Jun 24 Buonasera Mag
Day 121 of War: Severodonestsk, Romanov trial, boats to Ukraine, Scholz, Bulgaria, Zelensky's spy services, When words kill,
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…
Ukrainian troops defending Sievierodonetsk will “have to be withdrawn”, the regional governor Haidai confirmed this morning.
The Russian navy has been given orders to lay mines at the ports of Odesa and Ochakiv, and has already mined the Dnieper River, as part of a blockade of Ukrainian grain exports, according to newly declassified US intelligence.
The Russian forces have dismantled and stolen Ukraine's largest solar power plant, the Tokmak Solar Energy plant in Zaporizhzhya region. According to locals, the Russians spent a long time disassembling, packing and removing the solar panels.
The military channel of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has posted to Telegram to to say that the Russian Federation has opened up criminal cases against large numbers of commanders of brigades of the Ukrainian armed forces.
“More than 500 people have been abducted in the last four months,” Ivan Fedrov said, adding that mass kidnappings have resumed in the Russian-occupied territory last week.
Ukraine has held a preliminary hearing in its first trial of a Russian soldier, Mihkail Romanov, charged with raping a Ukrainian woman, murdering her husband and threatening their child during Moscow’s invasion – the first of what could be dozens of such cases.
Reuters quotes the German chancellor telling reporters in Brussels “All together, we are very, very well prepared for the difficult challenge linked to Russian fossil fuel imports. This is an effort that we need to speed up further now – and of course this is linked to big challenges but we will support each other.”
The U.S. DoD yesterday announced it will provide Ukraine with 18 patrol boats. Those are part of the latest package of "security assistance valued at up to $450 million to meet critical needs for Ukraine's fight".
Ukraine and Moldova are on their way to further reforms as part of their path to EU membership and confirmed by the EU’s 27 leaders yesterday. Georgia was not given the green light owing to its deep-seated rule of law deficiencies. As Nathalie Vogel said last night: Georgia has become the far west.
RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, JUNE 23
The loss of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk will not represent a major turning point in the war in Ukraine. Russian forces have made substantial gains in the Severodonetsk-Lysychansk areas and Ukrainian troops continue to suffer high casualties, but Ukrainian forces have fundamentally accomplished their objective by slowing down and inflicting heavy losses on Russian forces.
EU leaders failed to overcome Bulgaria’s objection to North Macedonia joining the bloc, leaving several Western Balkans leaders fuming. A lot of this is posturing, and an accord can be reached through a proposal set out by the French presidency of the Council.
The European Council Summit continued today.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has been at his regular briefing, where he said the decision by the European Union to grant Ukraine official EU candidate status was a “domestic” matter.
Then they changed their tune: Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry said, “With the decision to grant Ukraine and Moldova the status of candidate countries, the European Union has confirmed that it continues to actively exploit the CIS on a geopolitical level, to use it to ‘contain’ Russia,” referring to Russia’s sphere of influence within the Commonwealth of Independent States consisting of former Soviet states.
Politico, Zelenskyy wants to replace Ukraine’s top spy after security failures
You think you know someone, and then Russia invades your country and your childhood friend turned top intelligence official flubs it and some of his senior spies flee their posts, apparently helping the Kremlin’s forces avoid landmines and direct its attack aircraft to blast your cities.
Express, Putin 'arranging gas leaks to force men to streets' in desperate bid to recruit troops
Russia resorted to desperate measures in its efforts to recruit troops, as a lack of manpower in its war on Ukraine is having "tangible impacts on the morale and discipline" of forces, a Washington think tank has claimed.
War Crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine
Ukraine is recording 200 to 300 war crimes committed by Russian forces everyday as per Ukraine’s chief prosecutor Iryna Venediktova: We have a duty: when there is a crime, we have to start an investigation”.
Working in conjunction with the International Criminal Court (ICC) Bucha massacre probe, she and Bucha’s prosecutor are gathering evidence. Civic activists and organisations, investigators and journalists are using the Social Media Analysis Toolkit to find Russian war criminals through their VKontakt accounts.
EUvsDiSiNFO, When Words Kill – From Moscow to Mariupol
The hate speech flows directly down through the military hierarchy to the soldier at the front line who consume news and inputs like anyone else. Most of the Russian soldiers sent to war in Ukraine are young. They have known only one leader of Russia since their childhood: Putin. Education in Russian schools and later in the army has put him on a pedestal.
Roe v Wade
As we were working today, Olga and I talked at length about the decision. We’re incenced. That said, it’s no time to sit and ‘be angry’.
Please read David Pepper’s, “Laboratories of Autocracy”, which explains what is happening at the grassroots level concerning the erosion of democracy.
Season 3 Kremlin File will be totally dedicated to the fight for democracy. If you wish to help us, please share our work and feel free to comment and give suggestions on reading materials and content that is edifying and informative.
Heidi Cuda, THE NETWORK: The American & Russian Moralists Behind the January Insurrection
Network analyst and disinformation specialist Dave Troy has been documenting the connections between former American military and intelligence agents who are spreading conspiracy theories linked to a disinformation phenomenon known as QAnon.
He also has been tying up loose ends between powerful right-wing groups such as the Council for National Policy (CNP) and its history with Kremlin-linked operatives.
We’re signing off. Thanks for reading…
Mo & Scott