Russian troops becoming more reckless as Ukraine humiliates Putin | World | News
Russian troops are applying “more reckless and dangerous” tactics as Ukraine blitzes target after target, the foreign secretary has said. Yvette Cooper told foreign ministers during a NATO meeting on Friday that the “threat from Russia is increasing on air, land, sea, space, cyber and information warfare,” urging European allies to “do more” to fight Vladimir Putin. The Russian president is increasingly under pressure as his troops struggle to advance in key regions. Moscow gained half as much territory in the Donbas in April compared to March, and a sixth of what it captured in December 2025, according to Ukrainian monitoring website DeepState.
In the meantime, using hi-tech drones, the Ukrainian army cuts deeper into the heart of the regime. In an overnight attack on a student dormitory in the Russia-occupied town of Starobilsk, Luhansk region, the Ukrainian military killed six people and injured 39, the Russian President said. Another 15 people were missing.
Ukraine‘s military said it had hit the headquarters of Russia’s elite Rubicon drone military unit. It did not say whether it was the same building as the one identified by Russia. But Putin said there were no military facilities close by and ordered the Russian military to prepare “proposals” on how to retaliate.
It comes as Volodymyr Zelensky‘s forces blew up a Russian Spy HQ on Thursday and bombed Moscow on Sunday in revenge for a Russian blitz which killed 24 last week, The Sun reports. The strike on the intelligence hub wounded at least 100 Russian soldiers.
Earlier this week, two Russian jets harassed an unarmed RAF spy plane over the Black Sea. The Russian pilots flew their fighter planes “repeatedly and dangerously” close to the British craft, risking World War Three. The Ministry of Defence said Russian jets “flew as close as six metres of the Rivet Joint’s nose, disabling the aircraft’s autopilot.”
Amid heavy battlefield losses and domestic mobilisation concerns, the Kremlin plans to recruit at least 18,500 foreigners to fight in the Russian army in 2026, a sharp rise in the annual recruitment of foreign nationals.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer and leaders from France and Germany vowed to “double down on their support” for Ukraine during a virtual meeting with Zelensky.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The leaders paid tribute to the strength and courage of the Ukrainian people and confirmed they would double down on their support in the coming months.”
