Ukraine, 5-8-23

First, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, via Consortium News, a link to an email interview from CovertAction Magazine between two authors.  — MCM

   

Ukraine shoots down 35 drones over Kyiv as attacks kill 4, by Susie Blann | AP  KYIV — Ukraine air defenses shot down 35 Iranian-made drones over Kyiv in Russia’s latest nighttime assault, as attacks across Ukraine by the Kremlin’s forces killed four civilians, officials said today. The bombardments came as Moscow enforced tight security on the eve of traditional Red Square commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in  . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Russia rains missiles across Ukraine ahead of May 9 Victory Day holiday, by Gleb Garanich and Valentyn Ogirenko | Reuters  * Ukraine says it shot down all drones in latest wave  * Says Russia trying to capture Bakhmut by May 9  * Marks 1945 defeat of Nazis on May 8 in break with Moscow | Russia launched its biggest wave of drone strikes on Ukraine for months on Monday, escalating attacks in the run-up to its May 9 Victory Day holiday celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany, which Kyiv marked a day earlier in a new break with Moscow. It was the biggest drone swarm yet in a  Russian air campaign unleashed 10 days ago after a lull since early March. . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Wagner group to get more ammo after Bakhmut pull-out threat. From AFP. The leader of Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that he had received “a promise” of more ammunition from the Russian army on Sunday, following his unprecedented public threat to pull his forces from the embattled Ukrainian town of Bakhmut due to a lack of ammunition. “They promised . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Fire at warehouse in Odessa Region covers over 6,000 square meters – Ukrainian military. From Tass. MOSCOW — A fire covering over 6,000 square meters broke out an enterprise warehouse in Ukraine’s Odessa region after several explosions happened there, Ukrainian armed forces’ Southern operational command spokeswoman Natalya Gumenyuk said today. During the night, explosions were reported in Odessa and the region. Later . . . READ MORE . . .

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EU proposes new round of Russia sanctions over Ukraine. From AFP. Brussels is proposing to EU member states an 11th round of sanctions over Russia’s war on Ukraine aimed at cutting down on evasion, a spokesman says. “This package . . . READ MORE . . .

 

Ukraine’s big mistake, by Natylie Baldwin | Covert Action  Renfrey Clarke is an Australian journalist. Throughout the 1990s he reported from Moscow for Green Left Weekly, of Sydney. He is the author of The Catastrophe of Ukrainian Capitalism: How Privatisation Dispossessed & Impoverished the Ukrainian People published by Resistance Books in 2022. Here is my interview with him in April. N.B: You point out in the beginning of your book that Ukraine’s economy had significantly declined by 2018 from its position at the end of the Soviet era in 1990. Can you explain what Ukraine’s prospects looked like in 1990? And what did they look like just prior to Russia’s invasion? R.C.: In researching this book I found a 1992 Deutsche Bank study arguing . . . READ MORE . . .