The lack of manpower is taking its toll on the Ukrainian troops. Russia continues to press along the entire front line, and Ukraine is managing to hold its advance in the direction of the north of the Kharkiv region. In the Chasiv Yar area, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are
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also holding the front line, but the situation remains difficult. The most difficult situation continues to develop in the Avdiivka direction in the Ocheretyne and Toretsk area. Frontelligence writes that these advancements resulted from a lack of coordination and poor
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command decisions, similar to those made by the Ukrainian command during the rotation in Ocheretyne in the spring of 2024. Interestingly, the command of the Ukrainian 41st Mechanized Brigade, which was rotated to Chasiv Yar before moving to the Toretsk area, bears the lion's
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share of the blame for the loss of the canal district in Chasiv Yar and the Toretsk - Niu York area. In both cases, the Russians were able to advance within their areas of responsibility. Some officers we spoke to even suggested that the Russians are tracking the rotation
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of the 41st Brigade to exploit vulnerabilities in their command and cooperation during rotations. A similar situation happened in Ocheretyne in April - May 2024. Then, during the rotation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russia broke through the defense. Ukraine is a huge
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country. According to Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, the front line is currently 3,700 kilometers long. Active hostilities were conducted on 977 kilometers, that is, on territories that are twice the length of the border between Germany and France. This means that the
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Ukrainian troops are stretched out and the defense line is very thin, and if it crumbles, the Russians can go behind the positions and advance several kilometers at once. Syrsky acknowledged the significant advantage of the Russians in equipment and personnel. By the end
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of 2024, the Kremlin plans to increase the army to 620 thousand. Now it numbers 520 thousand, which is 5 times more than at the beginning of the invasion. The number of the Armed Forces in 2024 is approximately 350,000. Frontelligence writes that according to multiple
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sources, the 41st Mechanized Brigade brigade did not have a chance to replenish its losses after the Kupyansk direction and was subsequently sent to Chasiv Yar and then to the Toretsk area. While the brigade command can be blamed for mistakes, the underlying issues are much
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more fundamental. These include a lack of rest, shortages of personnel and equipment, and insufficient reserves to send to risky areas, leading to the redeployment of brigades from other parts of the frontline. Despite these challenges, not everything is negative for the
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Ukrainian army. Early in the spring of 2024, when the Russians were advancing towards Chasiv Yar, the situation for Ukrainian forces was quite dire. They faced a shortage of artillery shells, delays in Western aid, and a lack of personnel. But it’s not just Ukraine that
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has problems. Russia suffers from a shortage of personnel and equipment. Although it is not so noticeable in the direction of the main onslaught of the Russians in the Pokrovsk direction in the area of Toretsk and Ocheretyne, the replenishment of the army is going with
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big problems. In Moscow, the one-time payment for signing a contract was raised to 2 million rubles and they began to use a new practice reminiscent of the multilevel marketing, only life is at stake. In general, in Russia they began to pay money if the signer of the
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contract can bring a friend into the army. All new contracts are indefinite. People sign them, thinking that the contract is for six months, but do not read the small print. However, again, we must not forget that the loss of a few kilometers of land and small settlements
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does not matter. The Ukrainian army is trying to preserve troops and retreat if holding a completely destroyed settlement no longer makes sense. Syrskyi said that they are not going to fight to the last soldier for the ruins.
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But Ukraine is tired, the people are tired. The world is tired of news from Ukraine. Fundraisings is slow. But despite the enormous difficulties, Ukraine is holding on and we must continue our support and increase our assistance.
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A wave of property confiscations that swept across the regions and affected officials, security officers, and judges has brought the state an amount comparable to the annual budget of a small region. In total, over the past 5-7 years, property worth 100 billion rubles has been
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seized in corruption cases, Accounts Chamber auditor Andrei Baturkin reported in the State Duma. The confiscations have reached such a scale that, according to Baturkin, a “road map” is now required to coordinate the relevant agencies that will have to deal with seized companies,
houses, land plots, and collections of luxury cars and watches. It is necessary to “establish communication between the power bloc and Rosimushchestvo so that there is more feedback regarding what property is to be transferred into the ownership of the Russian Federation,”
Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that Greece and Malta have become the main obstacles to an EU proposal to replace the price cap on Russian oil with a ban on services necessary for transporting fuel. According to the agency’s interlocutors, the two southern European
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countries raised concerns about this step at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Monday, where the latest sanctions package against Russia was presented. They warned that such a shift could affect Europe’s shipping industry and energy prices. Both countries also requested
clarifications regarding proposals to impose sanctions on foreign ports handling Russian oil and to strengthen oversight of ship sellers in order to reduce the number of vessels entering Moscow’s fleet. A representative of the Greek government declined to comment.
The most unpleasant forecasts regarding the Russian economy are beginning to materialize. What analysts cautiously spoke about a year ago is now being discussed openly even by the most pro-government Russian economists: the safety margin is rapidly shrinking. While Putin talks
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about “stability” and “growth,” the reality looks far more prosaic: a country that unleashed a war of aggression against Ukraine is methodically burning through its own financial system. According to estimates by Germany’s BND intelligence service, Russia’s real military spending
reaches around 10% of GDP and nearly half of the federal budget. In fact, actual expenditures are 66% higher than officially declared, due to hidden budget lines, Defense Ministry construction projects, military IT infrastructure, and social payments to servicemen. In simple
According to BND estimates, last year Russia’s military spending may have amounted to almost half of the state budget and around 10% of the country’s GDP. According to the German intelligence service, Russia is spending significantly more on the war and its armed forces
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than it has declared in recent years. Since the start of the war against Ukraine in February 2022, Russia’s defense budget has increased sharply every year. In addition, Russia’s interpretation of “defense spending” differs significantly from the NATO definition, German
intelligence officials note. A comprehensive analysis of budget data conducted by BND shows that Russia’s defense budget in recent years was 66% higher than officially reported. Unaccounted expenditures include, for example, construction projects of the Ministry of Defense,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky explained why he sharply criticized Europe at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He made these remarks during a meeting with journalists in Kyiv, according to a correspondent from European Pravda. Zelensky said he had grounds for critical
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statements toward Europe after a lack of funding led to a shortage of air defense missiles, allowing Russia to strike Kyiv’s energy infrastructure. Zelensky did not deny that his speech may have sounded overly harsh from European capitals and explained this by saying that
Ukraine and the rest of Europe live in different information spaces. He also acknowledged that the differences are not only informational but also emotional in how events are perceived. The president explained that his Davos speech was preceded by heavy strikes on energy
Putin is losing the game he himself started. His bet was placed on a return to the world of the 19th and early 20th centuries - a world of empires and spheres of influence, where Europe, America, Africa, and Asia are divided among several “superpowers.” In Putin’s vision of
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the world, there were supposed to be three such powers: the United States, Russia, and China. However, the real transformation of the global order is unfolding in a completely different way. The key failure is Ukraine. At the end of the fourth year of war, Russia has still
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been unable to subjugate it. The army is visibly degrading, human and technological resources are being exhausted, the economy is held together by military spending and gray schemes, and the state increasingly resembles an overextended empire losing its ability to govern
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