send cluster munitions to Ukraine, following the U.S. decision.
- The NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday and Wednesday will take place under high security, with nearly 1,000 troops from 16 members countries and advanced air defense systems pressed in service, Reuters reported.
- Portugal supports Ukraine’s NATO candidacy, a joint statement issued by Portugal and Ukraine said Saturday, following a phone call between the countries’ leaders.
More live updates here.
- An apparent renegotiation between Ukraine and Turkey allowed for the return of the Azov Brigade commanders, who defended a steel plant in the southern port city of Mariupol last year during a nearly three-month siege.
- At this week’s NATO summit, Biden faces the challenge of uniting allies as divisions over the Ukraine war mount.
- The leaders of Britain, Germany and Spain said they would not send cluster munitions to Ukraine, following the U.S. decision.
- The NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday and Wednesday will take place under high security, with nearly 1,000 troops from 16 members countries and advanced air defense systems pressed in service, Reuters reported.
- Portugal supports Ukraine’s NATO candidacy, a joint statement issued by Portugal and Ukraine said Saturday, following a phone call between the countries’ leaders.
More live updates here.
Kremlin smears Wagner boss Prigozhin, hailing Putin as Russia’s savior
The Kremlin does not speak his name.
Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin is threatened with political erasure, the modern-day equivalent of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s purging of enemies from official photographs.
The Kremlin’s powerful propaganda apparatus is in overdrive working to discredit Prigozhin and to project President Vladimir Putin as the wise leader who saved Russia from civil war and proved the “maturity” and strength of his state, just in time for summer vacation.
In a rash of coordinated reports smearing Prigozhin on state television and in pro-Kremlin media, Putin’s spinmasters are once again manipulating public sentiment, this time to overcome perceptions of weakness in Putin’s decision to drop insurgency charges in connection with the Wagner rebellion, and to deal with a serious political problem: Prigozhin’s popularity among hard line, pro-war nationalists.
Read more here.
The Kremlin does not speak his name.
Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin is threatened with political erasure, the modern-day equivalent of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s purging of enemies from official photographs.
The Kremlin’s powerful propaganda apparatus is in overdrive working to discredit Prigozhin and to project President Vladimir Putin as the wise leader who saved Russia from civil war and proved the “maturity” and strength of his state, just in time for summer vacation.
In a rash of coordinated reports smearing Prigozhin on state television and in pro-Kremlin media, Putin’s spinmasters are once again manipulating public sentiment, this time to overcome perceptions of weakness in Putin’s decision to drop insurgency charges in connection with the Wagner rebellion, and to deal with a serious political problem: Prigozhin’s popularity among hard line, pro-war nationalists.
Read more here.
Ukraine pushes to reclaim Bakhmut, fighting on fallen city’s flanks
TORETSK, Ukraine — Everything was set for a nighttime mortar attack by a Ukrainian special forces team close to the Russian front line.
A four-man squad assembled a fire base in the blasted remains of a kindergarten in a village near here, about 18 miles south of Bakhmut, while another reconnoitered nearby.
The moon was up. The night was still. The sky was clear — all excellent conditions to pinpoint a mortar strike or float a drone so close to Russian front lines that incoming Ukrainian artillery could be heard whistling on the ride down.
“We will find them with the drone, and we will hit them,” said Lisnyk, the Ukrainian special forces team leader, who requested to be identified by his call sign in keeping with military protocol. “If we don’t find them, we’ll look elsewhere.”
Read the full story here.
TORETSK, Ukraine — Everything was set for a nighttime mortar attack by a Ukrainian special forces team close to the Russian front line.
A four-man squad assembled a fire base in the blasted remains of a kindergarten in a village near here, about 18 miles south of Bakhmut, while another reconnoitered nearby.
The moon was up. The night was still. The sky was clear — all excellent conditions to pinpoint a mortar strike or float a drone so close to Russian front lines that incoming Ukrainian artillery could be heard whistling on the ride down.
“We will find them with the drone, and we will hit them,” said Lisnyk, the Ukrainian special forces team leader, who requested to be identified by his call sign in keeping with military protocol. “If we don’t find them, we’ll look elsewhere.”
Read the full story here.