US says Ukraine’s counteroffensive has reached ‘new thrust’, Russia adds ICC judge to its wanted list, Shoigu meets Kim Jong Un
A Novaya-Europe round-up
The Ukraine War has been on for 518 days. The main thrust of Ukraine’s nearly two-month-old counteroffensive is now underway in the country’s southeast, US says.
Russia’s Interior Ministry has initiated a criminal investigation against Tomoko Akane, a judge with the International Criminal Court in The Hague. She has been declared wanted.
The US will share evidence of Russia’s war crimes with the International Criminal Court, NYT cites its sources. The Pentagon objected to this previously.
Russia’s Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu has met with Kim Jonh Un in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang.
Find out what happened overnight in Novaya Gazeta Europe’s 27 July round-up.
NYT: main thrust of Ukraine’s counteroffensive now underway
Ukrainian servicemen trained and equipped by the West have started participating in combat, The New York Times cites two anonymous sources in the Pentagon.
The enlarged Ukrainian force will try to advance south through Russia’s minefields and other fortifications toward Tokmak, and, if successful, on to Melitopol.
Their goal is to sever the so-called land bridge between Russian-occupied Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula, or at least advance far enough to put the strategically important peninsula within range of Ukrainian artillery.
The new operation, if successful, could take one to three weeks, Ukrainian officials have told officials in Washington.
The officials at the White House and Pentagon said on Wednesday they were watching the increased activity with keen interest. “This is the big test,” said one senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War also reckons a new stage of Ukraine’s counteroffensive has begun. In their daily bulletin, the experts say that Ukrainian forces launched a significant mechanised counteroffensive operation in western Zaporizhia region on 26 July and appear to have broken through certain pre-prepared Russian defensive positions south of Orikhiv.
NYT: US to share evidence of Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine with ICC
The US will share evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This decision was recently made by US President Joe Biden, The New York Times cites its sources.
The decision, made by Mr. Biden in recent days, overrides months of resistance by the Pentagon, which had argued that it could pave the way for the court to prosecute American troops, according to the officials.
American intelligence agencies are said to have gathered information including details about decisions by Russian officials to deliberately strike civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and forcibly deport thousands of Ukrainian children from occupied territory.
Russia puts ICC judge Akane to its wanted list for issuing arrest warrant for Putin
Tomoko Akane, a judge with the International Criminal Court in The Hague, has been declared wanted by Russia’s Interior Ministry.
Tomoko Akane is one of the three judges who made the decision to issue arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.
The Interior Ministry earlier declared Salvatore Aitala, another ICC judge, wanted. The country’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal investigation against Karim Ahmad Khan, the ICC prosecutor, as well as judges Salvatore Aitala, Sergio Godinez, and Tomoko Akane, accusing them of preparing an assault against a representative of a foreign country.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova, accusing them of illegal deportation of Ukrainian children into Russian territory.
Shoigu meets Kim Johng Un in Pyongyang
Sergey Shoigu, Russia’s Defence Minister, has met with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as per the country’s Central News Agency reports.
The two attended an arms exhibition and then a concert. Shoigu courteously presented an autograph letter from Vladimir Putin to Kim Jong Un. “The meeting between Kim Jong Un and Sergey Shoigu serves as an important occasion in further developing the strategic and traditional DPRK-Russia relations,” the press release reads.
The Russian delegation arrived in North Korea on 25 July to take part in the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. Yesterday, Shoigu also met with his North Korean counterpart Kang Sun-nam.