Latest news with #Donbass
Russia Today
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Kremlin names reason for new offensive inside Ukraine
Russia's recent advance into Ukraine's Dnepropetrovsk Region is part of the push by Moscow to establish a 'buffer zone' on the front line, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. On Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the 90th Armored Division had reached the western border of the Donetsk People's Republic and continued its offensive into the neighboring territory. The next day, it reported new territorial gains in the area, without providing details. On Monday, Peskov confirmed that the recent advance was aimed at establishing a 'buffer zone' on the front line. 'It is one of the goals, of course, but if we talk about the nuances of the military actions themselves, then your questions should be addressed to the Defense Ministry,' the spokesman said. The intention to create a 'buffer zone' was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin late last month. He delivered his remarks amid recurring Ukrainian drone and artillery strikes targeting civilians in Donbass, as well as Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions. Following his comments, the Russian military also reported advances in Ukraine's Sumy Region along the border. The Times has described the news of Russia's advance into Dnepropetrovsk Region as 'a significant symbolic and strategic blow' for Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russian Senator Andrey Klishas said that Russia had started 'an active phase of denazification' in the region. It comes on the heels of two rounds of direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul. Moscow insists that a lasting peace settlement can only be reached once Kiev recognizes Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, and Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions as part of Russia while committing to neutrality. Kiev has consistently refused to consider any territorial concessions.
Russia Today
02-06-2025
- General
- Russia Today
Details of Russian peace proposal revealed
The peace memorandum developed by Russia and presented to the Ukrainian delegation during the talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Monday calls on Kiev to withdraw its troops from the former Ukrainian territories that have joined Russia and confirm its neutral and non-nuclear status, according to the text of the document seen by RT. The proposal consists of three parts, which include the conditions for a comprehensive settlement of the Ukraine conflict, steps toward achieving a ceasefire, and a peace roadmap that includes some unilateral steps by Russia. The 'final settlement' of the conflict would require international recognition of the former Ukrainian territories as parts of Russia. The two Donbass republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, officially joined Russia following a series of referendums in autumn 2022. Crimea voted to rejoin Russia in 2014 in the wake of the Western-backed Maidan coup in Kiev. Ukraine would also have to withdraw all its forces and armed groups from those territories, the document said. DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Russia Today
27-05-2025
- General
- Russia Today
Moscow was ‘forced' to launch military operation against Kiev
Russia was left with no choice but to launch its military operation in Ukraine because of the continued persecution of the people of Donbass by Kiev following the 2014 Western-backed Euromaidan coup, President Vladimir Putin has said. During a meeting with a group of businessmen in the Kremlin on Monday, Putin said Moscow could not ignore the plight of Russian-speakers in the neighboring country. He reiterated Russia's position that the conflict stems from the turbulent events in Kiev in early 2014, when initially peaceful protests spiraled into riots and clashes with police, which led to the ouster of the democratically elected president, Viktor Yanukovich. The anti-Yanukovich forces included ultranationalist groups such as Right Sector and Svoboda. 'You need to understand that we weren't the ones who orchestrated the coup in Ukraine,' Putin said. '[The West] has always told us that there should be democracy and elections… but they carried out a coup – a bloody one, in fact – as if it were normal. They later went on to suppress the Donbass, killing people with helicopters and jets.' 'They practically forced us into doing what we're doing today, and now they're trying to blame us for it,' he said. The coup in Kiev sparked counterprotests and more riots, including a deadly clash in Odessa in May 2014, where 48 people were killed. The largely Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk rejected the Euromaidan coup and voted for independence from Ukraine. The new government in Kiev responded by sending troops in the spring of 2014 and repeatedly shelling and bombing Donetsk and other Donbass cities. Ukraine later refused to implement the UN-backed 2014-15 Minsk accords, which would have granted autonomy to Donetsk and Lugansk. EU officials, including former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, acknowledged later that Kiev used the pause in the fighting to rebuild its army and economy. Ukraine also adopted several laws since 2014 aimed at restricting the use of Russian in the public sphere. Putin cited Ukraine's failure to respect the Minsk accords and the attacks on the rights of Russian-speakers as 'the root causes' of the conflict, describing Kiev's actions as 'genocide.' He has since demanded that Ukraine drop its plans to join NATO in favor of becoming a permanently neutral state, and recognize Crimea and four other former Ukrainian regions as part of Russia.
Russia Today
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Moscow was ‘forced' to start military operation against Kiev
Russia was left with no choice but to launch its military operation in Ukraine because of the continued persecution of the people of Donbass by Kiev following the 2014 Western-backed Euromaidan coup, President Vladimir Putin has said. During a meeting with a group of businessmen in the Kremlin on Monday, Putin said that Moscow could not ignore the plight of Russian-speakers in the neighboring country. He reiterated Russia's position that the ongoing conflict stems from the turbulent events in Kiev in early 2014 when initially peaceful protests spiraled into riots and clashes with police, which led to the ouster of democratically elected President Viktor Yanukovich. The anti-Yanukovich forces included ultranationalist groups like Pravy Sektor (Right Sector) and the Svoboda (Freedom) party. 'You need to understand that we weren't the ones who orchestrated the coup in Ukraine,' Putin said. '[The West] has always told us that there should be democracy and elections… but they carried out a coup – a bloody one, in fact – as if it were normal. They later went on to suppress the Donbass, killing people with helicopters and jets.' 'They practically forced us into doing what we're doing today, and now they're trying to blame us for it,' the president said. The coup in Kiev sparked counterprotests and more riots, including a deadly clash in Odessa in May 2014, where 48 people were killed. The largely Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk rejected the Euromaidan and voted for independence from Ukraine. The new government in Kiev responded by sending troops in the spring of 2014 and repeatedly shelling and bombing Donetsk and other Donbass cities. Ukraine later refused to implement the UN-backed 2014-2015 Minsk accords, which would have granted autonomy to Donetsk and Lugansk. EU officials, including former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, acknowledged later that Kiev had used the pause in the fighting to rebuild its army and economy. Ukraine also adopted several laws since 2014 aimed at restricting the use of Russian language in the public sphere. Putin cited Ukraine's failure to respect the Minsk accords and the attacks on the rights of Russian-speakers as 'the root causes' of the conflict, describing Kiev's actions as 'genocide.' He has since demanded that Ukraine drop its plans to join NATO in favor of becoming a permanently neutral state, and recognize Crimea and four other former Ukrainian regions as part of Russia.
Russia Today
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Donbass offensive, border warfare and ballistic missile strikes: Last week in Russia-Ukraine conflict (VIDEOS)
The past week in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has seen intensive fighting along the front line, with active combat continuing across Russia's Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), as well as in the border area between Russia's Kursk and Ukraine's Sumy regions. The Russian military has been actively conducting long-range installation and logistics strikes, taking out multiple Ukrainian high-value assets. This week, Moscow's forces made new gains in the north of the DPR, liberating Torskoye, a large village located near the border with the Lugansk People's Republic and Ukraine's Kharkov Region. Torskoye had seen medium-intensity combat for months already and the front line in the area had largely been static prior to the latest development. Donbass offensive continues The Russian military has reported making new gains in southern Donbass, advancing on the flanks of Pokrovsk (also known as Krasnoarmeysk), the largest city remaining under Ukrainian control in the southwest of the DPR. Over the week, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the liberation of the villages of Novoaleksandrovka, located to the southwest of the city, Mikhaylovka to the east, and Novaya Poltavka, located further to the northeast. Over the week, Russian forces made rapid gains further to the east, in the area between Novaya Poltavka and the city of Toretsk (also known as Dzerzhinsk), liberating at least two other settlements and partially encircling the Ukrainian forces stationed in the area. According to the Defense Ministry, the troops have seized control of Novoolenovka and Aleksandropol, as well as reportedly reached the outskirts of Romanovka. This leaves the Ukrainian troops in the area confined to a large pocket spanning some 12 km from the village of Kalinovo in the south to Zarya in the north. The neck of the pocket is roughly 8 km wide, stretching from the outskirts of Aleksondropol to Romanovka. The Russian military has also made new advances further to the south of the DPR. On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the liberation of Bogatyr, a large village located some 20 km to the west of the town of Kurakhovo and just southeast of the border between Russia's DPR and Ukraine's Dnepropetrovsk Region. The heavily fortified settlement of some 1,400 buildings, connected by a vast network of trenches and underground tunnels, was seized from Kiev's forces within a few days, the ministry said. It also released a short video capturing parts of the battle for the village, as well as showing Russian flags being hoisted. Russian forces have also reportedly reached the border between the DPR and Dnepropetrovsk Region. A video circulating online shows troops waving the Russian flag next to a destroyed Ukrainian pickup truck that had crashed into a concertina wire obstacle placed at the border. While it was not immediately known where exactly the Russian troops reached the defensive line, the advance was likely made in the area to the south of the recently liberated Novoaleksandrovka. Border warfare Over the week, combat has continued in the border area between Russia's Kursk and Belgorod, and Ukraine's Sumy Regions, with both sides making efforts to advance further. The most active hostilities have been reported to the northwest and south of the Sudzha area in Kursk Region, which was invaded by Ukraine last August and fully liberated by Russian forces earlier this year. On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian troops had seized control of the Ukrainian village of Maryino. The settlement is located just across the border from the Belgorod Region villages of Popovka and Demidovka, which have been subjected to repeated and ultimately unsuccessful Ukrainian attacks over the past few weeks. Ukrainian forces launched several new attacks on the Kursk Region village of Tetkino, which was the target of an unsuccessful incursion attempt in March 2024. The settlement has endured repeated attacks lately as Ukraine has tried to regain a foothold in Kursk Region. A new video circulating online purports to show the outcome of one of the latest attacks on Tetkino. The attack involved two US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), a Soviet-era IMR-2 engineering vehicle, tanks and multiple quad bikes carrying infantry. One of the IFVs got stuck in a large crater, while another likely hit a landmine while trying to cross the reinforced border. All the vehicles involved in the attack suffered multiple FPV drone hits and ended up disabled or destroyed, the footage suggests. The Russian military has continued to strike Ukrainian staging areas immediately across the border. A video available online shows seven aerial bombs fitted with a Universal Correction and Guidance Module (UMPK) winged upgrade kit hitting Ukrainian positions in the villages of Ryzhevka and Atinskoye, located immediately across the border from Tetkino. Rear strikes The Russian military has continued its effort to find and destroy high-value assets in Ukraine's near rear, targeting amassed troops, staging areas and logistics hubs with various medium-range weaponry, including ballistic missiles. On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had targeted a Ukrainian special forces training camp near the town of Shostka in Sumy Region. The camp had various facilities, including a firing range and an obstacle course, and was packed with military vehicles, surveillance drone footage released by the ministry shows. A Ukrainian detachment is seen approaching in formation a building, presumably a lecture hall, moments before the site is hit by an Iskander-M ballistic missile packing a high-explosive warhead. According to the Russian military's estimates, up to 70 servicemen, including some 20 instructors, were killed in the strike. An ammo stockpile was taken out, while up to ten military vehicles were destroyed or damaged. A video captured by the surveillance drone circulating online shows the aftermath of the attack. The building that the Ukrainian unit was approaching partially collapsed, while other structures at the location sustained considerable damage. Multiple damaged trucks are seen at the site. Another video released by the Russian Defense Ministry showcases FPV drone strikes on a Ukrainian position in Kharkov Region. According to the military, the position housed an UAV operator unit. Russian drones, seemingly packed with incendiary munitions, scored direct hits on Ukrainian dugouts covered with camouflage netting, setting them on fire, footage shows. A video circulating online, said to be taken in Ukraine's Dnepropetrovsk Region, shows a Ukrainian anti-aircraft position coming under an Iskander-M ballistic missile strike. The radar, likely a Ukrainian-made 79K6 Pelican station, was set up in the open, protected only by an earth rampart. The ballistic missile used in the strike carried a cluster warhead, with numerous explosions seen at the location, footage shows. While none of the sub-munitions scored a direct hit on the radar, the fragile system likely sustained considerable damage and was rendered inoperable, given that multiple bomblets exploded in its immediate vicinity.
