Putin's Private Army Lowers Recruiting Standards After Heavy Losses: U.K.
Newsweek
Day 146 Roundup: Putin Meets Leaders of Turkey and Iran; Russia's Gazprom Declares 'Force Majeure'
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Image copyright: AP Photos [via AP News]
The Facts
In only his second trip abroad since the invasion of Ukraine, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin visited Tehran on Tues. where he met with Iranian and Turkish counterparts Ebrahim Raisi and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The leaders discussed Ukraine and a UN-backed negotiation, brokered by Turkey, to restart the export of Ukrainian grain. Other issues facing the region, including the conflict in Syria, were also raised.
Meanwhile, China and the EU also held high-level talks on Tuesday. In a virtual meeting, Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice pres. of the EU Commission, and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He were expected to discuss Ukraine, China's alleged treatment of ethnic minority Muslims in Xinjiang and an unratified investment deal.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
As the war shifts to the strategically important Donbas region of Donetsk, the US and its allies need to continue to do everything in their power to arm Ukraine with all the weapons they need. Doing so is the only way to push Putin's forces back as was done in Kyiv.
Pro-Russia narrative
As stated by Putin, the whole purpose of the war was never to invade Kyiv, but to liberate the ethnically Russian people of Donetsk and Luhansk, who have been subjected to systematic killing by Ukrainian forces for not recognizing the 2014 coup in Kyiv.
