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Russia fired a record 728 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, as well as 13 missiles, the Ukrainian air force said Wednesday, in the latest escalation amid mounting Russian aerial and ground attacks in the more than three-year war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the city of Lutsk, which lies in Ukraine’s northwest along the border with Poland and Belarus, was the hardest hit, though 10 other regions were also struck. Lutsk is home to airfields used by the Ukrainian army. Cargo planes and fighter jets routinely fly over the city. No casualties were immediately reported, as emergency crews...

The dominant Western narrative that Europe can arm Ukraine to victory against Russia is a “dangerous fantasy.” Europe’s defense industrial base is too hollowed out, its weapons production timelines too long, and its political will too fragile to offset Russia’s formidable military and industrial might.

US President Donald Trump voiced strong criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing deep frustration over their latest conversation about the ongoing war in Ukraine. Calling the situation “no good", Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy" with the call, as he accused Vladimir Putin of wanting to “keep killing people." “It’s a very tough situation," Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding, “He wants to go all the way- just keep killing people. It’s no good." The US president also suggested that additional US sanctions on Moscow could be imminent, saying sanctions were a recurring topic in...

AARHUS, Denmark (AP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Denmark on Thursday as the Nordic country launched its European Union presidency, the Danish prime minister’s office said. Zelenskyy flew into the western city of Aarhus. A Ukrainian flag flew from the aircraft cockpit as it parked. He was due to hold talks with Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, both staunch backers of Ukraine. His trip comes after the Trump administration decided to halt some arms shipments promised to help Kyiv fight off Russia´s invasion. “Ukraine belongs in the EU. It is in...

North Korea is tripling the number of troops fighting for Russia in Ukraine, sending 25,000 to 30,000 more soldiers, CNN reported, citing an intelligence assessment from Ukrainian officials. The country sent 11,000 troops to help repel Ukraine from the Kursk region of Russia last November. About 4,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed, CNN reported. Russian President Vladmir Putin did not confirm North Korea's involvement until late April.

Russia's wartime economy may finally be losing steam, fresh data shows. In June, Russia's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, sank to 47.5 — its sharpest pace of contraction since March 2022, according to S&P Global. This was a reversal from the PMI of 50.2 in May, when Russia's manufacturing activity expanded. The results from the latest S&P Global manufacturing PMI survey are a contrast against the resilience that Russia's economy has been projecting over the last few years. Russia appears to have avoided an economic collapse since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But many analysts have...

Until today, there have been no confirmed reports of Storm Shadows being deployed since November last year. VLADIMIR Putin's officers have been killed in droves in the first British-made Storm Shadow strike in months, reports claim. Bombshell footage showed the damage in Donetsk amid claims of “massive casualties among Russian officers” and the “crippling” of a mad Vlad fighting force. If confirmed, it would be the first use of the British-supplied missiles in months. Red-faced Russian authorities admitted only that a woman had died and three people were wounded, including a teenager. A building collapsed in the combined missile and...

North Korea's state television has aired footage of leader Kim Jong Un viewing, together with a delegation from Russia, an art performance honoring soldiers. A program broadcast on Monday by Korean Central Television featured Kim watching the performance together with Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova, who was visiting Pyongyang. Behind singers on stage singing a song honoring soldiers was a large screen displaying various images. They included photos of soldiers raising the national flags of both countries, as well as of Kim welcoming what appeared to be a flag-draped coffin and paying tribute. Some audience members from the two...

SummaryPilot shot down seven targets before crash, Air Force says Ukraine's third F-16 loss since deploying the jets last year Zelenskiy urges US, Western allies for more air defence support Russian attack involved more than 500 drones and missiles, Ukraine says KYIV/LVIV, Ukraine, June 29 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilot died in a crash while repelling a Russian air attack that involved hundreds of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles, authorities said on Sunday, as Moscow intensifies night-time air barrages in the fourth year of war. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for more support from Washington and Western allies to...

"This violent mutiny did not emerge in a vacuum; it is directly tied to the hopeless bloodbath unfolding near the Kupiansk front, specifically at the Pischane funnel. For months, Russian forces have tried and failed to break through Ukrainian defenses here. The Ukrainians have created a deadly trap by controlling the flanks, exposing any Russian assault to relentless drone and artillery fire from both sides. Yet commanders continue to send wave after wave of infantry into the funnel, hoping to drive a wedge through Ukrainian lines. Every new wave knows exactly how it will end, as almost no one from...

Housing and utility bills in some parts of Russia are expected to soar by up to 25% as the country's economic meltdown worsens. Russian media reports that tariffs on housing, gas, water and electricity will go up by an average of 11.9% on July 1, but some regions will see an increase between 23% and 25%. Mortgage rates have also soared to 25% in recent months. One Russian newspaper, translated into English by the BBC's Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg and shared on social media, says the increase will be "painful for many families". The same publication reports the experience of...

The Belarusian ruler’s price controls have backfired. Alexander Lukashenko’s stubborn grip on the Belarusian economy plunged the potato-happy country into a spud shortage this spring. Critics of the authoritarian ruler, who in January grabbed a seventh term in power, say he has warped the economy with strict price controls on staples like potatoes — while encouraging citizens to snitch on grocery stores that flout regime rules. The limits, launched by Lukashenko in October 2022 as he aimed to keep prices low and stave off inflation, instead made potatoes far less profitable for farmers to produce. Opponents say that decisions made...

Vladimir Putin has lost four warplanes worth £37 million each despite stepping up their defences after Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb. A pair of Su-34 fighters were destroyed and two more damaged after an attack on on Marinovka military airfield in Volgograd. Ukraine used long range drones to fly more than 200 miles to inflict the latest £148 million blow to Putin’s aerial firepower. It came less than a month after Russia supposedly tightened its military air base security after 40-plus strategic bombers and spy planes were hit in Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb. Russia responded by hitting Ukrainian civilians with a strike on...

Its inter-agency members sought to sabotage the Russian-US rapprochement. Reuters reported in mid-June that the Trump Administration had recently disbanded a secret inter-agency working group overseen by now-dismissed National Security Council members tasked with formulating strategies for coercing Russia into concessions to Ukraine. According to their three unnamed US official sources, Trump’s hitherto refusal to escalate American involvement in the conflict led to this initiative losing steam, though he could still potentially reverse gears in the future. At any rate, what’s most significant about Reuters’ report is that it confirms that a secret group of officials from the US’ permanent...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked President Donald Trump after they had a talk Wednesday at the NATO summit in the Netherlands — months after Vice President JD Vance called out Zelenskyy for not voicing more gratitude for U.S. support for Kyiv as it battles Moscow. When Zelenskyy visited the White House in February he sparred openly with Trump and Vance in the Oval Office over engaging in diplomacy with Russia to end the conflict, prompting Vance to ask the Ukrainian leader if he'd "said thank you once this entire meeting." But on Wednesday Zelenskyy made sure to thank Trump and...

President Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “couldn’t have been nicer” during their one-on-one meeting Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit at The Hague. Trump said at a press conference that the two leaders did not discuss details of a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, but stressed their shared desire to end the war swiftly. “No, no, I just — I wanted to know how he’s doing,” Trump told the reporter. “It was very nice, actually. We had a little rough times. He couldn’t have been nicer. I think he’d like to see an end to this, I...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was the target of an assassination plot to be carried out by a Polish pensioner who had first been recruited by the Soviet Union decades ago, the head of the country's internal security agency said. Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, head of Ukraine's SBU, the main internal security agency of the Ukrainian government, detailed the alleged plot in a closed briefing with Ukrainian media. Malyuk said the Polish man was activated by Russia with a plan to take out Zelensky at Poland's Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport using either a first-person view drone or a sniper rifle, TSN reported. The...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia is stepping up production of its Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile, which it launched for the first time against Ukraine last November. "Serial production of the latest Oreshnik medium-range missile system is under way," Putin told a graduating class of military cadets in televised comments. The system has "proven itself very well in combat conditions," he added. -snip- Putin has boasted that the Oreshnik is impossible to intercept and has destructive power comparable to a nuclear weapon, although some Western experts have cast doubt on those claims. In December, a U.S. official...

This is madness. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sends a twitter message as if he’s ordering coffee from the guy down the street, telling NATO members not to forget to send him his $40 billion in “budgetary support.”[SOURCE]Budgetary support means we pay for the operational cost of Ukraine government, including govt payrolls, pensions, healthcare services, welfare and social services for the people in Ukraine.The crazy thing is, unless Trump stops it, our congress will give it to him. And even if Trump tries to stop it, congress will demand the payment as part of their appropriations process.Maybe it’s just me, but...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed full confidence that Iran will emerge victorious amid rising tensions with Israel, calling the Netanyahu government the greatest threat to regional peace and stability. Speaking at an emergency summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdogan likened Israel’s current actions to those of Nazi Germany under Hitler, warning that Tel Aviv’s policies are setting the region—and the world—on fire. “We are confident that victory will be on Iran’s side,” Erdogan said, adding that “just as the spark ignited by Hitler 90 years ago set the world ablaze, Netanyahu’s...