Putin's Sledgehammer
GUEST: Candace Rondeaux, Senior Director for the Future Frontlines program at New America, and author, 'Putin's Sledgehammer: The Wagner Group and Russia's Collapse into Mercenary Chaos'.
Candace Rondeaux, Senior Director for the Future Frontlines program at New America, and author, 'Putin's Sledgehammer: The Wagner Group and Russia's Collapse into Mercenary Chaos'.
PRODUCER: Ali Benton
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7NEWS
9 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Three days of mourning declared after Soviet-era plane carrying nearly 50 people crashes in Russia's Far East
Three days of mourning have been declared after a Soviet-era passenger plane crashed in Russia's far-eastern Amur region, killing almost 50 people including children. The plane, an Antonov An-24, was flying on a regional route from Khabarovsk to Blagoveshchensk and Tynda when it disappeared from the radar around 1pm local time (2pm AEST) on Thursday, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement posted on Telegram. The Amur Center for Civil Defence and Fire Safety said on Telegram that a search and rescue helicopter spotted the wreck of the aircraft on a mountain slope 16km from Tynda. It said no survivors were seen from the air. It said that according to the director of Tynda airport, the plane caught fire after it crashed. The emergency ministry said it is investigating why it lost contact, and the Interstate Aviation Committee has launched a probe. The Russian government also set up a special commission tasked with dealing with the crash, which includes federal and regional officials. The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the incident. The Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office said in a statement on its website that the plane was attempting to land for the second time when it crashed, after failing to touch down on its first approach. Russian state news agency TASS reported that the crew did not issue any distress calls, according to the emergency services, and that the weather at the airport was suitable for flying. According to publicly available databases, the aircraft was built in 1976, and the Antonov AN-24 model was designed in 1957. Vasiliy Orlov, the governor of Amur region, said on Telegram that according to preliminary data, there were 43 passengers, including five children, and six crew members on board the plane. Citing emergency officials, Russian state news agency TASS said preliminary information indicates that all those aboard the aircraft were dead. The aircraft was only a few miles from the Tynda Airport when it lost contact with air traffic controllers, the emergency ministry added. Orlov said search and rescue operations were under way, with 'all necessary forces and means involved' in the effort. TASS reported the area where the plane went missing is remote and difficult to reach, with no roads through the swampy forest. The Amur region has declared three days of mourning, and a hotline for families of those aboard and anyone else impacted by the crash has been set up. The flight was operated by Angara Airlines, a Russian airline that is based in Irkutsk in Siberia.
ABC News
21 hours ago
- ABC News
Ukraine and Russia exchange drone strikes hours after failed ceasefire talks
A displaced Ukrainian family-of-three has died and two Russian women have been killed as Moscow and Kyiv exchanged drone strikes just hours after ceasefire talks concluded in Istanbul. Ukraine's regional officials announced on Thursday that the bodies of a woman, her husband and their adult son had been discovered under the rubble of a house in the border region of Kharkiv. They said the family killed in the village of Pidlyman had fled the settlement of Boguslavka which was captured by Russian forces when they invaded in early 2022, but was later retaken by Ukrainian forces. A later drone barrage on Kharkiv city wounded 33 people, including a 10-year-old girl and a month-old infant, the governor said. Meanwhile in Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike left two women dead and several others wounded in Sochi in Russia's south, regional authorities said. The Russian defence ministry said its air defence systems had downed 39 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles mainly over southern regions of the country. This latest exchange followed a brief third round of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, which failed to reach a ceasefire. A separate Russian drone and missile barrage wounded seven people including a child in the central Ukrainian region of Cherkasy, emergency services said. In the southern port city of Odesa, a Russian drone attack wounded four people and badly damaged the Pryvoz market. Ukraine's prime minister said some of the buildings targeted, including the famous market, were UNESCO protected. "Russia continues its terror and obstructs diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post. "[This] is why it deserves full-scale sanctions responses, as well as our strikes on their logistics, their military bases, and their military production facilities." He said Russia had launched 103 drones — mainly the Iranian-designed Shahed type of unmanned aerial vehicle — and four missiles. In a separate development in Ukraine's domestic politics, Mr Zelenskyy announced on Thursday he had approved a draft bill strengthening Ukraine's law enforcement system and the independence of its anti-corruption agencies. It comes after new laws to limit the independence of two key anti-corruption bodies passed this week in Ukraine, sparking large street protests and attracting rare rebukes from European allies. On Thursday, Mr Zelenskyy bowed to the mounting pressure. He said on X that the draft bill, which would be submitted to parliament later in the day, was well-balanced and "upholds the independence of anti-corruption agencies". The European Union earlier said a commitment to fight corruption is an important precondition both for EU financial aid as well as for potential EU membership. "We welcome the fact that the Ukrainian government is taking action," an EU spokesperson said. "We work with them to make sure that our concerns ... are indeed taken into account." ABC/AFP/Reuters
SBS Australia
a day ago
- SBS Australia
Third round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks take place
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have resumed in Istanbul for a third round, amid cautious hopes for progress, ongoing prisoner swaps, and growing discontent at home in Ukraine. But despite some gestures of goodwill, the path to peace remains elusive. The delegations met once again inside Istanbul's ornate Ciragan[[See-ra-GAN]] Palace, as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan opened the day's talks. He thanked the leaders involved, including Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy for enabling the talks, and praised U-S President Donald Trump for backing the process. "We have gathered for the third round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, hosted by Turkey. Our goal is to end this bloody war that has a high cost as quickly as possible. We extend our gratitude to Mr. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Mr. (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy for demonstrating their will to make these talks possible, to Mr. (US President Donald) Trump for supporting the process that led to an end to the war, and to all other leaders who have directly or indirectly supported the talks." Russia and Ukraine delegations last met face to face seven weeks ago. While those rounds led to prisoner exchanges, they didn't deliver a breakthrough. This time, Ukraine is pushing harder for a full and unconditional ceasefire, something it says is essential for any real diplomacy. Representing Ukraine at the talks, National Security and Defence Council Secretary Rustem Umerov lays out Kyiv's position. "Ukraine keeps insisting on a full and unconditional ceasefire as the necessary basis for effective diplomacy. We are ready for a ceasefire now and to start substantive peace negotiations. And it is up to the other sides to accept this basic step towards peace." And there's another priority: a summit between resident Zelenskyy and President Putin. Mr Zelenskyy wants the two leaders to meet directly to put an end to Europe's largest war since the Second World War. But Moscow says not so fast. Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia's delegation says meeting only makes sense after an agreement is already worked out. 'In order for such a meeting (between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy) to take place, it is necessary to work out the terms of the agreement in advance, to understand what to discuss at this meeting, and in fact, at this meeting it is necessary not to discuss the agreement, but to put a period, to sign. You know, as we say, the end crowns the work. A meeting in order to discuss all this from scratch again makes no sense.' Still, there have been signs of limited cooperation. President Zelenskyy announced that more Ukrainian prisoners of war have returned home, many of them ill or severely wounded, some held in captivity for more than three years. Footage released by the Ukrainian presidential press service shows them stepping off buses, draped in flags, chanting 'Glory to Ukraine!' And Russia, too, says it's ready for more swaps. But there are disagreements over the fate of civilians, especially children. Mr Medinsky claims many listed Ukrainian children were never in Russia and may now be scattered across Europe. It's a sensitive topic, with human rights groups urging transparency and speed. But while Kyiv navigates war and diplomacy, tensions are rising at home. For the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, anti-government protests have erupted, not over the war itself, but over a controversial anti-corruption law. In the western city of Lviv, around 1,500 demonstrators gathered, many of them young, many of them angry. They accused the government of undermining the very institutions Ukraine needs to align with the European Union. The law, signed by President Zelenskyy, gives the president greater control over the bodies that investigate corruption. Yana, a protestor, says it's a step backwards. 'And I don't like that the government is now taking away this opportunity from us, our future, which we are actually fighting so hard for, gnawing away at Russia. I want us all to be in the European Union, that's why we are here.' Critics say weakening anti-graft watchdogs risks alienating key Western allies. As one protester put it, Ukraine can't afford to lose support at such a critical phase of the war. Mr Zelenskyy responded by convening top anti-corruption officials. He promised a new plan to protect the autonomy of watchdogs with proposed legislation expected within two weeks. In his nightly address, the president acknowledged the backlash, saying Ukraine must strengthen the rule of law. "We agreed that the heads of these institutions will jointly propose an action plan – a plan of concrete steps that can strengthen the rule of law in Ukraine. Of course, everyone has heard what people are saying these days – what they are saying on social media, to each other, on the streets. It's not falling on deaf ears. We've analysed all the concerns, all the aspects of what needs to be changed and what needs to be stepped up."
