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☆ Ukraine denies report it intends to get 24 jets from allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A pair of Ukrainian Su-25 jet fighters fly low, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Kramatorsk, in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 24, 2022. REUTERS/Marko Djurica/File PhotoJan 28 (Reuters) - Ukraine's air force on Saturday denied a newspaper report saying it intended to get 24 fighter jets from allies, saying talks about potential deliveries were still continuing, a domestic media outlet said. Spain's El Pais newspaper, citing air force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat, said Ukraine initially wanted two squadrons of 12 planes each, preferably Boeing F-16 jets. Later in the day, he told Ukrainian national television that allied nations did not like public speculation about jets, Interfax Ukraine news agency said. Germany's defence minister this week ruled out the idea of sending jets to Ukraine.

☆ 'Fast-track' talks are underway between Ukraine and Western allies for missiles and planes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine and its Western allies are engaged in "fast-track" talks on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft, a top Ukrainian presidential aide said Saturday. Orban has refused to send weapons to neighboring Ukraine and sought to block EU funds earmarked for military aid. Amid news of the coordinated effort, Russia bombarded Ukraine with missiles, exploding drones and artillery shells. The attacks continued Saturday when Russian missiles struck the city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk province. In a separate Telegram post earlier Saturday, Kyrylenko reported that Russian attacks in the province killed four civilians in all and wounded seven others in 24 hours.

Ukraine has won promises of Western battle tanks and is seeking fighter jets to push back against Russian and pro-Moscow forces, which are slowly advancing along part of the front line. Zelenskiy, speaking separately, said Ukraine wanted to preempt Russian attacks on Ukrainian urban areas and civilians. Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian air force denied a newspaper report that it intended to get 24 fighter jets from allies, saying talks were continuing, Ukraine's Babel online outlet said. He also told Ukrainian national television that allied nations did not like public speculation about jets, Interfax Ukraine news agency said. Germany's defence minister this week ruled out the idea of sending jets to Ukraine.

Ukraine's military said it shot down 47 of 59 Russian missiles - some fired from Tu-95 strategic bombers in the Russian Arctic. Russia responded with fury to news on Wednesday that Germany and the United States would send dozens of modern tanks to Ukraine. [1/11] A local resident carry home staff from a house of his neighbour damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Hlevakha, outside Kyiv, Ukraine January 26, 2023. After being promised modern tanks, Ukraine is now seeking Western fourth-generation fighter jets such as the U.S. F-16, an adviser to Ukraine's defence minister said. The United States on Thursday formally designated Russian private military company the Wagner Group as a transnational criminal organization, freezing its U.S. assets for helping Russia's military in the Ukraine war.

Ukraine said it had shot down all 24 drones sent overnight by Russia, including 15 around the capital, and 47 of 55 Russian missiles - some fired from Tu-95 strategic bombers in the Russian Arctic. Eleven people were killed and 11 wounded in the drone and missile strikes, which spanned 11 regions and also damaged 35 buildings, a State Emergency Service spokesperson said. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said electricity substations had been hit as Russia continued to target energy facilities. [1/7] Local residents remove debris from a house of their neighbour damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Hlevakha, outside Kyiv, Ukraine January 26, 2023. Both Moscow and Kyiv, which have so far relied on Soviet-era T-72 tanks, are expected to mount new ground offensives in spring.

☆ Russia claims progress in Bakhmut, Ukraine says fighting fierce
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The enemy is increasing pressure on the Bakhmut and Vuhledar areas," Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Maliar, said on the Telegram messaging app. The area around Bakhmut, with a pre-war population of 70,000, has seen some of the most brutal fighting of the 11-month-old war. The town has symbolic importance for both Russia and Ukraine, though Western military analysts say it has little strategic significance. "Fighting is already taking place in the outskirts and in neighbourhoods that until very recently were held by the enemy." Ukraine's Maliar said that in the overall eastern industrial region known as the Donbas, Ukraine had superior and more committed soldiers, while Russia had an advantage in terms of the number of fighters and weapons.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a Telegram post that the move was confirmation of Germany's involvement in "a war planned in advance" against Russia. "This extremely dangerous decision takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation," Ambassador Sergei Nechayev said. 'HISTORICAL RESPONSIBILITY'Germany's decision on tanks followed weeks of agonising by the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, prompted by concerns about escalating the war and provoking Russia. Russia has repeatedly said foreign tanks will "burn" in Ukraine. It says they will only extend the war and prolong Ukrainian suffering, and that the West is "deluded" to think otherwise.

☆ Russia claims capture of Ukraine's Soledar after ferocious fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russian forces captured the town, long the focus of heavy fighting and bombardment, on Thursday evening, the defence ministry said. It said this would make it possible to cut off Ukrainian supply routes to the larger town of Bakhmut, to the southwest, and trap remaining Ukrainian forces there. "The capture of Soledar was made possible by the constant bombardment of the enemy by assault and army aviation, missile forces and artillery of a grouping of Russian forces," Moscow's defence ministry said. Prigozhin issued a premature claim earlier this week that Soledar had already fallen, and said the fighting there was exclusively being waged by his men. Ukraine says Russia is throwing wave upon wave of soldiers into a pointless fight for a bombed-out wasteland.

☆ Putin replaces commander of Russia’s war in Ukraine after just 3 months
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Henry Austin | Henry Austin Is A London-Based Editor For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin has replaced the commander leading his forces in Ukraine just three months after he handed him the job. He previously led Russian forces in Syria and was accused of overseeing a brutal bombardment that destroyed much of the city of Aleppo. Britain’s defense ministry called Gerasimov’s appointment “a significant development” in Putin’s approach to the war. Although it has little intrinsic value, it lies at a strategic point around 6 miles north of the city of Bakhmut, which Russian forces are aiming to surround. Taking Bakhmut would disrupt Ukrainian supply lines and open a route for Russian forces to press toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, key Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk province.

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.

☆ Ukraine says a team of military surgeons removed an unexploded grenade from inside the body of a Ukrainian soldier
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A Ukrainian surgeon successfully removed a live grenade from inside a soldier's chest. The Armed Forces of Ukraine tweeted that the grenade could have detonated "at any moment." The surgery went well and the wounded soldier has been sent to recovery, Ukraine's military said. Two sappers were on hand to handle the live grenade after it was removed from the soldier's chest, according to Ukraine's armed forces. The Armed Forces of Ukraine tweeted that "everything went well — the wounded man has already been sent for rehabilitation and recovery."

☆ Striking video appears to show Ukrainian suicide drones destroying a column of Russian armored vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine shared footage it says shows several Russian armored vehicles being taken out. It appears to include footage from the view of "suicide" drones just before they hit the vehicles. The video, shared Tuesday, includes airborne footage that approaches the armored vehicles at speed before crashing into them and abruptly cutting out. That footage appears to be taken from the perspective of loitering munitions, otherwise known as suicide drones, as they are destroyed in the attack. Both the Ukrainian and Russian side have made extensive use of suicide drones, with Iran-made Shahed-136 drones powering much of Russia's bombardment of civilian areas and energy infrastructure.

"If Bakhmut had been captured when they started their attack in August then it would have been significant. Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russian military at the U.S.-based CNA think-tank, said Moscow appeared committed to the battle because of resources it had already spent rather than because of "sound strategy". WAR OF ATTRITIONFor Russia, Bakhmut, which it calls Artyomovsk, the city's Soviet-era name, has long held political value. Muzyka, the Polish military analyst, said Bakhmut had become a battle of attrition. It could also boost Prigozhin's political capital in Moscow if he can take some credit for such a victory.

☆ Russian fighter jets are struggling in Ukraine, but Ukraine can't beat their missiles and radars, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Russian air force's lackluster performance in Ukraine has been scrutinized throughout the war. Despite its failings over Ukraine, Russia's air force still has advanced jets and missiles. Russian pilots have modified their operations in order to make the most of those advantages. But that doesn't mean that the Russian air force is stupid. Yuri Smityuk\TASS via Getty ImagesDespite initial fears that they would be smashed by Russian missiles and jets, Ukrainian air defenses have had a major impact.

☆ Ukraine-Russia war sees U.S. mull Patriot missile defense battery for Kyiv. It's not enough.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Pavel K. Baev | Pavel K. Baev Is A Research Professor At The Peace Research Institute Oslo | Prio | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The feeble Russian response to Ukraine’s recent drone attacks suggests the West has room to maneuver. The drone attacks also point to how the West can do more to turn the tide of war in Ukraine’s favor. But the Patriot deployment would take months even in the best circumstances, and the war gives no respite. And the feeble Russian response to Ukraine’s recent drone attacks suggests the West has room to maneuver. A U.S. Army Patriot Missile System operates at a joint exercise with NATO allied and partner forces, in Zadar, Croatia, on May 17, 2021.

☆ Live updates: Russian troops ready to advance in Donetsk, official says; U.S. responds to recent airbase strikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pro-Russian official Denis Pushilin, the acting head of the separatist "Donetsk People's Republic" in eastern Ukraine, has claimed that Russian forces in the region — arguably the most hotly-contested region in the Ukraine war at the moment — could soon be in a position to advance and capture Bakhmut. Denis Pushilin (C), leader of the separatists in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) arrives to deliver a press conference in Donetsk, on April 11, 2022. Fighting in Donetsk has descended into bloody trench warfare in recent months with fierce battles over every mile of territory and settlement surrounding Bakhmut. The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said Wednesday morning that Russian forces continued to focus their efforts on "conducting offensive operations" in the area around Bakhmut. It's not the first time that Pushilin has claimed that Bakhmut is close to encirclement, having said the same thing last week.

☆ Language learners take up Ukrainian in show of solidarity - Duolingo
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 6 (Reuters) - Language learning app Duolingo Inc (DUOL.O)said on Tuesday over 1.3 million people took up Ukrainian as a language to learn after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February in a show of solidarity. The report said people studying Ukrainian in Germany and Poland rose over 1,600% compared to last year. The company said the growth of Ukrainian learners in the United Kingdom propelled it up 20 places to 17th position in the most popular languages. Ukrainian was also the fastest-growing in countries far from the conflict such as Argentina, Vietnam and Japan, it said. Ireland topped the list of countries with the largest growth in people studying Ukrainian.

☆ 'Immoral' for Hungary to hold up EU financing deal for Ukraine -Lithuania
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Jan Strupczewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - It is "immoral" for Hungary to hold up a European Union deal on 2023 financing for Ukraine to extract approval for Budapest's recovery plan and billions from the EU budget, Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste told Reuters on Monday. Hungary has been blocking an EU plan to provide 18 billion euros next year in financial help to war-torn Ukraine through the EU budget, which would make disbursements regular and predictable, allowing the Kyiv administration to plan ahead. EU officials say that to remove its veto, one of the things Budapest wants is EU approval for its plan (RRP) to spend 5.8 billion euros from the EU post-pandemic recovery fund. Another thing Budapest may want, EU diplomats and officials say, is for EU finance ministers to freeze a smaller amount of EU funds for Hungary than the 7.5 billion recommended by the Commission last week. She said that if Hungary continued to bloc financing for Ukraine through the EU budget, other EU governments could agree to provide the money in some other way, like they did this year.

☆ French prosecutors name Ukrainian suspect in Lebanese central bank probe
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( David Gauthier-Villars | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 5 (Reuters) - French prosecutors said on Monday they have put a Ukrainian woman linked to the governor of Lebanon's central bank under formal investigation as part of a cross-border probe into alleged fraud to the detriment of the Lebanese state. A lawyer for Kosakova said he and his client would "react very soon" to the French prosecutors' decisions. Salameh, who has not been named as a suspect by French prosecutors but who had some of his real estate assets in France seized as part of the investigation, did not respond to a message seeking comment. A French lawyer for Salameh, Pierre-Olivier Sur, said the June decision on Kosakova "doesn't change anything". In the interview with Reuters, Riad Salameh has said he bought real estate assets with his own money, earned when he worked as an investment banker.

☆ Neither Russia nor Ukraine can control the air over Ukrainian battlefields, but their aircraft are still finding ways to operate
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Russian air force's performance in Ukraine has fallen well short of expectations before the war. Neither the Russia air force nor Ukrainian forces can control the skies over Ukraine, however. But Russian aircraft have never able to achieve air superiority over Ukraine. Right now, neither military can control the airspace over Ukraine, but pilots from both sides are still finding ways to operate. In Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian aircraft often have to fire blindly or with only cursory attempts to aim at enemy targets before ducking down or veering off to avoid incoming fire.

☆ A Ukrainian surgeon had to operate using only a headlamp after a Russian missile strike plunged Lviv into darkness
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Ukrainian surgeon had to operate using only his headlamp after blackouts caused by Russian missiles hit Lviv. Duda couldn't stop what he was doing, the AP reported, leaving his only choice to carry on with the operation using only the headlamp on his head for light. It was the result of another Russian missile strike on Ukraine's power grid, the AP reported. Ukrainian doctor Oleh Duda, left, speaks with a patient at the hospital in western city of Lviv, Ukraine, on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. In the Lviv hospital, which mainly specializes in cancer, only 10 of the day's 40 scheduled surgeries were performed on November 15, the AP reported.

☆ Explainer: The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: who controls it and why is it important?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Repeated shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine has raised the possibility of a grave accident just 500 km (300 miles) from the site of the world's worst nuclear accident, the 1986 Chornobyl disaster. What nuclear material is at Europe's largest nuclear power plant, what are the risks and why are Russia and Ukraine fighting over it? The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has six Soviet-designed VVER-1000 V-320 water-cooled and water-moderated reactors containing Uranium 235, which has a half-life of more than 700 million years. The biggest risk is from overheating nuclear fuel, which could happen if the power that drives the cooling systems was cut. Besides the reactors, there is also a dry spent fuel storage facility at the site for used nuclear fuel assemblies, and spent fuel pools at each reactor site that are used to cool down the used nuclear fuel.

☆ Kherson residents stock up as first Ukrainian supermarket opens
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] People shop at an ATB store which was the first reopened Ukrainian supermarket after Russia's military retreat from Kherson, Ukraine November 20, 2022. REUTERS/Murad SezerKHERSON, Ukraine, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Kherson residents flocked on Sunday to buy groceries at the first Ukrainian supermarket to open since the city was retaken by pro-Kyiv forces earlier this month. "Out of principle, I didn't carry any rubles and never bought Russian goods," 49-year-old Nataliia Tsvihun said while standing in line outside the ATB store. Kherson remains without electricity, running water or heating, but residents found some relief in being able to purchase Ukrainian pickled gherkins, dumplings, horseradish and other favourites. Reporting by Joseph Campbell and Felix Hoske; Editing by David Ljunggren and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russian troops are building new defensive positions nearly 40 miles behind current front lines, a sign they're planning for more retreats, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russian troops are making new defensive positions miles behind the front lines, the UK said Friday. British intelligence said that these new positions suggest the Russian military is planning for more retreats. Ukrainian troops last week entered the southern city of Kherson after Russian President Vladimir Putin's defense chief ordered a retreat across the Dnipro (also called Dnieper) River. A Ukrainian tank is seen as Ukrainian Armed Forces' military mobility continue toward Kherson front in Ukraine on November 9, 2022. According to a recent assessment by the Washington-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces have continued to attack Bakhmut, though Ukrainian forces have so far managed to repel the assaults.

☆ 5 NATO carrier strike groups, including the US Navy's newest supercarrier, are patrolling waters around Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NATO carrier strike groups are patrolling waters around Europe. One of the five groups operating in the area is led by the US Navy's newest supercarrier. Bush and Gerald R. Ford, the service's newest supercarrier, the British Royal Navy's HMS Queen Elizabeth, France's Charles De Gaulle, and Italy's ITS Cavour. The strike groups, which include not just carriers but their escorts as well, are carrying out routine patrol missions in the Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea. The Navy said in a Thursday statement on the carrier operations that each country has its own mission objectives and that it is not uncommon for multiple carrier strike groups to be deployed at the same time since NATO countries maintain a continued presence in waters around Europe.

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