‘Putin Will Spark a Third World War If Russia Claims Victory in Ukraine’

THE TELEGRAPH: Ukrainian steel magnate Yuriy Ryzhenkov warns of global fallout from the Kremlin’s war

Vladimir Putin will spark a third world war if the Russian president is allowed to declare victory in Ukraine, according to the boss of the country’s biggest private employer.

Yuriy Ryzhenkov, chief executive of Metinvest, which ran the sprawling Azovstal steelworks that became the site of a relentless Russian assault at the start of the 2022 invasion, warned of the consequences of a Kremlin victory.

“I don’t believe that if Ukraine fails, Putin will stop,” he said in an interview ahead of the two year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. “The Baltic states, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia are the next targets.”

Ryzhenkov’s comments were made just days before Putin threatened the US with a global war that will “bring humanity to the brink” if Capitol Hill deploys troops to Ukraine. » | Szu Ping Chan |Wednesday, February 21, 2024 [£]

Ukraine War: Volodymyr Zelenskyy Warns West of Russian Threat to Rest of the World

Feb 18, 2024 | Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged allies to plug an "artificial" shortage of weapons which is giving Russian forces the upper hand. The Ukrainian president told representatives from the West at a security conference in Munich that Russia won't stop at Ukraine.

'It Is in Our Interest that Russia Is Defeated': Former US Commander Ben Hodges | DW News

Feb 17, 2024 | Republicans in the US Congress is blocking a multi-billion-dollar military aid package that Ukraine urgently needs in its fight against Russia. Can Kyiv expect a release soon? At the Munich Security Conference, DW spoke with the former Commander of the US Army Europe, Ben Hodges.

US Funding Failure Will Have Serious Battlefield Consequences, Says Ukraine

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Zelenskiy aide says ‘foreign policy has become a hostage of internal politics’ after Republicans torpedo aid bill

The repeated failure of the Biden administration to get a funding package for Ukraine approved by the Senate will have real consequences in terms of lives on the battlefield and Kyiv’s ability to hold off Russian forces on the frontline, say Ukrainian officials.

The latest move by Senate Republicans to torpedo a bipartisan bill that would have combined $60bn (£48bn) in aid for Ukraine with aid to Israel and increased border security measures is a bitter blow for Kyiv. It could signal a very grim year ahead as the US political agenda settles into an election year with Donald Trump all but certain to be the Republican candidate.

As the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine approaches, Ukrainian officials say the delay in US support has already had a clear impact on the battlefield, where Kyiv’s exhausted troops have a severe hardware deficit in comparison to the Russians. » | Shaun Walker in Kyiv | Thursday, February 8, 2024

And some Americans, hopefully albeit few in number, appear to be rooting for Putin to win this war! Scott Ritter appears to be one of those people! (And what, pray tell, are we to make of Tucker Carlson’s interview of Vladimir Putin?)

Please don’t forget to watch this discussion between the distinguished, if a little controversial, extremely right-wing Roger Köppel [Wikipedia] of the well-known Swiss journal, Die Weltwoche, and the no less controversial American, Scott Ritter [Wikipedia], who clearly argues Putin’s case for him!

I have decided not to embed this video lest people think that I endorse Scott Ritter’s viewpoint. I CERTAINLY DO NOT. Listening to Scott Ritter speaking in this video, stuns me. Prepare yourselves to be stunned, too! – © Mark Alexander

Please note that the video starts in German but soon changes to English for Roger Köppel's discussion with Scott Ritter.

Click here to watch the video and listen to the discussion. By the way, even its title is mind-blowing!

Russian Plane Carrying 65 Ukrainian PoWs Has Crashed, Moscow Says | BBC News

Jan 24, 2024 | A Russian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane has crashed in the southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine. At least 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed, according to Russia's ministry of defence. Ria Novosti news agency said another nine people were on board, including six crew. None of the details surrounding those on board can be independently verified.

Jason Smart Explains Why Ukraine’s Future Matters in the United States | The Warning Podcast

Dec 29, 2023 | Jason Smart, a correspondent from the Kyiv Post, joins Steve to discuss what life is like in Ukraine, where the Ukraine-Russia conflict goes from here, and why the United States' support matters.

Russia Launches 'Biggest Attack of Year' against Ukraine

THE TELEGRAPH: Key cities bombarded in apparent revenge attack after Russian warship was destroyed in Crimea

Russia launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the beginning of the war, targeting cities across the country with a barrage of missile and drone strikes.

Overnight, high-velocity projectiles rained down near a maternity hospital and on a shopping centre in the central city of Dnipro, while an attack in the capital Kyiv set a high-rise residential building ablaze as air raid sirens sounded nationwide.

Hypersonic, ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as Iranian-made kamikaze drones, were also launched at Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Odesa, Konotop and Lviv, in the west.

Scores of deaths and injuries were reported in the attacks, an apparent retaliation for the destruction of the Novocherkassk warship in occupied Crimea. » | Joe Barnes and Tim Sigsworth | Friday, December 29, 2023

Putin Makes Emboldened Speech - as EU Opens Ukraine Accession Talks | Russia-Ukraine War

Dec 14, 2023 | EU leaders have agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova. Hungary's prime minister - Putin ally Viktor Orban - wasn't in the room when the EU voted and said he did not wish to participate in the "bad decision".

Co-founder of Russian Tech Giant Yandex Condemns ‘Barbaric’ War

THE GUARDIAN: Arkady Volozh, who lives in Israel, offers some of strongest criticism yet by a prominent Russian business figure

Arkady Volozh said he is ‘horrified about the fate of people in Ukraine’. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
The co-founder of Russia’s biggest internet firm has condemned Moscow’s “barbaric” invasion of Ukraine, offering some of the strongest criticism to date by a prominent Russian business figure of the Kremlin’s military actions.

Arkady Volozh, who co-founded Yandex in Russia in 1997, said: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it.”

In the statement, published on Thursday, he said: “I am horrified about the fate of people in Ukraine – many of them my personal friends and relatives – whose houses are being bombed every day.” » | Pjotr Sauer | Thursday, August 10, 2023

Ukraine: Woman Detained in Plot to Assassinate Zelensky

Aug 7, 2023 | The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) says it has detained a Russian informant "who was preparing a Russian airstrike in the Mykolaiv region during the visit of the President of Ukraine." CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports.

Ukraine "Peace Plan" Talks Kick Off in Saudi Arabia | DW News

Aug 5, 2023 | Officials from about 30 countries have been invited to participate in peace talks for Ukraine in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on August 5 and 6. They include three-fifths of the BRICS countries — Brazil, India and South Africa — as well as other nations in the Global South, such as Indonesia, Mexico, Zambia and Egypt. The governments of the United Kingdom and Poland, as well as representatives of the European Union have also confirmed their attendance. Russia has not been invited.

Talks begin in Saudi Arabia on how to end Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv seeks support of publicly neutral countries as China sends envoy and Moscow says it will ‘keep an eye’ on meeting »

Repeated Drone Attacks on Moscow: Is Ukraine Changing Its Strategy? | DW News

Aug 1, 2023 | Advisors to Ukraine's president are warning of a potential escalation in conflict with Russia. This comes after a series of drone strikes on Moscow and retaliatory attacks on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The most recent attack on Moscow targeted a building housing various government ministries, which was hit by a drone for the second time in three days. Although the building's facade sustained damage, no casualties were reported. Russia claims that the attack was an attempted terrorist act by Ukraine, but Ukraine has not taken responsibility for the incident.

Putin Scrambles to Fix 'Hollowed Out' Military | Bill Browder

Aug 1, 2023 | "Putin thought it would be a three day war where he could shore up his popularity. I think this is the war that will end his power." Putin is 'scrambling to turn around' Russia's 'hollowed out military' as drone strikes on Moscow continue, says financier and campaigner Bill Browder.

Zelenskyy Says ‘War’ Coming to Russia after Moscow Drone Attack

Jul 31, 2023 | Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned war is coming to Russia after three drones were downed over Moscow. The Russian Defence Ministry has blamed Kyiv for the attack. Drones have reached the heart of the Russian capital in recent months, though they have not caused major damage. A Ukrainian drone hit a police station overnight in Russia’s western Bryansk region but there were no victims, the regional governor has said.

A related article here and a related video here.

War Is Coming to Russia, Says Zelensky after Moscow Drone Attack

THE TELEGRAPH: Sergei Sobyanin, mayor of the Russian capital, accuses Ukraine of strike on Moscow-City financial district

Volodymyr Zelensky said war was coming to Russia after suspected Ukrainian drones smashed into skyscrapers in a wealthy Moscow neighbourhood that is home to government offices.

Hours after two drones hit the Russian capital, the Ukrainian president said: “Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia, to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.”

“After the blast, there were vibrations and I felt the bed move,” Ksenia, who was woken up by the pre-dawn, told the Bereg website. “I thought my building was collapsing.”

Roman said that he was now worried that the drone attack would happen again. “I have repeatedly said that it is not very safe here,” he said. “I want to leave Russia. We planned to do this in November but most likely this will now happen earlier.” (With video) » | James Kilner | Sunday, July 30, 2023

After Multiple Drone Strikes: Russia Raises Conscription Age for 'Better Defense' | DW News

Jul 31, 2023 | Russia's defense ministry says it has thwarted an attack on Moscow by three Ukrainian drones. The strike damaged an office building several kilometres from the Kremlin. Another drone strike on a police station was reported overnight in the Russian border region of Briansk. Ukraine's president says the attacks show the war is returning to Russian territory.

For more on that we talk to DW's Dmity Ponyavin.

Moscow has remained tight-lipped about the impact the war is having on its troops. But independent experts have looked into it.

Moscow said it planned to beef up its military in 2023 from around 1 million to 1.5 million. According to independent data, there are an estimated 1.3 million. That figure includes active personnel, reservists and paramilitary forces.

In September of last year, President Putin announced the mobilization of 300,000 troops. Russia has said it doesn't need a mass mobilisation but last week's increase in the maximum age of conscription from 27 to 30 years of age.

Moscow has released no data on the number of troops it has deployed against Ukraine. Earlier this year, Ukrainian military intelligence claimed it stands at around 280,000. The UK's defense minister said this year that 97 percent of the Russian army is in Ukraine.

Moscow has publicly acknowledged the deaths of only 6,000 soldiers. Russian media outlets working with a data scientist from Germany’s Tübingen University put the number at close to 50,000. There's no data on the number of people who have deserted the Russian army, but human rights groups say there are more than one thousand court cases against alleged Russian deserters. Some rights groups claim the figure could be higher.

Recent moves by the government indicate Russia needs even more troops. Along with raising the recruit cut-off age to 30, Moscow has also made it harder to leave the country for people who have been drafted or who refuse to fight. The official reason: the country needs better defenses.

For more we talk to Marina Miron, a military analyst at King's College London.

‘We Can Never Forgive This’: In Odesa, Attacks Stoke Hatred of Russia

A priest surveyed the damage inside the Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral after it was heavily damaged in Russian missile attacks on Odesa, Ukraine, this month.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia views Odesa as a culturally important part of his nation. But many in the Ukrainian city reject the connection and view the country that has been attacking it with loathing.

Standing on a bridge overlooking the road to Odesa’s main port, Nina Sulzhenko surveyed the damage wrought by a recent Russian missile strike: The House of Scientists, one of the Ukrainian city’s best-loved buildings, was in shambles. The mansion’s destroyed gardens spilled down over a ruined residential complex, and burned bricks lay strewn across the sidewalk.

“I feel pain, and I want revenge,” said Ms. Sulzhenko, 74. “I don’t have the words to say what we should do to them.”

She gestured toward other buildings in various stages of ruin. “Look at the music school! Look at what they did! The fact that those who live next to us, and lived among us, could do this to us — we can never forgive this. Never.”

Hers was a common sentiment in Odesa this past week after a series of missile strikes damaged the city’s port and 29 historic buildings in its Belle-Èpoque city center, including the Transfiguration Cathedral, one of Ukraine’s largest.

Odesa plays an important role in the mind of imperial Russians, and especially President Vladimir V. Putin, who views it as an integral part of Russian culture. But if Mr. Putin believed that Odesans would feel a reciprocal bond, he could not have been more mistaken, residents and city officials interviewed this past week said. Especially after the recent spate of missile attacks. » | Valerie Hopkins | Valerie Hopkins spent several days reporting in Odesa, Ukriane, after a week of Russian shelling.| Photographs by Emile Ducke | Saturday, July 29, 2023

Ukraine Moves Christmas Day in Snub to Russia

Many Ukrainians - like these people in Kyiv's underground - celebrated last Christmas in shelters amid continuing Russian attacks | EPA-EFE/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
BBC: Ukraine has moved its official Christmas Day state holiday from 7 January to 25 December, the latest move aimed at distancing itself from Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law a parliamentary bill that aimed to "abandon the Russian heritage of imposing Christmas celebrations".

In recent years, Kyiv has been cutting religious, cultural and other ties with Russia, aligning itself with the West.

This process escalated following Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Mr Zelensky signed the bill on Friday - two weeks after it had been passed by Ukrainian lawmakers. » | Jaroslav Lukiv, BBC News | Friday, July 28, 2023

Life Under U.K. Sanctions: Chauffers, Chefs and $1 Million Allowances

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Despite tough talk, Britain’s new sanctions program against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has proved shaky. Some oligarchs have received generous exemptions. Officials have at times overreached.

Britain has placed the Russian banking tycoon Mikhail Fridman, center, under sanctions, but allowed him to keep a 19-person household staff last year. | Hollie Adams/Bloomberg
The British government has allowed Russian oligarchs to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on perks like private chefs, chauffeurs and housekeepers, despite ostensibly having their bank accounts frozen, documents show.

The exemptions, known as licenses, are an example of how the United Kingdom’s new financial sanctions system, put together after Brexit, has proved shaky. In some cases, oligarchs were allowed more than $1 million a year in living expenses. In others, officials had to abandon criminal investigations and remove sanctions after legal battles.

“We will keep increasing the pressure on Putin and cut off funding for the Russian war machine,” the British foreign secretary said last spring as she announced Russian sanctions in the first weeks of the war in Ukraine.

In the months that followed, Britain was quietly more welcoming. It granted the Russian banking tycoon Mikhail Fridman a license to pay for 19 members of staff, including drivers, private chefs, housekeepers and handymen, during the first year of the war, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times and people directly familiar with the licenses. The payment came to 300,000 pounds (almost $400,000) over about ten months. Mr. Fridman also received a roughly £7,000 monthly allowance to cover his family’s basic needs. » | Jane Bradley, Reporting from London | Thursday, July 27, 2023

Russian Conscientious Objectors | ARTE.tv Documentary

Jul 26, 2023 | In October 2022, a Munich resident took in three Russian war refugees. All three strongly oppose Putin and are determined not to participate in any combat actions against Ukraine. They hoped to quickly establish a new life in Germany. | Available until the 03/06/2028