World News - Page 8

The Kremlin has reportedly decided to pull Russian forces out of the Chernobyl region, likely due to radiation threats.

According to the Ukrainian state agency, which manages the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Russian soldiers are being transported by bus to the Belarusian Radiation Medicine Center in Gomel. The soldiers are being taken from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone after becoming "irradiated," according to Yaroslav Yemelianenko, the CEO of Chornobyl Tour.

The head of the United Kingdom's spy agency has said that Putin is being misled about the Ukraine war and misjudged the situation.

According to the director for Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Sir Jeremy Fleming, who spoke at the Australian National University in Canberra on Thursday, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has "massively misjudged the situation" in invading Ukraine and has underestimated the resistance that his army met. Additionally, Fleming said that Putin overestimated his abilities and didn't expect the economic consequences of his actions to be so severe.

The head of Britain's intelligence agency said that the agency has reports of Russian soldiers who are short of weapons, morale, and even rebelling against commanders by refusing to carry out orders which have led to them sabotaging their own equipment. Furthermore, Fleming said Russian troops have "even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft."

It was only recently that Ukrainian troops hit the jackpot by capturing a "potent Russian EW system", and now Ukrainian forces have hit another major jackpot.

According to the UAWeapons Twitter account that is dedicated to posting constant updates on weapons, Ukrainian troops have captured a 9S935 MANPADS gunner's target cuing set, which is a part of a "Barnaul-T" command and control system that is used to conduct electronic warfare.

As Russia seemingly pull back from Ukraine's capital of Kyiv, they are leaving behind military equipment, as only recently, Ukrainian forces captured a Russian Barnaul-T command post that is now being used by Ukrainian troops in their defense. The Barnaul-T system has been in operation for more than 10 years and can be linked with surface-to-air missile systems to provide well-timed target designations.

In a recent meeting of international relations, Russia has indicated who it wishes to partner with to create a "democratic world order".

The sentiments come from a recent meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Russia's top diplomat recently landed in China, and throughout his meetings with China's Wang Yi, he described that Russia and China are moving towards creating a new "democratic world order". Notably, Lavrov said that the planet was "living through a very serious stage in the history of international relations."

The sentiments from Russia's top diplomat were echoed by Wang Yi, with him saying, "China-Russia relations have withstood the new test of the changing international situation, maintained the correct direction of progress and shown tenacious development momentum." Adding that China and Russia will maintain working together in "advancing global multipolarity and the democratization of international relations."

Reports indicate Russian soldiers have acquired "highly active samples of radionuclides."

Russian forces could use the radioactive material stolen from a radiation monitoring lab near the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant to make dirty bombs, combining conventional explosives with radioactive material. The troops took radionuclides, or radioactive isotopes, and radioactive waste. The material can't be used to make proper nuclear weapons, as none of it contains plutonium or uranium.

Russia announced on Tuesday that it would "dramatically reduce" the attacks on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, but that announcement may be a ploy.

According to the Ukrainian military, Russia's announcement and seemingly obvious withdrawal of troops from the region is "probably" a ploy to get the Ukrainian military to believe that they are withdrawing. Ukrainian military claims that Russia is attempting to "mislead the military leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and create a misconception about the occupiers' refusal to plan to encircle the city of Kyiv," according to a Facebook post from the Ukrainian armed forces.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said that Russia has pulled back its troops to "increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations". Russia states that its withdrawal of troops will lead to an environment where nations can come to a peace agreement. Ukraine's military isn't alone in expressing doubt on Russia's announcement, as the Pentagon claimed that the movement of troops is a "repositioning".

The chief intelligence officer for Ukraine has warned Russia that it has people working for Ukraine "everywhere".

The claims have come from Ukraine's intelligence service, which took to Twitter on Monday to warn Russia that it has sources within the Kremlin and to request jets. According to Ukraine's intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov who was recently interviewed by Coffee or Die Magazine, the intelligence agency has people working for Ukraine "everywhere", adding there are individuals in "the army, in the political circles, and administration of the president."

Budanov explained that these undercover sources have been able to provide the Ukrainian military with information on Russian attack plans. Additionally, Budanov said that Ukraine received intelligence from Western countries such as the UK and US on Russian movements. "We have made considerable progress in cyber intelligence. We see the letters and all they write," said Budanov to the magazine.

On March 23 a video was released that showcased Ukrainian forces destroying Russian military equipment with combat drones.

The footage comes from Ukraine's Operation Command South, which is a unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces that posted the video along with a caption that is a reference to a statement made by famous British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery. Ukraine's Operational Command South said the following, "The harder the fighting and the longer the war, the more the infantry, and the whole army, rely on the artillery." Adding, "And in modern conditions - also on the UAV" [drone].

For context what Montgomery said was "The harder the fighting and the longer the war, the more the infantry, and in fact all the arms, lean on the gunners." As for the combat drone, the Bayraktar TB2 has been used repeatedly by Ukrainian forces throughout Russia's war, and according to reports Ukraine has more than 20 of the UAV combat drones with Russia only having shot down one. Ukraine has recently requested the West for more drones, check out which ones it wants below.

A Ukrainian official close to the matter has warned that the forest fires burning in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone may impact the entire world if they aren't dealt with.

According to Lyudmila Denisova, the commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights recently said, the region near the failed nuclear power plant currently has 31 fires recorded, which are causing an increase in radiation being released into the atmosphere, putting Ukraine, Belarus, and other European countries at risk of exposure. Additionally, Denisova said that due to the Russian military occupying Chernobyl, its impossible to send firefighters into the region to tackle the fires.

Denisova goes on to explain that if nothing is done to stop the fires around the nuclear power plant, there may be "irreparable consequences not only for Ukraine but also for the whole world." The Verkhovna Rada commissioner said that a catastrophe can be prevented if the Russian military occupying the area fall back.

A top Ukrainian official has warned that Russia is attempting to split Ukraine into two nations, similar to North and South Korea.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, recently gave a speech following some heated remarks from United States President Joe Biden. The Ukrainian president dropped stark comments aimed at the West that claimed the many nations "ping-pong about who and how should hand over jets" and other weapons that Ukraine has requested. Zelenskyy wished that the people making decisions about how and when to hand over jets and tanks to Ukraine had more courage.