Back Story Newsletter
Good Morning,
Ukraine
If the U.S. stops bankrolling Ukraines resistance against Russia’s February invasion, it will be a hammer blow. And that may be about to happen says the House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R) who has stated “I think people are going to be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine”.
The United States has authorized upward of $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, with more than $18.2 billion in security assistance given since January 2021. The Senate voted to finalize more than $40 billion in new military and humanitarian assistance in May, which Republicans voted against.
Congress on the other hand has supported aid to Ukraine, but the mid terms may deliver a number of candidates who are opposed to continued support.
On The Ground
Meantime the air attacks on Ukraine by Russia are having a devastating effect on infrastructure, literally turning out the lights and turning off the heat in Ukraine.
Russia has created a humanitarian disaster in Ukraine, by targeting power stations with missiles and kamikaze drones heralding a new phase in Russian leader Putin’s brutal war.
Since Oct 10, government minister, Oleksii Chernyshov, said 408 sites in Ukraine had been struck in that time, including 45 energy facilities. Many of the attacks have also hit thermal energy plants that generate steam for heating homes and businesses.
The former American Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer tweeted overnight the obvious - Russia will never live next to a friendly state, if the bloodshed in Ukraine continues.
The Ukrainian army is continuing to advance on the city of Kherson which is now under heavy bombardment by HIMARS rockets, and the Russians have been warning resident of the need to evacuate.
Kherson was the first city big city to fall to the Russians back in February and if Ukraine can reclaim that in the coming weeks it would be a major defeat for Russian ground forces which are in danger of being surrounded in the south.
Other News…
-U.K. inflation figures are to be released later this morning, likely to top 10% the highest rate in 40 years. The Bank of England has warned inflation could top 13% this year.
-Striking workers risk plunging France into blackouts this winter as industrial action slows vital maintenance work to nuclear reactors, the country’s power grid operator has warned. The French president, Emmanuel Macron is facing the biggest challenge of his second term as long-running oil depot and refinery blockades create fuel shortages, transport workers join the strike for higher wages and the government prepares to force its budget through parliament without a vote, unable to find a compromise with the opposition.
--An RCMP officer in Burnaby, B.C. Canada, has been killed in what Solicitor General Mike Farnworth calls a terrible tragedy. Media reports say the female officer was stabbed to death at a homeless camp while assisting a bylaw officer.
Have a good day everyone.
Dana Lewis