200 Russian deserters wandering in woods in Kharkiv Oblast

The New Voice of Ukraine

200 Russian deserters wandering in woods in Kharkiv Oblast

June 21, 2022

The occupiers deserted after the battle with the Armed Forces near Izyum (illustrative photo)
The occupiers deserted after the battle with the Armed Forces near Izyum (illustrative photo)

The Russian deserters were noticed by residents of Borova, a small town near the city of Izyum, close to Kharkiv. Borova community council in turn wrote about them on social media.

Read also: Ukraine’s General Staff reports that low morale is leading Russian soldiers to disobey order

“They (the Russians) came back here – injured, covered with dirt, hungry, full of anger, with their equipment damaged,” an official with the council wrote.

“Then they found a place for refuge in our village to recover. We have information that approximately 200 Russians are now hiding in the woods close to our village. They’re being sought by their commanders.”

After suffering losses in another battle for control over Izyum, a group of Russian soldiers retreated to Gorohovatka, a small village on the outskirts of Borova.

Another group of Russian servicemen went into hiding in the local woods. While Borova is located on the eastern bank of Oskil river, Gorohovatka is located on the western bank. The two locations are connected by a bridge.

Read also: Uncaring Russian elites are fueling Russian military de-motivation, suggests Ukraine’s International Legion

Vast areas in this part of the country are covered with woods. The closest Russia-controlled area is likely to be Severodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast, while the distance to Russia’s Belgorod Oblast is pretty much the same.

This week, the Ukrainian army destroyed the command and intelligence center of Russia’s 20th army, which was located in Kharkiv Oblast, leaving many Russian troops without tactical guidance.

In the northeast, the Russian army has been experiencing interruptions in logistics bringing supplies, including food and ammunition, since the beginning of the war.

Despite Western arms, Ukraine is outgunned in the east

Associated Press

Despite Western arms, Ukraine is outgunned in the east

Andrea Rosa and Jamey Keaten – June 20, 2022

FILE - Commander of an artillery unit of the Ukrainian army, Mykhailo Strebizh, center, inside a destroyed house due to shelling in a village near the frontline in the Donetsk oblast region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, June 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)
Commander of an artillery unit of the Ukrainian army, Mykhailo Strebizh, center, inside a destroyed house due to shelling in a village near the frontline in the Donetsk oblast region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, June 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)
FILE - Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian positions from a U.S.-supplied M777 howitzer in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region Saturday, June 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
 Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian positions from a U.S.-supplied M777 howitzer in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region Saturday, June 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE - A Ukrainian tank is in position during heavy fighting on the front line in Severodonetsk, the Luhansk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Oleksandr Ratushniak, File)
A Ukrainian tank is in position during heavy fighting on the front line in Severodonetsk, the Luhansk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Oleksandr Ratushniak, File)

BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Holed up in a bombed-out house in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian troops keep a careful accounting of their ammunition, using a door as a sort of ledger. Scrawled in chalk on the door are figures for mortar shells, smoke shells, shrapnel shells, flares.

Despite the heavy influx of weapons from the West, Ukrainian forces are outgunned by the Russians in the battle for the eastern Donbas region, where the fighting is largely being carried out by way of artillery exchanges.

While the Russians can keep up heavy, continuous fire for hours at a time, the defenders can’t match the enemy in either weapons or ammunition and must use their ammo more judiciously.

At the outpost in eastern Ukraine, dozens and dozens of mortar shells are stacked up. But the troops’ commander, Mykhailo Strebizh, who goes by the nom de guerre Gaiduk, lamented that if his fighters were to come under an intense artillery barrage, their cache would, at best, amount to only about four hours’ worth of return fire.

Ukrainian authorities say the West’s much-ballyhooed support for the country is not sufficient and is not arriving on the battlefield fast enough for this grinding and highly lethal phase of the war.

While Russia has kept quiet about its war casualties, Ukrainian authorities say up to 200 of their soldiers are dying each day. Russian forces are gaining ground slowly in the east, but experts say they are taking heavy losses.

The United States last week upped the ante with its largest pledge of aid for Ukrainian forces yet: an additional $1 billion in military assistance to help repel or reverse Russian advances.

But experts note that such aid deliveries haven’t kept pace with Ukraine’s needs, in part because defense industries aren’t turning out weaponry fast enough.

“We’re moving from peacetime to wartime,” said Francois Heisbourg, a senior adviser at the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research think tank. “Peacetime means low production rates, and ramping up the production rate means that you have to first build industrial facilities. … This is a defense-industrial challenge which is of a very great magnitude.”

The Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany last week reported that the U.S. has delivered about half of its pledged commitments in military support for Ukraine, and Germany about one-third. Poland and Britain have both come through on much of what they promised.

Many foot soldiers say they can’t even begin to match the Russians shot for shot, or shell for shell.

Earlier this month, Ukraine’s ambassador in Madrid, Serhii Phoreltsev, thanked Spain — which trumpeted a shipment of 200 tons of military aid in April — but said the ammunition included was enough for only about two hours of combat.

Ukrainian filmmaker-turned-fighter Volodymyr Demchenko tweeted a video expressing gratitude for guns sent by the Americans, saying, “It’s nice guns, and 120 bullets to each.” But he lamented: “It’s like 15 minutes of a fight.”

Part of the problem, too, is that the Ukrainian forces, whose country was once a member of the Soviet Union, are more familiar with Soviet-era weaponry and must first be trained on the NATO equipment they are getting.

An untold number of Ukrainians have traveled abroad to get training on the Western weapons.

Of the $1 billion pledge from the U.S., only slightly more than one-third of that will be rapid, off-the-shelf deliveries by the Pentagon, and the rest will be available over a longer term. The pledge, which includes 18 howitzers and 36,000 rounds of ammunition for them, addresses Ukraine’s plea for more longer-range weaponry.

That’s still far short of what the Ukrainians want — 1,000 155 mm howitzers, 300 multiple-launch rocket systems, 500 tanks, 2,000 armored vehicles and 1,000 drones — as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s adviser Mikhail Podolyak tweeted last week, before the latest big Western pledges.

“What the Ukrainians have got to do is conduct what military people tend to call a counter-battery operation” to respond to Russian artillery fire, said Ben Barry, a former director of the British Army Staff who is senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “To do this, you need accurate weapons with a high rate of fire and a range that allows them to keep out of the way of the other side’s artillery.”

“The Ukrainians are saying they don’t have enough long-range rockets to adequately suppress Russian artillery,” he said. “I think they’re probably right.”

As it now stands, Ukrainian fighters often have to use “shoot and scoot” tactics — fire, then move before the Russians can zero in on them.

Better NATO hardware, even in small quantities, is often welcome.

On a nearby front on Saturday, a Ukrainian unit granted The Associated Press rare access to the firing of U.S.-supplied M777 howitzers — towable, 155 mm weapons — on Russian positions.

A lieutenant who goes by the call sign Wasp touted the M777’s precision, speed of fire, simplicity of use and the ease with which it is camouflaged, saying the new hardware “raises our spirits” and “demoralizes the enemy because they see what the consequences are.”

Denys Sharapov, Ukraine’s deputy minister of defense in charge of procurement, told a publication of the U.S.-based National Defense Industrial Association that the weapons systems that have been received cover only 10% to 15% of the country’s needs. He noted the breadth of the challenge — a front line with 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of active combat.

Interviewed by National Defense magazine in an article published Wednesday, Sharapov said no single supplier could satisfy Ukraine’s needs alone.

“Quite unfortunately for us, we have become the biggest consumer of weapons and ammunition in the world,” he said.

Friends of Ukraine are digging in for the long haul.

Time may be on Ukraine’s side, the experts say. Ukrainian fighters are both motivated and mobilized — all men in the country of 40 million have been called to fight, whereas Russia has so far avoided a call-up of conscripts, which could vastly tilt the war in Russia’s favor but may not be popular domestically.

As for how long such fighting could last, analyst Heisbourg said a years-long war of attrition is “quite possible.”

Keaten reported from Geneva. Srdjan Nedeljkovic in Bakhmut, Ukraine, contributed to this report.

Russia is facing its worst recession in 30 years — and the ‘Putin Generation’ is paying the price

Business Insider

Russia is facing its worst recession in 30 years — and the ‘Putin Generation’ is paying the price

Huileng Tan – June 20, 2022

A girl takes a self portrait with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he vists a sports center for children in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014.
A generation of young people in Russia have grown up knowing only one leader — Vladimir Putin.Alexei Nikolsky/RIA-Novosti/Associated Press
  • Russian youths face shrinking professional opportunities as multinational firms exit the country.
  • Young Russians will also find it tougher to pursue higher education in Europe.
  • The Russian economy will contract 11.2% in 2022, per a World Bank forecast released in April.

Russian youths entering the job market and pursuing higher education are in for a rough ride.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, multinationals have left Russia in droves, while sanctions from major world economies are intensifying. Meanwhile, there are changes taking place at Russian universities that stand to make it difficult for the country’s students to pursue higher education elsewhere.

“We’re really entering a kind of uncharted territory in so many ways,” Hassan Malik, a senior sovereign analyst at Boston-based investment management consultancy Loomis Sayles, told Insider.

Experts told Insider it’s impossible, just months into the war, to quantify the impact of the war on Russian youths. But they also said the generation that grew up under the presidency of President Vladimir Putin — which started in 2012 — is now experiencing a very different Russia from the one it grew up in.

Loosely termed the “Putin Generation,” this group of young people grew up knowing only one president in its formative years and is between 17 and 25 years old, according to the Wilson Center. They grew up eating McDonald’s, watching the latest Hollywood films, and posting on Instagram — all of which are, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, no longer available in Russia.

Two experts Insider spoke to broke down how much tougher it’ll be for young Russians at work and in school.

Multinationals are leaving en masse, limiting professional opportunities

Like in many countries, the value of a good education in Russia is that it opens up doors at not just homegrown employers, but also at multinational companies that present opportunities for employees to enter and leave the European job market freely. These windows are closing fast.

“A lot of multinational corporations had promised good stable careers, where one can advance on their merits in a kind of traditional Western capitalist model,” said Andrew Lohsen, a fellow in the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Those opportunities are drying up as these companies leave Russia, and some of the industries that have promised high salaries are starting to be hamstrung by sanctions.”

Lohsen cited oil and gas and IT as some sectors where multinationals are departing in droves, leaving a future of uncertainty for those looking to enter these major industries. Earlier this month, American tech giants IBM and Microsoft laid off hundreds of employees in Russia as companies continued to pull out of the market.

Such exits are not just about the job market. They will also curtail training and professional networks for Russian professionals, Malik told Insider.

In response, many Russian tech employees are leaving, Insider’s Belle Lin, Masha Borak, and Kylie Robison reported in April. While many made their exits due to fear of being conscripted to fight the war, some said they were driven by the impact of sanctions on their jobs.

In April, the World Bank said the Russian economy is expected to contract 11.2% in 2022, marking its worst economic contraction in three decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Russian universities and education will quash open debate, push for top-down thinking

The experts Insider spoke to also expressed concern about the future of Russia’s academic system, as the country looks to exit the Bologna Process in which European governments align education standards and qualifications.

“What that means is that Russians who are thinking about getting a higher education in Europe — especially a professional or doctoral degree — will find it much harder now to try to enter European universities,” Lohsen told Insider. Russia is planning to revert to the Soviet standard, which makes it very difficult for any sort of European University to verify their academic credentials, he added.

Europe’s academic community is especially concerned about the freedom for open debate in Russia after 700 rectors and university presidents from Russian universities signed a letter nine days into invasion endorsing the Kremlin’s version of events — namely, that Moscow is aiming for a “demilitarisation and denazification” of Ukraine, the Times Higher Education magazine reported, citing the letter, which has since been taken down.

“What we are seeing is the politicization of the education system, and that goes from the top to the bottom,” said Lohsen. “There’s a real sharp turn in the Russian education toward embracing the state narrative and excluding any sort of doubt or alternatives, and punishing those who step out of line.”

Malik said he had participated in conferences with Russian and international institutions in the past where there were dynamic exchanges of ideas. He now thinks this would now be extremely difficult, especially since Russia passed a law in March that would jail for up to 15 years those intentionally spreading “fake” news about the military.

A political upheaval is unlikely even if Russians are unhappy, experts say

While the situation looks grim, Moscow has been ramping up propaganda in recent years to promote a top-down structure with the state, the military, and the church at the core of Russian society, said Lohsen. Alongside a mass media environment that’s largely controlled by the state or linked to the Kremlin, such messages could distract the populace from impending economic hardship, he added.

Some young Russians who are unhappy with Putin’s rule fled the country after the war broke out. But there are everyday practicalities to consider for Russians who wish to start afresh outside of their home country — such as long-term visas, employment, and financial resources, all of which are now harder to come by due to sanctions over the war, Malik and Lohsen told Insider.

Inside Russia, support for the war remains. In late May, an independent Russian pollster called the Levada Center conducted a survey of 1,634 Russian people and found that 60% of 18- to 24-year-old Russians supported the war.

There’s little indication anything will change politically — even if there are pockets of dissent, said Malik.

“A revolution is more likely in an democracy than in an autocracy — because in a democracy, you can just have an election,” he told Insider. After all, the economic conditions in the former Soviet Union were worse than what they are now in Russia — but nothing changed for decades, he added.

“For discontent to translate into policy change, and let alone regime change in an autocracy is a very high bar,” he said.

Pence Says He’s Never Seen a President Lie as Much as … Biden

Rolling Stone

Pence Says He’s Never Seen a President Lie as Much as … Biden

Ryan Bort – June 20, 2022

Former VP Pence Joins Brian Kemp At Rally On Eve Of Georgia Primary - Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Former VP Pence Joins Brian Kemp At Rally On Eve Of Georgia Primary – Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Donald Trump knew his supporters were storming the Capitol last Jan. 6 when he tweeted that Mike Pence lacked “courage,” causing the rioters to “surge,” according to the Jan. 6 committee. The committee also revealed that the Proud Boys, the extremist militia Trump told to “stand back and stand by,” intended to kill Pence during the attack if they had the chance. Some in the crowd chanted for Pence to be hung for his failure to illegally stop the certification of the Electoral College. Upon hearing the news, Trump said Pence “deserved” it.

A violent mob calling for the vice president’s head is one of many terrifying consequences of the Big Lie that the 2020 election was rigged, which may be the most outlandish, traitorous fabrication in American history. Pence’s refusal to accept this fabrication when it mattered most all but destroyed his standing in the Republican Party, in addition to almost getting him killed.

Pence on Monday said he’s never seen a president who doles out so many falsehoods as … Joe Biden.

“Have you ever seen a president who refused to accept blame and commits so many falsehoods — I’m being very polite here calling it falsehoods — who on any given day is out there saying stuff that just isn’t true?” Larry Kudlow of Fox Business asked Pence of President Biden. “Have you ever seen anything like that?”

“Never in my lifetime,” Pence replied. “I said today that there has never been a time in my life when a president was more disconnected from the American people.”

Again, Kudlow and Pence are talking about Biden here.

The exchange is astonishing given everything the Jan. 6 committee has revealed over the course of its first three public hearings, the last of which focused on Trump’s pressured campaign to convince Pence to illegally block the certification of the election results. Trump allegedly called Pence a “pussy” as he refused to do so on the morning of the riot.

Pence’s refusal to acknowledge that he did the bidding of the most pathological liar anyone could have ever imagined would occupy the Oval Office may be astonishing, but it isn’t really that surprising, considering he clearly has designs on a future in Republican politics. If he’s going to win over the GOP before then — not to mention the Trump supporters who literally want to kill him — he’s going to have to paint Biden as the devil incarnate at every turn. If that means going easy on the man who said he deserved to be executed, so be it. It’s a small price to pay for having absolutely no chance at winning two years from now.

You’ll Never Guess the Lie Putin Has Come Up With Now

Daily Beast

You’ll Never Guess the Lie Putin Has Come Up With Now

Julia Davis – June 20, 2022

MAXIM SHEMETOV
MAXIM SHEMETOV

Russia’s flagship economic event, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF, which ended over the weekend), served as another reflection of the country’s shifting place in the world. After Russia invaded Ukraine and was largely shunned by the international community, Western investors who had turned up at the event dubbed “the Russian Davos” in droves during previous years were conspicuously absent. Likewise, there would be no foreign moderator. This year’s SPIEF was moderated by Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the controversial media outlet RT (formerly known as Russia Today).

Earlier in June, discussing Simonyan being selected for the role, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS: “The sanity of many prominent Western reporters is currently raising questions… all of them have simply gone nuts… Margarita [Simonyan] is a world class reporter and media manager. So for us, she leaves journalists in the dust internationally, that’s why it’s her who will be the moderator.”

Fresh from the event, Simonyan appeared on Sunday Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, gushing about her recent meetings with Putin and spouting a new fabulist tale about what Russia is supposedly doing in Ukraine. The host of the program, Vladimir Solovyov, asked Simonyan for details of her meetings with the Russian authoritarian before and after the forum. She grinned and coyly retorted: “Of course, I can’t tell all about it publicly, I’ll later whisper it into your ear.”

Solovyov hinted that Simonyan may have even given Putin some advice herself: “Based on recent observations, the president is open to receiving information that is coming from different levels… Our decision-making centers aren’t acting as Olympic Gods. They take information from everywhere: official sources, unofficial sources, war correspondents, people on location, which is very important.”

In the best traditions of Soviet and North Korean propagandists, the head of RT started her monologue by praising Putin’s great health, indefatigable stamina, unshakable confidence and cheerful disposition.

Team Putin in a Panic Over Jan. 6 Hearings ‘Lynching Trump’

She claimed that the most frequently requested questions average Russians wanted her to ask the Russian president were simple: the first one was a message of implicit support and the second one reflected the everyday citizens’ urgent plea to strike the “decision-making centers” as soon as possible. Angrily clenching her fist, Simonyan exclaimed: “I also want to ask, why don’t we strike them? Where are those red lines?” She recounted Putin’s response: “I won’t say which red lines they are, but they know about them… I won’t name them due to the military tactics: why would we show them our cards in advance?”

Who is Vladimir Putin?

Vladimir Putin is the President of Russia and has been leading the country for more than 22 years. He was born on 7 October 1952 in what used to be Leningrad and is now St. Petersburg, Russia. He didn’t come from a rich background and was born into a working-class family. Putin’s academic results were not his strong point at school. He was reportedly very sporty when growing up and practiced judo and samba, which is a Russian combat sport. According to the Russian government, Putin wanted to work in intelligence even before he had finished high school. It wasn’t until he had graduated from college that he was then recruited by the KGB (former main security agency for the Soviet Union), and served with them for 15 years. In 1983, he married a flight attendant named Lyudmila, whom he had two children with. His political career began when he and his family moved to Moscow in 1996. In 2014, Putin was ranked the world’s most powerful person by Forbes. On 24 February 2022, the president ordered the invasion of Ukraine under the pretext of ‘demilitarisation’ and ‘denazification’. To find out more about the former intelligence officer, watch Yahoo UK’s explainer video.

Simonyan claimed that one of Putin’s reasons for not carrying out more intense bombings in major cities was a rather practical one: “He said, “Would we want to turn those cities into Stalingrad?” Indeed, our people are there! Those are our future cities! It’s obvious… This is our land and our people, we’ll later have to restore it.”

After her secretive meetings with Putin, Simonyan—who for years promoted the idea of Russia’s armed intervention in neighboring countries—emerged with a drastically different iteration of the events being witnessed by the rest of the world. She outright denied that Russia is waging either a war or even a special operation in Ukraine. Instead, Simonyan alleged, there is a civil war and Russia simply took the side of the Russians.

The head of RT did her best to sell an implausible story, laced with genocidal denial of Ukrainians as a people, and an outright dismissal of an idea they could possibly be fighting to defend their Motherland. Describing one of the videos of a Ukrainian POW she recently watched, Simonyan said: “A surrendered soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was sitting down, his face is absolutely Russian, totally Russian. None of you could tell who he was, he’s Russian. Big blue eyes, blonde hair and beard. He said, “I was mobilized under mandatory enlistment.” We should understand, not all of them are there of their own free will.” Simonyan, who often claims that the Russian troops are in Ukraine fighting for their Motherland, absurdly denied that such a concept could ever apply to Ukrainians fighting on their own soil.

Recounting the video with a captive POW, Simonyan claimed: “He doesn’t even care where to live. He has no military-patriotic feelings that he’s defending his Motherland. He understands perfectly well that he isn’t defending any Motherland, but somebody else’s interests that have nothing to do with his own. He couldn’t care less where he ends up living: in Donetsk, Belgorod or his village near Kyiv, where he’s from.”

As for those fighting against the Russian troops or opposing Russian aggression, Simonyan noted: “There is a significant number of Nazis and indoctrinated people, with whom there isn’t much to be done, other than to have them shot under the laws of the DPR [the supposed Donetsk People’s Republic].”

In addition to advocating the murder of Ukrainians resisting Russia’s invasion, including POWs, Simonyan refused to acknowledge their very existence as a people in any context aside from being either Russian or anti-Russian. She said, “It’s obvious to any person that there is no war between Russia and Ukraine. This isn’t even a special operation against the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This is a civil war in Ukraine. Part of Ukrainians, who are Russophobes and are anti-Russian in the same sense fascists were antisemitic—absolutely the same way—is destroying another part of its own people. Russia is simply supporting one side of those warring parties. Why this particular side? That is obvious, because they are Russians. Those are our people. And over there, they are anti-Russians. That’s all.”

Realizing the impossibility of successfully selling this preposterous explanation to Western audiences, Simonyan speculated that in the event Russian state media abroad continued to operate unabated, Americans and Europeans would believe Russia’s alternative portrayal of its aggression and electoral chances of their leaders who support Ukraine “would tumble downward, from 20-30 percent approval rating all the way to zero.” Simonyan surmised, with a sigh: “From their point of view, I understand how smart it was for Europe and America to get rid of RT and Sputnik.”

Russia warns NATO-member Lithuania over Kaliningrad transit

Reuters

Russia warns NATO-member Lithuania over Kaliningrad transit

June 20, 2022

LONDON (Reuters) -Russia warned NATO member Lithuania on Monday that unless the transit of goods to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea was swiftly restored then Moscow would take undisclosed measures to defend its national interests.

With east-west relations at a half-century low over Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Vilnius banned the transit of goods sanctioned by the European Union through Lithuanian territory to and from the exclave, citing EU sanction rules.

Russia’s foreign ministry summoned Lithuania’s top envoy in Moscow to deliver a protest while the Kremlin said the situation was beyond serious.

“The situation is more than serious,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “This decision is really unprecedented. It’s a violation of everything.”

Russia’s foreign ministry demanded Vilnius reverse what it cast as an “openly hostile” move immediately.

“If cargo transit between the Kaliningrad region and the rest of the Russian Federation via Lithuania is not fully restored in the near future, then Russia reserves the right to take actions to protect its national interests,” it said.

Kaliningrad, formerly the port of Koenigsberg, capital of East Prussia, was captured from Nazi Germany by the Red Army in April 1945 and ceded to the Soviet Union after World War Two. It is sandwiched between NATO members Poland and Lithuania.

Lithuania said it was merely implementing EU sanctions, part of a swathe of measures intended to punish President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine.

“It’s not Lithuania doing anything: it’s European sanctions that started working from 17 of June,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters in Luxembourg.

“It was done with consultation from European Commission and under European Commission guidelines,” Landsbergis said.

Lithuania’s state-owned railway informed clients that from June 17 sanctioned goods such as steel and iron would not be permitted to cross Lithuania, Landsbergis said.

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said he had spoken to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda who said that Vilnius was applying EU sanctions.

“Clearly we really need to gather all facts and implications, but as President Nauseda outlined, what Lithuania is doing they are applying EU sanctions,” Dombrovskis said.

“So in this case, indeed, if it is application of the EU sanctions, it’s clear that we need to be with our member states applying the sanctions.”

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Alex Richardson and Philippa Fletcher)

Trump meant to ‘accelerate the violence’ against Pence

THe Hill

Jan. 6 panel member: Trump meant to ‘accelerate the violence’ against Pence

Monique Beals – June 19, 2022

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) on Sunday said that former President Trump intended to “accelerate the violence” against his vice president, Mike Pence, during the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

“You know, when he sent out the tweet attacking his vice president, he already knew that the violence was underway,” Lofgren said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” of Trump, who tweeted that “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what was necessary” just after the attack began.

“The only conclusion you can reach is that he intended to accelerate that violence against the former vice president,” she continued.

Lofgren, who is a member of the House committee investigating the attack, went on to explain the lasting impact of the Jan. 6 attack in terms of lawmakers’ and the general public’s safety.

“We’re in a very rough time in America right now,” she said. “All of us elected officials but also just Americans and their neighbors need to stand up for the rule of law and against political violence. It’s not what America is about.”

Her comments come after Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) last week said Trump was aware of the violence at the Capitol when he tweeted about Pence.

“[Trump] knew that there was violence and he still tweeted the vice president ‘didn’t have the courage to do what was necessary,’” Aguilar said.

During the attack, Pence was overseeing the certification of the election results in the Senate, and some rioters at the scene chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!” based on the belief that the vice president was unwilling to overturn Trump’s election defeat.

Pence was later evacuated from the building after the rioters breached the Capitol.

The most recent committee hearing on Thursday focused on the pressure campaign put on Pence by Trump and his allies to reject certifying the 2020 Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, which the vice president determined he did not have the legal authority to do.

Heat wave brings new round of dangerous temps to millions this week

ABC News

Heat wave brings new round of dangerous temps to millions this week

Teddy Grant – June 19, 2022

Millions of Americans will face dangerous heat this week, as a new heat wave is expected to bring near triple-digit temperatures to the South.

The Southeast and the Plains will experience temperatures between 10 and 20 degrees above average with humid conditions, according to the National Weather Service.

Heat wave continues in 27 states across the country

While the Northeast felt a reprieve from the heat this weekend, heat alerts were in effect on Sunday in the Upper Midwest, as temperatures in the Plains hit 100 degrees and higher.

Temperatures in Fargo, North Dakota, hit 102 degrees on Sunday, while North Platte, Nebraska, reached 100 degrees. Low humidity has kept heat indexes low in the Midwest, a far cry from last week’s “heat dome,” which caused the heat index in the region to reach 115 degrees.

PHOTO: Volunteers begin to hand out 12-liter boxes of emergency drinking water to residents in need after a broken water main left the majority of Ector County without clean running water in Odessa, Texas, June 14, 2022. (Eli Hartman/AP)
PHOTO: Volunteers begin to hand out 12-liter boxes of emergency drinking water to residents in need after a broken water main left the majority of Ector County without clean running water in Odessa, Texas, June 14, 2022. (Eli Hartman/AP)

Midwestern cities could hit their daily record highs by Monday afternoon.

The Central U.S. region will see highs in the 90s as the heat travels east but won’t see high heat index values because it won’t be very humid.

Millions of people in the Midwest will eventually see a break this week as the heat moves into the South, where cities such as Atlanta, Memphis and New Orleans will see temperatures hit close to 100 degrees.

Summer officially begins on Tuesday, and for the rest of the month, swaths of Central and southern parts of the U.S. are expected to see above-average temperatures.

More than 1,300 people die every year in the U.S because of extreme heat, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The excessive heat, coupled with strong winds and arid conditions, has sparked fears of wildfires in the West. The National Weather Service issued “red flag” warnings in Flagstaff, Arizona, and Price, Utah.

According to the NWS, “red flag” warnings occur when “warm temperatures, very low humidities and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger.”

While the potential for wildfires will dwindle in the next few days, the conditions will make it harder for firefighters to battle existing wildfires in the Southwest.

Due to the monsoon season, rain is expected over the next day in parts of the country that have experienced widespread drought and wildfires, such as Texas, New Mexico and Colorado, making the areas more susceptible to flash floods.

Historic flooding emergency in the Northern Rockies, high temperatures

Last week, Yellowstone National Park closed after historic flooding destroyed homes, washed out roads and left many people stranded.

ABC News’ Dan Peck contributed to this report.

79 years after a brutal battle to oust the Japanese, a remote piece of US territory is the center of attention again

Business Insider

79 years after a brutal battle to oust the Japanese, a remote piece of US territory is the center of attention again

Benjamin Brimelow – June 19, 2022

Attu Aleutian Alaska invasion Japan World War II
US soldiers and equipment land on the beach at Massacre Bay on Attu Island, May 26, 1943.(AP Photo/US Navy)
  • In May 1943, US soldiers launched a brutal fight to retake the islands of Attu and Kiska from the Japanese.
  • The remote islands, part of Alaska’s Aleutian chain, were important for operations in the Pacific.
  • Now, with the US focusing more on the Pacific and the Arctic, Alaska has renewed military importance.

On May 11, 1943, American soldiers began landing on the island of Attu, which, along with the neighboring island of Kiska, had been seized by Japanese troops a year earlier.

Attu is the westernmost point in Alaska’s Aleutian Island chain, some 1,500 miles from Anchorage. Its occupation by Japan was the first time since the War of 1812 that US territory had been seized by a foreign power.

The Japanese troops who landed on the islands were the northernmost arm of a larger operation that included the forces sent to attack and occupy Midway Island in the Central Pacific. Having turned back the Japanese advance, the US sent a massive force to retake the islands in mid-1943.

Instead of the three days of fighting that the Americans expected, the battle for Attu turned into a three-week slog.

Now, 79 years later, the Aleutian Islands and Alaska have renewed importance for the US, as the increasing accessibility of the Arctic is making the region a venue for competition with Russia and China.

Aleutian Islands campaign
Aleutian island
US military bases in the Aleutians as of August 1942.Wikimedia Commons

Japan seized Kiska and Attu in June 1942, exactly six months attacking Pearl Harbor. Their landings were preceded by air raids on nearby Dutch Harbor, which killed 43 US personnel and destroyed 11 planes.

Japan’s goals in the Aleutians were twofold: distract the Americans before the planned invasion of Midway and prevent them from using the sparsely populated islands as forward outposts.

Within months of arriving, the Japanese had deployed thousands of troops to the islands and built fortifications and critical infrastructure, including bunkers and tunnels. Harbor facilities and an airstrip were also built on Kiska.

The US military increased its footprint in Alaska when it realized the importance of the area and its lack of defenses there. When Kiska and Attu were seized, Alaska Defense Command had just 24,000 troops at its disposal. By January 1943, it had 94,000.

By the end of February 1943, US troops had landed on nearby islands and built airfields from which to conduct bombing raids on Attu and Kiska. By mid-March, a US Navy blockade had cut the Japanese garrisons off from resupply and reinforcement.

On April 1, US commanders authorized the invasion of Attu. Dubbed “Operation Landcrab,” the objective was to defeat the smaller Japanese garrison on Attu before turning to Kiska.

‘Attacking a pillbox by way of a tightrope’
Attu Aleutian Alaska Japan invasion World War II
US soldiers with guns and grenades close in on Japanese troops in dugouts on Attu Island in June 1943.(AP Photo)

The first landings on May 11, which were preceded by air and naval bombardment, were unopposed, leading many to believe victory was imminent.

In fact, the garrison of more than 2,500 Japanese troops had prepared defenses farther inland and waited for the Americans to advance before ambushing them in small groups — a preview of what American troops would face on Iwo Jima and Okinawa a year later.

Making matters worse, the Americans soon found that they were fighting two enemies, the Japanese and the weather. Attu is covered in fog, rain, or snow for about 250 days of the year, with winds up to 120 mph.

Many US troops were without appropriate winter gear and suffered frostbite, gangrene, and trench foot. “It was rugged,” Lt. Donald E. Dwinnell said. “The whole damned deal was rugged, like attacking a pillbox by way of a tightrope … in winter.”

The Americans pressed on, seizing the high ground and pushing the Japanese into a few areas along the shore.

Attu Aleutian Alaska Japan invasion world war ii
US Army reinforcements land on a beach in Attu, June 23, 1943.(AP Photo)

On May 29, with defeat looming, the last Japanese troops able to fight conducted a massive banzai charge with the goal of seizing high ground, using captured artillery against American troops, and retreating back to their own fortifications with captured food and supplies.

In what one American soldier described as “a madness of noise and confusion and deadliness,” some 800 Japanese soldiers penetrated the main American line and reached rear areas. The fighting was intense and included hand-to-hand combat, but the Americans rallied and pushed the Japanese back.

By May 30, the Island was secure. At least 2,351 Japanese bodies were recovered and buried by the Americans. As on other islands recaptured from the Japanese, many defenders killed themselves rather than accept defeat. Only 28 Japanese soldiers surrendered.

The fighting was so intense that the Japanese secretly withdrew from Kiska under the cover of fog and darkness at the end of July. Despite the Japanese departure, US and Canadian troops still took casualties from booby traps, friendly fire, and the harsh environment when they landed on Kiska in mid-August.

In total, 549 US soldiers were killed and 1,148 wounded during the Aleutian Campaign.

Newfound importance
During a routine maritime patrol in the Bering Sea and Arctic region, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf spotted and established radio contact with Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) task force in international waters within the U.S. exclusive economic zone, Aug. 30, 2021
US Coast Guard cutter Bertholf trailing Chinese navy ships in international waters in the Bering Sea, August 30, 2021.US Coast Guard photo by Ensign Bridget Boyle

Given its proximity to the Soviet Union, Alaska remained important during the Cold War, especially for air and missile defense, but memories of the World War II campaign largely faded over the following decades.

Today, with the US reorienting toward great-power competition, and with the region growing more accessible, Alaska’s significance for military operations is getting renewed attention, which has been reflected in recent activity there.

In 2007, Russia restarted long-range bomber patrols that sometimes enter the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, which surrounds the state but is not US territorial airspace. In 2020, US officials said intercepts of those flights were at the highest level since the Cold War.

Russian naval activity around Alaska has also increased. A massive drill in 2020 saw 50 Russian warships operating in the US exclusive economic zone, which stretches some 200 miles from the US coast, where they had run-ins with US fishing vessels.

China has also expressed interest in the Arctic. It has declared itself a “near-Arctic state” and is growing its icebreaker fleet. Chinese warships operated off Alaska for the first time in 2015, and four Chinese warships appeared off the Aleutian Islands again in August 2021.

US special operations with Stinger on Shemya
With the Cobra Dane radar in the background, US special-operations troops train with a Stinger missile on Shemya Island, October 2021.US Special Operations Command

The US military is bolstering its posture in Alaska. The Army has revamped its forces there, reestablishing the 11th Airborne Division and investing in new equipment and expanded training.

The Air Force, which has long had the largest Arctic presence of any US service branch, has added dozens of fifth-generation fighter jets to bases there. The Marine Corps has expressed interest in increasing its training in Alaska, and the Navy is looking to build out its operations there with a new deep-water port in Nome.

Alaska’s renewed importance extends to the Aleutians. In 2019, US sailors and Marines trained on Adak Island, which is south of the increasingly busy Bering Strait and once housed a major US Navy base.

In late 2020, US special operators deployed to Shemya Island — which is closer to Russia than to the mainland US — to practice “securing key terrain and critical infrastructure.”

With Arctic ice receding and Russian and Chinese activity increasing, Alaska’s importance for the US military will only grow in the years ahead.

US Harpoon missiles destroyed a heavily-armed Russian vessel in the Black Sea, say Ukraine’s military

Business Insider

US Harpoon missiles destroyed a heavily-armed Russian vessel in the Black Sea, say Ukraine’s military

Bethany Dawson – June 18, 2022

FILE PHOTO: Destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur launches a Harpoon surface-to-surface missile during Pacific Vanguard (PACVAN) quadrilateral exercises between Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, and U.S. Naval forces in the Philippine Sea May 26, 2019. Picture taken May 26, 2019. U.S. Navy/Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Toni Burton/Handout via REUTERS.
FILE PHOTO: The US Navy guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur launches a Harpoon surface-to-surface missile during Pacific Vanguard (PACVAN) quadrilateral exercises between Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, and U.S. Naval forces in the Philippine Sea May 26, 2019.U.S. Navy/Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Toni Burton/Handout via REUTERS.
  • Ukrainian officials have said they struck a Russian tugboat in the Black Sea using two Harpoon missiles on Friday.
  • It is the first time Ukraine has announced it has destroyed a Russian vessel with Western-supplied weapons.
  • A statement from the Ukrainian military says the Harpoons used were given to Ukraine by the US.

Ukrainian military officials have said they struck the Russian Navy’s Vasiliy Bekh tugboat in the Black Sea using two Harpoon missiles supplied by the US.

The action marks the first time Ukraine has announced it has destroyed a Russian vessel with Western-supplied armaments.

On Friday, the attack was announced on Ukraine’s Armed Forces Strategic Communications Directorate’s Telegram channel. It published a video purporting to show the anti-ship missile blowing up the vessel. Insider could not independently verify the footage.

The head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, Maxim Marchenko, said, “This morning, our naval forces struck the Black Sea Fleet support vessel Vasily Bekh, with the TOR anti-aircraft missile system on board. Later it became known that he sank.”

The Vasily Bekh was also transporting ammunition, weapons and personnel for the Black Sea Fleet to Snake Island, claimed the Ukrainian military.

A later message said the Harpoon anti-ship missiles, manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, were supplied to Ukraine as part of a multi-billion dollar aid package championed by President Joe Biden. 

The Russian missile cruiser "Moskva" moored on a sunny day in 2013 in Sevastopol
Russian missile cruiser Moskva is moored in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Ukraine May 10, 2013. It was sunk by Ukraine in April 2022.Reuters/Stringer/File photo

On June 15, the US Department of Defense said it would also supply truck-mounted Harpoons to bolster Ukraine’s coastal defenses.

As well as the US missiles, Ukraine has developed domestic sea warfare armaments and used them to devastating effect. In April, Ukrainian forces sank the Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, with at least one of its home-built Neptune missiles.

The Ukrainian military claims to have destroyed 1376 Russian tanks, 3376 armored combat vehicles, and 14 ships or vessels since the Russian invasion began on February 24, it said on the official government communications Telegram channel,