live ticker territorial gains
turning point reached? US government sees new momentum in Ukraine war
Status: 5:30 a.m
“The Ukrainians have tricked the Russians”
In the war of aggression, Ukraine reports significant gains in territory. “The self-propelled howitzers were able to make a difference through their skilful, operationally tactical use,” believes military expert Thomas Wiegold.
The US government sees a move in Ukraine’s favor following the Russian invasion. According to US intelligence services, Russia has secretly supported political parties and candidates abroad with hundreds of millions of euros. More in the live ticker.
Dhe US government sees a new dynamic in the war with Russia in view of the military successes of the Ukrainian troops. “I think what you’re seeing is certainly a shift, a momentum in Ukraine’s armed forces, particularly in the north,” National Security Council communications director John Kirby said in Washington on Tuesday. However, he wants to leave it up to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to decide whether a turning point has actually been reached.
When asked by reporters whether a turning point in the war had been reached, US President Joe Biden said it was difficult to say. According to journalists traveling with him, Biden emphasized that the Ukrainians had made significant progress during a visit to Wilmington in the state of Delaware. But it will be a long way.
Referring to the recent development, Kirby said: “I don’t want to speak for the foreign military, but I think in the north we have seen the Russians evacuate their defensive positions and retreat.” Russian troops have left their fighting positions and theirs supplies left behind. “They call it a repositioning, but it is certain that they retreated in the face of Ukrainian forces clearly on the offensive.” At the same time, Kirby stressed that Russia remains at great military capability.
Referring to the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus, Kirby said it was difficult to talk regarding a motivation for the renewed conflict. Russia is traditionally seen as Armenia’s protecting power in the Caucasus. However, the forces of the Russian military are largely tied down because of the war of aggression in Ukraine that has been going on for six months. It is therefore possible that some leaders think that Russia is busy elsewhere, Kirby said when asked if Azerbaijan was currently taking advantage of this. “But here, too, we should be careful with speculation.”
5:28 am: US intelligence – Russia covertly funded foreign politicians with $300 million
According to US intelligence services, Russia has secretly supported political parties and candidates abroad with hundreds of millions of euros. According to an intelligence report published on Tuesday, at least $300 million has been transferred from Moscow to more than two dozen countries since 2014 in order to influence national politics there. The sum mentioned is probably just “the tip of the iceberg,” said a senior US government representative of the AFP news agency.
Russia probably “secretly transferred more money that was not discovered,” said the government official. The report does not contain any information on which countries the donations from Russia are said to have gone to. Among other things, the Russian ambassador is said to have made several million dollars available to a presidential candidate in an unspecified Asian country.
A source familiar with the report’s findings also said that Russia spent regarding half a million dollars supporting Albania’s centre-right Democratic Party in the 2017 elections. Accordingly, parties or candidates in Bosnia, Montenegro and Madagascar are said to have been financed.
