International donors pledge $1.5 billion in Sudan aid International donors made pledges on Monday of close to $1.5 billion in aid for Sudan and the surrounding region, about half of estimated needs for a deepening humanitarian crisis that has driven some 2.2 million people from their homes. The conflict between Sudan's army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has turned the capital Khartoum into a war zone and triggered lethal, repeated attacks and mass displacement in the western region of Darfur as well as other parts of the country. Though a 72-hour ceasefire has brought a lull in fighting in…

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine sustains massive single-day losses – Russian MOD Ukrainian military forces have sustained heavy casualties across the frontlines during the last 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry has said. Russia’s Zaporozhye and Donetsk regions have seen the most intense fighting, with Kiev losing more than 800 soldiers in those regions. “Over the past day, enemy losses in the Southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions amounted to more than 800 Ukrainian servicemen, 20 tanks, four infantry fighting vehicles, [and] 15 armored fighting vehicles,” the military stated on Sunday during a daily media briefing. The ministry did not elaborate on whether…

Start of truce period brings lull in fighting to Sudan's capital The start of a 72-hour ceasefire aimed at calming more than two months of conflict between rival Sudanese military factions brought a lull in clashes in Khartoum early on Sunday following battles and air strikes overnight, residents said. Sudan's army and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to refrain from attacks and from seeking military advantage during the ceasefire period, which started at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT), as well as allowing for delivery of aid, Saudi and U.S. mediators said. Several previous truces have failed to stop…

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE 10,000+ Russian troops paid bonuses for destroying enemy hardware – MOD More than 10,000 Russian troops have received bonuses for destroying or capturing major enemy weapon systems during the military operation against Ukraine, the Defense Ministry has revealed. Russian soldiers have been paid between 50,000 and 300,000 rubles ($600 and $3,600) for personally taking out a tank, an artillery gun, a fighter jet, or other piece of military equipment, according to the statistics. In 2022, 7,064 servicemen merited such remuneration for destroying a total of 11,586 pieces of Ukrainian military equipment. In the first five months of this…