Jul 14 Buonasera Mag
Day 141 RU's war vs Ukraine: Vinnitsya massacre, Ukrainian grain, Lithuania, Germany, EU & RU gas, France, Italian political crisis- Draghi resigns, life in Donbas, Russian propaganda, Avdeeva reports
Catching up…
EA Worldview’s Ukraine Up-date- hop over to Scott’s amazing hourly Ukraine up-date page. I’ll fill in with some bits and bobs.
Stories we’re following…
Zelenskiy, said 22 people were killed and many more wounded after Russian missiles hit the “ordinary, peaceful” city of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine this morning.
National Police Chief Klymenko says 90 people have sought medical assistance, and about half of them are in "serious condition."
Russian forces achieved “no significant territorial advances” over the last 72 hours in Donbas, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
Zelenskyi announced that russia has kidnapped and forcibly moved there around 2 million Ukrainians or ~5% of the country's population.
Washington Post: Russia refuses to return 400 leased aircraft. Out of the 515 aircraft leased by Russian companies, lessors have been able to return only about 80 aircraft since Feb. 24.
Zaluzhnyi: Ukraine will not allow Western weapons to ‘fall into hands of terrorists.’ Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Zaluzhnyi said he discussed weapons deliveries to Ukraine with Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A deal to resume exporting Ukrainian grain has been announced with the establishment of a coordination and monitoring centre in Istanbul. Let’s see if it stands.
Lithuania has said it will keep restrictions on Kaliningrad trade in place while it works out rules on how to resume the trade.
EU foreign affairs chief, Josef Borrell: EU won't recognize Russian passports issued to Ukrainians in occupied areas. Borrell said Putin's decree to simplify the procedure to give Ukrainians Russian citizenship is "yet another flagrant violation of Ukrainian sovereignty."
Czech PM says Russian gas will not be on the next set of EU sanctions. Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, said that the EU will not be including Russian gas in its sevent round of sanctions.
The French company Matiere will transfer 36 lightly assembled bridges to Ukraine - Dmytro Kuleba, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Macron: "We must prepare for a scenario where we have to manage completely without Russian gas . . . it is probable. We need a general mobilisation."
Germany to stop buying Russian coal on Aug 1, Russian oil on Dec. 31. The statement was made by German Deputy Finance Minister Jörg Kukis at a conference in Sydney, Reuters reported.
5 Star Movement’s ex-PM Conte trying to bring down the Draghi government
They had been biting at the bit, and now are finally coming out in the clear. The intent had been to bring down the Draghi government since the beginning, and had been excentuated after February 24th.
President Mattarella has not accepted Draghi’s resignation. What will happen next?
Former PM Conte has called a national M5S meeting, and PM Draghi will be going into parliament next Wednesday. The parliament could form a new government, or call for elections, something that both the League and Brothers of Italy have stated in the past few minutes.
On Thursday Jul 21st, EuroFile@6 will begin earlier and we’ll be giving you the latest on this developing situation.
RFE/RL, 'Someone Needs To Do Something': Foreigners Say Why They Volunteered For Ukraine's Fight (video)
Two Americans and a British man who are fighting for the Ukrainian Army spoke to RFE/RL in Kharkiv about their reasons for volunteering for battle. Some express outrage at the devastation Ukraine is enduring while others say they are serving out of loyalty to Ukrainian friends.
Meduza, ‘Life here is going downhill’ How forced mobilization has transformed the Donbas ‘people’s republics’
The Kremlin-controlled “people’s republics” in the Donbas have mobilized tens of thousands of people since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. More than four months later, these conscripts are faced with a lack of medical care, military gear, and even food. Relatives who dare to speak up on their behalf are persecuted by the security services. Meanwhile, utility companies and mines in the “DNR” and “LNR” are experiencing disruptions due to personnel shortages. And the risk of man-made disasters in the Donbas is higher than ever before.
Kirillova, Russian Propaganda — Words No Longer Matter
In the eyes of one of Russia’s leading propagandists, the head of RT Margarita Simonyan, what is happening in Ukraine is, “not even a Russian special operation against Ukrainian troops.”
“This is a civil war in which those Ukrainians who are Russophobes, anti-Russian in the sense in which the Nazis were antisemites, destroys another part of its own people. And Russia is simply on the side of one of the warring parties,” she declared.
Russian anti-abortion campaign—war propaganda
While the Russians are killing Ukrainian children, they use the "Z" in national campaigns against abortion. The poster below says "Protect Today, I'll Protect You Tomorrow". We’ll be seeing a version of this message on western online platforms.
Ekho Mosvky exile in Lithuania: 'Russian journalism exists, but not in Russia'
Honest journalism is currently outlawed in Russia, says journalist Maikl Naki who has left the country and settled in Lithuania following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and the accompanying crackdown on the media and expressions of dissent.
Just Security, Strongest Evidence of Guilt: Chart Tracking Trump’s Knowledge and Intent in Efforts to Overturn the Election
The January 6th House Select Committee has produced substantial evidence about former President Donald Trump’s knowledge and beliefs as he tried to overturn the 2020 election. This body of evidence carries potentially great legal (and moral) weight. That’s because several of Trump’s actions would amount to criminal (and morally outrageous) conduct if he acted with particular forms of knowledge and intent.
Maria Avdeeva reports…
Vice, NAFO FELLAS Shitposting Shiba Inu Accounts Chased a Russian Diplomat Offline
An unofficial army of cartoon Shiba Inu dogs is making life hard for people who post Russian disinformation about the war in Ukraine online. They are known as NAFO, the North Atlantic Fellas Organization, a small but growing cadre of shitposters who’ve gathered to raise money for Ukraine and call out obvious propaganda when they see it. It’s getting hard to tow the Kremlin’s party line on Twitter without them showing up in the replies to mock and counter it.
Signing off…thanks for reading…
Mo