УКРОПИ

Africans recruited to work in Russia say they were duped into building drones for use in Ukraine

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Russia-Ukraine war appears frozen in place as winter approaches

WASHINGTON — Neither rising death tolls nor plunging temperatures are likely to change the trajectory of Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to senior U.S. officials charged with supporting Kyiv’s fight against Moscow’s forces. 

The officials, briefing reporters Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss battlefield developments, said fighting over the past several weeks has resulted in only minor changes to the front lines, with few indications Russia is making any adjustments.

“It’s an attritional strategy,” said a senior U.S. military official. “It’s kind of the Russian way of war that they continue to throw mass into the problem.”

That willingness to try to overwhelm Ukrainian positions with sheer numbers has cost Russia’s military, according to the latest U.S. military assessments.

The U.S. estimates Russian forces have suffered 600,000 casualties, killed and wounded, since Moscow first launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 — a toll that U.S. officials said surpasses the number of Russian casualties in any conflict since World War II.

September has been especially costly, with Russia sustaining more casualties last month than in any other month of the war, officials said. 

Russia’s military has also suffered in other ways.

Senior U.S. officials estimate Ukraine has destroyed or damaged more than 30 medium to large Russian ships stationed in the Black Sea, forcing Russia to relocate its Black Sea fleet. Ukraine is also thought to have destroyed more than two-thirds of Russia’s prewar tank inventory.

“[It is] forcing the Russian military to dig into Soviet-era stockpiles and fuel tanks from World War II,” said a senior U.S. defense official.

And then there are the Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian ammunition depots, believed to have destroyed hundreds of thousands of Russian and North Korean-made rounds.

U.S. officials said the damage would likely slow delivery of ammunition and artillery rounds to the front lines.

Still, they warned, the Kremlin appears undeterred, even it means more Russian casualties.

“Russia does continue to devote significant amounts of resources and … lives toward a grinding campaign, redoubling its efforts in the east,” said the senior defense official. 

“Russia has also demonstrated time and time again a willingness to do whatever it takes to attempt to force the Ukrainians to capitulate, including purposely targeting Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure.”

For now, senior U.S. officials assess that Russian President Vladimir Putin has managed to avoid calling for a mass mobilization, like the call-up of some 300,000 reservists back in September 2022, thanks in part to pay increases for Russian volunteers. But just how long Putin can sustain Russia’s efforts without new troops is not clear.

As for Ukraine, senior U.S. officials point to the country’s success with its domestically produced drones and even its offensive into Russia’s Kursk region as reasons for hope.

“My assessment is that the Ukrainians will be able to maintain their position in Kursk for some amount of time, here into the future,” said the senior U.S. military official. “Several months and potentially beyond.”

The official said Ukraine’s military leadership appears to be looking at the big picture.

“Certainly, they’re focused on how they get through the winter, but they’re thinking a little bit longer term about how they set conditions for success next year,” the official said. 

“The Ukrainians are thinking forward to 2025,” the U.S. official added. “That includes things like ensuring that the additional brigades can come online as they increase their recruitment, as they get better equipment and training, reconstituting brigades that they’re cycling off the front line and really building up their combat power for the future.”
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Ukrainian news outlet says it faces ‘pressure’ from Zelenskyy’s office

WASHINGTON — A prominent Ukrainian news outlet reported Wednesday it is facing “ongoing and systematic pressure” from the office of the Ukrainian president that is threatening the outlet’s work.

In a statement on its website, the online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda said officials are being blocked from communicating with the outlet’s journalists, its reporters are being denied access to official events and businesses are being pressured to stop advertising on its website.

In the statement, the outlet also highlighted a tense exchange between Ukrainska Pravda journalist Roman Kravets and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a recent press conference. During the interaction, Zelenskyy questioned the outlet’s editorial independence.

Ukrainska Pravda editor-in-chief Sevgil Musayeva told VOA it was important for the outlet to be honest with readers about the pressure it faces from the government.

“Ukraine is fighting for the right to exist but also for the right to be democratic, independent and transparent,” Musayeva said from Kyiv.

“And freedom of press and freedom of speech is one of [the] essential values of democracy. That’s why we will protect this value as much as we can,” Musayeva continued.

Ukrainska Pravda said it views the government’s actions as attempts to influence the outlet’s editorial policy.

The outlet has been facing this kind of pressure for about one year, but it has become even worse over the past two months, according to Musayeva. From now on, Ukrainska Pravda said, it will make public any attempts by the president’s office to pressure the outlet, according to the statement.

“Each such attempt only strengthens our motivation to expose corruption and mismanagement in the highest ranks of power,” the statement said. “We call on everyone who values freedom of speech and the independence of Ukrainian journalism to join us in defending these values.”

Media watchdogs — and Ukrainian journalists — have expressed concern about the state of press freedom in Ukraine in recent months amid Russia’s war on the country.

In June, Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, said press freedom was “shrinking” in Ukraine, with challenges that include rising political pressure, surveillance and threats.

“The pressure, threats and interference must stop,” Jeanne Cavelier, head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, said in the June statement. “Despite their admirable resilience after Russia launched its full scale invasion on 24 February 2022, the Ukrainian media landscape remains fragile.”

The Ukrainian president’s office, the Foreign Ministry and Ukraine’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOA emails requesting comment for this story.

Musayeva told VOA she believes the pressure is in response to critical coverage Ukrainska Pravda has produced about the Ukrainian government, including on misconduct and corruption.

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Musayeva said, there has been a sense of less tolerance for news stories critical of the government. Still, the outlet will continue to cover all aspects of government, good or bad, she said.

“We continue our critical coverage on some bad governance,” she said. “We still see that corruption didn’t disappear.”

Musayeva said she recognizes the importance for the media to cover positive stories about Ukraine.

“But at the same time, the role of independent media in democratic countries is to provide information for the people and truthful information for the people about the current situation,” she said.
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Wimbledon tennis tournament replaces line judges with AI in break with tradition

LONDON — That long-held Wimbledon tradition of line judges dressed in elegant uniforms is no more. 

The All England Club announced Wednesday that artificial intelligence will be used to make the “out” and “fault” calls at the championships from 2025. 

Wimbledon organizers said the decision to adopt live electronic line calling was made following extensive testing at the 2024 tournament and “builds on the existing ball-tracking and line-calling technology that has been in place for many years.” 

“We consider the technology to be sufficiently robust and the time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in our officiating,” said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club. “For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour.” 

Bolton said Wimbledon had a responsibility to “balance tradition and innovation.” 

“Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating setup at the championships for many decades,” she said, “and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service.” 

Line-calling technology has long been used at Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments to call whether serves are in or out. 

The All England Club also said Wednesday that the ladies’ and gentlemen’s singles finals will be scheduled to take place at the later time of 4 p.m. local time on the second Saturday and Sunday, respectively — and after doubles finals on those days. 

Bolton said the moves have been made to ensure the day of the finals “builds towards the crescendo of the ladies’ and gentlemen’s singles finals, with our champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience.”

 
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China says anti-dumping move on EU brandy is legitimate trade measure

BEIJING — China’s anti-dumping measures against brandies imported from the European Union are “legitimate trade remedy measures,” the commerce ministry said on Wednesday, a day after imposing the temporary curb.

French brands such as Hennessy and Remy Martin will face the strictures, adopted just days after the 27-nation bloc voted for tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), sparking its biggest trade row with Beijing in a decade.

China’s commerce ministry said preliminary findings of an investigation showed that dumping of brandy from the European Union threatened “substantial damage” to domestic industry.

On Wednesday the ministry said the EU’s actions against Chinese EVs “seriously lack a factual and legal basis” and “clearly violate” World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

China has protested strongly to the WTO, it added.

Trade tensions have surged since the European Commission said last week it would press ahead with tariffs on China-made EVs, even after Germany, the bloc’s largest economy, rejected them.

Another sign of rising trade tension was the ministry’s remarks on Tuesday that an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into EU pork products would deliver “objective and fair” decisions when it wraps up.

It also said it was considering a hike in tariffs on imports of large-engine vehicles, which would hit German producers hardest. German exports to China of vehicles with engines 2.5 liters in size, or larger, reached $1.2 billion last year.
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British Foreign Secretary Lammy to visit China in bid to reset ties, sources say

BEIJING — Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy will visit China next week, sources familiar with the plan said, as the new Labor government seeks less confrontational ties with the world’s second-largest economy and to resume trade and investment talks.

British officials have said they want to recalibrate many of the previous Conservative Party-led government’s positions on China, which it described as an “epoch-defining challenge,” particularly around accepting Chinese job-creating investment.

But Britain is unlikely to budge on issues such as Chinese firms’ involvement in providing key infrastructure, human rights and restoring the license of state broadcaster CGTN, as it is controlled by China’s ruling Communist Party.

Lammy, who has vowed to overhaul Britain’s ties with China, will meet Chinese officials in Beijing and representatives of British firms in Shanghai, two of the four sources, who all spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

His itinerary has not yet been finalized, however, another person familiar with the planning said.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said ministerial travel would be announced in the usual way. China’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

During a telephone call in August, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who took office the previous month, told Chinese President Xi Jinping their countries must be able to talk frankly about disagreements while pursuing closer economic ties and co-operation on global issues.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves is also considering traveling to China in the near future, said two sources.

Her visit will aim to revive trade and investment talks that are supposed to take place annually. The last round of the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, as it is called, was held in 2019.

China is Britain’s sixth largest trading partner, accounting for 5% of total trade, British government figures show.

But questions on Hong Kong, espionage accusations, and plans for a new Chinese embassy in London await resolution and may slow plans to resume talks and promises of fresh investment.

Last week, two Britons, including a former researcher for a senior British lawmaker, pleaded not guilty to a charge of spying for China.

That followed China’s accusation in June that British foreign intelligence service MI6 recruited two staff members from unnamed state bodies to act as spies.

Beijing is also waiting for a go-ahead on plans to build a new embassy in London after they were thrown out on security grounds in December 2022.

In recent years, the two countries have also traded barbs on Hong Kong, a former British colony handed back to Beijing in 1997.

More than 180,000 people have moved to Britain from Hong Kong under a special visa program set up in response to a crackdown on dissent in the Asian financial hub.

In September, a senior Labor lawmaker said Britain should outlaw imports of products made by forced labor in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang.
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MI5 spy chief says Russia, Iran behind ‘staggering’ rise in deadly plots

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Hungary’s Sovereignty Protection law a threat to independent media, analysts say

The European Commission has filed a lawsuit over Hungary’s Sovereignty Protection legislation, saying it violates EU law. Opponents see the law as a threat to the few remaining independent media outlets in Hungary, which rely on international funding sources. VOA’s Eastern Europe bureau chief Myroslava Gongadze reports from Budapest. VOA footage and video editing by Daniil Batushchak.
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