'When the war against Ukraine that Putin started is not going the way he was expecting it to and his military options are getting onerous, a bit of nuclear sabre rattling is what he hopes will turn things around for him and Russia.'
The explosions came in the wake of the attack on the Kerch bridge on Saturday.
Over 1,200 Indian students stranded at Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine make a desperate call for help.
India for the first time on Wednesday voted against Russia during a "procedural vote" at the United Nations Security Council on Ukraine, as the 15-member powerful UN body invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address a meeting through a video tele-conference.
The 193-member general assembly voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to condemn Russia's "illegal so-called referendums in regions within the internationally recognised borders of Ukraine and the attempted illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, following the organisation of the above-mentioned referendums".
Only 13 nations voted in favour of Russia's call for a secret ballot on draft resolution on Ukraine.
Myhaylo Yurkiv, 65, stands in the small bunker he stayed in for six months during fierce battles under Russian occupation which destroyed every home in the village in Tsupivka and cut the village in two by the shelling of a bridge, leaving him now as the only person living on his side of the village.
On Friday, Putin formally announced the annexation of four regions -- Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia -- and claimed that "this is the will of millions of people".
The Russians destroy the Central House of Culture in Ukraine.
A sapper of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service stands atop parts of different Russian missiles and rockets collected by his colleagues in Kharkiv.
The coup attempt has weakened Putin's position and in desperation he may well sanction the use of nukes, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
As the Russian army prepares to intensify its campaign to grab territory in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian army is alert and ready.
Putin also told his French counterpart that Kyiv does not comply with the agreements reached with Moscow on the evacuation of civilians from combat areas, the Kremlin said.
Ukraine government officials have accused Russian forces of destroying grain storage facilities in the country. Nearly 25 million tonnes of grains are stuck in Ukrainian warehouses and unable to move out due to Vladimir Putin's War.
The devastation that the Russians have inflicted on their smaller neighbour will remain a horrific reminder of the cruelty of war.
'Air raid alert in Kyiv. Residents should go to the nearest shelter,' tweeted The Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday denounced Western powers for not approving necessary decisions against Russian military operations in Ukraine and also not saving the country from the missiles and bomb attacks.
India has abstained on a draft resolution tabled in the United Nations Security Council which condemned Russia's 'illegal referenda' and annexation of four Ukrainian territories and called for an immediate cessation of violence while underlining the need to find pathways for a return to the negotiating table.
The people will view it from their viewpoint, their immediate interest, historical experiences, their insecurities, he said.
'You can't tell a student who is already in a medical course to give the entrance exam all over again.'
'The Indian government evacuated its citizens from the clutches of the Taliban and Covid-hit Wuhan, so I am not worried.'
'The Russians think it will help them, but these actions look like desperation'
The latest from the War in Ukraine.
The latest glimpses from Vladimir Putin's brutal war in Ukraine.
India has repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and shall forever" remain an integral part of the country.
The first five months of 2023 have witnessed at least six major events/trends that augur badly for global economic and socio-political prospects, points out Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
Ukrainian and Russian soldiers prepare for the next battles for Ukraine.
Ukrainian soldiers guard the battlefront, dismantle destroyed Russian vehicles and defuse unexploded missiles.
IOC is desperate to avoid the sporting event being torn asunder by the bloody conflict unfolding in Ukraine.
Colleagues and friends attend a funeral ceremony for Ukrainian soldier and ballet dancer Vadym Khlupianets, who was recently killed by Russian troops, at the National Academic Operetta's Theatre in Kyiv.
The advisory comes hours after Russia carried out strikes against multiple Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv.
'The main body of the large Russian column advancing on Kyiv remains over 30km from the centre of the city having been delayed by staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and congestion. The column has made little discernible progress in over three days,' tweeted the UK Ministry of Defence.
The Russian missile strikes were in retaliation for the blast on a key bridge in Crimea.
Putin said the residents in the four annexed regions will now be Russia's "citizens forever".
The fall of Kherson -- a city of 300,000 people, northwest of the Crimean peninsula -- is significant because it would allow the Russians to control more of Ukraine's southern coastline and to push west toward the city of Odessa, the NYT reported.
The 19-kilometre (11.8 miles) bridge, which runs across the Kerch Strait and connects Crimea with mainland Russia, consists of a railway and vehicle sections.
In a television appearance Monday, Putin said Russia had struck military and infrastructure targets across Ukraine following the Crimea bridge blast.
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