Russia Watch

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DONALD Trump issued a bleak warning that Putin wants to “keep killing people” after Russia launched its largest-yet barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine.

In a middle finger to the US, the onslaught hit just hours after Putin and Trump had a fruitless 60-minute phone call – which touched on the possibility of fresh American sanctions.

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Green Party lawmakers reportedly want to spend at least €8.5 billion on weapons for Kiev

A group of German lawmakers from the Green Party has called on Chancellor Friedrich Merz to urgently increase military aid to Ukraine, claiming that Berlin must contribute more in light of a slowdown in US arms deliveries, according to a letter obtained by Bild.

The letter, signed by Bundestag deputies Robin Wagener, Sara Nanni, Sebastian Schafer and Anton Hofreiter, criticized the federal government’s recently announced increase in military assistance from €7.1 billion to €8.3 billion as insufficient.

The lawmakers pointed to the US decision to pause certain weapons shipments to Kiev as a critical factor, arguing that Berlin should raise the figure to at least €8.5 billion and commit to maintaining that level through 2029.

The Green MPs, who have been among Kiev’s most vocal supporters in the Bundestag, reportedly said the government still had room to maneuver within the approved budget framework and argued that Germany’s constitutional limits on debt spending could be sidestepped through special exemptions.

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KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed new agreements with allies that he said would provide “hundreds of thousands” of new drones to the fight against Russia, while US President Donald Trump hinted at possible additional sanctions against Moscow as it continues to reject his cease-fire push.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy on July 5 said separate agreements with a US firm and European allies — including Denmark and Sweden — would give Ukraine the ability to hit important targets inside Russia, including defense industry assets, airbases, and oil refineries.

Ukraine is “preparing new steps that will make Russia truly feel that it will pay for this war. There must be accountability for the aggressor. And there will be – entirely just and keenly felt.”

The remarks come in uncertain times for Kyiv regarding the supply of weapons from its most important ally. On July 2, Ukrainian officials reacted with shock as the United States announced plans to halt some unspecified supplies of weapons it previously provided to Ukraine, citing its own dwindling stockpiles.

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RUSSIA’S former transport minister has reportedly been found dead just hours after being fired by Vladimir Putin.

Roman Starovoit, who had held the post for less than a year, was dismissed earlier Monday amid escalating turmoil in Russia’s transport sector.

Hours later, he was reportedly found dead in a car at his home in the Odintsovo neighbourhood – marking another grim twist in the Kremlin’s growing shadow of sudden deaths.

Major channels with links to the Russian security forces reported the cause of death as suicide, claiming the minister was found dead with gunshot wounds.

The firearm, according to Russian media, was an award pistol issued to him in 2023 by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Some accounts say it was a Yarygin PYa pistol (Rook), or a Makarov.

Unconfirmed reports suggest he was killed using his own weapon.

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Russia said Sunday it had captured two more settlements in east Ukraine, one in the Donetsk region and one in the Kharkiv region.

Ukraine did not immediately comment on Russia’s claims.

Moscow has been grinding forward on the front line for over a year, pressing its advantage against overstretched and outmanned Ukrainian troops.

On Sunday, Russia said it had captured the village of Piddubne in Donetsk and Sobolivka in Kharkiv.

Piddubne was home to around 500 people before the conflict and lies just 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the border of Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region.

The Sobolivka village lies some 3 kilometers (2 miles) west of the town of Kupiansk, outside of areas Russia claims it is holding, according to battlefield maps by the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

In two separate Telegram posts, the Russian Defense Ministry said its army units had “liberated” the settlements of Poddubnoye and Sobolevka, using Russian spellings for the localities.

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