VLADIMIR Putin’s trusted inner circle has been decimated in recent weeks, as Ukrainian resistance fighters ramp up their assassination attempts.
Ukrainian guerrilla fighters are ramping up their attempts to destroy Putin’s loyal inner circle, as the “net closes on the Russian tyrant.”
Former NATO chief Gary Tabach, now based in Kyiv, has said Ukraine has a “priority list” of targets it wants to see dead, with hated Putin in top spot.
“Putin has been on that list for a long time by many people,” he said.
“Ukrainian special ops will go for what will cause the most damage, the most effect on the population and set fear into people who corroborate with the Russians.
“They want collaborators to know that if they’re going to work for the enemy then they have to be prepared to die for it because we’re going to be hunting you down.”
A series of the dictator’s most trusted allies have been taken out in recent weeks.
This includes pro-Putin local official Volodymyr Saldo, as well as Askyar Laishev, who worked for Ukraine’s secret service before swapping sides in 2014, and was wiped out in a car bomb blast in Luhansk in July.
Read our Ukraine-Russia blog below for the latest updates…
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One dead, two injured in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast attack
Russian bombs have killed one person and injured two others today in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast region.
Mykola Lukashuk, the speaker of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast’s legislature, has claimed a 67-year-old woman passed away after the bombing.
This comes as the EU plans to suspend the Russian visa agreement, limiting Russian travel across the continent.
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Putin fanatic declares Ukraine must be ‘de-Ukrainised’
In a twisted rant, a pro-Putin extremist has claimed Ukraine must be brutally returned to the Russians.
Igor Mangushev, 36, said in his bloodthirsty rant: “Why can’t there be any reconciliation?
“Ukraine must be de-Ukrainised. The Russian lands of Novorossiya must be returned back.
“We are not at war with people of blood and flesh. We are at war with an idea — Ukraine as an anti-Russian state.
“This is the tragedy of Ukrainian soldiers. We don’t care how many we have to kill them.
“If we were at war with people we could make peace with them.”
He added: “But we are at war with the idea, so all bearers of an idea must be killed like this guy.”
With that, he held up the skull of a fallen Ukrainian soldier.
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Sick Putin fan holds the skull of ‘dead Ukrainian fighter’ on stage
Igor Mangushev, 36, is said to be the leader of a pro-Russian political movement.
The skull supposedly belonged to a slain fighter killed near the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine.
During a speech, deranged Mangushev held up the skull and said: “We’re alive and this guy is already dead.
“Let him burn in hell. He wasn’t lucky. We’ll make a goblet out of his skull.”
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Putin is willing to engulf his own country in radiation, chilling map shows
A chilling radiation map has shown the devastating effects a disaster at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could cause.
A chilling map has revealed that radiation leaks from the nuclear power plant could spread hundreds of miles and affect a total of 13 countries.
In a map created by the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute and shared by Ukrainian BBC journalist Myroslava Petsa, the cloud of radiation from a potential leak at the plant can be seen spreading across Eastern Europe in the space of three days, reaching as far as the Austrian border.
13 countries could be affected by radiation leaks from Zaporizhzhia, including Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Russia.
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Shelling at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
UKRAINE and Russia have both accused each other of shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been a focus of international concern.
Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, has been controlled by Russian forces since early March, soon after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
However, Ukrainian staff continue to operate it and in recent weeks the two sides have traded blame for shelling near the plant.
Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom energy agency have blamed Russian troops for shelling the grounds of the plant complex.
Energoatom wrote in a statement on Telegram: “The damage is currently being ascertained.”
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Friday the situation remained “very risky” after two reactors were reconnected to the grid after being disconnected for the first time in its history.
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Europe in danger of nuclear disaster, Ukrainian official claims
Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, has condemned Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhaya nuclear power plant.
Taking to Twitter, the official claimed Russia has put the entire continent at risk.
He said: “For decades, nuclear safety has remained Ukraine’s top priority, especially given our tragic past. Russian invaders turned Zaporizhzhya NPP into a military base putting the entire continent at risk. Russian military must get out of the plant — they have nothing to do there!”
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Second nuclear reactor reconnected to power grid
Ukraine’s state nuclear company has announced that both reactors are now up and running.
A nuclear disaster has been avoided, Energoatom, the company that owns Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has announced.
Two of the site’s reactors had been disconnected from the power grid, which could have very dangerous consequences.
The first reactor was reconnected on Friday.
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No increase in radiation at Zaporizhzhia, Russia and Ukraine claim
Both Russian and Ukrainian sources have reported no radiation increases at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
Both sides have accused the other of shelling the complex.
Fires broke out at the power plant last week, leading to it being disconnected from the Ukrainian grid.
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Six more grain ships depart Odesa
A further six vessels filled with grain have left Ukraine this weekend.
Since August 1, around 30 ships have departed from the Ukrainian port.
This comes after a deal was agreed upon by the UN, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia.
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Putin to blame for cost of living, Boris claims
Outgoing PM Boris Johnson has claimed that Russia’s Putin is to blame for rising bills.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday he said: “It was Putin’s invasion of Ukraine that spooked the energy markets. It is Putin’s war that is costing British consumers.
“That is why your energy bill is doubling. I am afraid Putin knows it. He likes it. And he wants us to buckle.”
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Zelensky offers stark warning to Russian troops
The Ukrainian president did not mince his words when speaking on the country’s aviation day.
Zelensky said Ukraine will “destroy the occupiers’ potential step by step”.
In a powerful speech, he added that Putin’s forces “will die like dew on the sun”.
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Ministry of Defence provides an update on Ukraine conflict
The British MoD has provided a new set of information regarding the war in Ukraine.
The statement reads: “On 25 August 2022, the Russian Presidential Administration issued a presidential decree increasing the established strength of the Russian armed forces to 1,150,628, an increase of nearly 140,000. The government was instructed to provide funding to achieve this.
“It remains unclear whether Russia will attempt to fill this increased allocation from recruiting more volunteer ‘contract’ soldiers, or from increasing the annual targets for the conscription draft.
“In any case, under the legislation currently in place, the decree is unlikely to make substantive progress towards increasing Russia’s combat power in Ukraine.
“This is because Russia has lost tens of thousands of troops; very few new contract servicemen are being recruited; and conscripts are technically not obliged to serve outside of Russian territory.”
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EU to suspend visa travel agreement with Russia, reports claim
The Financial Times has reported that the EU is preparing to suspend its visa travel agreement with Putin’s Russia.
This would end easy travel to the EU for Russian citizens, meaning they would require more documentation to receive visas.
The EU agreed to this travel agreement in 2007.
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Russian losses as of August 28
Russian losses are approaching 47,000, according to Ukrainian military sources.
On top of this, the country has lost 234 planes and 1,942 tanks.
It has been six months since Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine began.
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Almost three-quarters of Donetsk’s population has been evacuated
As Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine rages on, civilians continue to be forced from their homes.
According to regional head Pavlo Kyrylenko, almost 1/3 of the area’s population has fled.
The official went on to add that Ukrainian forces continue to hold approximately 40% of the area.
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UN nuclear treaty THWARTED by Russia
A UN treaty regarded as the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament was thwarted by Russia during a four-week review of the final document.
According to Al-Jazeera, it lambasted Moscow’s forced takeover of Europe’s biggest nuclear plant soon after Russian soldiers invaded Ukraine.
Igor Vishnevetsky, Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department, said that there was no consensus during the delayed final meeting of the conference revisiting the 50-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
The NPT, which 191 signatories revisit every five years, intends to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
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Special tribute to Ukraine
Ukraine was once considered to be part of Russia.
However, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union towards the end of the Cold War, Ukraine had the chance to be independent.
As a result, on August 24, 1991, Ukraine was able to gain full independence.
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Russia presents a ‘strategic challenge’ in the Arctic, claims NATO
NATO’s Secretary General warned about the threats Russia presents to Arctic defence during a trip to Canada.
“NATO’s new strategic concept identifies Russia’s capabilities in the high north as a strategic challenge for the whole alliance.
“Russia has set up a new Arctic command, it has opened hundreds of new and former Soviet-era Arctic military sites, including airfields and deep water ports.
“Russia is also using the region as a test-bed for many of its new and novel weapons systems,” stated NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a news conference in Cold Lake, Alberta, alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, CNN reports.
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Ukrainian forces were “hunting down” Kremlin sympathisers
Putin faces a “double whammy” of threats from his inner circle who are believed to be secretly calling for his head, experts claim.
They accuse the Russian tyrant of being behind the grisly death of far-right journalist Darya Dugina in Moscow last week.
The Kremlin accused Kyiv of masterminding the attack on Russian soil and claimed they used a glam Ukrainian spy, her young daughter, and a Mini Cooper to carry it out – allegations its secret services have strongly denied.
Dugina criticised Putin for being “too soft” on Ukraine and her death has being seen by many as the Russian leader’s attempt to quell critics.
Former NATO chief Gary Tabach, now based in Kyiv, said Ukrainian forces were “hunting down” Kremlin sympathisers in the occupied territories.
He told The Sun Online: “Guys who betrayed Ukraine; some of the deputies, some of the leaders of Ukraine who ended up in Russia right now voluntarily, will be for the rest of their lives hunted down.
“Ukrainians have a very good imagination, they’re very innovative and are good at tracking them down.”
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Shelling at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
UKRAINE and Russia have both accused each other of shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been a focus of international concern.
Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, has been controlled by Russian forces since early March, soon after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
However, Ukrainian staff continue to operate it and in recent weeks the two sides have traded blame for shelling near the plant.
Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom energy agency have blamed Russian troops for shelling the grounds of the plant complex.
Energoatom wrote in a statement on Telegram: “The damage is currently being ascertained.”
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Friday the situation remained “very risky” after two reactors were reconnected to the grid after being disconnected for the first time in its history.
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UK will supply Ukraine with underwater drones
The UK is giving underwater drones to Ukraine and training Ukrainian personnel in Britain to use them to clear their coastline of mines.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace said: “Russia’s cynical attempts to hold the world’s food supply to ransom must not be allowed to succeed.
“This vital equipment and training will help Ukraine make their waters safe, helping to smooth the flow of grain to the rest of the world and supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine as they look to defend their coastline and ports.”
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UK’s MoD release latest update
The UK’s Ministry of Defence have claimed that Russia’s decision to increase troops “is unlikely to make substantive progress towards increasing Russia’s combat power in Ukraine.”
The Ministry added: “This is because Russia has lost tens of thousands of troops; very few new contract servicemen are being recruited; and conscripts are technically not obliged to serve outside of Russian territory.”
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Shelling fuels fears of major disaster
Shellfire at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine fuelled fears of major disaster as both sides kept blaming the other, while Russian forces targeted towns on the far side of the river from Europe’s largest atomic plant.
Despite the danger, officials from the United Nations nuclear watchdog were still waiting for clearance to visit the plant on the southern front line of the war.
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Dominic Raab pictured playing laser quest while Boris was away in Ukraine
Deputy PM Dominic Raab has sparked claims of a “zombie government” after he played laser quest while Boris Johnson was away in Ukraine.
Critics blasted Downing Street’s top duo for leaving No10 empty as Britain is battered by the worst cost of living crisis in nearly 50 years.
Boris — who got back from his Greek holiday last week — made a secret trip to Kyiv last Wednesday to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day.
But the same day Mr Raab, 48, was pictured playing war games at a Laser Tag centre in Horsham, West Sussex.
Organiser Matt Leyh, 45, said: “I didn’t realise until later that it was the same day Boris was in Kyiv — so Dominic Raab probably should have been elsewhere.
“We were surprised he was there.”
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Putin could be ousted at ‘any time’
Putin could be replaced at “any time”, as a series of “mentally unstable” Russian officials wait in the wings to oust the bloodthirsty dictator, an expert has claimed.
Speaking to The Sun Online, Olga Lautman, Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington DC, outlined just how a select few bloodthirsty Russian officials could take over from Putin.
“There is loyalty towards Putin until there is not,” she said. “As much as someone is trusted, they can turn on Putin at any moment.
“The danger can come from within his inner circle. Putin is aware of this, hence his paranoia.
“Putin knows all too well how to eliminate people who may have secrets on him.”
Lautman describes one of the frontrunners to replace Putin, Sergey Glazyev, as a “lunatic” who has frequently discussed “nuking the whole West”.