My daily chronicle of news about the Trump administration (20 January 2017 – 20 January 2021), Republicans, Democrats, corporations, courts, resistance, and persistence continues to wind down. I am still posting important articles, especially ones that reflect the differences between the Biden administration and the Trump administration and ones that address the toxic legacy of the Trump administration and Republicans. I hope to devote more of my time to posting muckraking articles on my site and to working with my local activist group in pursuit of progressive change and a stronger democracy. Thanks for reading!
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Wednesday, 1 June 2022:
War in Ukraine: With the war in Ukraine nearing its 100th day, Russia and the United States traded barbs over Washington’s pledge to bolster Kyiv’s military defense with advanced rocket systems, while the key Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk appears to be on the brink of capture, The Washington Post, Reis Thebault, Marisa Iati, Annabelle Timsit, Adela Suliman, Bryan Pietsch, and Rachel Pannett, Wednesday, 1 June 2022: “After President Biden announced the shipment of more firepower to Ukraine, Moscow accused America of ‘pouring fuel on the fire.’ But Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied that U.S. officials were escalating the conflict, and he urged Russia to end the war. Meanwhile, the battle for the Donbas continued, and local officials said Russian forces were close to claiming full control of Severodonetsk, a city important to Moscow’s strategy in the east. If Russia can capture the city, it would give the Kremlin a badly needed symbolic and territorial victory.
What Happened on Day 98 of the War in Ukraine. Pitched street battles raged in Sievierodonetsk as Russian forces pushed into the city center. Germany promised Ukraine an advanced air-defense system, a day after the U.S. said it would send more powerful artillery. The New York Times, Andrew E. Kramer, Wednesday, 1 June 2022: “Though much of the world’s focus in the war has been on Russia’s disorganized and flawed campaign, Ukraine, too, is struggling. Ukraine’s army has suffered heavy losses, shown signs of disarray and, step by step, fallen back from some long-held areas in Donbas, the eastern region that is now the war’s epicenter. The momentum Ukraine generated after pushing Russian forces back from Kyiv, the capital, and Kharkiv, the second-largest city, has given way in the east to weeks of give-and-take over villages, heavy shelling — and a stream of Ukrainian dead and wounded from the battlefields. Ukraine’s troops now face a Russian force that has shifted strategy from the hasty, reckless advances of the early weeks of the war to a creeping, grinding march enabled by massive artillery bombardments.”
Russia-Ukraine war: What happened today (June 1), NPR, NPR Staff, Wednesday, 1 June 2022: “As Wednesday draws to a close in Kyiv and in Moscow, here are the key developments of the day: Russian forces closed in on the last remaining areas under Ukrainian control in the eastern Luhansk region. The Luhansk regional governor said 80% of the city of Sievierodonetsk is under occupation, but Ukrainian forces have launched counterattacks and captured Russian troops. He said Ukraine still held onto the nearby city of Lysychansk, a militarily advantageous area on a hill. The U.S. is sending more advanced rocket systems and munitions to Ukraine, but not to be shot into Russia. This will include longer-range weapons as part of a new military aid package estimated at $700 million. President Biden wrote the new weapons will enable Ukrainians to make more precision strikes, but stressed that ‘we are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders.’ Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the weapons increased the risk of a direct conflict breaking out between Russia and the U.S. Germany also promised heavy weapons to Ukraine, including an air-defense system. Russia’s nuclear forces held drills northeast of Moscow, according to the Russian news agency Interfax, citing the country’s defense ministry. The drills in the Ivanovo region were said to involve 1,000 troops and more than 100 units of equipment, including Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, reported to have a range of over 6,800 miles. Ukraine made headway prosecuting Russians for war crimes. A court in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava handed guilty verdicts to two Russian soldiers — the second ruling in a war crimes trial in the country since Russia invaded, The Washington Post reports. The court sentenced the soldiers on Tuesday to 11 1/2 years for ‘violating the laws and customs of war’ when they shelled civilian sites in a town in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Ukraine’s chief prosecutor said 80 alleged war crimes cases were underway of around 15,000 incidents reported since the start of the February invasion. Ukraine’s soccer team won 3-1 against Scotland for a chance to qualify for this year’s World Cup. The game in Glasgow was the Ukrainian team’s first competitive match since Russia invaded their country on Feb. 24. Next the team will face Wales. Russia’s team has been banned, and the Ukrainian team got several extra months to prepare. Ukraine has not qualified to play in the World Cup since 2006.”
Continue reading Aftermath of the Trump Administration, June 2022: