Ukraine, 8-26-23

First, links to reports from Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, Tass, the Kyiv Post, Reuters, National Public Radio, and the Kyiv Independent; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Finally for today, links to an op-ed column in today’s Berkshire Eagle by its foreign affairs writer and to an Atlantic Council observer whom he mentions. — MCM

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Russia says downs 2 drones as Ukrainian shelling wounds 6. From AFP. Russia said today its air defences shot down one drone approaching Moscow and another in a border region while Ukrainian shelling wounded six in a border town. Russia and the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula have been hit by a wave of attacks in recent days as Kyiv warns it aims . . . READ MORE . . .

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Shelling kills civilians in Ukraine’s northeast as fears grow of a second Russian takeover, by Susie Blann | AP  KYIV — Russian forces struck a cafe in a key front-line area in northeastern Ukraine today, killing two civilians and wounding a third, regional officials said. The shelling near the city of Kupiansk came as U.K. officials said that Russia may . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian forces improve positions in Kupyansk area – Defense Ministry. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian forces improved their positions on the frontline in the Kupyansk area in the past day, repelling five attacks by Ukrainian assault teams, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said. According to him, the enemy lost . . . READ MORE . . .

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Kyiv confirms Black Sea fleet attack, warns Moscow of more ‘surprises,’ by Maryna Shashkova | The Kyiv Post  Ukraine carried out a successful drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in occupied Crimea on Friday, killing and wounding “several dozen” Russian servicemen and damaging ammunition dumps and storage facilities, Kyiv Post has been told. Russian officials tried to play down the attack, but according to . . . READ MORE . . .

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Putin orders Wagner fighters to sign oath of allegiance, by Andrew Osborn | Reuters  MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin has ordered Wagner fighters to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state after a deadly plane crash believed to have killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the volatile chief of the mercenary group. Putin signed the decree bringing in the change with immediate effect on Friday after . . . READ MORE . . .

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Zelenskyy denies any role in the plane crash that killed Wagner Group chief Prigozhin. Reported by Scott Simon and Brian Mann | NPR  In Ukraine, news of the apparent death of Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash is being greeted with satisfaction and gallows humor. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Ukrainian forces have broken through Russian main lines of defense in some areas, top U.S. general says. From the Kyiv Independent. Throughout their counteroffensive, Ukrainian troops have managed to attack through Russia’s first main defensive belt in some areas along the front lines, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said in an interview. “Specifically on . . . READ MORE . . .

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Prigozhin, a Putin ally turned rival, is conspicuously rubbed out, by James Brooke | The Berkshire Eagle  With one explosion, the jet crash took out the three men who organized the June 23 armed march on Moscow, the biggest challenge to Vladimir Putin in his 24 years in power. Exploding exactly two months after the mutiny, the destruction of the company jet killed seven Wagner members including: Yevgeny Prigozhin, the group’s charismatic . . . READ MORE . . .

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To preserve the regime, Putin needs to preserve fear, by Brian Whitmore | Atlantic Council At the risk of stating the obvious, it is . . . READ MORE . . .