‘Nuclear Attack…': Russian General's Sensational Expose About NATO's Nuke Plot In Kursk
TOI.in
/ Jun 03, 2025, 05:12PM IST
A top Russian general has accused the West of plotting to capture a Russian nuclear plant in the Kursk region to "blackmail" Russia for conditional talks. Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov, the commander of Akhmat Special Forces has sent shockwaves over his claims. The general's remark comes amid heavy fighting between the Russian and Ukrainian forces.
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The Hindu
39 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Russian strike kills 5, including 1 year old, hours after Trump calls Putin
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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
The Ukrainian Spy Agency Behind the Stunning Strike on Russia's Bomber Fleet
KYIV, Ukraine—With its devastating drone assault on Russia's strategic bomber fleet, Ukraine's SBU security service pulled off the kind of spectacular operation that has long fed the mystique of top spy agencies like Israel's Mossad. The SBU has transformed during the three-year war into the sharp tip of Ukraine's spear after decades of being maligned as corrupt, shot through with traitors and more focused on chasing political opponents than security threats. Under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Vasyl Maliuk, the agency has taken the fight to Russia with the killings of alleged traitors and Russian military officers as well as with the use of long-range explosive drones that have targeted Russian military-production plants and oil facilities. It has also revolutionized naval warfare by deploying naval drones that forced the Russian Black Sea Fleet to largely abandon its home port in occupied Crimea. 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In the days after the Russian invasion in February 2022, the SBU was in disarray. Several senior officers had allegedly betrayed their service by assisting the Russians. They were later detained. The SBU emerged from its Soviet predecessor, the KGB, after Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The KGB and its forerunners had relentlessly targeted Ukrainians who promoted independence. As Ukraine took an authoritarian turn in the late 1990s, the SBU pursued pro-democracy activists and political opponents and shook down businesses. After Russia invaded and seized Crimea and covertly sent paramilitaries into eastern Ukraine in 2014, dozens of SBU officers switched sides to Russia. After that invasion, Moscow continued to recruit moles inside the agency. In July 2022, Zelensky removed the then-chairman of the SBU, his childhood friend Ivan Bakanov, and replaced him with Maliuk, who had led operations to root out Russian agents. Under Maliuk's leadership, the SBU quickly became a feared and creative agency that targeted Russian military installations, equipment and military and pro-war figures in a series of brazen attacks. Maliuk is respected in the agency, in part because he wasn't a professional politician parachuted in by the country's president, as were several previous leaders. Before running the agency, he worked for years in regional SBU offices and fought against Russia after the 2014 invasion. 'He knows every fighter by name, he's always open for honest conversation,' said one SBU officer, who said Maliuk frequently travels to the front lines of the war. He has embraced new technology, particularly drones, and is adept at spotting Russian weak points and striking there with spectacular results, officers said. In an October 2022 attack planned and executed by the SBU, a truck loaded with explosives detonated on the Kerch Bridge linking mainland Russia to Crimea. The explosion ignited tanker wagons in a passing cargo train and damaged the bridge, a project feted by Putin and critical to his military's logistics. Explosive naval drones developed by a special unit of the SBU have struck at least 11 Russian ships, according to the agency's numbers, forcing Russia to withdraw much of its Black Sea Fleet from occupied Crimea. A naval drone was also used to strike the Kerch Bridge again in 2023, severely damaging a support pillar. The officer in charge of the SBU's sea drone program said Maliuk's trust and support during its infancy were critical to its success. Outmatched in labor and equipment by its giant invader, Ukraine has relied on the SBU to find ways to strike deep inside Russia using long-range drones and covert operations. The SBU has steadily increased the range of its explosive drones, which now regularly target Russian military and industrial facilities inside Russia. The security service has pulled off daring assassinations on Russian territory. It used an exploding scooter to kill a Russian general in Moscow and a bomb hidden inside a statuette to take out a Russian war blogger in St. Petersburg. The agency has also been active in Ukraine hunting down spies and saboteurs. As a result of the successes, the SBU's reputation has soared among the Ukrainian public. Trust in the agency stood at 73% last September, according to a survey by Kyiv-based pollster Rating, compared with 23% in 2021. Ukraine's postal service has released a special stamp to celebrate the SBU's operations. Write to James Marson at and Brenna T. Smith at Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Russian strike kills five, including one-year old in Northern Ukraine, hours after Trump calls Putin
KYIV: At least five people, including a one-year-old child, were killed in a Russian drone strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Pryluky overnight, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said Thursday. The attack came just hours after Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Trump, Putin 'very strongly' said that Russia will retaliate for Ukraine's weekend drone attacks on Russian military airfields. Six more people were wounded in the attack and have been hospitalized, Chaus said. According to him, six Shahed-type drones struck residential areas of Pryluky early Thursday morning, causing severe damage to residential buildings. Hours later, seventeen people were wounded in a Russian drone strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv early Thursday, including children, a pregnant woman, and a 93-year-old woman, regional head Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram. At around 1:05 a.m., Shahed-type drones struck two apartment buildings in the city's Slobidskyi district, causing fires and destroying several private vehicles. 'By launching attacks while people sleep in their homes, the enemy once again confirms its tactic of insidious terror,' Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.
