Bucha massacre documentary wins gold at New York Festivals 2025
Source: Radio Liberty
Details: The documentary, How Russian Forces Hunted Down A Ukrainian Shopkeeper In Bucha Bloodbath, is the second part of an investigation by journalist Dmytro Dzhulai into the massacres in Bucha during the Russian occupation in March 2022.
It examines the circumstances of the executions and names Russian military personnel who may be involved in the killing of local self-defence member Oleksii Pobihay.
The winners were announced on the evening of 22 May in New York during the virtual Storytellers gala.
Other laureates this year included Al Jazeera English, Voice of America, ABCTV, PBS, BBC and Deutsche Welle, among others.
Background: In March 2025, a documentary by Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov, 2000 Meters to Andriivka, won an award at the CPH:DOX documentary film festival in Denmark.
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9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cluster Warhead Version Of Russian Kh-101 Cruise Missile Caught On Camera
Footage from a recent Russian bombardment of the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi provides us with what is likely our best look so far at a Kh-101 cruise missile fitted with a cluster warhead being used. While Russian forces have made extensive use of a variety of cluster munitions in the conflict, it's notable that the relatively high-end Kh-101 long-range cruise missile is also now being used in this capacity. It should be noted that cluster munitions, on various types of weapons, have also been widely employed by Ukraine in the conflict. Massive strike on Chernivtsi!Likely a Kh-101 missile with a cluster warhead. — 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝕯𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝕯𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔠𝔱△ (@TheDeadDistrict) July 12, 2025 Footage showing one of Russia's Kh-101 cruise missile strikes on Chernivtsi City. The missile was equipped with a cluster warhead. — AMK Mapping (@AMK_Mapping_) July 12, 2025 The video in question is said to show part of the Russian attack on Chernivtsi, in the region of the same name, in southwestern Ukraine, on the night of July 11. Apparently filmed from the window of an apartment building, a missile can be seen plummeting toward the ground at a steep angle, followed soon after by a string of detonations consistent with a cluster warhead. A large dark cloud of smoke then rises from the area. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine claims the Russian attack on Chernivtsi damaged administrative and residential buildings, as well as vehicles. Two people were killed, and 14 others sustained injuries of varying severity, the service reported. At night, the Russians attacked the city of Chernivtsi near the Romanian border with missiles and drones. They hit residential buildings and killed 4 made no sense. The city is 700 km from the front. Its residents do not pose any threat to Russia. With such terrorist… — Денис Казанський (@den_kazansky) July 12, 2025 Buildings in #Lviv and #Chernivtsi damaged in last night's is working with local authorities and partners to help respond to the needs of affected children and families. — UNICEF Ukraine (@UNICEF_UA) July 12, 2025 A building in Chernivtsi has been hit seemingly by a Kh-101 equipped with cluster munitions. 48.2565239, 25.9545555Source 1 2https:// @GeoConfirmed @UAControlMap @Cen4infoRes — Rocket Man (@Grimm_Intel) July 12, 2025 Under the most basic definition, cluster munitions are bombs, rockets, artillery shells, and other projectiles that, when fired, open in mid-air and release dozens or even hundreds of smaller weapons. These submunitions are most commonly high explosive charges or land mines, which are types covered by various international treaties, including the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which you can read more about here. The submunitions, or bomblets, are scattered over a wide area, the density of which can be programmed into the weapon. This scattering increases the physical area of destruction a cluster munition can inflict compared to a unitary warhead, with a tradeoff in destructive force on any one point. As well as the indiscriminate nature of the damage when employed on a populated area, significant numbers of the submunitions fail to explode on initial impact. They can then pose a hazard for rescue efforts and, if not made safe, can remain a hidden threat to civilians for many years. While we don't know with absolute certainty what weapon was involved, the only logical and known fit for the approach and subsequent detonation we see in the video is the version of the Kh-101 designed to dispense cluster munitions. Considering the distance of Chernivtsi from Russia — it is only around 20 miles from the border of NATO-member Romania — the long-range Kh-101 cruise missile is the only reasonable candidate. In addition, a cluster warhead is not currently known to be provided for any Russian cruise missile other than the Kh-101, although it is far from a new concept, with cruise missiles like the U.S.-made Tomahawk Land Attack Missile also previously having this option. The maximum range of the Kh-101 missile is reportedly between 1,864 and 2,485 miles. The missile apparently entered series production in 2010-11 and was subsequently used in combat during Russia's campaign in Syria, launched by both Tu-160 and Tu-95MS bombers. The first reports of a cluster warhead version of the Kh-101 cruise missile — which is known to NATO as the AS-23A Kodiak — began to appear last summer. Even before that, the relatively modern Kh-101 was established as the most important Russian air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) of the war. The first evidence of the cluster version of the Kh-101 being used appears to date from the night of June 7, 2024, when imagery emerged showing the spherical-shaped charge that is understood to comprise the cluster warhead alongside wreckage of the missile itself. Kyiv Mayor Klitschko showed cluster submunitions from Kh-101 missiles, with which the enemy attacked Kyiv at night. — Igor Kyivskyi (@Igor_from_Kyiv_) June 17, 2025 Police warn residents of Kyiv Oblast that during last night's missile attack, Russia used modernized Kh-101 cruise missiles with cluster-bomb warheads. Unexploded submunitions from the warheads of shot-down missiles have been found. Should not be touched, but reported to police. — Euan MacDonald (@Euan_MacDonald) June 12, 2024 Cluster munitions from new Kh-101 Russian cruise — Rob Lee (@RALee85) June 15, 2024 The existence of a cluster-warhead Kh-101 was also confirmed by Russian military bloggers, who highlighted the value of a weapon of this kind, especially for targeting Ukrainian airbases and air defense sites. According to the Milinfolive channel on Telegram: 'The lack of cluster warheads in Russian long-range cruise missiles, such as the Kh-101 or Kalibr, had an extremely negative impact on the effectiveness of missile strikes on enemy airbases in the first weeks of hostilities, when Ukrainian aviation was in the most vulnerable position, and the air defense system of the AFU could not shoot down even a fraction of the missiles.' Video showing a Russian cruise missile (likely a Kh-101) flying over — Rob Lee (@RALee85) May 7, 2022 Certainly, cluster warheads put these kinds of targets under considerable threat, but they are also relevant for attacking other soft targets spread out over an area, such as air defense systems, vehicle pools, ammo dumps, and others. These are precisely the kinds of targets Ukraine went after when they recieved cluster warheads-equipped ATACMS short-range ballistic missiles and used them to great effect. However, indications point to the indiscriminate use of the cluster version of the Kh-101 against a city with a population of more than 250,000. This continues a pattern of Russian attacks on civilian targets across Ukraine, using various types of missiles and drones, with such bombardment having stepped up notably in recent weeks. Still, the Kh-101s are prized weapons that are not in surplus after years of war in Ukraine, so using them selectively is clearly a top priority for the Russian Air Force. In other words, targets are not haphazardly chosen, civilian or military. As for launch platforms, the Tu-160 can carry up to 12 Kh-101s on rotary launchers in its tandem bomb bays. The turboprop-powered Tu-95MS can carry up to eight Kh-101s externally, since the missiles are too large for its internal weapons bay. Captured on camera a second before it hit a children's cancer hospital on Monday, the Kh-101 is one of Russia's most advanced cruise missiles and critical to its intensifying air strike campaign against Ukrainehttps:// — Financial Times (@FT) July 10, 2024 Different adaptations of the Kh-101 have also previously appeared in the war in Ukraine, apparently having been modified to meet the changing demands of the conflict. Since at least January 2023, Kh-101s have been noted employing a decoy capability in Ukraine, although a self-defense function of some kind is understood to have always been present in these missiles. The missile's ability to release infrared countermeasures flares in flight — usually during its terminal run-in to its target — has been noted on several occasions in videos. Very curious video of what appears to be a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile deploying flares/decoys during the — Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (@Archer83Able) December 29, 2023 There have also been reports of Russia fielding a second countermeasure-equipped Kh-101 subvariant. According to these accounts, the revised countermeasures are intended to 'jam' enemy surface-to-air missiles, which could suggest dispensers loaded with chaff or some kind of electronic warfare capability. A Russian Telegram channel revealed (and then deleted) photos of new version of the Kh-101 strategic cruise missile. Unlike the standard 'izdeliye 504A', the new '504AP' has added electronic countermeasures to jam anti-aircraft missiles. — Piotr Butowski (@piotr_butowski) November 16, 2022 There is also another warhead configuration that seems to have been tailored specifically for the war in Ukraine. Seemingly something of an ad-hoc solution, this involves fitting a second charge — reportedly containing steel fragments to increase the overall destructive effect — at the expense of fuel and therefore range. A fragmentation charge would render the weapon more effective against personnel and softer targets, as well as increasing its lethal radius and blast damage. It could also be useful if accuracy is more limited. The first claims that such a dual-warhead version of the Kh-101 was being used emerged at the end of March 2023 among Ukrainian military bloggers. It was claimed that one of the missiles had been shot down, revealing two charges, with a combined weight of around 1,760 pounds compared to around 1,000 pounds for the single warhead in the standard Kh-101. Firm evidence of a Kh-101 modified with a second warhead appeared in May 2024, as you can read about here. РФ для удару 8 травня взяла з конвеєру Х-101 з подвійною БЧ, зроблену в 2 кварталі 2024 року | Defense Express — DEFENSE EXPRESS (@DEFENSEEXPRESS) May 8, 2024 A downed Russian Kh-101 air-launched cruise missile with two warheads. See below for more — John Hardie (@JohnH105) May 8, 2024 Notably, the account from the Milinfolive channel suggests that it's possible that, in the cluster version, a dual-warhead configuration is also used, with one of the charges being a fragmentation warhead, and the other being the new cluster payload. Once again, even when striking a target in the far west of Ukraine, any reduction in the missile's range resulting from the revised, heavier warhead leading to a reduction in fuel capacity, would be academic. Sacrificing fuel (and thereby range) is not a concern for Russia so long as it's using Kh-101s to hit targets in Ukraine. After all, the basic Kh-101 can strike targets almost anywhere in Europe when launched within Russian airspace. Legally speaking, the use of a Kh-101 missile with a cluster warhead in a civilian area is a clear violation of international humanitarian law and potentially also a war crime. At the same time, with Russia and Ukraine having both opted out of signing the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits weapons of this kind, it will continue and likely expand in the conflict. As for the Kh-101, Russia is doing everything it can to up production of these weapons, which gives the Russian Air Force its only means of striking deep into Ukraine with a heavy warhead. Contact the author: thomas@
11 hours ago
Former Army officer pleads guilty to sharing classified Ukraine war info on date site
A retired Army officer who worked as a civilian for the Air Force has pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit classified information about Russia's war with Ukraine on a foreign online dating platform. David Slater, 64, who had top secret clearance at his job at the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, pleaded guilty to a single count before a federal magistrate judge in Omaha on Thursday. In exchange for his guilty plea, two other counts were dropped. Slater remains free pending his sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 8. Prosecutors and his lawyers agreed that he should serve between five years and 10 months and seven years and three months in prison, and the government will recommend a term at the low end of that range. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 10 years behind bars. U.S. District Judge Brian Buescher will ultimately decide whether to accept the plea agreement and will determine Slater's sentence. 'I conspired to willfully communicate national defense information to an unauthorized person,' Slater said in a handwritten note on his petition to change his plea. Slater had access to some of the country's most closely held secrets, John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement. 'Access to classified information comes with great responsibility," said Lesley Woods, the U.S. attorney for Nebraska, said in the same statement. "David Slater failed in his duty to protect this information by willingly sharing National Defense Information with an unknown online personality despite having years of military experience that should have caused him to be suspicious of that person's motives.' Slater retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 2020 and worked in a classified space at the base from around August 2021 until around April 2022. He attended briefings about the Russia-Ukraine war that were classified up to top secret, court documents say. He was arrested in March of 2024. In his plea agreement, he acknowledged that he conspired to transmit classified information that he learned from those briefings via the foreign dating website's messaging platform to an unnamed coconspirator, who claimed to be a woman living in Ukraine. The information, classified as secret, pertained to military targets and Russian military capabilities, according to the plea agreement. 'Defendant knew and had reason to believe that such information could be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation,' the agreement states. According to the original indictment, the coconspirator regularly asked Slater for classified information. She called him, 'my secret informant love!' in one message. She closed another by saying, 'You are my secret agent. With love.' In another, she wrote, 'Dave, I hope tomorrow NATO will prepare a very pleasant 'surprise' for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin! Will you tell me?" Court documents don't identify the coconspirator, or say whether she was working for Ukraine or Russia. They also don't identify the dating platform. Amy Donato, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in Omaha, said Monday that she couldn't provide that information. Slater's attorney, Stuart Dornan, didn't immediately return a call seeking further details.
Hamilton Spectator
11 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Retired Army officer pleads guilty to sharing classified info on Russia-Ukraine war on dating site
A retired Army officer who worked as a civilian for the Air Force has pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit classified information about Russia's war with Ukraine on a foreign online dating platform. David Slater, 64, who had top secret clearance at his job at the U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, pleaded guilty to a single count before a federal magistrate judge in Omaha on Thursday. In exchange for his guilty plea, two other counts were dropped. Slater remains free pending his sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 8. Prosecutors and his lawyers agreed that he should serve between five years and 10 months and seven years and three months in prison, and the government will recommend a term at the low end of that range. The charge carries a statutory maximum of 10 years behind bars. U.S. District Judge Brian Buescher will ultimately decide whether to accept the plea agreement and will determine Slater's sentence. 'I conspired to willfully communicate national defense information to an unauthorized person,' Slater said in a handwritten note on his petition to change his plea. Slater had access to some of the country's most closely held secrets, John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement. 'Access to classified information comes with great responsibility,' said Lesley Woods, the U.S. attorney for Nebraska, said in the same statement. 'David Slater failed in his duty to protect this information by willingly sharing National Defense Information with an unknown online personality despite having years of military experience that should have caused him to be suspicious of that person's motives.' Slater retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 2020 and worked in a classified space at the base from around August 2021 until around April 2022. He attended briefings about the Russia-Ukraine war that were classified up to top secret, court documents say. He was arrested in March of 2024. In his plea agreement, he acknowledged that he conspired to transmit classified information that he learned from those briefings via the foreign dating website's messaging platform to an unnamed coconspirator, who claimed to be a woman living in Ukraine. The information, classified as secret, pertained to military targets and Russian military capabilities, according to the plea agreement. 'Defendant knew and had reason to believe that such information could be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation,' the agreement states. According to the original indictment, the coconspirator regularly asked Slater for classified information. She called him, 'my secret informant love!' in one message. She closed another by saying, 'You are my secret agent. With love.' In another, she wrote, 'Dave, I hope tomorrow NATO will prepare a very pleasant 'surprise' for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin! Will you tell me?' Court documents don't identify the coconspirator, or say whether she was working for Ukraine or Russia. They also don't identify the dating platform. Amy Donato, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in Omaha, said Monday that she couldn't provide that information. Slater's attorney, Stuart Dornan, didn't immediately return a call seeking further details. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
