WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Ukrainians torn by evacuation calls as Russian shells fall in northeast
Ukrainians living in the northeastern Kupiansk district close to Russia's border on Sunday found themselves torn between the will to stay and protect what they have built and the desire to flee from Russian artillery fire.
"If you said the evacuation is going well," Dmytro Lozhenko, who runs a volunteer group that helps civilians flee the fighting, said on television, "It would sound like a bit of sarcasm."
Regional authorities announced a mandatory evacuation of civilians from near the Kupiansk front earlier this month due to daily Russian shelling.
The artillery toll on Sunday, Ukraine's prosecutor general said, began in the morning with an attack on the city of Kupiansk that sent a 45-year-old man to hospital in serious condition.
At 1:20 p.m., the second shelling of the city center injured three civilian men, including an emergency medical assistant, and a 20-year-old woman.
About three hours later, a third round injured a policeman. Homes, cars, garages, a business, a post office, a gas pipeline, and an educational institution were damaged, the prosecutor's office said.
It said casualty figures were still being clarified, but Oleh Synehubov, the Kharkiv regional governor, said in a post on Telegram that the morning shelling injured 11 civilians, seven of them seriously.
In an interview on Ukrainian television, Lozhenko said about 600 people had been evacuated from the area in the past 10 days, more than 120 of them children.
But what is now a mandatory evacuation, he said, may yet become a forced one, "at least for families with children and for people with reduced mobility, who cannot look after themselves."
In one village in Kupiansk district, he said, it was only after Russia bombed out almost two entire streets that people started to leave. "The worst thing about evacuation is that people have been living in this war for a long time, and many of them are very used to shelling."
It was tough to tell people in Kupiansk who had adapted to the situation that they would be safer "in shelters, dormitories in other cities."
Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians in its invasion of Ukraine, which has killed thousands, uprooted millions, and destroyed cities.
** Russia says Ukrainian drones attack four regions
Russia said Ukrainian drones had attacked four separate regions in a flurry of attempted strikes on Sunday, injuring five people and forcing two of Moscow's airports to briefly divert flights.
Russia's Kursk, Rostov and Belgorod regions, all of which border Ukraine, reported attempted drone strikes, while Russia's defence ministry said it had jammed a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region, forcing it to crash in an unpopulated area.
Russia's aviation watchdog said it had briefly halted flights to the city's Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports in response.
The Kursk region's governor said five people had been injured and a fire had broken out when a drone hit Kursk city's railway station.
Rostov's governor said no injuries or damage had occurred.
Later on Sunday, Russia's Defence Ministry said it had prevented two separate drone strikes on the Belgorod region, the border province most regularly attacked by Ukraine. The local governor said on Telegram that 12 airborne targets had been downed on the approaches to Belgorod city, before later saying only three drones had been shot down.
Ukrainian drone strikes both on border regions and on the Russian capital have become increasingly common in recent months, with repeated strikes on Moscow's financial district.
Russia said in May that two Ukrainian drones had tried to attack the Kremlin.
Ukraine typically does not comment on who is behind attacks on Russian territory, although officials have publicly expressed satisfaction over them.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Ukraine ‘running out of options’ – WaPo
Ukraine is running out of options in its counteroffensive against Russian forces, as Kiev’s time-window to gain advances is closing, the Washington Post has reported.
In an article on Sunday, the US outlet is claiming that Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which was launched in early June and was initially expected to see Kiev taking back significant territory, currently “shows signs of stalling.”
“Kiev’s advances remain isolated to a handful of villages, Russian troops are pushing forward in the north and a plan to train Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16s is delayed,” the newspaper wrote.
Ukrainian and Western officials might be calling for patience but “the window of time for Ukraine to conduct offensive operations is limited”because of the “inhospitable weather” in the region in autumn and winter, the article reads.
“Without more advanced weapons slated to bolster the front line or fully committing forces still being held in reserve, it is unlikely that Ukraine will be able to secure a breakthrough in the counteroffensive, according to analysts,” WaPo pointed out.
The article also warned that “the inability to demonstrate decisive success on the battlefield [by Kiev forces] is stoking fears that the conflict is becoming a stalemate and international support could erode.”
Calls for Washington to cut back on its military and financial aid to Ukraine “are expected to be amplified” in the wake of the US presidential election in 2024, it added.
Earlier this week, the Post also cited a classified US intelligence report, which suggested that “Ukraine’s counteroffensive will fail to reach the key southeastern city of Melitopol,” and that the aim of severing Russia’s land bridge linking Donbass with Crimea in the southern province of Zaporozhye won’t be achieved this year.
According to Russian estimates, Ukraine has failed to make any significant gains, but lost more than 43,000 troops and nearly 5,000 pieces of heavy equipment since the launch of its counteroffensive. Kiev has so far claimed the capture of several villages, but these appear to be located some distance away from main Russian defense lines.
** US doesn’t have enough ballistic missiles for Ukraine – FT
The US is not in a position to supply Ukraine with tactical ballistic missiles in quantities that could help turn the tide in its counteroffensive, the Financial Times has reported. The British newspaper also cited several experts who question whether this type of weaponry could help Kiev achieve a major breakthrough at all.
In its article on Sunday, the FT, citing unnamed American officials, claimed that the US simply does not produce enough tactical ballistic missiles, those which Ukraine has been asking for, to “make a significant difference on the battlefield.”
In addition, according to the FT report, another consideration preventing the shipment of such projectiles is that such action could lead to a further escalation of the conflict with Russia.
Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at Rand Corporation, told the media outlet that Ukraine’s insistence on laying its hands on long-range missiles is misplaced. The expert stressed that rockets like these are “no magic wands” and are unlikely to solve the hurdles of minefields and entrenched Russian defenses that Kiev’s forces are currently facing.
The FT quoted some US officials as warning that the extent of US military aid could shrink as the 2024 presidential election looms. A possible reelection of Republican Donald Trump adds another layer of uncertainty, given his repeated pledges to end the conflict as soon as he assumes office, the article noted.
Meanwhile, in Germany – another country which Kiev has asked for long-range missiles – a survey released by ARD-DeutschlandTrend on Friday showed that 52% of respondents are firmly opposed to such deliveries, with 36% in favor.
So far, top German officials, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz, have appeared reluctant to hand over Taurus missiles to Ukraine. The rocket boasts a range of approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles).
Back in May, the UK became the first nation to provide Kiev with this type of weaponry, sending its Storm Shadow cruise missiles, with a range of over 250 kilometers.
Last month, France followed suit, supplying Ukraine with its own localized version of the Storm Shadow, named SCALP.
Moscow has repeatedly warned Western countries against sending weapons to Ukraine, arguing that by doing so, they are only prolonging the conflict and are also becoming engaged in a “proxy war” against Russia.
Reuters/RT
