NEWS FROM UKRAINE: COUNTEROFFENSIVE UNDERWAY, DESTROYED DAM, MUTINY IN RUSSIA

Ukraine’s counteroffensive officially began with shaping and probing operations at the start of June, with a focus on reclaiming russian-occupied territories in the south and east of Ukraine. According to Ukrainian sources, since that time it has been claiming advances in the south of up to 1 kilometer on some days, less on others. (For detailed daily reports, see Institute for the Study of War’s website.)  It was predicted that Ukraine’s counteroffensive would incite even more ruthless aggression from russia on the front lines, but the severity of the attacks against civilians and the environment has surpassed even the worst of predictions. 

On June 6, russia detonated bombs placed in the Nova Kakhovka Dam, situated on the Dnipro River, causing a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe worse than any Europe has seen in decades. “Nova Kakhovka’s destruction has far-reaching environmental, economic, and humanitarian consequences that will affect not just Ukraine and the Black Sea region, but also the Middle East and Africa [for decades to come]” reports the Middle East Institute. The dam also played a critical role in cooling the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Europe’s largest, which russia seized in the early days of the invasion. Over the past two weeks, russia has been pulling personnel out of the plant, and Ukraine has warned that this indicates that russia’s next act of reckless aggression might be to cause a meltdown at ZNPP. 

On June 23, russia’s attention shifted into an internal mode, when the head of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgenii Prigozhin launched an armed rebellion. For the ensuing 36 hours, the world watched on as Prigozhin led a convoy of 5,000 Wagner mercenaries from Ukraine toward Moscow, taking Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh, and reaching 125 miles of Moscow. Shortly thereafter, Prigozhin told his troops to stand down and negotiated a deal to expatriate to Belarus. Rumors have since surfaced, however, that russian security forces have been given orders to assassinate Prigozhin. 

Sources:  Institute for the Study of War, The New York Times, Newsweek, Middle East Institute, the Ukrainecast podcast by the BBC and the Ukraine: The Latest podcast by The New York Times