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☆ Video shows massive HIMARS strike on an ammo dump used by Russia's powerful Ka-52 attack helicopters, Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine's military shared a video of a strike on a Russian storage site near Bakhmut. According to Ukraine's MOD, HIMARS took out a large store of 9M127 Vikhr laser-beam-guided missiles. Those missiles are used by the Ka-52, one of Russia's most deadly helicopters. The blast site served as a storage depot for 9M127 Vikhr guided missiles, which are used by Russian Ka-50 and Ka-52 helicopters, the MOD said. The Ka-52, known in Ukraine as "Putin's vulture," is considered one of the most powerful helicopters in the air.

Persons: HIMARS, Vikhr, Insider's Ryan Pickrell Organizations: Ukraine's MOD, Service, Ukraine's Special Forces, Ministry of Defense, Google, MOD, Mechanized Brigade Locations: Bakhmut, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Myronivs'kyi, Luhansk, Donetsk, It's, Russian

☆ Putin taught a lesson for Russia's new school curriculum, which includes instructions on how to handle a Kalashnikov
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Putin held a Q&A with hand-picked Russian students at the start of the new school semester. The session didn't mention the Ukraine war, but included several pupils from the occupied territories. It comes as Russia overhauls its curriculum to include rifle training and the history of the conflict. The showcase lesson appears to be part of another effort to naturalize Russia's claims to Ukrainian territories, and the war more broadly, to Russians. AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia has placed an effective ban on maps that mark the occupied territories as Ukrainian and launched a brand new school curriculum.

Persons: Putin, Vladimir Putin, naturalize Russia's Organizations: Service, Russian, Kremlin, UN Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Russia's, Crimea, Russian, Luhansk, Melitopol, Donetsk, Kherson, Ukrainian, Kyiv

☆ At Ukrainian concert hall, music offers comfort and cultural resistance
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[6/23]Read moreMusicians of the Luhansk Philharmonic wait for their performance, before the opera starts, at the Lviv Organ Hall, in Lviv, Ukraine, August 11. The Luhansk Philharmonic moved twice to escape war: first to the small eastern city of Sievierodonetsk in 2015 after its home city was captured by Russian-backed separatists, and then to Lviv last year when Sievierodonetsk was lain to waste by Russian...LVIV, UKRAINE

Persons: Sievierodonetsk Organizations: Hall, Luhansk Philharmonic Locations: Luhansk, Lviv, Ukraine, Sievierodonetsk, Russian, LVIV, UKRAINE

☆ Lviv's hottest ticket: a concert hall resurrecting Ukraine's repertoire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Andrea Januta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Ivan Ostapovych, Lviv Organ Hall's co-director and conductor, rehearses with musicians of the Luhansk Philharmonic before a premiere of the opera Zorya at the Lviv Organ Hall, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Lviv, Ukraine August 9, 2023. Performing during the war means tighter budgets, longer hours and quadruple the effort, said the hall's co-director Taras Demko. In early July when 10 people were killed in a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Lviv, the Organ Hall cancelled that night's choral concert. The hall spotlights Ukrainian music, including new compositions and little-known works. It was given its professional world premier at the Organ Hall earlier this year.

Persons: Ivan Ostapovych, Hall's, Alina Smutko, Taras Demko, Demko, Sievierodonetsk, Igor Shapovalov, Shapovalov, Mozart, Viktor Kosenko, Ihor Sonevytsky, Ostapovych, Andrea Januta Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Catholic Church, Performing, Reuters, Luhansk Philharmonic, Orchestra, YouTube, Communist Party, Thomson Locations: Lviv, Luhansk, Ukraine, Rights LVIV, Russia, Sievierodonetsk, Russian, Soviet Union

☆ Ukrainian intercepts show Russian soldiers’ anger at losses, disarray
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Story contains strong languageUkraine’s counteroffensive was in its second month when Andrey, a Russian soldier, called his wife to say his unit was taking heavy casualties. The expletive-laden intercepts, shared with Reuters by a Ukrainian intelligence source, provide a rare - albeit partial - glimpse into the conditions of some Russian soldiers as Kyiv prosecuted a major counteroffensive, which started in early June, two military analysts told Reuters. Ukraine has acknowledged that its efforts to recapture territory have been hindered by vast Russian minefields and well-prepared defensive lines. The Ukrainian intelligence source said they illustrated the challenges facing Russian soldiers but did not elaborate on how the recordings were selected. In the excerpts, several soldiers used profane language to describe Russian units that had taken heavy casualties and had been unable to retrieve their wounded.

Persons: Andrey, ” Andrey, “, Neil Melvin, Vladimir Putin, SBU, ” Maxim, Anna, Kupiansk, Maxim, Putin, ”, Elena, Alexei, “ Everyone’s, Dmitry Medvedev, Tom Balmforth, Filipp Lebedev, Eve Watling, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Security Service of Ukraine, Reuters, International Security, Royal United Services Institute, Russia’s Defence Ministry, Ukrainian General Staff, Lyman, Russia’s 52nd Regiment, U.S . Defence Intelligence Agency, “, ” Reuters, Russian Security Council Locations: Russian, Soviet, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Russia, London, Irkutsk, Russia’s, Afghanistan, Rubizhne, Ukraine’s, Luhansk

☆ Ukraine war: Kyiv's burgeoning weapons industry is enabling it to project power far beyond the front lines
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —In the early hours of August 29th, swarms of Ukrainian drones flew across seven Russian regions. One Russian blogger complained that the Pskov strike indicated that Russian air defenses had not adapted to defend against repeated Ukrainian drone strikes. The damage being done is not going to break the back of the Russian air force, but it has become a serious irritant. Open-source reporting suggests there are at least several Pantsir-2 air defense batteries around Moscow. Such weapons put Russian forces on notice that they are vulnerable far from the front lines.

Persons: Volodymr Zelensky, Russia –, Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksiy Reznikov, Mykhailo Podolyak, Vitalii, Danilov, ” Zelensky, Podolyak, Kyrylo Budanov, gamesmanship –, Mick Ryan, Budanov, Yuriy Inhat, Putin, ” Organizations: CNN, Defense, “, Getty Senior, National Security and Defense, Ukraine’s, of Strategic Industries, Strategic Communication, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, SIG, The, Ukrainian Air Force Locations: Pskov, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russian, Crimea, Russia, Moscow, “ Ukraine, Kyiv, Kerch, Novosibirsk, Australian, Crimean, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Berdiansk, Donetsk

☆ Live updates: Moscow holds elections in illegally occupied parts of Ukraine; Drone strikes near Russian nuclear power plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Regional elections began in Russian-occupied began parts of Ukraine Thursday as authorities seek to cement Moscow's control of what it calls its "new territories." The voting, which runs until Sept. 10, is being held in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, four Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia since its full-scale invasion. A Ukrainian official described the polling as a "sham." British defense company BAE Systems is establishing a local entity in Ukraine and has penned deals with its government to help ramp up supplies of weapons and equipment. Elsewhere, a Ukrainian drone attacked a town in western Russia, close to one of the country's biggest nuclear power stations, a Russian official said Friday.

Organizations: BAE Systems Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Russia, Ukrainian

installed for the upcoming regional elections planned by the Russian-installed authorities, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, August 12, 2023. Russia does not fully control any of the four regions where the votes are being held - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Ukrainian officials say the elections are also illegal and show why it is impossible to hold any peace talks with Moscow until Russia withdraws all its troops from Ukrainian territory. The governors are all running with Russian President Vladimir Putin's endorsement having joined the Kremlin's United Russia bloc with fanfare in recent months and they face only nominal opposition. "They (Russian-installed officials) are going to walk from apartment to apartment, as they did before, talking to people.

Persons: Donbas, Alexander, Moscow's, Vladimir Putin's, Vadym Boichenko, Yevgeny Balitsky, Putin, Felix Light, Felix Hoske, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Ukraine, United Nations, Assembly, Kremlin's United, Reuters, Kremlin, United, Thomson Locations: Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Donetsk, Ukraine Russia, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Crimea, Moscow, Kremlin's United Russia, Mariupol, Ukrainian, Kyiv, MOSCOW, United Russia

☆ Russia is throwing away elite forces it will likely need later, like paratroopers, trying to blunt Ukraine's counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia has sent its elite paratroopers to curb Ukraine's advancing counteroffensive. But in doing so, Moscow appears to be throwing away soldiers it may need later. Russian VDV units have been transferred from the Kherson and Luhansk regions to support Russia's defensive efforts in Zaporizhzhia and Bakhmut, respectively. The VDV is just one of a number of so-called "elite" Russian units that have been battered over the course of the war. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe VDV were part of early operations and were heavily utilized at the start of the war, which Russia largely botched.

Persons: ISW, Efrem, Moscow's Organizations: VDV Airborne Forces, Service, Institute for, 155th Naval Infantry Brigade, AP Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Moscow, Washington, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Zaporizhzhia region, Kyiv

☆ Russia may annex Georgian breakaway regions -Medvedev
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sputnik/Yekaterina Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreAug 23 (Reuters) - The deputy chair of the Russian security council Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow may annex Georgia's breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia. "The idea of joining Russia is still popular in Abkhazia and South Ossetia," Medvedev, a former Russian president, wrote in an article published early on Wednesday by Argumenty I Fakty newspaper. Moscow recognised their independence in 2008, following Georgia’s attempt to regain control of South Ossetia by force that led to a Russian counter-attack. Georgian officials have repeatedly said they are committed to joining the U.S.-led military alliance that would preserve the territorial integrity of the country. Russia declared the annexations four provinces of Ukraine in September last year, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, but none of the annexations are recognised internationally.

Persons: Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Argumenty, Maria Tsvetkova, Grant McCool Organizations: Russia's, Scientific, Machine, Sputnik, NATO, U.S, Thomson Locations: Reutov, Moscow, Russia, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Russian, Ukraine, Georgia, Soviet Union, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, New York

☆ Ukraine claims gains on southeastern front, fighting rages in east
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"In the direction south of Urozhaine they (Ukrainian troops) had success," military spokesman Andriy Kovaliov said on national television. Kovaliov also reported fierce fighting in the northeastern Kharkiv region, and around an eastern village not far from Bakhmut, the city occupied by Russian forces in May after a bloody months-long struggle. "The enemy conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the area of Senkivka in Kharkiv region and Bohdanivka in Donetsk. "In the Bakhmut direction, defensive forces (Ukraine) continue to conduct offensive actions to the south of Bakhmut." Kyiv says its counter-offensive is progressing slower than it wanted because of vast Russian minefields and heavily-fortified Russian defensive lines.

Persons: Andriy Kovaliov, Urozhaine, Kovaliov, Pavel Polityuk, Tom Balmforth, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Ukrainian, Russian, Kupiansk, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Urozhaine, Donetsk, Azov, Kharkiv, Bakhmut, Senkivka, Bohdanivka, Russia, Lyman, Crimea, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kyiv

☆ Ukraine retakes southeast village of Urozhaine from Russian forces - Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces have recaptured the village of Urozhaine from Russian troops in the southeast and dug in on its outskirts, Kyiv's deputy defence minister said on Wednesday. Russian military bloggers said fierce fighting raged near the village and that Russian units were trying to prevent Ukraine strengthening its positions in Urozhaine. In a sign of the difficulty of the battlefield operations, Urozhaine is the first village Ukraine says it has retaken since June 27 when it announced the recapture of neighbouring Staromaiorske. Kyiv says its counteroffensive push is progressing slower than it wanted because of vast Russian minefields and prepared Russian defensive lines. The recapture of Urozhaine would bring Ukraine closer to threatening the village of Staromlynivka, several kilometres to the south, which military analysts say serves as a Russian stronghold in the area.

Persons: Urozhaine, Hanna Maliar, Pavel Polityuk, Lidia Kelly, Tom Balmforth, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Russian, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Urozhaine, Donetsk, Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Azov, Staromaiorske, Kyiv, Staromlynivka, Crimea, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Warsaw

☆ Ukraine reports fierce fighting, 'some success' in counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File PhotoSummary Ukraine says its troops push back Russians in southeastMines hampering advancesCounteroffensive making slower-than-hoped progressKYIV, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Ukraine on Monday reported fierce fighting along its entire front line and "some success" in pushing back Moscow's troops in one part of the southeast where Ukrainian forces are trying to retake Russian-occupied territory. Progress has been hampered by widespread Russian-laid minefields and strong fortifications, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said. But the Ukrainian military had pushed forward around the village of Staromaiorske, around 60 miles southwest of Russian-held Donetsk, and was pressing on two fronts in the south, Maliar said. She also said Russian troops were continuing their assault around the eastern towns of Kupyansk and Lyman, where she said they were regrouping. "The Russians have intensified these offensives after success of the Ukrainian army on Bakhmut axis," Maliar said.

Persons: Lyubov Tolchina, Vitaly, Alexander Ermochenko, Hanna Maliar, Maliar, Dan Peleschuk, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Monday, Troops, Kyiv, Armed Forces, Ukrainian, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Donetsk, Russian, Mines, Staromaiorske, Urozhaine, Moscow, Ukraine's, Kyiv, Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Kupyansk, Crimea, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson

☆ Real sign goalkeeper Arrizabalaga on loan from Chelsea
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Fernando Kallas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Soccer Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Nottingham Forest - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - May 13, 2023 Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File PhotoMADRID, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Real Madrid and Chelsea have reached an agreement for goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga's season-long loan to the Spanish club, the clubs announced on Monday. He has reportedly been targeted by Bayern Munich as the German side are seeking to replace their own injured goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, but Real Madrid moved faster to secure the deal. Courtois joined Real from Chelsea in 2018 after winning two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the League Cup during his time at Stamford Bridge. Real Madrid had only one other goalkeeper in their first team squad, Ukraine's Andriy Lunin. The 24-year-old Lunin has made only nine Spanish league appearances for the club since signing from Zorya Luhansk in 2018.

Persons: Kepa, Peter Nicholls, Kepa Arrizabalaga's, Thibaut Courtois, Arrizabalaga, Robert Sanchez, Manuel Neuer, Courtois, Ukraine's Andriy Lunin, Fernando Kallas, Robert Birsel Organizations: Soccer Football, Premier League, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, REUTERS, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Brighton & Hove Albion, Bayern Munich, Real, League, FA, Stamford, Liverpool, Zorya, Leganes, Thomson Locations: Stamford, London, Britain, Real, Spanish, Paris, Zorya Luhansk, Spain, Valladolid, Oviedo

☆ Russia targets neighbour Kazakhstan with army recruitment ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Filipp Lebedev | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic bordering Russia, is home to over 3 million ethnic Russians and has traditionally been one of Russia's closest allies. Clearly targeting Kazakhs, ads seen by Reuters feature Russian and Kazakh flags and the slogan "Shoulder to shoulder". The ads lead to a website that offers potential recruits a chance to join the Russian army in the Sakhalin region in Russia's Far East. Joining military conflicts abroad for pay is illegal under Kazakh law. In Kyrgyzstan, a local man was sentenced to 10 years in prison in May for joining Russian proxy forces in Ukraine's Luhansk region.

Persons: Russia's, Wagner, Mariya Gordeyeva, Gareth Jones Organizations: Russian, Astana, Moscow, Reuters, Human Capital Development Agency of, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Information, Social Development, Soviet Central, Thomson Locations: Kazakhstan, Soviet, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakh, Russian, Sakhalin, Russia's Far, Lysychansk, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine's Luhansk, Moscow, Bishkek

☆ Ukrainians forced to become Russian citizens, US-backed research finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Anthony Deutsch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Gleb GaranichAMSTERDAM, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territory are being forced to assume Russian citizenship or face harsh retaliation, including possible deportation or detention, U.S.-backed research published on Wednesday said. A series of decrees signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin compel Ukrainians to get Russian passports, in violation of international humanitarian law, the report said. Ukrainians in occupied territory who do not seek Russian citizenship "are subjected to threats, intimidation, restrictions on humanitarian aid and basic necessities, and possible detention or deportation – all designed to force them to become Russian citizens," the report said. "What is concerning here is that it represents, basically, a violation of the Hague and Geneva Conventions," said Executive Director Nathaniel Raymond of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health. The report was released as part of the Conflict Observatory program, with the support of the U.S. State Department and conducted by research partner the Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab.

Persons: Gleb Garanich AMSTERDAM, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Mishustin, Nathaniel Raymond, Raymond, Putin, Anthony Deutsch, Giles Elgood, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Moscow, REUTERS, Yale University, Russian, Hague, Yale School of Public Health, Kremlin, International Criminal Court, U.S . State Department, Yale School of Public, Research, Thomson Locations: Mayorsk, Ukraine, Moscow, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Russia, Russian, Ukraine's Donetsk, Geneva

☆ Is Ukraine's counteroffensive failing? Defense experts say the risks facing Kyiv are growing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Global Images Ukraine | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesFor Michael Clarke, a defense analyst and former director-general of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, there's a risk that the first phase of the counteroffensive, designed to probe Russia's defenses, takes too long. Global Images Ukraine | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesKonrad Muzyka, a military intelligence specialist and president of Rochan Consulting, said "the weather has always been the factor" for Kyiv. But Kyiv says its forces are conducting counteroffensive actions in at least three areas and are operating against a backdrop of increased Russian offensive operations. Ukraine's defense ministry claims that its forces have liberated around 210 square kilometers (81 square miles) of occupied territory since June. Anatolii Stepanov | Afp | Getty Images

Persons: —, Michael Clarke, Clarke, Konrad Muzyka, Muzyka, Yuriy Sak, Sak, Anatolii Stepanov Organizations: 110th Brigade, Territorial Defense, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Military, Royal United Services Institute, CNBC, Rochan Consulting, Kyiv, Afp Locations: Novodarivka, Luhansk, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Kherson, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Donetsk, Russian, Russia, Vuhledar, Yuriy, Siversk

☆ Ukrainian women are using dating profiles with AI images to trick horny Russian soldiers into giving away secrets, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian women are using online profiles to lure in Russian soldiers, The Times reported. The soldiers often share crucial information about the war with the women, they told The Times. The women, who say they feel no remorse, pass on the information to the Ukrainian military. The soldiers, she said, constantly reveal information about the state of the Russian army, which she then passes on to the Ukrainian military. Angelina, whose brother fought and died in the war last year, said she feels no sympathy for the soldiers.

Persons: Angelina, Masha, Maxim Korneev, Putin Organizations: The Times, Times, Service, Luhansk People's Republics Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Luhansk

The US began ramping up ammunition production last year when it became clear that the war would drag on far longer than anticipated. But the ammunition will still take “years” to mass produce to acceptable levels, National Security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN Sunday. Ukrainian troops now typically fire between 2,000 and 3,000 artillery shells per day at Russian forces, a US defense official told CNN. It was necessary, though, because of how low US stockpiles are, Sullivan told CNN Sunday. “All of us have had to struggle stimulating our supply chains, some of which went to sleep,” he told CNN.

Persons: Ben Wallace, that’s, Jake Sullivan, haven’t, –, Defense Lloyd Austin, John Kirchhofer, Mark Milley, Joe Biden, Sullivan, Biden, “, ”, ” Sullivan, ” Nebraska Republican Sen, Deb Fischer, Lockheed Martin, Fischer, ” Fischer, I’m, ‘, Ellen Lovett, ” Lovett, ” Wallace, ” Said, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Rishi Sunak, Murat Kula, Charles Q, Brown, Jr Organizations: Washington CNN, NATO, CNN, US, National, CNN Sunday, Pentagon, The Defense Department, EyePress, Reuters, Defense, Defense Intelligence Agency’s, Joint Chiefs, Staff, National Press Club, ” Nebraska Republican, Senate’s Armed Services, Lockheed, “, Britain's, Anadolu Agency, Getty, European Union, EU, DoD, US Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Industrial Base Locations: Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Berlin, Swiss, Germany, Switzerland, Ukrainian, Kreminna, Luhansk, “, United States, Vilnius

☆ Higher debt burden 'inevitable' as Russia spends on military bloc -finance ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's current level of debt is 22.8 trillion roubles, or 14.9% of gross domestic product (GDP), Deputy Finance Minister Irina Okladnikova said on Tuesday, naming 20% of GDP as the upper boundary of the safe debt limit. "We understand that in the current situation, we will increase debt, it is a hopeless situation," said Okladnikova at a meeting in Russia's upper house of parliament. "Therefore, we will increase debt, but we will try to remain within safe limits," Okladnikova said. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said 2024 budget spending would be cut by around 450 billion roubles - 10% of so-called 'unprotected' spending - to free up money for other priorities. "We have budget expenditure of a little more than 29 trillion roubles," he said, with just 4.5 trillion in line for cuts, implying around 450 billion roubles (4.97 billion) slated for redistribution next year.

Persons: Irina Okladnikova, Okladnikova, Anton Siluanov, Siluanov, Darya, Alexander Marrow, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv

☆ Russian forces on the offensive in northeast, say Ukraine officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 17 (Reuters) - Large contingents of Russian forces are on the offensive in northeastern Ukraine's Kupiansk sector and engaged in heavy fighting, Ukrainian officials said on Monday. But officials have pointed to an intensification of Russian activity near Kupiansk and nearby Lyman, towns in the northeast retaken by Ukraine late last year. Russian forces in the area, Cherevatyi said, had drafted in airborne units and their best motorised infantry units. The Russian defence ministry's accounts of fighting in the region said Russian forces had hit Ukrainian positions in several towns in Kharkiv and the neighbouring Luhansk region. Russian forces, the ministry said, had also repelled 13 Ukrainian attacks further south in Donetsk, including areas near the shattered city of Bakhmut, captured by Russian forces in May after months of battles.

Persons: Hanna Maliar, Serhiy Cherevatyi, Kyrylo, Cherevatyi, Maliar, Ron Popeski, Alex Richardson, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Russian, Deputy, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine's Kupiansk, Kupiansk, Lyman, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Afghanistan, Russian, Luhansk, Donetsk, Bakhmut, Azov

☆ How the Russian officer elite has been decimated in Ukraine — here are the generals and top commanders killed in action
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Alia Shoaib | Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Vitaly GerasimovMaj. Gen. Vitaly Gerasimov became the second senior Russian commander reported to be killed after Ukrainian military intelligence claimed he was shot dead in Kharkiv. Andrey KolesnikovUkraine's military said in a tweet that they killed Russian Maj. Gen. Andrey Kolesnikov. Ivan GrishinColonel Ivan Grishin, commander of Russia's 49th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, died in Ukraine, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Vyacheslav SavinovLieutenant Colonel Vyacheslav Savinov, who headed Russian artillery intelligence, was killed in Ukraine, a Russian artillery school confirmed. 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.

Persons: , Oleg Tsokov, Andrei Sukhovetsky Maj, Andrei Sukhovetsky, Sukhovetsky, Vitaly Gerasimov Maj, Vitaly Gerasimov, Alexander Nevsky, Andrey Kolesnikov Ukraine's, Andrey Kolesnikov, Oleg Mityaev Russia, Oleg Mityaev, Anton Gerashchenko, Andrei Mordvichev, Oleksiy Arestovych, Ramzan Kadyrov, Yakov Rezantsev, Illia Ponomarenko, Zelenskyy, Rezantsev, Dmitry Safronov Ukraine's, Dmitry Safronov, Denis Glebov, Glebov, Courage, Konstantin Zizevsky, Mikhail Vedernikov, Yuri Agarkov, Agarkov, Andrei Zakharov, Sergei Porokhnya, Gleb Garanich, Reuters Magomed, Magomed Tushaev, Putin, Vladimir Zhonga, Vladimir Zhoga, Sergei Sukharev, Sergei Krylov, Sukharev, Alexei, Alexei Sharov, Sharov, Sergey Bratchuk, Dmitry Dormidontov, Dmitry Pavlovich Dormidontov, Igor Zharov, Igor Igoshin, Zharov, Denis Kurilo, Kurilo, Anton Kuprin, Kuprin, Anton Gerashenko, Stringer, Denis Mezhuev, Vladimir Petrovich Frolov Maj, Gen, Vladimir Petrovich Frolov, Alexander Beglov, Fontanka, Miras, Miras Bashakov, Ivan Grishin, Vyacheslav Savinov, Savinov, Metin Aktas, Denis Kozlov, Kozlov, Andrei Simonov, Simonov, Roman Kutuzov Major, Roman Kutuzov, Alexander Sladkov, Tsargrad, Roman, Roman Berdnikov, Kutuzov, Volya, Kanamat, Botashev, Artem Nasbulin Maj, Artem Nasbulin, Serhiy Bratchuk, Tsokov, Михаил Ведерников Organizations: UK Defence Ministry, Service, British Defence Ministry, West, Storm, Russian, 7th Airborne Division, Combined Arms Army, Russian Federal Security Service, Arms Army, Interior Ministry, The New York Times, 8th General Army, Southern Military District of, Armed Forces, Twitter, Telegraph, Dmitry Safronov Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, Separate Marine Brigade, Russian Armed Forces, Ukraine's Defense Ministry, Airborne, 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment, Luhansk People's, 56th Air Assault Brigade, Guardian, 12th Engineer Brigade, Russian Armoured, Carrier, Reuters, The Daily Mail, Forces, Sparta Battalion, Donetsk People's, Daily Mail, 331st Guards Parachute, Ukraine, Ukraine's, Strategic Communication, Information Security, The Independent, 810th, Zhukov Brigade, Russian Marines, Evening, Local, 200th, Rifle Brigade, Black, Fleet, Russian Federation, Ukrainian, New York Times, 1st Guards, Banner, The Times, Kremlin, 8th Army, Aircraft Missile Brigade, Armed Forces of, Russian Missile Troops and Artillery, Russian Forces, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Separate Guards Engineers of Keningsbersko, Red Banner Brigade, Courage, Russian 2nd Army, Presidential, Russian Air Force, BBC, High Mobility Artillery, Southern Military District Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Chornobayivka, Kherson Airport, London, Yakov Rezantsev Ukraine, Kyiv, Chornobaivka, Ukrainian, Chuhuiv, Donbas, Donetsk, Luhansk, Pskov Region, Andrei Zakharov Ukraine, Ufa, Nova Husarivka, Chechen, Hostomel, Russia's Chechnya, Donetsk People's Republic, Volnovakha, Kostroma, Tatarstan, Pechenga, Sevastopol, St, Petersburg, St . Petersburg, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, Izyum, Ukraine's Donbas, Severodonetsk, Kherson, Berdyansk

☆ Ukraine, Poland say Wagner fighters arrive in Belarus
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A fighter from Russian Wagner mercenary group conducts training for Belarusian soldiers on a range near the town of Osipovichi, Belarus July 14, 2023 in this still image taken from handout video. "Wagner is in Belarus," Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian border agency, said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. Some Wagner fighters have been in Belarus since at least Tuesday, two sources close to the fighters told Reuters. The Belarusian defence ministry released a video on Friday, showing what it said were Wagner fighters instructing Belarusian soldiers at a military range near the town of Osipovichi. Poland's deputy minister coordinator of special services, Stanislaw Zaryn, said Warsaw also has confirmation of Wagner fighters' presence in Belarus.

Persons: Russian Wagner, Wagner, Andriy Demchenko, Wagner's, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Stanislaw Zaryn, Zaryn, Alexander Lukashenko, Hajun, Lidia Kelly, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Belarusian Defence Ministry, REUTERS, Fighters, Reuters, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Russian, Osipovichi, Belarus, Russia, Minsk, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Moscow, Rostov, Warsaw, Poland, Ukraine, Donetsk, Luhansk, Tsel, Melbourne, London

☆ Ukraine is proving it can kill Russia's most valuable officers even when they think they are safe
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine killed a senior Russian officer in a long-range missile strike this week. Lt Gen Oleg Tsokov is the latest in a series of senior Russian officers killed in Ukraine. The blast hit a hotel housing Russian officers in the occupied city of Berdiansk, far from the front lines. The recent acquisition of Storm Shadow missiles means Ukraine can reach Russian top brass in places that used to be safe. The missiles have a range of 150 miles, almost triple that of the missiles Ukraine was previously using.

Persons: Gen Oleg Tsokov, Russia's, Ian Williams, Williams, Stanislav Rzhitsky, Rzhitsky, Sergei Surovikin, Wagner Organizations: Service, Russian, Shadow, Nikkei, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Storm Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Wall, Silicon, Berdiansk, Donetsk, Luhansk, Russia, Russia's, Krasnodar

☆ Russia is sending 'disposable' soldiers to fight Ukraine high on amphetamines to ensure they "still run at machine guns,' military expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian soldiers are going into battle high on drugs, according to a recent report. "This is what some institutions do to make sure their soldiers still run at machine guns," Mick Ryan said. Material recovered from the battlefield suggests Russian soldiers are most likely taking the substances in liquid form, the report said. A UK intelligence update in April suggested Russian soldiers are dying in Ukraine as a result of alcoholism. "Sometimes you replace good purpose and good leadership and good team building with drugs," Ryan told Insider.

Persons: Mick Ryan, it's, Ryan, — Organizations: Service, Russia, Royal United Service Institute, Ukrainian, Donetsk People's, Wagner Group, Australian Army, CNN Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russian, Luhansk, Donetsk, East Timor, Vietnam, Russia

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