- #Russia has renewed its offensive around Izyum to try to encircle Severodonetsk
- Russian declared "humanitarian corridors" are likely to "manipulate the battlespace" as seen in Syria, and civilians trapped in Severodonetsk see them this way.
Interesting thread. The public messaging of #Russia and #China has become more overtly hostile to the #US-led world order; no reason to think the leaderships are not being honest about their views. Notable both see the collapse of the USSR as key.
#Biden has put the sale of four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones to #Ukraine on hold. This has been discussed since March and the White House had approved it; now reversed itself because of fears "surveillance equipment might fall into enemy hands" 🙄 reuters.com/world/europe/u…
Pictures of #Ukraine's President Zelensky making a surprise visit to #Mykolaiv, which is right near the front with the #Russian-occupied zone in the southeast and has been subjected to regular bombing by the Russians.
Video from President Zelensky's visit to #Mykolaiv in southeast #Ukraine, on the front with the zone occupied by #Russia.
In Kherson, southeast #Ukraine, Yevhen Soboliev, a collaborator with #Russia who ran one of their prisons (the 90th penal colony) and had been charged with treason, has been killed with a bomb attached to a tree, which blew up when he was in his car. yahoo.com/now/explosion-…
Olena Zelenska speaks about her role as #Ukraine's First Lady, a job she had never sought - she found out her husband was running for the Presidency from the media - and the upending of her life after #Russia's invasion. theguardian.com/world/2022/jun…
#pt: The wife of #Ukraine's President Zelensky's wife, Olena Zelenska, confirms that he did not believe #Russia's invasion was coming right up to the last moment.
The Majority Leader of #Ukraine's Parliament and her chief negotiator counters that report the #Biden administration is moving towards pressuring President Zelensky to accept a "compromise" that leaves #Russia occupying parts of Ukraine.
Yuliia Paievska ("Taira"), the #Ukrainian medic who smuggled 256GB of footage out of #Mariupol via @AP during the #Russian assault and was then abducted by Moscow's agents on 16 March, was released on 17 June. President Zelensky announced her release. apnews.com/article/russia…
First video of Yuliia Paievska ("Taira") after her release, thanks #Ukraine's President Zelensky for organising the prisoner exchange that freed her, says all the other hostages taken by #Russia should be confident they will be brought home.
The #US has sent four HIMARS to #Ukraine and the Pentagon is pushing for the White House to approve the transfer of another four. Britain is sending three similar systems, the M270 MLRS. politico.com/news/2022/06/1…
#Sweden confirms the #PKK are working to sabotage their entry into #NATO
An excellent, and sympathetic (in terms of understanding, not agreement) article by @mdmitri91, speaking from inside the tent, as it were, about the #Russian worldview, and how the Putin government plays on this to set the West up as the main enemy. wartranslated.com/what-might-be-…
There's something really atrocious about #Russia boasting of "record" harvests as it requisitions grain from #Ukraine, and I cannot believe the Putin government does not know the history they're summoning up by doing this.
#Russia's "military is well-suited to short, high-intensity campaigns … it is poorly designed for a sustained occupation, or a … war of attrition … Enter Putin’s 'special operation,' … a major war … with a force operating at peacetime manning levels" warontherocks.com/2022/06/not-bu…
#pt: "conventional wars often come down to attrition … A force with enough hedge … can try to compensate for a terrible plan, recover from initial failure, and … adjust. The Russian military has no such option and is further constrained by the political framing of this war."
Pictures of #Ukraine's President Zelensky speaking in #Odessa today to the National Guard, praising them for protecting the country, meeting its members, and awarding medals.
Zelensky also went to Mikolaiv, right on the front in the south-east with the #Russia-held zone.
Pictures from President Zelensky's visit to a hospital in #Mykolaiv, in southeast #Ukraine, on the frontline with the #Russian-occupied zone. Zelensky celebrated the "heroic" contributions of doctors and medical staff to the country's war effort.
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#Britain: Ahmiri Azizi, 24, an asylum seeker from Iran living in Sheffield, a supporter of #IS, has been charged with seven counts of sharing terrorist material from June-November 2021, inc. one after the Liverpool women's hospital attack in Nov. 2021. examinerlive.co.uk/news/uk-world-…
A co-defendant alongside Azizi is Mohammed Hussini, also an #IS supporter, who has also been charged with four counts of disseminating terrorist material on Telegram between August and November 2021.
Interestingly, "Azizi's defence is that his phone was hacked by or on behalf of the Iranian government. John Jones QC, defending, said that Azizi supports Kurdistan becoming an independent nation and was an opponent to Iran and IS."
Thread: 17 June 2022: Day 114 of #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine
#Australia's new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he is considering accepting the invitation of #Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit Kiev during his upcoming European trip to the #NATO meeting in Spain on 29 June. apnews.com/article/russia…
#France's President Macron generally shifted his rhetoric over #Ukraine during his visit to Kiev with President Zelensky, but at the end shifts right back to where he was.
Thread: 16 June 2022: Day 113 of #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine
Every bloody time. This one with the Harpoons is among the worst since the breaking of #Russia's naval blockade is an immediate problem for us all, not just #Ukraine. Really not sure we have the time for this roundabout method.
- #Russia is struggling to advance into the south of Severodonetsk city, despite concentrating artillery and air power on it
- Russia has resorted to unguided missiles because it is running short of precision weapons. #Ukraine's air defences holding.
#Russia is firing up to 50,000 artillery rounds per day and doing better at combined arms warfare. #Ukraine is running very low on ammunition for its Soviet-era weapons systems and Western weapons supplies are too slow and meagre to cover the gap. washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/…