Danish police said Sunday that several people were shot at a Copenhagen shopping mall, one of the largest in Scandinavia.

Copenhagen police said that one person has been arrested in connection with the shooting at the Field’s shopping mall, which is close to the city’s airport. Police tweeted that “several people have been hit,” but gave no other details.

Copenhagen Mayor Sophie H. Andersen tweeted: “Terrible reports of shooting in Fields. We do not yet know for sure how many were injured or dead, but it is very serious.”

Images from the scene showed people running out of the mall, and Denmark’s TV2 broadcaster posted a photo of a man being put on a stretcher. Witnesses said people were crying and hid in shops.

Laurits Hermansen told Danish broadcaster DR that he was in a clothing store at the shopping center with his family when he heard “three-four bangs. Really loud bangs. It sounded like the shots were being fired just next to the store.”

A huge presence of heavily-armed police officers was on hand, with several fire department vehicles also parked outside the mall.

“One person has been arrested in connection with the shooting at Fields. We currently are not able to say more about the person concerned,” Copenhagen police tweeted. “We have a massive presence at Fields and are working on getting an overview.”

The shopping center is on the outskirts of Copenhagen just across from a subway line that connects the city center with the international airport. A major highway also runs adjacent to Fields, which opened in 2004.

A concert by former One Direction band member Harry Styles was scheduled to be held at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT; 2 p.m. EDT) at the nearby Royal Arena. It was unclear whether the concert would be held.

On Snapchat, Styles wrote, “My team and I pray for everyone involved in the Copenhagen shopping mall shooting. I am shocked. Love H.”

Shortly after the shooting, the royal palace said a reception with Crown Prince Frederik connected to the Tour de France cycling race had been canceled. The first three stages of the race were held in Denmark this year, the palace said in a statement. The reception was due to be held on the royal yacht that is moored in Soenderborg, the town where the third stage ended.

• In:
• Copenhagen
• Shooting
• Denmark
• Crime
• Shootings

First published on July 3, 2022 / 2:23 PM

© 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

KYIV, July 3 (Reuters) – Russia said it had taken full control of the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk on Sunday after capturing the final Ukrainian bastion of the city of Lysychansk, where Kyiv said it had withdrawn to save the lives of its troops.

The region’s capture, a key Russian war aim, hands Moscow a boost after weeks of slow advances and shifts the battlefield focus to neighbouring Donetsk region, where Kyiv still controls substantial territory.

Since abandoning an assault on the capital Kyiv, Russia has concentrated its military operation on the industrial Donbas heartland that comprises the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, where Moscow-backed separatist proxies have been fighting Ukraine since 2014.

Russia says it is capturing Luhansk region in order to give it to the Russian-backed Luhansk People’s Republic whose independence it recognised on the eve of the war.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu informed President Vladimir Putin that Luhansk had been “liberated”, the defence ministry said, after Russia earlier said its forces had captured villages around Lysychansk and encircled the city. read more

Ukraine’s military command said its forces had been forced to retreat from the city.

“The continuation of the defence of the city would lead to fatal consequences. In order to preserve the lives of Ukrainian defenders, a decision was made to withdraw,” it said in a statement on social media.

Ukrainian officials, who say references to “liberating” Ukrainian territory are Russian propaganda, had reported intense artillery barrages on residential areas.

“Ukrainian forces likely conducted a deliberate withdrawal from Lysychansk, resulting in the Russian seizure of the city on July 2,” analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, wrote in a briefing note.

They based their assessment on footage showing Russia forces walking casually in northern and eastern neighbourhoods of Lysychansk, saying it suggested few or no Ukrainian forces remained. It said the footage included images posted on social media and geolocated to confirm where it was filmed.

West of Lysychansk in Donetsk region, at least six people were killed when the Ukrainian city of Sloviansk was hit by powerful shelling from multiple rocket launchers on Sunday, local officials said. read more

COSTLY CAMPAIGN

Thousands of civilians have been killed and cities levelled since Russia invaded on Feb. 24, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of deliberately targeting civilians. Moscow denies this.

Russia says what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine aims to protect Russian speakers from nationalists. Ukraine and its Western allies say this is a baseless pretext for its flagrant aggression that aims to seize territory.

While Russia would try to frame its advance in Luhansk as a significant moment in the war, it came at a high cost to Russia’s military, said Neil Melvin of the London-based think tank RUSI.

“Ukraine’s position was never that they could defend all of this. What they’ve been trying to do is to slow down the Russian assault and cause maximum damage, while they build up for a counteroffensive,” he said.

Russia’s defence ministry also said on Sunday it had struck military infrastructure of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city in the northeast, where a Reuters reporter said Ukrainian forces had been building fortifications after nightly shelling.

Outside a school in Kharkiv, some residents threw debris into a large crater created by an early morning rocket strike while others got help repairing damaged houses.

“The wife was lucky that she woke up early in the morning because the roof fell exactly where she had been sleeping,” one resident, Oleksii Mihulin, told Reuters.

About 70 km (44 miles) from Kharkiv on the Russian side of the border, Russia also reported explosions on Sunday in Belgorod, which it said killed at least three people and destroyed homes. read more

“The sound was so strong that I jumped up, I woke up, got very scared and started screaming,” a Belgorod resident told Reuters, adding the blasts occurred around 3 a.m. (0000 GMT).

Moscow has accused Kyiv of numerous attacks on Belgorod and other areas bordering Ukraine. Previously, Kyiv has said such incidents as payback for Russia pounding Ukrainian urban areas into rubble. read more

MILITARY BASE HIT

Ukraine said its air force had flown some 15 sorties “in virtually all directions of hostilities”, destroying equipment and two ammunition depots.

In the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol, Ukrainian forces hit a military logistics base with more than 30 strikes on Sunday, the city’s exiled mayor Ivan Fedorov said. A Russian-installed official confirmed that strikes had hit the city. read more

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.

Ukraine has repeatedly appealed for an acceleration in weapons supplies from the West, saying its forces are heavily outgunned.

Speaking on a visit to Kyiv, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government would provide Ukraine with additional armoured vehicles, as well as tightening sanctions against Russia. read more

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told broadcaster ARD on Sudan that Germany was discussing with its allies security guarantees for Ukraine after the war, though it was clear these would “not be the same as if someone were a member of NATO”. read more

Additional reporting by Reuters bureaux and Leah Millis in Kharkiv; Writing by Lincoln Feast and Aidan Lewis; Editing by William Mallard, Edmund Blair and Raissa Kasolowsky

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

For the past century at least, the Kremlin leadership has failed to understand the West. Though it has at times succeeded in manipulating the West and conducting espionage operations against it, the Kremlin and its affiliated intelligence services have consistently misunderstood Western intentions.

This is not accidental. We know from sources ranging from the Mitrokhin Files to the recent defection of Boris Bondarev that both Russian diplomats and Russian intelligence officers are pressed to report not what the Kremlin needs to know, but rather what it wants to hear. The classic example of this was Yuri Andropov’s directive to KGB officers abroad to obtain NATO’s plans for a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the USSR, despite the fact that no such plans existed. The Soviet intelligence services “fed the beast” for years, and in 1983 nearly triggered a nuclear war over the Able Archer NATO exercise.

This approach to information and intelligence gathering results in projection, meaning the tendency to see the outside world not as it really is but through the distorting lens of the observer’s experience. Vladimir Putin’s recent speech at the 2022 Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum is worth exploring in detail as it left little room for doubt that his worldview is dominated by such projection.

Subscribe to UkraineAlert DAILY

Putin’s June 17 speech in Saint Petersburg was billed in advance as “extremely important” by the Kremlin. It was certainly revealing. In his address, Putin projected his own desire to expand Russia’s borders onto the West while accusing Western leaders of crimes he himself is guilty of. His much quoted reference to “obsolete geopolitical illusions” was particularly ironic, since Putin’s worldview is based on nineteenth century modes of sphere-of-influence international relations. Clearly, Putin fails to understand that his view is the obsolete illusion.

The Russian dictator accused the West of viewing the rest of the world as a collective backwater. “They still treat them like colonies, and the people living there like second-class people, because they consider themselves exceptional. If they are exceptional, that means everyone else is second rate.” This was clear projection of Russia’s own attitude toward its former colonies, ranging from the 14 non-Russian former republics of the USSR to the former Warsaw Pact nations of Central Europe.

The idea of Western imperialism was central to Putin’s entire speech. Citing the examples of Yugoslavia, Syria, Libya and Iraq, he accused the West of “crudely and shamelessly imposing their ethics, their views on culture and ideas about history, sometimes questioning the sovereignty and integrity of states, and threatening their very existence.” This was particularly ironic given Putin’s own statements denying Ukraine’s right to exist. As for “crudely and shamelessly imposing” cultural values, the Russification of education and culture across the multi-ethnic USSR, extending to today’s multi-ethnic Russian Federation, makes clear that this is another projection.

Putin’s comments on Western democracy were similarly shaped by the cynicism of his own experience with fake parties and rigged elections. “Frankly, the democratic procedures and elections in Europe and the forces that come to power look like a front, because almost identical political parties come and go, while deep down things remain the same. The real interests of people and national businesses are being pushed further and further to the periphery,” he stated. Putin’s United Russia party has been in power in Russia for over two decades and is now the only real political force in the country, particularly since the jailing of Alexei Navalny. United Russia certainly fits Putin’s definition of being completely divorced from “the real interests of people and national businesses.”

Unsurprisingly, Putin had much to say about the European Union’s alleged loss of sovereignty to the United States. Anyone truly familiar with the politics of the European Union would reject claims that Europe dances to America’s tune or has lost its political sovereignty. In fact, the greatest influence on EU policy toward Russia is exerted today not by the United States but by former Soviet vassals such as the Czechs and the Baltic states, who well remember what Russian domination was like.

Likewise, the United States has in no way pressed Sweden or Finland to apply for NATO membership. Instead, Putin has only himself to blame. Putin simply cannot imagine how Western democracies interact with each other, or that they would willingly choose to coalesce, despite their differences, when faced with an external threat. Instead, he seeks to attribute everything to American influence, a projection of erstwhile Kremlin influence over its Warsaw Pact allies during the Soviet era.

Putin’s worldview seems shaped by two information vectors: his own life experience as a KGB officer and the flow of reports from his intelligence and diplomatic services. The former is irrelevant to the modern world, while the latter is likely highly inaccurate due to the pressure on Russian spies and diplomats to tell the Kremlin what it wants to hear.

When we face a sparse information matrix to support decisions, we tend naturally to fall back on our own experience and to give most credence to information that matches our preconceptions. Putin views the world through the prism of a mid-level Soviet bureaucrat nurtured on hatred of the West and biased by exposure in his formative years to only one model of both domestic politics and international relations. He sees us not as we are but as he is, as the Soviet Union was, and as he wishes Russia to be.

Allan Mustard retired as US Ambassador to Turkmenistan in 2019 after 34 years as a Foreign Service Officer including over seven years in the USSR and Russian Federation.

Further reading

The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

Image: Participants gather near a screen showing Russian President Vladimir Putin delivering a speech at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg. June 17, 2022. (REUTERS/Anton Vaganov)

Charles Bausman, a former financial executive who runs websites that promote far-right views, recorded footage in the Capitol for a Russian television producer. Soon after, he fled to Moscow as a “political refugee.”

Charles Bausman, right, in a red cap and a gray jacket, during the Jan. 6 insurrection.Credit…via YouTube

A woman who ran a Russia propaganda center in New York City was charged on Tuesday for acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the Russian government.

Elena Branson, 61, who has both US and Russian citizenship, ran the Russian Center New York, which she founded in 2012, receiving thousands of dollars from the Russian government.

Branson received a total of $173,000 between August 2013 to November 2019 in connection to her work at the center, reported Sky News.

The center reportedly coordinated activities such as an “I love Russia” campaign aimed at American young people that promoted Russian history and culture.

Branson also serves as chairperson of the Russian Community Council of the USA, an organization with the goal of “[supporting] organizations of Russian compatriots, to preserve and popularize the Russian language and cultural and historical heritage in the United States”, according to group’s website.

Branson reportedly even invited Donald Trump or one of his children to a “Russia Forum New York” in 2016, though there is no evidence that Trump or any family members attended.

Prosecutors said that Branson, who left the US for Russia in 2020 and still remains at large, corresponded with high-ranking Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, about her campaign as Russia increased their propaganda efforts in the US.

Russian Center New York also lobbied officials in Hawaii not to change the name of a formerly Russian fort, Fort Elizabeth, on the island of Kauai, organizing a trip for Hawaiian officials to meet with Russian delegates in Moscow.

Branson has been charged with conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the US attorney general as well as taking part in a visa fraud conspiracy, reported the Associated Press.

Branson is also being accused of helping others illegally avoid registering as foreign agents.

While none of Branson’s educational or diplomacy activities are illegal, all US agents for foreign governments must disclose their affiliation to the Department of Justice. “All the while, Branson knew she was supposed to register as an agent of the Russian government but chose not to do so and, instead, instructed others regarding how to illegally avoid the same,” said US attorney Damian Williams.

“Particularly given current global events, the need to detect and hinder attempts at foreign influence is of critical importance, and the southern district of New York is proud to do its part in the fight against tyranny,” said Williams.

During an interview with the FBI in September 2020, Branson said that she had never been asked by Russian officials to arrange meetings with US officials.

The following month, while speaking with a Russian-state controlled TV station, Branson said that she left the US because she thought she would most likely be arrested.

In the early days of the war in Ukraine, drones emerged as an unexpected source of victory against Russian forces.

Stories of the success dominated the news cycle, played out on multiple video clips widely distributed on social media, and showed Ukraine’s drones decimating the chaotic Russian advances.

Ukraine’s ad-hoc drone airforce, from small consumer drones typically used for surveillance to the famed Turkish-designed Bayraktar TB2 drones, were credited with eviscerating Putin’s tanks and armor.

But Russia has learned from the humiliation by drones in the first months of the invasion. Experts told Insider that the drone wonder weapons are becoming increasingly ineffective because Russia has improved its defense systems and is downing and jamming many of Ukraine’s drones.

“What’s happening now is that Russia’s electronic warfare and air defenses have become better organized and fielded when compared to the earlier months of the war,” Samuel Bendett, an analyst and expert in unmanned and robotic military systems, said at the Center for Naval Analysis. 

Russian forces are using early warning radars to identify the drones and electronic warfare systems to jam and disrupt their communication, Bendett said.

They also use various weapons like machine guns and air defense systems, such as the Tor missile system, to shoot the drones down.

Recent footage from the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to show a Krasukha-S4 electronic warfare system in action, taking out a Ukrainian drone.

According to Mark Cancian, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Ukraine was previously able to use drones so effectively because Russia had not organized its defense systems.

“Drones were able to play such a role because the Russians were slow to set up an air defense system. They were slow to establish the combined arms operation (armor, infantry, artillery, recon, engineers, air defense) that their doctrine called for,” he said.

A Ukrainian kamikaze drone hit a Russian tank. Screengrab/Ukrainian Special Operations Forces

Russia has better organized and positioned its ground-based air defense in the Donbas region, where the focus of the war has shifted.

Ukrainian forces are now limiting their use of drones because Russian troops are more easily thwarting them, and losing drones can be costly.

While single-use drones such as the Switchblade and Phoenix Ghost cost several thousand dollars each, the TB2 drones can cost somewhere between $1-2 million each.

Ukraine has received about 50 TB2 drones from Turkish arms company Baykar since the Russian invasion began. 

Ruthlessly effective in the first days of the war, the TB2s have begun to be shot down by Russia, and the Ukrainian army is scaling back their use.

Reports have recently emerged that the US is planning on selling Ukraine US-made General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle armed drones, which have greater capabilities than the TB2s.

However, two unnamed Ukrainian Air Force pilots told The War Zone that they are not advocating for the drones due to their hefty price tag of $10 million each, as they are likely to get shot down on their first mission.

According to Cancian, Russia’s air defenses are almost entirely short, and medium-range missiles and drones are especially vulnerable because they fly low and slow. 

“Ukrainian pilots I have talked with say the role of drones is now limited as a result,” he said.

Instead, Ukrainian forces have advocated for modern fighter jets from its Western allies.

A Ukrainian serviceman shoots at a Russian drone with an assault rifle from a trench at the front line east of Kharkiv, March 31, 2022. FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

While Ukraine’s drones are becoming less effective in this new phase of the war, Russia is flying just as many if not more of their drones, especially for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, CNA expert Bendett said.

The Ukrainians lack the weaponry to shoot them down, and one soldier told The Sunday Times: “We can’t see the Russian drones, but they can see us. The only thing we can do is hide.”

Bendett said the next few weeks will likely involve the Russian military seeking to better organize and continue to push forward in its offensive.

“It’s trying to trap Ukrainians in pockets around certain cities and towns and just trying to push and grind the Ukrainian defenses in general. Drones are playing a key part in providing intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance capabilities back to the Russians so that they can conduct strikes from the ground and the air,” Bendett said. 

“So we’re going to see drones on the Russian side, assuming probably even more important going forward, assuming that the war continues as it is right now.”