Putin's desire to destroy Western unity rages on
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The Guardian
5 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Lines of control: inside the 22 August Guardian Weekly
Donald Trump had seemed to be firmly back under the sway of Vladimir Putin following their summit in Alaska last Friday. But an intense push by European leaders appeared to coax Trump out of pro-Russian positions on Ukraine and led to a remarkable gathering in Washington on Monday. Have their efforts done enough to give Volodymr Zelenskyy a meaningful role in negotiations? Washington correspondent David Smith reports on the hectic diplomatic efforts. Trump's talk of 'land swaps' between Ukraine and Russia, as a simple transactional path to a peace deal, belies the grim reality of what it would mean for people in Zaporizhzhia. Shaun Walker reports from the Ukrainian frontline city where emotions are running high. Trump's meeting with Putin in Anchorage – where the US president rolled out the red carpet for his Russian counterpart – was widely viewed as a diplomatic triumph for Moscow. International affairs expert Rajan Menon explains why Putin is likely to be delighted with the way events are unfolding. Get the Guardian Weekly delivered to your home address Spotlight | Wildfires leave their mark across Spain and CanadaA near-disaster has highlighted Spain's vulnerability to the climate emergency, while wildfires in Canada are now burning where they never used to. From opposite sides of the Atlantic, Sam Jones, Stephen Burgen and Leyland Cecco report on a rising crisis Technology | Fascination and fear over the rise of the AI deathbotOzzy Osbourne appeared as an AI-generated image at a recent Rod Stewart concert, prompting questions about how the ghoulish phenomenon will affect grieving. Harriet Sherwood reports Feature | Tuvalu dreams of dry landWith sea levels rising, much of the Pacific nation's population is confronting the prospect that their home may soon cease to exist. Where are they going to go? Atul Dev visited the islands to find out Opinion | Remember when having women in power was supposed to change everything?The careers of Nicola Sturgeon, Angela Merkel and Jacinda Ardern show how foolish it is to idealise leaders just for being women, says Gaby Hinsliff Culture | Novelist Douglas Stuart meets painter Jenny SavilleThe Booker prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain sits down with the record-breaking artist to talk early success, bad reviews and the joys of making art British pop star Jade Thirlwall became famous at a young and vulnerable age via reality TV, when tabloid intrusion was rife and social media commentary was cruel. Here, Jade the solo artist talks about how her beginnings in the industry provided material for her maximalist, witty and very catchy debut single and why she'll never shy away from protest. Emily El Nusairi, deputy production editor As a parent living in London, this piece on why the capital's schools outperform the rest of the UK was really interesting to me. I worry that we've made the right choice to bring up our children in central London, and the existence of such inequality across the country is shocking. Dave Kirwan, production director Audio | Ghosting, breadcrumbing, one-night stands: are we done with dating apps? Video | It's complicated: How to solve the global housing crisis Gallery | Pipe dreams: a pipe band's 'world' tour in Northumberland We'd love to hear your thoughts on the magazine: for submissions to our letters page, please email For anything else, it's Facebook Instagram Get the Guardian Weekly magazine delivered to your home address
BBC News
5 minutes ago
- BBC News
Why Donetsk matters so much for Ukraine's defences against Russia
A key takeaway from the summit in Alaska is that Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly wants to freeze the war in Ukraine along its current front line in return for the surrender of the rest of Donetsk holds about 70% of the region (oblast), including the regional capital of the same name, after more than a decade of fighting in which Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk have been the bleeding heart of the Russia to gain all of Donetsk would cement its internationally unrecognised claim to the oblast as well as avoiding further heavy military Ukraine to withdraw from western Donetsk would mean the grievous loss not just of land, with the prospect of a new exodus of refugees, but the fall of a bulwark against any future Russian we look at why the territory matters so much. What does Ukraine still control? According to an estimate by Reuters news agency, Ukraine still holds about 6,600 sq km (2,548 sq miles) of territory in a quarter of a million people remain there, local officials said urban centres include Kramatorsk, Slovyansk, Kostyantynivka and forms part of Ukraine's main industrial region, the Donbas (Donets Basin), though its economy has been devastated by the war."The reality is these resources likely will not be able to be accessed for arguably a decade at least because of the [land] mines..." Dr Marnie Howlett, departmental lecturer in Russian and East European Politics at the University of Oxford, told Reuters."These lands have been completely destroyed, these cities completely flattened."Resignation and betrayal: What handing Donbas to Putin would mean for UkraineUkraine in maps: Tracking the war with RussiaWhat security guarantees for Ukraine would actually mean Where is the territory's military value? A recent report by the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) describes a "fortress belt" running 50km (31 miles) through western Donetsk."Ukraine has spent the last 11 years pouring time, money, and effort into reinforcing the fortress belt and establishing significant defense industrial and defensive infrastructure," it from the region speak of trenches, bunkers, minefields, anti-tank obstacles and barbed forces attacking in the direction of Pokrovsk "are engaged in an effort to seize it that would likely take several years to complete", the ISW are certainly part of the Ukrainian defence but so is the topography."The terrain is fairly defensible, particularly the Chasiv Yar height which has been underpinning the Ukrainian line," Nick Reynolds, Research Fellow for Land Warfare at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), tells BBC he adds: "If you look at the topography of the Donbas, eastern Ukraine in general, overall the terrain doesn't really favour the Ukrainians.""The city of Donetsk is high ground. It's all downhill as you go west, which isn't great for the Ukrainians in terms of running defensive operations. "That's not just about drawing in for the close fight or difficulties going up and down hill, a lot of it is also about observation and thus the ability to co-ordinate artillery fires and other forms of fire support without putting drones up."Likewise bits of high ground are better for radio wave propagation, better for co-ordination of drones."Chasiv Yar, which the Russians recently claimed to have captured, "is one of the last bits of high ground the Ukrainians control", he via satellite imagery, whether provided by Ukraine's international partners or commercial, is very important, Reynolds notes, "but it is not the same as being able directly to co-ordinate one's own tactical missions". Does the Russian military need all of Donetsk? Western Donetsk is just a small part of a front line stretching some 1,100km but it has seen some of the fiercest Russian attacks this were Moscow to channel its ground forces in any different direction, it is doubtful whether they would make any better progress."In the south, the front line in Zaporizhzhia is now very similar to the one in the Donbas, so that would be just fighting through extensive defensive positions as well," says Reynolds."The Russians face the same problem trying to bash through in the north, so they certainly wouldn't be pushing on an open door." Would Ukraine be able to rebuild its defences further west? In theory, in the event of a peace deal, the Ukrainians could move their line back further would, of course, be the issue of unfavourable terrain, and building deep defences would take time, even with the help of civilian contractors not having to work under fire. But theory is one thing and Rusi's land warfare research fellow cannot see the Ukrainian military giving up western Donetsk without a fight."Even if the Trump administration tries to use ongoing US support or security guarantees as leverage," Nick Reynolds says, "based on previous Russian behaviour, based on the explicitly transactional approach that the US administration has taken, it is hard to see how the Ukrainian government would want to give up that territory." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country will reject any Russian proposal to give up the Donbas region in exchange for a ceasefire, arguing that the eastern territory could be used as a springboard for future attacks.
Reuters
5 minutes ago
- Reuters
Federal prosecutors in Washington will no longer seek charges for rifle, shotgun possession
Aug 20 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., will no longer seek charges against people who violate a local law prohibiting individuals from carrying rifles or shotguns in the nation's capital, the Washington Post reported late on Tuesday. The decision, which represents a break from the office's prior policy, comes amid what President Donald Trump has described as a crime crackdown in Washington. The president has deployed hundreds of National Guard troops and federal agents to the city's streets to combat what he says is rampant crime, in an extraordinary exercise of presidential power. In a statement provided to Reuters, the District of Columbia's U.S. attorney, Jeanine Pirro, said the new policy will not preclude prosecutors from charging people with other illegal firearms crimes, such as a convicted felon found in possession of a gun. "We will continue to seize all illegal and unlicensed firearms," she said. The D.C. code in question bars anyone from carrying a rifle or shotgun with narrow exceptions. Pirro, a close Trump ally, argued in a statement to the Post that the law violates two U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding gun rights. In 2008, the court struck down a separate D.C. law banning handguns and ruled that individuals have the right to keep firearms in their homes for self-defense. In 2022, the court ruled that any gun-control law must be rooted in the country's historical traditions to be valid. Unlike U.S. attorneys in all 50 states, who only prosecute federal offenses, the U.S. attorney in Washington prosecutes local crimes as well. The White House has touted the number of guns that law enforcement has seized since Trump began surging federal agents into the city. In a social media post on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the operation had taken 76 illegal guns off the streets and resulted in more than 550 arrests, an average of 42 per day. The city's Metropolitan Police Department arrested an average of 61 adults and juveniles per day in 2024, according to city statistics. The Trump administration has not specified whether the arrest totals it has cited include those made by MPD officers or only consist of those made by federal agents. D.C. crime rates have stayed mostly the same as they were a year ago, according to the police department's weekly statistics. As of Tuesday, the city's overall crime rate is down 7% year over year, the same percentage as before the crackdown. D.C. has also experienced the same declines in violent crime and property crime as it did beforehand, according to the data. Trump has defended his decision to deploy soldiers in the capital as necessary to stem a wave of violent crime. City officials have rejected that assertion, pointing to federal and city statistics that show violent crime has declined significantly since a spike in 2023. The president has said, without providing evidence, that the crime data is fraudulent. The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether the numbers were manipulated, the Post reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.
