WORLD BRIEFING: September 2, 2023

Today marks 556 days since Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine

  • India launched its first spacecraft dedicated to studying the sun, building on a month of historic successes for the country’s civil space efforts - CNN

  • Senior US diplomat scheduled to visit Ankara next week to discuss arms control, security issues with Turkish officials - Daily Sabah

  • Mohamed Al-Fayed, the outspoken Egyptian tycoon who transformed the fortunes of two London institutions, the Harrods department store and Fulham Football Club, and waged a war of words with Britain’s royals after his son was killed in a car crash alongside Diana, Princess of Wales, has died, according to a statement from his family. He was 94 - CNN

  • Russia announced Friday it had put its nuclear-capable Satan II intercontinental ballistic missiles on combat duty for the first time. The missile, also known as Sarmat — and classified as a “superweapon” by Russia — was introduced in 2018 and had been scheduled to be deployed for combat duty at the end of 2022.With an estimated range between 6,200 and 11,800 miles, Satan II has the capability to deliver a 10-ton payload containing 10 to 15 nuclear warheads at once to any location around the world.

  • Ukraine's forces in recent days have made "notable progress" against Russian troops in the south of the country, a White House spokesman said on September 1 as Ukrainian officials reported Russian missile strikes overnight.

  • Twitter under Elon Musk's ownership has played a major role in allowing Russian propaganda about Ukraine to reach more people than before the war began, according to a year-long study released this week by the European Commission. The research found that, despite voluntary commitments to take action against Russian propaganda by the largest social media companies, including Meta, Russian disinformation against Ukraine, thrived - WP

  • Two grain ships have left a port near Odesa, Ukraine's deputy prime minister said on September 1 -- the third and fourth to grain ships transit from deep-water Ukrainian ports through the Black Sea since Russia withdrew from the safe-passage deal.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin will host Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on September 4, their first meeting since the grain agreement unraveled - RFE/RL

  • Russia's pro-war influencers are generating big advertising revenues from their social media coverage of the conflict, the BBC has found. Alongside a daily ration of gruesome videos of drone strikes and false claims about Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, they share ads for anything from cryptocurrency to fashion. Known in Russia as "Z-Bloggers" because of their support for a war often symbolised by the letter Z, they are often embedded with the Russian army and post footage from the front line where they call on young Russians to enlist.

Michael BociurkiwComment