He also imposed a brutal form of martial law, ordering looters to be shot by firing squad. Ukrainian officials have accused Girkin of shooting dead prisoners. Analysts said Mr Girkin, a former FSB colonel, traveled to Donetsk as a freelance nationalist fighter in 2014 and that his charisma and know-how propelled him to leadership. For … Read more
Russia has begun withdrawing troops across a major river to escape a Ukrainian counter-offensive, Ukrainian officials said yesterday. Mykolayiv district governor Vitaly Kim said the entire Russian command staff had withdrawn from the western bank of the Dnipro River that flows through the occupied city of Kherson in the southeast. If confirmed, an estimated 20,000 … Read more
Iran’s hardliners have threatened to kill former US President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after the stabbing of Sir Salman Rushdie – allegedly by Hadi Matar, a Muslim hailed by the religious regime in Tehran. The Kayhan newspaper, whose editor was personally selected by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has … Read more
The Kremlin has not commented on the preliminary agreement between Estonia and Finland, although Yury Shvytkin, deputy chair of the Russian Duma’s defense committee, said a threat to close the Gulf of Finland would provoke a Russian response. “There are no barriers to Russian warships,” he said. “However, we are not trying to escalate tensions. … Read more
Kherson is across the Dnipro River from its supply lines, which run from Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. Using long-range artillery supplied by the West, Ukraine pounded the main Antonovsky Bridge that crosses the Dnipro River, a nearby railway bridge and a secondary road bridge in the city of Nova Kakhovka. The Defense Ministry … Read more
Ilya went straight from university to the Volkswagen factory and tried out different roles, from on-site quality control to handling complaints after purchase. During his ten years at the factory, Ilya married, got a mortgage and paid it off. He was fired along with 200 other employees. “It was a very emotional moment when I … Read more
In a muddy field on the outskirts of Kiev, soldiers bent over the hand controls and chatted in muffled voices about the direction of the drone buzzing above them. It takes a certain skill to successfully navigate the drone, explains Oleksandr, 45, the head of the Dronarium training center, and it doesn’t come from traditional … Read more
It said the specific locations to be searched were the “45 Office” – Mr Trump’s current office – and “all storage areas and any other rooms or areas within the property used or available by FPOTUS.” [the former president] and his staff.” It approved the seizure of “all physical documents with classification markings”. Also, “communications … Read more
A Facebook account linked to the suspect by law enforcement, cited by NBC News, had posted photos of Soleimani – killed in a US drone strike in 2020 – as well as Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued Rushdie’s 1989 fatwa, as well as his successor. ayatollah khamenei. The account was deleted late Friday night. There … Read more
Saky airport, Ukrainian officials said, was a major staging post for air strikes on Kiev’s positions in the southern cities of Kherson and Mykolaiv. Meanwhile, several explosions were reported Thursday that shook a military air base in Belarus near the Ukrainian border, believed to be used by Russia as one of the launch pads for … Read more