Vladimir

Up to 100,000 North Korean soldiers could be sent to bolster Vladimir Putin’s forces fighting Ukraine . A leading defence expert in Moscow, reserve Colonel Igor Korotchenko, told state TV: "We shouldn’t be shy in accepting the hand extended to us by Kim Jong-un.” North Korea has made it clear through “diplomatic channels” that as well as providing builders to repair war damage, it is ready to supply a vast fighting force, reported Regnum news agency. They would be deployed to the forces of the separatist pro-Putin Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR] and Luhansk People’s Republic [LPR], both of which Kim has recently recognised as independent countries. The southeastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, known as the Donbas, have been controlled by Moscow-backed separatists for almost eight years. Read More North Korea soldiers march during a paramilitary parade ( Image: via REUTERS) But Russian President Vladimir Putin only recognised Donetsk and Luhansk as … [Read more...] about 100,000 North Korean soldiers could be sent to join Vladimir Putin’s forces in Ukraine

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally divorced his wife Lyudmila after more than 30 years of marriage, Kremlin spokesman said on Wednesday, following a surprise breakup announcement last year. "The divorce has taken place," Dmitry Peskov said, without giving any further details. Putin and his wife announced that their marriage was over last June in a live broadcast on Russian state television, confirming longstanding speculation that they had separated. The Kremlin made clear at the time that their breakup had yet to be formalized. The ex-KGB spy, 61, keeps his personal life private and little is known about his wife and two daughters, both in their 20s. In 2008, Putin said there was no truth to a newspaper report that he was preparing to marry Olympic rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabayeva, who was born in 1983, the same year he married Lyudmila. Putin told journalists to keep their "snotty noses" out of his private affairs and the newspaper, Moskovsky … [Read more...] about Vladimir Putin Officially Divorces His Wife Lyudmila, Kremlin Says

Vladimir Putin has lost his first woman colonel, nicknamed his "she-wolf", in the war in Ukraine after a missile hit her car. The warmonger leader granted posthumous Hero of Russia honour - the Kremlin’s highest award - to Olga ‘Kursa’ Kachura, 52. She was a colonel in the forces of Russian puppet state Donetsk People’s Republic , where she commanded a rocket artillery division deployed against Ukraine. Putin propagandist Margarita Simonyan posted: “ Legendary Korsa died in Horlivka ... May she rest in peace…” Kachura recently featured in a documentary on the Russia Today TV channel - which has been banned in the UK for spouting Putin's propaganda - in which she alluded to herself being like a "she-wolf". She said: "She guards the hearth, her children, her family. Even in nature, no wolf will defend her cub as aggressively as a she-wolf." She is the 97th known colonel to have been killed in Putin’s war in Ukraine. Putin said he had awarded her “for courage and … [Read more...] about Vladimir Putin’s ‘she-wolf’ killed by missile as his first female colonel dies in war

Vladimir Putin has lost a senior FSB secret services commander believed to be the most senior operative in the feared Russian group to have been killed amid the war in Ukraine . Lt Col Nikolay Gorban, 36, is the 99th known colonel or lieutenant-colonel to be killed in the devastating conflict. It comes as the latest blow to the Russian President, after a missile took out his first female colonel, Olga ‘Kursa’ Kachura just last week. According to InfoNapalm journalist Andrey Pavlushko, Gorban was a commander in the elite FSB Spetsnaz special forces troops. He died “somewhere in Ukraine on August 2,” Mr Pavlushko said. Gorban was believed to be the most senior operative from the feared FSB - once headed by Putin - to die in the five month conflict. A memorial plaque for Lt Col Nikolay Gorban, the 99th known colonel or lieutenant-colonel to be killed in the conflict ( Image: social media/e2w) Colonel Olga 'Korsa' Kachura - branded Vladimir Putin's … [Read more...] about Blow for Vladimir Putin as elite special forces commander killed in Ukraine war

Vladimir Putin has now lost 100 colonels in the war in Ukraine as Russians army is decimated. Recently emerged footage of the grief-stricken family of Lieutenant Colonel Vitaly Tsikul at his funeral. Tsikul, 36, is believed to have been the 100th colonel killed when serving as part of the Russian 90th Tank Division. A soldier at the funeral, named Viktor, said: “He was our commander. I did not hear a single bad word from him. He was an officer who rallied his troops." His funeral passed with full military honours at an Orthodox Church in Chebarkul in the Urals. Tsikul's death comes as speculation on the true numbers of Russian troops killed since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine continues. Tsikul was given full military honours ( Image: social media/ East2west News) The details of Tsikul's death are unclear ( Image: social media/ East2west News) It appears the war has not gone as well as Putin expected and the UK Ministry of Defence … [Read more...] about Vladimir Putin’s 100th colonel killed in Ukraine war as his Russian army is decimated

Vladimir Putin has granted U.S.-born martial artist and actor Steven Seagal Russian citizenship, in the latest case of a Western celebrity embracing Russia as his new homeland. French-born actor Gerard Depardieu famously took a Russian passport in 2013 , in protest at the French government's tax laws, while U.S.-born boxer Roy Jones Junior was received with much fanfare in Russia in 2015, despite his form declining from his apex in the 1990s. Seagal, whose work in the early 1990s reportedly grossed $1 billion , has largely released straight-to-DVD films more recently. However, he remains popular in Russia, where he has been given a dignitary's welcome on his numerous visits. He attended Moscow's May 9 military parade in the absence of any U.S. government representatives, he has danced with Chechnya's President Ramzan Kadyrov and hinted he is looking to become a Russian citizen earlier this year, when visiting Russia's far east . Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that … [Read more...] about Steven Seagal is officially a Russian citizen by Vladimir Putin’s decree

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Moscow values its ties with countries in Latin American, Asia and Africa and that it is ready to offer modern weapons to its allies. "(We) are ready to offer our allies the most modern types of weapons, from small arms to armoured vehicles and artillery to combat aviation and unmanned aerial vehicles," Putin said at the opening ceremony of the Army-2022 forum near Moscow. "Almost all of them have been used more than once in real combat operations." He was speaking nearly six months into Russia's war in Ukraine , where Moscow has suffered repeated setbacks and heavy losses. Western military analysts say the poor performance of Russian troops and weaponry could make its arms exports less attractive to potential buyers, such as India, which have heavily relied on its technology in the past. Russian servicemen are seen marching at the "Army-2022 parade" ( Image: rru.sputnik.kz) It comes after the tyrant discussed … [Read more...] about Vladimir Putin in chilling threat over arming Russia’s allies with deadly weapons

A top Vladimir Putin -supporting MP has shocked the world after saying it would be “important” for Russia if China shot down Nancy Pelosi's plane. The sinister claim came from Alexey Zhuravlyov, the deputy head of the parliamentary defence committee, who also vowed that Putin would “wipe out Ukraine from the Earth”. The remarks came after United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defied Chinese war threats and visited Taiwan . The third most senior figure in the American government landed in Taiwan on Tuesday after China said the US would “pay the price” if she sets foot on the disputed island. Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory in a breakaway province and Chinese President Xi Jinping is desperate to seize the land, saying he would annexe it by force if necessary. Alexei Zhuravlyov ( Image: Duma.gov.ru) In 1949, Taiwan and China separated after the Communists won a civil war on the mainland. Then in 2016, Beijing cut off all contact with … [Read more...] about Vladimir Putin’s henchman in murderous call for Nancy Pelosi’s plane to be shot down

Russian state TV has given airtime to a Pro-Vladimir Putin Ukrainian calling for nuclear strikes on London and Washington DC. Yury Kot, leader of the pro-Russian Ukrainian 'Parus' movement, said the West was creating a "fictional reality" regarding the situation involving the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. "We are dealing with the reality," he said. "We need to tell Ukraine and it's supporting countries - Britain and America foremost... and make it clear." Officials vented their frustration as Zaporizhzhia became caught in the crosshairs of the Russia-Ukraine war, with both sides blaming each other for shelling the plant. Vladimir Putin is accused of engineering a scenario involving an 'attack' on the plant in the future in which Russia could argue they are justified in responding with a serious escalation of the war. Yury Kot caused concern with his extreme comments ( Image: 1TV/EAST2WEST NEWS) Kot went further and said: "If Zaporizhzhia nuclear … [Read more...] about London should be hit with nuclear missile strike, Vladimir Putin ally threatens

Long before he rose to power in Russia, Vladimir Putin had a "fixation" on Ukraine, according to the author of a comprehensive new biography on the longtime Russian leader. Philip Short, who penned the aptly named Putin , noted in a piece published by Time on Wednesday that Ukraine was able to gain independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 . Putin, who was appointed acting president in 1999 and has since maintained his grip on power in Russia via the presidential and prime minister offices, said mere days before he invaded Ukraine on February 24 that Russia's western neighbor "actually never had stable traditions of real statehood." When Putin announced Russia's offensive in Ukraine in late February, he did not describe it as a war but as a " special military operation " aiming for the "demilitarization and denazification" of a country that he accused of bullying and genocide. But Ukraine has said that Russia was looking for a false pretext to attempt to … [Read more...] about Putin Ukraine “fixation” began years before he rose to power: Biographer