Putin approves revamp of Russia's navy: Kremlin aide
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new naval strategy which aims to fully restore Russia's position as one of the world's leading maritime powers, Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev says.
Russia has the world's third most powerful navy after China and the United States, according to most public rankings, although the navy has suffered a series of high-profile losses in the Ukraine war.
Patrushev, a former KGB officer who served with Putin in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg during Soviet times, said in an interview published on Monday that the new naval strategy - entitled "The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050" - had been approved by Putin in late May.
"Russia's position as one of the world's greatest maritime powers is gradually recovering," Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper in an interview.
"It is impossible to carry out such work without a long-term vision of the scenarios for the development of the situation in the oceans, the evolution of challenges and threats, and, of course, without defining the goals and objectives facing the Russian navy," Patrushev said.
Patrushev gave no further details about the strategy, although Russia has ramped up spending on defence and security to Cold War levels as a percentage of gross domestic product.
A 2021 US Department of Defence report said China had the largest navy in the world and that Beijing's overall battle force was expected to grow to 460 ships by 2030.
Open source data suggests Russia has 79 submarines, including 14 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, as well as 222 warships.
Its main fleet is the Northern Fleet, headquartered in Severomorsk on the Barents Sea.
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Russia in biggest overnight drone strike of war: Kyiv
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As well as drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas of Ukraine. Ukraine's air force said its air defences destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in mid-flight on Sunday night, claiming that only 10 drones or missiles hit their target. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claims. A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push in east and northeast parts of the roughly 1000km front line. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late Sunday that in some of those areas "the situation is very difficult" but did not provide details. Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its larger enemy and needs further military support from its Western partners, especially air defences. But uncertainty about the US policy on the war has fuelled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops. Russia's aerial attacks usually start late in the evening and end in the morning, because drones are harder to spot in the dark. Russia has targeted civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the war. The attacks have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it targets only military targets. Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia. Russia's Ministry of Defense said on Monday that it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions. Two drones hit a plant specialising in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, more than 600km east of Moscow, local officials reported. Alexander Gusev, head of Russia's Voronezh region, said 25 drones had been shot down there overnight, damaging a gas pipeline and sparking a small fire. The Ukrainian General Staff claimed special operations forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Novgorod region, some 650km from the Ukrainian border. The statement did not say how the planes were struck. Russia has launched 479 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, the Ukrainian air force says, as the Kremlin presses its offensive against the backdrop of direct peace talks. As well as drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas of Ukraine. Ukraine's air force said its air defences destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in mid-flight on Sunday night, claiming that only 10 drones or missiles hit their target. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claims. A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push in east and northeast parts of the roughly 1000km front line. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late Sunday that in some of those areas "the situation is very difficult" but did not provide details. Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its larger enemy and needs further military support from its Western partners, especially air defences. But uncertainty about the US policy on the war has fuelled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. 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Musk's dad says Trump row triggered by intense stress
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"They've had five months of intense stress," Musk told Reuters at a conference in Moscow organised by conservative Russian tycoons. "With all the opposition cleared and two people left in the arena, all they have ever done is get rid of everything and now they are trying to get rid of each other - well that has to stop." Asked how it would end, he said: "Oh, it will end on a good note - very soon." Neither the White House nor Musk could be reached for comment outside normal US business hours. Trump said on Saturday his relationship with Musk was over and warned there would be "serious consequences" if Musk decided to fund US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the tax and spending bill. Musk bankrolled a large part of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Trump named Musk to head an effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending. Musk's father told reporters he was standing by his son. "Elon is sticking to his principles but you cannot always stick to your principles in the real world," Musk's father said. "Sometimes you have to give and take." Speaking beside sanctioned Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev, Musk's father praised President Vladimir Putin as a "very stable and pleasant man". He accused "fake media" in the West of projecting "complete nonsense" about Russia and of casting it as an enemy. The row between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was triggered by months of intense stress on both sides, and the public battle between the US president and the billionaire donor needs to stop, Musk's father says. Trump and Musk began exchanging insults last week on social media, with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO describing the president's sweeping tax and spending bill as a "disgusting abomination". Asked whether he thought his son had made a mistake by engaging in a public row with the president, Errol Musk said people were sometimes unable to think as clearly as they should "in the heat of the moment". "They've had five months of intense stress," Musk told Reuters at a conference in Moscow organised by conservative Russian tycoons. "With all the opposition cleared and two people left in the arena, all they have ever done is get rid of everything and now they are trying to get rid of each other - well that has to stop." Asked how it would end, he said: "Oh, it will end on a good note - very soon." Neither the White House nor Musk could be reached for comment outside normal US business hours. Trump said on Saturday his relationship with Musk was over and warned there would be "serious consequences" if Musk decided to fund US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the tax and spending bill. Musk bankrolled a large part of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Trump named Musk to head an effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending. Musk's father told reporters he was standing by his son. "Elon is sticking to his principles but you cannot always stick to your principles in the real world," Musk's father said. "Sometimes you have to give and take." Speaking beside sanctioned Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev, Musk's father praised President Vladimir Putin as a "very stable and pleasant man". He accused "fake media" in the West of projecting "complete nonsense" about Russia and of casting it as an enemy.
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Russia, Ukraine exchange group of younger POWs: Moscow
Russia and Ukraine have carried out an exchange of prisoners of war involving POWs younger than 25 and others who had been severely wounded - the start of what could become the biggest swap of the war so far. The exchange, announced by both sides, was the result of direct talks in Istanbul on June 2 that resulted in an agreement to conduct an exchange of at least 1200 POWs on each side and to repatriate thousands of bodies of those killed in the war. The return of POWs and the repatriation of the bodies of the dead is one of the few things the two sides have been able to agree on, even as their broader negotiations have failed to get close to ending the war, now in its fourth year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country had received a first group of prisoners from Russia and that it would take several days to complete the swap. "Today's exchange has begun. It will be done in several stages in the coming days," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app. "The process is quite complex, with many sensitive details, and negotiations continue virtually every day. "We count on the full implementation of the humanitarian agreements reached during the meeting in Istanbul. "We are doing everything possible to bring back every single person." Neither side said how many prisoners had been swapped on Monday, but the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that the same number of military personnel had been exchanged on each side. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said at the weekend a first list of 640 POWs had been handed to Ukraine. The Russian military said its returned servicemen were now in Belarus, a close Russian ally, where they were receiving psychological and medical assistance before being transferred to Russia for further care. The Kremlin had said earlier on Monday that Russia was ready to honour agreements with Ukraine on the POW exchange and the repatriation of dead soldiers despite what it said was Kyiv's failure to fully honour its side of the bargain. Ukraine had denied allegations of postponing the prisoner swaps. Russia and Ukraine have carried out an exchange of prisoners of war involving POWs younger than 25 and others who had been severely wounded - the start of what could become the biggest swap of the war so far. The exchange, announced by both sides, was the result of direct talks in Istanbul on June 2 that resulted in an agreement to conduct an exchange of at least 1200 POWs on each side and to repatriate thousands of bodies of those killed in the war. The return of POWs and the repatriation of the bodies of the dead is one of the few things the two sides have been able to agree on, even as their broader negotiations have failed to get close to ending the war, now in its fourth year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country had received a first group of prisoners from Russia and that it would take several days to complete the swap. "Today's exchange has begun. It will be done in several stages in the coming days," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app. "The process is quite complex, with many sensitive details, and negotiations continue virtually every day. "We count on the full implementation of the humanitarian agreements reached during the meeting in Istanbul. "We are doing everything possible to bring back every single person." Neither side said how many prisoners had been swapped on Monday, but the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that the same number of military personnel had been exchanged on each side. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said at the weekend a first list of 640 POWs had been handed to Ukraine. The Russian military said its returned servicemen were now in Belarus, a close Russian ally, where they were receiving psychological and medical assistance before being transferred to Russia for further care. The Kremlin had said earlier on Monday that Russia was ready to honour agreements with Ukraine on the POW exchange and the repatriation of dead soldiers despite what it said was Kyiv's failure to fully honour its side of the bargain. Ukraine had denied allegations of postponing the prisoner swaps. Russia and Ukraine have carried out an exchange of prisoners of war involving POWs younger than 25 and others who had been severely wounded - the start of what could become the biggest swap of the war so far. The exchange, announced by both sides, was the result of direct talks in Istanbul on June 2 that resulted in an agreement to conduct an exchange of at least 1200 POWs on each side and to repatriate thousands of bodies of those killed in the war. The return of POWs and the repatriation of the bodies of the dead is one of the few things the two sides have been able to agree on, even as their broader negotiations have failed to get close to ending the war, now in its fourth year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country had received a first group of prisoners from Russia and that it would take several days to complete the swap. "Today's exchange has begun. It will be done in several stages in the coming days," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app. "The process is quite complex, with many sensitive details, and negotiations continue virtually every day. "We count on the full implementation of the humanitarian agreements reached during the meeting in Istanbul. "We are doing everything possible to bring back every single person." Neither side said how many prisoners had been swapped on Monday, but the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that the same number of military personnel had been exchanged on each side. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said at the weekend a first list of 640 POWs had been handed to Ukraine. The Russian military said its returned servicemen were now in Belarus, a close Russian ally, where they were receiving psychological and medical assistance before being transferred to Russia for further care. The Kremlin had said earlier on Monday that Russia was ready to honour agreements with Ukraine on the POW exchange and the repatriation of dead soldiers despite what it said was Kyiv's failure to fully honour its side of the bargain. Ukraine had denied allegations of postponing the prisoner swaps. Russia and Ukraine have carried out an exchange of prisoners of war involving POWs younger than 25 and others who had been severely wounded - the start of what could become the biggest swap of the war so far. The exchange, announced by both sides, was the result of direct talks in Istanbul on June 2 that resulted in an agreement to conduct an exchange of at least 1200 POWs on each side and to repatriate thousands of bodies of those killed in the war. The return of POWs and the repatriation of the bodies of the dead is one of the few things the two sides have been able to agree on, even as their broader negotiations have failed to get close to ending the war, now in its fourth year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country had received a first group of prisoners from Russia and that it would take several days to complete the swap. "Today's exchange has begun. It will be done in several stages in the coming days," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app. "The process is quite complex, with many sensitive details, and negotiations continue virtually every day. "We count on the full implementation of the humanitarian agreements reached during the meeting in Istanbul. "We are doing everything possible to bring back every single person." Neither side said how many prisoners had been swapped on Monday, but the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that the same number of military personnel had been exchanged on each side. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said at the weekend a first list of 640 POWs had been handed to Ukraine. The Russian military said its returned servicemen were now in Belarus, a close Russian ally, where they were receiving psychological and medical assistance before being transferred to Russia for further care. The Kremlin had said earlier on Monday that Russia was ready to honour agreements with Ukraine on the POW exchange and the repatriation of dead soldiers despite what it said was Kyiv's failure to fully honour its side of the bargain. Ukraine had denied allegations of postponing the prisoner swaps.
