located about 70 kilometers northwest of Donetsk remains one of the most fiercely contested sectors of the front where Russia has concentrated its main offensive efforts since March  (Updated:  May 6, 2025 11:41 am)Ukraine's drones target Moscow second night in a row, Russian official claims, ahead of Victory Day parade. Debris from one of the drones reportedly fell on the Kashirskoye Highway The reported attack comes just days before Russia's Victory Day parade and three-day "truce." Vice President Mike Pence said Putin "only understands power." About 800 million euros ($905 million) will be allocated for the acquisition and installation of anti-tank mines to deter potential aggression  (Updated:  May 6, 2025 9:36 am)War analysisFrance is sending Ukraine more AASM Hammer bombs — here's what they can do Polish President Andrzej Duda said the United States has tools that can effectively influence the Kremlin arguing that only President Donald Trump has real leverage over Russian President Vladimir Putin The number includes 1,430 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day "To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement" by Benjamin Nathans which covers dissent in the Soviet Union and Russia today Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on May 5 announced they had facilitated Russian journalist Ekaterina Barabash's escape from Russia to France after she fled house arrest on April 21 A Russian drone attack on Odesa Oblast on May 5 killed one and caused damage to local infrastructure "We appreciate that Germany plays a pivotal role in supporting Ukraine throughout the years of war Ukraine is also grateful for your personal commitment," President Volodymyr Zelensky said MPs will be able to ask questions and learn more about the details of the agreement in meetings with Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko May 6-7 MP Serhii Sobolev told the news outlet Suspilne The ratification vote is scheduled for May 8 Attacks against the border villages of Bilopillia and Vorozhba damaged civilian infrastructure and triggered emergency evacuations the regional military administration reported by The Kyiv Independent news deskPhoto for illustrative purposes Russia's Mikoyan MiG-31K jets carrying Kinzhal missiles fly over Moscow's Red Square on May 9 (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency)A second Russian Mig-31K jet landed in Belarus' Machulishchy airport on Oct the Belarusian Hajun monitoring group reported The first Russian MiG-31K interceptor aircraft landed at the Machulishchy airfield in Belarus on Oct when three Russian MiG-31Ks left the country and have not been spotted there since then Both planes were spotted moving south at 3:10 p.m. local time, the group noted It is unclear at the time of the publication whether they are being repositioned again or carrying out a maneuver it has allowed the Kremlin to use its territory as a staging ground for its operations against Ukraine Moscow stationed several MiG-31K aircraft in Belarus after the start of its full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022 launching missiles at Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities from its airfields Russia frequently lifts MiG-31K aircraft from airfields on its territory to attack Ukraine The advanced air-launched Kinzhal missile is difficult to intercept and shoot down They have an operational range of some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) which means that all of Ukraine is at risk if the missile is launched from Russian airspace Ukraine's Air Force said in January that air defenses had intercepted 25 out of 63 Kinzhal missiles since the start of the full-scale invasion We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent We are here to make sure our readers get quick essential updates about the events in Ukraine Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts The relevant statement was made by Belarusian Hajun Telegram channel the morning/night attack targeted Russia’s A-50 AEW&C aircraft which might have been hit,” the report states The aircraft could have been damaged by “an unidentified object dropped from a height” Russia’s Ilyushin Il-76 strategic airlifter (registration number RF-86843) landed at the Machulishchy air base This aircraft used to be spotted in Belarus previously While citing and using any materials on the Internet links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421 Group says it used drones to hit early warning aircraft at Machulishchy airfield 12km from Minsk Belarusian anti-war partisans claim to have severely damaged a Russian military aircraft in what an opposition leader has called the “most successful diversion” since the beginning of the war said it had used drones to strike the Machulishchy airfield 12km from Minsk severely damaging a Beriev A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft (Awacs) “One of the nine Awacs of the Russian aerospace forces worth $330m (was destroyed),” the group said The participants of the operation are Belarusians (They have attained) ‘Victory’ and are now safely outside the country the aircraft was hit by munitions dropped by two drones A second munition reportedly hit close to the cockpit “The front and middle section of the aircraft were damaged as well as avionics and a radar antenna,” said a report attributed to BYPOL The damage to the aircraft has not been independently confirmed although both Russian and Belarusian military bloggers have reported explosions on Sunday at the airfield One also confirmed “damage to a Russian military transport plane” “This is the most successful diversion since the beginning of 2022,” wrote Franak Viačorka an adviser to the Belarusian opposition leader They used drones for this operation and have already left the country and are in safety now.” declined to comment on reports of the attack on Monday “We have nothing to say about this,” he told journalists on Monday built around the air frame of an Ilyushin transport plane While first coming into service in the mid-1980s it is also still a key military technology With about 40 of the aircraft built – and nine reportedly still in active service – they are able to detect when air defence systems are activated and where allowing Russia to target those air defences such so-called airborne early warning and control aircraft are used to detect aircraft and other incoming projectiles at long ranges surveil the battlefield and help with battlefield management What is concerning for Moscow is that the airbase has also been hosting at least one MIG-31 interceptor, which is capable of carrying a nuclear capable hypersonic missile, aircraft whose launches have been responsible of a number of recent air alarms in Ukraine Free weekly newsletterThe most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment Belarusian opposition forces have previously used drones to strike government targets. As early as 2021, the Black Stork group used drones to drop incendiary devices on riot police headquarters and other government buildings. Belarusian cyber-partisans have also been fighting the government since the 2020 protests against the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko members of the group told the Guardian they had hacked the Belarusian railways to disrupt Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine “We don’t want Russian soldiers in Belarus since it compromises the sovereignty of the country and puts it in danger of occupation,” the member of the Cyberpartisans told the Guardian. “It also pulls Belarus into a war with Ukraine And probably Belarusian soldiers would have to participate in it and die for this meaningless war.” Lukashenko announced on Monday that Moscow had delivered more weapons systems to the country including an Iskander short-range ballistic missile system and an S-400 air-defence missile system He said the Iskander missile system was delivered with the “relevant stock of missiles” Belarus first claimed it had “autonomous” control of Iskander missile systems which could reach targets in Ukraine or Poland “An S-400 long-range air-defence missile system has also been delivered according to comments published in state-run media This information was spreaded by Anton Motolko a Byelorussian journalist from the BYPOL initiative locals reported hearing two explosions at about 8:00-9:00 and may have heard another one during the night the traffic police stopped the cars in several places around the airbase and checked the trunks and ID of the drivers Later MAZ VV vehicles were spotted on the way to the airbase The BYPOL initiative reported that on Sunday morning two explosions occurred at the Machulishchy air base resulting in a Russian military and transport aircraft and snowplows being damaged local residents noticed a significant number of soldiers as well as traffic police crews that were checking all the passing cars It is from Machulishchy airfield that Kinzhal missile carriers usually take off which is why Ukraine issued an air-raid warning Machulishchy is an air base of the Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Belarus located in Machulishchy It has served as a strategic bomber base for the Soviet Union It also served as a Soviet Air Defence Forces interceptor base The primary operator was the 121st Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment Machulishchy was one of nine major operating locations for the Tupolev Tu-22 Blinder in the mid-1960s That's according to the Twitter account of the Bellingcat investigation team "On February 26th a Belarusian partisan group and opposition leaders claimed a Russian A-50 airborne early warning & control aircraft had been damaged in a UAV attack Bellingcat has now obtained satellite imagery from after the alleged attack of the Machulishchy Airbase," Bellingcat wrote It shows an aircraft with the same configuration as an A-50 with a dark mottled pattern on the wings The .5m resolution imagery was captured on Feb 28th by @planet. It shows an aircraft with the same configuration as an A-50 with a dark mottled pattern on the wings. pic.twitter.com/6g21LiWj3q They compared satellite images before and after the apparent attack They came to the conclusion that the color of the wings is different so they cannot confirm claims by Belarusian partisans about damage to the A-50 An aircraft matching the A-50 configuration was captured by @Planet in .5m resolution imagery on Feb 19th (left) and 3m resolution imagery on Feb 23rd (right) – both before the apparent attack. pic.twitter.com/PDl7PJAaMh Compared to the earlier Feb 19th image (right) there does appear to be a difference in the colour of the wings. pic.twitter.com/KgTkMVLgyn The Belarusian Hajun project reported that the plane was "sanded" before repainting "The plane seems to have been 'sanded' before repainting this may also be a consequence of the fact that the fuselage burned out," the report reads It emerged on February 26 that explosions rang out at the Machulishchy military airfield in Belarus in the morning and it was also reported that an A-50 Airborne Early Warning system and control aircraft had been damaged said that Belarusian partisans were behind the alleged attack the participants of the alleged act of sabotage at Machulishchy have left Belarus and are now in safety In recent days an unconfirmed report of a Belarussian partisan unit conducting a strike on Russian A-50U AWACS in Machulishchy was shared by various sources on social media The Beriev A-50U in question had been operating since the first days of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine providing air control for the combat planes of the Russian Aerospace Forces According to the BYPOL partisan group, the A-50U supposedly received extensive damage to its cockpit and radar dome on top of the aircraft were not confirmed until recently when a video from BYPOL’s drone was released The 1 minute 30 second long video shows a civilian quadcopter UAV landing on top of the A-50U’s radar dome only to leave after a short while towards the direction which it came from BYPOL published a video, showing a drone entering the territory of Machulishchy airfield, landing on the “mushroom” of the Russian A-50U and flying away. It doesn’t show the moment of the attack. Judging by the weather, the video was taken a few days before the alleged attack. pic.twitter.com/XfLIoMvYBY There was no evidence of a successful detonation in the visual material released. Satellite imagery has not been able to confirm any significant damage to the aircraft either, nor has any statement was provided by the Russian Aerospace Forces or Belarusian officials. Yet, according to Hajun Project on 2 March the A-50U (RF-50608) left the Machulishchy airfield and flew to the 325th Aircraft Repair Plant in Tagnarog The evidence provided by BYPOL and satellite imagery does not confirm whether the attack on the Russian A-50U occurred or if damage was caused It would appear that if any damage was done it was not enough to ground the aircraft but may have been significant enough for it to have to return to Russia for complex repairs before it can return to operations If reports of the aircraft leaving for Tagnarog are correct then it appears that the Russian Aerospace Force has temporarily lost an important regional asset which will have to be replaced by another aircraft The suspect is described as a Russian-Ukrainian national and “someone who knows IT technologies well” and who “was trained to carry out terrorist attacks.” Lukashenko concluded saying “what we saw in the course of the operation in Belarus was something truly incredible He had spent months training for it.” Tags: , , , , The relevant statement was made on the AFU StratCom’s Telegram channel “The photographs show three MiG-31K supersonic interceptor aircraft which can carry Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and fire them at a range of 2,000 kilometers,” the report states which may be used to store Kinzhal missiles A reminder that Russia’s numerous attacks on Ukraine’s territory Russian projectiles caused damage to infrastructure objects and killed civilians Satellite photos from Planet Labs have appeared in the public domain at least 3 MiG-31K supersonic interceptor aircraft which can carry Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles were parked in an open parking lot at the Machulishchy air base in Belarus near Minsk At least one Kinzhal hypersonic missile, painted white, was located next to these planes. This is written by the Faktisk Norwegian publication The authors of the portal claim that russia’s MiG-31K aircraft were first spotted at the Machulischy airfield in Belarus on October 18 The picture shows three planes of this type and also in an open parking lot except that the cabins are covered with a canvas awning there is nothing even remotely similar to the Kinzhal hypersonic missile British intelligence also announced the presence of MiG-31K aircraft with a Kinzhal missile in Belarus the British intelligence relied on a satellite image from October 17 which shows two russia’s MiG aircraft in an open parking lot and a 7-meter-long container probably with a Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic missile show that the threat from Russian MiG-31K with Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile in Belarus remains the level of this threat is not increasing As Defense Express reported British Intelligence Confirmed the Mig-31K With Kinzhal Missiles Deployment Near Minsk.