“Ukraine – Russia”

The indecision of its allies could doom the country to a long war of attrition that’s to Russia’s advantage.

Asked recently why international powers that lined up on the side of the White Army in Russia’s barbaric civil war failed to affect the outcome, military historian Antony Beevor noted the West “couldn’t make up their minds” — the international backers of the Bolsheviks’ opponents were divided and hesitant.

Another key factor in the defeat of the Cossacks and the White Armies in the south of Russia was the difficulty in resupplying them. “The Reds had a huge advantage with internal lines [of supply],” Beevor told the BBC’s History magazine.

That’s what saved the Bolsheviks in late 1919 — to the frustration of Britain’s then Secretary of State for War Winston Churchill. “I can’t believe this. The Reds were in full retreat, and now suddenly they seem to be beating the Whites on every front. What’s happened?” an exasperated Churchill noted in a memo.

In Russia, critics of the war in Ukraine are increasingly being reported to the police. DW spoke with Russians who have been betrayed by their own relatives, friends, colleagues and neighbors.

In the wake of Russia’s February 24 invasion of neighboring Ukraine, some citizens have taken a stance against what they call an unjust war of aggression. As a result, they have suffered the consequences in a society where state propaganda is ubiquitous, the use of the term “war” is forbidden, and those who dare to speak out against the Kremlin’s “special operation” face long jail terms. DW spoke to three individuals about their personal run-ins with authorities after being denounced by family, neighbors and colleagues.

‘At the moment, a lot of people are going crazy’

ROME – Pope Francis has taken a new series of swipes at Russia for its actions in Ukraine, saying its troops were brutal, cruel and ferocious, while praising “brave” Ukrainians for fighting for survival.

But in the text of a conversation he had last month with editors of Jesuit media and published on Tuesday, he also said the situation was not black and white and that the war was “perhaps in some way provoked.”

Russia earned nearly $100bn (£82.3bn) from oil and gas exports during the first 100 days of the war in Ukraine, according to a report.

Revenues have been falling since March, as many countries shunned Russian supplies, but remain high, the independent Centre For Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found.

It also warned of potential loopholes in efforts to curb imports from Russia.

The EU, US and UK are among those to have pledged to cut Russian imports.

Putin has pivoted to a war of attrition

More than 100 days on, the fate of Russia’s campaign to capture the entirety of the Luhansk region still hangs in the balance. If the whole Luhansk region falls, the rest of Ukraine’s east may very likely follow. Both the Russian and Ukrainian forces have committed their forces here for strategic reasons — the territory is critical for a continued Russian advance in the direction of cities such as Dnipro. President Zelenskyy understands this, which is why he made an unannounced visit to Lysychansk at the weekend.

#Ukraine: A Ukrainian drone filming a Russian Kamaz truck being destroyed. Given the lack of artillery craters and extremely accurate strike, it may have been hit by something that isn't the usual artillery 😏. pic.twitter.com/vVgrj12nOP

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) June 10, 2022

A man swimming in the sea off an Odesa beach in Ukraine has been blown up in front of his family by an apparent mine.

Footage shared by Odesa Region Police shows the sudden blast yards from the shore, scattering the 50-year-old’s body parts across the beach as his distressed wife, son and friend watched on.

A man in Odessa went swimming in the sea and died after being blown up by a mine.

The beaches in #Odessa were mined by Ukrainians in the spring of 2022. pic.twitter.com/B0MpCIEUOo

— Егор (@aleksandrov_76) June 11, 2022

The UK has drastically increased the volume of natural gas being pumped to the EU amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, powering a record monthly rise in goods exports to the continent despite Brexit.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show EU goods exports rose for the third consecutive month to £16.4bn in April, the highest monthly level in current prices since comparable records began in 1997.

In Canada … Oil prices are rising, but Canada is getting comparatively less for every barrel — here’s why

Russia has killed hundreds of civilians in the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv using indiscriminate shelling and widely-banned cluster munitions, according to new research by Amnesty International.

Amnesty said it had found evidence of Russian forces repeatedly using 9N210/9N235 cluster bombs, as well as “scatterable” munitions – rockets that eject smaller mines that explode later at timed intervals.

#Ukraine: A Russian tank, moving as a part of convoy, was blown up on an anti-tank mine placed by the 57th Infantry Brigade in the vicinity of Lysychansk, #Luhansk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/JJbOUozHkY

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) June 11, 2022

Ukraine’s war with Russia is heading towards its fifth month amid increasing local concern that dwindling media attention could lead to a gradual loss of western support just as Moscow is making slow but steady gains on the frontline.

The anxiety reflects a growing normalisation of the conflict in which large parts of the country feel distant from the war in eastern Donbas – as it becomes clear that casualties are mounting and economic costs soaring. “It’s a very real threat, that people get tired psychologically,” said Lesia Vasylenko, an opposition MP with the liberal Holos party.

International media coverage has dropped markedly in the past two months, she added, and “as that number goes down further, there’s a very high risk of the support from the west going down”.

“I am not Russian!” This is the message on a new T-shirt that it is reportedly selling like hot cakes in Kazan, capital of the autonomous Republic of Tatarstan. A different version, bearing the slogan “I am not Russian, Love me!” is doing well in Ufa, capital of Bashkortostan, another autonomous republic within the Russian Federation.

“But if Zelensky and his advisers have to one day confront the realities of the war and actually approach a negotiation table once more and consider—or make—territorial concessions, that could leave Zelensky on the precipice of political turmoil, according to Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.”

More… Biden Throws Zelensky Under The Bus: Ukraine Leader ‘Brushed Off’ Invasion Warnings

A former British soldier has been killed fighting for the Ukrainian armed forces, his family has said.

Jordan Gatley, who left the British army in March and travelled to Ukraine, was described as “a hero” by his father Dean in a tribute on social media.

He died in the battle for the eastern city of Severodonetsk, which has seen intense fighting in recent days.

The Foreign Office has said it is “supporting the family of a British man who has died in Ukraine”.

A specialist gang is smuggling valuable historic artefacts out of Ukraine and into Russia, according to an international team of academics and digital technology experts who are tracking thefts.

“There is now very strong evidence this is a purposive Russian move, with specific paintings and ornaments targeted and taken out to Russia,” said Brian Daniels, an anthropologist working with archaeologists, historians and digital imaging specialists.

Eldar Gadzhiev’s heart sank when he heard the sputtering from the engine of his Skoda one day in April. Gadzhiev, who owns a fleet of four cars that he leases as taxicabs in Moscow, knew it was a terrible and expensive time for a breakdown.

Prices for spare parts, if you even could find them, had spiralled out of control since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine two months earlier. “I understood that I was in a bad situation,” he said. “I thought: the repairs are going to cost as much as the car.”

Dealerships were useless, he said. His car parts shop told him that the waiting list was months long, time he could not wait to repair his vehicle.

There are plenty of job vacancy announcements on Russian employment websites and social media these days: drivers, dishwashers, cooks, programmers, grocery store cashiers.

Also on offer: jobs/positions fighting in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Now in its fourth month, with no end in sight, the invasion is morphing into a war of attrition, as Russia struggles to achieve a semblance of victory and Ukraine mounts a dogged defense, often against the odds. Both sides are inflicting heavy casualties; Ukrainian officials say they’re losing more than 100 soldiers a day.