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The embattled Briton was facing calls from within his own party to step down amid a string of controversies; more than 60 ministers and government aides quit over the last 48 hours, saying Johnson was unfit to serve as PM. “It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader and a new prime minister,” Johnson said outside 10 Downing Street Thursday morning. “The process of that should begin now. The timetable should be announced next week.” “I regret not to have been successful in those arguments and of course, it is...

Russian law enforcement detained three top Russian generals, including an aide to the head of the country's interior ministry, on charges of abuse of power, officials said Wednesday. Lieutenant-General Sergei Umnov, the assistant to the head of Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs, was detained alongside Major General Alexei Semyonov, head of St. Petersburg's traffic police, and Major General Ivan Abakumov, as the country's invasion of Ukraine rages on. Between 2016 and 2020, the three top Russian generals allegedly misappropriated funds from the Program Assistance Fund for the St. Petersburg and Leningrad region's Main Department of Internal Affairs, and purchased property...

A Russian journalist accused of posting 'sane people are for peace' about Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine has been locked in a Siberian clinical psychiatric hospital. Maria Ponomarenko, a 44-year-old mother of two, claims the authorities are seeking to gag her because of her opposition to the war. She is accused of spreading 'fake' news concerning Putin’s 'special military operation' in Ukraine. One comment seen as against the law by prosecutors said: 'It is impossible to remain silent, knowing about the death of thousands of innocent people.' Her 'fake' Telegram posts also included critical comments about the Russian bombing of...

Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday that if Belarus were to come under “attack”, its army would respond immediately. The West has speculated over the level of involvement of Belarus in Russia’s ongoing “special military operation” in Ukraine since late February. Lukashenko said his state stood fully behind Russia in its invasion as part of its commitment to a “union state” with Moscow. But he has previously suggested his own armed forces will not themselves enter Ukraine, pointing to Minsk’s potential role of helping to create a peace deal instead. The Belarusian President was, however, clear that his country would not...

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...

The Russian navy appears to have accidentally blown up one of its own ships in the black sea in the latest blunder for Putin's forces. A landing craft is reported to have exploded when it hit a Russian sea mine near Mariupol. The crew is said to have survived the friendly-fire incident, but the reputation of Russia's naval commanders is not so unscathed. 'Near Mariupol, a landing craft of the Black Sea Fleet D-106 blew up on a mine,' said a Telegram channel related to the Russian navy. 'Waiting for a confirmation of this suicidal goodwill gesture,' said the Twitter...

A 'gesture of goodwill': That was how the Kremlin tried to play off its retreat from Ukraine's Snake Island on Thursday, after commanders gave up hope of holding the strategic spit of land under withering artillery fire. It is the same phrase that Putin's lackeys used to try and cover up their ignominious retreat from Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy back in early April, as the first phase of their war in Ukraine spectacularly failed. But those are far from the only battlefield blunders to have left Russia's red army red-faced: From an early defeat trying to take Hostomel airfield to...

Russia was poised to default on its foreign debt for the first time since 1918, pushed into delinquency not for lack of money but because of punishing Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Russia was likely to miss payments on two foreign-currency bonds late Sunday, according to holders of the bonds who had yet to see funds deposited. The day marks the elapse of a 30-day grace period since the country was due to pay the equivalent of $100 million in dollars and euros to bondholders.

The newest car model unveiled by Russia's biggest auto manufacturer earlier this month is generating buzz, but not necessarily for the right reasons. The buzz about AvtoVAZ's Lada Granta Classic -- priced to sell at 678,300 rubles ($12,500) -- is about what it doesn't have: No airbags. No antilock brakes. No electronic stability system. No pretensioners to make the seat belts work properly. No GPS. An engine that complies with emissions standards from 26 years ago. The reason for all this? Western sanctions, imposed to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, that have disrupted imports and roiled supply chains...

RUSSIA's "outdated weapons" have proven to be no match for Ukrainian defences as the latest intelligence report from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) shows 55 percent of Russian-backed forces have been wiped out in the Donbas region. With the focus of the conflict heavily concentrated in the Donbas region in and around the strategic industrial city of Severodonetsk, Ukraine has called on the west to supply extra weapons to defend the territory. Russia has announced it has all but captured the city as heavy shelling continues, however, the cost of the operation has taken its toll on Russian personnel, with...

VLADIMIR Putin was spotted visibly shaking as he stood next to one of the recipients of the State Prize of the Russian Federation he awarded at the Kremlin on Sunday. Speculation about Vladimir Putin's health has been rife since before he was catapulted into the daily news bulletins because of his invasion of Ukraine in February. The Russian leader has sparked questions about his status as reports began to emerge about him suffering from cancer. Putin appeared quite shaky on his legs as he listened to Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov accept a prize rewarding his work in the arts. Footage...

Russian troops were battling into a major Donbas city today as a confidential UK report revealed the Kremlin’s army could collapse amid massive losses. A secretive analysis of the invasion says Russian President Vladimir Putin believes losses of 30,350 troops so far are a “price worth paying” for a small victory in Ukraine. But the new report - seen by senior UK government officials and written by a top UK analyst on Russia warns Putin’s blood sacrifice may be a step too far for his troops. Today Moscow’s troops entered the city of Sievierodonetsk sparking fierce fighting in the ruins...

Russia's army could collapse amid huge losses of more than 30,000 troops in Ukraine, according to a confidential UK report that emerged on Monday. While Moscow's latest estimated troop losses make grim reading for President Vladimir Putin, the report claims he sees them as a 'price worth paying' for victory. However, the new report - a secretive analysis of Putin's brutal invasion seen by The Mirror - claims that the losses could be too great for his soldiers, amid other reports that Russian morale is low. Latest estimates from the Ukraine's Armed Forces suggest as many as 30,350 Russian soldiers...

Two more Russian colonels have been killed in Russia’s war in Ukraine - including the country’s 'best paratroop commander'. Lieutenant colonel Alexander Dosyagayev, 34, was a commander of an airborne assault battalion of the 104th paratrooper regiment. Troops from his 104th air assault regiment were reportedly in Bucha, the scene of alleged rape and torture atrocities committed by Vladimir Putin’s forces earlier in the war. His battalion based in Pskov had been recognised as the best in Russia in its extensive combat training and military discipline.

Russia's armed forces have begun deploying sixty-year-old tanks to the southeastern regions of Ukraine, raising questions over the extent of Putin's losses after three months of bitter fighting and countless strategic blunders. A long line of T-62 tanks, which began production as early as 1961, was photographed at a train station in Ukraine's southeastern city of Melitopol on Wednesday, just days after footage emerged of the aged armour being pulled out of storage across the border.

Still getting used to the feel of his gun and military fatigues, Anton suddenly found himself surrounded by Ukrainian forces as bullets flew by, with one striking his arm. “It was our first confrontation with the enemy; we hadn’t even fired a shot. They ambushed us, and we couldn’t fight back. We had to surrender,” said Anton, a 21-year-old Russian serviceman, in an interview with the Guardian. Anton was taken captive by Ukrainian forces near Mykolaiv on 2 March with five other soldiers from his unit, as Russian forces were staging an offensive on the strategically important shipbuilding city near...

The head of Russian state-backed TV network RT said 'things will end badly for all of humanity' if Russia doesn't win a military victory against Ukraine, hinting at a nuclear strike should the country lose the war. Russia's state-backed media has become infamous for its anti-Ukrainian rants since the war broke out in February 24. But the latest outburst was from RT's Margarita Simonyan, who studied in the US and told Russian viewers they should rejoice the fact that their children will never receive a western education. 'They all believe that we will lose and the west will win. They...

Russian losses in Ukraine over the first three months are likely to have already surpassed those of the Soviet-Afghan war which lasted nine years, the UK Ministry of Defence has said. The Soviet Union's losses are estimated to be around 15,000 killed in the Afghan war, with an additional 35,478 wounded and 311 missing. 'The Russian public has, in the past, proven sensitive to casualties suffered during wars of choice,' said the UK government ministry, which did not name the exact figure. 'As casualties suffered in Ukraine continue to rise they will become more apparent, and public dissatisfaction with the...

Vladimir Putin underwent 'successful' cancer surgery last week and is recovering, it has been claimed in just the latest rumour about the Russian leader's health. The 69-year-old underwent an unknown procedure late last Monday following advice from medics that treatment was 'essential', according to Telegram channel General SVR which claims to be getting information from inside the Kremlin. Putin's condition was said to have worsened briefly on Friday night before improving, the social media account said, while adding that doctors have advised he avoid taking part in meetings for several more days while he recovers. General SVR said last week...

Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, issued fresh nuclear threat to the West Russia will soon have 50 brand new nuclear missiles capable of reducing all enemies to a nuclear crater, the head of the country's space agency has warned. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos and a staunch Putin ally, said dozens of new Sarmat-2 missiles - measuring 14 storeys tall and weighing 208 tons - will be deployed by autumn to menace Russia's enemies. 'It remains only to advise the aggressors to talk more politely with Russia,' he said. As a demonstration of Sarmat's power, he showed off footage...