Lithuania blocks and fortifies bridge to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave

Kasciunas said other #bridges leading to #Kaliningrad would also be fortified, and some may even be #mined.

#Russia's full-scale #invasion of #Ukraine exacerbated fears of a potential open conflict between Moscow and NATO, and #Lithuania, bordering Russia's ally #Belarus and Kaliningrad, would be one of the first countries threatened by such a clash.

Kaliningrad Oblast is a small but heavily armed territory lodged between the Baltic Sea and NATO members Poland, and Lithuania. Russia's Baltic Sea Fleet has its headquarters and main base located there.

https://kyivindependent.com/lithuania-blocks-and-fortifies-bridge-to-russias-kaliningrad-exclave/

#StopRussianAggression #RussiaInvadedUkraine

Lithuania blocks and fortifies bridge to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave

Lithuania's Defense Minsiter Laurynas said other bridges leading to Kaliningrad would also be fortified, and some may even be mined.

Moscow & Tehran are behind spike in terror plots, #MI5 spy chief says

The #UK is facing an uptick of #assassination attempts on its soil by #Russia and #Iran, the head of the domestic intelligence agency Ken McCallum said in a rare public speech given on Tuesday.

McCallum called the increase in assassination attempts "staggering," saying that the number of state-threat investigations undertaken by the MI5 had risen by 48% in the past year.

He added that Russia and Iran often recruited #criminals, from international drug traffickers to "low-level crooks," to carry out attacks on their behalf.

https://www.euronews.com/2024/10/08/moscow-and-tehran-are-behind-spike-in-terror-plots-mi5-spy-chief-says

#StopRussianAggression #RussianTerroristState #HybridWar

Russia and Iran are behind spike in terror plots, MI5 spy chief says

The UK's domestic intelligence agency head said that the number of state-threat investigations undertaken by his agency had risen by 48% over the past year with Iran, Russia and China to blame.

Putin used then-President Trump's animus toward Ukraine to undermine US support, NYT reports

Donald Trump asked Russian President Vladimir #Putin for advice when deciding on whether to send arms to Ukraine early during his presidency in 2017, the New York Times (NYT) reported on Oct. 5, citing undisclosed U.S. officials.

Trump allegedly asked Putin what he thought about the possibility of sending U.S. #weapons to #Ukraine, which was at the time fighting Russian and Russian proxy forces in the eastern region of #Donbas.

The #Russian president responded it would be a "mistake," forcing Trump's team to come up with ways to "change the president's mind on Ukraine" after the meeting, according to the outlet.

https://kyivindependent.com/putin-trump-zelensky-nyt/

#StopRussianAggression #disinformation #propaganda #traitor #TraitorTrump

Putin used then-President Trump's animus toward Ukraine to undermine US support, NYT reports

Donald Trump asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for advice when deciding on whether to send arms to Ukraine during his presidency in 2017, the New York Times (NYT) reported on Oct. 5, citing undisclosed U.S. officials.

Stopping support for Ukraine's self-defence will lead to more war crimes – German Foreign Minister

After inviting #Russia to the international Peace Summit, "Putin sent his response by bombing a children's hospital".

She also noted that Russia has repeatedly "been toying with the inviolability of the borders of the Baltic States and Poland"

If a permanent member of the UN Security Council is allowed to conquer and destroy its smaller neighbour, the very essence of this [UN] Charter is under attack

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/09/27/7477051/

#WarCrimes #StopRussianAggression #Ukraine

Stopping support for Ukraine’s self-defence will lead to more war crimes – German Foreign Minister

The end of allied support for Ukraine’s self-defence will lead to an increase in the number of war crimes, not a decrease.

Russia establishes secret attack drone program in #China, Reuters reports

According to the report, Russia has flight-tested a new drone called the #Garpiya-3 (G3) in China with the help of local specialists.

Details of the project were revealed in a report by the company behind the project, IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of the #Kremlin-owned weapons company #Almaz-Antey.

Beijing has also emerged as one of Russia's leading sources of dual-use goods that feed the Russian defense industry.

In a comment to Reuters, China's foreign ministry denied knowledge of the #G3 project.

https://kyivindependent.com/russia-establishes-secret-attack-drone-programme-in-china-reuters-reports/

#StopRussianAggression #drones #Chinese

Russia establishes secret attack drone program in China, Reuters reports

Russia has secretly established a development and production program in China for attack drones to be used in the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported on Sept. 25 citing European intelligence sources and documents reviewed by the outlet. According to...

Russia has destroyed all thermal power plants, nearly all hydroelectric capacity in Ukraine ahead of winter

According to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report, Ukraine's electricity shortage could reach 6 gigawatts this winter as a result of the attacks, which is about one-third of the expected peak demand. This summer, the power shortage was 2.5 GW when Kyiv was already experiencing long blackouts.

"This is how Putin is preparing for winter — hoping to torment millions, millions of Ukrainians… Ordinary families — women, children… Ordinary towns, ordinary villages," Zelensky said.

Putin wants to leave them in the dark and cold this winter, forcing #Ukraine to suffer and surrender. Just imagine, please, your country with 80 percent of its energy system gone

https://kyivindependent.com/russia-destroys-all-thermal-power-plants-nearly-all-hydroelectric-capacity-in-ukraine-ahead-of-winter-zelensky-says/

#WarCrimes #StopRussianAggression

Russia has destroyed all thermal power plants, nearly all hydroelectric capacity in Ukraine ahead of winter, Zelensky says

Russia destroyed all thermal power plants and almost all hydroelectric capacity in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 25 during his speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Russia launched nine coordinated attacks against...

Russia attacks #Kramatorsk city center, killing 2, injuring 19, including children

"This is another #WarCrime by the #Russians and another sad reminder that there are no safe places left in Donetsk Oblast," Filashkin wrote on his Telegram, encouraging remaining local residents to evacuate.

Kramatorsk comes under regular Russian attacks. A strike on a restaurant in the city center, popular with volunteers, journalists, and soldiers, in June 2023 killed 13 people and injured dozens of others.

https://kyivindependent.com/russia-attacks-kramatorsk-city-center-killing-2-injuring-12/

#StopRussianAggression #civilians #CiviliansTargeted #Ukraine

Russia attacks Kramatorsk city center, killing 2, injuring 19, including children

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated. Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin clarified later in the day that the city was attacked by two guided aerial bombs, not three, as he had previously claimed. Russian forces...

Around 60% of foreign parts in Russian weapons come via China

#China has positioned itself as neutral in the ongoing war but has deepened economic ties with Russia and became Moscow's leading source of dual-use goods during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, fueling the Kremlin's war machine.

"If you take all the usual types of weapons and count the foreign made components, about 60% would be coming from China," Vlasiuk said in comments reported by Reuters, calling Beijing "the biggest problem."

https://kyivindependent.com/china/

#StopRussianAggression #sanctions #Ukraine

Around 60% of foreign parts in Russian weapons come via China, Ukraine says

"If you take all the usual types of weapons and count the foreign made components – about 60% would be coming from China," Vladyslav Vlasiuk, an adviser to Ukraine's Presidential Office, said on Sept. 24.

Putin must not win in Ukraine, Russian dissident Kara-Murza says

Kara-Murza was released from a Russian penal colony on Aug. 1 as part of a historic prisoner exchange between the West and Russia. He had been sentenced to 25 years in prison in April 2023 for condemning Russia's all-out war in Ukraine.

"Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to win this war in Ukraine," #Kara-Murza said at the press conference, organized jointly by #RUSI and the Global Magnitsky #Justice Campaign.

"More than that, he must not be allowed to have a face-saving exit from this war."

https://kyivindependent.com/putin-must-not-win-in-ukraine-russian-dissident-kara-murza-says/

#StopRussianAggression #RussiaInvadedUkraine #Ukraine

Putin must not win in Ukraine, Russian dissident Kara-Murza says

"Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to win this war in Ukraine. More than that, he must not be allowed to have a face-saving exit from this war," Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza said at a press conference in London.

Revealed: Russia anticipated Kursk incursion months in advance, seized papers show

Russia’s military command had anticipated Ukraine’s incursion into its Kursk region and had been making plans to prevent it for several months, according to a cache of documents that the Ukrainian army said it had seized from abandoned Russian positions in the region.

The disclosure makes the disarray among Russian forces after Ukraine’s attack in early August all the more embarrassing.

The documents, shared with the Guardian, also reveal #Russian concerns about morale in the ranks in #Kursk, which intensified after the #suicide of a soldier at the front who had reportedly been in a “prolonged state of #depression due to his service in the Russian army”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/20/revealed-russia-anticipated-kursk-incursion-months-in-advance-seized-papers-show

#RussianArmy #soldiers #StopRussianAggression #Ukraine

Arms depot in Russia's Tver Oblast built to withstand nuclear explosion heavily damaged by #UkrainianDrones

#Ukrainian #drones attacked one of the largest arsenals in Russia, causing a powerful detonation in the town of #Toropets in Russia's Tver Oblast

In 2018, the Russian Defense Ministry bragged that this facility would be prepared to withstand even a nuclear explosion. Six years later, the claim was proven to be false.

https://kyivindependent.com/russia-said-this-weapons-depot-was-nuclear-bomb-proof-ukraine-just-blew-it-up-with-drones/

#StopRussianAggression #depots #weapons #ammunition

Arms depot in Russia's Tver Oblast built to withstand nuclear explosion heavily damaged by Ukrainian drones

Overnight, Ukrainian drones attacked one of the largest arsenals in Russia, causing a powerful detonation in the town of Toropets in Russia's Tver Oblast, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told the Kyiv Independent. Back in 2018,...

IMF's trip to Moscow is effectively enabling Russia's war against Ukraine

#RussiaGate?

You probably haven't heard that the #InternationalMonetaryFund (IMF) is preparing to send a mission to Russia.

That’s because top #IMF officials have been trying to draw as little public attention to their plans as possible – which ought to tell you something. Fund officials themselves know that this is a scandal in the making.

https://kyivindependent.com/opinion-imfs-trip-to-moscow-is-effectively-enabling-russias-war-against-ukraine/

#corruption #WarCrimes #StopRussianAggression #Russian

Opinion: IMF's trip to Moscow is effectively enabling Russia's war against Ukraine

You probably haven't heard that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is preparing to send a mission to Russia. That’s because top IMF officials have been trying to draw as little public attention to their plans as possible – which ought to tell...

Russia reportedly executes #POW with sword, Kyiv appeals to UN, Red Cross

On the morning of Sept. 17, a photo of an apparently executed Ukrainian soldier with a sword in his chest and the inscription "For Kursk" appeared on social media. Remnants of gray tape are visible on the soldier's hand.

The photo appears to show a bloodied body lying on the road against the backdrop of damaged vehicles and a house with broken windows. The exact location is unclear.

https://kyivindependent.com/ombudsman-appeals-to-un-red-cross/

#WarCrimes #StopRussianAggression #Russian #Ukraine

Russia reportedly executes POW with sword, Kyiv appeals to UN, Red Cross

On the morning of Sept. 17, a photo of an allegedly executed Ukrainian soldier with a sword in his chest and the inscription "For Kursk" appeared on social media. Remnants of gray tape are visible on the soldier's hand.

Syrians disappearing in Luhansk Oblast' — Moscow uses foreign fighters as cannon fodder

Russia has established a scheme with travel companies to recruit Syrians for the war against Ukraine.

First, poor people are offered jobs as security guards in Russian oil regions, and then they are lured with a higher salary" to fight the war against Ukraine, HUR said on social media. Syrian nationals are also promised Russian passports.

https://kyivindependent.com/hur-syrians/

#StopRussianAggression #Syrians #HumanRights #fraud #CannonFodder

'Syrians disappear in Luhansk Oblast' — Ukraine's intelligence says Moscow uses foreign fighters as cannon fodder

"Russia has established a scheme with travel companies to recruit Syrians for the war against Ukraine. First, poor people are offered jobs as security guards in Russian oil regions, and then they are lured with a higher salary" to fight the war...

Western aid not enough to equip 'even 4 out of 14' under-armed brigades needed on the front

Ukraine hadn't received enough military aid from the foreign partners to equip "even four out of 14" Ukrainian army brigades that the country "needs to be ready," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with CNN on Sept. 15.

Zelensky didn't specify what the 14 brigades would be used for, or where they will be dispatched.

https://kyivindependent.com/western-aid-cant-equip-4-out-of-14-brigades-needed-on-the-front-zelensky-said/

#StopRussianAggression #Ukraine #MilitaryAid #weapons

Western aid not enough to equip 'even 4 out of 14' underarmed brigades needed on the front, Zelensky says

Ukraine hadn't received enough military aid from the foreign partners to equip "even four out of 14" Ukrainian army brigades that the country "needs to be ready," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with CNN on Sept. 15.

De facto cyberwar — Poland says it uncovered 'saboteurs' working for Russia, Belarus

Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said the perpetrators' goals were to "extort information, to #blackmail individuals and institutions, and to wage de facto #cyberwar."

Gawkowski highlighted a recent cyberattack against the Polish Anti-Doping Agency (POLADA), which was part of a "broader operational game" of foreign security services to gain access to other institutions.

A number of suspected spy networks, allegedly run by Minsk and Moscow, had been uncovered in #Poland over the past years. Warsaw has positioned itself as one of the staunchest supporters of #Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, leading to a sharp deterioration of ties with Russia and Belarus.

https://kyivindependent.com/poland-cyberattacks/

#StopRussianAggression #cyberattacks #Russian #Belarus

'De facto cyberwar' — Poland says it uncovered 'saboteurs' working for Russia, Belarus

Speaking at a press conference, Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said the perpetrators' goals were to "extort information, to blackmail individuals and institutions, and to wage de facto cyberwar."

Notorious Russian military intelligence unit carrying out cyber attacks on Western countries, agencies warn

A notorious unit of Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU) is carrying out #CyberAttacks against #CriticalInfrastructure in NATO and EU countries, as well as Ukraine, Western intelligence agencies warned on Sept. 5.

#GRU Unit 29155 is believed to be responsible for a number of physical attacks in Western countries, including the poisoning of former double agent Sergei #Skripal in the U.K. in 2018 and the ammunition warehouse explosions in #Czechia in 2014.

The unit is also responsible for an attempted #coup in #Montenegro and a political #destabilization campaign in #Moldova.

Western intelligence agencies have now uncovered that this unit has a powerful cyber arm and that it has been carrying out attacks since 2020.

https://kyivindependent.com/notorious-russian-military-intelligence-unit-carrying-out-cyber-attacks-on-western-countries-agencies-warn/

#HybridWarfare #StopRussianAggression

Notorious Russian military intelligence unit carrying out cyber attacks on Western countries, agencies warn

A notorious unit of Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU) is carrying out cyber attacks against critical infrastructure in NATO and EU countries, as well as Ukraine, Western intelligence agencies warned on Sept. 5.

Russian troops apparently kill surrendering Ukrainian soldiers near Pokrovsk, CNN reports

Russian forces seem to have gunned down a group of #surrendering Ukrainian soldiers near Pokrovsk in late August, CNN reported on Sept. 6, publishing an exclusive video.

This comes as another apparent case of Russia summarily executing Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) or surrendering soldiers, which could amount to war crimes.

Drone footage published by CNN shows three #UkrainianSoldiers surrendering after their trench was overrun. As they walk out, kneel down, and place their hands on their heads, they seem to be gunned down as they fall to the ground.

https://kyivindependent.com/russian-troops-kill-surrendering-ukrainian-soldiers-near-pokrovsk-cnn-reports/

#StopRussianAggression #executions #murder #WarCrimes

Russian troops apparently kill surrendering Ukrainian soldiers near Pokrovsk, CNN reports

Russian forces seem to have summarily executed a group of surrendering Ukrainian soldiers near Pokrovsk in late August, CNN reported on Sept. 6, publishing an exclusive video.

Russia has not provided a #humanitarian #corridor from Kursk

Russia has not provided a humanitarian corridor for its citizens to leave Kursk more than three weeks after Ukraine began its incursion into the region

We talk a lot with the locals. Even show them photos of destroyed Ukrainian cities, show films about the crimes committed by the Russians at the beginning of the war.

They have different opinions. But for the most part they don't understand. They say that they want peace, that it is beyond politics, that everything stops or that they are given a corridor - the opportunity to leave the combat zone, which Russia does not provide,

https://kyivindependent.com/russia-has-not-provided-a-humanitarian-corridor-from-kursk-says-ukrainian-official/

#WarCrimes #StopRussianAggression #Kursk #civilians #HumanRights #Ukraine

Russia has not provided a humanitarian corridor from Kursk, says Ukrainian official

Russia has not provided a humanitarian corridor for its citizens to leave Kursk more than three weeks after Ukraine began its incursion into the region, said Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Operational Tactical Group...

Russians strike children's rehabilitation centre and orphanage in Sumy, Ukraine

Russian troops have launched a missile attack on a centre for the social and psychological rehabilitation of children and on an orphanage in Sumy. There are four injured, including two wounded children as reported by the media.

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/09/1/7472975/

#WarCrimes #StopRussianAggression #children #healthcare #civilians #CiviliansAttacked #CiviliansTargeted #Ukraine

Russians strike children’s rehabilitation centre and orphanage in Sumy, 13 injuries reported – photos, video

Russian troops have launched a missile attack on a centre for the social and psychological rehabilitation of children and on an orphanage in Sumy. Thirteen people are reported to be injured, including two children.