Christopher Vourlias On March 15, less than three weeks removed from his country’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu drafted a letter to the Minister of Culture demanding the film and TV work of Ukrainian actor-turned-wartime-President Volodymyr Zelensky be “removed from the cultural agenda of the Russian Federation,” citing efforts to rally the public behind President Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression.Also mentioned in his complaint: two-time Oscar nominee Alexander Rodnyansky (“Leviathan,” “Loveless”), the Kyiv-born producer who has called Russia home for two decades.Rodnyansky had already fled the country. On March 1, he was tipped off by a friend that his opposition to the Ukraine war had landed him in the government’s crosshairs.
Russia loses a third of the ground forces it sent to invade Ukraine, intelligence reveals
16.05.2022 - 06:43 / dailyrecord.co.uk
Russia has lost a third of the ground forces it sent to invade Ukraine, British intelligence revealed yesterday.
Vladimir Putin’s troops have suffered a series of military setbacks, repelled by Ukrainian resistance since Kremlin tanks and soldiers rolled over the border on February 24.
Estimates suggest more than 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, with thousands more wounded.
Kremlin forces are unlikely to make much progress in the next month, according to the Ministry of Defence’s latest assessment.
Speaking after talks with Nato foreign ministers in Berlin, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “Ukraine must win the battle in Ukraine.
“We must also win the struggle beyond Ukraine, the struggle to shape the future of the world.”
In a boost to fighters battling in the east – where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting since 2014 – the MoD said: “Russia’s Donbas offensive has lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule.
“Despite small-scale initial advances, Russia has failed to achieve substantial territorial gains over the past month while sustaining consistently high levels of attrition.
“Russia has now likely suffered losses of one third of the ground combat force it committed in February.”
It added: “Under the current conditions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days.”
Near the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, where Ukrainian forces have been on the attack since early this month, commanders said they believed Russia had been withdrawing troops to reinforce positions around Izium to the south.
The MoD said Putin’s troops were “constrained by degraded enabling capabilities, continued low morale and reduced combat effectiveness”.
It added: “Many of these
Pussy Riot’s Masha Alyokhina escapes Russia as Putin cracks down on dissidents
Pussy Riot’s Masha Alyokhina has escaped from Russia as president Vladimir Putin continues to crack down on dissidents in the country.Alyokhina, along with her bandmates, has been arrested and imprisoned multiple times over the past decade and more for publicly protesting Putin’s rule, most recently last year when she was detained for 48 hours after attending protests encouraging others to protest on social media.Amid the continued Russian invasion of Ukraine, a new story in The New York Times reveals that Alyokhina was under house arrest and, when authorities decided to turn that into a 21-day jail sentence last month, she decided to flee Russia.The story outlines Alyokhina’s escape, which included posing as a food courier and being placed on Russia’s wanted list after being refused entry into Belarus on account of her Russian passport having been confiscated by authorities.The report then reveals that Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson was able to assist Alyokhina in getting her a travel document from a European country that allowed her to travel freely from Russia to the EU. It adds that she has now travelled to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.“I still don’t understand completely what I’ve done,” she said in the piece.
Putin blames West for Ukraine war and says Russia is fighting 'for their motherland'
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of preparing to invade Russia and told soldiers they are fighting for the future of their 'motherland' in a Victory Day speech in the country's capital on Monday (9 May).
Trudeau Says Putin Responsible For ‘Heinous War Crimes’ During Surprise Visit To Ukraine
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it is clear now that Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for “heinous war crimes” following a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.