Back Story Newsletter
Good morning,
Texas Shooting
The investigations have begun into how and why police in Uvalde Texas, waited just short of one hour to enter a classroom to neutralize a gunman who had gunned down 21 people including 19 children aged 9 to 11 years old.
Already there is evidence that some of the wounded children might have lived if they had received medical help earlier including a little girl who was shot in the back and slowly bled out. But police waited and the commanders chose wrongly to get backup and plan entry to the locked classroom.
While President Biden and the first lady Jill Biden, met with families and paid respect to Uvalde, the calls from the crowd said everything about the mood in America.
“We need help!” one person shouted as Mr. Biden and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas approached the memorial. “Do something!”
The Democrats have called for sweeping gun control measures, most unlikely to be enacted but there is hope.
Senator Christopher S. Murphy (D), who is leading negotiations with five Republicans, expressed cautious optimism on Sunday that Congress could enact some combination of enhanced background checks for gun buyers, mental health assistance and grants to states to enact so-called red flag laws to help law enforcement remove weapons from those deemed mentally unfit to have them.
Negotiators were also looking at the fact that the gunmen in Buffalo and Uvalde were legally allowed to buy military-style rifles at age 18.
Ukraine-Russia
Oil prices rose to two-month highs on Monday as traders waited to see if the European Union would reach an agreement on banning Russian oil ahead of a meeting on more sanctions against Putin’s Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The conflict is not frozen, but is an active intense firefight running hundreds of miles from the south to the north of eastern Ukraine with artillery duels not seen in Europe since WW2.
The longer this lasts, the less likely Ukraine is to give up any territory taken by Russia since the invasion began in late February.
But Russia has made gains despite Ukraine’s claims of counter attacks in certain areas. But it has done so by destroying civilian infrastructure with relentless shelling.
President Zelenskiy made a surprise visit to Kharkiv where 30% of the cities buildings are destroyed. Zelenskyy was seen in a bulletproof vest, meeting with troops, observing bombed-out Russian military vehicles, and evaluating heavily damaged apartment blocks.
Ukraine is holding ground amidst this onslaught, and ever demanding more heavy weaponry from America and European allies.
EU governments failed to agree on an embargo on Russian oil on Sunday, but there may be a deal to ban seaborne deliveries of Russian oil while allowing deliveries by pipeline.
Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia to continue to receive their Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline for some time until alternative supplies can be arranged.
Where are we? How long will this war go on? Who is pushing for an end?
We are in an intense chapter on the battle field, where Russia is calling up even old T-60 tanks to reinforce losses it’s taken and is reportedly cancelling civilian access to hospitals in Crimea to clear beds for wounded soldiers.
Ukraine is making use of heavy weaponry still arriving from the west, and more about to committed by the U.S. But it too has tired units fighting for months and being ground down in the east.
Europe wants to push both sides into ceasefire talks to calm the situation and bring stability, but Ukraine won’t cede the east of the country to invading Russian troops, and why should it?
Russia should move to claim its won a victory in the east and hold the land its currently occupied but how? Putin won’t stop. And how in touch is he with real losses in Ukraine? And do his commanders think they can take more ground?
And America thinks it has Russia where it serves U.S. interests by weakening Russia reserves and committing more Russian troops to a losing battle. Putin is fighting a battle that serves to keep Russia from threatening NATO countries and committed to a battle field that is chewing up his army. Better to fight Russia in Ukraine than in Lithuania or Poland or elsewhere and if Russia loses, Putin’s rule may be finished.
So calls for Germany and France and Italy to end this, and get back to real negotiations are too soon and won’t get traction. Not this month or next. The battle has to play out. And if Ukraine can hold on, Russia possibly won’t.
So these are key weeks ahead. Don’t be misled by a seemingly frozen battle field, because it’s high drama in eastern Ukraine and lines can break and shift quickly.
Have a good Monday everyone. A few people have told me they had difficulty with paid subscriptions. Please direct message me if that’s happened to you.
Dana Lewis