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☆ Russian Forces Strengthen Positions as Ukraine Braces for New Offensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Isabel Coles | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Russian forces tightened their grip around the eastern city of Bakhmut on Friday as Ukrainian forces brace for a wider onslaught nearly one year since the start of the war. After months of failed assaults on Bakhmut, all approaches to the city are within range of Russian artillery, officials in the Russian-installed administration claimed. Russian forces are entrenched on the eastern edge of the city and are seeking to encircle it.

☆ Russia advances in eastern Ukraine, strike on apartments kills civilians
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Fierce fighting was unabated in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops are trying to gain ground near the strategic logistics hub of Lyman, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Wednesday evening. The Russian forces were trying to make gains that they could show on the anniversary of their Feb 24, 2022 invasion, Zelenskiy said. At least 44 people were killed in January when a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the city of Dnipro. In April 2022, Ukraine said 57 people died when a Russian missile hit the train station in Kramatorsk. Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian forces of war crimes and targeting civilians, charges Russia rejects.

☆ A decade of quiet preparations helped Ukraine turn the tables on Russia's bigger, better-armed military, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Following Russia's 2014 attack, Ukraine's military set out to improve and modernize its forces. In the years that followed, Ukraine's military underwent a period of preparation that helped it blunt the full-scale invasion that Russia launched in February 2022. Training for artillery troops was also intensified. However, Russia's tanks still outnumbered Ukraine's nearly four to one when the invasion started. Prior to 2022, Ukraine's military had struggled to retain troops, but high turnover during those years meant Ukraine had a large pool of civilians with military training.

☆ Russia increases shelling in regions outside Ukraine's Donbas - officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Maria Starkova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LVIV, Ukraine, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Russia increased shelling of Ukraine's eastern regions outside the main front line in the Donbas industrial area, officials from the Zaporizhzhia and Sumy regions said on Saturday. After invading its neighbour on Feb. 24, Russia has attacked other parts of Ukraine's east but failed to capture them. The intensified shelling comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian officials have said Moscow would likely attempt a new offensive in the coming months. "Attempting to study our defence, the enemy has activated artillery fire," Oleksandr Starukh, governor of the Zaporizhzhia region of southeastern Ukraine, said on the Telegram messaging app. Russian forces launched 115 strikes in the Sumy region that borders Russia in Ukraine's northeast, regional Governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky said on Telegram.

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

☆ UK to supply tanks as Russian missiles hit across Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Earlier this month, France said it would send AMX-10 RC armored combat vehicles to Ukraine, designated “light tanks” in French. Sunak’s announcement came as Russian forces fired missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine on Saturday in the first major barrage in days. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, Gov. On Saturday morning, two Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. But that cuts both ways, as Ukraine says its fierce defense of the eastern strongholds has helped tie up Russian forces.

☆ UK indicates it will send battle tanks to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERSLONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak indicated on Saturday that Britain would send Ukraine some of its main battle tanks along with additional artillery support, drawing swift reproach from the Russian Embassy in London. Media reports have suggested Britain was in discussions with Ukraine to deliver the Challengers to help the country fight Moscow's forces. According to Sky News, about a dozen tanks would be supplied, the first time such Western weaponry had been pledged. BATTLE TANKThe Challenger 2 is a battle tank designed to attack other tanks, and has been in service with the British Army since 1994. "The prime minister and President Zelenskiy welcomed other international commitments in this vein, including Poland's offer to provide a company of Leopard tanks," Sunak's spokesperson said.

☆ Intense fighting in eastern Ukraine showed the benefits — and limitations — of HIMARS, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

HIMARS destroyed Russian positions and depots, allowing Ukraine to retake a huge swath of territory. But Russian forces adapted and were able to limit HIMARS' effectiveness in fighting around Kherson. It was initially devastating, but Russian forces eventually learned how to cope with it, according to two US defense experts. GPS-guided rockets fired from the truck-mounted mobile launcher destroyed Russian headquarters and especially ammunition dumps, which helped curtail Russian artillery fire. Ukraine had access to US intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance "that played an important role, but due to political parameters was untouchable by Russia," Kofman said.

Mo Abbas / NBC NewsKuvtun is among the Ukrainian Christians who turned Christmas into a fresh front in the war with Russia. We choose this civilization,” said Archbishop Yevstratiy Zorya, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate. Hours later, Putin ordered his military to observe a 36-hour cease-fire in Ukraine for Russian Orthodox Christmas and called on Kyiv to do the same. And even as it has sought to distance itself from Russia, the UOC has also stuck with Christmas on Jan. 7. Zorya, the OCU spokesman, said the Russian Orthodox Church, to which the UOC still bears at least a nominal connection, remains hopelessly imperial in its outlook.

☆ Italy theatre cancels show by Putin-tattooed Russian dancer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Ballet dancer Sergei Polunin rehearses for the Project Polunin show at the Royal Opera House in London, Britain March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File PhotoROME, Dec 30 (Reuters) - An Italian theatre on Friday called off a show by a prominent Russian dancer who has three tattoos of President Vladimir Putin on his chest and shoulders, reacting to online protests over the artist's scheduled appearance. The theatre said the cancellation was an act of "political and moral responsibility", given "a climate of tensions and threats". A spokeswoman said the theatre had been subjected to an email campaign as well as many negative messages online. Performances by Russian artists and Russian artworks have become controversial in the West, in the wake of Moscow's military campaign against Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24.

☆ Ukrainian's 'know what we are fighting for,' Zelenksyy says in defiant Christmas message after Russian strikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Henry Austin | Henry Austin Is A London-Based Editor For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainians “know what we are fighting for,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a defiant Christmas message Saturday, hours after officials said 10 people were killed by Russian shelling in the southern city of Kherson. And Christmas bells can ring not so loudly and inspiringly through air raid sirens, or even worse — gunshots and explosions,” Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy’s message came despite the fact that the majority of his compatriots are Orthodox Christians and mark Christmas on Jan. 7, in accordance with the Julian calendar. “This is not sensitive content — it’s the real life of Kherson,” Zelenskyy tweeted alongside images showing cars on fire, bodies on the street and building windows blown out. At least 10 people had been killed and 68 injured by the strikes, Kherson Regional Gov.

☆ 10 dead, 55 wounded as shells pummel Ukrainian city of Kherson, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian shells pummeled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Saturday, killing at least 10 people and injuring 55 in the city that Moscow’s troops were forced to abandon last month. “This is not sensitive content — it’s the real life of Kherson,” Zelenskyy tweeted. He added that 55 people were wounded, 18 of them in grave condition. Yanushevych said scores of others, including a 6-year-old girl, were wounded by Russian shelling a day earlier. The shelling has been especially intense in Kherson since Russian forces withdrew and Ukraine’s army reclaimed the city in November.

It takes just over a minute to microwave the mini pizza that Andriy Shved sells in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. But despite the risks that come with any order, the oblong cheese, meat and dill pie is a top seller among the Ukrainian soldiers and residents who make up the dwindling customer base. Mr. Shved thinks his food stall is the last one open in the battered city, a pivotal battleground in the nearly 10-month old war. Then, in the afternoon, it’s from 2 until 4,” sighed Mr. Shved, 41. On Wednesday night, in a high-profile appearance before the U.S. Congress, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a Ukrainian flag signed by soldiers fighting in Bakhmut.

To Russian security agencies operating in Ukraine, he said late on Monday in comments translated by Reuters: "Yes, it is difficult for you now. The situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is extremely difficult." Both Putin and Lukashenko were also at pains to dismiss the idea of Russia annexing or absorbing Belarus. Russian troops that moved to Belarus in October will conduct battalion tactical exercises, Russia's Interfax news agency reported, citing the defence ministry. It also said Ukrainian air and artillery forces carried out more than a dozen strikes on Russian troops and hardware, including ammunition dumps, and shot down two helicopters.

☆ Russian military releases propaganda pop song fantasizing about its nukes wiping out NATO and the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A branch of Russia's defense ministry released a pop song celebrating its vast nuclear arsenal. The song celebrates the power of the "Sarmat" missile, also known as the "Son of Satan." The music video for the song was published by ParkPatriot.media, an arm of the Russian defense ministry focused on propaganda. It shows images of the Sarmat missile being test-fired and, at one point, showed Maidanov watching Putin speak on TV. The Russian Sarmat is ready/ To strike our enemy," Maidanov sings in the video, translated by Insider.

☆ 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.

☆ Protests held as Italy's La Scala opens season with Russian opera
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sara Rossi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Demonstrators holding Ukrainian flags and signs protest outside of La Scala opera house, ahead of its 2022-23 season opening night performance of "Boris Godunov," a Russian-composed opera performed by Russian artists, in Milan, Italy, December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Flavio Lo ScalzoMILAN, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Milan's La Scala theatre opened its 2022-2023 opera season on Wednesday with a gala performance of the Russian work "Boris Godunov" as protesters against the Ukrainian war demonstrated outside the venue. "We have nothing against the Russian people, against Russian history, against Russian culture," Meloni told reporters before the performance. She questioned why La Scala had not changed its programme over the nine months since the war began. Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov took the lead role as Godunov while Russian soprano Anna Denisova was Kseniya, his daughter.

☆ Anti-war protesters in Italy denounce La Scala for staging Russian opera
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sara Rossi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Demonstrators holding Ukrainian flags and signs protest outside of La Scala opera house, ahead of its 2022-23 season opening night performance of "Boris Godunov," a Russian-composed opera performed by Russian artists, in Milan, Italy, December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Flavio Lo ScalzoMILAN, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Anti-war protesters demonstrated outside Milan's La Scala theatre on Wednesday before it opened its 2022-2023 opera season with a gala performance of the Russian work "Boris Godunov". Around 20 people waved the Ukrainian flag and held up placards denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine in February. She questioned why La Scala had not changed its programme over the nine months since the war began. La Scala artistic director Dominique Meyer last month defended its decision to stage the work, written by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in the 19th century, after protests from Ukrainian exile groups.

☆ Partner of US veteran killed fighting for Ukraine says its army never told her and she found out from Facebook
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A US Army veteran was killed in July while volunteering to defend Ukraine from Russia's invasion. Bryan Young's partner, Maria Lipka, told Insider that she found out about his death on Facebook. His partner, Maria Lipka, told Insider that she only found out about Young's death from a message sent to her on Facebook. "No one, absolutely no one informed me," she told Insider. Lipka told Insider that Young said he needed to go to Ukraine to help fight off the Russian invasion because it was his duty to protect the free world.

☆ More than 10,000 Ukrainian troops killed in war, official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Late Thursday, Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, relayed new figures about Ukrainian soldiers killed in battle, while noting that the number of injured troops was higher and civilian casualty counts were “significant.”Family members of soldiers attend a memorial event in Kyiv. Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images file“We have official figures from the general staff, we have official figures from the top command, and they amount to between 10,000 and 12,500-13,000 killed,” Podolyak told Channel 24. The Ukrainian military has not confirmed such figures and it was a rare instance of a Ukrainian official providing such a count. In the eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainian governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian shelling has intensified significantly. And in northeastern Kharkiv province, officials said that Russian shelling injured two women.

Their fiercest fight is taking place for the city of Bakhmut, besieged for months by Russian forces. As a CNN team drove in on the heavily trafficked main road, a Russian artillery shell landed on a building just a few dozen yards away. Much of this war is fought avoiding the incessant Russian artillery threat. Ukrainian soldiers watch a real-time feed from a drone as they target artillery strikes on Russian positions. Further toward the front, in a treeline bordering farmland, is the Ukrainian artillery unit on the other end of the phones with the basement.

☆ Russia Steps Up Artillery Attacks in Ukraine’s East
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Matthew Luxmoore | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ODESSA, Ukraine—Russian artillery pounded the positions of Ukraine’s defenders in the country’s east as Moscow stepped up its efforts to capture more territory there, Ukrainian authorities said, while Kyiv sought to win international support for its peace terms. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had launched more than 400 artillery attacks against Ukrainian positions on Sunday alone. “Thank you to every man and woman who is holding their positions and helping our defense forces,” Mr. Zelensky said in a video address late Sunday.

[1/34] A Ukrainian serviceman fires a mortar on a front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine November 16, 2022. "After a trip to the ... Kherson region, one thing became clear - our people there need a lot of help. Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces had repelled about 100 attacks in Donetsk, with no letup in the fighting. Ukraine's military said Russian forces had fired shells at a series of towns in eastern and southern Ukraine. Also hit by artillery fire were towns further west in Donetsk and in Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine, including Vuhledar and Hulyaipole.

[1/34] A Ukrainian serviceman fires a mortar on a front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine November 16, 2022. "After a trip to the... Kherson region, one thing became clear - our people there need a lot of help. Investigators in liberated areas of Kherson region have uncovered 63 bodies bearing signs of torture after the Russian forces left, Ukraine's interior minister was quoted as saying. Ukraine's military said Russian forces had fired shells at a series of towns in eastern and southern Ukraine. Also hit by artillery fire were towns further west in Donetsk and in Zaporizhzhia region in central Ukraine, including Vuhledar and Hulyaipole.

☆ Ukraine shipping hub cheers as Kherson win foils Russian Black Sea hopes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

That would have cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea entirely, effectively leaving the former Soviet state of 44 million landlocked. Russia no longer has forces on the right, or western, bank of Europe's third largest river that bisects Ukraine and flows into the Black Sea, a vital conduit for Ukrainian grain exports. Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russia's central military district, said in April they planned to take full control of southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is Ukraine's second biggest port and home to several major grain terminals that have come under attack. Natalia Humeniuk, the Ukraine army's southern command spokesperson, has told residents to remain wary of strikes.

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