Poland and the Baltic states also withdrew from the Ottawa Convention despite pleas from some leaders to maintain decorum in the face of Russian aggression.

Russia pounded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles overnight and Saturday as part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that killed at least six people and wounded dozens, officials said.

During a rare news conference on Friday, the head of the French military, Thierry Burkhard, said Russia remains a “lasting, close” threat.

Poland's scrambling of aircraft comes amid heightened tensions across the alliance's eastern flank over Russia's aggression. It follows another NATO member, Romania, announcing it would implement an Iron Dome defense system similar to that used by Israel.

A soldier who defected from Russia's notorious mercenary army has slammed military leaders who left troops to "rot in the fields". The Wagner soldier, named as Yevgeny, has reportedly defected to Finland after fighting as part of Russia 's new assault forces in Ukraine.

Another woman has died in hospital after the Russian strike on Poltava's military enlistment office on 3 July. Source: Poltava Oblast Military Administration Quote: "Sadly, another woman who had been injured in the Russian strike on the Poltava hromada on 3 July died in hospital.

Russia’s military is facing a critical and potentially catastrophic shortage of armored vehicles, rendering its massive ground army largely ineffective for large-scale maneuvers. -According to the analysis,

China and Russia’s growing military-technical cooperation aims to preserve strategic stability, but it could have the opposite effect.

"As a result of the explosion, a satellite communication hardware station—intended by Russian military leadership to coordinate occupying forces—was also destroyed," Ukraine's military intelligence said.

Top Putin military commander killed as Trump teases ‘major statement’ to Russia - Trump has confirmed the US would send weapons to Ukraine via Nato