 A guilt-ridden Russian officer stated that he resigned from the military out of shame for the invasion of Ukraine. The official said he risked his life by doing so. More: - The unnamed Russian military official who fled the war said that he wasn't aware of the Ukraine invasion until the day before, as he allegedly was ordered by his superiors to hand over his mobile phone while stationed in Southern Russia on Feb. 22.
- Russian soldiers were ordered to paint their vehicles with white paint and write what now has become the infamous letter "Z." The soldier was sent to Crimea, but he said he didn't think that the Ukraine invasion was a viable option even after being sent there. Russian soldiers were without phones and therefore did not find out about Putin's war declaration until they were ordered to go to Ukraine.
- According to this unnamed soldier, he was not the only one with doubts about whether this war was worth risking their lives for, and with confusion about the purpose of the entire mission, some filed reports to return to Russia.
- Valentina Melnikova, executive secretary of the Union of Soldiers' Mothers Committees of Russia, said that soldiers who filed requests demanding to come back from the war were not allowed to do so.
- The Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate reported that in several Russian units, specifically the 150th Motorized Rifle Division of the 8th Army of the Southern Military District, as many as 60% to 70% of soldiers were refusing to serve. These numbers are not confirmed by other agencies, however.
Zoom Out: - Most governments and intelligence agencies believed Russia would not attack Ukraine, even as it had gathered a large number of troops at its border with Ukraine.
- The failure to understand Russia's plans even led to France firing Intelligence Chief Gen Eric Vidu for reporting that it would be unlikely that Putin would deploy the troops.
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 North Korea claimed its COVID-19 outbreak is slowing and reported a positive trend on Sunday, with "fever" cases dropping below 200,000. The country has not replied to Biden's offer for vaccines yet. More: - The Korean Central News Agency said that there had been 186,090 new cases, 299,180 recoveries, and one death between Friday and Saturday.
- There are 2.5 million "fever cases" reported so far, denying that the number of cases is related to COVID-19.
- Three North Korean cargo planes flew to China and back, according to a South Korean government official with knowledge of the matter. It is not known what the planes were carrying, but it is thought to be related to the increase in cases.
- U.S. President Joe Biden has offered to provide vaccines to North Korea during a visit to South Korea, but Kim Jong Un has not stated whether he intends to accept the offer yet.
Zoom Out: - North Korea is currently implementing a strict national lockdown meant to reduce COVID cases. The country was thought to be safe due to the traveling restrictions that citizens have in the dictatorship, but a lack of vaccination has caused the population to quickly spread the virus among itself.
- Kim Jong Un has rejected offers to receive 3.5 million vaccines from Russia, China, and western countries.
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 A message from ADOBE EXPERIENCE CLOUD How top brands are transforming customer experiences with content. A digital-first landscape has changed a lot about how we do business, but the customer experience should still be at the heart of every approach and strategy. Experiences are the reason we bond with a brand, and they’re what keep us coming back time and time again. Achieving a strong return on experience (ROE) means winning more customers and gaining their loyalty. And it hinges on serving up deeply personalized experiences at every single touchpoint with less manual effort than ever before. Discover our compilation of customer stories to see how top brands are transforming their customer experiences to become more impactful and more valuable in a rapidly changing landscape. Read More
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 Israel, Switzerland, and Austria have confirmed their first monkeypox cases. The virus has spread to 14 countries so far. More: - Israel and Switzerland have confirmed one infected person, but Israel said it was investigating other suspected cases. All cases so far have come from people who have traveled.
- This outbreak has surprised scientists because monkeypox is most common in remote parts of Central and West Africa.
- The virus does not tend to spread easily between people, and the risk to the wider public is low. Symptoms are usually mild.
- The World Health Organization has said that another 50 suspected cases are being investigated without stating the countries specifically, while president Biden stated that every country should be worried about this issue if monkeypox continues to spread.
- It is still unclear why this outbreak is happening, but scientists believe monkeypox may have changed in some unknown way and can now spread more easily.
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 Good News: Google headquarters is using "Dragonscale" solar panels to capture sunlight from all angles. The panels enable Google to use green energy 90% of the time. More: - The Bay View campus in Mountain View, California, opened to employees this month on 42 acres in Silicon Valley and was designed by renowned designer Bjarke Ingels.
- The 90,000 solar panels have the capacity to generate 7MW of energy.
- It has an integrated geothermal pile system, the largest in North America, which is estimated to reduce carbon emissions by roughly 50% and will help to both heat and cool the campus.
- The ventilation system uses 100% outside air. This means air flows one way, so there is no recycled air, which is healthier for occupants.
- Its geo-exchange field is integrated into the structural system, reducing the amount of water typically used for cooling by 90%, equal to 5 million gallons of water annually.
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 A message from ADOBE EXPERIENCE CLOUD Here’s your blueprint for building personalized customer experiences. Personalization ranks among the top ways to boost customer engagement, yet many companies miss this opportunity because they don’t realize how accessible it is to create wider-reaching strategies that deliver personal experiences at scale. In this playbook, we provide clear guidance to help you formulate a winning personalization strategy for your organization over three phases of maturity: - Engage: Getting started and laying the foundation
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Read The Winning Playbook for Experience Personalization and discover the universal blueprint for creating more impactful, personal customer experiences across your entire organization. Get Started Now
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 Finland's foreign minister stated that Finland could assure Turkey that possible links to PKK terror will be monitored more closely. The issue may take weeks, he said. More: - On Saturday, President Sauli Niinistö called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss Finland's membership in NATO and the conditions set by Turkey for Finland and Sweden.
- Finland and Sweden have both applied for NATO membership, but the bid was put in limbo by Turkey due to accusations about not monitoring organizations the Turkish government considered as dangerous.
- Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto acknowledged that he previously thought the issue would take days, but now he believes the dialogue will continue for weeks as a matter of precaution.
- Finland does not plan to separate itself from Sweden even if it deterred them from NATO membership, according to Finnish officials.
Zoom Out: - Turkey's list of demands includes the extradition of individuals that it has classified as terrorists and the easing of arms embargoes imposed due to Ankara's incursion into northern Syria in 2019.
- Finland has stated that it does list the PKK as a terrorist organization, in line with EU policies, but that it can do more to convince Turkey that it is serious about fighting terrorism on its soil.
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 Andriy Shevchyk, the Russian-installed mayor in the occupied city of Enerhodar, has reportedly been injured in an explosion. He was in intensive care at the last update. More: - The city's elected mayor, Dmytro Orlov, wrote on Telegram that Shevchyk and his bodyguards had been taken to a hospital after being wounded.
- He is currently in Zaporizhzhia, a region nearby Enerhodar.
- No other victims or injuries were reported, which could mean that the attack was a calculated one carried out by precision air systems.
- Enerhodar has a population of about 50,000 people and has Europe's largest nuclear power plant. The city has been occupied by Russian forces since March.
Zoom Out: - The Zaporizhzhia Plant generates 20% of the entire electricity demand in Ukraine and half of the entire nuclear electricity in the country.
- Ukraine officials have stated that if the plant were to explode, the damage would be 10 times larger than that of the 1986 Chernobyl power plant explosion.
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Quick Hits: - Bubbles, with users from around the world, encourages teams to decline meetings-that-should-have-been-emails.*
- The first shipment of baby formula from Germany arrived in Indianapolis on Sunday aboard a military C-17 aircraft.
- Several varieties of Jif peanut butter were recalled over potential salmonella contamination.
- The Northeast heat wave will persist Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
- A group of millionaires protested against the World Economic Forum gathering of the business and political elite in Switzerland, demanding to be taxed more by their respective governments.
- Nine people were injured and one died after a shooting erupted among a large crowd of partygoers in San Bernardino, California.
- The CEO of EON stated that citizens in the U.K. should expect high gas prices for at least 18 months.
- Mozilla Firefox was hacked by researchers in just eight seconds by using two security flaws.
- The Miami Heat won against the Boston Celtics in game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals by a score of 109-103.
- Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are reportedly set to get married tomorrow in Portofino, Italy.
- Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman was released from the hospital on Sunday after recovering from a stroke he suffered on May 13.
- If your site is struggling, it may be time for a more powerful commerce platform. Read our eBook and find out if your business is ready.*
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 |  | Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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