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Russia is managing to produce artillery shells at triple the speed of Ukraine’s allies for a quarter of the price, Sky News reported on May 26, referencing analysis from management consulting firm Bain & Company. Using publicly available data, the firm claims that Russian factories can produce or refurbish 4.5 million 152 mm shells this year for $1,000 per round. European countries and the U.S. are only expected to produce 1.3 million 155 mm shells combined, at an average cost of $4,000 per unit. Slow artillery production has hindered Ukraine’s progress on the battlefield. Soldiers claim that for every round...

Over two years on from the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is the most sanctioned nation in the world. And yet the country’s economy is set to grow faster than any G7 democracy this year. How is this possible? Back in 2022, Boris Johnson vowed to ‘squeeze Russia from the global economy piece by piece, day by day and week by week’. President Joe Biden promised that sanctions would ‘impose a severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time’. Yet these dire warnings never materialised: Russia’s economy has proved resilient in the face of sanctions. Moscow’s flexibility in...

Ukrainian media reports say the commander responsible for the defense of the northeastern Kharkiv front, General Yuriy Halushkin, has been replaced by General Mykhaylo Drapatiy. The change, as reported by Ukraine's RBK news site and Suspilne, which cited sources in the Khortytsia operational-strategic group, occurred on May 11 as Russian forces pressed on with a large-scale attack in the Kharkiv region bordering Russia. The reports said Drapatiy will also keep his current position as deputy chief of the General Staff. Before his appointment to the General Staff, Drapatiy led the operations in the Kherson region.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces began a renewed ground assault on Ukraine’s northeast, killing and injuring several and forcing more than 1,700 civilians to evacuate from the Kharkiv region, local officials said Saturday. Artillery, mortar, and aerial bombardments hit more than 30 different towns and villages, leaving at least three people dead and five others injured, said Kharkiv governor, Oleh Syniehubov. Ukraine rushed reinforcements to the Kharkiv region on Friday to hold off a Russian attempt to breach local defenses, authorities said.

Russia has launched a ground offensive into Ukraine’s northeast Kharkiv region and fighting there is ongoing, the Ukrainian defence ministry said Friday. “At approximately 5 am (0200 GMT), the enemy attempted to break through our defence line under the cover of armoured vehicles,” the ministry said. A high-ranking Ukrainian military source said Russia had advanced into Ukraine by one kilometre

Two hydropower plants in Ukraine were severely damaged and were no longer in operation after Russian bombardments earlier this week, the state energy company Ukrhydroenergo said Thursday. "As of today all hydro generation has suffered devastating damage," it said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app, adding that significant financial resources and efforts would be required to repair the damage and restore the plants' operations. Ukraine plans to double electricity imports Thursday after the powerful Russian attack on Ukraine's energy system, the energy ministry said.

Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones targeting energy and military-industrial facilities across Ukraine in the early hours of May 8. The strikes reportedly targeted five Ukrainian regions – Poltava, Kirovograd, Lvov, Ivano-Frankovsk, and Vinnitsa – as well as part of the Zaporozhye region currently under the Kiev regime’s control. Air defense systems were also operating in Kiev and the capital’s environs.

Ukraine is preparing for peace talks with Russia as there is “no way to win on the battlefield alone”, Kyiv’s deputy spy chief has said

A cause not worth dyng for...

The idea triggered a full-scale revolt on the Google campus. Six years ago, the Silicon Valley giant signed a small, $9 million contract to put the skills of a few of its most innovative developers to the task of building an artificial intelligence tool that would help the military detect potential targets on the battlefield using drone footage. Engineers and other Google employees argued that the company should have nothing to do with Project Maven, even if it was designed to help the military discern between civilians and militants. The uproar forced the company to back out, but Project Maven...

The Ukrainian army has come under rare criticism from military analysts for allegedly bungling up a troops rotation that allowed Russia to capture 5km of land, highlighting the strains Kyiv’s forces are under as they await the arrival of fresh US aid. Deep State, a Ukrainian analytical group with ties to the defence ministry, on Wednesday said the Russian advance late last week in the southern part of the village of Ocheretyne had been caused by a rotation that left the area unprotected. The criticism comes a day after the US Senate approved a $61bn aid package for Kyiv which...

European Union countries, including the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, are hesitant to provide Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems. The Netherlands is exploring options to support Ukraine financially and is considering depleting its stock of Patriot systems. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said existing capabilities across the alliance could be made available to Ukraine.

Sens. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) joined Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk in an X Space on Monday for more than one hour to slam efforts to rush through tens of millions of dollars in additional funding for Ukraine’s stalemate war against Russia. The discussion occurred before a crucial expected Monday night procedural vote on the foreign aid package. Sixty senators are needed for that vote on cloture to end debate on the bill, clearing the way for a likely Wednesday vote on final passage. The trio of senators urged listeners to contact their House...