‘Everyone is afraid’: Wagner’s arrival in Belarus sparks fear in Polish border town
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Russia launched a fresh wave of drone strikes on Kyiv and other parts of the country early on Tuesday morning, Ukraine has said.
The Kremlin used Iranian-made Shahed drones to attack Kyiv for the sixth time this month, but all were shot down, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration, said.
Air raid sirens wailed across the capital and attacks were also reported in the north and centre of Ukraine but none in the south. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to buildings.
Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said air defences had been engaged in three regions in the north of the country.
“About 10 drones were recorded, the information is being clarified,” he told Ukrainian television, adding that up to five were destroyed.
Earlier, thousands of Wagner group mercenaries have arrived in Belarus since the group’s short-lived rebellion, a military monitoring group said.
Between 3,450 and 3,650 soldiers have travelled to a camp close to Asipovichy, a town 230 kilometres (140 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, according to Belaruski Hajun, an activist group that tracks troop movements within the country.
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1690274765Russia launches fresh strikes on Kyiv
Russia launched new drone strikes on Kyiv and parts of central and northern Ukraine early on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
There were also no reports of new attacks on southern Ukraine, which had been struck almost every night since Russia pulled out of a deal allowing the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea on July 17.
Russia used Iranian-made Shahed drones to attack Kyiv for the sixth time this month, but all were shot down, said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration.
Air raid alerts blared for more than three-and-half hours over the Kyiv region. Regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko said there had been no reports of damage or casualties although falling debris set off a fire in a field.
Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said air defences had been engaged in three regions in the north of the country.
“About 10 drones were recorded, the information is being clarified,” he told Ukrainian television, adding that up to five were destroyed.
A man works on the rubble of an apartment building destroyed in Russian missile attacks in Odesa, Ukraine, Sunday
(PA Wire)
Matt Mathers25 July 2023 09:46
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Estonian-based fighter jet pilots focused despite Ukraine war – RAF commander
Pilots flying fighter jets in Estonia are “very well placed” to deal with threats in the Baltic Sea despite the Russian war in Ukraine, an RAF Lossiemouth wing commander has said.
British military personnel have been deployed at the eastern European country’s Amari airbase since March to uphold security in the region as part of Nato’s Baltic air police mission.
The mission, known as Operation Azotize, began in March 2023 and is the second deployment in the region since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Martha Mchardy25 July 2023 21:00
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Watch: Russian fighter jet damages US drone with flares over Syria
Russian fighter jet damages US drone with flares over Syria
Martha Mchardy25 July 2023 20:15
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Russian military delegation to join Chinese in North Korea visit
A Russian delegation led by defence minister Sergei Shoigu will visit North Korea this week, Shoigu’s ministry announced on Tuesday, joining a Chinese group as the first such public visitors to the country since the start of the pandemic.
The delegations will visit to celebrate the 70th anniversary of “Victory Day” on Thursday in Pyongyang, state media agency KCNA reported, with Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong leading the group from his country.
Russia’s Defence Ministry, whose delegation will visit from Tuesday to Thursday, said it had been invited by its North Korean counterpart and would attend the Victory Day events.
“This visit will contribute to strengthening Russian-North Korean military ties and will be an important stage in the development of cooperation between the two countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
North Korea closed its border in early 2020 to all trade and diplomatic exchanges, even with its main economic and political partners China and Russia. The state media report did not say whether the visits would mark any change in policy.
The anniversary events are expected to include a major military parade in North Korea’s capital.
Martha Mchardy25 July 2023 19:51
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Marine veteran freed from Russia in 2022 prisoner swap is injured while fighting in Ukraine, US says
A former U.S. Marine who was released from Russia in a prisoner swap last year has been injured while fighting in Ukraine, the State Department and a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
Trevor Reed was injured several weeks ago, according to the person, who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said Reed was taken to Germany for medical care. He said Reed was not acting on behalf of the U.S. government.
Reed was released from Russian custody in a prisoner swap last year in exchange for a Russian pilot imprisoned in the U.S. for a drug trafficking conspiracy.
Martha Mchardy25 July 2023 19:15
1690307141
US announces $400 mln in security aid for Ukraine
The United States will provide up to $400 mln in additional security assistance for Ukraine, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday.
The new aid will include air defence munitions, armoured vehicles and anti-armour weapons, it said in a statement.
Martha Mchardy25 July 2023 18:45
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Putin passes law banning Russians from changing gender in latest blow to LGBT+ communit
Vladimir Putin has signed a new controversial legislation banning surgical gender reassignment in Russia in yet another blow to the country’s LGBT+ population.
The latest move by Mr Putin on Monday marks Russia’s final step in rendering gender-affirming procedures illegal and depriving its transgender population of their right to access gender-reassignment services.
Martha Mchardy25 July 2023 18:30
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Putin was told of Wagner mutiny plot but failed to stop it – Washington Post
Russian president Vladimir Putin failed to stop a rebellion by Wagner fighters last month despite being warned of the mutiny days in advance, the Washington Post reported.
President Putin was allegedly told two or three days before the June 23 uprising that Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin was preparing a possible rebellion.
Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin
“Putin had time to take the decision to liquidate [the mutiny] and arrest the organisers,” an unnamed European security official said.
“Then when it began to happen, there was paralysis on all levels … There was absolute dismay and confusion. For a long time, they did not know how to react.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the claims as “nonsense” shared by “people who have zero information.”
Martha Mchardy25 July 2023 18:00
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Kremlin adviser: Putin set to visit China in October
Russian president Vladimir Putin intends to visit China in October, planning his visit to coincide with a “One Belt, One Road” forum, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov told reporters on Tuesday, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
China has become Russia’s most significant ally since early last year, when the West’s already strained ties with Moscow were chilling further as Putin was preparing to send his armed forces into Ukraine.
Putin last visited Beijing just before the invasion, which Russia calls a “special military operation”, and together with Chinese president Xi Jinping announced a “no limits” partnership that has extended into economic, trade, political and military areas.
China has declined to blame Moscow for the war and condemned Western sanctions on Russia, even as it has profited by securing discounts for oil and gas that Russia no longer sells to Europe, and watched Russia increasingly use its yuan as a reserve currency, in preference to the U.S. dollar.
Xi in turn came to Moscow in March, sealing a series of economic and other agreements with his “dear friend” Putin.
China presented a paper in Moscow calling for a de-escalation and eventual ceasefire in Ukraine, but Kyiv and its Western allies rejected the plan, saying it would lock in Russian territorial gains.
Russian president Vladimir Putin speaks to Chinese president Xi Jinping
(Sputnik)
Martha Mchardy25 July 2023 17:29
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Former Russian defence workers sentenced for spying on behalf of Ukraine
Two former Russian defence workers have been jailed for treason after being found guilty of spying for Ukraine.
The couple, who were formerly married, were sentenced to 17 and 13 years in prison after being accused of passing military intelligence to Kyiv.
The two former defence workers also planned to blow up railway lines in the Kursk and Belgorod regions., the Kursk Regional Court said in a statement.
The couple, identified as R.A. Sidorkin and T.A. Sidorkina by the FSB, were accused of handing over technical documents and models used in the manufacture of weapons systems for Russia’s air force.
The FSB said it had seized plastic explosives, four detonators, military design documentation and $150,000 in cash.
Sidorkin, 50, was additionally charged with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and sentenced to 17 years.
Sidorkina, 41, was sentenced to 13 years.
Martha Mchardy25 July 2023 17:25
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-wagner-group-latest-b2381216.html
