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☆ The Ukraine war has often been a grinding artillery battle. These are the big guns being sent in to pound Russian forces.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Its array of 122 mm, 152 mm and 203 mm cannon mirrored those used by Russia's military. Denice LopezGermany and the Netherlands have already delivered 10 of the German-designed Panzerhaubitze 2000 armored self-propelled 155 mm howitzers to Ukraine. 1st Class Mikki SprenkleFrance's Caesar is a 155 mm howitzer mounted on a six-wheeled truck. Jacob BradfordThe Zusana-2 is a Slovakian wheeled 155 mm self-propelled howitzer. RCH-155The turret of the RCH 155, armed with a 155 mm gun, is unmanned and controlled from the drive module.

☆ A Russian soldier wrote a journal entry imagining being on vacation with his family in the summer of 2023 because Russia's occupation of Kharkiv was going so poorly
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Notebook entries found in Kharkiv reflect the bleak outlook of Russian forces on the war in Ukraine. One soldier was mentally imagining a vacation with his family in late 2023 as reality set in. The unnamed soldier's notebook entries were found in a notebook recovered at an abandoned Russian base in Kharkiv after Russian troops retreated from most of the region in September, Reuters reported. Another notebook entry by the unnamed soldier reflected a long-term outlook on the war and an imagination of a different future. "I went home on Aug 10, 2023, I'm already home with my family," the soldier wrote.

It’s become routine since Russia invaded Ukraine: President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speak by phone whenever the U.S. announces a new package of military assistance for Kyiv. Biden had barely finished telling Zelenskyy he’d just greenlighted another $1 billion in U.S. military assistance for Ukraine when Zelenskyy started listing all the additional help he needed and wasn’t getting. Biden lost his temper, the people familiar with the call said. Biden now faces resistance from some Republicans and Democrats that wasn’t present when Congress approved previous Ukraine funds. “I had an important conversation with U.S. President Biden today,” he said in videotaped remarks.

☆ Russian soldiers in Kharkiv region couldn’t immediately launch drones during Ukrainian counter-offensive because of a software installation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The drones are frequently used by Russia as they are low-cost, short-distance, rechargeable drones meant to launch small weapons. They're also used in part to offset the high costs of explosive, hi-tech surveillance drones like the Iranian kamikaze drones, according to the New York Times. According to Reuters, the next day, the forces received four Mavic-3 quadcopter drones, but they couldn't be used immediately as needed. The soldiers, while under missile fire, had to install new software for the drones, and then train 15 soldiers on how to use them. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that within days of the September counteroffensive, Ukraine regained over 1,158 square miles of territory from Russian forces.

☆ UN report details horrifying Ukrainian accounts of rape, torture and executions by Russian troops
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine details violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in four regions occupied by Russian armed forces. In some cases, the commission found that Ukrainian forces committed war crimes against Russian troops, though those incidents were less frequent. An 83-year-old woman described how, while her village was occupied by Russian armed forces, she was raped by a Russian armed forces serviceman in her house where her physically disabled husband was also present. The commission wrote that some victims declined to be interviewed while others have considered suicide. The report also documents Russian forces unlawfully confining Ukrainian civilians in overcrowded makeshift facilities before carrying out interrogation sessions which involved methods of torture:

☆ A 26-year-old Ukrainian woman described being tortured with electric shocks and hammers while held in Russian captivity for 6 months: 'They treated us like animals'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A woman identified as Hanna O. said women in Russian captivity were treated like animals. The 26-year-old was part of a prisoner exchange last week that saw 108 Ukrainian women released. Her story adds to the firsthand accounts describing torture by Russian forces. She was among the Ukrainian service members who surrendered in May after being trapped in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol for weeks as Russian forces surrounded and bombed it. Even the dogs are not given such food," Hanna told Ukrinform about how the women were treated.

☆ A month after Putin started drafting Russians to fight in Ukraine, some are already coming home in body bags
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some, Putin said, are trained for as little as 10 days, leading commentators to conclude they were effectively cannon fodder. In Western armies, it would likely be impossible to die within a month of enlistment, because training lasts much longer than that. Radio Free Europe, the US-funded outlet, also reported deaths among newly-mobilized men, swiftly returned to Russia in body bags. Alberque said the mobilized troops probably could not fight effectively — and may never have been meant to. David Betz, a professor in the War Studies department, also at King's said that so few mobilized troops had arrived that their effective casualty rate was "zero."

☆ Russia kept Ukrainian prisoners in open-air cages and used mock executions to extract information, witnesses tell NYT
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A witness told NYT of open-air cages; another spoke of being put through a mock execution. Serhii was reported as living in Balakliya, a town south of Kharkiv city that was recaptured on September 8. Serhii described being out with his brother and a friend when Russian soldiers detained them, the paper reported. The soldiers stripped them, beat them and subjected them to interrogation to try to extract information on the positions of Russian forces, he told the paper. The three were held in a basement and released two weeks later, the paper reported him as saying.

☆ Russian soldiers are supplied with Viagra to rape Ukrainian women and 'dehumanize' them, claims UN official
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A UN official told AFP Russian soldiers are being supplied with Viagra to rape Ukrainian women. Pramila Patten, the UN special representative on sexual violence, says it's "clearly a military strategy." She said the UN had verified more than 100 rape or sexual assault cases since Russia invaded Ukraine. She added that the number of reported cases is "only the tip of the iceberg" because sexual violence largely goes underreported in conflicts. Last week, a Ukrainian woman told The Washington Post that she was raped and tortured by Russian soldiers in Izium.

☆ Russia is making excuses for why it can't stop US-made HIMARS from shredding its military in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russian forces have struggled to counter Ukraine's use of US-made HIMARS rockets. One Russian defense blog has an explanation: HIMARS has a secret feature that prevents Russian artillery from targeting it. "This greatly distinguishes American systems from conventional MLRS [multiple launch rocket systems], where the projectiles fly along a ballistic trajectory. "Unless the radar happens to be looking in the right place at the right time, it will not detect a HIMARS launch," Cranny-Evans said. While this Avia article appears groundless, Russian defense blogs — which often have links to the Russian government and military — can be quite illuminating.

REUTERS/Zohra BensemraLYMAN, Ukraine, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday they exhumed the bodies of dozens of people, including civilians and a one-year-old baby, to determine the cause of death following the retreat of Russian troops from two recently-liberated towns in the eastern Donetsk region. He said the bodies of 55 people had been exhumed in the town, including civilians. Both died on May 24, 2022, during the period when Russian forces were battling to seize Lyman. Kyrylenko said that preliminary results on the 55 exhumed bodies indicated deaths resulted from "explosive and projectile injuries, bullet injuries". Last month the bodies of 436 people were exhumed from a burial site in the northeastern town of Izium after it was liberated.

☆ A Ukrainian woman said she carved details of her rape and torture at the hands of Russian troops into the walls of the shed she was held in so others would know what happened to her
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian woman told The Washington Post she was raped and tortured by Russian soldiers in Izium. Her account adds to many reports of rape, torture, and other alleged war crimes by Russian troops. Her story follows reports of rape and torture committed by Russian troops that have poured out of Ukraine nearly since the war began in February. After Russian troops retreated from Izium in September, an Associated Press investigation identified 10 sites across the city in which Russian soldiers had tortured Ukrainian service members and civilians. The investigation found Russian soldiers committed rape and torture, including against children, and in some cases made families of the victims watch.

☆ Russia set to annex Ukraine territory; West warns of new sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Jonathan Landay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe Russian-installed administrations of the four provinces have formally asked Putin to incorporate them into Russia, which Russian officials have suggested is a formality. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would need to keep fighting until it had taken control of all of Donetsk. Russia has announced it will mobilise some 300,000 reservists to bolster its forces in Ukraine. On the ground, Ukraine and Russian forces are engaged in heavy fighting in the four disputed provinces. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, once the main route for Russian gas to Germany, was already shut but cannot now be easily reopened.

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskiy says two more burial sites found in liberated Izium
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Members of Ukrainian Emergency Service work at a place of mass burial during an exhumation, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the town of Izium, recently liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 19, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb GaranichKYIV, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Ukraine has discovered two more mass burial sites containing the bodies of hundreds of people in the northeastern town of Izium, which Kyiv recaptured from Russia this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. Russian authorities did not immediately comment on Zelenskiy's assertion about the discovery of two more burial sites. They found two more mass graves, big graves with hundreds of people... We're talking about (the) little town of Izium," Zelenskiy said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Tom Balmforth; editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russian forces committed horrific war crimes in Ukraine, such as rape and torture, and sometimes even made the families of victims watch, UN investigators find
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A team of investigators commissioned by the UN has concluded that Russia committed war crimes in Ukraine. Gathering evidence from dozens of towns across Ukraine, interviewing victims, witnesses and authorities, and inspecting mass graves and sites of torture, Møse concluded that "war crimes have been committed in Ukraine." "There are examples of cases where relatives were forced to witness the crimes," Møse said. AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, FileEvidence of Russian war crimes is not a new aspect of the seven-month-long war in Ukraine. Ukraine's ambassador to the US said it represented "war crimes of massive proportions."

☆ U.N. showdown looms between Lavrov, West over atrocities in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will face off on Thursday with his Ukrainian and Western counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, when the United Nations Security Council meets over atrocities committed in Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 as the Security Council met in New York to discuss Western concerns that Moscow was planning such a move. Ukraine, the United States and others have accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine. The meeting on Thursday will be at least the 20th time the Security Council has met on Ukraine this year. Ukraine’s chief war crimes prosecutor told Reuters last month his office is investigating almost 26,000 suspected war crimes cases committed since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion and has charged 135 people.

☆ Putin's call-up won't make a dent in Ukraine for months and is already sowing panic at home with protests and people racing to get out of the country
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Putin on Wednesday announced a partial military mobilization order seven months into the Ukraine war. Ukraine, on the other hand, ordered full military mobilization just days after the war began and is just now reaping the benefits. It could take more than a month for reservists to deployOne of the major obstacles to Russia's mobilization aspirations is the country's depleted military infrastructure. Photo by Contributor/Getty ImagesResistance from the Russian public is growingIt's not just military experts who have their doubts about Russia's mobilization. Russians across the country took to the streets following Putin's speech, sparking protests and chants of "no to war."

☆ Zelenskyy urged UN officials to ask Russian representatives why their military is 'so obsessive with castration' after sharing what was found in Izium
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a speech on Wednesday at the UN General Assembly. "Ask, please, the representatives of Russia, why the Russian military are so obsessive with castration," the Ukrainian president said in an impassioned speech delivered at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. There is a man who was castrated before the murder, and this is not the first case," he said, later questioning why Russian soldiers continue to castrate people. This was not the first time a Ukraine official reported violent acts committed by Russian soldiers against civilians. Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Ukrainian Luhansk province, suggested that the skill belonged to a Ukrainian prisoner and was placed on a stick by Russian soldiers.

☆ Russian soldiers who desert their posts could face up to 10 years in jail under legislation that passed the lower house of parliament a day before Putin announced 'partial mobilization'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's lower house of parliament approved a bill that toughens punishments for soldiers. The bill increases jail time for soldiers deserting their posts and adds a reference to "mobilization." The law was approved just a day before President Putin announced a "partial mobilization." The State Duma passed the bill on Tuesday that increases jail time for soldiers who desert their unit from five years to up to 10 years. The bill passed just a day before Putin announced plans for a "partial mobilization" of the country's military reserve forces, drafting about 300,000 reservists, according to The Washington Post.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a ceremony of receiving letters of credence from newly-appointed foreign ambassadors at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, September 20, 2022. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 as the Security Council met in New York to discuss Western concerns that Moscow was planning such a move. read moreUkraine, the United States and others have accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine. The meeting on Thursday will be at least the 20th time the Security Council has met on Ukraine this year. While it was unlikely Russia's seat at the U.N. Security Council would be left empty during the meeting, it was unclear how long Lavrov might stay in the chamber.

CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens on Wednesday, a move that threatens to escalate his faltering invasion of Ukraine following a string of defeats that caused recriminations in Moscow. US President Joe Biden condemned the mobilization and the Kremlin’s planned votes, during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. “Putin claims he had to act because Russia was threatened, but no one threatened Russia – and no one other than Russia sought conflict,” Biden added. A billboard promoting contract army service, with the slogan "Serving Russia is a real job," in St. Petersburg. On Tuesday, Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, amended the law on military service, toughening the punishment for violation of military service duties – such as desertion and evasion from service – according to state news agency TASS.

☆ Ukrainian ex-serviceman claims Russians tortured him in eastern city of Izium
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

When Russian troops withdrew from the town on Sept. 9 and 10, he wept with joy as he and other detainees were suddenly set free. Russia has consistently denied its troops have committed war crimes since its troops invaded Ukraine in February. On Monday, the Kremlin rejected allegations of such abuses in Kharkiv region, where Izium is located, as a "lie". A grave of 17 Ukrainian soldiers was also found. One of the Russian soldiers did surreptitiously give him water without the others seeing, he said, and he was eventually released by his jailors - and found by passers-by.

☆ Pope says it is 'madness' to think of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Pope Francis addresses the audience as he arrives for the weekly general audience at the Vatican, September 21, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneVATICAN CITY, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, speaking as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West he was not bluffing about possibly using nuclear weapons, said on Wednesday that thinking of such an act was "madness". The pope, discussing his trip to Kazakhstan last week to a crowd for his general audience in St. Peter's Square, praised the central Asian country for giving up nuclear weapons after its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. At a time in this tragic war where some are thinking of nuclear weapons - which is madness - this country said 'no' to nuclear weapons from the start," Francis said. "He (Krajewski) told me of the pain of these people, the savage acts, the monstrosity, the tortured bodies they find.

☆ Can Ukraine Break Through Again?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Marco Hernandez | Denise Lu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

After mostly defending for months, Ukraine is now dictating the war, choosing where it wants to press new offensives. After mostly defending for months, Ukraine is now dictating the war, choosing where it wants to press new offensives. But even if it helps, the “partial mobilization” could take months to change the battlefield, giving Ukraine time to push forward. Now that Ukraine has recaptured Izium, Ukrainian forces are freed up to attack Russian forces to the east. Now that Ukraine has recaptured Izium, Ukrainian forces are freed up to attack Russian forces to the east.

☆ Mass graves in Izium, Ukraine, may be 'worse' than those found in Bucha, Biden adviser says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian soldiers patrol at the streets of Izium city after Russian Forces withdrawal as Russia-Ukraine war continues in, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on September 14, 2022. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said his Ukranian counterparts tell him the mass graves discovered in Izium, Ukraine, after Russian forces were pushed out, are in some ways "worse" than those discovered in Bucha in April. More than 440 bodies, including those of civilians and children, have been found in Izium since Russian troops withdrew from the city earlier this month. Police found a mass grave Friday with the bodies of 17 Ukrainian soldiers. The mayor of Mariupol said thousands of bodies were discovered in a mass grave discovered after Russian soldiers withdrew from that city in April.

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