"There is a realistic possibility that the battle for #Sloviansk will be the next key contest in the struggle for the #Donbas" per @DefenceHQ
#Russia "has committed most of the remaining available units from the Eastern & Western Groups of Forces to the #Izium axis"
"#Russian forces have likely advanced up to another 5 km down the E40 main road from #Izium, in the face of extremely determined #Ukrainian resistance" per @DefenceHQ
"#Russian forces from the Eastern & Western Groups of Forces are likely now around 16 km north from the town of #Sloviansk" per @DefenceHQ, whicj says the town is also under threat from #Russia's Central & Southern Groups of Forces
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BREAKING: US announces new $400 million aid package to #Ukraine w/precision systems & ammo to help #Kyiv target, disrupt & destroy #Russia’s ability wage war in the #Donbas & beyond
New drawdown includes:
- 4 HIMARS & ammo
- 1,000 rounds of "precision capable" 155mm artillery
- tactical vehicles
- demolition munitions
- counter battery systems
- spare parts
per a sr US defense official
“A big element of what we are looking at now is...for the #Russia|ns to know that the Ukrainians are going to be able to continue the fight" per a sr US defense official
NEW: #Russia's #SnakeIsland retreat - "We not believe there is any credence to what Russia is saying, that this is a gesture of good will" per a senior US defense official
Says it is more abt #Ukraine's efforts & use of weapons like #harpoon missiles
#Russia's #SnakeIsland retreat - "It does make it a lot easier to defend #Odesa & in the future to open up those sea lanes" per a senior US defense official
Fighting in the #Donbas is a "grinding war of attrition" per a senior US defense official
Says #Russia has not yet been able to take #Lysychansk or the nearby oil refinery
Happening now: Most destabilizing factor in the world today - "There are so many" @ODNIgov Dir Avril Haines tells @SilveradoPolicy@Google Leadership & Service Forum
NEW: "The mismatch between what we perceive to be #Putin's even near-term military objectives & the fact that his military can't actually achieve them is a destabilizing factor" per @ODNIgov Dir Avril Haines "It has raised the potential for escalation"
Another destabilizing factor - "The way in which disruptive technologies are emerging in many respects, the kind of convergence of so many fields of science" per @ODNIgov’s Haines
"Unfavorable views of China have gone up by 21 percentage points in #Poland & Israel & 15 points in #Hungary..."
"#Belgium stands as the only country where fewer people hold an unfavorable view of #China this year than last year (61%, down from 67%)" per @pewresearch