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[1/2] An ambulance and firefighting vehicles are parked outside a multi-storey apartment block following a reported drone attack in Moscow, Russia, May 30, 2023. Drone attacks deep inside Russia have intensified in recent weeks, with strikes on oil pipeline installations and even the Kremlin earlier this month that Moscow has blamed on Ukraine. Some filmed a drone being shot down and a plume of smoke rising over the Moscow skyline. MOSCOW UNDER ATTACKIt was unclear how President Vladimir Putin will react to the attack on Moscow, which brings the war in Ukraine to the capital of the world's biggest nuclear power. Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, said on the Telegram channel that several drones were shot down on their approach to Moscow.

☆ ‘Uncle Roger’ jokes about China and censors don’t see the funny side
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

By Saturday his account on China’s highly censored Weibo platform had been barred from creating new posts. ‘Don’t make him disappear’Ng, 32, shot to fame three years ago with a video of Uncle Roger – an outspoken middle-aged man who speaks with a thick Malay accent – making fun of BBC Food presenter Hersha Patel’s way of cooking Chinese-style egg-fried rice. The sketch Ng posted on Twitter last week was filmed at his recent stand-up tour, which broached more political subjects. In one clip, after learning that an audience member is from China’s southern Guangzhou province, Uncle Roger says China is a “good country.”“We have to say that now, correct? “Uncle Roger good comrades,” he quipped.

In a Telegram post, groups calling themselves the “Freedom of Russia Legion” and “Russian Volunteer Corps” said they had “liberated” a settlement in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine. The situation in Belgorod marks “the first time” that Ukrainian-aligned forces have launched “a cross-border land operation against Russian targets,” according to CNN’s Sam Kiley. A helicopter circles over Russia's Belgorod region, the site of fighting between Russian defectors and pro-Kremlin troops amid the war in Ukraine. The Freedom for Russia Legion numbers a few hundred of diehard, battle-hardened Russian volunteers fighting their own people as part of the Ukrainian armed forces. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, said: “Russian forces are working to push out the Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group from the territory of the Russian Federation and destroy it.

☆ Russia's Wagner claims Bakhmut; Kyiv says situation critical
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But meanwhile, to the north and south, they have made their most rapid gains for six months in the surrounding area, seizing swathes of territory from Russian troops. "Wagner troops climbed into Bakhmut like rats into a mousetrap," Oleksander Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, told troops at the Bakhmut front this week. The battle for Bakhmut has revealed a deepening split between Wagner, a mercenary force that has recruited thousands of convicts from Russian prisons, and the regular Russian military. For two weeks, Prigozhin has been issuing daily video and audio messages denouncing Russia's military leadership, often in expletive-laden rants. Moscow has long claimed that capturing Bakhmut would be a stepping stone towards advancing deeper into the Donbas region it claims to have annexed from Ukraine.

☆ Putin's Victory Day speech was as extreme as ever, claiming a 'real war' was being waged against Russia, even as his military had a measly showing at the celebration
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Vladimir Putin said the West was waging a "real war" against Russia in his Victory Day speech. Victory Day is celebrated on May 9 every year in Russia to commemorate the Soviet Union's victory over Germany in World War II. Leading up to Victory Day, officials in several Russian cities canceled their parades. "He almost acts as if the world is no different than it was in World War II," Norris explained. He also said Ukraine would replace Russia's Victory Day with a new holiday to be celebrated annually on May 9 — Europe Day.

☆ How Russians end up in a far-right militia fighting in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/3] Danil Yugoslavsky gets ready at Civic Council’s Warsaw office, hours before crossing into Ukraine, in Warsaw, Poland, January 15, 2023. Max Smit, who crossed into Ukraine with Yugoslavsky, had never held a weapon before he joined the RVC. And there are some who think that fighting for the motherland is their cause," said Galeotti, naming the Rusich Group and ENOT Corp among far-right paramilitary units fighting on Russia's side. That's still a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and volunteers fighting in Ukraine, and the thousands of foreigners that have been fighting Russian forces there. According to Sokolov, RVC fighters received regular salaries from the Ukrainian defence ministry.

☆ The Ukraine war is driving a wedge between Moscow and its mercenaries — and the Kremlin knows it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The war in Ukraine looks to have created deep and lasting tensions between Russia's leadership in Moscow and its mercenary fighters on the ground, with acrimony between the two descending into openly hostile criticism and accusations of treachery this week. Prigozhin said his mercenary forces, making up the bulk of Russians fighting to seize Bakhmut, would remain there for a "few more days" to see if the situation would change. Prigozhin's very public criticism of Russia's military leadership this week has made it impossible for the Kremlin to ignore, despite its de-facto position being to remain tight-lipped about internal matters. "Emotions are boiling over there," Peskov told a Bosnian Serb television channel ATV on Wednesday, in comments translated by Google. We have no doubt that Artyomovsk [Russia's name for Bakhmut] will be brought under control, that it will be determined later," he said.

☆ Putin Condemns Western Support for Ukraine as Russia’s Battlefield Losses Mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow. Photo: Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo/APRussian President Vladimir Putin fired a rhetorical broadside at Washington and the West on Tuesday, condemning allied military support for Ukraine as Moscow faces mounting battlefield losses more than a year after invading its smaller neighbor. Speaking to a crowd on Moscow’s Red Square at the country’s annual Victory Day parade commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Mr. Putin declared: “An actual war has once again been unleashed against our Motherland,” saying the West sought Russia’s “disintegration and destruction.”

☆ On Muted War Holiday, Putin Tries to Justify Invasion of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Anatoly Kurmanaev | Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Vladimir V. Putin on Tuesday used a scaled-down commemoration of triumph in World War II as a platform to denounce the West and make fictitious claims about Ukraine, equating his war of choice against that country with the Soviet Union’s fight for survival against Nazi Germany. With Russia struggling on the battlefield, the annual celebration of Victory Day, Russia’s most important and deeply emotional secular holiday, was far more muted than in the past. But Mr. Putin tried to seize on his nation’s proud memory of what it calls the Great Patriotic War to rally support for the war he launched against Ukraine last year, explicitly comparing the two. “A real war has been unleashed against our motherland again,” Mr. Putin said in a 10-minute speech in Moscow’s Red Square, whose themes were quickly repeated by state media. But his rhetoric has shifted from talk of a limited war — in his telling, one of self-defense — to drawing direct parallels to the colossal fight against Nazism.

☆ Putin accuses the West of creating Nazis while comparing the war in Ukraine to WWII, in what experts are calling a perversion of history
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He sought to portray the war in Ukraine as part of a plot to destroy Russia. Putin has sought to portray the war in Ukraine as a battle against Western powers who he claims are determined to destroy Russia. A real war has been unleashed against our Motherland," he said during a parade in Moscow on Tuesday. During the war, Russia was allied against fascist powers with Western powers including the UK and US. "They've even said that the West created Nazis," he added, calling it a "grotesque perversion of and distortion of history".

☆ Victory Day analysis: Putin tried to project strength, but Moscow parade revealed only his isolation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —For Russian President Vladimir Putin, this year’s Victory Day parade in Red Square was a chance to continue his war on history. It has become a pawn to their cruel and selfish plans.”Despite the pomp of the parade, Putin cuts an increasingly isolated figure. In Russia, Putin and his regime have destroyed these values. A lone Soviet-era T-34 tank leads the procession in Moscow in contrast to the large array of military hardware on display on previous Victory Day parades. “Victory Day is the victory of our grandfathers,” he said.

It also highlights Russian frustration at failing to complete the capture of Bakhmut after more than nine months of costly, intense battle. ANGRY TIRADEWhat looked real, however, was Prigozhin's fury at Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. "If Putin wants him to be in combat, he'll force him in one way or another to do so." Marten said its involvement in the battle for Bakhmut, including fighters recruited from Russian prisons, had allowed Putin to avoid declaring a full-scale mobilization. Whatever its immediate intentions around Bakhmut, Wagner is likely to remain a significant player in the war, given Prigozhin's personal ambitions and determination to stay in the limelight.

Unlike the chubby, fluffy image of her younger self, 22-year-old Ya Ya has appeared skinny in recent photos, with her black and white coat missing clumps of fur. But Le Le died suddenly of heart disease in early February, further fueling suspicions of mistreatment. Throughout the past weeks, Ya Ya regularly appeared as a top trending topic on Weibo, each time attracting hundreds of millions of views. Allegations of mistreatmentWhen Ya Ya and Le Le arrived at Memphis in 2003, it was a huge deal for the city. A petition by Panda Voices to bring Ya Ya and Le Le back to China on change.org has garnered 193,000 signatures.

☆ How Putin spent 20 years rebuilding Russia's military 'and then just simply destroyed it' in Ukraine, according to an expert who watched it happen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Vladimir Putin has spent his two decades in power rebuilding and reforming Russia's military. Below, Galeotti describes those reforms, what they achieved, and how, in a devastating war in Ukraine, Putin has squandered the military he built. IGOR SAREMBO/AFP via Getty ImagesWhen Putin came to power at the end of the 1990s, what was the state of the Russian military? How did the Russian military underperform in that conflict in Georgia? What did those conflicts show about the capabilities of the Russian military and about the impact of those reforms?

☆ Russia expands war recruitment drive with video ad calling for 'real' men
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] A man studies a leaflet given by a campaign member promoting Russian army service in Moscow, Russia April 12, 2023. Russia, which says it is prosecuting what it calls "a special military operation," does not disclose full casualty figures. Next in the video, a man is walking through the fog with other soldiers on what looks like a battlefield. the video asks, before cutting to a taxi driver taking a client's fare who then transforms into a soldier on the battlefield. Posters seeking professional soldiers have sprung up in the Russian capital in recent weeks declaring that "Our Profession is to defend the Motherland."

☆ Dozens of POWs freed as Ukraine marks Orthodox Easter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Ukrainian prisoners of war pose for a picture after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an unknown location, Ukraine. "The lives of our people are the highest value for us," Yermak said, adding that Kyiv's goal was to bring back all remaining POWs. At Easter, which from time immemorial has been a family holiday for Ukrainians, a day of warmth, hope and great unity. Others in the line echoed Zaluzhnyy's words about a wartime Easter being a symbol of hope. Despite the shared Orthodox holiday, Russian shelling and missile attacks continued to sow destruction in Ukraine, according to social media statements from Ukrainian regional officials.

☆ Some Russians can't agree if they should honor convict soldiers who died in Ukraine after trading prison for war: 'They killed, stole, stabbed, raped... What kind of heroes are they?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Wagner Group recruited thousands of Russian prisoners to fight in Ukraine in exchange for freedom. While those who died return home to be buried, residents can't agree on how they should be treated. The Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, caused controversy by recruiting convicted criminals to fight in Ukraine in exchange for their freedom. The UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence briefing earlier this month that about half of all the Russian prisoners sent to fight Ukraine have been killed or wounded. Some residents are also concerned about pardoned prisoners who return home alive but may still be violent.

☆ Russian recruits are making videos directly addressed to Putin begging for more support amid 'meat assaults'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian conscripts are increasingly appealing directly to Putin for more support amid the war. Videos in recent weeks have featured troops asking for additional aid or to be recalled altogether. In a video from earlier this month, a Russian soldier admonished "the incompetence of our superiors," saying his unit had been replenished with newly-mobilized soldiers six times already. In a separate video obtained by CNN, a different Russian soldier in eastern Ukraine filmed a smoking Russian tank, explaining that he was offering "firsthand evidence" of the "clusterfuck." Even pro-Russia war bloggers have compared the flurry of soldier deaths to "meat assaults," according to the Post.

☆ China is scrambling to find pilots to fly from its growing aircraft carrier fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

China's fleet of aircraft carriers has grown quickly, expanding from one to three in a decade. To use that fleet effectively, China's navy also has to train pilots to operate carrier aircraft. "Starting in 2023, the Navy will select carrier-based aircraft pilots from fresh graduates from local ordinary colleges and universities," according to a Chinese navy brochure. Yet it takes more than ships to build an effective carrier fleet. In fact, the Chinese navy ended up copying a Russian carrier jet without permission to give its carrier program a boost.

☆ Russia's Wagner boss publishes video showing coffins of dead Ukrainian troops being shipped home
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 4 (Reuters) - Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner Group mercenary force, published a video on Saturday showing what he said were coffins containing bodies of Ukrainian soldiers being repatriated to territory held by Kyiv. In the video, Prigozhin, clad in full military gear, said: "We are sending another shipment of Ukrainian army fighters home. The footage shows men in uniform nailing wooden coffins shut and loading them onto a truck. Prigozhin, whose Wagner Group has spearheaded Russia's months-long assault on the eastern city of Bakhmut, has repeatedly praised the Ukrainian army as a worthy and capable adversary. On New Year's Eve, a media outlet linked to Prigozhin published footage of the Wagner boss visiting Ukrainian prisoners of war with a traditional gift of mandarins, and promising to return them to Ukraine via a prisoner swap as soon as possible.

☆ Key Putin ally claims Russia is dismantling seized western weapons to turn 'the enemy's experience to our advantage' in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Dmitry Medvedev has hit back at Western reports that Russia is running short of weapons in Ukraine. He said Russian factories were working "around the clock" to produce the "latest technologies." Researchers study high-tech Western weapons seized in Ukraine to improve Russian kit, said Medvedev. He also said that Russia was improving its arsenal by studying high-tech Western weapons seized on the battlefield. By dismantling them "piece by piece," Medvedev said Russia had "turned the enemy's experience to our advantage."

☆ Extras recruited for a Putin rally featuring patriotic rap remixes were offered just $7 to come stand in the freezing cold
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Extras were recruited, paid $7 and given free merch to attend a rally in Moscow on Wednesday. The rally featured performances, military propaganda, and only a three-minute speech from Putin. According to a Telegram post and reporting from Meduza, the advertisements for extras began appearing on social network channels last week, offering extras just $7 to attend the event. The event, which was held during freezing weather at the Luzhniki Stadium, was attended by about 200,000 people, Sky News reported. One montage appeared to show Russian children writing letters and drawing pictures to send to soldiers on the front lines.

☆ Putin took a swipe at oligarchs who have fled abroad, while asking them to come back and invest in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Putin aimed a jab at Russian oligarchs living abroad in his state-of-the-nation speech on Tuesday. He pointed out how Western sanctions have hurt them, and said they should now invest in Russia. The annual state-of-the-nation address is a tool to shore up domestic political support and assert Russia's place in world affairs. "It's like 'you've got no friends, you might as well get on board,'" McGlynn said to describe Putin's line of attack. McGlynn also says that there are no Russian oligarchs left "because 'oligarchs' suggests that [these] people have influence like they did in the 1990s.

☆ In England's north, Ukraine's civilians become soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Ukrainian civilians receive urban warfare training at a military installation in the north of England, part of a program that has so far trained more than 10,000 volunteers, February 16, 2023. Kyiv and its Western allies, including Britain, say these are baseless pretexts for an unprovoked war of acquisition. On Wednesday, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Britain is training Ukrainian soldiers to fight in a more "Western way" and use less ammunition than the traditional Soviet way of fighting. The programme also includes urban warfare, where men train how to fight in ordinary houses and civilian structures, and shooting practice. "I think that all of us will be ready to come back, because Ukraine really needs us, the soldiers who will stand for Ukraine," he said.

☆ Russia's Wagner mercenaries halt prisoner recruitment campaign - Prigozhin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Visitors gather outside PMC Wagner Centre, which is a project implemented by the businessman and founder of the Wagner private military group Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block in Saint Petersburg, Russia, November 4, 2022. REUTERS/Igor Russak/File PhotoMOSCOW, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Russia's Wagner mercenary group has stopped recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine, Wagner's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Thursday. "The recruitment of prisoners by the Wagner private military company has completely stopped," Prigozhin said in a response to a request for comment from a Russian media outlet published on social media. The Wagner Group has in recent months played an increasingly prominent role in Russia's war in Ukraine, with the mercenary force spearheading a months-long assault on the Donetsk region town of Bakhmut. Previously secretive, Wagner and its founder Prigozhin have assumed an ever more public profile against the backdrop of the fighting in Ukraine, with Prigozhin criticising Russia's military leadership and certain officials.

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