All posts tagged: Russian forces

The Ukraine war is ripping up the special relationship

The Ukraine war is ripping up the special relationship

The United Kingdom and the United States retain a special relationship. This relationship is especially close between the Royal Navy and the US Navy, and the two countries’ respective signals intelligence services, GCHQ and the National Security Agency. Still, disagreements between London and Washington are growing over strategy toward Ukraine. Since the February 2022 start of the war in Ukraine, the UK has always been more aggressive than the US in its support of Kyiv. British special forces have been operating in Ukraine far closer to the front lines than is commonly understood. This actionable presence and associated influence with the Ukrainian military is best evinced in the raids and drone attacks that Ukraine has carried out inside Russian territory. So-called “deep strikes” are a preeminent doctrine of the British Army’s 22nd Special Air Service regiment. In contrast, US military and CIA special forces deployments to Ukraine have been far more restrictive in scale and operational flexibility. I’ve heard CIA gripes in Washington that the British are doing cool stuff while CIA officers must repeatedly …

Putin’s ‘Rabble of Thin-Necked Henchmen’

Putin’s ‘Rabble of Thin-Necked Henchmen’

Not even the most passionate supporters of Vladimir Putin are pretending that the results of this weekend’s election are in doubt: Putin, Russia’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin, is about to embark on his sixth term. And so, with no electoral politics to debate, both pro-Putin and liberal Kremlinologists in the Russian-language mediasphere have been focusing instead on changes at the very top of Russia’s power pyramid: the new elite that is coming to replace the old Putin cronies, the tensions between the men in military uniforms and those in suits, and the perennial question of who will lead the country in the case of Putin’s sudden death. Before the war, perhaps the leading candidate for a successor was Putin’s favorite general and then–deputy head of military intelligence, Aleksey Dyumin, who commanded the Special Operations Forces’ top-secret “little green men” during the annexation of Crimea. But his train has departed, as Russians say: “Dyumin’s name was connected to Wagner, which decreased his chance to become Putin’s successor,” a columnist named Andrey Revnivtsev wrote on Tsargrad, …

refineries in Russia burn as Ukrainians go after Kremlin’s lifeline

refineries in Russia burn as Ukrainians go after Kremlin’s lifeline

Ukrainian drones have attacked several oil refineries in Russia, hundreds of kilometres from the frontline in regions including Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Leningrad. The continuing attacks are part of a strategy to hurt Russia’s economy. The Ryazan oil refinery, Rosneft’s biggest refinery, was set ablaze, a regional governor said on Wednesday. It shut down two damaged primary oil refining units. Rosneft did not comment. The plant handles about 5.8% of Russia’s total refined crude, according to industry sources. A fire broke out at Norsi, Russia’s fourth-largest refinery, after a Ukrainian drone attack, Russian officials said on Tuesday. Its main crude distillation unit was damaged, which means that at least half of the refinery’s production is halted, according to industry sources. Norsi handles nearly 6% of Russia’s total refined crude. Before the latest drone attack, one of its two catalytic crackers had already been put out of action. The governor of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, said a Ukrainian drone targeted the Kirishi refinery. It is one of the top two refineries in Russia, handling 6.4% …

The Unprecedented Crisis at Europe’s Largest Nuclear-Power Plant

The Unprecedented Crisis at Europe’s Largest Nuclear-Power Plant

This article is based on interviews and research by the Reckoning Project, a multinational group of journalists and lawyers collecting evidence of war crimes in Ukraine. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, in the city of Enerhodar, in eastern Ukraine, is Europe’s largest nuclear facility. For decades, it has supplied electricity to millions of households, not just in Ukraine, but in Hungary, Poland, Belarus, Moldova, Slovakia, and Romania as well. Until two years ago, more than 50,000 people lived in Enerhodar. Eleven thousand worked at the plant, and nearly everyone in Enerhodar had some sort of connection to it. When Russia began its invasion, in 2022, it moved aggressively into the Zaporizhzhia region, raising fears about the safety of the plant. On February 27, 2022, just three days into the offensive, a Russian convoy advanced toward Enerhodar. For the next three days, as employees of the Zaporizhzhia plant, known as the ZNPP, worked to keep it running, residents took to the streets in an attempt to stop Russian military vehicles and troops from entering. The mayor …

Russia loses 17,000 troops taking Avdiivka in first major breakthrough since May

Russia loses 17,000 troops taking Avdiivka in first major breakthrough since May

Ukrainian drones destroy Russian tanks on the front lines in Ukraine – @rubpak/Newsflash More than 17,000 Russian soldiers were killed capturing Avdiivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, Ukraine’s military has said. The capture of the city on Saturday was the Kremlin’s first major battlefield victory since its conquest of Bakhmut in May but analysts have said that it came at a terrible cost. “The losses of Russians around Avdiivka are colossal. My colleagues and I did the calculations and pulled up our archival records from the beginning of the year,” said Dmitry Likhovy, Ukrainian military spokesman. He also said that at least 30,000 Russian soldiers had been injured in the battle. Russian forces planted their victory flags over the ruins of Avdiivka on Saturday. Video from the destroyed city showed almost every apartment block in ruins and rubble blocking every street. Buildings are destroyed in Avdiivka after the Russian attack – Libkos Ukrainian forces said that they had retreated from the city but had used it to pull the Russian army into a killing zone. …

Ukraine’s Military Shake-Up Will Come at a Cost

Ukraine’s Military Shake-Up Will Come at a Cost

Zelensky had every right to fire his top general, but the politics could get ugly. Valentyna Polishchuk / Global Images Ukraine / Getty February 9, 2024, 6:05 PM ET That Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would fire his top general, Valerii Zaluzhny, was rumored for months, leaked and officially denied last week, and finally confirmed yesterday, when Zelensky replaced Zaluzhny with General Oleksandr Syrsky. The leaks and denials seem to have reflected political maneuverings behind the scenes. Zaluzhny, who is charismatic and popular with both the public and the troops, is widely thought to have political ambitions. The notion that Zelensky might have been about to fire him because he felt threatened by the general’s popularity helped stir public sentiment in Zaluzhny’s favor. But Zelensky countered adroitly with a different narrative: Two years into the war—after the counteroffensive Zaluzhny designed and led had stalled out—the president sought to refresh his national-security team. Zelensky asked for Zaluzhny’s resignation, but the general refused, requiring the president to fire him. The president then offered the general other prominent positions …

If Russia wins – The Atlantic

If Russia wins – The Atlantic

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Ukrainian defenses are in danger of being destroyed and overrun because House Republicans refuse to provide ammunition and aid. If Russia wins this war, the consequences could be catastrophic. First, here are three new stories from The Atlantic: What Could Happen Ukraine is fighting for the lives of its people and its very existence, and it is running out of ammunition. If the United States does not step back in with aid, Russia could eventually win this war. Despite the twaddle from propagandists in Moscow (and a few academics in the United States), Russia’s war is not about NATO, or borders, or the balance of power. The Russian dictator Vladimir Putin intends to absorb Ukraine into a new Russian empire, and he will eradicate the Ukrainians if they refuse to accept his rule. Europe is in the midst of …

A Hard-Won Victory That Ukraine Stands to Lose

A Hard-Won Victory That Ukraine Stands to Lose

In a trench war, depth matters, and on a hilltop outside Orikhiv, 35 miles southeast of Zaporizhzhia, the Russians were dug in more than six feet deep. They’d fashioned a sunken city, a maze of crossed trails extending nearly a mile and commanding an unobstructed view five miles in all directions. From that hilltop, known to the Ukrainian military as Position X, the Russians controlled the vital road south. If the Russians were to push forward, to take Orikhiv and move toward Zaporizhzhia, they would advance from that position. If Ukraine’s counteroffensive were to progress in the southeast, with the goal of eventually retaking Melitopol and choking Russian land access to Crimea, it would have to start by gaining Position X. Last June, Ukrainian forces overcame Russia’s established position on their fifth attempt, after several months and many casualties. Taking Position X was a high point in a tough counteroffensive campaign and a demonstration of Ukrainian capacity. With enough weaponry, Ukrainian persistence, ingenuity, and courage can prevail over numerically superior and better-equipped Russian forces—especially in …

Russia targets Ukraine’s defence industry as it prepares for a long war

Russia targets Ukraine’s defence industry as it prepares for a long war

Russian forces are targeting Ukraine’s defence industry with long-range strikes in a tactical switch as Moscow prepares for a long war, British intelligence officials have said. The attacks are part of an escalating missile and drone duel between Russia and Ukraine, with both sides bidding to degrade one another’s military and industrial capacities while the front lines remain largely static. The Ministry of Defence assessment came as Kyiv launched a wave of strikes on occupied Crimea and a Russian border region on Wednesday in what appeared to be a retaliatory assault for a barrage on Ukrainian cities the previous day. Britain’s MoD said Moscow’s volley of around 100 high-velocity projectiles aimed at the capital, Kyiv, and Kharkiv on Tuesday had likely targeted Ukrainian drone and missile producers. Missile and drone attacks have escalated in recent weeks between the two countries in a bid to degrade military capacities – GLOBAL IMAGES UKRAINE “This contrasts with its major attacks last winter, which prioritised striking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” the department said. “Russia appeared set to restart this campaign …

Putin Wants the West to Give Up on Ukraine

Putin Wants the West to Give Up on Ukraine

They planned to take Kyiv in three days, the rest of Ukraine in six weeks. More than 21 months later, Russian forces have withdrawn from half the territory they occupied in February of last year. At least 88,000 Russian soldiers are likely dead—a conservative estimate—and at least twice as many have been wounded. Billions of dollars worth of equipment, Russian tanks, planes, artillery, helicopters, armored vehicles, and warships have been destroyed. If you had predicted this outcome before the war—and nobody did—it would have seemed fanciful. No one would have believed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a professional comedian, could lead a country at war, that the democratic world would be united enough to help him, or that Russian President Vladimir Putin would endure such a humiliation. Ukraine, the United States, and the European Union have achieved something remarkable: Working together, they have not only preserved the Ukrainian state, but stood up to a bully whose nihilism harms the entire world. Putin backs far-right and extremist movements in Europe, provides thugs to support African dictatorships, …