06/29/2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 01:29 Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief: Have taken strategic initiative +++
According to their commander-in-chief, General Valeriy Zalushnyi, the Ukrainian armed forces “seized the strategic initiative”. “The Ukrainian Defense Forces are continuing their offensive actions and we have made progress. The enemy is putting up strong resistance and is suffering significant casualties,” writes Zalushny on Telegram. He spoke to US Chief of Staff Mark Milley about the weapons needed for the counteroffensive and about mine clearance equipment. According to Ukrainian officials, large mined areas are hampering the advance.
+++ 00:44 Poland buys Patriot air defense system from USA +++
Poland is expanding its defense capabilities and is buying modern Patriot air defense systems from the United States for up to $15 billion, according to the Pentagon. The US agency DSCA, which is responsible for arms exports, reports that the deal includes up to 48 rocket launchers and up to 644 rockets as well as radar and control components of the system. The Patriots are to be used to defend against high-speed missiles and aircraft. The Patriots also play a crucial role in defending Ukraine against Russian airstrikes. They also intercept Moscow’s tactical ballistic missiles and modern hypersonic missiles.
+++ 00:11 “Defenseless Colombian civilians attacked – Colombia’s President Petro wants to send a protest note to Moscow +++
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro announces an official protest note from his country to Russia after the Russian rocket attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Krematorsk. Russia “attacked three defenseless Colombian civilians,” Petro wrote on Twitter. In doing so, it violated the internationally binding rules of war. The attack destroyed the Ria Pizza restaurant in the city center, popular with journalists and military personnel. Among the injured are three Colombian celebrities – well-known author Héctor Abad, politician Sergio Jaramillo and journalist Catalina Gómez, who were having dinner with Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelima at the restaurant.
+++ 23:18 Selenskyj reports arrest after “terrorist attack” on Kramatorsk +++
According to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, a suspect has been arrested after the deadly Russian airstrike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. “Today, the Ukrainian domestic intelligence service (SBU) and the special police forces arrested the person who coordinated this terrorist attack,” Zelenskyy said in his daily evening speech. At least 11 people were killed and 61 others injured, including several children, in a Russian missile attack on a restaurant in Kramatorsk.
+++ 22:27 report: Russia’s Deputy Chief of Staff Surovikin is said to have been arrested +++
According to a report by the “Moscow TimesThe newspaper cites two informants who are close to the Defense Ministry. The Ministry has not yet officially commented on this information. Surovikin was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian troops in Ukraine in October before resigning after criticism over military setbacks in January was replaced by Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and demoted to his deputy. The “New York Times” reported, citing US government circles, that Surovikin is said to have known in advance about the Wagner uprising. There are also signs that other Russian generals may have backed Prigozhin Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the New York Times report as “speculation.”
+++ 22:09 Kiev’s parliament approves bonuses for fighting soldiers – 2500 euros per month +++
Ukraine’s parliament votes to return to a monthly bonus scheme, under which soldiers, members of the defense forces and police receive an additional 100,000 hryvnia ($2,500) a month if they serve in a designated active combat zone. That’s a significant bonus in a country where the official average wage is just under 15,000 hryvnia (370 euros). Those serving outside of active combat zones will receive an additional 30,000 hryvnia ($800) per month.
+++ 21:43 Scholz: Nobody knows what comes after Putin +++
Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees Russia’s President Vladimir Putin battered by the temporary mercenary uprising. “I think he’s weakened,” says Scholz on the ARD program “Maischberger”. It shows that the autocratic power structures “have cracks”. Putin is by no means as firmly in the saddle as he always claims. Scholz spoke of a “putsch, a military coup” by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. However, he does not want to speculate whether the events will mean that Putin will stay in office longer or shorter. But he expects long-term consequences. Scholz says he doesn’t think about whether a successful uprising would have been good or bad. Nobody knows what will come after Putin. It was a dangerous situation.
+++ 21:12 First shipment of Abrams tanks arrived in Poland +++
Poland has received a first shipment of US-made Abrams tanks. “The first tanks have already arrived on Polish soil, it’s an important day for the Polish army,” Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told journalists. In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Poland is massively upgrading its army: Warsaw has ordered a total of 366 Abrams tanks from the USA, and according to Blaszczak, the first 14 have now arrived in the port city of Szczecin. More tanks will be delivered this year and a battalion of Abrams tanks will be formed, Blaszczak said. The US tanks of this type are “the best tanks in the world,” he emphasizes.
+++ 20:38 These three criminals are said to have been among Wagner mercenaries during the coup attempt +++
At least three of the Wagner mercenaries who sought to take the city of Rostov-on-Don in Saturday’s failed coup attempt were convicted criminals. This reports Reuters. The Kremlin last year allowed Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin to recruit thousands of mercenaries from prisons across the country. Those who fight in Ukraine for six months are pardoned by Putin by secret decree. Reuters identified the convicted criminals as 25-year-old Dmitry Chekov, a Rostov resident who had been convicted four times of theft and drug-related offenses, 33-year-old Sergei Shirshov, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for armed robbery in 2019, and 31 -year-old Roman Yamalutdinov, who has been sentenced to prison at least twice since 2017 for drunk driving, stealing a car and assaulting a police officer.
You can read about the developments from the previous day here.