BBC News Briefing

17 April, 2024

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. Russia's military losses in the war in Ukraine have now passed the 50,000 mark. For BBC Russian, Olga Ivshina, Becky Dale and Kirstie Brewer analyse and visualise the data. In Croatia, Guy Delauney explains why this parliamentary election is different from previous polls, while in Nigeria Yemisi Adegoke reports on the lives of the freed Chibok girls a decade from their kidnapping. Finally, Nasa confirms space debris hit a home in Florida - luckily, no one was hurt.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Cost of Russia's 'meat grinder' strategy

An illustration shows pictures of three dead Russian soldiers alonside images of graves

New graves in cemeteries helped with verifying the names of many soldiers. Credit: BBC

The Russian ministry of defence has very rarely publicly disclosed the death toll of military personnel in Ukraine. The last update, in September 2022, placed the figure at under 6,000 deaths. BBC Russian, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers have been counting deaths since February 2022 and have confirmed more than 50,000 soldiers were killed, with an increase in casualties occurring in the second year of conflict. The special investigation explains what's behind the figures - from platoons of prisoners to a "meat grinder" strategy. The actual number of Russian deaths is likely to be much higher. Ukraine also rarely comments on the scale of its battlefield fatalities. In February, the government said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed - but estimates, based on US intelligence, suggest greater losses.

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War's prospects: Russia is gearing up for a summer offensive. Security correspondent Frank Gardner explains the key areas along the front line.

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'Double tap': Recent Russian attacks in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia employed a technique wherein an initial air strike is followed by a second, killing rescuers trying to help the injured.

The latest: Ukraine said a Russian missile attack has killed at least 10 people in the city of Chernihiv, north of Kyiv. It came hours after reports of a Ukrainian strike on a Russian military airfield in occupied Crimea.

WORLD HEADLINES

'How can I be impartial?': Out of a large cast of quintessential New Yorkers, the first seven jurors have been picked in Donald Trump's hush money trial.

Solomon Islands: The Pacific nation is holding its first election since the country's pivot to Beijing.

Gulf states: Dubai's airport diverted flights, while 18 people have been killed in Oman, as heavy rain caused flash flooding in the usually arid region.

India's Chhattisgarh state: Security forces say they have killed 29 Maoist rebels, the highest number of Maoist casualties in a clash in recent years.

Brigitte Macron: France's first lady is to be the subject of a six-part TV series titled Brigitte: A Free Woman.

AT THE SCENE

Zagreb, Croatia

Croatia's president shakes up election

Croatian President Zoran Milanovic speaks at the UN

Since becoming president, Zoran Milanovic has enjoyed high popularity rating. Credit: Getty Images

Croatia's parliamentary polls tend to follow a pattern, but as voters prepare to cast their ballots on Wednesday, the result is no foregone conclusion. Sharp-tongued President Zoran Milanovic is the prime minister's candidate for the Social Democrats (SDP), and all bets are off.

Guy Delauney, BBC News

On a sunny late afternoon in the capital Zagreb, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic attended an event at a children's playground in the city and faced the media under the shade of some nearby trees. "It's bizarre," Mr Plenkovic told the BBC. "I'm trying to minimise the negative effects of the unconstitutional acts that were committed by the president. The Constitutional Court couldn't have been clearer. For us, it's the continuation of a very odd behaviour, to be very polite, for the BBC." The president, on the other hand, relishes being impolite. And he is not just rude about the prime minister and his party.

Keep reading

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Nigeria's Chibok girls feel let down

Amina Ali looks to the floor. She's wearing a white hairband and er hair is braided.

Amina Ali became the first Chibok girl to escape prolonged captivity in 2016. Credit: Simpa Samson/BBC

It's been a decade since the campaign #BringBackOurGirls first turned the world's attention to the kidnapping of 276 girls from their school in the town of Chibok, northern Nigeria, by Boko Haram militants. More than 180 have either since escaped or been freed, but those who spoke to Yemisi Adegoke described a lack of adequate support from authorities.

Read their stories

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Live long and prosper

Blue Zones are regions of the world where people regularly live into healthy old age.

Here's one

And finally...

A home in the US state of Florida was hit by a mysterious metal object that tore through two layers of ceiling last month. Now, US space agency Nasa confirmed it was debris from the International Space Station that failed to burn upon re-entry into the atmosphere. Take a look.

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– Sofia

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