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☆ Newly released satellite images show the bridges Ukrainian strikes destroyed inside Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewSatellite images newly released by the British defense ministry show several destroyed bridges in Russia after Ukrainian strikes. The satellite images, which were captured last month but only released on Saturday, show the aftermath of Ukrainian strikes on one road bridge and two pontoon bridges in Kursk. AdvertisementRussia can use its floating pontoon bridges, which are temporary, to ferry personnel and military equipment across the Seym. These bridges came into play as Ukrainian strikes knocked out some of the more permanent structures. Related storiesUkraine has also used ground-launched weapons like the US-provided High Mobility Rocket Artillery System, or HIMARS, to strike bridges in Kursk.

Persons: —, ike, remlin, ince Organizations: Service, Business, Ministry of, Ministry of Defense, " Aviation, Air Force Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kursk, Moscow

☆ Satellite images capture Russia's Black Sea Fleet running from its base in Crimea as Ukraine hit it with missiles and exploding drones
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewArmed with exploding naval drones and long-range missiles, Ukraine has managed to push Russia's Black Sea Fleet away from its long-held headquarters in the occupied Crimean peninsula to other bases far away. AdvertisementThese attacks span the entirety of the war, but the exodus of the Black Sea Fleet didn't really kick into gear until September 2023. The aftermath of two Ukrainian missile strikes on Black Sea Fleet facilities and vessels in Sevastopol in September 2023. The dispersal of the Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol to Feodosia and Novorossiysk. "Forcing the enemy to flee from the Black Sea was the goal we sought," he added, "and it was achieved."

Persons: —, BlackSky, Lloyd Austin, BlackSky BlackSky, Ivan Lukashevych Organizations: Service, Business, Black, US, Fleet, Ukrainian, BlackSky, Security Service, Kyiv, Russian Locations: Ukraine, Crimean, Sevastopol, Russian, Feodosia, Crimea, Novorossiysk, Russia, Moscow, Kyiv, Western, Crimea's, detections, Novorossiysk —, BlackSky, BlackSky Sevastopol

☆ 80th anniversary of D-Day: This year will likely be the last major D-Day anniversary with living veterans, so organizers are all-out
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Fifteen Canadian veterans, including three or four that fought on D-Day, are traveling with the Canadian delegation, according to John Desrosiers, the director of international operations for Veterans Affairs Canada. US D-Day veterans attend an event at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial as part of the 79th anniversary D-Day celebrations on June 6, 2023. American and Canadian organizers told CNN that they will seat veterans last at their respective national ceremonies to keep them comfortable. The general public at the American event, for example, may need to be seated about an hour in advance due to security precautions. American troops march up from Omaha Beach on June 18, 1944.

Persons: Jake Tapper, “, Jack Foy, Foy –, Foy, ” Foy, ”, Michel Delion, Mark, Katherine Sibilla, –, Charles Djou, John Desrosiers, Desrosiers, Christopher Furlong, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Justin Trudeau, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Buckingham, Djou, Tom Schaffer, John Pinkerton, Schaffer, Gareth Fuller, Hitler, Ben, ” Brands, “ There’s Organizations: CNN, Chief Washington, Democracy, France CNN —, Mission, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Monuments Commission, Canadian, Veterans Affairs Canada, Cemetery, Memorial, British, French Interior Ministry, Defense, Underwood Archives, Ben Brands, ”, US Department of Veterans Affairs Locations: Caen, France, Ukraine, Europe, Normandy, US, United States, Belgium, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, British, Ver, Mer, Omaha, Sword, Utah, Omaha and Utah, Nazi Germany, Omaha Beach, Germany, Colleville, Canada, American

☆ Russia's fearsome S-400 air-defense system isn't quite living up to the hype in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Russian S-400 surface-to-missile systems in the Victory Day parade in Moscow's Red Square on i in May 2023. Ukraine in September said it destroyed two Russian S-400 batteries in Crimea, a region annexed by Russia in 2014. Rajan Menon, the director of the Grand Strategy program at the US think tank Defense Priorities, described the S-400 as Russia's "top-of-the-line air defense system." A rocket launches from a S-400 missile system at the Ashuluk military base in Southern Russia in September 2020. A Patriot air defense system test-fired during a training in Chania, Greece, on November 8, 2017.

Persons: —, Fredrik Mertens, John Hoehn, it's, Hoehn, AP Mertens, Mertens, Ian Williams, Mattias Eken, Rajan Menon, Vitaly Nevar, Mick Ryan, you've, DIMITAR DILKOFF, Ryan, haven't, hasn't, KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV, might've, Eken, Anthony Sweeney, Army Menon Organizations: Service, Business, Hague, Strategic Studies, NATO, SA, International Institute for Strategic Studies, US Patriot, Reuters, RAND Corporation, Ukrainian Air Force, Forbes, Directorate of Intelligence, Ministry of Defence, South Korea Defense Ministry, AP, Patriots, Storm, Missile Defense, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Defense, REUTERS, Australian Army, Getty, Victory Day, Patriot, Army Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia, Moscow, Crimea, Screengrab, Soviet, US, Russia's, Ukraine's Luhansk, South Korea, Kaliningrad, Southern Russia, AFP, Chania, Greece, United States, West, NATO

☆ Russia is keeping its newest weapons out of Ukraine, likely fearing a combat loss would ruin their reputation
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementA Russian T-14 Armata tank participates in a Victory Day Parade night rehearsal on Tverskaya street on May 4, 2022 in Moscow, Russia. "To date, it is almost certain that the T-14 Armata MBT has not been deployed to Ukraine," the update continued. AdvertisementRussian servicemen drive T-14 Armata tanks during the Victory Day Parade in Red Square in Moscow, Russia June 24, 2020. A Sukhoi Su-57 jet fighter performs during International military-technical forum "Army-2020" at Kubinka airbase in Russia on Aug. 25, 2020.

Persons: —, Oleg Nikishin, Maxim Shemetov, Sukhoi Su Organizations: Service, Business, NATO, Abrams, 1st Guards Tank Army, REUTERS, International, Army Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Red, Russian, Kubinka

☆ British divers retrieved an 80-pound brass bell from the only American destroyer sunk in World War I more than 100 years after the ship was torpedoed
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewMore than a century after a German U-boat torpedoed the USS Jacob Jones off the coast of Britain during World War I, a team of divers retrieved the American destroyer's massive brass bell. On December 6, 1917 — eight months after the US joined the fight — the Jacob Jones was attacked by a submarine off the southwest coast of Britain. But the effort to retrieve the Jacob Jones' bell was pursued because of plundering concerns, retired Rear Adm. Sam Cox said in a statement about the mission. AdvertisementMost wreck sites from both World War I and World War II have been stripped of their valuable items; anything brass or bronze is gone, Cox told The Post. The Jacob Jones was the first and only US destroyer lost in the war, according to the US Naval Institute.

Persons: —, Jacob Jones, Dom Robinson, 9qzRwhGnG4, Sam Cox, Cox Organizations: Service, US, US Naval Institute, Business, Heritage Command, Navy, British Defense Ministry's, Marine Operations, Washington Post, US Naval Institute . Archaeologists, Washington Navy Yard Locations: Britain, Washington , DC, New York, Scilly, Queenstown, Ireland, England

☆ Front-line Ukrainian soldier says the Russians basically 'have it all' when it comes to weapons, but tanks are probably among the more terrifying
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Ella Sherman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. One front-line soldier said that enemy tanks are, at least for him, particularly unnerving. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. SERGEY SHESTAK/AFP via Getty ImagesThe Ukrainian military, on the other hand, has been struggling with weapon and ammunition shortages lately, especially as crucial support from the US remains hung up in Congress. AdvertisementThe Russian military has ramped up its industrial capacity, as well as its recruitment.

Persons: —, Dmytro, SERGEY SHESTAK, Patrick Ryder, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Business, Ukrainian National Guard, Bureviy Brigade, CNN, Artillery, Russian, AFP, Getty, Pentagon Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, AFP

☆ Ukraine appears to be gunning for a top Russian battlefield commander who has had an unusual run as a military leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine appears to be gunning for him as Kyiv's military makes pushes in his area of control. According to several prominent Russian military bloggers and independent Russian media reporting, the Ukrainian military fired long-range missiles last week at the Dnepr battlegroup's headquarters. Astra, the independent Russian publication, reported that Ukrainian missiles hit command posts belonging to the Dnepr group in Strilkove that same day. As the Russian military bloggers noted, the timing of the strikes fall in line with an uptick in Ukrainian assaults around the Dnipro. "Teplinsky's appointment is likely an indication of increased pressure on Russian forces defending the area," Britain's defense ministry said in late October.

Persons: Gen, Mikhail Teplinsky, gunning, —, Moscow's, Rybar, ROMAN PILIPEY, Teplinsky —, Russia's ultranationalists, Vladimir Putin, Teplinsky, Oleg Makarevich Organizations: Service, Moscow's VDV Airborne Forces, Dnepr, Ukraine, Storm, Russian, Neptune, Telegram, Astra, Getty, Wagner Group, Kremlin ., Institute for, Ukrainian, Command, Special Operations Forces of, Armed Forces of, Facebook, Dnipro, Kyiv Locations: Russian, Col, Ukraine, Kherson, that's, Azov, Dnipro, Ukrainian, AFP, Teplinsky, Russia, Kremlin . Russian, Washington, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Kherson Oblast

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Thursday said Russia is executing soldiers who have failed to follow orders and threatening entire units with death if they retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire. It's a development that U.S. national security officials believe reflects Russia's morale problems 20 months into its grinding invasion of Ukraine, said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. Putin ”basically said that if Western weapons to Ukraine stop, Ukraine would have a week to live. The contract soldiers were pulled out of Ukraine after their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, mounted an armed rebellion in June. There also have been reports, including from the British Defense Ministry, that the regular Russian military has deployed “barrier troops” that threaten to shoot any deserters.

Persons: John Kirby, “, Kirby, Joe Biden, Biden, Putin, ” Kirby, Putin ”, Yevgeny Prigozhin, haven’t Organizations: WASHINGTON, White, National Security, Republican, Ukraine, “, Wagner Group, British Defense Ministry, Russian Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Donetsk

☆ Ukraine can still badly bleed the Russian army through the winter even if its forces can't break through enemy lines, land warfare expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A land warfare expert said even if Kyiv can't break enemy lines, it can still cause pain for Russian forces. But even if Kyiv's forces aren't necessarily able to break through the enemy lines, they could still inflict significant damage on Moscow's army throughout the winter, a land warfare expert says. The key could be drawing out Russian forces into the cold by pushing into opportunities rather than attempting to batter their defenses. AdvertisementAdvertisement"Kyiv must balance reconstitution with a need to keep up pressure on Russian forces," he said. AdvertisementAdvertisementOne area where Ukrainian forces have found recent success is with long-range strikes.

Persons: —, aren't, Jack Watling, there's, Libkos, Watling, Getty Images Watling, Wagner Organizations: Service, Royal United Services Institute, Kyiv, Storm, EG, MGM, Tactical Missile Systems, SPG, Getty Images, Dnipro, Wagner Group Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Bakhmut, Donetsk, Ukrainian, North Korea, Britain, France, Crimean, Russian

☆ Cuba arrests 17 for allegedly helping recruit some of its citizens to fight for Russia in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Cuban authorities have arrested 17 people in connection with what they described as a network to recruit Cuban nationals to fight for Russia in Ukraine. Cuba's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the government had detected a network operating from Russia to recruit Cuban citizens living both in Russia and in Cuba to fight in Ukraine. "Cuba is not part of the war in Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said in a news release. Russian law allows foreign nationals to enlist in its army, after signing a contract with the Defense Ministry. It also noted that there have been online adds seeking recruits for the Russian army in Armenia and Kazakhstan.

Persons: César Rodríguez, José Luis Reyes, Marilin Vinent, Dannys Castillo, Vinent, Sergei Sobyanin Organizations: Cuba's Interior Ministry, Cuba's, Foreign Ministry, U.S . State Department, Russia, Defense Ministry, Moscow, Russian Defense Ministry, British Defense Ministry, Twitter, Kremlin Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Russian, Ryazan, Moscow, Cuba Republic, Havana, Central Asia, Armenia, Kazakhstan

☆ Ukraine's spy chief reveals how Russia's Il-76 airlift planes were targeted and destroyed in an attack launched from inside its own territory
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The attack was launched from within Russia, Ukraine's military intelligence chief revealed. "We are working from the territory of Russia," Kyrylo Budanov told The War Zone publication. AdvertisementAdvertisementIt remains to be seen how Russia responds, but "previous strikes against Russian military airbases have led to the dispersal of Russian aircraft to locations across Russia," the UK defense ministry said. The past month has featured a significant uptick in Ukrainian drone strikes, the UK said, with at least 25 attacks— likely all carried out by one-way attack drones — on Russian territory. This could have theoretically put the Pskov base within Ukrainian reach even if the new weapon was launched from Ukraine's sovereign territory.

Persons: Kyrylo Budanov, Budanov, —, Wang Xiujun, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Ukraine's, Directorate of Intelligence, TASS, Russian, Army Games, China News Service, Getty, Kyiv Locations: Pskov, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Russia's, Kyiv, Ukraine, Moscow, Soviet, Russian, Moscow Region, Ukrainian

☆ A Backfire bomber being blown apart deep inside Russia's territory is the latest in a string of glaring failures to protect its strategic bases
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Last weekend, an apparent drone strike destroyed a prized Russian Tu-22M3 Backfire bomber. The attack occurred far from the front lines of the war and may have been launched from inside Russia. The strike on a vulnerable Tupolev Tu-22M3 Backfire bomber is part of a growing list of Russian failures to protect its critical bases and vital aerial assets. If that's the case, it may speak to both Ukraine's expanding ability to threaten domestic Russian air bases and Russia's inability to protect them. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn the aftermath of the Tu-22M3 attack, there's a question of how Russia might adapt.

Persons: — Engels, Samuel Bendett, they're, Bendett, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, It's, Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko Organizations: Service, Russian Defense Ministry, Aviation, Center for Naval Analyses, Russia, Russian Aerospace Forces, NATO, Russian Defence Ministry, Kremlin, Nazi, Getty, Internal Affairs, Mobility Artillery, Systems Locations: Russian, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, St . Petersburg, Saratov, Ryazan, Moscow, Novgorod Oblast, Russia's, Nazi Germany, AFP, Murmansk, Finland

☆ A busted Russian warship may not have seen an exploding Ukrainian drone boat coming, hinting at problems that have plagued Russia throughout its war
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

A Russian warship was struck by a Ukrainian drone boat that it doesn't appear to have seen coming. Just a few days before this attack, Russian vessels were fighting off drone boats in another incident. "It just seems very strange they didn't respond at all to the incoming drone boats," Clark added. The Russian ship may have assumed it was safe in Novorossiysk, given that the port is roughly 350 miles from the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, but it shouldn't have. The reach of Ukraine's drone boats was hardly a secret.

Persons: Russia's, —, Sutton, it's, Cole, Bryan Clark, Clark, OZAN KOSE Organizations: Service, Ukraine, Russian, —, CNN, US Navy, Navy, Hudson Institute, Getty Locations: Russian, Ukrainian, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Novorossiysk, Moskva, Istanbul, AFP, Sevastopol, Odessa, Ukraine

☆ A top Russian general's rare admission that his elite paratroopers suffered heavy casualties in Ukraine was mysteriously removed
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A top Russian general admitted his elite paratroopers suffered thousands of casualties in Ukraine. It's unclear exactly how many casualties Russian forces have suffered during the Ukraine war. Favorited by Russian ultranationalists, Teplinsky oversaw successful combat operations last year but was eventually dismissed from his leadership role. This prompted some insubordination from the Russian airborne commander, who even expressed his frustration with Moscow's military brass directly to Putin. The elite paratroopers suffered heavy losses early on and continued to struggle in the months that followed.

Persons: Gen, Mikhail Teplinsky, Russia's, Teplinsky, Teplinksy, VDV, Vladimir Putin, Gian Marco Benedetto, —, Putin Organizations: Service, Russia's VDV Airborne Forces, Moscow Times, Zvezda, Airborne Forces, Anadolu Agency, Getty, BBC Russian Service, Wagner Group, Institute for Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhya, Washington

☆ 'Unusual' numbers of a massive Russian missile built to sink aircraft carriers are hammering a port city in southern Ukraine, intelligence says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russia is launching "unusual" numbers of carrier killer missiles, among others, at urban areas in southern Ukraine. The Kh-22 missile is inaccurate when used this way and exceptionally dangerous. The Tupelov Tu-22M supersonic bomber can carry up to three Kh-22 missiles, an anti-ship weapon that Russia has been using against Ukraine's urban areas. An aerial view of the damaged building after Russian missile attacks in Odessa, Ukraine on July 25, 2023. In an aerial view, the Transfiguration Cathedral heavily damaged by Russian missile on July 23, 2023 in Odesa, Ukraine.

Persons: Ercin, Zelenskyy, Yan Dobronosov, Viacheslav Onyshchenko, Yuriy Ihnat Organizations: Service, NATO, AS, Russian Defence Ministry, UNESCO, Heritage, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Russian, Workers, Command, Onyx, The New York Times, Intelligence Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Odesa, Wall, Silicon, Odessa, Odessa ., Russian, Dnipro, Ukrainian, Kremenchuk

☆ Russian attack helicopters showed up in force on the front lines and have been putting dents in Ukraine's armored assaults
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

These activities are a detriment to the Ukrainian counteroffensive, but Kyiv's forces appear to be adapting. In this situation, "Russian forces deployed aviation in a way they haven't recently, to front-line positions, and were able to use it more successfully than they have in the past," he said. Russian Air Force Mil Mi-8 and Kamov Ka-52 "Alligator" attack helicopter Leonid Faerberg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images"We haven't seen Russian forces really use aviation super extensively on the front line," Bailey said, adding "they have been concerned about having aviation losses." "Ukrainian forces are having to adapt to how Russian forces are employing these in southern Ukraine," he said, noting that they are seeing signs of that as the Ukrainians set the stage for their main attack. Ukraine hasn't committed the bulk of its dedicated counteroffensive forces to a major assault operation, and, as ISW's George Barros said recently, "big fireworks are still to come."

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Riley Bailey, Bailey, Kamov, Leonid Faerberg, it's, VITALY TIMKIV, Wagner, Karolina Hird, It's, Ukraine hasn't, George Barros Organizations: Service, Senior Ukrainian, BBC Wednesday, Institute for, Russian Air Force, Getty, Operations, Ukraine, Bakhmut, CNN, Fox News Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia's Krasnodar, AFP, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Oblast

☆ Putin appeared to literally turn his back on his loyal defense minister on Russian state TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Paul Squire | Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

President Vladimir Putin literally turned his back on his defense minister during a publicity stunt. In the clip from Russian state TV, Putin appears to avoid facing Sergei Shoigu, his loyal minister of defense. During a visit to a Moscow military hospital to give Russian soldiers medals, Putin appeared to turn away from Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (R) and chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov attend a meeting with Russian President in Moscow on February 27, 2022. It is, however, unclear whether there is a rift between Putin and his defense minister or, if there is, whether or not recent events are the cause of any potential tension between them.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, —, Volodymyr Omelyan, Valery Gerasimov, ALEXEY NIKOLSKY, Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: Service, TV, Russian, Russian Defence, SPUTNIK, Getty, Wagner Group Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Shoigu, Ukrainian, Russia

☆ Ukraine is kicking off its big offensive armed with powerful Western tanks and weapons, but breaking Russian lines may be anything but easy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Ukrainians are armed with Western weapons, including tanks and armored vehicles, but they are facing tough Russian defenses. There appear to be Ukrainian offensive operations against Russian defenses in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts, among other locations along the front lines. As some experts have said, the stakes for the Ukrainian offensive are high. Unlike last summer's sweeping offensive around Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces are facing much more heavily defended positions. The think tank added, as Russia makes claims of thwarting Ukraine's offensive, that "the success or failure of this phase may not be apparent for some time."

Persons: —, Klaus, Dietmar Gabbert, Mark Milley, Laurent van der, ISW, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Ukrainian, Washington Post, Financial Times, Kyiv hasn't, ABC News, NBC, Institute for, Bundeswehr, Getty Images, US, Joint Chiefs of Staff, CNN, New York Times, 81st Airmobile Battalion, Le Monde, Russian Ministry of Defense, Wall Locations: Ukraine, Donetsk, Russia, Russian, Klietz, Germany, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, Seversk, Novopokrovka

☆ Russia's best tanks are in Ukraine, Russian state media says, but they're not assaulting Kyiv's forces, just shooting at them from a distance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's cutting-edge T-14 Armata tanks have arrived in Ukraine, state media reported. The RIA state news agency reported Tuesday that the much-awaited T-14 tanks have made it to Ukraine, citing an "informed source." "Russian troops have begun to use the latest Armata tanks to fire on Ukrainian positions," the unnamed source told the outlet. Russian state media outlet TASS previously called the cutting-edge vehicle "the world's best tank," but the T-14s have been plagued by setbacks in recent months, according to reports. The outlet said Russian combat crews have been undergoing training to use the tanks in Ukraine since the end of last year.

☆ 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.

☆ Ukraine is betting big on a bloody battle for a ruined town, but the gamble could break its ability to drive Russia back
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The bloody battle of Bakhmut continues to wage as Russia and Ukraine both face mounting losses. Ukrainian losses in Bakhmut could hinder a more strategically critical counteroffensive in the future. Yet, despite the resources committed to the battle from both sides, Bakhmut remains a minimally-important city, strategically speaking. "The best estimates we have are that the Russian military and Wagner Group are a spent force," D'Anieri said. A tank carrying Ukrainian soldiers who have returned from the frontline passes along a street in Chasiv Yar, Ukraine.

☆ Russia's new offensive in Ukraine has likely fizzled out after only a month, Western intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

UK intelligence suggests Russia's new offensive is on its last legs, just a month after it began. Russian forces have depleted their "combat power," the assessment said. "Even local offensive actions are not currently sustainable," it added. The British Defense Ministry said this is likely because Russian forces have depleted their "combat power" to such a degree that "even local offensive actions are not currently sustainable." There's been an evolving debate between Kyiv and its Western partners over Ukraine's insistence on continuing to defend Bakhmut, which analysts have suggested could fall to Russian forces in the coming days.

☆ Russia's Wagner army is recruiting fighters on Pornhub in a desperate attempt to strengthen troops, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Wagner Group has struggled to recruit more fighters to support Russia in the Ukraine war. "Don't whack off, go work for PMC Wagner," an advert on Pornhub said, according to the report. "Don't whack off, apply for a job with the Wagner Group." The advert also includes a phone number, which is reportedly linked with Wagner Group recruiters. A Ukrainian military intelligence report, published in December and first obtained by CNN, said that Wagner Group fighters, which include prisoners, "have become the disposable infantry" in Ukraine.

☆ Masked Wagner mercenaries are giving career talks at Russian high schools, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wagner Group recruiters are giving career talks at high schools, UK intel says. During these lessons, Wagner representatives also reportedly promoted the Wagneryonok, a youth-focused military group and summer camp located in Crimea. As losses mount, Wagner is increasingly finding itself at odds with Russian military leadership and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Presently, there is a very public feud between Prigozhin and Russia's defense ministry over critical ammunition and supplies. ISW experts said that Russian leadership is also likely using the deadly fighting in Bakhmut to kill off Wagner troops and weaken Prigozhin's power.

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