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Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Commander of the Tavriia Operational and Strategic Group of Forces (OSGF), has reported that Ukraine will appeal to international humanitarian organisations and intermediary countries over "a certain number" of Ukrainian soldiers captured in the war-torn town of Avdiivka. The withdrawal of personnel from Avdiivka took place in accordance with a plan developed with due regard to various scenarios and possible changes in the operational situation. Nevertheless, at the final stage of the operation, under the pressure of the enemy's superior forces, a certain number of Ukrainian soldiers were captured."

20 mil (lots of dead soldiers) vs 144 mil. simple math

The outspoken founder of the Wagner mercenary group complained that Vladimir Putin has cut off all contact with him following his constant demands for more ammunition for his fighters in Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin, a catering mogul and Putin’s long-time ally, said in a message on his Telegram channel Thursday that he has been unable to get through to anyone at the Kremlin. The apparent silent treatment came after Prigozhin publicly called on the Russian Ministry of Defense to supply ammunition to his mercenaries fighting to capture the key city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which has seen some of the...

The demented prison-recruitment scheme top Russian military brass are using to find fresh cannon fodder for the war against Ukraine apparently isn’t going so well: 11 inmates are on the run in Donetsk while their fellow recruits have been tossed into basements for refusing to fight. That’s according to the independent outlet Ostorozhno, Novosti, which released damning leaked audio on Tuesday that captures the unfolding chaos. About 70 inmates are being held against their will in a basement in Donetsk after a conflict with their commanders went off the rails, one inmate told the outlet. He said he and 10...

KYIV -- The average lifespan on the frontline of the fierce fighting in the city of Bakhmut is "four hours," according to an American fighting side by side with the Ukrainian army against Russian forces in the Donbas. Former U.S. Marine Troy Offenbecker, of Michigan, told ABC News that the situation in the city, which has seen some of the deadliest fighting since Russia's full-scale invasion, is "chaotic" and has been dubbed "the meat grinder." "It's been pretty bad on the ground," he told ABC News. "A lot of casualties. The life expectancy is around four hours on the frontline."

US President Joe Biden’s administration will soon release its National Security Strategy, which is being revised in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The document will no doubt trigger a renewed debate about how the United States should gear up for a new cold war against Russia and China. But before we plunge into a global great-power competition, it’s worth recalling Biden’s promise to create a “foreign policy for the middle class” and take a look at what most concerns Americans.US President Joe Biden’s administration will soon release its National Security Strategy, which is being revised in the wake...

My initial introduction to the CIA was through the medium of film and literature. The spy versus spy mystique was alluringly romantic, with a definite ‘good versus evil’ vibe. I grew up, after all, during the Cold War, where the ‘red menace’ permeated every fiber of American popular culture. I opted to serve my country in the military, and not as a spy, receiving a commission in the Marine Corps in 1984 as an intelligence officer. My specialty was combat, not espionage, and it seemed that my path and that of the premier American intelligence agency were never to cross....

Gala concert devoted to the 1160th anniversary of Russian statehood Vladimir Putin made a speech at a gala concert marking the 1160th anniversary of Russian statehood. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends, Today, we are marking the 1160th anniversary of Russian statehood. I would like to congratulate you on this momentous historical date that is of key importance for Russia. Veliky Novgorod, Rurikovo Settlement, Staraya (Old) Ladoga and Izborsk are the cradle of Rus, the source of our civilisation and our state, our culture and education. It is from here, from the north, that the guards of the first Russian...

The war exposed Ukraine to two of her most critical vulnerabilities – questionable legitimacy and extreme nationalism. Legitimacy derives from acceptance and recognition. However, Ukraine’s neighbors Russia, Poland, and Romania do not accept their current borders with Ukraine.###After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Ukraine got its borders within which she achieved independence and millions of Russians, Poles, Hungarians and Romanians were trapped in a newly created country.The Ukrainian problem is greatly exacerbated by the fact that unlike pluralistic societies such as the USA, Canada, Switzerland, and Russia, which are tolerant of different cultures, religions, and languages, Ukraine is not....

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has thrust himself more directly into strategic planning for the war in Ukraine in recent weeks, American officials said, including rejecting requests from his commanders on the ground that they be allowed to retreat from the vital southern city of Kherson. A withdrawal from Kherson would allow the Russian military to pull back across the Dnipro River in an orderly way, preserving its equipment and saving the lives of soldiers. But such a retreat would be another humiliating public acknowledgment of Mr. Putin’s failure in the war, and would hand a second major victory...

Vladimir Putin can call up all the troops he wants, but Russia has no way of getting those new troops the training and weapons they need to fight in Ukraine any time soon. With his invasion of Ukraine faltering badly, the Russian President on Wednesday announced the immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Russian television that the country will call up 300,000 reservists. If they end up facing Ukrainian guns on the front lines, they are likely to become the newest casualties in the invasion Putin started more than seven months ago and that...

Advisory - Story has been withdrawn - Multiple bodies found at mass burial site in Ukraine's Izium with rope around necks

All have fallen for the believe that the Ukrainian rapid advance has caused a Russian defeat. That however is not the case. The main Russian forces had already left the area. What was left were sentry guards of the Luhansk People’s Republic and a few companies of the Russian National Guard which is more or less a police force. That is why the ‘western’ official talking with Reuters is quite cautious with his assessment: “There’s an ongoing debate about the nature of the Russian drawdown, however it’s likely that in strict military terms, this was a withdrawal, ordered and sanctioned...

A commander of an elite unit of Ukrainian marines has told Sky News the majority of his best trained troops have been injured or killed. "My unit was 100% made up of professional soldiers who have a lot of experience. Now, 80% are incapacitated from serious injuries or death," he says. In comments which will alarm those backing Ukraine in its four-month long war with Russia, he says he does not know how long his unit can sustain such losses. Citing the number of people who have lost their lives in the defence of Severodonetsk, the governor of Luhansk, Sergey...

LYSYCHANSK, Ukraine (Tribune News Service) — The first shell was the worst, mostly because it came as a surprise. But then the soldiers thought it was OK to get up, dust themselves off. That's when the second one landed, and it was the worst. The third one is when they understood they were being hunted and somehow that shelling was now the worst. Their commander, a breezily confident 31-year-old named Levan, gathered his squad and waited for the bang of outgoing artillery. He made a dash around the corner to the next block, taking cover beneath the trees before sprinting...

Former British Army Intelligence Officer and Chief Executive of McKenzie Intelligence, Forbes McKenzie takes us through what's happening in the east of Ukraine and Russia's tactics.

Despite all the effusive praise the brave Ukrainian military has received in the western press, extolling all the humiliating defeats the Ukrainians have dealt the Russians, the reality on the ground appears to be entirely in Russia’s favor. And that reality was acknowledged on a recent Council of Foreign Relations Zoom call by retired lieutenant general and former deputy commander of United States European Command Stephen Twitty, who told the other neocons on the call that Ukraine simply cannot win this war and needs to sue for peace as soon as possible. ...

When Vladimir Putin unleashed an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the Ukrainian media, public and policymakers almost unanimously began calling the Russian president and the state he leads “rashyst.” The term is a hybrid of a derogatory moniker for Russia – “rasha” – and “fascist.” Ukrainians did so for two reasons. First, they were countering Putin’s absurd insistence that the Ukrainian authorities – including Ukraine’s Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy – were Nazis and that Ukraine needed to be “de-Nazified.” Since Ukraine’s tiny number of right-wing extremists are about as influential as the Proud Boys in the United...

In January-April 2022, Germany increased imports from Russia by 60% and transferred almost EUR 6 billion to Moscow, despite the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Andrii Melnyk announced this on his Twitter account on Friday, June 10. 'It's crazy. Despite the Russian aggressive war, in January-April 2022, Germany increased imports from Russia by 60% (!) And transferred almost EUR 6 billion to Moscow. Trade between Ukraine and Germany fell by 11%," Melnyk said. As proof, the Ambassador of Ukraine published an infographics of trade. As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on June 7, the adviser...

When Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in late February, the Russian president vowed his forces would not occupy the country. But as the invasion reached its 100th day Friday, Moscow seemed increasingly unwilling to relinquish the territory it has taken in the war. The ruble is now an official currency in the southern Kherson region, alongside the Ukrainian hryvnia. Residents there and in Russia-controlled parts of the Zaporizhzhia region are being offered expedited Russian passports. The Kremlin-installed administrations in both regions have talked about plans to become part of Russia. The Moscow-backed leaders of separatist areas in eastern Ukraine’s...