DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

CNN —The Russian border region of Belgorod declared an emergency on Wednesday after new attacks by Ukrainian forces, with Kyiv claiming control of hundreds of square miles of Russian territory after its rare cross-border incursion. “The situation in the Belgorod region continues to be extremely difficult and tense,” Belgorod Gov. The declaration came after Belgorod began evacuations on Monday as a result of Ukrainian advances, following Kyiv’s surprise incursion into the neighboring Kursk region last week. It was a notable change in tactics for Ukraine and marked the first time foreign troops had entered Russian territory since World War II. Two locations in Belgorod, the city of Shebekino and the village of Ustinka, had been attacked by Ukrainian drones, he added.

Persons: Vyacheslav Gladkov, Gladkov, Aleksandr Gusev, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, Vladimir Putin, Russia –, Joe Biden, Putin, ” Organizations: CNN, Belgorod Gov, Kyiv, Kremlin Locations: Belgorod, Ukrainian, Kursk, Ukraine, Russian, Shebekino, Ustinka, Voronezh, Moscow, Bryansk, Russia

☆ Ukraine’s border villages feel full force of Russian war machine as Putin moots possible ‘sanitary zone’
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Andy Carey | Olga Voitovych | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Sumy region, Ukraine CNN —“Evacuation! Luhivka, in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, lies just a few miles from the border with Russia. Workers inspect fortifications being built in Ukraine's Sumy region on March 16, 2024. Even though Russia’s leader might seem impervious to small military setbacks, his comments last week following the announcement of his poll victory suggest a possible further intention to force Ukraine’s border areas into submission. Even discounting the Russian-occupied territories – and Belarus – Ukraine’s border with Russia runs for many hundreds of kilometers.

Persons: Dmytro Piddubnyi, Grandma, She’s, Vladimir Putin, Olha Mykhailivna, ”, Iryna Mishchenko, “, ” Mishchenko, Volodymyr Artiukh, Artiukh, Volodymyr Zelensky, Gleb Garanich, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Kozinka, Ukraine’s, Putin, Melnyk Organizations: Ukraine CNN —, Russian, Getty, CNN, Radio Liberty, Kyiv’s Defense Intelligence Directorate, Kyiv, Kremlin, Kyiv’s Locations: Sumy, Ukraine, Luhivka, Ukraine’s, Russia, Russian, Belgorod, Kursk, AFP, Ukrainian, Ryzhivka, Grad, Popivka, Yizdetske, Sumy region, Russia’s, Russia’s Belgorod, Kyiv Russian, Kremlin Russian, Kozinka, Kyiv, Ukraine's Sumy, –, Belarus

AFP/Getty ImagesMeanwhile, skirmishes continued in villages in Belgorod and Kursk regions after pro-Ukrainian groups of Russian fighters on Tuesday mounted a cross-border attack. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the “terrorist formations” had targeted the Belgorod villages of Nekhoteevka and Spodariushino. “The liberation of the Russian regions from the Kremlin terrorist regime continues in these minutes. Massive strikes are now being launched against Putin’s forces in the Belgorod and Kursk regions,” the statement said. While the extent of the skirmishes in border villages is not clear, drone strikes and shelling on Belgorod have increased markedly in the past week.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, ”, Russia Legion –, Russia –, –, “, Ukraine’s, Valerii Zaluzhnyi Organizations: CNN, Russia’s Defense Ministry, Wednesday, Getty, Russia Legion, Siberian Battalion, Russian Volunteer Corps, Kremlin, Putin’s, Russian Locations: Russia’s Belgorod, Ukrainian Russian, Belgorod, Kursk, Ukraine, Russia, Ryazan, Kstovo, Ukraine’s, AFP, Nekhoteevka, Tyotkino, ” Russia

☆ Ukraine drone strikes: Russia oil refineries hit as Kyiv steps up drone attacks before Putin’s election
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Ukraine launched overnight drone attacks on three oil refineries deep inside Russia, a Ukrainian defense source told CNN on Wednesday, as Kyiv intensifies its cross-border strikes days before President Vladimir Putin’s anticipated re-election. It marked the second consecutive day of Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy sites, and the locations targeted represent a spate of attacks well within Russia’s territory. The border region of Belgorod has taken the brunt of Ukraine's cross-border attacks during the war. Russia’s Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said 10 civilians were injured and six were hospitalized in the region on Tuesday. During a lengthy interview on state television channel Rossiya 1 on Wednesday, Putin said Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod and Kursk are happening amid Kyiv’s “failures” on the battlefield.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Stringer, Pavel Malkov, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Putin, ” Putin, “ Organizations: CNN — Ukraine, CNN, Getty, Social Locations: Russia, Kyiv, Ukraine, Ryazan, Moscow, Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia’s, Ukrainian, Tyotkino, Russia’s Kursk, Belgorod, AFP, Leningrad, Finland, Oryol, Odnorobovka, Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Nekhoteevka, Spodariushino, Russia’s Belgorod, Kursk

CNN —Pro-Ukrainian groups of Russian fighters claimed to have launched cross-border attacks in two regions of Russia on Tuesday, hours after Kyiv fired a wave of drones at targets across the country. The group, comprising a few hundred battle-hardened, anti-Kremlin Russian volunteers fighting as part of Ukraine’s armed forces, also said it had destroyed an armored personnel carrier inside Russia. A separate pro-Ukrainian group of Russian fighters, the Siberian Battalion, wrote Tuesday on Telegram: “Well, we’re home at last. CNN has asked the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense for comment. The ministry also said its forces had killed 60 Ukrainian soldiers near Odnorobovka as they attempted to cross into Russia.

Persons: Russia Legion –, Russia –, ”, “ Organizations: CNN — Pro, Kyiv, Russia Legion, CNN, Kremlin Russian, Siberian Battalion, Russian Volunteer Corps, Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, for Russia Legion, Novosti, IL, RIA Locations: Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Tyotkino, Russia’s Kursk, Ukrainian, Odnorobovka, Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Nekhoteevka, Spodariushino, Belgorod, Kursk, Russia’s Belgorod, Moscow, Oryol, Leningrad, Bryansk, Tula, Oryol region, Glushkovsky, Ivanovo

CNN —Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war on Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that the released prisoners had returned to Ukraine. Last week, Ukraine and Russia exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in what the Ukrainian government called the “second major exchange after a long break.”It was the first exchange since the mysterious crash of a Russian IL-76 plane on January 24 in Russia’s Belgorod region, which neighbors eastern Ukraine. Moscow claimed the plane was transporting dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war, while Kyiv said it was carrying Russian missiles to be used in further strikes on Ukraine. Zelensky said 207 Ukrainian service members were returned on Wednesday, while the Russian Defense Ministry said 195 Russian military personnel had been received.

Persons: KSHPPV, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian Armed Forces, United Arab Emirates, Russian Ministry of Defence, Russian Air Force, Russian Defense Ministry Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Azovstal, Donetsk, Luhansk, Russian, Russia’s Belgorod, Moscow, Kyiv

CNN —Russia and Ukraine have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war, in the first such swap since the deadly crash of a Russian military plane that Moscow claimed was carrying 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers. Wednesday’s exchange was the first since the mysterious crash of a Russian IL-76 plane on January 24 in Russia’s Belgorod region, which neighbors eastern Ukraine. But Ukraine’s intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said there was still no reliable information as to who might have been on board the downed Russian plane. Speaking after Wednesday’s prisoner exchange, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the IL-76 plane had been downed by a US Patriot missile system. Putin stressed that Russia would not halt prisoner exchanges despite the plane crash.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Zelensky, ”, Andriy Yusov, Yusov, Petro Yatsenko, Kyrylo Budanov, Vladimir Putin, ” Putin, Putin, “, Andriy Yermak Organizations: CNN, Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Social Media, Ukraine’s, US Patriot, American Patriot, Patriot, Russia’s Defense Ministry Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, Mariupol, Ukrainian, Russia’s Belgorod, Kyiv, Belgorod, Yablonovo, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kherson, Sumy

☆ Ukraine and Russia Exchange Hundreds of Prisoners of War
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Russia and Ukraine announced the exchange of hundreds of prisoners of war on Wednesday, resuming the carefully choreographed trading of captives only a week after Moscow accused Kyiv of shooting down a Russian military transport plane that it said was carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war on their way to be exchanged. The cause of the crash, which occurred in Russia’s Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine last week, remains unknown. Ukrainian officials have neither confirmed nor denied responsibility, have called for an international investigation and said that the Russians had offered no conclusive evidence that prisoners were on the flight. After the crash, families of Ukrainian prisoners worried publicly that the episode might imperil one of the few diplomatic channels left between the two countries, making it less likely that they would see their loved ones again. But the process of exchanging prisoners, while at times slowed down, has endured even during the most trying moments of a war that has stretched on for nearly two years.

Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia’s Belgorod

I don’t know whether they did it on purpose or by mistake, through thoughtlessness,” Putin said of Ukraine at a meeting with students. Putin offered no details to support the allegation that Ukraine was to blame, which other Russian officials have also made. Ukrainian officials have not said whether their military shot down the plane, but they called for an international investigation. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesBoth sides in Russia's 23-month-long war in Ukraine have often used accusations to sway opinion at home and abroad. Ukrainian officials confirmed that a prisoner exchange was due to happen Wednesday but said it was called off.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, ” Putin, Mykola Oleshchuk, “, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Authorities Locations: Russia’s Belgorod, thoughtlessness, Ukraine, Belgorod, Moscow, russia, ukraine

CNN —Ukraine says it has intelligence suggesting only five bodies were delivered from the crash site of a Russian military transport plane to a nearby morgue, a Ukraine military intelligence official told CNN, casting doubt on Moscow’s claim that dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in the explosion. Moscow says the plane was transporting Ukrainian prisoners of war, while Kyiv says it was carrying Russian missiles to be used in further strikes on Ukraine. Ukraine’s military command said it regarded Russian military aircraft approaching Belgorod as legitimate target, but did not confirm it had fired at the plane. Traffic officers block off a road near the crash site of the IL-76 plane outside the village of Yablonovo, Russia, January 24, 2024. Russia has not yet provided evidence that dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board the plane that crashed.

Persons: Andriy Yusov, ”, –, Yusov, Stringer, Dmytro Lubinets, Mykola Oleschuk, Reuters Lubinets, Cross, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, “ Organizations: CNN, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Russian Aerospace Forces, Russian, Reuters, Ukraine, UN, International Committee, Ukraine’s Security Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, Russia’s Belgorod, Kyiv, Yablonovo, Russia, Belgorod, Belgorod city, Ukrainian, Kharkiv

A Russian military transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six crew and three people accompanying them crashed on Wednesday morning in Russia’s Belgorod region near Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. The authorities were investigating the cause of the crash, and a special military commission was on the way to the crash site, the Defense Ministry said. The Russian Defense Ministry said that air defenses shot down four Ukrainian drones over the Oryol region of western Russia early Wednesday. The German defense ministry announced Wednesday that it plans to send six SEA KING Mk41 multi-role helicopters from Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war military deliveries from Germany have amounted to around 6 billion euros ($6.52 billion), including substantial anti-aircraft and air defense systems, the government said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ” Zelenskyy, Oleh Syniehubov, Yuri Parakhin, Vyacheslav Gladkov Organizations: Russia’s Defense Ministry, Defense Ministry, Twitter, Russian Defense Ministry, Oryol, Gov, SEA Locations: Russia’s Belgorod, Ukraine, Russian, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Russia, U.S, Washington, Moscow, Iran, North Korea, Oryol, Ukrainian, Belgorod, United States, Germany, russia, ukraine

☆ Russia pulls back from brink of crisis after deal reached to end Wagner insurrection
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Putin poses for a picture with his wife, Lyudmila, and daughters, Yekaterina and Maria. Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images Putin rides a horse during a vacation in Southern Siberia in August 2009. Alexey Nikolsky/AFP via Getty Images Putin judges an arm wrestling match while visiting the Seliger youth educational forum in Russia's Tver region in August 2011. Dmitry Astakhov/RIA Novosti/AFP via Getty Images Putin plays with his dogs Yume, left, and Buffy at his home in Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia, in March 2013. Chris McGrath/Getty Images Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, ” Prigozhin, ” Wagner, ”, Dmitry Peskov, “, Prigozhin, ” Peskov, Putin, Putin Putin, Joseph Stalin, –, “ Putin, Evelyn Farkas, ’, Vladimir Putin, Maria Putina, Archivio GBB, ZUMA Press Wire Putin, Laski, Maria, Vladimir, Anatoly Sobchak, Lyudmila, Yekaterina, Boris Yeltsin, Yeltsin, Fidel Castro, Reuters Putin, George W, Bush, Stephen Jaffe, Camp David, Brooks Kraft, Alexey Druzhinin, Alexey Nikolsky, Mikhail Metzel, Ivan Sekretarev, AP Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Dmitry Astakhov, Buffy, Angela Merkel, Jochen Lübke, Thomas Bach, Medvedev, Vladimir Konstantinov, Alexei Chalyi, Sergei Aksyonov, Sergei Ilnitsky, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Alexander Lukashenko, Merkel, Francois Hollande, Petro Poroshenko, Mykola Lazarenko, Barack Obama, Ban, Chip Somodevilla, Turkey Andrei Karlov, Karlov, Donald Trump, Chris McGrath, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, LUDOVIC MARIN, Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Eliot Blondet, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Biden, Sergey Lavrov, Denis Balibouse, Macron, Sergey Ponomarev, Mikhail Gorbachev, —, Alexander Nemenov, Alexey Danichev, Xi Jinping, Pavel Byrkin, Pavel Bednyakov, Peter Zwack, Beth Sanner, ” Sanner, “ He’s, … Putin, Moscow’s, Priogozhin Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Communist, McCain, Putin, Getty, Russian, ZUMA Press, KGB, ZUMA Press Wire, Getty Images, Reuters, US, White House, Camp, Brooks, Brooks Kraft LLC, RIA Novosti, AP, AFP, International Olympic, Crimean, Ukrainian, United Nations, UN, Assembly, Russian Foreign Ministry, Sputnik, World, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Macron, SPUTNIK, New York Times, Central Clinical Hospital, AP Putin, Belarus, State Russian Museum, Russia’s Southern Military District, US Army, National Intelligence for Mission, State Department, European Union Locations: Moscow, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Kremlin, Russia’s Belgorod, Putin Russian, Russian, Rostov, St . Petersburg, Leningrad, Germany, AFP, Kazan, Cuba, Soviet Union, Southern Siberia, Russia's Tver, Novo, Ogaryovo, Hanover, Sevastopol, Crimea, Belarusian, Minsk, France, Turkey, Helsinki, Finland, Buenos Aires, Ukrainian, Paris, Geneva, Switzerland, Taganrog, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, –, Canada, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, Soviet, Kazakhstan

Kyiv, Ukraine CNN —Three people, including a young girl, were killed in Kyiv on Thursday while desperately trying to take cover in a closed bomb shelter amid fresh Russian strikes, in an incident that sparked anger in the Ukrainian capital. This is the largest bomb shelter. “Closed bomb shelters during the war are not just indifference. “I gave a separate order to the heads of the capital’s districts to immediately check all bomb shelters,” he added. The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, also denied these latest claims of a border incursion.

Persons: Ihor Klymenko, …, ”, “, Yaroslav, Kateryna Didukh, Serhii Okunev, Klymenko, Oleksii, Roman Pilipey, Vitalii Klitschko, Klitschko, Klitchko, Valentyn Ogirenko, Dmitry Peskov, Vyacheslav Gladlov, Gladkov, Peskov, –, Igor Konashenkov, Vyacheslav Gladkov, ” Gladkov, Putin Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Internal, Ukraine’s National Police, Ukraine Armed Forces, Anadolu Agency, Kyiv’s, Reuters, Grad, Russian Volunteer Corps, Putin, Russia Legion, CNN, Russian Defense Ministry, Federal Security Service, Russian MoD, Russian Federation, for Russia Legion Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia, Russian, Desnianskyi, Reuters Belgorod, Russia’s Belgorod, ” Belgorod, Gladkov, Belgorod –, Ukraine’s Kharkiv, –, Belgorod, Putin Russian, Moscow, Novaya Tavolzhanka, Shebekino

☆ Rockets Kill One in Russian Region Near Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Alan Cullison | Yaroslav Trofimov | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut have been locked in a long, bloody battle with Russian forces determined to take the eastern city. KYIV, Ukraine—A rocket strike killed at least one person in Russia’s Belgorod region near Ukraine, local officials said, as Russia’s defense minister made a rare visit to the Ukrainian war zone. A rocket salvo targeting Belgorod on Sunday was intercepted by Russian air defenses, but falling debris and shrapnel killed one resident, injured eight others and caused damage to 14 buildings, the region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov , said on social media. He didn’t explicitly blame Ukraine, and Kyiv didn’t acknowledge responsibility for the attack.

Search resuls for: "Russia’s Belgorod"

14 mentions found