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☆ Wagner representative barred from Russian army HQ in Ukraine, its boss says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Since mid-January, Russia's campaign in Ukraine has been commanded personally by the chief of the general staff, Army General Valery Gerasimov. "If Wagner retreats from Bakhmut now, the whole front will collapse," Prigozhin said in the video, apparently filmed in a bunker. "The situation will not be sweet for all military formations protecting Russian interests." A prominent critic of the mercenary boss said, without providing evidence, that it was two weeks old. In Monday's statement, he said: "We are continuing to smash the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Bakhmut."

☆ Russia's Wagner chief warns of frontline collapse if forced to retreat from Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 6 (Reuters) - The founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary force said his troops now tightening their grip on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut were being deprived of ammunition and if they were forced to retreat the entire front would collapse. "If Wagner retreats from Bakhmut now, the whole front will collapse," Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video published over the weekend. The footage was published on a Telegram channel that has been disseminating Prigozhin news and has associated itself with the Wagner Group. The video was not published on Prigozhin's usual press service channel. Last month, he accused Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and others of "treason" for withholding supplies of munitions to his militia.

☆ Russia's air defence downs three missiles in Belgorod region - governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 6 (Reuters) - At least one person was wounded in the southern Russian region of Belgorod on Monday after Russian forces shot down three missiles, the governor of the region bordering Ukraine said. "It's known about one wounded, a man with shrapnel wounds to his hand," Gladkov said. Belgorod borders Ukraine's Kharkiv region and has repeatedly come under fire since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago. Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia and on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia works to ease visa regime for India, other countries - TASS
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 6 (Reuters) - Russia is working on easing visa procedures for six countries, including India, Syria and Indonesia, the state TASS news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Evgeny Ivanov as saying on Sunday. "In addition to India (procedures simplification) ... is being worked out with Angola, Vietnam, Indonesia, Syria and Philippines," Ivanov said. Earlier, Ivanov said that Russia is also preparing intergovernmental agreements on visa-free trips with 11 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Barbados, Haiti, Zambia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico and Trinidad, TASS reported. While the United States, Japan and the European Union condemned Russia's invasion and imposed sanctions, China and India have not done either. India kept a neutral stance, declining to blame Russia for the invasion while sharply boosting its purchases of Russian oil.

☆ Russian law amendments punish 'discrediting' military, including voluntary formations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Igor RussakSummary This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. MOSCOW, March 1 (Reuters) - Russia brought new law amendments to parliament on Wednesday that further strengthen the country's censorship laws, envisaging up to 15 years in jail for discrediting the armed forces and voluntary military organisations such as the Wagner Group. "As well as public actions aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, volunteer formations, organizations and persons who are facilitated in the implementation of tasks assigned to the ... Armed Forces," would be punishable, Volodin wrote on the Telegram messaging platform. "This initiative will protect everyone who today is risking their lives to ensures the security of the country and our citizens ... ($1 = 75.1 roubles)Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Belarusian partisans say Russian military aircraft damaged near Minsk
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 27 (Reuters) - A Russian A-50 surveillance military aircraft was damaged in a drone attack at an airfield near the Belarus capital of Minsk on Sunday, Belarus partisans and members of the exiled opposition said. Belsat is a Polish broadcaster focused on Belarusian news that Minsk has branded extremist. Front and central parts of the aircraft as well as the radar antenna were damaged as a result of two explosions in the attack at the Machulishchy air base near Minsk, BYPOL reported. The Beriev A-50 aircraft, which has the NATO reporting name of Mainstay, is a Russian airborne early warning aircraft, with airborne command and control capabilities, and the ability to track up to 60 targets at a time. A number of Russian warplanes and airborne early warning and control aircraft have been deployed to Belarus.

☆ Russia's Medvedev says arms supplies to Kyiv threaten global nuclear catastrophe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Russia's former president and an ally of President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published on Monday that the continued arms supply to Kyiv risks a global nuclear catastrophe, reiterating his threat of nuclear war over Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev's apocalyptic rhetoric has been seen as an attempt to deter the U.S-led NATO military alliance and Kyiv's Western allies from getting even more involved in the year-old war that has dealt Moscow setbacks on the battlefield. "Of course, the pumping in of weapons can continue .... and prevent any possibility of reviving negotiations," Medvedev said in remarks published in the daily Izvestia. "Our enemies are doing just that, not wanting to understand that their goals will certainly lead to a total fiasco. Reporting by David Ljunggren and Lidia Kelly; Writing by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia will not resume START nuclear talks until Washington listens to Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Russia will not resume participation in the START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States until Washington listens to Moscow's position, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in remarks published on Tuesday. Peskov told the daily Izvestia in an interview that the "attitude of the collective West", led by the United States needs to change towards Moscow. "The security of one country cannot be ensured at the expense of the security of another," Peskov said. He also said that NATO by arming Ukraine "acts as a single bloc no longer as our conditional opponents, but as enemies". Reporting by Lidia Kelly and Ronald Popeski; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine's ground forces commander visits besieged Bakhmut to talk strategy, boost morale
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Oleksandr Kozhukhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Ukrainian service members ride a tank, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the front line city of Bakhmut, Ukraine February 24, 2023. REUTERS/Alex BabenkoKYIV, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The commander of Ukrainian ground forces Colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi visited besieged Bakhmut to boost morale and talk strategy with units defending the town and surrounding villages in eastern Ukraine, the military said over the weekend. Russia has made the capture Bakhmut a priority in its strategy to take control of Ukraine's eastern Donbas industrial region. Now charged with the defence of Bakhmut, Syrskyi has made a number of trips to the town, maintaining the Kyiv's forces will hold it. "Russia may start attacking from three sides from Monday," Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said in a social media video.

☆ Russian military aircraft blown up near Minsk: Belarusian partisans
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaFeb 27 (Reuters) - Belarusian anti-government activists have claimed responsibility for what they said was a drone attack on a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft at an airfield near the Belarus capital of Minsk on Sunday. Franak Viacorka, an adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said in a post on Twitter it was the most successful act of sabotage since the beginning of 2022. Front and central parts of the aircraft as well as the radar antenna were damaged as a result of two explosions in the attack at the Machulishchy air base near Minsk, BYPOL reported. The Beriev A-50 aircraft, which has the NATO reporting name of Mainstay, is a Russian airborne early warning aircraft, with airborne command and control capabilities, and the ability to track up to 60 targets at a time. A number of Russian warplanes and airborne early warning and control aircraft have been deployed to Belarus.

☆ Russian Soyuz spacecraft docks at ISS to bring back stranded crew
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft blasts off from the launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan February 24, 2023, in this still image taken from video. Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERSFeb 26 (Reuters) - A Russian spacecraft on a mission to bring back to Earth a crew stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) has docked at the station, Russian space agency Roscosmos said early on Sunday. The Soyuz MS-23, which lifted off from Baikonour space centre in Kazakhstan on Friday, is to bring back Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, and U.S. astronaut Francisco Rubio in September. "Today at 03:58 Moscow time (00:58 GMT), the Soyuz MS-23 unmanned spacecraft docked to the Poisk module of the International Space Station in automatic mode," Roscosmos said on the Telegram messaging platform. The Soyuz MS-23 ship carried 429 kilograms (946 lb) of additional cargo to the station, needed to extend the astronauts' mission, Russian agencies reported.

☆ Russia's UN diplomat accuses West of arm twisting in vote isolating Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Russia's senior diplomat to the United Nations accused the West on Sunday of "cowboy" methods and "arm twisting" of some countries during last week's United Nations General Assembly vote that demanding Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine. "The methods of achieving the result are again 'cowboy'," Dmitry Polyansky, Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador, said on the Telegram messaging platform. He added that a number of representatives from "developing" countries complained to the Russian mission about pressure from their Western colleagues who are allies of Kyiv. Polyansky did not provide any evidence for his accusations and there has been no public comments from developing countries about pressure on them to vote in support of the U.N. resolution. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Belarus says it has 1.5 mln potential soldiers outside armed forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Belarus, a small Russian ally bordering Ukraine, has as many as 1.5 million potential military personnel outside its armed forces, a senior official was quoted as saying on Saturday. Lukashenko this month ordered the formation of a new volunteer territorial defence force of up to 150,000 people. He has said his army would fight only if Belarus was attacked. The country's professional army has about 48,000 troops and some 12,000 state border troops, according to the 2022 International Institute for Strategic Studies' Military Balance. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine says Russian offensive near Yahidne unsuccessful
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Ukraine's military said on Sunday that Russia conducted unsuccessful offensives near Yahidne over the past day, after Russia's Wagner mercenary group claimed to have captured the village in eastern Ukraine near the focus on intense fighting. The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in a morning update that Russia keeps concentrating its offensive efforts along the entire Bakhmut front line, were Yahidne is located. Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday his forces had captured Yahidne. But the Ukrainian bulletin said attacks were continuing, citing "unsuccessful offensives" near six settlements, including Yahidne and Berkhivka, in the Donetsk region, which Moscow claims to have annexed. The fierce battles along the front lines in Ukraine's south and east, especially near Bakhmut, now consist of crawling attempts by each side to move the line, sometimes just a few metres at a time.

☆ Ukraine military says Russian offensive near Yahidne unsuccessful
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Ukraine's military said on Sunday that Russia conducted unsuccessful offensives near Yahidne over the past day, after Russia's Wagner mercenary group claimed to have captured the village in eastern Ukraine near the focus on intense fighting. The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in a morning update that Russia keeps concentrating its offensive efforts along the entire Bakhmut front line, were Yahidne is located. Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday his forces had captured Yahidne. On Friday, he had claimed control of Berkhivka, an adjacent village on the outskirts of Bakhmut. But the Ukrainian bulletin said attacks were continuing, citing "unsuccessful offensives" near six settlements, including Yahidne and Berkhivka, in the Donetsk region, which Moscow claims to have annexed.

☆ Moscow accuses U.S. of attempts to disrupt Russia-Africa relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 25 (Reuters) - The United States is "exerting unprecedented pressure" on African countries, including attempting to disrupt a planned Russia-Africa summit, Russia's deputy foreign minister was quoted as saying late on Saturday. Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, quoted by the state TASS agency reiterated Moscow's accusations of the "collective West" staging a campaign to isolate Moscow. Moscow calls its invasion of Ukraine not a war, but a "special military operation". Since the start of the war, which has killed thousands and displace millions, Moscow has turned to China, India - and African nations, trying to seek closer ties there. Russia has been particularly keen to win over African nations -- Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has visited the continent twice this year already, in addition to a tour mid-last year.

☆ Ukraine has electricity reserves, no more outages planned if no new strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Ukraine plans no more outages to ration electricity if there are no new strikes and has been able to amass some power reserves, the energy minister said on Saturday, after months of interruptions caused by Russian bombings. "Electricity restrictions will not be introduced, provided there are no strikes by the Russian Federation on infrastructure facilities," Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said in remarks posted on the ministry's Telegram messaging platform. "But our power engineers managed to maintain the power system, and for the third week in a row, electricity generation has ensured consumption needs, we have reserves," Halushchenko said. A Feb. 4 fire that broke out at an overloaded power station left hundreds of thousands of residents without electricity. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: What is Australia's Indigenous 'Voice to Parliament' campaign?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Praveen Menon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here's what you need to know about Australia's 'Voice to Parliament' campaign:WHO ARE AUSTRALIA'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE? Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the Indigenous people of Australia. Australia's Indigenous population shrank after the British colonisation in 1788 as they were dispossessed of their land, exposed to new diseases, forced to work in slave-like conditions, and killed by colonisers. New Zealand created Maori seats in parliament, allowing the indigenous population to choose to vote for candidates for these seats or participate in the general election. HOW DID THE VOICE REFERENDUM COME ABOUT?

☆ Russia's parliament prepares to approve suspension of New START
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Russian officials on Wednesday blamed the United States and the West for President Vladimir Putin's decision to suspend Moscow's participation in the New START treaty, as Russia's parliament was set to rubber-stamp the move. "This decision was forced on us by the war declared by the United States and other NATO countries on our country. It will have a huge resonance in the world overall and in the United States in particular," Medvedev said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Russia's parliament is expected to rubber-stamp the move to suspend the treaty, possibly as early as Wednesday. The head of Russia's Duma, the lower house of parliament, also blamed the United States for the breakdown.

☆ Russia's warship with hypersonic missiles arrives for drills with S.Africa, China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] The Russian frigate 'Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov' arrives in the port of Richards Bay, South Africa, in this still image taken from video released February 22, 2023. Feb 22 (Reuters) - Russia's flagship frigate equipped with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles has arrived in the South African port of Richards Bay for exercises that will include China, Russia's RIA state news agency reported on Wednesday. It calls the drills routine but they have fuelled domestic criticism and fears they could endanger relations with Western partners. In late January, the ship tested its strike capabilities in the western Atlantic Ocean. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Putin cancels decree underpinning Moldova's sovereignty in separatist conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

CHISINAU, Feb 22 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin revoked on Tuesday a 2012 decree that in part underpinned Moldova's sovereignty in resolving the future of the Transdniestria region - a Moscow-backed separatist region which borders Ukraine and where Russia keeps troops. The decree, which included a Moldova component, outlined Russia's foreign policy 11 years ago which assumed Moscow's closer relations with the European Union and the United States. It is part of a series of anti-Western moves announced by Putin on Tuesday. "The decree is a policy document that implements the concept of Russia's foreign policy," Flenchea told Publika-TV. "Moldova and Russia have a basic political agreement that provides for mutual respect for the territorial integrity of our countries."

[1/3] Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow, Russia February 21, 2023. Since invading Ukraine a year ago, he has repeatedly boasted about Russia's nuclear arsenal and said he would be willing to use it if the country's "territorial integrity" is threatened. TREATY LIMITSThe 2010 New START treaty limits each country's deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 - which Russia has also said it will continue to observe - and deployed missiles and heavy bombers to 700. Asked in what circumstances Russia would return to the deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Everything will depend on the position of the West... Russia is now demanding that British and French nuclear weapons targeted against Russia should be included in the arms control framework, seen as a non-starter for Washington after more than half a century of bilateral nuclear treaties with Moscow.

☆ Russian court hands down first sabotage verdict since start or Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - A Russian court sentenced two defendants to three-and-a-half years in a strict regime colony for plotting to sabotage the railway in a region bordering Ukraine, the first convictions for sabotage since Russia's invasion, media reported on Tuesday. Their convictions were the first based on the "Sabotage" Article 231 of the Russian Criminal Code since the start of what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, the news agency said. Ukraine and its allies say Russia's military intervention in its neighbour, launched on Feb. 24 last year, is an imperialistic land-grab. There have been several sabotage incidents against Russian railways and other facilities, especially in regions bordering Ukraine, such as Belgorod and Bryansk, according to the British Ministry of Defence. The ministry said in an October report that with the Russian military primarily relaying on rail transport, which often passes through isolated areas, meaning "the system is extremely challenging to secure against physical threats".

☆ Russia urges Sweden again to share Nord Stream probe findings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Lidia Kelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russia renewed its calls on Sweden late on Monday to share its findings from the ongoing investigation into the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year. "Almost five months have passed since the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. All this time, however, the Swedish authorities, as if on cue, remain silent," Russia's embassy to Sweden said on the Telegram messaging platform. It also reiterated Moscow's stance, without providing evidence, that the West was behind the blasts affecting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines - multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects that carried Russian gas to Germany. Construction of Nord Stream 2 was completed in September 2021, but was never put into operation after Germany shelved certification just days before Russia sent its troops into Ukraine a year ago this week.

☆ Belarus to form 100,000-150,000 strong volunteer military force
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Lidia Kelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

I have said more than once: every man - and not only a man - should be able to at least handle weapons," Lukashenko said at the meeting of his Security Council. Lukashenko, who allowed Russia to use Belarus to send troops into Ukraine a year ago, has often said his army would fight only if Belarus was attacked. "In case of an act of aggression, the response will be fast, harsh and appropriate," Lukashenko said on Monday. Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said the territorial defence force will have 100,000-150,000 volunteers, or more if needed. The country's professional army has about 48,000 troops and some 12,000 state border troops, according to the 2022 International Institute for Strategic Studies' Military Balance.

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