Russian Forces

Almost two million people in Russia and occupied Ukraine were left without power on Monday, after hurricane force winds and heavy rains cut electricity lines and caused widespread flooding.

A leading Russian politician and supporter of President Vladimir Putin has denied a report that he adopted an infant who had been forcibly taken from an orphanage in Ukraine.

North Korea said Thursday it would deploy new weapons and stronger armed forces to the border with the South, as Seoul's spy agency said Pyongyang had received Russian help to successfully put a military spy satellite into orbit.

Ukraine's air defences shot down nine out of 10 Russian drones overnight over the southern Mykolayiv and Odesa regions and also near Zhytomyr in the centre and in the Khmelnytskyi region in the west of the country, the air force said on Friday.

Lieutenant General Sviridov was awarded the Order of the Red Star during his career and he became an honoured pilot of Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelensky denied on Saturday that Ukraine's counter-offensive against Russian forces had hit a stalemate, as hours later Kyiv said it had struck a shipyard in the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

With the Air Force having already operationalised three of its S-400 air defence missile along borders with China and Pakistan, Indian and Russian officials are set to meet soon to discuss the final delivery schedule for the remaining two squadrons.

A United Nations commission of inquiry on Ukraine said on Friday it had found additional evidence that Russian forces had committed "indiscriminate attacks" and war crimes in Ukraine, including rape and the deportation of children to Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned Israeli forces' expected ground offensive would bring unacceptable levels of civilian casualties, and that his country was ready to help with mediation efforts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called for negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian forces and hoped the war, which has already killed thousands over the last five days, would not expand.

Russian forces were Tuesday trying to encircle the eastern frontline Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, an official said, adding it was being heavily bombed.

Ukraine said on Thursday that its air defence systems had destroyed two dozen drones launched by Russian forces overnight from the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, on an unannounced visit to Kyiv, said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces were "gradually gaining ground" in their counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet and one of Russia's most senior navy officers, was pictured attending a video conference on Tuesday, a day after Ukrainian special forces said they had killed him.

Russia's torture methods in parts of Ukraine it occupied have been so brutal that it tortured some of its victims to death, the head of a UN-mandated investigative body said on Monday.

Almost two million people in Russia and occupied Ukraine were left without power on Monday, after hurricane force winds and heavy rains cut electricity lines and caused widespread flooding.

A leading Russian politician and supporter of President Vladimir Putin has denied a report that he adopted an infant who had been forcibly taken from an orphanage in Ukraine.

North Korea said Thursday it would deploy new weapons and stronger armed forces to the border with the South, as Seoul's spy agency said Pyongyang had received Russian help to successfully put a military spy satellite into orbit.

Ukraine's air defences shot down nine out of 10 Russian drones overnight over the southern Mykolayiv and Odesa regions and also near Zhytomyr in the centre and in the Khmelnytskyi region in the west of the country, the air force said on Friday.

Lieutenant General Sviridov was awarded the Order of the Red Star during his career and he became an honoured pilot of Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelensky denied on Saturday that Ukraine's counter-offensive against Russian forces had hit a stalemate, as hours later Kyiv said it had struck a shipyard in the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

With the Air Force having already operationalised three of its S-400 air defence missile along borders with China and Pakistan, Indian and Russian officials are set to meet soon to discuss the final delivery schedule for the remaining two squadrons.

A United Nations commission of inquiry on Ukraine said on Friday it had found additional evidence that Russian forces had committed "indiscriminate attacks" and war crimes in Ukraine, including rape and the deportation of children to Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned Israeli forces' expected ground offensive would bring unacceptable levels of civilian casualties, and that his country was ready to help with mediation efforts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called for negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian forces and hoped the war, which has already killed thousands over the last five days, would not expand.

Russian forces were Tuesday trying to encircle the eastern frontline Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, an official said, adding it was being heavily bombed.

Ukraine said on Thursday that its air defence systems had destroyed two dozen drones launched by Russian forces overnight from the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, on an unannounced visit to Kyiv, said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces were "gradually gaining ground" in their counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet and one of Russia's most senior navy officers, was pictured attending a video conference on Tuesday, a day after Ukrainian special forces said they had killed him.

Russia's torture methods in parts of Ukraine it occupied have been so brutal that it tortured some of its victims to death, the head of a UN-mandated investigative body said on Monday.