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RUSSIA has hundreds of thousands of soldiers, thousands of tanks, and hundreds of warplanes preparing for a new assault, Ukraine has warned. Vladimir Putin is believed to be preparing for a massive new offensive in the coming weeks to coincide with the first anniversary of the war in February 24. Ukraine has been monitoring the military build up as they continue to plea for Western support - including during Volodymyr Zelensky's visit yesterday to London. Zelensky hailed the UK for its support - but warned it may not be enough, and called for modern fighter planes. The new assault is...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia was being threatened by German tanks, like during World War Two, speaking at an event in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, marking the Soviet victory over Nazi forces in the city. 'It's unbelievable but true. We are again being threatened by German Leopard tanks,' Putin said, adding that Russia had an 'answer' to any country that threatened it. Putin appeared to have brought his 'nuclear football' to Volgograd. Aides were seen close to the dictator carrying two black bags. Observers believed one was a fold-up shield to protect Putin in the event of shooting,...

Footage from a fierce ongoing battle around Vuhledar, southwest of Donetsk, shows Russian soldiers retreating after their five vehicles were hit by Ukrainian artillery. The Russian troops were forced to run away and leave their wounded crawling behind them after being struck by airburst ammunition. -snip- Russia is said to be planning a 'new pre-emptive strike' in Ukraine according to satellite photos which show Putin's forces building up fortifications. The new offensive will reportedly take place ahead of the first anniversary of their invasion on February 24.

Moscow's proposals for settlement in Ukraine are well known to Kyiv and either Ukraine fulfils them for their own good or the Russian army will decide the issue, TASS agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying. "Our proposals for the demilitarization and denazification of the territories controlled by the regime, the elimination of threats to Russia's security emanating from there, including our new lands, are well known to the enemy," the state news agency quoted Lavrov as saying late on Monday. "The point is simple: Fulfil them for your own good. Otherwise, the issue will be decided by...

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Please. Yulia Bubnova: Good afternoon. TASS Agency, Yulia Bubnova. To be honest, I would like to start with some summing up. Clearly, it was not the easiest year, and not the most ordinary, but what are its main results for you? What have we achieved, perhaps, what did we fail to achieve, and how do you see our future, where are we going and where should we arrive? Thank you. Vladimir Putin: There are no ideal situations. Ideal situations only happen in plans, on paper, and you always want something more. But in general, I...

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the Russian army must learn from and fix the problems it had suffered in Ukraine, promising to give the military whatever it needed to prosecute a war nearing the end of its 10th month. In a speech to defence chiefs in Moscow, Putin said there were no financial limits on what the government would provide in terms of equipment and hardware. "We have no funding restrictions. The country and the government are providing everything that the army asks for," he said. Putin acknowledged, not for the first time, that the call-up of 300,000...

Vladimir Putin on Tuesday angrily gave marching orders to Russia’s security forces to redouble their efforts to root out traitors and spies working to undermine his regime. -snip- “Maximum composure, concentration of forces is now required from counterintelligence agencies, including military intelligence,” Putin said. “It is necessary to harshly crack down on the actions of foreign special services, promptly identify traitors, spies and saboteurs.” In an uncharacteristic break from the official line that the so-called “special military operation” is going according to plan, Putin admitted the situation was “difficult” in the four regions of Ukraine that were illegally annexed by...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to one of the most dangerous battlefronts in the war against Russia Tuesday when visiting with his troops on the front lines in Bakhmut. The small city in eastern Donetsk and its surrounding area has come to look like a scene out of World War II, as men fill muddy and freezing trenches that wind through destroyed landscapes, while the remnants of pummeled apartment blocks and scorched buildings show the effects of months of shelling in Bakhmut. -snip- Zelenskyy’s visit comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time conceded Tuesday that his 10-month-long...

Vladimir Putin's underfire defence minister Sergei Shoigu was seen limping through a palace hall in Belarus today, months after the Kremlin denied that he had suffered a heart attack. The Russian defence minister — notionally in charge of Russia's invasion of Ukraine — was seen limping in the Palace of Independence in Minsk, with his right hand in his pocket. No explanation was immediately given for his condition.

ormer Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested on Friday that members of the NATO military alliance providing Ukraine with assistance could be "legitimate military targets." In a lengthy statement on his Telegram channel, Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, questioned whether the delivery of weapons to Ukraine by NATO nations could be viewed as an attack on his country. Today...the main question is whether the hybrid war de facto declared on our country by NATO can be considered to be the alliance's entry into war with Russia? Is it possible to view the delivery of a large volume...

President Vladimir Putin has sought proposals from his armed forces commanders on how they think Russia's military campaign in Ukraine should proceed, during a visit to the operation's headquarters, the Kremlin said on Saturday. A series of defeats in 10 months of fighting, resulting in Russian withdrawals from areas around the capital Kyiv and Ukraine's second city Kharkiv and most recently from the city of Kherson, have forced Putin to call up reservists and generated rare public criticism from military bloggers and some allies. -snip- In video footage released by the Kremlin on Saturday, Putin presided at a meeting of...

Basic services were being restored in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Saturday after the latest wave of Russian air strikes on critical infrastructure, as residents navigated a city gripped by fog and girded for a holiday season marked by uncertainty. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a quarter of Kyiv remained without heating but that the metro system was back in service and all residents had been reconnected to water supply by early morning. Only around one-third of the city remained without electricity, he said, but emergency outages would still be implemented to save power. "Because the deficit of electricity is significant," he...

The United States plans to expand its training of Ukrainian troops in Europe as Russia continues to bombard the country with missile strikes, the Pentagon announced. “We will expand U.S.-led training for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, to include joint maneuver and combined arms operations training, while building upon the specialized equipment training that we’re already providing to the Ukrainians,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Thursday.

MOSCOW—The Kremlin said that U.S. Patriot missile-defense systems would be a legitimate target if supplied to Ukraine, signaling that Russia doesn’t intend to cease its military offensive even in the face of superior weaponry. U.S. officials this week said Washington was finalizing plans to provide Ukraine with the highly advanced weaponry that would significantly boost its air-defense capabilities, following months of Russian missile and drone attacks on the country’s power grid, cities and civilian infrastructure. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that the coveted missile- defense batteries would absolutely be fair game for a strike, but added that he...

Governor of Luhansk region said Ukrainian forces attacked a hotel in Kadiivka Serhiy Gaidai said survivors face inadequate medical services to treat them Ukrainian officials also claim up to 200 Russian troops were killed in Melitopol But President Zelensky said situation 'remains very difficult' in frontline cities Serhiy Gaidai (pictured), the governor of the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, told Ukrainian television that Ukrainian forces have attacked a hotel where members of Russia's brutal private Wagner military group were based Ukrainian forces have attacked a hotel where members of Russia's brutal private Wagner military group were based, killing many, a local leader...

VLADIMIR Putin has cancelled his annual press conference for the first time in 10 years and axed his New Year's Eve party at the Kremlin. It comes amid ongoing rumours about his poor health and his struggles with Russia's disastrous war in Ukraine. Putin has been speculated to be suffering ailments from cancer to Parkinson's - and has repeatedly appeared unwell on camera. And meanwhile, there is growing dissatisfaction with his failing war as Russia fast approaches 100,000 casualties in Ukraine. Since 2012, the final press conference of the President of Russia has always been held in December. The seemingly...

The Pentagon has given a tacit endorsement of Ukraine’s long-range attacks on targets inside Russia after President Putin’s multiple missile strikes against Kyiv’s critical infrastructure. Since daily assaults on civilians began in October, the Pentagon has revised its threat assessment of the war in Ukraine. Crucially, this includes new judgments about whether arms shipments to Kyiv might lead to a military confrontation between Russia and Nato. This represents a significant development in the nine-month war between Ukraine and Russia, with Washington now likelier to supply Kyiv with longer-range weapons. “We’re still using the same escalatory calculations but the fear of...

A barrage of HIMARS missiles was unleashed on the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol. The Ukrainian city of Melitopol is under attack again this evening, Saturday, December 10. Images and video footage posted on social media show various locations burning. It is believed that at least eight missiles found their targets without being shot down by air defences. There are casualties reported but the number is yet to be specified. -snip- Meanwhile, Ivan Federov, the mayor of Melitopol wrote on his Telegram channel: “Fire, water and toasted Russians”. In another post, he added information about the strikes: “Occupiers, what’s all...

Russia's oil exports have plunged amid the latest round of western sanctions. According to data from Kpler, Russian seaborne oil shipments fell 16% on Tuesday. Russia's central bank has called the sanctions "new economic shocks" that could derail the economy. Russia's oil exports have plunged amid the European Union's price cap on Russian crude and the latest round of sanctions, squeezing revenues for Moscow's wartime economy. According to data from the analytics firm Kpler, Russia's seaborne oil shipments fell by 16%, or about half a million barrels per day on Tuesday this week. TankerTrackers.com, another analytics site, recorded an even...

Vladimir Putin guzzled champagne as he blamed Ukraine for Russia's military strikes while admitting the Kremlin has struck key civilian infrastructure. "There's a lot of noise about our strikes on the energy infrastructure of a neighbouring country. Yes, we do that. But who started it?" the Russian president said at an awards ceremony. Russian President Vladimir Putin put on a grotesquely grand dinner for senior Kremlin members to award Gold Star medals to Heroes of Russia on the eve of Heroes of the Fatherland Day in Moscow. -snip- Also in attendance was Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Head of Chechnya, Ramzan...