Russia, Ukraine Report Fighting on Front Lines |
A spokesperson for Russia’s defense ministry said that Ukrainian forces staged attacks yesterday (FT) in the Russia-controlled Donetsk region, while Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, a government agency, called the claims false. Separately, the founder of Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group said Ukrainian forces had advanced near the eastern city of Bakhmut, and a Ukrainian commander posted a video today of Ukrainian forces firing on Russian positions in the area.
The reports come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that Ukraine was ready (WSJ) to launch a counteroffensive against Russia. A video posted this weekend by several Ukrainian soldiers urged silence about upcoming operations.
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“The counteroffensive will be the biggest test yet of the U.S.-led strategy of giving the Ukrainians weapons and training to fight like an American army might—but on their own,” the Washington Post’s Kamila Hrabchuk and Isabelle Khurshudyan write.
“It is critical that Ukraine’s Western partners develop a long-term theory of victory for Ukraine, since even in the best-case scenario, this upcoming offensive is unlikely to end the conflict,” the Center for Naval Analyses’ Michael Kofman and Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Rob Lee write for Foreign Affairs. |
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Washington Says Chinese Ship Unsafely Maneuvered Near U.S. Vessel in Taiwan Strait |
The United States said its ship had to slow down (CNN) to avoid a collision. China’s defense minister later accused the United States of “provoking bloc confrontation” in the Indo-Pacific in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore. For Foreign Affairs, Tong Zhao discusses how Chinese hawkishness threatens Taiwan.
Hong Kong: Police said they detained (Reuters) twenty-three people for “breaching public peace” amid a tightening of security on the thirty-fourth anniversary of the massacre that occurred in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.
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Indian Official Says Electronic Signaling System Linked to Deadly Train Crash |
Authorities are investigating the cause (Mint) of a three-way train collision that killed at least 288 people in the Balasore district on Friday after identifying a problem with the electronic interlocking system.
Russia/India/Myanmar: Russia is suspected of buying back parts for tanks and missiles that it previously exported to India and Myanmar, Nikkei reported. While it is possible Russia reimported the parts for repairs, a Nikkei analysis of customs clearance data found no records of Russia sending the repaired parts back.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Saudi Arabia Moves to Cut Oil Output After OPEC+ Meeting |
Saudi Arabia will cut one million barrels per day (Bloomberg) in July, reaching its lowest production level in years after a drop in crude oil prices. Russia and the United Arab Emirates were the only two members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its oil-exporting allies, a bloc known as OPEC+, who made no commitment to further reduce output.
Israel/Egypt: Authorities from both countries are investigating how a man they said was a member of Egyptian security forces crossed the countries’ fortified border and killed three Israeli soldiers (NYT) on Saturday.
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Sudan Truce Expires With No New Deal Set to Take Its Place |
Fighting intensified (Reuters) in several areas of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, and in North Darfur state yesterday after a cease-fire between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) expired on Saturday. Talks on Friday to extend the cease-fire failed to yield any progress. In this In Brief, CFR’s Mariel Ferragamo and Diana Roy look at Sudan’s humanitarian crisis.
Somalia/Uganda: Fifty-four Ugandan soldiers who were serving in an African Union force battling extremist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia were killed last week (AFP) when militants attacked their base, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said.
This Backgrounder discusses the reach of Al-Shabaab. |
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Around Half a Million People March Against Polish Ruling Party |
The demonstration in Warsaw against the right-wing Law and Justice party yesterday appeared to be the country’s biggest (Politico) in decades. The opposition Civic Platform party that organized the rally is trailing the ruling party in the polls ahead of Poland’s elections later this year. |
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Mexico’s Ruling Party Leads Election Results in Most Populous State |
Preliminary results in the State of Mexico show the ruling Morena party in the lead (FT) in a gubernatorial contest that is being closely watched ahead of presidential elections next year. A win for Morena would end nearly a century of one-party rule in the area.
Panama: Authorities announced they will mobilize (AP) more than one thousand immigration agents, border police, and members of the navy in an operation aimed at combating criminal groups smuggling migrants, drugs, and guns through the Darién Gap jungle along the country’s border with Colombia.
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Biden, Danish Prime Minister to Discuss Fighter Jet Assistance to Ukraine |
U.S. President Joe Biden will host Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at the White House today to discuss providing Ukrainian forces (AP) with U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets in the coming months. Biden will meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday for similar talks. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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