Jun 13 Buonsera Mag
Day 110 War vs Ukraine, mass graves, EU Parly & UA, NI Protocol, Sadooun, Aaron Banks, J6 Hearing, CG French Elections, Anon Italy, China
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…
President Zelenskiy, has described the situation in Sievierodonetsk as ‘severe’. Sievierodonetsk has become the epicentre of the battle for control of the eastern Donbas region.
All three bridges to the embattled eastern city of Sievierodonetsk have been destroyed, according to the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai. Severodonetsk will be "cut off" from the rest of Ukraine.
500 civilians are sheltering in Sievierodonetsk’s Azot chemical plant, which is under heavy fire by Russian forces, the regional governor says.
More than 100,000 people are trapped in occupied Mariupol, the city's mayor Vadym Boichenko tells the BBC.
Ukrainian authorities said they have discovered a new mass grave of civilians near the Bucha in the Kyiv region.
Ukraine, Russia engage in ‘artillery duel’ in southern Ukraine. Ukraine’s Operational Command “South” said on June 12 that it killed 22 Russian troops and destroyed three Russian T-62 tanks, two infantry fighting vehicles, and three military vehicles.
Russian forces export stolen metal from Mariupol. Metal was exported from the Russian-occupied city for the third time on June 12, according to Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the city’s mayor.
Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, said Russia is using “weapons of mass destruction” in Ukraine. Both sides are using “increasingly heavy” weapons, Niinistö said, including in Russia’s case, thermobaric bombs. Amnesty International accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine, saying attacks on Kharkiv - many using banned cluster bombs - had killed hundreds of civilians.
Brahim Saadoun, sentenced to death by a sham court in Donetsk, is a much-loved marine on active duty, they insist, and not a mercenary, as court in Donetsk claims.
EU official: Ukraine should join EU within years, not decades. European Commission VP Jourova called for giving Ukraine EU candidate status “as soon as possible.”
A year ago, Mariupol celebrated the 7th anniversary of its liberation from Russian occupation. It will be free again.
Russia's defence ministry says it has destroyed a large quantity of weapons and military equipment in the Donetsk region, including some that were sent from the US and Europe.
The Russian Federation earned 93 billion euros on the export of fossil fuels during the 100 days of the war,, - a report by the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research (CREA)
Arron Banks loses libel action against reporter Carole Cadwalladr.
UK reveals plans to ditch parts of EU Brexit deal. It wants to change the Northern Ireland Protocol to make it easier for some goods to flow from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Italy's PM Draghi vetoes technology transfer to China.
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said Sweden has taken important steps to meet Turkey’s demands for approving the country’s bid to join the military alliance.
January 6th hearing
Bill Barr suggested Donald Trump had grown “detached from reality” on his election fraud claims, as multiple aides testified to the Jan. 6 committee that they told him he’d lost.
Reuters, No Pardon for Britons Sentenced to Death, Pro-Russian Separatist Leader Says
The leader of the Russian-backed separatist Donetsk region of Ukraine said on Sunday there was no reason to pardon two British nationals who were sentenced to death last week after being captured while fighting for Ukraine.
Schwirtz & Santora, Behind Enemy Lines, Scouts Help Ukrainians Execute Deadly Strikes
While a lack of weapons, ammunition and equipment hampers the Ukrainian military, there are signs that a nascent partisan insurgency is growing in potency, allowing Ukrainian forces to deliver deadly strikes on Russian-controlled territory even in areas where it is dangerous and sometimes impossible to commit troops.
At an event commemorating the 350th anniversary of Peter’s birth, he explicitly likened himself to the empire-expanding czar and celebrated his years of conquests.
Alexei Titkov, ‘The divisions are clear’ Sociologist Alexei Titkov on how the war against Ukraine has changed Russian society
How have Russian sociologists adjusted their work since the start of the war?
I’ll start by grouchily reminding readers that polling companies are not the same thing as sociologists. They do their thing and we do ours. Since the end of March, polling companies have had to make serious adjustments to the new circumstances. There have been shifts in what questions people are willing to answer and to what extent, how honestly, and how truthfully they are willing to answer them.
A Conversation about Literature and War
The Cosmo Globalists, The Return of the French Election Twitter Summit
Here’s a FAQ and a bit of background reading if you’d like to understand what’s happening and why this is going to get interesting before you join us:
Q. What do French deputies do, exactly?
A. They sit for five-year terms in the National Assembly, voting for legislation in the hémicycle—a semi-circular chamber—in the Bourbon Palace. They also monitor the government—for example, by convening parliamentary inquiry committees.
Jacqueline Feldscher, In Asia, Defense Ministers Issue New Warnings to China
The distant Russia-Ukraine war has implications for the Asia-Pacific region and the international order, particularly in light of China’s recent provocative actions and statements about the future of Taiwan, said world leaders gathered at a major Asian security conference this weekend.
Programming note
TONIGHT at 9:30 pm (Rome) Livia & I will be joined by Scott Lucas on WTF! We’ll be discussing the J6 Hearing, the latest in Ukraine and the UK.
We’re signing off- thanks for reading…
Mo & Scott
WTF! 🙂😝