WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russian attack kills 17 in east Ukraine as Blinken visits Kyiv, officials say At least 17 people were killed and 32 wounded in a Russian attack on a crowded market in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka on Wednesday as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said. Footage circulated online by presidential officials showed people falling to the ground or running for cover after a huge explosion in front of them, seconds after some looked up to the sky when they heard what sounded like a missile approaching. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attack,…

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine's counteroffensive has 'failed' – Putin Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive has not “stalled” but failed, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Monday. With Ukrainian losses mounting and Kiev ramping up its conscription efforts, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu affirmed his commander-in-chief's assessment. The Ukrainian operation “is not stalled; it is a failure,”Putin declared, following talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the resort city of Sochi. “At least, this is how it looks today,” he continued. “Let’s see what happens next. I hope this will continue to be the case.” In early June, Kiev launched its long-awaited counteroffensive…