Tag Archives: Politics

Putin’s Army Has Significantly Changed Pace On The Frontline Throughout 2025, UK Says

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Vladimir Putin’s army has slowed down significantly with its territorial gains in Ukraine over the last few months, according to the UK.

Russia still occupies around a fifth of Ukrainian land, but is continuing to push forward and try to seize more territory.

Putin has even issued his largest conscription call yet to bolster his army, all while Donald Trump is trying to negotiate a peace deal.

However, Russia is not actually having that much success on the frontline, according to the British Ministry of Defence (MoD).

In its latest social media update on the war, the MoD said: “Russian territorial gains in Ukraine have decreased during the first quarter of 2025, with Russian forces highly likely seizing only 143 sq km of Ukrainian territory in March 2025, an average of less than 5 square kilometres per day.”

The British officials traced this decreased progress back to the end of last year.

“Russia’s rate of advance has dropped month by month since November 2024, when its forces seized more than 700 sq km,” the MoD said.

“Most of the advances by Russian forces in March 2025 were in central Donetsk oblast, but Russia not did not improve its operational position.”

And, according to the intelligence officers, Ukraine is successfully pushing some of the Russian forces back.

“Ukrainian forces also carried out tactical counter-attacks, reversing some of Russia’s gains around Pokrovsk,” they said.

“The level of Russian ground attacks on several axes was reduced through much of March 2025.

“These began to increase towards the end of the month but have not resulted in a higher rate of advance.”

It’s worth noting Russia’s casualty rate has also reached around 900,000 – wounded or dead – since Putin invaded Ukraine back in 2022, according to the MoD.

But, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned over the weekend, Russia is still launching daily air strikes on Ukraine.

The MoD’s update comes after one of Putin’s ministers spurned the US proposals for a peace plan.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told the media that “there is no place for our main demand” in the American proposals, and so Moscow “cannot accept” such a plan.

Trump has been pushing for a quick resolution to the Ukraine war, even if it means settling on Russia’s terms.

The US president did manage to secure partial ceasefires in the Black Sea and against Ukrainian energy infrastructure – but both sides now claim that brief truce has already been broken.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Friday that the world will know “in a matter of weeks” if Russia is “serious about peace or not”.

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Kemi Badenoch Under Fire For ‘Disgraceful’ Comments After Israel Refused Entry To UK MPs

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Kemi Badenoch is facing backlash for supporting Israel after the country refused entry to two Labour MPs.

Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed travelled to Israel and were planning to go on to the West Bank, but they – together with their aides – were questioned by the Israeli authorities and turned back on Saturday.

They were allegedly suspected of planning to “document the activities of security forces and spread anti-Israel hatred”, according to a statement from the Israeli immigration ministry.

While the UK government has made it clear this was “unacceptable”, Badenoch has suggested otherwise.

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the Conservative leader said: “Countries should be able to control their borders.

“What I think is shocking is that we have MPs in Labour who other countries will not allow through. I think that is very significant.”

She added: “If you look at the reasons the Israeli government has given, they don’t believe [the MPs] are going to comply with their laws. MPs do not have diplomatic immunity. I believe the people who represent us in parliament should be able to go anywhere in the world and people not be worried about what they’re going to do.”

She added the UK “does the same thing” and refuses entry to plenty of people.

“I don’t think we should be setting precedents in a different way,” she said.

However, just hours later, the Tory shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Richard Fuller, seemed to contradict Badenoch during his own interview on Times Radio.

He said: “I haven’t seen the details of the MPs, whether on an official trip or a personal trip. But, you know, any member of parliament who goes on an official trip should be, I would think, welcomed in any country. They’re going there to be better informed about the situation and then report back to their parliamentary colleagues about what they have found.”

He added: “I think we should all be very worried about democracy. Democracy isn’t a guarantee in life. Freedom isn’t guaranteed.”

Meanwhile, foreign secretary David Lammy quickly slammed Badenoch’s comments on X.

He said: “It’s disgraceful you are cheerleading another country for detaining and deporting two British MPs.

“Do you say the same about Tory MPs banned from China?

“This government will continue to stand up for the rights of our MPs to speak their mind, whatever their party.”

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.@KemiBadenoch it’s disgraceful you are cheerleading another country for detaining and deporting two British MPs. Do you say the same about Tory MPs banned from China?

This government will continue to stand up for the rights of our MPs to speak their mind, whatever their party. https://t.co/91W4H9vLWt

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) April 6, 2025

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.@KemiBadenoch it’s disgraceful you are cheerleading another country for detaining and deporting two British MPs. Do you say the same about Tory MPs banned from China?

This government will continue to stand up for the rights of our MPs to speak their mind, whatever their party. https://t.co/91W4H9vLWt

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) April 6, 2025

Badenoch then hit back at the Labour politician, saying: “Unlike China, Israel is our ally and a democracy. A good Foreign Sec would be able to make that distinction.

“Perhaps Labour MPs could put UK national interest first and do their jobs instead of campaigning for airports in Kashmir or promoting Hamas propaganda in parliament.”

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Unlike China, Israel is our ally and a democracy. A good Foreign Sec would be able to make that distinction.

Perhaps Labour MPs could put UK national interest first and do their jobs instead of campaigning for airports in Kashmir or promoting Hamas propaganda in parliament. https://t.co/lLd5aNtCHU

— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) April 6, 2025

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Unlike China, Israel is our ally and a democracy. A good Foreign Sec would be able to make that distinction.

Perhaps Labour MPs could put UK national interest first and do their jobs instead of campaigning for airports in Kashmir or promoting Hamas propaganda in parliament. https://t.co/lLd5aNtCHU

— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) April 6, 2025