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That man was the military commandant of Balakliia, a key figure in Russia’s six-month occupation of the eastern Ukrainian town. Town residents knew the commandant only by his call sign of “Granit,” the Russian word for granite, as Reuters reported in an October investigation into Moscow’s withdrawal from the town. One of the documents listed Valery Sergeyevich Buslov as among the Russian officers present in Balakliia, stating his role was military commandant. He has served as the Kaliningrad garrison’s military commandant, responsible for maintaining discipline among troops and sailors stationed there, according to a 2019 military newspaper article. By May, the military commandant had arrived in Balakliia, according to Oleksandr, one of the two female residents and another local woman.

☆ Kremlin critic Yashin defiant after losing appeal against long jail term
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Yashin's appeal was turned down two days after his fellow Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was jailed for 25 years on charges of treason and also, like Yashin, "knowingly spreading false information". "The sentence handed down to me is staggering: eight-and-a-half years in prison for a 20-minute speech on the Internet. After Yashin was convicted in December, President Vladimir Putin was asked about the case during a news conference, and asked who Yashin was. In court, Yashin predicted that Russia would one day be a very different place. "I will become one of those who will build a new, free and happy Russia on the ruins of Putinism."

☆ Ukraine reports unprecedentedly bloody fighting in Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Smoke is seen in this drone footage of Bakhmut amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released on April 15, 2023. Adam Tactic Group/Handout via REUTERSMOSCOW, April 15 (Reuters) - Ukrainian and Russian armed forces are fighting extraordinarily bloody battles in the smashed eastern city of Bakhmut, but pro-Kyiv forces are still holding on, Ukraine's military said on Saturday. Russia's defence ministry said earlier in the day that fighters from the Wagner mercenary group had captured two more areas of Bakhmut, the main target of Moscow's offensive in eastern Ukraine. "Our soldiers are doing everything in bloody and fierce battles to grind down (the enemy's) combat capability and break its morale. Russian army paratroop units were supporting the claimed advance by holding back Ukrainian forces on the flanks, it added.

[1/2] Ukrainian artillery fires towards the frontline during heavy fighting amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 13, 2023. Western countries have in the past pointed to acrimony between the Russian defence ministry (MoD) and the country's main mercenary force Wagner as a major Russian weakness. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Russian commanders had redirected troops to Bakhmut from other areas. The British update said the Ukrainians still held western districts of the town but had been subjected to particularly intense Russian artillery fire over the previous 48 hours. Moscow says it would open a route to capturing more territory in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, a major war aim.

☆ Small fire extinguished at building of Russian defence ministry in Moscow - agencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 5 (Reuters) - A fire briefly broke out at a building belonging to Russia's defence ministry in the centre of Moscow on Wednesday evening, Russian state news agencies reported, citing emergency services. "Around 19:30 (16:30 GMT), in one of the administrative buildings of the defence ministry in Moscow, duty workers detected smoke on the premises. The fire department and ministry of emergency situations came to the scene," Interfax cited the defence ministry as saying in a statement. The fire covered an area of 60 square metres (646 square feet), TASS cited local emergency services as saying. The defence ministry said it was currently establishing the cause of the fire.

☆ Russia fires supersonic anti-ship missile at mock target in Sea of Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 28 (Reuters) - Russia's navy fired supersonic anti-ship missiles at a mock target in the Sea of Japan, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday. "In the waters of the Sea of Japan, missile ships of the Pacific Fleet fired Moskit cruise missiles at a mock enemy sea target," it said in a statement on its Telegram account. "The target, located at a distance of about 100 kilometres (62.14 miles), was successfully hit by a direct hit from two Moskit cruise missiles." The P-270 Moskit missile, which has the NATO reporting name or SS-N-22 Sunburn, is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile of Soviet origin, capable of destroying a ship within a range of up to 120 km (75 miles). Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Three injured as Russia downs Ukrainian drone south of Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, March 26 (Reuters) - Russian air defences halted a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian town on Sunday in which three people were hurt and apartment blocks were damaged, the Russian Defence Ministry said. The Defence Ministry statement said the attack on the town of Kireyevsk, in Tula region 220 km (140 miles) south of Moscow, involved a Ukrainian Tu-141 Strizh drone. "A Polye-21 electronic unit took action against the Ukrainian drone, and as a result its navigation system was taken out of action," the ministry statement said. "The drone lost its directional command and fell near the town of Kireyevsk in Tula region." Russia has previously reported drone attacks in several towns and cities, some of them hundreds of kilometres (miles) from its border with Ukraine.

☆ Fact Check-Video purporting to show Soviet-era tanks shipped from Russia to Ukraine dates to at least 2019
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A video purporting to show Soviet-era tanks being shipped from Russia to battle in Ukraine is being circulated online, but the clip predates Russia’s invasion of its neighbour and is unrelated. Designed before World War II, these antiques will quickly become food for Leopards,” said one Twitter user sharing the footage on March 22 (here ). However, an online search of still images taken from the clip reveals that it dates to at least Jan. 18, 2019, three years before Russia invaded Ukraine. The Russian Embassy in Laos posted about the transfer of 30 T-34 tanks on Jan. 10, 2019 (here ). Video purporting to show Soviet World War Two tanks being shipped from Russia to Ukraine in March 2023 can be traced back to 2019.

[1/8] A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone sits in a hanger at Amari Air Base, Estonia, July 1, 2020. On the diplomatic and economic fronts, talks continued to extend a deal to allow grain shipments from Ukraine's Black Sea ports that is due to expire this week, the United Nations and Turkey said. DRONE CRASHTwo Russian Su-27 jets carried out what the U.S. military described as a reckless intercept of the American spy drone while flying in international air space. The accounts of the incident in the Black Sea, which is bordered by Russia and Ukraine among other countries, could not be independently verified. RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR SUMMONEDRussia's Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov was summoned by the U.S. State Department to discuss what happened over the Black Sea, said spokesperson Ned Price.

☆ Ukraine vows not to give up on Bakhmut amid constant Russian attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Oleksandr Kozhukhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

After Russian gains in recent weeks, at the culmination of a winter offensive, Ukrainian troops have been reinforcing positions west of Bakhmut in apparent preparation for a possible retreat. "I told the commander in chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut." "If everyone is coordinated, without ambition, screw-ups and tantrums, and carries out this work, then we will block the armed forces of Ukraine. [1/7] A Ukrainian serviceman carries a shell for a 2S5 Giatsint-S self-propelled howitzer before firing towards Russian troops outside the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 5, 2023. Ukraine and the West describe Russia's actions as an unprovoked war of aggression aimed at expanding territory.

☆ Russian defence minister pays rare visit to troops in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A still image from video, released by Russia's Defence Ministry, shows Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu during what it said to be inspection of a forward command post of Russian armed forces deployed in Ukraine, at an unknown location in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in this image taken from handout footage released March 4, 2023. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERSMarch 4 (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu paid a rare visit to Russia's forces deployed in Ukraine, his ministry said on Saturday. Russia's top military chiefs have visited front lines in Ukraine only sparingly since tens of thousands of Russian forces invaded the neighbouring country a year ago in what Moscow calls a "special military operation". In a video released by the ministry, Shoigu is seen awarding medals to Russian military personnel and touring a ruined town together with district's commander, Colonel-General Rustam Muradov. Shoigu, who has served as defence minister since 2012, has come under harsh criticism over his performance in the conflict from pro-war advocates.

☆ Russia journal: Moscow mulls possible use of nuclear arms to fend off US attack -RIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A general view shows buildings 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 BabenkoMarch 2 (Reuters) - A Russian defence ministry journal says Moscow is developing a new type of military strategy using nuclear weapons to protect against possible U.S. aggression, RIA news agency reported on Thursday. This, it continued, "presupposes the use of modern strategic offensive and defensive, nuclear and non-nuclear weapons, taking into account the latest military technologies". Russian President Vladimir Putin last week suspended a landmark nuclear arms control treaty, announced new strategic systems had been put on combat duty, and threatened to resume nuclear tests. Although Moscow says it would only use nuclear weapons in case Russia's territorial integrity were threatened, Putin allies have regularly suggested calamity could be close.

☆ Moscow accuses US of preparing a 'toxic chemicals' provocation in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - The United States is planning a provocation in Ukraine using toxic chemicals, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry cited former U.S. ambassador to Russia John Sullivan as saying that "Russian troops plan to use chemical weapons in the special military operation area." "We regard this information as the intention of the United States and their accomplices to carry out a provocation in Ukraine using toxic chemicals," Igor Kirillov, chief of the radiation, chemical and biological defence troops of Russia's armed forces said during a briefing. He said that Russia "will identify and punish the true culprits." Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine's ground forces commander visits besieged Bakhmut to talk strategy, boost morale
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Oleksandr Kozhukhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Ukrainian service members ride a tank, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the front line city of Bakhmut, Ukraine February 24, 2023. REUTERS/Alex BabenkoKYIV, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The commander of Ukrainian ground forces Colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi visited besieged Bakhmut to boost morale and talk strategy with units defending the town and surrounding villages in eastern Ukraine, the military said over the weekend. Russia has made the capture Bakhmut a priority in its strategy to take control of Ukraine's eastern Donbas industrial region. Now charged with the defence of Bakhmut, Syrskyi has made a number of trips to the town, maintaining the Kyiv's forces will hold it. "Russia may start attacking from three sides from Monday," Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said in a social media video.

☆ Russian fighter jet crashes in Belgorod region, near Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 23 (Reuters) - A Russian SU-25 fighter plane crashed on Thursday in Russia's Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine and the pilot was killed, the Russian defence ministry said. The cause of the crash was a "technical malfunction", according to preliminary information, the TASS news agency cited the ministry as saying. The plane crashed in an uninhabited area and there were no reports of other damage, it said. Earlier, in a post on the Telegram messenger app, Belgorod's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that emergency services and investigators were on the scene of the crash near the town of Valyuki, and that the cause was being investigated. Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine's Kharkiv region, has repeatedly come under fire since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago.

☆ Moldova dismisses Russian report of Ukraine plot over Transdniestria
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHISINAU, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Moldova dismissed an accusation by Russia's defence ministry on Thursday that Ukraine planned to invade the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria after staging a false flag operation, and called for calm. The Russian news agency RIA said Ukraine, which borders Moldova, planned to stage an attack by purportedly Russian forces from Transdniestria as a pretext for the invasion. The Moldovan government issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying state authorities "do not confirm" the Russian defence ministry's allegations. "Our institutions cooperate with foreign partners and in the case of threats to the country, the public will be promptly informed." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week it was "obvious" that Ukraine would not be Russia's last stop after invading Ukraine, and that the Kremlin was thinking about ways to "strangle" Moldova.

☆ Putin says Russia to deploy Sarmat nuclear missiles
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow, Russia February 21, 2023. Sputnik/Dmitry Astakhov/Kremlin via REUTERSSummary Russia to deploy Sarmat missilesRussia to roll out hypersonic missilesRussia to add more nuclear submarinesPutin continues nuclear signalling to WestMOSCOW, Feb 23 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would pay increased attention to boosting its nuclear forces by deploying a much delayed new intercontinental ballistic missile, rolling out hypersonic missiles and adding new nuclear submarines. A year since ordering the invasion of Ukraine, Putin has signalled he is ready to rip up the architecture of nuclear arms control - including the big powers' moratorium on nuclear testing - unless the West backs off in Ukraine. "As before, we will pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad," Putin said, referring to nuclear missiles based on land, sea and in the air, in an address broadcast on state television. In addition, Putin said, Russia would continue mass production of air-based hypersonic Kinzhal systems and would start mass supplies of sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles.

☆ Biden, Putin display their alliances with Ukraine war backdrop
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Washington is concerned Beijing could provide material support for Moscow's war in Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24 last year and has become the biggest land conflict in Europe since World War Two. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world," Biden said. In two speeches last September Putin indicated that he would, if needed, use nuclear weapons to defend Russia. "We have heard implicit threats to use nuclear weapons. The so-called tactical use of nuclear weapons is utterly unacceptable.

☆ Russian mercenary boss escalates row with top army brass with image of dead bodies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The defence ministry, in a statement late on Tuesday, said such allegations were "completely untrue" and complained - without mentioning Prigozhin by name - about attempts to create splits that worked "solely to the benefit of the enemy". "This is one of the places where the bodies of those who have died are gathered," Prigozhin told a prominent Russian military blogger in an interview. But he has faced push back from the authorities in recent weeks amid some signs of a move by the Kremlin and defence ministry to curb his growing influence. "Twice as many of us are going to die that's all, until there are none of us left," he said. "And when Wagner are all dead then (Defence Minister) Shoigu and (General) Gerasimov will probably have to pick up a gun."

☆ Russia's warship with hypersonic missiles arrives for drills with S.Africa, China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] The Russian frigate 'Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov' arrives in the port of Richards Bay, South Africa, in this still image taken from video released February 22, 2023. Feb 22 (Reuters) - Russia's flagship frigate equipped with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles has arrived in the South African port of Richards Bay for exercises that will include China, Russia's RIA state news agency reported on Wednesday. It calls the drills routine but they have fuelled domestic criticism and fears they could endanger relations with Western partners. In late January, the ship tested its strike capabilities in the western Atlantic Ocean. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

[1/6] A firefighter walks at a car park near an apartment block that was heavily damaged by a missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, February 15, 2023. "Even the more fortified second line of defence of the enemy could not hold the breakthrough of the Russian military." Later on Wednesday, Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar said Russian forces were mounting "round-the-clock" assaults on government positions, without specifying where. Near Bakhmut, Russian forces fired on more than 15 towns and villages, including the city itself, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in its evening report. Russia calls the invasion a "special military operation" against security threats, saying NATO shows hostility to Russia daily and is growing more involved in the conflict.

☆ Russian bombers intercepted by NORAD near Alaska
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A Russian Tu-95MS strategic bomber performs a flight over the neutral waters of the Bering Sea, in this still image taken from a handout video released February 14, 2023. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERSFeb 15 (Reuters) - Several Russian strategic bombers and fighter jets have been intercepted by North American air defence forces as they flew over international airspace near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) said. "NORAD had anticipated this Russian activity ... Two NORAD F-16 fighters intercepted the Russian aircraft," it said. Russia said on Wednesday that it had carried out several flights over international waters in recent days, including in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia. "Long-range aviation pilots regularly perform flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black Sea, Baltic Sea and Pacific Ocean," Russia's defence ministry said.

☆ Ukraine says it has repelled Russian attacks in Luhansk region
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces have repelled some Russian attacks in the eastern region of Luhansk but the situation there remains difficult, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office said on Wednesday. The Russian Defence Ministry said Ukrainian forces had retreated in the face of Russian attacks in the Luhansk region. Zelenskiy's office made no mention of any retreats in its report on the fighting in eastern Ukraine. "Over the past day, units of the Defence Forces of Ukraine repelled attacks by the (Russian) occupiers in the Nevskyi, Kreminna and Bilohorivka districts," it said. It said Russian forces had shelled a number of other communities in the region, and added: "The situation in the region remains difficult."

"The enemy's offensive continues in the east, (with) round-the-clock attacks," Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said. Earlier, the Russian Defence Ministry said Ukrainian forces had retreated in the face of Russian operations in the Luhansk region, although it gave no details and Reuters was not able to verify this and other battlefield reports. "Even the more fortified second line of defence of the enemy could not hold the breakthrough of the Russian military." BAKHMUT ATTACKSRussia's main effort has been an artillery and ground onslaught on the city of Bakhmut, in Donetsk. Russian forces have launched attacks on several settlements, including Paraskoviivka on the northern approaches to Bakhmut, over the past day, Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said.

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