+++ 08:25 ISW: Russian bloggers give defense contractor social media training +++

Russian military bloggers are said to have trained the state arms company Rostec in the use of social media. The aim of the so-called master class is to increase acceptance of the war among the population, as reported by the Institute for the Study of War. According to the ISW, the main focus was on the arms company's presence on Telegram and other social media, writes the ISW, citing Mikhail Swinchuk, the founder of the Rybar Telegram channel. He had recommended that Rostec increase reporting on its production processes, modernize the social media campaign as a whole and present the company in a more "human" way. According to ISW, the cooperation between the Kremlin and the military bloggers is intended to increase acceptance of the war ahead of the upcoming presidential elections. In addition, the Kremlin could use financial incentives to encourage military bloggers to report less critically on Russian warfare.

+++ 08:00 Ukraine: Russia has lost 332,810 soldiers +++ According to Ukrainianfigures, Russia has lost 332,810 soldiers since the beginning of the war of aggression against Ukraine. This was announced by the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces. Ukraine has reported 770 dead Russian soldiers in the past few days alone. According to the report, Russia has also lost 5580 tanks, 10401 armored combat vehicles, 10451 vehicles and fuel tanks, 7961 artillery systems, 913 multiple launch rocket systems, 602 air defense systems, 323 aircraft, 324 helicopters, 6,017 drones, 22 ships and boats and one submarine.

+++ 07:33 Ukraine: Russian troops fire 23 drones from Crimea +++According to the Ukrainian air force, Russian troops fired 23 drones at Ukraine from occupied Crimea during the night. In addition, the Russian forces fired from Kherson, according to the Telegram post. The missile and 18 of the drones were intercepted by air defenses and destroyed before they could reach their targets. Air defense missiles are stationed in at least nine regions of Ukraine, the air force added. What happened to the drones that were not intercepted and whether the attack caused any damage remains unclear. The information cannot be independently verified.

+++ 07:05 ISW: Russia is increasingly relying on long-range attacks withglide bombs +++TheUkrainian air defense along the front line is apparently prompting the Russian armed forces to increasingly rely on long-range attacks with glide bombs. This was reported by the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW). According to the report, Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Stupun explained that the Ukrainians are shooting down Russian combat helicopters such as the Ka-52 and Mi-24 as soon as they come within range of Ukrainian air defense systems. This would lead the Russian armed forces to deploy Su-35 and Su-34 fighter aircraft with glide bombs 50 to 70 kilometers behind the front line. According to ISW, this assessment coincides with that of Colonel Yuri Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian air force. According to him, the Ukrainian air defense forces the Russians to increasingly use KAB glide bombs. As these are inaccurate, the Russian forces have to drop a large number of bombs in order to hit Ukrainian targets.

+++ 06:40 Study: Ukraine war emits more CO2 than Belgium in a year +++According to a recent study, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has caused more climate-damaging greenhouse gases in the first year and a half than a country like Belgium does in a year. An international team of researchers led by Dutchman Lennard de Klerk calculated 150 million tons of CO2 equivalents for this period. Around a quarter of this was emitted by the actual waging of war - for example the fuel consumption of troops or military equipment and projectiles. Another major source of climate-damaging gases are fires (15 percent). According to the calculations, 12 percent of emissions are caused by the fact that many airlines fly long detours due to the closure of affected airspace. The study is to be presented today at the World Climate Conference in Dubai.

+++ 06:12 Selenskyj: "Will increase the capabilities of our state" +++ TheUkrainian arms industry is to expand its capacities in the near future. President Zelensky announced this without giving further details. "Next week - we are already preparing for this - we will definitely increase the capabilities of our state, especially our defense industry," he says. Most recently, the construction of a tank production plant by a German company was under discussion.

+++ 05:31 Kremlin censors families of mobilized soldiers +++Russiacensors relatives of mobilized Russian soldiers on social media for fear of their protests. According to the US think tank Institute for the Study of War, the Kremlin wants to avoid negative effects on the 2024 presidential election campaign. ISW quotes an article from BBC Russia. According to the article, online bots with fake profiles attacked the relatives and accused them of having links to imprisoned opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

+++ 03:25 Despite the war: global arms industry records lower revenues +++Theworld's 100 largest arms companies recorded lower revenues in 2022 despite the war in Ukraine. According to a report published by the Stockholm-based peace research institute Sipri, they generated 597 billion dollars (around 543.4 billion euros), 3.5 percent less than in the previous year. At the same time, however, companies acquired significantly more orders. Sipri therefore expects considerably higher revenues in the coming years. Sipri explains the development with capacity bottlenecks, particularly in the USA. Companies often take a long time to expand their production. Some of their unfinished orders date back to the time before the war in Ukraine.

+++ 01:25 Moscow car factory on fire +++A fire has broken out at a car factory in Moscow. Videos on X and Telegram from residents show flames leaping high. An area of 1000 square meters is reportedly affected and the fire is spreading. There is no official information on the cause of the fire.

+++ 00:16 Ukraine: Offensive on Melitopol continues +++TheUkrainian armed forces say they are continuing an offensive operation in the direction of Russian-occupied Melitopol. This was announced on Telegram by the commander of the Tavria Group, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi. The operation is inflicting losses on the occupying forces in terms of manpower and equipment.

+++ 22:18 Russia fires kamikaze drones at southern Ukraine +++Russianforces have fired a group of kamikaze drones at southern Ukraine, according to Ukrainian sources. These are the Iranian Shahed drones, the Ukrainian air force announced on Telegram. There is an air alert in at least three regions of the country: in the Kherson, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad oblasts.

+++ 21:16 Zelensky condemns "pure terrorist attacks" in Kherson +++Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemns the recent Russian attacks on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson as "pure terrorist attacks". "In total, there were more than 20 Russian attacks in the Kherson region on this day alone," said Zelenskyi in his evening video address. "Brutal strikes, all over the city - houses, streets, hospitals." According to official reports, at least two people were killed and seven others seriously injured in the artillery attacks on Kherson. Fighting was also reported from other sections of the front. "Fierce fighting continues in dozens of places along the entire front line," says Selenskyj. "The most difficult areas are Mariinka, Avdiivka and Bakhmut."

You can read all previous developmentshere.