First, links to reports from the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Reuters, the Moscow Times, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM
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Blinken visits Kyiv in show of support for Ukraine’s counteroffensive, by Samya Kullab | AP KYIV — U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Ukraine’s capital today for an unannounced visit hours after Russia launched a missile attack on the city, in a trip intended to show confidence in Kyiv’s forces amid a grinding counteroffensive. The trip aimed to assess Ukraine’s 3-month-old counteroffensive and signal . . . READ MORE . . .
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Kyiv on an unannounced visit. Reported by Steve Inskeep and Brian Mann | NPR Blinken arrives at a moment when Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive is entering its final weeks — still struggling against powerful Russian defenses in the south and east. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Cuba accuses Russia of quietly recruiting its citizens into the war in Ukraine. Leila Fadel of NPR talks with Chris Simmons, an expert in Cuban spycraft, about Cuba charging that Cubans have been conscripted into fighting in Ukraine in exchange for Russian citizenship. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Ukraine reports frontline success, Russia minister decries Kyiv’s failure. From Reuters. Ukraine’s military on Tuesday reported advances and robust defence along the front lines of its 18-month old war with Russia, with Moscow acknowledging “tension” in the souther sector but dismissing Kyiv’s campaign as unsuccessful. Ukraine has struggled to break through entrenched Russian lines and . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russia announces ‘tactical’ withdrawal from Ukraine’s Robotyne. | From The Moscow Times. A Kremlin-installed official in southern Ukraine admitted today that Russian forces have withdrawn from the village of Robotyne more than a week after Kyiv announced its recapture. “The Russian army abandoned — tactically abandoned . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russia first to wipe out Challenger 2 tank in 30 years — report. From Tass. LONDON — The destruction of the UK-made Challenger 2 tank near Rabotino in the Zaporozhye area is the first such incident in the last 30 years these tanks have been used in battle, The Guardian reported citing military experts. Overall, London shipped 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Kiev this year. Meanwhile . . . READ MORE . . .
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MAY BE CONTINUED