Major General Mikhail Gudkov also led a brigade involved in combat operations against Ukraine. His death reportedly occurred during a Ukrainian attack on a Russian command post.
Key developments on July 2: * As Russia ramps up missile attacks, US halts promised air defense shipments to Ukraine * North Korea to send up to 30,000 more troops to aid Russia's war against Ukraine, CNN reports * Ukraine denies another Russian claim of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast breakthrough, says small incursion repelled
According to the statement, a small Russian reconnaissance group managed to briefly enter the village of Dachne, located on the edge of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The group reportedly took photos with a Russian flag, but Ukrainian forces "eliminated them."
Russian forces likely executed another Ukrainian prisoner of war (POW), Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on July 1, referring to a recent video that appears to show the captive tied to a motorcycle and dragged along a road.
"Nobody ran away. 'Brelok' took him (comrade) out and then ate him for two f*cking weeks," a speaker identified by HUR as a commander of a reconnaissance unit from Russia's 68th Motorized Rifle Division can be heard saying in the intercept.
"There are hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens who have fought against Ukraine," Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro said. "We must take a clear stance, these individuals cannot freely travel across Schengen."
To date, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast — a major industrial region in central Ukraine — has not seen confirmed Russian ground incursions.
"According to our intelligence, Russia has started to prepare strategic reserves, which indicates plans for combat operations not only in Ukraine," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said
In May 2025 alone, the project received a record 12,320 inquiries — the highest monthly figure since the program began in January 2024.
In the footage, the soldier is seen loading a grenade launcher while repeatedly shouting "Akhmat! Chechnya!" — a reference to Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov's forces — before firing in the direction of a residential area.
"As of the morning of June 9, all Russian information, including (Kremlin spokesperson's) statements, about an offensive in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast does not correspond to reality,” said Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation.
"(Russia) continues its terror of the borderlands, and our shared task is to save every life," Governor Oleh Hryhorov said in a statement. "I urge residents not to delay the decision to evacuate. Staying in a zone of constant danger is a direct threat to your life and health."
Since the last update in early May, the confirmed death toll of Russian soldiers has risen by at least 2,009 people.
"Already 20,000 'young' citizens of Russia, who for some reason do not like living in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, are on the front lines," Russian Investigative Committee Head Alexander Bastrykin said.
Key developments on May 16: * Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul end, Moscow demands Kyiv withdraw from 4 regions, no ceasefire agreement * Up to 640,000 Russian troops fighting against Ukraine, Syrskyi says * Ukraine 'lost contact' with F-16 during combat, pilot ejected, Air Force says * Putin appoints general who led Mariupol assault
It remains unclear who will replace General Oleg Saliukov as commander of the Ground Forces.
The surge in convictions in 2024 marks a 76% year-over-year increase, reflecting growing internal discipline issues within Russia's armed forces during the country's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Although Russian conscripts are typically not deployed in active combat, Moscow has relied on financial incentives and pardons to recruit civilians for the war in Ukraine.
"Speaking of Dvorichna, you can see on DeepState (a crowd-sourced monitoring website) that there are blue zones where part of the territory has been de-occupied. These were very important but small operations," Oles Malyarevych, deputy commander of the Achilles unmanned systems regiment, said.
Russia is increasing financial incentives for military recruits due to a severe shortage of new volunteers, Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) reported on March 23.
As Ukraine entered its fourth year of Russia’s full-scale war, it was geopolitics, not the war itself, that dominated headlines, as Kyiv’s relationship with new U.S. President Donald Trump nosedived over a proposed minerals deal. In the meantime though, the battlefield continues to rage on multiple fronts,
Ukrainian troops successfully withdrew from some areas to avoid being encircled but fighting is ongoing around the village, which lies around 15 kilometers east of the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
"Velyka Novosilka is currently in a rather difficult situation," military spokesperson Viktor Trehubov said on Jan. 23.
Russia has endured over 700,000 casualties since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022—more than in all of Moscow’s conflicts since World War II combined, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Jan. 9.
North Korea "is significantly benefiting from receiving Russian military equipment, technology, and experience, rendering it more capable of waging war against its neighbors," the deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said on Jan. 8.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his evening address that Ukraine "continues to maintain a buffer zone on Russian territory, actively destroying Russian military potential there."
This number includes 1,820 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Dec. 22.
When asked what he would have done differently if he could go back to February 2022, the month Russia launched its all-out war against Ukraine, Putin responded, "Knowing what's happening now, back in 2022, I would've thought the decision ought to have been taken earlier."
19-year-old Russian conscript Artem Antonov was shot and killed by his commander after reportedly refusing to sign a military contract to fight in Kursk Oblast, the Russian independent outlet IStories reported on Dec. 6.
Russian troops have suffered "significant" losses, some Russian units are surrounded, and "hundreds" of Russian soldiers are missing, according to Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR).
Russian lawyer Dmitry Talantov, who once chaired the regional lawyers' association in Udmurtia, was accused of posting several social media comments condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Nearly 60,000 Russian army personnel are currently stationed in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Suspilne reported on Nov. 22, citing its undisclosed source in the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces.
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