Latest @DefenceHQ update: #Ukraine continuing to "consolidate" on the high ground over Lyschansak after falling back from Severodonetsk and disrupting #Russia's command/control with "strikes deep behind" the lines. Moscow expending a lot of strategic missiles for minimal returns.
#Ukraine has managed to advance around Mykolaivka and is keeping #Russia contained around Izyum, including via air operations.
#Putin's placeholder president Dmitry Medvedev is ranting about "World War Three" again, this time over Crimea. reuters.com/world/europe/r…
Very curious. It is so out-of-sync with every other estimate - including #Britain's own - for the #Russian killed-in-action numbers in #Ukraine that it probably should be followed-up to gain clarification.
#Russia has attacked a stadium in Mykolaiv, a town that is at least near the frontline in #Ukraine, unlike the shopping mall yesterday, which was in Kremenchuk, 300 miles away.
#pt: The town where the #Russians bombed the stadium today, Mykolaiv, comes under regular attacks of this kind. It is what made #Ukraine's President Zelensky visiting the area ten days ago so impressive.
Toll from #Russia's strike on the civilian mall in Kremenchuk yesterday is up to: 18 dead, 36 missing, and 59 injured. lemonde.fr/en/internation…
Interview with Serhiy Volynsky, the commander of the 36th Marines Brigade of #Ukraine's Armed Forces, taken into #Russian captivity when Mariupol fell. One has to assume coercion, though curiously no mention of "Nazis" or "nationalists".
A #Russian Duma member, Andrey Gurulyov, threatened #Lithuania over the Kaliningrad situation and was firmly warned by the #NATO general-secretary that the Alliance has 40,000+ troops in that area "to protect and defend every inch of allied territory" washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense…
#Russia is systematically stealing #Ukraine's agricultural produce - grain, sunflower seeds, etc. - in the occupied areas of the east, taking it by truck to Crimea, and then (often after mixing with Russian grain) shipping it out, some of it to #Syria. bbc.com/news/61790625
#Turkey has signed a memorandum with #Sweden and #Finland after talks at the #NATO summit in Madrid that set aside Ankara's objections to the two Scandinavian states joining the Alliance. The formal invitation will be issued on 29 June. news.sky.com/story/nato-tur…
Doesn't look like a joyous agreement does it? But whatever works. #Turkey has set aside her objections, and #Sweden and #Finland will join #NATO.
Memo between #Turkey, #Sweden, and #Finland.
- Nordics "will not provide support to YPG/PYD and ... FETO"
- "There are no national arms embargoes in place"
- Some strengthening of domestic terror laws against #PKK
- Prevent "promotion" of PKK propaganda
- PESCO cooperation
"The Ukrainian side can stop everything before the end of today," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "An order for the nationalist units to lay down their arms is necessary". Peskov then listed demands for #Ukraine's surrender, after which #Russia would stop its assault - @AFP
Idiots. The Biden people playing analyst about whether #Ukraine can reconquer the occupied territories from #Russia, while they have the power in their hands to make that decision. edition.cnn.com/2022/06/28/pol…
Thread: 29 June 2022: Day 126 of #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine
The #Russian assault in eastern #Ukraine is making relatively slow progress at high cost, but they are able to "achieve" one thing: the devastation of Luhansk
- #Russia making "incremental advances" toward encircling Lysychansk
- Russia's incapacity with guided missiles makes it "a realistic possibility" they hit the Kremenchuk mall accidentally, albeit Moscow tolerates a high level of "collateral damage"
#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."
- #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.
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.