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☆ Satellite images show traffic jams at the border as Russians flee the country following Putin's decision to send more people to fight in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies. Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies. Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies. Satellite image ©2022 Maxar TechnologiesRussians have also tried to flee by crossing into Finland, which borders the country to the northwest. "Border traffic at Finnish Russian land border has remained on higher level than in previous weeks.

☆ Putin gives ex-NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden citizenship amid sky-high tensions between the US and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Jake Epstein | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin granted citizenship to US whistleblower Edward Snowden on Monday, according to a decree published to a government website. According to media reports, Snowden — a former National Security Agency contractor — has been living in Russia for nearly a decade and was granted permanent residency in 2020. This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

☆ Cuba votes to legalize same-sex marriage, decades after LGBTQ people in the country were persecuted and sent to labor camps
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Cuba has voted to legalize same-sex marriage, election officials said on Monday. The country voted in a referendum to amend its Family Code, which is part of the constitution. Decades ago, LGBTQ people in Cuba were persecuted and sent to labor camps. According to election results, around two-thirds of people who voted in the referendum did so in favor of the amendments. It's a significant moment for the island country which, during the 1960s and 1970s, persecuted LQBTQ people and sent to labor camps.

☆ Intercepted documents show pro-Russian officials allowing teenagers as young as 13 to vote in 'sham' referendums, Ukraine's security service says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine's security service said Russian proxies want teenagers as young as 13 to vote. In eastern Ukraine's occupied Donetsk region, pro-Russian officials plan to include teenagers ages 13 through 17 in the voting process of the "sham referendum," Ukraine's security service — or SBU — shared in a Thursday statement. Citing intercepted documents, the SBU said "minors" will be accompanied by their parents, guardians, or orphanage representatives to polling stations. The SBU said doing so will allow Russian proxies to build a more widespread voter base and "strengthen control" of the referendum's turnout. Ukrainian and Western officials have widely slammed the referendums as illegal and said the outcomes of any votes will never be recognized.

☆ 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."

☆ Fugitive 'Fat Leonard' was captured at a Venezuela airport trying to flee to Russia after escaping house arrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Jake Epstein | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Fugitive 'Fat Leonard,' who pleaded guilty to involvement in a US Navy bribery scandal, was caught in Venezuela. Interpol Venezuela said it captured Leonard Glenn Francis trying to flee the country for Russia. Leonard recently cut his GPS ankle bracelet and fled house arrest in San Diego, where he was awaiting sentencing. Francis, a former military contractor who is also known as "Fat Leonard," was captured at an airport while trying to flee the country, Interpol Venezuela said in a Wednesday statement shared to Instagram. —USMS San Diego (@USMSSanDiego) September 6, 2022The US Marshals Service confirmed Francis' capture in Venezuela to the Associated Press.

☆ Putin is personally giving orders to his generals on the battlefield as dysfunction grows, according to US intel
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Putin is personally giving orders from Moscow to battlefield leaders in Ukraine, a new report says. CNN reported Thursday that intelligence intercepts have captured Russian military officers arguing about strategy, tactics, and Putin's decision-making from Moscow, even voicing their frustration with loved ones back home in Russia. In some cases, the speed of Ukraine's advances in the northeast Kharkiv region seemingly stunned Russian troops, forcing some to flee in panic and abandon their weaponry. During his speech, Putin also threatened to use nuclear weapons and baselessly accused the West of provoking him. "Russia's is not a mass-mobilization military like the Soviet one; it's not built to quickly intake a large number of mobilized personnel."

☆ Russians fleeing Putin's draft and war in Ukraine could face traffic jams at the border, skyrocketing plane ticket costs, and up to 10 years in prison for desertion
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Jake Epstein | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Many Russians are trying to flee the country after Putin declared partial military mobilization. Plane tickets have sold out or skyrocketed in price, and land border crossings are seeing increased traffic. In trying to avoid deployment, fleeing Russians are facing traffic jams at border crossings and plane tickets that are either incredibly expensive or simply sold out. "Incoming traffic at the eastern border increased during the night," Finland's border guard said in a Wednesday statement. Western officials, as well as former diplomats and Russia experts, say that Putin's partial mobilization shows that Russia is "failing" or "losing" in Ukraine.

☆ Putin's big military mobilization moves won't have any effect on his fight in Ukraine for months, war experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Partial military mobilization won't have any effect on the war for months, a think tank said. Putin's order to call up to 300,000 reservist troops to wage war in Ukraine "will not generate significant usable Russian combat power for months," the think tank said. Putin's mobilization order, ISW said, "may suffice to sustain the current levels of Russian military manpower in 2023 by offsetting Russian casualties, although even that is not yet clear." Additionally, Hardie explained, Putin's call for a mobilization of troops "carries serious political risks and was not made lightly." In the wake of Putin's mobilization announcement, many Russians attempted to flee the country while others took to the streets in cities across the country to protest the war.

☆ Police arrest hundreds of Russian protesters at 'no to war' gatherings after Putin announced drafting 300,000 more reservists
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Protests have sparked across Russia after Putin announced partial military mobilization. Sign up for our newsletter to receive our top stories based on your reading preferences — delivered daily to your inbox. Police officers detain a person in Moscow on September 21, 2022, following calls to protest against partial mobilization announced by President Vladimir Putin. Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty ImagesPolice officers detain a person in Moscow on September 21, 2022, following calls to protest against partial mobilization announced by President Vladimir Putin. After his televised address that day, Russian citizens in dozens of cities began to protest, with scores getting arrested.

☆ Here's what it took to move a broken-down US special ops aircraft stuck in an Arctic nature preserve just over 50 feet
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An improvised pathway under construction in the Stongodden nature preserve. Norwegian Armed ForcesSoldiers with wooden beams for an improvised road at the Stongodden nature preserve. Norwegian Armed ForcesThe CV-22 at the Stongodden nature preserve. Norwegian Armed ForcesThe CV-22 Osprey at the Stongodden nature preserve. "They always seem to happen in Norwegian nature preserves above the Arctic Circle at the onset of winter."

☆ Biden rips into Putin for escalating Russia's 'outrageous' Ukraine war in a blistering speech at the UN
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Biden ripped into Putin during a scathing speech at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. The US leader said Putin is escalating Russia's "outrageous" war in Ukraine with new announcements. Putin said earlier in the day that Russia would partially mobilize and threatened to use nukes. Putin claims he had to act because Russia was threatened, but no one threatened Russia and no one other than Russia sought conflict." Just before he invaded, Putin asserted, and I quote, 'Ukraine was created by Russia' and never had 'real statehood.'"

☆ Ukrainian official mocks Russia over its failures after Putin's threatening speech: 'Everything is still according to the plan, right?'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A senior Ukrainian official mocked Russia after Putin announced partial military mobilization. British intelligence said recently that expedited training courses at Russian military academies also highlight the Russian military's "manpower challenge." A vote in favor would set the stage for Russia to annex captured Ukrainian territory. "From my perspective, this is simply an information operation that's meant to distract from the difficult state that the Russian military currently finds itself in right now," Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. The referendums are slated to take place after weeks of Ukrainian advances and battlefield success along the war's northeastern and southern fronts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the partial mobilization of his country's reservists. According to Russian officials, 300,000 reservists will be drafted immediately. Conscripts and students will not be called up and will affect only those with combat experience, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. In his speech, Putin reiterated that the goal of Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the liberation of the Donbas region. Ukrainian officials in response slammed the referendum as a "sham" and said it won't change anything.

☆ Putin's troops are performing 'so poorly' in Ukraine right now that many Russian volunteers are refusing to go into combat, US official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A senior US defense official said Russian volunteers are refusing to go into combat. The official said this is because Russian forces are performing "so poorly" in Ukraine right now. As Putin's war in Ukraine nears its seven-month-mark, Russian forces continue to suffer widespread casualties as Ukrainian troops advance along multiple fronts. Russian troops have also been hamstrung by exhaustion, supply issues, and other morale setbacks. Since the start of September, Ukraine has made significant advances to liberate territory occupied for months by Russian troops, who left behind grisly scenes in their retreat.

☆ Russian mercenaries want felons to go fight Putin's war in Ukraine, but many are refusing, US official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kremlin-linked mercenaries are trying to convince prisoners to fight Putin's war in Ukraine. A recent video showed the head of the Wagner Group offer inmates freedom if they take up arms. But many convicted felons are refusing, a senior US defense official told reporters on Monday. Wagner's efforts have been recently "reinvigorated" by Prigozhin's pitch asking the Russian prisoners to serve as "fighters for assault units," the ministry said. Throughout the nearly seven-month-long war, Russian forces — who failed to capture Ukraine's capital city Kyiv early and who now struggle to defend against a punishing Ukrainian counteroffensive — have fought alongside Wagner personnel.

☆ Migrants shipped to Martha's Vineyard are staying in sparse dorms and eating at cafeteria tables at a Massachusetts military base
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Massachusetts said Joint Base Cape Cod will provide food, drinks, clothes, and other services. A cafeteria at Joint Base Cape Cod. Screengrab via Massachusetts National GuardInsider requested but was denied access to Joint Base Cape Cod on Monday. Charlie Baker announced on Friday that Joint Base Cape Cod would start providing shelter and support for the group. The military base is located inland on Massachusetts' Cape Cod peninsula and is, according to Boston.com, already a MEMA-designated emergency shelter.

☆ Video shows a Russian missile striking less than 1,000 feet from a large Ukrainian nuclear plant, Ukraine's military says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine said a Russian missile strike landed less than 1,000 feet from a nuclear power plant on Monday. Ukraine's defense ministry shared a video of security footage near the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, in the country's southern Mykolaiv region, with a timestamp of 12:19 a.m. local time. The black-and-white video appeared to show the moment the Russian missile struck, illuminating a dark scene with a fireball that was immediately followed by larger second fireball. Ukraine's nuclear facilities have not been immune to fighting throughout the nearly seven-month-long war. In areas from which Russian forces recently retreated, Ukrainian troops have discovered mass graves and other evidence of wartime atrocities reminiscent of scenes from the Kyiv suburbs that were liberated from Russian occupation during the spring.

☆ Putin still believes he was right to invade Ukraine, Germany's chancellor said after speaking with him for 90 minutes
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Putin for 90 minutes earlier this week. After the call, Scholz told reporters that Putin still believes he was right to invade Ukraine. And there was no indication that new attitudes are emerging," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters on Wednesday, one day after speaking with Putin for 90 minutes. Scholz told reporters that although he holds different views from Putin, the German leader still believes it's important for the two to remain in contact, according to media reports. According to a German government readout of the call, Scholz urged Putin to negotiate a ceasefire and withdraw his troops from Ukraine, POLITICO reported.

☆ Putin acknowledges that even China has 'questions and concerns' on Ukraine as his disastrous war leaves Russia increasingly isolated
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's Putin and China's Xi held a face-to-face meeting on Thursday in Uzbekistan. Putin acknowledged during the meeting that China has "questions and concerns" on Ukraine. Russian forces have suffered significant battlefield defeats in Ukraine in recent weeks. Russia has deployed Iran-made drones on the battlefield in Ukraine while also approaching North Korea seeking ammunition. "Events show that the only way out for Russian soldiers is to surrender to Ukrainian forces.

☆ Russian troops fleeing Ukraine's counteroffensive — some in 'apparent panic' — abandoned 'high-value' weaponry, British intelligence says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian troops fleeing Ukraine's counteroffensive abandoned "high-value" weaponry, the UK said. Britain's defense ministry said Russian troops left behind equipment with "essential" capabilities. There, the ongoing fast-paced offensive has sent Russian troops scrambling from their positions, where they have left behind a mountain of ammunition and weaponry, including their rifles. Ukraine's military said last week that it captured a Zoopark-1М radar system designed to detect enemy artillery activity for target acquisition "as a trophy." A damaged Russian military vehicle is seen after Russian Forces withdrawal as Russia-Ukraine war continues in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on September 14, 2022.

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☆ Russian soldier in Kharkiv told his father in a call intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence that 'everything's bad,' Russia is 'losing,' and they have 'nowhere to run'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian soldier told his father in an intercepted phone call that "everything's bad" in the war. Ukraine's intelligence service said it intercepted the call and published it to social media. An ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kharkiv has sent Russian troops scrambling. Ukraine's intelligence service released on Monday what it said is a phone call between a Russian soldier in the northern Kharkiv region — where President Vladimir Putin's forces have been routed in recent days — and his father. "Everything's bad, pop," the soldier told his father when asked how things were going, according to a translation of the report by the Daily Beast.

☆ PHOTOS: Zelenskyy visits liberated city on the front lines of the war Putin started but has never been anywhere near
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Jake Epstein | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Zelenskyy traveled to the recently liberated front-line city of Izium for a ceremony Wednesday. The Ukrainian president has made numerous trips to the war's front lines, unlike Putin. Today, when we look up, we are looking for only one thing — the flag of Ukraine," Zelenskyy wrote in a post on his Telegram channel, which included photos of his visit. And it will be so in every Ukrainian city and village. As Russian forces retreated in Ukraine, Putin over the weekend opened a ferris wheel in Moscow.

☆ Russia hit Zelenskyy's hometown with a barrage of missiles. Ukrainian officials said the strikes were 'revenge' for Ukraine's big battlefield wins.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia fired eight missiles at Ukraine's central city of Kryvyi Rih, a Ukrainian official said. Another Ukrainian official said the strikes were "revenge" for Ukraine's recent battlefield wins. "Kryvyi Rih. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERSWednesday's strike comes as Ukrainian forces carry out a thunderous counteroffensive in the country's northeast Kharkiv region. The fast-paced advance has sent Russian forces scrambling from their positions, reportedly leaving behind their weapons as they flee.

☆ New photos show a US special ops aircraft stuck in a Norwegian nature preserve while the military works out how to get it back
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Jake Epstein | Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Norwegian military is trying to rescue a US CV-22 that's been stuck in a nature preserve since August. The US Air Force special operations aircraft suffered a clutch malfunction that is affecting the V-22 fleet. The root cause of the problem "has eluded us," the head of Air Force Special Operations Command said. A CV-22 in the Stongodden nature preserve in Senja, Norway. A CV-22 in Norway's Stongodden nature preserve.

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