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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's proposed tax hikes for companies and the wealthy, which may add an extra $30 billion to next year's budget revenues, will allow Moscow to further ratchet up spending, including on its war in Ukraine, without compromising fiscal stability. The finance ministry insists the tax hikes, proposed on Tuesday, are fair and target Russia's wealthiest. It says tax changes should solve national problems, reduce inequality and help develop Russia's regions. The changes will cover President Vladimir Putin's more than 11.5 trillion roubles ($128 billion) in infrastructure and social spending pledges for his new six-year term, analysts say, without requiring a...

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...

Hollywood actor-turned-Putin mouthpiece Steven Seagal has made the bizarre claim that Ukraine was known for 'organ trafficking, child sex trafficking and Nazism', as the Russian leader himself gave the sycophant the nation's Order of Friendship. In a ceremony at the Yekaterininsky Hall of the Kremlin in Moscow today, Seagal, 72, was presented the honour for his 'big contribution to development of international cultural and humanitarian cooperation' in his role as an envoy to the US. He claimed in his speech after Putin personally pinned the medal on his chest: 'Before the special operation, Ukraine was known for human trafficking, organ...

Ukraine destroyed seven boats in a devastating attack on Russia's Black Sea navy in the Crimea. Ukraine launched a spectacular and devastating attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet, inflicting major damage on Putin's navy. The Black Sea Fleet is stationed in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Throughout the current war, Ukraine has managed to sink a number of vessels from the fleet including the Moskva flagship missile cruiser. Through a combination of missiles and drones, Kyiv's army has succeeded in nullifying the threat from Putin's navy in the Black Sea, regularly inflicting huge humiliations on the...

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...

Russia’s finance ministry on Tuesday proposed introducing extra progressive income tax rates for those earning more than 2.4 million roubles ($27,100) annually, as well as raising the mineral extraction tax for fertiliser and iron ore producers. -snip- The proposed tax amendments also include an increase in taxes for fertiliser and iron ore producers. The mineral extraction tax for iron ore producers would increase by 1.15 times, for potash producers by 2.3 times and it would double for phosphorus fertiliser producers.

Russia has announced plans to raise taxes on businesses and the wealthy as it scrambles for additional revenue to fund its invasion of Ukraine. -snip- “The changes are aimed at building a fair and balanced tax system,” Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov said in a statement, adding that the extra funds would bolster Russia’s “economic wellbeing”. -snip- Income tax is currently 13 percent for the majority of Russians, with some higher earners paying a rate of 15 percent. The Finance Ministry said under the amendments that the 15 percent rate would apply for annual incomes between 2.4 and 5 million...

Russia launched plans to sharply raise taxes on high earners and companies to fill state coffers and fund what it sees as a long war in Ukraine. A government commission on Wednesday approved a Finance Ministry plan to introduce a new progressive income tax as well as raise corporate tax rates. The proposed amendments, which would come into force from next year, are expected to bring an additional 2.6 trillion rubles, or around $29 billion. -snip- Per capita household income is around $7,100, according to data provider CEIC. Russia’s military expenditures are already running at over 6% of gross domestic...

A Ukrainian missile attack triggered a fire on Monday in the Russian-held northeastern city of Luhansk, the latest in a series of strikes near the city, the regional Russia-installed governor said. Leonid Pasechnik, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the strike was made with cluster munitions. "A fire has broken out as a result of the attack," Pasechnik said. Pasechnik said information on casualties was being clarified. Russia's Tass news agency, quoting emergency services, said there had been injuries. There was no official Ukrainian comment. Ukrainian media and war bloggers posted a picture of what they described as a...

A PARANOID and sickly Vladimir Putin is kept under surveillance by four doctors at all times, claim shocking leaked documents. The tyrant has been plagued with rumours over his dwindling health for the past year with new bombshell revelations alleging he has 111 security guards on duty at his palace. A secret document has lifted the lid on Putin's biggest concerns - with his health and security seemingly at the forefront for the brutal despot. Putin's nonstop safety blanket has been revealed, according to Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, who have close ties to law enforcement in the country. The stunning...

Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared tired and rundown during a recent press conference during which he said he was open to negotiating a ceasefire with Ukraine. Putin was joined on Friday by his closest ally in Europe, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, for a press conference in which the pair discussed the ongoing war against Kyiv, domestic nuclear drills and their continued cooperation. The Russian President who is turning 72 in October, looked worn down during the event, although no report of ill health has emerged in recent weeks. The health condition of Putin has been the subject of speculation and...

Vladimir Putin looked off-colour at a conference with Belarusian ally Alexander Lukashenko today as the pair met to discuss the war in Ukraine. The Russian president, 71, posed for cameras to shake hands with his counterpart in Minsk but appeared frail as he talked through developments in the conflict across the southern border. -snips- Putin appeared at a press conference after the meeting looking tired and rundown as Ukraine claimed minor successes in pushing back his shock advances in the Kharkiv region. Much speculation has been made around the health of Putin, who was sworn in for his fifth term...

PUTIN’S newest and only remaining missile cruiser in the Black Sea was destroyed by Ukraine forces in a huge blow to his naval forces. The “Zyklon” was destroyed alongside the 266-M minesweeper, Kovrovets, in a devastating strike at the weekend. The Zyklon is the 26th to be sunk by Ukraine and was blown up by US-supplied ATACMS missiles killing six people and injuring 11, sources said. It comes after Russia retreated its naval headquarters from the occupied Crimean Peninsula to Krasnodor. The Zyklon, which was launched into service in July last year, was a Karakut-class missile ship armed with various...

The leader of Russia's Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, said early on Thursday he had met President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin and offered to send more fighters to help Moscow in its more than two-year-old conflict in Ukraine. Kadyrov, who has led his South Caucasus region as a Kremlin loyalist since 2007, posted a photo of himself with Putin and said he had discussed the region's economic problems and prospects and invited the president to visit. He said tens of thousands of "well trained and equipped fighters from the reserves" were prepared to fight for Russia in Ukraine if such...

Ten separate locations across Crimea were reportedly hit, including a key radar and air defence facility. Ukraine staged a massive missile attack on Putin-occupied Crimea overnight, striking a key radar and air defence facility of the Russian army ‘where high-ranking officers were present’. Explosions were reportedly heard at ten separate locations around the peninsula amid long-range ATACMS attacks in one of the heaviest bombardments of the war. Russia also claimed to have destroyed attacking marine drones off the Crimean coast. Ambulances were reported rushing to Semidvorye, near Alushta where at least six ATACMS ballistic missiles reportedly hit a key communications...

A Russian army general who was blamed for a costly HIMARS strike on troops in occupied Ukraine last year has been removed from his post, according to pro-war Russian Telegram channels. Lieutenant General Sukhrab Akhmedov was dismissed as commander of the Russian 20th Combined Arms Army (CAA), per reports from prominent Russian milbloggers. The formation is currently engaged in Russia's grinding offensive towards the eastern city of Lyman on the Donetsk front. -snip- Akhmedov has been involved in multiple battlefield setbacks since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022, including the 20th CAA's recent inability to make significant progress on...

The film features an artificial intelligence depiction of the Russian President in a series of compromising positions, like an affair in his office or the floor of a hospital after soiling his diaper. Russian spies tried to curtail the making of a wild movie that shows an artificial-intelligence created Vladimir Putin in diapers, its director has claimed. 'Putin' serves as an alternative biopic about the Kremlin leader by Polish box office director Patryck Vega, who now goes by the artistic name Besaleel. -snip- Ahead of being shown at Cannes, the depiction is reportedly attracting a great deal of attention from...

Vadim Shamarin, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, has been arrested, local media reported, marking the latest detention of a Russian high-ranking military official in recent weeks. The development was reported by Russian newspapers Kommersant and Izvestia, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter. Kommersant reported that he was detained on Wednesday "in connection with the case of alleged fraud."

Vladimir Putin faces yet another military farce after Russian bomber planes mistakenly dropped four bombs on a Russian village near the Ukrainian border - and it is far from the first time this has happened. Vladimir Putin's military force dropped four glide bombs intended for attacks on Ukraine's Kharkiv region on the Russian village of Shebekino instead last week. Shebekino is a village in the border region of Belgorod region, which has often borne the burnt of Ukrainian drone strikes. The Belgorod region houses several Russian military bases and training grounds. It has recently been rocked by near-daily explosions as...