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☆ Ukraine's getting more longe-range missiles that leave the Russians with 'nowhere to hide'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The number of missiles isn't publicly known, but ATACMS missiles average about $1.3 million each. These air-dropped missiles can fly at low altitudes to avoid detection and have been used to strike Russian naval headquarters and vehicle-repair depots in the occupied Crimean peninsula. The arrival of Storm Shadow missiles — and, several months later, ATAMCS — presented new challenges for Moscow, but Ukraine has received so few it has had to bee choosy over what to target. Indeed, Kyiv has used the American missiles in recent weeks to strike Russian airfields and troop gatherings. Missiles like ATACMS and Storm Shadow "will enable Ukraine to neutralize Russia's advantages and eventually enable them to regain the initiative," he added.

Persons: —, Ben Hodges, John Hamilton The, Jake Sullivan, Grant Shapps, Ben Stansall, Dan Rice, you've, Rice, ATAMCS —, Serhii, Hodges, Moscow's, Jack Watling, Watling Organizations: Service, US, Business, US Army, Army Tactical Missile System, White, MGM, Tactical Missile Systems, Biden administration's, Republicans, Congress, Kyiv, General Staff, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Storm, Shadow, Farnborough, American University Kyiv, Artillery Rocket Systems, Getty, Missiles, Russian Defense Ministry, Royal United Services Institute Locations: Ukraine, New Mexico, Washington, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Italy, France, Crimean, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Donetsk Oblast, Berlin, Avdiivka, Anadolu, Kharkiv

☆ Russia Detains Senior General, Widening Military Purge
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Russian security agents detained a senior general early Tuesday, widening a purge of the country’s sprawling Defense Ministry amid President Vladimir V. Putin’s broader shake-up of his government. Lt. Gen. Yuri Kuznetsov, who oversaw the ministry’s personnel department, was detained on an accusation of “large-scale” bribery, Russia’s Investigative Committee, a federal law enforcement agency, said in a statement on Tuesday. His detention came after Mr. Putin unexpectedly removed his long-serving defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, from his post and replaced him with a member of his economic team. Prosecutors said General Kuznetsov received a bribe from “commercial interests” between 2021 and 2023, when he worked on the protection of state secrets at the Armed Forces’ General Staff. The prosecutors claimed that security agents discovered cash equivalent to $1 million and luxury items during a search of General Kuznetsov’s home.

Persons: Vladimir V, Yuri Kuznetsov, Putin, Sergei K, General Kuznetsov, Kuznetsov’s Organizations: Mr, Prosecutors, Armed Forces ’, Staff

☆ Genius or madness? Why Putin wants an economist to be Russia's new defense minister at a key point in the war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

But Putin's replacement of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was unexpected — and his choice of successor, civilian economist Andrei Belousov, was even more of a surprise. Russia's incoming Defense Minister Andrey Belousov. "Belousov's main goal is to secure [Russia's] military needs in terms of arms. The Kremlin announced on Sunday that Shoigu, Russia's defense minister since 2012, had been relieved of his post and would become secretary of Russia's influential Security Council. Prigozhin died last August in a plane crash after a short-lived and ill-fated rebellion against Russia's military leadership.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Miguel Diaz, Maxim Shemetov, Sergei Shoigu, Andrei Belousov, Belousov, Putin, Andrey Belousov, Shoigu, Belousov's, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Uralvagonzavod, Ramil Sitdikov, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Tatiana Stanovaya, Stanovaya, Nikolai Patrushev, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Ukraine —, Prigozhin, Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Klimentyev Organizations: Cuban, Canel, Reuters, NATO, Institute for, Anadolu, Getty, Kremlin, Russian MoD, Defense Ministry, Sputnik, Afp, Staff, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, CNBC, Nazi, Security, Wagner Group, Russian Armed Forces, Russian Defence, Defence Ministry Board, National Defence Control Centre Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Washington, Kharkiv, Russian, Urals, Nizhny Tagil, Nazi Germany, Kremlin

☆ A Ukrainian recon commander in Kharkiv said its first line of defense was missing, in a 'betrayal' that allowed Russian troops to just walk in
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"There was no first line of defense," Denys Yaroslavskyi told the BBC, which reported from Vovchansk on Sunday. Jonathan Beale, a defense correspondent at the outlet, wrote that Yaroslavskyi showed him drone footage of Russian troops walking past Ukraine's northeastern border without resistance. Lying on Kharkiv's northeastern border, Vovchansk is one of Ukraine's closest cities to the Russian region of Belgorod. Related storiesDays earlier, Ukrainian military observers reported that between 30,000 to 35,000 Russian troops had gathered for the push. The Kremlin has since 2022 been accusing Ukraine of shelling Belgorod, though this also comes amid repeated reports of Russian troops misfiring or dropping bombs by mistake on civilians there.

Persons: —, Denys Yaroslavskyi, Jonathan Beale, Yaroslavskyi, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Syrskyi, Vladimir Putin, Vovchansk Organizations: Service, BBC, Business, Reconnaissance Unit, Armed Forces, Ukraine's General Staff, Russian Federation, Kyiv, Russian, NATO Locations: Ukrainian, Kharkiv, Russia, Vovchansk, Ukraine's, Russian, Belgorod, Moscow, Ukraine, The Washington, Kyiv

☆ Putin replaces longtime defense minister in surprise move; Russia claims gains as fighting rages in northeast Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved his longtime ally Sergei Shoigu from the defense ministry to Russia's powerful Security Council amid a government reshuffle. Russian economist Andrei Belousov will be Russia's new defense minister, while Shoigu will replace Nikolai Patrushev, another long-standing Putin ally, as the secretary of the powerful Security Council. Shoigu had headed the defense ministry since 2012, going in to the role with no military experience, and oversaw Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In other news, Russia's Defense Ministry on Sunday claimed more advances in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine after Russian forces launched a new offensive in the northeastern region.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Staff Sergei Rudskoi, Andrei Belousov, Shoigu, Nikolai Patrushev, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Belousov Organizations: Staff, Armed Forces, Sputnik, Security Council, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Russia's Defense Ministry, Sunday Locations: Ukraine, Rostov, Don, Russia, Kremlin, Russian, Kharkiv

☆ Andrey Belousov: Shifting his fishing buddy sideways, Putin chooses an economy expert for the war in Ukraine. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Alexandra Prokopenko, a former adviser at Russia’s Central Bank, put the shakeup down to the growing interrelationship between the war and Russia’s economy. “Putin’s priority is war; war of attrition is won by economics,” Prokopenko wrote in a thread on X. Russia's President Vladimir Putin, center-right, with Sergei Shoigu, at Red Square for the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9, 2024. Putin has shifted Shoigu sideways to a post as the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, meaning that Shoigu is not completely out of the picture. Discussing Shoigu’s new appointment, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the former defense minister would remain immersed in matters of military production.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, shakeup, Andrey Belousov, Sergei Shoigu, Alexandra Prokopenko, ” Prokopenko, Belousov, Vladimir Putin, Natalia Kolesnikova, Prokopenko, Pyotr Stolypin, Putin, Shoigu’s, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, ” Peskov, General Valery Gerasimov, Nikolai Patrushev, Patrushev, Mikhail Mishustin, Dmitry Patrushev, “, ”, Tatiana Stanovaya Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russia’s Central Bank, Russia's, Victory Day, Getty, NATO, Putin, US Congress, Ministry of Defense, Security, Russia’s General Staff, subjugating, Security Council, Federal Security Service Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, AFP, Europe, Kyiv, Shoigu, Russian, Japan, Soviet Union, subjugating Ukraine, Patrushev

☆ Sergei Shoigu: Putin replaces Russia’s defense minister with a civilian, citing rising military costs and need for innovation
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Anna Chernova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin has replaced his defense minister Sergei Shoigu with a civilian, Andrey Belousov, citing the country’s rising military spending and the need for “innovation.”Shoigu had been “relieved” of his post of Minister of Defense by presidential decree and been appointed Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday night local time. Shoigu would also become Putin’s deputy in Russia’s Military-Industrial Commission, Peskov said, while Nikolai Patrushev, the previous Secretary of the Security Council, would “transfer to another job.”Belousov, who previously served as first deputy prime minister, is a civilian. “Today on the battlefield, the winner is the one who is more open to innovation,” Peskov said. Peskov added that the new appointment did not signal a shift in Russia’s current military system. In his new role, Shoigu will oversee Russia’s military industrial complex, Peskov said.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Andrey Belousov, ” Shoigu, ”, Dmitry Peskov, Shoigu, Peskov, Nikolai Patrushev, ” Belousov, Putin, ” Peskov, It’s, Valery Gerasimov, Shoigu’s, Timur Ivanov, Ivanov, Ukraine –, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: CNN, Defense, Russia’s Security, Russia’s, Industrial Commission, Security, Russian Ministry of Defense, of Economic, Staff Locations: Ukraine, Russia

CNN —Russian forces have made two cross border assaults inside northern Ukraine, according to information from Ukrainian sources and officials – in what President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling a ‘new wave of counteroffensive actions” by Russia. In the first development, Russian soldiers penetrated at least one kilometre towards the town of Vovchansk, a Ukrainian military source told CNN. The source said the Russian ground assault towards Krasne was carried out by four Russian battalions - about 2000 men. “But our military and military command were aware of this and anticipated their forces to meet the enemy with fire. Syniehubov insisted the latest Russian ground assaults did not put the city, which lies just 30 kms south from the Russian border, under heightened risk.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, “, DeepStateMap, ”, ” Zelensky, Oleh Syniehubov, Syniehubov Organizations: CNN, Russian, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, CNN Russian, Staff, “, National Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Vovchansk, Ukrainian, Krasne, Russian, Moscow, “ Russia, Kharkiv

☆ Putin orders tactical nuclear weapons drills in response to Western ‘threats’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Anna Chernova | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian forces to rehearse deploying tactical nuclear weapons, as part of military drills to respond to what he called “threats” by the West. Since invading Ukraine in 2022, Putin has repeatedly made veiled threats to use tactical nuclear weapons against the West, but Monday marked the first time Russia has publicly announced drills. “During the exercises, a set of measures will be carried out to practice the issues of preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” Russia’s defense ministry said. Non-strategic, or “tactical,” nuclear weapons can be used in battlefield situations, carrying less power than strategic nuclear weapons, which have the potential to level entire cities. Putin said Russia would not be the first to test nuclear weapons, but would do so in the event of a US test.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Emmanuel Macron, I’m, ” Macron, Ludovic Marin, David Cameron, ” Cameron, Macron, “, Joe Biden, ” Organizations: CNN, Russia, Economist, Getty, United, Ukraine, Kyiv, State Department, US, military’s, Staff, Southern Military District Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Western, Europe, AFP, United Kingdom, United States, Moscow, Hiroshima, Nagasaki

☆ Thousands of Ukrainians have been sent to Russian prisons. Ukraine says they’re being held as bargaining chips
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

The Ukrainian government says there are thousands of people like Dima, civilians arrested by Russia who have been held in arbitrary detention for years. In the early weeks of the war, Russian troops took over their home, parking their tank in the garden and stealing anything of value. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia opened a second pre-trial detention facility in Simferopol, SIZO No. Detained civilians, however, are stuck in limbo. Mariana Checheliuk's photos were among those displayed by relatives of detained civilians at a recent protest in Kyiv.

Persons: Ukraine CNN — “, ”, Vasyl Khyliuk, Dmytro Khyliuk, Dima, –, Ivana Kottasova, Dmytro Lubinets, Lubinets, ” Achille Després, Cross, it’s, Vasyl, ” Vasyl, Halyna, “, Dmytro Khyliuk’s, Russia —, Khyliuk, Anastasiia, MIHR, Pantielieieva, CNN “ We’ve, ” Pantielieieva, Yulia Khrypun, Serhii, ’, Serhii Khrypun, Yulia, ” Yulia, Mariana Checheliuk, Mariana, Natalia Checheliuk, ” Natalia, ’ ” Natalia, Alexander Ermochenko, Mariana –, Mila, Natalia, Volodymyr, Zelensky, Mariana Checheliuk's Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Ukrainian Independent, Agency, Kyiv, CNN, Russian Federation, International Committee, Ukrainian, Organization for Security, Getty, Media Initiative, Human Rights, Penal, Russian Investigative Committee, Russian Prison Service, ICRC, Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Russian Federal Security Service, Russian National Guard, Directorate, General Staff, Serhii, Crimean Human Rights, Maxar Technologies, Volunteers, Russia, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Security Service of Ukraine, Ukraine’s, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Information Bureau, Ministry, “, Headquarters Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Dima, Ukrainian, Kozarovychi, Russia, Geneva, Europe, Novozybkov, Russia’s Bryansk, Russia’s Vladimir, Mordovia, Russian, Moscow, Bryansk, Nove, Tokmak, Melitopol, Olenivka, Kursk, Crimea, Kamensk, Russia’s Rostov, Yulia Khrypun Russia, Chonhar, Kherson, Crimean, Crimean Tatars, Simferopol, SIZO, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, ‘, Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, Bezimenne, Donetsk People’s Republic, Azovstal, Donetsk, Taganrog, Kamyshin, Russia’s Volgograd, Qatar

☆ Armies need their own drone air force flown by specialist soldiers, study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The air war in Ukraine has become a cat-and-mouse game where drones must constantly evolve. AdvertisementRUSI envisions each drone battalion being equipped with everything needed to conduct a variety of UAV operations. This would include "situational awareness UAVs optimized for tactical reconnaissance; tactical strike UAVs; ISR [reconnaissance] UAVs able to penetrate into operational depth; operational strike UAVs; and platform-launched effects designed specifically to synchronize with and enable other weapons systems." To support friendly ground troops in contact with the enemy, flocks of expendable reconnaissance drones would operate up to 5 miles beyond the enemy front line. AdvertisementA Ukrainian serviceman launches a drone during a press tour in the Zhytomyr Region, northern Ukraine on September 20, 2023.

Persons: —, Jack Watling, Justin Bronk, Kirill Chubotin, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Royal United Services Institute, Ukrainian, Staff, Publishing, Getty, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, British, Zhytomyr Region, Forbes

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Moscow wants weapons, forces beefed up ahead of offensive; Russian focus appears to shift in Donetsk
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Russian forces appear to be shifting their operational focus on to Chasiv Yar in the northern area of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine. Russia did not make any confirmed advances in the Avdiivka area for the first time in several days on Tuesday, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War noted, while Ukrainian sources reported that Russian forces conducted several more attacks in the Bakhmut-Chasiv Yar direction in recent days than around Avdiivka, in central Donetsk. "The Ukrainian General Staff's reports on Tuesday stated that Ukrainian forces had repelled a total of 47 Russian attacks in the Avdiivka direction and 57 Russian attacks in the Bakhmut direction throughout the day, notably a much higher number of attacks in the Chasiv Yar direction than Ukrainian sources have recently reported," the Institute for the Study of War noted Tuesday. "One day's worth of reporting is not sufficient to establish a pattern, but it may suggest that Russian forces are somewhat slowing down the rate of attacks around Avdiivka while re-committing to offensive pushes around Chasiv Yar, as ISW recently forecasted they would," ISW analysts said.

Persons: Chasiv Yar, Staff's Organizations: Institute for, for Locations: Donetsk, Ukraine, Russia, Avdiivka

☆ Ukraine: Russia is capturing its biggest swath of territory since July 2022, as Kyiv desperately awaits US weaponry
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Russian forces have used the “artillery drought” hampering Ukraine’s defenses since December to push forward on the eastern front near Avdiivka, making the largest advance since the early months of the war. Only on Sunday did the top Ukrainian military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, admit the fall of a series of villages that his subordinates had insisted for days were still contested. The resulting fallback showed Russian forces had, in just over two months, made the most substantial and swift progress since July 2022’s advances near Severodonetsk, according to a CNN analysis. DeepStateMap, which updates the frontline situation daily, showed significant losses near Avdiivka. Yurii Fedorenko, commander of the Achilles attack drones company at the 92nd separate assault brigade in that area, said the next two months marked a “window of opportunity” for Russian forces.

Persons: Chasiv, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ruslan Mykula, ” Mykula, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksandr Ratushniak Oleksandr Ratushniak, Chasiv Yar, Col Nazar Voloshyn, ” Voloshyn, Druzhkivka, Novozhenina, Yurii Fedorenko, “ Organizations: CNN, Sunday, Kurakhove, Ukraine’s, Airborne, REUTERS, Reuters, Russian Locations: Ukraine, Avdiivka, Donetsk, Mariupol, Russia, Pokrovsk, Chasiv Yar, Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Russian, Avdiivka’s, Severodonetsk, Ocheretyne, Kurakhve, Kupiansk, Kharkiv, Moscow

☆ The US secretly slipped ATACMS to Ukraine with more to come, putting high-value Russian targets in danger
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Kyiv used these long-range missiles to batter Russian helicopters in multiple strikes last year. T South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty ImagesThroughout the war, Ukraine has routinely pressed Washington to provide ATACMS so it could hit high-value Russian targets deep behind enemy lines. Kyiv used the M39 ATACMS variant in those attacks. Regardless of the variant, the arrival of additional ATACMS will likely compel Moscow to change its strategy and tactics. While the statement did not specifically mention ATACMS, it said the package contains "additional ammunition" for the HIMARS, which could include ATACMS.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Dan Rice, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ATACMS, Biden, Sen, Mark Werner, Zelenskyy, Serhii, Rice, AP Rice, Pat Ryder, ANATOLII STEPANOV, Vladimir Putin, Putin Organizations: Service, MGM, Tactical Missile Systems, US, South Korean Defense Ministry, Army Tactical Missile, Korean Defense Ministry, Getty, Kyiv, The New York Times, Reuters, General Staff, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Senate Intelligence, CBS, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, American University Kyiv, South Korea Defense Ministry, AP, Pentagon Press, Air Force, Gunners, Separate Mechanized Brigade, Armed Forces, Pentagon Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Moscow, United States, South Korea, Washington, Ukrainian, Russian, Crimean, ATACMS, Crimea, Donetsk Oblast, —, Russia, Kharkiv, AFP, NATO, Europe

☆ Live Updates: Israel Says Confrontation With Iran ‘Is Not Over’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Mike Ives | Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

The Iranian armed forces are among the biggest in the Middle East, with 580,000 soldiers and officers and also 200,000 reservists. The start of a direct military confrontation between Iran and Israel has brought renewed attention to Iran’s armed forces. Instead, Israel and Iran have been engaged in a long shadow war via air, sea, land and cyberattacks, and Israel has covertly targeted military and nuclear facilities inside Iran and killed commanders and scientists. It’s that they realize any war against Iran is a very serious war.”What sort of military threat does Iran pose? The commander in chief of Iran’s armed forces is the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on all major decisions.

Persons: ”, Afshon Ostovar, “ It’s, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Fabian Hinz, “, Atta Kenare, Ostovar, Ayatollah Khamenei, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Will Israel’s Organizations: Naval Postgraduate School, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Guards, General Staff of, Armed Forces, Quds Force, Agence France, Phantoms, Iranian Army, Associated Press Locations: Tehran, Iranian, Iran, Israel, Damascus, United States, Washington, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Jihad, Gaza, Berlin, speedboats, Persian, Hormuz, Russia, Ukraine, Sudan, North Korea

☆ Ukraine must win back the battlefield initiative to have a chance to stop Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Victory in the Ukraine war may come down to a simple question: which side has the initiative? If Russia can retain the initiative, it can launch constant offensives with its larger forces that will drive Ukrainian defenders to the breaking point. For Ukraine, gaining the initiative has become existential: it has to keep Russia off balance, or its forces will be worn down responding to Russian offensives. Ukraine simply cannot afford to go on the defensive and expect this will stop Russia, Barros said. To seize the initiative, Ukraine needs to know that it will receive a steady and reliable stream of Western aid, rather than sporadic deliveries.

Persons: We've, George Barros, Napoleon, Barros, they're, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Ukraine, U.S, Staff, NATO, British Challenger, Ukrainian, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Israel, Russian, Nazi Germany, Soviet, Ukrainian, Forbes

☆ Ukraine isn't the only country Russia is trying to topple
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Even as Russian bombs pound Ukraine, Moscow's mercenaries and spies are busy trying to set much of the rest of the world afire. To Russia, the conventional warfare waged in Ukraine, and unconventional "gray zone" warfare waged around the world, are two sides of the same coin. Human intelligence operations are used to attempt elite capture through the offer of assistance to politicians who support Russian interests. "As the war in Ukraine protracts, Russia has an interest in creating crises further afield," said RUSI. "As a lot of Russia's unconventional operations are self-defeating, countering Russian unconventional warfare must be premised on careful, selective, and intelligence- driven targeting," the study emphasized.

Persons: —, RUSI, Vladimir Putin, Jack Watling, Oleksandr Danylyuk, Nick Reynolds, Britain —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Business, Kremlin, Soviet Union, NATO, Directorate, Staff of, Armed Forces, Getty, Russian, Central African, Wagner, GRU Expeditionary Corps, Convoy, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Africa, Central Asia, Soviet, Montenegro, Moscow, Moldova, Russian, Britain, Ukraine protracts, Balkans, Russia's, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Central African Republic, Chechnya, Forbes

☆ Israel’s military says it made ‘grave’ mistakes in killing seven aid workers in Gaza. Here’s what we know
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Israel’s military said its troops made a series of “grave” mistakes and violated protocol in their strikes that killed seven aid workers in Gaza this week. The IDF is considering distributing thermal stickers for aid vehicles to prevent this happening again in the future, he added. After the first vehicle was struck, some of the surviving aid workers fled to the other vehicles in the convoy – which were also struck, the spokesperson said. People gather around one of the WCK vehicles struck by the IDF, April 2, 2024. The killing of the seven aid workers sparked condemnation from some of Israel’s most prominent supporters and may mark a turning point in how Israel perpetrates its war in Gaza.

Persons: CNN —, WCK, Israel’s, “, Jose Andres, Daniel Hagari, ” Andres, Israel, ”, ” WCK, Israel perpetrates, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, ’, Biden, Alicia Kearns, Kearns, Itamar Ben Gvir Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, Canadian, Staff, 162nd Division, Southern Command, Getty, West Bank, United Nations, Israeli, Conservative, BBC, National Locations: Gaza, Israel, Gazan, Deir, Palestinian, Australian, AFP, ”

☆ Ukraine says it downed two of three Russian drones overnight
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Ukraine's air force shot down two out of three Russia-launched Shahed drones overnight, the Ukrainian military said on Monday. Separately, Ukraine's energy ministry said equipment at a power substation in the southern Zaporizhzhia region had been damaged following a drone attack. Monday night was relatively quiet for Ukraine following a series of attacks on the country's energy infrastructure that Russia stepped up more than a week ago. On March 22, Russian forces carried out the largest strike on grid infrastructure during the two-year-old war, causing major damage and resulting in massive power outages. Russia last week continued targeting Ukraine's thermal and hydro-power plants.

Organizations: General Staff, Facebook Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ Russian assault piles pressure on fragile Ukrainian defensive line in the east
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The UK statement, which was shared on X, said: “Russian forces have maintained a gradual advance West of Avdiivka. Their apparent fall in just over a month after a prolonged and brutal Russian assault is indicative not only of Russian momentum, but also the fragility of Ukraine’s defensive lines. Ukraine’s military declined to comment on who is currently in control of Tonenke in response to a question from CNN. Troops CNN spoke to in frontline areas expressed concerns about the lack of Ukrainian defensive positions, personnel and munitions. The ISW said the Ukrainian forces appeared to have repelled the Russian mechanized assault, an apparent reference to the Umanske attack.

Persons: Kostiantyn, Donald Trump, Zelensky, ”, Yuriy Butusov, Butusov, Vlada, ISW, Chasiv Yar, Victoria Butenko, Svitlana Vlasova, Yulia Kesaieva Organizations: CNN, Kyiv, GOP, Washington, European Union, Ukraine’s, Staff, Russian, Troops CNN Locations: Russian, Avdiivka, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Washington, Kyiv, Umanske, Tonenke, Berdychi, US, Bakhmut

☆ Ukraine is in a race to stop Russia's mounting glide-bomb attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Short flight times, small radar signatures, and non-ballistic trajectories make glide bombs particularly difficult to intercept as well. "When the Ukrainian air-defense bandwidth is all tied up, they then move in with the fixed-wing aircraft to conduct these glide-bomb attacks," he said. This includes the 1,100-pound FAB-500, 3,300-pound FAB-1500, and 6,600-pound FAB-3000 bombs — all of which can be modified and turned into glide bombs. "That makes the mission planning for attacks with standoff weapons that can hit fixed targets, like the glide bombs, quite practical," he explained. And it won't be entirely the fault of glide bombs — Kyiv needs all the tools its forces can get right now.

Persons: —, George Barros, Scott Peterson, they've, Alexander Ermochenko, Barros, Assad, Ivan Gavrylyuk, Justin Bronk, Su, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Bronk, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Alina Smutko, Ukraine doesn't Organizations: Service, Business, Institute for, REUTERS, Ukrainian, Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff, Handout, Royal United Services Institute, Victory Day, Getty, Archer Artillery, Roman, Getty Images, Patriot, Infantry Brigade, Armed Forces Locations: Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Petropavlivka, Avdiivka, Ukraine's Donetsk, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, AFP, Donetsk

CNN —Large numbers of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in a single airstrike, a Russian general has claimed. The deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces told Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a meeting that up to 300 soldiers were killed “as a result of an accurate strike by an aerial munition,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday. CNN cannot independently verify the numbers and there has been no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kim also told Shoigu during the meeting that Ukraine is “suffering significant losses in both equipment and manpower as a result of the use of high-precision weapons and strike drones,” the ministry said. This is a developing story and will be updated.

Persons: Sergei Shoigu, “, Alexei Kim, Shoigu, Kim Organizations: CNN, Staff, Russian Armed Forces, Russian Defense, Russia’s Defense, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Joint Group of Forces Locations: Russian, Ukraine

CNN —Russia says it killed large numbers of Ukrainian soldiers with a destructive so-called “vacuum bomb” in a claim Ukraine swiftly called nonsense. The deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces told Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a meeting that up to 300 soldiers were killed “as a result of an accurate strike by an aerial munition,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday. The spokesperson of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Andriy Yusov, told CNN the claims were “absolute nonsense and propaganda as well as Russian information about killing 1500 Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk and Belgorod regions yesterday”. The spokesperson of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Andriy Yusov, told CNN the claims were “absolute nonsense and propaganda.”CNN cannot independently verify the incident. Volumetric weapons are also known as vacuum bombs, thermobaric weapons or fuel-air explosives.

Persons: Sergei Shoigu, “, Andriy Yusov, Alexei Kim, Kim, Shoigu Organizations: CNN, Staff, Russian Armed Forces, Russian Defense, Russia’s Defense, Defense Intelligence, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, RIA Novosti, Lieber Institute for Law & Warfare, US Military Academy, West, Center for Arms Control, Russian, Joint Group of Forces Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kursk, Belgorod, West Point , New York

☆ Russia’s new guided bomb inflicts devastation and heavy casualties on the Ukrainian frontlines
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Frederik Pleitgen | Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

It is delivered from above by fighter jets from a distance of some 60-70 kilometers, out of range of many Ukrainian air defenses. Yuri Ihnat, Ukrainian air force spokesman, told CNN: “On the eve of and during the battle of Avdiivka hundreds of air bombs were launched within days. The Ukrainian air force has claimed that it has brought down several Su-34 fighters in recent weeks. But most Ukrainian air defenses do not have the range to hit planes some 70 kilometers away. In the meantime, Ukrainian forces on the frontlines, especially in Donetsk, are exposed to a blitz of Russian air strikes - sometimes more than 100 in a day, according to the Ukrainian General Staff.

Persons: Joseph Trevithick, Stringer, ”, Yuri Ihnat, Justin Bronk, Ihnat, Su, Sergey Shoigu, Bronk, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: CNN, FAB, Getty, Airmobile Brigade, Royal United Services Institute, Bomber, Russian Defense Ministry, Russian, JSC Tactical Missiles Corporation, Ministry, US, Patriots, Ukrainian, Staff Locations: Russia, Soviet, Ukraine, Donetsk, AFP, Krasnohorivka, Avdiivka, Moscow, London, Anadolu, Kherson, Kharkiv, Ukrainian, Russian

☆ Exclusive: US prepared ‘rigorously’ for potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in late 2022, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Jim Sciutto | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Russian officials alleged Ukraine would build and detonate a dirty bomb against Russian forces and then blame the attack on Russia. Western intelligence agencies had received information that there were now communications among Russian officials explicitly discussing a nuclear strike. “It’s never a cut-and-dry, black-and-white assessment,” the first senior administration official told me. Secretary of State Antony Blinken communicated US concerns “very directly” with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, according to senior administration officials. “We conducted a number of quiet conversations with core allies to go through our thinking,” the first senior administration official told me.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Powers, “, ” “, Chris McGrath, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, “ It’s, NurPhoto, Antony Blinken, Sergey Lavrov, Mark Milley, General Valery Gerasimov, Joe Biden, Bill Burns, Sergey Naryshkin, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, Alexandr Demyanchuk, ”, … Organizations: CNN, US, National Security Council, Kherson City, “, UN, United Nations, Russian, Russian Armed Forces, CIA, Indian, Shanghai Cooperation Organization Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, “, Russian, Kherson, Ukrainian, France, Turkey, ”, Kyiv, India, China, Samarkand

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