Ukraine Briefly

August 10, 2022

Ukraine, Briefly

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• Guerrilla forces loyal to Kyiv are killing pro-Moscow officials, blowing up bridges and trains, and assisting the Ukrainian military by pinpointing vital targets in a rising threat to Russia’s grip on seized territories of southeastern Ukraine, the Associated Press reported. The growing opposition has degraded the Kremlin’s control of those areas and jeopardized Russia’s ambitions to stage referendums in several towns as a step toward annexation.

• The crisis over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spilled over into weapons control this week after Moscow said it will not support the start of nuclear arsenal inspections under the New START nuclear arms pact due to travel restrictions imposed by the US, according to the Wall Street Journal. The deal, which limits long-range nuclear weapons and came into effect in 2011, is the final significant agreement governing the US-Russian nuclear race. Both parties have been mindful of its limitations.

• Russia has suffered up to 80,000 casualties since President Vladimir Putin authorized the invasion of Ukraine in February, according to the latest Pentagon estimate of the high cost Moscow has borne invading its neighbor, US News noted. US officials refused to comment on allegations that the Ukrainian military forces are also suffering from unsustainable casualty numbers, with some estimating it to be as high as 200 per day.

• A Russian rocket successfully launched an Iranian satellite into space Tuesday, prompting speculation that Moscow may use it to increase monitoring of military targets in Ukraine, Radio Free Europe wrote.

This story originally appeared in the August 10, 2022 newsletter, A Tiger's Tail.