UK: Russia Likely Redeployed Major Elements of Airborne Forces to Eastern Ukraine

Members of the pro-Ukrainian Chechen battalion in the town of Bakhmut (Reuters)
Members of the pro-Ukrainian Chechen battalion in the town of Bakhmut (Reuters)
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UK: Russia Likely Redeployed Major Elements of Airborne Forces to Eastern Ukraine

Members of the pro-Ukrainian Chechen battalion in the town of Bakhmut (Reuters)
Members of the pro-Ukrainian Chechen battalion in the town of Bakhmut (Reuters)

Russia has lately redeployed major elements of its airborne forces to Eastern Ukraine, the UK Defense Ministry said in its latest Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine.

The ministry said the forces were likely redeployed to the Donetsk and Luhansk fronts in the Donbas.

Between September and October, most of the VDV units were dedicated to the defense of Russian-held territory west of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.

Some weakened VDV units have likely been reinforced with mobilized reservists.

The Russian airborne forces are considered an elite unit, a separate branch of the armed forces. At the beginning of the war against Ukraine nine months ago, the troops were supposed to take over Kyiv with the support of ground forces, but they were confronted.



Vatican Cancels Pope’s Weekend Engagements as He Battles ‘Complex’ Infection 

Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Vatican Cancels Pope’s Weekend Engagements as He Battles ‘Complex’ Infection 

Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

Pope Francis, who began his fifth day in hospital on Tuesday for what doctors have described as a "complex" respiratory infection, will not take part in this weekend's Holy Year events, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Friday.

A planned public papal audience set for Saturday had been cancelled "due to the health condition of the Holy Father", the Vatican said in a brief statement.

A papal mass scheduled for Sunday will still take place, but will be led instead by a senior Vatican official, it added.

The Vatican said on Monday that doctors had changed the pope's drug therapy for the second time during his hospital stay to tackle a "complex clinical situation". They described it as a "polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract".

Doctors say polymicrobial diseases can be caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years. As a young adult he developed pleurisy and had part of one lung removed, and in recent times has been prone to lung infections.