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☆ Military tech is racing towards a dangerous AI future, and Russia's war in Ukraine is paving the way, drone experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Currently, the drones are guided at launch by a human operator, according to independent Russian outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe. But more advanced drone technology is enabling what Rogers calls "on" the loop of control. "In the case of the systems that we have seen used, there's still a human operator authorizing the use of force," she said. Under pressure and potentially under fire, a drone operator may take the machine's prompt less as a suggestion and more as an infallible instruction. In a fully autonomous future of drone warfare, he asked, will drone AI be programmed "to avoid those who are waving a white flag?"

☆ Zelenskyy aide resigns after suggesting Ukraine air defense caused a Russian missile to hit an apartment building, killing 44
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian official resigned after suggesting Russia did not target a Dnipro apartment block with a missile. Oleksiy Arestovych said Ukraine shot down the Russian missile that hit the block, killing 44. There was an international outcry after a massive Russian KH-22 missile slammed into the residential block on Saturday. Russian missiles have repeatedly struck residential buildings throughout the war. Contrary to Arestovych's statement, Ukraine's air force said that the country doesn't have the capability to shoot down the type of missile Russia used on Saturday, which has been dubbed an "aircraft carrier killer."

☆ Wounded Russians are being sent back to Ukraine with major injuries like punctured lungs and shrapnel still in their bodies, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wounded Russian soldiers are being sent to Ukraine to fight despite their injuries, according to a report. Soldiers with damaged lungs and shrapnel wounds have been returned to the frontline. The presidential Human Rights Council in Russia is investigating the matter, a council member said. There have also been cases of soldiers receiving treatment for ulcers, heart attacks, and strokes being sent back to Ukraine, she said. In November, Army Gen. Mark Milley, the highest-ranking US military officer, estimated that "well over" 100,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded in the war in Ukraine, according to The Washington Post.

☆ Russia is trying to label as extremist maps that question its territorial claims over parts of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Maps that don't respect Russia's claimed "territorial integrity" are to be labeled extremist material. Lawmakers objected to maps that don't show occupied Crimea as part of Russia. An amendment to anti-extremism legislation would include as extremist "cartographic and other documents and images that dispute the territorial integrity of Russia," according to Reuters. Russia has claimed Crimea as Russian territory since its troops seized the land from Ukraine in 2014 — a claim rejected not only by Ukraine but by almost 100 UN member states. Independent Russian outlet Meduza, in editorial remarks, said the amendment will likely apply to the regions of Ukraine occupied by Russia since its 2022 invasion.

☆ Did Putin really poop himself? How an influential Telegram account is spreading wild, unproven claims about the Kremlin's inner workings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Russian Telegram account General SVR is a source of many juicy tabloid stories about Putin. Experts on Russian media strongly doubt the account, and say it does more harm than good. They attributed them to a single, anonymous source: the mysterious Telegram account known as General SVR. Among those used to more rigorous documenting of Russia's secrets, General SVR prompts open derision. Soon after his questioning, the General SVR channel made a post denying any connection to Solovey.

☆ Russian soldier says they're suffering more losses 'from their own side' than from Ukrainians, including being fired on by their own tanks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian soldiers are getting killed by their own military, according to multiple reports. In audio released by Ukraine, a Russian soldier said 20 men died after a Russian tank fired on them. The soldier told his mother there are more losses "from our own" than from Ukrainians. A report by the independent Russian outlet iStories, also published on Tuesday, found a pattern of negligence and deadly mishaps among troops fighting in Ukraine. The outlet highlighted two incidents in the last few months where a Russian soldier accidentally killed another because of drunkness and the clumsy use of weapons.

"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.

☆ Putin ally says he sent EU Parliament a stained sledgehammer after it branded Russia a state sponsor of terrorism
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The European Parliament declared Russia a "state sponsor of terrorism" on Wednesday. Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin responded by saying that he had sent the EU a sledgehammer. "I do not know what law the European Parliament is guided by, but according to our legislation, from today we declare the European Parliament dissolved." It continued: "But before this procedure enters into legal force, I was instructed to submit an information case to the European Parliament." It is unclear whether the EU Parliament received the sledgehammer.

☆ Putin purges Russia's Human Rights Council, replacing critics with pro-war cheerleaders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's Human Rights Council was reshuffled to exclude critics and bring in pro-war cheerleaders. It comes ahead of a key annual meeting where free speech about the Ukraine war was to be discussed. This system — often referred to as controlled opposition — is what Chatterje-Doody said had allowed organizations such as the Human Rights Council to express genuine criticism. On October 7, Russia rejected a UN Human Rights Council draft resolution condemning what the body called "the significant deterioration of the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation." Top Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that membership rotations at the Human Rights Council are normal.

☆ Russian colonel involved in Putin's mobilization campaign found dead in office, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian colonel was found dead in his office on Thursday, according to multiple reports. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyA Russian colonel involved in President Vladimir Putin's mobilization campaign was found dead in his office, multiple reports say. The independent Russian media outlet Baza challenged the reports of suicide, reporting instead that Boyko was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. Boyko was responsible for working with Russian soldiers who were drafted under Putin's partial mobilization order in September, Baza reported. Last month, a military commissar for the eastern Primorysky region was found dead, with local authorities saying that his "heart stopped."

☆ Wives of Russian soldiers showed up at Ukraine border and demanded to take their husbands home, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wives of Russian soldiers traveled to a military base at the Ukrainian border, The Insider reported. They said their husbands were wounded on the front and demanded they be taken out of the country. One woman said if officials don't help, she would go to the front to rescue the soldiers herself. (The Insider is a Russian news outlet and has no affiliation with Insider.) Top US general Mark Milley estimated Wednesday that more than 100,000 Russian soldiers were "killed and wounded" since Russia invaded Ukraine, Reuters reported.

☆ Russia is adding military training to its school curriculum, marking a reversion to a Soviet-era practice that teaches students how to handle rifles and perform first aid
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian schools are adding a basic military training course to their curricula, per TASS. The course is a Soviet-era practice that teaches students first aid and how to use rifles. Mironov and deputy defense minister Valery Gerasimov have vocally supported reinstating military training in schools, with Gerasimov suggesting that students in the 10th and 11th grades be given 140 hours of training, per Izvestia. When we were engaged in military training at school, it worked only as a plus," said Adalbi Shkhagoshev, the deputy chairman of the United Russia party, per the outlet. The basic military training program was retired in 1993, two years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, per independent Russian news outlet The Moscow Times.

☆ Zelenskyy hails UN nuclear investigation result; UK says Russia likely shooting retreating soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency after it wrapped up its inspection of three nuclear power facilities in Ukraine and found no evidence of undeclared nuclear material or activities. The inspection, which was prompted by Kyiv inviting IAEA officials to its facilities, was welcome news after Moscow accused Ukraine of building a so-called radioactive "dirty bomb" to use on its own territory. The results of the inspection confirmed Russia's "status of the world's top liar," Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet. Meanwhile, Russian missiles hit populated areas of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia, the region's governor said, although no casualties were reported. Accounts of this have been shared in independent Russian media outlets.

☆ 100 drafted Russian soldiers went on strike, refusing to fight in Ukraine after not getting paid, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia is struggling to pay promised compensation for mobilized soldiers, leading to protests. More than 100 went on strike in a training center in Ulyanovsk, The Insider reported. The soldiers said they refused to go to the front until they are paid what they were promised. (The Insider is a Russian news outlet and has no affiliation with Insider.) In June, officials also raised salaries for contract soldiers to around 247,700 rubles ($4,000) a month, complete with bonuses for destroying planes and tanks, BBC Russia reported.

☆ Russia Airport Selling Packge With Secrutiy, Check-in — but No Flight
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Anapa Airport's "I Wanna Fly" program offers everything a flight does, except movement. Details of the package at Anapa Airport, called "I Wanna Fly," were published by independent Russian news outlet The Insider. Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency suspended all flights from the airport at the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February. Anapa is near the border between Russia and Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014. The "I Wanna Fly" tour is similar to when different airlines started offering "flights to nowhere" during the COVID-19 pandemic, though these often did involve taking off.

☆ Some Russians drafted to fight in Ukraine say nobody is in charge and they don't know what they're doing there: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A group of Russian soldiers in Ukraine complained to the Ministry of Defense, The Insider reported. In a Telegram video, the men said they have no equipment and were thrown into a field "like dogs." Putin declared a mobilization last month, but some draftees said they get no training or equipment. The report comes more than a month after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of his country's military reservists. Last week, Putin said that around 16,000 mobilized men had already made it into combat in Ukraine.

☆ The Russian army has given newly drafted soldiers 'absolutely no equipment,' forcing families to buy armor and clothing so conscripts have a 'chance to come back'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Taiyler Simone Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin enacted a partial military mobilization in September. "Soon they'll make us buy our own grenades," a draftee said in a recorded call, per The Guardian. The army has nothing, we had to buy all our gear ourselves," complained a 23-year-old draftee named Vladimir, according to The Guardian. According to the Guardian, citing BBC News Russian, there have been more than 12,000 opened cases involving stolen military gear or equipment within the last eight years. Pavel Luzin, an independent Russian military expert, told The Guardian that "Russia was just not prepared for mobilization of this scale.

☆ An officer helping enact Putin's mobilization is the latest in a string of unexplained deaths among high-ranking Russians
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian official who oversaw military enlistment was found dead, local officials said. People close to him do not believe that it was a suicide, Meduza reported, without specifying the source of that information. Putin announced the "partial mobilization" of Russians in September, forcing vast numbers of military reservists to join his invasion of Ukraine. Mysterious deathsA number of Russian officials have died in unusual or unexplained ways in the months since the Ukraine invasion began. The former head of a Russian aviation research institute also died, with a source telling Russian media that he fell down the stairs.

☆ Videos capture a Russian strike fighter on fire moments before it crashed into an apartment building
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian Su-34 warplane crashed into an apartment building in western Russia on Monday. One of the fighter-bomber's engines caught fire, and the two pilots ejected, according to reports. Yeysk is located along the Sea of Azov, a short distance across the water from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian port city Mariupol. Screengrab/Google MapsAccording to an open-source intelligence analysis by Oryx, Russian forces have lost at least 16 Su-34 fighter-bombers throughout the nearly 8-month invasion of Ukraine. Monday's accident marks the 10th non-combat crash of a Russian warplane, CBS News reported.

Oct 16 (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead 11 people at a Russian military training ground on Saturday, the defence ministry said, in the latest blow to President Vladimir Putin's forces since the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian ministry had said the attackers were from a nation in the Commonwealth of Independent States, which groups nine ex-Soviet republics, including Tajikistan. Ukrainian forces and civilians are relying on Starlink internet service provided by Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket company. RUSSIAN MISSILE, DRONE ATTACKSPutin ordered the mobilization three weeks ago, part of a response to Russian battlefield defeats in Ukraine. Russian forces have repeatedly tried to seize Bakhmut, which sits on a main road leading to the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

☆ Russian roulette: Is Putin serious about nuclear war, or bluffing?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Jason Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

On Oct. 26, President Vladimir Putin appeared on Russian state television overseeing a practice run of Russia's strategic nuclear deterrence forces. The conflict has revived Cold War-era fears of nuclear war across the region. In August, a Ukrainian official said that 9,000 Ukrainian military personnel had been killed, though another source said the number could be far higher. (President Zelensky previously estimated that 30% of Ukraine's power stations have been damaged or destroyed, although the figure is now likely to be greater.) In a wide-ranging answer, Putin had offered, almost as an aside, that Russian victims of nuclear war "will go to heaven as martyrs" while Western citizens would perish without having "time to repent."

☆ Russia demands Apple explain VK removal from App Store
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. MOSCOW, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Russia's communications regulator on Wednesday demanded an explanation from Apple (AAPL.O) after applications operated by the Russian state-controlled tech firm VK (VKCOq.L) were removed from the U.S. firm's App Store. VK runs Vkontakte, which with over 75 million monthly users is Russia's largest social network, often compared to Facebook. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterRoskomnadzor said Apple's actions had deprived millions of Russians of access to VK apps and demanded that it explain its decision. Regardless of location, the apps cannot be downloaded from any App store, said Apple, which terminated the developer accounts associated with the apps to comply with UK sanctions.

☆ Russia is putting an enlistment office at its border as people continue to flee amid fears Putin will try to seal up country
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A local official said that an enlistment office will be put at one of Russia's borders with Georgia. Poland warned that Russia could close its borders, and told its citizens to leave the country. On Tuesday, a local Russian politician said on Telegram that an enlistment office will be set up in the North Ossetia Alania region, which lies on the border between Russia and Georgia. "In addition, a mobilization point of the military registration and enlistment office will be deployed at the checkpoint in the near future," Sergeev said. "They tried scaring us, saying they'll drag us to the enlistment office, telling us the border is closed – typical military humor," he told Al Jazeera.

☆ The Kremlin says it hopes its mobilization for Ukraine will 'speed up' after it corrects 'errors' in selecting draftees
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Kremlin admitted on Monday that it made "errors" in selecting draftees, Reuters reported. Officials are "working to rectify the situation," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. He added that officials in some regions are now "actively working to rectify the situation," Reuters reported. Putin announced a partial military mobilization last week, pledging to call up 300,000 people. "I don't know anything about this," Peskov told reporters, according to Reuters.

☆ A movie theater gave fleeing Russians somewhere to sleep after Putin announced a military mobilization in his war against Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A movie theater in the Kazakhstan city of Uralsk opened its doors to fleeing Russians. Many Russian men are trying to flee the country after Putin announced a military mobilization. Cinema Park announced on Saturday that it would welcome those who were leaving the country and couldn't find shelter, after Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a military mobilization in his war against Ukraine last week. Russian men have in particular been trying to leave Russia in droves, as they face potentially being drafted in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Google searches for "how to leave Russia" skyrocketed after Putin's speech, Insider reported.

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