Jun 12: E-Stories
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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.
Zarina Zabrisky reports from Bilopilia, located 7 kms from the Russian border in the Sumy region.
Stories we’re following…
At least 9 dead, 29 injured in Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih. At least eight people have been killed, including two children, after a Russian missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on June 12.
Ukrainian strikes on Russia have helped reduce attacks on Kharkiv, mayor says. Ukrainian forces have struck missile launch positions in Russia, helping to reduce the number of Russian attacks on the embattled city of Kharkiv, Reuters reported on June 11, citing Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
Russia attacks residential area in Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast, injuring 6. Russian troops carried out an airstrike on the town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast with overnight on June 10, injuring at least six people, Donbas Realii news outlet reported on June 11 citing police.
Ukraine wants to restore energy facilities damaged by Russia by winter with allied help. "We are asking you for equipment from your shutdown power plants and direct financial support. This will allow us to respond to the situation here and now. To preserve normal life," President Volodymyr Zelensky said at Berlin conference.
Oleksandra Matviichuk, recounts the story of a Ukrainian child under occupation:
Oleksandr Markushyn, the mayor of Irpin, told the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, how he was quizzed by a customs official on arriving in the German capital after a long and gruelling journey from his home, “tell me, why are you talking about recovery, if the war is still raging?”
“I told him: a lot of people fled the country to Germany. If they come back, they have to live somewhere, they have to find a job. Kids in Ukraine need schools, just like German kids ... we need to rebuild Ukraine. Ukraine has been fighting the biggest war in Europe for the last 80 years. Russian terrorists are destroying our schools, our hospitals, our kindergartens … they are killing women, elderly people and children. So we have to do what we can to succeed in this war.”
In a forceful and sometimes emotional speech to the Ukraine Recovery Conference, Ikhor Terekhov the mayor of the country’s second largest city, Kharkiv, described to delegates the gruelling day to day effects of the war is having on the citizens and infrastructure.
“We are in a war and it is a brutal war,” he said. “Every day in Kharkiv people lose their lives. Yesterday too was no exception. We’d already arrived in Germany and we felt safe and secure. While our city was under attack at the same time ….
“According to the latest statistics published in May, we have had 76 such attacks from the air via Russia. 193 alarms were sounded in the city. Just imagine what this means. 20 times 24 hours of alarm. Regardless of these facts, Kharkiv is not giving in. Kharkiv continues to run, continues to work. Kharkiv is alive.”
“The next winter is almost on our doorstep and our enemy has smashed our energy supply. All heating power plants have been destroyed. None of them are generating a single kilowatt of electricity right now.
“We get like minus 20 degrees Celsius during winter and without a heating system that works, without electricity, without water supply, people will not survive,” Terekhov said.
Combat Situation Update
Ukraine controls Ivanivske near Chasiv Yar, battles ongoing in Staromaiorske, military says. Kyiv controls the situation in Ivanivske near Chasiv Yar, and Ukrainian forces continue to repel Russian troops in Staromaiorske in Donetsk Oblast, Nazar Voloshyn, the spoksperson of the Khortytsia group of forces, told the Kyiv Independent on June 11.
Russia said it had captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine, in the latest in a string of gains for Moscow on the battlefield. Moscow’s defence ministry said Russian forces took Timkovka in the north-eastern Kharkiv region and Miasozharivka in the eastern Luhansk region.
Russian forces recently advanced NW of Avdiivka amid continued offensive operations in the area on June 11. Geolocated footage published on June 11 indicates that Russian forces recently marginally advanced on the NE outskirts of Sokil (northwest of Avdiivka).
Russian forces recently advanced SE of Kupyansk amid continued Russian ground attacks along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line on June 11. Geolocated footage published on June 11 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced east of Stepova Novoselivka (SE of Kupyansk).
In an attempt to fend off Ukrainian naval drones, Russias is 'strengthening' the defense of the Kerch bridge in occupied Crimea. A line of boom nets and barges have been constructed to the northern part and more recently they started creating such defense in the southern part as well.
During the night June 12: powerful explosions were reported in various locations across occupied Crimea, including Sevastopol, Simferopol, Yevpatoria, Chornomorske, Krasnoperekopsk, Saki, and Armyansk. Local sources suggest that a Russian S-400 complex near Sevastopol was hit but this is unconfirmed.
Partisans of the Atesh movement destroyed a P-441 Zlyva satellite station in the city of Klin, Moscow region.
Behind the Lines
Russia has seized almost $24 million in Ukrainian assets from occupied Crimea since 2022, proxy leader says. Proxy leaders in the occupied peninsula have issued a series of decrees since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine enabling the seizure of property and assets in Crimea owned by individuals deemed to be supportive of Kyiv.
9-year-old Ukrainian girl found dead in Germany, police say. Valeria reportedly went missing on her way to school on June 3. The police confirmed that her body was found on June 11 some four kilometers (2.4 miles) away from her home in a forest between the settlements of Hermsdorf and Mahlitzsch.
Baltic states to disconnect from joint Russian power grid in February 2025. The Baltic nations initially aimed to join the European system by the end of 2025. However, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they advanced the timeline by nearly a year.
Finland has made its first deployment for Nato since joining the alliance in April 2023, sending seven F-18 fighter jets to a military base in southeastern Romania where they will conduct air shielding missions with Romanian and British jets. A Finnish air force commander said the mission would help speed up Finland’s integration into Nato.
Italy is one of the countries involved in the new Ukraine Communications Group (UCG) based in Warsaw. It was launched yesterday by the joint efforts of the United States and Poland to support Ukraine in defending against Russia’s aggression in the information space.
Russia’s malign hybrid activities in Nato countries are a source of deep concern, the presidents of Romania, Poland and Latvia said.
Countries on Nato’s eastern flank say that Russia is using tactics ranging from sabotage and cyber-attacks to illegal migration to destabilise them due to their support for Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly denied accusations that it is behind such activities.
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that 10 people had been arrested in Poland in recent weeks for acts of sabotage.
Czech prime minister Petr Fiala said on Monday that Russia may have been behind an attempted arson attack on Prague city buses last week.
Politico: Chinese electric cars shipped to the EU will face a maximum 38.1 percent mark-up from July 4, the EU Commission told exporters on Wednesday. Because the duties are much higher than had been expected, the question is now how the Chinese government might respond after having threatened retaliation in multiple fields. “When our partners breach the rules, we will assert our rights,” EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said in a written statement shared with reporters.
CBS News: Eight foreign nationals with possible ties to ISIS-K were arrested in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, CBS News has learned. The Tajikistani nationals entered the U.S. this year through the southern border and were vetted and allowed to remain in the country.
Meanwhile in Russia
Russian warships conducted drills in the Atlantic, the military said Tuesday, as they were heading to visit Cuba, part of Moscow’s efforts to project power amid tensions with the West over Ukraine.
This was the second stage of drills to practise the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons alongside Belarusian troops. The ministry said the drills were aimed at ensuring that the two countries’ military personnel and equipment were ready to protect their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Admiral Gorshkov frigate is armed with new Zircon hypersonic missiles that Putin has touted as a potent weapon capable of penetrating any existing anti-missile defenses. The Admiral Gorshkov and a Kazan nuclear-powered submarine are accompanied by two support vessels on their visit to Havana which Cuban officials said reflected “historically friendly relations” between Russia and Cuba.
It’s not the first time Russia has sent warships to the Caribbean, but this week’s visit follows Putin’s warning that Moscow could respond to Ukraine’s Western allies allowing Kyiv to use their weapons to strike targets in Russia by giving similar weapons to adversaries of the West worldwide.
Two Indian nationals drafted by the Russian army were killed in the war against Ukraine, the Indian foreign ministry said on Tuesday as it pressed for prompt repatriation of the remains and the release of other Indians who were duped into fighting for Russia. Indian police in May arrested four people allegedly linked to trafficking of dozens of young men to Russia with the promise of jobs or university places, only to be forced to fight against Ukraine.
Julia Davis: Meanwhile in Russia: prominent figures explained their deranged belief that if Russia starts a nuclear war, it can win it. They also described misusing funds allocated for nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament to build up Russia's nuclear capabilities.
The largest buyer of Russian gas in the EU has canceled its contract with Russia German gas giant Uniper has announced that it has terminated long-term gas supply contracts with Gazprom. The company decided to break the contract after a favorable decision in the arbitration court. The court awarded Uniper more than €13 billion in compensation for non-delivery of gas. What happened after the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. The episode was recognized by the court as force majeure. This contract was to be valid for another ten years, until 2035.
Before the plenary session with Putin began at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, the audience was shown this video. It's the narrative that Russia disseminates in the Global South. Russia has operated in Africa, Asia and South America, pressing the idea that the West is an imperialist oppressor while Russia/Soviet Union was a liberator. It didn’t really work that way. By the way the individual who originally posted this video online is a Russian asset.
Armenia will leave the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the timing has not yet been determined. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this in parliament. The CSTO is dominated by Russia.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that he accepts Hungary’s decision not to take part in the alliance’s mission to coordinate assistance to Ukraine. In return, Hungary would not block the initiative for other allies.
"Hungary opposes the NATO mission in Ukraine, but cannot prevent it, since the majority of alliance members support it," Orban said.
Allied Support
NYT: US to deploy additional Patriot missile battery to Ukraine. The United States will provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot missile system, senior administration and military officials told the New York Times on June 11. This will be the second Patriot system supplied by the U.S. to Ukraine.
Argentina's President Javier Milei has approved a plan to send five Dassault Super-Étendard combat aircraft to Ukraine. This decision involves negotiating with France, the US, and NATO to bypass the British embargo preventing the use of these aircraft due to the Falklands War. The plan includes a potential swap with France, exchanging the Super Etendards for military equipment like drones or helicopters, with France handling the necessary upgrades to the aircraft.
Ukraine to receive additional 68 Patriot missiles from German-led initiative, German defense minister says. Berlin will send an additional 68 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said during a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, on June 11.
At the Ukraine Recovery Conference yesterday, EU Commission president von der Leyen told the conference that accession talks with Ukraine to join the EU will start at the end of this month, with Ukraine having fulfilled all the necessary reform requirements to enable it to become a member of the bloc.
Ahead of the Swiss summit this weekend on peace in Ukraine, Zelensky’s office has said it wants Russia to attend a subsequent second summit, to receive an internationally agreed roadmap towards ending the war. Moscow has said it has no interest in joining this weekend’s meeting, and so was not invited by the hosts, Switzerland.
Andriy Yermak, head of Zelenskiy’s office, said the “bad experience” of previous negotiation formats involving Moscow meant the end to the war needed to be built on a broad platform of support from the outset and rooted in international law. “We are planning to prepare together the joint plan which will be supported by all these responsible countries. And we’re looking for the possibility, in the second summit, to invite a representative of Russia, and together present this joint plan.”
US announced new Russia sanctions at G7 summit.
Today, in line with the commitments President Biden and Group of Seven (G7) Leaders made as they prepare to meet this week in Italy, the Departments of State and the Treasury are imposing further costs on Russia by designating more than 300 individuals and entities for enabling Russia’s prosecution of its illegal war. The Department of State is imposing sanctions on more than 100 targets across multiple sectors essential to Russia’s war effort. These targets include those engaged in the development of Russia’s future energy, metals, and mining production and export capacity; sanctions evasion and circumvention; and producing material needed to support Russia’s war effort. The Department is also taking measures against malign actors responsible for the forced transfer, re-education, and deportation of Ukrainian children.
The United States remains concerned by the scale and breadth of exports from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that supply Russia’s military-industrial base. The Department is designating PRC companies providing Russia with a wide range of dual-use goods that fill critical gaps in Russia’s defense production cycle. We are also taking action to counter the support that the Lukashenka regime in Belarus is providing for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Concurrently, the Department of the Treasury is heightening the risks that financial institutions face in facilitating support for Russia’s military-industrial base, imposing sanctions on more than 200 individuals and entities inside and outside of Russia – including entities in the PRC – and introducing prohibitions on certain software and IT services with the aim of degrading Russia’s war machine. Finally, the Department of Commerce is expanding its Entity List with additional names of those aiding Russia’s military and defense sector and restricting the export of certain software to Russia.
US sanctions will force the Moscow exchange to stop trading in dollars: This is part of a broader crackdown on the Russian banking system VTP and Sberbank subsidiaries in key sanctions evader areas like Krygyzstan and Hong Kong and dual use goods supplier China will now be targeted under the new sanctions package.
Zelensky, Biden to meet in Italy on June 13. Ukraine's President Zelensky will meet with his American counterpart Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy on June 13, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on June 11.
The US and Ukraine are set to sign a bilateral security pact during the G7 summit in Italy, outlining a 10-year commitment from the US to support Ukraine's armed forces through training, cooperation in weapons production, continued military assistance, and enhanced intelligence sharing. The agreement, which follows months of negotiations, will be an "executive agreement," meaning it is less formal than a treaty and may not be binding for future US administrations.
Politico: The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has urged all parties to form an alliance against Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and resist the “spirit of defeatism” after he announced a surprise snap election in response to the far-right’s large gains in European elections.
Macron said that he does “not want to give the keys to power to the far right in [the presidential election of] 2027, so I fully accept having triggered a movement to provide clarification.”
He defended his controversial decision to call elections. “The votes cast (in the European election) put the far-right forces at almost 40% and the extremes (on the right and left) at almost 50%. This is a political fact that cannot be ignored,” he said.
How the heck did I miss this candidate to the EU parliament from Ireland! Step aside Trump and all the other nutters…he’s just too marvelous.
G7 Embarassment: Meloni to hold G7 Meeting at a friend’s resort
Security analyst, Giulia Pompili, brings us a story which hit the Italian news last night, and has caused quite a stir. It is the first time in G7 history that the event is given the name of a resort instead of its location, and the first time in Italian history that the name of a resort is on an official stamp. In this case, it’s Borgo Egnazia, one of Giorgia Meloni's favorite vacation spots.
The private resort is owned by the Melpignano family, who cash in on the free advertising. Journalists are complaining that it is an hour away from the media centre. To be fair, the remote location makes security easier on Italian security services.
Speaking of which, the state police were being housed on a ship off the coast in abysmal conditions: backed up toilets, and flooded cabins. Their union stepped in and the forces have now been moved to better accomodations because the story made the national news.
At the G7 meeting, Meloni will be announcing that Italy will be giving Ukraine a SAMP/T air defence system. At first, the SAMP/T was sent to Slovakia as per Italy’s NATO commitment, but then brought back to Italy.
Trump may have committed a felony again…
European Election ballots in Rome blocked in court
Italy’s Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto, posted some news about Italy’s failure to disclose the definitive EU parliamentary results, which are necessary to attribute seats from Italy. He had this to say:
Italy is the only nation in Europe that has not yet completed the counting operations for the European elections and therefore has not yet identified the number of parliamentarians elected for each political force.
All thanks to the blocking of some sections of Rome which appears to be due to a problem with the city's computer system. Now, following the decision of the presidents of the polling stations, 78 sections have ended up in Court. Officials directly from the Ministry of the Interior had to intervene in 82 sections.
The fact is that we will not have the definitive results due to the disorganization of a municipality. Something shameful and impossible to explain to the world.
We’ll have to wait to see what the full picture is like in the European Parliament. In the meantime, Europe Elects reports some changes within the groupings in the parliament:
Christian fundamentalist ECPM disappears from EPP, now solely in ECR bloc;
ALDE dominates Renew (non-ALDE Macron-ista sidelined);
Volt 2nd within Greens/EFA, overtaking EFA and Pirates.
Why would anyone trust the Tories again…
If you’re paying attention to the UK parliamentary elections, it is clear that the UK has now fully embraced the ‘Italian’ model: put all debacles and cock-ups aside, forge forward, and denigrate your rivals, pretend you are a winner at any cost.
Before I go on, full disclosure: I’m an independent who has at times voted for either the centrist left or right candidates. I grew up in a centrist-left family in Canada, but I’ve had no problems considering more conservative positions in Europe if I feel they address critical issues, and can have some hope of bringing more opportunities to increase the well-being of the majority of citizens.
What I really abhor are the extremists flooding Europe, the US and the UK, and politicians who continuously deceive or misguide the electorate. This is dangerous because lies erode trust, and provide fertile ground for our adversaries to sow disunity among us. While the Tories in the UK have pandered to their extremist wing, on the whole, they are not.
However, the Tories are running a campaign tainted with lies instead of coming clean with the debacles of the past or how they will be able to pull the UK out of their current dilemmas in the future. The star of the show is incombent prime minister, Rishi Sunak.
As you probably know, prime mininster Sunak decided to leave the 80th D-Day celebrations during the international commemorations at Omaha Beach because he had booked an ITV interview with Paul Brand, snubbing allies, and offending veterans. A party spokesman told Nick Ferrari in an interview that the prime minister left early because the British veterans weren’t present at the ‘French-American’ event. The sacrifice of Britain’s allies was important enough for the PM to re-book with ITV.
In a recent YouGov poll, 68% of the British electorate thought it was inexcusable as have international onlookers with common sense and decency. Owing to the absolute shitshow that errupted the day after, Sunak tried to defend his decision with a faux mea culpa which only served to worsen an already bad look. What Sunak failed to recognise was that 11 allied nations were involved in Operation Overlord. Honouring your allies trumps a TV interview, and I can’t believe that this needs to be explained to a prime minister or his advisors. We now find out its worse than it seems.
As the ITV interview kicked off, Sunak apologized for being 15 minutes late because ‘everything ran over’ at the D-Day celebrations. Either Sunak is a real control freak who has to keep to a schedule, or I guess shaking the hands of veterans, who had saved Europe, and listening to stories about their lives and experiences had stolen time from his interview.
In the interview, Paul Brand tried to get Sunak to connect with the electorate, something that Sunak has failed to do since he’s been installed at Number 10. Sunak and his wife are extremely wealthy, which isn’t a negative per se, but not everyone in the UK has enough cash to get to the end of the month. So Brand brought up Sunak’s childhood in an attempt to show the human side of the prime minister, and asked if he had missed anything growing up. The answer fell with a clang: he missed having a Sky dish. He did try to explain that he comes from an industrious family with values, but showed no awareness that he was raised in a privileged environment.
To be fair, Sunak is a financial wizz, who is used to frequenting boardrooms and not the halls where battle-hardened politicos mix. He doesn’t know what to say at the right time or any time, and never has. He strikes me more as a prep school student, who fails to realise that even if you work yourself to the bone, you may fail or not achieve the level of success that he or his acolytes have achieved. This reflects the Tory campaign platform.
Sunak’s current campaign planks address illegal migration, and slashing taxes. Public services will remain at their current level. The Tories feel that by slashing taxes, each citizen will have more money to spend, and employers have the opportunity to offer higher wages. In an interview with the Business Secretary yesterday about the the Tory Manifesto, he revealed that the Tories are aiming to create a high-end salary employment environment to ‘empower’ citizens. The more money Brits have in their pockets, the more they have control over the decisions for their financial well-being. To stem the wave of illegal migrants, the Tories have proposed shipping asylum seekers to Rwanda, notwithstanding the findings of the UK’s top court, which said the scheme is unlawful.
Putting the current campaign pledges aside, I think we’re all glossing over what fourteen years of Tory rule has done to the UK—their legacy. They dealt miserably with the Brexit process, public services have been severely cut (healthcare, education, government offices etc), infrastructure projects have been blocked, their decisions haven’t brought the wealth their new found freedom from the EU had promised, and let’s not get into how they mishandled the Covid pandemic. If I lived in the UK, they would have no hope in hell of my vote simply because of their dismal governance.
But it goes deeper than just their goverance record. Truth be told, what these fourteen years have shown us is that the Tories can’t be trusted. Barring a few Tory grandees, each Tory leader has deceived the electorate time and again and glossed over issues that have impacted the UK fundamentally. Brexit has been a disaster for the UK, and not one Russian business entity or person has been investigated for interfering in British politics. Not one.
I’m shocked that the media have set all this aside, and are acting as if the last fourteen years have never happened. Will Keir Starmer and the Labour Party (currently heading the polls) be better at governing the British ship? I don’t know, the problems that the UK must face in the next few years are formidable. However, the Tories had quite a few years to turn it all around, and they should not be awarded for their deceitful and miserable governance.