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A $36 million Russian Su-34 bomber was reportedly shot down by Russia's own forces over Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region, Ukrainian media outlets claimed on Monday. The jet was reportedly downed near Alchevsk, a city in the Luhansk region—one of the areas where the war is currently focused. Alchevsk is currently under the occupation of Moscow-backed separatist forces. Videos and images shared by the Strategic Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Telegram messaging app on Monday appear to show the charred remains of a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber. -snip- "Russian invaders from the air defense shot down their own...

Is Russia worthy of being called a “great power,” let alone a superpower? Not to kick someone when they’re down, but it’s difficult to argue that Vladimir Putin represents anything other than a middling regional state, albeit the largest country in the world and one with nuclear weapons. In the first place, until the Russo-Ukraine War, consider how irrelevant and inconsequential Russia was. For the most part, regarding international relations, Russia scarcely mattered. Moscow has nary a footprint in the Middle East (mainly Syria) and is nonexistent in Asia and other parts of the world. Russia has lost influence in...

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu today gave the order to dramatically increase so-called shock and awe attacks on Ukraine. He claimed Kremlin forces must 'exclude the possibility of the Kyiv regime inflicting massive rocket and artillery strikes on civilian infrastructure and residents of the Donbas and other regions,' according to reports in Moscow. It followed an on-the-ground inspection by Putin's trusty defence minister - and a National Security Council meeting led by Vladimir Putin. Shoigu 'gave instructions to further increase the actions of [military] groups in all operational areas', local reports stated.

Lt.Gen. Ben Hodges, the former commanding general of the US Army in Europe, told Insider that Russia lacks the resources and capabilities to make significant advancements in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region — where the 20-week-long war has turned into a grinding campaign. ... Russia's arsenal of artillery and rockets is the "only advantage" that President Vladimir Putin's forces have right now and said this is reflected in attacks on Ukrainian defense positions and civilian areas, which cause lots of casualties. A key to Ukrainian success will be to neutralize these weapons, he said. Without them, Russian victories will be hard...

Mikhail Khodorkovsky was once the richest man in Russia until he challenged Vladimir Putin and was sent to jail for 10 years. Now, he has advice for Western leaders trying to deal with his former adversary, telling CBC’s Terence McKenna that a show of strength is key.

"As many as 100-200 Ukrainian soldiers have died every day since Russia shifted its military campaign in the spring to focus on eastern Ukraine. But overall, about 20,000 Russians have been killed. Injuries have taken about 60,000 more off the battlefield"

Republican James E. Risch (Idaho) was in Ukraine, touring the country. He was escorted by Ukrainian forces because the State Department refused to provide him security once he crossed the Ukrainian border. He met with Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, and came away with the conclusion that the current U.S. strategy has not properly adjusted to the latest phase of the fighting.Russian forces are pummeling Ukrainian civilian and military targets in the Donbas with their superior artillery. Ukrainian forces are still not receiving enough of the weapons that might give them the advantage — including long-range air defenses, longer-range artillery, heavy...

Danila Davydov said he left Russia within weeks of the Kremlin sending troops into Ukraine because he feared having to fight in a war he doesn't support. The 22-year-old left St. Petersburg and is now working in Kazakhstan."We feared President Putin would declare a mobilization and then everyone, young and old, would be called up to the army. I absolutely didn't want to go and fight." Davydov is among what some lawyers and rights advocates say is an increased number of young Russian men looking to avoid the country's mandatory military service since the conflict with Ukraine, which Russia calls...

July 8, 2022 The country is making enormous investments in defense and will soon become one of Europe’s pre-eminent land powers.As the war in Ukraine – now in its fifth month – becomes a grinding battle of attrition, a new geostrategic realignment along NATO’s Eastern Flank is in full view: a fault line has emerged, running north-south, from Scandinavia and the Baltics down through Poland and into Romania and Bulgaria.In this reconfigured Europe, Poland is the hub of NATO’s effort to assist Ukraine, serving as the principal transit route for equipment and ammunition shipments to Ukraine, and providing a...

Consider the Buryats, one of Siberia’s largest Indigenous groups. Closely related to Mongolians, they were subjugated, annexed, and subsequently colonized by Russia in the 1600s. Russian independent news outlets Mediazona and iStories found that by mid-May, Buryatia had the second-highest number of soldiers killed in Ukraine since the start of the invasion—just after Dagestan, another conquest of the Russian Empire. By May 18, Buryatia had lost 117 soldiers (the actual number is likely higher), whereas the city of Moscow, with a population around 15 times Buryatia’s, lost only three. Relative to the population, Buryatia’s rate of battle deaths was the...

Vladimir Putin has vowed to defeat the West on the 'battlefield' and suggested he could escalate the war in Ukraine. The Russian leader announced at a televised meeting with MPs this afternoon: 'Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. 'Well, what can I say - let them try.

Why the sudden total collapse of the Ukrainian forces in LissichanskTwo years after the Serbian war, an American general asked his Serbian counter-part what it was like to have fought against the greatest military power in history. The Serbian general replied, " I don't know, we've never fought Russia."

Russia’s capture of the strategic city of Lysychansk means the front line in Ukraine’s east will shift as Russian forces regroup before pushing further south and west, military analysts and Ukrainian officers said Sunday, ensuring that the next phase of the battle will be just as bloody as the last. To take Lysychansk and its neighboring city of Sievierodonetsk, Russian forces moved in from the north, east and west and created a pocket of territory that became indefensible toward the end of June. Now those Russian forces are in a position to attempt a similar maneuver on other Ukrainian-held cities...

Russia's new 100 rouble banknote is impossible to withdraw from ATMs after Western firms that program cash machine quit the country following Ukraine invasion The Association of Russian Banks has asked for a six-month delay to rolling out the new 100 Rouble banknote as a new security feature is needed The Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier, a memorial to one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War, is featured on the note to fuel patriotism The Western companies which install and update ATMs have pulled out of Russia Russia’s new 100 rouble banknotes are impossible to withdraw...

Some data points: May 22 vs May 21 Cars: -96.7% (3,700 cars) Trucks: -39.3% ICE motors: -57% Pass. train wagons: -59.8% Freight wagons: -51.8% Fiberglass cables: -80.8% Fridges: -58.1% Washing machines: -59.2% AC electric motors: -49.9% Elevators: -34.7% Excavators: -60%

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Sweden and Finland have signed a memorandum for the two Nordic states to join NATO, removing a Turkish block to the accession process. It comes after the leaders of the three nations spoke at a NATO summit in Madrid. A statement from the president of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, said: "We had a thorough meeting with president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and prime minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson, facilitated by secretary general of NATO Jens Stoltenberg. "As a result of that meeting, our foreign ministers signed a trilateral memorandum which confirms that Turkey will at...

Turkey has agreed to support Finland's and Sweden's bids for NATO membership, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday (28 June). "I am pleased to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO," he told reporters on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Madrid. "Turkey, Finland and Sweden have signed a memorandum that addresses Turkey's concerns, including around arms exports and the fight against terrorism," he added.

Foreign fighters who have joined Ukrainian forces battling Russia's invasion have been shocked by the brutality of the war and some say that disillusionment is creeping in. "They fought in Afghanistan or in Iraq and say they aren't ready" for what they face in Ukraine, says Polak, of his Western comrades who have signed up to fight. Polak -- whose nationality AFP is withholding to protect his anonymity -- estimates there are "perhaps several hundred" foreign fighters who have taken up arms for Kyiv since the invasion began. "Honestly, we have quite a few cowards" serving in the International Legion...

Grace period for $100mn in interest payments ends on Sunday evening. Russia could default on its foreign debt for the first time this century as the clock ticks down on a pair of overdue interest payments blocked by western sanctions. About $100mn worth of interest on Russian government debt is due to bondholders by Sunday night, the end of a 30-day grace period during which the country must make the payments to avoid defaulting. Russia said it had sent the funds to investors, but financial sanctions imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine have hampered Moscow’s ability to...

Ukrainian forces in Severodonetsk have been ordered to withdraw, according to the top regional official.The city is the focus of Russia's invasion as it tries to take control of large parts of eastern Ukraine."Remaining in positions that have been relentlessly shelled for months just doesn't make sense," Luhansk regional head Serhiy Haidai said.Russian forces have nearly encircled Severodonetsk in recent days, and are now targeting its twin city Lysychansk."They have received orders to retreat to new positions... and from there continue their operations," Mr Haidai told Ukrainian television on Friday morning.