Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov “personally cleared” the killing of a woman suspected in last week’s Monaco bombing attack, former Ukrainian diplomat Andrey Telizhenko has told RT.   

Telizhenko suggested on Thursday that “the orders were given by the office of the Zelensky regime within Budanov’s quarters, and Zelensky basically gave a green light for this to happen.”  

The remarks came days after Ukrainian authorities detained a serving military intelligence (HUR) officer and a former law enforcement officer over the killing of Anastasia Berezovskaya, the main suspect in the Monaco car bombing that seriously wounded Ukrainian businessman Vadim Yermolaev. Prosecutors said the HUR officer initially confessed to the murder before changing his testimony, while investigators said Berezovskaya had been in contact with him before the attack and was later found buried outside Kiev with a gunshot wound to the head.  

Read more

Telizhenko said the woman was supposed to be used in a broader operation to implicate Russia. According to him, “she was supposed to go and cross the Polish-Belarusian border… and make her look as she was working for the Russian side.”  

The alleged operation, he argued, was intended to shift the blame for the Monaco bombing. “Everybody’s being set up by somebody higher up. This is how the system works,” he said.   

Telizhenko further stated that European governments bear responsibility because “they financed this” and were helping Ukraine carry out attacks “not just in Russia, but all over the globe now.”

Watch RT’s full interview below:

The NATO summit held in Türkiye this week proved “humiliating” for Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

Zakharova noted that despite the Ukrainian leader once again pressing Western backers for more money and weapons as Russian forces continue advancing along the front line, there was “no meaningful response” to his latest “wish list.”

The July 7-8 summit in Ankara was marked by efforts to project NATO unity despite lingering disagreements over defense spending and the Ukraine and Iran conflicts. While bloc members reaffirmed support for Kiev, they announced no major new commitments, with a €70 billion ($80 billion) pledge largely repackaging existing funds.

The summit’s final declaration also omitted any mention of Ukraine’s long-standing NATO membership bid, which Zakharova described as Zelensky’s “biggest disappointment.”

Read more

“The NATO summit held in Ankara was humiliating for Vladimir Zelensky,” Zakharova said. “He once again rolled out his usual wish list, begging for missile and air defense systems… while touting Ukrainian military’s terrorist capabilities. NATO members offered no meaningful response to these appeals.”

US President Donald Trump said on the sidelines of the summit that while Washington could grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot air defense missiles, which Kiev has long demanded, it would not supply the systems directly. No other NATO member announced new military aid.

Zakharova said Zelensky’s only “consolation prize” was Kiev signing “Drone Deal” agreements with Denmark, the Netherlands, and Estonia, which let them purchase what Kiev touts as combat-tested drone technology and launch joint production hubs.

Read more

“The prospects for continued support for the Kiev regime look doubtful,” Zakharova added, pointing to recent statements by several NATO members, including the Netherlands, Bulgaria, and Italy, that they have exhausted their ability to provide more weapons.

Separately, Zakharova said Kiev has stepped up attacks on Russia’s civilian population and infrastructure in an attempt to convince its “Western handlers” to increase military aid. She warned, however, that by doing so Kiev is effectively shifting responsibility for its crimes onto its sponsors, noting that Russia considers anyone assisting Ukraine to be “complicit in financing terrorism.”

Ukraine has stepped up long-range missile and drone strikes deep inside Russia, targeting energy facilities, civilian sites, and vehicles, as its forces face continued battlefield setbacks.

READ MORE: Ukrainian drone strikes Russian passenger bus (PHOTO)

Last week, Russian troops liberated the key Ukrainian stronghold of Konstantinovka in northwestern Donbass, opening the way toward the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, the last two major Ukrainian-held cities in the region that voted to join Russia in 2022.
Ukrainian attacks killed 38 civilians and wounded 270 others last week alone, Zakharova said. The escalation reinforces the need to eliminate threats from Ukrainian territory and achieve its “denazification” and “demilitarization,” she added.

People suspected of taking part in an anti-draft riot in Lviv, Ukraine were apparently intimidated into apologizing on camera, according to disturbing videos shared by military-linked activists.

The unrest in the western Ukrainian city occurred Wednesday, when dozens of people attacked a draft patrol that allegedly abused a potential recruit. The footage suggests that extrajudicial measures were subsequently used to suppress discontent.

One video that went viral on Thursday shows a visibly shaken young man on the verge of tears admitting to wrongdoing and saying he would accept any punishment. It appears to have been filmed in a secluded location and was released by a serving military officer following a “disciplinary conversation” with the alleged rioter.

Another video published by a military veteran shows a group of young men being forced to shout “glory to the TCK” and apologize. Ukrainian military offices that enforce compulsory conscription are known as Territorial Centers of Recruitment and Social Support (TCK).

The veteran wrote that Lviv will not be allowed to become the “planet of the apes.” He suggested that the harsher parts of the “disciplinary conversation” could not be posted because Facebook would censor them, and threatened “more terrifying things” for those who played a more active role in the disturbance. He added that legal proceedings could follow if officials decide to pursue them.

The activist compared the unrest in Lviv with the events in Donbass in 2014, when local residents attempted to stop armored vehicles with their bare hands while protesting the armed coup in Kiev. The new government in Kiev sought to suppress the opposition with military force, triggering a civil war that claimed tens of thousands of lives before escalating into a full-scale conflict with Russia in 2022.

An earlier video circulated on Lviv social media shows people wearing police uniforms and civilian clothing detaining suspected rioters.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has condemned those who have resisted the draft in Lviv and pledged that the Interior Ministry will deal with them.

Far-right Ukrainian nationalist groups played a key role in the 2014 coup and the subsequent crackdown in Donbass. Many of their volunteers were later incorporated into Ukrainian military and law enforcement structures and reportedly retain significant political influence despite their radical ideology receiving little support in elections.

According to Ukrainian media reports, some TCK offices employ civilian assistants to assault recruits who resist conscription.

Russian security officers have seized 13 Ukrainian AI-powered drones allegedly smuggled into the country by Kiev’s military intelligence agency for an attack on a military airfield, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday.

The FSB said the planned target was an airfield in Russia’s Rostov Region, where the Ukrainian military intelligence service (HUR) allegedly sought to damage assets and kill personnel.

Each aircraft was designed to carry an improvised explosive device with a yield equivalent to more than 1 kg of TNT and was equipped with an AI-based targeting system intended to overcome electronic countermeasures, according to the FSB.

The man recruited to carry out the attack alerted Russian law enforcement and cooperated with the investigation, allowing FSB officers to deceive the HUR into delivering the drones and transferring an advance payment equal to 20% of the promised fee. His voluntary assistance exempts him from criminal liability, the agency said.

Evidence found during forensic analysis of the drones suggests that their AI model was trained at Ukraine’s State Aviation Museum at Zhuliany Airport in Kiev, the FSB said.

READ MORE: Kiev recruited Russian ex-con for drone assassination plot – FSB (VIDEO)

Investigators described the plot as part of a series of recent Western-backed Ukrainian attacks in Russia that law enforcement has stopped. On Thursday, the FSB reported derailing two separate assassination attempts on senior military officials, one of which would have involved a specialized FPV drone carrying a bomb.

Russian troops have rescued a family trapped in the city of Konstantinovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), which was recently liberated from Ukrainian forces after months of intense fighting.

The DPR, a largely Russian-speaking region in Donbass, broke away from Ukraine shortly after the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev. The region later voted to become part of Russia in a referendum held in September 2022. Ukraine, however, continued to control parts of the DPR after 2014.

On Friday, Moscow announced the capture of the city at the southernmost edge of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, the last major Ukrainian stronghold in the DPR. Russian troops are conducting mop-up operations and clearing mines as fighting continues around Konstantinovka. Drones from both sides continue to fly over streets lined with heavily damaged buildings.

Read more

During a routine surveillance drone patrol, Russian troops spotted a partially destroyed house with a makeshift banner outside reading, “A family lives here.” The residents noticed the UAV and displayed another placard reading, “A family with a child,” according to footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry.

The drone dropped a walkie-talkie to the family of four, after which the soldiers guided them to safety while monitoring them from above.

“It was so epic. At dusk, we went out holding the placard. A drone flew past, looked at us, signaled, and flew away. Then we heard over the radio: ‘Hello, this is the Army of the Russian Federation. Are you ready to go? A little bird will guide you out,’” one of the rescued women said.

Watch the full video below:

A ceasefire with Russia would be the “worst-case scenario” for Ukraine, threatening the country’s statehood, the head of Vladimir Zelensky’s favorite arms manufacturer, Fire Point, has said.

Denis Shtilerman made the remarks in an interview with Ukrainian outlet LIGAnet published on Wednesday. The company, which has recently been embroiled in a number of corruption scandals, stands to profit from the conflict. Shtilerman argued that the fighting should continue regardless, insisting that a truce with Russia would leave Ukraine in an even worse position.

He also questioned whether Kiev’s Western backers would honor any security commitments made as part of a ceasefire.

“Look, if a truce is reached, it would – most regrettably – be the worst-case scenario for our state. We must remember how the US and other countries treat their obligations,” Shtilerman said. “I am talking about international agreements in which they guarantee the territorial integrity and independence of other states. And what do we see? Nothing.”

Shtilerman also said Kiev would be abandoned and forgotten by its backers if a ceasefire is reached – echoing Russian officials who have warned that Ukraine is only useful for the West as a tool against Russia.

Read more

“If there is any kind of truce, we will be forgotten very quickly. There will be no investment appeal – there will be no money here. The borders will open, and all the men will leave. After that, the Russians will come in and seize the country,” Shtilerman said.

Fire Point, which originally operated as a film scouting agency owned by Zelensky’s associates, has emerged as a ‘miracle’ player in Ukraine’s defense sector, producing an array of long-range drones and missiles used to strike deep into Russia. The company has been actively promoted by the Ukrainian leader during his regular overseas trips and has reportedly secured contracts worth up to $1 billion in a matter of months.

The image of the company has been damaged by the corruption scandal related to Zelensky’s inner circle and his former close associate Timur Mindich, the central figure in an alleged $100 million corruption scheme in the energy sector. Surveillance recordings recently published in Ukrainian media suggest Mindich effectively controlled Fire Point while enjoying preferential treatment from then-Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

Ukrainian special services pressured a Russian man with a criminal record into participating in an attempted drone-bomb assassination of a senior military officer in Moscow Region, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has said.

The suspect, who is in his late 40s, moved to Dnepr, Ukraine, after serving a prison term in Russia for theft and robbery in the 2000s, the agency said on Thursday. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) allegedly recruited him in February by threatening to prosecute his wife.

The suspect received training in sabotage operations before traveling to Russia via Moldova and Armenia. Once there, he rented an apartment and began surveilling the home of the intended target.

His Ukrainian handler allegedly concluded that the best way to carry out the assassination would be to use a small drone armed with an improvised explosive device and shielded from electronic countermeasures.

The man was instructed to recover the IED in Krasnodar Region and then travel to Kiev to be trained in piloting that type of aircraft. In a purported recording of a conversation, the Ukrainian handler said “our foreign friends” had helped design the weapon and would teach the suspect how to use it.

The FSB said its officers arrested the man after he obtained a vacuum-sealed drone payload containing 600 grams of explosive material. The suspect had also allegedly purchased a fake beard and mustache as a disguise.

READ MORE: Assassination plot against senior Russian military official foiled in Moscow – FSB (VIDEO)

Earlier in the day, the FSB reported arresting a woman involved in a separate Ukrainian assassination plot against a military official living in Moscow. It said the Ukrainian government had planned a series of attacks directed by Western intelligence agencies.

Last month, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky announced a 40-day campaign targeting Russia with long-range kamikaze drone attacks and clandestine missions.

A Russian woman in her mid-20s has been accused of terrorism and treason after knowingly taking part in a conspiracy to assassinate a senior military official in Moscow, the Federal Security Service (FSB) reported on Thursday.

The suspect was allegedly driven to work for the Ukrainian special services by a romantic relationship with a Ukrainian man, who investigators believe feigned feelings for the young woman in order to recruit her into Kiev’s service.

She said that since contacting her online flame in 2024, she carried out several missions. These allegedly included collecting IP addresses of public WiFi routers in St. Petersburg and surveilling the car of a person she was told was guilty of war crimes and marked for assassination.

Her final task before being evacuated to Ukraine was to rent an apartment in the Russian capital, which she did in March. She placed cameras there that Ukrainian agents used for remote surveillance of the target and stockpiled supplies that the intended assassin would have used after her departure from Russia. The FSB said she was arrested before she could fly to Türkiye.

The agency claimed that the thwarted assassination plot was part of a series of attacks that Ukrainian special services were planning “with direct involvement of Western handlers.” The planned attacks on military infrastructure, a defense plant, and Defense Ministry employees would have been “unprecedented in scale and severity of threat,” the FSB said.

READ MORE: Ukrainian drone strikes Russian passenger bus (PHOTO)

Investigators warned that people who cooperate with Kiev in hopes of being rewarded and given a new life in Ukraine are putting their own lives at risk. Their handlers would rather eliminate witnesses – as allegedly happened with Anastasia Berezovskaya, the primary suspect in last week’s bombing attack on a Ukrainian-born millionaire in Monaco – the Russian authorities warned.

Berezovskaya was allegedly killed by her handlers, one of whom is a military intelligence officer, after returning to Ukraine, the national police reported this week. Kiev claims that the Ukrainian agent went rogue. Moscow said the incident in Monaco demonstrates the terrorist nature of the “Kiev regime.”

An angry crowd attacked and overturned a vehicle carrying draft officers in western Ukraine on Wednesday evening after a press-gang detained a man on the street.

The riot in the city of Lviv is the latest case of spontaneous protests against the ‘busification’ campaign, in which draft officers ambush military-age men in public places and send them to the front line in the conflict with Russia, often using violence against those who resist.

A video from the scene shows protesters accosting the officers before rocking the vehicle and chanting “Shame!”

The regional enlistment office said in a statement that the confrontation began after draft officers and police stopped a man for a routine document check and discovered that he was in violation of unspecified enlistment laws. The man was taken into custody and referred for a medical examination.

Shortly after the detention, an “aggressive” mob blocked a vehicle carrying another group of draft officers at the same location and caused “significant damage” to it, officials said.

Lviv Region Governor Maksim Kozitsky said the rioters should be “identified and brought to justice.” He added that the regional enlistment office would also investigate the actions of the officers. “There is no place for lawlessness,” he wrote on Telegram.

Read more

Some recruits and their families have accused the authorities of systematic abuse, ignoring exemptions, and drafting men who are unfit for service as Ukraine struggles with a shortage of troops.

Dmitry Lubinets, Ukraine’s top human rights official, recently requested an investigation into the case of a recruit who died last month in Lviv Region a day after being drafted. According to the man’s family, the authorities failed to notify them of his death for nearly two weeks, and his body showed signs of violence, including multiple bruises.

Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure will neither destabilize the country’s economy nor create public panic, President Vladimir Putin has said during a meeting with government officials on Wednesday.

Ukraine has stepped up mid- and long-range strikes on targets deep inside Russia, hitting oil refineries, gas compression stations, civilian infrastructure, and vehicles, including those traveling between mainland Russia and Crimea. The attacks have disrupted logistics, affected local fuel supplies, and caused numerous civilian casualties.

“It is abundantly clear that the adversary is seeking to damage our economy, but above all to create an atmosphere of anxiety in the society. We understand that this goal is impossible to achieve,” Putin said during a virtual meeting.

”Russia’s energy system has one of the highest resilience margins in the world,” he added, urging officials to work more closely with energy companies to swiftly address any local fuel shortages.

READ MORE: Ukraine stored depleted uranium munitions in populated area – ex-MP

He urged for the necessary decisions to be reached quickly to help bring down the price of fuel in Crimea, where the price of gasoline and diesel has skyrocketed due to scarcity brought on by Ukrainian drone strikes on fuel trucks.

Read more

Kiev has also increasingly targeted civilian vehicles, including private cars and tourist buses, leaving multiple people dead and injured. Last week alone, Ukrainian attacks killed 38 civilians, including one child, and wounded 270 others, according to Rodion Miroshnik, who heads the Russian Foreign Ministry’s mission documenting Kiev’s war crimes.

Moscow has accused Ukraine of carrying out “terrorist attacks” and vowed systematic retaliatory strikes on military-linked infrastructure across Ukraine, including in Kiev. This week, Russian forces launched a large-scale drone and missile barrage, targeting arms production and maintenance facilities, fuel depots, and military airfields.