Ukraine, 7-14-23

For today, links to reports from Agence France-Presse, Tass, the Kyiv Independent, Reuters, and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Next, a link to an investigative report from a Substack account, which may require a subscription to access. Finally, via Popular Resistance, a link to commentary from Educate!  — MCM

   

Ukraine says advanced nearly 2 km along southern front this week. From AFP. Kyiv said today its troops had advanced nearly two kilometres along the southern front over the past week as Ukraine pushes ahead with its counteroffensive. Mykola Urshalovych, a senior representative of the National Guard . . . READ MORE . . .

   

NATO summit shows Russia needs to meet special operation’s goals — diplomat. From Tass. MOSCOW — Analysis of the latest NATO summit’s results leads to a conclusion that Russia needs to fulfill the goals of its special operation in Ukraine, strengthen its armed forces and develop ties with allies, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Thursday. “I can . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Biden says Putin won’t use nukes; U.S. cluster munitions already in Ukraine, by Alexander Khrebet | The Kyiv Independent * Ukraine receives cluster munitions from US, says commander * Biden: ‘No real prospect of Putin using nukes’ * Ukraine confirms striking on Russian military barrack in occupied Berdiansk * EU parliament adopts plan to increase ammunition production for Ukraine | The U.S. has already delivered the cluster munitionsit had pledged as part of the latest $800-million aid package to Ukraine just a week ago, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander for Tavria military sector, said Thursday.  “We just got them . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Russia’s Putin snubs Prigozhin, Biden jokes about poison, by Guy Faulconbridge | Reuters MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Wagner mercenaries the opportunity to keep fighting at a meeting just days after their failed mutiny but suggested Yevgeny Prigozhin be moved aside in favour of a different commander, the Kommersant newspaper said. Mystery surrounds . . .  READ MORE . . .

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For a group of Ukrainian women, painting is a form of therapy to help them cope with loss, by Hanna Arhirova AP  KYIV — Iryna Farion’s artwork depicts two intertwined trees held together by their roots, as though in embrace, and a radiant yellow sun shining against a moody blue background. “I feel like it’s me and my husband, who was killed in the war,” Farion says of the trees. “They are like two . . . READ MORE . . .

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Fear and loathing on Air Force One, by Seymour Hersh | Substack Last week Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser, called in a few journalists to insist that Putin’s squabble with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner militia, was an armed mutiny that showed weakness in the Russian’s leader command and control of his military. There’s simply no evidence for such assertions. If anything, . . . READ MORE . . .

   

NATO’s big climb down, by Moon of Alabama | Educate!  From the: Vilnius Summit Communiqué issued by NATO heads of state and government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Vilnius 11 July 2023: “11. We fully support Ukraine’s right to choose its own security arrangements. Ukraine’s future is in NATO. We reaffirm . . . READ MORE . . .