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☆ Russia's Wagner chief says battle for Bakhmut has damaged his forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A general view shows a building damaged by a Russian military strike, amid their attack on Ukraine, in the frontline city of Bakhmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Alex Babenko/File PhotoMarch 29 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group acknowledged on Wednesday that fighting for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut had inflicted severe damage on his own forces as well as the Ukrainian side. "The battle for Bakhmut today has already practically destroyed the Ukrainian army, and unfortunately, it has also badly damaged the Wagner Private Military Company," Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message. Russian officials say their forces are still capturing ground in street-by-street fighting inside Bakhmut, but have so far failed to encircle it and force the Ukrainians to withdraw, as had seemed likely weeks ago. British military intelligence said on Wednesday the Ukrainians had successfully pushed the Russians back from one of the city's main supply routes.

The fact that Charles had picked France and Germany for his first state visit, even before his coronation in May, was an important "European gesture", said German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who greeted Charles and his wife Queen Consort Camilla in Berlin. "Today, exactly six years after Britain started its exit from the European Union, we are opening a new chapter in our relations," Steinmeier said. [1/14] Britain's King Charles III and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier review an honor guard during a ceremonial welcome at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, on March 29, 2023. Steinmeier said he had invited Charles to visit Germany at Elizabeth's funeral last September. However, any warmer relations with Europe brought about by the visit could cool if other post-Brexit issues flare up.

[1/2] Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla leave after their visit to the Bolton Town Hall, in Bolton, Britain January 20, 2023. Steinmeier, said it was an important "European gesture" that Charles had chosen France and Germany for his first state visit, even before his coronation in May. Steinmeier said he had extended an invitation to Charles, who has traveled to Germany more than 40 times, at the funeral of his mother last September. However, any warmer relations with Europe brought about by the visit could cool quickly if other post-Brexit issues flare up. Macron has suggested Charles' visit to France could be rescheduled for the summer.

☆ Russian forces advance in Ukraine's Bakhmut - Russian-installed leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Russian forces are moving forward in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut despite fierce resistance and have almost taken full control of a metals plant there, a Russian-installed leader in the region said. His assertion ran counter to Ukrainian and Western descriptions of the situation in the city, which they have said is stabilising as a Russian offensive falters. "The (Wagner) guys are moving forward, of course they are moving forward, though it takes their hardest efforts to do that," Pushilin told state TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov. British military intelligence has said that the Russian assault has stalled, mainly as a result of heavy troop losses. Ukrainian military commanders have said their own counter offensive - backed by newly-delivered Western hardware - is not far off, but have stressed the importance of holding Bakhmut in the meantime.

☆ Former U.S. Marine may have been 'lured' from China by security agencies before arrest, lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, March 20 (Reuters) - A former U.S. Marine Corps pilot may have been "lured" from China to Australia by security agencies before his arrest, his lawyer said outside court on Monday after an extradition hearing in Sydney. Daniel Duggan, 54, is facing extradition to the United States on charges of breaking U.S. law by training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers. On Monday, Duggan's extradition case was adjourned until May, as his lawyers seek access to documents from Australian government agencies for his defence. Before moving to China in 2014, he had lived in Australia for a decade and has six children in Australia. Britain's air force chief said this month intelligence agencies in Australia and Britain had shared information to warn pilots against working for Beijing.

☆ Ukraine, Russia say hundreds of enemy troops killed in battle for Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Nick Starkov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] A Ukrainian serviceman looks on from a tank near the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 7, 2023. Serhiy Cherevatyi, a Ukrainian military spokesperson, said that 221 pro-Moscow troops were killed and more than 300 wounded in Bakhmut. Russia's defence ministry said that up to 210 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the broader Donetsk part of the frontline. While Moscow did not specify Bakhmut casualties, the eastern Donetsk town, now nearly deserted, has been the site of one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the year-long war. Writing by David Ljunggren and Lidia Kelly; editing by Grant McCool and Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How weapons from Western allies are strengthening Ukraine's defence
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +15 min

In the months after, artillery ammunition came, then Western artillery and vehicles. Ground-Launched Small Diameter BombAdd a description of the graphic for screen readers. Add a description of the graphic for screen readers. Although it uses a NATO-standard calibre for its main gun--120mm--the Challenger 2's barrel is rifled, unlike the smoothbore weapons used in other Western tanks. Air defense Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, including power plants and residential buildings, have come under increasing attack from Russian missiles and one-way drones, often launched from outside Ukraine's territory.

☆ The biggest problem with Russia's tanks in Ukraine is the way Moscow tried to use them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

By September, the tally of lost and captured Russian tanks reached 1,000 — more than all the tanks in the British, French, German, and Finnish militaries combined. The first time these British tanks found a fight, only 25 of the 49 of them actually moved when ordered to commence the attack. Nonetheless, before the conflict was over, Churchill himself would decide tanks had, once again, run their course, declaring, "we have too much armor — tanks are finished." And that is the real lesson we can glean from the performance of Russian tanks in Ukraine over the past year. Maxim Shemetov/ReutersThis point becomes evident when you look at Russian tank losses recorded by the Oryx Blog between February and April 2022, when Russian tank losses were at their absolute worst.

☆ UK says Ukraine forces under increasingly severe pressure defending Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, March 4 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut are facing increasingly strong pressure from Russian forces, British military intelligence said on Saturday, with intense fighting taking place in and around the eastern city. loadingTwo key bridges in Bakhmut have been destroyed within the last 36 hours, it said, adding that Ukrainian-held resupply routes out of the city are increasingly limited. Ukraine's military command said Russia was still trying to surround Bakhmut but added that over the past day Ukrainian forces had beaten back Russian attacks in the city. "The enemy does not cease attempts to surround Bakhmut," it said in its morning briefing note on Saturday, adding that over the past day Ukrainian forces had beaten back Russian attacks in Bakhmut. We consider Bakhmut our fortress," he told a news conference in Kyiv on Feb. 3.

☆ Russian forces are battling Ukrainian saboteurs in border region - officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, March 2 (Reuters) - Russian forces are battling a Ukrainian sabotage group which infiltrated Bryansk region that borders Ukraine and took several people hostage, Russian officials were cited by state news agencies as saying on Thursday. The FSB security service said in a statement to Russian news agencies on Thursday that its own forces and the army were trying to liquidate what it described as "an armed group of Ukrainian nationalists" who had crossed the border. "Today, a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group penetrated the Klimovsky district in the village of Lubechanye," Bogomaz said on his Telegram channel. He said Ukrainian armed forces had launched a drone attack and fired artillery shells at other areas near the border. In December, the FSB security service said a four-person Ukrainian "sabotage group" had been "liquidated" while trying to enter Bryansk.

☆ Russia has been able to keep its most effective drone flying over Ukraine thanks to Western-made parts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Ukraine and Russia have employed an array of drones since Moscow attacked in February 2022. Despite sanctions imposed by the US and its allies, Russia has been able to keep its most effective drone flying over Ukraine thanks to Western-made parts. The Orlan-10's specifications and characteristics in a graphic published by the Royal United Services Institute in December 2022. Russian intelligence services are likely involved in sourcing this technology through contacts and front companies around the world. Western-made components found in the Orlan-10, according to the Royal United Services Institute.

☆ Iran cites Prince Harry's book in defending its decision to execute a British-Iranian citizen
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Iran hit back at UK criticism over its execution of a dual UK-Iran citizen. It said Prince Harry's claim to have killed 25 people in Afghanistan showed the UK could not criticize. "Those who turn a blind eye to this war crime, are in no position to preach others on human rights." Harry wrote in his book "Spare" that he killed 25 "enemy combatants" while serving in Afghanistan. Iran was responding to criticism from the UK government after it executed UK-Iran dual citizen Alireza Akbari on Saturday, after accusing him of being a spy.

☆ Iran and Britain's history of strained relations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

DUBAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - British-Iranian relations, which have been strained for decades, were back in the spotlight after Iranian authorities executed British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari for spying, charges he had denied. 1988 - Britain restores full diplomatic relations with Iran. 1994 - Britain accuses Iran of contacts with the outlawed Irish Republican Army, a charge Iran denies but relations worsen. 1999 - Iran says relations between Tehran and Britain have been upgraded to ambassadorial level. The same year, Iran accuses Britain of being behind bombings that killed six people in Iran.

☆ Russia is scared to fly its best jets over Ukraine in case they're shot down and NATO gets hold of the wreckage, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An expert explained why to Insider: Russia fears the consequences of losing one. Per the British update, Russia sends the jets up and has them fire long-range missiles at targets in Ukraine. Bronk is an airpower & technology expert with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank in London. Bronk told Insider that Russia is scared of the consequences if a Su-57 was shot down and Ukraine's allies in NATO could study the wreckage. "They're being very cautious with their entire combat aircraft fleet, and despite that, they continue to take a steady trickle of losses," Bronk told Insider.

☆ Prince Harry hits out at press over reports of Afghan killings in book
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

British newspapers, heavily criticized in the book, and some senior former British military figures have attacked his decision to make public the figure of those he had killed, saying it could put him and others at risk of reprisals. [1/2] A staff member arranges Britain's Prince Harry's autobiography 'Spare' at Waterstones bookstore, in London, Britain January 10, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls 1 2"Without doubt the most dangerous lie that they have told is that I somehow boasted about the number of people that I killed in Afghanistan," he said. "I'm not going to lie the last few days have been hurtful and challenging," Harry said. Reporting by Michael Holden; additional reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Conor Humphries and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine Sees Signs of Russia Shifting Front-Line Firepower Away From Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Alistair Macdonald | Photographs Joseph Sywenkyj For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BAKHMUT, Ukraine—Russian troops have tempered their assault on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian commanders say, as stiff resistance forces Russian units to shift some of their firepower to surrounding areas. Some Ukrainian officers and British military intelligence say that Russia is no longer hitting Bakhmut—a city that has assumed outsize importance to both sides—with the same ferocity as they were last month. The Ukrainian commanders say Russia has instead repositioned armored vehicles and artillery fire toward the nearby town of Soledar.

☆ West backs Nigeria's war on extremists, and backs off on human rights
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +21 min

“While respect for human rights is unquestionably a high priority, we have many other equities at stake,” McCulley wrote. He said the focus on human rights had sent relations between the two countries into the “lowest ebb” in his three years there. Nigeria’s human rights record wasn’t only a moral issue – it was a legal one. Working under these laws provided “openings to incentivise and institutionalise” human rights protections within the Nigerian military, the State Department said. The pact also noted that London and Abuja had agreed on an “enhanced human rights dialogue” to ensure compliance with international rights standards.

☆ U.K. Strikes Expand to Passport Control, Disrupting Holiday Travel
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Paul Hannon | Benjamin Katz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON—British passport control staff are set to strike from Friday, becoming the latest government workers to seek wage rises that get closer to matching inflation, a sign that the economic and political turmoil that marked 2022 is far from over. About 1,000 passport control workers are expected to walk out across six airports across the country between Dec. 23 and 26, and again between Dec. 28 to 31 in demands over wages amid rising inflation. The U.K. government is preparing to deploy the British military to help staff immigration counters and reduce the impact on arriving passengers, while Heathrow Airport has asked airlines to curb ticket sales during the strikes.

☆ Palantir lands 75 million pound deal with British military
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 21 (Reuters) - Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR.N) has signed a three-year, 75 million pound ($91.39 million) deal with the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense, the U.S. software company said Wednesday, expanding its overseas military work months into the Ukraine war, Europe's biggest conflict since World War II. Palantir will aid military operations and intelligence, further widening access to its software across the defense ministry after a narrower pilot with the Royal Navy that started years ago. Abundant satellite imagery lets military analysts in little time detect changes on the battlefield, with artificial intelligence software identifying tanks, artillery or other targets. Despite the war, Palantir shares have tumbled like other tech stocks this year, falling by about half since March. ($1 = 0.8207 pounds)Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin; Additional reporting by Paresh Dave; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"If Bakhmut had been captured when they started their attack in August then it would have been significant. Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russian military at the U.S.-based CNA think-tank, said Moscow appeared committed to the battle because of resources it had already spent rather than because of "sound strategy". WAR OF ATTRITIONFor Russia, Bakhmut, which it calls Artyomovsk, the city's Soviet-era name, has long held political value. Muzyka, the Polish military analyst, said Bakhmut had become a battle of attrition. It could also boost Prigozhin's political capital in Moscow if he can take some credit for such a victory.

☆ UK to hold inquiry into allegations special forces killed Afghan civilians
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Britain's defence ministry announced on Thursday an inquiry into allegations that its special forces carried out dozens of extrajudicial killings during night raids in Afghanistan. The announcement follows a report by BBC television's Panorama programme in July that alleged soldiers from the elite Special Air Service (SAS) had killed 54 people in suspicious circumstances. The inquiry, which will be led by senior judge Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, would also look at the adequacy of the response to the allegations, the MoD said. "The UK's armed forces rightly hold themselves to the highest possible operational standards," Murrison said. "Operations must be conducted within the clear boundaries of the law and credible allegations against our forces must always be investigated thoroughly."

☆ See insider the creepy nuclear bunker that has been sold at auction as a unique off-grid vacation home
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Cold-War era nuclear bunker built in 1959 has sold at auction in Lincolnshire, England. The bunker was built as part of a civil defense group's nuclear plan and is accessible via a 14-foot ladder. The bunker went on sale with SDL Property Auctions and sold for £31,000, or about $38,092, according to the auctioneers' website. SCL AuctionsThe bunker also comes with a caravan that can be used for an above-ground holiday home, but the buyer plans to replace it, Insider has been told. The former owner said he was selling the unique property because he had not visited it for years and added, "I'd like some cash to go on holiday."

☆ As Ukrainian forces recaptured a key town, another elite Russian unit appears to have gone through 'the meat grinder'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russian troops in Lyman and those who retreated took heavy losses, including an elite GRU unit. In just a few days, Ukrainian forces liberated hundreds of square miles of territory and scores of villages. Its cadre of Spetsnaz commandos is among the best in the Russian military. Competent special operators require years of basic and advanced military training, as well as training tailored to their mission sets. The Russian military as a whole is taking a battering in Ukraine, though casualty estimates vary widely.

Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed "General Armageddon" by the Russian media for his reputed ruthlessness, on Nov. 9 recommended Moscow's forces quit Kherson and the west bank of the River Dnipro where they were dangerously exposed. Simonyan urged Surovikin, a hulking shaven-headed figure who has been shown on TV speaking in clipped Russian military language, to ignore "nonsense" from critics, a reference to influential military bloggers unhappy about his retreat. Nor is taking new ground in the east against a highly motivated and Western-equipped Ukrainian military an easy task, especially in the winter. The appointment of Surovikin on Oct. 8 was the first time Russia had publicly named an overall commander for its forces in Ukraine. With the exception of the city of Lysychansk, in eastern Ukraine, he said all the territory Russia held looked defensible.

☆ Official says oil tanker hit by bomb-carrying drone off Oman
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman amid heightened tensions with Iran, an official told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The attack happened Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, the Mideast-based defense official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they did not have authorization to discuss the attack publicly. That tanker is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is a company ultimately owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer. Iranian state media did not immediately acknowledge the attack on the Pacific Zircon.

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