Ukraine, 7-28-22

First, links to reports from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on the organizations’ names below. — MCM

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Russia attacks Kyiv area for first time in weeks, by Susie Blann | The Associated Press KYIV — Russian forces launched a missile attack on the Kyiv area for the first time in weeks today and pounded the northern Chernihiv region as well, in what Ukraine said was revenge for standing up to the Kremlin. Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, announced a counteroffensive to take back the occupied Kherson region in the country’s south, territory seized by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces early in the war. The Vyshgorod district on the outskirts of Kyiv was targeted . . . READ MORE . . .

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12 dead, 25 wounded in Russian strikes in central Ukraine. From Agence France-Presse KYIV – Russian missiles struck the city of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine today, killing at least 12 people in what President Volodymyr Zelensky called “an open act of terrorism”. Ukraine’s emergency services said there were “12 dead, including one baby, and 25 wounded” and dozens of rescue workers were fighting to put out a large blaze sparked by the strikes. The news came as EU foreign and justice ministers prepared to meet in The Hague for a conference on alleged Russian war crimes. Zelensky said he . . . READ MORE . . .

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The enemy within: Russian agents infiltrated deep into Ukraine, by Mari Saito and Maria Tsvetkova | Reuters KYIV/PARIS — People the Kremlin counted on as its proxies in Ukraine overstated their influence in the years leading up to the invasion, said four of the sources with knowledge of the Kremlin’s preparations. The Kremlin relied in its planning on “clowns – they know a little bit, but they always say what the leadership wants to hear because otherwise they won’t get paid,” said one of the four, a person close to the Moscow-backed separatist leadership in eastern Ukraine. . . . The Russian intelligence infiltration succeeded in one way: It has sown mistrust inside Ukraine and laid bare the shortcomings of Ukraine’s near 30,000-strong Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, which . . . is now tasked with hunting down traitors and collaborators. . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED