Ebola is rare and unlikely to cause a pandemic. Despite this, the World Health Organisation has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health […]
The post Ebola: Profits, not wild animals, are driving WHO to declare public health emergencies first appeared on The Expose.
The car exploded around 5:30 am on 9 June as Davydov pulled the BMW X3 out of its parking spot on Koldunova Street in Balashikha's Aviatorov microdistrict. Bystanders pulled him from the wreckage still alive, but he died at the scene before medical teams arrived, The Insider said. The outlet published the SUV's license plate and the apartment address on Kozhedub Street, several hundred meters from the blast, to confirm the identification.
Davydov, 57, had headed the missile and artillery ammunition supply directorate within the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU) of Russia's Defense Ministry since 2017. Ukraine's Myrotvorets database lists him as a participant in planning and organizing Russia's full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, with operational responsibility for keeping Russian forces supplied with shells and missiles. Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed the death of one man in the blast and opened a criminal case but did not name the victim.
The improvised explosive device carried the force of up to 500 grams of TNT and was attached to the underside of the vehicle, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported. Conflict Intelligence Team founder Ruslan Leviev reviewed the footage and concluded the bomb had been hidden in a separate parked vehicle and detonated remotely as the BMW drew alongside. The Insider attributed the operation to Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) without citing further sources, and Ukrainian officials had not commented as of late Tuesday.
Hours after the Balashikha blast, a Zeekr electric vehicle caught fire in a parking lot at the intersection of Butlerova and Vvedensky streets in Moscow's Konkovo district. Bomb technicians found a device under the car and neutralized it with a controlled detonation. Around 6 p.m., Moscow police evacuated the Nebo shopping center in Solntsevo after another suspicious object was discovered beneath a parked vehicle. Russian authorities ordered mass under-vehicle inspections across the capital region.
Tuesday's killing fits a deepening pattern: the fourth senior Russian officer assassinated in the rear since late 2024. Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of Russia's chemical defense troops, was killed by a scooter bomb outside his Moscow apartment in December 2024 in an operation the SBU claimed openly. Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the General Staff's Main Operational Directorate, died in April 2025 in a car bombing 350 meters from Tuesday's blast site, also in the Aviatorov microdistrict; Russia's FSB later sentenced Ignat Kuzin, who said he worked for the SBU, to life in prison. Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, who oversaw the General Staff's operational training, was killed by a bomb planted under his Kia Sorento in southern Moscow in December 2025.
The slain officer grew up in the closed nuclear city of Penza-19, now called Zarechny, where his father worked at the Start production association, a facility that built nuclear warheads until 2002. He held patents in rocket-engine design and artillery ammunition. In 2009 he led the Central Testing Technical Bureau attached to the 51st GRAU arsenal in the Vladimir region, and bought the BMW X3 in 2024 from a businessman in that same area, the Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPU reported. The Kremlin, the Defense Ministry, and the SBU had not commented publicly as of late Tuesday.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced an additional €300 million ($345 million) for the Czech-led ammunition initiative for Ukraine on 9 June 2026. The funds will purchase roughly 50,000 rounds of long-range ammunition, Pistorius said after meeting new Czech Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna in Berlin.
The pledge keeps Germany positioned as the initiative's largest foreign backer at a moment when donor numbers are thinning and Prague's new government has retreated on several other Ukraine fronts. The Czech-led channel has delivered 4.4 million large-caliber shells since early 2024 — more than half of all such ammunition Ukraine has received over that period, according to Czech President Petr Pavel.
The new commitment lifts Germany's total share of the initiative past €1.2 billion, building on roughly €900 million already disbursed. Pistorius called the Czech channel an essential contribution to Ukraine's ammunition supply and said Berlin would continue to back it.
"Germany will contribute an additional €300 million to this initiative — that's approximately 50,000 rounds of long-range ammunition," Pistorius said.
The Berlin session was Pistorius's first in-person meeting with Zůna, who took office in December 2025 as part of Andrej Babiš's coalition government. Zůna, a retired lieutenant general, was nominated for the post by the far-right SPD party.
Babiš has cut planned Czech defense spending for 2026 and secured a Czech opt-out from the European Union's €90 billion Ukraine funding package. The new government also put on ice a previously discussed transfer of L-159 combat aircraft to Ukraine.
The ammunition initiative is the major exception. Zůna confirmed in December that the channel would continue, and the Berlin meeting was his first public reaffirmation of that position to a NATO partner.
"Germany plays an important role as a supplier of military equipment and ammunition and, together with our defence industry, makes a significant contribution to European security," Zůna told reporters at the Bendlerblock.
The initiative needs €5 billion in 2026 but had raised only €1.4 billion by February, Reuters reported. Pavel said last month that the number of contributing countries has dropped.
The channel has firm contracts to deliver about 1 million rounds to Ukraine in 2026, the Czech Defense Ministry said — well below the 1.8 million delivered in 2025 and the 1.5 million in 2024. Russia continues replenishing its own stockpiles, including through North Korean deliveries that NATO officials estimate at 9 million rounds since 2023.
Starmer has issued a three-month ultimatum for major technology firms to implement client-side scanning; so that all content on all digital devices sold or used in the UK can be scanned using […]
The post Starmer issues ultimatum to technology companies to implement client-side scanning; this is the end of online privacy first appeared on The Expose.
The Ukrainian strike on the Chonhar Bridge, the road bridge connecting Russian-occupied Crimea to Russian-occupied mainland Ukrainian territory, halted all traffic across the crossing, Commander of Ukraine's 1st Separate Assault Regiment Dmytro Filatov, call sign "Perun," told Army TV. The bridge was not fully destroyed, but damage to the roadway proved sufficient to fully halt traffic.
According to Filatov, Ukrainian assault units have built a cyber-intelligence network that provides real-time data from inside the Russian military environment, enabling Ukraine to strike Russian logistics nodes when the units are most dependent on them.
The Chonhar strike falls under Ukraine's broader "Logistics Lockdown" program, which was funded with $113 million in May to carry out systematic strikes against Russian rear-area infrastructure.
"The bridge has sustained damage such that movement on it has fully stopped," Filatov said.
Russian forces are now forced to seek bypass routes through Armyansk and other crossings, while Ukrainian forces watch where the enemy redirects supply flows.
The 37th Motor Rifle Brigade, operating on the Ukrainian-defined direction targeted by the strike, was specifically waiting for fuel via the Chonhar route on the day of the operation.
"On the day of the operation, they expected two trucks with fuel. We know exactly that those vehicles have still not arrived," Filatov said.
The commander emphasized that the targeting was not random: Chonhar was chosen because the 37th MRB depended on that route at that moment.
"No matter how the enemy tries to hide its movements or accumulation of forces, thanks to cyber-intelligence we have built such an active network that we have enough information for decision-making," Filatov explained.
Filatov also disclosed new information about the Russian fuel-logistics network supporting Russia's southern front. Russian fuel cargo, he said, is NOT being transported across the Crimean Bridge. Instead, it is delivered by ferry to occupied Crimea and then sent across the peninsula to the front, including to the Huliaipole direction.
Today, 10 June 2026, marks the 1,568th day of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine — exactly the same number of days that World War I lasted, ArmyInform observes. Russia has not achieved its strategic objectives to eliminate Ukraine, with the Kremlin's original "Kyiv in three days" planning now four years and three months past.
Russian losses across that period, as documented by Ukraine's General Staff, total more than 1.3 million Russian military personnel killed and wounded, tens of thousands of tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery pieces destroyed, and 33 Russian ships and boats sunk or destroyed.
The Black Sea Fleet is now operating only in a land-support capacity after Ukrainian strikes forced its retreat from operating bases in temporarily occupied Crimea.
The total cost of destroyed Russian equipment over four years is estimated at approximately $153 billion. May 2026 alone saw more than 31,500 Russian troops killed and seriously wounded, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. These figures are Ukrainian estimates. Russian casualty data is not publicly released.
Russia's stated strategic objectives at the start of the February 2022 full-scale invasion, including the capture of Kyiv, the change of Ukrainian government, the demilitarization and "denazification" of Ukraine, and the establishment of a Russian-aligned regime in the Ukrainian capital, have not been reached.
Russian forces retreated from the northern Kyiv and Chernihiv axes in spring 2022, and although Russia has incrementally occupied additional territory in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblasts since then, the pace of advance has been limited.
On the Ukrainian operational side, the past 12 months have seen a significant expansion of Ukraine's ability to strike targets across occupied territory and Russian rear areas.
The Ukrainian Defense Forces have established fire control over key logistics nodes in temporarily occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and in Crimea, including bringing Donetsk Airport within range of regular strikes and striking the Chonhar Bridge.
In Crimea specifically, where Russia has concentrated air defense systems, 12 Russian Pantsir-S1 systems have been destroyed since the start of 2026.
These operations are conducted within Ukraine's $113 million "Logistics Lockdown" program announced in May, which provides for systematic strikes on Russian warehouses, equipment, command posts, and supply routes deep behind the front line. A separate Ukrainian Deep Strike track targets critical infrastructure inside Russia itself, with Ukrainian deep strikes reaching up to 1,800 kilometers into Russian territory and recent operations hitting Russian oil-logistics nodes from Volgograd to Novorossiysk.
Russia has made two significant modifications to its Kalibr cruise missiles since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense reported.
The cluster payload mirrors the one Russia already uses on its Kh-101 cruise missiles, expanding the lethal radius across dispersed targets like airfields, hangars, and open positions. Russia is not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which 124 states have ratified.
From 2022 through early 2026, Kalibr missiles carried a fragmentation-high-explosive warhead. Researchers documented a cluster warhead for the first time on missiles shot down in spring 2026. Russia made the change to substantially increase the strike area and deploy the missile against dispersed targets, the ministry said.
The second modification concerns the missiles' onboard electronics. Between 2023 and 2024, Russia gradually shifted Kalibr production to domestic components. The attempt failed. Analysis of the onboard digital computing unit from a Kalibr manufactured in 2025 again found imported components. The homing boards are "more than 80–90% foreign-made," the ministry stated, calling it "a confirmed fact, not an estimate" — each part is marked and verified by military representatives.
The shift to domestic electronics likely degraded guidance accuracy, the MoD suggested, prompting the return to foreign parts despite sanctions exposure. A Russian Kh-101 that killed 12 people in Kyiv this May was built in the second quarter of 2026 — pointing to components still reaching Russia after 21 EU sanctions packages and years of Western export controls, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last month.
The ministry said it had identified all electronics manufacturers supplying Kalibr production, as well as the chief designers and managers involved. "The Ministry of Defense has established all electronics manufacturers for the Kalibrs, as well as the chief designers and managers involved in missile production. This data is being transferred for further processing within the framework of sanctions policy," the ministry stated.
The MoD has previously published technical analyses of downed Russian Kh-101 missiles and North Korean KN-23 and KN-24 ballistic missiles used against Ukraine.
Ukraine attempted a missile strike on a bridge connecting Henichesk to the Arabat Spit early on 10 June 2026, according to Vladimir Saldo, Russia's installed head of the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, who posted the claim on social media.
The strike is the latest in a series of Ukrainian attacks targeting road links between Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast and Crimea. The Chonhar bridge—the main overland route—was first struck on 7 June, after which traffic resumed in reversible mode; a second Ukrainian drone strike on 9 June halted movement again. Saldo had advised drivers to use alternative routes through Armyansk and Perekop.
Traffic across the Henichesk–Arabat Spit bridge has been temporarily closed, Saldo said, with emergency services on site establishing the circumstances.
In the same post, Saldo reported that eight municipalities were left without electricity following a separate overnight Ukrainian drone attack: Henichesk, Novotroitske, Chaplynka, Kalanchak, Ivanivka, Hornostaivka, Kakhovka, and Nova Kakhovka. Utility and emergency crews were working to restore power, he said.
Russian pro-war bloggers have in recent weeks reported an intensified Ukrainian drone campaign against military transport in southern Ukraine, Hromadske reports. On 30 May, Russian-occupied Crimea imposed limits on sales of A-95 petrol, citing drone strikes on Russian oil refineries; occupied Luhansk Oblast followed with similar restrictions shortly after.
A fire broke out at the Kuibyshev oil refinery in Samara, Russia, following a drone strike on 10 June, according to OSINT analysis by Astra and Russian Telegram channels.
The Kuibyshev refinery is one of the largest oil industry facilities in the region and is part of Rosneft. The 10 June strike is the third reported attack on the plant since August 2025.
Residents of Samara Oblast reported explosions during the night of 9–10 June. The regional governor wrote of a missile threat in the oblast.
Astra said its analysis of eyewitness footage established that the Kuibyshev refinery in Samara was struck and caught fire.
The same refinery halted operations in August 2025 following a drone attack, Russian social media channels reported. It was struck again in January 2026.
A fire broke out at what is reportedly the Progress defense plant in Cheboksary, Russia, following a missile strike on 10 June, the governor of Russia's Chuvash Republic said, according to Russian telgram channel Astra.
The incident marks the second reported strike on the same facility in under a week — on 5 May, Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo missiles were reported to have struck the VNІIR-Progress defense enterprise in the same city, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirming the attack.
Oleg Nikolaev, governor of Chuvash Republic, confirmed on Telegram that Cheboksary had come under missile attack. He did not specify casualties or damage.
Photos and video of a fire following the strike in Cheboksary were published by Russian social media channels, including footage of a missile passing over the city. According to OSINT analysis by Astra, the targeted facility is the VNIIR-Progress defense enterprise.
The plant manufactures Kometa antennas — systems designed to protect drones from electronic warfare — as well as other components used in Russian Shahed drones and Iskander-M and Kalibr missiles.
Astra analysts also noted that the VNIIR-Progress premises had been fully covered with camouflage netting following the previous strike.
Monitoring channel Exilenova+ identified the missiles used as Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles. Denis Shtilerman, founder of the Ukrainian company FirePoint, which produces the Flamingo, published a photo of a launch on X on 10 June, without providing further details.
The 5 May attack on the same plant caused a large-scale fire after a missile struck the facade of one of the factory buildings, according to OSINT analysts. Zelensky confirmed the use of Flamingo missiles in that incident.
May was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine since April 2022, according to the United Nations, which presented updated casualty data to the UN Security Council during an emergency meeting requested by Kyiv, Suspilne reported.
Latvian UN envoy Sanita Pavļuta-Deslandes said preliminary figures show a sharp rise in civilian harm, warning that the final statistics for May are expected to be even higher.
She said attacks during the month included strikes on civilian gatherings, including a funeral in Sumy, which she cited as an example of Russia targeting “so-called legitimate objectives,” according to Suspilne.
She also noted that in the first quarter of 2026 alone, 190 attacks were recorded on medical facilities, including maternity hospitals, while more than 200 educational institutions were damaged or destroyed. The number of injured children increased by 49%, according to UN data cited at the session.
The Security Council meeting came on June 8 following a wave of Russian strikes across Ukraine.
Ukraine’s permanent representative to the UN, Andrii Melnyk, used the session to sharply criticize Russia’s role at the United Nations, arguing that Moscow continues to deny responsibility while undermining international reporting on the war.
“Russia spits in our faces with lies, and we pretend it is just rain,” Melnyk said during the meeting, according to Suspilne.
He suggested that Russia should consider leaving the UN if it rejects its own obligations under international law and dismisses UN investigative findings.
Melnyk also called for Russia to be excluded from UN peacekeeping operations, pointing to its inclusion in UN listings related to sexual violence in conflict and repeated findings on violations involving children and armed conflict.
He urged member states to take action on these findings, saying Russia’s participation in UN structures undermines the credibility of the system itself.
The meeting highlighted growing tensions inside the Security Council as Russia continues to face accusations of escalating strikes on civilian infrastructure while maintaining its role as a permanent member of the body.
Ukraine and Latvia have signed a new “Drone Deal” aimed at expanding joint production and strengthening air and drone defense capabilities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following meetings with Nordic and Baltic leaders on 9 June.
The agreement was signed during Zelenskyy’s first meeting with Latvia’s new Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, which he described as a “concrete result” focused on co-production and shared defense development.
Zelenskyy said the deal reflects a broader model of cooperation Ukraine is building with partners who have supported Kyiv throughout the war, combining Ukrainian battlefield experience with European industrial capacity.
He said the aim is to strengthen shared protection against Russian threats, including expanding domestic production and improving coordination in drone and air defense systems.
The “Drone Deal” is a long-term cooperation format focused on developing drone capabilities through joint production, technology exchange, and practical defense support between Ukraine and partner countries.
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine is ready to expand cooperation on drone warfare expertise, including sending specialist teams to partner countries to share operational experience gained during the war.
He said similar cooperation has already been carried out with partners in the Middle East and could now be scaled across Europe under the new drone cooperation framework.
Zelenskyy said Russia is attempting to escalate tensions across Europe, including through drone-related incidents near NATO borders, underscoring the need for coordinated defense responses among allies.
The announcement came during a series of meetings in Tallinn with leaders from Finland, Norway, Estonia, and other Nordic and Baltic states.
Zelenskyy said partners are increasingly recognizing stronger Ukrainian positions on the battlefield, while Russia continues to compensate for losses by striking civilian infrastructure.
He said air defense remains a key priority, including securing additional missile supplies and advancing work on European anti-ballistic defense systems.
Zelenskyy also discussed increased sanctions pressure on Russia, including measures targeting the shadow fleet, alongside continued support for Ukraine’s EU membership bid.
He urged rapid progress on opening EU accession negotiation clusters, saying Ukraine has met the necessary requirements and expects political decisions in the coming months.
“There is no reason to delay,” he said, calling for momentum in EU decision-making processes.
Ukraine has approved a long-term concept for the development of its rocket forces and artillery, outlining plans to build up capabilities through 2030, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
Syrskyi said the concept defines the main directions for modernization while Ukraine continues fighting a full-scale war, stressing that long-term force development must run in parallel with current battlefield needs.
He said Ukrainian artillery units are already conducting thousands of fire missions daily and inflicting significant losses on Russian forces, supported by a mix of domestically developed systems and weapons supplied by international partners.
According to Syrskyi, Ukraine operates one of the most diverse ranges of artillery systems globally and uses nearly all available types of ammunition, gaining continuous combat experience against a numerically superior adversary.
Syrskyi said Russia’s invasion has significantly changed the character of modern warfare, with growing use of drones, guided bombs, and other precision strike systems reshaping battlefield dynamics.
He said artillery remains a core component of the battlefield despite evolving technology, but its effectiveness now depends heavily on reconnaissance quality and the speed of information transfer.
At the same time, he pointed to several challenges affecting Ukraine’s rocket and artillery forces, including dependence on foreign ammunition supplies, complex logistics linked to multiple systems, limited range in some platforms, and shortages in artillery reconnaissance capabilities.
The concept foresees a gradual transition toward Ukrainian-made artillery systems as the backbone of future force structure, while aging Soviet-era systems that cannot be upgraded will be phased out.
Ukraine will also retain units equipped with modern foreign systems and streamline its overall artillery inventory to improve efficiency and logistics.
Syrskyi said a key priority is the creation of a modern artillery reconnaissance system to improve targeting speed and battlefield coordination.
A separate priority is the expansion of Ukraine’s missile forces to increase deep-strike capability across operational and strategic depth.
Syrskyi said this includes completing development and scaling production of domestic ballistic and cruise missiles, which – together with unmanned systems – would form a layered long-range strike capability with a reach of up to 2,000 kilometers.
He said artillery will remain a decisive element of battlefield effectiveness and a central factor in deterring further Russian aggression, regardless of terrain or conditions.
Russia went back to using imported electronics for their Kalibr cruise missiles’ guidance system after failing to replace them with homemade alternatives, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.
The ship-launched missile’s homing boards “are made up of more than 80–90% foreign-made components,” the MoD wrote. “This is a confirmed fact, not an estimate: each part is marked and has been checked by military representatives.”
Starting in 2023, Moscow began to transition to domestic components in manufacturing their Kalibr missiles, which may have worsened their performance. As a result, the Russians went back to what works, the MoD wrote, citing an analysis of Kalibrs that were shot down.
The announcement did not disclose the manufacturers of these systems. However, according to the General Intelligence Directorate’s website that tracks foreign parts in Russian’s weapons, most chips that went into Kalibrs prior to 2024 came from the US.
Russia has routinely used foreign electronics in the missiles it fires against Ukraine throughout the course of the war.
A Russian Kh-101 cruise missile that killed 12 people in Kyiv in May was built in the second quarter of 2026, which points to components continuing to reach Russia despite 21 sanctions packages from the EU and years of Western export controls, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last month.
Russia has also started using cluster munitions for the Kalibrs' payloads—the first such use was recorded in the Spring of 2026, according to the announcement. Previously, Kalibrs tended to be armed with high explosive fragmentation loads.
Cluster payloads can widen the destructive radius and allow the missiles to more effectively hit spread-out targets. The MoD described them as analogous to the cluster munitions found on Kh-101 missiles.
The use of weapons that cover an area with bomblets is controversial around the world because of the lingering danger they pose to civilians. A total of 124 countries have ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions, outright banning the use of such weapons, though Ukraine and Russia are not signatories.
Moscow’s army has repeatedly used cluster munitions, including against cities, since the opening days of the full-scale invasion.
The European Union has proposed a 21st sanctions package against Russia that includes a visa ban on current and former Russian military personnel, as Brussels expands pressure on individuals and entities linked to Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the package is part of a broader push to increase economic and political pressure on Russia.
“We are depriving Russia of the means to fund its war,” Kallas wrote on X.
The sanctions package will target Russia’s financial, energy, and industrial sectors, with more than 170 proposed listings.
These include banks, weapons manufacturers, oil traders, refineries, and crypto-related services, as well as entities in third countries accused of helping Moscow bypass existing restrictions.
Energy measures include a temporary freeze of the Russian oil price cap mechanism, alongside new restrictions on LNG transactions and additional action against Russia’s shadow fleet, with 30 more vessels proposed for designation.
Officials said the aim is to further reduce Russia’s export revenues and disrupt maritime logistics networks used to move sanctioned energy products.
Brick by brick, we are collapsing the foundations of Russia's war economy.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 9, 2026
Today, we are presenting our proposals for a 21st sanctions package against Russia.
This includes a temporary freeze of the Russian oil price cap and designations of institutions used by Moscow to…
The package also expands export controls on materials used in weapons production, including metals, alloys, and high-performance inputs, with companies in countries such as China, Türkiye, Kazakhstan, the UAE, and India included in the proposals.
Financial restrictions remain a central pillar, with expanded sanctions planned against banks and crypto platforms linked to sanctions evasion and war financing.
The sanctions package includes a “comprehensive” visa ban proposal that would prohibit entry into the EU for current and former members of Russia’s armed forces, as well as “proxy groups,” marking an expansion of sanctions beyond economic measures to individuals linked to military operations.
“Europe’s door should not be open to Russia’s (ex-)combatants,” Kallas wrote.
Our sanctions are working.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 9, 2026
They are weakening the economic foundations of Russia’s war effort.
Today we double down.
With a 21st package.
Covering energy, banks & crypto, trade including fisheries and visa for Russian soldiers ↓ https://t.co/fTIkATOSfN
The same day, Kallas told journalists that existing sanctions continue to intensify pressure on Moscow’s economy. Kallas noted that Western sanctions have already cost Russia an estimated $1.2 to $1.5 trillion, adding that “brick by brick, we are collapsing the foundations of Russia’s war economy.”
She said the aim remains to increase costs for Moscow across multiple sectors while maintaining unity among EU member states.
The package requires unanimous approval from EU member states before it can take effect.
Russia plans to make 72 Mi-8 helicopters at their Kazan plant over the next two years, more than offsetting their total full-scale invasion losses of 56 units as of March, Dallas Analytics reported, citing leaked Russian documents. It is also double the production rate from earlier estimates.
Russia also has another Mi-8 factory at Ulan-Ude. In 2024, both plants jointly delivered 40 helicopters, according to Moscow’s defense conglomerate Rostec. A December analysis by Frontelligence Insight, also based on leaked documents, estimated that Russia can make 20 Mi-8s at each plant per year.
The number of helicopters the Ulan-Ude plant can produce is unknown. However, if it has similar capacity to the Kazan plant, Russia’s production rate could be substantially higher.
Mi-8s are versatile workhorses, able to transport troops and cargo, conduct reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and attack missions. Due to heavy losses, their role moved away from frontline missions during the battle of Kyiv, towards evacuation, and subsequently indirect fire roles and hunting Ukrainian UAVs and USVs on the Black Sea.
War has changed significantly since before the full-scale invasion, largely due to the invasion. The ubiquity of drones means that Russia could hardly risk attempting large-scale airborne assault operations.
However, if Russia plans to escalate its hybrid war against NATO into more direct aggression, as some Alliance military officials predict, the Mi-8s would come in handy for ground incursions.
The production plan also hints at Russia’s priorities. The leaked document, minutes from a meeting involving Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Gennady Abramenkov, states that the National Wealth Fund would contribute financing, which means that Moscow's reserve cash is being poured into maintaining and rebuilding its war machine.
On the other hand, the documents revealed some potential hiccups in Russia's plan to rebuild the Mi-8 fleet. Many details seem to hang on contractors securing advance payments and contracts that have yet to be signed. The United Engine Corporation is expected to only start delivering engines for the Mi-8s beginning in September.
One clause calls for an estimate of how many helicopters can "actually" be built in 2026, suggesting that there's a gap between expectation and reality.
Ten Russian soldiers from a single regiment are accused of hunting civilians in Kherson with attack drones, and now face war-crimes charges filed in absentia, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported. Investigators say the operators tracked people through the streets and struck ambulances and rescue crews. The 10 are among those participating in a Russian long-lasting terror campaign against Khersoners known as a "human safari."
Counterintelligence officers built a case against 10 drone operators from the 404th Motorized Rifle Regiment, a territorial-defense unit in Russia's "Dnepr" Group of Forces, the SBU reported. The investigation found that the men tracked residents as they moved along Kherson's streets and launched drones at them. The drones carried shaped-charge and high-explosive fragmentation munitions.
Residents and rights monitors call this campaign a "human safari," the hunting of people going about their ordinary days.
Kherson: human safari rages.
— Zarina Zabrisky
A Russian fiber optic FPV drone chases a car in a residential area; after civilians cut the cable, the drone falls, catches fire.
More drones hit cars.
10 injured as a drone attacks a bus.
Drones attack high rises, flying inside the windows. pic.twitter.com/eeaeyyJdz5
The SBU published each suspect's name and military call sign:
russians continue their human safari in Ukraine.
— UAVoyager
They’re not just killing.
They’re hunting unarmed people like animals — from drones, to cheerful music.
This is not war. This is pure evil.
Anyone still justifying russia is standing on their side.
We will never forget. pic.twitter.com/GtrjNfaU0w
The documented episodes include attacks on civilian cars and residential blocks, the SBU said. Operators dropped explosives on ambulances at a city hospital. They also carried out a "double" strike on State Emergency Service (DSNS) rescuers who were clearing the aftermath of an earlier Russian shelling.
UN investigators have described this Russian method in Kherson: a first strike, then a second aimed at the people who come to help. Victims suffered shrapnel wounds, burns, and concussions, and civilian infrastructure took significant damage.
Russian soldiers attacked an ambulance in Kherson with a drone.
— Денис Казанський (@den_kazansky) June 4, 2026
Three medics were injured.
Another deliberate war crime. pic.twitter.com/xu3WFUQ2H0
Based on the evidence, SBU investigators notified all 10 of suspicion under Article 438 of Ukraine's criminal code, which covers war crimes. The notices were issued in absentia. SBU officers in Kherson Oblast led the investigation with the 79th Border Detachment of the State Border Guard Service (DPSU), under the oblast prosecutor's guidance. The agency said efforts to hold the operators accountable continue.
The case fits a wider pattern Ukrainian prosecutors have documented across the oblast in thousands of proceedings.
Bulgaria's new government plans to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine, a shift that breaks with the European Union's push to pressure Russia, Bloomberg reported. The country's Defense Minister tied the move to a call for negotiations rather than arms, echoing a prime minister who has long been hostile to military aid for Kyiv.
Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov told reporters in Sofia on 9 June that his government would end weapons deliveries to Kyiv.
"Ukraine needs more people, not more armament," he stated, and called instead for a "just peace that will be defined by both sides participating in the conflict."
He added that the EU's role in any peace process is "extremely important." But the Bloc would struggle to act as a mediator, he claimed, after assisting Ukraine throughout the war.
The stance reflects Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who has long held that the war cannot be won on the battlefield. Radev, a former air force commander and president until January, has repeatedly opposed the EU's military support for Ukraine. He has also called for lifting sanctions on the Kremlin, arguing they damage Europe's economy. In office for only a month, the Prime Minister has promised to expand Bulgaria's weight in joint European decisions.
Bulgaria ranks among the EU's biggest producers of Soviet-standard ammunition. Those older Soviet-caliber shells proved crucial to Ukraine early in the war. The government officially refused direct military aid in 2022. Even so, Bulgarian shells reached the front through exports to other EU countries. Since 2022, Sofia has sent 13 packages of military aid, keeping their value and contents classified.
The plan surfaced days after the leaders of France, Germany, and Britain urged the Kremlin to accept an immediate, complete ceasefire that would open talks on a lasting deal. Moscow has rejected Kyiv's offer to meet and negotiate an end to the full-scale invasion, launched more than four years ago.
The Times earlier called the rise to power of pro-Russian Radev a strategic success for Putin.
In 2023, Doc Malik interviewed Dean Patterson, a leading consultant cardiologist in Guernsey, who had his medical licence suspended by the General Medical Council pending the outcome of fitness to practice proceedings. […]
The post Guernsey cardiologist Dean Patterson has been persecuted by the medical establishment for doing what’s right; “Someone has to stand up for the truth” first appeared on The Expose.
China has become the first country to approve a commercial implantable brain-computer interface. The device, known as NEO, is designed to help people with paralysis regain hand function by translating brain signals […]
The post China Beats Elon Musk in Race to Sell Brain Chips first appeared on The Expose.
Login
