Kyiv
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Russian soldiers call it a sacrifice to Baba Yaga, the terrifying witch of Slavic folklore, who feasts the victims.

A Russian soldier is seen tied up to video, abandoned by his fate with the hand of one of Ukrainian big attack drones, perhaps abandoned by death.

Why this is happening is clear from radio interception regarding similar incidents shared with CNN. It can be clearly heard that Russian commanders order such an order to bind their subordinates as punishment for escape.

Instructions will be given twice. “I’ll hide him somewhere (while the battle is underway), take him with me and tie him to a tree in the next 30 minutes.”

The Ukrainian drone battalion commander says he observed it happen twice and heard more on radio intercept.

“The massive Ukrainian drones they call Baba Yaga spread terrible panic to these damaged people. For them, it’s some kind of scary myth, and it’s kind of scary myth that everyone flies and kills.”

This practice is one of an unpleasant array of battlefield abuses recorded on video by either Ukrainian surveillance drones or Russian military personnel, which has since been circulated on social media.

As Moscow’s army makes slow and relentless progress within Ukraine, the video depicts a harsh picture of the reality of life within Putin’s army. This is estimated that tens of thousands of Russian men have fled since the start of the full invasion in early 2022.

In the video, clearly filmed last winter, the man is shown in a close-up and tied to a tree.

The man says he is from Kamensk Uralsky, a city in the heart of Russia, on the east side of the Urals.

He explains that he escaped from his post after being scared by a Ukrainian drone flying overhead. He says a fellow soldier who caught up with him offered him.

Let us make “300” and let you retreat,” the soldier said, using a term that refers to wounded fighter jets in the Russian army.

Then came the Quid Pro Quo.

“You shoot me, I shoot you.”

The man refuses to take the camera, but the other soldiers say they shot him anyway and easily captured the man from his troops. A thick cable now connects him to the tree, so he looks nervously empty as the voice behind the camera tells him there is a drone halfway through.

“If (the drone) comes here, she’ll drop everything on you,” the voice untold.

At this point the clip ends and the soldier’s fate is unknown.

In common with many troops, Russia has not spoken publicly about the escape of rank. However, social media channels – usually telegrams – offer a glimpse into the deep anxiety and despair that many soldiers and their families felt, giving them a sense of why Russian soldiers chose to quit.

“Dear Vladimir Vladimir Vladimir Vladimir Vladimir vich” begins a video posted to Telegram by a man identified as Yuri Duryagin.

Duryagin says he was fighting in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. There, due to poor equipment and lack of ammunition, only 32 men from his company survived certain attacks. Typically, the company may have up to 150 representatives.

He tells Putin that he received less than a fifth of his salary, but adds to him that his boss will waste his time complaining.

When deaths occurred on the battlefield, they were often hidden to avoid paying compensation to the family members of the survivors.

“I personally saw my comrades die right in front of me. They were killed. My parents tried to find information about relatives and loved ones, but they were told they were missing,” he says.

Perhaps the worst, he appears to accuse one commander of shooting people who refused to participate.

“Violence is something that keeps the Russian army in place and glues it together,” said Grigory Sverdlin, founder of Get Lost, an organization that helps Russian men avoid abandoning or conscription. He spoke to CNN from Barcelona, Spain.

Sverdlin said Get Lost was launched six months after the full-scale invasion, helping 1,700 people escape. The total number of escapes from the Russian army is difficult to determine, but he estimates it is in tens of thousands.

The WAR Institute (ISW), a US-based analytics group, says it is leaked data from the Russian Ministry of Defense, suggesting there are more than 50,000 possibilities.

Many deserts before unfolding appeal to poor training that lasts only a to three weeks, Sverdlin said, but those who quit during unfolding often describe a culture characterized by nihilism.

“Their lives are of no value to the commander. For Russian officers, losing a tank and losing a vehicle is much worse than losing, say, 10 or 20 people,” Sverdlin said.

“We often hear from clients tell us that an executive is dead in a week. The executives get another unit, so that’s not a problem for them.”

For Russian soldiers convicted of escape, the sentence could be up to 15 years in prison. However, videos circulating on social media show that ad hoc punishment is also widely carried out on the ground, with the same purpose of stopping others from escaping.

One approaches a large metal storage tank with the man behind the camera resting a ladder next to it.

“Time to feed animals! Those who tried to do f**k, find out what they’re doing,” the man says.

“Are you hungry?” a voice taunts. “Do you want cookies?”

One of the men nods, the biscuit collapses into his outspread’s hands, and he eats it immediately.

In another video, the man on the ground cops as his face is repeatedly kicked. He holds an orange belt tied to one of his ankles. The other end is attached to a jeep, which is driven out at speed, spins around the field and drags the man who bouncing behind it with a punishment colloquially known as the “carousel.”

And in another person, the man is tied to a tree with a rusty bucket above his head. After the bucket is removed, he is repeatedly kicked in the face and clearly urinates.

CNN contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense to comment on the punishment of the escapee shown in the video, but received no reply.

Estimates by Western governments and academic institutions have poured out the number of Russians killed or injured to around one million since February 2022. The NATO executive director recently said 100,000 Russian soldiers had died in 2025 alone.

Ukraine has its own problems with morale and escape, but one emotion appears to be far lower within its ranks. It is a lack of belief in the cause.

Sverdlin said this is what you hear most often hear from Russian soldiers who are helping him escape.

“Some of them just say, ‘I don’t want to die here,’ but the most common phrase is, ‘It’s not my war, it’s not our war… I don’t know what we’re doing here.”

Hong Kong
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China’s famous Shorin Temple announced on Sunday that its abbot was investigating allegations of embezzlement and “inappropriate relationships” with a woman, reviving a controversial, 10-year-old allegation against a prominent monk.

Shi Yongxin, known as the “CEO Monk” for his efforts to transform the Buddhist monastery into a commercial empire, is suspected of criminal offences, including embezzlement and misappropriation of project funds and temple assets, temple officials said in a statement.

The 59-year-old monk was accused of seriously violating the Buddhist scriptures by maintaining “inappropriate relationships” with multiple women over a long period of time and fathering at least one child, according to a statement.

Chinese Buddhist monks have traditionally been expected to take the vow of singleness.

“(SHI) is currently under joint investigation by multiple departments. Detailed information will soon be made public,” the statement added.

CNN was unable to contact SHI.

Founded over 1,500 years ago in a forested area in central China, Shaolin Temple is a religious and cultural icon and is famous for its ancient traditions of Zen Buddhism and Shaolin Kung Fu.

After becoming the abbot of Xiaolin Temple in 1999 and a member of China’s Rubber Stamp Parliament for 20 years, Xi frequently appears in the media spotlight.

Known as the first Chinese abbot to earn his Masters in Business Administration, he has often seen him meet world leaders and industry Titans from the late King Elizabeth II of England, late King Elizabeth II of South Africa, President Nelson Mandela, Henry Kissinger, and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

In February, Shi led a delegation of monks from the Shaolin temple to the Vatican, meeting Pope Francis.

However, he has overthrew Buddhist monks for many years, including accepting a million yuan ($140,000) cars from local governments as a reward to promote tourism in 2006.

In response to the public’s protests of the time, Shi told the state media: “Friars are citizens too. We have fulfilled our duties and contributed to society, so it is right to receive rewards.”

His focus on promoting the Shaolin brand and turning it into a multi-million dollar business has attracted intense criticism, especially from some followers who viewed excessive commercialization as corrupting the spiritual integrity of religious institutions.

He staged Shaolin Kung Fu’s performances around the world, sanctioned the temple’s names in cartoons, films and video games, and established a business empire that included publication, traditional Chinese medicine, tourism development and real estate.

On his part, Shi has defended efforts to commercialize and promote the Shaolin brand globally.

After writing a $3 million check in an Australian town in 2015 to build the Shaolin branch, Shi Yongxin told the state-run Xinhua Japanese press:

“Cultural promotion is a very dignified job,” he said.

Later that year, self-identified Xiaolin insiders posted a series of explosive allegations on Chinese social media, portraying Shi as embezzlement and femininity along with non-gi-sama children.

The accusers include documents dating back to the late 1980s and are said to indicate that Shi has been kicked out of Shaolin following the theft and other accusations from the Master. Among the documents posted online were birth certificates of one of Abbott’s supposed non-Gi child and photos of the suspected mother and child.

The allegations prompted a denial of anger from Xiaolin Temple and an investigation from the country’s religious affairs authorities. Asked at the time by the BBC Chinese about the allegations, Si said: “If there were any issues, it would have surfaced a long time ago.”

Authorities dropped the lawsuit in 2017, citing inadequate evidence. Three years later, Shi was re-elected as deputy director of the Chinese Buddhist Association (the national regulatory body on religion), which he has been carrying since 2002, according to the national media.

On Monday, the Chinese Buddhist Association said in a statement that Shi had been stripped of his ordination certificate. This is official evidence of the qualification of a monk or nun to enter the life of a monk or abbey.

“Sillongkin’s actions are of a very terrible nature, seriously hurting the reputation of the Buddhist community and the image of the monks,” the association said.

“The Chinese Buddhist Association firmly supports and supports the decision to deal with the Sillong Xingin case in accordance with the law.”

Seoul, Korea
CNN
–

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Eun said in state media on Monday that South Korea remains North Korea’s “enemy” despite recent moves by Seoul to ease tensions along the 38th parallel.

North Korea has “not interested” in consultations with the South no matter what proposals are offered, Kim Yeo Jung said in a statement released by the South Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim’s comments marked North Korea’s first official response since the new South Korean government took office on June 4th, following months of political turmoil over the disgraced former leader Yoon Sook Yeol’s declaration of martial law in December.

Yoon said the declaration of martial law, which the National Assembly retracted six hours later, is necessary to combat North Korea’s influence among opponents of his leadership in the South Korean government.

Since President Lee Jae Myung’s election, the overture to the settlement has not erased the way South Korea and the US military alliance “stained” the southern half of the South Korean peninsula, she added.

The statement said the new South Korean president’s reaffirmation of the US alliance shows that there is no opportunity for improvement in relations between the North and South.

Kim said the new Lee administration is a little different to Yoon’s government and would explain what is called “blind trust” in the Seoul-Washington alliance.

“There is no change in our understanding of our state’s enemies. They cannot return the hand of the clock of history,” Kim said in a statement Monday.

Former President Yoon supported the hardlining stance against Pyongyang. This was strengthened by strong South Korea’s military ties. This included strengthening the joint military movement, and the US Navy’s ballistic missile submarines and aircraft carriers visiting South Korea’s ports and approving participation in a tripartite military exercise with Japan.

In its first official comment on North and South relations under the Lee administration, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification on Monday said it would continue to look for ways to engage with Pyongyang.

Koo Byoung-Sam, a spokesman for the Ministry of Unification, noted that Kim’s comments were not particularly hostile or ock-lol compared to previous statements on North and South relations.

However, Koo said Pyongyang is closely watching the Lee administration’s North Korea policy, but that the “wall of distrust” between the two South Koreas is “very high.”

To alleviate tensions, Lee’s government stopped propaganda broadcasting of speakers along the unarmed zone and stopped the distribution of Korean leaflets from balloons to the north.

In 2024, North Korea called for peaceful unification and abolished its long-standing policy of blowing up roads and bridges that could link both countries with sourness.

In response to the road breakdown in October, South Korean forces announced they are maintaining “fully prepared in cooperation with the US” within the region south of the military demarcation line.

However, Koo, a spokesman for the Ministry of Unification, said the new South Korean government would not be very reactionary.

“The government will not be sensitive to North Korea’s responses, but will consistently strive to create inter-Korean relations of reconciliation and cooperation, and achieve peace coexistence on the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

Associated Press
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Syria held parliamentary elections in September, and the head of the body, who was tasked with organizing the election process, said on Sunday in the state media.

Mohammed Taha al-Ahmad, chairman of the High People’s Assembly Election Commission, told Sana of the State Communications Commission that the elections will take place between September 15th and 20th.

A third of the 210 seats will be appointed by interim president Ahmad al-Sharara, with the rest being elected.

In a recent interview with the EREM news site, Hassan Al-Daghim, another member of the Election Commission, said that election universities will be established in Syrian provinces and vote for seats that have been elected.

The temporary constitution signed by Alshara in March called for the permanent constitution to be adopted and established to serve as a provisional assembly until the general election took place.

The announcement of the imminent election comes as the country is increasingly split in the views of new Damascus authorities after sectarian violence broke out in southern Sweida earlier this month. The fighting killed hundreds of people and threatened to unravel Syria’s fragile postwar transition.

The violent clash that broke out two weeks ago was caused by a guilty trickery between an armed Bedouin clan and a fighter of a religious minority of the Druze.

The Syrian government forces, ostensibly intervened to end the battle, but effectively sided with the clan. Some government fighters reportedly executed Druze civilians, burning and looting homes. Israel intervened and launched airstrikes at the headquarters of the government forces and the Ministry of Defense. Israel said it was acting to protect the Druze minority.

Associated Press
–

Regional passenger trains derailed in southern Germany, killing at least three people and seriously injured others on Sunday, authorities said.

Federal and local police said the cause of the crash near Leadingen, about 158 kilometers (98 miles) west of Munich, is under investigation. Photos from the scene showed parts of the train were on the side as rescuers climbed onto the carriage.

It was not immediately clear how many people were injured. Around 6:10pm (1610 GMT) there were about 100 people on the train when at least two horse-drawn carriages derailed in the woodland.

German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz said in a post on Social Platform X that he lamented the victims and expressed his sadness to his family.

Germany’s leading national railway operator, Deutsche Baan, did not reply to Associated Press’ request for comment on Sunday evening.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Istanbul
AP
–

A wildfire that involved turkeys for weeks threatened the country’s fourth-largest city early Sunday, causing more than 1,700 people to flee the home and kill firefighters.

Meanwhile, firefighters from other parts of the region, including Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro, were also fighting flames that were fed by unusually high temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds.

Overnight fires rapidly spread across the forested mountains surrounding Bursa in northwestern Turkey, with red glows glowing over the red sky above the eastern outskirts of the city. Dozens of harsh wildfires have hit the country every day since late June, with the government declared two western states of the disaster area, Izmir and Bilesic on Friday.

In a statement Sunday, the Governor’s Office said 1,765 people were safely evacuated northeast of the village as more than 1,900 firefighters fought the flames. The highway linking Bursa to the capital Ankara was closed as the surrounding forests were burned.

Mayor Mustafa Bozbay said in a statement that a firefighter died of a heart attack while he was working, adding that the flames had burned 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) in the city.

Orhan Salivar, a state opposition council member, described the scene as an “apocalypse.”

By morning, reducing the wind provided firefighters with rest. Firefighters continued their efforts to fight the flames. However, television footage revealed the ashes landscapes where farms and pine forests had previously stood.

Forest Minister Ibrahim Yumakuri said firefighters across the country faced 84 separate flames on Saturday. The country’s northwest has been under the biggest threat since Tuesday, including Karabuk, where wildfires have been burning, he said.

Unseasonably high temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds fuel wildfires.

The Weather Directorate said turkey recorded a high of 50.5 degrees Celsius (122.9 degrees Fahrenheit) in the southeastern Sirnak province on Friday. He said highs in July were seen in 132 other locations.

Fourteen people have died in recent weeks, including 10 rescue volunteers and forestry workers killed on Wednesday in a fire in Eckisehill, western Turkey.

Justice Minister Irmaz Tank said late Saturday that prosecutors have investigated fires in 33 states since June 26th, with legal action being taken against 97 suspects.

In Greece, firefighters fought active wildfires on the southwestern part of the country and on Sunday, following the blazes that scorched the outskirts of Kurineli, outside North Athens, on Saturday. High temperatures reaching 38°C (100°F) or higher, while slightly lessening the wind, they persist in most of the country.

At Clioneri, 27 residents were evacuated overnight with police assistance after initially ignoring the warning. Authorities urged the public to comply with evacuation orders and warned that resistance would put both civilians and rescuers at risk.

Firefighters reported three people hospitalized due to breathing problems and one firefighter who was treated for burns at a military hospital. On Evia Island, where another fire is currently under control, media reports show that numerous animals have died in the barn.

Like the southern Bulgaria border with Greece and Turkey, and the frontier of Western Serbia, firefighters fought wildfires as the government declared the worst state disaster zone. Almost half of the country’s residents have been issued the highest level of Code Red warning.

National Fire Force Chief Alexander Zurtov told reporters there were 236 wildfires on fire. The government had sought help from EU partners, he added, and aircraft were expected later on Sunday from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Hungary and Sweden.

Overnight flames have led firefighters to retreat in the Strumyani region of the southwestern region. They were reinforced by soldiers on Sunday. Dozens of people fled homes in the Trang region of the western region as flames threatened villages near the Serbian border.