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Ukraine struck a railway depot and knocked out power in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol deep behind the front line on Wednesday amid growing talk from Kyiv of a counterassault against Russian forces worn out by a failed winter offensive. Unverified images on the internet showed explosions lighting up the night sky with streaks of contrails in Melitopol, base of the Russian-controlled administration in Zaporizhzhia, one of five Ukrainian provinces Russia claims to have annexed. Ukraine's exiled mayor of the city confirmed there were explosions there. Russia's state TASS news agency, citing Moscow-installed officials, said a railway depot was damaged...

A Russian tank formation intended to cause devastation in Ukraine has been hit with heavy losses due to low morale and poor discipline, it has been reported. The 10th tank regiment is part of the 3rd army corps, the first major new Russian formation in the invasion, but it has already lost 'a large proportion of its tanks, according to British intelligence. After failing attempts to capture Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, Moscow is diverting the ailing legion to nearby Avdiivka, The Telegraph reports. -snip- The Ministry of Defence stated: '10th tank regiment's losses have largely been due to tactically...

Moscow's high society has been rocked by a scandal after a pair of prominent Vladimir Putin cronies were allegedly heard insulting the Russian despot. Oligarch and former Russian senator Farkhad Akhmedov and high-profile Moscow music producer Iosif Prigozhin, both supposedly supporters of Putin, have been accused of calling him a 'Satan' and a 'dwarf'. An audio recording of what is reportedly a 35-minute phone call between the wealthy pair was shared by Ukraine's Channel Five and quickly jumped on by other outlets - as well as Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). In the audio clip, the pair are heard eviscerating...

The controversial head of Russia's Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, has been decorated as an "honored human rights defender of the Chechen Republic." He was cited for "outstanding services in the defense of the constitutional rights and liberties of the citizenry," according to Russian state media on March 24.

More than 5,000 former criminals have been pardoned after finishing their contracts to fight in Russia's Wagner mercenary group against Ukraine, the founder of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Saturday. Wagner Group, originally staffed by battle-hardened veterans of the Russian armed forces, took on a much more prominent role in the Ukraine war after the Russian army suffered a series of humiliating defeats last year.

-snip- Opposition minority party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has said Putin is welcome and EFF leader Julius Malema said that no one was going to arrest him in the country where Russia "played a huge role to support the struggle for freedom". -snip- "Putin is welcomed here. No one is going to arrest Putin. He [Putin] will address, finish all his meetings, and we will take him back to the airport," Mr Malema said. He continued: "We know our friends. We know the people who liberated us. We know the people who supported us." A spokesperson for President Cyril...

Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, will be attending the BRICS Summit in August this year, on invitation by the South African government. BRICS is a group of the world’s biggest emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and late-addition South Africa. The International Criminal Court in the Hague has issued a warrant of arrest for the Russian leader for war crimes stemming from the conflict with Ukraine that started over a year ago on 28 February 2022. The ICC warrant means that South Africa, a signatory to the ICC, will be obliged to arrest Mr Putin and hand him over if...

The ANC has remained silent about the International Criminal Court’s issuing an arrest warrant for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, but the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said the Russian leader was “welcome” in South Africa. South Africa faces a diplomatic problem because Putin is among the international dignitaries expected to attend the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in the country in August. During a media briefing earlier this week, ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula dodged a question about whether the government would arrest Putin should he enter the country. South Africa as a member state of the ICC...

Russia laid out conditions on Monday for agreeing to any further extension of the Black Sea grain deal, and President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow could send free grain to African countries if those conditions were not met. -snip- Speaking at a Russia-Africa parliamentary conference in Moscow on Monday, Putin said grain exports under the Black Sea deal had unfairly prioritised "well-fed European markets" rather than African countries, and that the renewal of the deal on Russia's terms was in the continent's interests.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded the bulk of grain and fertiliser to be exported under the Black Sea Initiative must be channelled to Africa. -snip- Speaking to African government ministers on Monday during the International Parliamentary Conference, dubbed "Africa in a Multipolar World", in Moscow, Putin said his key demands were that Africans should be the biggest beneficiaries. "We insist on the package nature of this deal - above all, in the interests of African and other developing countries, considering that they need large amounts of food - we insist on full compliance with Russia's key requirements, first of...

Russia's president Vladimir Putin, 70, is taking tanks as old as he is out of storage in his desperate bid to crush Ukraine on the battlefield. A video showing long obsolete Soviet-era T-54B and T-55A tanks - designed to be used in the armies of Soviet tyrant Josef Stalin - on a train carried across Russia, presumably destined for the frontlines of the war, has emerged. It comes with Putin having already raided museums and storage depots for retired T-62 battle tanks, which halted production 12 years ago. The geriatric T-54 was originally produced by Stalin after the Second World...

A shaky-looking Vladimir Putin praised his 'dear friend' President Xi Jinping while he gripped the arms of his chair during the Chinese leader's visit to Moscow today. Putin appeared to be trembling and clutching his seat as he welcomed Xi to the Kremlin today for a three-day visit in a sign that the 70-year-old's health is continuing to deteriorate. The Russian despot said he was willing to discuss Beijing's plan to end the war in Ukraine - a move that has been met with scepticism in Kyiv and the West, with world leaders questioning the real motive behind Beijing's plan...

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner Group, on Wednesday intensified his angry attacks on the Russian Defense Ministry, charging Kremlin officials of intentionally preventing his fighters from capturing Bakhmut out of jealousy over his military successes. The authorities’ decision to deny Wagner ammunition, according to the “Putin’s Chef” mercenary boss, has slowed the bloody campaign to capture Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. Prigozhin claimed that the objective is clear in Putin’s mind which is that he can’t let PMC Wagner capture Bakhmut. His remarks, which he made on Wednesday during an interview with several Russian media sources, are the most recent...

Vladimir Putin was seen limping as he made a surprise visit to Crimea amid claims he is suffering health problems, a day after war crimes arrest warrant was issued for the Russian leader. The 70-year-old defied the West and arrived in annexed Crimea today, said Russian media reports. Footage appeared to show Putin in naval port Sevastopol which has been targeted by repeated Ukrainian strikes in recent months. His arrival came one day after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest on war crimes accusations.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova on Friday. Both face accusations of committing war crimes associated with the Russia-Ukraine war. The ICC alleges that Lvova-Belova and Putin were conducting unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to the Russian Federation. -snip- "When we brought them to the territory of the Moscow region so that they could recover a little, the story began that they spoke negatively about [Putin], said all sorts of nasty things, sang the anthem of Ukraine, 'Glory to Ukraine' and all that," Lvova-Belova said, according to a...

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Friday against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of being responsible for war crimes committed in Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its one-year invasion of its neighbour. The ICC issued the warrant for Putin's arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

Syria's Bashar al Assad has offered Russian President Vladimir Putin his support in the conflict in Ukraine. In a televised meeting with Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday, Assad said Russia was fighting "neo-Nazis and old Nazis" in Ukraine, according to a Russian translation.

Chinese comrades are well aware of both the real state of health of the Russian president and his tricks with a double. Xi Jinping is also aware of Putin's therapy that began on March 5 and the deterioration of his health. The decision of the Chinese leader at the end of March to accept the invitation of the Russian president and visit Russia is connected precisely with the full awareness of Xi Jinping and his desire to hold a meeting when Putin is as weak and vulnerable as possible. The Chinese leadership regularly informs about the trends and prospects for...

UPDATES: Western military sources told AFP Tuesday there had been an "incident" involving a US-made Reaper drone flying over the Black Sea, an area of intense NATO military activity close to the Ukraine war frontlines

Yesterday, Kremlin information resources showed a meeting of two "absolutely healthy" people, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov. The meeting was supposed to demonstrate the excellent health of the participants and their "strong handshake". It didn't work out very well. Putin, against the background of undergoing urgent therapy, does not feel the best way, and recently he has again increased abdominal pain, which is not always completely stopped. In the footage of the meeting with the head of Chechnya, Putin sat in a chair, in the moment, contorted in pain, frantically grasping his...