Russia-Ukraine war: Putin ‘playing with lives’ in plane crash as Moscow blames Kyiv

Both black boxes have been recovered from a Russian military transport plane that crashed in the Belgorod region near the Ukraine border, the RIA news agency reported on Thursday, citing rescue services.

Russia says Ukraine downed the plane which it says was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war for a swap. Ukraine has not confirmed or denied that it hit the plane.

Volodymyr Zelensky said it was clear the Kremlin was deliberately playing with the emotions of Ukrainians after it claimed 65 PoWs died in a plane crash.

Nato has begun its largest war drills in nearly 40 years in a a move designed to show the “unity” and “strength” of the Western alliance.

Some 90,000 troops are due to join the Steadfast Defender 2024 drills that will run through May, the alliance’s top commander Chris Cavoli said.

More than 50 ships from aircraft carriers to destroyers will take part, as well as more than 80 fighter jets, helicopters and drones and at least 1,100 combat vehicles including 133 tanks and 533 infantry fighting vehicles.

NATO did not mention Russia by name in its announcement. But its top strategic document identifies Russia as the most significant and direct threat to NATO members’ security.

“Steadfast Defender 2024 will demonstrate NATO’s ability to rapidly deploy forces from North America and other parts of the alliance to reinforce the defence of Europe,” NATO said.

Russia launched 14 attack drones and five missiles at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s air force said, with air defence systems destroying 11 of the drones.

Odesa regional Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram that two people were injured during the attack on the Black Sea port city.

“Despite the effective and fruitful work of air defence to repel enemy attacks, unfortunately, an industrial facility was hit in Odesa, and residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged,” Kiper said.

Britain has offered Germany a swap of cruise missiles that could allow the German government a way to overcome concerns over a suggested delivery of missiles to Ukraine, Germen newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.

Kyiv has been pushing Berlin to supply its Taurus missiles, which could give Ukraine the ability to cause significant damage deeper within Russian-occupied territory, but the German government has remained hesitant out of concern that could trigger an international escalation of the conflict.

The paper cited government and diplomatic sources as saying that the British government has proposed to Berlin several weeks ago that it could export Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine and, in turn, receive the German Taurus missiles.

The office of German chancellor Olaf Scholz has been analysing this proposal, the report added.

The German government declined to comment.

A person familiar with the negotiations said that the proposed swap could potentially find support in Berlin.

The German government has repeatedly said it will only act in concert with Washington on arms deliveries to Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Vladimir Putin of playing with the emotions of the Ukrainian prisoners of war after a Russian military transport plane with 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers was shot down, killing all of them.

“It is clear that the Russians are playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, the feelings of their loved ones and the emotions of our society,” Mr Zelensky said in his evening address.

The Ukrainian war-time president said the facts concerned with the plane downed on Russian territory must be presented.

“All clear facts must be established. To the extent possible, given that the aircraft crashed on Russian territory – beyond our control. ‘Facts’ is the key word now,” he said, without directly confirming who shot down the plane.

Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence wing said the country was not alerted about ensuring airspace security like in previous swaps, or the information of what transport will be used and which routes will be taken. No reliable information about who was on the downed plane was shared with Ukraine, officials said.

“On this basis, we may be talking about planned and deliberate actions by Russia to destabilise the situation in Ukraine and weaken international support for our state,” GUR said in a statement on Telegram.

The Doomsday Clock has remained at 90 seconds to midnight for a second year in a row as scientists say “humanity continues to face an unprecedented level of danger”.

Maintaining last year’s setting – the closest to 12 it has ever been – means the clock’s keepers believe the threat of global apocalypse has not cooled off in the past 12 months.

And they emphasised it is not an indication of stability in the world.

Read the full story here…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become a battle for ammunition, the head of Nato has warned, as the alliance signed a £950m contract to buy thousands of artillery rounds to help Kyiv’s battle against Vladimir Putin’s forces.

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance had signed contracts to purchase 220,000 rounds of 155-millimetre ammunition.

“This is important to defend our own territory, to build up our own stocks, but also to continue to support Ukraine,” Mr Stoltenberg said. “Russia’s war in Ukraine has become a battle for ammunition, so allies must refill their own stocks, as we continue to support Ukraine.”

The announcement came just hours after Russia launched more than 40 missiles into Ukraine’s two biggest cities – Kyiv and Kharkiv – killing at least seven people.

Read the full story by Tom Watling here…

These kids today, with their iPhones and their TikTok dances and their impenetrable slang. What does “based” even mean? Based on what?

Generation Z have it so easy. They don’t know what it was like for the rest of us, growing up in the real world, before everything got all “woke” and PC. You can’t say anything these days. You know what would really sort them all out? Being sent to war!

Yes, that might seem like a wild overreaction to a non-existent problem. And no, I’ve never personally been to war, nor have most people who agree with conscription as a concept. But trust me on this: mandatory service may be closer than you think.

Read the full take by Ryan Coogan here…

Britain must be prepared to form a “citizen army” of tens of thousands in the event of war with countries such as Russia, the head of the army has warned in an ominous intervention.

Speaking at a conference on armoured warfare in southwest London, Gen Sanders said that within three years Britain should be able to increase its army to 120,000, including regular soldiers, reserves and a “strategic reserve” group – which is understood to mean retired troops who have been recalled.

According to the latest Ministry of Defence statistics, army regulars and reservists currently total 102,520.

“Our friends in Eastern and Northern Europe, who feel the proximity of the Russian threat more acutely, are already acting prudently, laying the foundations for national mobilisation,” he said.

Read the full story here…