I'm Yemeni myself. I have reported on war for the BBC for years, including on my own country's long collapse. But nothing prepared me for what I would learn while investigating Russia's recruitment of foreign fighters: the precision with which vulnerability is targeted; how promises are tailored to poverty; how citizenship becomes bait; how families are left to grieve in the dark.
The Soviet front of World War II, the Great Patriotic War for Russians, lasted 1,418 days. The special military operation as Vladimir Putin dubbed Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, reached its 1,418-day mark on January 12. Nearly four years of war that, in the Soviet theater, resulted in the retreat of the Third Reich from Moscow and the Volga to Berlin, while the Kremlin's current campaign remains entrenched in Donbas.
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is accused of luring men to Russia in the latest scandal rocking the prominent Zuma family. A daughter of South Africa's former president, Jacob Zuma, on Friday resigned as a lawmaker after explosive allegations that she tricked 17 South African men into joining a Russian mercenary group to fight in Ukraine. Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, who joined parliament in 2024 under her father's opposition uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, is officially under a police investigation, but she denies allegations of involvement.
The national officials have accepted comrade Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla's decision to resign and support her efforts to ensure that these young South Africans are brought back safely to their families, the MK Party's national chairperson, Nkosinathi Nhleko, told a news conference. MK officials said Zuma-Sambudla's resignation was voluntary and that her departure from the National Assembly and all other public roles was effective immediately.
Kremlin spokesman says talks ongoing as US President Donald Trump pushes for an end to the conflict. Russia says the United States-brokered talks to end the war with Ukraine are serious, but its officials caution that an agreement is a long way off and Moscow would offer no major concessions to Kyiv. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in televised comments on Wednesday that the negotiations were ongoing and the process is serious.
The trip, where he is scheduled to meet Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is an attempt to revive talks with Moscow seeking an end to the war. "We are preparing to reinvigorate negotiations, and we have developed solutions that we will propose to our partners. Doing everything possible to bring the end of the war closer is Ukraine's top priority," Zelenskyy said of the visit.
The goal is to cause an energy crisis and trigger a new refugee wave to destabilise Ukraine's European allies. As winter approaches, there is much anxiety in Ukraine. Last month, the so-called Coalition of the Willing, a group of Ukraine's allies led by France and the United Kingdom, agreed to mobilise significant resources to help Kyiv maintain its supply of electricity and central heating in big urban areas.
A controversial figure, Putin has been accused of voter fraud, human rights violations, and restricting Russia's freedom of the press. In 2022, Putin led the invasion of Ukraine, and fighting continues to this day. Worldwide, the opinion of Putin is unfavorable in most countries. According to Pew Research, only 26% of people globally have confidence in Putin to do the right thing.
Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Moldova has been popping up in the news with increasing frequency. The Republic of Moldova is a small country on Ukraine's southwestern border, and in the spring of 2022, it seemed possible that Russia might also invade and occupy it. This would have opened up a second front for Ukraine and brought Russia right up to the southeastern border of both the EU and NATO.
