Once a hive of Soviet-era industrial activity, these days Kharkiv is called the ‘Silicon Valley’ of Ukraine CREDIT: Kateryna Polishchuk/Alamy
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kharkiv was the site of heavy fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian forces. On 27th February, the governor of Kharkiv Oblast Oleh Synyehubov claimed that Russian troops were repelled from Kharkiv. According to a 28 February 2022, report from Agroportal 24h, the Kharkiv Tractor Plant (KhTZ or HTZ), Kharkiv Tractor Plant (KhTZ or HTZ) in the south east of the city, was destroyed and “engulfed in fire” by “massive shelling” from Russian forces. Video purported to record explosions and fire at the plant on 25 and 27 February 2022. UNESCO has confirmed that in the first three weeks of bombardment the city experienced the loss or damage of at least 27 major historical buildings.
Governor of Kharkiv Oblast Oleh Synyehubov
Kharkiv. Scouts from 130th Kyiv Territorial Defence Battalion under Russian fire
On 4th March 2022, Human Rights Watch reported that on the fourth day of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, 28 February 2022, Federation forces used cluster munitions in the (KhTZ), the Moskovskyi and Shevchenkivskyi Districts of the city. The rights group—which noted the "inherently indiscriminate nature of cluster munitions and their foreseeable effects on civilians"—based its assessment on interviews and an analysis of 40 videos and photographs. In March 2022, during the Battle of Kharkiv, the city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine. In May 2022, Ukrainian forces began a counter-offensive to drive Russian forces away from the city and towards the international border. By 12th May, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence reported that Russia had withdrawn units from the Kharkiv area. Russian artillery and rockets remain within range of the city, and it continues to suffer shelling and missile strikes.
Kharkiv. Scouts from 130th Kyiv Territorial Defence Battalion under Russian fire.
Kharkiv is located at the banks of the Kharkiv, Lopan, and Udy rivers, where they flow into the Seversky Donets watershed in the north-eastern region of Ukraine. Historically, Kharkiv lies in the Sloboda Ukraine region (Slobozhanshchyna also known as Slobidshchyna) in Ukraine, in which it is considered to be the main city. The approximate dimensions of city of Kharkiv are: from the North to the South — 24.3 km; from the West to the East — 25.2 km. Based on Kharkiv's topography, the city can be conditionally divided into four lower districts and four higher districts. The highest point above sea level, in Pyatikhatky, is 202m, and the lowest is Novoselivka in Kharkiv is 94m.
Seversky donets river near the svyatogorsk or sviatohirsk lavra on a sunny summer morning.
Also referred to as “Kharkov,” Kharkiv is a large city situated in the northeastern part of Ukraine. With a population of 1,425,987 inhabitants, Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest and second-most-populous city. Historically, Kharkiv is located in the Slobozhanshchyna region and is considered its principal city. At present, Kharkiv is the chief cultural, educational, industrial, scientific, and transportation center of Ukraine. The city is home to many museums, theatres, art galleries, public libraries, orthodox churches, and educational institutions.
Image Above River Udy in the city of Kharkiv (Ukraine)..Kharkiv lies in the large valley of rivers of Kharkiv, Lopan', Udy, and Nemyshlya. This valley lies from the North West to the South East between the Mid Russian highland and Donetsk lowland. All the rivers interconnect in Kharkiv and flow into the river of Northern Donets. A special system of concrete and metal dams was designed and built by engineers to regulate the water level in the rivers in Kharkiv.
Early morning on the Udy River Ukraine.
Kharkiv has a large number of green city parks with a long history of more than 100 years with very old oak trees and many flowers. Gorky park, or Maxim Gorky Central Park for Culture and Recreation, is Kharkiv's largest public garden. The park has nine areas: children, extreme sports, family entertainment, a medieval area, entertainment center, French park, cable car, sports grounds, retro park.
Maxim Gorky Central Park.
Kharkiv, Ukraine - Virtual Walking Tour of "Gorky" Park
Kharkiv, Ukraine - Virtual Walking Tour of "Gorky" Park..
By Serhii Banytiuk - Gorky Park.Kharkov.
Russian missile strikes firework factory in Kharkiv
Russian missile strikes firework factory in Kharkiv.
A Russian missile struck a firework factory on Tuesday in the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Local authorities said there were no casualties but the strike caused a colourful display of fireworks to illuminate the Kharkiv night sky - Tue 10 Jan 2023
Ukraine tracks Russian missiles as evidence of possible war crimes in Kharkiv • FRANCE 24 English
Ukraine tracks Russian missiles as evidence of possible war crimes in Kharkiv • FRANCE 24 English
Javelin anti tank missile system..
T-72B3 survives multiple NLAW/Javelin strikes
The FGM-148 Javelin, or Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System-Medium (AAWS-M), is an American-made portable anti-tank missile system in service since 1996, and continuously upgraded. It replaced the M47 Dragon anti-tank missile in US service. Its fire-and-forget design uses automatic infrared guidance that allows the user to seek cover immediately after launch, in contrast to wire-guided systems, like the system used by the Dragon, which require a user to guide the weapon throughout the engagement. The Javelin's high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead can defeat modern tanks by top attack, hitting them from above, where their armor is thinnest, and is also useful against fortifications in a direct attack flight. As of 2019, the Javelin had been used in around 5,000 successful engagements.
Javelin missiles can reach a peak altitude of 150 m (490 ft) in top attack mode and 60 m (200 ft) in direct attack mode. Initial versions had a range of 2,000 m (6,600 ft), later increased to 2,500 m (8,200 ft).
A Russian T-72B3 in Ukraine survived four NLAW/Javelin anti-tank rounds without ammo rack explosion, thus, allowing its the crew to escape safely. T-72B3 survives multiple NLAW/Javelin strikes.
The Insane Engineering of the Javelin
The missile system is sometimes carried by two soldiers consisting of a gunner and an ammunition bearer, although one soldier can fire it. While the gunner aims and fires the missile, the ammunition bearer scans for prospective targets, watches for threats like enemy vehicles or troops and ensures that personnel and obstacles are clear of the missile's launch backblast.
The Insane Engineering of the Javelin
A serviceman of Ukrainian military forces holds a FGM-148 Javelin, an American-made portable anti-tank missile.(AFP)
Top 5 Things To Do In KHARKIV, UKRAINE
Top 5 Things To Do In KHARKIV, UKRAINE
Footage shows extent of devastation in Kharkiv, Ukraine
Footage shows extent of devastation in Kharkiv, Ukraine - 16th December 2022
Ukrainian Kraken unit liberates Kupyansk in Kharkiv Oblast
7 Nov 2022
This footage released by the Volunteer unit Kraken shows Ukrainian troops liberating the town of Kupyansk in Kharkiv Oblast. Troops from the Kraken unit can be seen firing in and around different houses in the area as they liberate the land.
Ukrainian Kraken unit liberates Kupyansk in Kharkiv Oblast.
Ukraine War: The underground children of Kharkiv
3 May 2022
Sky's Mark Austin reports from Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv where the children are trying to continue their life - underground.
Ukraine War: The underground children of Kharkiv..
Russian Air Strikes Killed 2,000 Cows In Ukraine's Kharkiv Region
9 Nov 2022
A farmer in the village of Shestakove in Ukraine's Kharkiv region says 2,000 cattle were killed on his farm by Russian air strikes on February 28, just days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russian Air Strikes Killed 2,000 Cows In Ukraine's Kharkiv Region.
Ukraine's frontline soldiers in Kharkiv celebrate the new year
Ukraine's frontline soldiers in Kharkiv celebrate the new year.
Derzhprom, the House of State Industry, is a large governmental building at the centre of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. It is also arguably the most interesting – and one of the least known – buildings of the “heroic age” of modern architecture in the interwar years.
One reason why it isn’t as famous as it could be is that Kharkiv is not particularly well-known outside of Ukraine; another because the architects who designed it were not among the theory-spinning ideologues and stars of the modern movement. Had it been built in Berlin or Paris, however, you’d definitely know all about it.
Occupying the centre of a vast circular plaza are three clusters of concrete-and-glass towers, whose height ranges from five to 10 storeys. They’re symmetrical, but you can only tell if you stand right in the middle of the square. On their own these would be impressive enough – an instant skyline of mini-skyscrapers built up all at once – but what really makes Derzhprom is the series of interconnecting skybridges between each cluster, shooting across and up as high as eight storeys.
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The height of the Derzhprom building is 63 m. With the television tower added in 1955 it was 108 m.
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The office area of the Derzhprom building is 60,000 m²; the areas of the base is 10,760 m².
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The decision to construct the building and to finance it from the Soviet budget was made by Felix Dzherzhinsky in 1926. The cost of the building's construction was 9 million rubles.
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Initially the building was built by hand using primitive instruments such as shovels, wheelbarrows, etc. By the time it was finished the construction techniques employed had been mechanized by 80%. 5,000 workers were involved in its construction, working in three shifts.
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At the time of its completion it was the largest "skyscraper" in the USSR and the second in Europe. 1315 carriages of cement, 9,000 tonnes of metal, 2,700 cars of granite and 40,000 m² of glass were used.
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The interior walls, windows, door handles, etc., were decorated with an exclusive relief of the letters DHP (ДГП), standing for Industrial Palace (Дом Государственной Промышленности).
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By the recommendation of the Kharkiv Department of Hygiene, all the door handles were made of copper, which was thought at that time and which is now known to have antibacterial characteristics to kill microbes.
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7 of the 12 original elevators still function without having being replaced since 1928.
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The length of the bridges that unite the three sections of the buildings is 26 metres.
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The fifth entrance has a museum created in 1980, dedicated to the building and to the Kharkiv writer Z. Zvonytsky.
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The reconstruction and renovation of the Derzhprom building took more time (seven years) than the construction of the building itself (three years).
Founded in 1804, the 200-year-old VN Karazin Kharkiv National University, often known as the Karazin University, is one of the oldest universities in not only Ukraine but also eastern Europe. The efforts of the prominent educator Vasily Karazin helped found this eminent institution, which now ranks among the best classical Ukrainian universities, and is well-known in countries across the world. VN Karazin Kharkiv National University campus is located in the north eastern city of Kharkiv – the second largest city in Ukraine. Since its foundation, the university and its alumni have played an important role in making the city a major hub of academia, industrial progress, science, as well as culture in Ukraine. Historically, the alumni of Kharkiv National University are notable, well-recognised educators, scholars, and researchers – including three Nobel prize laureates - the biologist I. Mechnikov, the economist S. Kuznets, and the physicist L. Landau. VN Karazin Kharkiv National University has 21 schools, which collectively offer 115 majors and minors, with a total enrolment of about 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 400 postgraduate students. Their 1500 faculty and research staff are well trained and extremely qualified, with 381 doctors of science, full professors, and almost 1060 PhD holders. Kharkiv National University is home to many of Ukraine’s finest facilities, from one of the country’s largest Research Centres for modern fundamental research, to their oldest Botanical Garden. The campus is also equipped with a massive Natural History museum, one of the oldest museums in the world, an Astronomical Observatory which has been one of Ukraine’s leading astronomy centres since 1808, and a Central Scientific Library. VN Karazin Kharkiv National University places second in Ukraine, in terms of number of publications and citations in the scientific database Scopus and the Hirsch Index. It also boasts the best academic results in two of its schools – Medicine and Biology. VN Karazin Kharkiv National University was ranked the best university in Ukraine, as well as the 410th university in the world according to the QS World University Rankings in 2019.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a lot of very unsettling nuclear threats since the start of Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine, and concerns are growing as his forces lose ground that he could resort to the unthinkable and order the use of weapons of mass destruction — a nightmare scenario. In September 2022, Putin made a veiled reference to nuclear weapons while vowing to defend Russia's "territorial integrity," emphasizing that "this is not a bluff." Putin has continued to make threatening references to Russia's nuclear arsenal in the time since.
The use of a tactical nuke would be a deliberate act — made "in cold blood," an expert said — that requires a multi-step process that US spy agencies may detect; so far, US officials have said they've seen no signs of it.
Russia has the world's largest arsenal of tactical nukes, weapons whose battlefield impact may be limited to destroying a dozen armored vehicles but could still kill tens of thousands if used against a city. Unlike the ICBMs whose explosive power is measured in often measured in megatons, tactical nukes are not emergency-use weapons ready to be fired at a moment's notice, arms control experts said; they are aging weapons of questionable reliability that must be taken out of storage and shipped to a frontline unit for use.
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Even so, the use of just one tactical nuke could create a catastrophic chain reaction of escalation. President Joe Biden in October went as far to suggest the risk of nuclear "Armageddon" is the highest it's been since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and the US has privately communicated to Russia that there would be "catastrophic consequences" if nuclear weapons are used. Putin, who has issued threats in vague terms, has not expressly said whether or not or how he might use a nuclear weapon. But military and nuclear weapons experts have said that if he did, Putin is more likely to employ a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine than a strategic nuclear weapon, though the latter remains an option. Nuclear weapons also produce large amounts of radiation that would spread to other countries contaminating food crops and water supplies.
Military transports nuclear missiles to western Russia in winter terrain
Military transports nuclear missiles to western Russia in winter terrain.December 20th 2022
Ukrainian Col. General Oleksandry Syrskiy
The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces General Oleksandr Syrskiy, in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Ian Pannell, said the world should be worried about Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons.. The Ukrainian general is confident that his country is winning the fight against Russia, despite the challenges of war. "Of course, I think we are winning. Because first and foremost, we are winning the psychological battle," Syrskiy said. "We have success on the battleground, but the war is difficult."
Syrskiy, the commander of the Army of the Armed Forced of Ukraine, won the battle of Kyiv in the spring and the battle of Kharkiv in September. The successful surprise counteroffensive rapidly liberated thousands of square miles of occupied territory, forcing the Russians back towards their border.
Last month Sep 2022, Putin accused Ukraine of terrorism after an explosion destroyed parts of a bridge connecting occupied Crimea to Russia, a vital supply route for Russian forces.
"There hasn't been any wars at that scale in Europe, or elsewhere in the world, since the Second World War. And we understand that this war is about the survival of our people and our state and this is why we have no other option but to win," Syrskiy said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, listens to Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy's report during his visit in Izium, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Sept. 14, 2022.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP
The Russian Empire, which at the time encompassed the territory of Ukraine, lost a staggering 1.8 million combatants during the 20th century’s first global conflict. During World War II, the Soviet Union sustained more than 8.6 million military deaths, as calculated by the country’s Ministry of Defense. If the numbers presented by Ukraine this week are accurate, Kremlin’s forces have lost more soldiers than the US did in both the Vietnam and Korean wars, which spanned the better part of 25 years, Russia claimed it has lost fewer than 6,000 troops in Ukraine, but a senior US general said the country more likely has suffered 100,000 casualties, including killed and wounded troops. But that figure did not include mercenaries from the Wagner Group, who have been at the forefront of some of the bloodiest battles that have been waged in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks. Kyiv likewise has been reluctant to release its casualty figures, claiming about 13,000 combat deaths since February.
'If you desert, we'll execute you': 'Putin's chef' recruits convicts for war
According to Russian insiders, Putin has ordered the construction of new weapons with the capacity to create "radioactive tsunamis". Poseidon, as the nuclear torpedoes are known, have the ability to trigger huge radioactive waves.
'If you desert, we'll execute you': 'Putin's chef' recruits convicts for war. Sep 2022
The weapons have been described by some news outlets as Putin's most "inhumane" and "fearsome" yet. Reports out of Russia claim that manufacture and tests of the weapon have been complete and are being bolted on to nuclear subs. This is according to an unnamed source close to the nation's military and defence industry told state-run media outlet TASS. The source said: "The first batch of Poseidon ammunition has been manufactured and will be soon delivered to special-purpose nuclear-powered submarine Belgorod." One key component of the weapon is a nuclear power unit which will give the device its own power source.
The weapon is said to have an unlimited range, according to claims by the Kremlin, and can travel at speeds of more than 200km/h (124mph). The torpedo is specifically designed to travel undetected through the ocean and will detonate once it reaches its target - threatening to destroy coastal areas if deployed. The device was officially announced in 2018 when Putin announced the roll-out of six "super-weapons" in a terrifying speech. In the worrying address, the dictator said there was "no weapon" that could counter or destroy Poseidon. "They are very low noise, have high manoeuvrability and are practically indestructible for the enemy," he said. "There is no weapon that can counter them in the world today."
Russia’s ex-president Dmitry Medvedev.
"I fought in the war for 5 minutes, asked to stay on Ukrainian side" - Russian soldier in capture
Medvedev suggested Nato leaders should stop sending arms and ammunition to the Ukrainian military in support of President Zelensky or face a nuclear response. In a post on Telegram, the former Russian president said: "The defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger a nuclear war. Nuclear powers have never lost major conflicts on which their fate depends. And this should be obvious to anyone. Even a Western politician with any trace of intelligence." In a clear warning to NATO leaders, Medvedev highlighted the risks of their policy on aiding Ukraine ahead of their meeting at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The agenda for the summit includes discussing strategies and providing support for the West's mission to counter Russian forces in Ukraine. Medvedev, who served as the president of Russia from 2008 to 2012, currently holds the post of deputy head in Russia's security council led by Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin has clarified that Medvedev's statements coincided with Moscow's existing nuclear doctrine.
"I fought in the war for 5 minutes, asked to stay on Ukrainian side" - Russian soldier in capture.
Dmitry Perov was killed after leaving his military unit in Ukraine to be reunited with his wife in Russia ( Image: Dmitry Perov/east2west news) Perov, who has a 25-year-old wife called Ekaterina Perova, was serving military unit No. 11045 of the 344th reconnaissance regiment.
A Putin army deserter who fled his military base in Ukraine has been shot dead by a Russian marksman. Dmitry Perov, 31, travelled about 350 miles to Lipetsk in western Russia to be reunited with his wife, it has been claimed. His body was found in a snowy field in the village of Novouglyanka. There are fears his killing was a cold-blooded example to others not to desert Vladimir Putin's armed forces. A video showed him on his journey home, apparently to see his wife Ekaterina Perova, 25, and en route he had stayed with his mother in the Voronezh region.
Authorities claim Mr Perov left his military unit armed with an automatic weapon and ammunition, and allege that he resisted arrest five days later when he was found. Russia has forcibly conscripted hundreds of thousands of men and it is believed desertion rates are higher than admitted. Law enforcement say that after a manhunt he was "discovered and liquidated". A report citing official sources said: "There is no threat to residents. "Pre-investigation activities are carried out." He was portrayed as a dangerous criminal, while the Malyuta Skuratov Telegram channel claimed he was being portrayed as a "mad dog" with no evidence.
"His whole crime so far is only unauthorised abandonment of a military unit," said the channel. His execution appeared to be "with an eye to the future" amid suspicions Putin will launch massive new mobilisation despite official denials. In this sense, it is a warning to current and future recruits not to mutiny. "It is not only those who the authorities called terrorists who are ‘liquidated’ now," observed journalist Mikhail Maglov. Perov was serving in the military unit No. 11045 of the 344th reconnaissance regiment. "Perhaps no one will ever know why the serviceman left the combat zone," said another report.
The man's body was discovered in a snowy field ( Image: Social media/east2west news)
Last summer 2022, Russia experienced a mass exodus of men who attempted to flee the country to avoid being drafted to fight in Ukraine. At the beginning of September 2022, there was an 18-kilometre line along the Russian/Georgian border with people trying to escape Putin's orders. Now, there have been reports that Russia is publicly executing troops who defy Putin's orders in Ukraine. Reports from escaped troops have confessed to Ukrainian forces about executions which they say are carried out publicly. Prisoners of Russia's controversial Wagner group, which has murderers, rapists and drug dealers on its front line, have come clean to their Ukrainian captors.
Photo leaflet of Dmitry Perov (31), a deserter soldier who left a Russian military base with weapons from an NVO unit on January 13, 2023. He carried five magazines and several grenades. The governments of the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions are looking for the whereabouts of Dmitry Perov, before he was finally killed, Wednesday (18/1/2023).
Yevgeny Prigozhin - Photographer: Mikhail Metzel/TASS
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is pictured pardoning former inmates who served six months fighting in Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev has cautioned that if Russia fails to remain in control of Ukraine, it could lead to a nuclear war© GETTY
Since Putin announced the mobilization of 300,000 Russians on September 21 2022, independent media, human rights activists and those called up have painted a bleak picture of a haphazard and chaotic effort to round up as many men as possible and push them quickly to the front lines, regardless of skill, training and equipment. Conscription protests have been harshly put down, and tens of thousands of men fled Russia to neighbouring countries to avoid being pressed into service.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with a soldier at a military training center Thursday. (Mikhail Klimentyev / Sputnik) October 27th 2022
The shift in the conflict’s focus towards the Donbas region followed Russia’s failure to capture Kyiv during the first phase of the war. Before Ukraine’s rapid counter-offensive, marginal Russian gains in the east suggested the war was entering a period of stalemate.
Vladimar Putin now feels exasperated after a new investigation revealed that Russia's army has suffered massive casualties among its officer corps. Russia's army has met fierce resistance throughout its almost year-long war in Ukraine. Kyiv has estimated that over 120,000 Russian soldiers have lost their lives in Putin's ostensible "special military operation". Russia'a might has crumbled spectacularly as there are confirmed reports more than 1,576 Russian officers have been killed, this figure also includes the lives of 8 high ranking Major Generals..To add salt to the wound, Two Lieutenant Generals and some 49 Colonels are also numbered among the casualties, showing that not even senior officers have been spared the bloody slaughter.
Russian Military Badge.
Faces of Death - Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky was said to have been shot and killed by a sniper. Picture: Alamy
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy vows to destroy the Russian army that invades are Ukranian homeland..
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the war was “like a nightmare” for Russia in a speech to his countrymen last night 7th March 2022. He also vowed to hunt down and kill "every b*****d" who targeted fleeing civilians in Ukraine. He said: "We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war. On our land. We will find every b*****d which shot at our cities, our people. "Which bombed our land. Which launched rockets. Which gave the order and pressed 'start'. "There will be no quiet place on this Earth for you. Except for the grave." He defiantly posted footage showing he was "not afraid" and showed the Kyiv skyline from his offices before giving the speech.
As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tells it, when Russia invaded, no one expected his country to survive. World leaders advised him to flee. No one knew how a 44-year-old man who had catapulted himself from the world of entertainment into the presidency would respond to an invasion by Russia's giant army. His response has been forceful — and compellingly public. Zelensky has led his country in mounting an unexpectedly fierce resistance. Every night, he rallies Ukrainians to the fight with a video address on social media. The Russian's underestimated "And they didn't know how brave Ukrainians are, how much we value freedom." Ukrainians did not wave flags and greet the Russian army nor do they want Russia's sphere of influence..
Russia’s ability to dominate Ukraine economically has greatly diminished, Russia accounted for around 30% of Ukraine’s annual trade balance. By 2020, that figure had fallen to approximately 7%. During the same period, Ukrainian trade with China and the European Union has flourished. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s sizeable migrant workforce has voted with its feet, turning away from traditional Russian destinations since 2014 in favor of EU alternatives. Most Russian TV channels have been forced off the Ukrainian airwaves, and Ukrainian TV channels have drastically reduced their Russian-made content. Thanks to a quota system, radio station playlists now increasingly favor Ukrainian-language artists. With Russian social media sites blocked, millions of Ukrainians have switched to Facebook and other international platforms.
Clockwise from left, Andrei Kolesnikov, Andrey Sukhovetsky, Oleg Mityaev and Vitaliy Gerasimov have all been killed in the fighting, according to Ukraine
Lieutenant General Yakov Rezantsev is the fifth general Ukraine claims to have killed since Russia invaded.
(Just to your liking sir!) Yevgeny Prigozhin, top serves food to then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at Prigozhin's restaurant outside Moscow, Russia on November 11th 2011. Kremlin connected businessman Prigozhin kept a low profile over the years, but he has been increasingly in the spotlight recently. He has admitted that he is behind the Russian mercenary force that reportedly has been involved in conflicts around the world, including Ukraine. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze, Pool, File)
The Russian force in Ukraine probably includes two dozen generals who act as commanders and deputy commanders for the dozen or so combined-arms and tank armies the Kremlin has committed to the war. In a months of bitter fighting, the Ukrainians claim to have killed many of those generals, along with an equal number of senior colonels. It’s a startling death toll—like something out of World War II. And it probably has resulted in days-long disruptions to the operations of front-line units. But killing Captains, Generals, Colonels, and Lieutenants with snipers or direct missile strikes won't end the bitter war or cripple and insurgency or cartel.. Even if Ukrainian forces continue at there current rate of elimination for many months to come many more eager Juniors, Sergeant's First, and senior who have the ability to lead will always replace there late forebears.
Yevgeny Prigozhin has had many roles: Convicted felon and hot dog vendor. Owner of a swanky St. Petersburg restaurant and holder of lucrative government catering contracts. Founder of a mercenary military force involved in Russia’s various conflicts. Prigozhin has kept a low profile over the years. But in recent months, the 61-year-old entrepreneur with links to Russian President Vladimir Putin has become more and more public with his activities, especially involving Moscow’s year old war in Ukraine. Prigozhin and Putin go way back, with both born in Leningrad, what is now known as St. Petersburg. During the final years of the Soviet Union, Prigozhin served time in prison — 10 years by his own admission — although he did not say what it was for.
"Once Putin doesn't need the wagner mercenaries, any power structure in Russia would be happy to somehow get rid of Prigozhin, I suppose because nobody needs any alternative army." Cannon fodder for freedom. Prigozhin is desperate to succeed in Ukraine as he knows far to well the situation could end very bad for him. I think he has to have some political game right now. He has to show Putin that he is effective and that he can probably substitute the Minister of Defence, Shoigu." Prigozhin tried to take the lion's share of credit for the fall of Soledar, a town situated 11 miles north east of Bakhmut. He has become a hero to many of those in the pro-war camp inside.
Incidentally Prigozhin is no spring chicken and is wanted by the F.B.I.
The mercenary group, headed by Putin’s close aid Prigozhin, has recruited inmates from prisons across Russia with a promise that they will walk as free men after deployment. Around 50,000 of these prisoners, have so far been recruited..
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A photo published by the Security Service of Ukraine purports to show Wagner Group mercenaries at an unidentified location. (ssu.gov.ua)
55-year-old Yevgeny Nuzhin, a convicted murderer, who joined the Wagner private military company following a series of desperate recruitment drives carried out in penal colonies across Russia has been brutally executed for switching sides.
Yevgeny Nuzhin
The recruitment drive entailed Prigozhin flying to remote penal colonies with a “Hero of Russia” medal pinned to his uniform, he would persuade the prisoners to sign up and join the fight.. In return a pardon and freedom is rewarded. Maybe even a holiday to Hawaii and a villa in Spain..Footage released by Ukrainian forces in September revealed that Nuzhin had deserted the Wagner Group and had been taken prisoner. In the video, he described poor conditions in the Russian army, criticised President Putin, and stated that he wished to fight for Ukraine, citing having relatives living in Kyiv.
Inside An 'Execution Cellar' In Ukraine
5 Apr 2022
A children's summer camp in Ukraine is the site of another grisly atrocity. In a basement, there were bodies with their hands tied behind their backs and bullet holes in their heads. The Ukrainian authorities said it was a war crime committed by Russian forces.
Inside An 'Execution Cellar' In Ukraine
Russia, which has seen stern resistance from Ukrainian forces in the last few months has suffered heavy losses of soldiers. These prisoners, with a promise of freedom upon completion of their deployment, have since been thrown as cannon fodder on the front. “The prisoners are used as cannon fodder, like meat. I was given a group of convicts. In my platoon, only three out of 30 men survived,” Medvedev told Guardian. “We were then given more prisoners, and many of those died too.”Those of these former prisoners who refused to obey orders are shot in front of others, giving them a whiff of what awaits them should they not obey orders. “The commanders took them to a shooting field and they were shot in front of everyone. Sometimes one guy was shot, sometimes they would be shot in pairs,” he said. This scenario strikes a resemblance to Hitler the Nazi's and WW2..
A list of photographs released by prosecutors of those accused of killing and torturing civilians in a village north of Kyiv, including Belarusians Sergey Vladimirovich Sazanov (pictured twice at centre right and bottom left) and Alexander Alexandrovich Stupnitsky (bottom centre), and their fellow Wagner mercenary Sergey Sergeevich Sazonov (top right). Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Guardian.
Nuzhin had, however, previously used his social media accounts to express support for the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine. Details remain unclear as to when or how he was returned to Russia. However, upon arrival, he was handed back over to the Wagner Group, despite the group – that has been accused of terrorism and numerous war crimes – previously warning that deserters would be killed. Video footage released on Saturday, Nov 12 2022, by the Wagner Group on Telegram showed Nuzhin with his head clingfilmed to a large brick. Seconds before he is killed, Nuzhin gives a seemingly scripted confession: “I am Yevgeny Anatolievich Nuzhin, born in 1967, who went to the front to go to the side of Ukraine to fight against the Russians.”
“On the fourth of September, I carried out my plan to go over to the side of Ukraine. “On the eleventh of November, I was on the streets of Kyiv, where I received a blow to the head, as a result of which I lose consciousness. “I woke up in this basement, where I was told that I was going to be put on trial.” A member of the Wagner Group then raises a huge sledgehammer and strikes Nuzhin’s neck. Falling backwards, he is then struck one final time on the head. Sharing the video on his Telegram channel, Prigozhin wrote: “It seems to me that this film should be called: ‘A dog dies a dog’s death.’ It was an excellent directional piece of work, watched in one breath. I hope no animals were harmed during filming.”
The video has been widely condemned as yet another display of Russian depravity. The Wagner Group is renowned for using sledgehammers to carry out acts of torture and execution, including against captured men and women in Syria, and has since become the group’s unofficial symbol. Meanwhile, Russian prisoner human rights group Gulagu.net wrote on Twitter: ” Nuzhin was in a strict regime colony. He was recruited by Yevgeny Prigozhin and almost immediately was taken captive [by Ukraine]”. “Some time later he did an interview – watched more than eight million times, and said he decided to fight for Ukraine. “According to our sources, Nuzhin was either re-captured or passed back to the Russian army, who passed him on to the so-called Wagner Security Service.”
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Firefighters extinguish flames outside an apartment after a Russian rocket attack in Kharkiv, 2022 Ukraine.Photographer: Pavel Dorogoy/AP Photo
“Putin and Prigozhin are murderers”, Gulagu.net added. “They must face justice.” Meanwhile, human rights groups have called on the Ukrainian government to explain how Nuzhin managed to end up back in Russia, and to clarify if it was the result of a prisoner exchange. Others have voiced concerns over filmed interrogations being made public, suggesting that doing so is counterproductive to the war effort. “This story will make the enemy less likely to surrender in the future,” Ukrainian Iryna Chumak tweeted. “It will cause more Ukrainian deaths in battle and will decrease our exchange pool.”
Russia claimed to have taken “full control” of the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine on Thursday evening 12th January 2023, in Moscow’s first major win on the battlefield in months. The Russian defense ministry said in a statement Friday 13th Jan 2023 that the salt mining town was “of great importance for the continuing successful offensive operations in the Donetsk direction.” Soledar lies just outside the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, which has seen some of the heaviest fighting throughout the war.
AP Photo/Libkos
Ukrainian soldiers on their positions in the frontline near Soledar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Jan. 11, 2023. Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Jan. 13, 2023 that its forces have captured the salt-mining town of Soledar.
Soledar has been devastated by Russia's bombardment, as shown by this satellite image.
The ministry added that the establishment of control in Soledar will allow Russian forces to block the supply routes of Ukrainian forces. A Ukrainian official denied Russia’s claim on the town on Friday, alleging that fighting was still ongoing. But there appears to be an organized pull back of Ukrainian troops as mortar and rocket fire continued. After initially taking aim at Kyiv in the early stages of its invasion, Moscow has largely refocused its efforts on the Donbas in eastern Ukraine as the war has dragged on for more than 12 months.
Ukrainian soldiers look over into Soledar, The Russian forces have now complete control of this village for the time being..
The battle for Soledar has been one of the bloodiest of the war. The town is relatively small, with a pre-war population of just 10,000, and its strategic significance is debatable. But if it is confirmed that Russian forces have seized control of it, then there will likely be a big sigh of relief in the Kremlin. Divisions have emerged between regular Russian forces and the notorious Russian Wagner paramilitary group throughout the battle, with a jealous turf war uprising over who should get the credit for the advance..Barely any walls in Soledar remain standing, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. Describing almost apocalyptic scenes, he spoke of the nearby terrain as scarred by missile strikes and littered with the dead of Russian corpses.
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Denys Anatoliiovych Monastyrsky Денис Анатолійович Монастирський; 12 June 1980 – 18 January 2023) was a Ukrainian lawyer and politician who served as Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs from 16 July 2021, until his death in a helicopter crash in January 2023. He had been very close to Volodymyr Zelenskyy since the beginning of his presidential campaign.
Denys Anatoliiovych Monastyrsky
IRAN -- Yevhen Yenin, Ukraine's deputy minister for foreign affairs, meets with members of the Iranian delegation in the second round of talks on compensation for the families of victims of the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crash, in Tehran, O
Monastyrsky, along with his deputy Yevhen Yenin, and Secretary of State of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lubkovych, were killed in a helicopter crash on 18th January 2023, in Brovary, an eastern suburb of the capital Kyiv. The helicopter hit a kindergarten as it crashed, and a child was among the 14 killed. At least 25 others were injured.
Yuri Lubkovych (1989 - 2023)
Kyrylo Tymoshenko said at a briefing that the officials were heading to one of the hot spots of the war front. The Security Service of Ukraine has started an investigation into the cause of the crash in Brovary. Monastyrsky's friend and MP Maria Mezentseva said it was "a tragedy for everyone" as Mr Monastyrsky's ministry was playing a key role in Ukraine's response to the invasion. He was also very close to Zelenskyy from day one of his presidential campaign, she told the BBC.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko - Ukrainian politician who has served as deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine since May 21, 2019.
Maria Mezentseva, head of Ukraine’s delegation to the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, said cases needed to be recorded, as ‘justice has to prevail’. A Ukrainian MP has raised alarm about Russian soldiers raping and sexually assaulting women during its invasion, and said Ukraine would “not be silent” about the crimes. In a TV interview, Maria Mezentseva referenced one case in Brovary, an eastern suburb of Kyiv, where a woman was raped in front of her child.
In kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky and Olena Zelenska, as well as members of the Ukrainian government paid their last respects on Saturday to the Minister of the Interior, Denys Monastyrsky, who died on Wednesday 18th 2023 in a helicopter crash with 13 other people.
The aircraft had seven passengers, who worked at the Ministry of the Interior, and the crash claimed seven other victims, including a child.
President Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska arrived at the ceremony dressed in black, carrying bouquets of flowers, to comfort the families of the victims.
“Indescribable sadness covers the soul,” the president wrote in a message posted on Telegram on Saturday. “Ukraine is losing its best sons and daughters every day,” he added.
Inside the building where the ceremony took place, located very close to Maidan Square in the heart of kyiv, seven coffins were brought, carried by soldiers in ceremonial dress to the sound of a trumpet.
Olena Zelenska is feeling mortified as she wipes away a tear.. First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska reacts at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland after the news of a helicopter crash in Ukraine
Ukrainian servicemen carry coffins covered with the national flags during the funeral ceremony of Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky and other employees of his department at the Baikove cemetery in Kyiv on January 21, 2023. – Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky died in a helicopter crash in Brovary on January 18, 2023. Fourteen people were killed, other ministry officials and a child. (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP)
Relatives and friends attend the funeral ceremony of Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky and other employees of his department at the Baikove cemetery in Kyiv on January 21, 2023. (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP)
Ukrainian servicemen carry coffins covered with the national flags during the funeral ceremony of Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky and other employees of his department at the Baikove cemetery in Kyiv on January 21 (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena offer relatives their condolences. Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska had arrived at the ceremony wearing all black and carrying floral garlands to comfort loved ones of victims. The families had gathered before the president arrived, some weeping over the coffins, each draped with the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag and next to a large black-and-white portrait of the victim. “Ukraine is losing its best sons and daughters every day,” Zelensky said in a statement later. One of those killed was a photographer, Mykola Anatsky, 34, who was travelling with the minister to the frontline from the destroyed city of Bakhmut. “Kolya was an extremely kind, intelligent child. He still could have done a lot for Ukraine,” said his childhood schoolteacher Lyudmila Zakharenko, recounting that her former student had a newborn daughter. “It’s scary because the best people are passing away,” the 53-year-old said, choking up.
Relatives grieve at the funeral ceremony held for the victims of the Jan. 18 helicopter crash in Brovary, on Jan. 21, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Ukrainian intelligence officer Ilya Samoilenko, who was captured by Russian forces after their weeks-long siege of the Azovstal steel works in the southern city of Mariupol, described Monastyrsky’s death as “a great loss”. “We’re in a war. The people involved in empowering and enforcing our defences are critically important,” he told AFP, referring to the killed interior ministry officials. Yet Samoilenko, with an artificial eye and prosthetic arm to attest to his own brush with death defending Mariupol last year, said Ukraine could not afford to mourn long. “We can have a couple of days of grief,” he told AFP, saying the crash in Brovary was no reason to halt “forging our victory”. “We have to move. We have to proceed. We have to advance,” Samoilenko, clad in camouflage, said as the ceremony closed.
A Super Puma EC-225 (Airbus Helicopters) crashed killing 14 people, Zelensky was asked about the hypothesis of the accident, Zelensky replied that “several theories are being studied”. “I am not authorized to speak about the various hypotheses until the outcome of the investigations,” he added.
The number 54 H225 helicopter involved in the accident (Government of Ukraine)