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☆ Russia claims to have captured five border villages in Kharkiv amid fresh offensive
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Radina Gigova | Josh Pennington | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, said it continued efforts to repel the stepped-up Russian attacks while hundreds of Ukrainian civilians have been evacuated from the northern Kharkiv region. Ukraine’s Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, disputed that the five villages in the Kharkiv Region had been captured in a statement on Saturday. The grey zone represents territory currently contested rather than under full Russian or Ukrainian control. At least three people died as a result of Russian strikes on Kharkiv region overnight, according to the head of the region’s military administration. Its forces attacked Kharkiv region after the full-scale invasion began in 2022 but were forced out in a Ukrainian counteroffensive later that year.

Persons: CNN —, Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleh, ” Syniehubov, “, Andrey Bocharov, ” Organizations: CNN, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, “, Sever Group of Forces, Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, The Defense Forces Locations: Kharkiv, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Keramik, Donetsk, Ukrainian, Kharkiv Region, Strilecha, Oliynykove, Volgograd

☆ Russia Bombs Power Plants and Ukraine Targets Refineries in Dueling Attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As Russian missiles streaked through the skies above Ukraine before dawn on Saturday, once again targeting the nation’s already battered energy grid in a broad and complex bombardment, Ukrainian drones were flying in the other direction, taking aim at vital oil and gas refineries and other targets inside Russia. The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defense teams had intercepted 21 of the 34 Russian cruise and ballistic missiles fired from land, air and sea-based systems, but the attack caused extensive damage to four thermal power plants and other critical parts of the power grid in three regions. Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it had shot down 66 Ukrainian drones over the Krasnodar region, which is just across the Kerch Strait in southern Russia, east of the occupied Crimean Peninsula. Veniamin Kondratyev, the head of the regional government, said the Ukrainians drones had targeted two oil refineries, a bitumen plant, and a military airfield in Kuban.

Persons: Veniamin Kondratyev Organizations: Russian, Ukrainian Air Force, Russia’s Ministry of Defense Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Krasnodar, Kerch, Crimean, Kuban

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Ukraine says it downed Tu-22M3 bomber for the first time; 8 killed in major attack by Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk on Friday said the country shot down a Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber for the first time, destroying a warplane capable of using long-range missiles. "During today's attack, two such missiles were destroyed for the first time. Ukraine needs more means, more missiles, in order to better protect the frontline territories from Russian terrorism," he added. Separately, Russia's Defense Ministry said the bomber crashed over the southern Stavropol region when it was flying back to its home airfield, state news agency RIA reported via Telegram. The Stavropol region is located in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia, hundreds of kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Persons: Mykola Oleschuk, Oleschuk, Sam Meredith Organizations: Tupolev, Kremlin, Nazi, Ukrainian Air Force, Air Force, Main Directorate of Intelligence, Ministry of Defense, CNBC, Russia's Defense Ministry Locations: Moscow, Nazi Germany, Russian, Ukraine, Stavropol, North Caucasus, Russia

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia battles floods as Ural river swells; Moscow hits 'critical' Ukrainian infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Overnight attacks by Russia on Ukraine damaged infrastructure and private homes, regional officials from several regions across Ukraine said Friday. The Ukrainian army said on Telegram that 16 of the 17 drones Russia used in nighttime attacks had been destroyed. Meanwhile, Russian authorities said on Telegram that five Ukrainian drones had been destroyed overnight in southern Russia. In other news, water levels of the Ural river continued to rise in some parts of Russia, topping 11 meters in the city of Orenburg. However, in other towns that have been hit hard by the flood, including Orsk, which was initially one of the most affected areas, water levels fell overnight.

Organizations: Telegram Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Orenburg .

☆ Some of Russia's 'prestigious' guided missiles may be malfunctioning and falling short of their targets: UK intelligence
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Some Russian missiles may be malfunctioning and missing their targets, per British intelligence. "Issues in its production" could lead to rushed production jobs, the UK MOD says. AdvertisementPremium Russian cruise missiles might be malfunctioning and missing their targets, according to new intelligence from the UK Ministry of Defence. The UK MOD said on Tuesday that it analyzed open-source images taken on March 31, 2024, which showed missile wreckage in a field in Saratov Oblast, southern Russia. The UK MOD said the debris was initially considered remnants of a "possible Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicle."

Persons: — Organizations: Russian, MOD, Service, UK Ministry of Defence Locations: Saratov Oblast, Russia, Russian

CNN —Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned that Europe is in a “pre-war era” but still has a “long way to go” before its ready to confront the threat posed by Russia. We haven’t seen a situation like this since 1945,” Tusk said in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt published Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied that Russia intends to attack NATO countries. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin, Germany, March 15, 2024. Obviously, he feels the need to justify the increasingly violent attacks on civilian sites in Ukraine,” Tusk said.

Persons: Donald Tusk, ” Tusk, “, Vladimir Putin, Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron, Odd Andersen, Tusk, –, ”, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, doesn’t, Putin, “ Putin Organizations: CNN, Polish, Welt, NATO, European Union, Getty, Law, Justice Party, Poland, Crocus City Hall, Dubrovka, Chechen Locations: Europe, Russia, “, ”, Ukraine, Russian, Sweden, Finland, Baltics, Estonia, Lithuania, Moldova, France, Germany, Poland, Polish, Berlin, Moscow, Crocus, Beslan

☆ Air Defences Down 16 Airborne Targets in Russia's Belgorod, Local Governor Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( March | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

(Reuters) - Russian air defence units on Wednesday downed 16 airborne targets around the city of Belgorod in southern Russia, with no injuries reported on the ground, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Gladkov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the attacks broke windows and caused other damage to several sites in the town, including two schools and four educational institutions. Pictures posted on social media showed a car bursting into flames and a fire in a courtyard. Ukraine has in recent weeks regularly launched air attacks on Belgorod, and two nearby Russian regions, Bryansk and Voronezh. The Latest Photos From Ukraine View All 96 ImagesPhotos You Should See View All 60 Images(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Persons: Vyacheslav Gladkov, Gladkov, Ron Popeski, Sandra Maler Organizations: Reuters, Wednesday Locations: Belgorod, Russia, Ukraine, Bryansk, Voronezh

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Pentagon chief looks to convince Ukraine of ongoing support; Putin attends rally in Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People attend a rally and a concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea at Red Square in Moscow on March 18, 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin briefly attended an open-air rally in Moscow on Monday evening at which he told the crowd that the annexation of Crimea and other regions in Ukraine had been difficult but worthwhile. The rally and concert in Red Square marked the 10th anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. "Just this morning, I was informed that the railway from Rostov to Donetsk to Mariupol and Berdyansk has been restored. And this will be another alternative road to the Crimean bridge," he said, in comments translated by Reuters.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Berdyansk, Holly Ellyatt Organizations: Russian, Ukraine, Reuters Locations: Crimea, Red, Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, Rostov, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Mariupol

☆ Ukraine drones attack multiple oil refineries in the campaign against Russia's strategic energy industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine attacked another Russian oil refinery on Saturday night. AdvertisementA long week of attacks on oil and gas infrastructureThis past week, Ukraine has made a concerted effort to degrade Russia's oil production capabilities. The governor of Russia's Samara Oblast reported on March 16 that Ukrainian drones had attacked two Rosneft oil refineries. One attack had hit another major oil refinery operated by Lukoil in the southwestern Volgograd region. Similar incidents had occurred across Russia in January, hitting the Slavneft-Yanos oil refinery, an oil refinery in Tuapse, a storage facility in Klintsy, and a Baltic sea Ust-Luga terminal.

Persons: —, Ukrainska, Russia's, Andriy Yermak, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelensky, Краснодарському кра РосВдео Organizations: Bloomberg, Service, Business, Astra, Ukrainska Pravda, Security Services, Security Service, Stringer, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Reuters, Staff, Lukoil, НПЗ Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Krasnodar, Moscow, Russia, Russia's Samara Oblast, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Leningrad, Lukoil's Norsi, Russia's Belgorod, Norsi, Ukrainian, Volgograd, Tuapse, Klintsy, Baltic

☆ Russian rebels aim to embarrass Putin with cross-border attacks during presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The fighters say they intend to disrupt Russia's election and demonstrate opposition to Putin. Putin said there would be payback for the attacks in a speech to Security Council of Russia on Friday. Aleksey Baranovsky, who is part of the Freedom for Russia Legion, said the group's goal was to disrupt the election and show opposition to Putin. A view of the site after Ukrainian shelling that damaged buildings and vehicles in Belgorod, Russia on March 14, 2024. Emil Leegunov/Anadolu via Getty ImagesIt is unlikely that these attacks will have a major impact on the election or the war in Ukraine, but they could serve to embarrass Putin.

Persons: Putin, —, reelect Vladimir Putin, Aleksey Baranovsky, Alexey, Jade McGlynn, Alexey Navalny, STRINGER, McGlynn, Emil Leegunov, " McGlynn Organizations: Security, Russia, Service, Russia Legion, Siberian Battalion, Russian Volunteer Corps, for Russia Legion, War Studies Department, King's College London, Getty, CNN, Freedom for Russia Legion, Russian National Guard, Legion, Navalny Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia's Kursk, Belgorod, —, Ukraine, Kursk, Tyotkino, Russia's, Kyiv, Anadolu

☆ After Russia lost 2 prized A-50 planes, Ukraine struck a factory that's replacing them, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine carried out drone strikes on an aircraft plant in southern Russia, reports say. The plant is reportedly refurbishing A-50 spy planes, which play a crucial role in Russia's operations over Ukraine. A Ukrainian lawmaker claimed that an A-50 aircraft at the plant was damaged. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementUkraine conducted drone strikes on an aircraft plant in the southern Russian city of Taganrog overnight on Friday, reports say.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Beriev, for, Business Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Taganrog

☆ Ukrainian POWs are being bought and sold on a Russian black market, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian fighters are operating a black market for Ukrainian prisoners of war, The Times of London reported. AdvertisementA black market in Ukrainian prisoners of war is being operated by Russian fighters, according to The Times of London. The Chechens were buying the POWs from other Russian forces in order to use them in prisoner exchanges for their own troops, he said. Soon, Levytskiy was taken to Grozny, where he recuperated and, in June 2023, was part of a group exchange of Ukrainian prisoners for Chechen ones, the paper reported. An estimated 4,000 Ukrainian combatants have been taken prisoner by Russian forces, The Guardian reported.

Persons: —, Petro Yatsenko, Ramzan Kadyrov, Vyacheslav Levytskiy, Levytskiy Organizations: Service, Russian, The Times, Donetsk People's, Guardian Locations: London, Russia, Grozny, Chechen, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Avdiivka, Donetsk People's Republic, Geneva, Russian

☆ Ukraine's military is shifting to a defensive strategy that failed Nazi Germany in WWII
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Ukraine's military has chosen a defensive strategy that echoes the German approach from WWII. AdvertisementAnswering that question first requires defining “active defense,” one of those broad military terms that mean different things to different people. Active defense is meant to be waged by large units, while Ukraine appears to conducting small-unit operations. “Active defense was understood to be generally applicable to divisions, corps and field armies,” Nash said. Even a limited ‘active defense’ needs all of these elements, too.”Last summer, Ukraine’s frontal assault with vehicles hit mines and were menaced by missiles fired from Russian helicopters.

Persons: today’s, Douglas Nash, ” Nash, “, –, Erich von Manstein, von Manstein, von Manstein’s, “ Von Manstein, Ukraine —, Russia —, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Erich Von Manstein, it’s, Von Manstein, Hitler, inflexibly, von Organizations: Third Reich, Red Army, US, US Army, Western Allies, Wehrmacht, Keystone, Getty, German, Reuters, AK, Russo, NATO, West, NATO —, Soviets Locations: Nazi Germany, Ukraine, Russia, today’s Ukraine, Berlin, Stalingrad, Germany, Italy, France, Kharkov, Ukrainian, Donetsk Oblast, Avdiivka, Ukraine’s, It’s, Russian, Warsaw, Western Europe, West Germany

A 71-year-old Ukrainian man died in a Russian prison while on trial for espionage, activists said Sunday. Officials later told Russian state news agency Tass that Demchenko died on Dec. 31 as the result of a stroke several days earlier, but did not say why it had taken so long for the news to become public. Demchenko, who was born in the town of Mospino in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, had been on trial in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don since August 2023. By the time of his death, there had been seven hearings in the case, all of them behind closed doors. Russian authorities have detained a number of people on spying charges since the start of its full-scale war against Ukraine, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was jailed in March 2023 on espionage charges he denies.

Persons: Viktor Demchenko, Demchenko, Evan Gershkovich, Carlson Tucker, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Tass, Wall Street, U.S Locations: Russian, Mospino, Ukraine’s Donetsk, Rostov, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Germany

☆ Ukraine's SBU hits Russia's Volgograd oil refinery in drone attack, source says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A general view shows the oil refinery of the Lukoil company in Volgograd, Russia on April 22, 2022. Two Ukrainian drones struck a primary oil processing facility at the Volgograd oil refinery in southern Russia on Saturday in an operation conducted by the SBU security service, a Ukrainian source told Reuters. Local authorities in Russia said earlier that a fire had been extinguished at the large refinery following a drone attack. The strike is the latest in a series of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Russian oil facilities in recent weeks, infrastructure that Kyiv sees as important for the Kremlin's war effort. The source in Kyiv told Reuters such drone attacks would continue.

Persons: Lukoil Organizations: Reuters, Local Locations: Volgograd, Russia, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Russian, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine's SBU Hits Russia's Volgograd Oil Refinery in Drone Attack Source
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV (Reuters) - Two Ukrainian drones struck a primary oil processing facility at the Volgograd oil refinery in southern Russia on Saturday in an operation conducted by the SBU security service, a Ukrainian source told Reuters. Local authorities in Russia said earlier that a fire had been extinguished at the large refinery following a drone attack. The refinery is owned by oil producer Lukoil. The strike is the latest in a series of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Russian oil facilities in recent weeks, infrastructure that Kyiv sees as important for the Kremlin's war effort. The source in Kyiv told Reuters such drone attacks would continue.

Persons: Lukoil, Tom Balmforth, Toby Chopra Organizations: Reuters, Local Locations: Ukrainian, Volgograd, Russia, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Russian, Ukraine

☆ Russia Seeks Emergency UN Security Council Session on Plane Crash
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia has called for an emergency U.N. Security Council session on Wednesday to discuss the crash of a Russian plane that Moscow says was carrying captured Ukrainian soldiers to a prisoner exchange. Russia has accused Ukraine of deliberately shooting down the military transport plane carrying 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers to the prisoner exchange in what it called a barbaric act of terrorism that had killed a total of 74 people. Lavrov told a press conference at the United Nations that Russia had called for the Security Council meeting to be held at 3 p.m. He called the downing of the aircraft on Wednesday a "criminal" act by Ukraine and said Russia sought the session so the Ukrainians could explain how the plane went down. It said Russia's accusations that Kyiv shot down the transport plane could be "a planned action to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and weaken international support for our state."

Persons: Sergei Lavrov, Lavrov, Daphne Psaledakis, Arshad Mohammed, David Brunnstrom, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: WASHINGTON, Russian, Security, United Locations: Russia, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, United Nations, Belgorod, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Kharkov

☆ Oil Refinery in Southern Russia Ablaze -News Agencies Quote Officials
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - A fire broke out at a large oil refinery in the southern Russian town of Tuapse on Wednesday and emergency teams were battling the blaze, Russian news agencies quoted officials as saying. "According to emergency services of Tuapse district, a fire broke out on the territory of the oil refinery in the town," the agencies quoted a statement by the Krasnodar, or Kuban, region emergencies service. Agencies also quoted officials at the region's major airport, in the seaside town of Sochi, about 100 km (60 miles) to the southeast, as saying it had suspended arrivals and departures. Sergei Boiko, the head of Tuapse district, said on Telegram that the fire was located in the refinery's vacuum unit -- a secondary processing section. Unofficial Telegram channels showed pictures of the blaze and said drones had been responsible.

Persons: Crews, Sergei Boiko, Ronald Popeski, Leslie Adler, Sandra Maler Organizations: Reuters Locations: Russian, Tuapse, Krasnodar, Kuban, Sochi

☆ Four survive charter jet crash in Afghanistan but condition of two others unclear, Russia says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Two Taliban provincial officials said four survivors were now with Taliban administration officials who had reached the remote, mountainous site of the crash. The Taliban administration’s top spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the pilot of the plane was among four who had survived. The Russian-registered charter plane with six people on board disappeared from radar screens over Afghanistan a day earlier, Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia said on Sunday, after Afghan police said they had received reports of a crash. The pilot then reported that one engine had stopped, and then that the second one had also stopped, SHOT reported. Afghanistan police had received reports of a plane crash in a remote, mountainous region of Badakhshan in Afghanistan’s far north, a provincial police spokesperson said on Sunday.

Persons: Zabiullah Mujahid, ”, Rosaviatsia, “, Zabihullah Amiri Organizations: CNN, Taliban, Thailand’s Utapao, Dassault Aviation, Falcon, Reuters, Russia’s, Athletic Locations: Moscow, Afghanistan, Islamic, Thailand’s, Pattaya, India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russian, Indian, Thailand’s Pattaya, Bangkok, “, Russia, Badakhshan, Afghanistan’s, Fayzabad

☆ A dozen Russian marines were killed when an RPG shell rolled into a fire they'd lit beside a pile of ammo and exploded, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian soldiers died after lighting a fire beside a pile of ammunition, per Russian outlet 161.ru. An RPG-7 grenade launcher shell rolled into the fire and exploded, killing at least 12, it said. AdvertisementAt least 12 Russian marines were killed when an RPG shell rolled into the fire they had lit beside a pile of ammunition, a source told Russian news outlet 161.ru. Three sources in Russia's military, law enforcement, and investigative agencies told the outlet about the incident, it said. An RPG-7 grenade launcher shell then rolled into the fire and exploded, the source told 161.

Persons: — Organizations: Service Locations: Russia, Vladivostok, Ukrainian

☆ Three dead as storm hits Crimea and Russia's Black Sea coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Fierce storms killed three people on the Russian and Crimean Black Sea coast on Monday, with hundreds evacuated. Storms have been raging in the Black Sea since Friday. Video published online showed large waves sweeping over the seafront in Sochi, and carrying away cars. The Russian-installed governors of Crimea and Sevastopol, both of which Moscow seized and unilaterally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, declared states of emergency. In the Russian port of Novorossiysk, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and Russia's Transneft state oil pipeline company announced a halt to loadings due to weather conditions.

Persons: Felix Light, Kevin Liffey Organizations: TASS, Energy Ministry, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Crimean, State, Sochi, Kerch, Crimea, Russian, Yevpatoriya, Sevastopol, Ukraine, Dagestan, Krasnodar, Rostov, Russia, Novorossiysk

☆ Russia loads missile with nuclear-capable glide vehicle into launch silo
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Russia's rocket forces loaded an intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with the nuclear-capable "Avangard" hypersonic glide vehicle into a launch silo in southern Russia, according to a defence ministry TV channel broadcast on Thursday. President Vladimir Putin announced the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle in 2018, saying it was a response to U.S. development of a new generation of weapons and a U.S. missile defence system that it could penetrate. Russia installed its first Avangard-equipped missile in 2019 at the same Orenburg facility. But the United States, Russia and China are developing a range of new weapons systems, including hypersonic ones. Russia says the post-Cold War dominance of the United States is crumbling and that Washington has for years sown chaos across the planet while ignoring the interests of other powers.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Guy Faulconbridge, Olzhas, Gerry Doyle, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Zvezda, U.S, Washington, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, U.S, Orenburg, Kazakhstan, United States, China, autocracies, Moscow, Almaty

☆ Solar Flares Bathe Swathes of Siberia in Scarlet 'Northern Lights'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Swathes of Russia and Ukraine were bathed in some of the strongest scarlet and green "northern lights" for years on Monday due to solar flares, according to pictures posted on social media and Russian media. The so-called "aurora borealis" bathed swathes of Siberia, the Urals, southern Russia and Ukraine in green, scarlet and purple overnight. Pictures posted on social media showed the night sky across Russia shining red and green. The lights are generated by streams of charged particles from the sun which penetrate the earth's atmosphere and collide with gas molecules which then release photons of light. The New Scientist magazine said in September that the northern lights are expected to be stronger this year than for at least a decade due to a surge in activity in the sun.

Persons: Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: New, Reuters Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Ukraine, Siberia, Urals

☆ Chechen leader Kadyrov says ex-Wagner fighters are training with his forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 6 (Reuters) - A large group of Russia's former Wagner mercenaries has started training with special forces from the southern Russian region of Chechnya, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Monday. Kadyrov said in a message on Telegram that a big group of ex-Wagner fighters was undergoing intensive training with his own Akhmat special forces. He published a video, accompanied by stirring music, showing soldiers in combat training, including some wearing Wagner insignia on their uniforms and masks over their faces. Kadyrov said the drills included shooting, field medicine and training for snipers, machine gunners, sappers and artillerymen. It was not clear how many Wagner men were taking part or whether any of them would stay on with the Chechen forces after the training was over.

Persons: Wagner, Ramzan Kadyrov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Gareth Jones Organizations: Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Russian, Chechnya, Ukraine, Chechen, Russia

☆ Solar flares bathe swathes of Siberia in scarlet 'northern lights'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Swathes of Russia and Ukraine were bathed in some of the strongest scarlet and green "northern lights" for years on Monday due to solar flares, according to pictures posted on social media and Russian media. The so-called "aurora borealis" bathed swathes of Siberia, the Urals, southern Russia and Ukraine in green, scarlet and purple overnight. Pictures posted on social media showed the night sky across Russia shining red and green. The lights are generated by streams of charged particles from the sun which penetrate the earth's atmosphere and collide with gas molecules which then release photons of light. The New Scientist magazine said in September that the northern lights are expected to be stronger this year than for at least a decade due to a surge in activity in the sun.

Persons: Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: New, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Ukraine, Siberia, Urals

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