All posts tagged: Russias

Russia’s drone blame game fails to split Ukraine from its Baltic allies – POLITICO

Russia’s drone blame game fails to split Ukraine from its Baltic allies – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

That can send drones toward neighboring NATO territory — something Baltic and Ukrainian officials say is now happening. For Kyiv, the balance is delicate. Ukrainian officials have apologized for incidents involving stray drones, while insisting that strikes on Russian military and economic targets are lawful acts of self-defense. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shown no sign of halting the bombing campaign, which he calls “sanctions” aimed at bringing Russia to its knees. Russia’s air defenses are becoming increasingly porous, prompting it to try to use political pressure to halt the Ukrainian attacks. “Russia wants to discredit Ukraine in the eyes of countries that are one of the key ones in terms of direct and indirect support for Ukraine,” Mykola Bielieskov, a senior military analyst with the Come Back Alive Initiative and a research fellow at Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies, told POLITICO. The goal, he said, is to create “a point of contradiction and division” between Kyiv and the Baltic countries. So far, that effect has not materialized. Baltic officials are not blaming Ukraine …

Ukrainian drones hit Moscow and Russia’s capital region, killing three

Ukrainian drones hit Moscow and Russia’s capital region, killing three

Published by Sam Flores

Three people were killed overnight Saturday and at least a dozen were injured in a wide-scale drone strike on Moscow and the surrounding region, Russian authorities said. The attack was the largest and most deadly by Ukraine on the Russian capital region since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and it showed Kyiv’s increasing ability to carry out long-range strikes and penetrate air defenses. Source link

Putin hails Russia’s test launch of a new ballistic missile : NPR

Putin hails Russia’s test launch of a new ballistic missile : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, Russia’s new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile is test launched at an unspecified location in Russia. AP/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service hide caption toggle caption AP/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service MOSCOW — Russia on Tuesday test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile as part of efforts to modernize the country’s nuclear forces, a launch hailed by President Vladimir Putin just days after his claim that the fighting in Ukraine is nearing an end. Putin said that the nuclear-armed Sarmat missile would enter combat service at the end of the year. It was built to replace the aging Soviet-built Voyevoda. “This is the most powerful missile in the world,” Putin declared, adding that the combined power of the Sarmat’s individually targeted warheads is more than four times higher than that of any Western counterpart. The Russian leader has repeatedly brandished the nuclear sword after sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to try to deter the West from ramping up …

Ukraine hits Russia’s energy targets after US-brokered ceasefire ends

Ukraine hits Russia’s energy targets after US-brokered ceasefire ends

Published by Sam Flores

MOSCOW, May 13 (Reuters) – Ukraine resumed drone attacks on Russia’s oil refineries and ports on ‌Wednesday, two days after a three-day ceasefire ‌proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump expired. Ukraine has been targeting ​Russian oil infrastructure to undercut Moscow’s revenues from the energy sector and dent its military might as the four-year war grinds on. Russia’s defence ministry said ‌on Wednesday that 286 ⁠Ukrainian drones had been intercepted and destroyed over Russian regions overnight. In the southern ⁠Krasnodar region, drone fragments fell near an industrial facility, causing a fire in the village of Volna, ​where ​Taman port’s oil products ​and other terminals are ‌located, regional authorities said. Debris from a separate Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at a gas processing plant, which also produces fuel, in Russia’s southern Astrakhan region, the region’s authorities said. “All enemy aircraft ‌were either shot down or ​neutralised by electronic warfare systems,” ​Igor Babushkin, the ​local governor, wrote on Telegram. “The debris ‌caused a fire.” Babushkin said there ​were no casualties ​or injuries and that the fire was …

Inside Russia’s push to recruit students as drone pilots in Ukraine

Inside Russia’s push to recruit students as drone pilots in Ukraine

Published by Sam Flores

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists in late 2022, a hugely unpopular measure that led to a mass exodus of men who feared being drafted into the war. Since then, the Kremlin has stayed clear of announcing any new mobilization efforts. But what’s been happening to Russian students in recent months amounts to “quiet mobilization” by the government, according to Grigory Sverdlin with the Idite Lesom organization that helps Russians avoid military duty in Ukraine. In a post on X last month, Sverdlin said his group has been approached by students from universities and colleges across the country. The Kremlin has sought to dispel what it says are “myths and rumors” about the recruitment drive, with Deputy Defense Minister Viktor Goremykin saying last month: “We have no intention and ability to force students to participate in the special military operation.” The Defense Ministry issued that public statement after NBC News reached out for comment on the nature of the contracts for students but did not hear back. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov …

Week in pictures: Met Gala, Russia’s Victory Day parade and the far right makes gains in the UK

Week in pictures: Met Gala, Russia’s Victory Day parade and the far right makes gains in the UK

Published by Sam Flores

Home Americas Fashionable A-listers evoked the theme “fashion is art” to embody works of art at the Met Gala, Moscow held a modest annual Victory Day parade that didn’t include heavy weapons for the first time in nearly two decades and anti-immigration party Reform UK made significant gains across England in local and regional elections: FRANCE 24 looks back at some of the week’s most striking images. Issued on: 10/05/2026 – 10:59Modified: 10/05/2026 – 11:16 2 min Reading time Russian servicemen attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, May 9, 2026. © Alexander Zemlianichenko, AP   German-American model Heidi Klum arrives at The Met Gala on May 4, 2026. © Evan Agostini, Invision via AP The film dog “Hui Buh”, a Parson Russell Terrier, shows his skills during a press event in Dortmund, western Germany on May 4, 2026, ahead of the Dogs & Fun 2026 trade fair. © Ina Fassbender, AFP Russian servicemen attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9, 2026. © Alexander Zemlianichenko, AP A person in Nicosia …

Russia’s Victory Day is Putin’s biggest liability – POLITICO

Russia’s Victory Day is Putin’s biggest liability – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Ceasefire duel In a last-ditch effort to shield its flagship national holiday, Russia’s defense ministry announced a two-day ceasefire starting May 8.  Ukraine countered it with its own open-ended ceasefire two days earlier, testing Russia’s real commitment to peace. But after Moscow responded with yet another wave of deadly strikes on Ukrainian cities, Zelenskyy threatened to “respond symmetrically.”  Russia, in turn, has vowed to hit central Kyiv if it targets the celebrations. Tellingly, for the first time in years, no foreign journalists will be allowed to attend the Moscow parade, presumably to ensure control of the narrative should anything go wrong.   Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the 8th European Political Community summit in Yerevan on May 4, 2026. | Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images In a bid to protect the capital, more than 40 air defense installations have reportedly been redirected to Moscow, leaving other parts of Russia more exposed, something Ukraine could potentially exploit.  But even if Russia’s Victory Day festivities go ahead without incident, Ukraine may have already achieved part of its goal: …

Meet Rassvet, Russia’s Answer to Starlink

Meet Rassvet, Russia’s Answer to Starlink

Published by skeptic

In late March, Russian company Bureau 1440 brought into low orbit the first 16 broadband internet satellites of the new Rassvet constellation, already dubbed by observers and local media the Russian answer to SpaceX’s Starlink. It’s an ambitious global internet project that experts say could conceal much broader strategic goals, with functions including military and communications control. The launch took place on March 23 at 8:24 pm Moscow time from the military’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome using the Soyuz-2.1B launcher, and marked the first step in building an infrastructure that is expected to have at least 300 satellites by 2030. “The launch marks the transition from the experimental phase to the creation of a communication service,” Bureau 1440 announced on Telegram. “The Bureau 1440 team completed this path in 1,000 days, which is the time between the launch of the experimental satellites and the production satellites.” The goal of the project is to provide broadband internet access with speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second for each user terminal and a signal latency time of up …

Ukraine declares it is not bound by Russia’s Victory Day truce – POLITICO

Ukraine declares it is not bound by Russia’s Victory Day truce – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

First, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a ceasefire on Friday and Saturday for the scaled-down World War II Victory Day parade in Moscow. The commemoration — which until this year featured masses of heavy equipment, but is now planned to have only marching troops — is a key event for the Kremlin. Moscow vowed a devastating response if Ukraine targets the parade. “Should the Kyiv regime attempt to carry out its criminal plans to disrupt the celebration of the 81st anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War, the armed forces of the Russian Federation will launch a retaliatory, massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv,” the ministry said. In response, Zelenskyy said the Kremlin is scared Ukrainian drones might disrupt the Moscow parade. He added that Moscow has not officially asked Kyiv for a ceasefire. He followed up with a rival truce proposal for Tuesday and Wednesday, and urged Russia to stick to it if it wants to hold its ceremony safely. “Ukraine clearly stated that it would act in kind, taking into …