Tuesday morning news: August 23, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Ukraine: 9,000 Ukrainian troops killed in war » Russia's invasion of Ukraine has already killed some 9,000 Ukrainian soldiers. That, according to a Ukrainian general on Monday.

Russia has also paid a heavy price with tens of thousands of troops killed, by some estimates.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the invasion has not gone according to plan for Vladimir Putin.

MCCONNELL: He thought it would divide NATO. He thought he would waltz into Ukraine. He may have even had dreams that he was going to be welcomed.

But he said Putin underestimated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Tomorrow will mark six months since Russia invaded Ukraine again after annexing Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

The U.N. says the war has killed nearly 6,000 civilians in Ukraine.

Russia car bombing » Meantime, the Kremlin is blaming Ukraine for a car bomb that reportedly killed the daughter of Aleksandr Dugin, one of Putin’s top advisors.

Russian authorities say Draya Dugina died in the bombing on Sunday after she left a nationalist festival. It’s unclear if she was the intended target. Her father also attended the festival.

Moscow claims a Ukrainian operative carried out the bombing. But officials in Kyiv say not so.

PODOLYAK: [In Ukrainian]

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskyy said—quote—“we’re not a criminal state or a terrorist state.”

Aleksandr Dugin is an ultranationalist philosopher who strongly supported the invasion of Ukraine.

US-SoKo military drills » U.S. and South Korean warships, tanks, jets and thousands of troops are training side by side this week. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The war games are the first joint military drills the two countries have performed in years. That, after North Korea has ramped up its ballistic missile testing this year.

U.S. and South Korean officials say the drills are entirely defensive, designed to guard against any potential invasion. But Pyongyang calls them a provocation.

Potentially tens of thousands of troops will participate on land, sea, and in the skies above the peninsula.

The exercises, through the end of this month will help prepare forces to counter drone strikes and other modern warfare attacks.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Indiana governor in Taiwan » Another American official visited Taiwan on Monday.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb led a delegation to the island for trade talks. The trip comes after two recent visits by U.S. lawmakers that angered China, which considers Taiwan its territory.

HOLCOMB: There are more opportunities ahead of us than I think there ever have been before for us to continue to strengthen and cultivate and nuture this relationship, as our economies continue to grow and grow together.

The Republican governor’s talks with Taiwanese leaders focused on agriculture trade, as well as semiconductors and other technology.

Imran Khan charges » Demonstrators gathered outside the home of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan in an effort to shield him from police.

Authorities announced Monday that they have charged the former prime minister with terrorism-related crimes. That after he delivered a speech in which he threatened to sue police officers and a judge and claimed one of his aides was tortured after being arrested.

Khan’s supporters say the charges are unjust and they won’t stand for it.

RAJA: No, no military No. Agencies, no paramilitary, no one can stand against the people of our country.

A Pakistani court has issued a “protective bail” on the former prime minister, which keeps police from arresting him for three days.

The charges center on a controversial anti-terrorism law that critics say authorities have used to silence opposition.

Fauci to step down » President Biden’s chief medical advisor is stepping down later this year. WORLD’s Mary Muncy has more.

MARY MUNCY, REPORTER: Dr. Anthony Fauci announced Monday that he’ll retire from federal service in December.

The 81-year-old has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for nearly four decades where he and his team made breakthroughs in fighting HIV and AIDS.

Fauci became a household name amid the pandemic, helping lead the government's response to COVID-19.

More recently, Fauci has been at the center of some controversies, clashing with Republican lawmakers over that response as well as so-called gain-of-function virus research.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org.

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