RUSSIAN DEFECTORS AND MORE UPDATES FROM THE UKRAINE WAR

 Ukraine's newest heroes: How brave Russian defectors have joined Kyiv's forces on the frontlines against Putin's regime to liberate their beloved country from his rule

• Scores of Russians have defected to fight alongside Ukrainian armed forces
• They risk severe treatment and most likely the death penalty if they are captured
• But fighters say they see Putin and the Kremlin as a 'cancer' preventing peace

• Like all his Ukrainian army comrades, Volodymyr Grotskov is fuelled by deeply-held patriotism as he risks his life on the bloodstained frontline of the brutal war against Russia.

  The 48-year-old electrical engineer says he loves his country and sees the Kremlin as a destructive 'cancer' threatening the world's peace and security. 'It might sound pretentious but I'm fighting for freedom and democracy,' he insists.

  Yet there is one big difference between Grotskov and all the other soldiers in his brigade who are sitting beside us, eating borscht and cleaning their guns while the thunder of artillery bombardment crashes around the battered Donbas frontline.

• FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10921045/Ukraines-newest-heroes-brave-Russian-defectors-joined-Kyivs-forces.html

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Putin's icy grip on Arctic 'battleground of the future': West urged to 'wake up' to Russian threat as Moscow builds new military bases, races to extract natural resources worth $30trillion and exploit new shipping routes with China's help

• West urged to 'wake up' to Russian threat in the Arctic, with dozens of new military bases built in last decade
• Putin will rely more heavily on region as Europe turns off gas supply and Western sanctions bite, report says 
• Kremlin hopes to plunder $30tr in Arctic resources, and exploit new shipping lanes opened by melting ice 
• Moscow is increasingly partnering with China in these missions, giving Beijing back-door access to region

• The West has been told to 'wake up' to Russia's growing plot to weaponise and monetise the Arctic, turning the once pristine and peaceful polar region into the 'battleground of the future.'  

  For years Vladimir Putin has been building airbases, missile launch pads, radar stations and naval yards north of the Artic Circle - but the region is now set to take on renewed importance after Russia was hammered by Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, which also trashed its reputation as Europe's second-most powerful army.

  The High North is perhaps the one region where Russia can now lay claim to being the military superpower, a new report from the Civitas think-tank argues, a fact the Kremlin is likely to exploit as it seeks to plunder an estimated $30trillion of natural resources from the frozen earth and open up new trading routes exposed by melting sea ice.

• FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10919351/West-told-wake-Russian-threat-Arctic-battleground-future.html

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• China vows to support Putin on Russia's 'sovereignty and security' and two countries will step up economic ties as US warns Beijing risks ending up 'on the wrong side of history'

  

  Xi Jinping spoke to his Russian counterpart in a phone call on Wednesday

  • He reaffirmed China's support for Russia and spoke of closer economic ties
  • Xi also refused to condemn Moscow's on-going military assault on Ukraine
  • Beijing has been accused of providing diplomatic cover for Moscow

  • China vowed to support Vladimir Putin over Russia's 'sovereignty and security' on Wednesday, with the two countries set to step up their economic ties - prompting Washington to warn Beijing it risked ending up 'on the wrong side of history'.

    President Xi Jinping spoke to his Russian counterpart in a phone call, during which he refused to condemn Moscow's massive on-going military assault on Ukraine.

    Beijing has been accused of providing diplomatic cover for Moscow by blasting Western sanctions and arms sales to Kyiv, as it escalates tensions in its own region with increasing threats to Taiwan.

  • FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10922557/China-vows-support-Putin-Russias-sovereignty-security.html