Latest news with #Russianforces
The Sun
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Girl survives being blasted 100ft from Kyiv tower in Putin blitz that killed 11 – but says ‘what happened to mum & dad?'
A YOUNG girl has miraculously survived a 100ft fall off a tower block after her family's apartment was hit by the latest deadly Russian attacks. Vladimir Putin's evil forces unleashed a terrifying night of strikes which killed 11 people, including a six-year-old and his mother, and left Kyiv decimated. 5 5 5 Brave Veronika and her parents were in bed inside their ninth-floor apartment when a missile struck the building. A terrifying explosion ripped through the towering block of flats as those inside were blasted out of their homes and sent flying through the sky. Veronika was sent plunging over 100ft to the ground but managed to cheat death by landing on her cushioned bed. She was left with a broken leg and lost a tooth. The emotional toll has weighed far greater on her with her parents yet to be found among the rubble. Speaking on the horrific wake-up, Veronika said: "I fell from the ninth floor. I just had a broken leg and a tooth was knocked out. "I was conscious, I was just sleepy and didn't understand what was happening. "I heard an explosion and a second later I was on the ground. I don't know how it happened. "I don't know what happened to my father, what happened to my mother. I don't know where they are yet. What happened to them?" The tragic death toll from the strikes sits at 11 with another 135 injured. Russia threatens Trump with 'devastating' strikes after US president cut Putin's ceasefire deadline Thirty of the wounded are still receiving treatment in hospital - including five children. Many, including Veronika's parents, remain missing. Vlad reportedly sent eight Iskander-K cruise missiles and 309 Shahed drones, according to Ukraine's armed forces. Five buildings were directly hit, they added. President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of burning ruins, saying people were still trapped under the rubble of one residential building. He said: "Kyiv. Missile strike. Directly into a residential building. People under the rubble. All services are on site. Russian terrorists." Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko paid tribute to those who were killed as he described the attack on the capital as the heaviest night of horror for children since the start of the war. Telegram channel Pravda Gerashchenko added: "While rescuers are clearing debris and searching for survivors, people are at the scene of the tragedy waiting for news about their loved ones. "These scenes break the heart. Show them to those who think the maniac Putin can be appeased." The latest strike shows Putin has no intention of avoiding Trump's ire and cutting a peace deal with Ukraine. The US President has repeatedly said that the nightly bombing of civilians shows him Vlad isn't serious about peace. Trump's shortened 10-day deadline could now see massive sanctions slapped on Russia or those who buy Moscow's oil by August 8. Trump slammed tyrant Putin while visiting Scotland earlier this week as he has not taken Trump's peace efforts seriously. Trump said was "very disappointed" with him and said there was "no reason" to not implement sanctions earlier on Russia. He has made getting peace in Ukraine a priority and has talked to Putin directly as he has tried to get him to cut a deal. But the tyrant has not moved away from his maximalist demands and will only sign a deal that leaves Ukraine defenceless. Vlad has spent months talking up the prospect of peace, but appears to have alienated Trump after launching huge barrages at Ukrainian civilians. The deadly blitzes are intended to sap morale and hammer civilian infrastructure, experts say. 5 5
Russia Today
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russia strikes Ukrainian defense industry facilities in overnight attack
Russian forces carried out a strike on Ukrainian defense industry facilities and other military targets overnight, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Thursday. Ukrainian officials earlier claimed that Kiev bore the brunt of the attack. The ministry reported in a statement a 'large-scale precision strike' involving long-range weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The targets included 'Ukraine's defense industry facilities, a military airfield infrastructure, and a depot storing ammunition, missiles, and components for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles,' according to the ministry. 'All designated targets have been hit,' the ministry said in its statement. 'The objectives of the strike have been achieved.' Earlier in the day, Ukrainian officials reported a powerful attack on Kiev, with videos showing numerous explosions and fires. Ukrainian defense officials claimed seven people were killed and 64 injured, with 50 hospitalized. Ukrainian officials also claimed the barrage was 'calculated specifically to overload the air defense system.' Kiev has repeatedly complained of a shortage of Western-supplied air defenses and regularly requests more weapons and ammunition. According to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, the attack also targeted the regions of Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Sumy, and Nikolayev. He claimed the raid involved more than 300 drones and eight missiles. The Ukrainian Air Force reported five Russian missiles and 21 attack drones having landed direct hits across the country. Russia maintains that it only strikes military-related sites and never civilian targets. It has also said that its raids are retaliation for Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory, which often hit residential buildings, energy facilities, and critical infrastructure.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
‘Brutality over precision' — What the Army is learning from Russia in Ukraine
Russian forces in Ukraine are learning that tactics based on 'brutality' and quantity over quality can improve their fortunes, according to a 170-page report put out by the U.S. Army this month. Published last week, 'How Russia Fights' lays out a series of hard lessons the U.S. troops are learning from Russia as its full-scale invasion of Ukraine steams towards its fourth year. 'The Russians have already reverted to Soviet form on the battlefield, favoring mass over maneuver, quantity over quality, capacity over capability, brutality over precision, and mobilization over readiness,' the report says. Produced by the Army's Foreign Military Studies Office at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, it's a rare look at how one part of the U.S. military is studying this war and what lessons can be taken from it. Based on events between Feb. 24, 2022, and June 30, 2024, it shows how Russia, despite sanctions, isolation, and battlefield losses, is rapidly adapting and refining a model of warfare that leverages mass, improvisation, and emerging technologies to sustain operations far longer than many expected. Drones are foundational One of the strongest themes in the report is how drones have become central to nearly every part of the Russian way of war. Quadcopter drones, often rigged with improvised explosives or thermobaric payloads, are used at every level of the Russian military. These systems are produced at scale, often through informal networks, and treated as expendable munitions. Russia is reportedly going through tens of thousands of drones per month, according to analysts and open-source tracking. Drones are now directly tied into command and fire support. Fixed-wing systems like the Orlan-10 conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, or ISR. Targets are passed to artillery batteries or FPV drone teams that engage the target. Another drone confirms damage. In many cases, drones have replaced manned forward observers entirely. In contrast, Army units below the battalion level often don't have their own drones, though efforts to fix that are underway. Electronic warfare shapes the battlefield Russia's use of electronic warfare, EW, is another area the report highlights as both mature and deeply integrated. Russian battalions independently operate systems like the Borisoglebsk-2 and Leer-3, which jam Ukrainian communications and GPS navigation, spoof drone signals, and expose the location of emitters. More than just a support capability, EW is used to shape the battlefield before major attacks. Western-supplied guided munitions like JDAM-ERs and Excalibur rounds have reportedly been degraded in areas with dense Russian jamming. And not all of these capabilities are coming from high-end gear: commercial jammers purchased online, some as cheap as $20, are also being deployed. Russian units are adapting The Army's assessment of Russian troop quality is nuanced. Some formations, like Spetsnaz or VDV units, retain a professional core. Others, especially mobilized conscripts and penal battalions, struggle with morale and coordination. But even in lower-tier units, cohesion and tactical learning are improving. Officers are creating makeshift leadership structures. Training pipelines are becoming more efficient. And units that survive long enough are adapting to the demands of trench warfare and drone-saturated environments. It's not a well-oiled machine by any interpretation, but the soldiers and leaders are adapting and learning quickly how to survive. Artillery is doing the heavy lifting Russia has shifted decisively to an artillery-first doctrine, creating formations known as 'army artillery groups.' These units integrate with drone ISR to deliver massed fires against static defenses and troop concentrations. Within the U.S. military, the Army has traditionally emphasized maneuver warfare — mobility, initiative, speed. But as the report shows, Russia is winning ground slowly and methodically, with drones feeding targets to artillery in a sustained kill chain. Top Stories This Week Culture Top Air Force enlisted leader apologizes for uniform slip-up Top Air Force enlisted leader apologizes for uniform slip-up By Jeff Schogol Culture An Army pilot and mechanic switched units for a week. Here's how that went. An Army pilot and mechanic switched units for a week. Here's how that went. By Patty Nieberg News Air Force Global Strike Command suspends use of M18 pistol after airman's death Air Force Global Strike Command suspends use of M18 pistol after airman's death By Jeff Schogol A whole-state effort A major theme scattered throughout the report is how this is a war that is being fought through all levels of society. Ministries, civilian industries, universities, and city governments have all been pulled into the effort. A bread factory in Tambov, Russia, for example, has been retooled to manufacture FPV drones. Local officials help fulfill recruitment quotas and raise money to buy gear for troops. Vans originally designed for public service have been converted into field ambulances. Regional governments are given quotes for 'kontraktnik,' volunteer enlisted soldiers. This blurring between civilian and military lines isn't an accident — it's part of how Russia sustains its war effort. This crowd-sourced approach isn't unique to Russia, with Ukraine employing similar practices, particularly fundraising for gear and equipment, but it does illustrate how large the effort has become to sustain this 'special military operation.' What is the U.S. doing about it? The Army is already making changes. In 2024, it began incorporating drone awareness and concealment techniques into enlisted training at Fort Benning, Georgia, Fort Jackson, South Carolina and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Soldiers now train to reduce their visibility to overhead ISR — a direct lesson from the Ukrainian trenches. Modernization programs like Project Linchpin and TITAN are also underway, aiming to speed up targeting decisions and better integrate sensor data across domains. The Pentagon's July 10 memo, 'Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance,' opens up the branches to more rapidly acquire, field, and train with small drones by treating them like munitions instead of like an aircraft. To break down the full report — and what it means for the future of U.S. ground warfare — we've got a deep-dive video up now on the Task & Purpose YouTube channel. It covers everything from drone saturation and GPS jamming to Russia's artillery doctrine and how the Army is rethinking its own training and modernization in response. You can watch it here. Solve the daily Crossword
Reuters
3 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Pregnant in Kyiv, in the wreckage of apartment hit by Russian drone
KYIV, July 28 (Reuters) - Bohdana Zhupanyna had planned to use the last two weeks of her pregnancy in Ukraine brushing up on parenting skills and preparing for the arrival of her daughter. Instead, the 30-year-old found herself sifting through the charred remains of her second-floor apartment in Kyiv, wrecked in a Russian drone attack on July 21. "I don't know what kind of fate this is, why this happens, for what reason," she told Reuters, clutching her belly as daylight poured through a gaping hole that was once her living room. Around her, broken pieces of a couch and bed sat clumsily stacked, and once-sleek kitchen shelves were covered in shattered glass and dust. Ukrainians like Zhupanyna have endured months of worsening Russian air strikes that have killed dozens and upended daily lives since peace talks broke down last spring. On Monday, Russian forces unleashed a fresh wave of attacks involving hundreds of drones, wounding eight people in Kyiv as it continued grinding forward on the battlefield. Zhupanyna, who was elsewhere at the time of last week's attack, said she felt lucky that her mother was able to seek cover and emerge unscathed. But a jagged piece of a Russian drone in her smartly designed bathroom serves as a grim reminder of the dangers she and millions of other Ukrainians face on a daily basis. "This is confirmation that they're attacking civilian places, specifically residential apartments," she said. Nearby, a metro station, businesses and other residential properties were also damaged. Moscow, which has killed thousands of civilians since its full-scale invasion in February 2022, denies intentionally targeting them but says it strikes civil infrastructure such as energy systems to degrade Ukraine's ability to fight. Ukraine has also targeted Russian cities with long-range weapons, though it has caused far more limited damage. U.S. President Donald Trump has cited the upsurge in attacks on Ukrainian civilians for a decision this month to resume shipments of weapons to Kyiv, including air defences. The Russians "have to stop killing us," said Zhupanyna, whose father was killed fighting at the front. "As for Trump, I would like him to simply help more."
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Yahoo
Flames and destruction after Russia strikes Odesa and Sumy
Russian forces launched a series of aerial attacks across Ukraine overnight, striking the cities of Sumy, Odesa, and Kramatorsk, leaving one child dead and at least 24 others injured.
