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This is the moment more than 100 Russian troops are believed to have been killed in an ATACMS tactical ballistic missile strike on occupied Luhansk. A military training ground was seen being hit by multiple explosions typical of an ATACMS strike in footage captured by a drone flying high above. The strike targeted a group of 100-plus soldiers who were seen in aerial images, say OSINT analysts in what would be the single largest loss of Russian stories in months. The ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) showered the troops with hundreds of M74 APAM mini-bombs which are carried by the...

Aerial drone footage shared by military analysts on Wednesday appears to show dozens of Russian soldiers being targeted with U.S.-supplied long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, at a training ground in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region. The clip was shared on X, formerly Twitter, by a volunteer with GeoConfirmed, an OSINT account that geolocates visual content from the Russia-Ukraine war. "Ukrainian ATACMS strike, with 4 ATACMS, including one dud, hitting a Russian training area in Mozhnyakivka, Luhansk Oblast. Based on the footage the losses will be significant. 80 km behind the front line," GeoConfirmed said, sharing stills showing the impact...

Russia has no warships deployed in the Black Sea at present, Ukraine's Navy said on Wednesday, shortly after Moscow said Kyiv had attacked annexed Crimea with U.S.-supplied missiles—using Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS. Ukraine's military didn't detect Russian warships in the Black and Azov Seas on Wednesday morning. "In the Black and Azov Seas [the] enemy ships are missing," the press service of the Ukrainian Navy said. Kyiv has targeted Russia's Black Sea Fleet throughout President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of the country, which began in February 2022. Ukraine has vowed to reverse the Russian leader's 2014 annexation of...

Russell Bentley, a self-described “Donbass Cowboy,” joined Russian forces soon after they created a proxy state in eastern Ukraine in 2014. He quickly became one of Russian propaganda’s favorite Americans, receiving a Russian passport and a gig with state-run Sputnik TV. On April 8, the 64-year-old Austin native better known under his call sign “Texas” was detained by Russian soldiers in the city of Donetsk, occupied by Russia for the past decade, according to his wife. Eleven days later, he turned up dead. He is the latest in a string of figures involved in Russia’s 2014 takeover of parts of...

Fire broke out at energy facilities in Russia's Smolensk region after a Ukraine-launched drone attack and people were evacuated from parts of Lipetsk in Russia's southwest after a drone there fell on an industrial park, regional officials said. "Our region is again under attack by Ukrainian UAVs," Vasily Anokhin, the governor of the Smolensk region in Russia's west, said on the Telegram messaging app. "As a result of the enemy attack on civilian fuel and energy facilities, fires broke out in the Smolensk and Yartsevo districts," Anokhin said on the Telegram messaging app. It was not immediately known what facilities...

Ukraine has moved to restrict consular services at its diplomatic missions for men of conscription age (18-60) who live abroad as Kyiv tries to increase troop levels in its fight to repel invading Russian forces. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on April 23 that he ordered the restrictions because "staying abroad does not relieve a citizen of his or her duties to the Homeland." "As it looks like now, a man of conscription age goes abroad and shows his state that he does not care about its survival. He then comes back and wants to receive...

A UKRAINIAN missile struck Putin's oldest naval vessel in a massive blow to Russia's forces in Crimea. Footage showed flames and smoke billowing out from the 112-year-old warship in the occupied port of Sevastopol this morning. Explosions hit the area as Russians were forced to issue a missile warning and close Putin's prized Crimea bridge. Fire engines reportedly rushed to the port to put out the blaze on the 315-ft long vessel. A caption under the dramatic video, shared by Astra on Telegram, said: "The rocket hit the ship. See, it's burning." The vessel hit by Ukraine is Kommuna, the...

Ukraine's air force has previously said Russia has used the Tu-22M3 aircraft to fire Kh-22 cruise missiles at Ukrainian territory. The HUR said the bomber that was downed "carried out a missile attack against Ukraine on the night of April 19." The aircraft was shot down "as a result of a [HUR] special operation in cooperation with the Air Force," it said, adding that it was struck at a distance of about 300 kilometers from Ukraine. The HUR added: "It should be noted that this is the first successful destruction of a strategic bomber in the air during a combat...

Russian state media outlet Tass has reported that a Russian TU-22M3 strategic bomber crashed in Stavropol Krai, southwestern Russia. The exact cause of the crash remains unknown at this time as some Ukrainian sources claim that it was shot down, which would mark a first for the conflict. The crash comes as Russian bombers launched a series of missile strikes against Ukraine.

Ukraine's government has mocked Russia on the second anniversary of the sinking of Moscow's former Black Sea flagship at Kyiv's hands, after Ukraine targeted a slew of Russia's vessels since the start of the year. The Moskva sank on April 14, 2022, less than two months after the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The loss of the large cruiser, housing hundreds of crew members, was a significant strategic and propaganda blow to Russia in the opening weeks of the war. -snip- Kyiv said it used home-grown anti-ship missiles to strike the guided missile cruiser close to Snake Island,...

New videos appear to show a fire raging in northern Crimea, after reports of explosions around a military airfield overnight. Footage widely circulated on social media by Russian and Ukrainian sources early on Wednesday show bright flashes of light and explosions, with sirens wailing in the background. A local Telegram channel reported "several loud explosions," starting just before 4 a.m. local time, before a fire broke out. Roads around the air base are blocked, the channel later reported. Dzhankoy is a major military hub, home to one of Russia's largest airfields in Crimea. It is a key location for supplying...

Up to 30 Russian personnel may have been killed and another 80 injured, according to a new report, after dramatic footage appeared to show explosions at a Russian military base in northern Crimea overnight. "About 30 Russian servicemen were killed and about 80 were wounded at the airfield in Dzhankoy," a Crimean-based Telegram channel called Crimean Wind reported on Wednesday. Crimean Wind is a pro-Ukrainian monitoring group that focuses on Crimea and generally offers reliable information. Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine's southern forces, described Dzhankoy as a legitimate military target on Wednesday but declined to offer up further details. A...

Desperate locals are appealing for aid from the government, with one heartbreaking video showing a young boy from Orenburg whose home was flooded begging Vladimir Putin for help. Concerns are growing over the potential spread of deadly diseases following severe flooding in Russia and Kazakhstan, resulting in bodies being washed out from their graves. Widespread displacement was reported along the border region between Russia and Kazakhstan, with hundreds of thousands having to abandon their homes. Many residents are pleading for aid from Vladimir Putin amidst these desperate conditions and an apparently slow response from official sources. Desperate locals are appealing...

River Ural has burst its banks, inundating thousands of homes after heavy rain and melting ice swelled rivers across the region and in neighbouring Kazakhstan. Vast swathes of the city remain covered in muddy water, piling more misery on its residents. "I saved every penny, I denied myself everything, I tried for the sake of the house. And now it's all flooded - it's a nightmare," says 56-year-old medical worker Lyudmila Borodina.

UKRAINE has launched another blistering attack on one of Putin's key military airfields in occupied Crimea. Dramatic footage shows blinding explosions erupting overnight as Kyiv's forces destroyed valuable ammunition stores in the blitz. Ukraine launched it's overnight ambush above Dzhankoi airfield in northern Crimea. The military base - a key hub for Russia - is used by Putin’s twisted forces to launch strikes on Ukraine. Ukraine used US-made ATACMS long range missiles in the pinpoint strike. Some of Putin's valued choppers are kept at Dzhankoi along with Russian S-300 and S-400 missile systems. Missile alerts were only sounded after the...

Lots of footage of flash floods as spring thaws early in northern hills, bringing torrential floods along the Ural river. Commentary from Konstantin accompanies footage.

Tens of thousands of residents in the Russian city of Orenburg and neighbouring Kazakhstan have been told to evacuate immediately as flood waters inundate homes. -snip- Orenburg is home to half a million people, and the city's mayor Sergei Salmin said the situation was extremely dangerous. "Over the last 10 hours, the water level in the Ural River has risen by 40cm … these levels are dangerous," he wrote on the Telegram messenger app. He called on residents to gather essential items and to abandon their homes. Emergency workers said water levels in the Ural River were more than two...

THIS is the dramatic moment Vladimir Putin's £32 million Su-27 fighter jet plunges into flames in the Black Sea. Footage shows the pilot ejecting from the burning aircraft and launching his parachute before it explodes into a fireball inferno. The plane could be seen hurtling through the sky as onlookers watched on with horror from below. The aircraft eventually smashed into the sea off annexed Sevastopol in Crimea, but not before the pilot managed to escape within an inch of his life.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed American warnings of an imminent terrorist attack and urged leaders of the country’s security services to focus on catching Ukrainian spies instead. Three days later, Islamic State gunmen rampaged through a concert hall outside Moscow, killing more than 130 people in the deadliest episode of terrorism in Russia in decades. As Russia marked a national day of mourning on Sunday, the bloody assault on one of the nation’s best-known entertainment venues threatened to undermine Putin’s carefully cultivated strongman image and raised questions about the ability of the authoritarian state he has built to...

The Russian proxy leader in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, Mikhail Razvozhayev, claimed on the evening of March 23 that "10 missiles were shot down" over the city during an ongoing attack. The announcement came amid claims on Telegram channels about explosions and rising smoke in Sevastopol. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. Ukrainian officials usually do not comment on alleged attacks in occupied Crimea. -snip- The Crimean Wind Telegram channel published multiple videos and photos capturing projectiles, explosions, and smoke rising above the city. According to Crimean Wind, explosions were heard also in the Balaklava district, and a...