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Putin orders 10% boost in Russian troop numbers

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The president of Russia has signed a directive that might result in the addition of 137,000 soldiers to the armed forces of the nation in the upcoming months. Russia is currently limited to having slightly over a million military troops and about 900,000 civilian employees.

The announcement by Vladimir Putin coincides with a nationwide recruitment campaign that offers generous financial incentives. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine six months ago, 70–80,000 troops have reportedly died or been injured, according to Western officials. According to accounts, recruiters have even gone to prisons and made financial and freedom promises to convicts.

A new army corps is likely to be composed of the volunteer battalions that are being established in different Russian areas, according to a statement made by the UK Ministry of Defence two weeks ago.

However, it noted that recruiting the necessary number of soldiers would be challenging due to “extremely limited levels of popular excitement for enlisting for combat in Ukraine.”

When it invaded Ukraine in February, Russia had initially predicted a swift, successful campaign, but the country’s staunch opposition has slowed its advance, and in recent weeks, the front lines have barely shifted.

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Darya Dugina: Daughter of Putin ally killed in Moscow blast

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A suspected vehicle bombing has claimed the life of a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s. According to Russia’s investigating committee, Darya Dugina, 29, perished following an explosion on a road outside of Moscow.

As “Putin’s brain,” the Russian scholar Alexander Dugin, her father may have been the intended victim of the assault. Mr. Dugin is a well-known advocate of ultra-nationalism who is thought to be close to the Russian president. The philosopher was giving a talk at a festival close to Moscow when Alexander Dugin and his daughter attended.

At the Zakharovo estate, where Russian poet Alexander Pushkin once stayed, the “Tradition” festival bills itself as a family outing for art enthusiasts. The two were scheduled to depart the location on Saturday night in the same automobile, but Mr. Dugin apparently decided to go his own way at the last minute.

Unconfirmed video that was uploaded to Telegram appears to show Mr. Dugin staring in disbelief as emergency personnel arrive at the scene of the smouldering wreck of a car. Investigators have determined that Ms. Dugina passed away at the spot close to Bolshiye Vyazemy.

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Russia using Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as army base – Ukraine

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According to the CEO of Ukraine’s nuclear power corporation, Russian forces occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station have turned the facility into a military base from which to assault Ukrainian positions.

The plant was under “huge” threat, but it was still safe, Petro Kotin told the BBC. Russia and Ukraine have been blaming one another for attacks on the station, Europe’s largest nuclear plant, for days now, heightening fears of a serious accident. The complex is still run by Ukrainian experts despite being occupied by Russia since early March.

Over the weekend, Ukraine accused Russian forces of bombing the Soviet-era plant, claiming three radiation monitors were damaged and two personnel were hospitalised with shrapnel wounds.

Enerhoatom’s CEO, Mr. Kotin, made unconfirmed accusations that 500 Russian military were stationed at the factory and had set up rocket launchers nearby.

Because nobody from Ukraine is likely to take action, “They [Russian soldiers] utilise it [the power plant] like a shield against the Ukrainian military,” Mr. Kotin stated.

“Any attack [on] a nuclear plant is a suicidal thing,” declared UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia’s actions “nuclear terrorism.”

However, Russia refuted the charges and claimed that the strikes were the work of Ukrainian forces. According to the nation’s defence ministry, the shelling had damaged a high-voltage power cable.

A Washington-based think tank called the Institute for the Study of War claimed last week that Russia was exploiting Western concerns about a nuclear disaster by building the facility, “presumably in an effort to weaken Western will to offer military support” to Ukraine.

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Ukraine war: Four more grain ships leave Ukraine as hopes grow for export stability

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Through a secure maritime route, four more ships transporting grain and sunflower oil have departed Ukrainian ports. Due to Russian blockades, millions of tonnes of grain were delayed in Ukraine, causing shortages and higher food costs outside.

However, the first ship to leave Ukrainian ports since February did so last week. The most recent ships to leave port are headed for Turkey where they will be examined as part of an agreement negotiated with Russia and the UN. They began their journey over the Bosphorus strait on Sunday from the ports of Odessa and Chornomorsk.

Two are then slated to dock in Turkey following the inspections, with the other two sailing to Italy and China.

On Sunday afternoon, a new empty ship made her way to Chornomorsk and is now waiting to be loaded with grain for export.

Russia agreed last month not to attack ships that were in transit, and Ukraine said it would direct ships through mined seas as part of a pact mediated by Turkey and the UN.

If both parties concur, the 120-day agreement may be extended.

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Ukraine war: Russia accuses US of direct role in Ukraine war

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For the first time, Russia has charged that the US is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine. The US, according to a spokesperson for Moscow’s defence ministry, is approving targets for the Himars artillery that Kyiv’s soldiers utilise.

Intercepted calls between Ukrainian authorities, according to Lt Gen Igor Konashenkov, showed the connection. The BBC was unable to confirm this independently. US government representatives did not immediately respond to the accusations. Previously, Russia charged that the United States was waging a “proxy war” in Ukraine.

The Biden administration is “directly liable” for all missile attacks that Kyiv authorised against residential areas and infrastructures used by the general public in the towns of the Donbass and other regions, according to Mr. Konashenkov.

Himars, a multi-rocket system, is much more powerful than Ukraine’s previous artillery and can fire precision-guided missiles up to 70 kilometres (45 miles) distant from their target. Additionally, they are thought to be more accurate than their Russian counterparts.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed in April that NATO was essentially fighting Russia through a proxy and arming that proxy as a result of US President Joe Biden’s decision to provide Ukraine with billions of dollars’ worth of weapons. The 72-year-old said, “War means war.”

Russia has been charged with various war crimes and crimes against humanity throughout the Ukrainian conflict. Ukraine accused Moscow this week of bombing a prison in Donetsk, which is controlled by separatists, in order to hide claims of abuse.

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Ukraine condemns Russia’s ‘humiliating death’ tweet after prison attack

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After the Russian embassy in the UK tweeted that Ukrainian soldiers from the Azov battalion deserved to die a “humiliating death” by hanging, Ukraine branded Russia a “terrorist state.” The post from the embassy occurred after more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) detained by Russia died, purportedly including Azov soldiers.

They perished in an assault on the Russian-controlled Olenivka prison in eastern Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine each lay blame for the attack that killed the detainees. The message from the Russian Embassy in the UK was left up by Twitter since it violated their anti-hate standards, but it was not taken down. Along with the Ukrainian government, a sizable number of Twitter users condemned the remark. According to Twitter, keeping the post accessible might be in the public interest.

The self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, which has Russian support, is in charge of the Olenivka prison camp (DNR). Unknown is what occurred there on Friday. Unconfirmed Russian video footage from the scene depicts a jumble of demolished bunk beds and severely burned victims.

The Russian embassy in the UK tweeted during the incident that Azov “Since militants aren’t actual troops, they should be hanged rather than put to death by firing squad. They should be executed in humiliation “. The tweet includes a video clip of a couple in a destroyed structure claiming that Azov forces shelled their house. The individual in the video repeats what is stated in the embassy’s call for execution.

The attack, according to Russia’s defence ministry, was carried out with US-produced Himars artillery, and Ukraine was charged with having “deliberately perpetrated” the provocation. The ministry displayed pieces of what it claimed to be Himars system rockets.

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EU agrees to cut gas use over Russia supply fears

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EU energy ministers have decided that countries will reduce their gas use if Russia stops supplying them. The EU countries have now agreed to a voluntary 15 percent between August and March after being locked in negotiations since the notion was floated last week.

The Czech Republic, which is currently in charge of rotating the EU chair, tweeted, “This was not a Mission Impossible!”. Documents obtained by the BBC, however, indicate that the agreement had been weakened and that certain nations may now request exemptions. The EU warned that Russia was “constantly using energy supplies as a weapon” and that the goal was to save money before winter.

If supplies run out, the voluntary agreement would become obligatory. The EU said that some nations, including Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus, which are not connected to the EU’s gas pipelines, would be exempt from any mandatory gas reduction orders since they would not be able to seek alternative supplies.

In order to reduce the possibility of a crisis in the supply of power, the Baltic nations, who are not connected to the European electricity grid and heavily rely on gas for electricity production, are also exempt from mandatory targets.

Initial calculations showed that even if all exemptions were used, the EU would still lower demand to a level “that would get us safely through an average winter,” according to Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy.

She also discussed efforts to increase the supply of alternative gas from nations such as Azerbaijan, the United States, Canada, Norway, Egypt, and Israel.

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Explosions rock a Ukrainian port hours after a grain trade

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A major Ukrainian port has been rocked by explosions just one day after Moscow and Kyiv signed a historic agreement to resume grain exports. Odesa was struck by two missiles early on Saturday morning, according to the Ukrainian military.

Russia pledged to refrain from attacking ports while grain supplies are in transit as part of the agreement reached on Friday. Josep Borrell, the head of the EU’s foreign policy, claimed that the attack demonstrated Russia’s “complete disdain” for international law.

He tweeted that the incident was “especially despicable” and that the EU “strongly condemns” it. The target was “critical for grain export,” he added.

Unanimously denouncing the assault, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres emphasised the necessity of fully implementing the grain agreement reached by Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey.

A UN official further stated that “these products are vitally needed to solve the global food crisis and reduce the suffering of millions of people in need around the world.”

Ukraine’s air force chief blamed Russia and claimed that grain storage facilities at the port had been deliberately targeted.

Two Kalibr missiles struck the port, according to a statement on social media from the southern command centre of the Ukrainian military, while two more were shot down by air defence systems.

A local MP named Oleksiy Honcharenko reported on Telegram that the city’s port had taken fire following the hit.

The agreement, which took two months to finalise, will endure for 120 days, and a coordination and monitoring centre with workers from the UN, Turkey, Russia, and Ukraine will be set up in Istanbul. If both parties concur, it may be renewed.

British defence authorities claimed that in the most recent ground battles, Russian troops in the Kherson region ran the risk of being cut off from their supply lines by Ukrainian forces.

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Ukraine war: Russia’s Lavrov says ready to expand war aims

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According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russia is no longer “primarily” concentrating its military efforts in Ukraine’s east.  He said that Moscow’s policy had altered in an interview with Russian official media after the West gave Ukraine longer-range weapons.

He explained that in order for Russia to maintain its own security, Ukrainian soldiers would now need to be pushed back from the front line. The US had previously charged Russia with making plans to annex portions of Ukraine.

In February, Russia invaded Ukraine under the false pretence that the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine’s Russian-speaking population had experienced a genocide and needed to be freed.

Five months later, Russia has taken over portions of the east and south of the nation, although it has since declared that its primary goal is the liberation of Donbas after failing to take Kyiv as planned.

Since February, Ukraine has received more potent weapons from the West for use in its defence against Russian forces.

According to Mr. Lavrov, this has compelled Russia to broaden its goals. In an interview with Margarita Simonyan, a well-known analyst on Russian TV and editor-in-chief of broadcaster RT, Mr. Lavrov stated, “We cannot allow the part of Ukraine controlled by [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky… to possess weapons that would constitute a direct threat to our territory.”The West’s decision to arm Ukraine was characterised by the Russian foreign minister as an expression of “impotent fury” and a “will to make things worse.”

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Ukraine war: Four-year-old Liza killed by Russian attack on Vinnytsia

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A pink pram covered in blood is laying on its side in a patch of grass in front of the torched, burned remnants of the Jubilee department store. It belonged to Liza, a young Liza. The centre of Vinnytsia was struck by Russian missiles on Thursday, killing three young children, including the four-year-old.

Iryna Dmytriyeva, her mother, was severely hurt during the assault. Eight more persons are still missing, bringing the total number of fatalities to 23. Hospitals are housing dozens more.

Iryna had uploaded a video online just before the missiles hit. Little Liza was beaming and pushing her pink chair in front of her as they talked about going to meet her speech therapist on this lovely sunny day. She oversees the LogoClub facility for people with disabilities, where Liza had gone to a session that morning as she typically did.

The four-year-old daughter has Down syndrome, and her mother started posting images of the girl’s life on Instagram not long after giving birth to her single child.

The LogoClub Liza attended is only a block from Victory Square, the site of the missile strikes, and when the air raid siren sounded, the staff had already escorted all the kids to the shelter.

Liza and her mother were still in the street, though, like many other individuals. Since Kyiv was far from the battle lines when the war started, they had fled there for safety before returning to Vinnytsia. However, no longer is Ukraine secure anywhere. According to local officials, since Russia started its conflict, 352 children have perished and hundreds more have been injured. The most recent killings were described as a terrorist incident by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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