UPDATE: Saturday, Jan 7, 2023 · 9:02:27 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
Another video of the fighting around Soldedar.
Soledar, fighting continues as you can hear. Small arms are heard, indicating close-quarters combat. pic.twitter.
In the fourteenth round of his failure to bribe his way into the speaker’s chair, Kevin McCarthy missed by one vote. Then McCarthy went up to Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert and tried to get them to change their votes. Whatever Gaetz said in reply, it snapped McCarthy around as he was walking down the aisle and Rep, Mike Rogers had to be restrained—as in grabbed by the head—to keep him from plunging into the seats to get at Gaetz.
In the fourteenth round of his failure to bribe his way into the speaker’s chair, Kevin McCarthy missed by one vote. Then McCarthy went up to Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert and tried to get them to change their votes. Whatever Gaetz said in reply, it snapped McCarthy around as he was walking down the aisle and Rep, Mike Rogers had to be restrained—as in grabbed by the head—to keep him from plunging into the seats to get at Gaetz.
UPDATE: Thursday, Jan 5, 2023 · 9:20:25 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
Honestly, it’s raining steel on Ukraine today — in a good way. UK now suggesting that it may send tanks to Ukraine, though whether that means challengers are incoming or whether the UK is going to send more tanks around NATO to free up additional T-72s, we don’t know.
UPDATE: Wednesday, Jan 4, 2023 · 7:51:24 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
Nice, the first T-90S loss. The T-90S is the export version of the T-90A without Shtora-1 (the eyes), but with additional Kontakt-5 reactive armour. https://t.co/iiqMsZMlmZ pic.twitter.
UPDATE: Tuesday, Jan 3, 2023 · 8:43:05 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
Just a quick look at the area around Kupyansk, where nothing much seems to have changed in the last week.
Kupyansk Area. Open in another tab for a larger view.
I’ve added red explosions to this map to note the locations that the Ukrainian Army reported as either being shelled, or repelling an attack, on Jan 2.
Hey there, I hope you got every present you wanted, that all your friends and family are well, and that you have a warm cup of something laced with pumpkin pie spice close at hand. Because this may be the gloomiest, soot-stained story to come down your chimney this holiday season.
When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the U.S. Congress, there were moments in his speech that generated spontaneous applause and standing ovations. But there was at least one moment that Zelenskyy likely expected to get a much bigger response from his American audience.
It’s easy to think of Zelenskyy back in Kyiv, planning this trip with his small circle of advisers, wondering just what he might say in order to best serve the needs of Ukraine.
As the end of the year rolls up, each of us who has been involved in writing Ukraine updates in the 300+ days of this illegal, unprovoked invasion has been charged with the task of picking their own “top 10” moments in this struggle.
When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in front of Congress, his speech included a not-so-subtle hint at what Ukraine needs to prosecute their counteroffensive to a successful conclusion.
Ukraine never asked the American soldiers to fight on our land instead of us. I assure you that Ukrainian soldiers can perfectly operate American tanks and planes themselves.
When you look around America these days, it’s hard to feel like there hasn’t been some kind of Invasion of the Body Snatchers event. So many people seem not just anxious, but genuinely militant in their desire to bend back the arc of history. So many seem to be willing to work against their own best interests only because it brings other people pain.
UPDATE: Sunday, Dec 25, 2022 · 10:28:08 PM +00:00
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kos
Christmas Eve on the front line pic.twitter.com/n6OtITz2dy— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) December 25, 2022
Merry Christmas, everyone.
This might not seen at first to have much to do with Ukraine. There’s not a tank or APC in sight and though there are drones, they’re of a very different sort. Still, hang with me for a moment.
UPDATE: Saturday, Dec 24, 2022 · 9:45:52 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
#NewsMap Great news from #Opytne, just south of Bakhmut, where Ukrainian forces regained around 80% of the settlement. pic.twitter.com/FDsbTIjoJG— Julian Röpcke🇺🇦 (@JulianRoepcke) December 24, 2022
The latest advances show that Ukraine has reportedly liberated a series of four villages just west of Svatove.
UPDATE: Friday, Dec 23, 2022 · 9:33:32 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
This is what they are doing now to Kharkiv – a city that they totally believed was part of the “Russian world”. What will they do to the OTHERS?? pic.twitter.
UPDATE: Thursday, Dec 22, 2022 · 11:09:38 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
💬 Russian MFA Spokesperson Maria Zakharova: Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations @SergiyKyslytsya tweeted a new flag of Ukraine 👇 This is exactly what we’ve been talking about all these years – though no one believed. Well, congrats! https://t.
On Tuesday evening, the House Ways and Means Committee voted 24 to 16 to release information it has obtained on Donald Trump’s tax returns. Some of that information has already been made available to the public. The report shows that Trump, while running as a successful billionaire, reported massive losses on his business dealings in the years just before entering the White House.
The information released to the public includes the years 2015 through 2020.
UPDATE: Wednesday, Dec 21, 2022 · 12:07:43 AM +00:00
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kos
Woah, this is the first trip Zelenskyy will make out of Ukraine since the war began.
NEWS w/ @ChristopherJM @JamesPoliti: @ZelenskyyUa expected to visit the White House and Congress on Wednesday in his first trip since Russia invaded Ukraine https://t.
UPDATE: Friday, Dec 16, 2022 · 6:45:17 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
From the White House press pool coverage:
POTUS boarded AF1 at 1:03 p.m. He responded to a question about sending air support to Ukraine and said: “You’ll hear in a few minutes.
UPDATE: Friday, Dec 16, 2022 · 8:08:34 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
It’s not over.
Overnight, at least nine journalists were banned from Twitter in a vivid demonstration that new owner Elon Musk views the idea of consistent, fair rules for everyone with nothing but contempt. Some of the journalists involved had been reporting on the earlier suspension of the ElonJet account, which posted already public information about the flight plans of his personal jet.
UPDATE: Friday, Dec 16, 2022 · 3:47:56 AM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
So far, nothing from @bariweiss or @mtaibbi on the banning of journalists from Twitter.— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) December 16, 2022
UPDATE: Friday, Dec 16, 2022 · 3:33:44 AM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Musk is now claiming that the journalists involved “posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates.
UPDATE: Thursday, Dec 15, 2022 · 11:33:32 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
For anyone who was actually concerned about those forces from Belarus that were all over the media two days ago…
🔙 The 38th Airborne Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Belarus, which was transferred to the Ukrainian border as part of a sudden check of combat readiness, is already returning to Brest— Ukrainska Pravda in Engl
The collection of texts from former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows continues to turn up almost unending examples of Republicans behaving not just badly, but potentially criminally. The number of Republicans who contacted Meadows both before and after Jan.
UPDATE: Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 · 8:11:12 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
I find this incredible in a direction that I can’t even name. Remember the opera theater in Mariupol? Early in the war Russia bombed this facility, even though it was not just a classic landmark of the city, but was a bomb shelter which had signs visible from above reading “children inside.
UPDATE: Wednesday, Dec 14, 2022 · 4:40:40 AM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
The situation in Bakhmut is reported to be bad and getting worse this evening. Russia launching wave attacks one on top of another, and coming at the city from multiple directions. Even though Ukraine has been able to push back some of these attacks, and even reclaim ground in some areas, the situation is approaching a critical point.
UPDATE: Sunday, Dec 11, 2022 · 6:06:14 AM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
I know this is all deadly serious, but it reads so odd that by now it’s like a satire of a battle.
The attack down Patrica Lumumby Street has met its resistance (1). I don’t know *exactly* where. Somewhere between the drywall and ceramic factories. I think.
UPDATE: Friday, Dec 9, 2022 · 7:57:47 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
From the person of the year…
Thankful to @POTUS for another security aid package. And for unwavering leading support 🇺🇦 in our fight against Russian aggression.
The flu virus can infect practically every species of mammal. It’s also capable of infecting birds. For a disease to readily infect two groups whose last common ancestor lived somewhere between 320 and 340 million years ago is pretty unusual, but far from unheard of. After all, there are good half a dozen bacterial diseases that you can get from handling a turtle. Even so, flu is extraordinary in how it has adapted to such a variety of hosts.
When Rep. Bennie Thompson first stated that the House select committee on Jan. 6 intended to send referrals for criminal charges to the Department of Justice, he said the committee was in general agreement, but hadn’t yet determined just how many charges it would forward.
“I wish I could tell you one, two, three, four,” said Thompson, “but that’s all still being discussed.
The Department of Justice has asked District Court Judge Beryl Howell to hold “Trump’s office” in contempt over refusals to comply with a May subpoena to produce classified documents. Details of just who this affects and what action is being requested are not yet available, as the filing has been made under seal.
The Washington Post reports that, according to their sources, Judge Howell has not yet responded to this request.
UPDATE: Thursday, Dec 8, 2022 · 6:55:45 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
In addition to the explosions at the airport outside Berdyansk, there are now reported explosions underway at the airport in occupied Melitopol. Again, it’s unclear if this is preparatory to other actions, or intended to reduce Russian drone / missile attacks on civilian locations.