Sudan's western cities under fire as war spreads

Fighting rocked several cities in western Sudan on Wednesday in an expansion of the country's almost two-month-old war as a regional governor was killed after publicly blaming the deaths of civilians on the country's paramilitary force.

The conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has caused a humanitarian crisis in Khartoum, as well as major cities in the Kordofan and Darfur regions.

The widening footprint of fighting threatens to prolong the violence and draw in armed groups - particularly those with tribal affiliations - as well as external actors.

West Darfur state governor Khamis Abbakar was killed on Wednesday, an armed group he commanded said, hours after he accused the RSF and allied militias of "genocide." No details on his death were available. Two government sources said the RSF was responsible.

"Civilians are being killed randomly and in large numbers," Abbakar told Al-Hadath TV earlier on Wednesday, calling for international intervention.

The RSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Activists say 1,100 people have been killed since the conflict began in mid-April in the westernmost city of El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur.

While the attacks originally targeted areas of El Geneina where members of the Masalit tribe lived, these attacks have spread to the entire city, the governor said.

"We haven't seen the army leave its base to defend people," he added before his death.

The Darfur region of Sudan has seen periods of conflict since the early 2000s, when millions were displaced and 300,000 killed by attacks from Arab militias known as the Janjaweed. The RSF evolved out of those groups, becoming a legalized governmental force in 2017.

In a statement, the RSF called the fighting in El Geneina a tribal conflict, blaming the country's former regime for fanning the flames. It said it had been making efforts to get aid into the city.

Diplomatic efforts to address Sudan's conflict led by the United States and Saudi Arabia have faltered, as numerous ceasefires have been violated. On Tuesday, senior U.S. State Department officials said they were considering a new approach for the coming days.

FIGHTING ACROSS DARFUR

The Darfur Bar Association, a local group monitoring the fighting, said on Wednesday that artillery strikes hit civilian homes in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, after RSF soldiers complained of not receiving salaries.

"The assault could start again at any moment, we don't feel safe," said resident Salah Alamin, 39.

The city of Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur, was under siege, the association said. The city of El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, has been quieter but has seen a wave of displacement from RSF-controlled Kutum.

Meanwhile in El Obeid, a hub between Khartoum and Darfur in North Kordofan, residents said the army launched air and artillery strikes against RSF positions. The RSF has controlled the roads connecting the city to other towns and has agreed with local tribal leaders to secure the area from armed gangs.

Residents said the RSF attacked one of those towns, Al-Rahad, on Wednesday.

In Kadugli, South Kordofan, the army pushed back an RSF attack on one of its bases, as troops loyal to rebel leader Abdelaziz al-Hilu surrounded the city. Sources from al-Hilu's faction, SPLM-N, said that they sought to protect civilians from armed militias.

Within Khartoum, residents reported clashes and air and artillery strikes in southern and eastern districts of the city and in neighbouring Omdurman on Wednesday.

The U.N. said on Tuesday that some 1.7 million people had been displaced internally and more than 500,000 had left the country.

In army-controlled Port Sudan, meanwhile, middle school students began taking exams, while pilgrims to Mecca began their Hajj journeys, as some attempted to find some normality.

The Sudanese Doctors Union said that at least 958 people have been killed since fighting began on April 15, over the integration of the RSF into the military.

Reuters

On Monday, the President signed into law a bill establishing an education bank that will provide interest-free loans to “indigent students.” The clumsily titled bill, “An Act to Provide Easy Access to Higher Education For Nigerians Through Interest-Free Loans From Nigeria Education Bank Established in this Act with a View To Provide Education for All Nigerians and for Related Matters” has reportedly been in the works since 2016. According to presidential aides, the initiative will help “indigent students” fund educational pursuits in public institutions, be they in universities, polytechnics, or vocational training centres.

People object to student loans for many useful reasons, but this initiative does not yet look like it will ensnare the destinies of the students who take them. Whether it will be properly managed is another argument altogether.

Where things get interesting is the income requirement. To access the loan, the student or their family must not make more than a N500,000 income per annum. For a law that will supposedly provide “easy access to higher education…for all Nigerians,” this is a curious characterisation of who belongs to the indigent class. If a law that supports the indigent pegs the income level at <N42,000 per family monthly, then we have an interesting inkling into what the government classifies as “indigent.”

Nigeria’s poverty rate has typically been measured through dollar figures. Presently, the official and international measure of poverty rate is counted as living on less than $1.90 daily. When the National Bureau of Statistics launched the results of the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index Survey that found that 63 per cent of persons living within Nigeria (133 million people) are multidimensionally poor, they did not mark their assessment of poverty through income level. They used other descriptive means. What resonates between those who calculate the average poverty rate in dollars and those who focus on qualitative means is that most Nigerians are poor and such poverty is not only about money but also access to certain facilities.

While a broad category of Nigerians will fall under the <N500,000 mark, I still wonder at the image of the “ideal” (or un-ideal) low-income family that exists in the mind of the bill drafters and the government officials who pushed it into a law. If such a family has a car, the average monthly sum they are not supposed to exceed is less than the costs of filling up the petrol tank under the new fuel pricing regime. I suppose it does not matter to the bill drafters how many people must comprise this hypothetical family, as long as they live on less than N42,000 monthly. Besides, how do they define their idea of “family” given the complexities of the Nigerian socio-cultural realities? Does “family” mean the nuclear variety or the extended one? Monogamous vs. polygamous families, which one?

In these very challenging economic times, earning even N5m annually does not take most families out of the indigent zone. Statistically, the average Nigerian spends more than 90 per cent of their income on food alone. Beyond eating, an average family in Nigeria also must buy diesel for their generator in addition to their paying for electricity, healthcare, security, education, and generally pick the slack in all areas where the government is lacking. You could earn ten times the figure used to set the mark for student loans for the “indigent” and still be impoverished. That is why it is curious that lawmakers would calibrate a loan facility meant for the indigent at N500,000 or less annually.

Even the Nigerian government that pays a N30,000 minimum wage has serially admitted that the sum gives people meager purchasing power. By setting income qualifications for student loans at N500,000 or less, the government shows how incoherently it conceives of the idea of indigence. While they accept, on the one hand, that majority of Nigerians are impoverished and their earnings cannot sustain them, their idea of indigence on the other hand is inchoate. You practically need to be destitute to apply for the loan.

Now, I quite understand that the government does not want the student loan funds abused by people who do not need them. However, tying access to the loans to such poor income earnings means the people for whom the loans are supposedly meant are exactly those who would be unable to access them.

First, in today’s Nigeria, living on N500,000 or less annually—either as an individual or as a family—means your chances of going to school and staying long there enough to aspire for tertiary or vocational education are already slimmed from the outset. It is a no-brainer that the people who live on < N42,000 monthly (or <N1,400 daily) are the ones least likely to go to even primary or secondary school and highly likely to drop out if they even get started at all. There are many foundational problems that one would encounter if one had to live within those means, and the promise of future loan access will not resolve any of them. Did the drafters of the bill conduct research that showed that people in the <N500,000 or less income category are in greater danger of being unable to pursue their educational pursuits than those who earn N43,000?

Second, the inflation rate in Nigeria is too high for any set sum to be reasonable beyond a few years. Why make a law about income requirements when what N500,000 was worth in January 2023 is nowhere close to either its present or future value? We do not need a soothsayer to foretell that today’s N500,000 will be a chicken feed in 2033. Those who debated the bill must be out of touch with Nigeria’s reality to assume that adjusting income requirements to a sum less than what even the least paid civil servant earns annually makes reasonable sense.

They should have left the income requirements segment open, so each family decides if they want to proceed or not. You could earn N10m annually and still need loan support because your four children happen to be in the tertiary institutions at around the same time. There is no reason to close off a major segment of Nigerians who will actually need the loan facility from accessing it. Life in Nigeria is too precarious to assume that all of us are not hovering around the indigent bracket. Realities differ, and bureaucrats need not be wading through sociological complexities to determine loan qualification. They should have let anyone wanting to take a loan do so, as long as they repay it.

Overall, restricting a facility meant for the “indigent” class to N500,000 and below shows that we are once again dealing with a general Nigerian problem of quantitative illiteracy. Nigeria has a problematic relationship with figures. We treat numbers like they are magical rather than a reasonable abstraction of reality, and that is why we tend to calibrate them inordinately. How can a country where a bag of rice costs around N40,000 bracket consider living on even a mere N42,000 monthly as anywhere outside indigence?

So, how do you intend to provide education for all Nigerians, as the newly signed law boasts, when you have a poor idea of what constitutes poverty in the country? How do you even generate the means of social uplift across all segments when you have yet to develop a reasonable idea of how much it takes to both survive and thrive within the present Nigerian socioeconomic realities? If the government fulfils its promises of increasing the minimum wage anytime soon, even the least paid worker will likely be thrown out of the income bracket that can get the loan. So, who are those indigent people for whom the education bank will be built?

Punch

Consumers are under a lot of financial strain. The World Economic Forum reports that the cost-of-living crisis is affecting people across the globe. With food and fuel prices rising, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep financially afloat. On top of that, salaries aren’t keeping up with inflation, making it more difficult to save and build wealth.

During such times of economic difficulty and uncertainty, fraudsters lure unsuspecting consumers into ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes, offering an avenue to make easy money by investing in a “lucrative” financial opportunity.

Nothing beats the prospect of making easy money, and every now and again there seems to be a “get-rich-quick” scheme circulating on WhatsApp or social media that seems legitimate. But it’s not.

Our research interests centre on financial systems in emerging economies, and we advocate for financial inclusion and empowering marginalised communities through financial literacy and financial planning. We use our academic platform to share our expertise on finance, including common financial traps people should steer clear of.

‘Get-rich-quick’ schemes are one such trap. They’re also sometimes called Ponzi or pyramid schemes. The schemes are a form of financial fraud. The people running them take money through deception: misrepresentating information and identity. They promise financial benefits that don’t exist.

You should avoid them because, more often than not, they are bogus and fraudulent business ventures.

There have been some massive fraud schemes over the past 30 years. In the early 1990s, MMM Global – one of the world’s largest and most notorious Ponzi schemes – defrauded up to 40 million people, who lost an estimated US$10 billion. Ponzi schemes have resurfaced in different forms in South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana and several other African countries.

There are five tell-tale signs of a ‘get-rich-quick’ scheme. Watch out for them.

The five tell-tale signs

First, they offer exaggerated and above-market returns within a short period, with promising little to no risk.

There are two golden rules when it comes to investing. The first is that it takes time to make money. Amassing a small fortune within a short time should raise questions about the scheme.

The second rule is the higher the risk, the higher the return. In other words, no investment is risk-free or can guarantee significant returns. There is always some risk involved. An investment that promises substantial returns tends to be quite risky, which repels most people with a low appetite for risk.

Secondly, new members are constantly recruited to join the scheme.

Typically, such schemes are sustained by relying on the investments of new members to pay existing members. Once the number of existing members exceeds new members, the scheme goes ‘belly-up’. At best, you lose out on the returns you were promised. At worst, you lose all the money you’ve invested.

When the scheme collapses, it is almost impossible to recover the money you’ve lost because you’ve technically given it to a stranger (remember, the definition of financial fraud encompasses the misrepresentation of identity).

Third, there is an urgency to join the scheme but no clarity on how the scheme works.

This is a classic characteristic of a ‘get-rich-quick’ scheme. There is usually no clear answer about the nature of the scheme, what it invests in, how it generates its returns or the credentials of the organisation.

Legitimate investments are transparent and can provide investors with all the information they need to help them decide whether to invest. Unsurprisingly, properly checking ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes will unmask their fraudulent nature. This is why there’s always the urgency and coercion to make an immediate financial commitment under the guise of missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get rich.

Fourth, the scheme is not registered with or regulated by any recognised authority.

Regulatory authorities are important because they monitor the conduct of financial service providers and protect consumers by keeping their best interests in mind. The protection provided by financial regulators also instils confidence in financial systems.

‘Get-rich-quick’ schemes are not registered and operate outside the framework of regulatory bodies. This makes investors more vulnerable to loss and makes it more difficult to seek legal recourse when the loss occurs.

Legitimate investments in South Africa are offered by authorised financial service providers and regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. You can search for any authorised financial service provider on the authority’s website.

Fifth, they use the testimonies from existing members who’ve earned big bucks to promote the scheme.

In the initial stages, the scheme tends to pay out to those who have invested early, and these members are encouraged to share the news of their wealth (which travels fast and far) to promote the scheme.

But this tactic creates the impression that you, too, can earn returns in the double digits. These schemes are both unsustainable and unethical as one person gets wealthy through someone else being deceived.

Too good to be true

It’s worth repeating that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Wealth comes from a sound investment strategy and decisions made over time. Any promise to “get rich quick” should be treated with the cynicism it deserves. It will ultimately reveal its fraudulent nature. Recognising the signs of “get-rich-quick” schemes can save you from unnecessary financial distress.

It’s always a good idea to investigate before committing your finances to any investment. You can find more information on the various types of scams through the South African Banking Risk Information Centre’s website and report them to the South African Fraud Prevention Service.

Bomikazi Zeka is an assistant professor in Finance and Financial Planning, at the University of Canberra and Abdul Latif Alhassan is an associate professor in Development Finance and Insurance, at the University of Cape Town. This article was originally published in The Conversation.

Inc

Nigerian stocks soared to their pinnacle since 9 June 2008 on Tuesday as the benchmark index enlarged by 4 per cent in response to the news of the arrest over the weekend of Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank governor.

The new development strengthened optimism that the much-needed liquidity in the market may soon return.

Transaction volume more than doubled compared to the previous session following a much-improved risk appetite that greeted the suspension.

Emefiele’s arrest impacted reactions in the market as his raft of unorthodox policies has kept many investors at bay in recent years.

Foreign participation in the Nigerian equity market had dwindled from N104 billion about the time former President Muhammadu Buhari took over to just N8.5 billion in April, according to the Nigerian Exchange data.

The brisk trade witnessed in the market on Tuesday echoes the general optimism visible across the markets after Emefiele’s arrest, with Nigeria’s dollar bonds jumping to their peak level on Monday this year.

“We expect the prevailing positive sentiments to stir up further buy-interests in anticipation of the H1-2023 earning season. On the other hand, profit-taking activities will weigh on the bourse’s performance, as investors seek to book their gains off profitable counters,” said analysts at United Capital in their outlook note for this week.

“For equity-vested fund managers and investors, we recommend bargain-hunting exercises across fundamentally sound stocks with improved or relatively cheap valuations,” they added.

Market breadth, an indicator of investor sentiment towards trade, was positive as 61 gainers were reported compared to 14 decliners.

The all-share index grew by 2,232.6 basis points to 58,163.6, while market capitalisation climbed to N31.7 trillion. Year to date, the index has returned 13.5 per cent.

Top Five Gainers

NASCON appreciated by 10 per cent to close at N17.05. Access Holdings enlarged by 10 per cent to end trade at N14.30. GTCO rose to N30.80, notching up 10 per cent in the process. Lasaco went up by 10 per cent to N1.98. Zenith Bank completed the top 5, climbing by 10 per cent to N30.80.

Top Five Losers

John Holt led the losers, declining by 10 per cent to close at N1.26. Ellah Lakes shed 10 per cent to end trade at N3.60. The Initiates fell to N0.47, losing 9.62 per cent. Caverton slid to N1.24, recording a 4.62 per cent depreciation. Veritas Kapital closed at N0.22, going down by 4.35 per cent.

Top Five Trades

Altogether, 1.2 billion shares, estimated at N19.2 billion, were traded in 10,369 deals.

UBA was the most active stock, with 214.9 million shares worth N2.3 billion traded in 608 deals. GTCO’s shares of 208.1 million units, priced at N6.2 billion, exchanged hands in 613 transactions. Zenith Bank had 85.7 million shares valued at N309.2 million, traded in 743 deals. Japaul traded 72.6 million shares, estimated at N37.4 million in 216 transactions. Access Holdings traded 72.1 million shares valued at N1 billion in 658 deals.

PT

Nigeria's new lawmakers were sworn in on Tuesday following February elections, setting the stage for President Bola Tinubu to submit cabinet nominees in a process likely to signal how he intends to tackle a struggling economy and growing insecurity.

The swearing-in ceremony in the capital Abuja also saw Tinubu's allies elected as Senate President and House Speaker, to mark the official start of legislative duties for newly elected officials.

Nigeria's Senate wields significant influence in Nigeria's bicameral legislature, including scrutinizing and confirming the president's cabinet nominees.

Tinubu has up to the end of July to name his cabinet but his aides say the president could submit some names as soon as next week. His choice of finance, petroleum and defence ministers as well as national security adviser would be closely watched.

The 71-year-old Tinubu suspended central bank governor Godwin Emefiele last week, cheering markets, but his permanent removal would require a vote by the Senate.

Tinubu's ruling party controls a majority in Senate and a sizeable number in the House of Representatives and political analysts say this will make it easier for the president to push his legislative agenda.

Reuters

Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Tuesday, tendered reports of INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja.

The INEC IReV portal warehouses photographic copies of polling unit result sheets of the 2023 general elections. It is an innovative component of the electoral umpire’s management of the recent polls.

INEC had promised that the polling unit result sheets would be immediately uploaded to the IReV portal after the election was concluded at the various polling centres.

INEC’s failure to keep to the promise triggered uproar from many Nigerians.

The failure formed one of the grounds on which Obi anchored his petition that he filed to challenge the election of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to Obi and his party, the Labour Party, Nigeria’s electoral commission, INEC, in connivance with Tinubu, allegedly stole the 25 February presidential election.

As a result, he urged the five-member panel of the court headed by Haruna Tsammani to overturn Tinubu’s victory.

At the resumption of proceedings in the case on Tuesday, Obi’s lawyer, Peter Afoba, tendered IReV reports from five states – Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Ekiti, Ogun and Adamawa.

Afoba informed the court that the IReV reports were certified by the INEC.

Giving details of the electoral documents, Afoba said the IReV reports were from 21 Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, 20 in Ogun, 16 in Ekiti, 19 in Rivers and 25 in Akwa Ibom.

Contrary to INEC’s declaration, an independent analysis of the IReV portal by Premium Times found that Obi, not Tinubu won the presidential election in Rivers State.

But the electoral commission’s lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro, and other respondent lawyers for Tinubu and the APC objected to the admissibility of the documents.

They informed the court that their objections would be articulated at the latter part of the suit

More documentary evidence

Another lawyer in Obi’s legal team, Audu Anuga, presented more electoral documents comprising reports of complaints over places where voting either did not take place or was cancelled.

Tendering the reports before the court, Anuga said 45 EC40GPU forms (complaint reports) were tendered in 10 Local Government Areas of Niger and 23 in seven Local Government Areas of Osun.

He enumerated others, including – 17 in three Local Government Areas of Edo State and 52 forms in five Local Government Areas of Sokoto State.

The Labour Party lawyer further tendered 15 forms EC40G in 8 Local Government Areas of Osun State and 12 forms EC40G1 in 12 Local Government Areas of Edo.

In addition, Anuga tendered 15 forms EC40G in four council areas of Sokoto and nine forms EC40G1 in two LGAs of Sokoto.

To substantiate his claims of alleged electoral fraud, Obi tendered five reports on the conduct of the polls in Niger and eight in Edo states, respectively.

Again, the respondents’ lawyers opposed the admissibility of the electoral documents.

After the documents were admitted and marked as exhibits, the court adjourned the suit until Wednesday.

PT

Following pressures from different political quarters in Ondo state, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has formally written to notify the State House of Assembly that he is on leave and that his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, should act as governor.

Speaker of the House, Olamide Oladiji, in a statement, said Akeredolu embarked on the 21-day leave for medical treatment abroad from 7th June and that he will be away until 6th July.

According to the letter, the leave will extend to the 6th of July due to public holidays on June 12 (Democracy Day) and Eid el Kabir (28th and 29th June).

“The Governor, who had directed his Deputy, Orimisan Aiyedatiwa to act as the Governor while away, has assured of his resumption on the 6th of July, 2023,” the statement said.

The Speaker described the governor as a lover of peace and an apostle of the rule of law.

He wished him a speedy recovery and a joyful vacation.

Opposition parties, including the Social Democratic Party and the Peoples Democratic Party, had demanded that the governor transmit power to his deputy in line with the provisions of the Constitution due to his health challenges.

Akeredolu has not been seen in his office for several weeks, and it is known that he has health challenges.

Although the governor’s aides admitted that he was indisposed, his condition and absence from duty led to political intrigues and a division in his cabinet, significantly impeding decision-making.

Some elements within the cabinet appeared to be uncomfortable with the deputy governor assuming power as acting governor for unknown reasons.

It was reported that forces in the corridors of power orchestrated several machinations to keep Aiyedatiwa away from assuming the acting role as stipulated by the constitution.

Such devices include stories that he routinely beat his wife, an allegation the camp of the deputy governor denied and attributed to his detractors.

The state government has not disclosed the nature of Akeredolu’s ailment and where specifically he will seek treatment abroad.

PT

Over 100 persons, including a father and his four children have lost their lives in a boat accident at Egbu village, Patigi local government area of Kwara state.

The incident, our correspondent gathered, occurred on Monday when the boat transporting them hit a tree due to a river wave.

The victims were guests returning from a wedding ceremony at neighbouring Egboti village in Niger State.

About 50 bodies were recovered after the incident.

Sources in the village told our correspondent that the deceased persons had taken off from Kpada village.

“The boat was carrying over 300 passengers on a return trip from the venue of the ceremony.

“69 persons lost their lives from Egbu, 36 from Gakpan and four from Kpada villages in Patigi local government area. Over 75 were rescued”, a source added.

Contacted on Tuesday, public relations officer of the Kwara State police command, Okasanmi Ajayi, confirmed the incident.

He said the command had dispatched the Divisional Police Officer of Patigi local government area of the state to garner more information on the incident.

According to him, “We have a scanty report of a boat that capsized carrying about a 100 people in Patigi. I will give you more details on the incident as soon as I get more information.”

Meanwhile, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has commiserated with the people of Patigi over the incident.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, the governor described the incident as devastating and sad.

“The Governor sends his heartfelt condolences to the people of these communities and those from other states. He prays to Almighty Allah to repose the souls of the victims”, the statement read.

Daily Trust

Death toll, following Monday’s attack by gunmen on residents of Riyom and Barkin Ladi Local Councils of Plateau State has risen to 29. As of Monday, the Berom Youth Movement Volunteers (BYM) had recorded 21 fatalities.

However, yesterday, when our correspondent visited the area, a resident of Riyom, who simply referred to himself as Yakubu, said he had seen eight more corpses in the bush. He said, following the discovery, he informed youths of the area, who mobilised themselves and retrieved the bodies.

Arrangement for their mass burial is reportedly ongoing. In a statement, BYM National Publicity Secretary, Rwang Tengwong, said: “This has left us with concerns and questions as to whether or not federal security can nip the ongoing genocide in the bud, because government’s primary responsibility is safeguarding life and property.

“BYM, under the leadership of Solomon Dalyop Mwantiri, hereby, condemns coordinated attacks and other forms of provocation meted out on innocent persons of Plateau, since after the 2023 general elections.”

“We call on the new administration, both at federal and state levels, to rise to the occasion with new strategies to address the security situation in the country, particularly, in Plateau State, to forestall further degenerative tendencies of Fulani militias that have heavily infiltrated the state and its environs.” The BYM also called on the Berom nation to remain calm and law abiding but explore every avenue to defend their communities.

The Guardian

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine has lost hundreds of pieces of Western-supplied hardware – Putin

Ukrainian forces have already lost dozens of tanks and hundreds of armored vehicles in their attacks on Russian positions, President Vladimir Putin told war correspondents on Tuesday. Kiev’s troops have so far failed to achieve success on any of the fronts in their long-touted counteroffensive, he added.

Russian positions have faced attacks in four major directions, the president said during a meeting at the Kremlin. He added that Ukrainian reserves, including those equipped with Western-supplied military hardware, had also been thrown into the fray.

However, the offensive has led to massive losses in personnel and materiel for Kiev, Putin stated. Ukraine has lost “at least 160 tanks and 360 armored vehicles,”and the military hardware destroyed by Russian troops accounts for between 25% and 30% of all Western military equipment supplied to Ukraine, the president estimated.

“There are also losses that we do not see, which are a result of long-range high-precision strikes,” Putin said, claiming that Ukraine’s actual losses are likely higher than the figures he had given. Regarding personnel, Putin said Russian casualties were “ten times lower” than among Ukrainian forces.

The president also reiterated that the “fundamental goals” of the Russian military operation in Ukraine remain the same, and that the Kremlin does not plan to change them. At the same time, Putin maintained that Moscow “sincerely sought”to reach an agreement with Kiev and resolve the differences involving former southeastern Ukrainian regions, which have since joined Russia following a series of referendums in autumn 2022. 

After long touting a counteroffensive, Ukraine finally launched its operation last week, although thus far it has apparently failed to bring about any dramatic changes on the front line.

The Russian Defense Ministry has reported that Ukrainian forces have lost dozens of pieces of military hardware in their attacks, including tanks and armored vehicles supplied by the West. The ministry has also published videos showing Russian forces successfully striking Ukrainian heavy equipment. 

On Tuesday, one such video showed Russian soldiers seizing a German-made Leopard 2 main battle tank and US-produced Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. Kiev has demanded more tanks from Berlin amid the intense fighting. 

** Russia destroys rare Finnish armor in Ukraine – media

The Ukrainian army has lost half of the specialized Leopard 2 mine-clearing tanks that were provided by Finland, the country’s media outlets have reported, citing frontline images.

The loss was mentioned on Monday by the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (HS), which said its military fact checker, John Helin, had confirmed the authenticity of photos of the damaged armor circulating online.

The so-called Leopard 2R Heavy Mine Breaching Vehicle is meant for creating paths through minefields for advancing forces. The Finnish firm Patria had converted ten regular Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks into the mine-breaching variant. Helsinki this year sent the six that remained operational to Ukraine. Finland’s Defense Ministry said that the vehicles were difficult to operate on its soil, particularly in the winter.

A Leopard 2R has no turret and is equipped with a distinctive British-made frontal mine plow. Three vehicles with those features were photographed on the frontline, after reportedly getting hit last Thursday during an attempted offensive near the village of Malaya Tokmachka in Zaporozhye Region.

Forbes suggested that the possible imminent “extinction” of Leopard 2Rs was not a big deal, since Kiev has other vehicles meant for the same role in its fleet. Other specialized vehicles, which appeared to share the Finnish armor’s fate, were identified by the outlet as the Soviet IMR-2 and the German Bergepanzer.

Last week, Ukraine launched its long-touted counteroffensive against Russia, attempting to use Western-supplied tanks and other military hardware to pierce through Russian defensive lines. Moscow reported repelling a number of Ukrainian attacks and said Kiev paid a heavy price for them without scoring any major victories.

Russia perceives the conflict as part of a US-led proxy war against it. Moscow has repeatedly warned the West against supplying Kiev with weapons, saying it will only increase the cost of the conflict but will not alter its outcome.

** Ukrainian spy ring busted in Russia – FSB

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has arrested several people who used to work in the national defense industry for allegedly providing Ukraine with secret documents.

In a statement on Tuesday, the agency said that several Russian nationals were acting as agents of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence. It added that they were suspected of “transferring technical documentation and samples of military products used in the production of weapons and military equipment” being used by the Russian Air Force.

The FSB also claimed that the agents were preparing sabotage attacks seeking to damage railways in Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod Regions bordering Ukraine. In particular, they were targeting those used for supplying Russian forces involved in the special military operation, the agency added.

During the bust, operatives confiscated more than four kilograms of explosives, four detonators, design documentation, and several military-related items, the FSB said, without providing further detail. The agency also seized $150,000 from the suspects.

Amid the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev, in recent months Russia’s security services have ramped up efforts to neutralize Ukrainian agents seeking to gather intel on Moscow’s military facilities or stage sabotage attacks.

Last autumn, the FSB claimed to have foiled a Ukrainian plot to blow up a Russian pipeline that provides gas to Türkiye. More recently, the agency claimed to have intercepted in May a Ukrainian saboteur group that was planning to target power lines leading to two nuclear power plants in Russia in order to “cause the shutdown of nuclear reactors… and deliver serious economic and reputational damage” to the country.

** Russia’s precision strike wipes out Ukrainian army reserves, foreign arms depot

The Russian Aerospace Forces delivered a strike by precision weapons against clusters of Ukrainian army reserves and a depot of foreign-made ammunition and armaments in the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Tuesday.

"At night, the Russian Aerospace Forces delivered multiple strikes by airborne long-range precision weapons against the amassment areas of the Ukrainian army’s operational reserves and a depot storing foreign-made ammunition and armaments. All the designated targets were destroyed. The goal of the strike was achieved," the spokesman said.

Russian forces neutralize Ukrainian subversive group in Kupyansk area

Russian forces neutralized a Ukrainian subversive group in the Kupyansk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the Kupyansk direction, aircraft and artillery of the western battlegroup inflicted damage on the enemy units in areas near the settlements of Ivanovka in the Kharkov Region and Rozovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic. Near the settlement of Timkovka in the Kharkov Region, the activity of a Ukrainian subversive/reconnaissance group was thwarted," the spokesman said.

Over 35 Ukrainian troops, an armored personnel carrier, a pickup truck and a D-20 howitzer were destroyed in the Kupyansk area in the past 24 hours, the general reported.

Russian forces eliminate 60 Ukrainian troops in Krasny Liman area in past day

Russian forces eliminated roughly 60 Ukrainian troops and a motorized artillery system in the Krasny Liman area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the Krasny Liman direction, operational/tactical and army aviation and artillery of the battlegroup Center inflicted damage on the Ukrainian army units in areas near the settlements of Nevskoye and Belogorovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic and the Serebryansky forestry," the spokesman said.

As many as 60 Ukrainian personnel, two armored combat vehicles, four motor vehicles, a Gvozdika motorized artillery system, D-20 and D-30 howitzers were destroyed in that direction in the past 24 hours, the general reported.

Russian forces repel Ukrainian attacks in Donetsk area

Russian forces repelled Ukrainian army attacks at the Vremevka bulge, near Artyomovsk and Makarovka in the Donetsk direction over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"During the last 24-hour period, Ukrainian army units continued attempts to conduct offensive operations in the south Donetsk direction, and also near the town of Artyomovsk. At the Vremevka bulge, the Kiev regime threw into battle the units hastily assembled from the remnants of the Ukrainian army brigades that had earlier sustained heavy casualties," the spokesman said.

In the past 24 hours, Russian forces repulsed three attacks by Ukrainian army units reinforced by tanks and armored combat vehicles near the settlement of Makarovka, the general reported.

"All the attacks were repelled by courageous and decisive actions of units from the battlegroup East, air strikes and artillery fire. Eight out of ten armored personnel carriers of the Ukrainian army involved in the attacks were destroyed," he said.

Russian forces repulse two Ukrainian attacks south of Artyomovsk

Russian forces repulsed two Ukrainian attacks south of Artyomovsk over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"South of the town of Artyomovsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic, two enemy attacks towards the settlement of Klreshcheyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic were successfully repulsed in the past 24 hours by active operations of the southern battlegroup," the spokesman said.

Ukrainian troops were prevented from breaking into Russian defenses, the general stressed.

"As many as 350 Ukrainian personnel, two armored combat vehicles and six motor vehicles were destroyed in the battles," he said.

Russian forces wipe out 275 Ukrainian troops in south Donetsk area

Russian forces destroyed about 275 Ukrainian troops in the south Donetsk area, near the Vremevka bulge and Artyomovsk over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"The enemy’s total losses in those areas in the past 24 hours amounted to 275 Ukrainian personnel, four tanks, 15 armored combat vehicles, eight motor vehicles and an Msta-B howitzer," the spokesman said.

Also, Russian forces successfully repulsed two Ukrainian army attacks near the settlement of Rovnopol in the Donetsk People’s Republic in the past 24 hours. They destroyed two Ukrainian tanks and three armored combat vehicles. Near the settlement of Prechistovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Russian forces eliminated the larger part of the personnel of a Ukrainian company tactical group and four infantry fighting vehicles, the general reported.

Russian forces destroy 30 Ukrainian troops in Kherson area

Russian forces destroyed roughly 30 Ukrainian troops and a motorized artillery system in the Kherson area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the Kherson direction, as many as 30 Ukrainian personnel, three motor vehicles, an Msta-B howitzer and a Gvozdika motorized artillery system were destroyed in the past 24 hours as a result of damage inflicted by firepower," the spokesman said.

Russian forces strike 98 Ukrainian artillery units in past day

Russian forces struck 98 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"During the last 24-hour period, operational/tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groupings of forces inflicted damage on 98 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions, manpower and military equipment in 114 areas," the spokesman said.

Russian air defenses intercept three Storm Shadow missiles, 10 HIMARS rockets

Russian air defense forces intercepted three Storm Shadow missiles, 10 rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and shot down six Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day, Konashenkov reported.

"In the past 24 hours, air defense capabilities intercepted three Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles and 10 rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system," the spokesman said.

In addition, Russian air defense systems shot down six Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Staromlynovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Rabotino in the Zaporozhye Region, Korsunka in the Kherson Region, Pshenichnoye and Novokrasnyanka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, the general reported.

In total, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 442 Ukrainian combat aircraft, 238 helicopters, 4,585 unmanned aerial vehicles, 426 surface-to-air missile systems, 9,939 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,122 multiple rocket launchers, 5,100 field artillery guns and mortars and 10,927 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Konashenkov reported.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Blue and yellow flag, Russian dead attest to Ukrainian advance in south

Ukraine's blue and yellow flag flew over a ruined grocery store and Russian soldiers lay dead in the street of the village of Neskuchne, reached by Reuters journalists on Tuesday in the first independent confirmation of Ukraine's biggest advances for seven months against Russia's invasion.

Russia has not acknowledged any Ukrainian gains, and President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that for now he saw no need for a new mobilisation of fighting men to confront the Ukrainian counteroffensive launched last week.

"There is no such need today," Putin told a televised meeting of Russian war correspondents and military bloggers when asked about another mobilisation. But he added that it all depended on what Russia wanted to achieve in what it describes as a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

More than 15 months since Putin sent troops into Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian forces are still battling along a 1,000-km (600-mile) front line, though far from the capital Kyiv.

Russian forces tried, and failed, to capture Kyiv in the hours and days after the invasion began on Feb. 24 last year.

In comments shown on the Russian state TV broadcast, Putin said he faced a question only he could answer - should Russia try to take Kyiv again?

Once again on Tuesday Putin threatened to withdraw Russia from the Black Sea grain deal, designed to ease a global food crisis worsened by the invasion, saying the West had cheated Moscow. Russia and Ukraine are both major agricultural exporters.

"We are thinking about getting out of this grain deal now," Putin told the meeting. "Unfortunately, we were once again cheated - nothing was done in terms of liberalising the supply of our grain to foreign markets."

The deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey will expire on July 17 unless Russia agrees to extend it.

UKRAINIAN TROOPS RIDE THROUGH RECAPTURED VILLAGE

Not a single resident could be found in Neskuchne, one of a cluster of settlements on the Mokry Yali river that Ukraine says its troops have captured since their counteroffensive began in a steady advance southwards into Russian-held territory.

Ukrainian troops rode through the muddy streets on the back of a tank and in a pick-up truck. A warplane flew overhead, firing flares.

"Three days ago the Russian forces were still here. We chased them out of Neskuchne. Glory to Ukraine," said Artem, a member of a Ukrainian territorial defence unit, who gave no surname.

The mainly one- and two-storey buildings in the village, which had a population of several hundred before the invasion, had nearly all been damaged. The scene was silent, apart for the crump of artillery fire in the distance.

Reuters saw at least three dead Russian soldiers lying in the street, including one whose fly-blown body lay by an abandoned Russian military vehicle. Artem said the advancing Ukrainian troops had watched from a drone as comrades initially tried to evacuate him, only to dump him and flee.

It was the first independent confirmation of Ukraine's advance in the area, roughly 90 km southwest of the city of Donetsk, one of several axes where it is trying to break through Russian lines.

In Washington, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said as he met U.S. President Joe Biden that the military alliance's support to Ukraine was making a difference on the battlefield.

"It's still early days, but what we do know is that the more land Ukrainians are able to liberate, the stronger hand they will have at the negotiating table," Stoltenberg said.

EARLY DAYS OF ASSAULT

Ukraine had stuck to a defensive posture through seven months of a Russian winter and spring campaign that yielded scant gains. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday night gave an updated casualty count for a Russian missile strike on an apartment building and warehouses in his birthplace of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine - 11 killed and more than 30 injured.

Russia, for its part, has had months to prepare several layers of defensive lines, meaning Ukraine's advance so far does not necessarily amount to a breach through the front.

After a week of giving little information, Ukraine said on Monday it had retaken seven settlements so far. Troops have advanced up to 6.5 km (4 miles) and seized 90 square km (35 square miles) of ground along a 100-km-long (60-mile-long) stretch of the southern front line, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said.

Putin told the televised meeting with war correspondents that Ukraine's counteroffensive had not been successful in any areas, and claimed that Ukrainian casualties had been 10 times higher than Russia's.

Leaked U.S. intelligence documents have estimated Russia has suffered losses several times greater than Ukraine's, with the worst casualties coming in recent months. Ukraine does not usually comment on its losses.

Putin declined to say whether Moscow would launch a new offensive of its own, saying that Russia's future plans would be decided once the Ukrainian counteroffensive was over.

The Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday its forces had fended off Ukrainian attacks near the villages of Makarivka, Rivnopil and Prechystivka. Makarivka is located further south along the river from Neskuchne.

Moscow also released video footage of what it said were German-made Leopard tanks and U.S.-made Bradley Fighting Vehicles captured in battle. Reuters could not immediately verify the location or time of the footage.

RT/Tass/Reuters