The Russian Invasion

 

Russian invasionRussian reactions  

South Africa's dilemma: Must arrest Putin if he comes  

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to travel to South Africa this summer - at the same time, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant against him for suspected war crimes. A possible visit would put the South African government in a difficult position, notes Vice.  

South Africa is one of the countries that signed the Rome Statute in 1998 when the ICC was founded, which means that they undertook to arrest Putin if he sets foot in the country. During the war, South Africa maintained some political ties with the Kremlin, and among other things, they refrained from condemning the invasion in the UN.  

 

A spokesperson for South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa tells Vice that it is too early to say anything about the participants of the BRICS summit that Putin is supposed to attend. The basis for the arrest warrant is suspicions that Putin gave orders to bring Ukrainian children to Russia during the war.  

 

Ukrainian soldier prepares shelling on Russian positions in Donetsk/Conflict Intelligence Team update on Telegram. TT/Telegram. 

 

The Russian InvasionThe Battles  

Russia seems to be picking up tanks from the 40s: "Some kind of desperation" 

 

Russia appears to have picked up tanks of a model that began production in the late 1940s, Vice reports.  

The information comes from the independent group Conflict Intelligence Team, based in Georgia, which works with intelligence from open sources. The group has posted images on Telegram showing tanks of the T-54 and T-55 models being moved from eastern Russia by train.  

 

The Washington Post writes that it is not possible to determine whether the tanks are intended to be used in Russia's war in Ukraine.  

 

Johan Huovinen, lieutenant colonel and military teacher at the Norwegian Defense Academy, believes that the tanks should be used in the war after they have been repaired and modernized, writes DN. 

 

- It shows some type of desperation that they have to bring out such old equipment.  

 

Ron DeSantis. Phil Sears/AP  

 

The Russian invasion The 2024 US election 

DeSantis backs off - and calls Putin a war criminal 

 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has been singled out as Donald Trump's main challenger to become the Republican presidential candidate, is backtracking on an earlier comment that the war in Ukraine is a "territorial dispute", AP reports. In an interview on Fox News, DeSantis explains that he was referring to the fighting in border areas in the east and the Crimean peninsula and that he should have been clearer. 

 

- We have a situation where Russia has been in control. I don't think it's legitimate, but they've had it,” DeSantis said.  

 

He also said he considers Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal and described Russia as "basically a gas station with a pile of nuclear weapons," writes The Hill. 

 

At the same time, DeSantis sticks to his line that the United States should not escalate its role in the war.