Kiev suffers Russia's largest drone attack to date, leaving five injured
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Vladimir Putin has issued a “serious” warning to the West.
The Kremlin on Friday threatened “serious consequences” for Europe and the United States if Russian assets held abroad were used to support Ukraine's budget and war effort. This could include financial seizures or even a severance of diplomatic relations.
Ukraine's air force chiefs said they shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers over the south of the country, a major blow to Putin. Su-34 aircraft armed with guided bombs and Kh-59 missiles can carry out long-range strikes.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cited a report from HUR, the country's military intelligence service, that suggested a noticeable slowdown in Russia's military-industrial complex, nearly 22 months after Moscow's all-out invasion.
That's when the Dutch government announced it was preparing to deliver 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, a boost to the embattled country increasingly worried about help from its Western allies.
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London Mayor Sadiq Khan backs Cars for Ukraine program in apparent U-turn
The Mayor of London has pledged his support for the shipment to Ukraine of four-wheel drive vehicles and other vehicles that would otherwise be scrapped under the Ulez program.
In an apparent U-turn, Sadiq Khan has asked Transport Minister Mark Harper to allow Londoners and others across the country to donate suitable vehicles to Ukraine as part of scrappage schemes.
The mayor had previously made it clear that he did not believe that changing the Ulez vehicle export program would be possible under current laws.
Tara Cobham23. December 2023 10:09
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Ukraine claims to have shot down three Russian fighter-bombers
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and military officials said the country's armed forces shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers on the southern front on Friday, hailing it as a success in the 22-month war.
The Russian military made no mention of the incident. But Russian bloggers acknowledged the loss and analysts suspected that US-supplied Patriot missiles were likely used.
Portal could not independently confirm the reports.
“Today at noon in the southern sector – minus three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers!” Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on the messaging app Telegram.
Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat described it on national television as a “brilliantly planned operation.” “In our positive statistics, there has been no Su-34 for some time,” he said, calling the model one of Russia's most modern aircraft for bombing and other attacks.
In his nightly video speech, Zelensky praised the anti-aircraft unit of the Odessa region for shooting down the planes in the Kherson region.
Eurasia Daily, a Russia-based magazine, said the Ukrainian account was plausible. Kiev could have fired Patriot missiles with a range of up to 160 km (100 miles) against high-altitude targets from the western side of the Dnipro River, it said.
A Ukrainian soldier examines the wreckage of the Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber aircraft in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Ukraine, in March last year
(EPA)
Tara Cobham23. December 2023 09:15
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Putin issues a “serious” warning to the West
Vladimir Putin has issued a “serious” warning to the West.
The Kremlin on Friday threatened “serious consequences” for Europe and the United States if Russian assets held abroad were used to support Ukraine's budget and war effort. This could include financial seizures or even a severance of diplomatic relations.
A spokesman for the Russian president told reporters that central bank assets frozen after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, believed to be worth more than $300 billion (£236 billion), will now be confiscated , “Russia will never leave those who do it alone.” .
Tara Cobham23. December 2023 08:29
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Putin's ally is reportedly 'responsible' for Wagner boss's assassination.
Vladimir Putin's close ally Nikolai Patrushev has been named by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) as “responsible” for the assassination of Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, a US war expert has said.
Citing Western intelligence officials and former Russian intelligence sources, the newspaper named the secretary of the Russian Security Council as the person who, with the permission of the Russian president, gave the order in early August 2023 to “dispose of” Prigozhin by planting an explosive. wing of Prigozhin's jet, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported.
ISW said it “originally estimated on August 23 that Russian forces may have shot down Prigozhin's jet on Putin's orders, but the evidence supporting that assessment was circumstantial and ISW has no reason to doubt that the WSJ's sources -Reports are more reliable”.
It added that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the WSJ of creating a “pulp fiction” conspiracy theory about Prigozhin's death.
Tara Cobham23. December 2023 07:42
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Former anti-war journalist runs against Putin in Russian elections
Jane Dalton23. December 2023 05:00
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Investigators uncover fraud in weapons procurement
Ukraine's Security Service and Defense Ministry said they uncovered a scheme to fraudulently purchase artillery shells that embezzled the equivalent of nearly $40 million.
Corruption in Ukraine has become an even more important issue as Kiev continues its bid to join the European Union.
A statement from the security service SBU said that the corrupt activities focused on contracts for the procurement of artillery shells.
The procurement agency recently created by the Ministry of Defense had abandoned a contract to secure the shells at above-market prices and entered into a new agreement that eliminated middlemen and significantly reduced the price.
However, a high-ranking ministry official extended the previous contract and funds totaling almost 1.5 billion hryvnia were deposited into the accounts of the intermediary companies.
The official, the main suspect in the case, has been removed from office, legal proceedings have been opened against him and attempts are being made to recover the money.
Jane Dalton23. December 2023 03:30
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Russian mines exploded
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has released footage that allegedly shows the explosion of a Russian anti-tank mine depot.
Jane Dalton23. December 2023 02:00
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Kiss for a soldier
Ukrainian soldier Vyacheslav greets his wife Viktoria, who visits him at the train station in Kramatorsk during a short Christmas break from his front-line service
(Portal)
Jane Dalton22. December 2023 11:59 p.m
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Summary: Anger against the West is growing across Africa
Jane Dalton22. December 2023 10:15 p.m
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In pictures: Fighting near Bakhmut
The Ukrainian Joint Assault Brigade Fury fires an S60 cannon at Russian troops
(Portal)
Troops unload howitzer shells from a truck
(Portal)
Ukrainian troops fire an L119 howitzer at Russian forces near the frontline town of Bakhmut
(Portal)
Jane Dalton22. December 2023 8:08 p.m