WAR IN UKRAINE: July 13, 2022
NASA showed what the front line in Ukraine looks like from space: HIMARS tried to make a pretty picture
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 132
Ukraine's military says it has destroyed a Russian ammunition depot in the southern city of Nova Kakhovka, killing dozens of soldiers, in an attack apparently involving US-supplied missiles. Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak attributed the attack to the US-supplied Himars multiple rocket launcher and spoke of a "reality collision" for the world's "second army". A Russian-installed official in the southern Kherson region, Katerina Gubareva, accused Ukraine of bombing "peaceful cities with American weapons” - BBC
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is blasting the Canadian government over its decision to return to Germany natural gas turbines caught up in sanctions imposed on Russia, calling the move "absolutely unacceptable" and warning that Moscow will see it as a sign of weakness, CBC reported. "If a terrorist state can squeeze out such an exception to sanctions, what exceptions will it want tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? This question is very dangerous," Zelensky said in his nightly address on Monday. “Moreover, it is dangerous not only for Ukraine, but also for all countries of the democratic world." Ukraine summoned Canada’s envoy to Kyiv to voice its displeasure over the decision.
Ukraine’s Demands for More Weapons Clash With U.S. Concerns. Pulling Ukrainians out of battle to train them could accelerate Russia’s gains, officials say. The Pentagon is also monitoring the levels of its own stockpiles. Read the NYT story here
Andriy Portnov, the controversial Ukrainian politician & former Deputy Head of the pro-Russia Yanukovych Administration, has reportedly skirted wartime border rules, outfoxed border guards and left Ukraine️, according to RFE/RL’s award-winning investigative TV program, Schemes. Currently, Ukrainian males aged 18-60 are forbidden from leaving the country except for specific circumstances. Read their report in Ukrainian here
The head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said about 80% of the Donetsk region’s pre-war population has now been evacuated. “As of February 24, 2022, 1,670,000 people permanently lived in the Ukraine-controlled territory of the Donetsk region. About 340,000 people or 20% of the local population before Russia’s full-scale invasion remain,” Kyrylenko said during the national telethon, Ukrinform reports.
Required reading…
My just published Globe and Mail (Canada) OpEd: “Ottawa’s decision doesn’t just send a signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he can continue to play fast and loose around sanctions imposed over his invasion of Ukraine – it also calls into question Canada’s very commitment to assisting Ukraine during an existential period in its history.”
Read the full OpEd here