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Vladimir Putin is furious after Ukraine's military staged a dramatic fightback and seized back control over most of a town that Russia thought they had captured in Kharkiv. Russia launched a surprise counteroffensive in Kharkiv earlier this month and many military sources within the Russian army had boasted that they had captured the pivotal town of Vovchansk. However, Ukraine's Defence Forces have now confirmed that Kyiv has regained control of 70 percent of the town, amid fierce ongoing street battles. Ukraine's Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn said that Ukrainian counterattacks, along with effective artillery and drone strikes, were thwarting Russia's efforts...

Russia pummeled Ukraine's energy infrastructure with a large-scale drone and missile attack Saturday, injuring at least 19 people, local officials said. The strikes were part of a series of sustained attacks by Russia against Ukraine's power grid, which has been ongoing since March. Ukraine's largest private energy firm, DTEK said that two of its power plants had been seriously damaged in what it said was the sixth attack on the company's plants in two and a half months.

(AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived Saturday at a Singapore security forum, as he seeks to rally support for Kyiv while a Russian offensive gains ground. AFP reporters saw Zelensky enter the lobby of the luxury hotel hosting the Shangri-La Dialogue, which is attended by defence ministers from around the world. Zelensky will speak at the security forum on Sunday, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which organised the three-day event.

Estonia considers itself a front-line state, a Nato member where its border guards stare across the Narva River at the Russian fortress of Ivangorod. This tiny Baltic state, once a part of the Soviet Union, is convinced that once the fighting stops in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin will turn his attention to the Baltics, looking to bring countries like Estonia back under Moscow’s control. To help stave off that possibility, Estonia’s government has poured money and weapons into Ukraine’s war effort, donating more than 1% of its GDP to Kyiv. "If every Nato country did this," says Estonia’s steely Prime...

Russia is expected to significantly increase the size of its military presence in Ukraine, with an additional 200-300 thousand troops set to join their ranks, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in an interview with Reuters. The minister added that the current number of Russian forces stationed in Ukraine and along its borders stands at 500 thousand troops. Umerov emphasized the urgency of mobilizing fresh recruits to facilitate the rotation of military personnel in response to the anticipated surge in Russian troop numbers. "At this stage, we are focused on training our personnel ... pilots, we are focused on...

The Biden administration has greenlit the use of American long-range strike systems by Ukraine to launch attacks deep into Russia. This puts the entire planet in a “shockingly” dangerous situation, says former DoD analyst and US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski. President Biden has knowingly or unwittingly brought the risk of a world-ending nuclear conflict much, much closer after listening to “neoconservative advisors who really don’t have a lot of perspective on the nuclear dangers that they’re walking into” instead of military specialists and okaying Ukraine’s use of NATO weapons to strike the Russian hinterland, Kwiatkowski told Sputnik. “The...

The German government said Friday that Ukraine can use German-supplied weapons against Russian attacks from positions just over their joint border, in a significant policy change that came a day after U.S. President Joe Biden gave Kyiv a green light to strike back with American weapons at Russian military assets targeting the country’s second-largest city. A German government statement noted that, in recent weeks, Russia has prepared, coordinated and carried out attacks on Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, in particular from areas just over the border in Russia. "Together we are convinced that Ukraine has the right under international law to...

If Trump returns to the presidency next January, he would be the only world leader determined to end the Ukraine War, and has said he will use his influence as president to do so within 24 hours. Next month, on June 15 and 16, a high-level peace conference will be held in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on achieving peace in Ukraine. 70 to 90 countries reportedly will be represented. Some heads of state will attend, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. However, there will be some notable absences—Russia and China....

Russia has accused Nato and the US of "provoking a new level of tension" after the US and Germany became the latest allies to let Ukraine's military to use Western-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Nato countries, especially the US and several European countries, had "entered a new round of escalating tension and they are doing this deliberately", in remarks quoted by the Tass news agency. The UK and France had already signalled they were open to easing restrictions on Ukraine striking military sites on Russian territory, before US President Joe Biden said on...

Ukraine has launched another stunning strike against Putin's army on the peninsula, inflicting crippling damage to the Kremlin's war machine. Vladimir Putin suffered a major setback after Ukraine launched more devastating attacks in the Crimea region. Ukraine has intensified its attacks on the peninsula and its immediate surrounding regions in the last few days. On Thursday, Ukrainian maritime drones destroyed seven Russian ships in a daring and spectacular attack. Kyiv's army bosses have now followed that up with another stunning strike that inflicted crippling damage on Putin's war machine in the region. Overnight, Ukraine fired US-supplied ATACM missiles at the...

US President Joe Biden has given Ukraine permission to use American-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia, but only near the Kharkiv region, US officials say. One told BBC News his team had been directed to ensure Ukraine was able to use US weapons for "counter-fire purposes" to "hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them". Russian forces have made gains in the Kharkiv region in recent weeks after a surprise offensive in the area, close to the border with Russia. On Friday, Ukrainian officials said three people had been killed and 16 injured in Russian...

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Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has warned of “nuclear escalation” in response to Nato governments stepping up support for Ukraine, with France suggesting troops could be deployed by member nations to Ukraine in just days. Mr Lavrov told Russian state media on Thursday that planned tactical nuclear exercises with Belarus should “sensitise” Ukraine’s allies to the risk of “catastrophic consequences of further advancement on the ladder of nuclear escalation”. link msn link away

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's office has instructed officials and lawmakers to publicly criticize US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for their reluctance to attend a conference on Ukraine to be held in Switzerland on June 15-16, the Financial Times reported, citing a document. According to an unnamed senior Ukrainian official, Zelensky's office feels "paranoia" in recent months. "Zelensky has deep anxiety about the military situation but especially about the peace summit in June," the source said. The newspaper emphasized that Zelensky sees no point in the forum unless Biden and Xi Jinping attend. Several members of...

INCREDIBLE footage shows Ukraine's sea drones nip out of the way of Russian fire during an overnight blitz in occupied Crimea. Meanwhile Kyiv's forces launched missiles towards Vlad's beloved Kerch Bridge - reportedly sparking some 20 explosions and damaging two ships. Dramatic video shows the drones flying over water in Uzkaya Bay, western Crimea. Kyiv's forces dodge the Russian barrage of explosions raining down around them. The Magura V5 marine drones managed to hit two Russian high speed KS-701 Tunets [Tuna] vessels - despite the onslaught. The Tuna boats are used by Russian forces for patrolling as well as transport...

Hungary has long been a thorn in the side of the EU authorities in Brussels in everything linked with the Ukraine conflict. Staunchly refusing to fan the flames of the ongoing NATO proxy conflict with Russia, Budapest has been fending off mounting pressure from its increasingly frustrated fellow EU leaders.Hungary is to be meted out a dose of “punishment” by fellow EU leaders for its staunch opposition to arming Ukraine, Politico reported. A plan is afoot to slap Budapest’s representatives with a “weak portfolio” in the next European Commission, according to diplomats cited by the outlet. Hungary’s Oliver Varhelyi has...

Ukraine’s fight isn’t merely for its existence as a nation – it’s a battle for the very fabric of the global order. Yes, it’s about safeguarding European security – a rallying cry heard in countless statements from Western officials, often accompanied by assurances of limited air defence and ammunition – but as Ukraine continues to lose ground, towns, and lives, the West’s response is tepid, with its only firm stance drawn around Nato borders, where geopolitical interests overshadow humanitarian concerns. But what if Putin dares to cross these lines, dismissing Western threats as mere bluster? What if Ukraine falls, emboldening...

Russian leader Vladimir Putin says European countries should rethink their calls to let Ukraine use Western arms to strike his country. "So, these officials from NATO countries, especially the ones based in Europe, particularly in small European countries, should be fully aware of what is at stake," Putin told reporters on Tuesday. "They should keep in mind that theirs are small and densely populated countries, which is a factor to reckon with before they start talking about striking deep into the Russian territory," he continued. Putin's warnings come after several European leaders said that Ukraine should be allowed to attack...

Pressure is mounting to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons on military targets within Russian territory. The big picture: After the Biden administration instituted the ban in an attempt to keep the conflict from escalating, calls to remove the embargo have been growing from U.S. lawmakers, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The criticism from many is that the ban is hindering the country's ability to effectively defend itself. Context: Ukraine has been provided with a large arsenal of Western weapons, including long-range missiles, but it is not allowed to use them to strike targets in Russian...

Gen. Serhii Golubtsov, the commander of the Ukrainian air force, has said all along he needed four operational squadrons of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to have any chance of controlling the air over a single sector of the 700-mile front line of Russia’s wider war on Ukraine. It’s taken more than a year of intensive diplomacy between Ukrainian, Norwegian, Dutch, Danish and Belgian officials, but Golubtsov is finally getting his four squadrons. On Tuesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky announced Belgium would donate 30 surplus F-16s—boosting to 85 the total number of the nimble, supersonic fighters Ukraine should receive starting this...