Ukraine launched a struggle for a strategic military initiative. A counteroffensive reinforced the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Kherson in the Kharkiv direction (which probably became possible due to the transfer of Russian forces from Kharkiv to the Kherson region). At the same time, the RF Armed Forces continue to advance in the area of Donetsk.
During the week, the situation at the front did not change significantly. In the Donbas, after minor offensives since the beginning of August, the Russian troops reached the outskirts of the city of Bakhmut. From the side of the captured town of Izyum, attempts were observed to advance in the direction of the cities of Sloviansk and the town of Barvinkove. In the southern direction, the advance of the RF Armed Forces in the direction of the town of Mykolaiv intensified.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan leads to a deterioration in US-China relations. But any direct military clash between China and the United States is unlikely due to the parties' deep financial and economic interdependence. But China may increase its involvement in hybrid forms of confrontation with the US. In particular, an escalation of Russian-Western relations and, accordingly, a war in Ukraine is likely to have more active informal participation of China in these events.
As part of the trend towards strengthening the presidential vertical of power, personnel changes in state structures continue. Andriy Kostin has been appointed the new Prosecutor General of Ukraine. The parliament also appointed Olga Sovgirya to the position of judge of the Constitutional Court. The resignation of R.
Depending on the destructiveness and depth of penetration into the social "body" of society, wars can be classified into elite, interstate and nations’.
The operational pause announced earlier by the Russian Federation is over or may not have even started. Gradually, the RF Armed Forces began to increase the intensity of hostilities in the Donbas region. And Ukrainian troops are increasing pressure on the Kherson direction. The termination of the operational pause is unlikely to lead to a sharp increase in ground attacks in Ukraine (the Russian Federation does not have enough forces and means). Still, it will probably intensify assault operations in the Sloviansk-Seversk-Bakhmut directions.
During wars in democratic societies, quite absurd situations related to national security, defense and intelligence activities can often arise. On May 17, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine received draft law No. 7380 authored by M. Bezuglya, G. Tretyakova, V. Gevko and other deputies from the “Sluga Narodu”, Batkivshchyna and, oddly enough, the Opposition Platform for Life.
