WARS
Saturday, 08 July 2023 04:35
All we know after Day 83 of battles of Sudan military factions
'Alarming' rise in rape and abduction from Sudan war, aid agencies say The conflict between military factions in Sudan has caused a surge in cases of rape and the abduction of women and girls, some as young as 12, aid agencies and officials said. Teenage girls are being sexually assaulted and raped by armed combatants in "alarming numbers", Save the Children said in a statement on Friday, while the United Nations reported a "marked increase" in gender-based violence. The war that erupted on April 15 pits Sudan's army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who fell out over plans…
Friday, 07 July 2023 04:26
What to know after Day 498 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE US expected to provide cluster bombs to Ukraine Human Rights Watch has called on Russia and Ukraine to stop using cluster bombs, and urged the US not to supply the munitions to Kyiv, amid reports the Biden administration is poised to include the controversial weapons in a new military aid package. Russian and Ukraine forces have used cluster bombs, which break apart in the air and release large numbers of smaller bomblets across a wide area. The bomblets are designed to detonate on hitting the ground, but do not always explode, posing a risk to civilians for years…
Thursday, 06 July 2023 04:32
What to know after Day 497 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russian missile strikes apartment block in Lviv, kills at least three A Russian missile attack killed at least three people in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, and rescuers were searching through the debris of a apartment building for survivors and casualties, the local mayor said. "Three people have been killed," Mayor Andriy Sadovy said in a post on his Telegram channel. He said the street would remain closed until emergency workers "clear debris and pull out all the dead." Sadovy said in a previous post that eight people had been wounded, but it was unclear if the…
Wednesday, 05 July 2023 04:33
What to know after Day 496 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine reports 'particularly fruitful' few days in counteroffensive A Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces has been "particularly fruitful" in the past few days and Ukraine's troops are fulfilling their main tasks, a senior security official said on Tuesday. The comments by Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, were Kyiv's latest positive assessment of the month-old counterattack although Moscow has not acknowledged Ukraine's gains. Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Maliar, also reported gains around the shattered city of Bakhmut despite fierce Russian resistance. Russian forces had captured it in May after 10 months of battles.…
Wednesday, 05 July 2023 04:32
All we know after Day 81 of battles of Sudan military factions
Fighting rages in Sudan's capital as army tries to cut off supply routes Fierce battles broke out on Tuesday across Omdurman, the western part of Sudan's wider capital, as the army tried cut off supply routes used by its paramilitary rivals to bring reinforcements into the city. The army launched air strikes and heavy artillery, and there were ground battles in several parts of Omdurman, witnesses said. The RSF said it had shot down a fighter jet, and residents posted footage that appeared to show pilots ejecting from a plane. There was no immediate comment from the army. Conflict between…
Tuesday, 04 July 2023 04:50
What to know after Day 495 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine keeps no secrets from CIA – Zelensky Kiev does not keep “any secrets” from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), President Vladimir Zelensky has admitted. He made the remarks in an exclusive interview with CNN, aired on Monday, expressing “surprise” that his recent meeting with CIA boss William Burns got into the media limelight. “My communication with the CIA chief should always be behind the scenes. We discuss important things – what Ukraine needs and how Ukraine is prepared to act,” Zelensky stated. Kiev remains in close cooperation with the American spy agency, Zelensky admitted, adding that…
Monday, 03 July 2023 03:17
What to know after Day 494 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine reports Russian attacks in east, progress in south Ukrainian forces are resisting a Russian onslaught in eastern areas of the front and face difficulties in the northeast, but are making progress near the shattered city of Bakhmut and in the south, the deputy defence minister said on Sunday. Russian accounts of the front line said Moscow's forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks near villages ringing Bakhmut and in areas further south, particularly the strategic hilltop town of Vuhlear. They also reported success in containing Ukrainian troops in the northeast. Reuters could not confirm any of the battlefield accounts.…
Monday, 03 July 2023 03:16
All we know after Day 79 of battles of Sudan military factions
Sudan clashes intensify with no mediation in sight Clashes between Sudan's army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensified on Sunday, as the war in the country's capital and western regions entered its 12th week with no attempts in sight to bring a peaceful end to the conflict. Air and artillery strikes as well as small arms fire could be heard, particularly in the city of Omdurman, as well as in the capital Khartoum, as the conflict deepens a humanitarian crisis and threatens to draw in other regional interests. The RSF said it brought down an army warplane and a…
Sunday, 02 July 2023 04:22
What to know after Day 493 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russia resumes overnight drone attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine military says Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Kyiv after a 12-day break, a Ukrainian military official said on Sunday, with air defence systems preliminarily destroying all targets on their approach. "Another enemy attack on Kyiv," Serhiy Popko, a colonel general who heads Kyiv's military administration, said in a post on the Telegram channel. "At this moment, there is no information about possible casualties or damage." Reuters witnesses heard blasts resembling the sound of air defence systems hitting targets. There was no immediate information about the scale of the…
Saturday, 01 July 2023 03:11
What to know after Day 492 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine, US agree: counteroffensive creeps ahead, measured in blood Ukraine has been publicly cautious in counting gains in a counteroffensive it launched this month to reclaim territory occupied by Russian forces, and on Friday its president and a U.S. general acknowledged that progress is measured in blood. The top U.S. military officer, Army General Mark Milley, told an audience at the National Press Club in Washington that the counteroffensive was "advancing steadily, deliberately working its way through very difficult minefields ... 500 meters a day, 1,000 meters a day, 2,000 meters a day, that kind of thing." He…
More...
Friday, 30 June 2023 02:52
What to know after Day 491 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE EU leaders back security commitments for Ukraine European Union leaders declared on Thursday they would make long-term commitments to bolster Ukraine's security as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged them to start work on a new round of sanctions against Russia. At a summit in Brussels, the leaders restated their condemnation of Russia's war against Ukraine and said the EU and its member countries "stand ready" to contribute to commitments that would help Ukraine defend itself in the long term. In a text summarising the conclusions of the summit, the leaders said they would swiftly consider the form these commitments…
Thursday, 29 June 2023 04:34
What to know after Day 490 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russian general Surovikin was sympathetic towards Wagner rebellion, US officials say General Sergei Surovikin, deputy commander of Russia's military operations in Ukraine, was sympathetic to mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's weekend rebellion, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, though it was unclear if he actively supported it. Prigozhin startled the world by leading an armed revolt on Saturday that brought his Wagner Group fighters from the Ukrainian border to within 200 kilometers (125 miles) of Moscow before he abruptly called off the uprising. Three officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Surovikin had been in support of Prigozhin…
Thursday, 29 June 2023 04:33
All we know after Day 75 of battles of Sudan military factions
Islamists wield hidden hand in Sudan conflict, military sources say Thousands of men who worked as intelligence operatives under former president Omar al-Bashir and have ties to his Islamist movement are fighting alongside the army in Sudan's war, three military sources and one intelligence source said, complicating efforts to end the bloodshed. The army and a paramilitary force have been battling each other in Khartoum, Darfur and elsewhere for 10 weeks in Africa's third largest country by area, displacing 2.5 million people, causing a humanitarian crisis and threatening to destabilise the region. Reinforcements for either side could deepen the conflict.…
Wednesday, 28 June 2023 04:53
What to know after Day 489 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE NATO warns that Russian forces should not be underestimated and increases its readiness NATO’s chief said Tuesday that the power of Russia’s military shouldn't be underestimated following the weekend mutiny against it by Wagner Group mercenaries, and said the alliance has increased its readiness to confront Russia in recent days. Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance may decide to further boost its strength and readiness to face Russia and its ally Belarus when NATO leaders meet in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on July 11-12. ”So, no misunderstanding and no room for misunderstanding in Moscow or Minsk about our…