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☆ Ukraine shifted to hammering Russian defenses with artillery after losing a lot of Western armor in its early counter-offensives: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian commanders told the Financial Times that there was increasing use of heavy artillery instead, intended to clear a path for sappers and infantry units. The report comes after Ukraine suffered considerable losses of Western-supplied heavy vehicles. It was on machines such as Bradley infantry-fighting vehicles, tanks, and mine-clearing equipment that Ukraine had pinned much of its hopes for its counteroffensive. But by turning to artillery bombardments, Ukraine faces further issues — namely, a shortage of 155 mm munitions, among others. Analysis suggests that Ukraine is outgunning Russia in the artillery fight, taking out four Russian howitzers for every Ukrainian one destroyed, Forbes reported.

Persons: Valery Zaluzhny, Forbes Organizations: Service, Russian, Financial Times, for, Pentagon, New York Times, Times, Bradley, Washington Post, outgunning, White, Kyiv Independent Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Zaporizhia, outgunning Russia

☆ Ukraine's big offensive has hit a few roadblocks, but military experts say don't believe Russia's hype about it being a total failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But military experts told Insider it's much too early to draw any conclusions about the fight. Experts at the time told Insider that a Ukrainian victory was paramount to ongoing international aid and could even redirect the trajectory of the 16-month war. But military strategists told Insider that it's "way too early" for people to be drawing conclusions about the success of Ukraine's fight. The Ukrainians have taken a broad front approach, scanning the front lines to try and find a penetrable place to break through the Russians' defenses, he told Insider. Ukrainian military conducts training on Leopard 2 tanks at the test site on May 14, 2023 in Ukraine.

Persons: It's, —, Ben Hodges, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's, Hodges, Mick Ryan, Ryan, Serhii Mykhalchuk, Russia stokes, Bradley, that's, Putin Organizations: Service, US Army, Australian Army, Group, Ukraine, New York Times, stoke, Ukraine doesn't Locations: Russia, Ukraine, US Army Europe, Ukrainian, Russian, Europe

☆ Russia re-deploys combat-ready marines and airborne troops, implying they blew up Khakhovka dam to gain military advantage, Ukrainian defense minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Khakhovka dam in southern Ukraine was mysteriously damaged, triggering intense flooding, this week. A Ukrainian official claims Russia blew it up to prevent a counteroffensive in the south. She said that Russia is now re-deploying its most combat-ready units to more needed areas. Ukrainian deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said on Telegram on Sunday that Russia is now moving its most combat-ready units, including marines, airborne troops, and the 49th army, away from Kherson. She claimed that this backs up the theory that Russian forces sabotaged the dam in order to narrow the possible areas that Ukraine's army could take action.

Persons: —, Hanna Maliar, Vitaly Nevar Organizations: Service, United Nations, International Army Games, REUTERS, Reuters Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian, Kherson, Kaliningrad, Vitaly Nevar Russia, Norway, Russian

☆ Ukraine's army reports new gains against Russian forces near Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, June 10 (Reuters) - Counterattacking Ukrainian forces have advanced up to 1,400 metres at a number of sections of the front line near the eastern city of Bakhmut in the past day, a military spokesman said on Saturday. The advance is the latest in a series of similar gains reported this week by Kyiv near Bakhmut, which Russia said it had fully captured last month after the bloodiest and longest battle since it began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Serhiy Cherevaty, the official, said in televised comments that Russian forces were themselves trying to counterattack but that they had not been successful. Ukrainian forces, he said, had inflicted heavy Russian troop casualties and destroyed military hardware in the area. Britain's Ministry of Defence said that Ukrainian forces have penetrated the first line of Russian defences in some areas but that Kyiv's progress had been slower in others.

Persons: We're, we're, We've, Serhiy Cherevaty, Tom Balmforth, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Reuters, Kyiv, Britain's Ministry of Defence, Thomson Locations: Bakhmut, Russia, Ukrainian, Moscow, Kyiv, Ukraine, U.S, Ukraine's

☆ Russian TV airs apparent deepfake video of Putin ordering martial law amid reports Ukraine is on the attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Sam Fellman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A fake Putin declared in a video address that Ukraine's army invaded Russia and he's ordering martial law. The fake video was aired, due to a reported hacking, in border areas where anxiety is already high. Russian sources reported increased Ukrainian attacks at positions along the front lines on Monday. The message delivered by fake Putin via television and radio seemed to play to these anxieties. The timing of the fake broadcast is also notable because Russian sources reported increased Ukrainian attacks at multiple positions along the long front lines on Monday.

Persons: Putin, —, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov Organizations: Service, Radio Mir, Putin Russian, NATO, New York Times Locations: Russia, Russia's, Ukrainian, Washington, Kursk, Belgorod, Bryansk

☆ Ex-comic sets sights on Ukraine reconstruction after helping fund war effort
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Now the comedian-turned-politician's charitable foundation is setting its sights on the next big battle: post-war reconstruction. Prytula, 41, led a campaign to acquire Turkish Bayraktar drones after Russia's full-scale invasion in February last year. The foundation also raised about $9.5 million for attack drones, which he said were ordered by Kyiv's military intelligence. After the war, Prytula wants to apply his crowdfunding acumen to help rebuild war-damaged parts of Ukraine. "All of this will need to be rebuilt, and after the war we'll begin measuring everything we've lost."

Persons: Serhiy Prytula, Mariia, Oleksandr, Prytula, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Anna Gvozdiar, Gvozdiar, isn't, we've, Ivan Lyubysh, Timothy Heritage, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Foundation, Bank, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, KYIV, Turkish, Finnish, Crimea, Sumy

☆ UK experts are teaching Ukrainians to make can-sized bombs that can bring down buildings, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

British explosive experts are teaching Ukrainians how to build can-sized bombs by hand. Similar technology was reportedly used to bring down a building on Russian troops in Bakhmut. The weapons have been used to target individual Russian soldiers and bring down Russian-held buildings, according to CNN. Similar technology was also used to bring down a building on dozens of Russian troops in Bakhmut, per CNN. As well as teaching Ukrainian soldiers how to build can-sized bombs, the British experts are bringing key components – including switches, microchips, and 3D printers – to Ukraine, according to CNN.

☆ Russia is fortifying its 600-mile front line with anti-tank ditches, mazes of trenches, 'dragon's teeth' barricades, and minefields, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Satellite images show the scale of Russia's new defenses as Ukraine preps for a counteroffensive. Russia has constructed miles of trenches, rows of concrete "dragon's teeth," and minefields. Much of the defense focuses on Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, which Ukraine wants back. Military analysts told the Financial Times that Russia's defenses won't be enough to stop Ukraine moving forward, but will likely slow down its efforts. And it has also done so along the northern border of Luhansk province in eastern Ukraine, the Financial Times said.

☆ Ukraine says it shot down 6 of the high-powered Kinzhal missiles that Russia boasted were unstoppable
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine says it shot down six of Russia's "unstoppable" Kinzhal missiles over Kyiv early Tuesday. In total, a barrage of 18 missiles were intercepted from land, sea and air, officials claimed. According to the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's army, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, six Russian MiG-31K jets launched the Kinzhal missiles overnight. "It was exceptional in its density — the maximum number of attack missiles in the shortest period of time," said Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, of the barrage, per The Telegraph's translation. Firefighters work at a site of a vehicle parking area damaged by remains of Russian missiles, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 16, 2023.

☆ Luxury Porsche converted into a high-tech military vehicle for a commander in Ukraine's army
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A group of Ukrainian volunteers received a Porsche Cayenne to retrofit into a vehicle for the military. "When our team received this Porsche, it was quite a challenge to find the best way to utilize the luxury vehicle," said Roman Hapachylo, co-founder of Car for Ukraine. But the Porsche car was a different project. Car for Ukraine exists solely on donations of military aid, vehicles, and money. According to their website, they have distributed nearly $2 million worth of trucks to the Ukrainian military.

Persons: Ма

☆ Russia close to encircling Ukraine's Bakhmut after months of fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

This video grab taken from a shooting by AFPTV shows an aerial view of destructions in the city of Bakhmut on February 27, 2023. - Ukraine said on February 28, 2023 its forces were under pressure in Bakhmut, a nearly-destroyed city in the eastern Donetsk region that Russia has been trying to seize for months. One fighter is heard saying Ukraine's army is destroying infrastructure in settlements near Bakhmut to prevent the Russian encirclement. The commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, visited Bakhmut on Friday for briefings with local commanders on how to boost the defense capacity of frontline forces. Ukraine says the city has little strategic value and the huge casualties Russia has suffered trying to take Bakhmut could shape the course of the conflict.

☆ Belarus leader Lukashenko says he had long chat with Putin on war anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he held a long conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday, the one-year anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Lukashenko has denied the election was rigged and accused the West of funding protesters. He has supported Putin in his year-long war with Ukraine, including by letting him invade from Belarusian territory and by allowing Russia to train newly mobilised troops in Belarus. Russia and Belarus are allied in a "Union State" in which Moscow is by far the dominant partner, but Lukashenko dismissed media reports this week that Russia had drawn up a plan to absorb Belarus by 2030. Separately, the state news agency Belta said Lukashenko would start a three-day visit to China on Tuesday.

☆ Russia has changed its plan to take over Ukraine, with the goal now to exhaust the country rather than conquer new territory, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's plan to control Ukraine has changed and now focuses on trying to exhaust it, UK intel said. It added: "The Russian leadership is likely pursuing a long-term operation where they bank that Russia's advantages in population and resources will eventually exhaust Ukraine." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said in January that Russia was trying to "exhaust" it with drone strikes. The UK defense ministry said this strategy shift occurred over the last few weeks, and contrasts with Russia's earlier approach. The UK defense ministry update suggests that this strategy has now started to impact Russia's battlefield tactics.

☆ Toughened by war's scars, Kyiv presses on while Russia attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] People walk down a street near anti-tank constructions as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in central Kyiv, Ukraine February 8, 2023. To avoid the lesson being disrupted by yet another Russian attack, she had quickly moved her class underground when the air-raid sirens sounded. "We teach math, biology, chemistry - everything according to the usual schedule," Olena, who declined to give her last name, told Reuters. Nearly a year after it began, Russia's invasion has upended life but also rallied a nation. Russia denies targeting civilians, and says its attacks are designed to weaken Ukraine's military.

☆ Latvia says it is planning to confiscate cars from drunk drivers to donate to Ukraine's army
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Latvia is planning to donate cars confiscated from drunk drivers to Ukraine's army. Latvia's finance ministry confirmed that the coalition government agreed on the proposal on Monday. The finance ministry is currently revising the proposal to prepare it for implementation, a spokesperson confirmed to Insider in an email. "Therefore, we believe that confiscated cars from drunk drivers in Latvia would complement this great initiative." Insider previously reported that a team of volunteers had been transforming donated civilian vehicles into military-grade fighting vehicles for Ukraine's army.

☆ Ukraine's army conducts drills in Chornobyl zone
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The pope urged the Congolese people to grant each other a "great amnesty of the heart" and called on any Christians engaged in battle to lay down their arms. Eastern Congo has been plagued by conflict for decades.

[1/4] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and South Africa's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana attend bilateral talks, at the treasury offices in Pretoria, South Africa, January 26, 2023. Nevertheless Lavrov made a stopover after visiting South Africa, which his counterpart Thulisile Dladla described as a "profound honour." Eswatini relies on the United States for aid, but its absolute monarchy has suffered U.S. criticism on human rights. South Africa, alongside Russia and China, is pushing for a "multipolar" world in which geopolitical power is less concentrated around the United States. "It hasn't delivered the kind of benefits South Africa was hoping to get."

☆ Factbox: Russia decries German tanks decision, Ukraine 'sincerely grateful'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the German decision confirmed what she said was a "pre-planned war" against Moscow. UKRAINEUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was "sincerely grateful" to Germany and Chancellor Olaf Scholz for Berlin's "important and timely" decision to provide Kyiv with battle tanks. "The right decision by NATO Allies and friends to send main battle tanks to Ukraine. FRANCEThe French presidency welcomed Berlin's decision to send tanks to Ukraine and allow other states to do the same. NETHERLANDSThe Netherlands is prepared to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine if needed, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.

"Germany will always be at the forefront when it comes to supporting Ukraine," Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the German parliament, to applause. "At a critical moment in Russia's war, these tanks can help Ukraine defend itself, win and stand as an independent nation," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. [1/13] Germany delivers its first Leopard tanks to Slovakia as part of a deal after Slovakia donated fighting vehicles to Ukraine, in Bratislava, Slovakia, December 19, 2022. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any U.S. tanks sent to Ukraine would "burn like all the rest". Ukraine defeated Russia's troops on the outskirts of Kyiv last year and later drove them out of swathes of occupied land.

In the south, Russian mortar and artillery fire hit several towns, including the regional capital, Kherson, which Russian forces abandoned in November. Russian troops are active at night - we are in great need of night vision equipment." Western countries have produced a steady supply of weapons to Ukraine since Russian forces invaded last Feb. 24 but Zelenskiy and his government are insisting they need tanks. The OSCE is the world's largest regional security organisation, consisting of 57 states, such as the United States, all European states, including Russia and all states of the former Soviet Union. The U.S. State Department estimated last year that between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainian citizens, including 260,000 children, have been forcibly deported into Russian territory.

[1/3] Ukrainian territorial defence member Leonid Onyshchenko, 63-year-old, speaks to his family during a festive Christmas dinner, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, December 24, 2022. Holding her three-month-old son Yaroslav with one hand, Maryna took a Christmas cake out of oven with the other. Vitalii helped two other sons, Petro and Tais, get dressed before the festive Christmas dinner. In the past, Ukrainian Christians mostly celebrated Christmas in early January. As the family gathers around the table, Maryna calls her father to wish him merry Christmas.

☆ Turkey's Baykar launches new jet-powered drone, aiming for air-to-air combat
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Omer Berberoglu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Kizilelma (Red Apple), Turkish defence firm Baykar's first jet-powered unmanned aerial combat vehicle (UCAV), flies over Corlu near Istanbul, Turkey December 14, 2022. Turkey's new drone powered by a jet-engine shows similar exterior features to fifth generation fighter jets. Baykar says in addition to conventional drone missions, Kizilelma will be able to conduct air-to-air engagements. After it got removed from the F-35 fighter jet program, Turkey converted its vertical take-off aircraft carrier, which is still under construction into a drone carrier. The carrier will serve as a base for Kizilema and other drones in use by the Turkish military.

☆ Russia’s army is so ineffective it will probably not be able to take much territory in Ukraine for ‘the next several months’, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The UK MOD said Russia looked unlikely to make any big gains in Ukraine for months. It's highly unlikely that Russia can generate an effective striking force in the coming months, it said. Ukraine, meanwhile, predicted an increase in its offensive moves once the ground freezes. The British defense ministry said in an intelligence update on Monday that "Russian ground forces are unlikely to make operationally significant advances within the next several months." On December 3, Avril Haines, the US National Intelligence Director, said that winter conditions are expected to slow the war, and that there was already a "reduced tempo."

☆ Ukrainians brave return to former frontline village after Russian retreat
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Anna Voitenko | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The ones that still have something to save, they save it," said 31-year-old returnee Liudmyla Hupalo. "The ones that have nothing to save and have no place to live, they don't come back," she told Reuters. There is some roof left above my house, but it is still scary to look at." "It was a nice and beautiful village," he later recalled, standing beside the charred remains of his tractor, blown up during the occupation. For his wife Oksana, the stove means progress of a sort, though a return to normality remains a distant prospect.

☆ Man says Russia tortured him for 10 days for taking photos of destroyed tanks and sending them to Ukraine's army
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian man told the AP he was locked up and tortured by Russian soldiers for 10 days. He said he was interrogated, beaten, and blindfolded for taking photos for Ukraine's army. The Associated Press reported that Alesha Babenko, 27, was arrested alongside his 14-year-old nephew Vitaliy Mysharskiy by Russian soldiers in September after they took and and sent the photos. Russia has tried to make Ukrainians in some parts of the country Russian, issuing Russian passports and insisting on using its currency, the ruble. Sky News spoke to a man who it reported was imprisoned in the city after he tried to stop soldiers stealing trucks from his factory.

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