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This morning, immediately after sleep, Russian President Vladimir Putin complained to doctors about visual impairment, numbness of the tongue, partial loss of sensitivity of the right arm and leg, and severe headache. Additional doctors involved in the president's treatment were called. Putin was provided with first aid, now he is undergoing a medical examination.

The heavy casualties suffered by Russian paratroopers in Ukraine has one Russian expert calling for a rethink of Russia's airborne units. Many of the recent criticisms about the performance of Russia's elite parachute force, known as the VDV, have been voiced about lightly armed airborne units since World War II. The problems range from poorly designed vehicles to parachute drops conducted without first suppressing enemy air defenses. -snip- Russia's huge airborne force, composed of 45,000 paratroopers in four divisions, is actually a separate military branch that serves as shock troops and a rapid-intervention force. Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia was being threatened by German tanks, like during World War Two, speaking at an event in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, marking the Soviet victory over Nazi forces in the city. 'It's unbelievable but true. We are again being threatened by German Leopard tanks,' Putin said, adding that Russia had an 'answer' to any country that threatened it. Putin appeared to have brought his 'nuclear football' to Volgograd. Aides were seen close to the dictator carrying two black bags. Observers believed one was a fold-up shield to protect Putin in the event of shooting,...

MOSCOW, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- More than 146.4 million people permanently resided in Russia as of Jan. 1, down 555,332 from the past year, data published by the country's Federal Statistics Service showed on Wednesday. More than 40 million people lived in the Central Federal District and over 13 million of them lived in Moscow, the capital and largest city of Russia. More than 13.6 million people lived in the Northwestern Federal District and almost 5.6 million of them lived in the country's second largest city of St. Petersburg. Some 109.6 million people permanently resided in urban areas, with 16...

The Russian military blogger Igor Girkin has issued his latest broadside against how Russian President Vladimir Putin is conducting his invasion of Ukraine. Also known as Igor Strelkov, Girkin is a former Russian intelligence officer who played a major role in Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the conflict in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. He has given perceptive but unflattering assessments of Russia's military failures in Ukraine and his views on the military shortcomings of Putin and his commanders. In a video posted on his Telegram social media channel on Monday, Girkin told an audience in St. Petersburg how...

During a monologue on his radio show Polny Kontakt (Full Contact), which gradually grew in volume as it went along, Solovyov raged...He said that he had previously warned that Adolf Hitler would be "rehabilitated"..."Berlin, Paris, Madrid, London, Washington should be on fire," he said..."Did we destroy a single base on NATO territory? No. Did we conduct strikes against the vile Polish dogs?...Then why the heck do we have a stockpile of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons? To be afraid to use it?"

Footage from a fierce ongoing battle around Vuhledar, southwest of Donetsk, shows Russian soldiers retreating after their five vehicles were hit by Ukrainian artillery. The Russian troops were forced to run away and leave their wounded crawling behind them after being struck by airburst ammunition. -snip- Russia is said to be planning a 'new pre-emptive strike' in Ukraine according to satellite photos which show Putin's forces building up fortifications. The new offensive will reportedly take place ahead of the first anniversary of their invasion on February 24.

Russian lawmakers on Monday proposed placing restrictions on citizens attempting to leave the country. Yevgeny Moskvichev, the head of Russia's State Duma Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Development, put forward amendments to a transport law that would make it a requirement for Russian citizens, and others, to book a time and place in advance to cross the border. According to a copy of the legislative changes seen by Tass, Russia's state-run news agency, "Vehicles belonging to Russian transport companies, foreign transport companies, citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens, stateless persons and other road users" must reserve a date and...

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not hold his annual year-end press conference for the first time in a decade, prompting speculation that the Russian leader is sick or running scared from answering questions about Ukraine as the war enters its 10th month. “As for the big press conference, yes, it won’t happen before the New Year,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday. “But we hope that the president will still find an opportunity to talk with [journalists], as he regularly does, including during foreign [visits],” Peskov added. While Peskov gave no reason behind the move, the war in Ukraine...

Putin promised the Russian people that Donbas would be liberated. And the path to that goal - however fantastical - lies through Bakhmut. So the show must go on. The battle is more symbolic than practical. Analysts agree the blood price that Russia has paid trying to take Bakhmut - thought to be more than 100 troops per day - is not worth the value of capturing it. 'They are just meat to Putin,' a commander named Kostyantyn told the FT on a visit to the front. 'And Bakhmut is a meat grinder. For what? A f****** metre of our...

VLADIMIR Putin appeared swollen as he issued a warning about Russia’s potential use of nuclear weapons. The Russian tyrant, who is rumoured to be “critically ill”, also gave a chilling update on the war in Ukraine, which he said could last for a long time. Putin’s public appearances during the invasion of Ukraine have shown him out of breath, stumbling over his words, or looking exhausted. His alleged health issues hit a new low after it emerged that he apparently soiled himself during a fall at his official residence. Speaking at a meeting of his own Human Rights Council, Putin...

Vladimir Putin guzzled champagne as he blamed Ukraine for Russia's military strikes while admitting the Kremlin has struck key civilian infrastructure. "There's a lot of noise about our strikes on the energy infrastructure of a neighbouring country. Yes, we do that. But who started it?" the Russian president said at an awards ceremony. Russian President Vladimir Putin put on a grotesquely grand dinner for senior Kremlin members to award Gold Star medals to Heroes of Russia on the eve of Heroes of the Fatherland Day in Moscow. -snip- Also in attendance was Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Head of Chechnya, Ramzan...

A new video of an allegedly intoxicated Vladimir Putin discussing the Russia-Ukraine war has been viewed over 820,000 times on Twitter. -snip- Anna Nemtsova, a journalist based in Moscow, tweeted that Putin's alleged intoxication is a first during his time in office. "We've seen many staged photo&video shoots in 20 Years including half-naked Putin on a horse or diving for some Greek jugs,Putin flying w migratory birds or kissing a boy on the stomach but drunk speeches about Russian missiles striking neighbouring state must be Putin's own act," she tweeted. CBC journalist Evan Dyer called it "very strange to see...

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has postponed a planned visit to Minsk following the death of his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei, according to Russian media reports quoting the foreign ministry. Belarus's state news agency Belta reported on Saturday that the long-standing foreign minister and associate of authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko had died suddenly. The cause of death wasn't given and Makei wasn't known to suffer from any chronic illness. Makei, 64, was due to meet Lavrov on Monday. Last week he attended a conference of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) -- a military alliance of several post soviet states...

Vladimir Makei 'passed away suddenly', Belarusian state media reported today They gave no cause for Makei's death or any explanation of the circumstances Makei, 64, was due to meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov tomorrow He was then set to travel to Poland to meet a host of Western diplomats Some opposition figures in Russia and Belarus have posited the Belarusian security service could well have been involved in Makei's death Belarus's long-standing foreign minister has died suddenly, the state news agency Belta reported on Saturday, just days before he was due in Poland to meet key Western officials. 'Foreign Minister...

THIS is the moment Vladimir Putin appears to wheeze and gasp through a meeting with grieving mums whose children were killed in Ukraine. Russia's president - who is reportedly "critically ill" - met with a carefully selected group of parents as he sat down with them to have tea, cakes and fresh berries. Putin appeared physically uncomfortable and breathless as he spoke - stopping to clear his throat on multi occasions and struggling with his words. "I would like you to know that, that I personally, and the whole leadership of the country - we share your pain," Vlad told...

Belarus foreign minister dies suddenly - one day after meeting Pope's envoy Ante Jozić amid speculation they were discussing a secret peace plan in Ukraine. CAREER SPY Makei had been foreign minister for a decade and was due tomorrow and Monday to host Vladimir Putin's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Minsk. Lavrov's spokeswoman said Russia was 'shocked' at his passing. No cause of death was given - but several sources speculated that his demise could be suspicious. Makei was described as 'healthy'. He had been trained in the Soviet GRU and had a reputation as Lukashenko's 'grey cardinal'. While Lukashenko...

A desperate Vladimir Putin will seek to massively boost mobilisation by sending more troops to fight in Ukraine, and impose martial law in many Russian cities, it was forecast today. Yet the draconian moves could trigger a coup from within the elite even before his 'poor health' incapacitates him, says one expert. And he is now using body doubles who are so like him, it is impossible to tell the difference, it is claimed. The scheme comes as Putin's men were forced to retreat from Kherson last week This comes as the first train arrived in the liberated city since...

Update from Ukraine | We are going to cut Ruzzians and Destroy their Army in Massive Counterattack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Eb6_lpcRk Follow on Instagram up to date uploads. https://www.instagram.com/denys_pilot/ Military maps here: https://militaryland.net/ https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-264-summary/

Russia’s first mobilization since World War II may be complete, but the deployment of thousands of soldiers to the battlefields of Ukraine is generating dissent and protest on the front lines – and back home. With the Russian government touting that at least 50,000 of the recently drafted are now in Ukraine, a long list of complaints is emerging: Lack of leadership from mid-ranking officers, tactics that lead to heavy casualties, non-existent training, promised payments not received. There are also logistical difficulties, as reported by soldiers, their families and Russian military bloggers: Insufficient uniforms, poor food, a lack of medical...