The Ukraine shoots rockets into Russia….
The Ukraine Offensive moves along trying to cut Russian land contact with the Crimea …..
They are pushing toward’s Zaporizhzhia, the site of the Ukraine nuclear power plant…..
The Ukraine is moving troops North…. Worried about Wagner troops in Belarus……
Things ain’t so easy for Europe in trying to seize and use Russian assets to pay for the Ukraine’s post war Billions needed for recovery….
The US Senate approves American aid to the Ukraine thru 2027……
It’s up the US House next…..
Ukrainians are trying to move away from Russian influences ….
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Debris from one missile injured several people and caused damage in Taganrog, about 30 miles east of the Ukrainian border, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Here’s what we’re covering:
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At least nine people were injured when one missile was downed, Russia says.
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With its grinding gains, Ukraine is aiming for a better shot at Russian targets.
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Brazil declines to extradite an accused Russian spy the U.S. might want for a prisoner swap with Russia.
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A Ukrainian fencer penalized for refusing a Russian handshake is guaranteed a spot in the Paris Olympics.
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Ukraine reclaims a southern village, but a brutal fight still lies ahead.
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Two Ukrainian service members get a break from the fighting to say ‘I do.’….
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Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Battles have raged along Ukraine’s front lines, as Ukrainian troops made slow but steady advances in their counteroffensive to push through the Russian-held south, The Post reported, citing officials in Kyiv. Ukraine aims to reach the Sea of Azov, severing Moscow’s land bridge to Crimea in the process, although Ukrainian forces remain far from the sea. Ukraine has in recent weeks launched attacks on Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces mounted offensive actions in Zaporizhzhia on Friday. Putin said earlier that “most of the armed clashes” have taken place in the southern Ukrainian region. A U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with ground rules had said that it was unclear what the moves may be but that a boost in Ukrainian forces in Zaporizhzhia could be the result of fresh troops probing Russian lines or replacing fatigued units.
Putin said “Russia’s attention to Africa is growing steadily” and that this “is reflected in our plans to step up our diplomatic presence on the continent.” He said Russia was “ready to restore and open new Russian missions abroad.” The Russian leader, seeking to boost ties, is hosting African leaders at the St. Petersburg summit, although far fewer African leaders are attending in comparison with the first Russia-Africa summit in 2019.
North Korea showcased new drones at a military paradeattended by leader Kim Jong Un alongside Russian and Chinese officials, North Korean state media said Friday. As it marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, North Korea this week opened its borders to visitors for the first time since the pandemic began. The foreign officials included Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Washington Post journalists arrived at the scene just after missiles hit a Ukrainian SBU building and an apartment building in Dnipro’s city center Friday evening. Authorities discouraged reporters from approaching the area. A local resident, Serhiy Zhuravel, held his dog as the emergency services surged in. Zhuravel, a 33-year-old IT worker, said several of his colleagues lived in the apartment building that was struck. He said his wife’s parents’ home was destroyed in the war, forcing them to relocate to Zaporizhzhia, an area that reportedly came under attack at the same time Friday evening. “Their missiles aren’t as accurate as they think they are,” he said, looking at the distance between the apartment building and the government building.
The Wagner Group’s presence in Belarus has triggered concern about the security of Ukraine’s northern border, The Post reports. Ukraine has been beefing up defenses nearby since Putin allowed Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his fighters to avoid punishment for their short-lived mutiny last month by moving to Belarus.
Russia claimed to have intercepted two Ukrainian missiles Friday. Russian officials blamed the fragments of an intercepted Ukrainian missile strike for the damage in the Russian city of Taganrog on Friday, which it said caused no deaths but injured a number of civilians. Separately, it also claimed to have intercepted a missile strike targeting Azov, which is also in the Rostov region. Taganrog houses a military airfield and a commercial seaport involved in the trade of metal and coal.
Russian officials detained a Ukrainian man in relation to an explosion at an oil refinery in Samara. No one was injured in the blast at Kuibyshev oil refinery Friday, which was caused by an explosive device, according to a Telegram post from Russian parliamentarian Aleksandr Hinstein, but a worker from Ukraine was detained by Russian security services trying to leave the country. Earlier this month, six workers were killed in another blast at an ammunition factory in the Samara region, though that explosion was determined to be an accident.
Russian air defenses also shot down a Ukrainian drone targeting Moscow, with no reports of casualties or damage, the Russian Defense Ministry said early Friday. The Post could not independently verify the claim.
Brazil can’t approve a U.S. request to extradite an alleged Russian spy because the Russian government’s own extradition request for the man has already been approved,the Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Security said Thursday. Sergey Cherkasov was charged by the U.S. Justice Department in March with acting as an illegal agent of Russian intelligence while attending a Johns Hopkins University graduate program in Washington. Brazil’s justice minister, Flávio Dino, said on Twitter that Cherkasov will remain imprisoned in Brazil for the time being. Russian officials say they want Cherkasov on drug trafficking charges.
Seven Russian individuals and five entities were sanctioned by the European Union Council for allegedly running a “digital information manipulation campaign” in support of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the council said Friday. “This campaign, to which government bodies or bodies affiliated to the Russian State have participated, relies on fake web pages usurping the identity of national media outlets and government websites, as well as fake accounts on social media,” the council said in a statement.
Ukrainian world champion fencer Olga Kharlan was disqualified from the Fencing World Championships in Milan after refusing to shake hands with defeated Russian opponent Anna Smirnova. The handshake is mandatory in fencing. In a video on Instagram, Kharlan said she “acted with her heart” and “screamed in pain” after being disqualified. “The rules have to change because the world is changing,” she said.
A Ukrainian presidential adviser described Russia’s promises of grain for African nations as “blackmail” after the Kremlin pulled out of the U.N.-backed deal that allowed the flow of Ukrainian grain to world markets. Moscow’s withdrawal from the grain deal was “dramatically increasing the negative effects of drought and food shortages on the African continent,” Mykhailo Podolyak said after Putin told African leaders that Russia could replace Ukrainian grain.
The U.S. Senate passed a bill that would extend the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through fiscal 2027, quashing partisan efforts to limit aid to Kyiv, The Post reported. The bill is expected to spark heated negotiations with hard-line Republicans in the House seeking to limit aid to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday met with the Qatari prime minister, who announced his country’s intention to allocate $100 million for Ukraine’s humanitarian needs and 50 university scholarships for Ukrainian students. Both sides said the two discussed the situation surrounding the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia and resolving the war itself.
Ukrainians are breaking their ties with the Russian language:Across Ukraine, people are shredding Russian literature, changing street names to honor Ukrainians rather than Russian writers and renaming Russian dishes on menus, Francesca Ebel and Kostiantyn Khudov report.
“For many people, it has become impossible to speak Russian because it is the language of the enemy,” said Iryna Pobidash, an associate professor of linguistics at Kyiv’s Igor Sikorsky Polytechnic Institute…..