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What do we know about Putin’s controversial call-up of reservists?

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What do we know about Putin’s controversial call-up of reservists?

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a “partial army mobilisation” that might see an preliminary 300,000 reservists be a part of Moscow’s battle in Ukraine. 

However, how will the call-up of recent troops work? What has been the response in Russia? And what occurs subsequent if the mobilisation fails?

What do we all know in regards to the troops call-up?

Putin referred to a partial mobilisation of reservists in his speech, however there’s little element on numbers within the authorities’s decree.

Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu did later say that as much as 300,000 individuals could possibly be mobilised from a pool of 25 million. 

Critics level out the decree has been left intentionally imprecise to offer the authorities a large diploma of latitude when implementing it.

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The fast call-up of 300,000 reservists will concern those that have beforehand served within the Russian military and have fight expertise or specialised army abilities. College students or conscripts — younger males serving necessary 12-month phrases within the armed forces — is not going to be included.

The reservists can’t bodily be deployed to Ukraine instantly as they might want to first bear refresher or new coaching and be made acquainted with the best way Russia executes what it calls its “particular army operation”. 

Western army analysts forecast it can due to this fact be a number of months earlier than they see motion.

Reservists will probably be financially incentivised and be paid like full-time serving skilled troopers who make way more cash than the typical Russian wage. Which will make the proposition extra engaging for some males within the provinces the place wages are historically decrease than in huge cities.

Skilled troopers generally known as ‘kontraktniki’ who’re presently serving within the armed forces could have their contracts robotically prolonged till the authorities resolve to finish the interval of short-term mobilisation. In different phrases, it simply grew to become a lot more durable for serving skilled troopers to stop.

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A day earlier, the Russian parliament permitted a invoice to toughen punishments for crimes reminiscent of desertion, injury to army property and insubordination if they’re dedicated throughout army mobilisation or fight conditions. In response to a duplicate of the laws, seen by Reuters, voluntary give up would turn out to be a criminal offense for Russian army personnel punishable by 10 years in jail.

What does Putin’s transfer inform us in regards to the battle in Ukraine?

Putin’s announcement got here solely a day after it was introduced that “referendums” on becoming a member of Russia will start on Friday within the Russian-occupied areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya. 

“The concept right here is that if these territories be a part of the Russian Federation, any assaults upon them would then be thought-about as assaults on Russia,” Dr Marina Miron, from the Defence Research Division of the King’s Faculty London, instructed Euronews.

“So, it’s logical to start out this partial mobilisation now, particularly in gentle of what occurred in Kharkiv Oblast and which served as a catalyst for this fast flip in occasions,” Dr Miron added, referring to Kyiv’s counteroffensive within the north-east of the nation, the place it has reclaimed 8,000 sq. kilometres of territory. 

“It’s advised that the quantity was fastidiously calculated and solely the quantity wanted to guard these territories is being mobilised,” stated Dr Miron.

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The partial mobilisation can also be aimed toward placing the marketing campaign in Ukraine on the centre of the Russian public’s consideration and making individuals care in regards to the Russian trigger, she claimed.

“The Kremlin has been making an attempt to domesticate the nationwide spirit for a few years now and following this logic, this mobilisation is perceived as a technique to recruit extra individuals to defend the homeland,”  Dr Miron stated. 

“It isn’t in regards to the battle in Ukraine; it’s about defending Russia and territories belonging to Russia, nevertheless far-fetched which may appear. 

“The battle in Ukraine isn’t a battle between Russia and Ukraine, however a battle between Russia and ‘the collective West’, within the Kremlin’s eyes. 

“So, this narrative is used to justify such mobilisation within the first place.”

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Nikolay Petrov, a senior analysis fellow inside the Russia and Eurasia programme at London’s Chatham Home, agrees. 

“Putin’s speech was an try to show the imperialist battle right into a patriotic battle” after practically seven months of preventing, he stated.

He thinks the upcoming “referendums” have the identical goal, to compensate for a faltering marketing campaign in Ukraine. 

“The surprising hasty referendums within the occupied territories of Ukraine are an try by the Kremlin to seize these territories politically, because it was unable to take action militarily,” Petrov stated.

Alternatively, Petrov additionally believes the partial mobilisation may need been referred to as to appease the issues of political allies.

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“Putin’s latest conferences with the leaders of China, India and different non-Western international locations, who’ve publicly voiced their dissatisfaction with the protracted battle and referred to as for its ending, might have additionally performed a task,” Petrov stated.

How ready are Russia’s reservists?

In a televised speech to the nation on Wednesday, Putin stated the “partial mobilisation” includes “solely residents who’re presently within the reserve will probably be topic to conscription, and above all, those that served within the armed forces have a sure army speciality and related expertise”.

In response to Shoigu, solely these with related fight and repair expertise will probably be mobilised. The reservists answering to this description are about 25 million individuals, however solely round 1% will probably be mobilised, claimed Shoigu.

“The query is: do all these standards must be fulfilled or is it sufficient to fulfil only one?” Dr Miron requested. “Once more, regardless of the seemingly clear standards, this has induced numerous concern amongst potential candidates. It ought to be famous that Russia has its personal ‘Vietnam syndrome’ after the Soviet enterprise in Afghanistan, so no matter is to occur, the Kremlin must skillfully design its informational marketing campaign to keep away from potential backlash on a bigger scale.”

There can also be points with the preparedness of reservists.

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In response to the Washington-based suppose tank the Institute for the Research of Struggle (ISW), “the Russian reserve has over two million former conscripts and contract servicemen on paper, however few are actively skilled or ready for battle”.

ISW writes that, traditionally, “solely 10 per cent of reservists obtain refresher coaching after finishing their preliminary time period of service”, including that Russia lacks the executive and monetary capability to coach reservists on an ongoing foundation.

What has been the response in Russia?

The announcement has triggered protests in Russia, the place some are more and more fatigued by what within the nation remains to be generally known as the “particular army operation” in Ukraine.

Russian media reported a spike in demand for airplane tickets shortly after Putin’s televised speech on Wednesday. 

On the identical day, jailed dissident and opposition chief Alexei Navalny accused Putin of sending extra Russians to their deaths.

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“It’s clear that the felony battle is getting worse, deepening, and Putin is making an attempt to contain as many individuals as potential on this,” Navalny stated in a video message from jail recorded and printed by his legal professionals. “He desires to smear a whole bunch of 1000’s of individuals on this blood,” Navalny stated.

On Wednesday, the Youth Democratic opposition motion “Vesna” referred to as for nationwide protests. 

“Hundreds of Russian males — our fathers, brothers and husbands — will probably be thrown into the meat grinder of the battle. What’s going to they be dying for? What’s going to moms and kids be crying for?” the group stated.

Avtozak, a Russian group that screens protests, reported demonstrations by dozens of individuals in cities, together with Ulan-Ude and Tomsk in Siberia, and Khabarovsk within the Far East, with some protesters being arrested by authorities.

“The emotions in direction of this choice have been combined and there have been fairly a number of cases of opposition from a number of media retailers, such because the St. Petersburg-based information web site Bumaga, which claimed in its Telegram channel that the frequency of the search time period ‘how you can break your arm’ had spiked amongst Google customers from Russia,” Dr Miron stated.

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“Given the protests that passed off throughout Russia, it’s to imagine that the inhabitants isn’t in favour of this new measure. Nonetheless, the official media is making an attempt to downplay this new choice, therefore, there will probably be an try to pacify the inhabitants section that’s in opposition to this partial mobilisation,” she added. “There will probably be a have to act on the knowledge entrance to forestall a whole polarisation of the Russian inhabitants. The state of affairs is kind of difficult as supporting Russia’s ‘particular army operation’ in Ukraine is one factor, however it’s fairly one other factor when there’s a risk of being drafted to actively contribute.”

It’s unclear if the dimensions of the protests will develop within the coming days, particularly contemplating that the Kremlin nonetheless harshly punishes those that criticise the army and Russia’s battle in Ukraine. 

“The Kremlin has sharply tightened laws within the spirit of Stalin’s time, which is able to imply extreme penalties for anybody evading mobilisation, refusing to take part within the battle and desertion,” Petrov stated.

“The repressive nature of the regime inevitably will increase. Altogether, radically altering the sport and elevating the stakes seems to be like a manifestation of Putin’s weak spot somewhat than power.”

Dr Miron additionally stated that there will probably be elevated stress on reservists to answer the decision to arms.

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“There will probably be numerous stress exercised upon those that refuse to mobilise or can’t accredit their incapacity to serve for no matter purpose,” she stated.

“It’s to imagine that those that aren’t ‘patriotic’ sufficient will attempt to make their case somewhat than avoiding response or flat-out refusing service. In lots of circumstances, individuals must select the smaller evil, no matter it may be of their explicit state of affairs. Given the present financial state of affairs, there’s a likelihood that these from poorer areas of the Russian Federation will take up this chance to earn some cash,” she stated.

If this does not work, what subsequent?

Orysia Lutsevych, head and analysis fellow on the Chatham Home’s Ukraine Discussion board, believes the partial mobilisation received’t be sufficient to show the tide of the battle and provides Russian troops the higher hand.

“Partial mobilisation is not going to have a decisive influence on the battlefield as a result of new recruits are untrained and never combat-ready,” she stated, including that she doesn’t see any of the initiatives pushed by the Kremlin as prone to succeed.

“Russian inner army infrastructure can hardly help common mobilisation because it was downgraded by latest ‘reforms’. The unlawful ‘referendums’ is not going to be recognised by Ukraine nor the West. It is not going to change the army marketing campaign the place Ukraine reserves the fitting to assault and ultimately liberate the territory. We’re prone to see extra sanctions in response to this transfer,” Lutsevych stated.

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“​​It’s fairly unbelievable that this mobilisation doesn’t work,” stated Dr Miron, mentioning that 300,000 reservists are “roughly the quantity that the Russian floor forces have on lively responsibility”. She added that whereas not everybody may help the marketing campaign in Ukraine, many may be within the monetary positive aspects concerned within the mobilisation.

However what’s subsequent for Russia will rely upon the results of this partial mobilisation, Dr Miron added.

“Whereas this doc [Wednesday’s decree] doesn’t miss the chance to escalate mobilisation, it stays to be seen what number of will probably be mobilised and if these numbers are sufficient to achieve the ‘objectives of the army operation’,” she stated.

“A full mobilisation would entail a declaration of battle. Whereas not fairly inconceivable, proper now it could appear that that is probably the most applicable possibility so as to not trigger an excessive amount of public unrest whereas bolstering the army capabilities on the entrance.

“As well as, if Luhansk and Donetsk and probably others be a part of the Russian Federation, there will probably be a necessity for everlasting presence to make sure that these territories may be defended. And the expertise in Izium has proven that Russia didn’t have sufficient manpower. So, in essence, it’s a technique to keep away from additional territorial losses as nicely.”

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Dr Luke March, Professor in Soviet and Put up-Soviet Politics and Director of Undergraduate Educating for Politics and Worldwide Relations on the College of Edinburgh, agrees that Putin will stir away from calling the battle in Ukraine a battle.

“Finally Putin doesn’t must do something and may attempt to fake [the conflict] is one thing apart from it’s – this will probably be preferable to admitting overtly that it’s a battle requiring full mobilisation, which runs the robust danger of individuals feeling deceived and inciting opposition,” Dr March stated. 

“If Western help doesn’t falter over a tough winter, and arms provides proceed, the steadiness of forces will more and more favour Ukraine, and the home issues for Putin will begin to develop a lot bigger,” Dr March added.

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Texas families plead for information on at least 23 girls missing from summer camp after floods

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Texas families plead for information on at least 23 girls missing from summer camp after floods

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Texas parents frantically posted photos of their young daughters on social media with pleas for information as at least 23 campers from an all-girls summer camp were unaccounted for Friday after floods tore through the state’s south-central region overnight.

At least 24 people were dead and many missing after a storm unleashed nearly a foot of rain just before dawn Friday and sent floodwaters gushing out of the Guadalupe River, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told reporters Friday evening. The flood-prone region known as Hill Country is dotted with century-old summer camps that draw thousands of kids annually from across the Lone Star State.

State officials said 23 to 25 girls from Camp Mystic, a riverside Christian camp in Hunt, Texas, still were unaccounted for. They declined to estimate how many people were missing across the region but said a massive search was underway, with 237 rescued so far.

“I’m asking the people of Texas, do some serious praying,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said. “On-your-knees kind of praying that we find these young girls.”

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A helicopter flies over the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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Rescuers evacuate some campers by helicopter

First responders scan the banks of the Guadalupe River for individuals swept away by flooding in Ingram, Texas, Friday, July 4, 2025. (Michel Fortier/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

First responders scan the banks of the Guadalupe River for individuals swept away by flooding in Ingram, Texas, Friday, July 4, 2025. (Michel Fortier/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

Texas Game Wardens said Friday afternoon that they had arrived at Camp Mystic and were starting to evacuate campers who had sheltered on higher ground.

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Elinor Lester, 13, said she was evacuated with her cabinmates by helicopter after wading through floodwaters. She recalled startling awake around 1:30 a.m. as thunder crackled and water pelted the cabin windows.

Lester was among the older girls housed on elevated ground known as Senior Hill. Cabins housing the younger campers, who can start attending at age 8, are situated along the riverbanks and were the first to flood, she said.

Families are reunited at a reunification center after flash flooding hit the area, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Families are reunited at a reunification center after flash flooding hit the area, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Campers in lower cabins sought shelter up the hill. By morning, they had no food, power or running water, she said. When rescuers arrived, Lester said they tied a rope for the girls to hold as they walked across a bridge with floodwaters whipping up around their calves and knees.

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“The camp was completely destroyed,” she said. “It was really scary. Everyone I know personally is accounted for, but there are people missing that I know of and we don’t know where they are.”

Her mother, Elizabeth Lester, said her son was nearby at Camp La Junta and also escaped. A counselor there woke up to find water rising in the cabin, opened a window and helped the boys swim out. Camp La Junta and another camp on the river, Camp Waldemar, said in Instagram posts that all campers and staff there were safe.

Elizabeth Lester sobbed when she finally saw her daughter, who was clutching a small teddy bear and a book. She said a friend’s daughter, who was a counselor for the younger children at Camp Mystic, was among the missing.

“My kids are safe, but knowing others are still missing is just eating me alive,” she said.

Families of missing campers worry

Dozens of families shared in local Facebook groups that they received devastating phone calls from safety officials informing them that their daughters had not yet been located among the washed-away camp cabins and downed trees.

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Camp Mystic said in an email to parents of the roughly 750 campers that if they have not been contacted directly, their child is accounted for.

At an elementary school in nearby Ingram that was being used as a reunification center, more than a hundred people stood around a courtyard Friday afternoon with hopes of seeing their loved ones emerge from buses dropping off those who had been evacuated. One young girl wearing a Camp Mystic T-shirt stood in a puddle in her white socks, sobbing in her mother’s arms.

Many families hoped to see loved ones who had been at campgrounds and mobile home parks in the area.

Families line up at a reunification center after flash flooding it the area, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Families line up at a reunification center after flash flooding it the area, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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Camp Mystic sits on a strip known as “flash flood alley,” said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, a charitable endowment that is collecting donations to help nonprofits responding to the disaster.

“When it rains, water doesn’t soak into the soil,” Dickson said. “It rushes down the hill.”

State officials began warning of potential deadly weather a day earlier. The National Weather Service had predicted 3 to 6 inches of rain in the region, but 10 inches fell.

The Guadalupe River rose to 26 feet within about 45 minutes in the early morning hours, submerging its flood gauge, Patrick said.

Decades prior, floodwaters engulfed a bus of teenage campers from another Christian camp along the Guadalupe River during devastating summer storms in 1987. A total of 10 campers from Pot O’ Gold Christian camp drowned after their bus was unable to evacuate in time from a site near Comfort, 33 miles (53 kilometers) east of Hunt.

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Flood turns Camp Mystic into a horror story

Chloe Crane, a teacher and former Camp Mystic counselor, said her heart broke when a fellow teacher shared an email from the camp about the missing girls.

“To be quite honest, I cried because Mystic is such a special place, and I just couldn’t imagine the terror that I would feel as a counselor to experience that for myself and for 15 little girls that I’m taking care of,” she said. “And it’s also just sadness, like the camp has been there forever and cabins literally got washed away.”

Crane said the camp, which was established in 1926, is a haven for young girls looking to gain confidence and independence. She recalled happy memories teaching her campers about journalism, making crafts and competing in a camp-wide canoe race at the end of each summer. Now for many campers and counselors, their happy place has turned into a horror story, she said.

___

Schoenbaum reported from Salt Lake City.

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UN report targeting Israel sparks backlash, author accused of overstepping her mandate

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UN report targeting Israel sparks backlash, author accused of overstepping her mandate

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A United Nations report targeting Israel and companies that operate within the country entitled “Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide” is sparking backlash and concern.

The report was authored and presented by U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese, a controversial figure who has been condemned by multiple nations for making allegedly antisemitic remarks. In her latest report, she calls for sanctions against “entities and individuals involved in activities that may endanger the Palestinians.”

UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. (Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS )

UN EXPERT REPEATS ISRAEL ‘GENOCIDE’ CLAIMS AFTER US CALLS FOR HER REMOVAL

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NGO Monitor Legal Advisor Anne Herzberg said that while it’s not surprising that Albanese would issue a scathing report on Israel, as she has done so many times in the past, this latest report was unique.  

“I think that the difference now is that this report explicitly endorses adopting BDS — boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel — in a very overt way,” Herzberg told Fox News Digital. She added that even though Albanese is an independent investigator, the report could be interpreted as the U.N. supporting the BDS movement against Israel.

In response to a Fox News Digital request for comment, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said “special procedures experts,” like Albanese “work on a voluntary basis,” do not receive a salary and are not U.N. staff.

“While the U.N. Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for special procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the U.N.,” OHCHR’s media team told Fox News Digital. “Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the U.N. or OHCHR.”

UN Human Rights Council

 Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 26, 2025. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)

REVEALED: THE EXTENSIVE PERKS UN OFFICIALS RECEIVE AMID BUDGET CRISIS

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Herzog told Fox News Digital that not only did Albanese overstep the boundaries of her role,  but so did the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC), as it does not have the authority to issue sanctions, something the report recommends.

“The U.N. Human Rights Council, which is where she presented her report, and that’s under whose auspices she is working, does not have the power under the U.N. charter to issue sanctions,” Herzog said. “And so not only has she overstepped her mandate as a rapporteur, the U.N. Human Rights Council by endorsing this, not endorsing the report, but by allowing this report to be published.”

Herzog said she saw “threatening and harassing” letters that Albanese sent to companies and NGOs “basically threatening them with being included on her boycott list and claiming that they were complicit in international crimes like genocide, apartheid, blocking self-determination or Palestinians.” 

Francesca Albanese

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, speaks during a press conference at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, on Dec. 11, 2024. (REUTERS/Pierre Albouy)

ISRAEL TURNS TABLES ON UN OFFICIAL CLAIMING ‘GENOCIDE’ IN GAZA WITH BASIC QUESTIONS

The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights is a voluntary code that companies can sign on to as a pledge to be mindful of how their operations run and their customers are treated. Herzog argued that Albanese “weaponizes this voluntary positive, pluralistic framework” and that she does so improperly, making it a “binding punitive framework.”

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“Not only is she distorting international law, she’s distorting this UNGP framework, and I suspect that if this type of activity of hers gains purchase or other people start following in her footsteps, she’s going to be responsible for basically destroying the whole area of business and human rights.”

Albanese presented her report to the UNHRC on Thursday, just two days after the U.S. called for her removal over her “years-long pattern of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.” 

In the report, Albanese claims that corporations have aided Israel in “its ongoing genocidal campaign in Gaza.” She repeated this claim at UNHRC on Thursday, charging Israel with being “responsible for one of the cruelest genocides in modern history.” She also accused Israel of using the war in Gaza as a testing ground for new weapons “to exterminate a people without restraint.”

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva Daniel Meron, who was not present at the UNHRC meeting, told Fox News Digital that through her report Albanese is “willingly spearheading the global efforts to promote terrorism propaganda.”

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“This report, just like all others by this rapporteur, is riddled with inflammatory rhetoric and is legally baseless,” Meron told Fox News Digital. “Her obsession with demonizing Israel is clear in the narrative she pushes.”

Albanese did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions or request for comment in time for publication.

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Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,227

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Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,227

Here are the key events on day 1,227 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is how things stand on Saturday, July 5 :

Fighting

  • Russian air defences have downed dozens of Ukrainian drones in widely dispersed parts of the country, including two near the country’s second-largest city, Saint Petersburg, according to officials.
  • All external power lines supplying electricity to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine were down for several hours before being restored, the UN nuclear watchdog said.
  • Ukrainian authorities blamed Russian shelling for the power cut, adding that technicians had to take action to restore it.
  • Dutch and German intelligence agencies say that Russia is increasing its use of prohibited chemical weapons in Ukraine, including the World War I-era poison gas chloropicrin. Moscow denies this.

Weapons

  • United States President Donald Trump said he discussed sending Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine in calls with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
  • A German government spokesman said the country was exploring the possibility of purchasing more Patriot air defence systems from the US for Ukraine.

Politics and diplomacy

  • Trump said that he discussed sanctions with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a Thursday call, who is worried about them and understands they might be forthcoming.
  • The US president repeated that he was “very unhappy” with his Russian counterpart, adding: “He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people – it is no good.”
  • Zelenskyy says he agreed with Trump, to work to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences, as concerns mounted in Kyiv over US military aid deliveries. The two leaders had a “very important and fruitful conversation” by phone on Friday, Zelenskyy said.
  • German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius will travel to Washington later this month for talks with his US counterpart about air defence systems, as well as production capacities, the ministry said.
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