Latest news with #Cossacks
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Ukrainian MiG-29 Fighter Jets Bomb Russian Special Services Base
Ukrainian fighter jets have struck a base belonging to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in the Belgorod region, killing intelligence officers, according to a report. The Telegram channel Soniashnyk, which is affiliated with the Ukrainian Air Force, said the attack was carried out by MiG-29 jets armed with French-developed AASM Hammer precision-guided bombs. Open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts on X (formerly Twitter) have confirmed the location of the targeted FSB building. Newsweek has contacted Russian and Ukrainian authorities for comment by email. The strike marks a significant escalation in the war, launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2022. While Ukraine has previously targeted military sites on Russian soil—such as ammunition depots, logistics hubs, and airbases—the attack on the Glotovo base appears to be the first known strike on a facility linked to the FSB. The Soniashnyk Telegram channel reported that the FSB base, located in Russia's Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border, was hit with two French-made AASM Hammer precision-guided bombs. An unverified video shared by the channel captures the moment of the strike. Filmed by a drone, the footage shows a direct hit on the building, followed by a massive plume of smoke billowing into the sky. "This is what happens when you don't get the message the first time—the Cossacks have to go and repeat the conversation," the channel said in a caption accompanying the clip. "Aviation continues to operate in all directions, MiG-29s destroy enemy forces, including officers of the FSB," it said. Ukraine's military has used AASM bombs extensively in the war to strike Russian military targets, including drone hubs and control centers. Designed by the French Company Safran Electronics & Defense, the air-to-surface weapons are suitable for both deep-strike attacks and close air support missions. The strike comes weeks after Kyiv was reported to have captured the village of Demidovka in Belgorod, and after a Ukrainian long-range HIMARS strike destroyed four Russian helicopters in the region. Emil Kastehelmi, a military analyst from Finland-based Black Bird Group, previously told Newsweek that there was no indication Ukraine had made further gains beyond Demidovka in Belgorod. Kyiv's military was likely a fixing operation, not a landgrab with large goals, he said. The Telegram channel Soniashnyk, which is affiliated with the Ukrainian Air Force, said: "This is what happens when you don't get the message the first time—the Cossacks have to go and repeat the conversation." Soniashnyk said the Ukrainian Air Force will continue to "operate in all directions" as the war in Ukraine grinds on. Safran Electronics & Defense told Business Insider that it is significantly ramping up production of AASM Hammer bombs this year, but it's unclear how many will go to Ukraine. Related Articles China Denies Ukraine's Russia Weapons ClaimRussian Bots Roast 'Clown' Donald Trump After Putin CommentsMAGA Divided as Trump Turns on PutinRussia Says Trump's Attack on Putin Due to 'Emotional Overstrain' 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
The Age
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz board train to Kyiv after Vladimir Putin's Red Square military parade
Fico, who broke ranks with the EU by visiting Moscow late last year, arrived in Russia after a circuitous journey made necessary due to Lithuania and other Baltic nations barring his aircraft from their airspace. He met Putin in the Kremlin late on Friday evening after the parade and said his country wanted to develop relations with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Slovakia's Prime Minister, Robert Fico, at the Kremlin on Friday. Credit: AP Russian news agencies quoted Fico as telling Putin he opposed the creation of any new 'iron curtain and pledge to do everything so that we can shake hands across a curtain'. 'Let us consider as a childish joke all the technical problems we confronted, created by our European Union colleagues.' Putin said Russia appreciated Fico's decision to attend despite the 'logistical obstacles that were created. But you are nonetheless here.' The visit to Ukraine on Saturday by its European allies comes at an unpredictable diplomatic moment in Russia's more than three-year-long war against Ukraine. Trump has been pushing for a rapid peace after tearing up the policies of his predecessor since entering the White House in January. After engaging directly with Russian officials, clashing publicly with Zelensky and briefly cutting vital military aid to Ukraine, the Trump administration has patched up ties with Kyiv and signed an arduously negotiated minerals deal. There has also been a palpable shift in tone from Trump, who has signalled growing frustration with Putin's foot-dragging over a ceasefire and Russia's restatement of its demands for a settlement. Cossacks attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on Friday. Credit: AP Trump has threatened to step up sanctions against Russia, but he has also said he could abandon the peace effort if there is no breakthrough. He called on Thursday for a 30-day ceasefire, and Zelensky said he would be ready to implement it immediately. Loading Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Friday that Russia supports the implementation of a 30-day ceasefire in the conflict, but only with due consideration of 'nuances'. On the eve of the summit, the US embassy in Kyiv warned of a 'potentially significant' air attack in coming days and told its citizens to be ready to seek shelter in the event of air-raid sirens. The four foreign leaders will meet Zelensky on Saturday morning (local time) and are expected to pay their respects at a memorial in central Kyiv to honour Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war.
Powys County Times
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Powys County Times
Royal Welsh Show 2025 main ring attractions announced
The Royal Welsh Show has announced the main ring attractions for 2025. The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society has announced the list of main ring attractions for the 2025 Royal Welsh Show, which will be held from July 21 to 24 at the showground in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells. The headline act for this year's event is the return of the Ukrainian Cossacks. The Cossacks are known for their daring displays of horsemanship. They will present a 10-minute showcase of traditional Cossack riding in the main ring. The Ukrainian Cossack stunt team, led by founder Oleh Yurchyshyn, has performed at more than 20 prestigious events across Europe and the Middle East. They will perform stunts including flipping beneath galloping horses, forming six-person human pyramids on horseback, and executing somersaults mid-charge. The team rides Ukrainian Warmblood horses, a breed known for its endurance and bravery. Many of the riders maintain the traditional 'oseledets' hairstyle, a topknot on a shaved head that symbolises their cultural heritage. Aled Rhys Jones, chief executive of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, said: "The 2025 Royal Welsh Show continues our tradition of bringing world-class entertainment alongside the very best of Welsh agriculture. "The Ukrainian Cossacks represent exactly the kind of spectacular, culturally rich performance our visitors have come to expect from the main ring. "Their appearance this year carries extra significance as a celebration of courage and resilience." The show will also feature the UK's number one motorcycle display team, Bolddog FMX, who will perform stunts and aerial acrobatics. Meirion Owen and his sheepdogs will demonstrate traditional sheepdog work, while the Regimental Band & Corps of Drums of The Royal Welsh will showcase Welsh musical heritage. The RAF College Band will perform on Tuesday, and the RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team will descend into the main ring on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. The British Army Drone Sports Association will demonstrate military drone operations on Monday and Wednesday. The show will also feature a heavy horse village, celebrating traditional working horses. Visitors can also look forward to a variety of other main ring entertainment throughout the show, including the Inter Hunt Team Relay, Parade of Hounds, and Mounted Games. Tickets for the event are available online at or by calling 01982 553683.
National Post
30-04-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Colby Cosh: Craving stability, Canadians elected a perilously unstable government
I think we have to admit from time to time that Westminster-style parliamentary democracy can have a schizoid quality. Canadians voted in a general election last night amidst an atmosphere of looming dread and economic panic. We were obviously desperate for safety and stability: voters of the left-wing luxury-beliefs parties turned against their leaders, and toward Mark Carney, with the savagery and single-mindedness of Cossacks having a pogrom. (Sympathy for federal New Democrats isn't a natural impulse for me, but hoo boy. Some of those riding totals, man.) Article content Article content Article content But safety and stability aren't on the ballot in their own right, and the result of our collective desire for these things, as often happens, is a House of Commons that offers instability and uncertainty. The Liberals have fallen just short of a majority in their own right, and are led by a man who has not yet felt the caress of a parliamentary pew. He articulates a grand vision of Canada which promises everything to everyone, while guaranteeing fast economic growth: this would be surely be hard enough with a Commons majority, even if you believe he has the right recipe tucked away in his desk. Article content Article content Which I don't, but, Lord, let me be wrong. Carney enjoys awesome, even frightening power within his own party, and the opposition on his left flank is seven-eighths dead, but he will have to bargain for legislation with lower beings, establish actual policy priorities and assemble a cabinet. The newspapers will be filled with guesswork about what this might look like, and reporters will be snatching at the smallest micro-hints. Article content The Conservative opposition is now bound to have a difficult year, with their leader inexplicably, inexcusably ejected from the Commons. Dedicated haters of Pierre Poilievre won't find anything at all inexplicable about the Carleton disaster, but there will need to be a proper autopsy. Especially since Poilievre's party gathered more vote share nationally than any right-wing party — or combination thereof! — has achieved since the days of Mulroney.
Irish Times
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Life in Spite of Everything by Victoria Donovan: A sad and angry history of Donbas
Life in Spite of Everything: Tales from the Ukrainian East Author : Victoria Donovan ISBN-13 : 978-1917092142 Publisher : Daunt Books Guideline Price : £22 Eastern Ukraine's natural wealth has long been a blessing and a curse for people living there, creating jobs but also making the region a target for ruthless exploitation of its resources, often accompanied by disregard – or worse – for its residents. One hundred and fifty years after Russia was inviting British, European and American businessmen to industrialise mining of coal, salt and gypsum in eastern Ukraine – which it had seized from the Cossacks a century earlier – now US president Donald Trump wants to take possession of its rare earths and other minerals as 'payback' for US military aid given to Kyiv since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. He claims that a minerals deal is almost ready and discussions are under way to decide what land Kyiv would lose in a US-brokered peace settlement with Moscow – talk that reduces eastern Ukraine to a blank space on the map and a list of resources to be carved up between capitals, depriving its residents of a say in its future. Victoria Donovan places the people of the Donbas area – generally taken to comprise the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk – at the heart of her book Life in Spite of Everything, and through their stories she uncovers layers of local identity and history like a geologist studying the strata of this coveted land. READ MORE She explores Donbas and its many meanings by following local friends and acquaintances through their homeland, 'centring' the story on them rather than the powerful forces – from tsarist colonisers of the 18th century to Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin today – for whom this was merely a place to be seized and plundered. [ The Marriage Vendetta by Caroline Madden: A charming and original debut Opens in new window ] Donovan, a professor at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, intersperses her text with short chapters by Donbas natives, which shimmer with love for the cities, nature, history and culture of a region that was widely dismissed as a backwater of filthy industry, crime and corruption even before Russia began its attack on the area in 2014. Most of those quoted will have now fled to safer parts of Ukraine and some will have seen their hometowns obliterated. Donovan says that witnessing this made it impossible to write with academic detachment, and instead she has produced a sad and angry history of Donbas that befits the agony experienced by its people.
