VLADIMIR Putin is facing a mutiny from Russian separatist troops as video emerges of troops complaining about the conditions they are fighting in.
Troops sent to fight for Russia in Ukraine have mutinied on camera, saying they have been sent "without material support, medical supplies or food".
In footage posted on Telegram, the soldiers who claimed to be from the 113th rifle regiment of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic say they have been fighting for months.
In the footage, the commander can be heard saying: "Our company, consisting of the 5th Infantry Battalion of the 113th Infantry Regiment, was on the frontlines in the Kherson region of Ukraine.
"For that time the personnel overcame cold and hunger and for a considerable period we did so without material support, medical supplies or food.
"The mobilisation of our unit took place without any medical examinations, and there are those among our unit who in accordance with the laws of the Donetsk People's Republic should not be mobilised.
"There are members of our personnel who suffer from chronic diseases and others who are guardians of people with mental illnesses."
He then speaks separately to troops who voice their concerns, but say they are being ignored by their commanders.
"The higher command interpret our complaints as sabotage," he says. "Show respect for your officers. What is there to be gained from sending your soldiers to die?"
Read our Ukraine war blog below for the latest rolling news and updates…
- Louis Allwood
Russia accuses the US of seeking to prolong the war
RUSSIA has accused the US of seeking to prolong the war after President of the United States, Joe Biden, said he would supply Kyiv with new long-range missiles.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the US was "intentionally adding fuel to the fire" with the deliveries.
"Such supplies do not contribute to the Ukrainian leadership's willingness to resume peace negotiations," he added.
Britain will also reportedly send multiple launch rocket systems, capable of striking targets as far away as some 49 miles.
The M270B1 launchers will offer a “significant boost in capability for the Ukrainian forces,” a statement from the British Foreign Office, reported by CNN, said.
The move has been “coordinated closely” with the United States.
“The UK stands with Ukraine and has taken a leading role in supplying its heroic troops with the vital weapons they need to defend their country,” British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Wednesday.
“As Russian’s tactics change, so must our support to Ukraine. These highly capable multiple-launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against Russia’s brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin’s forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities."
- Louis Allwood
Putin treated for ‘advanced cancer in April’
SICK Vladimir Putin was treated for advanced cancer in April, US spy chiefs have claimed.
The high-ranking officials reportedly said aides inside the Kremlin are "sensing that the end is near" for the 69-year-old Russian dictator.
The Russian leader has long been rumoured to be battling illnesses such as cancer and Parkinson's.
It's been claimed that Putin could already be using tricks such as pre-recorded appearances and even body doubles to stage manage his health.
The three US spy chiefs, who read the latest intelligence report on Putin's health at the end of May, said there are concerns Putin is increasingly paranoid about his hold on power.
One of the sources told Newsweek: "Putin's grip is strong but no longer absolute.
"The jockeying inside the Kremlin has never been more intense during his rule, everyone sensing that the end is near."
- Milica Cosic
Kremlin denounces Western arming of Ukraine
The Kremlin has again denounced Western plans to supply more weapons to Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during his daily conference call that the pumping" of weapons will bring more suffering to Ukraine, which is merely a tool in the hands of those countries that supply it with weapons.
Britain today announced that it is sending sophisticated medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine. The pledge came a day after the United States and Germany said they would equip the embattled nation with advanced weapons for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery.
Peskov warned of absolutely undesirable and rather unpleasant scenarios in case they hypothetically try to use these weapons against targets on our territory.
This will significantly change the situation in an unfavorable direction, Peskov said.
- Milica Cosic
Sweden to supply more military aid including anti-ship missiles to Ukraine
weden will provide Ukraine with more economic aid and military equipment, including anti-ship missiles, rifles and anti-tank weapons, Finance Minister Mikael Damberg and Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist said on Thursday.
"The proposals that are submitted (to parliament) mean that allocated funds for the central government budget will increase by SEK 1.0 billion ($102 million) in 2022," the Nordic country's finance ministry said in a statement.
"In solidarity with Ukraine, and as part of the international response to Russia's actions, the government sees a continuing need to support Ukraine," it said.
- Milica Cosic
Ukrainian embassy says Russia ships 'stolen' wheat to Syria
Russia has sent its ally Syria an estimated 100,000 tonnes of wheat stolen from Ukraine since invading the country, the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut said, describing the shipments as "criminal activity".
In a statement to Reuters, the embassy said the shipments included one aboard the Matros Pozynich, a Russian-flagged vessel which docked at Syria's main sea port Latakia in late May.
"The wheat is stolen from a facility that combines wheat from three Ukrainian regions into one batch," the embassy said.
"This is criminal activity," it said, adding that it had tried to reach out to the Syrian authorities but had never received a response.
- Milica Cosic
Zelensky: Russia occupies 20% of Ukraine's territory
Russia is currently occupying about 20% of Ukraine's territory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Luxembourg's parliament in a video address on Thursday.
"We have to defend ourselves against almost the entire Russian army. All combat-ready Russian military formations are involved in this aggression," he said, adding that the front lines of battle stretched across more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles).
- Milica Cosic
Ukraine seeks UN-backed mission to export grain shipments through Black Sea
Ukraine is working with international partners to create a United Nations-backed mission to restore Black Sea shipping routes and export Ukrainian farm produce, foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said on Thursday.
Russia has captured some of Ukraine's biggest seaports and its navy controls major transport routes in the Black Sea, blocking Ukrainian shipments and deepening a global food crisis.
"We call on countries whose food security may suffer more from Russian aggression against Ukraine to use their contacts with Moscow to force it to lift the blockade of Ukrainian seaports and end the war," Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.
- Milica Cosic
Denmark to join EU defense policy on July 1
Denmark Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said today that he expects Denmark to join the European Unions common defense on July 1.
In a referendum on Wednesday, two-third of voters decided to abandon a 30-year-old waiver that kept the Scandinavian EU country out. With 100% of the votes counted, 66.9% voted in favor of abandoning the 30-year opt-out and 33.1% against.
The move is the latest example of a country in Europe seeking closer defense links with allies after Russias invasion of Ukraine.
The referendum follows historic bids by fellow Nordic countries Sweden and Finland to join NATO.
- Milica Cosic
Moscow calls EU move to phase out Russian oil 'self-destructive'
Russia warned on Thursday that the European Union's decision to partially phase out Russian oil would likely destabilize global energy markets, calling it a 'self-destructive' step that could backfire on the bloc.
EU leaders agreed in principle on Monday to cut 90% of oil imports from Russia by the end of this year, the bloc's toughest sanctions yet since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation".
"The European Union's decisions to partially phase out Russian oil and oil products, as well as to ban insurance on Russian merchant ships, are highly likely to provoke further price increases, destabilize energy markets, and disrupt supply chains," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.
- Milica Cosic
Russia lifts quotas for some fertiliser exports
he Russian government has removed export quotas on some fertilisers, the Interfax news agency said on Thursday.
Extension of the non-tariff quota for di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), sodium nitrate and mixtures of calcium nitrate and ammonium nitrate has been deemed unworkable due to low demand from domestic farmers, the agency said citing the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Russia has set quotas for fertiliser exports for July through December, saying in a statement on Tuesday it aimed to secure sufficient supply for domestic farmers.
The restrictions extend measures introduced for the past six months.
- Milica Cosic
UK's NATO envoy: Royal Navy may have to battle Russia
A Tory MP who leads the UK’s parliamentary delegation to Nato has said that British warships could be forced to fight against Russia as part of an international delegation to break Moscow’s Black Sea blockade in Ukraine.
The warships could be required to use “lethal defensive force” against Russia in the mission of escorting vital grain supplies from Ukraine’s ports, Alec Shelbrooke said.
This would carry the “high risk” of deaths of UK personnel and the escalation of war in Europe, Mr Shelbrooke added, in a letter to his constituents/
In his letter he also framed this as a reason not to oust PM Boris Johnson right now.
- Milica Cosic
Slovakia to send Zuzana 2 howitzers to Ukraine
The Slovakian defence ministry has confirmed it will deliver eight self-propelled Zuzana 2 howitzers to Ukraine.
The ministry said the artillery will be sent under a commercial contract which a state-controlled producer signed.
With an effective range of 40-50km plus depending on ammunition type, the Zuzana 2 howitzer is a modernised version of an older model using 155-mm rounds.
- Milica Cosic
MoDL Russia making local gains in Sievierodonetsk
The British Defence Ministry has given its latest intelligence report today, and confirmed Russia’s significant gains in its efforts to capture the key Luhansk city of Sievierodonetsk.
“Russia has taken control of most of Sievierodonetsk. The main road into the Sievierodonetsk pocket likely remains under Ukrainian control but Russia continues to make steady local gains, enabled by a heavy concentration of artillery,” the MoD said in its latest intelligence update on Thursday.
It added that the territorial gain “has not been without cost, and Russian forces have sustained losses in the process”.
“Crossing the Siverskyy Donets River – which is a natural barrier to its axes of advance – is vital for Russian forces as they secure Luhansk Oblast and prepare to switch focus to Donetsk Oblast,” the ministry said.
It added: “Potential crossing sites include between Sievierodonetsk and the neighbouring town of Lysychansk; and near recently-captured Lyman. In both locations, the river line likely still remains controlled by Ukrainian forces, who have destroyed existing bridges.”
- Milica Cosic
African Union head to speak to Putin on Friday in Russia
The head of the African Union, Senegalese President Macky Sall, will speak with President Vladimir Putin in the southwestern Russian city of Sochi on Friday, Dakar said.
The visit is aimed at "freeing up stocks of cereals and fertilisers, the blockage of which particularly affects African countries", along with easing the Ukraine conflict, Sall's office said today.
The visit was organised after an invitation by Putin, and Sall will travel with the president of the African Union Commission, his office added.
The AU will also receive a video address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, though no date has been set.
- Louis Allwood
Russian war criminals slam Putin and beg him to end ‘failed’ invasion
They could have been two shoplifters nervously waiting for a magistrate’s ruling.
But the skinny pair slumped behind bulletproof glass were captured Russian soldiers — and among the youngest war criminals of the Ukraine conflict.
Alexander Bobykin, 26, and Alexander Ivanov, 21, were in an artillery unit that fired at least 38 missiles at civilians and destroyed a school in the early days of the war.
The Sun was at Kotelevska district court of Poltava region yesterday as they each received 12-year sentences.
Despite the enormity of the occasion, the pair sat emotionless as the judge returned his verdict.
But before they were lead away Bobykin told The Sun it had all been a mistake and he wished “the bloody conflict would end”. He even branded it a “failure” by Vladimir Putin.
The pair’s unit fired Grad missiles into Ukraine’s Kharkiv region from neighbouring Belgorod in Russia.
The shelling destroyed a school in the town of Derhachi but caused no casualties, prosecutors said.
- Milica Cosic
Zelensky: 200,000 children forcefully taken to Russia
At least 200,000 children, including from orphanages and those separated from their families, are among the Ukrainians who have been forcibly taken to Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky said today.
Marking International Children’s Day, Mr Zelensky accused Russia of abducting children to make them forget about Ukraine, saying: “The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return".
Ukraine will punish those responsible, Mr Zelensky said, adding: “Ukraine cannot be conquered, that our people will not surrender and our children will not become the property of the occupiers”.
Ukraine has seen the killing of 243 children in the war, and 446 have been injured with another 139 are missing, Mr Zelensky said.
- Louis Allwood
Moment giant cloud of face-melting nitric ACID spews into the sky
Russian forces stepped up their attack on the battered city of Severodonetsk by striking a chemical plant which sent a huge cloud of smoke into the air.
Footage taken by a Ukrainian defender shows a spewing cloud of nitric acid as Russian forces pushed to take the strategic city Severodonetsk in a bid to turn the tide of the war.
The Ukrainian authorities have warned people to stay inside due to the risk posed by toxic fumes after the blast.
Nitric acid, which is yellow or red, is corrosive and can cause severe burns, ulcerations, and scarring when in contact with skin.
Its vapour can also cause pulmonary edema when inhaled – which can be fatal.
Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said the dangerous chemical release was caused when Vladimir Putin's forces carried out an airstrike on a chemicals plant.
- Milica Cosic
Kremlin accuses US & UK of 'adding fuel to fire' by sending long-range rockets
RUSSIA has accused the US of seeking to prolong the war after President of the United States, Joe Biden, said he would supply Kyiv with new long-range missiles.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the US was "intentionally adding fuel to the fire" with the deliveries.
"Such supplies do not contribute to the Ukrainian leadership's willingness to resume peace negotiations," he added.
Britain will also reportedly send multiple launch rocket systems, capable of striking targets as far away as some 49 miles.
The M270B1 launchers will offer a “significant boost in capability for the Ukrainian forces,” a statement from the British Foreign Office, reported by CNN, said.
The move has been “coordinated closely” with the United States.
“The UK stands with Ukraine and has taken a leading role in supplying its heroic troops with the vital weapons they need to defend their country,” British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Wednesday.
“As Russian’s tactics change, so must our support to Ukraine. These highly capable multiple-launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against Russia’s brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin’s forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities."
- Louis Allwood
Biden says US will send medium-range rocket system to Ukraine
The Biden administration says it will send Ukraine a small number of high-tech, medium-range rocket systems, a critical weapon that Ukrainian leaders have been begging for as they struggle to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region.
The rocket systems are part of a new $700 million tranche of security assistance for Ukraine from the U.S. that will include helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more, two senior administration officials said Tuesday.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the weapons package that will be formally unveiled on Wednesday.
The U.S. decision to provide the advance rocket systems tries to strike a balance between the desire to help Ukraine battle ferocious Russian artillery barrages while not providing arms that could allow Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia and trigger an escalation in the war.
In a guest essay published Tuesday evening in The New York Times, President Joe Biden confirmed that he's decided to provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.
- Louis Allwood
Russia will find ways to supply markets with grain and fertilizers, says minister
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Moscow will find ways to supply markets with Russian grain and fertilizers despite Western sanctions, RIA news agency reported on Wednesday.
President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia was willing to facilitate Ukrainian wheat exports through the Black Sea, as well as shipments of Russian fertilizer, if sanctions were eased, according to a Kremlin readout of talks with the president of Turkey.
- Louis Allwood
Help those fleeing conflict with The Sun’s Ukraine Fund
Many of you want to help the five million caught in the chaos — and now you can, by donating to The Sun’s Ukraine Fund.
Give as little as £3 or as much as you can afford and every penny will be donated to the Red Cross on the ground helping women, children, the old, the infirm and the wounded.
Donate here to help The Sun’s fund
Or text to 70141 from UK mobiles
£3 — text SUN£3
£5 — text SUN£5
£10 — text SUN£10Texts cost your chosen donation amount (e.g. £5) +1 standard message (we receive 100%). For full T&Cs visit redcross.org.uk/mobile
- Louis Allwood
Russia threatens to wipe out the entire US with just four Satan II missiles
A chilling moment on Russian state TV on Monday saw hosts issue the latest in a long line of threats, this time warning Putin could “destroy the entire east cost of the US” with just two missiles.
In footage from Russia’s flagship propaganda show, a member of Russia’s parliament boasts about the nation’s military might, before also labelling 2 million Ukrainians as “incurable.”
The politician, Alexie Zhuravlev, was joined on the talk show by fellow MP and Russian-state mouthpiece Yevgeny Popov, the host of the Rossiya 1 channel show.
The lawmaker claimed that two of Russia’s Sarmat ‘Satan 2’ missiles would destroy the entirety of America’s east coast – before adding it would take just “two missiles for the west coast” as well.
“Four missiles and there’ll be nothing left.
“They think the mushroom cloud will be taller than a high rise. That mushroom cloud will be visible from Mexico” said Zhuravlev.
- Louis Allwood
Pope says grain can not be used as 'a weapon of war'
Pope Francis appealed to authorities on Wednesday to lift a block on exports of wheat from Ukraine, saying the grain could not be used as a "weapon of war".
Many millions of people, particularly in the world's poorest countries, depend on wheat from Ukraine, the pope told a general audience of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square, calling for the block to be lifted.
The United Nations, which says a global food crisis is worsening, is trying to broker a deal to unblock Ukraine's grain exports, though Western leaders have blamed Russia for holding the world to ransom by blockading Ukrainian ports.
"The blocking of exports of wheat from Ukraine is very worrying because the lives of millions of people depend on it, especially in poorer countries," the pope said.
"I make a heartfelt appeal so that every effort is made to resolve this problem, to guarantee the universal right to nutrition. Please! Do not use wheat, a basic foodstuff, as a weapon of war," he added, to applause from the crowd.
- Louis Allwood
Germany to send IRIS-T air defence system to Ukraine
Germany will supply Ukraine with the IRIS-T air defence system, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, following pleas from Kyiv and German opposition parties to step up heavy weapons deliveries.
Scholz said Germany had been "delivering continuously since the beginning of the war", pointing to more than 15 million rounds of ammunition, 100,000 grenades and over 5,000 anti-tank mines sent to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24.
"Most recently, the government has decided that we will deliver the most modern air defence system that Germany has in the form of the IRIS-T," Scholz told lawmakers in the Bundestag.
A security source told Reuters last month that Germany was considering supplying IRIS-T SLM medium-range surface-to-air defence systems to Ukraine.
Responding to critics in his speech to parliament, Scholz said his government had responded to the Russian attack with a "massive change of policy in Germany" by opting to send heavy weapons into a war zone.
- Louis Allwood
Ukraine is losing between 60- 100 soldiers a day' says Zelenskyy
Ukraine's president says the country is losing between 60 and 100 soldiers a day in the fighting with Russian forces.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told American TV channel Newsmax that the most difficult situation is in the east of Ukraine," including Donetsk and Luhansk provinces.
He said: "The situation is very difficult. We're losing 60-100 soldiers per day as killed in action and something around 500 people as wounded in action.
So we are holding our defensive perimeters."
Ukraine has largely refrained from disclosing its military losses since the beginning of the Russian invasion, but Zelenskyy previously said the country was losing between 50 and 100 soldiers a day.
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