(C) Meduza This story was originally published by Meduza and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Real Russia. Today. Thursday, May 30, 2024 — Meduza [1] [] Date: 2024-05-31 Like many independent media outlets, Meduza does a lot of work with very limited resources. Our English-language edition is no exception: every day, our editors decide which news stories and reported features to prioritize and which ones we have to skip. But despite this, we want to keep growing and expand our reach. That's why we're asking for your help: we’ve prepared a short, anonymous survey that will allow us to better understand who reads Meduza and why — and inform our growth strategy. The survey is available here (and it only takes five minutes). The war in Ukraine 🇺🇸 A new pact from America to soothe a ‘paranoid’ Zelensky: The U.S. is close to signing a new bilateral security pact with Ukraine “in a signal of support aiming to assuage Kyiv after ‘tense’ relations,” reports The Financial Times. The agreement will set forth “commitments on long-term support, including military training, intelligence sharing, and economic assistance.” Washington has reportedly been at odds with Kyiv in recent months following Ukrainian attacks on two radar systems that form part of Moscow’s nuclear warning system and President Zelensky’s decision to fire senior officials who enjoyed close working relationships with U.S. and E.U. officials. The American-Ukrainian bilateral relationship could include consent to Ukraine’s (apparently only recent) request to use U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia. The U.S. is close to signing a new bilateral security pact with Ukraine “in a signal of support aiming to assuage Kyiv after ‘tense’ relations,” reports The Financial Times. The agreement will set forth “commitments on long-term support, including military training, intelligence sharing, and economic assistance.” Washington has reportedly been at odds with Kyiv in recent months following Ukrainian attacks on two radar systems that form part of Moscow’s nuclear warning system and President Zelensky’s decision to fire senior officials who enjoyed close working relationships with U.S. and E.U. officials. The American-Ukrainian bilateral relationship could include consent to Ukraine’s (apparently only recent) request to use U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia. 🌡️ ‘Escalating tensions to a new level’: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that statements from NATO country representatives about using Western weapons to strike targets on Russian territory provoke Ukraine into continuing a “senseless war” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that statements from NATO country representatives about using Western weapons to strike targets on Russian territory provoke Ukraine into continuing a “senseless war” 💥 Washington bends weapons policy on counter-fire in defense of Kharkiv: The Biden administration has “quietly given Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia — solely near the area of Kharkiv — using U.S.-provided weapons,” reports POLITICO, citing five sources familiar with the new policy. The Biden administration has “quietly given Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia — solely near the area of Kharkiv — using U.S.-provided weapons,” reports POLITICO, citing five sources familiar with the new policy. 🧠 Dara Massicot speaks to The New Yorker about Ukraine’s ‘enormous challenges’: In a recent interview, Carnegie Endowment expert Dara Massicot answered questions about Ukraine’s biggest war concerns heading into the summer. She discussed Russia’s use of improved glide bombs (launching them “so far behind the front lines that the Ukrainian air-defense systems don’t really have a good way to engage them”), Ukraine’s manpower and ammunition issues (Zelensky is “under some pressure” to address manpower shortages), Moscow’s strategy in Kharkiv of trying to “depopulate” the area around the city (whether through precision strikes or, if troops get close enough, with “dumb bombs and artillery”), and how several external factors could influence the war’s long-term direction (continued U.S. aid, Chinese supplies, and resumed mobilization in Russia). Next month, a Russian military court in Rostov-on-Don will hear a murder case against two Russian soldiers who killed Valentina Davronova, a young woman in Luhansk, by stabbing 20 times. They then allegedly tried to conceal their crime by eviscerating Davronova’s body with three hand grenades. According to the newspaper Kommersant, the main perpetrator was senior lieutenant Aidyn Zhamidulov, who’s also won some attention for his pro-invasion poetry, including from Russia’s Defense Ministry on social media. Investigators say Zhamidulov and his subordinate, Private Alexey Dorozhkin, abducted Davronova after she supposedly threatened to reveal her affair with one of the soldiers to his wife. Zhamidulov claims that Davronova was a Ukrainian spy. The Russian state media has circulated a photograph showing her in a uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and cited an anonymous source who claims she served in Ukraine’s military from 2018 until 2022, a year before her murder. In early May, Russia launched a new offensive to the north and east of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian forces have managed for push back Russia’s advances near the state border. But the city of Kharkiv itself continues to face intensified attacks. Meduza spoke to three residents to learn what life is currently like in the city, how they’re coping with the relentless barrage of missiles and drones, and what they expect from this new phase of the war. We got The Beet. Don’t miss Meduza’s weekly newsletter (separate from the one you’re reading here)! Russian politics ⚖️ Lawsuit follows Russia’s only woman governor out of office: “Social activist” Yuri Ryabtsev is appealing a police decision not to charge former Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug Governor Natalia Komarova with “discrediting” the military for saying in November 2023 that the war in Ukraine was “unnecessary” and that Russia was unprepared for it. Komarova later visited occupied Ukraine and spoke out in favor of the invasion before resigning from office on May 30. Despite the controversy over her earlier remarks (which aides say were “taken out of context”), Komarova maintains the Kremlin’s support. Before her resignation, she was the only woman to lead a federal subject in Russia. Journalists at Agentstvo Media have identified several suspected war criminals in the first class of participants in a new managerial program for veterans recently created at Vladimir Putin’s suggestion to train and elevate Russia’s “true elite.” Among the first class of 83 people, there’s Nursultan Mussagaliyev, an officer in the 76th Guards Air Assault Division whom Ukrainian officials have accused of ordering the torture and execution of civilians in Bucha. Agentstvo managed to identify another 26 participants, including the decorated officers Sergey Kuzminchuk and Boris Dudko, who commanded units that the Ukrainian authorities, investigative journalists, and patriotic activists have tied to Russian atrocities in Bucha. Agentstvo also found two decorated soldiers, Vladislav Golovin and Zaur Gurtsiev, who commanded units involved in the bombing and capture of Mariupol, which reportedly killed at least several thousand civilians. Also spotted in the new managerial program: Artem Zhoga, the chairman of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic’s parliament. Journalists at Verstka Media report that only 19 of the nearly 100 soldiers and invasion veterans managed to win races in United Russia’s recent primaries for candidacy in Russia’s September 2024 elections. All 15 servicemen lost their races in Moscow. Several soldiers who competed expressed outrage at what they say were abuses of “administrative pressure” and instances of ballot rigging — particularly shocking in light of President Putin’s rhetoric about soldiers being Russia’s “true elites.” For example, soldier-candidate Syldys Shivit shared videos on social media showing local public sector employees casting ballots in apparently orchestrated “controlled voting.” Shivit also complained that some locals were threatened with repercussions for “incorrect voting” or trying to vote electronically from their personal devices instead of state-supplied computers. Sources in United Russia’s party administration told Verstka Media that they were under no instructions to elevate veterans to victories. As the world turns 💰 Should I stay or should I go: More than half of the international companies that operated in Russia before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine have stayed in the country, according to new research by the Kyiv School of Economics, as reported by The Financial Times. Overall, more than 2,100 multinationals have stayed, compared with about 1,600 international companies that have either quit the market or scaled back operations. More than half of the international companies that operated in Russia before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine have stayed in the country, according to new research by the Kyiv School of Economics, as reported by The Financial Times. Overall, more than 2,100 multinationals have stayed, compared with about 1,600 international companies that have either quit the market or scaled back operations. 🇫🇷 Make an exception, s'il vous plaît: French President Emmanuel Macron “personally intervened to persuade Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to give Airbus and other aerospace firms relief from sanctions on Russian titanium,” reports Reuters. (Airbus and others that still rely on Russian supplies in plants located in Canada and elsewhere.) In September 2023, Meduza broke the news that unknown attackers had used Pegasus spyware to infect the iPhone of our co-founder and publisher, Galina Timchenko. Since then, experts at Access Now and Citizen Lab, with the help of security analyst Nikolai Kvantaliani, have tested dozens of devices belonging to Russian, Belarusian, Latvian, and Israeli journalists and activists living in the European Union, and found that at least seven of them were hacked, too. Meduza special correspondent Lilia Yapparova reports on this investigation’s findings. No country can be free without independent media. In January 2023, the Russian authorities outlawed Meduza, banning our work in the country our colleagues call home. Just supporting Meduza carries the risk of criminal prosecution for Russian nationals, which is why we’re turning to our international audience for help. Your assistance makes it possible for thousands of people in Russia to read Meduza and stay informed. Consider a small but recurring contribution to provide the most effective support. Donate here. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.meduza.io/en/brief/2024/05/31/the-real-russia-today Published and (C) by Meduza Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/meduza/