(C) Meduza This story was originally published by Meduza and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Real Russia. Today. Friday, June 28, 2024 — Meduza [1] [] Date: 2024-06-28 The war in Ukraine 🚨 Strike on Dnipro apartment building kills 1, injures 12: A Russian missile hit a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Friday, killing at least one person and wounding 12 others, Regional Governor Serhii Lysak said. Rescue operations were ongoing as of Friday evening. According to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, some of the building’s residents remain trapped in their apartments. On June 27, Russia’s Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) published the country’s annual mortality data for 2023. Like that of the previous year, the new data shows a sharply elevated excess mortality rate among young men relative to the situation before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Last year, Meduza and journalists at Mediazona worked with Tubingen University statistician Dmitry Kobak to estimate the Russian military’s total losses in 2022. The new Rosstat data allows us to continue the analysis. According to the 2023 numbers, excess male mortality didn’t just remain high last year — it nearly doubled compared to 2022. We got The Beet. Don’t miss Meduza’s weekly newsletter (separate from the one you’re reading here)! ✍️ Catch the latest edition → Ten years ago, Donbas: An OSCE observer reconstructs his experience on the ground in Luhansk at the outset of Russia’s war (22-min read) International civil servant Andrea Cellino led the first team of civilian observers deployed to the city of Luhansk in April 2014, as part of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. Tasked with reporting on the deteriorating security situation and promoting dialogue between the Ukrainian authorities and armed “separatist” groups, Cellino and his team soon found themselves working in a war zone. But even then, Russia’s takeover of Donbas didn’t feel inevitable, he says. With this year marking the tenth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Cellino went back through his original reports for the OSCE to reconstruct his experience on the ground. Though we now know terms like “separatist” don’t accurately describe Russia’s proxy forces in Ukraine’s east, we have preserved the language used at the time. What follows is not meant to be a comprehensive account of the war’s origins. Instead, it offers a window into the granular yet often limited perspective of someone in the thick of a crisis spinning out of control. Meanwhile in Russia Kremlin officials don’t plan to “evaluate” Thursday’s debate between U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday. “We have absolutely no intention of evaluating this debate. I’ll repeat it again, this is an internal matter of the United States. This is a U.S. election campaign,” Peskov said. The Kremlin spokesman went on to claim that Russia “has never interfered in U.S. election campaigns,” adding, “We aren’t going to do it this time either.” “I don’t think you expect the president of Russia [to] set an alarm, get up at dawn, and watch a debate in the United States. After all, this isn’t an event on our agenda,” Peskov continued. Be that as it may, he also said that Kremlin officials plan to familiarize themselves “with all the statements that were made” during the debate. In the summer of 2023, a poet by the name of Gennady Rakitin began publishing his “patriotic” works on VKontakte, Russia’s version of Facebook. He wrote about war, mercenaries killed in action, the Fatherland, and Russia’s “leader.” Russian lawmakers and senators soon began following his page en masse. And his poems were entered into competitions, celebrated at festivals, and shared on channels dedicated to “Z-poetry.” But it turns out that Gennady Rakitin doesn’t exist. According to Russian journalist Andrey Zakharov, some of his acquaintances are behind the account — and these anti-war activists have actually been publishing translations of poetry written in Nazi Germany during the 1930s and 1940s. As the world turns 🎁 Putin gave Kim Jong-un a car made by a company that uses South Korean parts: Aurus, the Russian luxury car company that made the limousine Vladimir Putin gifted to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his recent visit to Pyongyang, has a history of importing millions of dollars worth of South Korea parts, Reuters reported on Friday. Kim considers South Korea as his country’s “primary foe.” However, “Reuters could not determine specifically which imported foreign parts ended up in the car gifted to Kim,” the investigation said. Aurus, the Russian luxury car company that made the limousine Vladimir Putin gifted to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his recent visit to Pyongyang, has a history of importing millions of dollars worth of South Korea parts, Reuters reported on Friday. Kim considers South Korea as his country’s “primary foe.” However, “Reuters could not determine specifically which imported foreign parts ended up in the car gifted to Kim,” the investigation said. 🗳️ Azerbaijan to hold snap parliamentary vote in September: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev dissolved parliament on Friday, calling a snap election for September 1. Azerbaijan’s parliamentary election was supposed to take place in November. However, last week, lawmakers from Aliyev’s New Azerbaijan Party appealed to dissolve parliament and call the vote ahead of schedule, so it wouldn’t coincide with Baku hosting the United Nations climate change summit (COP29), which is set to take place from November 11–22. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev dissolved parliament on Friday, calling a snap election for September 1. Azerbaijan’s parliamentary election was supposed to take place in November. However, last week, lawmakers from Aliyev’s New Azerbaijan Party appealed to dissolve parliament and call the vote ahead of schedule, so it wouldn’t coincide with Baku hosting the United Nations climate change summit (COP29), which is set to take place from November 11–22. 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka seeks compensation for countrymen killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine: In meetings with Russian officials earlier this week, a delegation of high-level Sri Lankan diplomats raised the issue of compensation for Sri Lankans killed and wounded while fighting for Russia in Ukraine. According to an embassy press release, at least 17 Sri Lankans who signed contracts with the Russian military have been killed in action, while others are “uncontactable.” In meetings with Russian officials earlier this week, a delegation of high-level Sri Lankan diplomats raised the issue of compensation for Sri Lankans killed and wounded while fighting for Russia in Ukraine. According to an embassy press release, at least 17 Sri Lankans who signed contracts with the Russian military have been killed in action, while others are “uncontactable.” 🎶 Spotify removes profiles of pro-war Russian musicians: Spotify has deleted the songs and profiles of pro-war Russian artists who have come under Western sanctions, the Sweden-based streaming service told The Moscow Times on Thursday. “Platform Rules clearly state that we take action when we identify content which explicitly violates our content policies or local laws,” the company said in a statement. “Upon review, these artists met the threshold for removal.” On June 26, Belarusian media reported that diplomat Denis Sidorenko, who served as the country’s former ambassador to Germany until his dismissal in March, had died two days earlier. Some outlets reported that the diplomat had died of a heart attack, while others said it was a suicide. The authorities soon confirmed Sidorenko’s death, but the details surrounding it are still unclear; according to some sources, it occurred after the former ambassador was subjected to intense scrutiny by the Belarusian KGB. Here’s what we know so far. 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. 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