Up-date on the Russian war vs Ukraine
Reminder—136 day of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Scott and I host EuroFile@6 with our Transatlantic Crew members, Nathalie Vogel and Livia Ponzio to bring you up to date on Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and the latest reponses by the international community.
Nathalie’s expertise spans relations with Germany and France, while Livia helps us understand the latest in Russia’s disinformation campaigns pertaining to the war.
Mini Up-date: Russia’s war of aggression vs Ukraine
US will provide Ukraine with HIMARS ammos with range up to 300 km.
Sanctions work: The head of the Ministry of Transport, Vitaly Savelyev, confirmed that the AvtoVAZ (Lada) is currently being built without airbags and ABS. He says the measure is temporary, the company is looking for new foreign suppliers.
Residents of the occupied southern regions of Ukraine, especially Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, should be evacuated "by all available means", states Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk.
Olga Lautman: Prisoners are recruited in Russian colonies to participate in the war.
Maria Avdeeva Reports
This Saturday morning in Kharkiv began with a Russian missile strike on a residential area. Russia fires missiles at Ukraine's second largest city every single day.
Extra Reading
Sergej Sumlenny
Sergej, one of our past guests, posted this on Jul 6 and it’s food for thought on consequences. I’ve published his thread here:
For the world, Russian war against Ukraine AND the reluctancy of many Western countries will have dramatic consequences: 1) Militarisation of many countries, including the Nato countries like Baltic ones, Poland etc. Nobody in Riga would believe, Berlin will fulfil Article 5.
1.1) In the world where one can be attacked by a stronger bully, and one gets no real support, but calls for "any compromise", one will arm to teeth. 2) Nukes. Dictatorial regimes will strive for nukes, as they see that they work. North Korea will remain nuclear forever.
2.1) Some democracies can start to look in the direction of having nukes too, but maybe to develop costly long-range missile systems. Anyway, a lot of money and resources will go not into development, but into war. Because (ironically!) the West tried "not to escalate".
3) The same is valid for all ideas of autarchy. Ideas of energy or technology autarchy, of self-sufficient economies will have more supporters, as the risks of being attacked economically suddenly become real. A bad day for the EU.
4) EU-competing, alternative alliances will appear. The 3-Seas-Initiative gets into shape, and it is a real good thing amid the current situation. But it will be a competitor to the EU, and this is what one COULD have avoided if one would have acted in the right time.
5) If Russia will not be defeated very soon, and neutralised as a military power (demilitarisation, denuclearisation, and maybe undergoing a break-up like the USSR), we will see a more militarised, less egalitarian, more dangerous world. Because inaction costs, guys.
Ukrainska Pravda, Area of mass graves near Mariupol doubles – Skhemy
The territory of mass burials in the Russian-occupied village of Staryi Krym near Mariupol has doubled in the last two months. "According to the Mariupol city council, more than 15,000 citizens in total may be buried there."
The Insider, The Pool. How Yakunin siphoned off billions of dollars from the Russian budget and laundered them in Europe
The Insider describes how Yakunin became the holder of the state corporation's “pool”, collected through kickbacks for government contracts and transferred offshore through the “Moldovan laundromat”. The total damage to the Russian budget from the theft of taxpayers’ money amounted to more than $20 billion. After the unprecedented theft from Russian Railways became public, Yakunin was forced to resign, but he is still in the Kremlin's payroll, as he spends some of the money stolen from the budget to promote Kremlin propaganda in Europe. Astonishingly, he is almost the only one of Putin's inner circle who has not yet been subjected to EU sanctions.
Cepa, Putin Sacks Top Priest over Ukraine War
Vladimir Putin has sacked Metropolitan Hilarion, often described as the foreign minister of the Russian Orthodox church, and effectively its deputy head. Even if you’re not an ecclesiastical expert or even just an occasional watcher of the church, this personnel move really matters because the institution is a semi-official arm of the Putin regime.—Elisabeth Braw
Cepa, Defending NATO in the High North
The entry of two wealthy and well-defended Nordic states mark a genuinely transformational moment for the alliance in the High North. The decision, which still has to be confirmed by the other 30 member state parliaments, is only the latest self-harming consequence of Vladimir Putin’s largest invasion of Ukraine on February 24, coming just days after the European Union (EU) gave the country candidate status, and NATO pledged more arms.
The Atlantic, Let’s Use Chicago Rules to Beat Russia
Carl von Clausewitz observed in his classic On War that “the maximum use of force is by no means incompatible with the simultaneous use of the intellect.” That means, in part, acting thoughtfully but with the utmost effort, understanding that war is more bar fight than chess game. Or, to put it in the simpler words of Jim Malone, Eliot Ness’s counselor in The Untouchables, “You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way! And that’s how you get Capone.”
CSO, U.S. and UK warn local governments, businesses of China's influence operations
In a concerted effort to spread the word on the threat posed by China to governments at the state and local level as well as businesses of all sizes, the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Centre (NSCS), issued a “Safeguarding Our Future” bulletin. “Protecting Government and Business Leaders at the U.S. State and Local Level from People’s Republic of China (PRC) Influence Operations” differs from previous warnings on China’s use of social networks, pseudo-state-sponsored hackers, etc. The NSCS highlights how the Chinese intelligence apparatus uses the whole-of-government approach as they work to acquire information in support of the Communist Party of China (CCP) directives.
Thanks for listening…
Mo and Scott
Jul 9--EF@6 w/ the Transatlantic Crew