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☆ Putin is desperate for North Korea's stockpile of weapons, but they're outdated and unreliable, say experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia's Vladimir Putin will host North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Vladivostok, reports say. But North Korea's shoddy weapons may not be effective, say analysts. Ben Wallace, the former UK defense secretary, meanwhile accused Putin of "begging" for outdated North Korean weapons in his desperation to secure new weapons supplies. But analysts believe that North Korea's weapons are in a shoddy state, and are unlikely to make a decisive impact in Ukraine. AdvertisementAdvertisement"Russia is looking to North Korea for a large quantity of conventional weapons rather than sophisticated ones," said Go.

Persons: Russia's Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Kim, John Everard, Ben Wallace, meanwhile, Michael Kofman Organizations: Service, North, BBC, UN, Financial Times, Asan Institute, Policy Studies, Russia, CNA Locations: Vladivostok, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, Moscow, Iran, Korea, Korean, Yeonpyeong, US, Seoul

☆ Russian shelling kills one in northeast Ukraine, Kyiv says it's pushing south
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Russian shelling killed a 45-year-old civilian man in the town of Kupiansk on Tuesday, local officials said, as Moscow's forces try to advance in northeastern Ukraine. Ukrainian troops began a counteroffensive in the east and south in early June but have made slow progress through Russian minefields and trenches blocking their southern push, intended to reach the Sea of Azov and split Russian forces. Kyiv also said its troops had had some "success" in the direction of the village of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region, but gave no details. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said fighting was heavy in the country but that Ukrainian forces were making progress around the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut in the east. Russian officials had said Moscow's forces are holding their ground in Bakhmut, and have not confirmed the loss of Robotyne.

Persons: Oleh Synehubov, Kupiansk, Hanna Maliar, Anna Pruchnicka, Timothy Organizations: Kupiansk, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Kupiansk, Ukraine, Russia, Kharkiv, Azov, Zaporizhzhia, Robotyne, Verbove, Bakhmut

☆ Russia to resume offensive in east Ukraine after regrouping, Kyiv says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Commander of the Ground Forces colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi reports to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at a position near the front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 26, 2023. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Russia is regrouping in the Moscow-controlled eastern part of Ukraine in order to resume an offensive, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian military's ground forces, said on Friday. Syrskyi said that the main goal of these measures was to "increase the level of combat potential and resume active offensive operations". Syrskyi did not provide details of the Russian regrouping but said the forces continued heavy artillery and mortar shelling and air assaults. Reporting by Oleksandr Kozhukhar in Kyiv; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Oleksandr Syrskyi, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Lyman, Syrskyi, Oleksandr Kozhukhar, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Ground Forces, Presidential Press Service, REUTERS, Rights, Russian Federation, Regional, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Donetsk region, Russia, Moscow, Ukrainian, Kyiv

☆ The West is wrong to criticize Ukraine for not focusing its counteroffensive in one area, say experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Western officials criticized Ukrainian counteroffensive tactics. Ukraine is making slow progress in its counteroffensive to drive back Russian forces. It also defended Ukrainian tactics on the southern front, where troops are trying to break through in the direction of occupied Melitopol. But as Ukraine struggles to make a decisive breakthrough, differences are emerging with Western allies over the tactics it's using. Some analysts believe that Ukraine has to achieve a decisive breakthrough in its counteroffensive soon, as a protracted conflict would be to Russia's advantage.

Persons: Vitaliy, Insider's Sinead Baker Organizations: Service, New York Times, Times, Adam Tactical Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Washington, DC, Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Melitopol, Velyka, Crimea

☆ Ukraine says three killed in Russian shelling of Kherson, Kharkiv region
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Aug 7 (Reuters) - A woman was killed early on Monday when Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, while two other people were killed in Russian shelling of border areas of the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, officials said. Both the city of Kherson and parts of the Kharkiv region are directly adjacent to the front line. The Ukrainian military has reported increased Russian attacks in the Kharkiv region in recent days. Ukraine recaptured Kherson city and parts of the Kherson region in November after months of Russian occupation, but Russian forces regularly shell the city and surrounding areas from across the Dnipro River. This month a doctor was killed and five medical workers were wounded in Russian shelling of a Kherson hospital.

Persons: Oleksandr Prokudin, Prokudin, Andriy Yermak, Pavel Polityuk, Robert Birsel, Gareth Jones Organizations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Kherson, Kharkiv, Ukraine, Dnipro, Russia

☆ Russia is jamming 'sophisticated' US weapons being used in Ukraine, making them useless, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Both sides are waging a battle to jam the electronics of missiles and other weapons. Clark told the BBC that Russian technologies were able to jam missile GPS coordinates, disable Ukrainian drones, and suppress Russian radar signals that were used by Ukraine to identify targets to attack. Like many long-range missiles, they rely on GPS coordinates to be guided to their target. They have a greater range than the HIMARs long-range missiles that Ukraine used to drive back Russian forces in a counteroffensive last year, The Defense Post reported. They were also one of a number of weapons that Ukraine's Western allies hoped could help Ukraine in its new counteroffensive to drive back Russian invaders.

Persons: Bryan Clark, Clark, Mr Clark, It's Organizations: Service, Hudson Institute, BBC News, BBC, Royal United Services Institute, Defense Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Wall, Silicon, US, Ukraine

☆ Is Ukraine's counteroffensive failing? Defense experts say the risks facing Kyiv are growing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Global Images Ukraine | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesFor Michael Clarke, a defense analyst and former director-general of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, there's a risk that the first phase of the counteroffensive, designed to probe Russia's defenses, takes too long. Global Images Ukraine | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesKonrad Muzyka, a military intelligence specialist and president of Rochan Consulting, said "the weather has always been the factor" for Kyiv. But Kyiv says its forces are conducting counteroffensive actions in at least three areas and are operating against a backdrop of increased Russian offensive operations. Ukraine's defense ministry claims that its forces have liberated around 210 square kilometers (81 square miles) of occupied territory since June. Anatolii Stepanov | Afp | Getty Images

Persons: —, Michael Clarke, Clarke, Konrad Muzyka, Muzyka, Yuriy Sak, Sak, Anatolii Stepanov Organizations: 110th Brigade, Territorial Defense, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Military, Royal United Services Institute, CNBC, Rochan Consulting, Kyiv, Afp Locations: Novodarivka, Luhansk, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Kherson, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Donetsk, Russian, Russia, Vuhledar, Yuriy, Siversk

☆ Mine-clearing equipment given to Ukraine by the West is ineffective, noisy, and easy to strike, commander says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's military chief, told the Post that Ukrainian forces needed more specialist mine-clearing equipment. A Ukrainian official told the Post that it had only received around 15% of the specialist de-mining equipment it had requested from Western allies. A US official responded that it would provide all the equipment requested, but there were problems providing it on the scale requested in a timely way. Ukraine launched its much-anticipated counteroffensive in June, seeking to drive Russian forces back from territory it occupies in south and east Ukraine. So far Ukraine has made limited advances, with Russian forces having dug heavily fortified positions protected by landmines during the winter.

Persons: Oskar, Gen, Valery Zaluzhny, Zaluzhny Organizations: Washington, Service, Washington Post, Officers, 47th Mechanized Brigade, Ukraine, Post, Russian Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia

☆ Putin's military supply routes are being blocked by Russian tourists after he encouraged them to go on holiday in Crimea, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian tourists are snarling up military supply routes near Crimea, a report said. The Institute for the Study of War described the Kerch bridge as one of two supply routes for Russian forces in southern Ukraine battling to resist a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russian tourists in the resort town of Alushta on the Crimean peninsula on June 18, 2023. Despite this, Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered Russian military vehicles to help ferry tourists to the location, it said. In the wake of Sunday's attack, Putin urged tourists to avoid the Kerch bridge and instead take the route through occupied east Ukraine.

Persons: OLGA MALTSEVA, Vladimir Putin, Putin Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Institute for, Getty, Moscow Times, Daily Locations: Crimea, Crimean, Wall, Silicon, Kerch, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Alushta, AFP

☆ Ads on buses at the NATO summit are shaming delegates for not giving F-16s to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

NATO members have hesitated in providing Ukraine with all the weapons its requested. Buses carrying delegates to and from the conference venue showed the slogan "while you are waiting for this bus, Ukraine is waiting to become a NATO member," reported CNN, in a reference to NATO members hesitating in admitting Ukraine to the alliance. Other pictures showed buses with the message "while you were waiting for this bus, Ukraine is waiting for F-16s," referring to the US fighter jets Ukraine has long requested. NATO member states have committed to training Ukrainian pilots with the jets, but have not committed to providing any actual planes. NATO members have sought to project an image of unity and defiance at the summit in response to Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: hesitating, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's Organizations: NATO, Service, CNN, Ukraine's Pravda, Soviet Union, EU Locations: Vilnius, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Lithuanian, Russia, Lithuania, Soviet, Europe

☆ Exclusive: Wagner fighters neared Russian nuclear base during revolt
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

Reuters GraphicsOnce the Wagner fighters reach more rural regions, the surveillance trail goes cold – about 100 km from the nuclear base, Voronezh-45. But in an exclusive interview, Ukraine's head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the Wagner fighters went far further. The only barrier between the Wagner fighters and nuclear weapons, Budanov said, were the doors to the nuclear storage facility. It is one of Russia's 12 "national-level storage facilities" for nuclear weapons, according to a report by U.N. scientists. Another female resident also said Wagner had widespread support in the town, and that many Wagner fighters are from Boguchar.

Persons: Wagner, Ukraine's, Kyrylo Budanov, Budanov, Alexander Lukashenko, Adam Hodge, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Matt Korda, Vladimir Putin's, Hans Kristensen, David Jonas, Amy Woolf, Jonas, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Shoigu, Oleksiy Danilov, Don, Anna Sandrakova, Maxim Yantsov, Mikhail Vedernikov, Talovaya, Alexei Yablokov, Kristensen, Alexsandr Lukashenko, Dmitry Peskov, Lukashenko, he's, Mari Saito, Tom Balmforth, John Shiffman, Phil Stewart, Polina, Maria Tsvetkova, Anton Zverev, Christian Lowe, David Gauthier, Stephen Grey, Reade Levinson, Eleanor Whalley, Milan Pavicic, Daria Shamonova, Janet McBride Organizations: Reuters, Kremlin, Belarusian, U.S, White, National Security, Nuclear, Federation of American, Federation of American Scientists, U.S . National Nuclear Security Administration, Library, Congress, Wagner, State, Staff, Russian, Defence Ministry, Defence Council, Main, Russian Defence, U.S . Congress, Telegram, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russian, Voronezh, United States, Ukraine, Russia, Rostov, Talovaya, Soviet, Washington, dabble, Syria, Libya, Mali, ., Pavlovsk, Elizavetovka, Vorontsovka, Buturlinovka, Talovaya district, Pskov, Soviet Union, Belarus, Minsk, he's, St Petersburg, Kyiv, London, New York, Paris, Villars, Istanbul, Gdansk

☆ 'Tough duel' ahead for Ukraine as Russia mounts fierce resistance to counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Ukrainian officials are the first to admit that the country's armed forces face a "tough duel" with Russia in the weeks and months ahead. Nonetheless, there is mounting pressure on Ukraine to produce solid results — and analysts told CNBC that expectations could be far too high. Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian lawmaker, told CNBC Tuesday that it was too early in the counteroffensive to make a judgment call. Urging patience, Ukraine defense advisor Yuriy Sak told CNBC: "We understand that everybody — and us more than anybody else — wants [the counteroffensive] to be progressing faster." Anders Fogh Rasmussen, chair of Rasmussen Global and former Secretary General of NATO, told CNBC Tuesday that "we are much too slow."

Persons: Anatolii Stepanov, Yuriy Sak, Hanna Maliar, Maliar, Oleksiy, —, Sak, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Putin, Fogh Rasmussen, Oleksiy Goncharenko, Oscar Del Pozo Organizations: AFP, Getty, CNBC, Ukrainian, Google, Defense, NATO, Rasmussen Global, Afp Locations: Blagodatne, Donetsk, Ukraine, Russia, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv, Kherson, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Spanish, San Gregorio, Zaragoza

☆ Russia launches overnight air attack on Ukraine from east to west
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] An explosion of a drone is seen in the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 20, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb GaranichJune 20 (Reuters) - Russia launched a widespread overnight air attack on Ukraine targeting the capital and cities from east to west as most of the country spent the night with air raid sirens blasting for several hours. "Another massive air attack on the capital," Popko said. Yuriy Malashko, head of the military administration of the Zaporizhzhia region in southeast Ukraine, said on the Telegram messaging app that Russia's raid targeted telecommunication infrastructure and agriculture and farming properties. The top military command said that Russia launched seven missiles in the attack on Zaporizhzhia, according to preliminary reports.

Persons: Gleb Garanich, Serhiy Popko, Popko, Yuriy Malashko, Lidia Kelly, Kim Coghill, Michael Perry Organizations: REUTERS, General, of Ukraine's Armed Forces, NATO, Russia, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Lviv, Poland, Zaporizhzhia, Melbourne

☆ Who is winning the war in Ukraine? Experts break down the territorial, psychological, and military gains made by Putin and Zelenskyy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Insider spoke to four experts about who they think is currently winning the war in Ukraine. But two experts told Insider this appears to be unattainable. "So territory-wise, I don't think Zelenskyy has budged on his objective of liberating all of the occupied territories," Miron told Insider. Photo by Getty ImagesMilitary victoryIt is difficult to analyze who is currently winning from a military standpoint because a lot of hinges on Ukraine's counteroffensive, all experts told Insider. John E. Herbst, who was the US ambassador to Ukraine from 2003 to 2006, told Insider that he believes that right now, the advantage lies with Ukraine.

Persons: —, Ukraine —, Vladimir Putin, Marina Miron, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's, Miron, David Lewis, Yasuyoshi Chiba, University of Birmingham's Jaroslava Barbieri, " Barbieri, Lewis, John E . Herbst, Bakhmut, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Barbieri, Herbst, Putin Organizations: Service, Department of, King's College London, Institute for, Royal United Services Institute, Getty, Kyiv, University of Birmingham's, Getty Images, Washington Post, Ukraine Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Crimea, Sloviansk, AFP, Ukrainian, Irpin, Bakhmut

☆ Putin is setting up excuses to protect himself in case his war in Ukraine fails, says ex-CIA officer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin is apparently searching for excuses, an ex-CIA official said. Putin has claimed Russian forces in Ukraine need better weapons. In recent remarks to journalists, Putin said that Russian forces in Ukraine were fighting with inferior weapons, and that the country is urgently increasing the production of modern weapons for front-line troops. On Tuesday, Putin specifically told Russian military bloggers and state media war correspondents that Russian forces were short on high-precision ammo and attack drones. "For me, the really fascinating questions is why does Vladimir Putin address this, and for me, we have to turn to history in Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, —, Steven Hall, Hall Organizations: CIA, Russian, Service, CNN Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia

☆ Putin is scared of punishing Prigozhin in case the Wagner chief turns against him, says ex-Kremlin official
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Speculation is circulating about why Putin isn't punishing Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. Prigozhin is increasingly brazen in his criticism of Russian military leaders. Putin needs the support of nationalist hardliners like Prigozhin. The Wagner chief's attacks have prompted speculation he may even be planning a coup against Putin. In comments to The Washington Post, Abbas Gallyamov, a political analyst and former Kremlin speechwriter, said that Putin couldn't afford to alienate hardline nationalists such as Prigozhin.

Persons: Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, —, Vladimir Putin, who've, Abbas Gallyamov, Gallyamov, Putin hasn't Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Washington Post, Reuters, Ukraine, Russian Interior Ministry Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Ukraine reports gains, says Russians 'doing everything' to hold positions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, June 13 (Reuters) - Ukraine reported more gains in the early stages of its counteroffensive on Tuesday, but said Russian forces were "doing everything" they can to defend the territory they have occupied. Maliar said Ukrainian forces had gained control of an area of up to 3 square km (1.16 square miles) but did not say over what period. She said late on Monday that Ukrainian forces had advanced 6.5 km and taken control of an area of 90 square km. That was still only a fraction of the 40,000 square miles that remains under Russia's occupation. She said Russian forces had air support and were showering Ukrainian troops with intense artillery fire, and that Ukrainian troops were encountering "continuous minefields which are combined with anti-tank ditches."

Persons: Maliar, Anna Pruchnicka, Timothy Organizations: Defence, Reuters, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Bakhmut, Berdyansk, Russia, Kyiv

☆ Russian invasion increases challenges, risks for Ukraine coal mines
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Vitalii Hnidyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Some coal mines operate despite Russian invasionMine operators face many challenges and risksSome miners have gone to fight, energy sector targetedEAST UKRAINE, June 9 (Reuters) - Russia's invasion has thrown up huge challenges for Ukraine's coal mines, from the danger posed by air strikes to the departure of miners for the front to fight. But pits are still producing coal in parts of eastern Ukraine that are not occupied by Russia, an act of defiance that the miners see as vital to the war effort. "But nevertheless ... we plan to increase coal production at our enterprise, even in relation to the past (before the war)." Other problems caused by the war included difficulties with supplies of equipment, missile strikes and the damage caused by Russian attacks. "Despite the shelling, we continued to work, because we understand that the enterprise will not work without (our) work.

Persons: Viktor Kuznetsov, Kuznetsov, Andrii, Yurkov, Vitalii Hnidyi, Timothy Heritage, Christina Fincher Organizations: Russian, EAST UKRAINE, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Donetsk, Maryinka

☆ Russia: Chechen special forces waging offensive in east Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 2 (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry said on Friday that the "Akhmat" group of Chechen special forces were waging an offensive near the town of Mariinka, in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. Together with the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, troops from Russia's Chechen Republic have been one of the main driving forces behind Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. Unlike Prigozhin, who has repeatedly lambasted Russia's military leadership, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has recently refrained from echoing criticism of the defence ministry. Members of the two groups have since openly sparred, with one of Kadyrov's close allies on Thursday casting Prigozhin as a blogger who yells all the time about problems. Reporting by Reuters; editing by Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Apti Alaudinov, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov's, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Russia's Defence, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Chechen, Mariinka, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Chechen Republic, Ukraine

☆ Wagner's chief says his army isn't strong enough to topple Putin, responding to rumors he is planning a coup: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin denied planning a coup. Kremlin ally Igor Girkin had claimed that Prigozhin may be preparing to topple Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin instead implied that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu could stage a coup because he has access to the Russian Special Forces, the ISW added. Wagner, Prigozhin said on Telegram, simply wants reforms in Russia, according to the report. Girkin said insults Prigozhin has made about top Russian officials in expletive filled videos indicate he is planning to seize power.

☆ Russia's claim that it won in Bakhmut may be meaningless — and a good sign for Ukraine's upcoming counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia claimed victory over Bakhmut after a monthlong battle over the eastern Ukrainian city. On Sunday, Russia's defense ministry backed a claim first made by the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Prigozhin, that Russian forces have seized Bakhmut. "Their capture does not grant Russian forces operationally significant terrain to continue conducting offensive operations or any particularly strong position from which to defend against possible Ukrainian counterattacks." The battle in Bakhmut has also, at times, put the Wagner leader at odds with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Russian forces will likely need additional reinforcements to hold Bakhmut City and its flanks at the expense of operations in other directions," ISW reported.

☆ Ukraine posts video it says shows its special forces in Bakhmut, undermining Russia's claim to control the city
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine is pushing back against Russian claims to have seized Bakhmut after months of slaughter. For months Russia has been seeking to seize control of the city in east Ukraine. In a video posted on Telegram, the Ukrainian special forces showed a unit of its fighters apparently walking through the devastated city. On Sunday, Russia's defense ministry endorsed a claim by Yevgeny Progozhin, commander of the Wagner mercenary group, to have seized seized control of the city. Ukrainian military sources told outlets including the BBC that Ukrainian forces still controlled buildings on the outskirts of the city.

☆ Four Russian military aircraft shot down near Ukraine, Russian daily reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Russian state news agency TASS said a Russian Su-34 warplane had crashed in that region but did not specify a cause. Comments accompanying the video, which Reuters could not immediately verify, said it showed a Mi-8 being shot down by a missile. It said the downed helicopters appeared to be Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare craft able to jam enemy radio and targeting signals. There was no official response from Ukraine, which usually declines to comment on reports of attacks inside Russia. However, in a tweet, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, called the incident "Justice ... and instant karma".

☆ Situation around Europe's largest nuclear power plant is 'potentially dangerous,' watchdog warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Leila Sackur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Members of the delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visit the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on March 29, 2023. The situation in the area near Europe's largest nuclear power plant is "becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous," the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said Saturday. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement that he was "extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risk," facing the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeast Ukraine. "I'm extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant. The 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near the northern Ukrainian city of Pripyat is considered the worst on record.

☆ UK intel says Russia is giving Ukrainians in occupied towns a choice: Get Russian passports or get 'deported' and have their property seized
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Russian authorities are forcing Ukrainian citizens in occupied areas to get Russian passports. If residents refuse, they will be "deported" and have their property seized, UK intel said. The UK Ministry of Defense said Putin's forces are trying to force Russian culture on occupied Ukrainian territories. According to an update from the UK Ministry of Defense, Russia is forcing Ukrainian citizens to accept Russian Federation passports. The ministry added that making Ukrainians register with Russian passports is "a tool in the 'Russification' of the occupied areas," meaning the forced assimilation of Ukrainians into Russian culture.

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