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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...

These people are not oligarchs per se, but they're people who sit in positions that have some kind of authority over important cash flows - particularly in the oil and gas business,' such as firms Gazprom, Lukoil, Novatek or Gazprombank. 'The sanctions have been devastating for Russia... as a result the pie has been seriously diminished, and a lot of people want to keep their own personal cash flow at the level they had before the war started. 'And so everyone is looking around to redistribute pieces of the pie. Bill Browder, who once ran Russia's largest foreign investment fund,...

Doubts have today been raised over whether a missile which hit Poland earlier this week really was a Ukrainian rocket gone haywire, with US and European officials calling for further investigation as President Zelensky continues to insist it was a Russian weapon. Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO leaders yesterday played down suspicions that Moscow was behind the S-300 missile which hit the town of Przewodow on Tuesday, killing two, insisting it was 'highly probable' that it had come from Kyiv's forces – meaning the allies will not respond militarily, which could have sparked WW3. But President Zelensky yesterday insisted...

-Vladimir Putin has been offered surrender terms by Ukraine and allies, a prominent Russian academic said -Plan would see Russia give up all territory in Ukraine except Crimea, which would become demilitarised zone -In return, Putin and cronies would avoid war crimes prosecution and remain in power, Valery Solovey claimed -Details emerged as Russian troops fled Kherson, with Ukraine liberating the city after eight-month occupation -Putin's forces fled east across the Dnipro River, with Ukrainians painting a picture of a chaotic retreat, that saw Russian troops ditching their uniforms or drowning while trying to escape Vladimir Putin has been offered...

Xi Jinping issued rebuke of Putin's war in Ukraine during summit in Beijing Chinese leader warned Kremlin not to use nuclear weapons in the conflict Xi also urged Germany's Olaf Scholz to push for peace talks as pair met While Xi did not name Putin directly, call for Russia to withdraw, or blame Moscow for the war, it is none-the-less his strongest criticism so far Xi Jinping has issued a direct warning to Putin not to use nukes in Ukraine in China's bluntest rebuke yet to the Kremlin. In the early days of the war, China's foreign ministry repeated Russian...

Putin sacks ANOTHER top general, Western officials say Russia is in advanced stages of planning retreat from Kherson, officials believe 'Reinforcements' are actually conscripts designed to cover the retreat, they said If retreat happens, Russia will try to play it off as 'evacuation' to protect civilians Meanwhile Russian General Lapin has 'probably' been sacked, officials added Russia is planning to retreat from the city of Kherson and play it off as a civilian evacuation, Western officials said today. Putin's troops are in the advanced stages of preparing for the retreat, the officials said, having moved conscripts into the city to...

Warns we have entered the most dangerous decade since WW2 Putin laid out thoughts on foreign policy in a rambling speech in Moscow, accusing West of fanning flames of war in Ukraine He also accused the West of rejecting his peace plan and stoking tensions over Taiwan Blamed westerners for causing global food crisis, in what appeared to be an appeal to allies in China and Africa It is the latest in series of bitter speeches Putin has given since invading Ukraine on February 24 this year Russian leader, laying out his warped view of global politics, accused westerners of...

Across Ukraine, Putin’s forces are in retreat. Except in the eastern town of Bakhmut - where Russian billionaire Yevgeny Prigozhin is sacrificing thousands of his Wagner mercenaries in an attempt to retake the town. This suicidal advance is at first glance strategically insignificant – but as this video explains it could be part of Prigozhin’s attempt to grab more power. VIDEO at UK Daily Mail

'Progressive' Democrats have been slammed for penning an open letter to Joe Biden calling on him to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine with Vladimir Putin. Thirty left-wing politicians - among them Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar - wrote to Biden on Monday saying that 'direct talks with Russia' to 'seek a rapid end to the conflict' should be his 'top priority'.

Russia is laying the groundwork to destroy a key Ukrainian dam which would flood Kherson and cover its troops' retreat from the city, a think-tank has concluded. General Sergei Surovikin, Russia's new supreme commander in Ukraine, has spoken to Russian media in recent days about what he called a 'devastating strike' on the Nova Kakhovka dam which he said was being plotted by Kyiv's troops. Surovikin, who has also been preparing the Russian public for a retreat from the region, said the blast would flood Kherson and cause widespread damage. This is likely setting up for a 'false-flag attack' that...

Comes after 48 hours of blistering offensives that have been captured on film and seen for the first time Kyiv's men have also made gains in the north and east, as they push from Kharkiv and Donetsk into Luhansk Troops can be seen storming across fields in American-made Humvees, taking Russian fire as they advance Ukraine has pushed Russia back by 12 miles in the south as dramatic footage reveals the blistering pace of attacks that have sent Putin's men fleeing for their lives. Videos taken in Kherson in recent days show Ukrainian forces storming Russian defences in American-made Humvees...

Russian torture chamber with bucket of pulled-out teeth and gold fillings where people were 'BURIED ALIVE' is uncovered in newly-liberated Ukrainian town Ukrainians claim to have uncovered Russian torture chamber in liberated town Found a bucket of teeth and gold fillings that were yanked from torture victims People were also forced to wear a gas mask that had a burning rag stuffed into it while others were buried alive, according to Ukrainian officials Comes after Ukraine made rapid advances in the south and north of the country

into humiliating retreat: and liberate dozens of occupied towns - as NATO 'warns Kremlin will test NUKES on the border to save face' Russia's frontline has collapsed in the south of Ukraine with dozens of towns liberated in a matter of hours Kyiv said its troops are 'confidently advancing to the sea' as city of Davydiv Brid is now under their control Pro-Russian military bloggers said their forces had retreated around 10 miles down the Dnipro River It comes just days after Putin declared the Kherson region - along with three others - to be part of Russia Russia's frontline...

Expert argues THIS is how the war could end Putin has spent the last week ramping up his war in Ukraine, from 300,000 conscripts to nuclear threats But his bluster is aimed at hiding the fact that Russia is losing the war, as Ukraine recaptures territory Alp Sevimlisoy, of Atlantic Council think-tank == about what Russian defeat could look like Putin would not survive the defeat, he argues, while Russia itself could break up leaving the West competing with China over the spoils and NATO in a face-off with Beijing Land grabs, hundreds of thousand of conscripts thrown on to...

As Kremlin stooges ramp up nuclear threats At least 25 civilians have been killed and another 50 wounded after Russian missiles hit a convoy in Ukraine Cars were heading from Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia into Russian-occupied territory at the time Images showed two lines of bombed-out vehicles with dead bodies lying on the road and blood on the floor Comes as Putin prepares to annex Zaporizhzhia and three other Ukrainian regions to Russia to 'protect' them A Russian airstrike has destroyed a humanitarian convoy in southern Ukraine leaving dozens of civilians dead and wounded, Ukrainian officials said today. Images show...

Vladimir Putin will formally annex occupied regions of Ukraine to Russian in a major speech tomorrow, the Kremlin has confirmed, as he attempts to regain the initiative after his forces suffered a humiliating rout earlier this month. Putin's speech comes after Russian-backed proxy governments in Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions held sham referendums earlier this week on whether to go ahead with the move. Armed Russian soldiers taking ballot boxes door-to-door left the results in no doubt, and Ukraine along with its Western allies have vowed not to recognise the results. But it still marks a turning point in...

Russia sends troops to Georgian border to 'set up checkpoint' as Kremlin denies plan to impose martial law and stop people from leaving after 260,000 fled Putin's draft in five days Russian troops were filmed arriving at border with Georgia Monday afternoon FSB said they were there to stop men storming the crossing amid huge queue But it comes amid rumours Putin is preparing to declare martial law and ban fighting-age men from leaving after 260,000 fled in just five days Kremlin denied that any conversations about closing border had taken place Russian troops have been deployed near the border...

Russian troops have been deployed near the border with Georgia today even as the Kremlin tries to stamp out rumours that Putin is about to introduce martial law and ban people from leaving in order to avoid being conscripted into the army. Footage geolocated to the small town of Chmi, on the main highway from Russia into Georgia's South Ossetia region, shows at least six soldiers sitting on top of an armoured vehicle passing a queue of cars in the direction of the crossing. Troops arrived to set up a checkpoint, sources told the Russia's RBC network, with the FSB...

Armed police are going door-to-door while gun-toting mercenaries are guarding polling stations as Russian stages sham referendums in occupied Ukraine. 'Voting' is now underway in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions on whether or not to become provinces of Russia - with the results fixed by Moscow. But, just to make extra sure, Kremlin officials, military police and hired guns are keeping a careful eye over the process - with Ukrainian politicians reporting that they are kicking front doors in to force people to cast their ballots. Serhiy Haidai, governor of occupied Luhansk, said some towns under Russian occupation have...

It is an outcome that few dared to hope for. But 10 days after Ukraine's generals announced the start of their first major counter-attack against Russian troops, the road to victory is starting to become clearer. Clever tactics saw Ukraine's commanders draw Russian troops into the south of the country before pinning them down with a counter-attack around the city of Kherson. Some of Putin's best men are now all-but trapped in the city, bullied by Ukrainian artillery and with no easy way to retreat back across the Dnipro River after HIMARS strikes destroyed the main bridges. That gave Ukraine...