Monthly Archives: August 2022

U.N. chief condemns shelling of nuclear plant

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the weekend shelling of the Europe's largest nuclear plant in Southeastern Ukraine, calling any attack on nuclear plants "a suicidal thing."

Rockets have reportedly hit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in recent days, and three radiation sensors were damaged, CNBC's Shepard Smith reported Tuesday. Ukrainian and Russian officials traded blame over the attacks.

Russia seized the plant five months ago in the early stages of the war after it invaded Ukraine.

The head of the United Nations watchdog called on both countries to let experts visit and assess the site. Guterres said on Tuesday that conditions there are "completely out of control."

Lee Ying Shan

Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich looks on from the stands during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on April 16, 2016 in London, England. Abramovich announced on in March 2022 that he was selling the club due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine. The UK government froze Abramovich's assets there days later due to his "close ties with (the) Kremlin."

Paul Gilham | Getty Images

U.S. authorities are investigating investment advisory firm Concord Management, which oversaw hedge fund investments worth billions of dollars for Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The investigation, being conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is partly focused on how Abramovich's associates used several offshore shell companies to invest $8 billion in hedge funds and private equity firms, the report added, citing people close to the firm.

Abramovich is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's allies and has been sanctioned by nations across the world over his support of Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

-- Reuters

Ukrainian bomb disposal workers carry unexploded ordnance during mine clearance work in the village of Yahidne, in the liberated territories of the Chernihiv region on June 7, 2022 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Sergei Supinsky | AFP | Getty Images

The State Department will provide $89 million to help clear land mines, improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordinances in Ukraine.

"Russia's forces have used explosive munitions in an irresponsible and brutal manner, causing civilian casualties extensive harm to vital civilian infrastructure and contaminating a massive amount of Ukraine's territory with unexploded ordnance and landlines," a State Department official told NBC News.

The official added that Ukrainian authorities have found Russian booby traps and improvised explosive devices hidden in cars, toys and in dead bodies.

The official told NBC News that an area of approximately 160,000 square kilometers may be contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordinance.

Amanda Macias

A destroyed classroom inside a school damaged by shelling russian army in the Kukhari village, Ukraine, Kyiv area, Ukraine, April 16, 2022.

Maxym Marusenko | Nurphoto | Getty Images

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine said that approximately 2,200 education facilities have been damaged across Ukraine since Russia's war began.

The ministry estimates that about 220 education facilities have been destroyed. The assessment comes as parts of Ukraine look to reopen the academic year next month.

"Due to ongoing hostilities, a back-to-learning campaign for the new academic year and university admissions may not be possible. In addition, if students continue to rely on online learning, additional equipment and services will likely be required," the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairswrote in a statement.

Amanda Macias

US President Joe Biden, center, welcomes Sauli Niinisto, Finland's president, left, and Magdalena Andersson, Sweden's prime minister, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., US, on Thursday, May 19, 2022.

Oliver Contreras | Bloomberg | Getty Images

PresidentJoe Biden signed ratification documents bringing Finland and Sweden one step closer to joining the NATO alliance.

"They will meet every NATO requirement, we are confident of that," Biden said before signing the documents.

Biden's signature follows a 95 to 1 Senate vote last week.

Following the U.S., the governments of the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey still have yet to sign the instruments of ratification. All 30 NATO allies must approve Finland and Sweden's ascension to the alliance.

Amanda Macias

A couple wounded in a shopping mall hit by a Russian missile strike hold hands in a hospital as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kremenchuk, in Poltava region, Ukraine June 27, 2022.

Anna Voitenko | Reuters

Since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the World Health Organization'sSurveillance System for Attacks on Health Careestimates that there have been at least 434 attacks on vital health services in the country.

The organization reports that health care facilities were damaged 366 times, ambulances were targeted in 65 cases and at least 104 attacks affected crucial medical supplies. The group also estimated that attacks on health services led to at least 85 deaths and 101 injuries.

The Kremlin has previously denied that it targets civilian infrastructure like hospitals, schools and apartment buildings.

Amanda Macias

U.S. President Joe Biden walks with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto (left) and Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson along the Rose Garden colonnade before making statements to the press at the White House on May 19, 2022.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to sign the instruments of ratification for Finland and Sweden to join the NATO alliance at 2 p.m. ET.

Last week, the Senate voted 95 to 1 to ratify Finland and Sweden's entrance into the military group.

In May, both nations began the formal process of applying to NATO.

Biden welcomed leaders from both countries to the White House and pledged to work with the Senate which has to sign off on U.S. approval of NATO bids and the other 29 members of the world's most powerful military alliance to swiftly bring Sweden and Finland into the group.

Amanda Macias

Service members of pro-Russian troops stand guard on a road before the expected evacuation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the besieged Azovstal steel mill in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in Mariupol, Ukraine May 16, 2022.

Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters

The Pentagon estimates that Russia's military has suffered between 70,000 and 80,000 casualties since the invasion of Ukraine began in late February.

The rare estimate shared by the Pentagon's third-highest official comes as the U.S. prepares its largest security assistance package for Ukraine. Casualties include soldiers who were killed or injured.

On Monday, the Biden administration announced a $1 billion weapons package, the 18th such installment, bringing U.S. commitment to about $9.8 billion since the start of the war.

Amanda Macias

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley speaks with members of the military before the Medal of Honor ceremony for US Army Sergeant Major Thomas Payne for conspicuous gallantry while serving in Iraq, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on September 11, 2020.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley met with the Pentagon's top general overseeing Europe during a visit to Germany.

The two also met with French Chief of the Defense Staff Gen. Thierry Burkhard and "discussed items of mutual interest and shared assessments regarding the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine," according to a Pentagon readout of the meeting.

"The long-standing alliance between the U.S. and French militaries plays a critical role in maintaining peace and stability in Europe and other regions around the world," the readout added.

The meeting between Milley, U.S. European Command Gen. Christopher Cavoli and Burkhard comes as the U.S. readies its 18th weapons package for Ukraine.

Amanda Macias

There hasn't been enough research on how much protection a fourth dose can offer, medical professionals told CNBC.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

The British Embassy in Ukraine said that it has donated 100,800 Covid shots vaccines to the war-weary country.

"We're protecting those most in need by ensuring Ukrainians impacted by Russia's invasion are able to access essential healthcare and get vital vaccinations," the British Embassy wrote in a statement.

Amanda Macias

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia September 9, 2021.

Mikhail Voskresensky | Kremlin Sputnik | via Reuters

The State Department is imposing visa restrictions on 100 people affiliated with the Alexander Lukashenka regime for their involvement in undermining the presidential election in Belarus in 2020.

Lukashenka, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has previously said that Belarus would support Russian forces amid the Kremlin's so-called special military operation in Ukraine.

"When it was clear the election had been stolenby the Lukashenka regime, the Belarusian people bravely took to the streets, with reports of hundreds of thousands of people amassing to peacefully demand free and fair elections and a democratic transition," Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote in a statement.

Amanda Macias

People stand amid newly-made graves at a cemetery in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the settlement of Staryi Krym outside Mariupol, Ukraine May 22, 2022.

Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters

The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner said that March was so far the deadliest month in Russia's war in Ukraine.

There were more than 3,100 civilian casualties and 2,400 injuries due to the conflict in March, according to data compiled by the UN.

Total civilian casualties from 24 February to 31 July 2022 as compiled by the United Nations.

U.N. Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner

In total, the United Nations has confirmed 5,401 civilian deaths and 7,466 injuries in Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.

"Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects, including shelling from heavy artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes," the UN office wrote in a report.

The human rights office added that the majority of casualties and injuries were reported in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Amanda Macias

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense in Washington, U.S., May 3, 2022.

Win McNamee | Reuters

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley met with his counterparts from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden at the Arctic Chiefs of Defense meeting on Monday.

"The military leaders discussed lessons learned from ongoing Arctic operations, cooperation between nations and the shared commitment to the international rules-based order," according to a Pentagon readout of the meeting.

"In coordination with allies and partners, the U.S. seeks to preserve the Arctic region as a space free of conflict, where nations act responsibly and where economic and energy resources are developed in a sustainable, transparent manner," the readout added.

A meeting of the Arctic Council was postponed earlier this year due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia was previously slated to chair the international forum until 2023.

Earlier this year the Arctic Council's seven other member countries - Canada, Finland, Denmark, the United States, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - agreed to boycott any meetings in Russia.

Amanda Macias

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin holds a news conference with U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact group at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 15, 2022.

Yves Herman | Reuters

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin slammed Russia's invasion of Ukraine and warned that "autocracy is on the march around the world."

"A military exists to serve its people and not the other way around. Militaries must play their legitimate role. That means defending human rights and protecting the rule of law, not toppling civilian governments or wallowing in corruption," Austin said during a change of command ceremony in Germany.

"That's especially important now when autocracy is on the march around the world," he said, adding that Moscow has shown its willingness "to sow chaos and threaten the rules-based international order."

Amanda Macias

A Ukrainian boy walks past temporary beds at a refugee center in Warsaw on April 19.

Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

More than 10.5 million people have crossed Ukraine's border and left the country since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, said.

Most are now elsewhere in eastern and central Europe, with Poland, Russia, Romania, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia taking in some of the largest numbers of refugees.

Moscow says it has taken in many Ukrainians and claims none of the arrivals were forced, though Ukrainian and Western officials as well as some activist groups say that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, including children, were forcibly deported and taken into Russia against their will.

Natasha Turak

Pisky, a village on the outskirts of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, has been seized by pro-Russian forces, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

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Russia halts U.S. nuclear inspections; Biden ratifies Finland and Sweden's NATO membership - CNBC

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russian forces began an assault Saturday on two key cities in the eastern Donetsk region and kept up rocket and shelling attacks on other Ukrainian cities, including one close to Europes largest nuclear power plant, Ukraines military and local officials said.

Both cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka have been considered key targets of Russias ongoing offensive across Ukraines east, with analysts saying Moscow needs to take Bakhmut if it is to advance on the regional hubs of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

In the Donetsk direction, the enemy is conducting an offensive operation, concentrating its main efforts on the Bakhmut and Avdiivka directions. It uses ground attack and army aviation, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook.

The last Russian strike on Sloviansk was July 30, but Ukrainian forces are fortifying their positions around the city in expectation of new fighting.

I think it wont be calm for long. Eventually, there will be an assault, Col. Yurii Bereza, head of the volunteer national guard regiment, told The Associated Press.

Russian shelling killed five civilians and injured 14 others in the Donetsk region in the last day, Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote Saturday on Telegram, saying two people were killed in Poprosny, and one each in Avdiivka, Soledar and Pervomaiskiy.

The governor of the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region said three civilians were injured after Russian rockets fell on a residential neighborhood in Nikopol, a city across the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station. The nuclear plant has been under Russian control since Moscows troops seized it early in the war.

After midnight, the Russian army struck the Nikopol area with (Soviet-era) Grad rockets, and the Kryvyi Rih area from barrel artillery, Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram.

Another Russian missile attack overnight damaged unspecified infrastructure in the regional capital of Zaporizhzhia. On Thursday, Russia fired 60 rockets at Nikopol, damaging 50 residential buildings in the city of 107,000 and leaving residents without electricity.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned this week that the situation was becoming more perilous day by day at the Zaporizhzhia plant.

Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated at the plant, he said. What is at stake is extremely serious.

He expressed concern about the way the plant is being operated and the danger posed by the fighting going on around it. Experts at the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War said Russia is shelling the area intentionally, putting Ukraine in a difficult position.

The Ukrainian company operating the nuclear power station said Saturday that Russian troops are using the plants basement to hide from Ukrainian shelling and have barred its Ukrainian staff from going there.

Ukrainian personnel do not yet have access to these premises, so in the event of new shelling, people have no shelter and are in danger, Enerhoatom, a Ukrainian state enterprise, said on its Telegram channel.

Enerhoatom said Friday that Russian rockets had damaged the plants facilities, including a nitrogen-oxygen unit and a high-voltage power line. Local Russian-appointed officials acknowledged the damage, but blamed it on the Ukrainians.

In other developments:

__ In Ukraines south, two civilians were seriously injured Saturday after Russian forces fired rockets on the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv before dawn, according to regional authorities. That followed a Friday afternoon attack on Mykolaiv that killed one person and wounded 21 others.

__In the Kherson region south of Mykolaiv, the deputy mayor of the Russia-occupied city of Nova Kakhovka was in critical condition after an assassination attempt, the Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti said, citing the deputy head of the Kherson region, most of which is under Russian control.

__The first of three more ships carrying thousands of tons of corn from Ukraine anchored north of Istanbul on Saturday awaiting inspection, the Turkish Defense Ministry said. The Panama-flagged Navi Star, which is carrying 33,000 tons of grain to Ireland, left Odesa on Friday. It is being followed by the Turkish-flagged Polarnet and the Maltese-flagged Rojen, carrying over 25,000 tons of corn between them from Chornomorsk. The joint inspection center was set up to get grain blocked in Ukraine by the war to the world. On Friday, the center inspected its first north-bound ship as it headed for Chornomorsk.

__In the north, Ukraines second-largest city of Kharkiv and its surrounding area also came under Russian rocket fire again overnight, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. A 18-year-old in Chuhuiv, a town near Kharkiv, had to be hospitalized Saturday after he picked up an unexploded shell. Both Chuhuiv and Kharkiv are near the Russian border and have endured sustained Russian shelling in recent weeks.

__The neighboring Sumy region, which also borders Russia, has also seen near-constant shelling and missile strikes. Its governor said Saturday the region was hit more than 60 times from Russian territory over the previous day, and one wounded civilian had to be hospitalized.

__ On the ammunition front, Russia has begun using Iranian combat drones in the war, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a YouTube adding that Tehran had transferred 46 drones to the Russian army.

___

Joanna Kozlowska contributed from London.

___

Follow all AP stories on the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

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Russian forces begin assault on two eastern Ukraine cities - The Associated Press - en Espaol

Who is winning the war in Ukraine depends on who is doing the talking.

Predictably, Russia says that it is winning as planned, while the United States says Ukraine is pulling a surprise win, thanks to its steadfast resistance and Western support.

On the face of it, authoritarian Russia cannot be trusted with the facts, let alone the truth about the war, while the liberal West inspires greater credibility as it allows for a free and independent inquiry. But in reality, as Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu said, all warfare is based on deception. Neither side could or should be trusted to reduce the fog of war, because both are fully engaged in psychological warfare, which is key to winning the overall war in Ukraine.

In fact, both sides are propagating their own selective facts and myths, while censoring counterclaims, as each needs to maintain an appearance of progress in order to justify big sacrifices in blood or treasure. And both sides need to up the ante in order to harden public resolve behind their goals, which thus far have excluded any serious effort towards a diplomatic solution.

Russia hopes to degrade the morale of the Ukrainian resistance and deflate European support for a war that cannot be won, while the US wants to shore up Ukrainian and European enthusiasm for a winnable war, even if privately, US officials doubt Ukraine could recover all its occupied territories.

While the Russian media has little or no choice but to parrot the official line, Western media has a choice but chooses to trust NATO and Pentagon briefs and reports, regardless of their intentions. Take for example the declaration of an anonymous (why anonymous?) senior Pentagon official that: Russia has committed nearly 85 percent of its military to the war in Ukraine and has removed military coverage from other areas on their border and around the world; Russia still has not figured out how to use combined arms effectively; Russia is taking hundreds of casualties a day. Among Russias military fatalities have been thousands of lieutenants and captains, hundreds of colonels, and many generals.

Now I have no clue if any of this or other such claims are true, and nor I suspect do the officials propagating it or the journalists spreading it. But it is out there, shaping the opinions of the public, the elites and the experts, most of who believe Ukraine is able to pull off some sort of an upset if not an outright victory against its largely more powerful neighbour. But the Western and especially Anglo-American media seems to suffer from short, or should I say selective memory when it takes the official line at face value, as if the official deception during yesterdays wars in Afghanistan, Iraq or Vietnam, has no bearing on covering todays war in Ukraine.

In 2019, theWashington Post newspaper revealed that senior US officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable. In other words, they lied. But media outlets, think-tanks and influential pundits continued to rely on these officials; even after it was revealed that they have also lied about another war the Iraq war, which was also fought on false pretence and fabricated evidence.

Official deception was even worse during the Cold War. For example, the Pentagon Papers published about half a century ago revealed that the US government was guilty of an enormous cover-up regarding the terrible losses in the Vietnam war, which led to some 55,000 American and more than a million Vietnamese deaths. Any expectation that US media and the publics trust in the governments take on wars was forever diminished, turned out to be premature, as official lies about the dirty wars in Asia and Central America continued to be widely reported as facts.

Even today, as US Special Operation Command covertly deploys special forces across Africa to fight shadow wars, it blatantly preaches free and transparent press. One does not know whether to laugh or cry.

So it is no surprise that governments, whether autocracies or democracies, lie about wars for tactical or strategic reasons. In fact, there is a fancy name for it stratagem, which means to deliberately send untrue signals to unsettle the enemy while reassuring ones own side.

What is shocking is how the free press in the free world, which to its credit has helped reveal much of the official deception in the past as in the Pentagon Papers and the Afghan Papers, is adamant about echoing and amplifying the official line as if it were complicit in the war.

Watching journalists and pundits in respected American and British journals exhaust the synonyms of fascist, evil and dangerous to describe Russias Putin, with little or no attempt at balance or objectivity, one is inclined to believe that Western media has largely been enlisted in NATOs crusade against Putins Russia until victory. But what does victory entail here: liberating all of Ukraine? Or weakening Russia to the extent it no longer threatens other European countries?

The difference cannot be overstated, because NATOs ultimate objective is to defeat Russia and deter China from following in its footsteps, regardless of the price for Ukraine. That is why both sides seem adamant to continue the fight regardless of the cost. Russia hopes time will force a weakened Ukraine and a wobbly Europe to blink first and eventually back down. And the US is keen on Ukrainians fighting on regardless of whether a victory is achievable, as long as the war exhausts the Russian military and weakens its economy. It is betting that Putins Russia will crack in Ukraine just as the Soviet Union imploded after a decade-long war against the US-supported armed uprising in Afghanistan. But then again, Ukraine is no Afghanistan; not in any relevant way, and Russia does not view it as a disposable geopolitical asset.

So even if Ukraine has in fact managed a surprise upset against the invading Russian forces and forced Moscow into an unexpected war of attrition, it remains far from certain that it could maintain its counter-offensive for another six months, let alone another six years.

The ongoing battle for Kherson may provide a clearer signal about where things are heading. But as long as Western military support remains robust but defensive in nature so as not to risk a nuclear confrontation with Russia, expect the destructive war of attrition to continue in the medium run, or reach a tense stalemate at best, not any form of a decisive victory for either side.

Did someone say diplomacy?!

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Western media and the war on truth in Ukraine - Al Jazeera English

At a June European Union summit meeting in Brussels, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob spoke for 15 minutes about Europes energy problems. This was remarkable, as it was his first European summit ever. Usually, newcomers mostly listen at first. If they speak at all, they keep it ultrashort.

Even more remarkable, Golob also spoke on behalf of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. He did it skillfully and with authority, diplomats said afterward. Before winning Slovenias elections in April with his new Freedom Movement party and forming a government in May, Golob, an electrical engineer, founded a successful energy trading company, GEN-I, and led it for many years. He is one of Slovenias leading green energy experts.

Western European prime ministers asking a Central European colleague to speak on their behalf would not have happened five years ago. It is just one example of a remarkable trend in European politics: Central Europes slow emancipation into the European Union. Countries in that region are finally becoming full members of the club.

At a June European Union summit meeting in Brussels, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob spoke for 15 minutes about Europes energy problems. This was remarkable, as it was his first European summit ever. Usually, newcomers mostly listen at first. If they speak at all, they keep it ultrashort.

Even more remarkable, Golob also spoke on behalf of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. He did it skillfully and with authority, diplomats said afterward. Before winning Slovenias elections in April with his new Freedom Movement party and forming a government in May, Golob, an electrical engineer, founded a successful energy trading company, GEN-I, and led it for many years. He is one of Slovenias leading green energy experts.

Western European prime ministers asking a Central European colleague to speak on their behalf would not have happened five years ago. It is just one example of a remarkable trend in European politics: Central Europes slow emancipation into the European Union. Countries in that region are finally becoming full members of the club.

The main catalyst? The war in Ukraine.

It can take new EU countries years to reach their full potential in Brussels. It takes time and hard work to build up an extensive networknot just in Brussels but in all the European capitalsto have competent civil servants working in European institutions and to master complex issues that sometimes go back many years.

Eighteen years after the biggest enlargement of the EU, when 10 mostly Central European countries joined, some politicians, diplomats, and civil servants from that region still suffer from a kind of inferiority complex. Compared to the Dutch or the French, who were there from the start of European integration in 1952, these countries are still sometimes considered newcomers.

In their 2020 book, The Light That Failed: Why the West Is Losing the Fight for Democracy, and articles in international journals, Bulgarian political scientist Ivan Krastev and New York University School of Law professor Stephen Holmes have written that after 1989, many Central Europeans tried hard to become like the West: The political philosophy of postcommunist Central and Eastern Europe could be summarized in a single imperative: Imitate the West! This involved importing liberal-democratic institutions, applying Western political and economic recipes, and publicly endorsing Western values, they wrote. Imitation was widely understood to be the shortest pathway to freedom and prosperity.

Chasing an idealized foreign model, however, turned out to be more frustrating than many had expected, both morally and psychologically. Imitators are haunted by a constant feeling of inadequacy, dependency, and inferiority while the imitated settle into a role of patronizers. While the mimics looked up to their models, Krastev and Holmes wrote, the models looked down on their mimics. It is not entirely mysterious, therefore, why the imitation of the West voluntarily chosen by East Europeans three decades ago eventually resulted in a political backlash.

In the end, some governments became so frustrated that they started rebelling against the former role model. This resentment was one of the driving forces behind the populist wave of democratic regression and xenophobia that engulfed Central Europe in the past decade or so. Some, like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, started to side openly with former U.S. President Donald Trump, who loathes the EU. From Poland and Hungary to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, politicians turned against everything Brussels stood for: independent institutions, respect for minorities, a free press, and so on. According to Orban, The globalists can all go to hell.

But with Russias invasion of Ukraine in February, things changed. Central Europe is the area between Germany and Russia. When those two countries had good relations, it was sometimes unclear where Central Europe stood because it did not have to take sides. But now that relations between Germany and Russia have completely soured, that ambiguity is evaporating. Apart from Hungary, which maintains cordial relations with Russia and tries to have it both ways, Central European countries have made a clear choice: They belong in Europe.

Take Poland. In recent years, the ruling Law and Justice party maneuvered itself into a corner by politicizing the judiciary system and thereby violating the European rule of law. It even refused to obey European court rulings on the matter. When the European Commission withheld EU funds for Poland in response, Warsaw still refused to budge. Because of this, ministers from other EU countries hardly ever visit Poland anymore.

European politics often involves coalition-building among countries seeking to push or block decisions in Brussels; yet because of its intransigence, Polanda large country that could have cloutwas often sidelined. In a 2020 European Council on Foreign Relations report visualizing every EU countrys potential for coalition-building, Poland emerged as the second most disappointing partner for other member states, punching far below its weight.

But now, with Ukraine at the top of the EUs priority list, Poland is a front-line state. With its long-time warnings of Russian danger finally being taken seriously by the rest of Europe, it has confidently taken center stage in many respects. It took in millions of Ukrainian refugees. Having a long border with Ukraine, it has a key role in the provision of humanitarian aid and military equipment to the war-torn country. Poland is also crucial for NATOs defense plans for Europe. For all these reasons, European ministers and heads of government are visiting the country again. For visits to Kyiv, they travel via Poland. Poland was also the first to raise the issue of Ukraines EU membership in Brussels during a meeting just days after the invasion.

Suddenly, Poland looks credible again, which gives it leverage. And Warsaw is trying to use that to solve its rule of law problem with the EU. A new law reforming its disciplinary regime for judges contains some concessions, aimed at finally unlocking some of the 36 billion euros (or $36.7 billion) in frozen EU funds. Those concessions are not yet enough, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently warned. But the fact that Poland is trying to get down from the high tree is noteworthy in itself.

Another sign of the slow emancipation of Central European countries is the disappearance of the Visegrad Group, a platform Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia often used for joint positioning in Brussels, notably on migration issues. Only Hungary is still fiercely anti-immigrationOrban recently even warned against race mixing in Europe. Although they have not openly changed their stances on immigration from Africa or the Middle East, the other three countries have opened their borders widely to all Ukrainian arrivals, who are mostly housed in private homes. In just a few months, Prague has taken in more than 80,000 Ukrainians, most of them women and children.

The Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia have all voted out authoritarian leaders in recent months, reversing the populist trend of the previous decade. These leaders of what some are calling the new European orderwhere countries opposition to Russia is becoming a criterion to European unityare repairing damage done to the rule of law by their predecessors and seem keen on fighting corruption. Another new leader with clout in Brussels is Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. The EUs current anti-corruption boss is Laura Codruta Kovesi, Romanias fearless former public prosecutor.

As a sign that its imitation pains may finally be over, the Czech Republic started its six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union in July by putting democratic values on its priority list. The country clearly wants to invest in Europe again. The previous Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiswho is to face trial for alleged fraud involving EU fundsallocated such meager funds for his countrys EU presidency that his successor, Petr Fiala, faced immediate hiring problems. At the last minute, Fiala managed to top up the total amount somewhat and resolved to work with volunteers instead.

This Czech turnaround is one of several in the region that Sophie in t Veld, a Dutch member of the European Parliament who is outspoken on fundamental rights and the rule of law, recently alluded to when she wrote that the places where the European rule of law is on the rise are remarkably often in the east.

In Brussels, this momentum is becoming palpable. For the first time, a Romanian woman could become secretary-general of the European Council, an influential post that has never been held by a Central European. Since her main rival is the current French ambassador to the EU and France is currently considered very dominant in EU affairs already, she may stand a chance.

Romanian philosopher Andrei Plesu once said he had only one important message to Europeans: Relax. Yes, he seemed to say, we are constantly struggling to find the right balance between centralization and flexibility. In Europe, nothing is ever easy, and everything takes time. But in the end, all will be fine because culturally, were all Europeans.

He may be proven right, after all.

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The War in Ukraine Is Strengthening Central Europe in the European Union - Foreign Policy

Ukraines domestic security service has arrested two people allegedly working for Russian intelligence services who planned to kill Ukraines defence minister and the head of its military intelligence agency.

The security service of Ukraine foiled the alleged plot by the Russian GRU military intelligence agency to use a sabotage group to carry out three murders including that of a prominent Ukrainian activist, the agency said in a statement on Monday.

The assertions could not be independently verified by Reuters.

There was no immediate reaction to Ukraines statement from Moscow or Russian state-run media.

The suspects, one a resident of the eastern Luhansk region held by Russia-backed separatists and the other a resident of Ukraines capital, Kyiv, were promised up to $150,000 (124,000) by Russian handlers for the murder of each of their targets, the SBU said.

The man from Luhansk region entered Ukraine from Belarus and was detained in the city of Kovel in north-western Ukraine along with the Kyiv resident, the statement said.

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Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February and security for top officials is extremely tight. Kyivs government district is cordoned off with checkpoints manned by armed men. Sandbags are piled up in the windows and entrances of government buildings.

The SBU has been in the spotlight in recent weeks after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy forced out its head and the state prosecutor general last month, citing dozens of cases of collaboration with Russia by officials in their agencies.

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Ukraine says it has foiled Russian plot to kill defence minister and military chief - The Guardian

In military operations, we often speak about "seizing the initiative". It is a term used in doctrinal publications and heavily emphasised in the conduct of operations.

The essence of seizing the initiative is gaining a position of advantage relative to an enemy and denying the enemy their objectives. In seizing the initiative, military commanders seek to disrupt enemy decision-making, make their plans irrelevant and, vitally, surprise and force the enemy to respond to friendly initiatives.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Russians have largely retained the initiative. Despite the extraordinary courage of Ukraine's defenders, Russian army forces have retained the ability to conduct offensive thrusts at a time and place of their choosing.

They did so in the first phase of the war at Kyiv and Kharkiv although these were unsuccessful and in the south. The Russians again held the initiative in the next phase of the war in the east, where they concentrated their offensive capabilities in the Donbas.

Recently, however, there have been indications that this dynamic might be changing.

In the east, the Ukrainians have made the Russians bleed for every metre of ground gained. While the Russians may have seized Luhansk Oblast recently, they did so at a cost in lives and advanced weaponsthat hardly justified the small amount of territory gained.

The exhaustion of Russian forces that resulted from this eastern campaignand the introduction of the long-range strike capabilities of Himars has seen the initiative slowly leaching away from the Russian army.

Concurrently, the Ukrainians have been conducting a rolling series of small-scale counter attacks across the south.

Because of this, we may be approaching a turning point in this war.

For some time, the Ukrainians have made the Russians dance to their tune in strategic influence operations and in diplomacy. But this change in the situation on the ground is something different.

There is still work to be done by the Ukrainians, however. They have suffered grievous losses in many of their regular units, which are the ones most likely to conduct large-scale offensive operations. More precision weapons will be required, as will more mechanised infantry fighting vehicles, tactical logistics designed for the offensive and combined training at all levels.

But as the Ukrainians have demonstrated throughout the war, they are quick studies and highly adaptive.

If the Ukrainians can address these shortfalls and current battlefield trends continue, we may well see a shift in the initiative to Ukraine. This will have a significant impact for both sides.

For the Ukrainians, it means not only do they get to fight how and where they want their soldiers can fight knowing that they have the Russians on the back foot. This has inestimable morale benefits and will have an impact on casualties.

At the strategic level, President Zelenskyy would be able to demonstrate to the world that not only can Ukraine defend their nation, but they can also take their nation back (albeit with western support).

This is a crucial message for governments in Europe. With winter approaching and rising energy costs impactingall citizens, demonstrating Ukrainian battlefield success will be the boost that European citizens need so they appreciate their small sacrifices in higher energy costs can and does have profound meaning for a nation that is defending its very existence.

For the Russians, losing the initiative would be another disaster on top of a campaign that has been catastrophic for the Ukrainian peopleand corrosive for Russian military institutions. Alreadythe Russian army has been forced to rush reinforcements from its eastern campaign to Kherson and Zaporizhzhiato shore up their defences.

The Ukrainians are striking where they wish to strike and are forcing the Russians into difficult decisions about the deployment of forces across the south and east of the country.

Once the Russians transition to only responding to Ukrainian offensives and defending lands and towns that are not their own, morale and tactical effectiveness can very quickly degrade.

Added to the challenge are the attacksagainst Russian soldiers,officials and transport infrastructure by partisans in the south. While not predicting this as an outcome here, military forces under such pressure can collapse catastrophically in the absence of excellent leadership. Russian military leadership in this war has hardly been a model for others to emulate.

The possibility of images of large numbers of retreating and captured Russian troops will be a strategic calamity for President Putin. His narratives about Russia's greatness, and its wonder weapons' effectiveness, will lie in ruins.

We can be assured that the legion of social media commentators will be sharing such images as widely as they have the numerous Himars strikes on Russian supply dumps of the past month. And despite the formation of new volunteer battalions for service in Ukraine, these are poorly trained and poorly equipped reinforcements that would be fighting against a Ukrainian army that is armed with western munitions and weapons and much better motivated to win.

For much of the Russo-Ukraine War, we have observed the Ukrainians defending their land and responding to the thrusts of the Russian army into the north, east and south of their country. That situation may be about to change.

The coming months may well be the most decisive of the war so far.

Mick Ryan is a strategist and recently retired Australian Army major general. He served in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, and as a strategist on the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff. His first book, War Transformed, is about 21st century warfare.

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Can Ukraine 'seize the initiative' from Russia? What would that mean for the war? - ABC News

A Northeastern University graduate student organized an online auction that showcases artwork of Ukrainian artists and will benefit two non-profit organizations that provide humanitarian aid to Ukrainians.

Daria Koshkina, 28, who is working toward her masters degree in digital media with a concentration in 3D at the College of Professional Studies, curated an online auction, The Art Auction for Ukraine, in collaboration with Boston Cyberarts, Digital Silver Imaging and BarabsiLab at Northeastern.

I came up with this idea because I was devastated by the war, Koshkina says. Russia is my home country. And I think that is also what makes it so painful to me. I felt like I wanted to do something.

Koshkina, who was born in Russia but also has Ukrainian and Jewish roots, says she strongly opposes the Russia-Ukraine war.

Honestly, what I learned through my interaction with injustice is that its better to do something small than nothing, she says. It may feel like its not enough, but thats a start.

Koshkina shared the idea of an auction with the Boston Cyberarts Executive Director George Fifield and Assistant Director Allison Maria Rodriguez, who she worked with on their final spring exhibition this year, featuring BarbasiLab, where she is an art and design assistant.

We really enjoyed working with her and when she approached us with this ideaand the opportunity to actively support such an important causewe were excited by the opportunity to work with her again, Rodriguez says. It is not the usual work Cyberarts focuses on, work at the intersection of art and technology, but it is a project we very much believe in and we believe in Darias vision and curatorial voice.

Boston Cyberarts, a non-profit arts organization that promotes and exhibits electronic and digital experimental arts, runs a gallery in the Green Street station on the MBTAs Orange Line in Jamaica Plain. They offered Koshika logistical and administrative support for the auction, from technology and legal advice to press releases, media presence and promotion.

Koshkina tapped into her network to invite Ukrainian artists who are still living in Ukraine and those who live abroad to participate in the auction. The auction features a range of art mediums, including photography, illustrations, drawings and mixed-media pieces.

Photographer Julia Grabar, who lives in Kyiv and used to be a stylist at movie and video sets before the war, submitted to the auction her photographs shot on film that show how diverse and authentic Ukrainian culture is, despite what the neighbor who has attacked it might think, she says.

Grabar woke up at 5 a.m. on Feb. 24 when her mother called her to say that Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities had been attacked by Russia.

We would go down to the basement all the time, because there were so many attacks on civilian buildings in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, Grabar says. My parents decided to leave the city because there were a lot of strikes near our house and a lot of buildings were destroyed. I decided to stay.

In her pictures one can see architecture which is thus saved in history, she says. Right now we understand that a missile can hit any place in our country and destroy everything.

Participation in the auction gives Ukrainian artists an opportunity to help Ukraine and its people. It is very important for every Ukrainian right now to collect funds for our country, Grabar says.

Another artistfashion and portrait photographer Lena Shkodaalso grew up in Kyiv, but has been living in Brooklyn since 2013.

We all have to do everything we can to help Ukraine to win this cruel war and stop the genocide, she says. This sale raises awareness about what is happening in Ukraine. The more people know, the better. Hope they will support, too, or tell other people about the situation.

Shkoda says that it is unbearable for her sometimes to go through the day, thinking about the war in her home country, but when she remembers what the Ukrainian defenders go through every day she fills up with hope and pride for them.

We all just need to unite and push out the evil away with collective effort, Shkoda says.

Eighty five percent of proceeds will be distributed evenly between two verified nonprofits that provide important humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people: Nova Ukraine and Razom for Ukraine.

We were very selective, and I asked my Ukrainian friends, first and foremost, which organizations they want to see, Koshkina says about the choice.

The remaining 15% will go to the participating artists, many of whom have chosen to donate their portion of the proceeds, too.

It is very important that artists should get something for their work. They also need help right now, Koshkina says.

The auction opened for bidding on July 15 and will close on Sunday, Aug. 14, at midnight. Digital Silver Imaging is providing high quality prints of the auction art pieces.

The prices for the lots start at $20, and, Koshkina says, even $20-25 is still a big help for the benefiting organizations.

I would like to encourage the community of Northeastern to participate, and come and take a look because we have a big range in prices. It doesnt necessarily require having a big budget, Koshkina says.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.

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Northeastern Grad Student Puts Together Art Auction for Ukraine - News @ Northeastern - Northeastern University

AFTER FORCING a draw from the clutches of defeat against Polands Oliwia Kiolbasa, guaranteeing a gold medal for Ukraine in the Chess Olympiad on Tuesday, Anna Ushenina quietly walked to the side of the hall and slumped into the arms of her teammate Natalia Buksa.

There were no leaps of joy or high-fives, just tears and hugs. When millions back home, facing a brutal Russian invasion, were fleeing for life and struggling for food and shelter, the gold medal an Olympiad gold no less brought just fleeting relief.

Later, with a quivering voice and welled-up eyes, Ushenina put the triumph in perspective: Its obviously a great feeling, but the medal cant stop a war. There was a moment of stunned silence as her voice echoed across the packed room.

The 36-year-old Ushenina, her countrys first womens world champion, is from Kharkiv, just 30 miles from the Russia border and one of the heavily shelled cities in the invasion. It was a dreadful time because we were living so close to the border. As soon as we heard the news that the Russians were marching, we had no other option but to flee with our family without any preparations, she says.

The seasoned player has not gone back home yet. Like most of her teammates. Everyone in the five-member team has a story of ordeal to narrate. The Muzychuk sisters, Anna and Mariya, made a harrowing escape from Lviv, a city in western Ukraine sharing a border with Poland, from where they travelled to Germany and Spain.

Although the news of an impending war was spreading, the sisters deliberated until the first day of the full-scale invasion on February 24 before fleeing. At around seven in the morning I woke up because I heard a siren, which was a bit of a shocker, because you dont know whats happening. I immediately picked up my mobile to check the news, and I saw a disaster, Anna Muzychuk said in a podcast on the website chessbase.com.

By that time, Kiev was being bombed from Belarus. They are bombing our ships in the sea. They are invading from the west, through the north, to the south. And then like: oh my God, this is a war, what should we do? Mariya, wake up, listen to the sirens, the war has started, I told my sister, she said.

That night, with flights halted and trains full, the sisters reached the Polish border in a crammed bus with just a bag and a laptop. We were very sad, because we didnt want to leave. I love my city and my apartment, and we were leaving everybody behind. Our parents, our grandparents, most of our relatives. They are still in Ukraine, she said.

At the border, they had to wait for 15 hours in a queue to cross. But she says they were lucky as those crossing by bus had special lanes. There were people who spent days in the queue, Anna Muzychuk said. When the sisters finally found a store after crossing the Poland border, they found to her horror that most of their credit cards were blocked fortunately one card worked.

The mens team captain Oleksander Sulypa was preparing for a chess tournament in Reykjavik when the war struck. He immediately left his family behind and drove to the military base in Lviv and volunteered to defend his country. I did not think twice. I wanted to be part of protecting my country. My job is to monitor the stations and stop cars that drive past it. On an average, we used to search 2,000 cars, Sulypa told The Indian Express.

The 50-year-old did not participate in direct combat, but helped seize hundreds of Russian spies near the military camp and airport. At that time, chess was the last thing in our mind. We did not know we would be alive for the Olympiad and I did not know where the players were, whether they were dead or alive, he said, adding that if need be, he would return to the warfront again. My first duty is to protect my country, he said.

There were others whose houses were razed, who lost friends and relatives, and who endured close brushes with death. And yet, in Chennai, Ukraines womens team rose to top the table on the final day with a hard-fought win over Poland, despite drawing to India A and looking at one stage as if they were out of the race.

One of the favourites, Ukraine got off to a breezy start in this Olympiad, winning their first four games before they stuttered and managed only draws. But they bounced back and kept their nerves. Their fate was not in their hands and finally, the USA upsetting India gifted them the title. The mens team, meanwhile, finished 29th.

It was also a triumph of collective will, with all members making crucial contributions. The Muzychuk sisters two of Ukraines finest racked up 13 out of 20 points. Ushenina managed 6.5/8 and Nataliya Buska 7/10. Ukraine was not the best team but they were the most resolute; they didnt feel the pressure because they had seen worse. The backdrop had filled them with a sense of equanimity. Now all they want, as Ushenina said firmly, is peace.

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Chess Olympiad gold for Ukraine: 'But medal can't stop a war' - The Indian Express