Russian military

The Russian military has announced its capture of the village of Pivdenne in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Located approximately 6 kilometers southeast of Toretsk, a significant Ukrainian fortress and coal-mining town, Pivdenne has been a target for Russian advances since June.

Sitting atop a stack of ammunition crates at a secret military base, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi remains tight-lipped about the arrival of Ukraine's long-awaited F-16 fighter jets. While Dutch and other allies have indicated they will arrive soon—perhaps this week or in August—Syrskyi, the new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, refrains from giving a specific timeline.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed his efforts towards formulating a new "diplomatic plan" aimed at resolving the ongoing war. He expressed confidence that the proposed plan will garner significant backing from the international community. Zelensky also announced the successful return of at least ten Ukrainian civilians who were held captive in Russia and Belarus.

A man takes pictures of the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan (L) and the rescue and salvage tugboat Nikolai Chiker (R), part of the Russian naval detachment visiting Cuba, after its arrival at Havana's harbor on June 12, 2024.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated today that NATO's increasing involvement in the Ukraine-Russia conflict is akin to a firefighter attempting to extinguish a blaze with a fire flamethrower, Reuters reported. The Hungarian leader has been at odds with Western nations over the issue of aid to Kyiv.

Russia has agreed to remove some of its troops and border guards from Armenia, the Kremlin said on Thursday, after months of spiralling tensions between the two ex-Soviet allies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that his nuclear forces were "always" on alert and that Russia would not tolerate any threats from the West.

In a defiant address on Red Square before thousands of soldiers dressed in ceremonial attire, Putin heaped praise on his army fighting in Ukraine and accused "Western elites" of fomenting conflicts around the world.

Amid escalating tensions between Russia and the West, in the context of the war in Ukraine, Moscow issued a stern warning to France, cautioning that any deployment of French troops to Ukraine would make them legitimate targets for the Russian military.

European intelligence agencies are on high alert as they warn of potential aggressive actions by Russia, including bombings, sabotage, and infrastructure damage across the continent, reports the Financial Times.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered nuclear weapons drills near Ukraine, Moscow said Monday, in response to "threats" from Western officials to deploy NATO troops to Ukraine.