Need to Know

April 10, 2023

The Cheerleaders

Russia

Russian blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, had been a cheerleader for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. As Reuters reported, he could be scathing of what he saw as Russia’s incompetent military establishment. But he called for Russia to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy soon...

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Ukraine Briefly

April 07, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, Russian troops led by mercenaries of the Wagner Group captured the center of Bakhmut even as Ukrainian forces continued fighting for the embattled eastern city in what’s now the war’s 58th week, Al Jazeera reported. Bakhmut has seen some of the fiercest and...

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Ukraine Briefly

March 31, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, Russia announced it would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, a move seen as retaliation for the United Kingdom announcing last week that it would supply Ukraine with armor-piercing shells constructed from depleted uranium, France 24 reported. Although the rounds contain tiny amounts...

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Need to Know

March 27, 2023

Legion of Doom

Russia

The prime minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, is worried. He didn’t like the implications of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s recent three-day visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The Chinese president’s visit to Moscow makes us anxious,” Morawiecki said during a press conference in Warsaw with...

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Ukraine Briefly

March 24, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping left Moscow after a three-day visit that appeared to yield mixed results, CNBC noted. China’s leader and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin reaffirmed areas of strategic cooperation as well as pledges to expand economic ties and trade through 2030....

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The World Briefly

March 20, 2023

The Golden Shackles

Russia

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant Friday for Russian President Vladimir Putin and another official over alleged war crimes during the Ukraine war, the first decision by the Netherlands-based court since the conflict began last year, USA Today reported. The international tribunal accused...

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Ukraine Briefly

March 17, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, Poland said it is planning to give Ukraine around a dozen Soviet-made fighter jets, making it the first NATO country to fulfill the Ukrainian government's increasingly urgent requests for warplanes, the Associated Press reported. At the same time, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said...

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Ukraine Briefly

March 10, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, Russia launched a massive wave of missile attacks across Ukraine, killing dozens of people, knocking out power and taking a nuclear power plant off the grid, Reuters reported. The first large-scale missile attack since mid-February on Thursday shattered the longest period of relative...

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Ukraine Briefly

March 03, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, Russia and Ukraine clashed after Moscow accused a Ukrainian sabotage group of crossing the border into Russia’s Bryansk region, firing on civilians and in one village taking hostages, CNBC reported Thursday. Ukraine disputed the charges, accusing Russia of “deliberate provocation” while also saying...

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Need to Know

February 24, 2023

When Spring Comes

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As the US and Germany send advanced armored vehicles to help Ukraine’s cause, Russia has lost almost half of its battle tanks, reported the Guardian recently. Half of Russia’s airborne troops have died in the war between the two former Soviet republics, added Newsweek. Russian...

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Ukraine Briefly

February 24, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia’s nuclear forces would be strengthened as fears increase about the larger global impact of the Ukraine war, NBC News reported. The Russian leader added that Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, which can carry several nuclear warheads, will...

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The World Briefly

February 22, 2023

Dismantling Safety

Russia

Russia will suspend its participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty with the United States, raising the stakes in the tense relationship between Moscow and the West over the war in Ukraine and sparking concerns about the pact’s future, CBS News reported Tuesday. President...

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Ukraine Briefly

February 17, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, Russia said it breached areas of Ukrainian defenses in the eastern Luhansk region, while Ukraine’s military said it had countered most attacks, although admitting the situation remains difficult, Radio Free Europe reported. Fighting intensified on Wednesday as NATO defense ministers gathered for a...

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The World Briefly

February 10, 2023

The Puppetmaster

Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely approved the transfer of the missile system to Russian-backed separatists who shot down the Malaysia Airlines aircraft over Ukraine in 2014, according to the investigators probing the downing of the jet that killed all 298 passengers and crew, the Wall...

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Ukraine Briefly

February 10, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, Russia looked to achieve modest territorial gains in Ukraine’s eastern regions ahead of the anniversary of the war’s commencement, as it sent recruits into the front lines to probe defenses with widely distributed strikes, often with horrific fatalities for its forces, Al Jazeera...

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Need to Know

February 08, 2023

Tanking Diplomacy

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A Russian company that makes materials for oil fracking, Fores, is offering more than $70,000 to the first Russian soldiers who capture or destroy any of the tanks given to Ukraine by the US and Europe. The announcement of the bounty came around a week after...

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Need to Know

January 31, 2023

Silent Gestures

Russia

Muscovites recently have been laying wreaths of flowers, stuffed animals, photographs and other mementos at the feet of a statue dedicated to the early 20th century Ukrainian writer, Lesya Ukrainka. The makeshift memorial, appearing after a Russian missile hit a residential building in Dnipro in...

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Ukraine Briefly

January 27, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, Russia launched a new round of missile attacks on Ukraine, killing at least 11 people, just after the United States and Germany announced plans to send combat tanks to help Ukraine’s beleaguered military, Axios reported. Explosions rocked Kyiv Thursday morning, with the missile...

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Need to Know

January 25, 2023

The Virtual Front

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In the 1990s, many world leaders failed to understand the threat that cyberattacks posed to their governments, societies and economies, argued journalist Matt Potter in a recent interview with ABC News. Today, the war between Russia and Ukraine has demonstrated how cyberwarfare is inextricably linked...

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Ukraine Briefly

January 20, 2023

Ukraine, Briefly

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This week, a helicopter carrying top Ukrainian officials crashed in a Kyiv suburb, killing a senior member of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s cabinet and more than a dozen others, the New York Times reported. Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, a trusted adviser of Zelenskyy, died in the...

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