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General Sergei Surovikin, commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, visits the Joint Headquarters of the Russian armed forces involved in military operations in Ukraine, in an unknown location in Russia, in this picture released December 17, 2022. His reported removal suggests the authorities found fault with his behaviour, but the details of his alleged wrongdoing remain unknown. Surovikin earned the nickname "General Armageddon" during Russia's military intervention in Syria for the brutal tactics he employed there. He was placed in charge of Russian military operations in Ukraine last October, but in January that role was handed to General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff, and Surovikin was made a deputy to Gerasimov. Afzalov was previously deputy to Surovikin and has been chief of staff of the Aerospace Forces for at least four years, according to British military intelligence.

Persons: Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Russian Air and Space Forces Sergei Surovikin, Viktor Afzalov, General Valery Gerasimov, Afzalov, Andrew Osborn, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS, RBC, Telegram, Ministry of Defence, Russian Air and Space Forces, Main Staff of, Air Force, Reuters, Aerospace Forces, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Kremlin, MOSCOW, Moscow, Syria, Gerasimov, Surovikin

☆ Who are Ukraine's 82nd Air Assault Brigade? A new elite unit armed with the best Western gear seems to have Russia rattled.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine's elite 82nd Air Assault Brigade appears to have joined its counteroffensive fight. Ukraine's 82nd Air Assault Brigade created a stir when it joined the attack. The area has been the scene of intense fighting and where Ukraine says it has made small gains, Ukraine's Kyiv Post reported. This would mean that the 82nd battalion alone would have half of Ukraine's best infantry armored vehicles from its NATO allies, the Kyiv Post reported. And the Kyiv Post reported that the infantry vehicle component only began training in March.

Persons: Insider's Rebecca Rommen, Vladimir Solovyov, Rybar, Michael Clarke Organizations: Air Assault Brigade, Service, Ukraine's, Ukraine's Kyiv Post, Stryker, Challenger, Politico, 82nd, NATO, Kyiv Post, Forbes, Telegraph Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, Robotyne, Ukraine's Kyiv, Kyiv, Verbove

☆ A busted Russian warship may not have seen an exploding Ukrainian drone boat coming, hinting at problems that have plagued Russia throughout its war
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

A Russian warship was struck by a Ukrainian drone boat that it doesn't appear to have seen coming. Just a few days before this attack, Russian vessels were fighting off drone boats in another incident. "It just seems very strange they didn't respond at all to the incoming drone boats," Clark added. The Russian ship may have assumed it was safe in Novorossiysk, given that the port is roughly 350 miles from the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, but it shouldn't have. The reach of Ukraine's drone boats was hardly a secret.

Persons: Russia's, —, Sutton, it's, Cole, Bryan Clark, Clark, OZAN KOSE Organizations: Service, Ukraine, Russian, —, CNN, US Navy, Navy, Hudson Institute, Getty Locations: Russian, Ukrainian, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Novorossiysk, Moskva, Istanbul, AFP, Sevastopol, Odessa, Ukraine

☆ Russia tried to wipe out a Ukrainian air base that's crucial to its ability to launch the Storm Shadow missile
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia fired a barrage of missiles at a key Ukrainian air base on Wednesday, per official sources. The jets are believed to be the only ones that can carry the UK-supplied Storm Shadow missile. Yuriy Inhat, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Air Force Command, said on Telegram that Russia had unleashed a massive barrage towards the Starokostiantyniv air base in Khmelnytskyi, in western Ukraine. In total, Ukrainian air defenses shot down 36 cruise missiles, Inhat said in his post. Starokostiantyniv is, according to Forbes, the base for the only regiment that flies the Su-24 aircraft that carry the UK-supplied Storm Shadow missile.

Persons: Ukraine's, Yuriy Inhat, Inhat, Rybar Organizations: Shadow, Service, Ukraine's Air Force Command, Forbes, Storm Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Crimea

☆ A Ukrainian Storm Shadow missile took out a major Russian vehicle repair site in Crimea, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine took out a Russian military repair depot in Crimea, per an unofficial Russian source. The site was reportedly struck by the UK-supplied Storm Shadow missile. TASS did not mention the reported Storm Shadow strikes, but said that 11 drones were shot down while one destroyed an ammunition pile. But the episode highlights the growing pressures the UK-supplied Storm Shadow has laid on Russian command and control. The site of the Crimea repair depot is roughly 130 miles behind the front lines of the conflict.

Persons: Ukrainian Su, Rybar Organizations: Shadow, Service, Ukrainian, Russian Telegram, for, Kremlin, Wagner, TASS, Forbes Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Russian, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Dzhankoy, Kremlin Russian

Early Tuesday, a Ukrainian missile slammed into a hotel in the coastal town of Berdyansk that had been taken over by the Russian military. ‘Colossal support’Russian military bloggers have suggested that both Tsokov and Popov were capable soldiers who inspired loyalty among their men. Tsokov, 51, appears to have been a rising star in the Russian military. Senior Russian general, Ivan Popov, raised questions about the mass deaths and injuries of Russian military personnel. The loss of more capable commanders is another sign that Russia’s “special military operation” is looking less special by the week.

Persons: CNN —, Oleg Tsokov, Tsokov, Ivan Popov, Popov, Valery Gerasimov, vilely, Sergei Shoigu, ”, Vladimir Putin, Rybar, “ Popov, General Popov, “, Wagner, Oleg Surovikin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Surovikin, Prigozhin, Defense Andrei Kartapolov, Kartapolov, specter, OGPU –, Gerasimov, “ alarmism, Shoigu, George Hall, Russia Dara Massicot, Tweeting, Massicot, ” Rybar, upbraided, viscerally, Putin Organizations: CNN, Ukraine –, Southern Military District, Arms Army, Kremlin Press, Major, Institute for, Ukrainian, of Defense, Kremlin, Russia’s Aerospace Forces, State, Defense, Defense Ministry, Senior, Ministry of Defense, Surovik, George Hall of, RAND Corporation, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian Armed Forces Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Berdyansk, Russian, Svatove, frontlines, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Senior Russian, St, Russia, Vuhledar

Colonel General Sergei Surovikin attends a briefing in the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia, on June 9, 2017. Rumors about his whereabouts — and his potential role in the short-lived insurrection — have been swirling in recent days. CNN has reached out to the Kremlin and Russian Ministry of Defense for comment on Surovikin’s whereabouts. Surovikin first served in Afghanistan in the 1980s before commanding a unit in the Second Chechen War in 2004. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces during Russia’s operations in Syria, which saw Russian combat aircraft causing widespread devastation in rebel-held areas.

Persons: Sergei Surovikin, Pavel Golovkin, Sergey Surovikin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, —, Surovikin, “, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Peskov, Putin, “ Surovikin, Alexey Venediktov –, –, Sergey Markov, ”, Surovikin “, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Mikhail Gorbachev, Organizations: Russian Defense Ministry, Moscow Times, CNN, Kremlin, Russian Ministry of Defense, General Staff, Defense, Ministry, Echo, New York Times, Russian Aerospace Forces, Washington DC, Jamestown Foundation, Human Rights Watch Locations: Moscow, Russia, Russian, Surovikin, Echo Moscow, Rostov, Afghanistan, Syria, Idlib

The commander of the Russian air force Sergey Surovikin and the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin have not been seen in public in days as questions swirl about the role Surovikin may have played in Prigozhin’s short-lived mutiny. The Russian air force commander Sergey Surovikin (left) and the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin APWhy is everyone talking about Surovikin? Prigozhin meanwhile, played the central role in the short-lived insurrection – it was he who ordered Wagner troops to take over two military bases and then march on Moscow. Putin assembled Russian security personnel in Moscow Tuesday, telling them they “virtually stopped a civil war” in responding to the insurrection. Prigozhin was last spotted leaving the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don Saturday, after abruptly calling off his troops’ march on Moscow.

Persons: Sergey Surovikin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Surovikin, “ Surovikin, ”, Alexey Venediktov –, –, Sergey Markov, Surovikin’s, “, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Don Saturday, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Peskov, ” Peskov, Mikhail Gorbachev, , Joe Biden, Josep Borrell Organizations: CNN, Moscow Times, Russian Telegram, Baza, Yevgeny Prigozhin AP, New York Times, PMC Wagner, Russian Ministry of Defense, Kremlin, Street, Belarusian, General Staff, Defense, Ministry, Washington DC, Jamestown Foundation, Russian Aerospace Forces, Human Rights Watch, Union’s, Foreign Affairs Locations: Kremlin, Russian, Moscow, Rostov, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Minsk, St . Petersburg, Ukraine’s, Afghanistan, Syria, Idlib, ”, Brussels, Dagestan, Derbent

Some Russian military bloggers with substantial followings expect a serious reshuffle of the military in the light of the Wagner uprising, and perhaps within the security services for not seeing the preparations for it. Putin has sought to reassert his authority after Prigozhin's mutiny. There is no way to verify Rybar’s allegations, but their airing may demonstrate a level of apprehension in the Russian military in the light of the mutiny. At one point, according to Russian military bloggers, Surovikin interceded to try to procure ammunition for Wagner. There is still considerable respect in Russian military circles for what Wagner has contributed to the Ukraine conflict.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Wagner, Sergey Shoigu, Rybar, ” Rybar, Putin, Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Teplinsky, Boris Rozhin, Sergey Surovikin, “, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, ”, Dmitry Peskov, Surovikin, Mark Galeotti, Galeotti, Tatiana Stayonova, Rob Lee, “ Wagner, ” Surovikin, Prigozhin, Vyacheslav Volodin, ” Volodin, Anastasia Kashevarova, Mikhail Tereshchenko, Stayonava, Shoigu, Yevgeny Prigozhin, George W Bush, Concord Company ”, we’ll, eking, Viktor Zolotov, ” Zolotov, ” Anastasia Kashevarova, Russia “, there’s Organizations: CNN, FSO, Federal Guard Service, Federal Protective Service, AP, General Staff, The New York Times, Mayak Intelligence, Foreign Policy Research Institute, Russian Aerospace Forces, Sputnik, Getty, Western Military, Concord Company, Kremlin, MoD, Defense Ministry, Russian National Guard, Ministry of Defense, Telegram Locations: Rostov, Moscow, Don, Russia, Ukraine, AFP, Bakhmut, Shoigu, Putin, St, Petersburg, Russian, Minsk, Belarus, Prigozhin

☆ Analysis: Where are Russia's top generals? Rumours swirl after mercenary mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Valery Gerasimov, Russia's top general, has not appeared in public or on state TV since the aborted mutiny on Saturday when mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin demanded Gerasimov be handed over. Gerasimov, 67, is the commander of Russia's war in Ukraine, and the holder of one of Russia's three "nuclear briefcases," according to some Western military analysts. Rybar, an influential channel on the Telegram messaging application run by a former Russian defence ministry press officer, said a purge was underway. Surovikin, Gerasimov's deputy, was last seen on Saturday when he appeared in a video appealing to Prigozhin to halt his mutiny. He had been spoken of by Russian war correspondents as a potential future defence minister.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Kuravlev, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gerasimov, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Rybar, Wagner, Prigozhin, Michael Kofman, Viktor Zolotov, Shoigu, Alexei Venediktov, vilifying Shoigu, Andrew Osborn, Mike Collett, White, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Staff of Russian Armed Forces, Defence Ministry Board, Sputnik, REUTERS, LONDON, New York Times, Wednesday, Moscow Times, Reuters, Russian Armed Forces, Carnegie Endowment, Twitter, National Guard, Moscow, Tuesday, Western, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian, Moscow's, Chechnya, Syria

☆ Where are Russian generals Gerasimov and Surovikin after Wagner rebellion?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Absent from view too is General Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed "General Armageddon" by the Russian press for his aggressive tactics in the Syrian conflict, who is deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine. Rybar, an influential channel on the Telegram messaging application run by a former Russian defence ministry press officer, said a purge was underway. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov attend an annual meeting of the Defence Ministry Board in Moscow, Russia, December 21, 2022. Dara Massicot, an expert in the Russian military at the RAND Corporation think-tank, said that something looked odd about the video, in which Surovikin has an automatic weapon on his lap. "Surovikin (is) a brute but also one of the more capable Russian commanders," Freedman said on Twitter.

Persons: Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Vladimir Putin, Valery Gerasimov, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gerasimov, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Dmitry Peskov, Wagner, Rybar, Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Kuravlev, Prigozhin, Michael Kofman, Viktor Zolotov, Shoigu, Dara Massicot, He’s, he’s, Alexei Venediktov, vilifying Shoigu, Lawrence Freedman, Freedman, Andrew Osborn, Mike Collett, White, Lisa Shumaker, Angus MacSwan, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: New York Times, Wednesday, Staff, Reuters, Moscow Times, Staff of Russian Armed Forces, Defence Ministry Board, Sputnik, REUTERS, Carnegie Endowment, Twitter, National Guard, Moscow, Tuesday, RAND Corporation, Western, King's College London, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Surovikin, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Ukrainian, Kremlin, Moscow's, Lefortovo, Chechnya, Syria

☆ Putin pays tribute to Russian pilots killed fighting mutineers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

There has been no official information about how many pilots died or how many aircraft were shot down. Some Russian Telegram channels monitoring Russia's military activity, including the blog Rybar with more than a million subscribers, reported on Saturday that 13 Russian pilots were killed during the day-long mutiny. Among the aircraft downed were three Mi-8 MTPR electronic warfare helicopters, and an Il-18 aircraft with its crew, Rybar reported. It was also not clear in what circumstances the aircraft were shot down and pilots killed. Putin met on Monday night with the heads of Russian security services, including Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, IFX reported, citing a Kremlin spokesperson.

Persons: Putin, Prigozhin, Biden, West, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Rybar, Sergei Shoigu, IFX, Shoigu, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Joe Biden, John Kirby, Josep Borrell, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Cynthia Osterman, Stephen Coates, Grant McCool, Rosalba O'Brien, Lincoln Organizations: Telegram, Reuters, Russia's Defence Ministry, Kremlin, Defence Ministry, Belarus, White House, West, NATO, Union, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russian, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Luxembourg

☆ Putin confirms Russian pilots killed during aborted mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 27 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Monday paid tribute to pilots who were killed during the failed weekend mutiny, confirming earlier reports by military bloggers that several planes were shot down by Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner militia. "The courage and self-sacrifice of the fallen heroes-pilots saved Russia from tragic devastating consequences," Putin said in his first public address about the mutiny since the weekend events. There has been no official information about how many pilots died or how many aircraft were shot down. Some Russian Telegram channels monitoring Russia's military activity, including the blog Rybar with more than a million subscribers, reported on Saturday that 13 Russian pilots were killed during the day-long mutiny. It was also not clear in what circumstances the aircraft were shot down and pilots killed.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, Wagner, Putin, Rybar, Leonid Slutsky, Lidia Kelly, Lincoln Organizations: Telegram, Reuters, Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Belarus, Russian, Melbourne

☆ Russian soldiers really did stand still for 2 hours for their commander's speech, leaving them sitting ducks for a HIMARS strike, Ukrainian official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian soldiers stood still for two hours, making them sitting ducks, a Ukrainian official said. Russian bloggers were angry after reports said the soldiers stood in the open waiting for a speech. The Ukrainian official said it was more than enough time to transport HIMARS and "hit them." Rybar said the attack, which he said involved HIMARS and Ukraine's artillery, happened in the city of Kreminna, in Luhansk. Another Russian blogger, who goes by the name Two Majors, wrote: "Stand in a column for two hours in one place!

Persons: —, Rybar, Insider's Sam Fellman, Russian milbloggers, Matthew Loh, Russia's, Sam Fellman Organizations: Service, Ukraine's High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Kyiv, Arms Army, Moscow Times Locations: Kyiv, Russian, Kreminna, Luhansk, Ukraine

☆ Russian military bloggers are losing their minds over reports that a Russian unit was blasted by artillery while waiting 2 hours for their commander to give a motivational speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian pro-war bloggers are livid over a report that a unit was made to wait hours for a commander's speech. The Russian division came under fire from Ukrainian HIMARS while gathering, per the bloggers. According to the military blogger Rybar, the incident occurred in Kreminna, Luhansk, just before a Russian division was about to begin an assault. Another Russian military blogger known by a pseudonym, Older than Edda, had harsh words for the unidentified commander. The claim comes as Russian military bloggers grow increasingly frustrated with the Kremlin's military mistakes in Ukraine, amid continued reports documenting failures or oversights that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Russian soldiers.

Persons: haven't, —, Rybar, General Suhrab Akmedov, Ahmedov Organizations: Russian, Service, Moscow Times, Radio Free, Russia's 155th Marine Brigade, Pacific Fleet Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Kreminna, Luhansk, Russia's, Donetsk, Ahmedov, Ukraine

The Bradleys are among almost 3,600 pieces of military equipment Ukraine has lost in the war, according to Oryx. Meanwhile, the website says it has documented the loss of more than 10,600 pieces of Russian military equipment. In a statement in Monday, Moscow claimed it had destroyed multiple Ukrainian armored vehicles in the Zaporizhzhia region. However, Russian anti-tank troops stand in their way, cold-bloodedly turning Western armored vehicles into scrap heaps,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said. While Russian forces continue to hold the city, Ukraine’s forces have concentrated their efforts on areas to the northwest and southwest.

Persons: Jakub Janovsky, Bradley, Bradleys, Rebecca D’Angelo, Artur Widak, ” D’Angelo, James “ Spider ” Marks, ”, Hanna Maliar, Maliar, Mark Hertling, ” Hertling, CNN’s Jim Acosta, “, ” Serhii Cherevatyi, Cherevatyi, Hertling Organizations: CNN, US Bradley, Washington, US, 841st Transportation Battalion, 2nd Battalion, 70th Armored Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, Bradley Fighting, US Army, Russian Ministry of Defense, Deputy, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Vostok, Russian Defense Ministry, Russian Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Donetsk, Nowa Deba, Poland, Bradleys, Moscow, Zaporizhzhia, Russian, Velyka, Makrivka, Ukrainian, Neskuchne, Urozhaine, Orikhiv, Bakhmut

☆ Russia Says Ukrainian Forces Push on Frontline: Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Andrew E. Kramer | Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Image A Ukrainian soldier firing a mortar at Russian positions on the frontline near Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, last week. Consequently, Russian reports were expected to signal the start of military action before any formal Ukrainian announcements. Two unverified Russian reports said Ukrainian forces had pushed through Russian defenses in two areas. Buttressing the Russian reports the counteroffensive had begun, independent American military analysts said they believed Ukrainian units had begun an initial thrust to determine the position and strength of Russia’s forces. It said Russian forces had destroyed two Ukrainian tanks with anti-tank missiles.

Persons: Efrem, Igor Konashenkov, Rybar Organizations: Associated Press, Kremlin, Russian Ministry of Defense, Tass, Russian Telegram, Ukrainian, NATO, Telegram Locations: Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Donetsk, Ukraine, Associated Press Ukrainian, Russian, Velyka Novosilka, Zaporizhzhia

A barrage of attack drones were downed over Moscow on Tuesday, the first time civilian areas of the Russian capital have been touched directly by the Ukrainian conflict and a signal that a distant war may soon begin to feel somewhat less so for ordinary Russians. “If the goal was to stress the population, then the very fact that drones have appeared in the skies over Moscow has contributed to that,” wrote one pro-war Russian blogger, Mikhail Zvinchuk, who posts under the name Rybar. The drones, numbering at least eight, came as Russia has been engaged in a particularly sustained aerial assault on Ukraine’s own capital, Kyiv. And while President Vladimir V. Putin blamed Ukraine for what he branded “terrorist activity,” no one was killed in Moscow on Tuesday. The same could not be said for Kyiv, where one person died in the Russian attacks.

Persons: ”, Mikhail Zvinchuk, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Kyiv Locations: Moscow, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia, Kyiv, Ukraine

☆ The Russian air force's struggles in Ukraine reveal glaring problems in now Moscow trains its pilots
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +35 min

Despite being bigger and more advanced than its enemy, Russia's air force has struggled in Ukraine. It's commonly said that Russian fighter pilots are not as well trained as their Western counterparts, particularly those from the United States. But however ineffective you may think Russian pilot training is compared to the West, the truth seems to be … much worse. A Russian air force pilot prepares to take off in an Su-35 fighter jet at Hemeimeem air base in Syria in September 2019. Put simply, the Gulf War air campaign creates a damning juxtaposition when compared directly to Russia's air campaign over Ukraine.

☆ Russia Claims Gains in Battle for Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Ian Lovett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

KYIV, Ukraine—Russian forces claimed new advances in their effort to encircle the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, while European leaders arrived in Kyiv to discuss further military aid. Yevgeny Prigozhin , leader of Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization that is leading the assault in Ukraine’s east, said Wednesday that his forces had seized the village of Sacco and Vanzetti, north of Bakhmut. Rybar, a Telegram channel linked to the Kremlin, said Thursday that Wagner was claiming territory on the contested east side of the city, seizing a sparkling-wine factory and a meat-processing plant.

☆ Russia appoints top soldier Gerasimov to oversee Ukraine campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Gerasimov to oversee military campaign in UkraineLatest reshuffle follows more battlefield setbacksGerasimov has been target of Russian pro-war criticsJan 11 (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov on Wednesday to oversee the military campaign in Ukraine, in the latest shake-up of Moscow's military leadership. In a statement, the defence ministry said Shoigu had appointed Gerasimov as commander of the combined forces group for the "special military operation" in Ukraine. Surovikin will now stay on as a deputy of Gerasimov, the defence ministry said. As the unified commander in Ukraine, Surovikin was becoming very powerful and was likely bypassing Shoigu/Gerasimov when talking to Putin," Lee said. Russian and Ukrainian forces were engaged in intense fighting on Wednesday over the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, a stepping stone in Moscow's push to capture the entire Donbas region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mocked previous Wagner claims to have seized part of Soledar but made no immediate comment on the latest assertions. In a statement on Facebook, the Ukrainian military general staff said Russian forces were suffering heavy losses as they tried to take Soledar and sever Ukrainian supply lines. [1/21] A satellite view shows a smoldering building, in Soledar, Ukraine, January 3, 2023. One prominent military blogger who posts on the Telegram messaging app under the name of Rybar said Surovikin was being made the fall guy for recent Russian military debacles. Wagner separately said its forces found the body of one of two British voluntary aid workers reported missing in eastern Ukraine.

☆ Intense fighting flares in Ukraine's Donetsk region
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Alexander ErmochenkoKYIV, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces was taking place around two towns in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Bakhmut and Soledar, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday. Fighting has been particularly intense this weekend in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which make up the larger industrial Donbas, and the strategically important Kherson province in the south. Russian forces shelled Ukrainian positions on several fronts on Sunday, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said, with the targets including towns in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kherson regions. Shelling by Ukrainian forces damaged the administration building in the city Donetsk, capital of the Donetsk region, the head of its Russian-backed administration said on Sunday. There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine to the attack on Donetsk city, which was annexed by Russian-backed separatists in 2014 along with swathes of the Donbas.

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