Russia

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For Russia, a 'Grisly Milestone' in Ukraine War

Ukraine claims 1M Russian troops have been killed or injured since invasion began in February 2022

(Newser) - The number of Russian troops killed or wounded in Ukraine has topped 1 million, military officials in Kyiv said Thursday, describing the huge price that Moscow has paid for its three-year-old invasion. The claim by the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces, which came on a holiday celebrating Russia'...

Russia Hits Ukraine With Biggest Airstrike of the War

479 drones carry out overnight attack

(Newser) - Russia launched 479 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, the Ukrainian air force said Monday, as the Kremlin presses its summer offensive against the backdrop of direct peace talks. As well as drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts...

City to Put Flagpole in Lenin's Place
Giant Lenin
No Longer
Watches City
Jun 8, 2025 1:05 PM CDT

Giant Lenin No Longer Watches City

75-foot statue was installed in Kyrgyzstan in 1975

(Newser) - A colossal statue of Vladimir Lenin that towered over the Kyrgyz city of Osh has been taken down, closing a Soviet chapter with little ceremony or protest. The 75-foot monument, which dates to 1975 when Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union, was removed last week, the AP reports....

Mayor: Kharkiv Hit in Worst Russian Assault Yet

At least 3 are dead as missiles hit homes, schools in Ukraine's second-largest city

(Newser) - Russia launched a large-scale attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, early Saturday, killing at least three people in what local authorities say is the worst assault upon the city since the war began, per CNN . At least 21 people were also said to be injured after being attacked...

Inside the UK's Plan to Pump Up Its Military
Inside the UK's Plan
to Pump Up Its Military
the rundown
Jun 4, 2025 1:51 PM CDT

Inside the UK's Plan to Pump Up Its Military

PM Keir Starmer announced planned increase in defense spending

(Newser) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday advocated for a plan that would see the UK make its biggest increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War, build new nuclear-powered attack submarines, and become "a battle-ready, armor-clad nation." Starmer was blunt about the main instigator...

Missing Ukrainian Children a Sore Point in Talks

Moscow denies allegations of mass abductions, while Ukraine estimates 20K children were taken

(Newser) - The peace talks between Russia and Ukraine that resumed on Monday brought attention to a volatile topic: allegations that Russia abducted thousands of Ukrainian children.
  • Ukraine provided a list of about 400 children it wants returned immediately, but Russia countered that it would consider returning 10 children and insisted they
...

Ukraine Notches Another Huge Hit Against Russia

Massive underwater explosion hits Kerch Bridge, a key link in Russia's wartime supply chain

(Newser) - On the heels of devastating drone strikes on Russian airfields, Ukraine hit another one of Vladimir Putin's crown jewels: the $3.7 billion Kerch Bridge that connects the Russian mainland to Crimea. As CNN reports, Ukraine's security service said that it had detonated nearly 2,500 pounds of...

Two Russian Bridges Destroyed Near Ukraine

Moscow investigates as potential terrorist acts, while Ukraine alleges 'false flag' operations

(Newser) - Two bridges collapsed overnight in Russian regions bordering Ukraine, officials said Sunday. Both incidents are being investigated as possible acts of terrorism. In one, seven people were killed and dozens injured, per the AP .
  • The first bridge, in the Bryansk region, collapsed on top of a passenger train on Saturday,
...

In Moscow Subway Station, Stalin Again Draws Admirers

Russian government has stepped up rehabilitation of Soviet ruler since it invaded Ukraine

(Newser) - After nearly 60 years underground, a statue of Joseph Stalin now greets commuters in a Moscow subway station, reigniting debate over how Russia remembers its most polarizing leader. The installation that debuted this month is a replica of a relief removed during the city's 1966 campaign to repudiate...

Russian Economy's Singular Focus Complicates Things

Everything has been reoriented around war

(Newser) - The reason why Vladimir Putin is slow-walking peace talks with Ukraine might make sense—or, more specifically, dollars and cents. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Russian president has reoriented the economy to produce the weapons of war and pay the soldiers who are waging it, which changes the...

A Hint of Russia's Plans for Zaporizhzhia Emerges

Satellite images reveal construction of fresh power lines, says Greenpeace

(Newser) - Russia captured Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant early in the war . A new Greenpeace report viewed by the New York Times records the "first physical evidence" that Moscow is quietly plotting to source energy from the facility. Per the report, which is based in part on satellite...

Russia Downplays Trump's Slam of Putin

Everyone is 'emotional' right now, says a Kremlin spokesman

(Newser) - President Trump complained on Sunday that Vladimir Putin has gone "absolutely crazy" given his continued assaults on Ukraine. On Monday, the Kremlin responded in what the BBC describes as a "pointedly polite" manner:
  • "This is a very important moment which is connected to an emotional overload of
...

Trump on Putin: He's 'Gone Absolutely CRAZY'

US president has some of his harshest words yet for Russian counterpart

(Newser) - President Trump on Sunday delivered some remarkably harsh comments on the subject of his Russian counterpart. Asked by reporters as he was preparing to board Air Force One from New Jersey back to Washington, DC, for an update on the Russia situation, Trump responded, "Yeah, I'll give you...

Amid Massive Russian Strikes, Moscow, Kyiv Swap POWs

Each side brings home 303 soldiers, as Moscow hits Ukraine with biggest assault of the war

(Newser) - Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds more prisoners on Sunday, the third and last part of a major exchange that reflected a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in more than three years of war. Just hours earlier, Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other regions came...

For Germany's Military, It's a First Since WWII

Nation stations a permanent brigade in a foreign nation, Lithuania

(Newser) - Germany has launched its first permanent foreign troop deployment since World War II— stationing an armored brigade in Lithuania to help strengthen NATO's eastern defenses against Russia, reports the Guardian .
  • "This is a historic day," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said during a Thursday ceremony with German
...

Russia Outlaws Amnesty International

Rights group joins a long list of 'undesirable organizations'

(Newser) - Russian authorities outlawed Amnesty International on Monday as an "undesirable organization," a label that under a 2015 law makes involvement with such organizations a criminal offense. The decision by the Russian Prosecutor General's office, announced in an online statement, is the latest in the unrelenting crackdown on...

First Direct Ukraine-Russia Talks in Years Didn't Last Long

Ukrainian source says Russian demands were 'detached from reality'

(Newser) - Ukrainian and Russian officials met for their first direct negotiations in more than three years on Friday, but they didn't last long. The Telegraph reports that the talks in Istanbul lasted just 90 minutes. A Ukrainian diplomatic source tells Reuters that the Russian side's demands were "detached...

Latvia: Those Hikers Might Actually Be Russian Spies

Officials warn adaptable spies may be carrying survival gear, medical kits, maps, and radios

(Newser) - They might look like lost tourists—unkempt and overloaded with gear—or hikers with military haircuts, survival gear, and no clue how to behave in the woods. But Latvia's intelligence agency said Wednesday that they might actually be Russian saboteurs and spies, per the AP . In its annual report,...

Trump: No Peace 'Until Putin and I Get Together'

President is asked about Russian leader's decision to skip peace talks with Ukraine

(Newser) - Thursday might have been a big day in the quest for Russia-Ukraine peace, but Vladimir Putin opted to skip direct talks in Turkey. He sent a mid-level delegation instead, which Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed as "decorative," reports Reuters . Putin's decision ended any hope of a quick...

Putin Not Attending Russia-Ukraine Talks
Putin Skipping
Russia-Ukraine Talks
May 15, 2025 2:22 AM CDT

Putin Skipping Russia-Ukraine Talks

Which means his Ukrainian counterpart also will not be in Istanbul for the negotiations

(Newser) - Peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are set to begin in Turkey Thursday, but Russia's president won't be there. The Kremlin confirmed that rather than Vladimir Putin, it will be sending Vladimir Medinsky to head up its delegation. The Guardian refers to Medinsky as a "hardline" Putin...

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