Ukraine, 7-13-23

First, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Agence France-Presse, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, via Popular Resistance, an analysis published in late June by The Grayzone. — MCM

   

Russian general says top military brass betrayed soldiers fighting in Ukraine, by Guy Faulconbridge | Reuters MOSCOW  — A Russian general said he had been dismissed as a commander after telling the military leadership about the dire situation at the front in Ukraine where he said Russian soldiers had been stabbed in the back by the failings of the top military brass. Major General Ivan Popov, who commanded the 58th Combined Arms Army, said . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Ukraine repels large Russian missile and drone attack that injures civilians in Kyiv, by Hanna Arhirova | AP  KYIV — Ukrainian officials said air defenses shot down 20 Iranian-made drones fired by Russia mostly at the Kyiv region early this morning, but wreckage fell on four districts of the capital, wounding two people and destroying several homes. The latest barrage by . . . READ MORE . . .

   

NATO summit: Mixed news for Ukraine, hope for Sweden and a response to Russia, by Lorne Cook | AP  VILNIUS — U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts wrapped up a two-day summit Wednesday with pledges of long-term support for Ukraine but no offer of the country’s protection under the alliance’s security umbrella. Results from the meeting in Lithuania, a nation . . . READ MORE . . .

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A big question during the NATO summit: Who’s in and who’s not? Steve Inskeep of NPR talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg about breakthroughs at the summit, and if the alliance is better poised to defend against further aggression from Russia or others. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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NATO pledges its support for Ukraine, but gives it no timeline for membership. Reported by Eleanor Beardsley | NPR  President Biden said NATO countries will help Ukraine defend itself against Russia now and into the future, even as they did not offer a clear pathway for Ukraine to join the alliance. Click HERE to listen and read.

   

Russia says F-16 jets in Ukraine will be seen as ‘nuclear’ threat. From AFP. Russia will regard Western F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine as a “nuclear” threat because of their capacity to carry atomic weapons, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today. He spoke of a U.S. plan to transfer F-16s to Ukraine, although Washington has not . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Russia’s position on required issues for Ukraine settlement remains unchanged — Lavrov. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russia maintains its stance on the issues that are required for the resolution of the situation in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today. “Our position . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Ground vehicles are the new frontier in Ukraine’s drone war, by Max Hunder | Reuters * Unmanned aerial vehicles have played big role in war * Ukraine innovators now turning to ground drones * Russia, too, is experimenting with combat robots * Aim is to save lives and boost battlefield capabilities | KYIV — After the role of unmanned aerial vehicles in the Ukraine war expanded dramatically since Russia invaded 16 months ago, attention is turning to ground drones that developers say could be the next frontier in military innovation. Among the Ukrainian engineers working in the sector . . . READ MORE . . .

   

An independent audit of U.S. funding for Ukraine, by Heather Kaiser, Anya Parampil and Max Blumenthal | The Grayzone Though many Americans likely believe that U.S. dollars allocated for Ukraine are spent directly on supplies for the war effort, the lead author of this report, Heather Kaiser, conducted a thorough review of Washington’s budget for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal year and discovered that is far from the case. U.S. taxpayers may . . . READ MORE . . .

   

TO BE CONTINUED