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Moving between damp basements and muddy dugouts to fend off constant Russian attacks in the nearly 4-year-old war, exhausted Ukrainian soldiers say their motivation is fortified by knowing they're fighting for higher cause: the defense of their homeland. But as negotiators try to hammer out a peace deal, the troops also believe that Russia remains determined to conquer Ukraine either now, or with a fresh army in a few years' time no matter what kind of agreement is reached. And they also say Kyiv must maintain a sizable military to protect the now-800-mile (nearly 1,300-kilometer) front line. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are now the main barrier between peaceful civilian life of Ukrainians and our bad neighbour, said a 40-year-old artillery gunner who spoke to The Associated Press near the border between the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions. He identified himself only by his call sign of Kelt," in keeping with military protocol, and on condition his exact location is not ...
Wrapped tightly around his forearms, the former Israeli soldier feels the snakes' cold skin against his, and for a moment, he's able to breathe. It's been nearly 18 months since he left the army after fighting in the war in Gaza, and the flashbacks and panic attacks haven't ceased. He was wounded in a Hamas missile attack on his military base, and said two of his friends also soldiers in their 20s died by suicide. This farm in central Israel dedicated to helping soldiers has been a lifeline, he said. It doesn't matter if a plane goes by or if the drone goes by or if someone is yelling. ... Because I'm here with the snake right now, said the 27-year-old sergeant major, who called the experience grounding. Like other soldiers who spoke to The Associated Press, he insisted on anonymity to discuss private mental health matters. Israel's longest war is leaving a trail of traumatised soldiers, with a growing number suffering from mental health illnesses after two years of war with Hamas
Britain's Prince Harry has arrived in Ukraine for a surprise visit in support of wounded service members. Harry's representatives confirmed they were in the capital, Kyiv, on Friday, though they declined to discuss the prince's schedule for security reasons. This is the second time Harry has visited Ukraine since the start of Russia's full scale invasion. We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process, Harry told the Guardian newspaper while on an overnight train to Kyiv. Harry, a British Army veteran, is the founder of the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style event designed to inspire military veterans around the world as they work to overcome battlefield injuries. Ukraine is bidding to host the games in 2029. The prince's appearance in Ukraine follows a four-day trip to the UK, where he met his father, King Charles III, for the first time in 19 months. The meeting was seen as a first step in repairing frigid relations between Harry a
A team of 23 NDRF personnel were rushed to Chhaten in North Sikkim from here on Tuesday for rescue and search operations for six soldiers missing after a landslide hit an army camp, officials said. The NDRF team is equipped with satellite phones and essential emergency equipment, the official said. A helicopter carrying the NDRF team left for Chhaten on Tuesday from Pakyong Airport here. Three army personnel were killed and six soldiers went missing after a landslide hit a military camp at Chhaten. The landslide, which occurred at 7 pm on Sunday near Lachen town in Mangan district, was triggered by heavy rainfall in the area. "... A catastrophic landslide occurred following intense and continuous rainfall in the region causing the death of three combatants, identified as Havaldar Lakhwinder Singh, Lance Naik Munish Thakur, and Porter Abhishek Lakhada," an official statement said. Bodies of the personnel have been recovered, while four other soldiers were rescued with minor injurie
The final US soldier who went missing in Lithuania has been found dead, bringing to an end a massive weeklong search for the four service members whose armoured vehicle was pulled from a swampy training area, the US military said Tuesday. The bodies of the three other soldiers were recovered Monday after U.S., Polish and Lithuanian armed forces and authorities dug the M88 Hercules vehicle out of a peat bog at the expansive Gen. Silvestras ukauskas training ground in the town of Pabrade. The Army released the identities of the three soldiers recovered Monday, but the fourth soldier's name has not been made public as family notifications continue. They were Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., 25, of Joliet, Illinois; Sgt. Edvin F. Franco, 25, of Glendale, California; and Pfc. Dante D. Taitano, 21, of Dededo, Guam. The soldiers, part of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, were on a tactical training exercise when they and their vehicle were reported missing a week ago, the Ar
Ukraine is in the final stages of drafting recruitment reforms to attract 18- to 25-year-olds who are currently exempt from mobilisation as it looks for ways to bolster its fighting force, the battlefield commander recently appointed to the President's Office said. In his first interview with foreign media since taking up his new position last fall, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Colonel Pavlo Palisa said Ukraine is exploring new recruitment options because the current drafting system inherited from Soviet times is hindering progress. While Ukraine passed a mobilisation law last spring and lowered the age of conscription from 27 to 25 years old, the measures have not had the impact needed to replenish its ranks or replace battlefield losses in its war with Russia. One initiative is what Palisa described as an honest contract," a plan that includes financial incentives, clear guarantees for training, and measures to ensure dialogue between soldiers and their commanders. T
IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh on Wednesday said that every citizen of India is akin to a soldier and that while serving the country in uniform has a different charm, one can also serve the nation even without donning military colours. In his address at the ongoing Republic Day National Cadet Corps (NCC) Camp at Delhi Cantonment, he underlined the ethos of the NCC, noting that this is the place where people from different backgrounds "become one," embodying the essence of India. He said that the young minds of India, trained at the NCC and the Republic Day camp, are being prepared for nation-building, as they are the future of India who will later take up various professions. "I have heard many cadets express a desire to join the armed forces -- the Army, Navy, and Air Force. It's wonderful that you want to, as serving the nation in uniform has a distinct charm. But to serve the nation, one may not necessarily need to wear a uniform. This is something we must remember," the I
A highly decorated Army soldier who fatally shot himself in a Tesla Cybertruck just before it blew up outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas left notes saying the New Year's Day explosion was a stunt to serve as a wake up call for the country's ills, investigators said Friday. Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old Green Beret from Colorado Springs, Colorado, also wrote in notes he left on his cellphone that he needed to cleanse his mind of the brothers I've lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took. Livelsberger served in the Army since 2006 and deployed twice to Afghanistan. This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake up call. Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives, Livelsberger wrote in one letter found by authorities and released Friday. The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people but virtually no damage to the Trump International Hotel. Authorities said that
Two soldiers who were critically wounded in Thursday's terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg succumbed to their injuries, raising the death toll in the ambush to four. Two Army porters died on Thursday while another porter and a soldier were injured. Terrorists attacked a vehicle of the force six kilometres from tourist hotspot Gulmarg in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, officials said on Thursday. They had said the terrorists opened fire on the Army vehicle in the Bota Pathri area in the evening when it was headed for the Nagin post in the Afrawat range. Confirming the deaths of the two porters, the officials had said the condition of two of the injured soldiers was critical. They had said the soldiers in the vehicle opened retaliatory fire when they came under attack. The area is completely dominated by the Army and there were reports recently that a terrorist group had infiltrated during early summer and taken shelter in the higher reaches of the Afrawat range, they
Some new Ukrainian soldiers refuse to fire at the enemy. Others, according to commanders and fellow fighters, struggle to assemble weapons or to coordinate basic combat movements. A few have even walked away from their posts, abandoning the battlefield altogether. While Ukraine presses on with its incursion into Russia's Kursk region, its troops are still losing precious ground along the country's eastern front a grim erosion that military commanders blame in part on poorly trained recruits drawn from a recent mobilization drive, as well as Russia's clear superiority in ammunition and air power. Some people don't want to shoot. They see the enemy in the firing position in trenches but don't open fire. ... That is why our men are dying, said a frustrated battalion commander in Ukraine's 47th Brigade. When they don't use the weapon, they are ineffective. The accounts come from commanders and soldiers who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely
South Korean soldiers fired warning shots after North Korean troops violated the land border earlier this week, South Korea's military said Tuesday. Some North Korean soldiers who were engaged in unspecified work on the northern side of the border briefly crossed the military demarcation line on Sunday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Those North Korean soldiers returned to their territory after South Korea's military fired warning shots and issued warning broadcasts, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It said North Korea had not conducted any other suspicious activities. The Koreas' mine-strewn land border is the world's most heavily armed border, with hundreds of thousands of combat troops facing each other. It's a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The border-crossing incident came amid rising tensions over North Korea's recent launches of trash-carrying balloons.
Soldiers are searching mountainous forests near a city in northern Malawi after a military plane carrying the country's vice president and a former first lady went missing in the area Monday, President Lazarus Chakwera said. The plane carrying 51-year-old Vice President Saulos Chilima, former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri and eight others left the southern African nation's capital, Lilongwe, at 9:17 a.m. and had been expected to land 45 minutes later at Mzuzu International Airport, about 370 kilometers (230 miles) to the north. But air traffic control told it to not attempt a landing and to turn around because of bad weather and poor visibility, Chakwera said in an address broadcast live on state TV channel MBC. Air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft and it disappeared from radar a short time later, he said. I know this is a heartbreaking situation. I know we are all frightened and concerned. I too am concerned, Chakwera said. But I want to assure you that I am sparing no