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Russia has recaptured a monastery that was one of the last remaining Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region after a fierce 10-day battle. Vladimir Putin’s forces are in control of the St Nicholas Belogorsky Monastery in the border village of Gornal, around a mile from Ukraine, state media reported. It had been used as a base for as many as 300 Ukrainian soldiers trying to organise the defence of captured Russian territory. Moscow’s troops managed to break the Ukrainian foothold at the historic landmark after fierce fighting in the area The claimed Russian victory means Ukraine’s shock incursion into Russia’s...

MAD Vladimir Putin's top stooge has raged that European troops in Ukraine would "return in coffins" as plans are drawn up for a peacekeeping force in the war-torn country. French President Emmanuel Macron, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US envoy Steve Witkoff began their meeting in Paris on crafting a ceasefire to finally end the bloody war. As Ukrainian officials discuss deploying troops in Volodymyr Zelensky's nation with their British, French and German counterparts, Putin's puppets have been raging over the talks. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev made a clear warning to the West of sending...

Russia has attacked at least eight Ukrainian energy facilities since March 18 when Moscow says it halted such attacks, a senior Ukrainian presidential official said on Wednesday. Ihor Zhovkva, speaking on national television, also said that, contrary to Russian statements, no preconditions were discussed with U.S. officials as they agreed a Black Sea truce with Russia during talks in Saudi Arabia this week. The Kremlin said earlier that a number of conditions must be met before the Black Sea maritime security deal negotiated with the United States can be activated.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are currently speaking on the phone about settling the Ukraine conflict, the White House has said. "The call is going well, and still in progress," deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino wrote in a post on X. The pair began speaking at 2pm UK time.

Putin CRUSHES Trump's Ceasefire Trap, Ukraine's Army COLLAPSES in Kursk!My prediction: By 2050 even Wikipedia won't know what the word "ukraine" might have ever meant....

The Kremlin said the number of drones shot down over the Moscow region last night is evidence its air defence system "worked well". But not everyone we spoke to in Vidnoye shared that optimism. -snip- This was just one of nearly 100 drones shot down over the Moscow region, which the Kremlin said was evidence that Moscow's air defence system "worked well". But not everyone we spoke to in Vidnoye shared that optimism. "The very fact that it was missed is unpleasant," said Oganes, 30, suggesting the scale of Ukraine's overall attack, which saw Russia shoot down 337 drones in...

Pretty darn interesting realistic 3D generated beginning of WW3.

Ukraine’s drone warfare has reached unprecedented heights, with 1.2 million drones produced in 2024 alone. Key components include FPV kamikaze drones, reconnaissance quadcopters, and long-range strike UAVs like the Lyutyy, which boasts a 600-mile range.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his generals have an artful knack for keeping the Russian military bear off-balance. On Sunday, they renewed their offensive in the Russian Kursk Oblast, once again catching the Russian high command, Kremlin, and many pundits by surprise. Reports of a demoralized Ukrainian army fighting to retain terrain captured during the August Kursk offensive — of which at least 40 percent has been lost — have circulated among western media and Russian milbloggers since November. So too reports that Ukraine’s 155th Mechanized Brigade — trained and equipped by France — was under-resourced in “first person view...

Russian vodka enthusiasts are seething after the Finance Ministry implemented a 17 percent price hike for a half-litre bottle on New Year's Day. Russia holds the title as the world's largest vodka producer, accounting for over 30 percent of global production. Domestic consumption makes up more than 90 percent of Russia-made vodka, making it one of the country's most beloved beverages. As of January 1st, a bottle will now set consumers back 349 rubles (£2.53), up from 299 (£2.16) - a jump of 50 rubles. This follows a 6.4 percent increase in June 2024, meaning that within the last six...

Furious Russians have been shown bitterly complaining about the soaring cost of groceries in a revealing clip which underlines the parlous state of the nation’s economy almost three years in Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. And the clip, uploaded to X by a Russian blogger and shared by among others former Ukrainian Interior Ministerial adviser Anton Geraschenko, demonstrated that ordinary Russians are feeling the pinch. In it, the narrator says: “Oh my God! Shaving foam costs 570 rubles [£4.39] already. What a horror. A couple of months ago I bought it for only 250 rubles [£1.77].” He then asks one...

Ukraine has launched a fresh offensive in Russia's Kursk region, the Russian Defence Ministry says. In a statement, the military said efforts to destroy the Ukrainian attack groups are ongoing. Officials in Ukraine have also suggested an operation is under way.

Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk, a region some want to hold at all costs while others question the value of having gone in at all. Battles are so intense that some Ukrainian commanders can’t evacuate the dead. Communication lags and poorly timed tactics have cost lives, and troops have little way to counterattack, seven front-line soldiers and commanders told The Associated Press... Some front-line commanders said conditions are tough, morale is low and troops are questioning command decisions, even the very purpose of...

More evidence is piling up that Russia's military-industrial complex is nearing the brink after nearly three years of fighting in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin mobilized the economy for Russia's invasion, resulting in massive amounts of state funds for defense contractors along with low unemployment as working-age people build weapons in factories or serve on the front lines. But that also stoked inflation, which has hit 9% and even forced Putin to acknowledge that it's "alarming." Russia's central has hiked its benchmark rate to 21% to rein in prices, but businesses are feeling the strain of all that monetary tightening. In...

Ukraine’s military cannot independently retake Crimea and Donbas, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Parisien, published on Tuesday. He warned that entering negotiations with Putin under current conditions would give the Russian leader the power to dictate terms across the region. “First, we need to develop a model, an action plan, a peace plan — call it what you will. Then, we can present it to Putin or, more broadly, to the Russian people,” Zelensky explained.

The Kremlin has appointed Lieutenant General Andrei Ivanayev as commander of the Vostok Battalion group of forces, which is leading the assault in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, according to state affiliated media. The popular Ukrainian military Telegram channel Country Politics, which has more than 290,000 followers, reported Ivanayev's appointment on Friday suggesting it was tied to a visit by Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov to the region. Over the past year, Russian forces have made grueling but steady advances in the Donbas, which President Putin formally annexed as part of Russia in September 2022 though his troops only partially control...

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Izvestia newspaper in an interview published Wednesday that Russia sees "no grounds for negotiations yet" to end Moscow's war on Ukraine. President-elect Donald Trump's imminent return to the White House has revived speculation as to a possible deal to end Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor, which by the time Trump takes office again will be nearly three years old. Russia still occupies around 20% of Ukraine and claims to have annexed four entire regions -- Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia -- though it only partially occupies the areas it claims.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X on Sunday that his nation is facing sustained "Russian aerial terror." The past week, he said, has seen Russia use "more than 500 guided aerial bombs, nearly 660 strike drones and approximately 120 missiles of various types against us." European Council President Antonio Costa and chief diplomat Kaja Kallas arrived in Kyiv Sunday to underscore the bloc's support for Ukraine. Ukraine's need for more Western air defense systems was among the topics discussed, Zelenskyy said later. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz likewise arrived in the Ukrainian capital on Monday morning. His visit is the first...

More than 100,000 soldiers have been charged under Ukraine’s desertion laws since Russia invaded in 2022, according to the country’s General Prosecutor. Desertion is starving the Ukrainian army of desperately needed manpower and crippling its battle plans at a crucial time in its war with Russia. Facing every imaginable shortage, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops, tired and bereft, have walked away from combat and front-line positions to slide into anonymity, according to soldiers, lawyers and Ukrainian officials. Entire units have abandoned their posts, leaving defensive lines vulnerable and accelerating territorial losses, according to military commanders and soldiers. Some take...

Ukrainian officials expect a counteroffensive in western Russia to begin in the coming days as North Korea’s troops train with Russian forces. -snip- The Russian military has assembled a force of 50,000 soldiers, including North Korean troops, as it prepares to begin an assault aimed at reclaiming territory seized by Ukraine in the Kursk region of Russia, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials. -snip- North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to fight with Russia in Kursk, American officials say. The troops are wearing Russian uniforms and have been equipped by Moscow, but they will probably fight in their...