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Kremlin denies report accusing Russia of pressuring Belarus to ...
Kremlin denies report accusing Russia of pressuring Belarus to ...
The Kremlin on Thursday denied media reports accusing Moscow of trying to pressure neighboring Belarus to broaden the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
“As for the message from this publication that you mentioned, it is absolutely not true,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question by a reporter at a press briefing.
Citing former and current Russian and European officials, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Moscow commenced a “pressure campaign” on Minsk earlier this year “in hopes of using it as a springboard” to expand the over-four-year conflict or to launch nonconventional operations against NATO members.
“We have a Union State, and we have a whole list of joint projects on the agenda. We have the most advanced form of integration with Belarus, which is ongoing, and Belarus is our closest ally,” Peskov went on to say.
Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to draw Belarus deeper into the war, accusing Moscow of considering operations from Belarusian territory toward Ukraine or potentially against a NATO member state.
Most recently, Zelensky…
Is Ukraine Now Doomed? - CSIS
Is Ukraine Now Doomed? - CSIS
Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Critical Questions
byMark F. CancianandChris H. Park
Published March 1, 2025
President Donald Trump has given Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky an ultimatum: “You either make a deal, or we are out.” Hecanceledthe planned signing ceremony of the bilateralminerals deal,claimingthat Zelensky had “disrespected” the United States and is “not ready for peace if America is involved.” This capped a week in which Trump called Zelensky “a dictator without elections” and refused to identify Russia as the aggressor. The administration isreportedly consideringthe cessation of equipment shipments. Ukraine faces the possibility of fighting without U.S. military aid.
Ukraineneedsa steady flow of weapons, munitions, and supplies to continue its resistance, and Zelensky hasworriedin the past that Ukraine would “have a low chance to survive without the support of the United States.” Is he right? The bad news is that U.S. funding for military aid to Ukraine is now depleted. The good news is that a steady stream of American equipment will continue to flow to Ukraine from previously announced commitments—if …
Ukraine to secure $3.5 billion for weapons from US by next month | AP News
Ukraine to secure $3.5 billion for weapons from US by next month | AP News
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint press conference with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands after a joint press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint press conference with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine expects there will be around $3.5 billion by next month in a fund to buy weapons from the United States and help sustain itsmore than three-year fightagainst Russia’s all-out invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.
Thefinancial arrangementknown as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, pools contributions from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase American weapons, munitions and equipment.
“We received more than $2 bil…
Kyiv, Washington in talks on licensing air defense production in ...
Kyiv, Washington in talks on licensing air defense production in ...
January 9, 2025
onlyfactsplease
Kyiv, Washington in talks on licensing air defense production in Ukraine, Zelensky says
January 9, 2025
President Volodymyr Zelensky stands in front of a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system during his visit to a military training area on June 11, 2024, in Mecklenburg, Germany. (Photo by Jens Büttner – Pool/Getty Images)
Ukraine is negotiating with the U.S. to obtain licenses to manufacture air defense systems and missiles on its territory, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 9.
Zelensky made this statement at the opening of the 25th
Ramstein summit
, which was dedicated to strengthening
Ukraine’s defenses
, particularly its air defense. This summit will be the last gathering in this format before U.S. President-elect
Donald Trump
takes office on Jan. 20.
“We are talking to the U.S. about licensing air defense systems and missile
production
here in Ukraine. And this could become a significant part of our security guarantees. And it is absolutely possible to do it,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky mentioned the Russian Jan. 8
attack on Zaporizhzhia
, which killed 13 people and injured…
Moscow strikes signal Ukraine's aggressive new strategy - UnHerd
Moscow strikes signal Ukraine's aggressive new strategy - UnHerd
Moscow strikes signal Ukraine’s aggressive new strategy
By
Bethany Elliott
The aftermath of yesterday’s attack on a Moscow oil refinery. Credit: Getty
Russia
Ukraine
Ukraine war
Vladimir Putin
Volodymyr Zelensky
Latest from the Newsroom
16:00
Do working-class kids really need to go to university?
15:59
Do working-class kids really need to go to university?
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Aberdeen by-election victory won’t save the Tories
June 19 2026 - 10:00am
“If Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn,”
crowed
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday. And burn she did. Smoke billowed over the Russian capital after Kyiv
launched
its largest drone attack since the start of the war. Dramatic images
showed
the roof of a crucial oil refinery blown apart, wrecking infrastructure that supplies up to
40%
of the city’s gasoline.
The assault appeared to be swift retribution for this week’s deadly Russian strikes that set a Kyiv cathedral
ablaze
. Yet, while that may have been the immediate catalyst, it was also a reflection of longer-term confidence on Ukraine’s part, both in the strength of its weaponry and in its diplomatic position. The Bars …
Russia-Ukraine updates: US to ban Russian carriers from its airspace
Russia-Ukraine updates: US to ban Russian carriers from its airspace
3:24
Salvatore Di Nolfi/AP
What you need to know about the Russia-Ukraine conflict
By
Morgan Winsor
,
Libby Cathey
,
Meredith Deliso
,
Nadine El-Bawab
,
Emily Shapiro
,
Julia Jacobo
,
Ivan Pereira
,
Mark Osborne
,
Celia Darrough
,
Kevin Shalvey
,
Bill Hutchinson
Last Updated: February 18, 2022, 2:20 AM
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Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymr Zelenskyy, are putting up "stiff resistance," according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24 as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation."
Russians moving from Belarus towards Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, don't appear to have advanced closer towards the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the U.S., Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting Russia's economy and Putin himself.
Latest headlines:
Russian missile hits…
Assessing the Current Peace Deal for Ukraine: Opportunity or Strategic ...
Assessing the Current Peace Deal for Ukraine: Opportunity or Strategic ...
Photo: Matthew Chattle/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Commentary
bySergiy TsivkachandRomina Bandura
Published December 5, 2025
A new effort to end Russia's war in Ukraine is gaining momentum. Washington has handed Kyiv a 28-point peace plan, with expectations that it will be signed in the near term. Since then, the plan has allegedly been reduced to 20 points. While this story continues to evolve, it is useful to analyze the current situation along with the motivations, benefits, and costs for key stakeholders in the process. Behind the smoke screen of fragmented public statements, media leaks, and expert commentary lies a complex mix of views and interests that will shape the outcome of this process.
The battlefield has settled into a positional stalemate. Neither Ukraine nor Russia have achieved significant breakthroughs in the past year for several reasons: Ukraine lacks weapons, including long-range strike capabilities, and is unwilling to send scarce troops for marginal gains. Russia, meanwhile, has increased its military industrial base at the expense of its civilian econo…
Russia's War in Ukraine: The Next Chapter - CSIS
Russia's War in Ukraine: The Next Chapter - CSIS
Photo: ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP/Getty Images
Brief
byMax BergmannandMaria Snegovaya
Published September 30, 2025
As of September 2025, Russia’s war in Ukraine has dragged on for three and a half years. Despite nine months of efforts by the United States to end the fighting, there remains no end in sight. There has been a flurry of activity, from talks in Saudi Arabia to Oval Office meetings, and even a summit in Anchorage between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Europeans have spent nearly a year talking among themselves about providing a peacekeeping force, whenever a ceasefire is reached. Yet despite all this diplomacy, multiple meetings, and countless statements, Russia continues to pummel Ukraine’s cities and engage in a brutal, months-long ground offensive.
Russia believes it is winning the war of attrition—and that it can overpower and outlast Ukraine.
As the negotiations with Russia initiated by Trump remain stalled—with Putin in essence refusing to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outside Moscow—and the situation at the frontline remains fluid, this brief reviews…
Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine put 'millions of lives on hold'
Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine put 'millions of lives on hold'
Russia has recently increased its attacks on Ukraine
(Image: Getty)
Russia's continuous attacks on
Ukraine are having a significant impact on civilian lives
, especially school children, as Moscow aims to exhaust
Ukrainian citizens with constant bombardments.
According to a new report by CNN, aerial attacks are larger and
more common since Moscow scaled up its drone production
at the beginning of the year. While most come at night, there have been more daytime threats over recent weeks.
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In the capital of Kyiv, there have been more than 1,800 air alerts, lasting more than 2,200 hours in total, since
Russia
invaded
Ukraine
in February 2022, the outlet reports. During the first two weeks of September, there were two air raid alarms a day on average; each one of those alerts puts millions of lives on hold.
Prince Harry turned red with anger as Meghan Markle shared Royal family secret
Jimmy Kimmel says Donald Trump 'might need to release Epstein files now'
In one new school, CNN reports that shelters have been made to double as classrooms so that the children can learn while they ar…
Kyiv hit Russian military plant using Ukrainian-made Flamingo missile
Kyiv hit Russian military plant using Ukrainian-made Flamingo missile
By
Sasha Vakulina
Published on
10/06/2026 - 15:14 GMT+2
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to continue Kyiv’s strikes deep inside Russia in response to attacks on Ukraine, but also a way of forcing the Kremlin into direct talks.
Kyiv used Ukrainian-made Flamingo missiles to strike a Russian military facility which supplies Moscow forces with components for drones and missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Wednesday.
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“We continue to apply Ukrainian long-range sanctions against Russian military facilities and the oil industry,” Zelenskyy said on X as he shared the video purporting to show a missile flying toward its target and plumes of smoke rising over Russian facilities.
“In particular, last night Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingos struck a military plant in Cheboksary that supplies the occupier’s army with components for drones and missiles.”
Cheboksary is the main city in Russia's central Chuvashi…
Map shows UK infrastructure sites Russian senator has called to bomb
Map shows UK infrastructure sites Russian senator has called to bomb
Dmitry Rogozin is close with Russian leader Vladimir Putin (Picture: East2West)
A senior Russian official shared dozens of British defence and industrial sites on television, before suggesting Vladimir Putin could target them in missile
strikes
.
Dmitry Rogozin – a senator and war combatant- threatened that the UK would become ‘dangerous’ and urged Russians not to send their children to the country for
school
.
It comes as he and Putin’s mouthpiece, Vladimir Solovyov, both slammed former British defence secretary Ben Wallace after he called out Russia for ‘making Crimea uninhabitable and unviable’.
Rogozin responded by posting a map highlighting UK defence-related sites as targets.
He added: ‘Former British Defence Minister Ben Wallace on what
Kyiv
and its NATO allies should do to end the military actions: ‘We must help Ukraine acquire long-range capabilities to make Crimea uninhabitable. We need to strangle Crimea.
‘And my advice to our oligarchs: do not send your children to study in
England
! It is deadly dangerous.’
Sign up for all of the latest stories
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newsle…
Ukraine's Struggle for Independence in Russia's Shadow
Ukraine's Struggle for Independence in Russia's Shadow
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By experts and staff
Updated
February 24, 2026 3:00 p.m.
CFR Editors
Share
1991
December 1, 1991
Ukraine Votes for Independence
A campaign worker speaks to a crowd at a campaign stand in Kyiv.
Liu Heung Shing/AP Images
Amid the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine votes for independence in a referendum, with 92 percent of Ukrainians supporting independence, and elects Leonid Kravchuk as president. Ukraine had the second-largest population and economy of the fifteen Soviet republics.
1994
January 14, 1994
Securing Nuclear Warheads
Soldiers prepare to destroy a ballistic SS-19 missile at the former rocket base in Vakulenchuk, west of Kyiv.
AP Images
The Russian, Ukrainian, and U.S. presidents sign a statement that reaffirms Ukraine’s commitment to transfer all strategic nuclear warheads to Russia and dismantle strategic launchers in its territory. The statement also confirms Russian readiness to compensate Ukraine for the value of the highly enriched uranium in the warheads, notes U.S. readiness to assist Ukraine in dismantling the launchers, and specifies security assurances Ukraine will receive once it accedes to th…
1 killed in attack on Crimea as Putin and Zelenskyy hold separate Trump ...
1 killed in attack on Crimea as Putin and Zelenskyy hold separate Trump ...
In this image taken from video provided by Russian Presidential Press Service on Friday, July 3, 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin while visiting one of the command posts of the Joint Group of the Russian Forces, in an undisclosed location. (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)
The First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy holds a news briefing in Moscow, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)
One person was killed in a Ukrainian attack on Russian-occupied Crimea, Moscow-installed officials said in the early hours of Sunday, as Russian and Ukrainian leaders held separate calls with U.S. President Donald Trump on ending the war, now in its fifth year.
Two others were injured in the attack on northern Crimea, including one in a serious condition, the Russia-installed regional Gov. Sergei Aksyonov wrote on Telegram. He did not give details of the attack.
In recent weeks Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on key infrastructure targets inCrimeaas Kyiv’s military seeks to isolate the vital Russian-held peninsula in the latest stage of the …
Russia Messy Response to Ukraine in Kursk Is Exposing Its Weakness
Russia Messy Response to Ukraine in Kursk Is Exposing Its Weakness
Russia's jumbledresponse toUkraine's invasion of its Kursk regionindicates that its military is still suffering from a critical weakness, warfare experts told Business Insider.
Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk on August 6 and by Tuesday had taken almost 500 square miles of territory, according to the country's army chief. That'smore territory than Russia has managed to take in Ukraine this year.
The development has been humiliating for Russia, according to George Barros, a Russia analyst at Washington DC-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War.
He said Russia's response only compounds that, highlightinga longstanding issue with command and control with which Russia has struggled.
Russia's late response to Ukraine's attack was to put the FSB — Russia's primary security and intelligence agency — in charge of a host of other groups.
The move indicates Russia has a "very unorthodox, untested command and control structure that's going to be responding to this," Barros said. Russia has for a long time had issues with command and control, which is key to directing military, security, and emergency…
Putin Has a Big Ukraine War Decision to Make - 19FortyFive
Putin Has a Big Ukraine War Decision to Make - 19FortyFive
Kornet Anti-Tank Missile. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
About the Author:
With Ukraine’s war entering its third year, speculation mounts over
Putin’s endgame
—a ceasefire, prolonged war, or a future offensive. Analysts suggest Putin is stalling, hoping to wait out Trump’s presidency, yet Russia’s economy is crumbling under sanctions and war spending.
Key Points #1 –
Military experts warn that despite Putin’s ambitions, continued Western support and economic pressure could make his long-term plan untenable.
Key Points #2 –
Will Russia sustain its war effort, or is a collapse imminent? The coming months may determine the fate of
Ukraine
and Putin’s grip on power.
Ukraine War Endgame? Putin’s Long-Term Gamble May Backfire
The question that has been batted back and forth for almost three years now is what parameters will likely be part of a peace deal between Ukraine and
Russia
.
Several scenarios have been predicted as an endgame for the war. Experienced military minds have put some forward with stellar reputations, most notably retired US Army General and former
CIA Director David Petraeus
.
Unfortunately, even these brill…
Russia expanding ballistic missile production, Ukrainian lawmaker warns ...
Russia expanding ballistic missile production, Ukrainian lawmaker warns ...
Russia is steadily increasing production of ballistic missiles and stockpiling them for large-scale strikes against Ukraine, according to Serhii Rakhmanin, a member of the Ukrainian parliament’s Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence.
Speaking on Radio NV, Rakhmanin described the Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile as Moscow’s most effective strike weapon in the war against Ukraine.
“The Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile is the most effective weapon system Russia uses against Ukraine,” Rakhmanin said. “The only more or less effective means of countering the Iskander-M is the PAC-3 missile used by the Patriot air defense system.”
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However, he noted that PAC-3 interceptors remain in short supply globally.
According to Rakhmanin, only about 600 PAC-3 missiles are produced annually, while countries in the Persian Gulf reportedly used around 1,100 during the recent conflict with Iran. The United States has also consumed a significant portion of its own stockpile.
“A missile costs at least $3 million, and if you want to buy one, the price can re…
Vladimir Putin floods Nato border with massive military build-up just ...
Vladimir Putin floods Nato border with massive military build-up just ...
Prime Minister’s 'Duty': WARNINGS of Russia’s threat to NATO with an ATTACK assessed by 2030
GB NEWS
ByPeter Stevens,
Published: 12/06/2026
Updated: 12/06/2026
John Healey said the Prime Minister was correct when warning of an 'attack by Russia on Nato as soon as 2030'
Vladimir Putin's troops are massing on Russia's border with Nato - just as Britain's defence crisis has been laid bare.
New images reveal Russia expanding its military presence on the border with construction work such as new barracks, warehouses, and army vehicles.
Russia's military buildup in towns, some just five miles from Norway, was unmasked just as Britain was plunged into fresh turmoil.
Defence Secretary John Healey andVeterans Minister Al Carns both dramatically quit last night over the Government's failure to properly fund defence.
NewDefence Secretary Dan Jarvismust now oversee Britain try to meet its Nato commitments of up to 3.5 per cent of GDP by 2030.
But the alliance has now been exposed to new satellite images, released by Danish broadcaster DR, highlighting five military bases in Russia which had been expanded sinc…
Russian Soldier Life Expectancy: One Month Amid Losses
Russian Soldier Life Expectancy: One Month Amid Losses
In the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, a stark reality faces new recruits in the Russian armed forces: they have a life expectancy of just one month after signing their contracts. This grim statistic, highlighted by Estonian military analyst Artur Rehi, underscores the brutal and expendable nature of Russia’s military tactics in its 33-month invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian strategy, aimed at seizing as much Ukrainian territory as quickly as possible, has led to unprepared and ill-equipped soldiers being sent to the front lines, where they are met with stiff Ukrainian resistance. The Kremlin’s relentless drive to capture key areas has led to a wave of Russian casualties, yet the Russian advances continue despite this heavy toll.
September of this year marked the bloodiest month for Russian forces since the beginning of the war, and October was not much kinder. On some days, Russian casualties—both dead and wounded—exceeded 1,500. The total number of Russian military losses is staggering, with estimates ranging between 600,000 and 730,000 dead or wounded, based on U.S. government sources and official Ukrainian figures…
Putin vowed to demilitarize Ukraine. Instead, he created a major military ...
Putin vowed to demilitarize Ukraine. Instead, he created a major military ...
There is still no end in sight to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, but in recent months perceptions of the war have undergone a dramatic and unmistakable transformation.
For years, most outside observers seemed to view Russian victory as more or less inevitable, with the only real question being how much land and sovereignty Ukraine would be forced to surrender in order to secure peace. Since the start of 2026, however, there has been a striking change in tone. More and more people now believe
the tide has turned
in Ukraine’s favor, with some even predicting a coming
Ukrainian victory
.
This shift in perceptions is not the result of any single event. Instead, it reflects growing international awareness that Ukraine has emerged from the crucible of Europe’s largest war since World War II as a major military power with the strength and technological capabilities to counter Putin’s invading army on the battlefield and bring the war home to Russia.
Stay updated
As the world watches the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfold, UkraineAlert delivers the best Atlantic Council expert insight and analysis on Ukra…
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy mocks Russian military drive, says Moscow rejects all peace proposals
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy mocks Russian military drive, says Moscow rejects all peace proposals
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mocked Russia’s military drive on Monday, saying the Kremlin over the course of more than four years had set and put off 15 deadlines to capture the eastern Donbas region.Zelenskyy’s comments amounted to a response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rejection a day earlier of what the Kremlin leader said was a Ukrainian proposal to abandon long-range strikes and scale down the fighting.For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our dedicated page.He said Putin’s comments showed he was out of touch with the feelings of Russians who faced queues at petrol stations, linked to a Ukrainian campaign of strikes on oil industry targets.“Even an oil-producing state, a ‘gas station’ as Russia has often been called, is now facing fuel shortages,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.“This is a direct consequence of the war. One of many consequences. It is also one example of how Ukraine responds — with precision, not through terrorism
Ukraine Secures New Aid Pledges at Ramstein, Zelensky Urges ... - KyivPost
Ukraine Secures New Aid Pledges at Ramstein, Zelensky Urges ... - KyivPost
In brief:Zelensky says allies pledged fresh aid for drones, air defense, and logistics, stressing delivery timelines are now critical for Ukraine’s battlefield resilience.
Ukraine will receive newmilitary assistancepackages following the Ramstein meeting, including funding for drones, air defense, and logistics, PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskysaid.
In aTelegrampost, Zelensky said five partner countries confirmed contributions to NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL).
Follow our coverage of the war on the@Kyivpost_official.
Norway will allocate over $500 million for drones for Ukrainian brigades and an additional $150 million for logistics, while the Netherlands will provide more than €200 million ($236 million) for drone procurement.
Belgium will contribute funding for artillery shells and air defense, while the UK and Germany will continue efforts to supply drones and develop long-range strike capabilities.
Zelensky also thanked Spain for its readiness to work within theEU’s SAFE program, aimed at scaling joint defense production.
He noted that partners at Ramstein acknowledged the resilie…
Putin Orders Expansion of Ukraine Buffer Zone in 2026 as Tensions ...
Putin Orders Expansion of Ukraine Buffer Zone in 2026 as Tensions ...
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) toasts a glass of vodka with Gen. Valery Gerasimov, who is now in charge of the military campaign in Ukraine, back in 2016.
Getty Images
Russia's Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, has disclosed that President Vladimir Putin issued orders to expand a security buffer into
Ukraine
's Sumy and Kharkiv regions in 2026. Revealed during a frontline inspection, this directive signals a potential escalation as international peace efforts gain momentum. The announcement comes amid disputed drone strikes and growing civilian hardships, casting a shadow over hopes for resolution.
Military Directives and Recent Gains
Gerasimov
, addressing troops before
Russia
's New Year holidays, said Putin has tasked forces with carving out buffer zones to protect border residents in Belgorod and Kursk. He called
December's advances
the most intense yet, with Russian troops seizing over 700 square kilometres of territory.
This expansion builds on the earlier liberation of Russia's Kursk region and the initial creation of buffers in Ukraine's border areas.
The orders reflect Putin's May anno…
West needs an exit ramp out of Ukraine - Asia Times
West needs an exit ramp out of Ukraine - Asia Times
In the summer and autumn of 2022, there was much
discussion
about finding an “off-ramp” to allow Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, a face-saving way out of an unwinnable war. Now, as Ukraine heads into the third year of defending itself against Russia’s aggression, the suggestion persists – but increasingly, it’s the West that needs the off-ramp.
Ukraine’s prospects after two years of a grueling war that has taken an enormous human toll are uncertain. Its population losses, both in terms of battlefield casualties and the flood of emigration that followed the invasion, will be difficult to remedy and could have crippling
consequences
for Ukraine’s already struggling economy.
Not only that but the cost of the war is increasing at a staggering rate. The latest joint
assessment
by the EU, World Bank and UN puts Ukraine’s recovery needs at US$486 billion, up $75 billion since last year. This means Ukraine’s needs have grown in 12 months by one and a half times the total amount the EU has made
available
in support for Ukraine over the next four years.
According to the
annual index of risks for 2023
produced by the
Munich Security Con…
Russia in Review, Feb. 6–13, 2026
Russia in Review, Feb. 6–13, 2026
Russia in Review, Feb. 6–13, 2026
4
Things to Know
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may be edging toward painful compromise over control of Donbas, with two of his advisers telling Simon Shuster of
The Atlantic
that Kyiv may be ready to accept giving up control of land in that eastern region as part of a U.S.-brokered peace.
Shuster reports that, to legitimize any deal involving territorial loss, Zelenskyy is weighing a spring referendum,
1
possibly coupled with long-delayed presidential elections to renew his mandate. At the same time, Shuster notes, Zelenskyy insists he will not accept a “bad deal” and would rather keep fighting if that is what’s required for a durable settlement. According to The Atlantic, Zelenskyy is appealing directly to Donald Trump’s self‑interest, arguing that ending Europe’s deadliest war in generations would secure Trump’s legacy and boost Republicans in the midterm elections. On Feb. 11
Financial Times
reported that under U.S. pressure, Zelenskyy had planned to announce on Feb. 24 a plan for wartime presidential elections and a referendum on a peace deal with the latter to be finalized in June. Later on Feb. 11,…
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 4, 2026
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 4, 2026
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Next
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 4, 2026
Toplines
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sent an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 4 proposing an immediate ceasefire along the current frontline and a face-to-face bilateral meeting in a third country to end the war.
[1]
Zelensky noted that Ukraine is ready to observe a complete ceasefire during the negotiations process and that the United States can monitor the frontline ceasefire and proposed an “all for all” prisoners of war (POW) exchange.
Russian officials continued to ignore the economic problems and fuel shortages that Russia is facing at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) and instead presented a facade of economic stability.
Russian Presidential Administration Deputy Head Maxim Oreshkin stated on the sidelines at SPIEF on June 4 that Russia’s economy has grown by 10 percent over the past three years, while Europe’s economy grew by only three percent in the same period, that Russian unemployment is the lowest in the world, and that there are no failures in the Russian economy.[2] Russian Finance Minister Ant…
Putin Is Losing The Ukraine War - But Thanks To Trump, Not As Fast As ...
Putin Is Losing The Ukraine War - But Thanks To Trump, Not As Fast As ...
Vladimir Putin
broke his own record this week by launching his most aggressive strikes against Ukraine yet.
An astonishing 948 drones attacked
Ukraine
in a 24-hour period, killing at least six people across the country.
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The barbaric attacks even reached the western city of Lviv, often viewed as one of the safest places in the beleaguered nation.
Moscow is evidently keen to remind Kyiv that, even four years after the invasion, nowhere is off limits.
But focusing solely on Russia’s spring offensive misses the bigger picture.
Despite baseless
claims
from
Donald Trump
about
Ukraine’s
decline, those close to the war believe Russia is actually losing.
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Putin has not been able to keep up with his war of attrition, according to his rival
Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president wrote on X on Thursday
: “In historical terms, the Russians are losing, one hundred percent.
“Right now, they are suffering a terrifying number of casualties – 30,000 to 35,000 people a month.
“Russia cannot keep up with mobilisation, contract recruitment, and certainly cannot keep up with training its troops.”
…
Putin says Russia will bolster its air defenses in response to Ukrainian ...
Putin says Russia will bolster its air defenses in response to Ukrainian ...
James Jordan And Harriet Morris
Associated Press
Sputnik
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during a meeting with representatives of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
ST. PETERSBURG– President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia will strengthen its air defenses to counter recent Ukrainian drone attacks, which havereached deep inside his countryand cast a cloud over his showcase economic forum in his hometown of St. Petersburg.
Speaking in response to a question from The Associated Press during a meeting with heads of international news agencies, Putin acknowledged thedamage from Ukrainian drone attacks.
Recommended Videos
“To our regret, some of them break through,” Putin said of the drone strikes. “Russia has an air defense system, we need to improve it, strengthen it, and we will do that.”
The wide-ranging media session came on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic For…
The EU unveils a plan to be ready within 5 years to fend off any ...
The EU unveils a plan to be ready within 5 years to fend off any ...
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a news conference with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, not pictured, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listens as High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during a news conference, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski speaks next to an Russian army’s Iranian made Shahed-136 attack drone, acquired from Ukraine by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), at a press conference in Parliament in London, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A Ukrainian servicewoman callsign Fox, 33, of Safari Unit of Liut Brigade operate a recognisance drone at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Vasilisa Stepanenko)
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Thursday laid out a plan aimed at ensuring that Europe can defend itself…
"Russian logistics should suffer noticeably": Zelensky held a meeting ...
"Russian logistics should suffer noticeably": Zelensky held a meeting ...
Military Review
News
"Russian logistics should suffer noticeably": Zelensky held a meeting of the Headquarters, discussed strikes on Russia
July 20 2025
16 277
13
Ukraine needs as much as possible
drones
, including long-range ones for strikes deep into Russian territory. Zelensky said this.
"The illegitimate" held a meeting of the Headquarters today, where several issues were considered. First, everyone listened to Syrsky, who told how the valiant Ukrainian formations were "destroying" Russian units advancing on Pokrovsk. Then the commander-in-chief reported on the situation in the Sumy direction, where, according to the report, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are also doing well. Zelensky thanked all the "defenders of Ukraine", separately noting several brigades.
The second question was about drones and options for increasing their production. Syrsky reported again, and the "overdue" was especially interested in the frequency and effectiveness of "deep strikes" (DeepStrike - deep or deep strike) of long-range drones. According to him, the strikes will be carried out until Russia stops military operations.
Russi…
A (Kremlin) Star Is Born - EUvsDisinfo
A (Kremlin) Star Is Born - EUvsDisinfo
Disinformation Review
A (Kremlin) Star Is Born
By EUvsDisinfo
|
March
28,
2019
Read this article in:
en
ru
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A (Kremlin) Star Is Born
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Christmas came early for the Kremlin this year in the form of
Vasiliy Prozorov
, an alleged defector from Ukraine’s state security service, who is zealously promoting all manner of conspiracy theories about his homeland.
In Russia, where he is currently taking “refuge”, Prozorov has predictably received star treatment. On Monday this week, the Kremlin rolled out the red carpet for a highly-publicised press conference that gave a serious platform to Prozorov’s fever dreams. He promoted a smorgasbord of the Kremlin’s favourite anti-Ukrainian narratives: that Ukraine, naturally, was
responsible for the downing of Flight MH17
; that Kyiv was
never interested in a peaceful resolution
to the war in Donbas; that
fascism is spreading wildly
among the ranks of Ukrainian military and police; and that the upcoming
presidential elections will be rigged
.
But it is also important to give credit where credit is due, and Prozorov unquestionably deserves some points f…
Russia tells West: Any aggression will be met with 'decisive response ...
Russia tells West: Any aggression will be met with 'decisive response ...
Russia tells West: Any aggression will be met with ‘decisive response’
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressing the UN General Assembly on Sept 27.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Published
Sep 28, 2025, 12:58 AM
Updated
Sep 28, 2025, 08:25 AM
UNITED NATIONS - Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the West on Sept 27 any aggression against Moscow would face a “decisive response”, warning against attempts to down aircraft in Russian airspace and accusing Germany of militaristic rhetoric.
As
Russia’s war rages in Ukraine,
tensions have mounted along Nato’s eastern flank in recent weeks as Estonia said Moscow
sent three fighter jets into its airspace
and Nato warplanes shot down
Russian drones over Poland.
“Any aggression against my country will be met with a decisive response. There should be no doubt about this among those in Nato and the EU who... are telling their voters that war with Russia is inevitable,” he told the United Nations General Assembly.
The spate of airspace incursions linked to Russia has unnerved countries in eastern Europe where Russ…
Russia Reheats Old Propaganda Talking Points in New Wave of Anti ...
Russia Reheats Old Propaganda Talking Points in New Wave of Anti ...
In brief:Russia has intensified anti-Ukraine propaganda with Putin equating Ukraine to Nazi Germany, blaming NATO, and showcasing nuclear missiles. The campaign includes Christian persecution claims, propaganda leaflets, and a Tucker Carlson interview attacking Zelensky personally. When Ukrainian drones set a big gas processing plant in Astrakhan on fire, the governor said everything was fine.
Russian officials and state propaganda have doubled down on anti-Ukraine messaging in recent weeks, with some content dredging up old false narratives not used in years and discredited at home and abroad.
The Kremlin’s sometimes-obsessive May 9 celebration of Allied victory in the European theater during World War II, with President Vladimir Putin portrayed as Russia’s decisive, wartime leader, was the keystone of the campaign. Practically all state media broadcast his Red Square speech, directly linking Hitlerian Germany with democratic Ukraine.
Follow our coverage of the war on the@Kyivpost_official.
NATO is directly responsible for the Russo-Ukraine War, Kyiv and its Western allies are evil enemies of Holy Russia, an…
As NATO meets, Putin is weighing his options in Ukraine, and further ...
As NATO meets, Putin is weighing his options in Ukraine, and further ...
Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting in Moscow on July 1.
Pavel Byrkin/AFP/Getty Images
Russia
NATO
War in Ukraine
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With your back to the wall, you don’t also bang your head into it.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely in his most precarious position yet. But as NATO meets in Ankara this week, is this the moment he chooses truly to test the alliance?
His war of choice is dragging down the Russian economy – along with his poll ratings – and is also into its fifth year. As Kyiv’s long- to mid-range bombardments continue,
causing gas shortages
and damage so broad that Moscow’s skyline belches black smoke, questions mount as to what Putin can do to respond
to Ukraine’s new-found confidence
.
Chief among them is whether he can, or will, escalate in return – against Ukraine, but also its NATO backers.
There persists a steady drumbeat of concern Russia might open a new front in Europe. Poland has reportedly been warned by the United States that Moscow might attack – in a limited fashion, perhaps with drones or a…
Russia's Shadow War Against the West - CSIS
Russia's Shadow War Against the West - CSIS
Photo: Andrew Harnik - Pool/Getty Images
Brief
bySeth G. Jones
Published March 18, 2025
Russia is conducting an escalating and violent campaign of sabotage and subversion against European and U.S. targets in Europe led by Russian military intelligence (the GRU), according to a new CSIS database of Russian activity. The number of Russian attacks nearly tripled between 2023 and 2024. Russia’s primary targets have included transportation, government, critical infrastructure, and industry, and its main weapons and tactics have included explosives, blunt or edged instruments (such as anchors), and electronic attack. Despite the increase in Russian attacks, Western countries have not developed an effective strategy to counter these attacks.
Russia is engaged in an aggressive campaign of subversion and sabotage against European and U.S. targets, which complement Russia’s brutal conventional war in Ukraine. The number of Russian attacks in Europe nearly tripled between 2023 and 2024, after quadrupling between 2022 and 2023. Russia’s military intelligence service, the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed For…
Zelenskyy refuses Russian demands to surrender Ukraine's vital fortress ...
Zelenskyy refuses Russian demands to surrender Ukraine's vital fortress ...
Addressing stalled Russia-Ukraine peace talks in early April, US Vice President JD Vance
accused
both Moscow and Kyiv of “haggling over a few square kilometers of territory.” He then questioned whether this dispute was worth “losing hundreds of thousands of additional Russian and Ukrainian young men.”
Vance’s comments created the impression that the territory in question is of no particular importance, but this could not be further from the truth. At stake is the approximately 20 percent of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk province that remains under Ukrainian control, which Russia insists must be handed over without a fight as part of any ceasefire agreement. So far, Kyiv has rejected Moscow’s demands, while also
complaining
of alleged US pressure to withdraw.
At around six thousand square kilometers, the Ukrainian-held portion of Donetsk province is much larger than the “few square kilometers” alluded to by Vance. This territory is also far more militarily important than Vance’s remarks would suggest; indeed, it is probably the most
strategically significant land
of the entire war.
Stay updated
As the world wat…
Putin Has a New Ukraine Problem: Russia's War Economy Is in Big Trouble
Putin Has a New Ukraine Problem: Russia's War Economy Is in Big Trouble
Putin Looking Grim. Image Credit: Russian Federation
Key Points and Summary –
After more than three years of war in Ukraine, Russia’s economy is showing severe signs of strain.
-Moscow reported a $51 billion budget deficit for the first eight months of 2025, and its central bank has warned of depleted labor, production, and financial reserves.
Putin in 2022. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-Sanctions have driven up import costs, forcing the Kremlin to propose defense budget cuts.
-While a complete collapse is not imminent, Russia is now dangerously reliant on a single lifeline: discounted, long-term energy sales to China and India, even as the EU plans further sanctions targeting its financial and energy sectors.
Ukraine War: Russian Economy Relying on Fuel Exports as Sanctions Hit Hard
Over three years ago, Russia launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine – and its economy can no longer hide the negative impacts of this cataclysmic decision.
New evidence suggests that global sanctions, a growing budget deficit, and a rising reliance on energy sales to Asia now seriously imperil Moscow’s financial
stability
.…
Putin's Unfixable Mistake: The Russian Navy Looks Like It Is 'Sinking ...
Putin's Unfixable Mistake: The Russian Navy Looks Like It Is 'Sinking ...
Kirov-Class Battlecruiser from Russian Navy. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Summary and Key Points:
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Black Sea Fleet had 74 vessels, a Slava-class flagship cruiser, and overwhelming superiority against a Ukrainian Navy that had almost no operational warships.
Four years and three months later, approximately 30 percent of the fleet has been destroyed or seriously damaged.
Russian Navy Kirov-Class. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
How the Russian Navy Fell Apart in the Ukraine War
Nothing has gone right for Russia during the
Ukraine war
, especially when it comes to
Putin’s Air Force
. The Russian Navy has not done any
better
.
When the Russian General Staff finalized the plan for the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the
Russian Black Sea Fleet
was assigned a central role across multiple phases of the campaign.
Russian naval planners expected the fleet to project power into the western Black Sea, blockade the Ukrainian ports of Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Mariupol, conduct amphibious landings against Ukrainian coastal territory south and east of Odesa, provide naval …
Chaos in the Black Sea: Odessa to become an "island," Russia's ...
Chaos in the Black Sea: Odessa to become an "island," Russia's ...
Διεθνή
Παρασκευή 12/06/2026 - 15:48
Chaos in the Black Sea: Odessa to become an "island," Russia's sweeping plan to "suffocate" Ukraine - Crimea under siege
Black Sea
Odessa
Russia
Ukraine
Crimea
Zelensky
Putin
tags :
Russia and Ukraine are focusing their attention on the Black Sea, attempting to deal the strongest possible blow to their opponent.
As the eyes of the global community are fixed on the stormy developments surrounding the Iranian issue and reports that a first agreement between the
US
and Iran is imminent within the next 48 hours, the war in Ukraine is at an extremely critical juncture, with Moscow and Kiev designing and implementing strategic moves that may escalate the intensity of military operations even further.
Crimea
has been facing the greatest risk of isolation since the start of the war for weeks, while
Odessa
is receiving a relentless wave of Russian strikes that threatens to paralyze Ukraine’s main export hub. Russian military analysts argue that behind the spectacular Ukrainian attacks on Russian rear areas, a much harsher reality is unfolding: the systematic destruction of critical infras…
Crimea placed under state of emergency as Ukraine steps up pressure …
Crimea placed under state of emergency as Ukraine steps up pressure …
Long queues to leave Kerch, Russian-controlled Crimea as state of emergency declared
0:12
• Source:
CNN
Long queues to leave Kerch, Russian-controlled Crimea as state of emergency declared
0:12
Russia
War in Ukraine
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Russian-installed authorities declared a state of emergency in Crimea on Friday, as repeated, intensified Ukrainian strikes on the peninsula lead to widespread power outages and fuel shortages.
Blackouts have plagued Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-controlled Crimea, for days.
The Kremlin-installed governor of the city, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said Friday that restrictions to electricity supply would continue because repair work to the power grid had been suspended following air raid alerts prompted by Ukrainian drone activity.
Ukraine’s drone forces commander
Robert Brovdi
said Kyiv had attacked Sevastopol’s main power substation seven times in the early hours of Wednesday.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, a move widely condemned by the international community, after the Maidan protests ousted Ukraine’s then pro-Kremlin presiden…
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment Updates December 2025
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment Updates December 2025
Previous
Next
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment Updates December 2025 – February 2026
To see other Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment Toplines and Key Takeaways, please
click here
.
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 28, 2026
Toplines
Russian officials largely condemned the February 28 US and Israeli strikes against Iran, consistent with Russian rhetoric around the June 2025 Israel-Iran war.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi following the strikes on Iran on February 28 in which Lavrov condemned the strikes, calling for the United States and Israel to immediately cease all hostilities and resume efforts for a diplomatic solution to resolve the issues among the United States, Iran, and Israel.[1] The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a similar condemnation on February 28, calling the strikes unprovoked and a violation of international law.[2] The MFA criticized the United States and Israel for conducting the strikes after recently pursuing efforts to negotiate with Iran and claimed that the strikes violate international law…
Ukraine war latest: Russia suffering 'one crisis after another' as Ukraine's drones hammer Crimea, Fedorov says
Ukraine war latest: Russia suffering 'one crisis after another' as Ukraine's drones hammer Crimea, Fedorov says
Key developments on July 1:
* Russia suffering 'one crisis after another' as Ukraine's drones hammer Crimea, Fedorov says;
* Ukraine strikes Russian missile, satellite components manufacturer, Ufa refinery, Zelensky confirms;
* Ukraine to unveil weapons export details in coming days, defense minister says;
* Ex-army commander Zaluzhnyi's rating falls by 9%, poll shows;
* Zelensky calls on Ireland, EU to 'keep promises', advance Ukraine's membership.
Russia suffering 'one crisis after ano
Tracking Russia's Eliminationist Rhetoric Against Ukraine
Tracking Russia's Eliminationist Rhetoric Against Ukraine
(Editor’s note: This article, originally published on June 6, 2022 and updated periodically, is now updated to add new instances of eliminationist rhetoric, including by former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Duma International Affairs Committee Head Leonid Slutsky, Russian state TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, and political scientist Rostislav Ishchenko. New material since the previous update of Oct. 20, 2025, is noted in red as “New” or “Updated.” Попереднє видання цієї статті та діаграми українською мовою доступнетут.)
Legal and policy experts and historians for the U.S. Congressional Research Service, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights with New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, Ukraine’s National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic with the International Partnership for Human Rights – all have noted a pattern since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine: persistent rhetoric by Russian leaders and their associates that goes far beyond the ordinary bounds of verbal hostilities towards a wartime enemy, and may constitute e…
Russia's top banker pleads with Putin to stop Ukraine war on state TV
Russia's top banker pleads with Putin to stop Ukraine war on state TV
ByPERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTERandWILL STEWART
Published:04:39 EDT, 1 July 2026|Updated:13:20 EDT, 1 July 2026
834
Viewcomments
Russia's most powerful banker has broken ranks and called onVladimir Putinto end hisinvasion of Ukraineas soon as possible.
German Gref, who heads up the state-controlledSberbank, said that Russians are deeply concerned by the worsening economic conditions of the country, which are being exacerbated by the war and Ukraine's strikes on oil refineries.
He said in an interview with state TV: 'I think what's worrying every one of us is one and the same thing.
'I don't think there's a single person who isn't concerned about anything other than a rapid end of hostilities, that's clear.'
Gref's unprecedented public plea came as a poll showed 81 per cent of Russians want the war to end, the highest since the conflict began, according to the Kyiv-based Institute for Conflict Study and Analysis.
The banker has already made clear the war, with its high military spending, is leading to havoc in the economy which is suffering from petrol queues, falling wages, redundancies, soaring…
Putin 'starting to understand he may not win' the war in Ukraine
Putin 'starting to understand he may not win' the war in Ukraine
Russia struck Ukraine's Kyiv region with ballistic missiles and drones on July 7, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens on the eve of a NATO summit in Turkey. This comes as, within Russia, the war has come under growing criticism as Ukraine has ramped up strikes inside the country and Russian casualties keep growing. For FRANCE 24's Nick Holdsworth, these deadly attacks are a 'sign of desperation' as Putin is realising he might not win the war.
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin admits to having 'problems' in ...
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin admits to having 'problems' in ...
Zelensky posts footage of strikes on Moscow intelligence-gathering satellite centre
Ukraine
struck a satellite centre in the Moscow region being used to gather intelligence for Russian forces for the second time on Tuesday, president
Volodymyr Zelensky
said.
In a post on Telegram, Zelensky said his forces had attacked the Dubna space communications centre some 500km from the Ukrainian border.
He said the site was used for reconnaissance and for coordinating the activities of
Russia
's forces in Ukraine. It also came under Ukrainian attack last week, the Ukrainian military's General Staff said.
Earlier on Tuesday,
Zelensky
ridiculed
Russia
’s goal to capture
Ukraine
’s eastern
Donbas
region, saying that the attempt has been made by Russian forces 15 times and failed.
“Since the start of the full-scale war, the Russian army has been given as many as 15 deadlines for capturing our
Donetsk
region.
Russia
’s political leadership remains obsessed with
Donbas
. They have entertained this delusion – that they would fully capture Donbas – 15 times already,” Zelensky said in his nightly address.
Recommended
Ukrainian cons…
The Russian Air Force Keeps Falling Out of the Skies Above Ukraine
The Russian Air Force Keeps Falling Out of the Skies Above Ukraine
Tu-160 Bomber from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Summary and Key Points:
Russia’s Aerospace Forces have taken steep losses since February 2022 in the Ukraine war, leaving a smaller, aging fleet that struggles to replace aircraft fast
enough
.
-With many legacy airframes near the end of their usable flight life and newer fighters bearing the brunt of combat attrition, Russia has adjusted tactics to reduce
risk
.
-The VKS now leans on stand-off strikes, cruise missiles, and widespread use of glide bombs to hit targets from safer
distances
.
-Helicopters shifted tactics to limit exposure to MANPADS, while drones and saturation attacks have grown in prominence. Airbase dispersion and decoys reflect continuing vulnerability to long-range
strikes
.
Russia’s Air Force Has Been Forced To Adapt In The Face Of Horrible Losses
Since the war in Ukraine started nearly four years ago, Russia has been decimated by horrible casualties with horrific losses in tanks and armored vehicles, with none of its pre-invasion goals
met
.
Meanwhile, the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) have suffered crippling losses of combat aircraft…
Russia faces challenges trying to jam Starlink in Ukraine
Russia faces challenges trying to jam Starlink in Ukraine
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Russia faces challenges trying to jam Starlink in Ukraine
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Footage reportedly shows Ukrainian forces destroying a Russian system deployed to jam Starlink. The satellite network, which is notoriously difficult to jam, has become crucial for providing high-speed internet access to Ukraine. Six white trailers, lined up in two rows of three, with one bursting …
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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv strikes Russian defence plant ...
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv strikes Russian defence plant ...
Zelensky orders offensive to press Putin to end war
A Russian military plant producing artillery systems and components for missile launch systems in the Volgograd region was struck by Ukrainian-made Flamingo missiles, Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelensky
said on Saturday.
Explosions were heard while a fire was seen in the city as authorities issued a missile threat alert for Volgograd, Russian independent outlet Astra reported, citing locals. Zelensky claimed that the airstrike caused a fire at the premises of the Titan-Barrikady plant.
The attack comes after
Zelensky
told
Vladimir Putin
to “get out of
Ukraine
” and “take that step toward peace” after approving a 40-day offensive to “influence”
Russia
to end the war.
In a post on X, Zelensky wrote: “
Russia
must get out of
Ukraine
with its war – we want no war.
“Ukraine has put forward proposals to our key partners, and Putin’s friends have also heard from us that a meeting is possible and that ending this war is possible.
Russia
must now take that step toward peace.”
Zelensky said he made the decision of ordering a 40-day offensive after consulting …
President Zelensky stated at the NATO Summit that Ukraine has eliminated Russia's strategic rear. He emphasized that Russia no longer has a safe territory for military production, noting that Ukrainia...
President Zelensky stated at the NATO Summit that Ukraine has eliminated Russia's strategic rear. He emphasized that Russia no longer has a safe territory for military production, noting that Ukrainian drones have struck every major oil refinery in Russia, creating a new reality for the conflict.
How Will New Zealand Respond to Russia's Ukraine Invasion?
How Will New Zealand Respond to Russia's Ukraine Invasion?
Nanaia Mahuta’s visit to Europe this week gained new significance after Russia’s deployment of troops to eastern Ukraine – a development that U.S. President Joe Biden hascalled“the beginning of a Russian invasion.”
New Zealand’s foreign minister had just arrived in Paris to attend an EU-hostedIndo-Pacific Forumwhen Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he would officiallyrecognizethe independence of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine’s Donbas region. Putin laterordered“peacekeeping” troops into the area. Early Thursday morning, local time, Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine, sending tanks and troops across the border in what Ukraine’s government called a “full-scale war.”
A live TVinterviewwith Mahuta, conducted just before Putin’s speech on Tuesday morning (New Zealand time), focused solely on the Ukraine crisis – an illustration of how the escalation in Europe has overshadowed the minister’s original focus for her trip.
Indeed, until the current crisis, neither Ukraine, nor Russia appeared to be particularly high priorities on New Zealand’s foreign policy agenda. The latestannual reportof the Minist…
Deepti Sharma press conference after India vs Pakistan in 2026 Women's ...
Deepti Sharma press conference after India vs Pakistan in 2026 Women's ...
Russia has leveled a serious accusation against Ukraine, claiming Kyiv is carrying out a deliberate campaign against employees of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Europe's largest nuclear facility. Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev alleged that Ukrainian drone attacks have evolved from targeting infrastructure to directly targeting plant personnel, after a strike in Energodar reportedly wounded four civilians, including two ZNPP workers, one of whom later died. Likhachev warned that any major incident at the nuclear facility could have consequences extending far beyond Ukraine and Russia, potentially affecting large parts of Europe. He also claimed that attacks have escalated from auxiliary facilities and energy infrastructure to key plant equipment and now plant employees. The latest accusations come amid continued fighting around the Zaporizhzhia region, one of the most sensitive flashpoints in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The G7 Summit was supposed to be about wars, trade disputes, tariffs and global crises. Instead, the internet got something completely different: hot microphones, a missing wat…
Ukraine Is Redefining Modern Warfare | World News
Ukraine Is Redefining Modern Warfare | World News
Ukraine is conducting a campaign with few precedents in military history. It isn’t merely defending its front lines or carrying out occasional deep strikes. It is imposing persistent strategic pressure on a much larger adversary by attacking Russia’s front lines, air defenses, fuel depots, logistics and military infrastructure and by trying to isolate occupied Crimea.
Ukraine almost certainly can’t destroy Russia’s war machine, but if it can keep enough of that machine disrupted, degraded and short on fuel, it can change the strategic equation.
Kyiv appears to be succeeding. Recent attacks inside Russia have hit refineries, oil terminals, pumping stations, air-defense systems, headquarters, logistics nodes and infrastructure. Russia’s Energy Ministry has acknowledged that strikes on fuel and energy infrastructure have contributed to supply problems as far east as Siberia and in occupied Crimea. Reports describe Russia’s worst nationwide fuel shortages in years, with restrictions on gasoline and diesel sales in multiple regions.
Crimea, once Vladimir Putin’s prized symbol of conquest, is becoming a liability. Ukrainian strikes ha…
Russia-Ukraine: Russia claims Ukraine is preparing to use 'special ...
Russia-Ukraine: Russia claims Ukraine is preparing to use 'special ...
Russia-Ukraine: Russia claims Ukraine is preparing to use 'special chemical belt' - and accuses US of breaching Chemical Weapons Convention
Russia has claimed Ukraine is preparing for a chemical attack on its troops
Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, has accused Ukraine of using chemical weapons.
By
Jane Bradley
Arts and culture correspondent
Comment
Published
19th Feb 2024, 12:24 BST
Updated
19th Feb 2024, 13:15 BST
Russia
has accused
Ukraine
of planning combat operations using a "special chemical belt", by detonating tanks of hydrocyanic acid and ammonia as Russian troops advance.
The Kremlin's chief of nuclear, chemical and biological protection, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, also claimed the Russian-installed head of Luhansk had been "severely poisoned" with phenolic compounds, in what it said was one of a number of poisoning attacks on high-ranking officials.
This comes just days after Ukraine accused Russia of intensifying chemical attacks on the battlefield.
Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, has accused Ukraine of using chemical weapons.
In a statement from Lt Gen Kirillov posted to the …
What will the situation in Russia and Ukraine look like five years from ...
What will the situation in Russia and Ukraine look like five years from ...
Forum
San Diego State University
Former deputy to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
American Enterprise Institute
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Center for American Progress
Former Obama official and soon-to-be adviser to Ukrainian defense-tech companies
The Counteroffensive
War will remain the principal factor shaping politics, societies and policies of Ukraine and Russia. With its root cause — Russia’s expansionism — unresolved, the war will become increasingly uncontained. The mutually reinforcing imperatives of territorial expansionism and kleptocratic autocracy in Russia will be the main source of continuity and change. Vladimir Putin’s dictatorial information advantage will grow and enable him to suppress popular protest or elite rebellion. Russia’s autocratic modernization will increasingly have North Korean characteristics. Prospects of “lame duck” syndrome due to Putin’s aging and grave uncertainties about the war’s costs — whether Russia subordinates Ukraine or not — will drive him to constantly prove his leadership prowess. With dom…
Ukraine and Europe's weakness exposed as US and Russia again negotiate ...
Ukraine and Europe's weakness exposed as US and Russia again negotiate ...
A Ukrainian serviceman walking in a damaged area of the frontline city of Kostyantynivka, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Press service of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade / EPA
Renewed talk of no-longer-secret
negotiations
between the Kremlin and the White House over a plan to end the war in Ukraine that heavily favours Russia adds to a broader sense of doom in Kyiv and among its western partners.
Coupled with the fallout from a
sweeping corruption scandal
among Ukraine’s elites and stalling efforts in Brussels to provide additional financial aid to Kyiv, a storm is brewing that may lead to
Moscow
prevailing in its
war of aggression
.
However, this is not a foregone conclusion.
Ukraine
is having a very difficult time at the moment on various fronts. The fall of
Pokrovsk
in eastern Ukraine is a question of when, not if, and of how many men both sides will lose before Russia captures the ruins of the city.
Russia has also
upped pressure
on the Zaporizhian part of the front and around Kherson on the coast. It is very likely that the Kremlin will continue to push its current advantages, with figh…
The Russian Armed Forces closed the ring around the core of ... - EADaily
The Russian Armed Forces closed the ring around the core of ... - EADaily
Русская версия
The Russian Armed Forces closed the ring around the core of the Ukrainian Armed Forces garrison in Konstantinovka — summary
June 9th, 2026
23:15
Illustration: readovkanews / Telegram
Russian troops blocked the core of the Ukrainian garrison in Konstantinovka. This is stated in the summary for June 9, which is
published
by Readovka.
Repetition of the classic scenario
The units of the Russian Armed Forces storming Konstantinovka managed to achieve a key result: the defense of the Ukrainian garrison was dismembered, its disparate units were surrounded in different parts of the city. Having collected information from sources close to the active army, the editorial board of Readovka proposes to consider the current situation in the city — where exactly the enemy is surrounded and what his command is trying to do.
After the attack aircraft of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, who entered the Konstantinovka from the north and those who reached Alexey Tikhy Street managed to gain a foothold, friendly units came out to meet them from the territory of the chemical plant and the Stroysteklo pla…
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Nato scrambles jets to shoot down Russian drone as Latvia issues air threat alert | The Independent
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Nato scrambles jets to shoot down Russian drone as Latvia issues air threat alert | The Independent
Zelensky willing to freeze battle for peace talks
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Russian attack kills five and injures 14 in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region
A Russian attack killed has killed five and injured fourteen in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, the regional governor said this morning.
Ivan Fedorov said Russia attacked the region with air strikes, drones and shelling, damaging infrastructure, residential buildings and cars.
Arpan Rai
8 June 2026 09:10
Nato jets scrambled to down Russian drone, says Latvia
The Latvian army has scrambled Nato air jets to shoot down a drone in its airspace.
At least one drone was confirmed to have entered Latvian airspace from Russia, an army spokesperson said this morning.
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Can the West Really Stop Russia's War in Ukraine? A View from the ...
Can the West Really Stop Russia's War in Ukraine? A View from the ...
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Glenn Corn is a former Senior Executive in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who worked for 34 years in the U.S. Intelligence, Defense, and Foreign Affairs communities. During his career with CIA, Glenn served as a Chief of Station in Four overseas critical assignments and held key senior leadership roles at CIA HQS.Glenn is the CEO ofGreat South Bayand is an adjunct Professor at the Institute of World Politics in Washington D.C.
EXPERT Q&A —Russiahas not slowed its assaults onUkraine, ceaselessly raining missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities while pushing forward - albeit slowly - on the frontlines. Former Senior CIA OfficerGlenn Corngot a firsthand account of how Ukraine is faring under fire, telling The Cipher Brief about the resilience of the Ukrainians, the sabre-rattling from Russia aimed at dissuading Western support, and what Kyiv is seeking from the…
'This is Putin's response to calls for peace' — European leaders ...
'This is Putin's response to calls for peace' — European leaders ...
News Feed
'This is Putin's response to calls for peace' — European leaders condemn Russia's latest mass attack on Ukraine
September 7, 2025 5:29 pm
•
3
min read
Prefer
on Google
by
Kateryna Hodunova
The aftermath of a Russian drone attack on a residential building in Kyiv overnight on Sept. 7, 2025. (Olena Zashko/The Kyiv Independent)
Russia launched a large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine on Sept. 7, killing at least four people and injuring more than 40, prompting swift condemnation from Kyiv's European partners.
The
attack
, one of the most severe in recent months and which claimed the life of a 2-month-old baby, came as Ukraine's allies seek to
pressure
Russian President Vladimir Putin into pursuing a diplomatic resolution of the war by imposing additional
sanctions
on Moscow.
As Western partners explore new levers of influence, Russia launched a record 810 drones and 13 missiles into Ukraine overnight, including four Iskander-M (KN-23) ballistic missiles and nine Iskander-K cruise missiles.
Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 747 drones and four cruise missiles, but several others struck 33 locations across…
Wires Brief: New US-Ukrainian peace plan in the works; Israel fires ...
Wires Brief: New US-Ukrainian peace plan in the works; Israel fires ...
24 November 2025
Ukraine
The latest US draft of the peace plan
reflects Ukraine’s key priorities
. US and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva to discuss and revise a previous peace plan, which many thought was a translation of demands from the Kremlin.
It is also being reported that Steve Witkoff has been
pushing “Ukrainian sympathizers” out
of the White House and out of negotiations. This would explain why the US position has been rooted in Russian policy.
The Ukrainian army is on ‘search and destroy’ missions in central Povrovsk. Ukrainian pressure is apparently preventing Russian forces from fortifying their positions. The fight for the fortified city, which is key to Ukraine’s logistics, continues on.
United Kingdom
The Royal Navy
intercepted
two Russian ships in the English Channel. HMS Severn headed off RFN Stoikiy, a corvette and Yelnya, a tanker, as the two ships sailed westwards. This comes after a Russian spy ship entered UK waters last week and laser-targeted RAF planes.
Pakistan
Three Federal Constabulary personnel are dead after, what Pakistani authorities are claiming as, a
foiled attack
. A suicid…
Ukraine Invasion Updates, September 2025 | Critical Threats
Ukraine Invasion Updates, September 2025 | Critical Threats
Russia and Belarus may conduct special forces sabotage operations against critical infrastructure in Poland and launch additional drone incursions and blame Ukraine.Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) baselessly claimed on September 30 that Ukraine is preparing to conduct a false flag attack against critical Polish infrastructure in order to implicate Russia and Belarus.[1]The SVR claimed that Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) and Polish intelligence will deploy a sabotage and reconnaissance group comprised of Russian and Belarusian nationals from the pro-Ukrainian Freedom of Russia Legion (LSR) and Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment to Poland. The SVR claimed that the troops will pose as Russian and Belarusian Spetsnaz personnel at a press conference after Polish security forces capture them and that the pro-Ukrainian troops will blame Russia and Belarus for the incident. The SVR claimed that Ukraine may simultaneously conduct an "attack" on critical infrastructure in Poland in order to "heighten public outcry." The SVR claimed that Ukraine is trying to take advantage of the recent drone incursions i…
Zelenskyy reports on Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteroffensive in ...
Zelenskyy reports on Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteroffensive in ...
Zelenskyy reports on Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counteroffensive in Donetsk region
Thu, September 18, 2025 - 16:46
3 min
Kateryna Shkarlat
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Office of the President of Ukraine)
Ukraine’s Defense Forces are conducting a counteroffensive operation near Dobropillia and in the Pokrovsk area of the Donetsk region. A total of 160 square kilometers of territory has been liberated, and Russian losses have exceeded one thousand troops, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in his
address
on September 18.
Zelenskyy arrived on a working visit to the Donetsk direction, where he presented state awards to servicemen and reported on the first results of the counteroffensive in the Donetsk region.
"We are currently carrying out one of our counteroffensive operations in the Donetsk direction, in the Pokrovsk area and near Dobropillia. The battles are tough, but we managed to inflict significant losses on the Russians," he said.
According to the president, Ukrainian forces have effectively disrupted a full-scale offensive operation planned by Russia, which they intended to carry out after…
War in Ukraine | Global Conflict Tracker
War in Ukraine | Global Conflict Tracker
Back to Map
War in Ukraine
By the
Center for Preventive Action
Updated
June 17, 2026
Infantry soldier Viktor of Ukraine’s 58th Motorized Brigade smokes while standing in a frontline trench in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on April 13, 2024.
Thomas Peter/Reuters
People look at smoke rise over a building of the Ukrainian government headquaters after Russian drone and missile strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 7, 2025. ’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 7, 2025. REUTERS/Serhii Korovainyi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Serhii Korovainyi/Reuters
Volunteers board a plane before departing for positions of the Akhmat battalion involved in Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, at an airport in Grozny, Russia, on January 17, 2024.
Chingis Kondarov/Reuters
A woman appears in front of the makeshift memorial to fallen Ukrainian defenders at Independence Square in Kyiv on November 6, 2025.
Alina Smutko/Reuters
A Ukrainian serviceman of the 100th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a Bohdana self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops near the frontline town of Kostiantynivka in…
Ukraine’s president says the world is in 'the most destructive arms ...
Ukraine’s president says the world is in 'the most destructive arms ...
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the world is in “the most destructive arms race in history” and calls on the international community to act against Russia. Zelenskyy also decried the violence that killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told global leaders Wednesday that the world is in “the most destructive arms race in human history” and urged the international community to act against Russia now, asserting that Vladimir Putin wants to expand his war in Europe.
In a bleak view of today’s world, he told the annual high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly that weak international institutions including the United Nations haven’t been able to stop wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere, and international law can’t help nations survive.
Ukrainę President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
“Weapons decide who survives,” the Ukrainian leader said. “There are no security guarantees except friends and weapons.”
Zel…
Ukraine's last eastern strongholds hang on as Russia fights to ... - KUOW
Ukraine's last eastern strongholds hang on as Russia fights to ... - KUOW
News & Stories
World
Ukraine's last eastern strongholds hang on as Russia fights to take Donbas
Joanna Kakissis
December 09, 2025
/
5:28 am
KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — In one of the last remaining cities under Ukrainian control in the country's eastern Donetsk region, once a powerhouse of industry, life gets more difficult — and dangerous — as Russian forces inch closer.
Over the last month, local officials in Kramatorsk have reported dozens of Russian attacks on the city using strike drones, ballistic missiles, rockets and aerial bombs. Homes, gas stations and markets have all been hit, as has a nearby power plant, causing blackouts.
"There was a recent strike on the house next to mine," said Olena Frolova, 20, who works in a shop that sells Donetsk-branded clothing in Kramatorsk. "We all feel that the front is getting closer. Your life depends on how our guys at the front hold on."
Russian President Vladimir Putin
is doubling down
on seizing all of eastern Ukraine's Donbas, which includes the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia has invaded and occupied more than
80%
of Donbas since 2014. The Kremlin wants to …
Ukraine war latest: Zelensky calls Putin's Kostiantynivka bluff; Ukraine nearly doubles successful strikes behind Russian lines
Ukraine war latest: Zelensky calls Putin's Kostiantynivka bluff; Ukraine nearly doubles successful strikes behind Russian lines
Key developments on July 4-5:
* Zelensky calls Putin's Kostiantynivka bluff: 'Let's meet there'
* Zelensky focuses on American 'Patriots' in US Independence Day message
* Blackouts in Crimea as Kyiv hits military targets across occupied Ukraine overnight
* Ukraine nearly doubles successful strikes more than 50 kilometers behind Russian lines
President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that the Donetsk Oblast city of Kostiantynivka was under Russian c
STRATEGIC PUTIN'S PLAN: WHAT ARE THE REAL GOALS OF ...
STRATEGIC PUTIN'S PLAN: WHAT ARE THE REAL GOALS OF ...
Dr. Iryna SynelnykResearcher at Institute for Hybrid Warfare Studies “OCTOPUS”iryna.synelnyk@octopusinstitute.org
Abstract
This paper deals with Russia’s declared and real goals in Ukraine during the war, which has been going on since 2014, and Russia’s interests in expanding its influence in European countries. This topic has been covered by many contemporary media in Russia, Ukraine and Western countries, therefore we have made an attempt to analyze this information through a content-analyze, summarizing some findings of analytical centers and some Ukrainian and Western experts. Special attention is paid to the ideological basis of modern Russian aggression and attempts to form an anti-Western coalition.
Keywords:Russia’s expansion, Ukraine, war, peace negotiations, anti-Western coalition, security.
Introduction
The President of Russia Vladimir Putin began the full-scale invasion in Ukraine by declaring its goal to be ‘denazification’ and ‘demilitarization’, which was not widely understood, and calling it a ‘special military operation’. He later claimed that the operation would not end until its strategic goals had been…
Analysis: Russia breaks into Kostiantynivka, opening battle for Donbas ...
Analysis: Russia breaks into Kostiantynivka, opening battle for Donbas ...
Analysis: Russia breaks into Kostiantynivka, opening battle for Donbas fortress belt
by
Francis Farrell
June 23, 2026 6:42 PM
10
min read
Members of the 24th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine walk along a road covered by anti-drone netting with a drone stuck in it while hunting Russian drones between Druzhkivka and Olexiivo-Druzhkivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on April 24, 2026. (Serhii Korovayny/The Kyiv Independent)
War
Prefer
on Google
by
Francis Farrell
Amid a wave of positive headlines about Russian refineries in flames and logistics crippled, the battle for the legendary "fortress belt" of Ukraine's Donbas region has begun in earnest, with Russian forces breaking into the city of Kostiantynivka in
Donetsk Oblast
and steadily overrunning the urban area.
As the summer campaign opens up, Russian forces are bucking the trend of offensive stagnation across the rest of the front line and making real headway into the heart of Ukrainian-controlled Donbas.
Connected by one long road that has for years now been the backbone of Ukraine's defense of the area, the so-called
Kramatorsk
agglomeration, from
Slov…
Assassinations of pro-war figures seek to demoralize Russia, punish war ...
Assassinations of pro-war figures seek to demoralize Russia, punish war ...
Assassinations of pro-war figures seek to demoralize Russia, punish war criminals
Military officials, propagandists, and those seen as collaborators by Kyiv have been assassinated in Russia or the Ukrainian territories it occupies since the beginning of Russia's all-out war in 2022.
by
Oleg Sukhov
December 23, 2024 6:34 PM
10
min read
A view of the scene after Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of Russian Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, and his assistant were killed in an explosion in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 17, 2024 (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
War analysis
Prefer
on Google
by
Oleg Sukhov
The Dec. 17 killing of Russian Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov in Moscow — reportedly by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) — is the most high-profile assassination of a Russian military official to date.
It's not the first one, however.
Military officials,
propagandists
, and those seen as
collaborators
by Kyiv have been assassinated in Russia or the Ukrainian territories it occupies since the beginning of Russia's all-out war in 2022.
Analysts say that such assassinations aim to bring war to R…
Russia brands Keir Starmer 'illiterate' and 'a fool' for vowing to ...
Russia brands Keir Starmer 'illiterate' and 'a fool' for vowing to ...
ByWILL STEWARTandSABRINA PENTY, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER
Published:08:10 EDT, 7 January 2026|Updated:09:50 EDT, 7 January 2026
743
Viewcomments
A senior Russian official has branded SirKeir Starmeras 'illiterate' and 'a fool' after he vowed to base British troops in Ukraine as part of a peace deal.
Senator and space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin said theBritish Prime Minister's suggestion would open up the UK to missile strikes byRussia.
'Even after Russia's defeat in the Crimean War of 1853-1856, such thoughts never occurred to England,France, or the Turks and Sardinians,' he said.
'Of course, Starmer is illiterate and a fool in the grand scheme of things, but he should still understand what we will do to their shi*** kingdom if they actually try to implement this nonsense.'
His fiery remarks come after Starmer on Tuesday signed a declaration of intent in Paris with France'sEmmanuel Macronand Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy outlining the deployment of forces in the event a peace deal is reached.
But on Wednesday he assured that any deployment of UK forces under the declaration would be subject to a …
Putin says Russian forces maintain strategic initiative
Putin says Russian forces maintain strategic initiative
Putin says Russian forces maintain strategic initiative
The Independent
October 8, 2025
WORLD
Leave a comment
MOSCOW | Xinhua |
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russian armed forces currently maintain full strategic initiative in the area of the special military operation, Kremlin said in a press release Tuesday evening.
Putin made the remarks while meeting with the leaders of the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff of the Armed Forces and commanders of troop groups in the special military operation zone in St. Petersburg, according to the Kremlin.
The president said that Russian troops have advanced significantly this year. “Almost 5,000 square kilometers of territory — 4,900 to be exact — and 212 settlements have been liberated,” he said.
He also praised Russia’s defense-industrial complex for ensuring the steady supply of high-precision weapons, ammunition, and military equipment to the armed forces. He said that, along with planned deliveries, new weapons are being developed and sent to the troops ahead of schedule.
Putin said that despite “stubborn resistance,” Ukrainian armed forces are retreating along the…
The Russian leader on Konstantinovka liberation, special military ...
The Russian leader on Konstantinovka liberation, special military ...
Photo: Kremlin.ru
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on Friday at one of the auxiliary command posts of the United Group of Forces, where he was informed about the liberation of Konstantinovka and other successes of Russian troops during the special military operation.
The Russian leader called the capture of this city the key to the liberation of the entire territory of the DPR.
Putin instructed the army to determine the degree of involvement in incitement to hostilities of each of the allies of the Kiev regime, this analysis will be required to make responsible decisions.
TASS has compiled the key facts about the meeting.
Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to the president that in June, Russian troops liberated 29 settlements and 636 square kilometers of territory.
The South battlegroup liberated Konstantinovka, which the chief of the general staff called "one of the main enemy defense sites within the borders of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk-Konstantinovka fortified area." In addition, the 3rd army units advancing towards Slavyansk and Kramatorsk took control of four more settl…
'Cheap provocations' — Ukraine denies Russia's claim that it has captured Kupiansk, as fighting continues
'Cheap provocations' — Ukraine denies Russia's claim that it has captured Kupiansk, as fighting continues
War
'Cheap provocations' — Ukraine denies Russia's claim that it has captured Kupiansk, as fighting continues
November 20, 2025 11:21 pm
•
2
min read
Prefer
on Google
by
Dmytro Basmat
A view of the enterence to Kupiansk, Ukraine on Oct. 16, 2024. (Fermin Torrano/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ukraine's General Staff denied claims made by the chief of the General Staff of the Russian army, Valery Gerasimov, that Russian forces have captured the city of Kupiansk on Nov. 20.
The statement from Ukraine's General Staff comes as Gerasimov reportedly informed Russian President Vladimir Putin of Kupiansk's alleged capture during Putin's visit to a command post of the Zapad force.
"Kupiansk remains under the control of Ukraine’s Defense Forces," the General Staff
said
. "Counter-sabotage operations and special search-and-destroy actions against enemy reconnaissance and sabotage groups that infiltrated the city are ongoing in and around Kupiansk."
"The leadership of the terrorist state continues to produce cheap informational provocations," Ukraine's General Staff said, adding that the disin…
Starobelsk and the Breaking Point: Ukraine's Provocations and Russia's ...
Starobelsk and the Breaking Point: Ukraine's Provocations and Russia's ...
On 22 May 2026, Ukrainian drones struck a student dormitory in Starobelsk, Lugansk People’s Republic.Twenty-one civilians were killed and forty-two wounded.The target was not a military installation. It was a civilian object deep behind the front lines.
This is not an isolated incident. It is one of the clearest signs yet of adangerous pattern: Ukraine continues to push deeper into Russian territory, and Russia’s patience appears to be reaching its limit.
The Starobelsk attack was not a mistake or a rogue operation. It fits into a consistent logic of escalation that Kyiv has pursued for months. With Western approval for long-range strikes on Russian soil, Ukraine has repeatedly tested Moscow’s red lines. Each time the response has been measured, but the threshold has been raised. The Oreshnik strike on Kyiv was a clear signal that theprevious phase of restraint is ending.
Russian officials responded with unusual directness.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the Starobelsk attack a “monstrous crime” and stated that those responsible would be punished. Putin accused Ukraine of a terrorist act and order…
Putin wants to capture Ukraine's crucial fortress belt without a fight
Putin wants to capture Ukraine's crucial fortress belt without a fight
As US-led efforts to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine struggle to gain momentum, Vladimir Putin’s latest territorial demands include the surrender of strategically vital and heavily fortified Ukrainian land in the east of the country. Moscow is calling on Kyiv to unilaterally withdraw from the approximately one-third of Donetsk province that remains in Ukrainian hands as part of any peace deal. In other words, Putin aims to secure territory at the negotiating table that his army has been unable to conquer in more that three and a half years of full-scale war.
The northern third of the Donetsk province is the last remaining part of eastern Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region that is still under Kyiv control. It has been at the epicenter of Putin’s invasion ever since the onset of Russian aggression more than a decade ago in 2014, and is home to Ukraine’s most extensive network of fortifications. Putin’s proposed peace terms pose a series of grave political and military threats for the Ukrainian authorities.
Stay updated
As the world watches the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfold, UkraineAlert delivers the best…
“Putin’s plan is clear: he aims to exploit Ukraine’s vulnerability to ballistic missiles and escalate attacks on the civilian population.”
Business Ukraine editor Peter Dickinson joined Ukraine’s Те...
“Putin’s plan is clear: he aims to exploit Ukraine’s vulnerability to ballistic missiles and escalate attacks on the civilian population.”
Business Ukraine editor Peter Dickinson joined Ukraine’s Телеканал FREEДОМ following the second mass Russian bombardment of Kyiv in recent days
U.S.-Russia Proxy War in Ukraine Is a Case of Deterrence Failure
U.S.-Russia Proxy War in Ukraine Is a Case of Deterrence Failure
U.S.-Russia Proxy War in Ukraine Is a Case of Deterrence Failure
Joe Biden’s recentdecision to allow Ukraine to strike deep within Russia using advanced American missile technology is but the latest step in theescalationladder. Vladimir Putin has stated such actions would place Russiaon a war footingwith NATO. Biden’s risky decision is symptomatic of a larger set of problems related to deterrence failure and the absence ofmilitary restraintin a multipolar world. Adding to the complexity,Russia’s response, including its proposed deployment of advanced missile systems to Belarus, signals a significant escalation in technological capabilities that undermine traditionaldeterrence frameworks.
Deterrence has long been the cornerstone of international security. Yet, in a multipolar world, where power is fragmented and alliances shift unpredictably, maintaining its effectiveness is increasingly complex and difficult. This does not mean that multipolarity and deterrence are incompatible. Rather new strategies of deterrence must be developed, that are consistent with today’s gray zone conflict environment characterised b…
Zelensky Calls for Expanded Air Defense Support from NATO - Aju Press
Zelensky Calls for Expanded Air Defense Support from NATO - Aju Press
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged for increased air defense support, stating that the decisive battleground in the war with Russia has shifted from land and sea to the air.
In an interview with the Financial Times ahead of the NATO summit in Turkey, which begins on July 7, Zelensky said, "I believe that today the victory in this war goes to the smarter side." He emphasized that Ukraine has successfully held back Russian forces on the battlefield and pushed back the Russian fleet with maritime drones, declaring, "The next battlefield will be the sky." He added, "We have moved into the air domain. And in the air, we are already competitive."
Zelensky assessed that Ukraine's ability to produce and operate long-range drones has changed the dynamics of the war, allowing Ukraine to strike deep into Russian military and energy facilities, thereby burdening Russia's war capabilities.
During the interview, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil refinery in Omsk, Siberia, approximately 2,500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The Financial Times reported that this attack appears to be Ukraine's deepest strike …
Air War over Ukraine – the first days - Royal Aeronautical Society
Air War over Ukraine – the first days - Royal Aeronautical Society
TIM ROBINSON
FRAeS offers initial thoughts and analysis on the air power aspect of the conflict in Ukraine.
As this is written, Ukraine is in the fight of its life (its 'Battle of Britain' as one commentator noted) after Russian forces invaded on 24 February. As might be expected, details are sketchy, information is unverified and there is natural tendency for each side to play up successes and downplay setbacks. Despite the granularity of social media videos and photos, which is now backed by open-source intelligence able to geolocate photos from the tiniest details, the 'big picture' is somewhat missing – especially from the Russian side and the actual aims of its campaign.
However, we can put together some initial analysis based on observations so far. Firstly is that the Russian invasion has not gone to plan – with one report suggesting the aim was to capture Kyiv and major cities in 48hrs. Some experts predicted that Russia, with investment in cruise missiles, EW, PGMs, hypersonics and stealth fighters would start with a Gulf War-style 'Desert Storm' overwhelming air campaign to destroy the Ukrainian air force…
German Defense Minister spots turning point in Russia-Ukraine war
German Defense Minister spots turning point in Russia-Ukraine war
German Defense Minister spots turning point in Russia-Ukraine war
Wed, May 13, 2026 - 13:12
2 min
At the moment, the Ukrainians have the upper hand
Liliana Oleniak
Photo: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius sees signs of a turning point in Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to
Welt
.
Read also:
German MoD reveals real reason behind Putin’s statements about end of war
"I believe that Ukrainians truly have the upper hand. Russia is going through a period of weakness—economically, domestically, and on the battlefield," Pistorius says after he visited Ukraine.
According to him, Ukrainians are making significant progress. Strikes on Russian military infrastructure in the rear are becoming increasingly precise and effective.
At Ukrainian command posts in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, Pistorius was shown how drones are used for reconnaissance and to combat Russian weapon systems and soldiers.
He also had the opportunity to observe ongoing operations firsthand. Ukraine has expanded its capabilities, particularly since last year, wh…
Russia's Ukraine invasion highlights the need for fundamental UN reform ...
Russia's Ukraine invasion highlights the need for fundamental UN reform ...
Sanity prevailed at the UN this week when Russia
failed
to win a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. However, this minor setback for the Kremlin cannot disguise the far deeper dysfunction within the UN that has been revealed by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ever since the invasion began in February 2022, Moscow has used its position as one of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to block efforts to end the war or hold Russia accountable. Faced with relentless Russian obstruction, UN leaders have been forced to focus on mediation efforts, while the United Nations General Assembly has been limited to voting on a series of largely symbolic resolutions condemning the invasion. If the purpose of the UN is to prevent major wars, the current approach is obviously not working.
Stay updated
As the world watches the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfold, UkraineAlert delivers the best Atlantic Council expert insight and analysis on Ukraine twice a week directly to your inbox.
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has focused international attention on Russia’s problematic r…
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 24, 2026 | ISW
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 24, 2026 | ISW
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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 24, 2026
Toplines
Belarusian signal repeaters along the Belarusian-Ukrainian border reportedly ceased operations as of June 22 following Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky’s warning that Belarus must disable the repeaters no later than June 26.
Zelensky stated on June 24 that the Russian-installed signal repeaters on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, which allow Russian forces to fly guided drones at extended ranges deep into western Ukraine, have not been operational since June 22.[1] Zelensky stated that it is not clear whether Belarus fully dismantled the repeaters or simply suspended their use at this time. Zelensky has repeatedly asked Belarus to dismantle the signal repeaters along the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, as they allow Russian forces to carry out higher-precision strikes against Ukraine, and recently warned that Ukraine would strike the equipment if Belarus refused to do so by June 26.[2]
The Kremlin is intensifying pressure on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to expand Belarusian involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Lukashenko cont…
Analysis: Growing number of war-weary Ukrainians would ... - UCL
Analysis: Growing number of war-weary Ukrainians would ... - UCL
19 September 2024
Writing in The Conversation, Professor Kristin Bakke (UCL Political Science) examines survey results that show a growing, if reluctant, support for negotiations and territorial concessions among Ukrainians.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is trying his best to shake up the dynamics of the Russia-Ukraine war. He recentlyundertook a major cabinet reshufflein which he replaced no fewer than nine ministers, including his foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba. Announcing the changes, Zelensky said he wanted his government to be “more active” in pressing for aid from its western allies.
These cabinet changes came as Ukraine pressed ahead with itsoffensive in the Kursk oblastin Russia. Zelensky has said that holding some Russian territory will give Kyiv leverage for future territorial exchange negotiations with Russia.
And, while criticism of Zelensky’s gamblehas increasedas Ukraine’s position in the Donbas in the east of the country has deteriorated, seeing Ukrainian soldiers turn the table on Russia has undeniably given Ukrainians a morale boost.
Ukrainians needed this. As the war has endured…
Putin is dragging Belarus deeper into Russia's Ukraine invasion
Putin is dragging Belarus deeper into Russia's Ukraine invasion
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently warned of “
unusual activity
” on his country’s northern border with Belarus. The Ukrainian leader’s comments came amid
reports
that Belarus is expanding military infrastructure in the border region. This is fueling speculation that Russia may be planning to open up a new front in the war against Ukraine, and could seek to pressure Belarus into joining the invasion.
Fears of a new Belarusian front are probably overblown, at least for the time being. However, there are clear indications that Russia is steadily expanding Belarusian involvement in the war.
In recent months, Ukraine has
accused
Moscow of using communications infrastructure located across the border in Belarus to enhance the strike capabilities of Russian drones inside Ukraine. Officials in Kyiv claim this infrastructure is often located close to civilian areas, making it far more challenging to detect and counter.
Meanwhile, the appearance of new military-related infrastructure including training grounds and logistics routes close to the Ukrainian border appears designed to create the conditions for potenti…
Deadlocked War Subtly Changes to Russia's Detriment
Deadlocked War Subtly Changes to Russia's Detriment
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Deadlocked War Subtly Changes to Russia’s Detriment
Diplomacy & International Relations
Intelligence
April 14, 2026
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(Pavel K. Baev – The Jamestown Foundation) This year’s 32-hour-long Easter truce for Russia’s war against Ukraine did not lead to a lasting ceasefire nor a resumption in peace talks, despite some cautious advocacy in the mainstream media. The Russian spring offensive in Donbas has yielded no territorial gains amid heavy casualties, recruitment shortfalls, and rising financial strain. Regional budget crises and economic contraction deepen domestic pressures in Russia, revealing systemic limits in sustaining the war. The doctoring of statistics on Russia’s economy camouflages the true depth of the recession. The sustained decline in investment activity, however, guarantees that the crisis will only deepen. –
Deadlocked War Subtly Changes to Russia’s Detriment – Jamestown
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Ukraine Breaks Russian Lines in Southern Counteroffensive as Kremlin ...
Ukraine Breaks Russian Lines in Southern Counteroffensive as Kremlin ...
Ukrainian assault teams used winter fog and tactical infiltration to break Russian defensive lines in southern Ukraine, liberating more than 400 square kilometers and forcing Moscow to redeploy elite units intended for its planned spring offensive. As Kyiv revealed Russian documents estimating 1.315 million casualties since the invasion began, the Kremlin’s narrative of steady advances increasingly diverged from battlefield reality. At the same time, disputes over sanctions, European politics, and diplomatic maneuvering showed how the struggle over Ukraine’s future is unfolding far beyond the front lines.
The Day’s Reckoning
Picture a Ukrainian assault team moving through winter fog in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Not retreating. Advancing.
By March 10, Ukrainian units had pushed up to twelve kilometers into Russian positions, using snow and low visibility to slip past defenses, suppress drone operators, and isolate Russian troops. Since late January, Ukraine has liberated more than 400 square kilometers, leaving only a few settlements contested and marking the first month since October 2023 in which Ukrainian forc…
Updates: Russia's war against Ukraine - Estonian perspective
Updates: Russia's war against Ukraine - Estonian perspective
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In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Estonian World brings you the latest reactions from Estonia. For updates from 2022,
please see a separate article
.
28 June 2026 – The next Ukraine recovery conference to take place in Tallinn
This week, the fifth Ukraine recovery conference officially concluded in Gdansk, Poland. The next such conference is scheduled to take place in Tallinn in 2027.
9 June 2026 – President Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska visit Estonia
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visited Estonia on 9 June as Tallinn hosted the Nordic-Baltic Eight summit, with Ukraine’s defence, pressure on Russia and European security at the centre of the talks.
Zelenskyy met the Estonian president, Alar Karis, at Kadriorg before joining the Nordic and Baltic prime ministers. Karis said Ukraine’s place was in the European Union and NATO and called for the rapid opening of all EU-Ukraine accession negotiation clusters.
Later, Zelenskyy and the Estonian prime minister, Kristen Michal, issued a joint declaration on enhanced security and defence cooperation,…
Russia 'on brink of social explosion' as opposition MP warns Vladimir ...
Russia 'on brink of social explosion' as opposition MP warns Vladimir ...
Russia 'on brink of social explosion' as opposition MP warns Vladimir Putin to end Ukraine war
Vyacheslav Markhayev has hit out at the way young Russian men are still being sent to their deaths by Vladimir Putin’s 'obsession' with the on-going war in Ukraine
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News
Will Stewart
Russia Correspondent
21:33, 13 Jun 2026
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Vladimir Putin has been told to forget about his 'obsession' with Ukraine
(Image: AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Vladmir Putin must end the disastrous
war in Ukraine
now with Russia on the “brink of a social explosion”, an opposition MP has warned.
Vladimir Putin
and his ruling regime must “come to their senses” before the country is plunged into “total chaos”, Vyacheslav Markhayev demanded. The criticism of the Russian President comes as
Ukraine
gains the upper hand in the war inflicting massive human losses and chronic fuel shortages on
Russia
.
In a humiliating blow, Putin could soon lose his land access to
invaded Crimea
as Ukraine turns highways into roads of death with constant drone strikes. Markhayev, 71, a former police general, slammed the way young Russian men are …
Zelenskyy Calls On Europe To Develop Air Defense After Latest Russian ...
Zelenskyy Calls On Europe To Develop Air Defense After Latest Russian ...
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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Europe to push forward with an air defense umbrella after Russia againbombardedthe Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya, injuring at least 13 people, including two children.
Zelenskyy said in a social mediaposton September 16 that Russian rockets "struck deliberately to terrorize our people," damaging "many residential buildings" in the process.
He added that since the beginning of September, more than 3,500 drones and nearly 190 missiles, along with more than 2,500 aerial bombs, have been launched by Moscow at targets inside Ukraine, as well as "provocations against our partners."
No media source currently available
"This is precisely the kind of aerial terror against which Ukraine is calling for joint defense -- so that no one has to scramble combat aircraft in haste and feel Russia's pressure on their borders," Zelenskyy wrote.
"Now is the time to implement the joint protection of our European skies with a multilayered air defense system. All the technologies for this are already in place. What is needed are investments and determination -- strong actio…
Putin Has a Problem: Russia Is Now Disguising Fuel Trucks as Milk ...
Putin Has a Problem: Russia Is Now Disguising Fuel Trucks as Milk ...
Putin Reading a Statement. Image Credit: Russian Government.
Crimea has been turned into a “peninsula of fear”, trapped between severe political repression by Russian occupying forces and a tightening war zone caused by Ukrainian drone and missile strikes.
The Ukrainians are transforming the Crimean peninsula into an isolated Russian military outpost that is proving increasingly less and less able to protect and feed itself, as the supply lines are choked by drone attacks.
Lancet Drone. Image Credit: Russian State Media.
While the Russians are once again targeting the Tatar population, which comprises about
12 percent of the population
, similar to what
Stalin did during
World War II, by trying to “Russianize” the population and sending Tatars to prison in Siberia, the Russians are being attacked by Ukraine daily.
Ukraine has heavily targeted the
“land bridge” supply lines,
striking fuel convoys, military sites, and transport hubs. This has created widespread panic and severe fuel shortages for residents and the many Russian tourists who flock to the Black Sea resorts every summer.
Many Russian military analys…
#UKRAINERUSSIAWAR. Szijjarto in Minsk in Russian: "We call for the ...
#UKRAINERUSSIAWAR. Szijjarto in Minsk in Russian: "We call for the ...
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According to the Financial Times, “Putin is accelerating the offensive in Donbass: he has ordered the capture of Pokrovsk by mid-November 2025.” In fact, during a meeting with the group’s commanders, Vladimir Putin stated the exact opposite: “There were no specific deadlines for Russian troops.”
“The EU’s intention to illegally use frozen Russian assets could lead to a direct conflict with Russia and ‘become a prelude to war,'” Victor Orbán told the press. On the sidelines of the Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjarto began his speech in Russian, calling for “the restoration of international cooperation.” He also affirmed Budapest’s willingness to provide a platform for negotiations between Russia and the West. “Of course, I will be heavily criticized for my participation, but the global security situation is so dire that I must be here today,” he said.
Press sources, including Lithuanian National Radio, reported that Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys “reserves the right to block transit to …
Diplomatic Reset: How the War Is Redrawing Ukraine's Global Presence
Diplomatic Reset: How the War Is Redrawing Ukraine's Global Presence
Diplomatic Reset: How the War Is Redrawing Ukraine’s Global Presence
Andrii Skitenko
Governance
March 9, 2026
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Four years of full-scale war have forced Ukraine to reconsider not only its defense strategy but also the principles of its diplomatic presence. Severing formal ties with the aggressor’s allies and a decisive expansion into the Global South have become the foundation of this new foreign policy. Today, the global map of Ukrainian embassies illustrates how Kyiv is actively competing for influence in every corner of the world.
Toxic ties – time to sever them
In recent years, Ukraine has conducted a sweeping «inventory» of its relations with other countries. In addition to
cutting ties
with Russia at the outset of the full-scale invasion, Kyiv has definitively parted ways with those who openly sided with the aggressor. In particular, Ukraine severed diplomatic relations with
North Korea
and
Syria
in 2022. Relations with Nicaragua
met
the same fate in 2025 – a logical response to that country’s recognition of the occupation of Ukrainian territories.
Kyiv has also
downgraded
relations w…
Provocation and Disinformation Overview. Part 1 | Vox Ukraine
Provocation and Disinformation Overview. Part 1 | Vox Ukraine
Provocation and Disinformation Overview. Part 1
VoxUkraine Team
Fakes
Society
Photo: ua.depositphotos.com / abadesign
August 30, 2023
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VoxUkraine stays on guard checking every newspiece coming in these challenging times for our country. Stay tuned.
New reviews
August 30
russia’s THREATS, PROVOCATIONS, and DISINFORMATION as of August 30
On August 23, Russian troops once again shelled Sumy Oblast. Propagandists
claim
that in the city of Romny they managed to destroy the school where the Armed Forces of Ukraine were located.
The Russian propaganda Telegram channel spread a
post
that the Ukrainian authorities are carrying out the evacuation from Sumy, allegedly in order to house the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the vacated houses.
Russian media are spreading the
news
that negotiations are underway to transfer the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to the Ecumenical Patriarch.
Now the TRUTH:
According to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
, 4 people were killed as a result of the “Shahed” drone attack: the school principal, the deputy principal, the secretary a…
Zelensky stops in Canada en route to US as Russia pummels Ukraine
Zelensky stops in Canada en route to US as Russia pummels Ukraine
ByVictoria Lukovenko, AFP
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaking to the press as they meet in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Photo:HANDOUT / AFP
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Canada for talks on his way to a meeting with US President Donald Trump, hours after Russia pummelled Kyiv with drones and missiles in its latest attack on the capital.
Later Saturday (local time), Russia also claimed fresh gains on the ground with the capture of two towns at different spots along the frontlines.
Zelensky said the Russian onslaught showed Moscow had no intention of ending the invasion it launched in February 2022 and which has killed tens of thousands of people.
Before scheduled talks with Trump in Florida on Sunday, Zelensky met in Halifax with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who saidthe latest Russian attackunderscored the need to stand by Ukraine.
"We have the conditions... of a just and lasting peace, but that requires a willing Russia, and the barbarism that we saw overnight... shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine," said Carn…
Ukraine fatigue: Bad for Kyiv, bad for the West
Ukraine fatigue: Bad for Kyiv, bad for the West
Ukraine’s efforts to recover control of its territory from Russia are reaching a critical moment. While Ukraine’s ground offensive is more or less stalled, the war between Israel and Hamas has knocked Ukraine off the front pages. Though European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paid her sixth visit to Kyiv on November 4th, and the Commission recommended on November 8th that the EU should open accession negotiations with Ukraine, it is no longer the top issue at every European Council meeting, as it has been since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. These are dangerous times for Ukraine, politically and militarily.
Ukraine’s supporters in Europe cannot afford to be distracted by events in the Middle East, serious though those are. There is a growing risk that the West will either push Ukraine into a disadvantageous ceasefire, leaving Russia in control of almost a fifth of Ukrainian territory, or leave Ukraine to fight on, but with much more limited military and financial assistance, enabling Russia to advance even further. Either outcome would be disastrous, not only for Ukraine, but for European security.…
What Putin Fears Most | Journal of Democracy
What Putin Fears Most | Journal of Democracy
Select your citation format:
Russian president Vladimir Putin wants you to believe that NATO is responsible for his February 24 invasion of Ukraine—that rounds of NATO enlargement made Russia insecure, forcing Putin to lash out. This argument has two key flaws. First, NATO has been avariableand not aconstantsource of tension between Russia and the West. Moscow has in the past acknowledged Ukraine’s right to join NATO; the Kremlin’s complaints about the alliance spike in a clear pattern after democratic breakthroughs in the post-Soviet space. This highlights a second flaw: Since Putin fears democracy and the threat that it poses to his regime, and not expanded NATO membership, taking the latter off the table will not quell his insecurity. His declared goal of the invasion, the “denazification” of Ukraine, is a code for his real aim: antidemocratic regime change.
Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has ignited the largest war in Europe since the Second World War, indiscriminately spilling the blood of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and innocent civilians. Russian president Vladimir Putin wants you to believe that NATO is to blame. He h…
Trump is giving Russia almost everything it wants with his Ukraine ...
Trump is giving Russia almost everything it wants with his Ukraine ...
Traditional Russian wooden nesting dolls, Matryoshka dolls, depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, at a Moscow gift shop.
Olesya Kurpyayeva/AFP/Getty Images
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Trying the same thing over and over again, without success, is either the definition of insanity or
Russian
negotiation tactics, depending on your point of view.
The widely leaked draft of
President Donald Trump’s 28-point plan
is a terrifying leap backwards for Kyiv. It was co-conceived by Russians who wanted to pretend they were engaging in peace, and circulated by Ukrainians and Europeans who felt it was so ridiculous it would surely die on first contact with oxygen.
Much of the text resembles the maximalist positions Russia held during talks in Istanbul in 2022 when its forces held more of Ukraine, and the slow, grinding military embarrassment of the past three years was still ahead of them. Before we dissect the text - and its profound, dizzying advantages for the Kremlin - the timing of this renewed, mostly Mos…
The return of the enemy: Putin's war on Ukraine and a cognitive ...
The return of the enemy: Putin's war on Ukraine and a cognitive ...
Research
August 2023
This is a translated, expanded, and updated version of anessaythat appeared in the German magazine Kursbuch in June 2023. This piece is part of a series of policy analyses entitled “The Talbott Papers on Implications of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine,” named in honor of American statesman and former Brookings Institution President Strobe Talbott. Brookings is grateful to Trustee Phil Knight for his generous support of the Brookings Foreign Policy program.
Eighteen months after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked full-scale invasion of his country’s sovereign neighbor on February 24, 2022, the question of how this war ends appears as open as ever. Ukraine has put up a heroic resistance to the invaders. The West, under U.S. leadership, and with huge financial and material outlays on both sides of the Atlantic, has helped. Kyiv’s counteroffensive is producing modest successes. But it is equally clear that it is taking a terrible toll — on Ukraine’s armed forces, on its citizens, and on its supporters worldwide. Russia, too, is taking heavy losses, has failed to reach key goals, and is …
Ukraine Is Not Losing. Russia Is Not Winning. - The Atlantic
Ukraine Is Not Losing. Russia Is Not Winning. - The Atlantic
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I
n a field outside of Kyiv last weekend
, a van was parked discreetly behind some trees. Inside the van there were no passenger seats, just a long desk, two office chairs, two laptops, extra screens. Outside appearances to the contrary, this was a mobile drone-interceptor base, one of hundreds of similar vehicles now scattered around Ukraine. It’s also part of something much bigger: a set of technological advances that have changed the war with Russia, and maybe all wars, forever.
On one of the laptops, a soldier showed me a bird’s-eye view of a part of the Ukrainian countryside more than 100 miles away. His job is to identify the objects flying above it, to distinguish birds and bats from lethal Russian drones. When he sees the latter, the soldier on the laptop beside him can then direct an interceptor—a small drone that looks like a miniature rocket ship—to track and destroy the incoming Russian aerial vehicles before they hit their targets.
At first glance, the images on the screens look simple, like a video game. But this is not a low-tech operation. The AI-powered drone interceptors…
Ukraine is raising the cost of war for Russia — and testing Putin's resolve
Ukraine is raising the cost of war for Russia — and testing Putin's resolve
A string ofpolitical victoriesanddeep-strike successesby Ukraine has revived hopes that the war could be shifting in Kyiv's favor, though analysts warn that efforts to raise the conflict's cost for Russia risk triggering further escalation.
After more than four years since Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine launched an unprecedented drone strike on Gazprom's Moscow Refinery, triggering a huge explosion and sending black plumes of smoke billowing into the sky over the Russian capital.
The attack, which blew the lid off a storage tank, showcased Kyiv's enhanced mid- to long-range drone capabilities and extended a series of strikes on Russia's energy infrastructure.
Ukraine has also stepped up its strikes on Crimea, which Russia seized by force in 2014, as part of a strategy to isolate the peninsula, and has benefitted from political tailwinds in recent weeks.
U.S. President Donald Trumpsignaledthe potential for renewed American support of Kyiv, theelectionof Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar removed a major obstacle to Ukraine'sintegration into the European Unionand Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Ze…
SpaceX counters Russia's 'unauthorized' use of Starlink to ... - CNN
SpaceX counters Russia's 'unauthorized' use of Starlink to ... - CNN
The SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, on June 5, 2025.
Daniel Cole/Reuters
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Efforts to halt Russia’s use of the Starlink internet system to guide its drones for attacks on Ukraine have produced “real results,” Ukraine’s defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Sunday.
Fedorov said Ukraine worked with Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, which owns Starlink, to take initial steps to counter Russian drones.
He said the next step is “implementing a system that will allow only authorized terminals to operate on the territory of Ukraine.”
Fedorov continued, “In the coming days, we will share instructions for Ukrainian users to register their Starlink terminals for verification. Unverified terminals will be disabled.”
He added that the registration process would be “simple, fast and user-friendly.”
In a response to Fedorov, Musk said that “the steps we took to stop the unauthorized use of Starlink by Russia have worked.”
“Let us know if more needs to be done,” Musk wrote on X.
Fedorov similarly noted that the first steps are “…
We have no choice but to fight, Ukraine's Zelenskyy tells world leaders ...
We have no choice but to fight, Ukraine's Zelenskyy tells world leaders ...
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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday warned world leaders that international institutions are “too weak” to stop wars, urging more countries to join Ukraine’s security coalition and step up pressure on Russia.
“No one but ourselves can guarantee security,” he said. “Only strong alliances. Only strong partners. And only our own weapons.”
He argued that international law does not work without the backing of “powerful friends” and, ultimately, military backup.
Those with “weapons decide who survives,” he said, calling it a “terrible” but unavoidable reality.
“Ukrainians are peaceful people, but they are people who want to live freely in their own independent country. That’s why we invest in defence. For many nations, there is simply no other way left.”
He pointed to conflicts in Sudan, Somalia and Palestine as evidence of a global system unable to prevent bloodshed or deliver solutions.
“That’s how weak these institutions have become,” he said. “For decades, just statements and statements.”
Turning to Russia’s war in Ukraine, he warned of the use of chemical weapons and…
Russia Threatens to Expand 'Buffer Zone' into Three Ukrainian Regions
Russia Threatens to Expand 'Buffer Zone' into Three Ukrainian Regions
In brief:Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, announced plans to expand a so-called “security zone” deep into Ukrainian territory, encompassing the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions. The statement, circulated by Russian state media, builds upon recent declarations by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the continuation of mass strikes and the creation of buffer zones.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, stated thatRussianleadership intends to establish a new “security zone” that would encompass the territories of Ukraine’sSumy,Dnipropetrovsk, andKharkivregions.
According to reports from the Russian state news agency TASS on Sunday, July 5, Medvedev framed the expansion of this buffer zone as a continuation of military objectives recently outlined by Russian President VladimirPutin.
Follow our coverage of the war on the@Kyivpost_official.
“The new security zone, which the head of state spoke about yesterday, will pass through the territory of the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv regions,” Medvedev stated.
In his statement, Medvedev al…
NEW: Russians Break Through Key Fortress As Attack On Konstantinovka ...
NEW: Russians Break Through Key Fortress As Attack On Konstantinovka ...
Konstantinovka is witnessing intense conflict as Russian forces press into key territories within Ukraine’s Donetsk region. This area has long been a focal point in the ongoing war, with both sides investing considerable resources in a fight that has seen devastating losses since the conflict began in 2014. The situation is now critical, with reports indicating that Russian assault groups are successfully advancing and consolidating their positions in the city.
The Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts have been significant battlegrounds, with Luhansk completely taken over by Russian forces. Within Donetsk, Ukrainian forces hold only about 15% of the territory, defending the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk fortress belt, known for its robust defenses. This network of fortified cities has been prepared for military confrontations since the initial stages of the conflict.
As Russian troops break through to Konstantinovka, alarming news from military analysts and social media emerges. “The operational situation on the Konstantinovka front for Kiev continues to deteriorate with each passing day,” reported Slavyangrad on Telegram. Thi…
Russia-Ukraine updates: US to ban Russian carriers from its airspace
Russia-Ukraine updates: US to ban Russian carriers from its airspace
Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymr Zelenskyy, are putting up "stiff resistance," according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24 as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation."
Russians moving from Belarus towards Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, don't appear to have advanced closer towards the city since coming within about 20 miles, although smaller advanced groups have been fighting gun battles with Ukrainian forces inside the capital since at least Friday.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the U.S., Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting Russia's economy and Putin himself.
Latest headlines:
Russian missile hits Kyiv TV tower killing at least 5
Russians running out of food, gas: US official
136 civilian deaths reported
677,000 people have fled Ukraine
Western officials walk out during Lavrov remarks
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
0
Feb 19, 2:57 PM EST
Foreign ministers of Group of 7 countries meet in Munich
The foreign ministers of the Group of …
No Victory, No Plan B: Why Russia Is Stuck in Ukraine
No Victory, No Plan B: Why Russia Is Stuck in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) summit at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 16, 2022. Sputnik/Sergei Guneev/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY./File Photo
Key Points and Summary –
Dr. Arkady Moshes
argues that Russia’s war in Ukraine has exposed a glaring reality: Moscow has neither a viable victory strategy nor an exit plan.
-Putin, more judoka than chess player, bet on a quick collapse of Kyiv and decades of Western
concessions
.
<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span>
-Instead, Ukraine’s resistance and Europe’s unexpected resolve have left the Kremlin trapped in a grinding conflict it cannot convincingly justify at home or
abroad
.
-Moshes traces how earlier European appeasement taught Moscow to expect another compromise at Ukraine’s expense—and why that pattern has finally broken, creating a narrow but critical window for a tougher Western Russia policy.
How Decades of Western Concessions Helped Lead to Putin’s Ukraine Tra…
Two years of war: Ukraine warns West it will be Putin's next target if ...
Two years of war: Ukraine warns West it will be Putin's next target if ...
In the blasted moonscapes of
Ukraine
’s
front lines, exhausted soldiers
fight a war for a world they feel has forgotten them.
Squatting deep in scorched-black mud, with supplies running low, artillery units
ration what they fire at Russian
positions.
Every day, they face
a “human wave” of Russian soldiers
, whose commanders seemingly have no qualms about sending men over the top into a battlefield now nicknamed “the meat grinder”.
Two years into Vladimir Putin’s
brutal invasion of Ukraine
– which ignited Europe’s bloodiest war in generations – Kyiv is still hanging onto a buckling 1,000km front line, using every last ounce of energy to fight.
The cost has been desperately high, with tens of thousands of civilian casualties and an estimated 70,000 Ukrainian troops killed in the line of duty.
Often outnumbered and outgunned, soldiers await delivery of military aid packages held up by diplomatic rows over 8,000km away in the hushed halls of Washington DC.
open image in gallery
An estimated 70,000 Ukrainian troops killed in the line of duty
(
AFP via Getty Images
)
In the meantime they make do and keep going.
“…
Ukraine learned four things in four years of war. You won't like any of ...
Ukraine learned four things in four years of war. You won't like any of ...
Four years ago today, Russia invaded Ukraine. Western intelligence gave Kyiv 72 hours. That is now 1,461 days ago.
Many Western leaders still discuss this war as a territorial dispute—a border conflict to be resolved by drawing a line on a map. It is not.
Russia is trying to erase Ukraine as a nation. Not defeat it. Erase it. Destroy our language, deport our children, liquidate our identity, deny our right to exist as a people.
Russia's officials say so openly: postwar Ukraine must be "friendly and benevolent" to Moscow—a puppet state stripped of everything that makes it Ukrainian. Thousands of Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia. Ukrainian-language education is banned in occupied territories. Civilians are tortured for having Ukrainian symbols on their phones.
You cannot negotiate with a country that has decided your nation shouldn't exist.
We understand the impulse to look away. We had it too. In the weeks before the invasion, Western intelligence warned us Russia would attack. Many Ukrainians didn't believe it. Hell, even our own president did not believe it.
\We told ourselves it was …
Crimea back in play? Russia feels pain of Ukraine long-range strikes
Crimea back in play? Russia feels pain of Ukraine long-range strikes
A couple of weeks back, we asked if the tide was turning in Ukraine. Short version: a little with a disclaimer: it's hard cutting through the fog of war. Now, we're beginning to wonder if Crimea could be back in play. Kyiv’s new line of longer-range missiles and drones wreaking havoc on fuel and power supplies. And while Russia continues to inch forward in other frontline flashpoints, the peninsula occupied in 2014 by Vladimir Putin’s little green men has never looked so vulnerable.
Kremlin Plans to Draw Belarus Into War Against Ukraine, NATO, Zelensky ...
Kremlin Plans to Draw Belarus Into War Against Ukraine, NATO, Zelensky ...
In brief:Ukrainian intelligence has evidence that Russia is trying to pressure Belarus into joining new military operations against Ukraine or NATO countries, according to Zelensky. Kyiv is said to be aware of discussions between Moscow and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and warned Ukraine would respond if Belarus enters the war more directly.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, May 15, that Ukrainian intelligence has evidence Russia is attempting to draw Belarus more directly into the war against Ukraine and possibly into future operations against NATO countries.
Following a meeting with Ukraine’s military and intelligence leadership, ZelenskysaidKyiv had identified additional contacts between Russian officials and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko aimed at persuading Minsk to join new Russian military operations.
Follow our coverage of the war on the@Kyivpost_official.
“We continue recording Russian attempts to pull Belarus deeper into the war against Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
Zelensky said Russia is considering operational plans launched from Belarusian territory ei…
Ukraine's deep strikes make Russians feel the war
Ukraine's deep strikes make Russians feel the war
Ukraine’s deep strikes make Russians feel the war
by
Tania Myronyshena
March 23, 2026 9:30 AM
7
min read
What purports to be a fire burning at Russia's Volgograd oil refinery following a drone attack that struck the site overnight in Volgograd, Russia, on Feb. 11, 2026. (Exilenova+/Telegram)
War
Prefer
on Google
by
Tania Myronyshena
Ukraine has increasingly pursued a strategy of "bringing the war back to Russia" — aiming to erode the perception that the full-scale invasion is distant and cost-free for Russian society.
This approach was explicitly articulated by President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2025, as Ukraine significantly expanded its
deep-strike campaign
inside Russia.
"The war was brought from Russia, and it is to Russia that the war must be pushed back. They must be the ones forced into peace. They are the ones who must be pressured to ensure security,"
Zelensky
said.
An internal analysis by the Ukrainian NGO Join Ukraine, shared with the Kyiv Independent, suggests that strategy is beginning to reshape how the war is felt across Russia. The organization monitors social media discourse and public reactions across Russian regions…
Putin brandishes a new nuclear-powered missile as he digs in over ...
Putin brandishes a new nuclear-powered missile as he digs in over ...
In this image made from video released by the Russian Presidential Press Office on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks while visiting one of the command posts of the Joint Group of Forces. (Russian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this image made from video released by the Russian Presidential Press Office on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks while visiting one of the command posts of the Joint Group of Forces. (Russian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this image made from video provided by the Russian Presidential Press Office on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to visit one of the command posts of the Joint Group of Forces. (Russian Presidential Press Office via AP)
By holdingnuclear drillsand boasting about a successful test of a pioneeringatomic-powered cruise missile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending a message to President Donald Trump: Moscow won’t be cowed into making concessions on Ukraine.
Facing Trump’s call for a quick ceasefire and bruising,new U.S. sanctionson Russia’s oil industry, Putin is…
Russia's Artillery Advantage in the Ukraine War Is Slipping Away
Russia's Artillery Advantage in the Ukraine War Is Slipping Away
2S19 Msta S of the Ukrainian Army. Artillery used in Ukraine War.
Key Points and Summary:
Russia’s once-dominant
artillery force
is under severe pressure as Ukraine leverages advanced counter-battery tactics and drone warfare to neutralize the Kremlin’s firepower
advantage
.
-With artillery fire reportedly halved and multiple rocket launchers disappearing from the front lines, Russia’s reliance on outdated Soviet stockpiles and even North Korean artillery suggests dwindling reserves.
-Ukraine’s innovative use of FPV drones to disable Russian guns is proving highly effective, making massed artillery barrages increasingly unsustainable.
-This shift could significantly impact Russia’s war strategy, raising questions about the future of artillery in
modern warfare
and potentially signaling a turning point in the conflict.
End of an Era: Has Ukraine Turned the Tide Against Russian Artillery?
Russia relies on an advantage in artillery to compensate for shortcomings in infantry and armor. Three years into the war with
Ukraine
, have Ukrainian counter-battery tactics finally eaten away that advantage?
Stalin called artillery…
Russia's Terrifying Oreshnik Missile Is Actually a Sign Putin Is ...
Russia's Terrifying Oreshnik Missile Is Actually a Sign Putin Is ...
Putin in June 2021 Russian State Media Photo
The weekend brought some of the most violent strikes on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, since the war began. Several Ukrainian civilians died in the strikes, which included at least one
Oreshnik hypersonic missile
. Russia followed up the deadly round of strikes with stark rhetoric, hinting at additional bellicosity in the future. But despite the seemingly
grim picture
from the ground in Kyiv, Russia’s actions are not those of a Russian war machine that is winning, but rather writings of desperation.
Recently, Ukraine has made more progress on the battlefield than at any point in the war since the
2023 counteroffensive
.
Tu-95 Bomber from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Although Ukraine’s push quickly lost momentum in the face of robust Russian defenses — and, perhaps, a certain degree of timidity in the senior echelons of leadership in Kyiv — this time Ukraine is aided by looming structural problems that threaten to derail the Kremlin’s forces.
Ukraine is Winning the Drone War
A constant facet of this conflict has been the speed of innovation in the air. Forced b…
Russia Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 28, 2026
Russia Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 28, 2026
Clickhereto see ISW’s interactive map of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This map is updated daily alongside the static maps present in this report.
Clickhereto see ISW’s 3D control of terrain topographic map of Ukraine. Use of a computer (not a mobile device) is strongly recommended for using this data-heavy tool.
Clickhereto access ISW’s archive of interactive time-lapse maps of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These maps complement the static control-of-terrain map that ISW produces daily by showing a dynamic frontline. ISW will update this time-lapse map archive monthly.
For more information on ISW’s map methodology, please view our statementhere.
Russian President Vladimir Putin used his speech to the ruling United Russia Party Congress on June 28 to project Russia's strength, reinforce his resolve to achieve Russia’s objectives militarily, and reject diplomatic solutions to end his war in Ukraine.Putin claimed that Russia maintains sufficient strength, resources, and political will to resist external actors’ attempts to restrain Russia's development.[1]Putin claimed that the West cannot strategically defeat Russia and …
As Crimea faces near total cut-off, panicked Russian tourists cancel ...
As Crimea faces near total cut-off, panicked Russian tourists cancel ...
Every day, the Ukraine Battlefield update newsletter offers a clear look at how the war is unfolding on the ground.
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The effort to isolate Crimea has expanded to bridges and trains.
The fuel ration in Crimea has been reduced to 20 litres per car per week.
The tourist season in Crimea is collapsing as Russians cancel reservations en masse.
Z-channels criticise Putin as detached from reality.
Ukrainian partisans claim Russians are abandoning the Kinburn spit due to supply problems.
Russians already consider the battle for Kostyantynivka decided, and its fall is indeed approaching.
Maps of the day – Chonhar bridge; Kostyantynivka
Videos of the day – drone stops a train; detailed MiG-29 cockpit footage while chasing a drone; drone shoots down another drone with a shotgun; Ukrainian trucks are also burning.
The effort to isolate Crimea has expanded to bridges and trains.
The offensive against Russian supplies for the entire southern front is deepening. Hundreds of attacks on the road from Mariupol via Berdiansk and Melitopol are well known. Over …
Putin one step closer to taking over European country this year - World ...
Putin one step closer to taking over European country this year - World ...
Putin wants to increase Russia's influence in eastern Europe
(Image: Getty)
Vladimir Putin one step closer to
taking over a European country this year.
Experts say the Russian President is suggesting that a new 2025 Union State Security Concept with Belarus supersedes the original 1999 Security Concept. The Union State is a
supranational union of the two countries.
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Russia
's strategy indicates that the new agreement may be "more expansive" than the original,
further forwarding the Kremlin's effort to annex Belarus,
the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports.
Putin crony says 'we will see the use of nuclear weapons' in WW3 threat
Russia hits back at Trump claim that drop in oil prices would end Ukraine war
The Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, has outlined that the agreement includes "the implementation of a co-ordinated policy in international affairs", TASS reported.
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He added: “It provides an assessment of the security situation in the world and on the borders of the Union State, defines the official app…
Belarus to respond with full military potential if Ukraine crosses the ...
Belarus to respond with full military potential if Ukraine crosses the ...
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Belarus will respond with its full military potential if Ukraine crosses the border, Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Sekreta said,APA's Russia bureau reports.
"Our President has clearly defined the 'red lines': this is our border," the deputy foreign minister noted.
Kazakhstan and Georgia sign strategic partnership agreement
Ukraine says it struck three bridges, ammunition depot and command posts
New round of Israel-Lebanon peace talks to be held on June 30 with US mediation
Moscow reiterates objection to Armenia’s EU course while maintaining EAEU benefits
Turkic World Week discusses dynamics of Turkic languages' development
International conference on teaching Turkic languages, literature and history in the context of modern challenges held -PHOTO
Galuzin: TRIPP's prospects are uncertain
Dubai welcomes first flight from Tehran after Middle East conflict pauses
White House: US is fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire agreement with Iran
Official Moscow: Armenia is not considering closing Russian military base in Gyumri
Witkoff, Kushner to attend meeting with …
Helping Ukraine Is a U.S. Imperative - Hoover Institution
Helping Ukraine Is a U.S. Imperative - Hoover Institution
Israel and Palestine exchange bombs and rockets for weeks on end, with yet another cease fire announced on Tuesday. A civil war is under way in Iraq; and a Russian military convoy violates the territorial integrity of Ukraine. These events demand a strategic approach on the part of the United States in which we maintain an ability to defend our interests in many places at once.
Israel and Palestine exchange bombs and rockets for weeks on end, with yet another cease fire announced on Tuesday. A civil war is under way in Iraq; and a Russian military convoy violates the territorial integrity of Ukraine. These events demand a strategic approach on the part of the United States in which we maintain an ability to defend our interests in many places at once.
In particular, we are concerned that the events in Ukraine are not receiving the response they deserve.
What is happening? Russia has completely ignored the Budapest Memorandums on Security Assurances of 1994 in which, as a signatory, it agreed not to violate any Ukrainian territory. Russia has taken Crimea and is actively stirring trouble in the eastern part of that countr…
Russia Analytical Report, Sept. 29-Oct. 6, 2025
Russia Analytical Report, Sept. 29-Oct. 6, 2025
Russia Analytical Report, Sept. 29-Oct. 6, 2025
7 Ideas to Explore
Despite the “immense costs” Russia has incurred since its full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in 2022, “the war remains sustainable for the Kremlin in the foreseeable future” and Russia’s goals in Ukraine have not changed,
according to
Max Bergmann and Maria Snegovaya
of CSIS. With these realities in mind, the co-authors assess four plausible scenarios for the war’s future: “(1) a Russian breakthrough and the collapse of Ukraine’s military; (2) prolonged low-intensity conflict; (3) a ceasefire; and (4) a peace agreement.” This last scenario is the least likely, while the second scenario is “particularly plausible,” according to the authors.
Ukrainian officers said that 100,000 people—“more than Britain’s full-time army”—are now part of the country’s air defenses, “spanning radar stations, aircrews, anti-missile batteries, electronic warfare and drone operators,” according to
John Thornhill
of Financial Times. “Even so, the Russians continue to overwhelm them,” Thornhill observes. “Ukraine would ‘in the near future’ be able to deploy 1,000 drone interceptors a day,” accor…
Scott Ritter: Don't believe the hype. Ukraine can't win this war.
Scott Ritter: Don't believe the hype. Ukraine can't win this war.
Reports of Ukrainian triumph and imminent Russian defeat have flooded the West since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February. Yet how much merit is there to this narrative? Former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector William Scott Ritter Jr. speaks with Dimitri Lascaris in a special interview for The Real News. Despite taking some ground in September’s counteroffensive, the Ukrainian military has taken heavy losses and is totally dependent on external support. Moreover, Ritter argues that Ukraine’s objectives in this war are unachievable, whereas Russia’s can be met through a negotiated settlement. While the war rages on and attempts to sanction Russia continue to backfire, more damage is being done to the people of Europe and Ukraine than to Russia. Ultimately, what must come out of this conflict is an admission from Europe that NATO is an anachronism and a new security paradigm is needed to promote international peace and cooperation.
This interview was recorded Nov. 4, 2022.
William Scott Ritter Jr. is an author and pundit and a former United States Marine Corps intelligence office…
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 5, 2026 | ISW
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 5, 2026 | ISW
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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 5, 2026
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Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s offer to negotiate an end to the war and reiterated the Kremlin’s commitment to fulfilling its war goals. Putin also reiterated his belief that Russian forces’ military victory is inevitable, despite available data indicating otherwise.
Putin met with the heads of media companies at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 4 and at SPIEF’s plenary session on June 5. Putin claimed that Russian forces seized “two thousand four hundred forty thousand thousands square kilometers” (likely meaning 2,440 square kilometers rather than 2.4 million square kilometers; 2.4 million square kilometers is an area much larger than Ukraine itself) of territory in an unspecified time period and currently occupy 85 percent of Donetsk Oblast, 80 percent of Zaporizhia Oblast, and all of Luhansk Oblast.[1] Putin also falsely claimed that Russian forces are advancing across all areas of the frontline. Putin claimed that Russian forces have achieved drone parity with Ukr…
Russia plans to attack Ukraine or NATO from Belarus, Zelensky says
Russia plans to attack Ukraine or NATO from Belarus, Zelensky says
War
Russia plans to attack Ukraine or NATO from Belarus, Zelensky says
May 15, 2026 5:59 pm
•
3
min read
Prefer
on Google
by
Francis Farrell
Russian and Belarusian troops take part in the Zapad-2021 military exercise in the Brest region in Belarus on Sept. 14, 2021. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Russia is stepping up efforts to drag Belarus into its war against Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 15, after receiving a briefing from Ukraine's military and intelligence services.
Moscow has made fresh contact with Belarusian president
Alexander Lukashenko
, in an effort to convince him to "join new acts acts of aggression,"
according to Zelensky
, who claimed to "be in possession of the details of the conversation" between the two countries.
Belarus
' armed forces, widely understood to be poorly-motivated, outdated, and unprepared for the modern drone-dominated warfare raging in Ukraine, have not yet been actively involved in Russia's war.
However, Minsk has allowed its territory, including a state border with Ukraine stretching over 1,000 kilometers, to be used by Russian forces in its war …
Dispatch from Kyiv: Europe steps up on security as the US steps back
Dispatch from Kyiv: Europe steps up on security as the US steps back
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy watch a presentation of military equipment and drones made in German-Ukrainian cooperation in Berlin, Germany, on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Ebrahim Noroozi/Pool via REUTERS)
KYIV—Two ill-conceived external actions over the past few years have fundamentally changed how European nations view their security. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and, more recently, US President Donald Trump’s threats to take Greenland have led many Europeans to two conclusions. First, Russia is the primary threat to Europe’s security. Second, Europeans can no longer count on the United States to defend them.
In response, European states are now urgently strengthening their militaries and incorporating Ukraine into their defenses, accelerating the speed at which US influence on the continent declines.
Europe’s wake-up call
With its initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and its full-fledged war on Ukraine since 2022, Russia surprised Europe and dramatically shattered the norms of international relations that had helped prevent great-power war s…
Russia in Review, May 1–8, 2026
Russia in Review, May 1–8, 2026
Russia in Review, May 1–8, 2026
4 Things to Know
Russia’s and Ukraine’s rival ceasefire initiatives around Russia’s May 9 Victory Day collapsed under escalating strikes from both sides, but then Donald Trump intervened on May 8 to announce a three-day halt of hostilities between the two warring sides.
On May 6, while Ukraine observed a unilateral “regime of silence,” Russia reportedly launched drones and missiles, killing more than 20 civilians. Then, as Moscow’s own May 8–9 truce began on May 8, Ukraine launched attack drones plus several Flamingo long‑range cruise missiles—hitting refineries in Yaroslavl and Perm, among other targets.
1
It was after these strikes that Trump intervened to announce that there will be a
halt in hostilities
, which will begin on May 9, when Russia celebrates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, and which will carry on through the weekend.
RM’s analysis of ISW’s data for April 7–May 5, 2026, indicates that Russian forces lost 46 square miles of Ukraine’s territory during that period
(double the size of Manhattan Island), according to the latest issue of the Russia-Ukraine War Report
Card.
In contrast, during t…
Kremlin claims Russia's 'special military operation' has become a real war | RBC-Ukraine
Kremlin claims Russia's 'special military operation' has become a real war | RBC-Ukraine
Kremlin makes rare admission about Russia's war against Ukraine
Sun, July 05, 2026 - 15:25
2 min
What is the Kremlin's latest narrative?
Vladyslava Kovalenko
Photo: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov (Getty Images)
Russia's military aggression against Ukraine is no longer a so-called "special military operation" ("SVO"). It has become a real war, according to the Kremlin.
Peskov claimed that the "special military operation" was initially conceived as an operation but has since turned into a real war due to what he described as Western involvement.
'"The special military operation" has turned into a real war because Western countries have become involved in the conflict,' he said.
The Kremlin spokesperson also claimed that Ukraine's long-range strikes are "terrorist in nature."
Trump's calls with Zelenskyy and Putin
On July 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy said
he had held a phone call with US President Donald Trump.
The Ukrainian leader congratulated Trump and the American people on the 250th anniversary of the United States and thanked the US for its support of Ukraine. The two lead…
Leading Architect Of The New Warfare: Ukraine's Chief Of Intelligence
Leading Architect Of The New Warfare: Ukraine's Chief Of Intelligence
Business
Policy
Leading Architect Of The New Warfare: Ukraine’s Chief Of Intelligence
By
Melik Kaylan
,
Contributor.
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights.
Melik Kaylan covered global geostrategic conflicts for three decades
Follow Author
Dec 22, 2025, 05:02am EST
General Kyrylo Budanov, 39, Ukraine's military intelligence chief poses in his office in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo Laurent Van der Stockt for Le Monde/Getty Images)
Getty Images
The conflict in Ukraine has changed the world and the course of history on many levels. In particular, it continues to change the nature of warfare, from the information front to the technological. These seismic shifts seem so pivotal that one accepts them as akin to natural forces - they just happen as the result of tectonic pressures. But of course they don’t just happen. They are authored. On the Ukrainian side, the astonishing evolution of drone robotics and precision targeting, the mind-boggling intelligence feats of long-range strikes on fuel installations, naval and army targets, the entire panoply of asymmetrical resistance to the staggering G…
Ukraine Admits Lyman Front Turning Into a New Battlefield Disaster
Ukraine Admits Lyman Front Turning Into a New Battlefield Disaster
Ukrainian Command Warns Lyman Front Is Becoming a Killing Ground
© Минобороны России / t.me/mod_russia
Fred Turner,
Editor
19:03 20-12-2025
Russian sources say Ukraine’s command admits the Lyman front is turning into a killing ground, echoing the failed retreat from Seversk.
Add Военное дело to your preferred Google sources
Ukrainian military command is increasingly forced to acknowledge that the Lyman sector of the front line in the Donetsk People’s Republic is gradually turning into a killing ground for the Ukrainian army, similar to the failed retreat from Seversk. This was reported to RIA Novosti by sources in Russian security agencies.
According to the sources, Ukrainian commanders are admitting with growing alarm that the Lyman front has become another disastrous area for Ukrainian infantry, comparable in scale to the catastrophic withdrawal from Seversk. Some of the militants previously defeated near Seversk are retreating toward Krasny Liman, where, the source said, they are facing another deadly battle.
The source added that a severe shortage of manpower and reserves on the Ukrainian side is enabling the s…
Sergei Lavrov warns of 'catastrophic' nuclear strikes
Sergei Lavrov warns of 'catastrophic' nuclear strikes
ByWILL STEWART
Published:03:15 EDT, 19 June 2026|Updated:10:43 EDT, 19 June 2026
1.8k
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The Kremlin today threatened 'nuclear strikes with catastrophic consequences' if the West refuses to kowtow toVladimir Putin's demands overUkraine.
The warning from the dictator's hardline foreign minister SergeiLavrovcame as Russia is being forced onto the back foot in the war, highlighted by a devastating attack this week onMoscow's main oil refinery.
Claiming the Kremlin is under unprecedented threat from the West, Putin's top diplomat alleged the current turmoil could spin out of control into a nuclear Third World War.
'This state of affairs poses serious threats to global security,' he said.
'A direct confrontation betweenNatoand Russia could rapidly escalate into an exchange of nuclear strikes, with catastrophic consequences.'
He criticised Europe including Britain for a 'dream of expansion' into Putin's backyard intending to 'absorb Ukraine and Moldova, while pullingArmeniainto its sphere of influence', asFranceoffers nuclear protection to other Western states.
'Nato has already expanded eastward, swallowing up Fi…
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's comment on Kiev regime ...
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's comment on Kiev regime ...
7 October 2024 18:301886-07-10-2024
The Russian Federation routinely monitors and documents cases of the Ukrainian armed formations using or planning to use in the area of the special military operation listed chemical agents, riot control agents (RCAs), and other chemicals that do not appear on the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) checklists. Detailed information about the Kiev regime's mass-scale use of warfare chemical agents in violation of its commitments under the CWC, as well as provocations staged by Kiev and its Western backers to falsely accuse the Russian Armed Forces of similar actions, has been regularly shared with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the UN Security Council, and the UN General Assembly since February 2022.
Despite irrefutable evidence provided by Russia, Ukrainian armed formations continue to use toxic chemicals (chlorine, ammonia, ammonium nitrate, and sulfuric acid) against Russian military units, civilians, and local administration officials. These include substances listed under CWC schedules 2 (BZ) and 3 (chloropicrin) and the RCAs. This beh…
Ukraine denies Russian claims of drone attack on Putin's residence
Ukraine denies Russian claims of drone attack on Putin's residence
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Ukraine denies Russian claims of drone attack on Putin's residence
Ukrainian officials call Russian allegations 'fake' as European leaders express cautious optimism about peace negotiations.
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Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha rejected Russian allegations that Ukraine attacked Putin's residence, calling the claims "fake" tactics to undermine peace talks. Russia said the alleged attack involved 91 drones and called it "state terrorism." Meanwhile, European leaders expressed cautious optimism about peace negotiations, with Poland's PM saying "peace is on the horizon" after Trump and Zelenskyy reported 90% alignment on a peace plan.
By:
William Denselow
Posted
Ukrainian officials are pushing back against Russian allegations that Ukraine attempted to attack one of Vladimir Putin's homes, calling the claims "fake" and part of Russia's typical tactics to undermine peace efforts.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia has provided no credible evidence to support allegations that Ukraine was behind the purported attack on Putin's residence. The alleg…
Breaking: Ukraine's Commander in Chief Reveals Counteroffensive That ...
Breaking: Ukraine's Commander in Chief Reveals Counteroffensive That ...
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces have trapped and are destroying Russian units that advanced near Pokrovsk, after weeks of heavy fighting that shifted the front line northward. He shared this at a briefing with journalists on September 26, according to a
UNITED24 Media
correspondent.
Syrskyi said Moscow’s original spring and summer objectives—creating buffer zones in Kharkiv and Sumy regions, seizing the Pokrovsk agglomeration, reaching the Donetsk border, and advancing in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson—“were not realized thanks to the skillful actions of our warriors, smart decisions by commanders, timely reforms, and effective strikes on the enemy rear.”
He noted that Russia has since adopted a new tactic he called the “thousand cuts,” relying on small assault teams of four to six soldiers to infiltrate Ukrainian territory, disrupt logistics, and create pressure without committing large formations. This approach, he said, has been used on the Dobropillia and Novopavlivka fronts by the 8th and 51st armies and the 68th corps.
Read more
Category
War in Ukraine
How …
The Ukraine War Has Come for Moscow and Putin Has No Way to Stop Any of ...
The Ukraine War Has Come for Moscow and Putin Has No Way to Stop Any of ...
Putin Speaking in 2025. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Summary and Key Points:
For three years, Moscow watched the war it started from a safe distance. That’s over. Ukraine’s long-range drones are now reaching the Russian capital — hitting refineries, defense plants, and logistics hubs, and puncturing the city’s sense of immunity. And the clearest sign of how rattled the Kremlin has become wasn’t a strike at all. It was what Putin no longer felt safe putting on display, on the one day Russia exists to flaunt its military might.
The Ukraine War Is Doing Damage Now in Moscow
As Ukraine ramps up its long-range strike campaign against targets across Russia, one of the most high-profile targets has been Russia’s capital city: Moscow itself. Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s political and economic hub have hit a wide range of targets, ranging from energy infrastructure, defense-related production sites, transportation nodes, and some residential buildings. Though the primary target in these
strikes
appears to put pressure on Russian military and energy targets, some civilian property has also been struck in the sub…
A Turning Point in Ukraine | Council on Foreign Relations
A Turning Point in Ukraine | Council on Foreign Relations
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By experts and staff
Published
June 5, 2026 1:56 p.m.
Michael Froman
CFR Expert
President, Council on Foreign Relations
Share
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives acted contrary to the wishes of its leadership and President Donald Trump to
pass
legislation providing support for Ukraine.
And yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
published an open letter
to Russian President Vladimir Putin calling for a meeting between the two leaders and a full ceasefire during subsequent peace negotiations.
“We see that the United States is fully focused on the issue of Iran, and it would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the center of its attention. Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us—and you.”
Zelenskyy’s letter and the new aid bill come at an inflection point in the war, not because Ukraine and Russia have stopped striking one another but because for the first time, as the Royal United Services Institute’s Jack Watling
writes
in the pages of
Foreign Affairs
, a ceasefire is “now a realistic possibility.”
On the ground, the front line—which spans nearly…
Putin says Russia never attacked Ukraine, outlines conditions for war ...
Putin says Russia never attacked Ukraine, outlines conditions for war ...
Russia
Putin says Russia never attacked Ukraine, outlines conditions for war with Europe
December 19, 2025 11:52 am
(Updated:
December 19, 2025 6:04 pm
)
•
4
min read
Prefer
on Google
by
Tim Zadorozhnyy
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an annual press conference in Moscow, Russia, on Dec.19, 2025. (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual end-of-year press conference on Dec. 19 to reaffirm the Kremlin's maximalist demands for ending Russia's war in Ukraine, rejecting territorial compromise while repeating false claims about the invasion.
Opening the tightly choreographed event, Putin said Moscow remains willing to engage in peace talks only on the terms he first outlined last year, insisting that Ukraine has shown no readiness to discuss territory.
"We are ready and willing to end this conflict by peaceful means based on the principles I outlined last June," Putin said, adding that
Russia
does not see Ukraine's "readiness" to discuss territorial issues.
The remarks reinforced Moscow's long-standing position, even as international pressure grows to explor…
Ukraine boosts its defenses near Belarus amid concerns the Russian ...
Ukraine boosts its defenses near Belarus amid concerns the Russian ...
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left,and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, attend a ceremony to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall inMoscow, Saturday, May 9, 2026, during celebrations of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. (Pelagiya Tikhonova, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
In this photo, released by Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko, center, speaks to officers as he attends joint nuclear drills held by Russian and Belarusian armed forces in Asipovichy district of Belarus, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, seen at the screen, take part in a video call as part of joint nuclear drills at the Presidential Situation Centre at the Kremlin in Moscow, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
In this photo, provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, shakes han…
World
World
A new phase in the war in Ukraine
NPR |
By
Sarah Robbins
,
Don Gonyea
,
Henry Larson
Published July 4, 2026 at 5:03 PM EDT
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5:09
Ukraine says it can now hit military and energy targets deep inside Russia. Former ambassador Daniel Fried explains why he thinks Russia is starting to lose its strategic advantage.
Copyright 2026 NPR
Russia denies pressuring Belarus to widen Ukraine conflict; Minsk ...
Russia denies pressuring Belarus to widen Ukraine conflict; Minsk ...
WORLD
Russia denies pressuring Belarus to widen Ukraine conflict; Minsk blames West
The former Soviet state is strategically important to all sides.
Reuters
June 25, 2026, 10:27 a.m. ET
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Moscow
― Russia on Thursday denied exerting pressure on Belarus to support an expansion of the war in Ukraine, while Belarus said it was the West that was trying to drag it into the conflict.
The former Soviet state is strategically important to all sides, being closely allied to Moscow and sharing borders with Russia, Ukraine and three NATO states.
With Moscow's forces struggling to advance and Ukraine raining drones on targets far inside Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said repeatedly that he believes Moscow wants to get Belarus more involved on the Russian side.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Russia wanted to use Belarus as a springboard to step up attacks on Ukraine, and that Moscow was threatening to cut financial support if it did not agree.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the report "does not correspond to reality" and that Belarus was "our closest …
Buffer Zone or Expanding Front? Putin's Strategic Shift in Ukraine and ...
Buffer Zone or Expanding Front? Putin's Strategic Shift in Ukraine and ...
Posted in
Conflict
Geopolitics
National Security
May 23, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently declared that Russia may need to create a “buffer zone” inside Ukrainian territory to protect Russian border regions from drone and artillery attacks
. This statement, while framed as a defensive measure, signals a strategic shift:
justification for deeper territorial expansion beyond areas Russia has claimed as its own.
Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that Russia is willing to end the war and that, had he been in office, the invasion would not have occurred—or could have been quickly resolved.
2. The Buffer Zone Concept: A New Phase in Russia’s War
a. What Putin Said
In May 2025, Putin stated that Russia may be forced to
push deeper into Ukrainian territory
to establish a buffer zone that could shield Russian regions like Belgorod from cross-border shelling and drone attacks.
Key elements of this proposal include:
Establishing a “sanitary zone” deep enough to prevent Ukrainian long-range strikes
Targeting areas not currently under Russian constitutional claim (e.g., Kharkiv Obla…
5 Grim Warning Signs for Putin in Ukraine - Newsweek
5 Grim Warning Signs for Putin in Ukraine - Newsweek
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The full-scale Russian war in Ukraine has now crossed a bleak milestone: 1,569 days.
As of June 11, the full invasion has run longer than the First World War, a conflict with which the brutal muddy trenches of the Ukrainian front line have already drawn comparisons.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, he did so believing the country would fall within days.
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on
Analysis
But Ukraine, with heavy Western backing, resisted fiercely and has mounted
a stunning defense ever since
.
It's tempting to believe that duration favors Russia, the larger power with a higher tolerance for punishment and losses, and a deeper, more powerful domestic arsenal.
But that's false comfort for Moscow. The clock is, in fact, turning against Putin. Ukraine has not won.
Russia has not collapsed—yet. But there are five warning signs for Putin in how his war is going.
1. The War Clock Has Become an Indictment
Durat…
Blown to Bits: Russia's Air Force Is Falling from the Sky Fast in the ...
Blown to Bits: Russia's Air Force Is Falling from the Sky Fast in the ...
Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Key Points and Summary:
The Russian Aerospace Forces entered Ukraine in February 2022 with approximately 1,400 frontline combat aircraft and a plan to establish air superiority within 72 hours. Four years and three months later, Russia has lost approximately 361 combat aircraft to confirmed visual tracking, with actual losses likely substantially higher.
-The Su-34s and Su-35s that survived the war are now being cannibalized for parts because the production pipeline cannot keep pace with attrition.
What Russia Thought Its Air Force Would Do In Ukraine — And The Losses That Followed
When the Russian General Staff finalized the plan for the February 2022 invasion of
Ukraine
, the
Russian Aerospace Forces
were assigned the kind of mission Western air forces have considered routine since
Operation Desert Storm
.
Russia Tu-160 Bomber on Tarmac. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Tu-160 Bomber from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Russian air component was supposed to establish air superiority over Ukraine within the opening days of the campaign…
Ukraine Adjusting Air Defense Against New Russian Tactics ... - KyivPost
Ukraine Adjusting Air Defense Against New Russian Tactics ... - KyivPost
In brief:The Ukrainian president said he has instructed the military to adapt accordingly as Russia switches its drone tactics to target the railway and water supply facilities.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday evening that Ukraine would adjust its air defense strategy to counter new Russian drone tactics.
In hisevening address, Zelensky noted that Russia is now targeting Ukraine’s logistics, including railways and water supply, and emphasized that adjustments are needed to better protect them.
Follow our coverage of the war on the@Kyivpost_official.
“Today… it is not the first time that we have discussed with representatives of the regions the new Russian tactics of massive strikes,” he said. “When logistics facilities are increasingly becoming targets, first of all the railway, but also facilities that work on water supply.”
Zelensky said officials have “received the necessary tasks” to counter the threats – particularly those along the border in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions – though he did not specify what those efforts entail.
“Air defense, the Ministry of Defense, and government structure…
Mariupol commander pleads for help as Russian forces close in
Mariupol commander pleads for help as Russian forces close in
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Ukrainian commander in Mariupol issues desperate plea for help
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April 20, 2022, 5:54 AM EDT
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Updated
April 20, 2022, 7:35 AM EDT
By
Jason Abbruzzese
and
Mithil Aggarwal
The commander of the
last remaining Ukrainian troops holding the besieged city of Mariupol
has said that his forces are outnumbered and may only have hours to live.
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Maj. Serhiy Volyna said there were about 500 wounded troops and many civilians with them at the Azovstal steel plant, which has become the
last stand for Ukrainians in the port city against Russia’s advance
.
His 36th Marine Brigade is holed up in the plant along with fighters from the country’s Azov Regiment, a far-right volunteer force that is widely considered one of the country’s most capable units.
In a video
shared with NBC News and other media outlets that was also posted to what appeared to be his own Facebook page Wednesday, Volyna outlined the desperate situation facing the fighters and asked foreign lead…
Russia threatens NATO with nuclear Armageddon as Putin faces …
Russia threatens NATO with nuclear Armageddon as Putin faces …
Volodymyr Zelensky vows Ukraine will not ‘silently die’
Russia has issued chilling threats to use nuclear weapons as the US warned
Vladimir Putin
that his war in
Ukraine
has become a “strategic disaster”. The warnings from Moscow came as
NATO
began its major Ramstein Flag 2026 drills in a show of strength.
Dan Negrea, the US representative at the UN Security Council, said the Kremlin was staring at failure. He said: “
Russia
’s invasion of
Ukraine
has been a strategic disaster. Its oil refineries are ablaze and
Russia
is losing 5,000 people per month. Moscow cannot achieve its goals on the battlefield.
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The latest nuclear…
Facing no defence, Russia continues to fire ballistics as soon as it can, causing ongoing setbacks in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy made a plea at the NATO summit.
But the setbacks seem worse in Russia, where T...
Facing no defence, Russia continues to fire ballistics as soon as it can, causing ongoing setbacks in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy made a plea at the NATO summit.
But the setbacks seem worse in Russia, where TEN of its tankers were likely hit in one day. Read all about it here:
bsky.app/profile/twmc...
Russia's Strategy Against the West: Escalate Slowly and See if It ...
Russia's Strategy Against the West: Escalate Slowly and See if It ...
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An American factory in western Ukraine. Two European diplomatic compounds and a key Ukrainian government building in Kyiv. And now Poland.
Over a roughly three-week period, Russian drones and missiles have struck sites of increasing sensitivity for Ukraine and its Western allies, culminating in the volley of Russian drones that buzzed early Wednesday over Poland, a NATO country.
For decades, American and European military planners feared something else: a bolt-from-the-blue assault, like an all-out nuclear strike, from the Soviet Union or Russia. But in its war on Ukraine, Russia has walked over a Western red line gradually, gauging responses as it goes, blunting any pushback by escalating slowly and maintaining some level of deniability, according to Ukrainian officials and analysts.
The drones that flew into Poland prompted NATO to send warplanes to shoot them down, in the first direct engagement of the alliance’s troops with Russian weaponry since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. But none of the previous Russian attacks in recent weeks led to more than strongly worded statement…
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 5, 2025
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 5, 2025
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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 5, 2025
Toplines
Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to try to blame US President Donald Trump for the nuclear arms modernization and buildup program that Russia began years ago.
Putin held an award ceremony on November 4 for the developers of the new Burevestnik missile and Poseidon unmanned underwater vehicle, in which he continued to laud the weapons’ purported technical capabilities.[1] Putin held a Russian Security Council meeting on November 5 in which Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Chief of the General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov, Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Head Sergei Naryshkin, Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, and Federal Security Service (FSB) Head Alexander Bortnikov offered their assessments of US President Donald Trump’s statements since October 29 that the United States would start testing its nuclear weapons.[2] Belousov advised Putin to begin preparation for “full-scale” nuclear testing immediately, and Putin called for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Ministry of Defense (MoD), special servic…
Ukraine 'wipes out 20,000 Russian troops with single unit' as Putin's ...
Ukraine 'wipes out 20,000 Russian troops with single unit' as Putin's ...
November 10, 2025
November 10, 2025
scradge1
Ukraine ‘wipes out 20,000 Russian troops with single unit’ as Putin’s army reels
The Unmanned Systems Forces in June claims to have destroyed two entire Russian army corps units.
By
John Varga
Fri, Nov 7, 2025
Drones destroy Russian armour (Image: Ukraine Army)
A Ukrainian commander, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, made a bold claim that his unit annihilated over 20,000 Russian troops. Appointed by President Zelensky in June to lead
Ukraine
‘s Unmanned Systems Forces, Brovdi’s unit was established last year as the world’s first military branch dedicated to drone warfare, both aerial and maritime.
These drones have
revolutionized modern warfare
and are crucial to
Ukraine’s efforts to counteract the Russian advance
. They allow the Ukrainian army to compensate for its lack of manpower on the battlefield and are frequently used to bolster Kyiv’s defenses.
Prior to his current role, Brovdi led an
aerial reconnaissance unit
known as the Birds of the Madyar, hence his nickname. Originally from Zakarpattia, he was a businessman before the full-scale war erupted.
Russia war despe…
#Russia’s ballistic-missile attacks against #Ukraine have grown in ferocity and magnitude in recent weeks because Russian military planners are exploiting one of Ukraine’s greatest "weaknesses": The U...
#Russia’s ballistic-missile attacks against #Ukraine have grown in ferocity and magnitude in recent weeks because Russian military planners are exploiting one of Ukraine’s greatest "weaknesses": The Ukrainian military does NOT have..."
by By Nicholas Kulish, Kim Barker, Siobhán O’Grady, Lara Jakes
From "Special" to "Military" — Russia in Global Affairs
From "Special" to "Military" — Russia in Global Affairs
Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, Moscow, RussiaDirector
For citation, please use:Pukhov, R.N., 2024. From “Special” to “Military”.Russia in Global Affairs, 22(2), pp. 112–126. DOI: 10.31278/1810-6374-2024-22-2-112-126
We can retrospectively conclude that Russia initially planned an operation that was primarily “special” and only secondarily “military,” as it intended to achieve its goals without large-scale hostilities or organized armed resistance. Future historians will have to explain why Moscow considered this feasible, even though the Ukrainian army had been waging a continuous “minor” war in Donbass since 2014.
The initial SMO plan is actually quite familiar, as it copied Operation Danube, the 1968 Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia. Analogously, the SMO envisaged the capture of Kiev’s airport, the deployment of paratroopers there to seal off the Ukrainian capital, and rapid advances of numerous armored and mechanized units to surround major cities, which would then be quickly pacified by light units, special forces, and intelligence services.
But Operation Danube and the February 2022 campaign…
The Russian Military: Forecasting the Threat | ISW
The Russian Military: Forecasting the Threat | ISW
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The Russian Military: Forecasting The Threat
Executive Summary
The Russian military has undergone a rapid and comprehensive transformation since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 by optimizing itself to fight a positional war.
The Russian military has made a virtue of necessity in that optimization, but its degraded force is now likely incapable of effective maneuver warfare at scale. The Russian military has revised the structure, equipment, and tactics of its units at every echelon from group of forces to company to enable itself to fight a positional war with low-quality personnel, insufficient stores of armor and advanced munitions, and poor command and control. The current Russian military can only conduct positional offensive operations to support its theory of victory — outlasting Western support for Ukraine and sustaining grinding territorial advances that Ukraine cannot reverse — and cannot currently conduct significant operational maneuver.
The Russian military cannot and will not simply recreate its pre-2022 force structure and capabilities following the negotiated end or suspension of m…
Russia Analytical Report, May 27-June 2, 2025
Russia Analytical Report, May 27-June 2, 2025
Russia Analytical Report, May 27-June 2, 2025
2
Ideas to Explore
“
Astonishing” is the adjective
Economist
and
Politico
writers used to describe Ukraine’s operation to smuggle some 150 drones into Russia and launch them in a June 1 attack on Russian long-range bombers and early-warning aircraft at bases across Russia
, including one base
2,500
miles away from Ukraine. “Today’s operation is likely to be ranked among the most important raiding actions in modern warfare,” the Economist proclaimed in reference to the June 1 attack, in which an estimated record of
11
to
12
Russian long-range bombers were damaged or destroyed within one day.
1
“The Ukrainians rewrote the rules of warfare again,” claimed
Max Boot
in his Washington Post column. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy lauded the attack, calling it “
brilliant
,” and even some of Russia’s pro-war commentators conceded Ukrainian creativity in this instance. The June 1 attacks showed “
the enemy is strong, cunning, technically savvy,” editors of the
pro-war Russian telegram channel Dva Mayora
wrote
. Notably, both pro-Kremlin commentators, such as
Georgy Bovt
and
Aleksey Zhivov
, and…
Putin Rebukes Trump's WWII Remarks in Moscow Victory Day Address
Putin Rebukes Trump's WWII Remarks in Moscow Victory Day Address
Putin Rebukes Trump’s WWII Remarks in Moscow Victory Day Address
Kathrine Frich
•
ID1974 / Shutterstock
Russia won’t allow its wartime legacy to be rewritten or “slandered.”
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Russia won’t allow its wartime legacy to be rewritten or “slandered.”
Russian Presidential Executive Office / Wiki Commons
In his Victory Day address in Moscow’s Red Square, Vladimir Putin appeared to fire back at Donald Trump’s recent claim that the United States won both world wars alone.
With China’s President Xi Jinping standing beside him and over 20 world leaders in attendance, Putin reclaimed the Soviet Union’s role as the main victor over Nazi Germany.
A rebuttal that stung deeply in a country where wartime sacrifice remains central to national identity.
Also read
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Belligerent and Beleaguered: Russia After the War with Ukraine
Belligerent and Beleaguered: Russia After the War with Ukraine
The recently built fence at the border between Finland and Russia. (Photo by Alessandro RAMPAZZO / AFP via Getty Images)
No matter how its war against Ukraine ends, Russia will emerge less secure, more aggrieved, and posing a greater threat to Europe than it did when it started this war.
Having invaded Ukraine under the false pretext of needing to secure its western flank, Russia is poised to emerge from the war less secure, more resentful, and more threatening to Europe than before the war. Its threat perceptions will cast a long shadow over Europe. They will be shaped by three converging circumstances: the geography of the standoff between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the development of advanced weapons based on new technologies, and changes in transatlantic relations that are forcing Europe to rethink its security policy.
Russian insecurity is rooted in a long history of confrontation with the rest of Europe and a strategic culture that prizes strategic depth as a cornerstone of national security. With the Cold War–era buffer separating it from NATO gone and ties with Ukraine broken b…
A U.S. Peace Plan for Ukraine - Quincy Institute
A U.S. Peace Plan for Ukraine - Quincy Institute
The national flag of Ukraine flies at half-mast in Maidan Nezalezhnosti by the Independence Monument to commemorate the victims of the massive Russian missile and drone attack on the night of April 24, behind the Ukrainian flag with Ukraine's coat of arms, known as the trident (tryzub), Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 25, 2025.Photo by Kirill Chubotin/Ukrinform/ABACAPRESS.COMNo Use Russia.
Executive Summary
In advancing a peace settlement to resolve the Russia–Ukraine War, Washington must prioritize a concrete and detailed settlement to end this catastrophic conflict along terms that harmonize the vital, long-term interests of Ukraine, Russia, Europe, and the United States. A ceasefire is unlikely, unless the outlines of such a settlement are reached beforehand.
A peace settlement must address Ukrainian fears of future Russian aggression while simultaneously laying out a broader political framework that assuages Russia’s fears of strategic encirclement and international isolation.
A successful settlement is possible along these lines:
In exchange for the West and Ukraine’s acknowledgement that Ukraine will not be part of the NATO alliance, …
Zelenskyy asks Trump for more US air defense help against Russian ...
Zelenskyy asks Trump for more US air defense help against Russian ...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Wednesday that he had written a letter to US President Donald Trump and Congress asking for more US-made air defense ammunition.
Ukrainian servicemen of Khartia brigade launch a drone towards Russian positions at the front line in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
A woman is seen through the broken window after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A Ukrainian serviceman of Khartia brigade launches a drone towards Russian positions at the front line in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has written to U.S. President Donald Trump and Congress asking formore American-made air defense ammunitionto counter intensifyingRussian ballistic missile attacks, Kyiv said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Russian lawmakers have backed a draft bill to have bank employees join the fight againstUkraine’s long-range dronesthat strike deep inside Russia — with trained bank staff shooting down the unmanned …
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces could be at war for ‘decades’ says ex-KGB spy at ‘Russian Davos’ | The Independent
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces could be at war for ‘decades’ says ex-KGB spy at ‘Russian Davos’ | The Independent
Zelensky willing to freeze battle for peace talks
Russia
has issued a
nuclear weapon threat
"to ensure security" in response to
Nato strengthening its eastern flank
.
Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin has said Russia and Belarus are
constantly ready to use all available means
, including nuclear weapons.
Nato yesterday announced that its Forward Land Forces (FLF) Finland, including the Alliance’s newest multinational battlegroup, led by framework nation Sweden, began operations in Finland and Sweden to support the defence of Nato’s northeastern flank.
"We remain in a constant state of readiness to employ all means, including nuclear ones, to ensure the security of the Union State," Mr Galuzin said, referring to the political, security and economic alliance between Russia and Belarus.
His remarks come after senior Russian official Sergei Shoigu claimed that the Nato nations were working out scenarios for strikes on Belarus and Russia during military exercises.
It comes as Volodymyr Zelensky said
Ukraine
could offer low-cost interceptor dr…
Transnistria: The Forgotten Front of the War in Ukraine
Transnistria: The Forgotten Front of the War in Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves through a Europe that had grown accustomed to the absence of large-scale conflict on its own soil since the end of the Second World War. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)estimatesthat the war has caused more than 62,000 civilian casualties, including over 16,000 deaths between February 2022 and May 2026. For more than four years, the conflict has dominated political debate and media coverage across the continent.
Yet the war’s consequences extend far beyond the battlefield itself. In several neighbouring regions, long-frozen disputes have acquired renewed strategic significance. One of them is the autonomous Moldovan region of Transnistria.
In this analysis, I argue that despite its international isolation, Transnistria remains one of Russia’s most effective instruments of influence in Eastern Europe. Home to fewer than 500,000 inhabitants, the breakaway territory hosts the largest ammunition depot in Eastern Europe and around 1,500 Russian troops stationed just a few kilometres from the Ukrainian border. Whil…
Ukraine: Conflict at the Crossroads of Europe and Russia
Ukraine: Conflict at the Crossroads of Europe and Russia
Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder
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Table of Contents
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Ukraine’s Westward drift since independence has been countered by the sometimes violent tug of Russia, felt most recently with Putin’s 2022 invasion.
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has set alight the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.
A former Soviet republic, Ukraine had deep cultural, economic, and political bonds with Russia, but the war could irreparably harm their relations.
Some experts view the Russia-Ukraine war as a manifestation of renewed geopolitical rivalry between major world powers.
Introduction
Ukraine has long played an important, yet sometimes overlooked, role in the global security order. Today, the country is on the front lines of a renewed great-power rivalry that many analysts say will dominate international relations in the decades ahead.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 marked a dramatic escalation of the eight-year-old conflict that began with Russia’s annexation of Crimea and signified a historic turning point for European security. A year after the fighting began, many defense and for…
Ukraine war latest: SBU strikes Russia's Saky air base in occupied Crimea for second time in a week
Ukraine war latest: SBU strikes Russia's Saky air base in occupied Crimea for second time in a week
Key developments on July 3:
* Ukraine strikes Russia's Saky air base in occupied Crimea for second time in a week, SBU says
* Poland should be cautious in promising further Ukraine aid at NATO summit, PM Tusk says
* Next months may be 'critical,' Tusk says amid reports of planned Russian provocation against Poland
* 'Terror is their only argument:' Russia's attacks on Ukraine continue, 2 children killed, 10 others injured
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said on July 3 it had struck two Ru
The Secret History of the War in Ukraine (Published 2025)
The Secret History of the War in Ukraine (Published 2025)
In the early days after Russia’s armies crossed into Ukraine, two Ukrainian generals journeyed from Kyiv under diplomatic cover on a secret mission.
In the early days after Russia’s armies crossed into Ukraine, two Ukrainian generals journeyed from Kyiv under diplomatic cover on a secret mission.
Map highlights Ukraine and labels the city of Kyiv.
At the U.S. military garrison in Wiesbaden, Germany, they sealed a partnership that would bring America into the war far more intimately than previously known.
At the U.S. military garrison in Wiesbaden, Germany, they sealed a partnership that would bring America into the war far more intimately than previously known.
Map pans and highlights Germany, with the city of Wiesbaden labeled.
By Adam Entous
Adam Entous conducted more than 300 interviews over more than a year with government, military and intelligence officials in Ukraine, the United States, Britain, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Turkey.
March 29, 2025
Share full article
1.5k
On a spring morning
two months after Vladimir Putin’s invading armies marched into Ukraine, a convoy of unmarked cars sli…
Russia's Possible Invasion of Ukraine - CSIS
Russia's Possible Invasion of Ukraine - CSIS
Photo: VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images
Brief
bySeth G. JonesandPhilip G. Wasielewski
Published January 13, 2022
If peace talks fail, the Russian military has several options to advance into Ukraine through northern, central, and southern invasion routes. But a Russian attempt to seize and hold territory will not necessarily be easy and will likely be impacted by challenges from weather, urban combat, command and control, logistics, and the morale of Russian troops and the Ukrainian population. The United States and its European allies and partners should be prepared for an invasion by taking immediate economic, diplomatic, military, intelligence, and humanitarian steps to aid Ukraine and its population and shore up defenses along the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) eastern flank.
Russian president Vladimir Putin continues to threaten an invasion of Ukraine with a major military buildup near the Russian-Ukrainian border and aggressive language. Russia has deployed offensive weapons and systems within striking distance of Ukraine, including main battle tanks, self-propelled howitzers, infantry fighting…
Ukraine 'wipes out 20,000 Russian troops with single unit' as Putin's ...
Ukraine 'wipes out 20,000 Russian troops with single unit' as Putin's ...
By John Varga
Newsbreak
Nov 7, 2025
A Ukrainian commander, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, made a bold claim that his unit annihilated over 20,000 Russian troops. Appointed by President Zelensky in June to lead Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, Brovdi’s unit was established last year as the world’s first military branch dedicated to drone warfare, both aerial and maritime.
These drones have revolutionized modern warfare and are crucial to Ukraine’s efforts to counteract the Russian advance. They allow the Ukrainian army to compensate for its lack of manpower on the battlefield and are frequently used to bolster Kyiv’s defenses.
Prior to his current role, Brovdi led an aerial reconnaissance unit known as the Birds of the Madyar, hence his nickname. Originally from Zakarpattia, he was a businessman before the full-scale war erupted.
In a video interview, the commander claimed his unit had inflicted severe casualties on the Russians. “We’ve lost 27 of our own. In return, we destroyed 24,895 Russian troops and 76,950 targets,” he stated.
Since launching its ill-fated full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia’…
Russia Analytical Report, May 26–June 1, 2026
Russia Analytical Report, May 26–June 1, 2026
Russia Analytical Report, May 26–June 1, 2026
3 Ideas to Explore
The Russia-Ukraine conflict “is ripe for conclusion,” according to CFR’s
Thomas Graham
. In an interview with NYT, Graham argues that “the mood has changed in Moscow. The battlefield is different: The Ukrainians have frozen the front line. The economic problems in Russia are building, and some political discontent is bubbling up. Conversations inside the Kremlin are on ‘How do we present this as a victory?’”
Graham told NYT. He also noted that “you have to have a negotiating process,” and that is still missing. “I think they would like to see the process institutionalized,” Graham added, “so it’s more than a couple of envoys talking to Putin.”
For RM’s account of how Russian and Ukrainian influentials are pondering whether they can sell the end of the conflict as a victory to their compatriots, follow
this link
.
For RM’s assessment of changes in territorial control, visit
this link
.*
Despite contrasting battlefields, the Ukraine and Iran wars share core similarities: powerful militaries—the U.S. and Russia—have failed to decisively defeat weaker adversaries, revealing “…
Zelensky Warns Russia May Try to Drag Belarus into Ukraine War
Zelensky Warns Russia May Try to Drag Belarus into Ukraine War
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia is attempting to draw Belarus into its war against Ukraine, citing recent military movements near the Belarus-Ukraine border as evidence of escalating pressure from Moscow. His remarks come amid growing international concern over the potential expansion of the conflict beyond Ukraine’s borders, particularly as Russian forces continue to face personnel shortages in their ongoing invasion.
Zelenskyy specifically referenced intelligence reports indicating heightened activity by Belarusian armed forces in border regions, including the construction of roads and the establishment of artillery positions. He stated that these developments suggest Moscow is seeking to compensate for its own troop deficits by leveraging Belarusian military capabilities, a move he described as a potential “grave mistake” for Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.
The Ukrainian president drew a parallel between the current situation and recent political upheavals in Venezuela, urging Lukashenko to consider the fate of authoritarian leaders who have faced international isolation and domestic un…
Russia's Disregard for Nuclear Safety and Security in Ukraine
Russia's Disregard for Nuclear Safety and Security in Ukraine
Video Url
From the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, disregard for the principles of nuclear safety and security has been a persistent feature of Russia’s misconduct. In particular, Russia has threatened the safe operation of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, raising the risk of a nuclear emergency whose effects would be felt far from the borders of Ukraine.
NNSA
Fact sheet outlining Russia’s disregard for nuclear safety and security in Ukraine
(672.64 KB)
Fact sheet about Russia’s disregard for nuclear safety and security in Ukraine.
Read Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm's article in The Hill from March 14, 2023: Russia’s ongoing assault on nuclear safety and security endangers the world.
From the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, disregard for the principles of nuclear safety and security has been a persistent feature of Russia’s misconduct. In particular, Russia has threatened the safe operation of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, raising the risk of a nuclear emergency whose effects would be felt far from the borders of Ukraine.
One year ago, on March 4, 2022, Russ…
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv claims devastating strike on Crimea ...
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv claims devastating strike on Crimea ...
Kyiv claims devastating strike on Crimea bridge destroyed 50 military vehicles
The Ukrainian military claims it has successfully destroyed 50 Russian military vehicles in a devastating strike on the Armiansk bridge connecting occupied
Crimea
to mainland
Ukraine
.
Ukraine’s 1st Separate Assault Regiment Da Vinci said the attack “completely paralysed” a key logistical route for Russian forces, rendering the bridge unusable.
Kyiv says the Russian military vehicles hit in the attack were loaded with ammunition and fuel to be used near Zaporizhzhia oblast.
Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, has said that Ukraine is capable of fully cutting off
Russia
’s access to Crimea in the “near future”.
Earlier, ambassadors from the UK, France and Germany met at the Russian foreign ministry yesterday amid a Europe-led push for fresh peace talks.
The ministry shared a video of the three diplomats arriving at the building in central Moscow to attend a meeting with Sergei Lavrov’s deputy. The foreign minister said on Wednesday Russia was open to hear what Europe had to say.
Recommended
Fuel shortages h…
How Are Pro-Kremlin Figures Responding to the Belgorod Incursion?
How Are Pro-Kremlin Figures Responding to the Belgorod Incursion?
May 23, 2023
The town of Grayvoron in the Belgorod region after shelling.
Victoria Litvin / Kommersant
This week’s incursion into Russia’s western Belgorod region sparked mixed reactions from prominent pro-Kremlin voices.
The armed incursion, the most serious since the beginning of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine last year, prompted the Kremlin to express "deep concern" and the evacuation of nine villages in the Belgorod region.
Ukrainian officials denied involvement as two anti-Kremlin military units within Kyiv's forces claimed responsibility, while Moscow blamed it on a Ukrainian “sabotage group.”
While some, such as RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, held back in expressing their opinions, others moved to vocally criticize Russia’s top military brass for negligence and lack of preparedness for the incident.
The lack of unified response signals that the attack caught both Russian officials and propagandists off guard,
according
to analysts at the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War.
The Moscow Times has collected some of the most notable reactions to the attack:
Yevgeny Prigozhin
The leader of the Wagner …
10 Reasons Vladimir Putin Might Use Tactical Nuclear Weapons In Ukraine
10 Reasons Vladimir Putin Might Use Tactical Nuclear Weapons In Ukraine
Russian Air Force Bomber Tu-160. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Vladimir Putin signed a revised Russian nuclear doctrine on November 19, 2024 — exactly 1,000 days after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
The new doctrine declares that any conventional attack on Russia by a non-nuclear state with the support of a nuclear power
will be treated as a joint attack on Russia, providing the legal basis under Russian law for nuclear retaliation. The revision also extends Russian nuclear protection to Belarus, lowers the threshold for nuclear use from threats to the “existence” of the Russian state to threats to its “sovereignty” or “territorial integrity,” and declares that Russia may launch nuclear weapons in response to “reliable information on the massive launch of aerospace attack weapons” crossing the Russian border.
The Tactical Nuclear Weapons Dilemma
Russian Mobile ICBM Nuclear Weapons. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The revised doctrine
is the document Putin operates under as of today, May 27, 2026. It substantially expanded the set of scenarios under which a Russian nuclear strike could be legally a…
Ukraine's Zelenskyy names spy chief Budanov as top aide
Ukraine's Zelenskyy names spy chief Budanov as top aide
Regarded as a legend among Ukrainians but a wanted criminal in Russia, the combat veteran will now have unparalleled access to Zelenskyy and be at the steering wheel of the presidency.
KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday named military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov as the new head of his office, after his previous top aide resigned in November over a corruption scandal.
Budanov is a secretive figure who rose from relative obscurity to become head of Kyiv’s formidable spy agency.
The nomination comes at a key moment in the nearly four-year war, with Zelenskyy announcing on Wednesday that a U.S.-brokered deal to end the conflict was “90%” ready.
“At this time, Ukraine needs greater focus on security issues, the development of the Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine, as well as on the diplomatic track of negotiations,” Zelenskyy said.
“Kyrylo has specialized experience in these areas and sufficient strength to deliver results.”
Budanov said he had accepted the nomination and would “continue to serve Ukraine.”
“It is an honor and a responsibility for me to focus on critically impo…
Ukraine's Crimea Operation Is Going to Plan - Newsweek
Ukraine's Crimea Operation Is Going to Plan - Newsweek
By
Isabel van Brugen
News Reporter
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Ukraine's operation to strangle supply lines in annexed Crimea and make it untenable for occupying Russians is going according to plan, with Kyiv one step closer to an attempt to liberate the Black Sea peninsula, an official said on Thursday.
The peninsula was rocked by explosions on Wednesday and Thursday. Attacks targeted the Russian navy's Black Sea fleet and damaged a large vessel and a submarine at a key naval base in Sevastopol; and a Russian air force S-400 air-defense battery was reportedly destroyed in Western Crimea a day later.
Strikes in Crimea, which is Russia's central logistics hub for its forces in southern Ukraine, have become routine in recent months amid Kyiv's counteroffensive to reclaim territory occupied by Russian forces. Attacks have struck military targets in a push to weaken Moscow's defenses and disrupt Russia from transporting equipment, weapons, and troops from mainland Russia into the peninsula…
Ukraine's last eastern strongholds hang on as Russia fights to take Donbas
Ukraine's last eastern strongholds hang on as Russia fights to take Donbas
NPR News
Ukraine's last eastern strongholds hang on as Russia fights to take Donbas
NPR |
By
Joanna Kakissis
Published December 9, 2025 at 8:28 AM EST
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Iryna Rybakova/93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade
/
AFP via Getty Images
This handout photograph, taken on Nov. 12 by the press service of the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, shows an aerial view of destroyed buildings in the front-line town of Kostyantynivka, Donetsk region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — In one of the last remaining cities under Ukrainian control in the country's eastern Donetsk region, once a powerhouse of industry, life gets more difficult — and dangerous — as Russian forces inch closer.
Over the last month, local officials in Kramatorsk have reported dozens of Russian attacks on the city using strike drones, ballistic missiles, rockets and aerial bombs. Homes, gas stations and markets have all been hit, as has a nearby power plant, causing blackouts.
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"There was a recent strike on the house next to mine," said …
Vladimir Putin's chilling two-word warning to Ukrainian troops
Vladimir Putin's chilling two-word warning to Ukrainian troops
Vladimir Putin's chilling two-word warning to Ukrainian troops as he dons military uniform
Russian President Vladimir Putin was pictured in military fatigues for the first time since the invasion began after he visited the Kursk region of western Russia, where Ukrainian forces had seized territory in recent weeks
Comments
Anthony Orrico
News Reporter
21:12 ET, 12 Mar 2025
Updated 08:07 ET, 13 Mar 2025
View 2 Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin donned military gear during his visit to the Kursk region,
(Image: (Image: Shutterstock))
Russian President
Vladimir Putin
donned military gear during his visit to the Kursk region, a first since
Ukraine had made territorial gains
there.
Ukrainian forces
retreated from the area just before
Putin's trip,
coinciding with discussions of a month-long ceasefire between US and Ukrainian representatives.
On Wednesday, Russian state TV showed
Putin in pixelated fatigues
addressing Russia's military leaders. "Indeed, in the shortest possible time is to finally defeat the enemy entrenched in the Kursk region and still conducting defensive actions here," he declared.
During his visit,…
The Donbass conflict: Waiting for escalation | Lowy Institute
The Donbass conflict: Waiting for escalation | Lowy Institute
The Kremlin, on the other hand, has sharpened its rhetoric regarding the future of the Donbass. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declared last month that Russia hasno plansto absorb the Donbass, and that Moscow is solely focused on protecting Russians and the Russian-speaking population of the region. He also noted that the Donbass has “always been Russian-speaking” and that Moscow intends to stand up for its residents. On the other hand, several other Ukrainian regions in the east and south of the country are also Russian-speaking, but the Kremlin never stood up for their residents as actively as in the Donbass. Given that energy plays a crucial role in Russia’s politics, it is not surprising that Moscow is interested in preserving its de facto control over thecoal-rich Donbass basin.
Other voices are more direct. “People from Donbass want to be part of our great homeland. Russia, mother, take the Donbass home,” said Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Russia’s state television RT on 28 January in Donetsk, where she took part in the “Russian Donbass” Forum. At the summit, leaders of the self-proclaimed Donbas…
Does the Battlefield Stalemate in Ukraine Favor Russia?
Does the Battlefield Stalemate in Ukraine Favor Russia?
A narrative of Russia’s “inevitable advance” has steadily taken hold in the information space, resting on a substitution: Moscow’s inability to sustain a rapid offensive is recast as evidence that its slow movement forward is strategically unavoidable.
Mar 13, 2026 15:27
Updated Mar 31, 2026 15:15
12 min read
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Authors
Vadym Kovalenko
Resurgam Analytical Center
Dmytro Korniienko
Resurgam Analytical Center
In classical military analysis, the concept of “slow advancement” signifies a loss of initiative, excessive resource losses, and a high price for each tactical step. Yet Russia’s incapacity has been effectively transformed, within information operations, into a victorious psychological construct, in which an objective sign of exhaustion is presented as proof of resilience. This narrative “virus” has successfully infiltrated Western discourse, so that slowness is no longer associated with weakness but rather with strength.
The logical absurdity of such an approach is obvious. A threat that a newborn will inevitably die of old age is formally unavoidable, yet it carries…
U.S.-Russia Proxy War in Ukraine: A Case of Deterrence Failure
U.S.-Russia Proxy War in Ukraine: A Case of Deterrence Failure
Image Credit: Kremlin
One of Joe Biden’slast consequential decisionsas president was allowing Ukraine to strike deep within Russia using advanced American missile technology. This action marked a significant step up theescalationladder. Vladimir Putin has warned that such actions could place Russia on awar footingwith NATO. Biden’s risky decision reflects a broader problem of deterrence failure and the absence ofmilitary restraintin an increasingly multipolar world. Complicating matters further,Russia’s response—such as deploying advanced missile systems and tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus—signals a significant escalation using more advanced technologies that upend traditionaldeterrence frameworks.
Deterrence has long been a cornerstone of international security. Yet in today’s multipolar world, where power is decentralized and alliances are fluid, maintaining effective deterrence is increasingly challenging. This does not mean that multipolarity and deterrence are inherently incompatible. Instead, new deterrence strategies are needed to address thecomplexities of a gray-zone conflict environmentcharacterized by …
Commentary: Ukraine’s cheap drones and combat robots offer hope for the good guys
https://www.byteseu.com/2113449/
Elizabeth Shackelford When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Fe...
Commentary: Ukraine’s cheap drones and combat robots offer hope for the good guys
https://www.byteseu.com/2113449/
Elizabeth Shackelford When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Washington and Europe expected a quick Russian victory. Russia’s population was more …
Putin ally suggests launching 'preventative strikes' against the West
Putin ally suggests launching 'preventative strikes' against the West
ByDAVID AVERRE, FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENTand REUTERS
Published:06:29 EDT, 17 July 2025|Updated:03:21 EDT, 18 July 2025
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Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused the West of practically waging a full-scale war againstRussiaand declaredMoscowshould respond in full - potentially with pre-emptive strikes on Western nations.
'What is happening today is a proxy war, but in essence it is a full-scale war, sanctions packages, loud statements about the militarisation of Europe,' Medvedev said in his latest tirade, carried by the TASS news agency.
'It's another attempt to destroy the 'historical anomaly' hated by the West - Russia, our country.
'We need to act accordingly, to respond in full. And if necessary, launch pre-emptive strikes.'
He went on to add that many in the West had 'treachery in their blood' and a 'sick, very outdated view of their own superiority'.
Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, cast himself as a liberal moderniser when he was president from 2008-2012, but has since emerged as an anti-Western Kremlin hawk.
He now routinely spouts virulent…
Rise of Anti-Russian Sentiment After Ukraine Invasion
Rise of Anti-Russian Sentiment After Ukraine Invasion
Field Notes
Is the West's 'anti-Russian sentiment' targeting Putin—or all Russian people? A look at Germany, Latvia, and the Czech Republic
How are Western Allies reacting? Explore the growing anti-Russian sentiment across the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Germany following the Ukraine war.
+2
Jana Heigl
,
Marta Cerava
,
Mika Mäkeläinen
, and
3 others
Jul 07, 2023
1
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The growth of anti-Russian sentiment refers to an increase in negative attitudes, opinions, or hostility towards Russia, its government, or its people. Anti-Russian sentiment can be driven by a combination of geopolitical factors, historical context, media coverage, and public opinion. The impact and beneficiaries can vary depending on specific circumstances and regional dynamics.
Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, an act that received extensive condemnation in the Western world, political leaders, Western Allies, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have consistently voiced their disapproval of Russia. This collective opposition has significantly influenced public opinion regarding Russia and its people on a global scale.
“All Rus…
War in Ukraine | Global Conflict Tracker
War in Ukraine | Global Conflict Tracker
Back to Map
War in Ukraine
By the
Center for Preventive Action
Updated
February 24, 2026
Infantry soldier Viktor of Ukraine’s 58th Motorized Brigade smokes while standing in a frontline trench in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on April 13, 2024.
Thomas Peter/Reuters
People look at smoke rise over a building of the Ukrainian government headquaters after Russian drone and missile strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 7, 2025. ’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 7, 2025. REUTERS/Serhii Korovainyi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Serhii Korovainyi/Reuters
Volunteers board a plane before departing for positions of the Akhmat battalion involved in Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, at an airport in Grozny, Russia, on January 17, 2024.
Chingis Kondarov/Reuters
A woman appears in front of the makeshift memorial to fallen Ukrainian defenders at Independence Square in Kyiv on November 6, 2025.
Alina Smutko/Reuters
A Ukrainian serviceman of the 100th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a Bohdana self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops near the frontline town of Kostiantynivk…
Russia's Grinding War in Ukraine - CSIS
Russia's Grinding War in Ukraine - CSIS
Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images
Brief
bySeth G. JonesandRiley McCabe
Published January 27, 2026
Despite claims of battlefield momentum in Ukraine, the data shows that Russia is paying an extraordinary price for minimal gains and is in decline as a major power. Since February 2022, Russian forces have suffered nearly 1.2 million casualties, more losses than any major power in any war since World War II. At current rates, combined Russian and Ukrainian casualties could reach 2 million by the spring of 2026. After seizing the initiative in 2024, Russian forces have advanced at an average rate of between 15 and 70 meters per day in their most prominent offensives, slower than almost any major offensive campaign in any war in the last century. Meanwhile, Russia’s war economy is under mounting strain, with manufacturing declining, slowing growth of 0.6 percent in 2025, and no globally competitive technology firms to help drive long-term productivity.
If you listen to Russian President Vladimir Putin and even some U.S. policymakers, it sounds like Russia is marching to an inevitable battlefield victory in Ukra…
Putin says there will be no new 'special military operations ... - Meduza
Putin says there will be no new 'special military operations ... - Meduza
During Vladimir Putin’s annual Direct Line call-in program on Friday, BBC journalist Steve Rosenberg asked the Russian president what kind of future he envisions for the country — and whether dissent, enemy-hunting, internet shutdowns, or new “special military operations” would remain part of it.
Putin began his response by addressing the question about suppressing dissent, saying Rosenberg must be referring to Russia’s “foreign agents” law. He again insisted — falsely — that the legislation was modeled on U.S. law and does not involve repression or criminal liability.
As for the possibility of new military offensives, Putin said there would be no more “special military operationsif you treat us with respect.” He went on to reprise his claim that the West had “tricked” Russia over NATO’s eastward expansion and dismissed warnings that Russia might attack Europe as “nonsense.”
Putin went on to say that Russia now ranks fourth globally in purchasing-power parity, compared to eighth for the U.K., and said that if the two countries combined their capabilities, “they would prosper.” But for now, he insisted, it…
War forecast for 2026 - Russia's goals in Ukraine and frontline ...
War forecast for 2026 - Russia's goals in Ukraine and frontline ...
War of attrition and pressure talks: What Kremlin's planning for Ukraine in 2026
Mon, January 12, 2026 - 09:41
12 min
Uliana Bezpalko
Liliana Oleniak
In 2026, Russians want to drive the Ukrainian Defense Forces out of Donetsk region (photo: GettyImages)
Despite the lack of rapid breakthroughs,
Russia is not stopping its offensive on the front lines
. Moscow has two priority goals for 2026: to use them in the negotiation process or to seize what it wants by force. RBC-Ukraine discusses Putin's plans and war scenarios for this year.
Key questions
What is Russia's main goal on the front in 2026?
Why have the Russians become more active in the Zaporizhzhia region?
What is Moscow's plan?
What scenarios for the course of the war are possible in 2026?
The Kremlin views 2026 as crucial to achieving its maximalist objectives in the war against Ukraine. The Russian offensive does not look like a breakthrough. Despite the enemy maintaining the initiative on the front for two years in a row, its advance is a slow, exhausting pressure that does not stop, even when it yields no quick results.
It is this inertia — not the pace o…
Russia welcomes progress in dialogue with US; Russian troops maintain ...
Russia welcomes progress in dialogue with US; Russian troops maintain ...
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AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian troops are maintaining the strategic initiative along the entire frontline, President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said at an expanded meeting of the country’s Defense Ministry’s board.
Russia welcomes progress in dialogue with US President Donald Trump’s administration. "We welcome the advances made in dialogue with the new US administration," Putin said.
He also noted that Russia’s
strategic nuclear forces
will continue to play a key role in deterring aggression and maintaining the global balance of power.
Putin announced that the
Oreshnik missile system
will be placed on combat duty by the end of 2025 and highlighted the successful tests of the Burevestnik strategic cruise missile and the Poseidon unmanned underwater vehicle.
The year 2025 "marked an i…
AP Exclusive: Zelenskyy says winter will make fighting against Russia ...
AP Exclusive: Zelenskyy says winter will make fighting against Russia ...
In an exclusive interview, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the war with Russia is entering a new stage, with winter expected to complicate the fighting and the Middle East capturing global attention. (Dec. 1) (AP Video/Srdjan Nedeljkovic and Felipe Dana).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Commander of Ukraine’s Ground Forces Col.-Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, right, and Roman Mashovets, deputy head of the Presidential Office, look at a map during their visit to the front-line city of Kupiansk, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. Zelenskyy says the war with Russia is in a new stage, with winter expected to complicate fighting after a summer counteroffensive that failed to produce desired results due to enduring shortages of weapons and ground forces. Despite the setbacks, however, he says in an interview with The Associated Press that “we are not backing down.” (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy poses for a photo after his interview with The Associated Press in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. Zelenskyy says the war with Russia is in a new …
Zelensky denies Russian claims that Ukraine carried out ... - Факти
Zelensky denies Russian claims that Ukraine carried out ... - Факти
World
»
Zelensky denies Russian claims that Ukraine carried out drone attack on one of Putin's residences
Zelensky denies Russian claims that Ukraine carried out drone attack on one of Putin's residences
These are typical Russian lies aimed at giving the Kremlin an excuse to continue attacks on our country, the Ukrainian president said
Dec 29, 2025 20:51
240
Milen Ganev
Chief editor at Fakti.bg
President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied Russian claims that Ukraine carried out a drone attack on one of President Vladimir Putin's residences and accused Moscow of trying to sabotage peace talks, the BBC reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Kiev carried out an overnight attack using 91 long-range drones on Putin's state residence in Russia's northwestern Novgorod region.
Russia said it would now reconsider its position in the peace talks. It is still unclear where Putin was during the alleged attack.
Zelensky dismissed the claim as “typical Russian lies“ intended to give the Kremlin an excuse to continue its attacks on Ukraine.
He said Russia had previously attacked government buildings in Kiev.
Zelen…
Ukraine-Russia-Insight: Starobilsk and Kiew - What Really Happened
Ukraine-Russia-Insight: Starobilsk and Kiew - What Really Happened
by Michael Hollister
Exclusive published
at
Michael Hollister
on May 29, 2026
2.624 words * 14 minutes readingtime
Why It Was Barely Reported
While rockets and drones exploded over Kyiv during the night of May 23 to 24, 2026, the tickers of Western news agencies ran hot. Front pages, breaking news alerts, expert commentary. Russia was attacking the Ukrainian capital – unprovoked, brutal, escalatory. The picture was clear.
What almost nobody mentioned: three days earlier, a student dormitory had collapsed in the occupied eastern Ukrainian city of Starobilsk. Teenagers between 14 and 18 years old lay beneath the rubble. Russia had explicitly announced the Kyiv attack as retaliation – and carried it out.
Anyone who wants to understand what really happened this week needs to know both events. This piece documents them – without taking sides, but with one clear finding: one-sided reporting in either direction is not information. It is propaganda.
Starobilsk: What Happened During the Night of May 21 to 22
During the night of May 21 to 22, 2026,
Ukrainian drones struck the city of Starobilsk
in the Russian-occupied Luhans…
Russia Analytical Report, Jan. 5–12, 2026
Russia Analytical Report, Jan. 5–12, 2026
Russia Analytical Report, Jan. 5–12, 2026
6 Ideas to Explore
Russia’s full-fledged war against Ukraine has already
lasted longer
1
than the Soviet fight against Nazi Germany in World War II—
as discussed in
Steve Gutterman’s RFE/RL
. “None of the conditions for a final resolution of the conflict are in place,” Ruth Deyermond of King’s College London told Gutterman for his analysis entitled "Will Russia's War Against Ukraine End In 2026?" Deyermond believes neither Ukraine nor Russia are “in a position to achieve a conclusive victory on the battlefield” or to collapse under pressure. According to Deyermond, the main obstacle to peace is Moscow’s stance: “Russia… seems to have no interest in an end to the fighting, let alone the war,” she says, while CSIS analyst Mark Cancian argues the Russians’ “stated goals are totally unacceptable” and their intransigence “stems from their belief that they are winning.” At best, a cease-fire or “temporarily frozen conflict” is possible so long as Putin’s presidency remains tied to the war, according to Crisis Group’s Olga Oliker.
In an interview with
Financial Times
, ex-director of the CIA William Burns…
CIA rejects Putin's claim of Ukrainian attack on his residence, as ...
CIA rejects Putin's claim of Ukrainian attack on his residence, as ...
War
CIA rejects Putin's claim of Ukrainian attack on his residence, as Russia hands over alleged 'evidence'
January 1, 2026 12:19 pm
(Updated:
January 1, 2026 9:39 pm
)
•
2
min read
Prefer
on Google
by
Tania Myronyshena,
Dmytro Basmat
US President Donald Trump holds a photo of himself with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, while speaking in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Annabelle Gordon / UPI / Bloomberg / Getty Images)
Editor's note: This story has been updated to note that Russia's
military intelligence agency provided U.S. officials with alleged evidence of a Ukrainian drone targeting Putin's residence.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has assessed that Ukraine did not target a residence used by Russian President Vladimir Putin, confirming Kyiv's immediate denial and undercutting claims made by the Kremlin on Dec. 29, U.S. officials told CNN on Jan. 1.
The
assessment
was reportedly delivered to U.S. President Donald Trump by CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
Russia had
publicly accused
Ukraine of launching 91 drones toward a residence used…
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 17, 2026 | ISW
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 17, 2026 | ISW
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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 17, 2026
Toplines
Ukrainian forces struck several Russian defense industrial plants and oil infrastructure objects in Moscow City and Oblast overnight on May 16 to 17 following Russia’s intensified strike series against Ukraine on May 13 and 14.
The Ukrainian General Staff and Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on May 17 that Ukrainian forces struck the Angstrem Semiconductor Plant, which produces microelectronics for high precision weapons, at the Elma Technopark in Zelenograd (northwest of Moscow City), and a geolocated image published on May 17 shows a smoke plume at the plant.[1] A Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) unit reported that Ukrainian forces also struck the Elma Technopark in Zelenograd, and Russian opposition outlet Astra posted footage of a fire at the Elma Technopark after the strike.[2] It is unclear if Ukrainian forces struck more than one object at the Elma Technopark. The Ukrainian General Staff reported on May 17 that Ukrainian forces also struck the Solnechnogorsk oil pumping station, which pumps, stores, and ships large volumes of f…
Tired of military aid delays, Ukraine has designed its own ballistic ...
Tired of military aid delays, Ukraine has designed its own ballistic ...
Tired of military aid delays, Ukraine has designed its own ballistic missile — and it’s already in mass-production
by
Yuliia Taradiuk
June 17, 2025 7:39 PM
(Updated:
June 17, 2025 7:59 pm
)
7
min read
Ukrainian tactical missile system Hrim-2 (also known as Sapsan) seen during a rehearsal for the Independence Day military parade in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2018. (VoidWanderer / Wikimedia)
War analysis
Prefer
on Google
by
Yuliia Taradiuk
Ukraine announced on June 13 that its short-range Sapsan ballistic missile would go into mass production, a major development in Kyiv's ongoing efforts to domestically produce the weapons it needs to fight Russia's full-scale invasion.
As Ukraine faces growing challenges in
securing weapons
from Western partners, and Russia continues launching
drone and missile strikes on civilians
, the development of Ukraine’s missile production is seen as a critical step toward strengthening its defense capabilities.
"The very emergence of domestic ballistic missiles is a bold political statement — a big, fat middle finger to the Kremlin’s claims that Ukraine must be
demilitarized
," Defense Expres…
Relations with Ukraine | NATO Topic
Relations with Ukraine | NATO Topic
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Updated: 26 June 2025
The security of Ukraine is of great importance to NATO and its member states. The Alliance fully supports Ukraine’s inherent right to self-defence, and its right to choose its own security arrangements. Ukraine’s future is in NATO. Relations between NATO and Ukraine date back to the early 1990s and have since developed into one of the most substantial of NATO’s partnerships. Since 2014, in the wake of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, cooperation has been intensified in critical areas. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, NATO and Allies have provided unprecedented levels of support.
NA…
Russia denies pressuring Belarus to widen Ukraine conflict - Japan Today
Russia denies pressuring Belarus to widen Ukraine conflict - Japan Today
Belarusian servicemen patrol along a road near Novaya Guta crossing station on a border with Ukraine, Gomel region, Belarus January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
Image:
Reuters/Evgenia Novozhenina
world
Russia denies pressuring Belarus to widen Ukraine conflict; Minsk blames West
June 26
05:30 am JST
June 26 | 01:35 pm JST
16
Comments
MOSCOW
Russia on Thursday denied exerting pressure on Belarus to support an expansion of the war in Ukraine, while Belarus said it was the West that was trying to drag it into the conflict.
The former Soviet state is strategically important to all sides, being closely allied to Moscow and sharing borders with Russia, Ukraine and three NATO states.
With Moscow's forces struggling to advance and Ukraine raining drones on targets far inside Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said repeatedly that he believes Moscow wants to get Belarus more involved on the Russian side.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Russia wanted to use Belarus as a springboard to step up attacks on Ukraine, and that Moscow was threatening to cut financial suppor…
Ukraine is trying to threaten Vladimir Putin into peace talks
Ukraine is trying to threaten Vladimir Putin into peace talks
TO A SLAVIC ear, 40 days is no accidental deadline. In Russia as in Ukraine, the 40th day after death is when the soul departs. So when Volodymyr Zelensky took to social media on June 25th to announce a new drone surge to “compel” Russia to negotiate for peace, he seemed to be telling Vladimir Putin he was already finished. With blunt messages like these, the Ukrainian president has lately been beating Mr Putin in the war of words.
The military balance is less clear-cut than the rhetoric. But Mr Zelensky’s threats are not idle. Ukraine is bombing refineries in Russia, forcing petrol rationing in over a dozen regions. Strikes on roads, bridges, railways and ferries into Crimea are starving the Russian-annexed peninsula, home to a massive military grouping, of the means to function. Ukraine’s mid-range drone operation has become the war’s defining trend this summer.
Read more of our recent coverage of the Ukraine war
Plans for a campaign attacking Russian logistics between 20km and 200km behind the front line have been in development since early 2025. But it came into being only in the second half of May, once Ukraine …
Can Ukraine regain all the land lost to Russia? Maps show huge scale of ...
Can Ukraine regain all the land lost to Russia? Maps show huge scale of ...
September 27, 2025
scradge1
Can Ukraine regain all the land lost to Russia? Maps show huge scale of task despite Trump’s call to ‘fight and win’
The US president has suggested Ukraine is in a position of strength as Russia is in ‘big economic trouble’. But experts tell
Alex Croft
that Kyiv will need support on the ground to reclaim occupied territory
Thursday 25 September 2025
Donald Trump has claimed that Ukraine could win back all of the land captured by Russia since the beginning of its invasion in February 2022, in a major shift in his position on the war.
The US president said in a
Truth Social post
that Kyiv’s military could win “all of Ukraine back in its original form”, adding that Putin and Russia are in “BIG economic trouble”.
Military experts say Ukraine could push Russia back towards the border as it stood in 2022, and force Vladimir Putin to seek a peace deal – but only in the presence of a strict, and unlikely, set of conditions.
The Independent
asked three experts with knowledge of
Russia’s military, its economy, and the front line in Ukraine
whether
Trump’s claim
could be realised.
Donald T…
When Putin Revealed His True Demands: A Day of Maximalist Claims ...
When Putin Revealed His True Demands: A Day of Maximalist Claims ...
Putin doubles down on total war aims during his annual press conference, Ukrainian drones hit Russian shadow fleet in the Mediterranean, and Zelensky meets European allies while US strikes Syria
The Story of a Single Day
December 19, 2025, marked the 1,395th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and it was a day when Vladimir Putin’s mask slipped completely. Standing before cameras during his annual Direct Line televised press conference, the Russian president didn’t just reaffirm his war aims—he revealed the absurdity of believing Russia would settle for anything less than total victory. Putin demanded Ukraine’s complete withdrawal from four oblasts he doesn’t even fully control, the replacement of Ukraine’s government with a Moscow puppet regime, and international recognition of Russian annexations. These weren’t negotiating positions. They were fantasies dressed as ultimatums.
While Putin spun tales of inevitable Russian victory and economic resilience, reality told different stories. Ukrainian forces maintained control of settlements Putin claimed Russia had seized. Ukrainian drones struck a Russian oil tanker…
Zelensky: Ukraine Finding Chinese, Pakistani, African Mercenaries ...
Zelensky: Ukraine Finding Chinese, Pakistani, African Mercenaries ...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed on Monday that his troops fighting in Kharkiv had faced not just Russian invading forces but mercenaries from a variety of Asian and African countries imported into the war theater.
Zelensky made the accusation during a visit to Kharkiv, prompting the government of Pakistan, which was named among the origin countries of the alleged mercenaries, to issue a statement calling the claim “baseless.” Islamabad’s Foreign Ministry nonetheless promised to investigate the claims to corroborate its denial.
The allegation that Russia is importing foreign nationals to fight in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine is not new; as early as a year into the conflict, in 2023, a Zambian national was confirmed killed on the battlefield fighting for Moscow. Zelensky’s claims on Monday dramatically expand the list of origin countries that these warriors are allegedly coming from, however, spanning multiple countries.
Only one foreign country, North Korea, has confirmed sending its armed forces to Russia to fight against Ukrainian forces. The communist regime signed a mutual defense treaty…
A Tale of Ukrainian War Fatigue—or Pro-Russia Sympathies?
A Tale of Ukrainian War Fatigue—or Pro-Russia Sympathies?
A Tale of Ukrainian War Fatigue—or Pro-Russia Sympathies?
A Ukrainian journalist’s story isn’t everything it seems. Here’s what the Free Press left out.
Cathy Young
Dec 16, 2024
58
4
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Ukrainian servicemen of 24th Brigade are seen with small arms during a training exercise in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on December 15, 2024 (Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
THE FATE OF AMERICAN AID FOR UKRAINE hangs in the balance: Will Donald Trump pressure the Ukrainians into accepting a bad peace? Although the president-elect has paid lip service to support for Ukraine, he frequently depicts its fight as a pointless sacrifice—so it’s reasonable to wonder whether he will attempt to force Ukraine to give up land—thereby rewarding Russian aggression—in exchange for security guarantees that may not last.
In this precarious situation, the question of how Ukraine is faring in the war, and whether its people want peace or victory, acquires a new urgency. Recent
polls show
that the share of Ukrainians who want to continue the war until Ukraine has liberated all of its occupied territory is dwindling, and perhaps even
falling be…
Ukraine is slowly but steadily weakening Russia's grip on Crimea
Ukraine is slowly but steadily weakening Russia's grip on Crimea
With international attention firmly fixed on the Russian army’s advances in eastern Ukraine and the Ukrainian invasion of Russia’s Kursk region, it is easy to overlook important developments taking place further south in Crimea. During 2024, Ukraine has achieved a number of strategic successes in and around the Russian-occupied peninsula that are worthy of closer attention and could shape the ultimate outcome of the war.
Since the beginning of the year, Ukraine has hit more than a dozen major targets in the peninsula that play important roles in the Russian military strategy in Crimea itself and in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine. This has included attacks on Russian air bases, radar stations, and communications points, along with the destruction of multiple Russian air defense systems.
In parallel to the depletion of Russia’s air power and communications infrastructure in Crimea, Ukraine has also conducted an innovative maritime offensive against the Russian Black Sea Fleet. While few initially gave Kyiv much chance in the war at sea, Ukraine has used a combination of marine drones and missiles to sink or disable …
Four Years Into Russia's Invasion, Western Experts See Putin's Aims ...
Four Years Into Russia's Invasion, Western Experts See Putin's Aims ...
Four Years Into Russia’s Invasion, Western Experts See Putin’s Aims Largely Unchanged, Prospects for Peace Dim
February 23, 2026
Jack Lennon
,
Angelina Flood
Four years ago, on Feb. 24, 2022, Russian tanks rolled across the Russia-Ukraine border as Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Experts including George Beebe of the Quincy Institute believe that at that time, Putin was aiming to demonstrate to NATO and the West what Russia’s role in the European security order “ought to look like,” while others, such as Angela Stent of the American Enterprise Institute believe that Putin’s goals included a regime change in Kyiv, with the subjugation of Ukraine. Four years in, multiple Western experts concur with Stent that Putin has not achieved that goal. According to Max Bergmann and Maria Snegovaya of CSIS, however, Putin still believes that Russia is winning the war of attrition—and that, eventually, “it can overpower and outlast Ukraine.” If this duo is correct in their assessment of Putin’s calculations, then that could explain why some of their fellow scholars believe Russi…
Russia Says It Seized 2 Villages in Central Ukraine - The Moscow Times
Russia Says It Seized 2 Villages in Central Ukraine - The Moscow Times
By
AFP
July 26, 2025
Ukraine Emergencies Ministry.
Russia on Saturday said it had captured two villages in Ukraine, including one in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, marking a fresh advance into an area largely spared seizures of land since Moscow's 2022 invasion.
Overnight strikes launched by both sides meanwhile claimed six lives — four in central Ukraine and two in western Russia, according to officials in both countries.
The Russian army said its forces had "liberated the settlement of Maliyevka" in Dnipropetrovsk, weeks after it seized the first village in the region — not one of the Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia.
In a separate message on Saturday, Moscow said it had "liberated the settlement of Zeleny Gai" in Donetsk region on the border with Dnipropetrovsk, adding that it was an important stronghold used by Ukraine to protect the region.
Supported by swarms of drones, Russia gains new settlements almost daily, but they are normally reduced to rubble and emptied of inhabitants after months of fighting.
The summer offensive comes despite a call from the United States to end the violence and peace t…
Putin Still Believes He'll Win in Ukraine. The People Closest to Him ...
Putin Still Believes He'll Win in Ukraine. The People Closest to Him ...
Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry of the Wisconsin National Guard launch a Tube-launched Optically-
tracked Wire-guided (TOW) anti-tank missile July 25, 2024, during training at a range at Fort McCoy, Wis. It’s not the
first time TOW missile training has been conducted on the installation by troops. In July 2022, Soldiers with the 1st
Squadron, 105th Cavalry Regiment also conducted similar training at Fort McCoy. The TOW missile is a wire guided
missile that is launched from a tube. The missile has a conventional layout with the warhead at the front, cruciform
wings in the middle, four control vanes and single-stage solid propellant rocket motor at the rear.
Summary and Key Points:
Vladimir Putin still tells his country that victory in Ukraine is coming. But the war has now lasted longer than World War II did for Russia, and the people best positioned to know — including one of Russia’s own top academics — have quietly reached the opposite conclusion: this war cannot be won, not without an occupation that is simply impossible.
The Ukraine War and a Look to History
U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Ian Wo…
Russia in Review, Dec. 13-20, 2024
Russia in Review, Dec. 13-20, 2024
Russia in Review, Dec. 13-20, 2024
7 Things to Know
“I would like to emphasize from the very beginning that the outgoing year has been crucial in achieving the goals of the special military operation,”
Vladimir Putin
told an expanded annual meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry Board on Dec. 16.
He then
claimed
during his annual call-in show on Dec. 19 that Russian forces were moving toward achieving their
“priority goals.”
Russia is yet to establish full control over the four Ukrainian regions it has annexed since the beginning of its re-invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,
1
but Vladimir Putin is already seeking to shape the narrative so that he can present his gains in Ukraine as a victory next year, while his planning horizon for the five Ukrainian regions Russia has already claimed as its own stretch as far as
2030.
*
“He [Zelenskyy] should be prepared to make a deal. That's all,”
Donald Trump
asserted on Dec. 16 at his first post-election victory press conference. Trump is already planning to send his special envoy for the Ukraine war Keith Kellogg to Kyiv, along with London, Paris and Rome after his inauguration, and Kellogg, a retired …
How Ukraine has turned the tide on Putin - Daily Mail
How Ukraine has turned the tide on Putin - Daily Mail
ByELIANA SILVER, SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER
Published:19:37 EDT, 3 June 2026|Updated:02:55 EDT, 4 June 2026
505
Viewcomments
Ukraine's increasingly effective long-range drone campaign is piling pressure onVladimir Putin, striking at the heart of Russia's oil industry, embarrassing the Kremlin on the world stage and compounding a growing list of military and economic setbacks.
The latest blowcame on Wednesday when Ukraine staged a massive attack on a major oil port in St Petersburg just hours before the opening of Putin's flagship international investment summit.
The oil terminal on the Gulf ofFinlandis one of Russia's largest fuel storage and export facilities, handling 12.5 million tonnes of fuel annually.
The strike occurred shortly before the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, known as 'Russia's Davos', where Putin seeks to project economic strength and international relevance despite Western sanctions and the war in Ukraine.
The attack made a mockery of the forum's theme, 'Pragmatic dialogue - the path to a stable future', while also exposing glaring weaknesses in Russian air defences.
The facility is lo…
Zelensky threatened Belarus – then declared victory out of thin air - RT
Zelensky threatened Belarus – then declared victory out of thin air - RT
BySergey Poletaev, information analyst and publicist, co-founder and editor of the Vatfor project.
BySergey Poletaev, information analyst and publicist, co-founder and editor of the Vatfor project.
On June 19, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky issued an ultimatum to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, demanding the removal of drone relay stations allegedly located on Belarusian territory and being used to guide Russian drone attacks on Ukraine.
On June 24, Zelensky stated that Lukashenko had complied with his ultimatum and the relay stations were no longer operational. Lukashenko did not comment, and no evidence of either the existence or removal of these stations was provided. We are supposed to take Zelensky at his word.
Below, we examine what the story was all about, why Kiev resorted to such rhetorical escalation, and why it ended the way it did.
While Russia is Ukraine’s eastern and northeastern neighbor, Belarus lies directly to the north of Ukraine. From Belarus, the western regions of Ukraine and the Ukraine-Poland border are accessible via the shortest possible route. And the straight-line dist…
Zelensky's Troubles Are About to Worsen
Zelensky's Troubles Are About to Worsen
Image Credit: Presidential Office of Ukraine
Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky’sexclusionfrom the high-stakes Alaska Summit between the United States and Russia is the least of the Ukrainian President’s problems. Last month, a power grab by Zelensky prompted tens of thousandsto take to the streets across Ukraine.The protesters did not just object to his gutting the independence of the country’s key anti-corruption agencies, but also denounced Zelensky’s undermining of Ukrainian democracy and slide toward authoritarian rule. Unfazed by charges of creeping “autocracy”, Zelensky signed into law a measure that he’d rushed through a parliament dominated by his own political party—and only reversed course whenEU officials who control his purse stringsdemanded it.
Rather than a grave crisis, many of Zelensky’s Western backers downplay the incident and even regard it asproof of his democratic instincts: that once his people spoke, he responded. It does not occur to them that this is the democracy of a banana republic, where the boss ignores civil society and rams self-interested laws through a compliant legislature and only backs down if compelled. T…
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kremlin responds after Moscow car bomb …
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kremlin responds after Moscow car bomb …
Russian ammunition chief killed in Moscow car bomb attack
The Kremlin has responded after a car bomb in Moscow reportedly killed a Russian general.
Damir Davydov, the head of the Russian defence ministry’s missile and artillery wing, was reportedly killed in a car explosion in Balashikha at 5.30 am on Tuesday. Russian investigators have not yet named the victim of the bombing but opened an investigation into the attack.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there had been an explosion but that the details could not be disclosed while an investigation was ongoing.
"An explosion took place, but the details, as you understand, are not subject to disclosure in connection with the investigation that is underway," Peskov said. "Of course, this is a matter for our special services."
Ukraine
has not issued a comment on his death so far, though
Kyiv
has claimed responsibility for several attacks on Russian generals since the start of
Vladimir Putin
’s war.
Another car bombing took place in southwestern Moscow, attempting to target an employee of a scientific production enterprise.
Investigators arrested two suspects, r…
Ukraine War: 4 Years On - Russia's Goals, Frontline Changes & Zelensky ...
Ukraine War: 4 Years On - Russia's Goals, Frontline Changes & Zelensky ...
Four Years of Conflict: Russia Admits Unmet Objectives as War in Ukraine Continues
As Ukraine marks four years since the full-scale invasion launched by Russia on February 24, 2022, the Kremlin has acknowledged that its initial goals have not been achieved. This admission, coupled with continued fighting and a shifting battlefield, underscores the protracted nature of the conflict and the challenges facing both sides. The war, which began with Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and escalated significantly in 2022, has resulted in a devastating humanitarian crisis, geopolitical upheaval, and a reshaping of the European security landscape. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated his nation remains unbroken despite the ongoing aggression, a sentiment echoed in commemorations across the country.
The initial Russian objectives, widely believed to include the swift overthrow of the Ukrainian government and the installation of a pro-Moscow regime, have demonstrably failed. Even as Russia has made territorial gains, particularly in eastern and southern Ukraine, these have been met with fier…
Putin Is Not Trapped: Why Regime Survival Does Not Depend on Victory
Putin Is Not Trapped: Why Regime Survival Does Not Depend on Victory
Join War on the Rocks and gain access to content trusted by policymakers, military leaders, and strategic thinkers worldwide.
For four years, analysts and policymakers have warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot afford to lose” in Ukraine. Increasingly, some argue hecannot afford peaceeither. In this view, the war isexistentialfor his regime. Defeat would shatter Putin’s legacy and potentially end hisrule.Trappedbetween humiliation and collapse, invitingcomparisonsto the fate of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, Putin is portrayed as having no viable off-ramp from an unwinnable war.
These assumptions were central to Biden-era debates over escalation management. The Biden administration had concerns that excessive pressure might destabilize the regime, thus triggeringescalation, and often tempered proposals to provide capabilities that could enable Kyiv to expel Russian forces.
The logic of “pressure, but not too much pressure” — degrading Russia’s war effort without cornering a nuclear-armed regime — has persisted in Washington’s diplomatic approach. President Donald Trump’s first special envoy…
Putin, in military fatigues, orders swift defeat of Ukrainian forces in ...
Putin, in military fatigues, orders swift defeat of Ukrainian forces in ...
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Putin, in military fatigues, orders swift defeat of Ukrainian forces in Kursk
Russian operation to expel Ukrainian forces in final stage, claims Kremlin, following visit to region by President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin speaks in a televised address.
Thu, 13 Mar, 2025 - 07:35
Reuters Staff
Russian president
Vladimir Putin
, dressed in military fatigues, ordered top commanders to defeat Ukrainian forces in the western region of Kursk as soon as possible after the United States asked him to consider a 30-day ceasefire proposal.
Ukrainian forces smashed across the Russian border on August 6 and grabbed a slice of land inside Russia in a bid to distract Moscow's forces from the front lines in eastern Ukraine and to gain a potential bargaining chip.
But a lightning Russian advance over the past few days has left Ukraine with a sliver of less than 200 square km (77 square miles) in Kursk, down from 1,300 square km (500 square miles) at the peak of the incursion last summer, according to the Russian military.
"Our task in the near future, in the shortest possible timeframe, is to dec…
Three years of the special military operation: why Russia launched the ...
Three years of the special military operation: why Russia launched the ...
Today, 24 February 2025, marks three years since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine. The decision to launch it was explained by Russian President Vladimir Putin as necessary to protect the national interests of the Russian Federation and ensure the country’s security in the face of growing external threats. The main reasons and goals of the operation were outlined by the head of state in his address to the citizens of Russia on 24 February 2022.
“The people’s republics of Donbas appealed to Russia for help. In this regard, in accordance with Article 51, Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, with the sanction of the Federation Council of Russia and in execution of the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic ratified by the Federal Assembly on 22 February of this year, I have made the decision to conduct a special military operation,” the president stated at the time.
One of the key reasons for the start of the operation was the escalation of the situation in Donbas. Since 2014, residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s…
War Without End: Russia's Shadow Warfare - CEPA
War Without End: Russia's Shadow Warfare - CEPA
Sam Greene
Severed cables. Disrupted aviation. Arson. Sabotage. Assassination. Infiltration. Attacks designed to distract, to confuse, and to dismay an adversary – but not to provoke a response. Such is shadow warfare, causing damage and costing lives but operating below the traditional threshold of war.
Even as Ukraine continues to suffer under wave after wave of bombardment and an ever deepening occupation of its eastern and southern territory, Europe as a whole is under a sustained assault of a different kind. Earlier this year, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) launched a major new project—Defend, Deny, Deter: Countering Russia’s Shadow Warfare—to help lay the groundwork for a new transatlantic approach to deterrence.
In the first phase of this project, CEPA Senior Non-Resident Fellows Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan explore the who, what, why and how of Russian shadow warfare, uncovering the nature of the forces Russia brings to bear, their governance structures and, critically, the implicit doctrine that shapes strategic and tactical decision-making. Their analysis shows that shadow warfare is not merely an op…
Russia is advancing at its fastest pace since November 2024 - NYT
Russia is advancing at its fastest pace since November 2024 - NYT
Russia is advancing at its fastest pace since November 2024 – NYT
Kyiv
•
UNN
May 29 2025, 05:57 PM
•
5017
views
Despite claims of readiness for negotiations, Russia is actively attacking and shelling Ukrainian cities. The fastest pace of the
occupiers' advance since November 2024 has been recorded in the Donetsk region.
Against the background of peace negotiations, Russia is increasing its offensive on the fronts and launching massive strikes on Ukrainian cities. Russia is advancing at the fastest pace since November 2024 this month. Most of the newly captured territories are in the Donetsk region, where Russian troops managed to break through the defense between Pokrovsk and Toretsk. This is reported by
UNN
with reference to the NewYork Times.
According to the publication, Russia seems to have launched a new summer offensive in Ukraine. Despite the fact that Russian officials declare their readiness for direct peace talks with Kyiv, the Russian army is actively attacking on the front and shelling Ukrainian cities.
After months of gradual advancement, this year Russian troops are moving faster than ever since the be…
Vladimir Putin ally threatens to nuke 2 major cities near Ireland
Vladimir Putin ally threatens to nuke 2 major cities near Ireland
Vladimir Putin ally threatens to drop nuclear bomb on two major cities near Ireland
Sergei Karaganov, 73, dubbed Professor Doomsday, has urged the Russian President to deploy nuclear weapons across Europe
Comments
News
Will Stewart
Russia Correspondent
,
Steven White
and
Andrew E Quinn
Audience Editor
08:23, 25 Sep 2025
View 3 Images
Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
(Image: Getty)
Vladimir Putin
has been urged to commit what has been described as a "terrible sin" by deploying
nuclear weapons
across Europe and bomb two major cities that are very close to Ireland.
These shocking suggestions were made by Sergei Karaganov, 73, also known as
Professor Doomsday
, who is the honorary chairman of the Russian Council for Foreign and Defence Policy. He argued that the use of tactical atomic weapons is the only way to prevent a wider conflict between the US and Russia.
Karaganov joins an increasing number of
Putin
supporters and
Kremlin
voices advocating for nuclear escalation in the Ukraine conflict and confrontation with NATO. These comments come after what seems to be a change in stance from US President
Donald Trump
…
Kremlin demands Kyiv to leave Donbas 'today' and accept Russia's ...
Kremlin demands Kyiv to leave Donbas 'today' and accept Russia's ...
Author:
Alex Stezhensky
Ukraine should decide immediately to withdraw its troops
from Donbas, Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, said
on April 1, according to the propaganda news agency TASS.
Peskov said, in language typical of Russian propaganda, that
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should decide “today” to pull Ukraine’s
Armed Forces out of Donbas and that he supposedly should have made that
decision “yesterday.”
The Kremlin claimed that a withdrawal of Ukraine’s Armed
Forces from Donbas “would make it possible to stop the active phase of the
conflict and save many lives.”
Ad
The Institute for the Study of War, or ISW, has reported
that the offensive by Russian occupation forces has slowed because Ukraine’s
Defense Forces have long repelled Russian attacks across multiple sectors of
the front.
Read also:
Zelenskyy: Russia gives Ukraine two months to cede Donbas
ISW said the Kremlin is trying to create a false sense of
urgency in an effort to force Ukraine to surrender the unoccupied part of
Donetsk Oblast that Russian forces have failed to seize.
A day earlier, Zelenskyy said …
Zelenskyy: Ukrainian long-range strike hits Russia's Dubna Space ...
Zelenskyy: Ukrainian long-range strike hits Russia's Dubna Space ...
USD 1.7
Baku23 °C
"Today, our long-range sanctions against Russia for this war once again reached the Dubna space communications center in the Moscow region. This is a special satellite communications facility used, in particular, for reconnaissance and for coordinating the activity of Russia’s occupation contingent in Ukraine," said Voldymyr Zelenskyy said on his X account,APAreports.
The Ukrainian President stated that the distance from state border to this facility is more than 500 kilometers.
Note that this is the second attack on the Dubna Space Communications Center within the past month. On June 22, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also announced that the facility had been struck.
Iran FM: No separate meeting with the US planned in Doha, discussions will focus on memorandum
Final communiqué signed following First Meeting of OTS religious affairs chiefs in Shusha -PHOTO
Rutte: Claims that the US is distancing itself from NATO are not true
Samvel Karapetyan claims Armenian opposition has "secret plan" to remove Pashinyan from power
Germany and the Netherlands take command on NATO's e…
The Risks to Germany and Europe of a Prolonged War in Ukraine
The Risks to Germany and Europe of a Prolonged War in Ukraine
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky are seen during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, on June 11, 2024. (via Reuters)
Executive Summary
Future U.S. policy vis-à-vis Ukraine must carefully weigh how best to preserve the accomplishments of the post–World War II “peace order” in Europe — the survival of which will be essential to regional security after the Ukraine War ends.
The democratic stability and prosperity of the major states of Western and Central Europe have long been understood as a vital interest for the United States.
U.S. policy in support of Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s full-scale invasion has inflicted a disproportionate risk of escalation on Europe, which has also borne a disproportionate economic impact. Allowing Europe to become collateral damage in an effort to defeat Russia is strategically unsound.
In Germany and elsewhere in Europe, the second-order consequences of the war in Ukraine have destabilized politics. A policy that aimed to roll back global autocracy has ironically promoted the electoral appeal of an ascendent populist-right across Europ…
Russia doubles down on claim of Ukrainian attack on Putin ... - CNN
Russia doubles down on claim of Ukrainian attack on Putin ... - CNN
Satellite imagery from August 2023 shows Vladimir Putin's residential complex in Roshchino, Novgorod region.
2025 Planet Labs PBC/Reuters/File
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Russia has repeated claims that Ukraine launched a massive drone attack on Monday targeting one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences, with the military offering new comments on the alleged attack.
The Russian defense ministry also published video of a soldier standing over some drone wreckage.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the alleged drone attack as “a complete fabrication” by Russia.
Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi similarly told Reuters that the footage released by Moscow was “laughable” and that Kyiv was “absolutely confident that no such attack took place.”
US President Donald Trump said Putin told him of the alleged attack in a phone call early Monday. Trump indicated that he took Putin at his word before acknowledging that the attack may not have occurred.
On Wednesday, Trump
reposted on Truth Social
a piece …
Russia Alleges UK and France Planning to Supply Ukraine with Nuclear or ...
Russia Alleges UK and France Planning to Supply Ukraine with Nuclear or ...
Share:
Moscow, February 24, 2026
:
Russia’s
Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR)
has accused the
United Kingdom
and
France
of actively exploring options to provide
Ukraine
with a nuclear weapon or a radiological dispersal device, according to an official statement released through
TASS
on Tuesday. The announcement coincided with the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In its statement, the
SVR press bureau
said British and French political leadership circles are unwilling to accept what it described as an unfavorable outcome in the conflict and believe Ukraine requires a “
wunderwaffe
,” or decisive strategic weapon. The intelligence service assessed that possession of a nuclear device, or alternatively a so-called “
dirty bomb
,” could enable Kyiv to negotiate more favorable conditions in any future settlement of hostilities.
The
SVR
claimed that London and Paris are discussing both the provision of such weapons and potential delivery mechanisms. According to the Russian agency, this would involve the covert transfer of European nuclear-related equipment, components and technologi…
Ukraine Fact Sheet, February 21, 2025 | ISW
Ukraine Fact Sheet, February 21, 2025 | ISW
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Ukraine Fact Sheet, February 21, 2025
Ukraine Fact Sheet
February 21, 2025
Download the Ukraine Fact Sheet
Zelensky does not imminently risk losing all of Ukraine.
Russian forces currently occupy around 20 percent of Ukraine, leaving the remaining 80 percent of the country under Ukraine’s sovereign control.
At the current rate of advance, it would take Russian forces over 83 years to capture the remaining 80 percent of Ukraine, assuming that they can sustain massive personnel losses indefinitely.
Russia’s rate of advance on the frontline has slowed significantly over the past three months.[1]
Russian forces are making small territorial gains at the cost of massive personnel losses.[2]
Russian forces advanced at an average rate of 27.94 square kilometers per day in November 2024, 18.1 square kilometers per day in December 2024, and 16.1 square kilometers per day in January 2025.
[3]
Most Ukrainian cities have not been destroyed.
Many of Ukraine’s largest cities, including Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa, have avoided destruction and continue to function. Russia has leveled some Ukrainian cities as it has attacked and occupied …
Russia in Review, Jan. 19-26, 2024
Russia in Review, Jan. 19-26, 2024
Russia in Review, Jan. 19-26, 2024
4 Things to Know
In spite of President Joe Biden’s
dire predictions
that if Congress fails to authorize additional military aid for Ukraine, Russia could win in weeks, the probability of such authorization has become even lower this week as Donald Trump pressed GOP Congressmen negotiating a deal tying funding for Kyiv with stricter controls on immigration to
kill
it
.
Trump—whom
half of Senate Republicans
now officially back for president—publicly riled against the deal, which some Republicans have
argued
could hurt Trump’s reelection chances by removing a potent campaign issue, in a post on Jan. 25.
In the past month, Russian forces have gained 70 square miles of Ukrainian territory, while Ukrainian forces have re-gained just 1 square mile
, according to the Jan. 23, 2024, issue of
the Russia-Ukraine War Report Card
. On Jan. 20, Russian forces advanced along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line in eastern Ukraine, capturing the village of
Krokhmal'ne
, according to
ISW
. Four days later, Russian forces
reportedly
entered the eastern town of
Avdiivka
for the first time, though the Ukrainian units subsequently the…
Ukraine war latest: Putin calls for Crimea fuel subsidies as Ukraine once again hammers shadow fleet
Ukraine war latest: Putin calls for Crimea fuel subsidies as Ukraine once again hammers shadow fleet
Key developments on July 9:
* Putin calls for Crimea fuel subsidies as Ukraine once again hammers shadow fleet
* 'No evidence' of Kyiv's involvement in Nord Stream sabotage, Ukrainian prosecutors say
* Sham Russian court sentences Ukrainian marine commanders to life imprisonment for Mariupol defense
* Russian attacks kill at least 12, injure 100 across Ukraine as NATO allies pledge new defense aid
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on his government to provide subsidies for people
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Crucial Zelensky-Trump talks expected at ...
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Crucial Zelensky-Trump talks expected at ...
Zelensky says Kyiv urgently needs Patriot interceptor missiles after massive Russian attack
Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelensky
is to meet with President Donald Trump at the Nato summit this week as he hopes to press the allaince for interceptors after
Ukraine
was unable to down any of the missiles fired by
Russia
on Monday.
Patriot missiles are the only weapon that can shoot down ballistic projectiles.
He said it was "simply nonsensical that, in the modern world, production has still not been scaled up to the level actually required to protect people from ballistic terror".
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia fired 351 drones and 68 missiles overnight into Monday, targeting mainly
Kyiv
, and all 29 ballistic missiles struck their targets.
“Russians are certainly using the fact that there is a serious deficit of interceptor missiles now, in Ukraine and the world,” said Ukraine Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat.
Ukraine’s defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov also warned that Russia is deliberately ramping up ballistic missile attacks on a scale unseen before, exploiting the acute shortage of Patriot interceptors…
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 14, 2026 | ISW
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 14, 2026 | ISW
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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 14, 2026
Toplines
Russian advances slowed in late December 2025 and early January 2026, likely due to less advantageous winter weather conditions and the end of efforts to meet arbitrary deadlines at the end of the year.
ISW observed evidence indicating that Russian forces increased their presence (either through infiltration missions or assaults) in 276.44 square kilometers of Ukraine between December 1 and 17; 89.05 square kilometers between December 17 and 31; and 73.82 square kilometers between December 31 and January 13. The 7-day moving average of Russian gains in late 2025 peaked on December 1 and 2 and then steadily declined through the end of the year. Russian forces were able to take advantage of poor weather conditions in Fall and early Winter 2025 that hindered Ukrainian drone operations to make relatively faster advances.[1] ISW previously noted, however, that these advantageous weather conditions were not permanent.[2] Russian forces are likely struggling to maintain this faster rate of advance as colder temperatures have set in, complicating Rus…
Russia issues chilling 'nuclear' threat as Putin suffers war setbacks ...
Russia issues chilling 'nuclear' threat as Putin suffers war setbacks ...
A Russian military expert said Moscow should start using tactical nuclear weapons
(Image: East 2 West News)
A panicked Russia has issued alarming nuclear threats as the U.S. warns Russian leader Vladimir Putin that he faces a "strategic disaster" in the ongoing conflict. The warnings from Moscow coincide with NATO launching major Ramstein Flag 2026 military exercises in a significant display of force.
U.S. representative at the U.N. Security Council, Dan Negrea, cautioned that the Kremlin was on the brink of failure, stating,
"Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a strategic disaster
. Its oil refineries are ablaze, and
Russia
is losing 5,000 people per month.
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"Moscow cannot achieve its goals on the battlefield. Escalation will not change that and only risks making the disaster worse. This war must end now. Enough is enough." It comes after
Trump was dealt a huge blow by all TV networks as they refused to listen to his order.
Trump tells Netanyahu chilling 3-word message in tense Iran warning
Woman, 27, gang raped, disemboweled and forced to carry her intestines in ha…
Hybrid War Goes Orbital: Russia's Threats Against SpaceX and the United ...
Hybrid War Goes Orbital: Russia's Threats Against SpaceX and the United ...
Posted in
Conflict
Propaganda and Disinformation
Psyops
Warfare
February 6, 2026
In early February 2026, SpaceX, in cooperation with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, introduced a
“whitelisting” system
for Starlink terminals. This move was a response to Russia’s large-scale use of unauthorized Starlink terminals along the front line, including their installation on Shahed-type attack drones. As a result, by February 5, 2026, Russian military bloggers and servicemen began reporting a “catastrophe”: Starlink terminals used by Russian units were being massively отключed along the entire front line.
This led to the collapse of command-and-control systems for Russian occupation forces in several sectors, particularly around Kupiansk, as
Russian units had become critically dependent on this communication infrastructure for coordinating assaults and UAV operations
. Elon Musk publicly confirmed the effectiveness of these measures, urging users in Ukraine to complete verification.
Realizing that Russia has no domestic alternative and lacks the technical capacity to break SpaceX’s protection systems,
Kremlin propa…
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 27, 2026 | ISW
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 27, 2026 | ISW
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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 27, 2026
Toplines
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) issued a response to concerns about its ongoing issues with Russia’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) recruitment drive, which has reportedly attempted to fill recruitment quotas using Russian university students.
The Russian MoD held a joint meeting with the Russian Ministry of Science, Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and heads of Russian universities and educational associations on April 27 on the “principles and conditions” for recruiting Russian students to the USF and rejected reports that Russian universities have been expelling students en masse in order to then coerce the students into signing USF contracts with the MoD.[1] Russian Deputy Defense Minister and MoD Main Military-Political Directorate Head Army General Viktor Goremykin claimed during the meeting that Russian military service contracts with the MoD are for terms of one to three years at the choice of the signer, and that all Russian students who sign contracts with the USF do so for one-year terms.[2] Goremykin claimed that Russia …
Russia in Review, May 22–29, 2026
Russia in Review, May 22–29, 2026
Russia in Review, May 22–29, 2026
4 Things to Know
Ukraine’s war has entered a new phase in which “the frontline is stabilizing, Europe is delivering cash and the country is carving out a role as a defense power,” with drone‑led forces stymieing Russia
, according to
The Economist
.
This May 26 assessment is echoed by a May 28
FT
report, which asserts that “Ukraine is turning the tables.” In particular, the mass production of UAVs—at a scale and speed hard to imagine just a year ago—allows Kyiv to wage the long-range drone war and maintain a shorter-range “kill zone” along the front line, according to
FT
. In an evening address this month, Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought to capture the sense that the war is shifting. “Our long-range capabilities are significantly changing the situation and, more broadly, the world’s perception of Russia’s war,” he said, according to FT.
He then went on to assert: “Many partners are now signaling that they see what is happening and how everything has changed—both in attitudes towards this war and in the reachability of Russian targets on Russian territory.” Yet, according to The Economist, the Ukrainian rear is “hollowe…
Ukraine cannot defeat Russia - the best the west can do is help Kyiv ...
Ukraine cannot defeat Russia - the best the west can do is help Kyiv ...
How will a shattered Ukraine rebuild and stay safe?
AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
A friend of mine, usually an intensely optimistic pro-Ukraine analyst, returned from Ukraine last week and told me: “It’s like the German Army in January 1945.” The Ukrainians are being driven back on all fronts – including in the
Kursk province of Russia
, which they had opened with much hope and fanfare in August. More importantly, they are
running out of soldiers
.
For most of 2024, Ukraine has been losing ground. This week, the town of Selidove in the western Donetsk region
is being surrounded
and, like
Vuhledar earlier this month
, is likely to fall in the next week or so – the only variable being how many Ukrainians will be lost in the process. Over the winter, the terrible prospect of a major battle to hold
the strategically
significant
industrial
town of Pokrovsk beckons.
Ukrainian forces are steadily losing ground close to the strategically vital town of Pokrovsk, western Donetsk region.
Institute for the Study of War
Ultimately, this is not a war of territory but of
attrition
. The only resource that counts is soldiers – and…
The Russian Air War and Ukrainian Requirements for Air Defence - RUSI
The Russian Air War and Ukrainian Requirements for Air Defence - RUSI
pdf
Read Full Report
(PDF 7MB)
A Russian fighter jet flies above a railway junction on fire following recent shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the town of Shakhtarsk (Shakhtyorsk) near Donetsk, October 2022. Courtesy of Reuters / Alamy Stock Photo
Further Western support is needed to ensure that Kyiv can counter Moscow's updated approach to the air war in Ukraine.
Executive Summary
Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) conducted significantly more extensive fixed-wing strike operations during the first days of the invasion than has been previously documented, while Ukrainian ground-based air-defence (GBAD) capabilities were suppressed by initial attacks.
During this period, Ukrainian fighter aircraft inflicted some losses on VKS aircraft but also took serious casualties due to being totally technologically outmatched and badly outnumbered.
Russian fighters have remained highly effective and lethal against Ukrainian aircraft near the frontlines throughout the war, especially the Su-35S with the R-77-1 long-range missile and, in recent months, the Mig-31BM with the R-37 very long-range missile.
From ea…
Ukraine conflict on July 3rd: The final, brutal days in Konstantinovka
Ukraine conflict on July 3rd: The final, brutal days in Konstantinovka
Russian soldiers fighting inUkraine(Photo: AFP).
Russialaunches massive attack on Kyiv.
According to Military Summary, the Russian Armed Forces (RFAF) launched one of their largest attacks on Kyiv since 2022. 496 drones and 74 missiles rained down on the Ukrainian capital overnight. The Nova Poshta railway station in Obolon was completely destroyed, oil storage facilities caught fire, andmilitaryinfrastructure suffered extensive damage.
During this attack, Moscow deployed jet-powered UAVs and reportedly used Belarusian relay stations. A total of approximately 54 missiles are believed to have hit their intended targets.
Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, was subjected to a massive missile and drone attack by Russia on the night of July 1st and early morning of July 2nd, causing intense fires and explosions (Video: Telegram).
Ukraine retaliated by attacking the Kstovo oil refinery with 350 drones.
On the ground, the Ukrainian Army's (AFU) counteroffensive near Liman was repelled, and Russian forces made new advances in Druzhkivka and Kupyansk.
On the night of July 1-2, the Russian military launched a massive airstri…
Zelensky issues stark warning Russia will pull Belarus back into ...
Zelensky issues stark warning Russia will pull Belarus back into ...
Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky
has issued a stark warning, saying that Kyiv believes
Russia
is preparing to once again draw its ally
Belarus
into
the ongoing conflict
.
Citing an intelligence report from
Ukraine
's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Mr Zelensky revealed concerns over "road construction in areas leading to Ukraine and the establishment of artillery positions... in the Belarusian border area".
He added: "We believe that Russia will once again try to involve Belarus in its war."
In response, Ukraine has reportedly issued instructions to warn the Belarusian leadership of "Ukraine's readiness to defend its land and independence".
Mr Zelensky also suggested that intelligence indicates Russia is "attempting ... to carry out a regrouping of forces – most likely to compensate for a shortage of personnel", which he believes explains the increased military activity within Belarus.
He did not provide further evidence.
Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko signs a document in Pyongyang, North Korea
(
AP
)
Belarus, led by
Alexander Lukashenko
, a close ally of Russian leader
Vladimir Putin
, allowed it…
Ukraine races to build its own missile shield as Patriot supplies run short
Ukraine races to build its own missile shield as Patriot supplies run short
KYIV — Ukraine wants to produce a homegrown missile defense system as supplies of the U.S.-made interceptors it relies on to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles grow tighter.
"I believe Europe should be able to produce everything it needs to defend against everything — all the ballistic attacks and all other weapons — on its own," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
told fellow leaders
during a summit of the European Political Community in Armenia Monday.
Last month, Zelenskyy set a goal for a Ukrainian anti-ballistic system "within a year” — but reaching that target won't be easy.
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The effort reflects a broader push by Kyiv and its European allies to reduce dependence on American weapons as Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy exposes the risks of relying too heavily on Washington.
The American and Israeli attack on Iran has caused a growing deficit of the U.S.-made PAC-3 interceptor missiles, used in Washington’s Patriot missile defense system and fired by U.S. forces and American allies in Gulf. They are desperately needed by Ukraine, as they have proven to be most effective against R…
What Would Security Guarantees in Ukraine Look Like? - CSIS
What Would Security Guarantees in Ukraine Look Like? - CSIS
Photo: magr80/Adobe Stock
Critical Questions
byBenjamin Jensen
Published August 20, 2025
In the August 18 meeting between European leaders, Ukraine, and the United States, multiple officials stressed the importance ofsecurity guaranteesfor Ukraine that were Article V–like. These guarantees, especially in the absence of a ceasefire to support negotiations, would need to include foreign troops and monitors on the ground in Ukraine. This dramatic shift in the conflict begs the question: What will this multinational peacekeeping force look like?
Q1: How big should the ground forces be?
A1:Large. In previous research,CSIS Futures Labused the size of past missions to approximate the required size of an international force capable of successfully securing peace in Ukraine. Using past missions and troop density estimates (number of soldiers per square kilometer), the smallest the force could be is around 6,000 military and civilian personnel, constituting a ceasefire monitoring mission—a UN stable.
The more realistic number to ensure sufficient ground forces capable of implementing a true defense-in-dep…
Putin Says Ukrainian Drone Strikes Aim To Divide Russians in Russia Day ...
Putin Says Ukrainian Drone Strikes Aim To Divide Russians in Russia Day ...
By
AFP
June 12, 2026
Vyacheslav Prokofiev / Pool / AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Ukraine's increasing drone strikes on Russia aimed to “sow confusion” and damage the country's economy.
Ukraine has hit ever deeper into Russia in recent months, regularly hitting oil refineries and export hubs.
“Their goal is to create a split in Russian society, sow confusion and inflict economic damage,” Putin told Russian soldiers in a Kremlin meeting.
“But they will not succeed,” he added.
The comments came hours after Kyiv said it hit a major oil refinery over 1,000 kilometres (around 620 miles) from the front line.
Putin admitted that Ukrainian strikes had caused “economic damage” but claimed that “everything was quickly restored.”
It has been difficult to assess just how damaging the strikes on Russian energy infrastructure have been.
Ukraine has called the strikes fair retaliation for the daily barrage of drones and missiles that Russia sends towards Ukrainian towns and cities.
Putin said Moscow needed to improve its air defenses, in the second such call this month.
The Russian leader compared …
Anton Muraveynyk about the frontline in 2026, systemic issues within the ...
Anton Muraveynyk about the frontline in 2026, systemic issues within the ...
Office phone number
Email
Our social media
Anton Muraveynyk, Head of Analytics at the CBA Initiatives Center, recently appeared as a guest on theRemovska Interviewproject for the"Suspilne News"YouTube channel.
The discussion centered on systemic challenges within the management of the Defense Forces, the prospects of U.S.-led negotiations, and the digital isolation of the Russian Federation.
A condensed version of the conversation is provided below.
At “Come Back Alive,” we have a tradition: at the end of each year, we create a calendar based on our findings.This time, we produced two versions. One was intended for widespread distribution — a limited-edition version featuring several dates on a metal plaque. Those were the dates people believed the war would end. But it didn’t.
We distribute these plaques to key partners in Ukraine and abroad. We want to show: look, you can count on anything, but that won’t stop the war. And the way the so-called negotiation process unfolded over the past 25 years has only highlighted this once again.
“Come Back Alive” will soon mark its 12th anniversary. We have …
Russia Analytical Report, Dec. 22, 2025–Jan. 5, 2026
Russia Analytical Report, Dec. 22, 2025–Jan. 5, 2026
Russia Analytical Report, Dec. 22, 2025–Jan. 5, 2026
6 Ideas to Explore
Pro-Kremlin Russian analysts
surveyed by Kommersant see the U.S. raid in Venezuela as the Monroe Doctrine in action
.
These analysts expect neither Moscow nor Beijing to risk a direct clash, framing Venezuela as secondary to battles in Ukraine and as proof that spheres of influence are back
.
Russian pro‑war bloggers and veterans
, whose posts have been surveyed by Meduza, condemn the raid as a violation of sovereignty but also say it should be studied
closely—some giving credit to U.S. operation planning and execution.
While the Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that it is
alarmed
by the raid and
called for the release
of Maduro, Vladimir Putin has remained mum as of 3 p.m. EST on Jan. 5, even as
heads
of other states, such as France's Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany have weighed in.
FP columnist
Michael Hirsh
argues that by invading Venezuela, seizing Nicolás Maduro and vowing to “run the country” without U.N. or congressional authorization, Donald Trump “may well have shredded what little is left of international norms and opene…
Russia's Ukraine War Lasting Longer Than Its WWII Fight Shatters Its ...
Russia's Ukraine War Lasting Longer Than Its WWII Fight Shatters Its ...
By
Elena Davlikanova
Jan. 12, 2026
Sergei Bobok / AFP
Jan. 11 marked a new milestone for the war in Ukraine: 1,418 days. That is how long the Soviet army fought against Germany from June 22, 1941, until Victory Day on May 9, 1945.
To separate this victory from its own complicity in the Nazi rampage across Europe in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, Soviet — and later Russian — historiographers introduced the concept of the Great Patriotic War, focusing on Moscow’s actions after Operation Barbarossa.
Since the early 2000s, Kremlin propagandists have been equating Ukrainian democratic forces with nationalists and Nazis, while employing practices —
mass deportations
,
cultural erasure
and
systematic violence
against civilians — that mirror the very crimes they claim to be fighting against.
The lesson to be learned from 1418 days of genocide against Ukrainians is that the myth of Russia’s strength and invincibility has already shattered. Even with the backing of China, Iran, North Korea and enablers like Cuba and Venezuela, Russia — by far the largest military spender in Europe — cannot defeat Ukraine outright.
Russia…
Is Belarus Really Set to Return to the Ukraine War?
Is Belarus Really Set to Return to the Ukraine War?
Source: Getty
By reminding the world that Lukashenko is a threat to NATO and Ukraine, Kyiv is trying to return the focus to why the Belarusian regime needs to be contained rather than rewarded.
In May, amid a stalemate on the frontline in Ukraine, senior Ukrainian officials issued several warnings that Belarus was preparing to enter the war. Military experts and monitoring groups insist there are no indications that Belarus is preparing for a repeat invasion of Ukraine (some of the Russian troops who entered Ukraine back in February 2022 did so from Belarus). But the statements and warning signs are becoming too numerous to be dismissed entirely.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, hassaidintelligence data indicates that there are very real plans to launch a new offensive against Ukraine from Belarusian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hasmadethinly veiled references to Belarusrepeatedlyand haswarnedthat Kyiv is prepared to undertake “preventative measures” with regard to the Belarusian authorities in order to “keep them on their toes.” The commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, Robe…
Corroboration
No verdict, no pronouncement. The model extracts atomic factual claims with verbatim quotes; every quote is validated against the source text and corroboration is computed by counting how many editorially-opposed blocs assert each fact. 9 fabricated/unverifiable quotes were rejected by the cite-or-die gate.
The spine · 0 facts corroborated across ≥2 opposed blocs
No fact in this cluster crossed two opposed editorial blocs. The facts below are reported, but not (yet) independently corroborated across the divide.
Single-source · 8 — reported by one bloc only (uncorroborated)
The Kremlin set and postponed 15 deadlines over more than four years to capture the eastern Donbas region.
alarabiya
Zelensky said Putin’s comments showed he was out of touch with Russians who faced queues at petrol stations linked to a Ukrainian campaign of strikes on oil‑industry targets.
alarabiya
Russia’s ballistic‑missile attacks against Ukraine have grown in ferocity and magnitude in recent weeks.
bluesky
Kyiv has a new line of longer‑range missiles and drones that are striking fuel and power supplies.
france24
Ukraine says it can now hit military and energy targets deep inside Russia.
gdelt
Ukraine nearly doubled successful strikes more than 50 kilometres behind Russian lines.
kyivindependent
Blackouts occurred in Crimea as Kyiv hit military targets across occupied Ukraine overnight.
kyivindependent
Zelensky called Putin’s claim about Kostiantynivka a bluff, saying “Let’s meet there”.
kyivindependent
Framing · 3 — loaded language surfaced (spin shown, not adopted)
bluesky
“#Russia’s ballistic-missile attacks against #Ukraine have grown in ferocity and magnitude in recent weeks”
→ ferocity, magnitude
kyivindependent
“Zelensky calls Putin's Kostiantynivka bluff: 'Let's meet there'”
→ bluff, "Let's meet there"
aa.com.tr
““As for the message from this publication that you mentioned, it is absolutely not true,””
→ absolutely not true
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