cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/37710422

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5222871

Archived version

n intercepted radio communication released by Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) suggests a Russian commander ordering his soldiers to shoot civilians near the embattled city of Pokrovsk.

"Don't let anyone pass on the way, anyone with large civilian bags, just f*ck them up," a Russian commander can be heard saying in audio published by HUR on Oct. 22.

The order to kill civilians was issued by the field commander of Russia's 30th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, part of the 2nd Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District, according to HUR.

...

The radio chatter is allegedly linked to a video released Oct. 20 by the 7th Corps of Ukraine’s Air Assault Forces that, according to the Ukrainian military, shows the aftermath of an incident in which a Russian assault group, after infiltrating behind Ukrainian lines, shot and killed several unarmed civilians in Pokrovsk.

The alleged war crime in the front-line hot spot in Donetsk Oblast was initially reported on Oct. 19 by Ukrainian volunteer Denys Khrystov, who evacuates civilians from front-line settlements and documents his work on social media.

In a Telegram post, Khrystov shared a video given to him by soldiers fighting in Pokrovsk showing the casualties of the Russian attack.

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Austria expelled a Russian diplomat on Sept. 30 over suspicions that the diplomat relayed company secrets from Austrian oil company OMV along to the Kremlin.

The Russian diplomat, who served as an employee of the Russian Embassy in Vienna, has left the country after Moscow refused to lift his diplomatic immunity, allowing an investigation into the allegations, a government spokesperson told Austrian outlet APA.

The attempted investigation stems from a meeting between the diplomat and with a former senior employee of OMV in which Austrian intelligence authorities say the employee allegedly shared sensitive documents with the Russian official.

Authorities, who deemed the official persona non grata, have not provided information on the scope of information the employee allegedly shared with the diplomat, however, Austrian magazine Profil reported that the employee most recently worked with the Abu Dhabi National Oil, a shareholder of OMV.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, various Western countries have arrested citizens for covert espionage activities related to the war in Ukraine. Moscow has expanded its espionage activities primarily among European nations.

In recent months, the Kremlin has grown increasingly concerned about the rise in Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries and the EU’s phase-out of Russian energy imports, as economic pressure on Russia's war machine continues to mount.

In December 2024, OMV, which serves as the largest oil company in central Europe, terminated its long-term gas supply contract with Russia's Gazprom Export — a contract was originally set to last until 2040.

The company cited "numerous material violations of contractual obligations" by Gazprom. According to OMV, gas deliveries stopped on Nov. 16, 2024.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sept. 16 that the EU will propose to phase out Russian energy purchases sooner than initially planned, amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.

No details on a timeline for the proposed phase out were immediately available. Under its current plan, the EU aims to phase out energy purchases completely by the end of 2027.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/post/1047817

cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/208180

In a handout image from Ukraine’s government, Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, and Yulia Svyrydenko, the Ukrainian economy minister, signed the minerals deal in Washington in April.

From NYT > Top Stories via this RSS feed

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/13846277

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/30935041

Russia will take years to replace nuclear-capable bomber planes that were hit in Ukrainian drone strikes last weekend, according to Western military aviation experts, straining a modernisation programme that is already delayed.

Satellite photos of airfields in Siberia and Russia's far north show extensive damage from the attacks, with several aircraft completely burnt out, although there are conflicting versions of the total number destroyed or damaged.

The United States assesses that up to 20 warplanes were hit - around half the number estimated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy - and around 10 were destroyed, two U.S. officials told Reuters.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/30889155

Ukrainian forces launched a missile strike on June 5 targeting a concentration of Russian missile troops near the city of Klintsy in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported.

The strike reportedly destroyed one Iskander missile launcher and seriously damaged two others. The targeted unit, part of Russia’s 26th Missile Brigade, had attempted to fire on Ukrainian territory — likely aiming at Kyiv — before it was hit, according to the military.

"Thanks to effective reconnaissance and the coordinated efforts of the Armed Forces and the Security Service of Ukraine, the targets were successfully hit," the General Staff said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/30616707

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) reported that the June 1 “Spider Web” drone operation caused approximately $7 billion in damages and disabled 34% of cruise missile bombers in key Russian airbases.

The agency confirmed that more details about the attack will be revealed later.

“And you thought Ukraine was easy? Ukraine is exceptional. Ukraine is unique. All the steamrollers of history have rolled over it. It has withstood every kind of trial. It is tempered by the highest degree. In today’s world, its value is beyond measure,” the SBU wrote, quoting Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko.

They also vowed to continue to drive Russian forces out of Ukrainian territory.

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/2902507

Archived

Great Britain, France, Germany and the United States have lifted restrictions on the types of weapons that can be supplied to Ukraine, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on May 26. (video)

The move clears the way for the EU to send its most powerful and long-range missiles to Kyiv that can strike targets deep inside Russian territory, something the allies have been reluctant to do for fears of escalating tensions with the Kremlin and possibly provoking a direct clash between Russia and Nato countries in Europe.

"There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine, not from the British, not from the French, not from us, not from the Americans either. This means that Ukraine can now also defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia, for example,” Merz said during an interview on German television. “It couldn't do that until some time ago, and with very few exceptions, it didn't do that until some time ago. Now it can. In jargon, we call this long-range fire, i.e., equipping Ukraine with weapons that attack military targets in the rear.”

The decision comes the day after Russia launched a devastating missile and drone barrage on Ukraine over the weekend of May 23-25 that largely targeted civilian targets in Kyiv and many other urban centres in Ukraine – amongst the largest attacks since the war started over three years ago.

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The decision also clears the way for Germany to deliver its powerful Taurus cruise missiles that Kyiv had been asking for, but Berlin had so far been reluctant to supply. Merz didn’t mention the Taurus missiles by name during his interview, but has suggested that unlike former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, he was not against supplying Kyiv with the missile, which can hit Russian targets deep in the rear or could destroy the Kerch bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean peninsula.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/43726248

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/37536459

Ukraine is starting to consider a shift away from the U.S. dollar, possibly linking its currency more closely to the euro amid the splintering of global trade and its growing ties to Europe, Central Bank Governor Andriy Pyshnyi told Reuters.

Potential accession to the European Union, a "strengthening of the EU's role in ensuring our defense capabilities, greater volatility in global markets, and the probability of global-trade fragmentation," are forcing the central bank to review whether the euro should be the reference currency for Ukraine's hryvnia instead of the dollar, Pyshnyi said in emailed remarks.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/29265692

Attack damaged €1.5bn containment structure over nuclear reactor with repair costs likely to be borne by western governments

A Russian Shahed drone costing up to £75,000 is estimated to have inflicted tens of millions worth of damage to the site of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, according to initial assessments and engineering experts.

The cost of a full fix is likely to be borne by western governments including the UK, because initial estimates are that a complete repair will cost more than the €25m available in a special international contingency fund.

The strike in mid February did not cause an immediate radiological risk, but it significantly damaged the €1.5bn containment structure built in 2017 to encase the destroyed reactor and is likely to take months if not years to completely repair.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/29228145

Roughly a week after Donald Trump started his second term as president, the US military issued an order to three freight airlines operating out of Dover air force base in Delaware and a US base in Qatar: stop 11 flights loaded with artillery shells and other weaponry that were bound for Ukraine.

In a matter of hours, frantic questions reached Washington from Ukrainians in Kyiv and from officials in Poland, where the shipments were coordinated. Who had ordered the US Transportation Command, known as TransCom, to halt the flights? Was it a permanent pause on all aid? Or just some?

cross-posted from: https://biglemmowski.win/post/6395008

“Our position is very simple for all countries traveling to Russia on May 9: We cannot be held responsible for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation,” Zelensky said during a briefing with journalists. “They are responsible for your safety. We will not provide any guarantees, because we do not know what Russia might do on those dates.”

Zelensky cautioned that Russia could orchestrate provocations, including “arsons, explosions, or other actions,” and then attempt to blame Ukraine. He said Kyiv has advised visiting delegations accordingly.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/62779885

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/33586621

Archived

[...]

“Numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were found on the victim’s body, including abrasions and hemorrhages on various parts of the body, a broken rib, neck injuries, and possible electric shock marks on the feet. However, due to the condition of the body, experts have not yet been able to establish the cause of death." Yuriy Belousov, the head of the War Crimes Unit at the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, described the results of the forensic medical examination to us.

The body was missing some organs: the eyeballs, the brain, part of the larynx, and the hyoid bone was broken, said a source close to the investigation into Viktoriia Roshchyna’s death. It was launched by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine in March 2025.

A forensic expert, who requested anonymity, suggested in a conversation with journalists that the removal of specific organs could be an attempt to conceal strangulation: “Removing the larynx during an autopsy is not standard practice. The larynx can be good evidence of strangulation. When a person is strangled, the hyoid bone is most often broken. In cases of strangulation, bleeding can be found in the whites of the eyes, and a lack of oxygen in the brain.”

[...]

A person is abducted [in by Russia occupied territories of Ukraine] by people without insignia, they do not identify themselves, do not present any documents, and do not explain anything to relatives. The person simply disappears. No one “knows” about them in the military commandant’s offices, the prosecutor’s office, the police, or the investigative committee. Sometimes, the local police even opens a “missing person” case.

It is unknown who exactly detained Viktoriia. Sevgil Musayeva recalls that in conversations with the journalist, she mentioned that she was trying to establish the identities of FSB officers involved in the abduction and torture of Ukrainians in Enerhodar.

[...]

“She arrived [in the detention center] already pumped full of some unknown medications,” says another former detainee who was held with Vika in the Taganrog pre-trial detention center. “At some point, she stopped eating. Her cellmates started telling the guards and the prison staff — that she’d stopped eating, that something needed to be done. They didn’t give a damn until her condition got seriously bad.”

[...]

But even in this state [of poor health], she maintained her courage. Yevgeny Markevich, a prisoner of war who was held in a cell next to Roshchyna’s in [the detention center of] Taganrog, heard her talking to the guards.

She told the prison guards right to their faces: “You are occupiers, you came to our country, you are killing our people... I will never cooperate with you!” She was probably saved by the fact that she was a woman. If I had said something like that, they would’ve killed me on the spot.

[...]

Ukrainian prisoners call Taganrog Detention Center No. 2 (SIZO-2), where Viktoriia ended up, hell on Earth. “Even the term ‘concentration camp’ would be too mild for SIZO-2,” said one of the prisoners.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/33523587

Archived

Russia is ramping up immigration enforcement to pressure migrants to join the frontline in Ukraine and increase deportations of people from various Asian countries. As part of the Kremlin’s efforts to bolster military strength, foreigners continue to be coerced into fighting in Ukraine–with many being threatened with deportation should they refuse to fight. And since the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in Moscow in March 2024, xenophobic rhetoric targeting migrants from Tajikistan and other countries in Central Asia has ballooned, leading to “sweeping” raids that have resulted in thousands of people being locked up in the country’s sprawling immigration detention system. In February, legislation came into force creating a new “expulsion regime,” increasing authorities’ ability to deport without judicial oversight.

Although the Russian economy relies heavily on migrant labour, particularly from Central Asia, prejudice against migrants is persistent. According to the extremism monitor Sova Research Center, since 2023 Russia has witnessed an increase in hate crimes and racial violence. In particular, the Center reports that violence has targeted persons “visually perceived as ethnic outsiders”–such as migrants from Central Asia, persons from the Caucasus and, more broadly, persons with non-Slavic appearance. Anti-migrant sentiment is also reflected in polls conducted by the Levada Center, who in early 2025 found that fifty-six percent of Russians believe that Central Asians should either be completely blocked from the country, or only permitted to enter temporarily.

[...]