Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia speaks at MSE Symposium Johns Hopkins News-Letter
Russia has likely launched a coordinated offensive on several fronts in eastern Ukraine, including on the heavily defended town of Avdiivka, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said.
In its daily update on the war in Ukraine, the ministry described the offensive as likely “the most significant offensive operation undertaken by Russia since at least January 2023.”
“Russia’s attack is likely being carried out with multiple armored battalions, which are attempting to envelope the town,” the Ministry of Defence statement read.
It added that Avdiivka has been “on the frontline since 2014.”
“The town is a major obstacle in preventing Russian forces from their wider objective of taking control of Donetsk Oblast.”
The ministry suggested that Ukrainian forces were so far holding back the Russian advance. It added that Russian forces have sustained heavy equipment and personnel losses.
“Slow progress and high casualties have likely triggered a change in messaging from Russia, from an offensive to ‘active defense,’ as successfully clearing Avdiivka looks increasingly unlikely in the short term.”
Russia has significantly intensified its attacks on Avdiivka in recent days.
By CBS Baltimore Staff
Updated on: June 14, 2023 / 6:20 PM / CBS Baltimore
BALTIMORE — A retrial for Anna Gabrielian, a Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist, and her husband Jamie Lee Henry, an active duty major in the Army, has been scheduled for November 27, 2023.
The two doctors have been accused of sharing the private medical records of their patients with Russia. They claimed they were entrapped, according to court records.
Earlier this month, jurors announced that they could not unanimously agree on the guilt or innocence of two doctors.
There was a single holdout juror who believed the government entrapped the defendants and that lead Judge Stephanie Gallagher to declare a mistrial.
The entrapment issue came up because jurors were presented with five hours of video recorded by an undercover FBI agent. The videos were the basis of the government’s case. The agent posed as a Russian government official and first confronted Gabrielian in a Johns Hopkins Hospital parking garage as she headed to work.
Gabrielian told the jury she feared for her life and the lives of her family both in Maryland and Russia if she refused to share confidential medical files with an undercover FBI agent who she thought was a member of Russian intelligence.
A letter to Judge Stephanie Gallagher from U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek Barron dated June 1 states that the U.S. government “is prepared to proceed to retrial against both defendants as soon as the court’s schedule permits.”
First published on June 2, 2023 / 6:44 PM
© 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday called Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time since the deadly Hamas attack, and briefed him on several talks with leaders from the region and the Palestinian Authority.
“The Israeli side was in particular informed of the essential points of telephone correspondences that took place today with the leaders of Palestine, Egypt, Iran and Syria,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
According to Moscow, the discussion focused on “the crisis situation resulting from the brutal escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
Putin expressed “his sincere condolences to the families and friends of the deceased Israelis,” the Kremlin said.
He also told the Israeli president of the steps Russia has taken to “promote the normalization of the situation, prevent a further escalation of violence and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.”
Putin spoke in telephone calls with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.
The Russian leader also told Netanyahu that Russia had a “fundamental desire to continue its targeted action aimed at ending” the conflict and finding “a peaceful settlement through political and diplomatic means,” according to the government’s statement.
Moscow has traditionally maintained good relations with both Israeli and Palestinian authorities, as well as several regional players such as Syria, Egypt and Iran.