Last year, Russian regions spent more than 225 million rubles on expanding cemeteries, according to data from the official government procurement portal. This is twice as much as in 2022 and almost six times more than in 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic began. During the first half of 2024, the authorities have already spent 136 million rubles for these purposes.
Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft in the #Pokrovsk sector of the front in #Donetsk Oblast, the #Khortytsia group of forces said on July 19.
The plane was downed by anti-aircraft guns of the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade as it was attempting to fire at Ukrainian positions.
The collapse of energy networks in southern #Russia continues for the second day after the shutdown of a nuclear power plant reactor.
Large-scale problems with electricity continue for the second day after a failure at the #Rostov Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). There is no electricity in resort towns, which are experiencing the highest load in years due to a sharp influx of vacationers.
#UK Prime Minister Keir #Starmer announced a crackdown on #Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers used to skirt international sanctions, saying 44 European nations had endorsed the plan at a meeting of the European Political Community.
The joint “call to action” -- aims to disrupt the fleet of around 600 vessels which Western countries say are used by #Moscow to transport some 1.7 million barrels of oil per day
#Europe must be prepared for a decade of Ukranian war, the outgoing secretary general of #Nato has warned.
Speaking to the BBC, Jens #Stoltenberg said the "paradox" of the war in #Ukraine is the longer the western military alliance commits to fighting the war, the faster a resolution will be reached.
The West’s decision to allow #Ukraine to hit targets within #Russia along the Ukrainian border did not lead to escalations but rather stopped the war from expanding, President Volodymyr #Zelensky said at the Fourth European Political Community summit in the U.K. on July 18.
A #NATO command to coordinate support for #Ukraine will be operational in #Germany from September, Jens #Stoltenberg said on Thursday.
"We have agreed to establish a command to coordinate and provide security assistance and training for Ukraine,"
"That command will be operational in September, it will be 700 personnel in Germany ... and it will provide the support and the security assistance to Ukraine and coordinate the efforts of NATO allies."
#Germany will halve military aid for #Ukraine next year, even with the possibility that Donald #Trump could return to the White House and curb support for #Kyiv.
German aid to Ukraine will be cut to 4 billion euros ($4.35 billion) in 2025 from around 8 billion euros in 2024, according to a draft of the 2025 budget.
Germany hopes Ukraine will be able to meet the bulk of its military needs with the $50 billion in loans from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets.
Another 95 Ukrainian defenders have been brought back home, including service members of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the Border Guard, President Volodymyr #Zelensky announced on July 17.
"Our tanks to our exchange team and the United Arab Emirates (#UAE) for mediating their release," Zelensky said
Russian companies have exponentially increased their recruiting in #Africa, the Russian state-controlled media outlet RBC reported.
The data analyzed by RBC indicated that seven of the 10 countries with the highest increase in vacancies posted by Russian companies were in Africa. In Kenya, the country with the largest growth in Russian vacancies, the figure increased from just 161 in the first half of 2023 to almost 6,500 in the first half of 2024.
Donald J. #Trump’s pick of Senator J.D. #Vance, #Republican of Ohio, to be his running mate on Monday, amplified doubts about continued #US support for #Ukraine should the former president be returned to the White House next year.
In a podcast interview in 2022, he told Steve #Bannon, a longtime Trump adviser now serving a four-month prison term for contempt of Congress, “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.”
#Elon#Musk said he will commit $45 million per month to a new political action committee backing former President #Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Musk’s announcement comes on the same day Trump was named the #Republican Party’s official nominee and after he named Sen. JD #Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate.
The #Dutch Public Prosecution Service has announced that #Dieseko Group B.V. has paid a total of €1.78 million as part of an out-of-court settlement for violating international trade sanctions related to the construction of the Crimean Bridge.
The settlement includes a fine of €180,000 and the confiscation of €1.6 million in illegally obtained benefits.
In #Russia, one-time payments for soldiers signing a contract reached 1.7 million rubles (17,800 €) in the #Moscow region and over 1 mil rubles (10,500 €) in 13 other regions.
Indicating the difficulty Russia is having in recruiting new soldiers.
Injured Russian soldiers are being sent back into the line of fire in “meat wave” assaults.
The Ukrainian army has reported capturing Russians already suffering from their wounds sustained in previous attacks.
They had been given minimal medical attention before being sent back to fight.
The tactics show an apparent disregard for foot soldiers as commanders throw thousands of men into the front lines in a slow and grinding summer offensive.
Kaja #Kallas, who resigned as #Estonia's prime minister on Monday to become the #EUs next foreign policy chief, is known for her tough stance on #Russia, which may raise doubts as to whether she can represent views from across the bloc.
Kallas, 47, has made her name as a critic of neighbouring Russia and what she says are its expansionist aims since she became Estonian prime minister in early 2021.
A Russian propagandist, wrote an article on Russian TV website.
"The children's hospital in #Kyiv is not an accident. It's time to acknowledge this and stop being afraid"
"I write "them" because the ruthless law of war is very simple: such enemies cannot be considered human. We must acknowledge—simply and fearfully—that there are no humans on the other side. Not a single person. Our missiles do not kill humans. Not a single person. They are not human"
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