Almost 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Putin’s war on Ukraine, says GCHQ
Russia has lost 500,000 soldiers since it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK’s intelligence chief said in London.
GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler gave the latest figure for Russian casualties in Ukraine during her first public speech at Bletchley Park, saying it proved Vladimir Putin was “going backwards in the battlefield”.
Ms Keast-Butler warned Russia was risking a wider conflict in Europe by targeting critical infrastructure and supply chains across the continent.
500,000 Russian soldiers killed in Putin’s war on Ukraine, says GCHQ
UK spy chief says Russia is scaling up its daily hybrid activity against Britain and EuropeShahana Yasmin30 May 2026 08:49
Russian spies are aggressively seeking Western technology as sanctions bite, officials say
Russian spies are aggressively seeking Western technology as sanctions bite, officials say
Russian intelligence agencies have grown more aggressive in their efforts to steal Western technology and defense secrets as sanctions squeeze the country’s wartime economyShahana Yasmin30 May 2026 08:22
Japan pledges $14.7m to Ukraine support scheme amid air defence shortages
Japan has committed around $14.7m (£10.8m) to a Nato-backed programme that helps purchase US-made military equipment for Ukraine, according to Japan’s foreign ministry.
The funding will go towards the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a Nato-US initiative launched last year to speed up deliveries of equipment requested by Kyiv.
Japan said its contribution would be restricted to non-lethal items, in line with the country’s post-war constitutional limits on exporting lethal military aid.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed the move, calling Japan’s support a “powerful message of solidarity”.
Shahana Yasmin30 May 2026 07:15
Fires break out at Russian port after Ukrainian drone strike
Russian officials said Ukrainian drones struck oil-related infrastructure in the southern port city of Taganrog overnight, triggering fires at a fuel tank and an oil tanker.
Rostov Oblast governor Yuri Slusar said on Telegram that an administrative building was also damaged and two people were injured in the attack, according to the Kyiv Independent.
According to local officials, the strike hit loading infrastructure at the city’s port on the Sea of Azov. Separately, residents in occupied Crimea reported explosions in Feodosia and a fire at an oil depot, according to the Crimean Wind Telegram channel.
Ukraine’s military has not publicly commented on the strikes.
Shahana Yasmin30 May 2026 06:40
Nato must be more willing to push back when the Kremlin goes too far
Nato must be more willing to push back when the Kremlin goes too far
Editorial: It is unacceptable that Russia, in the conduct of its war in Ukraine, has yet again violated another nation’s sovereignty. After the drone strike on a residential tower block in Romania, the response must be more than the usual summoning of ambassadorsBryony Gooch30 May 2026 03:00
UN places Israel and Russia on sexual violence blacklist
The United Nations on Friday added Israel and Russia to a UN blacklist of countries suspected of committing sexual violence in conflict zones, a move that prompted Israel’s foreign ministry to say it would sever all ties with UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres.
Guterres’ annual report to the UN security council on conflict-related sexual violence goes a step further than last year, when he put Israel and Russia “on notice” that they could be added to the list of parties “credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence.”
Being added to the list does not automatically carry specific punitive measures such as sanctions, although public naming and shaming can cause significant reputational damage for the states involved, and those repeatedly listed are barred from UN peacekeeping operations.
In pictures: Putin speaks in press conference
Watch: Putin denies Russian drone struck Romania
Ukrainian drone attack kills two in border Belgorod region, officials say
A Ukrainian drone attack killed two people in a car in Russia’s border region of Belgorod, officials said early on Saturday.
The region’s Operational Headquarters, in a post on Telegram, added that two people were injured. The region has been a frequent target of Ukrainian attacks in the more than four-year-old war between the two countries.
Nicole Wootton-Cane29 May 2026 23:19
Every time Russia has tested the airspace of Ukraine’s allies
The Ukrainian allies tested by Russian incursions after drone hits flat in Romania
Several countries in the alliance have reported incursions by drones into their airspace in recent weeksBryony Gooch29 May 2026 23:00NewerOlder