RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine’s offensive failed, even as it prepares to attack in some areas – Putin

The Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed, although Kiev is preparing new attacks in certain areas, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview to the television program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin."

"As for the counteroffensive, which has allegedly been stalled, it has failed completely. We know that in certain areas of combat operations the opposing side is nevertheless preparing new active offensive operations. We see this, and we know about it. And we are also reacting accordingly," he said in the interview, according to a fragment that journalist Pavel Zarubin posted to Telegram.

** All eligble Ukrainians told to report to conscription offices

All Ukrainians liable for military service should attend local enlistment offices for an inspection of their documents, a spokesman for the country’s Ground Forces has recommended.

Vladimir Fityo made the remarks on Saturday live on Ukrainian TV's state-controlled “broadcasting marathon” which has been running during the conflict with Russia.

“Now I would like to remind everyone that the duty to defend their country is ingrained in the Constitution of Ukraine, and in order to be ready to fulfill one’s duty to protect Ukraine, one must come to one’s territorial recruitment and social support centers [enlistment offices] to update your credentials,” Fityo stated.

The visits are required in order to “properly use” the limited resources of the country’s recruitment machine, as well as to exempt those not fit for service, Fityo claimed. The ‘voluntary’ call-up concerns not only military-aged men, but female medics and women with military backgrounds, he added.

“If there are any grounds for a deferment – produce them so that the resources that are there are used properly. A person who, according to the database, is liable for military service and is healthy, but actually has an illness, but did not report it – we do not know that the person cannot serve,” the official explained.

It was not immediately clear to what extent Ukrainians are actually expected to heed the spokesman’s call, given Kiev’s chaotic mobilization efforts, which have been marred by instances of violence by draft officers against conscripts, as well as a vast number of draft dodgers being detained trying to leave the country.

Speaking separately during the “marathon” on Sunday, the head of Ukrainian border guard Andrey Demchenko revealed that the service has caught more than 22,000 draft dodgers at the country’s border since the beginning of the hostilities. On average, at least 20 would-be-servicemen are being caught daily, according to the official. A vast majority of dodgers, about 16,000, had attempted to leave the country by crossing the border in unpopulated areas.

“About 6,800 more were apprehended at border crossings as they attempted to pass through using fake documents,” Demchenko added.

Ukraine has sustained heavy casualties during its much-heralded counteroffensive against Russian forces, launched in early June. According to the latest Russian estimates, cited by President Vladimir Putin last week, Kiev’s forces lost “over 90,000 people,” 557 tanks and 1,900 armored vehicles since its operation began, with little to no tangible result. On Sunday, Putin said that the counteroffensive “has failed completely.”

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Biden to push Israel, Ukraine aid package well over $2 billion this week

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that the Biden administration hopes to push a new weapons package for Israel and Ukraine through Congress that will be significantly higher than $2 billion.

Sullivan, in an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation," said U.S. President Joe Biden will have intensive talks with the U.S. Congress this week on the need for the package to be approved.

Republicans' struggles to pick a speaker for the House of Representatives after party hardliners ousted Kevin McCarthy nearly two weeks ago has delayed action on legislation, as Israel prepares a ground war against Hamas in Gaza and U.S. officials warn the regional crisis could escalate.

Biden has been considering a budget request lumping together aid for Israel, Ukraine and possibly Taiwan and the U.S. southern border to improve the chances of getting it approved amid calls from some Republicans to cut money for Kyiv.

Asked whether the request would be for $2 billion, as has been previously reported, Sullivan said: "The number is going to be significantly higher than that, but it will, as I said, certainly include the necessary military equipment to defend freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity in Ukraine, and to help Israel defend itself as it fights its terrorist threat."

Some Republicans have already said they would not back any Israel aid package that also contains aid for Ukraine.

How any bill moves through Congress without a House speaker is unclear. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested on Sunday that Democrats could work with Republicans to nominate a speaker.

"There are informal conversations that have been underway," about a bipartisan solution to the crisis, Jeffries told NBC's Meet the Press. "When we get back to Washington tomorrow, it's important to begin to formalize those discussions."

Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, founder of a hardline Republican party caucus with the backing of former President and likely 2024 nominee Donald Trump, has been nominated to be House Speaker.

It is unclear he has the votes necessary from his own party to get a simple majority in the House, which is narrowly controlled by Republicans. There is little chance any Democrats would back Jordan, a vocal supporter of Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was marred by widespread fraud.

"I believe at the end of the day that Jordan can get there and I’m doing everything I can to help him be able to become speaker," McCarthy told Fox News Sunday morning.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking in Tel Aviv on Sunday, said the Senate could move first to pass an aid bill.

"We're not waiting for the House. We believe if the Senate acts in a strong bipartisan way, it may indeed improve the chances that the House, even with its current dysfunction, will act."

RT/Tass/Reuters