The Ukraine President answer’s more and more questions about the vaunted Spring Offensive that is in the middle of July moving slowly against a entrenched Russia Army…There has been progress towards the city of Melitopol….
Here’s a good look at the Ukraine’s actions since the 2022…..
The Western combat stuff is helping but NOT overwhelming….
British Defense Minister Ben Wallace to step down NOT making Europe happy…He has been VERY Pro Ukraine support…
It appears the Ukraine grain export deal is over with Russia…..
Wagner troops are confirmed moving into Belarus doing training for them…..
It appears that Putin tried to lure some of the Wagner troops to join his Army……..
His military seems to be having a bit of internal unrest with the shuffling of General’s …….
A look at the Ukraine’s top General fighting the war……..
South Africa does NOT want Russian President to visit…..
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that Russian forces were throwing “everything they can” at Kyiv’s troops fighting to retake land in the south and east, again emphasizing the grueling nature of a counteroffensive that is moving more slowly than some allies had hoped and later stressing the importance of their continued support.
Ukrainian troops have made only small gains since launching the widely anticipated campaign in June, and in recent weeks, they appear to have stalled in some areas in the face of staunch Russian defenses. Casualties are mounting, and American officials have said that Ukraine has also lost newly provided Western armored vehicles in field after field of land mines.
Mr. Zelensky, who has defended the pace of the counteroffensive, said in his nightly address late Friday that he had had a “detailed” meeting earlier in the day with his top commanders to discuss the front lines and “logistics” — including weapons and the “rational use of shells, supplies from partners,” an apparent reference to the rate at which Ukraine’s forces are expending ammunition.
“We must all understand very clearly — as clearly as possible — that the Russian forces on our southern and eastern lands are investing everything they can to stop our warriors,” he said. “Every thousand meters of advance, every success of each of our combat brigades deserves gratitude.”….
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The Black Sea Grain Initiative, which is credited with easing the global food crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine, is set to expire Monday amid rising concerns that Moscow will not renew the deal. United Nations Secretary General António Guterres sent Russian President Vladimir Putin a letter this week with a proposal to keep the deal operational but, as of Saturday, Russia had not responded.
Here’s the latest on the war and its impact around the globe.
- Wallace’s announced his exit during a war that has put Europe on edge. This week, President Biden met with British officials in London during a trip that included a NATO summit headlined by the war. The United States and the United Kingdom have been among Ukraine’s largest supporters since Russia’s full-scale invasion last year.
- The British minister pushed European nations to strengthen NATO funding, according to the Times: “You can’t take for granted your allies and partners,” Wallace said in the interview. “You have to contribute.”
- The United Nations said no new vessels had been allowed to join the Black Sea initiative since June 27, despite applications for 29 ships to join. The agreement allows safe passage for ships carrying grain and food exports through the Black Sea corridor, but Moscow has threatened several times not to extend the deal and recently told the United Nations that it intended to limit the number of ships picking up Ukrainian grain until Russia could resume ammonia exports. The deal, which was most recently extended in May, has allowed for the safe passage of more than 30 million metric tons of grain from Ukraine, according to the United Nations.
- Putin told his South African counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa, that pledges to remove obstacles to Russian food and fertilizer exports had not been fulfilled, according to the Kremlin. The two will discuss the issue again at the BRICS economic summit next month, according to the Russian government Telegram page.
- Troops from Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group were seen moving into Belarus on Saturday, according to Ukraine’s border service and reports from online military watchers. The Belarusian Ministry of Defense said Friday that Wagner fighters were training military personnel in Belarus, weeks after a failed rebellion by Wagner in Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week that there was no imminent threat of an invasion from Belarus.
- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in Kyiv on Saturday, making him one of a handful of Asian leaders to visit war-torn Ukraine. He visited Bucha, a site of mass killings, and laid a wreath of remembrance in the capital before meeting with Zelensky, according to the country’s Yonhap news agency. Seoul has so far sent humanitarian and financial aid to Ukraine but is under pressure to send weapons.
- The major oil field services firm SLB has suspended its shipments of products and technology to Russia in response to expanded Western sanctions, the company, formerly known as Schlumberger, announced in a statement Friday. The firm is one of the few oil equipment providers remaining in Russia after the invasion, and it came under pressure from rights groups for doing so. SLB said that its decision to suspend shipments was a “response to the continued expansion of international sanctions” and that it “remains aligned with the international community in condemning and calling for an end to the war in Ukraine.”
- South Africa is trying to persuade Putin not to attend the BRICS economic summit in the country next month, local media reported. As a signatory to the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest in March, South Africa would be obligated to arrest the Russian leader. “It’s a big dilemma for us. Of course, we cannot arrest him,” South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile said in an interview.
- An alleged Russian spy has been extradited to the United States from Estonia to face charges related to providing “sensitive American-made electronics and ammunition” to the Russian military “in furtherance of Russia’s war efforts,” the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York said Friday.
- Wagner troops continue to enter Belarus from Russia,according to Ukraine’s border service. Members of the group “have begun to be observed in Belarus moving from the territory of Russia,” said a spokesman for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, Andriy Demchenko, on Saturday. The Belarusian Hajun Project, an independent online group that monitors military-related movements, also said Saturday that it had spotted “a large convoy of cars and trucks,” which appeared to be a Wagner column, entering from Russia near the Belarusian city of Krichev. The Washington Post could not independently verify the claims.
- Putin said he offered Wagner fighters a chance to stay together as a unit under the command of a different leader, in his interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant, after Wagner launched a short-lived rebellion in June. However, Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin rejected the offer, he said. The Institute for the Study of War said in an analysis that the comments indicate Putin “intends to maintain the Wagner Group as a cohesive fighting force” but is trying to separate it from Prigozhin.
- Col. Mykola Urshalovych, a representative of Ukraine’s National Guard, claimed that Ukraine advanced 1,700 meters toward the southeastern city of Melitopol in the past week. He was speaking at a briefing described by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on Telegram. The Post could not independently verify the claims.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry is likely to face an increase of “direct criticism from subordinates” after a public outburst this week from former Gen.-Maj. Ivan Popov, according to Britain’s Defense Ministry. This could become an “increasing problem” for Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, it said Saturday. Popov said this week that he was forced to retire after criticizing the Russian military’s efforts in Ukraine, including a lack of weaponry. “Popov’s comments draw attention to serious disaffection many officers likely harbor toward the senior military leadership,” the U.K. ministry added.
To defeat Russia, Ukraine’s top commander pushes to fight on his terms: The senior Ukrainian military commander, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, is under pressure to re-create Ukraine’s earlier underdog success on the battlefield, Isabelle Khurshudyan writes.
But if it were up to Zaluzhny alone, this isn’t how he’d get the job done. He would fight with air superiority. He would fire back at least as many shells as the Russians fire. And he would have cruise missiles that could match Moscow’s. Instead, modern fighter jets are not expected in Ukraine for months, the supply of ammunition is constrained and allies have placed restrictions on the use of weapons they have provided: They cannot be used to strike Russian soil.
“To save my people, why do I have to ask someone for permission what to do on enemy territory?” Zaluzhny recently said to The Post in a rare interview. “This is our problem, and it is up to us to decide how to kill this enemy.”….