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☆ Bakhmut: Wagner forces claim to have taken the eastern Ukrainian city. But Kyiv's forces could still exact a heavy toll
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Sam Kiley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Kyiv rebuffed claims that Russian forces have captured the city in the eastern Donetsk region. LIBKOS/APYevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner private military group, pictured in a screengrab from May 20, 2023, insisted that his men captured Bakhmut after months of fighting. A Ukrainian serviceman checks Russian positions in Bakhmut on May 11, 2023. He said regular Russian troops were incompetent cowards. And they’re being flanked to the north and south by Ukrainian troops.

☆ Future wars are going to be catastrophic and robotic, and militaries have to 'come to grips' with that, former general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Mick Ryan, the author and a strategist, says militaries need to "come to grips" with what is coming. The scene comes from a new novel, "White Sun War: The Campaign for Taiwan," written by a former military officer. "That is especially the case when the ratio of humans to autonomous systems in militaries is going to flip," Ryan told Insider. "We are not at the point yet where robotic systems are able to match humans in decision making," Ryan said. And these autonomous systems will have many similar flaws. "

☆ Ukraine denies Russia's Wagner has captured Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] Ukrainian servicemen ride atop of a tank on a road to the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine May 12, 2023. REUTERS/Sofiia GatilovaKYIV, May 20 (Reuters) - Ukraine's military denied on Saturday that Russia's Wagner private military unit had taken full control of the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut and said its troops were continuing to fight there. "This is not true. Our units are fighting in Bakhmut," military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevatyi told Reuters after the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group said his forces had taken full control of the city. Reporting by Olena Harmash; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine says it advances, repels Russia attacks at Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The head of the Wagner mercenary force, which is spearheading the Russian attack on Bakhmut, said his forces had advanced up to 400 meters. "We're pushing Bakhmut all the way to the end," he said in an audio recording on his Telegram channel. She said that Russia had attacked Bakhmut all day having "significantly strengthened" its grouping in Bakhmut by bringing most of its reserves there. Kyiv has for days been hailing battlefield successes around Bakhmut that could eventually trap Wagner's forces inside the city. Prigozhin, who said a week ago that his forces' flanks were under pressure near Bakhmut, said they continued to be eroded.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Russian retreats reported
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Ukrainian servicemen of the 128th territorial defence brigade attend a military training, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, May 18, 2023. REUTERS/Bernadett SzaboMay 18 (Reuters) - Ukraine's military and Russia's Wagner private army both reported fresh Russian retreats on the outskirts of Bakhmut, as Kyiv pressed on with its biggest advance for six months ahead of a planned major counteroffensive. FIGHTING* Ukraine's military said its troops had advanced in places by more than a mile. Some of its soldiers on the front line said Russian troops were pounding supply lines to try to halt the gains. But he accused commanders of Russia's regular forces of abandoning vital ground north of the city, exposing his troops.

REUTERS/Sofiia GatilovaKYIV, May 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine's military said it had made new advances on Wednesday in heavy fighting near the eastern city of Bakhmut, and that Russia was continuing to send in new units including paratroopers. Moscow sees Bakhmut, a city of about 70,000 before Russia's invasion, as a stepping stone towards capturing the rest of the eastern industrial Donbas region bordering Russia. Ukrainian officials have signalled the advances around Bakhmut are not part of a broader counteroffensive planned by Kyiv to push back the Russian forces. Prigozhin, in an audio statement, appeared to confirm Ukrainian forces now held an advantage in Bakhmut and he newly criticized Russian commanders. "Russian troops have lost the initiative on the flanks - our troops have cut off those flanks," Musiyenko told NV Radio.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Kyiv defends against heavy air raid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On Monday, the Ukrainian military hailed advances made in its first successful counterattack against Russian forces besieging the eastern city of Bakhmut. * A top Chinese envoy, Li Hui, was due to begin a tour of Ukraine, Russia and other European countries on Monday in a trip Beijing says is aimed at discussing a "political settlement" to the crisis. * Zelenskiy, in his evening video address, said he was returning home with new military help and newer, more powerful weapons. French President Emmanuel Macron told TF1 television France was open to training Ukrainian fighter jet pilots. * Russia's Defence Ministry said on Monday that it had downed a long-range Storm Shadow missile supplied to Ukraine by Britain.

☆ Ukrainian troops gird for counteroffensive they hope will end war
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Members of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade practiced setting up and packing away their mortars as the sun beat down on them in fields in the southern region of Dnipropetrovsk. "We are getting ready for the counteroffensive, so that we can finally end this war," said a 28-year-old serviceman who goes the call sign Dykyi, or 'wild' in Ukrainian. But we are nevertheless constantly perfecting our craft," said Roman Khomych, the 45-year-old commander of the unit training with mortars. The 128th Mountain Assault Brigade is an elite force that has been involved in combat with Russian or Russian-backed forces since 2014, when fighting began in eastern Ukraine. The 128th Brigade are training with Soviet-calibre mortars, but Khomych said a bigger necessity than new mortars was Western-supplied armoured vehicles to protect troops better.

☆ Ukraine hails its first offensive success in defence of Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Ukrainian servicemen rest at their positions after a fight, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the front line city of Bakhmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine May 11, 2023. "The advance of our troops along the Bakhmut direction is the first success of offensive actions in the defence of Bakhmut," Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of Ground Forces, said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said heavy fighting continued in and around Bakhmut, and that "everything" was difficult there. Moscow, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly 15 months ago, sees Bakhmut as a stepping stone to attacking other Ukrainian cities. Kyiv has said before that keeping up the defence of Bakhmut allows for the military to prepare its expected counteroffensive.

"In three days of counter-offensive activity, the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Bakhmut sector have liberated 17.3 sq. miles) of territory," Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for the "east" group of Ukrainian forces, said on the Telegram messaging app. Ukrainian servicemen ride atop of a tank on a road to the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine May 12, 2023. Prigozhin, whose fighters have been battling to push Ukrainian forces out of Bakhmut's Western outskirts, has said the north and south flanks, guarded by regular Russian troops, were crumbling. Prigozhin called that deceptive and said the Bakhmut advances amounted to the start of Kyiv's campaign.

☆ Russia's version of NATO is crumbling, with even some of its closest allies frustrated by Putin's failing war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

CSTO, Russia's equivalent of NATO, was never a powerhouse, but relations have become more strained. And Frankopan said that countries had likely stopped trusting Russia's military abilities. Marin also said that CSTO members don't seem interested in taking big risks to protect the alliance's future. AP Photo/Felipe Dana, FileRussia a 'toxic partner'According to Frankopan, regional backlash to Russia's invasion of Ukraine could be happening for multiple reasons, including ideological objections to Russia's brutal tactics. Marin said the Ukraine invasion had made Russia a "rather toxic partner" to most of its post-Soviet neighbours.

☆ Ukraine's risky gamble in Bakhmut may be paying off as infighting in Russia's ranks threatens its hopes of capturing the city, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Jake Epstein | Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The battle has hurt Russian forces, and Wagner Group mercenaries are threatening to pull out. Wagner's withdrawal, however, suggests that Ukraine's risky decision to stay may be paying off, Russia experts told Insider. Ukrainian army snipers change their position facing Russian troops near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Russian forces, including Wagner mercenaries, steadily surrounded Ukrainian positions, leaving only one road out of the city. Ukrainian army Grad multiple rocket launcher fires rockets at Russian positions in the frontline near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 3, 2023.

☆ Fear recedes for Ukraine's volunteers, for whom war is 'just a job'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Manuel Ausloos | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A Ukrainian service member Oleksandr, 44, is seen in a trench at a frontline, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine April 28, 2023. REUTERS/Sofiia GatilovaON THE FRONTLINE IN DONETSK REGION, Ukraine, May 4 (Reuters) - After months of living in trenches and bunkers near Ukraine's southeastern frontlines, Artem and his fellow soldiers have lost the fear they once felt. "You no longer feel the fear that you had at the beginning," added Artem, who has been based in the eastern Donbas region for some six months. He and his comrades, mostly volunteers, rotate regularly through the trenches, four days on, four days off. "Over time, when you understand that they are all safe, it just becomes a job."

☆ US intelligence believes 'slaughter-fest' fighting in Ukraine has cost Russia 100,000 dead and wounded in only a matter of months, White House reveals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties since December, a top White House official said, citing US intelligence. John Kirby revealed that 20,000 Russian troops have been killed fighting in Ukraine in that time. Ukrainian troops have fought the Russians along a largely static front line across eastern and parts of southern Ukraine for months. In January 2023, the top general went on to say that Russia had suffered "significantly well over" 100,000 casualties. Recently leaked US intelligence documents reviewed by Insider suggested that Russia had endured up to 223,000 casualties, including 43,000 soldiers killed in fighting.

☆ Ukraine says it still holds parts of Bakhmut, Russia reports progress
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Nick Starkov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Ukrainian service members from a 3rd separate assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, fire a howitzer D30 at a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the city of Bakhmut, Ukraine April 23, 2023. REUTERS/Sofiia GatilovaLVIV, Ukraine, April 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Sunday its troops were holding onto parts of the eastern city of Bakhmut, focus of a prolonged Russian assault, while the head of a major pro-Moscow force said his men were making progress. Russian forces, which have struggled for months to capture Bakhmut, are slowly taking over more and more of the city. "The defence of Bakhmut is coping with its military tasks," she said in a Telegram post. Russia's defence ministry earlier said its forces had taken four blocks in western Bakhmut on Sunday.

Rescuers carry a covered body as they work at the site of a heavily damaged residential building hit by a Russian missile in the town of Uman on Friday. Her voice cracked as she told CNN how the strikes had shaken the small community and left her feeling terrified. Local residents told CNN that there hadn’t been a strike of this scale on the city since March last year. Burnt-out cars lie in front of a destroyed residential building in Uman. Yevhenii Zavhorodnii/Global Images Ukraine/Getty ImagesAerial view of a destroyed residential building.

☆ Russia's military has been preparing for a drone-filled battlefield, and even its cooks are being trained to shoot them down
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Counter-drone training has also become common throughout the Russian military. Having used drones and seen drones used with increasing frequency, the Russian military has also expanded its counter-drone training. The threat is now considered so widespread that most Russian troops, regardless of military specialty, are getting instruction in spotting and dealing with drones. Ukraine's military has been bolstering its drone defenses throughout the war, as shown in the Western military aid being sent to Kyiv. Despite having kinetic and electronic-warfare countermeasures to take out Russian drones, Ukraine still faces a difficult challenge.

☆ Russia says it has gained more ground in battle for Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The battle for Bakhmut has turned into one of the bloodiest of the 14-month war, with the Eastern Ukrainian city almost completely destroyed by artillery shelling and urban combat. Russia says capturing Bakhmut will allow it to mount further offensives into eastern Ukraine. If they succeed, Moscow's forces are likely to face even larger urban battles for the nearby towns of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private Wagner military force which is leading the assault on the city, has claimed his troops control 80% of Bakhmut. "There is no enemy foothold on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro river ... our military completely controls that territory," Vladimir Saldo wrote on his Telegram channel.

☆ Ukraine servicemen accused of treason over unauthorised mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, April 20 (Reuters) - A number of Ukrainian servicemen have been accused of treason for giving away information during an unauthorised mission that enabled Russia to attack a military airfield, Ukraine's SBU security agency said on Thursday. The SBU said in a statement that the servicemen had attempted, "without coordination with the relevant state authorities", to seize a Russian plane last July after its pilot said he would defect. The SBU did not say how many service personnel were involved, or identify them, but said they were accused of treason and abuse of their position. "These actions of individual servicemen, which led to serious consequences, death and injury of Ukraine's defenders and harmed the country's defence capabilities, require an appropriate legal assessment." Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February last year, did not comment on the SBU statement.

☆ Ukrainian troops say Western military officers have been FaceTiming with them to teach them how to use weapons coming without instructions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian soldiers have received billions of dollars in Western security assistance to fight Russia. Sometimes, the weapons they've been given don't come with instructions, or have other issuesKyiv's troops say they've FaceTimes with Western military officers for help, a new War on the Rocks report says. In some cases, the military aid comes in without instructions, so Western military officers have been hopping on FaceTime with Ukrainian troops to teach them how to use the weapons, according to a new report published Monday in War on the Rocks, a platform that covers national security. The authors wrote that Ukrainian soldiers told them that in one case, Western military officers used FaceTime to teach Kyiv's troops how to use operate a rocket-propelled grenade that was delivered without instructions, and in another situation, soldiers had problems with aiming sights on guns. "Most Ukrainian troops appreciate these informal solutions, but the United States and Europe could do a better job of ensuring future war materiel deliveries actually make sense for the Ukrainian military," the authors said in the report.

☆ Russia accused of beheading Ukrainian soldier: 'How easily these beasts kill,' Zelenskyy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

One video circulating online appears to show Russians beheading a Ukrainian serviceman with a knife. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was "the execution of a Ukrainian captive." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday responded to one of the videos, saying that it showed "the execution of a Ukrainian captive." "There is something that no one in the world can ignore: how easily these beasts kill," Zelenskyy said, adding that Russia is trying to make "destroying life" into the "new norm." Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, described it as a "horrific video of Russian troops decapitating a Ukrainian prisoner of war."

Two videos emerged on social media this past week that appear to show beheadings of Ukrainian soldiers. The first video was posted to a pro-Russian social media channel on April 8. In the video, a voice can be heard, behind the camera, the sound seemingly distorted to prevent the speaker’s identification. Apparently referring to the bodies on the ground, the voice, laughing, continues, “They killed them. Some pro-Russian social media accounts have suggested Ukrainian forces were responsible for the beheadings in an effort to conceal identification.

☆ Ukraine bids farewell to fallen opera conductor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoBROVARY, Ukraine, April 11 (Reuters) - Tearful mourners bid farewell on Tuesday to a celebrated Ukrainian opera conductor who was killed fighting Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. Kostiantyn Starovytskyi, who joined the military after Russia's February 2022 invasion, died last week near the city of Kramatorsk. Starovytskyi, 40, had staged numerous operas in Kyiv, including Gaetano Donizetti's Rita, and was invited to the Berlin Opera Academy in 2021 as an assistant conductor. Friends, relatives and fellow service members laid flowers in Starovytskyi's open coffin during a service outside the capital Kyiv, where they reflected on what they described as his positive nature. Starovytskyi is among a growing number of artists, athletes and other public figures who have died fighting Russian forces in Ukraine.

☆ Ukraine battles rage, Kyiv reported to rethink counter-offensive after leak
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The head of the Moscow-controlled part of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, said Russian forces now held 75% of the city. As the battles ground on, U.S. media outlet CNN reported that Ukraine was forced to amend some military plans ahead of its long-anticipated counter-offensive because of the leak of dozens of secret documents. HOT ON THE EASTERN FRONTA Ukrainian counter-offensive has long been expected after months of attritional warfare in the east. Elsewhere, Russia's defence ministry said its forces destroyed a depot with 70,000 tonnes of fuel near Zaporizhzhia, and Ukraine reported widespread Russian shelling in northern regions. In a rare coordination between the warring parties, Russia and Ukraine carried out another prisoner swap, with 106 Russian captives freed in exchange for 100 Ukrainians.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Russia likely behind document leak, U.S. says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - Russia or pro-Russian elements are likely behind a leak of classified U.S. military documents that offer a partial snapshot of the war in Ukraine, three U.S. officials told Reuters, while the Justice Department said it was probing the leak. Reuters could not immediately verify the reports and it was unclear how Ukraine could have attempted such a strike. The Ukrainian military said it was holding on in the city but the situation was difficult. Ukrainian service member from 28th mechanised brigade launches an RPG at the frontline, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine in the region of Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachDIPLOMACY, POLITICS* Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was formally charged with espionage in Russia, Russian news agencies said on Friday.

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