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Morning Headlines
Reuters: Russia will resume direct passenger rail service with North Korea in July after a four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the news agency Interfax reported on Wednesday.
FT: Slovakia’s former defence minister told the Financial Times that a criminal probe launched against him last week showed that Fico was “trying to raise the Russian flag in the EU”. The probe was unique in Europe for the lengths to which the Slovak premier was going to punish his political opponents for supporting Kyiv, Jaroslav Naď said (archive).
Reuters: A shaven-headed Evan Gershkovich appeared briefly before journalists in a Russian court on Wednesday at the start of a trial on charges of espionage that the U.S. reporter denies.
The Kyiv Independent: A Russian oligarch imported a luxury Airbus A320neo plane, valued at $110 million, from the European Union in violation of sanctions, the Russian independent outlet the Moscow Times reported on June 26.
ISW: Ukrainian forces recently regained lost positions in Vovchansk in northern Kharkiv Oblast, and Russian forces recently advanced near Siversk and Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast.
More News
The International Criminal Court said Tuesday it has issued arrest warrants for Russia’s former defense minister and its military chief of staff for attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine, the third time the global court has issued warrants for senior Russian leaders.
POLITICO: Kremlin-backed authorities have committed systemic human rights violations in Crimea since Russia occupied the territory in 2014, the European Court of Human Rights said in a decision published Tuesday.
Reuters: Russia and Ukraine each handed back 90 prisoners of war on Tuesday in the latest of several periodic swaps in their 28-month-old conflict, with the United Arab Emirates overseeing the exchange as an intermediary.
The Kyiv Independent: German authorities "see no evidence of sabotage" following the alleged arson attack at the Berlin factory owned by German metal manufacturer Diehl, Der Spiegel reported on June 25.
RBC-Ukraine: Russian troops regularly test modified ammunition. They use Kharkiv as a training ground for their exercises, according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.
The Kyiv Independent: Over 3,000 Nepalis may have joined the Russian army, a captured Nepali POW told Ukrainian authorities on video obtained exclusively by the Kyiv Independent.
CNN: The Biden administration is moving toward lifting a de facto ban on American military contractors deploying to Ukraine, four US officials familiar with the matter told CNN, to help the country’s military maintain and repair US-provided weapons systems.
The Kyiv Independent: The Council of the European Union on June 25 approved a draft security agreement between Ukraine and the EU, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said at a press conference in Luxembourg.
Bloomberg: Elon Musk’s SpaceX has cooperated extensively with the US military to stop Russia’s illicit use of its Starlink satellite communication terminals in Ukraine, a Pentagon official has assured a lawmaker (archive).
The Moscow Times: Authorities in Moscow said Tuesday they could not confirm reports that a Russian fighter jet downed an American surveillance drone over the Black Sea.
Reuters: Finland's Gasum, a key gas supplier to the Nordic region, will stop buying and importing Russian liquefied natural gas in July in line with fresh European Union sanctions, the company said on Tuesday.
AFP: Russia said that Tuesday it would block access to 81 EU media outlets, including AFP's websites, as a "retaliatory measure" after Brussels imposed broadcasting bans on several Russian state media outlets.
AP News: Relentless Russian attacks on Ukrainian positions defending the strategically important eastern city of Chasiv Yar are disrupting troop rotations and the delivery of some supplies, soldiers in the area say.
Reuters: The first shipment of ammunition from a Czech initiative has arrived in Ukraine, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Tuesday.
Bloomberg: Turkey has reached out to the BRICS club of major emerging nations that includes Russia and China, in a sign of growing frustration over a lack of progress in talks to join the European Union (archive).
Reuters: China on Tuesday urged the European Union to revoke sanctions on Chinese companies for what it believes is supporting Russia's war in Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent: Operatives from Ukraine's military intelligence agency detonated an ammunition depot in Russia's Voronezh Oblast on June 25, the agency's press service said.
Reuters: Four bankers who helped a friend of Putin move millions of francs through Swiss bank accounts have lost their attempt to overturn convictions for failing to perform due diligence in financial transactions.
Bloomberg: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Russia for the first time since the start of the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine, a trip that follows his return to office for a third term and underscores the strong ties between the two countries (archive).
Reuters: Indian imports of Russian coal have declined while U.S. shipments have risen in the three months ending in May, data from coal consultancy Bigmint showed, which traders attributed to Russian supplies becoming less competitive.
worth mentioning
What’s behind Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov suddenly marrying off two of his sons?
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