Worldcrunch
On the one hand, the prevalence of Soviet-era T-55 tanks, golf carts, donkeys and other makeshift transport are a clear sign of Moscow’s exhaustion. On the other hand, Russia is clearly investing in a transformation of its military. It’s the real reason that Europe is mobilizing.
Russia announced that it has taken back Sudzha, the biggest town in Kursk, just hours after a surprise visit from the Russian president in the region and as a U.S. delegation arrives in Moscow to discuss a ceasefire proposal. All eyes are now on Putin.
Both Russia and Ukraine are waiting to see what stance the new U.S. president and his administration will take on the war and aid to Kyiv. Within Russia’s pro-war factions, some are eagerly anticipating a potential shift in U.S. policy. But regardless of Washington’s decisions, Ukraine’s main allies are those ensuring Moscow’s military is corrupt and inefficient.
Russia’s Roskomnadzor agency blocked the Discord messaging application earlier this month, and thus disrupted one of the Russian military’s well-established communication systems. It’s a reminder of the Kremlin’s need for Western technology to wage its war against Ukraine.
With increased aggression from clients, police repression and a sudden decrease in their livelihoods, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is impacting this already-vulnerable group of women.
At least 91 Indians have been forced to fight alongside the Russian army on the frontlines, and so far, eight Indian nationals have been killed. Many families have been waiting agonizingly long for their loved ones to return home.
More than 200 Russian missiles and drones rained down on Ukraine in one of the heaviest bombardments since the start of the Russian invasion. A response to the Ukrainian incursion into Russia, and a desire to break Ukrainian morale before possible negotiations.
After going on humanitarian missions in Kenya and Rwanda, Ukrainian surgeon Evgeniy Tkachev returned home in 2014 when the Donbas war broke out. He recounts his experiences as a medical volunteer then and now, as his hometown of Chasiv Yar is being stormed by Russian troops.
So-called “convalescent regiments” have been formed within the Russian army in an apparently desperate, and inhumane, attempt to avoid a deepening shortage of troops.
In the Ukraine war, Russia’s military spending is as high as ever. Now the West is alarmed because the Kremlin leader is indirectly hinting at a possible attack on Latvia, a NATO member. It is a reminder of a growing danger to Europe.
A report Monday from Reuters tells us what all knew: Vladimir Putin will seek a fifth term in Russia’s March 2024 presidential elections. But he needs a high turnout and overwhelming support to seal the legitimacy of his war in Ukraine.
A year has passed since Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a partial mobilization of military reservists on Sept. 21, 2022. As rumors of a second wave of mobilization continue to circulate on social media, the independent Russian news site Vazhnyye Istorii (Important Stories) and the Conflict Intelligence Team found how the Russian draftees were largely treated as cannon fodder for the Ukraine war.
The Russian Orthodox Church has long supported Russia’s ongoing war effort in Ukraine. Now, clergy members in other countries are suspected of collaborating with and recruiting for Russian security forces.
Warfare is not only traumatic for people and infrastructure but also has a large impact on the natural environment. The environmental damages of the Ukraine war will likely be be so great that even neighboring countries will suffer their effects.
A bill introduced to the Russian State Duma this week would allow the National Guard of Russia to receive tanks and other heavy military equipment and could turn the structure directly under Putin’s command into a second army.
The owner of the Wagner mercenary group says he will refuse an order from Russia’s defense ministry to fold his fighters into the regular military — but it may be a sign that the Russian government finally wants to get rid of the increasingly powerful mercenary chief.
Moscow quickly deleted an article detailing the mobilization process and the formation of new units, which made clear that potential Russian conscripts have two choices: flee or fight.
Hundreds of thousands of Russians have taken part in the war. On returning, many face difficulties to return to normal life and finding work, as independent Russian news outlet Vazhnyye Istorii/Important Stories reports.
The continuing heavy shelling of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities shows that Russia still has more missiles than Ukrainians would have hoped. The look through the web of Kremlin diktats and murky international commerce that keeps the Russian military churning out hardware that drives the war in Ukraine
Head of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin’s furious videos have been aimed in the past at Putin’s deputies and generals. Now, he’s taking aim at the tsar himself.
The law gives authorities unlimited opportunities to impose travel bans, prohibit foreign travel, grant loans, execute real estate transactions and block driver licenses of those who don’t show up for conscription. But will it be enough to supply Moscow’s military with the trained forces it needs?
A Ukrainian journalist considers the controversy over the shutting down of exiled, independent Russian television station TV Dozhd. Can Russians be opposed to Putin’s war and yet support the troops?
French President Macron used his bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping to try to convince China to take a tougher line with Moscow.
Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Chechnya, is one of the most recognizable (and hawkish) figures in the orbit of Russian President Vladimir Putin. But beyond his online bluster, he is keeping his options open as Moscow loses ground in the war in Ukraine.
Ravil Maganov, chairman of the Russian oil company Lukoil, died on Thursday after “he fell out of the window of a Moscow hospital,” according to Russian media reports. Meanwhile TASS news agency reported his death as a suicide. The 67 year-old was hospitalized after suffering from a heart attack. Stay up-to-date with the latest on […]
While delivering the welcome address at the Moscow Conference on International Security on Tuesday, Vladimir Putin accused Washington of “dragging out” the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian president also mentioned the visit by Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan earlier this month, calling it a “thoroughly planned provocation”. The conference, which […]
Reports are circulating that Putin might use May 9, Russia’s “Victory Day”, to announce a mass mobilization of the war in Ukraine. That would be a huge escalation for what’s still referred to as a “special military operation,” and has so far mostly counted on recruits far from major population centers.
It is said that Russian parents start thinking of ways to get male children out of required military service before they are even born. Can Moscow change the system without weakening defense?