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☆ Wagner's chief says his army isn't strong enough to topple Putin, responding to rumors he is planning a coup: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin denied planning a coup. Kremlin ally Igor Girkin had claimed that Prigozhin may be preparing to topple Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin instead implied that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu could stage a coup because he has access to the Russian Special Forces, the ISW added. Wagner, Prigozhin said on Telegram, simply wants reforms in Russia, according to the report. Girkin said insults Prigozhin has made about top Russian officials in expletive filled videos indicate he is planning to seize power.

☆ Russia's claim that it won in Bakhmut may be meaningless — and a good sign for Ukraine's upcoming counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia claimed victory over Bakhmut after a monthlong battle over the eastern Ukrainian city. On Sunday, Russia's defense ministry backed a claim first made by the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Prigozhin, that Russian forces have seized Bakhmut. "Their capture does not grant Russian forces operationally significant terrain to continue conducting offensive operations or any particularly strong position from which to defend against possible Ukrainian counterattacks." The battle in Bakhmut has also, at times, put the Wagner leader at odds with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Russian forces will likely need additional reinforcements to hold Bakhmut City and its flanks at the expense of operations in other directions," ISW reported.

☆ Ukraine posts video it says shows its special forces in Bakhmut, undermining Russia's claim to control the city
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine is pushing back against Russian claims to have seized Bakhmut after months of slaughter. For months Russia has been seeking to seize control of the city in east Ukraine. In a video posted on Telegram, the Ukrainian special forces showed a unit of its fighters apparently walking through the devastated city. On Sunday, Russia's defense ministry endorsed a claim by Yevgeny Progozhin, commander of the Wagner mercenary group, to have seized seized control of the city. Ukrainian military sources told outlets including the BBC that Ukrainian forces still controlled buildings on the outskirts of the city.

☆ Four Russian military aircraft shot down near Ukraine, Russian daily reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Russian state news agency TASS said a Russian Su-34 warplane had crashed in that region but did not specify a cause. Comments accompanying the video, which Reuters could not immediately verify, said it showed a Mi-8 being shot down by a missile. It said the downed helicopters appeared to be Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare craft able to jam enemy radio and targeting signals. There was no official response from Ukraine, which usually declines to comment on reports of attacks inside Russia. However, in a tweet, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, called the incident "Justice ... and instant karma".

☆ Situation around Europe's largest nuclear power plant is 'potentially dangerous,' watchdog warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Leila Sackur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Members of the delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visit the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on March 29, 2023. The situation in the area near Europe's largest nuclear power plant is "becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous," the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said Saturday. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement that he was "extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risk," facing the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeast Ukraine. "I'm extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant. The 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near the northern Ukrainian city of Pripyat is considered the worst on record.

☆ UK intel says Russia is giving Ukrainians in occupied towns a choice: Get Russian passports or get 'deported' and have their property seized
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Russian authorities are forcing Ukrainian citizens in occupied areas to get Russian passports. If residents refuse, they will be "deported" and have their property seized, UK intel said. The UK Ministry of Defense said Putin's forces are trying to force Russian culture on occupied Ukrainian territories. According to an update from the UK Ministry of Defense, Russia is forcing Ukrainian citizens to accept Russian Federation passports. The ministry added that making Ukrainians register with Russian passports is "a tool in the 'Russification' of the occupied areas," meaning the forced assimilation of Ukrainians into Russian culture.

☆ Nuclear workers describe beatings, detention, and looting by Russian soldiers to force them to keep a Ukrainian power plant running
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Former workers at a Ukrainian nuclear power plant have spoken about mistreatment by Russian soldiers. They described being shot with rubber bullets, beatings, and detention and witnessing murders. The UN says that "the use of torture by Russian authorities, may amount to crimes against humanity." It included, a source told The Times, being shot with rubber bullets, beatings, and detention — and, if they continued to show support for Ukraine — murder. Earlier this week, a Ukrainian woman delivered harrowing testimony to US lawmakers, recounting scenes of torture, physical abuse, and mock executions.

One Feb. 23, 2023 assessment, titled "Battle for the Donbas Region Likely Heading for a Stalemate Throughout 2023", says Russia is unlikely to be able to take that part of east Ukraine. WARY OF STIRRING CHINAOne U.S. document posted on Russian Telegram channels had the casualty figures crudely altered to reduce Russian casualties and increase Ukrainian casualties. The document on casualties is embossed with emblems of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defence Intelligence Agency. The documents show that while Russia has overall numerical superiority in some areas, Ukraine has more tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) in theatre than Russia. Ukraine has 802 tanks and 3,498 APCs fielded, while Russia has 419 tanks and 2,928 APCs in theatre.

☆ Russia's ultranationalists appear increasingly vulnerable after pro-war blogger's killing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The blast killed Tatarsky and injured at least 30 others, the authorities said, before detaining a woman on suspicion of involvement in what they described as a "high-profile murder." The death also sent shockwaves through Russia's pro-war commentariat which has burgeoned since Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago. Tatarsky was one of Russia's more prominent and outspoken pro-war bloggers, with 572,000 followers on the popular messaging app Telegram. Unsettling ultranationalistsTatarsky's death is the second apparent assassination of a prominent Russian pro-war commentator on home soil. A leading Russian military blogger was killed on April 2, 2023 in an explosion in Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg, the interior ministry said.

☆ Ukraine aims to exhaust Russian troops in Bakhmut - general
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

93rd Mechanized Brigade "Kholodny Yar" via REUTERSKYIV, March 28 (Reuters) - Ukraine is aiming to exhaust and inflict heavy losses on Russian forces trying to capture the small eastern city of Bakhmut, the commander of Ukrainian ground forces said in a video posted on Tuesday. Moscow sees capturing Bakhmut as vital to its efforts to establish complete control over the Donbas industrial region in eastern Ukraine. Syrskyi has been meeting troops near the frontline as Ukraine prepares for a possible counter-offensive after 13 months of war. His remarks again underlined Ukraine's desire to hold on to Bakhmut rather than pull back to limit casualties. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has also visited troops in the east, south and southeast Ukraine this month.

☆ Xi snubbed Putin after their summit, calling a meeting of Central Asian countries as part of an audacious power play
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's President Xi Jinping has made a power move timed with his visit to Russia. He set up a new meeting of Central Asian countries the week, muscling in on Russia's backyard. Xi invited the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to the first China-Central Asia summit Wednesday, the AFP news agency reported. Analysts say that China has secured significant leverage over Russia in return for its diplomatic and economic support, and that in calling the meeting of Central Asian nations it is seeking to exploit that advantage. China in recent years has increased its economic and security ties with Central Asian nations, which have abundant mineral resources and lie on ancient trade routes between east and west.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Putin touts China's peace plan after talks with Xi; Russian mercenaries say Kyiv is preparing counterattack
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Holly Ellyatt Amanda Macias | Holly Ellyatt | Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

It's the second day of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Moscow on Tuesday. Xi and his host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, reportedly held talks for at least four hours on Monday, with more discussions scheduled Tuesday. The two leaders are focusing talks on deepening their strategic cooperation as well as on the war in Ukraine. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is on his way to Ukraine for summit talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Kishida's trip makes him the second Asian leader to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded, after Indonesian President Joko Widodo went there last June.

☆ Ukraine says eastern town of Avdiivka could become 'second Bakhmut'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, March 20 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Monday the eastern town of Avdiivka could soon become a "second Bakhmut", a small city where its forces have held out against Russian invaders for eight months but risk being fully encircled. The battle for Bakhmut in the industrial Donbas has been one of the fiercest of the nearly 13-month-old war in Ukraine, drawing comparisons with World War One trench warfare. I very much agree with my colleagues from the UK that Avdiivka may soon become the second Bakhmut," spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi said. Ukraine has said Russian forces are taking heavy losses in their offensive in eastern Ukraine. Avdiivka lies just to the north of the Russian-held city of Donetsk, of which Ukraine lost control in 2014.

Shortages of artillery shells are hampering Russia’s grinding advance in eastern Ukraine, Western officials said on Tuesday, as Moscow pushes to capture the city of Bakhmut after months of heavy fighting and Kyiv gears up for a counteroffensive. Russian ammunition shortages have in recent weeks worsened to the extent that extreme rationing of artillery shells is likely in force on many parts of the front, the U.K.’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday in its daily intelligence briefing. Other European defense officials agreed with the assessment, with one stressing that Russia was working with partners including North Korea to buy ammunition quickly while it scaled up production.

☆ Fox News cut out Trump saying he might let Russia take over areas of Ukraine as part of peace deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fox News edited out remarks by Trump when it replayed an interview with him. In the part excluded, he said he could have let Russia have parts of Ukraine. In an interview on Fox News host Sean Hannity's radio show on Monday, which is not broadcast by Fox, Trump revealed how he would try and broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine in the wake of Russia's invasion last year. At worst, I could've made a deal to take over something, there are certain areas that are Russian-speaking areas, frankly, but you could've worked a deal." For two years, Trump was investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller amid claims he had conspired with Russia to win in 2016.

[1/5] Grain farmer Oleksandr Klepach points at trenches in his field, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Snihurivka, southeast Ukraine, February 20, 2023. Agricultural companies, which plant most of Ukraine's fields, are short 40 billion hryvnia ($1.08 billion) to carry out spring work, the Agrarian Council said. Grains have traditionally dominated Ukraine's fields, but lower-cost and higher-priced oilseeds are gaining popularity during war. Ukraine was the world's fourth-largest corn exporter before Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and the biggest sunflower oil exporter. Companies lacking demining certification are charging farmers up to $3,000 per hectare to clear fields, Ukrainian media reported on Tuesday.

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerBILOZERKA, Ukraine, March 1 (Reuters) - When Ukraine recaptured Kherson in November, Andrii Povod returned to find his grain farm in ruins. The institute's Baliuk said the war damage could lead to an alarming loss of fertility. ECHOES OF WORLD WAR ONEA working group of soil scientists created by the Ukrainian government estimates it would cost $15 billion to remove all mines and restore Ukraine's soil to its former health. If studies of damage to land during World War One are anything to go by, some areas will never recover. To be sure, World War One lasted four years, and the war in Ukraine only one year so far, but lead remains a key component of many modern munitions, Rintoul-Hynes said.

☆ Russia’s War Machine Tested by Rift Between Military, Wagner Group
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Matthew Luxmoore | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Serious divisions are being exposed in Russia’s war effort amid a deepening public standoff between top military officials and the owner of a paramilitary force fighting alongside the regular army. The Wagner paramilitary unit, which has ballooned in size since recruiting tens of thousands of convicts from Russian prisons in recent months, has suffered the majority of casualties since it began spearheading a monthslong campaign to take the city of Bakhmut in east Ukraine.

☆ Russian defence chief keeps job despite Ukraine routs thanks to Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The Russian Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on Shoigu or its own performance in Ukraine. Appointed defence minister in 2012, he is part of Putin's inner circle and has enjoyed hunting and fishing holidays with him in his native Siberia. The Russian army has been learning from its mistakes and successfully adapting, the source said. There's no escaping the poor performance of the Russian military". It was "inconceivable", said Jones, that a Western defence minister could have kept his job in such circumstances.

☆ Putin's new recruits filling gaps in a decimated Russian unit keep bunching up into a 'pile of people' in battle, making them easy targets, Ukrainian troops say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The small mining town of Vuhledar is the site of ongoing fighting as Russia aims to take more territory. Ukraine's 72nd Mechanized Brigade, an armored unit, has been leading Vuhledar's defense, aided by members of the country's 68th Jaeger infantry brigade, The Guardian reported. "We can see very clearly that they're poorly trained," a senior lieutenant who goes by the call sign of Tykhyi, told The Guardian. The new recruits often "gather in one pile of people" making them easy to target, Tykhyi, 23, told The Guardian. One Ukrainian estimate cited by The Guardian suggested Russia is losing 17 soldiers for each slain Ukrainian defender.

☆ Putin, secure in power, sets stage for long and draining war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

One senior Russian source with knowledge of decision-making said Putin's hopes of burnishing his reputation had been dashed. "Ahead, it will be even more difficult and more costly for both Ukraine and Russia," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. For all the geopolitical shock waves Putin has caused, he still has no serious rival for power, according to five senior Russian sources close to decision-making. The source said Russia was at a disadvantage in both military technology and motivation, but that the war would still continue "for a very long time". "The president believes he can win in Ukraine," said one senior Russian source.

☆ Satellite photos show carnage in Vuhledar where Russian losses are mounting amid Ukrainian defense
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia continues to face failure and losses in the Donetsk region near the town of Vuhledar. Satellite images show what three months of fighting in the region have done to the land. Satellite image ©2023 Maxar TechnologiesPetrivka: AfterAn aerial shot of Petrivka on Feb. 10, 2023. Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies PetrivkaUkrainian forces continue to push back against Russia's head-on attacks near Vuhledar. Armored vehicles near the treeline of VuhledarArmored vehicles deployed along tree line southeast of Vuhledar on Feb. 8, 2023.

Ukrainian troops are well trained ... and like any large city it is impossible to capture it from head-on. Prigozhin refrained from further attacks on Russia's military leadership, looking straight into the camera to stress he was not criticising anyone. The United States assesses that Wagner currently has about 50,000 personnel deployed to Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts recruited from Russian prisons. Prigozhin denied that and asked Washington to "clarify" what crime Wagner was accused of. Prigozhin said on Friday that Wagner had stopped recruiting prisoners.

☆ Zelenskyy on European mission for aid, fighter jets; Russian forces close in on Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Brussels, his third stop on a whirlwind European tour to request aid and more weaponry to help his forces fight Russia. He is addressing the European Parliament in an effort to lobby EU leaders during his second known trip outside of Ukraine since Russia launched its full invasion in February of last year. The visit follows stops in London and Paris, where Zelenskyy met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron. The stakes are high for Ukraine as it readies for an anticipated large-scale offensive by Russian forces. Its military is also looking to hold control of Bakhmut in Donetsk, east Ukraine, where Russia has made advances.

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