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The Russian invasion of Ukraine

Putin vows to 'intensify' attacks against Ukraine military targets​

President Vladimir Putin has pledged to "intensify" attacks against Ukraine, following days of aerial bombardment by both sides in the long-running war.

Speaking during a visit to a military hospital in Moscow, Mr Putin said the military would continue targeting Ukrainian "military installations".

He called an air raid on the Russian city of Belgorod by Ukraine a "deliberate strike against civilians".

Twenty-five people were killed in Saturday's attack, local officials say.

Speaking to Russian servicemen on Monday, Mr Putin said the war was turning in Moscow's favour and he wanted the war to end quickly, but only on Russia's terms.

He added that Ukraine's Western supporters were the biggest obstacle to ending the conflict, but said their rhetoric was beginning to change as they started to realise they cannot "destroy" Russia.

On Sunday, Mr Putin delivered his traditional new year's message where he hailed Russian soldiers as "heroes" without explicitly referring to the war in Ukraine.

In his own new year address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised a sharp increase in the number of weapons the country produces in 2024, pledging to build at least a million drones.

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged deadly attacks over the past few days.

Ukraine shelled the Russia-held Ukrainian cities of Donetsk on New Year's Eve, according Moscow-installed officials, which killed at least four people and wounded 13.

And on Saturday, Ukrainian forces launched a series of strikes on targets in south-west Russia, including the strike on Belgorod which Mr Putin termed a "terrorist attack".

Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Monday that the death toll had risen to 25 following the death of a young child who was seriously injured in the attack.

"Today, a 4-year-old girl died in a regional children's hospital. She was in a highly serious condition with combined injuries to the chest and internal organs," Mr Gladkov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The girl's death brought the number of child victims of the attack to five, the governor said. He added that 109 people were wounded in the air raid, with 45 currently in hospital.

Last week, Russia launched a widespread attack across several cities all across Ukraine, killing at least 45 people. Those strikes were described by Kyiv as Russia's biggest missile bombardment of the war so far.

Source: BBC
 
I wonder when this War is going to end and what is the ultimate objective of Putin.
 
hassan918 said:
I wonder when this War is going to end and what is the ultimate objective of Putin.
Click to expand...
His objective is very clear. Demilitisation , ukraines guaranteed neutrality and no nato, and finally the Russian ethnic group joins Russia. He is very close to two of them.
 
Russia pounds Ukraine's two biggest cities in new wave of attacks

Russia pounded Ukraine's two biggest cities in a new wave of heavy air strikes on Tuesday, killing at least five civilians and prompting calls for the West to quickly provide more military assistance.

The missile and drone attacks on the capital Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv also wounded dozens of people, caused widespread damage and hit power supplies, officials said.

Russia has intensified its attacks over the New Year period, with President Vladimir Putin warning on Monday that a Ukrainian air strike on the Russian city of Belgorod, which Moscow said killed 25 civilians, would "not go unpunished".

Smoke belched out of the charred side of a high-rise residential building in Kyiv where mayor Vitali Klitschko said an elderly woman had been killed and 49 people hurt. Emergency services later recovered another corpse from the building.

A 91-year-old woman was killed in a missile strike on Kharkiv that also wounded dozens and a married couple was killed in an attack in the area around Kyiv, local officials said.

"Russia will answer for every life (that it has) taken away," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messenger. Russia later said one man had been killed and seven people injured in another attack on Belgorod.

Russia stepped up missile and drone strikes on Dec. 29, when it launched its largest air attack of the war, killing at least 39 people. Kyiv had warned for weeks that Russia appeared to be stockpiling missiles for big attacks.

Russia holds swathes of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine, and there is no end in sight to the war as next month's second anniversary of Moscow's full-scale invasion approaches.

Russia depicts a Ukrainian counteroffensive launched in mid-2023 as a failure, and front lines have changed little in recent months.



Source: Reuters
 
Ukraine and Russia in 'biggest prisoner swap' so far

Ukraine and Russia have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war, in what is being described by officials in Kyiv as the biggest swap of the war.

Ukraine said 230 prisoners, including serving members of the armed forces and border guard, had been freed from Russian captivity.

In exchange, 248 Russians were released by Ukraine in the deal, mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

It is the first major prisoner exchange since last August.

"Our people are home," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media. "Today, we brought back over 200 warriors and civilians from Russian captivity."

In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Defence said negotiations had been "difficult".

The two countries have exchanged prisoners on a number of occasions since the start of the Russia's full-scale war in February 2022, but the Ukrainian leader said last month that the process had slowed down for Russia's own "very specific reasons".

Images showing the prisoner releases were posted separately by Russian and by Ukrainian officials. A video released by Moscow showed some of the freed Russians smiling on a bus.

Ukraine said their freed soldiers included seven defenders of Snake Island, a rocky outcrop in the Black Sea.

Snake Island became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance hours into Russia's full-scale invasion, when a border guard posted there refused to surrender to the Russian warship Mosvka.

Others released included National Guardsmen captured at the Chernobyl exclusion zone and soldiers detained during the battle for the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Six of those released were civilians, according to Kyiv.

Both sides thanked the United Arab Emirates for mediating the deal.

Last month, Ukraine said it had freed some 2,598 people from Russian captivity during a process of 48 swaps.

Some Ukrainian prisoners of war previously freed from Russian captivity have said they were subject to torture, including beatings and electric shocks.



www.bbc.com

Ukraine and Russia in 'biggest prisoner swap' so far

Both sides thanked the United Arab Emirates for mediating the deal.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
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Putin offers citizenship to foreigners who fight for Russia

President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on Thursday allowing foreign nationals who fight for Russia in Ukraine to obtain Russian citizenship for themselves and their families.

The order said people who have signed contracts during what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine can apply to get Russian passports for themselves and their spouses, children and parents. They must provide documents showing that they signed up for a minimum of one year.

Those eligible include people who have signed contracts with the regular armed forces or other “military formations” - a description that could apply to groups such as the Wagner mercenary organization.

The measure appeared to be aimed at creating additional incentives for foreigners with military experience to apply to join Russian ranks.

Moscow does not publish data on the number of foreigners fighting on its side in Ukraine. However, Reuters has reported previously on Cubans who signed up for the military in return for bonuses equivalent to more than 100 times the average Cuban monthly salary, and three Africans recruited by Wagner, of whom two were killed in action.

A declassified US intelligence report assessed that the Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 dead and wounded troops, or nearly 90 percent of the personnel it had when the conflict began, a source familiar with the intelligence told Reuters last months.

Source : Al Arabiya
 
UK condemns Russia’s use of North Korean missiles against Ukraine

Britain on Thursday said it condemned what it called Russia’s decision to use ballistic missiles sourced from North Korea in recent attacks against Ukraine.

“We urge North Korea to cease its arms supply to Russia,” UK’s Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.



Arab News
 

Ukraine-Russia war live: Kyiv inflicting significant losses on Putin’s forces around Dnipro River​

Vladimir Putin’s forces are suffering significant losses around the Dnipro River in the Southern City of Odesa, Ukraine’s military has claimed.

During its latest update, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said its forces were making gains on the left bank of the River in the Kherson region. They said that Russia had carried out six unsuccessful attacks.

A spokesperson for the armed forces of Ukraine said: “Despite significant losses, the enemy does not give up trying to knock our units out of their occupied positions.”

The latest US estimates suggested that roughly 13,000 Russians have died in the assault on Avdiivka, which began last October.

The first three weeks of Russian losses over Avdiivka alone are comparable to Ukrainian losses over several months of its counteroffensive last year, according to Michael Koffman, one of the pre-eminent Russo-Ukraine war analysts.

Tanks and armoured personnel carriers have also been a significant part of the attack on Avdiivka, and Russian vehicle losses are sizeable.

Ukrainian military analyst Tatarigami counted at least 211 vehicle losses around the city between 10 October and 28 November, the equivalent of around five battalions.

Source : The Independent
 
Russian air defenses downed dozens of Ukrainian drones in occupied Crimea and southern Russia on Friday, officials said, as Kyiv pressed its strategy of targeting the Moscow-annexed peninsula and taking the 22-month war well beyond Ukraine’s borders.

Air raid sirens wailed in Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea, and traffic was suspended for a second straight day on a bridge connecting the peninsula, which Moscow seized illegally a decade ago, with Russia’s southern Krasnodar region. The span is a crucial supply link for Russia’s war effort.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its defenses intercepted 36 drones over Crimea and one over Krasnodar, part of an emerging pattern of intensified Ukrainian aerial attacks in recent days.



apnews.com

Ukraine unleashes more drones and missiles at Russian areas as part of its new year strategy

Russia says its air defenses downed dozens of Ukrainian drones in occupied Crimea and southern Russia as Kyiv pressed its strategy of targeting the Moscow-annexed peninsula and taking the 22-month war well beyond Ukraine’s borders.
apnews.com apnews.com
 
Denmark's transfer of 19 American-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will take place in the second quarter of 2024, once Ukrainian pilots have completed training, the defence ministry said today.

"Based on the current timetable, the donation should take place in the second quarter of 2024," the Danish ministry said in a statement.

"It's mainly an issue of finishing the training of Ukrainian personnel who will operate the planes."

Denmark, which is replacing its F-16 fleet with more modern F-35 jets, announced in August that it would provide the 19 planes after securing approval from the US government.

Kyiv had long sought to obtain the fighters after heavy losses incurred by its air force, which flies mostly Russian aircraft. The US F-16 has better combat capabilities than those operated by Ukraine.

But Washington had resisted allowing the jet transfers for fear of being deemed a direct belligerent in the Ukraine war by Moscow.

The Netherlands also announced last August F-16 transfers to Ukraine and is currently training Ukrainian pilots, but it has not yet said when the 42 planes will arrive.

In his New Year's address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured the public that Ukrainian pilots were ready to fly the F-16s, which should be put into service this year.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Denmark's overall aid to Ukraine has reached €2.2bn.

Russia says downed four Ukrainian missiles over Crimea overnight

Meanwhile, Russia has said its forces shot down four Ukrainian missiles over Moscow-annexed Crimea over night.

The attack came a day after Russia said it repelled a Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea, downing 36 drones over the peninsula.

"Air defence on duty intercepted and destroyed four Ukrainian missiles over the Crimea peninsula," the Russian defence ministry said.

Ukraine has targeted Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, since the start of Moscow's full-scale offensive.

Kyiv said Friday that it had targeted a command post near Sevastopol on Thursday.

Both sides have escalated attacks in recent days, as the conflict drags on into nearly two years.

Source: RTE

www.rte.ie

Denmark says Ukraine to get F-16 jets in second quarter

Russia has said its forces shot down four Ukrainian missiles over Moscow-annexed Crimea over night.
www.rte.ie www.rte.ie
 
A Russian missile strike killed 11 people on Saturday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, the governor of the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk region said.

"Eleven dead, including five children - these are the consequences for now of strikes on Pokrovsk district," Vadym Filashkin wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Pokrovsk lies in Ukrainian-held territory, about 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Donetsk, the Russian held centre of the region.

Source: Reuters
 

Ukraine shows evidence Russia fired North Korea missile at Kharkiv​

KHARKIV, Ukraine, Jan 6 (Reuters) - The Kharkiv region prosecutor's office provided further evidence on Saturday that Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles supplied by North Korea, showcasing the fragments.

A senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that Russia hit Ukraine this week with missiles supplied by North Korea for the first time during its invasion.

Dmytro Chubenko, spokesperson for the prosecutor's office, said the missile, one of several that hit the city of Kharkiv on Jan. 2, was visually and technically different from Russian models.

"The production method is not very modern. There are deviations from standard Iskander missiles, which we previously saw during strikes on Kharkiv. This missile is similar to one of the North Korean missiles," Chubenko told media as he displayed the remnants.

He said the missile was slightly bigger in diameter than the Russian Iskander missile, while its nozzle, internal electrical windings, and rear parts were also different.

"That is why we are leaning towards the version that this may be a missile which was supplied by North Korea."

Chubenko declined to give the missile's exact model name.

Russia attacked Kharkiv with several missiles this week, killing two people and injuring over 60 in one of its biggest missile and drone strikes since the start of the large-scale war in February 2022.

North Korea has been under a United Nations arms embargo since it first tested a nuclear bomb in 2006.

U.N. Security Council resolutions - approved with Russian support - ban countries from trading weapons or other military equipment with North Korea.

Source: Reuters
 
Ukraine has condemned a decree signed by President Putin making it possible to confer Russian citizenship on Ukrainian children moved to Russia.

Last March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Putin over Russia's policy of forced child deportations.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry called the decree illegal.

However, Russia insists it is moving the children out of harm's way.

On 4 January Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a citizenship decree expediting Russian citizenship to foreigners and stateless people.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry singled out the passage saying that orphaned Ukrainian children or those deprived of parental guardianship can be fast-tracked to Russian citizenship by way of a presidential decision, or after a request by the institution holding them.

The decree states that a citizenship application for such a child can be submitted by their legal guardian or the head of a Russian organisation responsible for the child.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry sees this as Russia's attempt to solve its own demographic crisis, describing it as a violation of Ukrainian and international laws and children's rights.

The decree is yet more evidence of Russia's policy of forced assimilation of Ukrainian children, and crimes against Ukraine in general, the ministry added.

Ukraine's Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, says Moscow is granting citizenship to the children so that they are not regarded as Ukrainians who have been transferred to Russia.

The Ukrainian authorities have identified over 19,000 Ukrainian children who have been deported to Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Only 387 children have been brought back so far, according to the Ukrainian national database Children of war.

In November 2023, the BBC's Panorama TV programme revealed that a political ally of Mr Putin adopted a child seized from a Ukrainian children's home.

Sergey Mironov, the 70-year-old leader of a Russian political party, is named on the adoption record of a two-year-old girl who was taken in 2022 by a woman he is now married to, according to documents seen by Panorama.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Mr Putin for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The ICC said he was responsible for for unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.

Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's commissioner for children's rights, was hit with the same charges. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said children could not be "treated as spoils of war" and that it was possible Putin could stand trial.

Source : BBC News
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin reveals new ‘enemy’

Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot accept that his incompetent army has failed in its invasion of Ukraine. So he’s desperately trying to spin a story to his own people that they’re actually already at war with the West.

First, Putin insisted his invasion was to “de-nazify” the Kyiv-based Ukraine government – despite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy being a Jew.

Then, once his three-day invasion began dragging on for months, his war was recast as a “holy crusade” battling the “forces of Satan”.

Now, as the conflict approaches its third year, Putin is having to find a fresh argument to appease a general public struggling to come to grips with a horrific death toll.

“Ukraine itself is not our enemy,” Putin told a soldier while visiting a hospital for war wounded. “Those who want to destroy Russian statehood and to achieve a strategic defeat of Russia on the battlefield are mainly in the West.”

A high blood price. But what’s the product?

“Though it has been their (the West’s) goal to deal with Russia from time immemorial, we will deal with them faster,” Putin assured the wounded during his hospital visit.

“And the most important thing we have is … the unity of our people and society. Because there is an understanding of how important your job on the battlefield is in the armed struggle for our country and our future.”

That, Russia analysts believe, is the whole point of Putin’s latest spin.

“The war in Ukraine created an entirely new political reality for the Kremlin and prompted the enshrining of a revamped ideological foundation for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule,” argues Carnegie Endowment senior fellow Andrei Kolesnikov.

Now, Putin is all about “traditional spiritual and moral values”.

And his totalitarian government, says Kolesnikov, “requires a certain degree of self-justification”.

But Putin’s previous proclamations of “denazifying” Ukraine and “battling the forces of satan” are no longer enough.


Source : BBC
 
A Russian missile strike has killed 11 people, including five children, in eastern Ukraine, a local official says.

S-300 missiles hit the town of Pokrovsk in Ukrainian-held territory in Donetsk region, the regional governor said.

"The enemy is cynically hitting civilians, trying to bring as much misery as possible," Governor Vadim Filashkin posted on Telegram.

In his evening video address, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had targeted residential areas.

Russia should always feel consequences for such attacks, Mr Zelensky added.

Russia is yet to comment.

Pokrovsk is about 70km (43 miles) north-west of Donetsk city, which is occupied by Russian forces.

Before the war it had a population of about 60,000 people. Some residents have been returning despite official warnings about the dangers.


BBC
 

Putin praises Russian ‘defenders’ as Ukraine deflects another barrage​

Celebrating Orthodox Christmas, President Vladimir Putin has pledged to support soldiers defending Russia as his army sent another barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight.

Speaking on the eve of Sunday’s Orthodox Christmas, the Kremlin chief promised military families that his government would offer increased backing to “Russian warriors” engaged in the invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022. Unlike last year, Putin did not call this year for a ceasefire.

Russia used North Korean missiles in Ukraine, US says

“Many of our men, our courageous, heroic guys, Russian warriors, even now, on this holiday, defend the interests of our country with arms in hand,” he said as he met bereaved families of Russian soldiers who have died in Ukraine.

However, anger persists in some quarters over Russia’s treatment of its soldiers in the “meatgrinder” of Ukraine. In particular, following a mobilisation drive in September 2022, a lack of training and equipment was criticised. On Saturday, the wives of Russians mobilised to fight in Ukraine demanded the return of their husbands from the front.

Many of those soldiers were spending Christmas in trenches, with the front-line war largely bogged down. Amid the stalemate, air raids have increased in frequency and intensity.

Ukraine’s air force reported on Telegram on Sunday that it had shot down 21 out of 28 drones launched by Russia overnight, largely in the south and east of the country. Three cruise missiles also targeted the country, it said, without offering further details.

“The enemy is shifting the focus of attack to the frontline territories – Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions were attacked by drones,” Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told national television. The drones were predominantly destroyed by mobile teams, saving “scarce” air defence missiles, he added.

Dnipropetrovsk regional authorities said on Telegram that 12 people were injured in a drone attack in the city of Dnipro.

Source : Al Jazeera
 
Zelenskyy on surprise Baltics tour to rally support against Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Lithuania as he starts a previously unannounced tour of three Baltic states to discuss his country’s war against Russia and Kyiv’s plans to join NATO and the European Union.

Announcing his arrival on X on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said he would go on to Latvia and Estonia in the coming days.

“Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are our reliable friends and principled partners. Today, I arrived in Vilnius before going to Tallinn and Riga,” Zelenskyy posted.

“Security, EU and NATO integration, cooperation on electronic warfare and drones, and further coordination of European support are all on the agenda.”

Zelenskyy and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda are due to hold talks and a joint news conference was scheduled for later on Wednesday.

“The presidents will discuss the war in Ukraine, support for Ukraine and its integration in the European Union and NATO,” Nauseda’s office said in a statement.

The Ukrainian leader will also give a public speech, Nauseda’s office said.

The small countries on the Baltic Sea are among Ukraine’s staunchest political, financial and military supporters. Zelenskyy’s visit comes ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

With the prospects of a protracted war growing, Ukraine has been appealing to its Western allies for more financial and military assistance.

Ukraine has come under intense Russian shelling in recent weeks and retaliated with strikes on Russia’s border city of Belgorod.

An EU aid package worth 50 billion euros ($55bn) has been in limbo following a veto by Hungary, while the US Congress remains divided on sending additional aid to Kyiv.

Source: Al Jazeera

www.aljazeera.com

Zelenskyy on surprise Baltics tour to rally support against Russia

Ukraine president’s first stop is Lithuania. He will also visit ‘reliable friends’ Latvia and Estonia.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
U.N. to seek $3.1bn in aid for Ukraine in 2024

United Nations agencies will next week ask for $3.1 billion to finance aid to Ukraine this year, a senior humanitarian official told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.

“As the war in Ukraine continues unabated, driving high levels of humanitarian need, financial support must be sustained,” Edem Wosornu, director of the Operations and Advocacy Division for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told the Security Council in New York.

“In 2024, we urge all donors to once again step up and help the people of Ukraine.”

She added that the U.N. response plan for 2024, which will be launched by OCHA in Geneva on Monday alongside the U.N. refugee agency, aims to raise $3.1 billion to assist 8.5 million people in Ukraine.

OCHA has said that more than 14.6 million people, or 40% of Ukraine’s population, will require humanitarian assistance this year due to Russia’s full-scale invasion. The conflict has also forced some 6.3 million people to flee abroad.

Four million people, including nearly one million children, remain displaced within the country, according to OCHA.

Wosornu deplored that the OCHA’s access to areas occupied by Russian remained “significantly impeded”.

“This is hugely concerning for hundreds of thousands of people living in occupied areas close to the front line, where needs are most urgent,” she said.



www.brecorder.com

U.N. to seek $3.1bn in aid for Ukraine in 2024

GENEVA: United Nations agencies will next week ask for $3.1 billion to finance aid to Ukraine this year, a senior...
www.brecorder.com
 

Western hesitation on aid to Ukraine helps Putin: Zelensky​


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday warned that any delays in Western aid to Kyiv emboldened the Kremlin, almost two years into Russia’s invasion.

Zelensky was in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius as part of a surprise visit to one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies.

“He (Russian President Vladimir Putin) is not going to stop,” he said at a news conference with his Lithuanian counterpart Gitanas Nauseda. “He wants to occupy us completely.

Russia to do ‘everything’ to halt Ukrainian shelling

“And sometimes, the insecurity of partners regarding financial and military aid to Ukraine only increases Russia’s courage and strength,” he added.

He was speaking as other Western countries are wavering over continued support for Ukraine.

Zelensky warned that Putin would not stop at Ukraine but would attack other neighbours unless allies joined forces to stop him.

“He (Putin) won’t finish this (war), until we all finish him together,” the Ukrainian leader said.

“We must understand that Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova may be next if we (Ukraine) do not withstand (Russia),” he added.

His comments came as Ukraine is facing renewed aerial assaults from Russia, prompting pleas for more support to Kyiv, which is “sorely lacking” modern air-defence systems.

“In recent days, Russia hit Ukraine with a total of 500 devices: we destroyed 70 percent of them,” Zelensky said.

“Air-defence systems are (the) number one (thing) that we lack,” he added.

Zelensky’s visit to Lithuania comes as he seeks to bolster wavering support among other Western backers.

The tour of the three former Soviet republics – all now EU and NATO members – marks Zelensky’s first official trips abroad this year.

Source : AFP
 

Putin may be about to launch an apocalyptic assault​


With Western attention turning towards elections in Britain and America, the war in Ukraine is drifting away from the front pages. While many in the West have written the conflict off as a stalemate, the Kremlin has not. There are now rumblings in Moscow that a decisive offensive to turn the tides of the war squarely in Russia’s favour may soon be underway.

Russia is scouring the globe for drones and ammunition from every dictator and rogue state, while Kyiv scratches around and begs for artillery shells and air defence missiles from its distracted “allies”.

As German Chancellor Shulz urges the European Union to do more – while notably failing to deliver the hundreds of Leopard 2 tanks Ukraine so desperately needs – Russia is moving to a total war footing, with its government spending and economy increasingly dictated by the needs of the war machine. The contrast between East and West could not be clearer; Russia is focused, and we are not.

Putin, meanwhile, may soon need to show gains on the ground. The election in March will be a complete sham, with his only genuine opposition, Alexei Navalny, safely locked away. That does not mean that the autocrat is entirely ironclad. The memory of last summer’s attempted coup will undoubtedly be fresh in his mind, and the civilian deaths caused by Ukrainian assaults across the border will be focusing attention on the state of the war again. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson has insisted that the Russian military will “do everything in order to minimise the danger at first and then eliminate it entirely.”

With Russian ultra-Nationalists calling for a major offensive around Kharkiv, there is a clear incentive for Putin to pull out all the stops in his “special military operation”. The problem is that according to the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, the Russian military is likely unable to “conduct an operation to seize significant territory in Kharkiv Oblast in the near term”. In its words, “A Russian incursion 15 kilometres in depth and several hundred kilometres in width would be a massive operational undertaking that would require a grouping of forces far larger and significantly better resourced than what Russian forces currently have concentrated along the entire international border with Ukraine, least of all in Belgorod Oblast”.

This does not mean that such an assault is impossible. It simply means that it would require weapons on the battlefield we have yet to see. In my opinion, the only weapons that Russia has which could achieve this in this time frame would be a tactical nuclear weapon or some sort of chemical or biological attack. Given the infamous failure of Obama’s “red line” in Syria, and the reluctance of the West to fully commit to defending Ukraine.

Source : Yahoo News
 
Ukraine war: MPs reject bid to crack down on draft dodgers

Ukraine's parliament has refused to consider a conscription bill that proposes a crackdown on draft dodgers.

MPs have criticised certain punishment measures included in the bill as unconstitutional.

Some have also suggested reducing the length of military service proposed in the bill from 36 to 18 months.

The bill was drafted in a bid to conscript more people, as Kyiv faces problems on the battlefield after nearly two years of war with Russia.

It also included plans to lower the age at which men can be conscripted into the armed forces from 27 to 25.

Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 450,000-500,000 extra soldiers were needed to fight Russia's invasion.

But some clauses in the bill have caused outrage, such as limiting draft dodgers' rights to own property and freely use their personal money.

The bill would also allow Ukrainians to be summoned electronically to join the armed forces. At the start of the war, tens of thousands of men volunteered to fight but almost two years on it is getting harder to convince anyone to join up.



www.bbc.com

Ukraine war: MPs reject bid to crack down on draft dodgers

They say some of the punishments proposed in President Zelensky's bill are unconstitutional.
www.bbc.com
 
Russia launched dozens of attacks across Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said, as Kyiv continued its diplomatic efforts to ratchet up support and military aid.

“A total of 40 means of enemy air attack were recorded,” the air force said on Saturday, adding that it destroyed eight missiles. “More than 20 devices” failed to reach their targets due to “active measures by means of electronic warfare”.

Russia said it destroyed all targets in a barrage of attacks on facilities producing ammunition and drones in Ukraine.

The defence ministry in Moscow said its armed forces “carried out a group strike … against facilities of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex”.

It said it was targeting places producing shells, gunpowder and unmanned aerial vehicles. “All designated facilities were hit,” it added.

No fatalities were reported so far, but Ukrainian authorities said a civilian was wounded in the northeastern Sumy region.

According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia fired Kinzhal missiles, perhaps the toughest conventional Russian missile to shoot down, moving at several times the speed of sound.

The missiles were shot down in at least five regions across Ukraine, according to local officials from those provinces.

Police in the northern region of Chernihiv posted a picture of a large crater made by a downed missile.

“As a result of being hit by the debris of an enemy missile, several private homes and non-residential buildings were damaged, one building was practically destroyed,” the police wrote, adding that a dog had been killed but no people were hurt.

The air force in Ukraine’s neighbour Poland said it had briefly activated air defence systems due to the increased level of threat.

The attacks took place as France’s newly appointed foreign minister, Stephane Sejourne, arrived in Kyiv on Saturday for his first official trip abroad, in a sign of support as the Russian invasion of Ukraine nears its second year.

Source : Al Jazeera
 
The Bald Eagle said:
Russia launched dozens of attacks across Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said, as Kyiv continued its diplomatic efforts to ratchet up support and military aid.

“A total of 40 means of enemy air attack were recorded,” the air force said on Saturday, adding that it destroyed eight missiles. “More than 20 devices” failed to reach their targets due to “active measures by means of electronic warfare”.

Russia said it destroyed all targets in a barrage of attacks on facilities producing ammunition and drones in Ukraine.

The defence ministry in Moscow said its armed forces “carried out a group strike … against facilities of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex”.

It said it was targeting places producing shells, gunpowder and unmanned aerial vehicles. “All designated facilities were hit,” it added.

No fatalities were reported so far, but Ukrainian authorities said a civilian was wounded in the northeastern Sumy region.

According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia fired Kinzhal missiles, perhaps the toughest conventional Russian missile to shoot down, moving at several times the speed of sound.

The missiles were shot down in at least five regions across Ukraine, according to local officials from those provinces.

Police in the northern region of Chernihiv posted a picture of a large crater made by a downed missile.

“As a result of being hit by the debris of an enemy missile, several private homes and non-residential buildings were damaged, one building was practically destroyed,” the police wrote, adding that a dog had been killed but no people were hurt.

The air force in Ukraine’s neighbour Poland said it had briefly activated air defence systems due to the increased level of threat.

The attacks took place as France’s newly appointed foreign minister, Stephane Sejourne, arrived in Kyiv on Saturday for his first official trip abroad, in a sign of support as the Russian invasion of Ukraine nears its second year.

Source : Al Jazeera
Click to expand...

Now that West has shifted focus from Ukraine to Israel, I expect Russia to pound Ukraine hard and win the war.

I read that Ukraine was finding it difficult to replace their dead troops. Less and less people were signing up to fight for Ukraine.
 
sweep_shot said:
Now that West has shifted focus from Ukraine to Israel, I expect Russia to pound Ukraine hard and win the war.

I read that Ukraine was finding it difficult to replace their dead troops. Less and less people were signing up to fight for Ukraine.
Click to expand...
Ukraine is suffering because of lack of attention from west now.
 
Kyiv suffers largest ever drone attack by Russia leaving five wounded

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Russia launched a ‘fearsome’ hypersonic missile attack in the early hours of this morning after the UK promised to send thousands of drones to Kyiv.

Air defences shot down Russian missiles in at least five regions across Ukraine, according to local officials from those provinces.

“As a result of being hit by the debris of an enemy missile, several private homes and non-residential buildings were damaged, one building was practically destroyed,” the police wrote, adding that a dog had been killed but no people were hurt.However, no details were given on whether any targets were hit, and far less information about the attack than usual was provided by officials.

The UK has pledged to send the highest number of military drones of any country to Ukraine as Rishi Sunak made a surprise visit to Kyiv.

The government announced on Friday that Britain would be increasing its support for Ukraine’s fight against Putin to £2.5 billion next financial year - an increase of £200 million.

Rishi Sunak said: “Ukraine will never be alone. Putin might think that he can outlast us but he is wrong. We stand with you today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”

Source : The Independent
 
Ukraine says it shot down Russian A-50 spy plane

Ukraine's military says it has shot down a Russian military spy plane over the Sea of Azov, in what analysts say would be a blow to Moscow's air power.

Army chief Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi said the air force had "destroyed" an A-50 long range radar detection aircraft, and an Il-22 control centre plane.

The A-50 detects air defences and coordinates targets for Russian jets.

Ukraine has struggled to make significant recent advances against Russian forces in the south-east.

A briefing from the UK's Ministry of Defence on 23 February said that Russia "likely" had six operational A-50s in service. The planes can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build.

The BBC has been unable to verify the attack.

Russian officials said they had "no information" about the attacks, but prominent pro-war Russian commentators have said the loss of an A-50 would be significant.

One popular military channel, Rybar, said that - if Ukraine's information about the Russian losses was confirmed - it would be "another black day for the Russian air force".

Another channel said the Il-22 command centre was hit by Russian "friendly fire". It reportedly managed to land back in Russia.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat claimed that the Il-22 had been damaged beyond repair.


www.bbc.com

Ukraine says it shot down Russian A-50 spy plane

Army chief Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi said the air force had "destroyed" an A-50 radar detection aircraft.
www.bbc.com
 

Russia mocks British efforts to support Ukraine; Blinken warns of ‘real problem’ if Kyiv gets no extra funding​


The war in Ukraine is dominating conversations at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy making the most of the opportunity to address the global business and political elite.

Zelenskyy told delegates that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had “stolen” years of peace and threatened the wider world if he was allowed to succeed in his invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Zelenskyy at Davos on Tuesday and, speaking to CNBC later, said there would be a “real problem” if Congress did not approve additional (and contentious) funding for Ukraine.

Denis Balibouse | Reuters
In other news, Putin said Tuesday it was “impossible” to take away from Russia the military gains it had made in Ukraine.

Talking about possible peace talks, Putin said ideas put forward by Ukraine were “prohibitive formulas for the peace process.” When asked to comment on Sunday’s talks, the Kremlin’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told CNBC, “We find these negotiations strange without our participation. They have no prospects for success.”

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda told CNBC Tuesday that Ukraine’s refusal to cede ground to Russia in prospective peace talks was “perfectly understandable.”

We shouldn’t get militarily involved in the Russia-Ukraine war, Hungary says
Speaking to CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick, Katalin Novak, the president of Hungary, discusses the Russia-Ukraine war and the European Union’s support for Kyiv.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Nikolay Denkov, the prime minister of Bulgaria, discusses why he believes united support for Ukraine is so important.

Source: CNBC News
 

Putin says Russia cannot be forced to give up its gains in Ukraine​

Russia is pointedly not invited to the meetings centred on Zelenskyy’s peace plan, which calls for withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine, recognition of its 1991 post-Soviet borders and a mechanism to bring Moscow to account.

Putin dismissed “so-called peace formulas” being discussed in the West and Ukraine and what he called the “prohibitive demands” they entailed.

“Well, if they don’t want (to negotiate), then don’t!” he said.

“Now it is quite obvious, not only (Ukraine’s) counter-offensive failed, but the initiative is completely in the hands of the Russian armed forces. If this continues, Ukrainian statehood may suffer an irreparable, very serious blow.”

Putin’s statements about the course of the war have become increasingly confident and aggressive in recent months, with the failure of Ukraine’s counter-offensive to deliver any substantial gains against well entrenched Russian forces.

‘New realities’​

Russia currently controls 17.5% of the territory of Ukraine and says any negotiation would have to take account of the “new realities” created by its forces on the ground.

Putin said talk of negotiation was “an attempt to motivate us to abandon the gains that we have realized over the past year and a half. But this is impossible. Everyone understands that this is impossible.”

In Davos, Zelenskyy said he strongly opposed freezing the conflict along its current lines.

A commentary on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website said the meeting in Davos on Tuesday had exposed differences between participants and produced no increase in support for the proposals.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the West on Tuesday (16 January) to show a united front against Russian President Vladimir Putin and to step up its support for Kyiv, especially air defence, to ensure that Moscow does not prevail in the war.

“There is a growing understanding that no overall, fair and sustainable peace can be achieved by focusing on the ultimatum of the ‘Zelenskyy formula,'” the commentary said.

“All such meetings … including the Davos gathering and those to follow it, are pointless and harmful for settling the Ukrainian crisis.”

Ukraine has sought through the meetings and other diplomatic moves to garner greater support from the “global south,” with many countries having stayed on the sidelines in the conflict.

Zelenskyy’s Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak, said there were participants at the Davos meeting from 18 Asian countries, 12 African countries and six South American countries.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the Davos talks as “simply talking for the sake of talking,” saying there could be no moves towards a settlement without Russia’s participation.

Source: EURACTIV
 
Russian missiles on Wednesday struck a town outside Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, killing one person and damaging an educational institution, the regional governor and the military said.

Governor Oleh Synehubov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said there were two strikes on the town of Chuhuiv, southeast of Kharkiv.

A woman employee of a heating and power plant was killed. Another person was injured.


Reuters
 
Ukraine says it hit targets in St Petersburg with domestic-made drone

Ukraine hit targets in Russia's St Petersburg overnight using a domestic-produced drone that flew 1,250 km (775 miles), a Ukrainian government minister was quoted as saying by Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Thursday.

A Ukrainian military source told Reuters earlier that an oil terminal in Russia's second city, located some 850 km (530 miles) from the nearest section of the Ukrainian border, was targeted as part of a "new stage of work in this region".

"...Last night we hit the target, and this thing flew exactly 1,250 kilometres last night," Oleksandr Kamyshin, the minister of strategic industries who oversees weapons production, was quoted as saying in Davos.

Reuters could not independently verify the statements. A Russian-appointed official in occupied southeastern Ukraine said earlier that Ukraine had tried and failed to target a Russian Baltic Sea oil terminal with a drone overnight.

Nearly two years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the attack shows how Kyiv is trying to strike back, including at targets deep inside Russia.

Kyiv has been trying to develop and produce attack drones with a longer range, to narrow the gap in strike capabilities with Russia, which regularly conducts long-range aerial bombardments of Ukraine with missiles and drones.

Kyiv has used drones and missiles to strike targets on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed in 2014.



Reuters
 
Fire has broken out over a large area of an oil storage depot in southern Russia after officials say it was hit by a Ukrainian drone.

Russian media say four oil tanks caught alight and the fire then spread over an area of 1,000 sq m (10,763sq ft).

Russian authorities in the Bryansk region say no-one was hurt.

The Bryansk governor said the drone was intercepted near the town of Klintsy and its explosives then fell on the oil depot.

The drone strike is the second on Russian oil facilities in two days.

An unprecedented attack targeted a major oil loading terminal in Russia's second city, St Petersburg, on Thursday.

Russian reports suggested that drone was shot down without causing damage but there were indications in Kyiv that the attack, so far from the Ukrainian border, marked a new phase in strategy.

"Yes, last night we hit the target. This thing crossed 1,250km (776 miles) last night," said Ukraine's Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin on Thursday.

Source: BBC

www.bbc.com

Ukraine war: Russian oil depot hit in Ukrainian drone attack

Fire breaks out over a large area in the Bryansk region, a day after another oil facility is targeted.
www.bbc.com
 
I was recently in Bali and met a bunch of young Russians (late 20s...early 30s) who'd been staying there for varying periods to keep away from being conscripted into the war. It's obviously anecdotal and make of it what you will but the hate for Putin was visceral. They claimed no one under 50 supports Putin and everyone knew a bunch of their family & friends who'd died or been maimed in the war. They all said no young person understands why they were being forced to go fight in Ukraine for some mythical objectives - demilitarization of a country they couldn't care about or to free some people who speak Russian. They claimed even speaking a word against Putin in Russia could get you picked and beaten but there are secret Telegram groups where tens of thousands of youngsters are figuring out ways to escape Russia.

Interestingly, the local Balinese have begun to really resent and hate these guys for their drunken antics and general unruly behaviour. The owner of the resort where I was staying was full of stories and local regulations are being strengthened to throw out Russians who've overstayed their visas.

Nice bunch of guys. Wonder where they'll go if the thousands of them are thrown out.
 
An excavator belches out fumes as it clears earth and rubble from between the train and bus stations in the Ukrainian town of Trostianets to make way for a reimagined transport hub.
'
Badly damaged in fighting with Russian forces almost two years ago, Trostianets is one of six settlements being rebuilt with state funds in a pilot programme to develop the skills and experience needed for a far broader reconstruction drive later.

Mayor Yuriy Bova said time was running out to breathe life back into towns, or risk losing millions of Ukrainians who could help redevelop the country to permanent exile in Europe.

"We're fighting for every person who should return; for every child who needs to return and build their future here," he told Reuters in the town, barely 30 km (20 miles) from Russia.

"To walk around and see this every day, that will morally traumatise a person," Bova said of the ruined northeastern town. "We need to restore everything, starting with cafes, libraries, factories, schools, hospitals."

Officials in Kyiv have also signaled the urgence of rebuilding Ukraine, an effort that will require hundreds of billions of dollars and involve more than quick fixes to critical sites such as hospitals, power stations and railways.

The war, however, shows no signs of abating. Short on cash, Ukraine is defending against new Russian attacks after its own counteroffensive failed to yield significant gains. Moscow has also resumed a campaign of mass air strikes on population centres far beyond the front line.


 
Zelenskyy calls Trump's rhetoric about Ukraine's war with Russia 'very dangerous'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was worried at the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House, branding Trump's claim that he could stop Ukraine's war with Russia in 24 hours as “very dangerous.”

In an interview with the U.K.'s Channel 4 News that aired Friday, Zelenskyy invited the former president and front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination to visit Kyiv, but only if Trump delivers on his promise.

“Donald Trump, I invite you to Ukraine, to Kyiv. If you can stop the war during 24 hours, I think it will be enough to come,” Zelenskyy said.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not respond to a message seeking comment Saturday.

The Ukrainian leader also shared his concern about the U.S. taking unilateral action that failed to consider Ukraine's perspective, noting the dearth of details around Trump's “peace plan.”

Zelenskyy described the former president's rhetoric as “very dangerous” and appeared apprehensive that Trump's idea of a negotiated solution might involve Ukraine making major concessions to Russia.

“(Trump) is going to make decisions on his own, without … I’m not even talking about Russia, but without both sides, without us," Zelenskyy said. “If he says this publicly, that's a little scary. I've seen a lot, a lot of victims, but that's really making me a bit stressed.”

He added: “Because even if his idea (for ending the war) - that no one has heard yet - doesn’t work for us, for our people, he will do anything to implement his idea anyway. And this worries me a little.”

Trump has repeatedly insisted that he is well-positioned to negotiate an end to the war that has raged for almost two years, saying he has a good relationship with both Russian and Ukrainian leaders. Throughout his political career, he has frequently lavished praise on Russian President Vladimir Putin, including after Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

At a campaign rally in Georgia just days after Russian tanks moved into Ukraine, Trump described Putin as a “smart” political player and expressed admiration for Russia's swift takeover of a vast, “great piece of land" at the cost of what he suggested were relatively minor sanctions.

The U.S. House of Representatives impeached Trump when he was president, alleging he pressured Zelenskyy to pursue a politically motivated probe that might hurt Joe Biden’s chance to win the 2020 presidential election while withholding $400 million in military aid that Congress approved to help Ukraine confront Russian-backed separatists in the country's east.

The Senate acquitted Trump of the impeachment charges.

Elsewhere, the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog on Saturday warned that mines had been re-planted around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, just months after a team of international inspectors reported on their removal.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi cautioned that the presence of mines in the plant's buffer zone, between its internal and external fences, is “inconsistent” with the agency’s safety standards, according to a readout published on the organization’s website. The readout added that an IAEA team dispatched to monitor the plant's safety had previously identified mines in the same location, but that these were removed last November.

The head of Ukraine’s state nuclear company on Saturday described the alleged planting of mines as “another crime” by Russian forces that have occupied the Zaporizhzhia plant since the early weeks of the war.

In a Telegram update, Petro Kotin of Energoatom said that the situation at the plant “will remain fragile and dangerous as long as the Russians remain there.”

The IAEA has repeatedly expressed concern that the war could cause a potential radiation leak from the facility, which is one of world’s 10 biggest nuclear power stations. The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, but it still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features.

Also on Saturday, Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian town of Huliaipole, wounding a local resident as he stood in his yard, local Gov. Yuriy Malashko wrote on Telegram.

Earlier that day, regional Ukrainian officials reported that one civilian was killed and three more suffered wounds as Russian forces on Friday and overnight shelled the southern Kherson region.

In southern Russia, close to the Ukrainian border, an exploding drone slammed into a gas pipeline on the outskirts of the city of Belgorod, regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported on Telegram. Gladkov said Ukraine was responsible for the attack, and added that no one was hurt.

Source: ABC

abcnews.go.com

Zelenskyy calls Trump's rhetoric about Ukraine's war with Russia 'very dangerous'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he's worried at the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House
abcnews.go.com abcnews.go.com
 
This person has gone mad. He doesn't want to end the war with Russia.

I have been saying it for a long time only Trump can stop this war.
 
At least 25 people were killed in a shelling attack in the Russian-held city of Donetsk, the Moscow-installed leader of the region said.

Denis Pushilin said a Ukrainian strike, which also injured 20 people, hit a busy market.

He said emergency services were working at the scene, and that information on the number of dead and wounded was still being collected.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the incident.

Photographs published by Reuters news agency appeared to show destroyed shop fronts, as well as bodies lying in the street.

Donetsk city and parts of the wider region in eastern Ukraine were first seized by Russian-backed forces in 2014, and the area has been partially controlled by Moscow ever since.

The city is around 20km (12 miles) from the frontline. Areas near Donetsk city - including Mariinka and Avdiivka - have seen some of the fiercest fighting of late.

www.bbc.com

Donetsk: Deadly blast at market in Russian-held city, local officials say

At least 25 people have been killed and 20 injured, the Moscow-installed leader of the region says.
www.bbc.com
 
Ukraine drones hit St Petersburg gas terminal in Russia

An explosion at a major gas export terminal near the city of St Petersburg in Russia was carried out by Ukrainian drones, BBC News has been told.

The blast caused a large fire at the Ust-Luga terminal, but no injuries, Russian officials said.

An official source in Kyiv said the "special operation" of the SBU security service masterminded the attack, with drones that worked "on target".

Both Russia and Ukraine have used drones in the current conflict.

Russia launched its full-scale of invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, but has made little progress in recent months.

Regarding the explosion near St Petersburg, regional governor Alexander Drozdenko said a "high alert regime" was in place after the incident at the terminal of gas producer Novatek, in Ust-Luga on the Gulf of Finland. He shared a video of what appeared to be a large fire.

Novatek later announced that work at the terminal had been suspended, and said the fire was the result of "external influence" - without providing further details.

The Ukrainians say fuel processed at the plant was being used to supply Russian troops in their war against Ukraine and that this strike "significantly complicates" logistics for the military.

They also describe the attack as an economic blow to Russia, which exports fuel from the terminal.

Russia's Fontanka.ru has published video showing tankers moored close to where the fire is raging. It reports two drones were spotted approaching the city of St Petersburg at about 01:00 local time (22:00 GMT) but swerved sharply at the outskirts before heading for the coast and the Ust-Luga port.

An eyewitness is heard saying the ground shook beneath his feet with the explosions.

The Russian Telegram channel Mash quotes a source saying they heard two explosions before the fire. The channel says around 150 staff were evacuated from the terminal.

Another video - posted on Russian social media - appears to show huge balls of orange fire, a man's voice is heard referring to hearing the buzzing of a drone before the explosion.

Fontanka.ru, usually a reliable source, says flights in and out of St Petersburg had been grounded before the explosions, as a plan known as "Carpet" was put in place.

Russia's defence ministry also said it shot down three Ukrainian drones in Smolensk Region, close to its border with Ukraine, on Saturday night.

It earlier said it had shot down drones over Tula and Oryol, both in western Russia. There were no reports of casualties.

Also on Sunday, at least 25 people were killed and 20 injured by shelling at a busy market in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, Russian-installed officials said. Kyiv has not yet commented on that attack.

Russia and Ukraine have been targeting each other's energy infrastructure, and on Friday a fire broke out at an oil depot in Bryansk, south-west Russia, which Moscow blamed on a Ukrainian drone strike.

That came a day after an attack targeted a major oil loading terminal in St Petersburg.

On Thursday, Russia claimed to have captured a village close to the devastated city of Bakhmut, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Kyiv has not confirmed the claim.

Ukraine has warned repeatedly that its army is facing severe ammunition shortages, but has set a target of producing a million drones domestically this year.



www.bbc.com

Ukraine drones hit St Petersburg gas terminal in Russia

An official in Kyiv tells the BBC the "special operation" is an economic blow to Russia.
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Ukraine war ‘a battle of ammo’ says NATO as it agrees huge arms deal​

NATO has signed a large ammunition deal that it says would help it supply Ukraine with desperately needed stocks.

The military alliance announced on Tuesday that it has signed a deal worth 1.1 billion euros ($1.2bn) to buy artillery shells. The move comes amid intensified exchanges of fire between Russia and Ukraine since the end of last year, which have depleted the latter’s weapons stockpiles.

NATO greenlit the purchase of 220,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition, the most widely sought-after artillery shell, noting that bulk buying for member states should ensure lower prices. Sources said the ammunition would be supplied by French arms maker Nexter and Germany’s Junghans.

“This is important to defend our own territory, to build up our own stocks, but also to continue to support Ukraine,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

“The war in Ukraine has become a battle of ammunition,” he told reporters. “We cannot allow President [Vladimir] Putin to win in Ukraine … That would be a tragedy for the Ukrainians and dangerous for all of us.”

Shoring up support
As progress on the front line has stalled in recent months, Russia and Ukraine have doubled down on exchanges of fire using artillery, missiles and drones.

However, Russia’s arms industry far outweighs Ukraine’s and Kyiv is struggling to secure both financing and weapons supplies from its Western allies needed to continue competing with Moscow’s firepower.

According to European Union estimates, Ukraine was firing approximately 4,000 to 7,000 artillery shells each day last summer, while Russia was launching more than 20,000 shells daily in its neighbour’s territory.

Drawing on its deep stockpiles, Russia has in recent weeks concentrated on air raids in a bid to drain Ukraine’s air defence systems. Officials in Kyiv say Russia launched 500 drones and missiles between December 29 and January 2.

Ukraine and its allies are scrambling to keep up. Kyiv has said it intends to produce one million drones in 2024.

Although the European Union fell short of its pledge to supply one million artillery rounds in 2023, officials have said that they expect the European defence industry to raise production by the end of this year.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday was the latest foreign leader to visit the country, announcing a loan to buy larger weapons and commitments on joint manufacturing.

However, NATO noted that the shells bought under the new deal will not arrive for two to three years.

And the United States, Ukraine’s main supplier, is currently unable to send Ukraine any ammunition or weapons as it waits for approval from Congress on budgetary needs.

Massive assault
Russia launched its latest air assault against Ukraine on Tuesday, killing at least seven people, according to the UN and Ukrainian authorities.

Ukraine said that the air raids included more than 40 ballistic, cruise, antiaircraft and guided missiles, in what the United Nations said appeared to be the heaviest bombardment since early January, when hundreds of Ukrainian civilians were killed.

The recent Russian bombardment was “an alarming reversal” of a trend last year that saw a drop in civilian casualties from Kremlin attacks, the UN said.

More than 10,000 civilians have been killed and nearly 20,000 injured since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the UN said.

Tuesday’s onslaught in Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, killed six people and injured 57, including eight children, the UN said.

The missiles damaged about 30 residential buildings and shattered hundreds of windows in icy weather, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Russia used S-300, Kh-32 and hypersonic Iskander missiles in the attack, he said.

A five-storey apartment building appeared to have been directly hit by several missiles around dawn, the UN Human Rights Mission in Ukraine said in a statement.

An unknown number of people were trapped in the rubble with the temperature falling to minus seven degrees Celsius (19 degrees Fahrenheit), said Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

Kharkiv, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the border, has often felt the brunt of Russia’s winter campaign of long-range attacks that often hit civilian areas.

Four districts of Kyiv came under an attack that injured at least 20 people, including a 13-year-old boy, according to Mayor Vitalii Klitschko. Officials corrected initial reports that a civilian had been killed in the capital, saying the wounded person was hospitalised on life support.

UN staff visited a Kyiv neighbourhood with a damaged residential building, a school, a sports centre and a kindergarten.

A missile also killed a 43-year-old woman and damaged two schools and eight high-rise buildings in Pavlohrad, an industrial city in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, the country’s presidential office said.

In Balakliya, in the Kharkiv region, an 88-year-old man and a 78-year-old woman were rescued from the rubble of a house after Russian shelling, it said.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
 
Russian missiles strike Ukrainian cities again, killing at least 7 and wounding dozens

Russian missiles struck three Ukrainian cities Tuesday, including its two biggest, killing at least seven people and wrecking apartment buildings after Moscow shunned any deal backed by Kyiv and its Western allies to end the nearly 2-year-old war.

The barrage included more than 40 ballistic, cruise, anti-aircraft and guided missiles, officials reported, in what the United Nations said appeared to be the heaviest bombardment since early January, when hundreds of Ukrainian civilians were killed. Ukraine’s air force, whose defenses include Western-supplied systems, said it intercepted 21 of the missiles.

The attacks keep Ukrainians on edge while the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line has barely budged. Both sides’ inability to deliver major gains on the battlefield has pushed the fighting toward trench and artillery warfare. Analysts say Russia stockpiled missiles at the end of last year to press a winter campaign of aerial bombardment.

The recent Russian bombardment was “an alarming reversal” of a trend last year that saw a drop in civilian casualties from Kremlin attacks, the U.N. said.

More than 10,000 civilians have been killed and nearly 20,000 injured since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the U.N. said.

Tuesday’s onslaught in Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, killed six people and injured 57, including eight children, the U.N. said. The missiles damaged about 30 residential buildings and shattered hundreds of windows in icy weather, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said.

Russia used S-300, Kh-32 and hypersonic Iskander missiles in the attack, he said.

A five-story apartment building appeared to have been directly hit by several missiles around dawn, the U.N. Human Rights Mission in Ukraine said in a statement.

An unknown number of people were trapped in the rubble with the temperature falling to minus 7 degrees Celsius (19 degrees Fahrenheit), said Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.

Kharkiv, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the border, has often felt the brunt of Russia’s winter campaign of long-range strikes that commonly hit civilian areas.

Four districts of Kyiv came under an attack that injured at least 20 people, including a 13-year-old boy, according to Mayor Vitalii Klitschko. Officials corrected initial reports that a civilian had been killed in the capital, saying the wounded person was hospitalized on life support.

U.N. staff visited a Kyiv neighborhood with a damaged residential building, a school, a sports center and a kindergarten.

A missile also killed a 43-year-old woman and damaged two schools and eight high-rise buildings in Pavlohrad, an industrial city in the eastern Dnipro region, the country’s presidential office said.

In Balakliia, in the Kharkiv region, an 88-year-old man and a 78-year-old woman were rescued from the rubble of a house after Russian shelling, it said.

In the south, Russia attacked the city of Beryslav with drones, killing a 69-year-old man on a motorcycle.

There appeared to be scant chance of an end to the war anytime soon. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov defied the United States and other Ukraine supporters at a U.N. meeting on Monday, ruling out any peace plan they support.

Lavrov claimed that Ukrainian forces have been “a complete failure” on the battlefield and are “incapable” of defeating Russia.

On Sunday, Moscow-installed officials in eastern Ukraine claimed that shelling by Kyiv killed 27 people on the outskirts of Russian-occupied Donetsk.

The Ukrainian military, however, denied it had anything to do with the attack.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday’s attacks should not be seen as Moscow’s response to the Donetsk strike. He repeated Moscow’s claim that its forces don’t strike civilian areas, although there is substantial evidence to the contrary.

Deaths of Ukrainian civilians have stirred international outrage over Russia’s invasion, and Ukrainian officials have pointed to the attacks in their efforts to secure further military aid from the country’s allies.

NATO on Tuesday signed a $1.2-billion contract to make tens of thousands of artillery rounds to replenish the dwindling stocks of its member countries. The contract will allow allies to backfill their arsenals and provide Ukraine with more ammunition.

Turkish legislators lifted a major hurdle to Sweden’s membership in NATO on Tuesday by endorsing its entry into the military alliance. Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATO’s umbrella after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In a virtual meeting Tuesday with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to secure $11.8 billion for Ukraine, according to a Treasury Department readout of the meeting. The money would be part of a national security supplemental request before Congress.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday was the latest foreign leader to visit Ukraine and announce a new aid package that includes a loan to buy larger weapons and a commitment to find ways to manufacture them together.

Ukraine’s allies have recently sought to reassure the country that they are committed to its long-term defense amid concerns that Western support could be flagging. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and France’s new foreign minister also traveled to Kyiv in the new year.

But the United States, Ukraine’s main supplier, is currently unable to send Ukraine any ammunition or weapons. While waiting for Congress to approve more money for Ukraine’s fight, the U.S. is looking to its allies to bridge the gap.
​
SOURCE: AP NEWS
 
A Russian military plane carrying 74 people, including Ukrainian prisoners of war, has crashed in the Belgorod region near Ukraine, Russia's Defence Ministry said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash - which occurred around 11am (local time) - or if anyone survived.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash, and a special military commission was on the way to the crash site, the Defence Ministry said.

The Kremlin has declined to comment on the reported crash. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "This is quite new information, we will now deal with it. I can't say anything yet."

Source: ITV

 

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 700​


At least 18 people were killed and more than 130 injured after Russia targeted Ukraine’s major cities in a wave of missile strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Russia launched nearly 40 missiles of different types in “another combined strike to try to circumvent our air defence system”, he said in a sombre evening address warning the death toll could rise. Eight people were killed in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, which was hit by three waves of attacks. Dozens of Kyiv residents were also injured after Russian missiles hit apartment blocks in the capital.

Celeste Wallander, an assistant secretary of defence at the United States Pentagon, said the Russian missile and drone attacks were part of an attempt by Moscow to find weaknesses in Ukraine’s military while additional US funding for security assistance is tied up in Congress.

Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed its air assault on Ukraine targeted companies producing weapons, missiles and ammunition and had been successful. Asked by reporters about the raids and civilian casualties, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian military “does not hit social facilities and residential neighbourhoods and does not hit civilians”.
Politics and diplomacy

Turkey’s parliament voted 287-55 to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership after more than a year of delays that frustrated Western efforts to show resolve in the face of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Turkish move and said he was counting on Hungary to “complete its national ratification as soon as possible”. Hungary’s populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban said earlier he had invited his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson to Budapest to “negotiate” the accession deal.

Russia rejected allegations that it had forcibly deported Ukrainian children to Russia. Ukraine has said that 20,000 children have been forced to move to Russia since the war erupted in February 2022. The International Criminal Court last year issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children’s commissioner over the transfers.
The US Central Intelligence Agency released a Russian-language video to try and persuade Russian intelligence employees to switch sides and work as double agents for Washington, amid perceived disaffection over the war in Ukraine.
The documentary 20 Days in Mariupol was nominated for an Oscar. The film recounts the Russian siege and brutal capture of the Ukrainian port city in 2022.
Weapons

NATO signed a 1.1 billion euro ($1.2bn) deal to buy 220,000 rounds of 155mm artillery shells for Ukraine. The shells are not expected to arrive in the country for two to three years.
Coordinated raids in five European countries led to the arrest of three people in the Netherlands suspected of breaking sanctions to export technological and lab equipment to Russia that could have military uses, EU judicial agency Eurojust said.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin opened a monthly meeting of about 50 nations that coordinate support for Ukraine against Russia, but did not announce any new US aid for Kyiv. Funding has been blocked by Republicans who want more action on US border issues. Austin joined the meeting from home where he is recovering from surgery for prostate cancer.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
 
Russia deliberately risked lives in downed plane - Kyiv

Ukraine's military intelligence has accused Russia of deliberately jeopardising the lives of prisoners of war, after Moscow said Kyiv had downed a plane with 65 PoWs on board.

The Ilyushin-76 military transport plane crashed in Russia's southern Belgorod region near Ukraine.

Russia's ministry of defence said Ukrainian PoWs were being flown into Belgorod for a prisoner exchange.

Kyiv said it was not told to ensure safe airspace as on previous occasions.

The Ukrainian military intelligence statement is being seen as a tacit acknowledgement that it shot the plane down, although it stressed it had no reliable information about who was on board.

Ria Novosti news agency said another nine people were on the plane, including six crew.

Video shared on social media showed a plane going down followed by an explosion and a fireball near the village of Yablonovo, 70km (44 miles) to the north-east of the city of Belgorod, at around 11:00 local time (08:00 GMT).

The regional governor in Russia's Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said the plane crashed in a field near a residential area and that everyone on board had died.

Ukraine's general staff, quoted by the Ukrainska Pravda website, said initially that the plane was transporting missiles for Russia's S-300 air defence systems. It made no mention of prisoners of war.

None of the details surrounding those on board can be independently verified, but Ukraine's military intelligence said it was Russia's responsibility "to ensure the safety of our defenders under the agreements that had been reached".

On this occasion it said it had not been informed that the airspace had to be safeguarded "at the defined time, which is something that had happened on numerous occasions before".

"This can point to Russia's deliberate actions aimed at putting the lives and safety of the PoWs under threat," it added.

Ukraine and Russia have taken part in a number of prisoner swaps since the start of the war.

BBC Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg said it was clear that Russia was using the attack on the plane to try to portray Ukraine as the aggressor, even though it was Russia that launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.


BBC
 

Ukraine levels up the fight with drone strikes deep into Russia​

Last week, a motorist driving in Russia’s Leningrad region came across something unusual. Men had blocked off the road. In front, a large olive-green military vehicle with cigar-shaped missiles on the back was reversing and then parked up on a snowy verge. “****! It’s an S-300,” the driver exclaimed, before adding: “So guys, let’s prepare for the worst.”

This surreal roadside encounter took place outside St Petersburg, more than 620 miles (about 1,000km) from the border with Ukraine and Russia’s near two-year all-out war. The Kremlin’s security services were apparently taking no chances. They were deploying the S-300 air defence missile system in order to protect Peter the Great’s imperial capital from small but devastating drones.

Over the past three weeks, Ukraine has wreaked havoc with Russia’s energy infrastructure. Soon after the new year, someone attached explosives to train carriages in the Urals city of Nizhny Tagil. A blast took place next to facilities owned by Gazprom Neft, the country’s third biggest oil producer. Next, a kamikaze drone crashed into an oil depot in the Oryol region.

On 18 January, another oil terminal, in St Petersburg – Vladimir Putin’s home city – came under attack. It was the first time since the invasion in February 2022 that unmanned aerial vehicles had reached the Leningrad region.

There was more to come. A large-scale fire broke out at an oil depot in the town of Klintsy, not far from Belarus and Ukraine.

Three days later, drones hit the Baltic port of Ust-Luga in the Gulf of Finland and a main oil terminal belonging to the Novatek company. It supplies fuel to the Russian army, while other shipments go to Asia. An orange fireball lit up the sky. Witnesses described the explosion in apocalyptic terms. “When it blew up, the earth trembled,” said one employee, speaking to the Fontanka news agency.

By last week, the evidence of a new and sustained attack against a crucial part of Russia’s economy was impossible to ignore. On Wednesday, a drone hit the Tuapse oil refinery in southern Russia on the Black Sea. Flames from the burning refinery were visible above an inky skyline. Nearby, the airport in Sochi – Putin’s favourite resort, famed for its pebble beaches – was forced to close.

So far this year, Ukrainian drones have struck at least four Russian oil and gas terminals across the country. The attacks are part of a growing asymmetrical campaign by Kyiv to cripple the industry and to deprive Moscow of the billions of dollars in global revenue it uses to fund its war. About half of Russia’s $420bn export earnings last year came from oil.

“Russia finances its military from oil exports. You can’t persuade countries like India and China to stop buying it. So you knock out Russian oil refineries,” said Illia Ponomarenko, a former defence reporter for the Kyiv Independent newspaper. He added: “You can do a lot of damage to the Russian economy.”

Ponomarenko described the strategy as “smart warfare”. Others have called it “one of the boldest moves of the entire war”. The strategy acknowledges that Russia’s conventional military is far greater than Ukraine’s and that the gap is unlikely to close anytime soon.

After his early failure to seize Kyiv, Putin has ramped up arms production, transforming Russia into a war economy, and he has sourced additional munitions from North Korea.

Putin’s armed forces now have more of everything: shells, armoured fighting vehicles, tanks, ballistic missiles, aviation and infantry strike groups. Ukraine, meanwhile, is having to ration its use of artillery as western supplies dwindle and as Republicans in Congress continue to block $61bn in security assistance to Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government.

The one area where Ukraine has an edge, arguably, is in its innovative drone production. Both sides use drones extensively. But Kyiv now appears to have developed technically sophisticated attack models that can fly long distances, striking targets deep in Russia’s rear.

Numerous private Ukrainian companies are also involved in building and testing drones.

The Russians seem increasingly worried. The oil and gas industry – which fuelled Russia’s comeback on the world stage – now looks like an achilles heel.

Days after the strike near St Petersburg, local authorities warned of further incidents. “A high-alert regime has been declared at critical infrastructure facilities in all districts,” the Leningrad region’s press service announced on the Telegram messaging app.

The attacks have another advantage for Ukraine’s hard-pressed military. They have forced Russia to move some air defence assets away from the frontline to defend newly in-range cities. There are growing dilemmas too for Russia’s general staff. Meanwhile, drones flying overhead are an increasingly common sight, forcing ordinary Russians to take notice of a war many prefer to ignore.

Gleb Molchanov, a drone operator shows off a Chinese made Mavic 3 drone. The model can be fitted with grenades and a thermal camera.

Ukraine’s SBU security service has claimed responsibility for these sabotage missions. Kyrylo Budanov, the high-profile head of military intelligence in Kyiv, may also be involved in these well-executed operations. “It has his touch. Whenever there are lots of juicy pictures for media, Budanov is probably there,” said Ponomarenko, adding: “He really appreciates the attention.”

The drones used to hit Russia are almost certainly produced inside Ukraine. This allows Kyiv to get round restrictions imposed by the US and some other allies on using western-supplied arms to attack Russian territory. Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, is widely believed to have formulated these red lines, with the support of CIA director William Burns.

According to Anders Åslund, a former Atlantic Council senior fellow, Sullivan has advised Zelenskiy not to try to recapture Crimea or to strike the Kerch Bridge that connects the occupied peninsula with Russian territory. Sullivan’s apparent reasoning is that this may spark a nuclear war. Kyiv, however, does not agree and frequently targets Crimea.

Åslund pointed out that Russian oil production was “highly concentrated” around just two cities, St Petersburg and the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. “We would expect Ukraine to hit further refineries, depots and export ports in these areas,” he said on Twitter/X, adding: “By insisting on being independent from transit countries, and maltreating them, Russia has made itself vulnerable.”

Sergey Vakulenko, an oil expert at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said drones could not destroy a whole Russian refinery because modern firefighting equipment was available and so far the fires had been put out in a few hours. But he calculated that 18 Russian refineries producing 3.5m barrels of oil a day collectively were now within range of drones. All were “possible targets”, he suggested.

Speaking in Kyiv last week, one military intelligence official said Ukraine’s international partners had previously been squeamish when it came to the question of attacking Russia directly. This was changing, he said: “The EU and US were reluctant. They didn’t want to provoke. Now they understand the situation better. It’s about 20% more.”

At a time when Russia is pounding Ukrainian cities– with at least 18 people killed on Tuesday in Kharkiv and Kyiv – the drone attacks boosts morale. “They raise spirits at home. We are not only being bombed but we are bombing,” said the novelist Andrei Kurkov. . Asked if it made him feel better, he replied: “It works in my case, definitely.”

Source: The Guardian
 
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Russia and Ukraine bicker over tiny front-line village​

Russia has claimed its forces have taken control of the village of Tabaivka in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, but Kyiv has denied the claim.

Moscow claimed it had taken the tiny village on Monday in a defence ministry statement. However, Ukrainian officials quickly asserted on national TV that Kyiv remains in control. The disagreement illustrates the state of the bogged-down and muddled front line in conflict, which has now been ongoing for nearly two years.

The Russian army said it has “liberated” Tabaivka, but Volodymyr Fityo, head of communications for Ukraine’s ground forces, said: “This does not correspond to reality. There are battles taking place near this locality.”

Fityo added that Moscow nevertheless was “trying to advance in all directions”.

The village of Tabaivka lies near the border with the Luhansk region and had a population of 34 people before Moscow’s invasion.

Both the Kremlin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have denied the conflict has reached a deadlock, despite the sprawling front line barely moving in months.

Russia has for months been trying to advance into the Kharkiv region, hitting its main city several times and killing 11 people in an attack last week.

Ukraine’s major counteroffensive in the summer failed to push the invading Russian forces back significantly. Kyiv is now seeking additional soldiers for the front, in contrast to during the early days of the war in 2022 when droves of patriotic volunteers were seen.

With the front line largely at a standstill, the two foes have concentrated in recent weeks on air strikes, with cities and infrastructure in Ukraine and Russia targeted.

Moscow hit large swathes of Ukraine with drone and missile attacks, Kyiv’s Air Force said on Sunday.

The Russian Air Force said Moscow attacked the central Poltava region with two missiles fired from its Iskander ballistic missile system. It also launched three surface-to-air missiles over the Donetsk region in the east.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
 

Russia boasts it is beating sanctions, but its longer-term prospects are bleak​


Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken to gloating about Russia’s resistance to international sanctions and its supposed economic resilience, despite the best efforts of the United States and its G7 partners to choke off Moscow’s oil revenues and starve it of military technology.

Scoffing at Europe’s economies, Putin said at a recent event: “We have growth, and they have decline… They all have problems through the roof, not even comparable to our problems.”

It’s true that, as the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches, the Russian state is earning billions from oil and diamond exports, its military factories are working flat out, and many Russian banks can still access the international financial system.

Russia has adapted to the wide range of sanctions imposed by Western nations. Far from buckling under their weight, the Russian economy is in fact 1% larger than it was on the eve of the invasion.

But the longer-term outlook is far less rosy. War is distorting the economy and sucking resources into military production at an unsustainable pace.

Rostec, a Russian state-owned defense company, increased the production of armored vehicles nearly fivefold in the year to November, according to its chairman Sergei Chemezov. There have been similar vast increases in the production of munitions and drones.

“We boosted the production of munitions for firearms and MLRS [multi-launch rocket systems] by 50 times,” Chemezov told Putin at a Kremlin meeting in December.

But building things in order for them to be destroyed on the battlefield is not a path to economic success.



 

‘We are obliged to end the war’: A new Russian unit fights for Ukraine​

Kyiv, Ukraine – When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, 32-year-old Johnny, from St Petersburg, set himself a goal.

He wanted to overthrow Vladimir Putin’s administration.

In fact, he would have liked to kill the Russian president with his own hands, he told Al Jazeera in a cafe at a remote petrol station on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital.

In October, Johnny joined other Russians fighting for Ukraine and against their homeland as part of the Siberian Battalion, a unit formed last summer by the Civic Council, a Russian opposition group based in Poland.

“We want to democratise Russia. And it won’t be possible in the current state. Russia must fall apart into smaller pieces. I don’t care if it’s going to be small like Belgium. … Places like Yakutia and Chechnya and other regions should be able to secede if they choose to,” Johnny said.

According to Denis Sokolov, 54, the group’s coordinator, 50 fighters from the unit are currently in training or battling in Ukraine. Another 40 are being checked over by Ukraine’s security services as they wait to cross the border.

He said there are thousands of other Russians willing to join the fight against Moscow, boasting that the Civic Council receives up to 10 applications per day.

Those who want to sign up must first depart for a third country for safety reasons. And from there, it takes months to process an application.

“Ukrainians do not trust Russians, and there are reasons for this. But this war was unleashed by the regime in our name, and we are obliged to end it,” Sokolov said.

At the time of publishing, neither Polish nor Ukrainian authorities had responded to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on the Civil Council and Siberian Battalion.

www.aljazeera.com

‘We are obliged to end the war’: A new Russian unit fights for Ukraine

The Siberian Battalion features a diverse set of fighters who risk Russia’s wrath by joining the ‘enemy’.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
Top Ukrainian general ‘refused to step down’ as Zelensky rift deepens


Ukraine’s most senior military commander reportedly refused to step down after being asked to do so by president Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday.

Zelensky has denied claims he moved to dismiss Valerii Zaluzhny as tensions between the two appear to reach their boiling point after months of simmering.

On Monday, reports started emerging in Ukrainian news outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda, Ukrinform and The Kyiv Independent, as well as several leading Telegram channels, that the army chief was summoned by Zelensky.

The Financial Times cited four sources familiar with the situation claiming that the president offered the popular general a new role as a defence adviser but he refused.

They said that two of the sources claimed it was made clear that Zaluzhny would be removed from his current position even if he refused the new role.


www.independent.co.uk

Top Ukrainian general ‘refused to step down’ as Zelensky rift deepens

Zelensky has denied claims that he moved to dismiss Valerii Zaluzhny as tensions between the two appear to deepen
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk
 
Ukraine and Russia complete first prisoner swap since plane crash

Russia and Ukraine say they have exchanged captured soldiers - the first such swap since the crash of a Russian plane that Moscow claimed had 65 prisoners of war (PoWs) on board.

Russia's military says each side got 195 soldiers back on Wednesday.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says 207 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians were returned.

Kyiv questions Moscow's claims that Ukrainian PoWs were on the plane that was downed last week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Wednesday that the Il-76 military transport plane had been downed by an American Patriot system in the western Belgorod region.

The Russian military earlier claimed that 65 Ukrainian soldiers had been on the plane heading to the area for a prisoner exchange.

Six Russian crew members and three officials escorting the PoWs were also on board, the military said, adding that there were no survivors.

Moscow blames Ukraine for bringing down the plane, which Kyiv has neither confirmed or denied.

Officials in Russia have provided no concrete proof for their claims. They have a long and proven history of lies and disinformation.


www.bbc.com

Ukraine and Russia complete first prisoner swap since plane crash

Russia says each side got 195 soldiers back, Ukraine says 207 of its military and civilians were returned.
www.bbc.com
 
Cricket Warrior said:
Moscow blames Ukraine for bringing down the plane, which Kyiv has neither confirmed or denied.

Officials in Russia have provided no concrete proof for their claims. They have a long and proven history of lies and disinformation.
Click to expand...

If Kyiv didn't do it, why would they "neither confirm nor deny" it? It seems like they did it.
 
All 27 European leaders have agreed to a €50bn ($55bn; £43bn) aid package for Ukraine, European Council President Charles Michel said.

"We have a deal," Mr Michel wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

He said that the agreement "locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine".

There had been fears that Hungary's President Viktor Orban would block the aid package as he had done already at a European summit last December.

Mr Orban had said he wanted to force a rethink of EU policy towards Ukraine and questioned the idea of committing to fund Ukraine for the next four years.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European commission, said today was "a good day for Europe".

Source: BBC

www.bbc.com

EU leaders unlock €50bn support package for Ukraine

The agreement came earlier than expected, overcoming previous opposition from Hungary's Viktor Orban.
www.bbc.com
 
Ukrainian forces say they have destroyed a Russian missile boat from the Black Sea Fleet in a special operation off Russian-occupied Crimea.

The Ivanovets - a small warship - received "direct hits to the hull" overnight, after which it sank, military intelligence said.

It has released video footage that purports to show the moment of impact, followed by a big explosion.

There has been no word about the incident from Russian authorities.

However, Russian military blogger "Voenkor Kotenok" wrote on Telegram that the boat had sunk after being hit three times by naval drones.

Several features visible on the vessel in the Ukrainian video match those of the Tarantul, or Project 12411, a class of missile boats operated by the Russian and other navies, which the Ivanovets belongs to.

These include the layout of the mast and sensors on top of the main superstructure as well as a large radar dome on top of the bridge.

Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate said the boat was destroyed by soldiers of its special unit "Group 13" in Lake Donuzlav, a saltwater bay on the western side of the Crimean peninsula which houses a naval base.

"As a result of a series of direct hits to the hull, the Russian ship suffered damage incompatible with further movement - the Ivanovets listed to the stern and sank," it said on its Telegram channel.

A Russian search and rescue operation in the area was unsuccessful, it added.

It said the ship was worth in the region of $60-70m (£47m-55m).

Foreign Ministry official Olexander Scherba described the attack as "impressive".

"At 03:45 [01:45 GMT] there was the first hit and at 04:00 the whole crew was evacuated already. So there was no chance at all that this vessel would be saved," he told the BBC.

Ukraine has achieved a series of successes in the war in and around the Black Sea, damaging or destroying Russian warships despite having no fleet of its own.

In December, Kyiv said it had destroyed the large landing ship Novocherkassk at Feodosia, Crimea. Russia confirmed that the ship had been damaged.

And in April 2022, a couple of months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Moskva - the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet - was damaged and ultimately sunk, apparently by Ukrainian missiles.

After a missile strike on the headquarters of the Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol last September, satellite images showed that the Russian navy had moved much of its Black Sea fleet away from Crimea to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

Source: BBC

www.bbc.com

Ukraine 'hits Russian missile boat Ivanovets in Black Sea'

Military intelligence says the Ivanovets, a small warship, was destroyed in a special operation off Crimea.
www.bbc.com
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin doubled down on his maximalist and purposefully vague territorial objectives in Ukraine on Jan. 31.

Putin stated during a meeting with his election “proxies” that pushing the current frontline deeper into Ukraine is the most important goal for Russian forces across the theater. He emphasized the idea of a “demilitarized” or “sanitary” zone in Ukraine that he claimed would place Russian territory – including occupied Ukraine – out of range of both frontline artillery systems and Western-provided long-range systems.

Putin’s stated goal of pushing the front line so that Russia’s claimed, and actual territories are outside of Ukrainian firing range is a vague goal that is actually unattainable as long as there is an independent Ukraine with any ability to fight.

Putin would likely annex any Ukrainian territories Russia managed to capture in pursuit of this supposed objective (particularly in the four oblasts Russia has already claimed to have annexed but only partially controls), thus bringing the new Russian territories into range of Ukrainian systems in whatever remains of an independent Ukraine.

A Russian nationalist milblogger expanded on this dilemma, noting that Russia would also have to capture Mykolaiv and Odesa cities to eliminate the threat of Ukrainian long range strikes against occupied Crimea and that Russian forces would need to capture the Slovyansk-Kramatorsk line in Donetsk Oblast to relieve the current front line.

Source: Kyiv Post
 
World Court rules Russia-Ukraine genocide case can go forward

Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday ruled that the case Ukraine started accusing Russia of violating international law by accusing Ukraine of genocide can move forward.

Ukraine brought the case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.


www.aljazeera.com

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 710

As the war enters its 710th day, these are the main developments.
www.aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com
 
Armed Forces of Ukraine have turned into a terrorist organization that intentionally attacks ambulances, Russian President Vladimir Putin said while speaking at the ‘Everything for Victory’ forum in Tula on Friday.

He was commenting on attacks carried out by the Ukrainian military on residential areas of Russian cities in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), which have led to a number of civilian casualties.

In one such attack on January 20, a paramedic working in the city of Gorlovka was wounded while trying to provide assistance to victims following a previous round of shelling. On January 12, another paramedic was also killed during a Ukrainian attack on an ambulance brigade in the same city.

”What is called the Armed Forces of Ukraine has turned into a terrorist organization that attacks ambulances,” Putin said.

The president recalled a story he heard last year about how Russian forces intercepted communications between two Ukrainian tank operators who were trying to enter Donetsk. One of the servicemen had just killed a man who had stepped out of his house, Putin said, when the other officer asked him “Why did you do that? He was just some guy wearing a tracksuit. He had a family, you can hear his children running around in the house.” The response, according to Putin, was “They’re all terrorists here.”

Source: RT
 
Russia says 20 killed, 10 injured in Ukraine attack on bakery in occupied east

Russia’s emergencies ministry said its workers had retrieved the bodies of 20 people from the rubble following a Ukrainian attack on a building housing a bakery in the city of Lysychansk in the occupied eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk on Saturday.

The ministry shared video of emergency workers lifting two bloodied people onto stretchers and carrying them in the darkness out of the ruins of a building.

The ministry said previously that its workers rescued 10 people and handed them to doctors.

From the design and color of the building and a sign matching file imagery of the area, Reuters was able to confirm the location of a separate, daytime video the emergencies ministry shared. It matches a location on Google maps identified as Adriatic Restaurant on Moskovska Street, Lysychansk.

However Reuters was unable to independently verify the date of the footage filmed, nor of any other details of the report coming out of an area Russia said it annexed in 2022.

Ukrainian officials have not made any statement on the incident.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said “dozens of civilians” were in the building at the time of the attack and that Western weapons were used.

The Russian-controlled Luhansk Information Centre said Ukraine shelled the bakery using the U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

Russia’s state-run TASS news agency quoted a Russian-installed official in operational services as saying the average age of the victims was “35 years, plus or minus five years.”

“There are no children among the dead at the moment, but the removal of rubble is still ongoing,” it quoted the official as saying.

Earlier, Leonid Pasechnik, put in charge of Ukraine’s Luhansk region by Moscow, said dozens of people may be under the rubble.
​
SOURCE: REUTERS
 
Ukraine war: No more easy deals for Russian convicts freed to fight

Russia has been releasing prisoners to fight in Ukraine for more than a year, originally offering them a pardon and freedom after six months, even if they have been convicted of a violent crime.

But the BBC has discovered this deal is a thing of the past. Now, they no longer get a pardon, face tougher conditions and instead of going home early, they must fight until the end of the war.

"If you sign up now, be ready to die," writes a man called Sergei in a chatroom for former Russian prisoners fighting in Ukraine.

He says that since October he's been part of a new type of army unit with the name "Storm V" which convicts are now being assigned to.

"Before you could wing it for six months. But now, you have to make it until the end of the war," he writes.

When the mass recruitment of Russian prisoners started in the summer of 2022, it was led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, once the head of the Wagner private military group. Prisoners were offered a clean record, full pardon and allowed to go home after six months on the battlefield.

Before he died in a plane crash in August, Prigozhin said that almost 50,000 Russian prisoners had been dispatched to the front line under this deal - similar figures have been cited by human rights activists. Thousands of those prisoners died, but others, including dozens convicted of violent crimes returned home, with some going on to re-offend and even commit murder.

The Russian military took over the scheme in February 2023, initially offering the same incentives as Prigozhin.

But the arrangement meant prisoners released to fight could go home after six months and were in a more privileged position than regular soldiers. That upset men who had been mobilised and their families.

Now, new conditions for prisoners redress that balance and are far stricter.


www.bbc.com

Ukraine war: No more easy deals for Russian convicts freed to fight

Russian prisoners released to fight in Ukraine are no longer offered a presidential pardon and face stricter conditions.
www.bbc.com
 
Ukrainian rocket strikes bakery, killing at least 28 people including a child, Russia claims

A Ukrainian rocket fired at a Russian-occupied city hit a bakery and killed at least 28 people, including nine women and a child, over the weekend, Moscow officials said.

Russian-backed leaders in the occupied Luhansk region claimed Ukraine struck the Adriatic Restaurant in the city of Lysychansk on Saturday with the US-supplied shell.

The restaurant had a bakery set up for civilians, who were caught up in the blast and buried under its rubble, Moscow-appointed official Leonid Pasechnik said in a statement.

Pasechnik said 28 people were killed in the explosion and another 10 people were quickly rescued from the debris.

At least four more people were pulled out by Sunday morning, with all of them listed in “extremely grave condition,” according to Russia’s emergency ministry.


nypost.com

Ukrainian rocket strikes bakery, killing at least 28 people including a child, Russia claims

Russian-backed leaders in the occupied Luhansk region claimed Ukraine struck the Adriatic Restaurant in the city of Lysychansk on Saturday with the US-supplied shell.
nypost.com nypost.com
 

Ukraine’s president confirms plans for military shake-up​

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he plans to reshuffle Ukraine’s military and political leadership.

The comments, on Italian RAI TV in an interview broadcast late on Sunday, follow weeks of speculation that Zelenskyy intends to dismiss Valery Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s military.

“A reset, a new beginning is necessary” and it is “not about a single person but about the direction of the country’s leadership”, Zelenskyy said.

“I’m thinking about this replacement,” he said, “but you can’t say here we replaced a single person.”

Zaluzhny, who was appointed by Zelenskyy months before Russia invaded in February 2022, is popular with troops and the wider population. He has denied speculation that he has political ambitions.

He and the president have been at odds for some time over the conduct of the war, as the country grapples with low ammunition, personnel shortages after a failed counteroffensive, and the need for more troops.

Zelenskyy sought to downplay the implications during his comments on the reshuffle.

“When we talk about this, I mean a replacement of a series of state leaders, not just in a single sector like the military,” he said.

“If we want to win, we must all push in the same direction, convinced of victory; we cannot be discouraged, let our arms fall; we must have the right positive energy,” the president continued as he spoke of Kyiv’s struggle to oust Russian forces following the 2014 annexation of Crimea, the occupation of parts of the Donbas, and the invasion of February 2022.

Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported the same day that Zelenskyy is also considering removing General Staff Chief Serhii Shaptala.

Zaluzhny, meanwhile, congratulated Shaptala on his birthday and posted a picture of them together on Facebook.

Resignation refused
Speculation has gripped Ukraine for weeks over Zaluzhny’s position and relationship with the president as the war against the Russian invasion nears its second anniversary.

At the end of last year, Zelenskyy said he had rejected a request by the military to mobilise up to 500,000 people and demanded to know how it would be organised and paid for.

Tensions between the two men were also publicised last year after the general told The Economist in an interview that the war had entered a stalemate. The claim earned a furious denial from Zelenskyy.

Unconfirmed media reports last week said that the general had refused a presidential request for his resignation.

Oleksandr Syrsky, commander of land forces, and Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian defence ministry’s intelligence directorate, are the two leading candidates to replace Zaluzhny as commander-in-chief, according to speculation.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
 
Russian oil getting into UK via refinery loophole, reports claim

Millions of barrels of fuel made from Russian oil are still being imported to the UK despite sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine, research claims.

A so-called "loophole" means Russian crude is refined in countries such as India and the products sold to the UK.

This is not illegal and does not breach the UK's Russian oil ban, but critics say it undermines sanctions aimed at restricting Russia's war funds.

The UK government denied there had been any imports of Russian oil since 2022.

But a spokesman said internationally recognised "rules of origin" define that crude, once refined in another country, is classed for the purposes of trade as originating from the refining country.


www.bbc.com

Russian oil getting into UK via refinery loophole, reports claim

Russian oil is refined in other countries and sold into the UK as jet fuel and diesel, research claims.
www.bbc.com
 
Zelensky: Ukrainian military to create separate branch dedicated to drones

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree creating a separate branch of Ukraine's Armed Forces dedicated to drones, he said in his evening address on Feb. 6.

The Unmanned Systems Forces will reportedly focus specifically on improving Ukraine's work with drones, creating special drone-specific units, ramping up training, systemizing their use, increasing production, and pushing innovation.

According to the President's Office, the division will aim to "increase the capabilities of Ukraine's Armed Forces and to use unmanned and robotic air, sea, and ground systems."

"This year should be decisive in many aspects – and, obviously, on the battlefield," Zelensky said. "Drones – unmanned systems – have proven their effectiveness in battles on land, in the sky, and at sea."

"Ukraine has really changed the security situation in the Black Sea thanks to drones. Repelling assaults on the ground is largely the work of drones. The large-scale destruction of the (Russian) occupiers and their equipment is (also due to) drones."

Zelensky noted that the branch's creation will be undertaken by the military, the Defense Ministry, and the government as a whole.

The announcement comes as Ukraine seeks to introduce new military strategies in 2024, specifically with an increased emphasis on air defense. Over recent weeks, the government has highlighted the need for expanded air defense capabilities from its Western partners.

At a press conference in Vilnius earlier this year, Zelensky stated that Ukraine currently lacks the ability to produce its own modern air defense system, something that it desperately needs to protect its citizens from Russian strikes. Zelensky pointed to the mass strikes across Ukraine at the end of December and the start of the month, which hit "civil infrastructure, people, kindergartens."

Sufficient air defense systems are therefore the "number one" thing that is missing in Ukraine right now, Zelensky said. "We can fight this enemy with technology until we have driven them from our land."

Late last month, following his announcement in Vilnius, Zelensky confirmed that agreements are in place to begin joint production of weapons and ammunition, including drones within the country. He added that Ukraine is increasing its production of artillery ammunition every month.

Two days before, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Kyiv and pledged a 2.5-billion-pound ($3.2 billion) military aid package.

The package included air defense equipment, anti-tank weapons, long-range missiles, and training for Ukrainian soldiers. The U.K. government announced earlier that the tranche also consists of the "largest ever commitment of drones" to Ukraine.


kyivindependent.com

Zelensky: Ukrainian military to create separate branch dedicated to drones

The Unmanned Systems Forces will reportedly focus specifically on improving Ukraine's work with drones, creating special drone-specific units, ramping up training, systemizing their use, increasing production, and pushing innovation.
kyivindependent.com kyivindependent.com
 
A two-month-old boy was killed and his mother wounded when a Russian missile hit a hotel in north-eastern Ukraine, officials say.

The baby's body was pulled out of the rubble of the three-storey building in the village of Zolochiv, said Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Synehubov.

Two other women were hurt when Russia fired two S-300 missiles, he said, hitting the hotel and nearby buildings.

Attacks on the Kharkiv region have intensified since the end of 2023.


BBC
 
Russia launches missile attack on Kyiv, other Ukrainian cities -Ukraine's air force

Russia launched a missile strike on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during Wednesday morning rush hours, Ukraine's Air Force said, with several blasts heard in the country's capital when air defence systems were engaged in repelling the attack.

The loud blasts were heard in Kyiv just before 7 a.m. (0500 GMT), Reuters' witnesses reported.

Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app that air defence systems were engaged. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties or damage as a result of the attack.

All of Ukraine was under an air raid alert, starting at around 6 a.m., with Ukraine's Air Force warning on Telegram of a risk of a Russian missile attack.

Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region in Ukraine's northeast, said Russian missiles struck non-residential infrastructure in Kharkiv city, the administrative centre of the region.

SOURCE: REUTERS
 
Ukraine nuclear plant ‘stable’ for now, IAEA says

Ukraine’s frontline Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is in a physically “stable” condition at the moment, the head of the United Nations nuclear energy watchdog (IAEA) said Wednesday.

The plant has been at the centre of fighting since it was captured by Russian forces in March 2022, and both Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of compromising its safety.

“The physical integrity of the plant has been relatively stable,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said after visiting the Russian-controlled plant.

“There have been less episodes of direct attacks or shelling around it, which is a positive development, although we take it with enormous caution,” he said.

The plant stopped supplying electricity to Ukraine’s grid in September 2022, and has been repeatedly rocked by shelling and drone attacks throughout the conflict.

Since 2022, IAEA officials have been on the ground monitoring safety at the plant, which requires constant maintenance to prevent overheating.



www.brecorder.com

Ukraine nuclear plant ‘stable’ for now, IAEA says

KYIV: Ukraine’s frontline Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is in a physically “stable” condition at the moment, the head...
www.brecorder.com
 
Cricket Warrior said:
Ukraine nuclear plant ‘stable’ for now, IAEA says

Ukraine’s frontline Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is in a physically “stable” condition at the moment, the head of the United Nations nuclear energy watchdog (IAEA) said Wednesday.

The plant has been at the centre of fighting since it was captured by Russian forces in March 2022, and both Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of compromising its safety.

“The physical integrity of the plant has been relatively stable,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said after visiting the Russian-controlled plant.

“There have been less episodes of direct attacks or shelling around it, which is a positive development, although we take it with enormous caution,” he said.

The plant stopped supplying electricity to Ukraine’s grid in September 2022, and has been repeatedly rocked by shelling and drone attacks throughout the conflict.

Since 2022, IAEA officials have been on the ground monitoring safety at the plant, which requires constant maintenance to prevent overheating.



www.brecorder.com

Ukraine nuclear plant ‘stable’ for now, IAEA says

KYIV: Ukraine’s frontline Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is in a physically “stable” condition at the moment, the head...
www.brecorder.com
Click to expand...

Very risky though if it's within the war range anything could happen anytime which could be catastrophic like a Chernobyl incident.
 
Large numbers of Russian forces are storming the frontline Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, its Ukrainian mayor said Thursday, escalating a months-long effort to capture the industrial hub.

Moscow launched a costly bid in October to seize the town, which has been caught up in fighting since 2014, when it briefly fell to Moscow-backed separatists.

"Unfortunately, the enemy is pressing from all directions. There is not a single part of our city that is more or less calm," mayor Vitaly Barabash told state media.

"They are storming with very large forces," he added.

The capture of Avdiivka would provide a much needed victory for Russia, in the run-up to the second anniversary of its fully-fledged invasion and its March presidential election.

It would also mark the first significant change along the frontline in months, despite fierce and costly fighting that has stretched the resources of both sides.

Yet analysts suggest that the town, which lies in a Ukrainian-controlled pocket, holds little strategic value for either military.

Barabash said that Russian forces were mainly employing artillery, airstrikes, and infantry in the assault, because Russian tanks and armoured vehicles could not pass on the soft ground.

He characterised the fighting as "very hot" and "very difficult".

"The situation in some directions is simply unreal," he said.

Fewer than 950 residents remain of an estimated pre-war population of around 33,000 people, he added.

Avdiivka is located in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which the Kremlin claims is part of Russia, along with four other Ukrainian territories that Moscow says it has annexed.

President Vladimir Putin last month was the first Russian official to claim that his forces had gained a foothold in the city.

Further east in Donetsk region, emergency services said Thursday that one person had been killed and seven more injured during Russian shelling of the village of Selidove.

The last major victory on the front came from Russian forces last May with the capture of Bakhmut after months of costly fighting on both sides.

Ukraine's army commander in charge of the region, Oleksandr Syrsky, visited Ukrainian troops holding back Russian forces on Bakhmut's outskirts and warned of mounting Russian attacks.

"The situation is tense, requiring constant monitoring of the situation and prompt decision-making directly on the ground," Syrsky was cited as saying by the military on social media.

He said Russian forces were using kamikaze drones and electronic warfare alongside assault groups with artillery cover to break through Ukrainian defence lines outside Bakhmut.

Kyiv also said Thursday Russia had launched another barrage of Iranian-designed attack drones at Ukraine overnight, and that its air defence systems had downed 11 of 17 drones.

Officials in the Black Sea region of Odesa said the attack had damaged a school and left two police officers injured, while in the Vinnytsia region, authorities said debris from downed drones had led to a fire at an infrastructure facility.

Source: Barron's

www.barrons.com

Russian Forces Storming Ukraine's Avdiivka En Masse

Large numbers of Russian forces are storming the frontline Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, its Ukrainian mayor said Thursday, escalating a months-long effort to capture the industrial hub.
www.barrons.com www.barrons.com
 
Zelensky sacks Ukraine's commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi

Ukraine's president has sacked the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

It follows speculation about a rift between the president and Gen Zaluzhnyi, who has led Ukraine's war effort since the conflict began.

General Oleksandr Syrskyi was announced as his replacement in a presidential decree.

The move marks the biggest change to Ukraine's military leadership since Russia's invasion in February 2022.

Mr Zelensky said the high command needed to be "renewed" and that Gen Zaluzhnyi could "remain on the team".

"Starting today, a new management team will take over the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," he said on Thursday.

The president said he and Gen Zaluzhnyi had a "frank conversation" about the changes needed in the army, and that he thanked the general for defending Ukraine from Russia.

Mr Zelensky said the new army chief, Gen Syrskyi, has experience of both defensive and offensive warfare.

The general led the defence of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

He was the mastermind behind Ukraine's surprise and successful counter-attack in Kharkiv that summer and has since been serving as the head of military operations in eastern Ukraine - one of the two main axes in Ukraine's counter-offensive.


www.bbc.com

Zelensky sacks Ukraine's commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi

Ukraine's president fires the popular head of the country's armed forces, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
www.bbc.com
 
Ukraine’s new army chief signals new momentum, but huge problems stand in the way

Ukraine’s new military chief signaled Friday that he wants to build new momentum, saying his immediate goals are to improve troop rotation at the front lines and harness the power of new technology, at a time when Kyiv’s forces are largely on the defensive in the war with Russia.

Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, who previously was the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, spoke a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put him in charge of the battlefield campaign with the war poised to enter its third year. He replaced the broadly popular Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

“New tasks are on the agenda,” Syrskyi said on his Telegram channel.

Syrskyi emphasized the need for “maintaining a balance between the fulfillment of combat tasks and the restoration of units with the intensification of training,” in an apparent reference to the need to rotate troops exhausted by nearly two years of fighting.

He also stressed the importance of “new technical solutions and the scaling of successful experience, such as the use of unmanned systems and modern electronic warfare means.”

Though he provided little detail, his remarks appeared to align with Zelenskyy’s stated aim of bringing “renewal” to the armed forces and adopting a fresh approach to the fight.

Later on Friday, Zelenskyy announced that he also replaced the chief of the military’s General Staff, Lt. Gen. Serhiy Shaptala with Maj. Gen. Anatoliy Barhylyevych, whose experience and understanding of “the tasks of this war and Ukrainian goals” he noted. Shaptala was a close associate of Zaluzhnyi.

But the changes at the top won’t solve some of Ukraine’s biggest problems: a shortage of manpower that has helped sap morale and may require a mass mobilization, and the inadequate supply of Western weapons to take on Russia’s might.

apnews.com

Ukraine's new army chief signals new momentum, but huge problems stand in the way

Ukraine's new army chief says his immediate goals include improving the rotation of troops out of the front lines and harnessing the power of new technology. Col. Gen.
apnews.com apnews.com
 

Russia says it foiled Ukrainian drone attack on civilian cargo ships in Black Sea​

MOSCOW, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday it had repelled an attempted Ukrainian drone attack on Russian "civilian transport ships" on Friday evening in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, a key artery for grain and oil exports from both countries.

Civilian vessels on the Black Sea have not generally been targeted since Moscow ordered its troops into Ukraine in February 2022, but last July both sides said they would start treating ships headed to the other's ports as potential carriers of military cargo.

In a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app, Russia's Defence Ministry said Ukraine had attempted what it called "a terrorist attack on Russian civilian transport ships using semi-submersible naval drones".

It said Russian patrol boats and warplanes had averted the attack, destroying one Ukrainian naval drone by artillery fire and disabling the rest by electronic warfare. No Russian civilian or military vessels were damaged, it said.

Reuters could not verify the Russian account. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Last July, Russia refused to renew a Turkish-brokered deal providing for safe grain exports through the region and said all ships heading to Ukrainian ports would be treated as potential carriers of military cargo.

A day later, Ukraine said it would adopt the same stance on ships bound for Russian and Russian-controlled Ukrainian ports.

It was not clear precisely where the attack took place. The southwestern part of the Black Sea adjoins Turkey's Bosphorus Strait through which cargoes leaving the sea travel.

Ukraine has in recent months mounted a series of drone and missile attacks on Russian military targets in the Black Sea, sinking at least one naval vessel and damaging others.

Source: Reuters
 

Vladimir Putin on invading Poland, the war in Ukraine, American 'spies' and Russia joining NATO​

Vladimir Putin has said Bill Clinton misled him over Russia's potential membership of NATO two decades ago.

During a lengthy interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Russian president said he asked the outgoing President Clinton if his country could join the alliance when he visited the Kremlin in 2000.

He claims Mr Clinton initially suggested he believed that would be possible, before rowing back on the statement later that same evening.

In a conversation that spanned more than two hours, Mr Putin spoke at length about his view of Russian history and the nation's relationship with Ukraine from the ninth century to the present day.

On the subject of the war in Ukraine, he told Carlson - who has been a vocal critic of US support for Kyiv - he would be prepared to negotiate a peace with Volodymyr Zelenskyy but added that Russia had not yet achieved its aims in the country, including "de-Nazification".

Source: Sky News
 
Kharkiv: Seven 'burned alive' as Russian drones hit oil depot

Seven people have been killed in a Russian drone attack that caused a huge blaze in Ukraine's north-eastern city of Kharkiv, local officials say.

Among the victims were two parents with their three young boys who "burned alive" in their house, regional deputy police chief Serhiy Blovinov said.

"One whole street... turned into a hellish melted mass," he told Ukrainian TV after the Friday night attack.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said 15 private houses had burned completely.

President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed a "just response" to Russian "terror".

He identified the three killed children as Oleksiy, 7, Mykhailo, 4 and Pavlo, who was only seven months old.

An elderly couple died in another house that was set ablaze on the same Kotelna street in the city's eastern Nemyshlianskyi district.

Mayor Terekhov said "the Russian aggressor is ruining our city" in a video message from the scene. "But we will overcome. We will win," he added.

He said the Russian attack left 57 local residents Russia left "without a home, without documents, without money, without personal belongings".

Ukraine's officials had earlier said that a petrol station was hit - but later corrected their report.

Kharkiv - Ukraine's second-largest city near the Russian border - has seen almost daily deadly Russian attacks in recent days.

Separately, one man was reported injured in Ukraine's southern city of Odesa in another Russian drone attack on Friday night.

Russia's military has made no public comments on the reported strikes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion against Ukraine in February 2022.

SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68260617
 
How do you guys think the war will pan out if Trump is elected?
 
Russia is preparing for a military confrontation with the West within the next decade and could be deterred by a counter build-up of armed forces, Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service said on Tuesday.

A growing number of Western officials have warned of a military threat from Russia to countries along the eastern flank of NATO, calling for Europe to get prepared by rearming.

The chief of the intelligence service said the assessment was based on Russian plans to double the number of forces stationed along its border with NATO members Finland and the Baltic States of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

"Russia has chosen a path which is a long-term confrontation ... and the Kremlin is probably anticipating a possible conflict with NATO within the next decade or so," Kaupo Rosin told reporters at the release of Estonia's national security threats report.

A military attack by Russia is "highly unlikely" in the short term, he said, partly because Russia has to keep troops in Ukraine, and would remain unlikely if Russian buildup of forces was matched in Europe.



 
Now Russia is marching towards other euorpean countries which will increase the tension in the region.
 

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 722​

Fighting​

  • At least 10 people were killed in Russian drone and shelling attacks across eastern, central and northern parts of Ukraine, including three who were at a market in the northeastern region of Kharkiv.
  • A missile and drone attack on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro damaged a power plant, forcing authorities to close schools and evacuate a hospital. Ukraine’s Air Force said it shot down 16 of 23 drones.

  • The UN’s educational, scientific and cultural organisation UNESCO said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused damage estimated at about $3.5bn to the country’s heritage and cultural sites, with some 5,000 destroyed.

Politics and diplomacy​


  • Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, blocked war aid for Ukraine, ignoring President Joe Biden’s plea that passing the bill was vital to stand up to “Russian dictator” Vladimir Putin. Johnson, who is close to presidential candidate Donald Trump, told reporters he had no intention even of allowing a vote on the bill, which had been passed in the Senate.
  • Russia added Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and two of the country’s top officials to its wanted list over the “destruction” of Soviet-era war memorials and alleged hostility towards Russia, hours after intelligence services in the Baltic state warned that Russia was gearing up for a war against NATO in the coming decade. Kallas is one of Ukraine’s most vocal supporters.
  • US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken this week of Paul Whelan, a former Marine jailed in Russia on espionage charges, as he promised sustained efforts to free Whelan as well as journalist Evan Gershkovich who has been detained pending trial on spying charges. The men and the US government have rejected the spying claims. The US classified Whelan and Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained”.
  • A Russian military appeal court overturned a fine to jail left-wing academic Boris Kagarlitsky for five years after he criticised Moscow’s war in Ukraine, his lawyer said.

Weapons​

  • Global defence spending jumped by 9 percent to a record $2.2 trillion last year, the London-based think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said in its annual report The Military Balance, and was likely to rise further in 2024.
  • The report said Russia had lost some 3,000 main battle tanks during the fighting in Ukraine, or roughly as many as it had in its active inventory before it began its full-scale invasion two years ago. It is now refitting older tanks for use, it added.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
 
A big Russian amphibious ship, the Caesar Kunikov, has been sunk off the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea, according to Ukraine's armed forces.

Powerful explosions were heard early on Wednesday, according to local social media, which suggested the landing ship was hit south of the town of Yalta.

Ukraine's intelligence directorate released video of what it said were Magura V5 sea drones striking the ship.


BBC
 
Cricket Warrior said:
A big Russian amphibious ship, the Caesar Kunikov, has been sunk off the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea, according to Ukraine's armed forces.

Powerful explosions were heard early on Wednesday, according to local social media, which suggested the landing ship was hit south of the town of Yalta.

Ukraine's intelligence directorate released video of what it said were Magura V5 sea drones striking the ship.


BBC
Click to expand...
Ukrainians are really turning the tables now.
 
UK to send tanks to NATO war games amid growing fears of full-scale conflict with Russia

Britain will send more than 50 tanks to Eastern Europe to take part in the largest NATO war games in a generation as warnings grow about the threat of all-out conflict with Russia.

A majority of the ageing Challenger 2 main battle tanks will be transported by rail via the Channel Tunnel from the UK, but 12 tanks will be brought out of storage in Germany - where they are based - to join the exercise, it is understood.

British forces are already sending hundreds of other types of military vehicles by ferry to Germany for the opening phase of the four-month exercise, called Steadfast Defender, which began at the end of January.

The 51 tanks will join the war games in May, marking the biggest training deployment of British armoured and mechanised forces since 1984.

Major Simon Robertson, 44, the second in command of 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, Royal Logistic Corp, was overseeing the loading of military trucks, transporters and infantry vehicles onto one of the ferries at Marchwood Military Port in Southampton on Tuesday.

He said Britain needed to be "ready for anything".


news.sky.com

UK to send tanks to NATO war games amid growing fears of full-scale conflict with Russia

The NATO war games will involve around 90,000 soldiers, sailors and aviators from across the 31-member alliance, operating from the land, sea, and air as well as using cyber and space operations.
news.sky.com news.sky.com
 
Ukraine strikes Russia’s Belgorod, at least five killed

Five people including a child were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack on Thursday on Russia’s southern city of Belgorod, Russian officials said.

Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on social media that 18 other people were wounded, including five children.

The governor of the neighboring Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, called the attack “a new crime of the Ukrainian Nazis” - language typical of the way that Russian officials refer to Ukraine in order to justify their invasion.

There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.

Starovoit said a shopping mall, an outdoor sports facility and residential areas were hit. He did not provide an official death toll.

“The enemy is deliberately hitting a cluster of civilians,” he said.

A correspondent from the defense ministry-owned Zvezda television channel said that six people had been killed in the vicinity of the Magnit shopping center. The news outlet Mash put the total death toll at nine.

Video and photographs posted to social media showed a building sporting the Magnit logo with its nearly all its windows shattered, as well as blown-out windows of apartment complexes.

Video published by Zvezda showed emergency workers running to aid injured people at an outdoor sports complex.

Belgorod is the nearest major Russian city to the border with Ukraine, and the city and surrounding region have come under frequent attack in the course of the war. Russian authorities said 25 civilians were killed in the biggest of these at the end of December.

The Russian defense ministry said its air defense systems had shot down 14 Ukrainian missiles over the Belgorod region. Reuters could not independently confirm the report.

Al Arabiya

 
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