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Russian citizens say they are living relatively normal lives despite the imposition of worldwide sanctions following the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to a new poll.A Gallup survey found that 56% of Russian respondents believe their local economies are improving, while 46% agree that living standards are also improving — a record since the poll began in 2006.The upbeat sentiment comes as Western countries are losing the motivation to continue supporting Ukraine’s defense efforts, with many analysts now saying that Russia has the upper hand in the war.Most Russians feel that war efforts are benefiting them, according to a...

Highlights: French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that the expansion of the BRICS group signals the intention to build a new world order. . French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that the expansion of the BRICS group signals the intention to build a new world order.Macron said in a speech at the annual conference of ambassadors of the Republic at the Elysee Palace: "The expansion of the BRICS indicates the intention to build an alternative world order, which is seen as too Western.Macron explained that this creates the risk of "fragmentation of the world" that must be avoided,...

Ukrainian strikes on Russian rear areas are "demonstrably degrading" the morale of Russian forces in Ukraine, and this "could threaten the stability of Russian defenses on multiple critical areas of the front," the ISW said.... The ISW said morale issues can quickly intensify and spread among Russian frontline units if one unit under pressure breaks, which in turn could "spread panic" and "significantly reduce the combat effectiveness of other Russian forces." "A broken Russian frontline unit would threaten the integrity of other frontline defenses, and such a break in the Russian frontline would provide a vulnerability that Ukrainian forces could...

India's space agency has released the first images of the Moon taken by the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which entered lunar orbit on Saturday. The images show craters on lunar surface getting larger and larger as the spacecraft draws closer. Chandrayaan-3's lander and rover are due to reach the surface on 23 August. If successful, India will be the first country to perform a controlled "soft landing" near the south pole. It will also become only the fourth to achieve a soft landing on the Moon after the US, the former Soviet Union and China. After the spacecraft orbited the Earth for...

It’s been touted as a race to the lunar south pole, but there's much more to India's and Russia’s moon shots than who lands first. India's Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander launched on July 14 and entered lunar orbit on Aug. 5. It is currently lowering its orbit in preparation for a landing attempt that's expected to occur on Aug. 23. Meanwhile, Russia is making its first visit to the moon since 1976, when its Soviet-era sample return mission dubbed Luna-24 took place. Luna-25 launched on Aug. 10 and, having taken a more direct route to the moon, could make a landing...

The space race was still a thing when I was a kid but it hasn’t been for much of the last 45 years. But that’s starting to change as Russia, India, China and the US all gear up for various missions to the moon. In fact, both Russia and India have lunar landers touching down next week. Russia’s Luna-25 lander could touch down as soon as Monday, August 21. It’s the country’s first lunar mission in nearly half a century, and the first in the post-Soviet era. Two days later, on August 23, Chandrayaan-3 could become India’s first successful lunar...

Russia’s first lunar mission in nearly half a century came to a violent end when its unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the moon after encountering a problem when it began preparing for pre-landing orbit. Russian officials had hoped the prestige mission would show they can still compete in space despite their post-Soviet decline and the extreme loss suffered in the Ukraine war. Its failure highlighted the intense decline of Russia’s authority over space since the days of the Cold War, when Moscow was the first to launch a satellite — Sputnik 1 — to orbit...

Russia's first moon mission in nearly half a century may be in serious trouble. The Luna-25 spacecraft was supposed to maneuver itself into its final pre-landing orbit around the moon today (Aug. 19), ahead of a touchdown attempt on Monday (Aug. 21) or thereabouts. But the probe encountered a problem during the engine burn. "During the operation, an emergency situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters," Russia's space agency Roscosmos wrote in an update on Telegram today (in Russian; translation by Google). "The management team is currently...

Russia's first moon mission in 47 years failed after its Luna-25 space craft spun out of control and smashed into moon. Russia's state space corporation, Roskosmos, said it had lost contact with the craft shortly after a problem occurred as the craft was shunted into pre-landing orbit on Saturday. 'The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon,' Roskosmos said in a statement. Moscow had earlier reported an 'abnormal situation' with the craft. 'During the operation, an abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which...

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. The Luna-25 automatic lunar station, according to unconfirmed data, has been destroyed after colliding with the Moon’s surface, Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos told journalists on Sunday. The agency recalled that on August 19 that the lunar probe was scheduled to receive propulsion thrust to descend into its landing trajectory on the Moon's elliptical orbit. "At about 2:57 p.m. Decree time, the connection with the Luna-25 automatic lunar probe was lost," according to Roscosmos.

The first Russian spacecraft meant to land on the moon in nearly 50 years failed to enter its pre-landing orbit of the moon Saturday, according to Roscosmos, the Russian state space corporation. In a statement, the corporation said that an “abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the manoeuvre to be performed with the specified parameters.” The spacecraft, Luna-25, was expected to land on the moon on Monday, and it is unclear now whether it will stick to that schedule. Roscosmos said the team was investigating the situation but did not give further details. It...

Russia's first moon mission in nearly half a century may be in serious trouble. The Luna-25 spacecraft was supposed to maneuver itself into its final pre-landing orbit around the moon today (Aug. 19), ahead of a touchdown attempt on Monday (Aug. 21) or thereabouts. But the probe encountered a problem during the engine burn. -snip- If Luna-25 is indeed dead, it would be quite a blow to Russia's space program. Luna-25 is the first moon mission developed by modern Russia, and the first for it or its forerunner state, the Soviet Union, since Luna-24 in 1976.

An "abnormal situation" occurred at Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft on Saturday as it was preparing to transfer to its pre-landing orbit, Russia's national space agency Roskosmos said. The Russian spacecraft is scheduled to land on the south pole of the moon on Monday, part of a big power race to explore a part of the moon which scientists think may hold frozen water and precious elements. "During the operation, an abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the manoeuvre to be performed with the specified parameters," Roskosmos said in a short statement.

Russia has launched an uncrewed spacecraft to the Moon’s south pole — its first lunar mission in 47 years. If successful, the mission would be the first to land in the region, and could mark the start of considerable activity there involving multiple countries and private companies. -snip- Luna 25 launched aboard a Soyuz rocket at 11.11 p.m. UT on 10 August from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia — marking a move away from Russia’s dependence on Kazakhstan, which hosts its main launch site, the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It will take around 5 days for the spacecraft to reach a...

Russia has set its sights on the moon as it prepares to send a lunar lander into space next year. "The Luna-25 space project opens a long-term Russian lunar program, which includes missions to study the moon from orbit and surface, the collection and return of lunar soil to Earth, as well as, in the future, the construction of a visited lunar base and full-scale development of our satellite," a statement from Roscosmos officials says, according to Scientific American. The outlet reported that Russia is working in a partnership with the European Space Agency. The launch is slated for October...