02.06.2024

FT found out why Russia and China can't agree on the Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline. China wants to pay close to the subsidized Russian domestic price and will only commit to buying a fraction of capacity (archive).

POLITICO: Belgium, current holder of the rotating Council of the EU presidency, is taking the extraordinary step of urging EU governments to move ahead with the procedure to deprive Hungary — which takes over the presidency next month — of voting rights.

The Guardian: Leaked internal documents have exposed the activities of a Russian state-backed legal defence foundation that European intelligence agencies and analysts say is in fact a Kremlin influence operation active in 48 countries across Europe and around the world.

NY Times: During Russia’s occupation of Kherson, dozens of Ukrainian children were taken into Russian custody and transferred 180 miles from home. A year later, the NYT journalists found their photos on a Russian federal adoption site (gift article).

Reuters: NATO's recent move to strengthen its eastern border is aimed at deterring Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday, adding that it should be clear to Moscow that the alliance will be ready to defend itself if necessary.

WaPo: Hacked emails and other documents from the Iranian government-funded Press TV show payments of thousands of dollars to a writer who is now Washington-based editor for Grayzone, whose founder regularly appears on Russian television (archive).

FT: More evidence of growing cooperation on defense between China and Russia: a Chinese state trade body sought to buy drone-jamming equipment for Russian buyers last month. Weeks later, Dmitry Medvedev inspected the wares (archive).

AP News: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused China on Sunday of helping Russia to disrupt an upcoming Swiss-organized peace conference on the war in Ukraine.

CNN: Russia’s brutal ongoing invasion of Ukraine has provided US intelligence services with a rare opening to recruit Kremlin insiders furious with the handling of the war.

ISW: Continued variations in Western governments' F-16 policies will require Ukraine to track which aircraft Ukrainian forces can and cannot use to conduct certain strikes, complicating Ukraine's ability to plan and conduct aviation operations using F-16s.

01.06.2024

Reuters: A Russian missile hit residences in Balakliia in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region on Saturday, injuring 13 people including eight children, prosecutors said. Pictures posted online showed homes in the town southeast of Kharkiv reduced to rubble.

RBC-Ukraine: Ukraine's Defense Intelligence intercepted a conversation between Russians about the alleged evacuation of the Russian military from Belgorod.

Reuters: The pro-Russian leader of Moldova's largest opposition party has called for better relations with Russia and China and urged other groups to join forces in fielding a single challenger to pro-European President Maia Sandu in an October election.

The Telegraph: Russia has begun overhauling unused airfields in Crimea because of the threat of long-range strikes by Ukrainian forces, pro-Kyiv partisans have claimed. Work was underway to reopen abandoned bases at Kirovskoye, near Feodosia, and Bagerovo, near Kerch (archive).

AFP: Italy's foreign minister repeated his opposition Saturday to Ukraine using Italian weapons inside Russia, warning of a "delicate" situation where "rash" moves must be avoided.

The Kyiv Independent: The chair of the German parliament's defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, called on the country's armed forces to activate 900,000 German reservists in light of Russia's threatening policies.

Reuters: South Korean defence minister Shin Won-sik said on Saturday that more evidence suggests weapons used by Russia in the war in Ukraine were illegally imported from North Korea.

The Kyiv Independent: The IT Coalition for Ukraine, comprising 12 European nations, has raised a combined 58 million euros for Ukraine's IT and cybersecurity defense capabilities, Ukraine's Defense Ministry announced.

Reuters: Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones on Saturday that damaged energy facilities and critical infrastructure across Ukraine, injuring at least four people, and prompting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to issue a fresh plea for more air defence assistance.

AP News: Thai police have broken up a large network that illegally helped foreigners, mostly Russians, to stay in Thailand long-term through the use of company nominees or shell companies, officials said Friday.

31.05.2024

Bloomberg: Group of Seven nations and the European Union are studying ways to tighten the screws on banks that help Moscow evade sanctions. Under consideration by some allies are measures that would target third-country lenders using the Bank of Russia’s SWIFT-like financial messaging system to circumvent trade restrictions (archive).

The Kyiv Independent: The U.S. gave Ukraine permission to use American weapons to strike targets in Russia across the border from both Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, Michael Carpenter, senior director for Europe at the U.S. National Security Council, told the TSN news program on May 31.

Reuters: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy concluded long-term security agreements with Sweden, Norway, and Iceland on Friday, a sign of Western commitment to Ukraine as Kyiv seeks further military support from the West in the war with Russia.

Meduza: A new report from the independent outlet Verstka found that Russian courts routinely give combat veterans the minimum sentence for domestic violence convictions, often letting them off with small fines — equivalent to as little as $55 — for offenses like assault.

Reuters: The United States and other nations could take steps against Chinese firms and financial institutions over Beijing's backing for the Russian war against Ukraine, a top U.S. official said on Friday.

The Kyiv Independent: Drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine destroyed a Russian Nebo-SVU long-range radar system in Crimea overnight on May 30. The system, worth around $100 million, was positioned near Armiansk, a town in the north of Crimea.

Reuters: Foreign ministers from 10 nations, including those from the Group of Seven major democracies, on Friday condemned weapons transfers from North Korea to Russia, saying the arms were being used against Ukraine.

The Kyiv Independent: Kyiv is likely to receive the first tranche of frozen Russian assets revenue from the European Union this summer, EU Sanctions Envoy David O'Sullivan said in an interview with RBC Ukraine.

AP News: Germany joined the United States on Friday in authorizing Ukraine to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying — a significant policy change that comes as depleted Ukrainian troops are losing ground in the war.

The Kyiv Independent: The Netherlands would not object to Ukraine using Dutch-supplied F-16 fighter jets to strike targets inside Russia as a means of self-defense, Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot said on May 31.

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