- Russia-Ukraine Daily News
- Posts
- Daily Briefing
Dear Reader, if you find this email interesting, helpful or of value, please do consider forwarding it to your friends or colleagues and encouraging them to subscribe. Thank you.
Morning Headlines
Reuters Exclusive: Indian state-run refiner BPCL is in talks with Rosneft to buy about 6 million metric tons (43.8 million barrels) of discounted Russian crude at a price based on the Dubai benchmark, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Reuters: Russia's security council accused the West on Friday of trying to drive a wedge between Russia and Kazakhstan by interfering in the affairs of sovereign nations, Russia's TASS reported.
AP News: A suspected lone Russian diplomat is apparently squatting on the site of Moscow's proposed embassy after the Australian government vetoed the plan on security grounds. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed the Russian act of defiance, saying a “bloke standing in the cold on a bit of grass in Canberra is not a threat to our national security.”
ABC News: Russia has launched a High Court challenge against Australia's decision to stop it building a new embassy next to Parliament House.
Bloomberg: Russian mercenaries killed in Ukraine are inadvertently helping stoke a new cash boom at home in an unusual side-effect of the war.
ISW: Ukraine continued counteroffensive operations in at least three sectors of the front and reportedly made gains on June 22. Ukrainian forces may be intensifying efforts to strike Russian ground lines of communication in southern Ukraine to disrupt Russian supply routes.
UK Ministry of Defence: Since summer 2022, the Russian Navy has invested in major enhancements to the security of the Black Sea Fleet’s main base at Sevastopol. This includes at least four layers of nets and booms across the harbour entrance. In recent weeks, these defences have highly likely also been augmented by an increased number of trained marine mammals.
More News
PACE: The resolution adopted today underlines that supporting Ukraine should be “a political imperative for the Council of Europe and its member States”, not only as an issue of rule of law and international justice, but also to protect democratic security in Europe.
PACE has called on the International Olympic Committee and its constituent sports bodies to maintain the position expressed in 2022, and to prohibit the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games – and all other major sporting events – “as long as Russia’s war of aggression continues”.
The White House: US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has refused to join Western sanctions on Russia, on Thursday jointly backed Ukraine's "territorial integrity" as they voiced alarm over the conflict. In a joint statement, the two leaders "called for respect for international law, principles of the UN charter and territorial integrity and sovereignty."
FT: Germany has signed another long-term deal to import more US liquefied natural gas, as Berlin moves to replace Russian energy in its economy amid Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Atlantic Council: Ukraine’s counteroffensive is a marathon not a blitzkrieg. It involves hundreds of thousands of troops on both sides, with an area equal to a medium-sized European country at stake. It may be months before Ukraine’s commanders feel the conditions are right to attempt a major push to achieve a comprehensive breakthrough.
POLITICO: Hundreds of tankers could be barred from European ports as part of a new effort to crack down on illicit sales of Russian crude oil that Western nations fear are helping fund the war in Ukraine.
Defense News: European drone manufacturers with plans to build production sites in Ukraine are reporting diverging ordeals, with Latvia-based Atlas now facing several delays as Turkish Baykar’s venture is moving on schedule, according to both companies’ chief executives.
AFP: The United Nations has put Russian military forces and proxy armed groups on its "list of shame" over violating children's rights in its war in Ukraine, according to a document seen by AFP Thursday.
RFE/RL investigation: Kazakh and Kyrgyz companies are helping the Kremlin circumvent sanctions on dual-use technology by exporting such goods to Russian suppliers — some of which have direct links to Russia’s defense industry.
The Moscow Times: Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has started recruiting military police in occupied Ukraine, according to online job advertisements posted by the private army and reports by independent media outlets.
POLITICO: Russia has set up the first-ever program outside China to study the ideology of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the autocratic leader in Beijing who keeps a fierce grip on civil society and recently moved to become ruler for life.
Haaretz: Vladimir Solovyov, a popular presenter on Russian state TV who’s been accused of serial antisemitism, calls Israel’s ambassador to Ukraine a ‘bastard’ and accuses him of following the orders of his ‘American masters’
Reuters: Ukraine is carrying out the largest campaign of repairs in modern history to its power system to prepare for another winter of possible Russian air strikes, its energy minister said on Thursday.
Meduza: Russia’s official federal budget website has stopped publishing current data on budget expenditures. This data previously helped the media determine the amounts of government spending on secret programs, including military funding.
NY Times: Long uneasily in the orbit of President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Belarus is increasingly doing his bidding. Allowing Moscow to place tactical nuclear weapons on its soil is the latest sign of its loss of sovereignty to the Kremlin, experts say.
Reuters Special Report: The Africans fighting on Russia’s front line in Ukraine
AFP: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday urged NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius in July to focus on ramping up Ukraine's fighting capacity during its ongoing counteroffensive against Russia.
Reuters: There is no evidence to suggest that Poland was used as a hub for the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline, Polish prosecutors said on Thursday, rejecting a report that a team that blew up the pipelines may have used Poland as an operating base.
Reuters: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday pledged long-term security assurances to Ukraine but dashed Kyiv's hopes for a swift accession to NATO.
worth mentioning
Modi Says India 'Completely Ready' To Help Ukraine 'Peace'
Moldova Summons Russian Ambassador Over Statement By Moscow-Installed Official In Ukraine
CAS to hear Russian figure skater Valieva's case in September
Russian Gov't Officials Banned From Bringing iPhones Into Cabinet Meetings
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to Share Data with Moscow on Anti-War Russians, Conscripts
Russa-Ukraine Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Do you think your friend or colleague should know about this newsletter? Forward it to them, please. They can also sign up here