main point
- Like the dire threat of a major attack on the West by Putin's allies-and Russian state television-Why is it 'extremely likely' that the Russian president will use nuclear weapons?
- Russia attacks Ukrainian clinic, killing 2, injuring 23
- Lukashenko claims tactical nuclear weapons have been sent to Belarus
- NATO 'forced Ukraine to fight in a way the West wouldn't'
- Prigorzhin 'positions himself as a credible alternative to Putin'ton
- His question answered: Can Britain defend itself after sending arms to Ukraine?
- Do you have any questions about the war? Ask our experts
- Live reporting by James Robinson and (formerly) Lucia Binding
More photos of the Dnieper after the Russian rocket attack
More photos from Dnipro showing firefighters battling a fire at a bombed-out clinic in the central Ukrainian city.
Ukrainian authorities say at least two people have been killed and 23 others injured, including two children, in a Russian missile strike.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the attack as a crime against humanity.
The Pope calls the return of the Ukrainian territory from Russia a "political matter"
Pope Francis has repeatedly stressed the need for peace rather than conflict when it comes to the Ukraine war.
His latest comments suggest he will continue to do so, despite meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month.
In a new interview, the pope described calls for Russia to return Ukrainian territories as a "political matter," a demand Ukraine said could open the way to peace.
"When they can talk to each other face to face or through an intermediary, there will be peace," he told US Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo.
"If they don't talk... it's a political issue."
Pope Francis has been diplomatic in his handling of the conflict, hoping for mediation.
But as the war progressed, he became increasingly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin, sharply criticizing him in October for annexing four regions of Ukraine.
"I first appeal to the President of the Russian Federation to stop this cycle of violence and death, even out of love for his own people," the religious leader said then.
But he also previously called on Zelensky to join the talks, and in March criticized "imperial interests... elsewhere" for fomenting war, a line the Kremlin and its supporters have often espoused.
The answer to your question: "Die like a cow" in a war of attrition?
We welcome your questions and ask our military experts and analysts.
Sky News reader Denny asked if it was correct to describe the conflict as a war of attrition reminiscent of the Soviet strategy in which the Russians threw manpower at the opposition "until it capitulated".
Dominic Waghorn, our international affairs editor, dice...
Late last year we interviewed Chechens who were fighting the Russians in Bakhmut and they told us that the Russians were slaughtering their people like cattle.
Other reports said Russian officers commanded from behind, ordering soldiers into battle, spying on them with drones and threatening to shoot them if they disobeyed orders.
Russia's strategy does not lead to quality: personnel, training weapons or the competence of commanders. It favors numbers, as in World War II, the Russians won simply because they sent enough men into battles like Stalingrad to finally defeat the Germans.
The challenge for Russia is to rediscover offensive capabilities. The challenge for the Ukrainians is to launch a decisive offensive against an entrenched enemy that currently has a seemingly limitless supply of manpower.
Ultimately, Ukraine is dependent on democracies to continue supporting it and supplying weapons. The desire for continued support in these democracies, especially in the United States, cannot be taken for granted.
As an authoritarian government, the Putin regime could continue this practice indefinitely, barring a popular uprising, currently unlikely, or a palace coup, also unlikely.
New case against jailed Kremlin critic Navalny to be opened next week
The Moscow City Court is scheduled to hold a preliminary hearing on May 31 for a new criminal trial against jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on charges including inciting extremism.
Navalny, known for slandering Russian President Vladimir Putin's elite and accusing him of massive corruption, said in April that a "ridiculous" terrorism case had been filed against him and he could be sentenced to an additional 30 years in prison.
The opposition leader has served 11 and a half years in a maximum security prison for fraud and contempt of court, charges he says were fabricated to silence him. His campaign organization and his main anti-corruption fund are banned in Russia for being "extremist".
Court records show that the charges against Navalny relate to six different articles of Russia's penal code, including "reviving Nazism," "organizing extremist communities," "publicly calling for extremist activities," and inciting citizens to violate the law. law.
News from Dnipro: Russia attacks Ukrainian clinic, two dead, 23 injured
A Russian missile hit a clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro overnight, killing one person and reportedly injuring more.
Two people have now been confirmed dead and 23 injured in the attack, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as a crime against humanity.
Video showed smoke billowing from the destroyed buildings as rescuers looked on.
Much of the top floor of the apparently three-story building was badly damaged.
"Another (Russian) missile attack, another crime against humanity," Zelensky tweeted, describing the damage to a psychiatric clinic and a veterinary clinic in Dnipro.
"Only evil nations can fight the clinics. There can be no military purpose. This is pure Russian terror."
Regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said the 69-year-old was dead, adding: "It was just happening when the Russian terrorists' rockets hit the city."
The body of another man was pulled from the rubble and 21 of the 23 injured were taken to hospital, he said. Three people were seriously injured, he added.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry classified it as a serious war crime under the Geneva Conventions, which determine how soldiers and civilians should be treated in war.
Russia's war in Ukraine is the 'main reason' for Germany's economic weakness
A spokesman for the German Economy Ministry said Russia's war in Ukraine was the main reason the German economy weakened over the winter.
A spokesman said at a news conference today that while the recession is a serious concern, there is no need to reassess the economic situation in Germany as overall developments for consumers have been positive.
Gross domestic product fell 0.3% in the first quarter
The years adjusted for price and calendar effects are as follows
A decrease of 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022.
A recession is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.
A Russian TV presenter suggested that Moscow should launch a nuclear attack on Britain
Anyone remotely familiar with the nature of the war debates on Russian state television will be aware of the tendency of some hardliners to advocate extreme measures.
In this regard, one prominent propagandist even suggested that Russia should use nuclear weapons against Britain to discourage the West from helping Ukraine in the ongoing war.
TV host Vladimir Solovyov, a friend of Vladimir Putin, often uses his TV and radio shows to attack the West and urge the Kremlin to use its nuclear weapons capability to invade Ukraine.
Journalist and Russia watcher Francis Starr has shared online a video of his latest tirade showing Solovyov trying to convince other experts that Russia should attack Britain.
“Actually, I want to try out Poseidon in the UK right now,” he said, drawing seemingly incredulous laughter from the show's other commentators.
Formerly known by the Russian codename Status-6, Poseidon is a nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicle purportedly built by the Rubin Design Bureau, capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear warheads.
Some analysts have warned that Russia's normalization of the kind of rhetoric Solovyov has often used in his plans could increase the risk of nuclear war.
"I am not at all suggesting that we sink the island," Solovyov said, adding that "the important thing is that they have no doubt that we are ready to use a nuclear bomb."
"And I don't care that we're going to sink anything that has tanks in it," he said.
The host said that the United States "not only doubts" that Russia will not use nuclear weapons, "it is also sure that we will not use nuclear weapons!"
“It is for this reason that the notorious bugger Blinken convinced Biden that they had to give the green light for the delivery of the F-16. He said that Russia would not do anything about it,” he said.
"So we have to bomb them!" he said.
Another commentator on the show, Andrei Sidorov, disputed this argument, saying, "Listen! I'm not against the use of nuclear weapons, I just don't want to be the subject of your response."
Why Putin Is 'Highly Likely' To Use Nuclear Weapons
Russia and Belarus have signed an agreement to advance preparations for the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus as part of a long-term strategic effort to strengthen Russia's military control over Belarus, according to the Institute for War Studies (ISW). ).
However, ISW analysts said Russia had not yet deployed nuclear weapons in Belarus and considered it "highly unlikely" that Vladimir Putin would use them in Ukraine or elsewhere.
The ISW has previously said that the Kremlin is trying to use escalating nuclear rhetoric as leverage to "force the West to negotiate with Russia and stop military aid to Ukraine."
In September, he said that the Russian president's "red line for the use of nuclear weapons" had been crossed several times in this war without Russia having a nuclear escalation.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khlenin signed an agreement on the deployment of Russian non-strategic (tactical) documentation of nuclear weapons. .
Shoigu said that Russia would retain control of tactical nuclear weapons if they were to be deployed in Belarus, adding that Belarusian aircraft are now capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
On March 25, Putin announced that Russia would deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus by July 1, presumably to renew a tired intelligence operation on the possibility of nuclear escalation due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Russia, AI, climate change: The West can overcome big threats if we work together
Adam Boulton, Sky News commentator
What are the main threats to our way of life?
The issue was a hidden concern at this week's London Defense Conference, which was attended by Britain's prime minister and defense chief of staff, as well as academics and politicians from across the Western world.
it's an immediate crisisUkraine, certainly.
Victory is widely believed to be vital not only for Ukraine, but also for the continued security of its allies. On the sidelines of the meeting, former NATO chief and British Defense Secretary George Robertson warned that the rules-based order would end if Russia's illegal and violent incursions did not back down.
If Putin invades a sovereign neighbor with impunity, dictators in Africa, Latin America and elsewhere will be free to seize territory and redraw borders at will.
read more...
Photos of the destroyed Dnieper clinic after the Russian missile attack
New images from Ukraine show what appears to be a clinic destroyed by a Russian missile attack after Moscow attacked the Dnieper overnight.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this morning that at least one person was killed and 15 wounded in a rocket attack on a town in eastern Ukraine.
He condemned the attack as a crime against humanity, which Ukraine's Defense Ministry said was a serious war crime under the Geneva Conventions, which determine how soldiers and civilians should be treated in war.