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Since June 1, even the radio has been turned off in my cell. I can't see other people, and when I do I'm not allowed to talk to them. So when I entered the courtroom and the courtroom and the lawyers asked me, "So how did martial law go for you?", I thought it was some kind of new joke or Internet meme that hadn't reached me yet. And when, a minute later, they were telling me about the seizure of Rostov, the helicopters that had been shot down, and the armed column heading for Moscow to "kill that bastard...

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech on June 26 seeking to persuade as many Wagner fighters and leaders as possible to join the Russian military and continue fighting against Ukraine and to cause individuals most loyal to Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin to self-identify. Putin continued to denounce the organizers of the armed rebellion as traitors. Putin thanked Russian society and the Russian security forces for defending Russia’s sovereignty and expressed gratitude to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for brokering negotiations with the perpetrators of the rebellion. Putin did not name Prigozhin specifically, but Putin’s speech leaves little room for...

During the chaos in Russia this weekend, much of the nation’s leadership effectively disappeared. It remains unclear if Vladimir Putin is even in Moscow, though state spokesmen insist that he has remained “working inside the Kremlin.” The target of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s aborted coup attempt, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, similarly pulled a vanishing act on Saturday. But today he finally reappeared, showing up in Ukraine to perform an inspection of some of Russia’s troops, making sure that the media was there to cover his performance. The Defense Ministry published a video showing Shoigu meeting with high-ranking Russian Army officers at a...

When Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive finally begins, the fight will be led by brigades armed not only with Western weapons but also Western know-how, gleaned from months of training aimed at transforming Ukraine’s military into a modern force skilled in NATO’s most advanced warfare tactics. As other Ukrainian units were fighting to expel the Russian occupiers from the country’s east and south, the brand-new 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade was preparing for the next phase of war from a classroom at a NATO base in Germany. The brigade’s leadership trained with computers that simulated situations they might face in real life. Deputy...

Kayleigh McEnany came under attack by her former boss on Truth Social last night. His very thin skin was pierced by the former White House press secretary, now a Fox News host and contributor. Kayleigh quoted a poll number Trump disagreed with and he went full force against her on his social media platform. (snip) Kayleigh was hired by Trump to replace Sarah Huckabee Sanders. I really liked Sarah in the job, too. Both women had the ability to stand firm against the daily attacks by the press corps and defend Trump. They didn’t back down when the dialogue heated...

Pro-Kremlin media technologist Konstantin Dolgov said he was fired from the Cart ONLINE propaganda project after an interview with Wagner PMC owner Yevgeny Prigozhin. He wrote about this in his telegram channel. In that interview, the businessman criticized the Russian military leadership, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Prigozhin said that the Russian authorities, instead of the goal of demilitarizing Ukraine declared in February 2022, achieved the opposite effect, and the Ukrainian army became one of the strongest in the world. He also stated that during the entire war in Ukraine, 20,000 mercenaries of the Wagner PMC were killed, half of...

Fresh off his claim of victory in capturing the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Russian mercenary boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin warned that Moscow’s brutal war could plunge Russia into turmoil similar to the 1917 revolution unless its detached, wealthy elites become more directly committed to the conflict. In a lengthy interview with Konstantin Dolgov, a political operative and pro-war blogger, Prigozhin, the founder and leader of the Wagner mercenary group, also asserted that the war has backfired spectacularly by failing to “demilitarize” Ukraine, one of President Vladimir Putin’s stated aims of the invasion. He also called for totalitarian policies. “We are in...

A two-day incursion from Ukraine into Russia's western borderlands could force the Kremlin to divert troops from front lines as Kyiv prepares a major counteroffensive, and deal Moscow a psychological blow, according to military analysts. Though Kyiv has denied any role, the biggest cross-border raid from Ukraine since Russia invaded 15 months ago was almost certainly coordinated with Ukraine's armed forces as it prepares to attempt to recapture territory, the experts added. "The Ukrainians are trying to pull the Russians in different directions to open up gaps. The Russians are forced to send reinforcements," said Neil Melvin, an analyst at...

Russia has acknowledged that Ukraine has made territorial gains in the battle for Bakhmut, where Kyiv's forces are said to be advancing on the flanks of the Donetsk city. The Russian defense ministry said Wednesday that its airborne forces had made marginal advances but acknowledged that Ukraine was continuing its counterattacks near Bohdanivka, three miles to the northwest of the city, and Ivanivske, four miles west. Pro-Kremlin military analysis channel Rybar called for Russian forces to react to Ukrainian actions, implying that Moscow's forces are losing the initiative in the Bakhmut area. "Fierce battles are taking place on the flanks"...

A trio of Vladimir Putin's leading hypersonic scientists have been detained on suspicion of high treason in what fellow scientists have declared a 'witch hunt' Aerodynamics specialist Dr Valery Zvegintsev, 78, is the latest of three prominent scientists from the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Novosibirsk to be arrested on extremely serious charges. Zvegintsev, 78, along with Anatoly Maslov and Alexander Shiplyuk, are seen as key figures in the development of Russia's hypersonic weapons programme which is thought to be one of the world's most advanced. News of their detention on suspicion of high treason comes days...

In late January, with his mercenary forces dying by the thousands in a fight for the ruined city of Bakhmut, Wagner Group owner Yevgeniy Prigozhin made Ukraine an extraordinary offer. Prigozhin said that if Ukraine’s commanders withdrew their soldiers from the area around Bakhmut, he would give Kyiv information on Russian troop positions, which Ukraine could use to attack them. Prigozhin conveyed the proposal to his contacts in Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, with whom he has maintained secret communications during the course of the war, according to previously unreported U.S. intelligence documents leaked on the group-chat platform Discord. (snip) Other...

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting the UK to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. In a tweet, he said he would meet his "friend" Mr Sunak to hold "substantive negotiations". The UK announced on Thursday that it would supply Ukraine with the long-range missiles it had requested to fight the Russian invasion. Mr Zelensky has been meeting Western leaders in recent days seeking to bolster support for Ukraine. At the meeting, Mr Sunak said the pair would be "discussing what more we can do to support" Mr Zelensky and Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader is the first foreign dignitary to meet...

Ukrainian forces have regained at least a kilometre of territory in Bakhmut amid a Russian withdrawal that reflects its “severe shortage of credible combat units”, the latest UK intelligence briefing has said. The Ministry of Defence said that over the past four days, elements of Russia’s 72nd separate motor rifle brigade (72 SMRB) likely withdrew “in bad order” from their positions on the southern flank of the Bakhmut operation. The area was tactically significant because it was a Russian bridgehead on the western side of the Donets-Donbas canal, which marked the frontline through parts of the area, the ministry said...

The Ukrainian Army is advancing in attacks near the eastern city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian commanders said on Friday, in fighting that has shifted the front line only slightly but is exposing fissures, confusion and alarm among Russia’s forces in the war. Russia’s pro-war bloggers were quick to claim that Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive had begun, but Ukrainian officials downplayed the advances and described them in more local terms. Ukrainian soldiers broke through Russian lines south of Bakhmut on Wednesday, they said, and then exploited that breach, assaulting Russian forces near the city and threatening Russian flanks to the north and south....

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Rome where he will meet political leaders and have an audience with Pope Francis. "An important visit for approaching victory of Ukraine!" Zelensky tweeted as he landed in the Italian capital. He will meet Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, President Sergio Mattarella and travel to the Vatican later on Saturday. A huge security operation has been launched, with over 1,000 police deployed and a no-fly zone over Rome.

Ukrainian forces says they are conducting “effective counterattacks” in the Bakhmut area, in comments that are in line with claims from the leader of the Russian mercenary group Wagner that Kyiv has recaptured some territory. Yevgeny Prigozhin on Wednesday accused a Russian brigade of abandoning its position in front-line Bakhmut, allowing Ukraine to seize territory. He has repeatedly accused the defense ministry of failing to give his forces the supplies they need. Prigozhin also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of lying, after he remarked that Kyiv still needs “a bit more time” before it launches a much anticipated counteroffensive. “Zelensky...

Ukrainian military commanders said on Wednesday that their troops had broken through Russian positions on the southern flank of the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut, forcing Russian units back from their positions at an important bridgehead of a canal. Ukrainian officials and the head of Russia’s Wagner militia group said that Russian troops had lost an area of roughly three square miles southwest of the city. If confirmed, it would be the first significant gain for Ukraine in the fight for Bakhmut since pushing Russian forces off a key access road two months ago, although it was far from clear...

Russia’s scaled-down Victory Day military parade showed not only Moscow’s insecurities over possible Ukrainian attacks but also highlighted the country’s depleted military resources due to the conflict, political analysts said. May 9 is a public holiday in Russia when it commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. It is arguably the most important day in Russia’s public calendar and history, forming a central part of the country’s modern national identity. This year’s military parade through Red Square in Moscow and celebrations around the country were noticeably smaller than in previous years or entirely canceled, with...

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...

Russia-installed managers at the Moscow-occupied atomic energy power plant in Zaporizhzhia are trying to leave the site over concerns about Ukraine's expected counteroffensive, according to the country's nuclear operator. Energoatom said on Telegram that the Moscow-appointed director of the site, Yuriy Chernichuk, had left the town of Enerhodar, where the plant is located, for occupied Crimea on Monday. The Ukrainian state enterprise had also said that the "pseudo management" of the site had urgently asked to go on leave. "The current so-called managers of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant show a desire to 'rest' en masse closer to the Kerch...