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Russian forces suffered an average of 983 casualties per day in Ukraine in February, the highest since the war began, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in an intelligence update on Sunday. The UK department said the increase in casualties, which included both killed and wounded soldiers, was likely due to "Russia's commitment to mass and attritional warfare." In February, Russia finally captured the embattled Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, which sits just north of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. War analysts have noted that Russia's tactics to take Avdiivka often involved "human wave" assaults, attempting to overwhelm Ukrainian positions with...

The Russian air force lost another Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber on Thursday, the Ukrainian air force claimed. If confirmed, the Thursday shoot-down would extend an unprecedented hot streak for Ukrainian air-defenses. The Ukrainian claim they’ve shot down 11 Russian planes in 11 days: eight Su-34s, two Sukhoi Su-35 fighters and a rare Beriev A-50 radar plane. But those 11 claimed losses are worse than they might seem for the increasingly stressed Russian air force. In theory, the air arm has plenty more planes. In practice, the service is dangerously close to collapse.

Deliveries of all-new Russian aircraft have been delayed by two years due to safety concerns ... The publication said that, for example, the weight of the new MS-21 passenger aircraft has increased by 5.75 tons, compared to the previous version, which used foreign components and Western engines. This means its flight range and altitude have been significantly reduced. One of Kommersant's sources said that, if Russia is unable to reduce the weight of the aircraft, it will be impossible for authorities to make the plane achieve the desired performance characteristics. "It's impossible to increase engine thrust by 20 percent," the...

The Ukrainian Air Force said its fighters on Friday shot down a Russian A-50 military spy plane, the second of the prized aircraft that Kyiv has claimed to destroy this year. The Beriev A-50 is an airborne early warning and control jet used by Russia to help monitor Ukraine's air defenses. The aircraft typically fly with a crew of up to 15 personnel and are estimated to cost over $300 million to produce. According to Russian and Ukrainian reports, an A-50 was brought down over the Sea of Azov late Friday. Kyiv officials took credit for the jet's destruction, although...

In his two-hour-long interview with Tucker Carlson, the Russian president listed Moscow’s conditions for bringing the two-year-old NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine to an end. Now, the ball is in the West’s court, according to Russian international affairs expert Dmitry Suslov.President Putin has confirmed to Tucker Carlson that Russia favors a “negotiated settlement” to the crisis in Ukraine, saying that it will be up to Kiev and its Western partners whether or not to accept it. “We prepared a huge document in Istanbul [during peace talks in the spring of 2022, ed.] that was initialed by the head of the...

An entire platoon of the Russian army fled their frontline trenches and tried to escape to Crimea as commanders threatened execution for deserters, Ukraine claims. Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesman for the Tavria Grouping of Troops, said that 'nearly 40 invaders' had 'recently' tried to escape to the peninsula, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014. 'I'm talking about an entire platoon of the Russian army. There were reports that they were being hunted down in an attempt to bring them back,' he told Espreso Tv, adding that the deserters were armed. The military spokesperson also reportedly said that a...

The 104th Air Assault Division was supposed to save the Russian campaign on the left bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine. Instead, the newly-formed division “suffered exceptionally heavy losses and failed to achieve its objectives during its combat debut,” the U.K. Defense Ministry reported. Two months ago, Ukrainian marines from the 35th Brigade motored across the Dnipro and, under the cover of artillery, drones and intensive radio-jamming, secured a bridgehead in the settlement of Krynky on the otherwise Russian-held left bank. It’s a new front in the war—one the Ukrainians hope eventually to exploit in order to push...

Some Moscow residents claim egg prices have doubled, as Russia continues to battle persistent inflation and Western sanctions. Surging egg prices, against a backdrop of high inflation and economic sanctions, are worrying the Russian authorities, especially as eggs are a symbolic and central ingredient of the festive season. -snip- In November, the average price of eggs in Russia rose by 40.29% year-on-year, according to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat). Muscovite consumers report even steeper rises. "Before, I used to buy eggs for 70 roubles a dozen. Now they cost between 130 and 140 roubles - twice as much,"...

The Ukrainian Armed Forces later confirmed that it had successfully targeted the shipyard. The Askold is a compact missile ship, designed to carry up to eight Kalibr missiles. Military experts say that neutralizing such a ship significantly improves Ukraine's security.

-snip- The changes Putin greenlighted limit coverage of Central Election Commission sessions to registered media outlets, which could exclude freelancers or independent journalists, according to the reports on Tuesday. The amendments prohibit media from reporting on the commission’s actions at military bases or in areas under martial law without advance clearance from regional and military authorities. They also bar the publication of any campaign content on “blocked sources”, referring to restricted websites and social media services. Under an intensifying crackdown on the opposition and the flow of information, Russia has banned an array of websites and services, including Facebook and...

Russia's central bank raised its key interest rate by a higher than expected 200 basis points to 15% on Friday, hiking borrowing costs for the fourth meeting running in response to a weak rouble and stubborn inflation pressure. The central bank has now raised rates by 750 basis points since July, including an unscheduled emergency hike in August as the rouble tumbled past 100 to the dollar and the Kremlin called for tighter monetary policy.

Members of the Russian elite are turning against the Ukraine war, Bloomberg reported. They best they can hope for is losing without humiliation, the report said. However Putin shows no sign of wanting to end the conflict, it said. Many members of Russia's elite are growing doubtful about the ability of their president, Vladimir Putin, to win the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported. The best they can hope for is a "frozen" conflict or a loss in which Russia isn't humilated, the report said. Despite this deepening gloom, Putin shows no sign of wishing to end the war, according to...

Mercenary chief of the Wagner Group, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, has threatened to keep his men from returning to Ukraine if Moscow continues under the leadership of "clowns," widening the rift that has been growing between his group and military command. "If the whole chain (of command) is 100% failed and will only be led by clowns who turn people into meat, then we will not participate in it," Prigozhin said during an interview to celebrate his 62nd birthday. "It has been a tough year," he added, confirming that his men will leave the city of Bakhmut on June 5 after handing...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has his own version of the NATO military alliance, made up of post-Soviet states. But the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which was never as powerful or cohesive as Russia would have liked, has been increasingly creaking since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, experts told Insider. Some of its members have made unprecedented public snubs against Putin, and experts say they're conscious of Russia's poor military performance over the past year, with questions over how well Russia could protect them. Some may even fear becoming Russian targets. (snip) As Putin has become more isolated since the...

It would be hard to image a more fitting symbol of Russia’s declining military fortunes than the sight of a solitary Stalin-era tank trundling across Red Square during the country’s traditional Victory Day celebrations on May 9. For the past two decades, Vladimir Putin has used Victory Day to showcase modern Russia’s resurgence as a military superpower, with dozens of the very latest tanks typically taking part in each annual parade. This year, however, the only tank on display was a T-34 model dating back to World War II. Inevitably, the embarrassing absence of tanks at this year’s Victory Day...

The Russian presidential administration said Wednesday that the Kremlin was attacked by drones overnight in an attempt on President Vladimir Putin’s life. Moscow residents had reported hearing two explosions behind Kremlin walls shortly after 2 a.m. local time, after which the lights went out. Footage shared by residents in a local Telegram channel captured the incident, as smoke was seen filling the sky above the Kremlin. Videos also appeared to show part of the Kremlin on fire. Now, authorities say it was a brazen attack by Ukraine using two drones, both of which they say have been destroyed. No injuries...

Russia's annual in-person commemoration of its country's World War II fighters is not going to take place this year, according to state authorities. The nixing of the face-to-face "Immortal Regiment" march comes amid reports that the nation's major national event Victory Day event, which is scheduled to take place May 9 and celebrates the Soviet Union's role in defeating Nazi Germany, may be canceled or downsized in certain regions including Crimea, Kursk and Belgorod due to ongoing security concerns resulting from the war with Ukraine. Russian State Duma Deputy Elena Tsunaeva, co-chairperson of the central headquarters of the "Immortal Regiment...

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Belarus counterpart Alexander Lukashenko to Moscow on Wednesday for two days of talks, but in their opening public remarks both men steered clear of the war in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week the two leaders would discuss Lukashenko's call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. Last month Putin said Russia would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. "I must say that we have done a lot as a result of our joint work in all areas," Putin told Lukashenko in comments broadcast by state television.

Former Russian commander Igor Girkin floated a "civil war" as a potential solution to Moscow's struggling invasion of Ukraine in a new Telegram post slamming Kremlin military leadership. Girkin's latest remarks come more than a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Although Putin initially hoped for a quick victory over Kyiv, which has a smaller military than Russia, Ukraine responded with a stronger-than-anticipated defense effort that has been bolstered by Western military aid, blunting Putin's forces. After months of combat, and a lack of clear progress on Russia's side, some Russian...

Russian tax revenue from crude oil and petroleum products plummeted by 48% in February from a year earlier due to the much lower price of Russia’s flagship crude grade after the EU banned imports of Russian oil, according to Bloomberg estimates based on official Russian data. Total tax revenues from oil and natural gas dipped by 46% year over year to $6.9 billion (521 billion Russian rubles) in February, per data from the Russian Finance Ministry published on Friday. Russia’s revenues from crude oil and oil products alone crumbled by 48% annually to $4.8 billion (361 billion rubles), according to...