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The head of Russia's private Wagner militia said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces were not abandoning the city of Bakhmut but that, even if they did, he would need more support from the regular military before trying to advance further. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had on Wednesday raised the prospect of a withdrawal from the city, saying Kyiv would take the "corresponding" decisions if its forces risked being encircled by Russian troops. Wagner forces are leading the battle for the city, which has become the bloodiest of the 13-month war, and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said its capture would open...

A Russian commander who presided over attacks in Ukraine that led thousands of men to slaughter has been dismissed from his post, Western officials have claimed. General Rustam Muradov had led Russia's Eastern Group of Forces (EGF) for almost a year, having taken up the role after his predecessor's attempt to assault Kyiv in the first weeks of the war. Muradov, a close ally of Russia's military chief Valery Gerasimov, earlier this year launched an attack on the mining town of Vuhledar in the eastern Donetsk region. His tactic, a frontal assault in broad daylight, ended in utter disaster. Survivors...

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.

Chinese Ambassador to the European Union, Fu Cong, has confirmed that China will not recognize the Ukrainian territories taken over by Russia during its military operation in Ukraine. “China does not recognize Crimea as Russian, as well as other territories of Ukraine that became part of the Russian Federation,” he emphasized. According to Cong, the statement about “boundless friendship” between China and Russia is merely a “rhetorical device, nothing more.” Recently, Chinese leader Xi Jinping traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss issues of shared concern, including the Ukraine-Russia war. Cong underscored that China “does...

In Moscow, the Orthodox came to the Holy Lake in the Kosino-Ukhtomsky district with the intention of preventing the construction of a mosque. According to the project, the religious building should become the largest in Europe. Local residents are adamantly against the project, as the lake is a holy place for Orthodox believers, Bloknot reports. The townspeople are in no way against the mosque, they are only asking to move the building to another place. The appeal was signed by several thousand people. “We will be here until we hear the decision that there will be no mosque here,” the...

Ramzan Kadyrov has expressed his outrage at the unfolding events in Moscow, where hundreds of people have come to a popular rally against the possible construction of a mosque. According to him, the Russian land must be defended on a daily basis, and Muslims are also involved in this difficult task. “If all these participants of the rally wholeheartedly have the idea of ​​​​defending Russian land, then go into the trenches with a machine gun,” Ramzan Kadyrov wrote in his Telegram channel.

The Russian ruble tumbled to its weakest against the dollar in almost a year on Tuesday, edging closer to the 80 mark, hampered by a seasonal drop in foreign currency supply from exporters, in spite of this week’s jump in oil prices. -snip- Although higher oil prices usually boost the ruble, reduced FX supply is hurting the Russian currency. Month-end tax payments that usually see exporters convert foreign exchange revenues into rubles were due last week. The ruble has been on a steadily weakening trend all year, under external pressure since a Western price cap on Russia’s oil sales came...

The Muslims in Moscow are planning to construct a huge new mosque on the shores of the Holy Lake. It is planned to be built large enough to fit more than 60,000 Muslims during prayer time. The initial blueprints show a size 4 times larger than Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. This has upset many local Orthodox Christians, who live and have lived near the shores of the Holy Lake for many generations. They do not agree with the majority migrant population of Moscow’s Muslims purchasing vast amounts of property nearby, building up the area and turning it into the...

Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov suggested that opponents of the construction of a mosque in the Kosino-Ukhtomsky district in eastern Moscow go “to the trenches with a machine gun”. About this Kadyrov writing in your telegram channel. Previously, the possible construction of a mosque had provoked protests from local residents and a discussion on social networks. “If all these participants of the meeting wholeheartedly and wholeheartedly have the idea of ​​​​defending Russian land, then advance into the trenches with a machine gun! Take a machine gun, push back the Muslim who is fighting for you today in the Russian Donbass, and...

Russia has warned it would be forced to take “retaliatory measures" to address what it called security threats created by Finland's (NATO) membership. https://www.euronews.com/2023/04/04/russia-warns-of-retaliatory-measures-over-finlands-nato-membership By Euronews with AP • Updated: 04/04/2023 - 16:08 Russia has warned it would be forced to take “retaliatory measures" to address what it called security threats created by Finland's membership. It had already warned that it would bolster defences along its border with NATO if the alliance deploys any additional troops or equipment to its new member. The move is a strategic and political blow to President Vladimir Putin, who has long complained about NATO’s...

The Kremlin plans to hold a Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow on 9 May 2023, despite heavy losses in the war waged by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine. Source: Kremlin-aligned news outlet TASS Details: The Russian authorities are expecting the Parade of Victory in the so-called "Great Patriotic War" [part of World War II – ed.] to take place on Red Square on 9 May, with a dress rehearsal on 7 May. The Kremlin has already opened press accreditation for the parade. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that enhanced measures are being taken to ensure security at the 9...

Russian forces in Ukraine have failed to meet a key deadline for progress in eastern Ukraine ahead of a long-touted counteroffensive from Kyiv, according to a new assessment. Moscow did not manage to "achieve the Kremlin's goals" of exerting control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by March 31, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said on Saturday. The two regions, which collectively make up the Donbas, saw fighting between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists break out in 2014. They have seen many of the heaviest clashes since the start of the all-out war in February...

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that he had intensified talks with Russia about deploying tactical nuclear weapons in his country, alleging there were plans to invade Belarus from neighboring Poland. Speaking at an annual address to lawmakers and government officials, Lukashenko said Moscow’s plans to station nuclear arms in Belarus would help “safeguard” the country, which he said was under threat from the West. “Take my word for it, I have never deceived you. They are preparing to invade Belarus, to destroy our country,” he told the audience.

Russian President Vladimir Putin may visit Turkey next month for the inauguration of the Russian-built Akkuyu nuclear power plant, Anadolu Agency reports, quoting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Putin may attend the April 27 event online or in person, Erdogan says. If he does travel to Turkey, it would mark a rare trip abroad for the Russian leader since the start of the Ukraine war.

Ukraine struck a railway depot and knocked out power in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol deep behind the front line on Wednesday amid growing talk from Kyiv of a counterassault against Russian forces worn out by a failed winter offensive. Unverified images on the internet showed explosions lighting up the night sky with streaks of contrails in Melitopol, base of the Russian-controlled administration in Zaporizhzhia, one of five Ukrainian provinces Russia claims to have annexed. Ukraine's exiled mayor of the city confirmed there were explosions there. Russia's state TASS news agency, citing Moscow-installed officials, said a railway depot was damaged...

A Russian tank formation intended to cause devastation in Ukraine has been hit with heavy losses due to low morale and poor discipline, it has been reported. The 10th tank regiment is part of the 3rd army corps, the first major new Russian formation in the invasion, but it has already lost 'a large proportion of its tanks, according to British intelligence. After failing attempts to capture Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, Moscow is diverting the ailing legion to nearby Avdiivka, The Telegraph reports. -snip- The Ministry of Defence stated: '10th tank regiment's losses have largely been due to tactically...

Moscow's high society has been rocked by a scandal after a pair of prominent Vladimir Putin cronies were allegedly heard insulting the Russian despot. Oligarch and former Russian senator Farkhad Akhmedov and high-profile Moscow music producer Iosif Prigozhin, both supposedly supporters of Putin, have been accused of calling him a 'Satan' and a 'dwarf'. An audio recording of what is reportedly a 35-minute phone call between the wealthy pair was shared by Ukraine's Channel Five and quickly jumped on by other outlets - as well as Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). In the audio clip, the pair are heard eviscerating...

The controversial head of Russia's Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, has been decorated as an "honored human rights defender of the Chechen Republic." He was cited for "outstanding services in the defense of the constitutional rights and liberties of the citizenry," according to Russian state media on March 24.

More than 5,000 former criminals have been pardoned after finishing their contracts to fight in Russia's Wagner mercenary group against Ukraine, the founder of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Saturday. Wagner Group, originally staffed by battle-hardened veterans of the Russian armed forces, took on a much more prominent role in the Ukraine war after the Russian army suffered a series of humiliating defeats last year.

-snip- Opposition minority party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has said Putin is welcome and EFF leader Julius Malema said that no one was going to arrest him in the country where Russia "played a huge role to support the struggle for freedom". -snip- "Putin is welcomed here. No one is going to arrest Putin. He [Putin] will address, finish all his meetings, and we will take him back to the airport," Mr Malema said. He continued: "We know our friends. We know the people who liberated us. We know the people who supported us." A spokesperson for President Cyril...