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Russia’s only aircraft carrier caught fire on Thursday, only a matter of months before it was meant to return to sea after lengthy repairs.The Admiral Kuznetsov was close to being released back to the Russian navy after years of repairs when it caught fire, Alexei Rakhmanov, head of the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), told Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.“There has been a little problem during repairs,” Mr Rakhmanov said. “The blaze has been put out. All fire alarms worked normally. There are no casualties or damage.”About 20 people were evacuated from the ship that caught fire at the drydock...

Five examples when the Ukrainian warriors proved there is nothing impossible for Ukraine Since the first days of the russian full-scale invasion, Ukrainian defense forces have not only been deterring russian offense against multiply overwhelming force, but also doing it the way that writes the modern history of warfare. Defense Express has gathered five examples of when the Ukrainians made what'd been seen impossible. *Read more: [The russians Brought the Most Powerful Artillery Systems to Bakhmut, But They May Run out of Ammunition- https://en.defence-ua.com/analysis/the_russians_brought_the_most_powerful_artillery_systems_to_bakhmut_but_they_may_run_out_of_ammunition-5115.html] The Terms of Mastering New Weapons Nowadays it is taken for granted: the allies give some...

A Russian military convoy that was outside of Ivankiv, Ukraine, on Sunday has since made it to the outskirts of Kyiv, satellite images show.On Sunday, the convoy was roughly 40 miles northwest of the Ukrainian capital, according to images provided by Maxar Technologies.Maxar said that roughly 17 miles of roadway is chocked full of the convoy, which consists of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistical vehicles. The private US company said the convoy was located on the T-1011 highway at Antonov air base around 11:11 a.m local time.Antonov is roughly 17 miles from the center of the Ukrainian...

INTERVIEW of Grigorij Mesežnikov: Why did Putin decide to start mobilization? Should we take the Kremlin's claims about a nuclear strike seriously? What can protests in the Russian Federation lead to? — Why did Putin decide to start mobilization? Did the people who stood for the war to the end win? — He decided to mobilize, because he no longer had a way out. In fact, he is a rat that has cornered itself. The Russian army is losing, and if such dynamics continue, then Ukraine could liberate a significant part of the territory that was captured by Russia by...

Ukrainian fighters have found a new use for outdated grenades that is proving spectacularly effective at destroying Russian tanks and other armored vehicles. This photo released by Aerorozvidka, an organization that develops Ukraine's use of small drones in warfare, shows a Ukrainian-made octocopter drone with two bomblets mounted beneath it. Videos recently released by Aerorozvidka show what appears to be the same, tail-finned explosives being dropped by drone before destroying armored vehicles with catastrophic explosions. Weapons trackers following the conflict in Ukraine have identified the bomblets as modified Soviet-era RKG-3 anti-tank grenades with 3D-printed tail fins attached to stabilize...

Can Brussels raid the tens of billions of euros in Russian assets frozen by the European Union to pay for Ukraine’s recovery? This thorny legal question is currently under examination by the EU Commission as the cash-strapped bloc looks for potentially €18 billion ($18 billion) next year to keep Ukraine afloat as it fends off Moscow’s invasion. Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Commission's president, told reporters on Tuesday in Berlin that she had set up a task force to both map what assets exist as well as the preconditions that must be met to seize them. “The will is...

A small, unmanned watercraft of unknown origin washed up from the Black Sea on the shore of Crimea, near Russia’s naval base in Sevastopol, late last month. Pictures posted on Russian social media show what appears to be a small, novel surface drone made from commercial watercraft parts laden with explosives that could explain recent Russian Navy trends to keep their warships in port over the last three weeks. The unmanned surface vehicle was not identified by national markings, but the character of the USV and the Russian reaction to destroying the watercraft suggest that the drone originated in Ukraine....

The horrifying attacks on Ukraine yesterday– are a sign that the Russian president is, if not yet desperate, getting nearer to it. They represent a highly significant psychological shift for the beleaguered leader. He is no longer trying to win the war: now he is simply trying not to visibly lose it. Previously he could have defined victory however he wanted. But by annexing Ukrainian regions, he has upped the already high stakes. If he cedes so-called ‘Russian’ territory, he will become the Tsar who gave away Russian land instead of the strongman who restored the empire. And by ordering...

From what I have read, a truck filled with explosives blew up, killing three people in a car nearby, and then the flames took over a train also crossing the bridge. That train was full of fuel. It is only thanks to the amazing speed at which the bridge crews reacted that the damage was limited to only 9 wagons and, therefore, to a much shorter segment of the rail tracks.Looking at the video, one would imagine that the bridge is in ruins. In fact, traffic was reestablished on both rail tracks and the road in less than 24 hours...

ideos have emerged on social media that appeared to show infighting among Russia's elite, with mobilized Russians allegedly complaining about accommodation conditions before being sent to fight in Ukraine. On Wednesday, the pro-Russian Telegram channel Rybar published a video that appeared to show Russian soldiers standing in front of a passenger train. The clip has been geolocated to Russia's Belgorod region near the Ukraine border. "We are now in the Belgorod region. There are about 500 of us. Material support, monetary allowance...Absolutely nothing!" the cameraman states, panning the video to his fellow soldiers. The majority have their face covered with...

Kadyrov boasted that Putin has 'personally congratulated' him with a promotion He said he gives his word that he will 'honour this trust' offered by Putin The warlord is rumoured to want to oust defence minister Sergei Shoigu Vladimir Putin has promoted his feared crony Ramzan Kadyrov to Colonel-General amid rumours of a senior new war role for the brutal Chechen leader. The Kremlin loyalist boasted in video that he had been 'personally congratulated' by the Russian despot, amid fears the warlord could be poised for even greater responsibility in Ukraine. Kadyrov, who has been one of the biggest cheerleaders...

Ukrainian forces have counted more gains on the battlefield, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailing more “good news from the front lines” in his nightly address Tuesday. Rapid and significant gains have been counted in Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south in particular, with advances in the Kherson region. Now, dozens of settlements have been liberated this week across four regions that Russia “annexed” last week, Zelenskyy said. Moscow’s hold on “annexed” territories (Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk) looks increasingly tenuous, with none of the regions fully occupied by Russian forces, and as Ukraine’s counteroffensives in the east and south maintain their...

As Vladimir Putin signed laws Wednesday formally declaring a huge swath of Ukraine part of Russia, his ambassador in Washington called the United States' plan to provide Ukraine with an additional $625 million in military aid an "immediate threat" to Russia's strategic interests. The ambassador said the ongoing provision of heavy weapons to Ukraine had cemented "Washington's status as a participant in the conflict." The latest American military aid package for Ukraine, announced Tuesday, includes additional "HIMARS" advanced rocket systems — weapons credited with helping the country gain momentum against Russia's occupying forces — as well as other artillery systems,...

SVIATOHIRSK/KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces have broken through Russia’s defences in the south of the country while expanding their rapid offensive in the east, seizing back more territory in areas annexed by Moscow and threatening supply lines for Russian troops. Making their biggest breakthrough in the south since the war began, Ukrainian forces recaptured several villages in an advance along the strategic Dnipro River on Monday, Ukrainian officials and a Russian-installed leader in the area said. The southern breakthrough mirrors recent Ukrainian advances in the east, even as Moscow has tried to raise the stakes by annexing land, ordering mobilisation,...

CHECHEN leader Ramzan Kadyrov has immediately taken to Telegram to blame Russian commander Alexander Lapin for Russia’s retreat in Lyman, Ukraine. Ramzan Kadyrov blamed Colonel General Oleksandr Lapin, who commanded the defence of this section of the front, for the loss of Lyman. “I have always said: there is nothing better than the truth, however bitter and hurtful, but the truth,” he said. “It is the only way to move forward. That is why I cannot keep quiet about what happened in Krasny Lyman.” He added: “The commander of the Central Military District Colonel-General Alexander Lapin was in charge of...

You will NEVER see this in America.

mid growing concerns about a potential new large-scale Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory, at least one Russian T-80 tank has apparently been sighted in occupied Crimea with a bizarre-looking ad hoc armor fit. Armor of this type has been increasingly appearing on Russian tanks as of late and appears to be primarily intended to defend them against attacks by loitering munitions and other armed unmanned aircraft. The solution, which is part of a wider trend of improved defenses for Russian tanks, may well have been inspired by the destruction wrought by drone-launched munitions during last year’s conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, although...

Vladimir Putin has taken to comparing himself to some of his czarist predecessors, invoking their military triumphs. In June, he praised Peter the Great for “taking back and reinforcing” territory in the Baltics in the Great Northern War in the 18th century. But as Putin’s effort to conquer parts of Ukraine slogs into its sixth month, some historians feel he more closely resembles Nicholas II, whose 1904-1905 war against Japan was an unmitigated disaster. The parallels between the two conflicts are undeniable. Just as Nicholas underestimated his Japanese adversary, so did Putin, who was convinced that his invasion of Ukraine...

How the Situation in Ukraine Could Get Far More Dangerous: After days of a withering Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Russian defense ministry announced that it was withdrawing its forces from two areas in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. In a video statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky quipped, “The Russian army in these days is demonstrating the best that it can do — showing its back.” Ukrainians celebrated, and rightly so. While Russian spokesmen said that Russian forces were “repositioning” ahead of a new offensive, reporters on the ground cast doubt on such pronouncements both because they mirror Russian statements as it abandoned its...

A Bayraktar TB2 of the Ukrainian Air Force armed with MAM-L; two ground control stations are in the background. Many years ago when the drone hobby was emerging, it was clear drones had a military potential. What was not foreseen is that civilian grade drones would also make their impact on the modern battlefield. The Ukrainian war changed everything for Ukrainian civilians, and now drones are one of the biggest assets for the Ukrainian Defense Force. Drones have become a force multiplier for infantry forward observers. Next Level Drone Warfare The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is heavily reliant on...