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By attacking the energy infrastructure of Ukraine, Russia is trying to 'flood' Europe with a new wave of refugees, Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal told French broadcaster TF-1 on Dec. 12. Shmyhal was arguing for Ukraine to be given access to Patriot anti-air systems, suggesting the batteries are needed to protect the country from Russian attacks, which routinely leave millions of Ukrainian without power, water, or heating.

NATO's head said earlier this month that Russia may want the fighting to slow, seeking a "freeze" in the fighting so it can better prepare for a bigger assault next year. "What we see now is Russia is actually trying to have some kind of 'freeze' of this war at least for a short period of time so they can regroup, repair, recover," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. "And then try to launch a bigger offensive next spring." The UK Ministry of Defence predicted on Monday that Russian forces will not see any big gains over the winter, even...

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not hold his annual year-end press conference for the first time in a decade, prompting speculation that the Russian leader is sick or running scared from answering questions about Ukraine as the war enters its 10th month. “As for the big press conference, yes, it won’t happen before the New Year,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday. “But we hope that the president will still find an opportunity to talk with [journalists], as he regularly does, including during foreign [visits],” Peskov added. While Peskov gave no reason behind the move, the war in Ukraine...

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...

Russia will spend around a third of its total budget on defence, security and law enforcement next year as the Ukraine war continues, UK intelligence has revealed. Vladimir Putin last week signed into law measures which will see an astonishing £117.5 billion - or 9 trillion rubles - spent in those areas in 2023. According to the ministry of defence (MoD) “this is a significant increase compared to prior years and will represent over 30 per cent of Russia’s entire budget”. In their latest intelligence update on the war in Ukraine, they added: “The budget approved by Putin is likely...

Igor Girkin, a Russian army veteran and former defense minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, was among those who "directly" criticized the Russian leader. According to the ISW, Girkin "specifically criticized" Putin's statement on December 9 that described the progress of the "special military operation" as "stable." In a Telegram post, Girkin said: "[Putin] "assured us that the Special Military Operation was proceeding normally, calmly, according to plan (however, this time he did not add anything about being ahead of schedule)." In addition, the ISW added in its assessment that Russian authorities planned to launch programs in Russia and...

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...

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...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, ATGMs, MANPADS, loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When the...

A full-blown “major war” between Russia and the West could possibly break out over Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned on Friday. Commenting on the state of play ten months since Russia mounted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that it is a “fateful time for Europe” and that things could “go horribly wrong” and spill over from a proxy into a direct conflict between Russia and the NATO alliance. Speaking with Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, Stoltenberg said: “I fear that the war in Ukraine will get out of control, and spread into a major...

Vladimir Putin is reportedly set to have surgery following a fall and is also preparing to move his “loved ones” to a huge bunker facility to celebrate New Year's Eve. Russian President Vladimir Putin, 70, allegedly slipped coming down stairs at his Moscow home and bruised his tailbone, but his office has denied the claims. The Russian leader was seen overnight walking gingerly but unaided down the steps of his aircraft in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, for a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union. -snip- Putin, 70, was also seen awkwardly climbing steps in light snow to meet summit...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, ATGMs, MANPADS, loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When the...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Russian forces have “destroyed” the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, while Ukraine’s military on Saturday reported missile, rocket and air strikes in multiple parts of the country that Moscow is trying to conquer after months of resistance. The latest battles of Russia’s 9 1/2 month war in Ukraine have centred on four provinces that Russian President Vladimir Putin triumphantly — and illegally — claimed to have annexed in late September. The fighting indicates Russia’s struggle to establish control of those regions and Ukraine’s persistence to reclaim them.

Vladimir Putin had been due to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month. However, in a sign of growing Russian isolation on the world stage, an Indian government source said the meeting has now been abruptly cancelled. The move to cancel the annual face-to-face meeting was taken after veiled threats by Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war, according to Bloomberg News. Indian and Russian leaders have held face-to-face meetings every year for the past 21 years - except for 2020 due to Covid. An Indian official told Bloomberg that a meeting with President...

Incoming House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) called for arms to Ukraine to help destroy the Russian military as public officials have increasingly warned about the prospect of a “major war” between the West and Russia. CBS News asked McCaul about House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) claim that a House Republican majority would not send a “blank check” to Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has been disappointed by the statement of German ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, where she claimed that the Minsk agreements of 2014 enabled Ukraine to prepare for war with Russia. For me, it was completely unexpected. It is disappointing. I did not expect to hear something like that from the ex-Chancellor. I always hoped that the German leadership was genuine. Yes, she was on Ukraine’s side, supporting it. But nevertheless, I genuinely hoped that German leadership expected a settlement based on the principles achieved, among other things, during the Minsk negotiations." "It appears to me that...

The head of NATO expressed worry that the fighting in Ukraine could spin out of control and become a war between Russia and NATO, according to an interview released Friday. “If things go wrong, they can go horribly wrong,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in remarks to Norwegian broadcaster NRK. “It is a terrible war in Ukraine. It is also a war that can become a full-fledged war that spreads into a major war between NATO and Russia,” he said. “We are working on that every day to avoid that.”

Update

Russian President Vladimir Putin waited only six months before switching from a special military operation to full scale war against Ukraine. Putin's initial assault was limited to barely 150,000 troops. He expected a quick victory followed by negotiations on his principal concerns: Russian control of Crimea, Ukrainian neutrality, and autonomy for the Russian population in the Donbas, but he was wrong. Putin had not counted on Ukraine's stiff resistance or the West's massive military and economic intervention. Faced with a new situation, Putin changed his strategy. Now he is about to unleash his own General Sherman and make Ukraine howl....

A lot of interesting info about the Ukrainian attacks on Russian air bases.