Russia ukraine war

AFP Moscow   ● Sat, October 1, 2022 2022-10-01 08:03 0 acb46bb3015c754a01ddf4e65a1b7881 2 Europe Russia,Russia-Ukraine-war,Ukraine-war,Ukraine-annexation,Vladimir-Putin Free Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday annexed four parts of Ukraine occupied by his army, staging a grand ceremony in Moscow as Kyiv vowed to battle on and pushed for expedited NATO membership. The event at the Kremlin -- a turning point in post-Soviet history -- came hours after shelling killed 30 people in Ukraine's southern region of Zaporizhzhia in one of the worst attacks against civilians in months. Putin was defiant during his address to Russia's political elite, telling the West that the internationally condemned maneuver was irreversible and urging Ukraine's emboldened army to negotiate a surrender. "I want to say this to the Kyiv regime and its masters in the West: People living in Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are becoming our citizens … [Read more...] about Putin annexes Ukraine territories, Kyiv vows to fight back

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia unleashed a salvo of rocket, drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian towns and cities overnight Thursday and into Friday, creating scenes of destruction inside the country hours before the Kremlin announced the annexation of a wide swath of eastern Ukraine. The most lethal strike landed in Zaporizhzhia, one of the four Ukrainian provinces that the Kremlin claimed on Friday following an annexation process that has been condemned by the West as a sham and that comes after a humiliating battlefield defeat in eastern Ukraine. The attack killed 25 civilians who were waiting at a checkpoint and bus stop and injured another 66, Ukraine’s prosecutor general said. That would make it one of the deadliest single attacks against civilians in recent weeks. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine condemned the strike on the checkpoint as the work of “terrorists,” while Bridget Brink, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, called it “horrific news.” The wave of … [Read more...] about Moscow Pounds Regions in Eastern Ukraine, Then Declares Them Part of Russia

Russia has illegitimately annexed four regions of Ukraine under Russian Federation control, a move not recognized by foreign governments including the U.S. Citizens in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson were said to have voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining—results the U.S. State Department and democracy advocates described as a "sham." However, following Putin's decree and signing on September 30, 2022, of annexation documents, there is still dispute over just how much of these regions Russian forces hold on to. The Claim Multiple tweets sent ahead of Putin's decree to recognize the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, on September 30 claim that Russia does not have full control over the regions it wants to bring under its control. In one of those tweets, CNN global affairs analyst Bianna Golodryga wrote: "Here's the problem for the Kremlin: Russia doesn't fully control these territories, and Ukraine is only going to double down … [Read more...] about Fact Check: Putin’s Russia doesn’t fully control annexed Ukrainian regions

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin marked the illegal annexation of a territory representing 15 percent of Ukraine on Friday with a rambling speech lamenting the fall of the Soviet Union, condemning gender transitions for children, and proclaiming, “the destruction of this Western hegemony is irreversible.” Four regions of Ukraine – Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and the two regions of eastern Donbas, Donetsk and Luhansk – held wartime referendums throughout the past week asking civilians if they would like Russia to annex their land. Reports on the ground indicated that soldiers went door-to-door in some regions clearly brandishing weapons and forcing citizens to vote in favor of the annexation, leading the vast majority of the free world to reject the referendum as a sham. The pro-Russia leaders in all four areas claimed that an overwhelming number of participants, as many as 99 percent of voters in the Donbas, supported joining Russia. The four leaders attended an event in … [Read more...] about Vladimir Putin Vows Destruction of ‘Satanic’ West in Ukraine Annexation Rant

On paper, Russia could very well be considered one of the more formidable states in the international system. The country has more than 5,900 nuclear warheads , a permanent seat at the U.N. Security Council, and significant influence in world energy markets. Russian President Vladimir Putin 's war of choice in Ukraine, however, has raised a critical question the strongman is too frightened to ask himself: Is Russia still a great power? Before the conflict in Ukraine erupted in February 2022, Russia was widely seen as a force to be reckoned with. Sure, the Russian economy was smaller than Italy's . The Russian budget relied extensively on oil and gas exports. And the Russian military was largely untested in conventional warfare, with the Kremlin increasingly turning to mercenaries in locales like Mali, the Central African Republic, and Syria instead of professional soldiers. But there was a general assumption that Moscow had the capacity and motivation to effectively pursue … [Read more...] about Is Russia still a great power? | Opinion

Ukraine announced on Friday that it will be signing an application to accelerate its bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) after Russia annexed four Ukrainian territories. "Today, here in Kyiv, in the heart of our country, we are taking a decisive step for the security of the entire community of free nations," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a translated statement on Friday morning. "Today I held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The meeting of the National Security and Defense Council has just ended. We have a decision." Zelensky continued, "De facto, we have already completed our path to NATO. De facto, we have already proven interoperability with the alliance's standards, they are real for Ukraine—real on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction....Today, Ukraine is applying to make it de jure. Under a procedure consistent with our significance for the protection of our entire community. Under … [Read more...] about Ukraine puts NATO allies’ support to the test after Putin claims territory

A Russian-installed official in Ukraine acknowledged Friday that President Vladimir Putin 's forces in the occupied city of Lyman were partially encircled, potentially leading to what some believe could be a strategic Ukrainian victory in the eastern Donetsk region. "Our guys are fighting, we are pulling up reserves, we must hold out, but the enemy has also thrown serious forces. Very unpleasant news, but we must look soberly at the situation and draw conclusions from our mistakes," Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed governor of Donetsk, wrote on Telegram. Before this admission, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in its September 28 campaign assessment that Russian military bloggers had been discussing Ukrainian advances in the Lyman area with "increased concern," as well as suggesting that a Russian defeat in the city could be "imminent." Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry had not been addressing Ukrainian advances around Lyman or preparing for the … [Read more...] about Ukraine’s Lyman offensive could deal another major blow to Putin’s invasion

Russian President Vladimir Putin 's annexation of several Ukrainian regions this week is being compared to Adolf Hitler seizing parts of Europe before and at the onset of World War II. "The parallels are eerie and, after decades of over-using the Hitler analogies, we finally have a case where they are apt," Daniel Fried, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland and current Atlantic Council researcher, was quoted by Politico . Fried is not the only figure drawing "parallels" between the actions of Putin and Hitler. Sergiy Kyslytsya, who serves as the permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations , shared a video with a caption that referred to Putin's annexation speech on Friday, but actually showed Hitler addressing a large crowd of his supporters. "Oops! Wrong annexation video but good [thing] that Putler's finale will be the same as of Hitler," Kyslytsya wrote, referring to Putin in a combination of his and Hitler's names. Following Kremlin-backed referendums … [Read more...] about Putin annexing Ukraine “parallels” Hitler before WWII: Former diplomat

A senior commander in Russia's Wagner Group, a private military contractor close to the Kremlin, has reportedly been killed in Ukraine by Kyiv's troops. Alexei Nagin, 41, was killed near Bakhmut in Ukraine's Donetsk province on September 20, according to WhereisRussiaToday, a website that tracks the Russian military. Wagner mercenaries have played an increasing role in Ukraine over the past few months , after regular Russian units suffered severe casualties. Ukrainian news site obozrevatel.com reports Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian oligarch who controls Wagner Group, was present at Nagin's funeral in Volgograd. Prigozhin is known as "Putin's chef" because his catering firm prepared dinners attended by the Russian president. Nagin previously fought with Russian or Wagner forces in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and Libya, according to WhereisRussiaToday. It added he had recently been taking part in a Russian documentary film about the Wagner Group, titled "The Best in Hell." … [Read more...] about Russian Wagner commander killed in Ukraine’s Donbas

Former U.S. generals are applauding the Pentagon 's plan for a better-equipped and well-trained Ukrainian military as Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrates annexation in four regions . An unnamed high-ranking U.S. general will be at the helm of a new operation based out of Germany, streamlining military assistance for Ukrainian fighters for the first time since Russia invaded in February, the New York Times reported. It is part of the Biden administration's long-term support plan for Ukraine. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and other top officials are reviewing the new plan endorsed by the White House and Pentagon. General David Petraeus, a former top U.S. commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the Times that this is "a very important and very appropriate initiative." "This recognizes the reality of the important mission of security assistance to our Ukrainian partners," said Admiral James Stavridis , a former supreme allied commander for Europe. "This … [Read more...] about U.S. ramps up involvement in Ukraine as Putin declares annexations official