TIG Post

Tag: Russian

  • Russian Belgorod raiders support Ukraine but find it difficult to adopt Kyiv’s position

    Russian Belgorod raiders support Ukraine but find it difficult to adopt Kyiv’s position

    Russian dissident fighters who had just returned from a raid in their own country paraded around Ukraine with an armoured car as a prize, but they had trouble explaining their actions in line with Kyiv‘s official line.

    In a two-day attack that was extensively documented on social media, Ukrainian authorities claim the fighters were acting independently when they sped across the Russian border and started shooting up Russian communities in the Belgorod region earlier this week.

    The Ukrainian security forces are in charge of the members of the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom for Russia Legion, both of which are made up of Russian citizens waging war in Ukraine against their motherland.

    “Was this an independent action uncoordinated with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, or did they give you instructions?” I asked Dennis Nikitin, leader of the far-right Russian Volunteer Corps on Wednesday.

    He replied, “Obviously, everything we do, every decision we make behind, beyond the border [in Russia] … is our own decision.”

    But he went on to admit a certain “encouragement and help and aid.”

    “What we do, obviously, we can ask our, let’s say, [Ukrainian] comrades, friends for their assistance in planning. What do you think about this? Could you tell us if this is a plausible mission? Would it help Ukraine in this fight or would it make things worse?” Nikitin said.

    “They will say ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘this is a good idea’, ‘this is a bad idea’. So this is a kind of encouragement and help and aid.”

    Nikitin didn’t actually do a stage wink, but he might as well have.

    Similar signals came from “Caesar,” the nickname of the spokesman for the Freedom for Russia Legion, a more moderate anti-Putin formation of a few hundred men which is also dedicated to ending the war in Ukraine and to toppling Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    Asked whether it was true that the Russian dissidents had used some US-made MRAP armored vehicles – perhaps even vehicles donated by the United States to Ukraine – Caesar said: “We used Humvees also. We buy them in international shops, war shops. Yeah … everyone who has some money can do it.”

    He was wryly and consciously repeating a Russian propaganda trope dating back to Moscow’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014, when the Kremlin denied its troops were on the ground and suggested that pro-Moscow rebels had bought Russian vehicles on the open market.

    The use of US vehicles in the operation has provoked minor consternation in Washington.

    “The US government has not approved any third party transfers of equipment to paramilitary organizations outside the Ukrainian Armed Forces, nor has the Ukrainian government requested any such transfers,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday, emphasizing that the US would “keep a close eye” on the issue.

    The West has insisted that Ukraine not use weapons it receives from members of the NATO security alliance inside Russia. A strike against a Russian target inside Russia itself using the UK-provided Storm Shadow cruise missile, for example, would risk the appearance of bringing NATO into direct conflict with Moscow.

    But MRAP armored vehicles are armored trucks. It’s the weapons systems that really matter.

    Ukraine doesn’t want any credit for the raid into Russia. So it has used Russians to do the job, and claimed they’re not under Ukrainian orders, this time.

    Nevertheless, Kyiv will be delighted by the result. The dissident raid has had the desired effect – destabilizing Russia.

    Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary company that’s been fighting in Ukraine alongside Russia’s military has already seized upon the raid as a proof of the military’s ineptitude.

    “Sabotage and reconnaissance forces calmly enter Russia and march, uploading videos, driving their tanks, armoured infantry vehicles. Where’s the guarantee that they will not enter Moscow?…So far as I understand, nobody gives a sh*t about residents of Belgorod region,” thundered Prigozhin on Tuesday in an interview with pro-Russian blogger Konstantin Dolgov.

    “I say to the elite of the Russian Federation – you sons of bitches, gather your children. Send them to war. When you come to a funeral and start burying them, people will say: ‘It is all fair now.’”

    If not, warned the mercenary leader who still claims to back Putin, “All these divisions can end in what is a revolution, just like in 1917.

    It’s safe to assume that the scions of Moscow’s nomenklatura will not suddenly be flooding through the doors of recruitment offices for either the armed forces or Prigozhin’s dogs of war.

    But chaos in the ranks of the enemy amounts to victory, according to the eponymous doctrine of Russian armed forces general Valery Gerazimov.

    And Caesar is confident that Moscow’s been rattled.

    “They [Russians defending Belgorod] were too stupid and too slow. About five hours, about five hours [to react]. They only try to understand what’s happened. It was about one mechanized company to, to force the counterattack. Yesterday, we destroyed those mechanized company. We bring them heavy casualties,” he said in English picked up in his school in Russia.

    “It’s just a little beginning, just for reconnaissance,” he added.

  • Russian revolt possible if invasion continues to struggle – Wagner chief warns

    Russian revolt possible if invasion continues to struggle – Wagner chief warns

    A statement from the head of the private military organisation Wagner, if Russia’s stalling war effort in Ukraine continues, a new “revolution” might shake the nation. His critical evaluation of Moscow’s military readiness may further reveal gaps in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military hierarchy.

    Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed in an interview with pro-Russian blogger Konstantin Dolgov that even when Ukrainian forces invade Russian territory, Moscow’s troops are unprepared to confront them.

    Additionally, he commended the Ukrainian army‘s capabilities and encouraged Moscow to step up its military efforts in order to prevent a protracted and expensive battle.

    “I believe Ukrainians today are one of the strongest armies in the world,” Prigozhin said. He called Kyiv’s forces “highly organized, highly trained and their intelligence is on the highest level, they can operate any military system with equal success, a Soviet or a NATO one.”

    In recent days Moscow suffered embarrassment when a group of anti-Putin Russians entered the Belgorod region in an incursion that caused anger and confusion among Russia’s influential military analysts. Asked about the incident, Prigozhin said Russian defense forces are “absolutely not ready to resist them in any shape or form.”

    “Here we are with Ukraine, that is our enemy, in the middle of the war, Russian Volunteer Corps groups come in effortlessly and go through (the border) in tanks and APCs without any repercussions and make their own videos if it,” the Wagner chief vented.

    Prigozhin has frequently criticized Russia’s traditional military hierarchy as he sought to win a power struggle against military commanders to lead Putin’s ground effort in eastern Ukraine. Earlier this month he blamed Russian defense chiefs for “tens of thousands” of Wagner casualties because they didn’t have enough ammunition.

    But his comments to Dolgov were alarmist even for the free-wheeling Putin ally. As he has frequently done, Prigozhin urged Moscow to step up its war in order to defeat Ukraine – urging Putin to “declare a martial law and a new wave of mobilization.”

    He warned that if Russian losses continue to mount, “all these divisions can end in what is a revolution, just like in 1917.”

    “First the soldiers will stand up, and after that – their loved ones will rise up. It is wrong to think that there are hundreds of them – there are already tens of thousands of them – relatives of those killed,” he said. “And there will probably be hundreds of thousands – we cannot avoid that.”

    Russian forces, primarily made up of Wagner troops, have labored for months over the capture of Bakhmut – a city in Ukraine’s east of relatively insignificant strategic value, where Russia has suffered vast losses – and its larger ground campaign has been in stalemate since a string of successful Ukrainian counter-attacks last autumn.

  • Zelensky equates destruction of Bakhmut to that of Hiroshima

    Zelensky equates destruction of Bakhmut to that of Hiroshima

    Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, denied that Russia had taken control of the frontline city and compared the damage in Bakhmut to the devastation caused by an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

    Pictures of Hiroshima “really remind” Zelensky of Bakhmut and other Ukrainian settlements, according to Zelensky, who travelled to Japan for a meeting of the Group of Seven (G7).

    At a press conference, Zelensky stated, “Just the same, nothing alive left, all of the buildings have been destroyed.”

    There are conflicting claims over who controls Bakhmut. On Saturday the chief of the Russian private military group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed to have captured Bakhmut after months of brutal fighting, saying he would hand it over to Russia later in May,

    Zelensky used the conference to again deny that that Bakhmut is Russian as of Sunday and Ukrainian soldiers remain in the city.

    “We are keeping on, we are fighting.” Zelensky said.

    “I clearly understand what is happening in Bakhmut. I can’t share the tactics of the military, but a country even bigger than ours cannot defeat us. A little time will pass and we will be winning. Today our soldiers are in Bakhmut.”

    Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU) said they were continuing to counter Russia in the city, and that they were advancing in the suburbs, making it “very difficult for the enemy to remain in Bakhmut.”

    Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his congratulations for “the completion of the operation to liberate Artemovsk,” Russian state news agency TASS reported the Kremlin as saying, using the Soviet-Russian name for Bakhmut.

    CNN is unable to verify either side’s battlefield claims.

    If confirmed, the capture of Bakhmut would mark Russia’s first gain in months, but the city’s symbolism always outweighed its strategic importance.

    Moscow has thrown huge amounts of manpower, weaponry and attention toward the city but largely failed to break down a stubborn Ukrainian resistance that had outlasted most expectations.

    Bakhmut’s fall would also be an undoubted boost to Prigozhin, who recently announced his men would pull out entirely because dwindling ammunition supplies and mounting losses meant there was “nothing left to grind the meat with.”

    Prigozhin is a former catering boss who has grown in prominence throughout the war, and his forces have been heavily involved in the fighting.

    Zelensky made a surprise appearance at the G7, traveling halfway across the globe to address the world’s major industrial democracies in person.

    The Ukrainian leader used the final day of the summit in Japan to appeal to G7 leaders for more powerful weapons and tougher sanctions against Moscow.

    He left having won a clear boost after the Biden administration dropped its objections to sending advanced fighter jets to Ukraine.

    “I cannot now tell you how many aircraft we’ll be able to get. I cannot tell you definitely when it takes place but we will speed it up because it’s important for us every day. We’re losing people’s lives,” he said.

    At the G7 Ukraine’s allies reiterated their support, with British Prime Minister RIshi Sunak saying “Ukraine must not only win the war but win a just and lasting peace.”

  • Putin’s upset ‘could turn to nukes’ as his missiles were downed in Kiev – Ex-US Army official

    Putin’s upset ‘could turn to nukes’ as his missiles were downed in Kiev – Ex-US Army official

    Following the downing of his hypersonic missiles by Ukraine, Vladimir Putin “will likely turn to nuclear weapons,” according to an ex-US Army official.

    On Tuesday, Ukraine’s air defence system forced the Kremlin to ground its most intense aerial attack to date against Kyiv.

    According to the US Centre for Strategic International Studies, Russian Kinzhal missiles—which translate as “dagger” in Russian—are some of the most advanced nuclear-capable weapons in the country’s arsenal.

    Kevin Ryan, an associate fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. said Ukraine stopping Putin’s ‘unstoppable’ rockets has humiliated him.

    ‘Putin is running out of ways to escalate the war in a way that would force Ukraine – and the West – to back down,’ he told the MailOnline.

    ‘His massive invasion and frequent bombing campaigns have failed to give him a decisive victory.

    ‘If he cannot force a victory with conventional weapons, he will probably turn to nuclear weapons.’

    Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government, via video link at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 17, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
    The shot-down missiles are the latest embarrassing blow to Vladimir Putin (Picture: Reuters)

    According to UAwar, citing Ukrainian ministry data, Russia has lost nearly 179,000 soldiers, 3600 tanks and 2,750 artillery systems in the year-long conflict.

    ‘Russia’s conventional (non-nuclear) forces are already showing themselves not up to the task in Ukraine,’ Ryan added.

    ‘That is why Putin has relied so heavily on nuclear threats.

    ‘If it’s proven that the Kinzhal has not lived up to expectations, the effectiveness of the whole spectrum of Russia’s strategic weapons, nuclear and nonnuclear, are put in doubt.’

    The Russian president has long made often vague threats about using nuclear weapons in the war.

    From Putin threatening the use of ‘all available means’ to massive missiles being carted around in front of cameras, the Kremlin has made its stockpile clear.

    Police officer inspects remains of a Russian cruise missile shot down by Air Defence Forces, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 18, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
    The attack against Kyiv was one of the Kremlin’s largest in the year-long war (Picture: Reuters)

    Experts have been conflicted about whether Putin could actually push the button.

    The Heritage Foundation, a US think-tank, said in March that Putin’s ‘martyr complex’ could push him either way as his dreams of victory ‘collapse’.

    Though, other analysts have said what could put Putin off from using nuclear arms is the wind, as it could blow radiation straight into Russian territory.

    In 2020, the Kremlin said it has four reasons why it would ever resort to nuclear weapons, such as a pre-emptive strike or in response to a nuclear strike against it.

    The executive order added that the only other two reasons for long-range nukes would be responding to a threat that would limit its control over its nuclear arms, such as a cyberattack, or when the ‘existence’ of Russia itself is threatened.

    ‘Russian doctrine has long accepted the use of shorter-range tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield and it is much more cautious about long-range strategic nuclear weapons designed to hit the enemy’s homeland,’ the Heritage Foundation added.

    Hypersonic missiles can travel at least five times faster than the speed of sound (about a mile a second) and can swerve most defence systems.

    After Tuesday’s barrage, US officials confirmed an American-made Patriot system – a top-of-the-line ground-based air defence system – had been damaged.

    In a Telegram statement, Ukraine’s air force did not specify whether the Patriot system was involved in the shooting down of Russia’s hypersonic missiles.

    ‘Let’s keep the sky!’ the statement added.

    Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky struck a similarly triumphant tone in a video speech to the Council of Europe, a major human rights organisation.

    ‘At 3 o’clock in the morning, our people woke up to explosions,’ he said, ‘eighteen Russian missiles of different types were in our skies, in particular, ballistic ones, which the terrorist state has boasted about.

    ‘We were told such missiles would bring a guaranteed death because they are supposedly impossible to shoot down.

    ‘But all lives were protected. All missiles were shot down, including ballistic ones – 100%.

    ‘This is a historical result.’

  • Grain contract with Ukraine to be extended for additional two months

    Grain contract with Ukraine to be extended for additional two months

    Turkish and Ukrainian officials claim that an agreement has been struck to extend a contract that permits grain to be exported from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea.

    The deal between Ukraine and Russia, which was mediated by Turkey and the UN, will be extended for a further two months, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Its expiration date was set for this Thursday.

    The agreement, which was first struck last year, has subsequently been extended.

    The extension of the grain agreement till July 18 was announced by Oleksandr Kubrakov, the Ukrainian Minister of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development, in a Facebook post.

    “The world will continue to receive Ukrainian products thanks to the efforts of our partners in the agreement – Turkey and the UN,” Kubrakov said.

    “We are grateful to our partners for their unwavering and focused position that the agreement should continue to work and on the terms signed by all parties,” he added.

    Kubrakov also claimed that Russia has been restricting grain shipments.

    “Almost 70 vessels are currently waiting in Turkish territorial waters, 90% of them are ready to deliver the products of our farmers to the world,” he said.

    “We welcome the continuation of the initiative, but emphasize that it must work effectively.”

    Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also confirmed the extension, although she added that “distortions in the implementation of the grain deal should be corrected as quickly as possible.”

    The United Nations has not yet commented on the extension.

    After invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia blockaded vital grain exports from key Ukrainian Black Sea ports, including Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Pivdennyi, which meant that millions of tons of Ukrainian grain were not being exported to the many countries that rely on it.

    The impact of the war on global food markets was immediate and extremely painful, as Ukraine accounts for 10% of the world wheat market, 15% of the corn market, and 13% of the barley market.

    At the time, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned that as many as 47 million people could be pushed into “acute food insecurity” because of the war, and Western officials accused Russia of using food as a weapon.

    The deal reached in July 2022 created procedures to ensure the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports and allowed exports to resume.

  • Mom, 67, hires hitman to murder her kids over possessions

    Mom, 67, hires hitman to murder her kids over possessions

    A Russian woman is suspected of hiring an assassin to kill her children in order to take their inheritance.

    The 67-year-old was detained by police last week in Krasnoyarsk, the second-largest city in Siberia.

    Three plain-clothes officers are seen holding the elderly outside of her home in video published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Telegram.

    ‘Do you understand why you were detained?’ one of them asks her on the street while cuffing her.

    Surprised, the woman replies: ‘No.’

    It was alleged she ordered the murder of her son and two daughters, so she could become the sole owner of a family property.

    She shared her plan with her friend who helped her find a hitman, who was later paid ₽80,000, or a little more than £810 to do the job.

    Her alleged deviousness was exposed on the day when the hired killer was supposed to take one of her daughters out.

    Pictures shared by police show the pile of cash that she had allegedly taken out to make the payment.

    A ministry statement said: ‘Employees of the criminal investigation department of the Krasnoyarskoye Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia detained a suspect in organising the murder of her children.

    ‘Operatives received information that a resident of the regional center, born in 1956, wishing to remain the sole owner of real estate, ordered the murder of her son, born in 1978, and daughters born in 1974.’

  • Another Russian oligarch eerily discovered dead

    Another Russian oligarch eerily discovered dead

    A wealthy Russian lawmaker with enigmatic ties to the UK has been discovered dead.

    According to information that was leaked in 2019, Nikolay Bortsov had gained the right to reside in Britain covertly.

    Despite seeming to be a devoted supporter of Vladimir Putin, he reportedly obtained “indefinite leave to remain” status as a resident of the UK.

    The oligarch was discovered dead at his residence in the Lipetsk region on Sunday. He belonged to United Russia, the biggest pro-Putin group.

    No cause of death was given for the 77-year-old, who made his fortune as the boss of a soft drinks company which he later sold a majority share of to PepsiCo.

    As one of Mr Putin’s wealthiest deputies, he was reportedly worth £450 million and included in the Forbes list of Russia’s richest businessmen from 2011 to 2021.

    Mr Bortsov is one of dozens of high-profile people connected to Putin to have died since the outbreak of the dictator’s war in Ukraine last year.

    Wealthy pro-Putin Russian MP Nikolay Bortsov with mysterious British links has died aged 77.
    Multi-millionaire Mr Bortsov secretly gained rights to live in the UK in 2019, according to leaked data (Picture: Social media/east2west news)

    Many of those deaths have come in strange circumstances, including falls from windows, random shootings, helicopter crashes and mysterious ‘suicides’.

    One Russian oligarch even died last year after ‘shamans’ reportedly gave him toad venom to cure his hangover – but his cause of death was recorded as a heart attack.

    Another MP, Dzhasharbek Uzdenov, 56, is also reported to have died the same day as Mr Bortsov.

    At the time of the leak of his alleged UK status in 2019, Mr Bortsov denied holding British citizenship and always maintained it wasn’t true.

    But news outlet Argumenti Nedeli reported leaked data that put him on a list of top Russian officials who had been granted residency in the UK.

    It led to calls in Moscow for him and other parliamentarians to be checked by the security services for their loyalty.

    He was subsequently sanctioned by Britain, the US, EU and Ukraine over the war.

    Ukraine sentenced him to 15 years in prison in absentia for recognising the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk ‘people’s republics’.

    Lipetsk region governor Igor Artamonov said: ‘We will remember Nikolay Bortsov as a patriot of his country, always ready to help those who need it, a man who did not stand aside.’

    Mr Artamonov did not provide any details about Mr Bortsov’s cause of death.

  • ‘Mad panic’ as Russian soldiers flee the nuclear power plant’s frontlines

    ‘Mad panic’ as Russian soldiers flee the nuclear power plant’s frontlines

    Growing nuclear disaster worries are being expressed about the Russian-run facility in the Zaporizhzhia region.

    Before Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive, officials deployed by Moscow have started removing residents from the adjacent town of Enerhodar, triggering warnings from the UN nuclear watchdog.

    The largest nuclear reactor in Europe must operate safely, according to Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    He stressed that the general situation in the area near the site is now ‘increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous’.

    ‘I am extremely concerned about the real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant,’ Mr Grossi said in a statement on the IAEA website. ‘We must act now to prevent the threat of a severe nuclear accident and associated consequences for the population and the environment.’

    Mr Grossi said that while the operating staff remain at the site, the conditions for the personnel and their families are ‘increasingly tense, stressful, and challenging’.

    The Russian-installed governor of the Moscow-controlled part of the Zaporizhzhia region said on Friday that he had ordered the evacuation of villages close to the frontline.

    This order has led to ‘a mad panic and no less mad queues’ at the checkpoint into Crimea, said Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol.

    He wrote on Telegram: ‘Residents of Pologiv, Tokmak and Molochansk report that the occupiers are urgently organising the evacuation of the population to Berdyansk, calling it “aggravation of the fighting line”.

    ‘It is alarming that once again they want to forcibly evacuate, including children.’

    It is thought the Ukrainian army will try to retake the Zaporizhzhia region, around 80% of which is held by Moscow, as part of its counter-offensive.

    The IAEA has issued warnings previously about safety at the nuclear plant, which Russia captured in the opening days of its invasion last year.

    Site director Yuri Chernichuk was reported by the watchdog as saying operating staff are not being evacuated and are doing all that is necessary to ensure nuclear safety.

  • US denies Russia’s absurd claim

    US denies Russia’s absurd claim

    Russia made “ludicrous” claims that the United States was behind an alleged drone strike on the Kremlin, but the United States dismissed the claims. Meanwhile, Moscow’s deputy foreign minister issued a warning that the two countries are on the verge of “open-armed conflict.”

    Although relations between the US and Russia are at their lowest point since the Cold War, Moscow has substantially increased its rhetoric in the wake of Wednesday’s alleged drone attack on the Kremlin, the official home of the Russian president.

    Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, responded when asked by CNN if Moscow thought the US was behind the attack: “Undoubtedly, such decisions, the definition of goals, the definition of means – all this is dictated to Kyiv from Washington.”

    “We are well aware that decisions on such actions and such terrorist attacks are not made in Kyiv, but in Washington. And Kyiv is already executing what it is told to do,” Peskov said.

    Peskov did not provide any evidence to his claims, nor additional details regarding the alleged attack, saying that information would be released later.

    Earlier this week, Russia claimed Ukraine launched a drone strike targeting the Kremlin in an attempt to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it a “planned terrorist attack.” Ukraine has strongly denied any involvement.

    John Kirby, the US National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, denied Russia’s “ludicrous” claim the US directed Ukraine to carry out the alleged attack and kill Putin, and accused the president’s spokesperson of lying.

    “I would just tell you Mr. Peskov’s lying. I mean, it’s obviously a ludicrous claim. The United States had nothing to do with this. We don’t even know what happened here,” said Kirby.

    “But I can assure you the United States had no role in it whatsoever.”

    The White House still has no indication who was behind the drone attack and Kirby said the US does not “endorse, we do not encourage, we do not support attacks on individual leaders.”

    Russia doubled down on its bellicose rhetoric later Thursday when Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told local media that relations between the US and Russia are on the verge of an “open-armed conflict.”

    “We are working to prevent relations with the US from plunging into the abyss of an open armed conflict. We are already standing on the edge, on the edge of this precipice,” Ryabkov told Russia’s Channel One Thursday, according to state media agency TASS.

    Ryabkov also accused US officials of trying to “promote the idea of Washington’s non-involvement” in the purported drone attack, TASS reported.

    “Washington has long been a direct party to the Ukrainian conflict and aims to destroy sovereign Russia,” he said, according to TASS.

    CNN has reached out to the US State Department and the White House for comment on Ryabkov’s remarks.

    Earlier Thursday, Kirby said since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moscow has been “trying to paint this war as some sort of fight with the West against Russia, NATO against Russia, the United States against Russia.”

    “And, of course, it’s not; Russia is the aggressor here,” he said.

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that Wednesday’s purported drone attack on the Kremlin was a “hostile act” and that his government would respond with “concrete actions.”

    “It was clearly a hostile act,” Lavrov said at a press conference in India. “We will not respond by talking about whether it was an incident or not, but we will respond with concrete actions. We have a lot of patience.”

    The escalating war of words comes as Russia launched its most forceful air bombardment on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in a year, the Kyiv City Military Administration said Thursday.

    All Russian missiles and drones “were destroyed in Kyiv airspace” by Ukrainian air defense forces on Thursday, avoiding civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure, the capital’s military chief said.

    Meanwhile in the southern port city of Kherson, Russian shelling of the city and its surrounding villages killed at least 23 people, the regional military chief said Thursday. Moscow struck Kherson at least 16 times, firing over 80 shells at Pryvokzalna Square, a railway station and crossing, a gas station, two stores, a factory and a car repair shop, the regional military administration said.

    And in southeastern Zaporizhzhia, concerns have once again been raised about the safety of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant that is currently under Russia’s control.

    On Wednesday, Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate accused Russia of placing weapons, explosives and military equipment in one of the power plant’s units. The Inspectorate said it received the information during its weekly meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency representatives a day earlier.

    Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Russian-appointed military-civilian administration in occupied Zaporizhzhia, called the claims “a lie,” adding that, “we do not use the nuclear power plant as a military facility.”

  • Burkina Faso hails Russia as a ‘strategic partner’

    Burkina Faso hails Russia as a ‘strategic partner’

    Capt. Ibrahim Traore, the interim president of Burkina Faso, expressed satisfaction with his nation’s military ties with Russia, which he called “a strategic partner.”

    “I am satisfied with our military co-operation with Russia. Besides, Burkina Faso’s cooperation with Russia dates back to a long time, but we are developing it and move it further,” he said on Thursday in an interview with state-run channel RTB TV.

    He denied that Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group were supporting Burkinabe forces in their fight against Islamist armed groups.

    He said the exit of French forces from the country “does not mean that France is no longer an ally because the French embassy is still here”.

    But he cited “new forms of co-operation” describing Russia as an an example of “a strategic ally”. He said Turkiye was a major partner.

    He also mentioned North Korea, saying it had supported Burkina Faso in the past with heavy military equipment that was still in use – and would want more supplies from there.

    Capt Traore said Burkina Faso has many international partners, but “will only collaborate with those who want to help us, like sell us equipment and support us”.

  • A rumored effort to assassinate Putin mentioned in messages on Russian drones

    A rumored effort to assassinate Putin mentioned in messages on Russian drones

    According to the Ukrainian military, messages aboard Russian drones that were launched towards Odesa overnight read “for Moscow” and “for the Kremlin,” which are ostensibly references to an alleged murder attempt against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    The words on the drones’ two tails can be seen in photos published by Ukraine’s Southern Command, which the command claimed demonstrated the apparent “reason for the attack.”

    15 Shahed-131/136 drones were fired at Odesa, according to the Southern Command, and 12 of them were shot down by mobile fire units and air defense forces. The other three impacted student housing at a university.

    Ukraine has denied any involvement in what Russia says was a drone attack on the Kremlin and an assassination attempt against Putin early Wednesday morning.

    Video on social media shows a bright flash and a puff of smoke over a part of the Kremlin, the official residence of the Russian president and the most potent symbol of power in Moscow. Putin was not in the building at the time, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied the accusations, saying during a news conference: “We don’t attack Putin or Moscow.”

    US officials said they were still assessing the incident, and had no information about who might have been responsible.

    Meanwhile, A former Russian lawmaker linked with militant groups in the country told CNN the alleged attack was the work of Russian partisans, not the Ukrainian military. 

  • Putin is humiliated after new missiles “plunge into the sea

    Putin is humiliated after new missiles “plunge into the sea

    According to reports, a fresh volley of Russian missiles launched into the Caspian Sea after experiencing “technical malfunctioning.”

    Three rockets were fired towards Ukraine from a Tu-95MS, one of Vladimir Putin’s Soviet nuclear bombers.

    According to the Crimean Wind Telegram channel, which cited a military source in Moscow, the purported error might have caused them to strike Russian residential buildings.

    ‌’It was very lucky that they fell right away,’ said the Russian general staff source.

    A still image from video, released by the Russian Defence Ministry, shows what it said to be Russia's Tu-95MS strategic bomber landing during exercises held by the country's strategic nuclear forces at an unknown location, in this image taken from handout footage released October 26, 2022. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. THIS IMAGE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY. AN UNPROCESSED VERSION HAS BEEN PROVIDED SEPARATELY.
    Russia’s Tu-95MS strategic bomber landing during exercises held by the country’s strategic nuclear forces (Picture: Reuters)

    ‘They could have flown a little further and fallen on residential buildings, killing a lot of people.

    ‌’If we don’t figure out the reasons for the fall of the missiles, then such a tragedy is a matter of time.’

    Russia has been regularly firing cruise missiles at Ukraine from over the Caspian Sea, killing civilians in Kharkiv, Dnipro, Lviv and Odesa.

    There has already been much speculation about the malfunction, which caused further embarrassment to Putin’s army.

    The source claimed the cause of the failure may be Western sanctions, forcing makers to use inferior components.

    ‌Other causes could be ‘negligence in the assembly’ or theft of components to flock on the black market.

    This incident comes after two bombs unleashed from a Russian Su-34 mistakenly slammed into Belgorod city, close to the Ukrainian border.

    Iurii Ihnat, spokesperson for the Air Force Command of the Ukraine, said recently that Russia is firing its missiles from the Caspian Sea because of their unreliability.

    The ‘freelance descent of aviation munitions’ in Belgorod last week was not the first.

    An explosion in such a large city was impossible to hide, so Russia had to admit the mistake, he stressed.

    ‘Why are they allowed to launch from the Caspian Sea?’ Mr Ihnat added. ‘Because a rocket fired from a war plane does not always start and fly to its target.

    ‘It just falls. It’s easier when it falls into the Caspian Sea than somewhere in Russia, on the head of Russians.’

  • May Day explosions got Putin speechless

    May Day explosions got Putin speechless

    A Russian freight train that was allegedly transporting oil and building supplies to the battle lines in Ukraine was derailed by an explosive device.

    Several carriages are seen on fire and running off the tracks in the Bryansk region of Russia, less than 40 miles from the border, in video footage that was apparently taken shortly after the attack at around 10.20am local time today.

    Later footage depicts the fire being put out and the carriages being nearly completely destroyed.

    Military supplies have already been sent to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine using this method.

    Local governor Alexander Bogomaz said there had been no injuries.

    Russian authorities claim the border region, between Belarus to the west and Ukraine to the south, has witnessed repeated attacks since February of last year.

    The explosion also comes as Alexander Drozdenko, governor of Leningrad Oblast, claimed on Telegram that a separate act of sabotage had destroyed key power lines outside of St Petersburg.

    Mr Drozdenko added in his statement that the FSB, Russia’s federal security service, were investigating the incident.

    He did not say which group authorities believe to have been responsible.

    More than 14 months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Ukraine is preparing to stage a significant counteroffensive against Putin’s forces with the aid of munitions, armoured vehicles and tanks supplied by Western allies.

    Intelligence chief Major-General Kyrylo Budanov recently hinted Ukraine had been directly behind many of the acts of sabotage on Russian soil.

    He said: ‘Much of this is no accident. Something is constantly on fire [in Russia]. Signalling equipment on railways, it lights up several times a day, on various highways constantly for two to three hours, sometimes five to six hours, traffic gets suspended.

    ‘Clearly it doesn’t just happen like this… I would put it this way: money works wonders.’

  • Drone attack in Crimea is ‘God’s retribution’ for Russian missile attacks – Ukraine

    Drone attack in Crimea is ‘God’s retribution’ for Russian missile attacks – Ukraine

    A major fire at an oil store in Russian-controlled Crimea was started by a drone strike, prompting a harsh response from a top Ukrainian official.

    Pictures taken yesterday morning after a drone struck a fuel storage facility in Sevastopol showed enormous plumes of smoke rising from the location.

    While they have been known to use euphemisms to celebrate explosions at Russian military sites in Crimea, Ukrainian officials rarely take credit for them.

    More than 10 tanks of oil products with a capacity of about 40,000 tonnes intended for use by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet were destroyed, according to Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence.

    Mr Yusov did not say that Ukraine was responsible for the explosion, but instead described the blast as ‘God’s punishment’ for Russian strikes in Ukraine on Friday.

    He said: ‘This punishment will be long-lasting. 

    ‘In the near future, it is better for all residents of temporarily occupied Crimea not to be near military facilities and facilities that provide for the aggressor’s army.’ 

    A still image from a video shows smoke rising following an alleged drone attack on oil depot in Sevastopol, Crimea, April 29, 2023.
    Ukrainian official Andriy Yusov said the drone attack was ‘God’s punishment’ (Picture: Reuters)

    In a daily update on Facebook, the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said units had hit ‘two depots of fuel and lubricants, two air defence systems, one artillery unit and another important enemy target,’ but gave no more details.

    Russia had launched a wave of airstrikes in cities across Ukraine on Friday, killing at least 23 people in the city of Uman.

    Kyiv and Donetsk also came under attack by Russian missiles, leaving family homes devastated.

    Mr Yusov’s comments suggest the oil depot drone strike was in response to those attacks.

    Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv would do all it could to ensure that those responsible for the attack on Uman are held accountable as soon as possible.

    Local resident Irina Vovk, 38, embraces her neighbour while meeting outside their houses destroyed by shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, April 29, 2023.
    Donetsk came under attack on Friday, leaving family homes devastated (Picture: Reuters)

    He said in an evening video address: ‘You are all terrorists and murderers and you must all be punished.’

    Moscow has accused Kyiv of sending waves of aerial and seaborne drones to attack the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

    According to the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, no one was injured in the strike and Russian firefighters managed to ‘prevent a catastrophe’ by putting the fire out.

    Mikhail Razvozhayev, wrote on Telegram: ‘According to preliminary information, the fire was caused by a drone hit.

    ‘The enemy… wanted to take Sevastopol by surprise, as usual, by staging a sneak attack in the morning,’

    A view shows smoke rising following an alleged drone attack in Sevastopol, Crimea, April 29, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer
    President Zelensky labelled Russian forces ‘terrorists and murderers’ in a video address after the drone attack in response to the bombing of Uman (Credits: REUTERS)

    He also said it ‘became clear that only one drone was able to reach the oil reservoir,’ after experts examined the site.

    Another drone was downed and its wreckage was found on the shore near the terminal, Mr Razvozhaev added.

    Ukraine’s forces lack longer-range missiles that can reach targets in places such as Sevastopol, but has been developing drones as an alternative method of attack.

    The strike came as Ukraine prepares for a long-promised counter offensive to push Russian forces back from territory they seized since invading in February last year.

    Ukraine says control of all its legal territory, including Crimea, is a key condition for any peace deal.

    Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed head of Crimea, said on Telegram that air defence and electronic warfare forces on Saturday shot down two drones over the region.

  • Russian senator questions Putin’s sanity

    Russian senator questions Putin’s sanity

    Putin’s sanity has been questioned by a Russian senator and the widow of the law professor who helped shape him as a politician.

    Lyudmila Narusova, 71, has known the Kremlin president since he was a low-level employee of her husband Anatoly Sobchak, the city of St. Petersburg’s then pro-Western mayor.

    She has launched a scathing attack on Putin as the only opposition member of Russia’s upper house of parliament, accusing him of causing “mass psychosis” among the populace.

    For decades Narusova saw Putin as a family friend, but now questions his sanity as he plunges the country into mass repressions and war.

    Senator Lyudmila Narusova, widow of Vladimir Putin???s mentor Anatoly Sobchak, predicting Vladimir Putin will refuse to quit.
    Narusova’s late husband gave Putin his first job in politics when he was just a ‘backroom nonentity’ (Picture: Forbes/East2West)

    ‘It appeared to me three years ago that he had a sane perception of reality,’ she said.

    ‘But many things have changed after these three years, and I never got to make sure of this myself.

    ‘I don’t know.’

    She is convinced he is addicted to power and will seek to cling on despite his age and suspected health problems – dismissing rumours in Moscow that he plans to hand over the Kremlin to a trusted lieutenant.

    ‘There was a lot of stir about it [the transition of power in Russia] even before the start of the [military] operation,’ said Narusova.

    ‘There is a feeling about it in political circles.

    ‘But I think that there will be no transfer of power.’

    SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 19: Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Anatoly Sobchak's widow Lyudmila Narusova (R) attend a wreath laying ceremony to the monument of former Mayor of Saint Petersburg Anatoly Sobchak on February 19, 2015 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Putin is on a one-day visit to Saint Petersburg. (Photo by Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)
    The independant senator is one of the only Russian politicians brave enough to publicly stand up to Putin (Picture: Getty)

    Instead Putin will stand for a new six year team making him president until 2030, the year when he will turn 78, she told Forbes Russia.

    Legally he could then seek yet another term, expiring when he was 84 but effectively making him ruler for life.

    Narusova revealed the Russian elite is awash with people who disapprove of Putin – but are too scared to act against him.

    ‘I’m the only one who votes [against him],’ she told Novaya Gazeta Europe independent newspaper.

    ‘But there are enough people who think the same as me.

    ‘It’s just that they are afraid to speak it out loud.’

    Putin’s biggest cheerleaders back him at Red Square rallies but ‘this does not mean that they actually sincerely support what’s going on’, she said.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Lyudmila Narusova, widow of St.Petersburg's first mayor Anatoly Sobchak, visit the Nikolskoye cemetery in St.Petersburg, 11 August 2007. AFP PHOTO / PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / RIA-NOVOSTI (Photo credit should read DMITRY ASTAKHOV/AFP via Getty Images)
    She accuses Putin of inflicting ‘mass psychosis’ on the Russian population (Picture: Getty)

    ‘One very respectable man with many years behind his belt said this to me “You’re the only one among us with balls of steel.”’

    She loathes Putin’s repressive policies.

    ‘It feels bad. I tell you, this destroys me from within,’ she said.

    ‘If something is written in the constitution, but is treacherously and obligingly violated, then I cannot help but talk about it and even shout about it.’

    She hit out the jailing of Putin critics who oppose his war for up to 25 years— when a St Petersburg history professor and Napoleon expert Oleg Sokolov, 66, who murdered and dismembered his lover Anastasia Yeschenko, 24, dumping her remains in a river in an ‘extreme atrocity’ was shut away for just 12 years.

    ‘This is what our justice has led us to. Words are worth more prison time than murder,’ she said, accusing Putin of corrupting the Russian constitution, which was partly penned by her husband.

    Her spouse – who died in 2000 – had promoted an ex-KGB spy to deputy mayor, his first political job, and his launch pad to a career that has seen him rule Russia as president or prime minister since 1999.

    She vowed to keep opposing Putin to trigger a ‘wake up call for some kind of consciousness’ in Russian people.

    She wanted to sow ‘gleams of doubt amid this mass psychosis. I believe that is the primary function of what I do’.

    Her daughter is prominent TV personality Ksenia Sobchak, 41, who stood against Putin at the 2018 Russian presidential election, finishing fourth.

    Putin attended her Orthodox christening, leading to claims he is her godfather.

    She now runs an independent media outlet which is often critical of Putin and the war.

  • A former POW from Ukraine sobs eating an apple for the first time since being freed

    A former POW from Ukraine sobs eating an apple for the first time since being freed

    A Ukrainian prisoner of war broke down in tears after eating fresh fruit for the first time in a year.

    Heartbreaking footage was captured of the scene just after Ukrainian soldiers were released from a Russian POW camp.

    Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office, posted yesterday on Telegram that 44 prisoners had been released from Russian custody.

    Out of those, he claimed, 42 were military personnel and two were civilians, and some of those freed had torture-related wounds.

    The short clip shows a small group of released Ukrainian prisoners, who have all had their heads shaved, sitting on the ground.

    It first shows a relieved soldier with a beaming smile on his face as he tucks into an apple.

    A TikTok user who posted a translated version of the video titled ‘heroes are returning home from Russian captivity’ explained that the man says: ‘I’ve dreamt about an apple for a year.’

    It then pans to a second man in the group who is clearly very emotional as he’s seen cradling an apple in his hands and eating it.

    He continually weeps as he’s speaking to another man nearby in a gut-wrenching moment.

    A third soldier in the shot claims he’s lost more than 3st in weight while he was imprisoned, saying: ‘I’ve lost 20 kilograms.’

    Visegrád 24, an English account for central and eastern European news, tweeted: ‘First apple or fresh fruit for these Ukrainian soldiers in nearly a year.

    ‘They were part of a group of 44 Ukrainian POWs exchanged yesterday.’

    The group of prisoners posed for pictures to celebrate being set free and were photographed proudly holding up Ukrainian flags together before boarding coaches to leave.

    Since Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago, there have been regular prisoner exchanges.

    Conflict has continued in recent weeks with Ukrainian forces crossing the Dnipro River for the first time as part of a long-awaited counter offensive.

    Ukraine’s ‘unique’ special forces are also reportedly destroying targets deep behind Russian lines, while Putin has rolled out Russia’s newest tanks onto the battlefield.

  • ‘Unidentified military device’ discovered in a Polish forest raises questions

    ‘Unidentified military device’ discovered in a Polish forest raises questions

    In a Polish forest, pieces of a ‘unidentified military device‘ were found.

    On social media, rumors are already circulating regarding the provenance of the bones found close to the town of Zamo, which is located approximately nine miles from Bydgoscz.

    On Twitter, the Ministry of Defense acknowledged the discovery while emphasizing that it poses no threat to the security of locals.

    The remnants of an unnamed military complex were discovered close to the town of Zamo, which is roughly 15 kilometers from Bydgoszcz, according to a statement.

    “The situation does not jeopardize locals’ safety.” The location of the discovery is being looked into by police, military police, and sappers.

    Authorities are yet to identify the object, or say how long it has been in the area.

    Broadcaster RMF FM reported that it was an air-to-surface missile measuring at least several metres, stuck in the ground, with its head missing. But no sources were identified in the report.

    Poland has been on high alert for possible spillover of weaponry from the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

    In November, two people were killed near the border by what Warsaw concluded was a misfired Ukrainian air defence missile.

    The area where the object was found is hundreds of miles from the borders with Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

  • UK calls Putin’s modern T-14 tanks “untrustworthy”

    UK calls Putin’s modern T-14 tanks “untrustworthy”

    The newest Russian tanks have been introduced to the Ukrainian battlefield by Vladimir Putin.

    According to the state news agency RIA, Russian forces have begun firing on Ukrainian positions with the T-14 Armata but have not yet “participated in direct assault operations.”

    The ‘invisible tank’ moniker comes from the developers who boasted about the armored vehicle’s high speed of 50 mph and claimed it could avoid hostile radar detection.

    It is claimed to be outfitted with cutting-edge technology, as well as an autonomous turret and additional protection on its flanks. It is regarded as Russia’s most dreaded tank.

    Crews control its weapons remotely from ‘an isolated armoured capsule located in the front of the hull’ and RIA said the tanks underwent ‘combat coordination’ at training grounds in Ukraine before they were deployed.

    But it’s taken some time for the war machine to be called into action since they were first unveiled by Putin at Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow in 2015, and they’ve been highly criticised by the British military as ‘untrustworthy’.

    The T-14 was among the new vehicles on show for the first time that day – but it broke down on its debut outing in the rehearsal, leading to an awkward recovery effort.

    The Armata T-14 tank is considered to be Russian's most feared
    The Armata T-14 tank is considered to be Russian’s most feared (Picture: Getty Images)

    British military intelligence reported in January that Russian forces in Ukraine were reluctant to accept the first batch of the tanks because of their ‘poor condition’.

    It also said any deployment of the T-14 would likely be ‘a high-risk decision’ for Russia and one taken mainly to serve propaganda purposes.

    The British military said: ‘Production is probably only in the low tens while commanders are unlikely to trust the vehicle in combat.

    ‘11 years in development, the programme has been dogged with delays, reduction in planned fleet size, and reports of manufacturing problems.’

    Russia’s T-14 Armata tank

    • Cost: £5.6 million
    • Main weapon: 125mm smoothbore cannon
    • Secondary weapons: 12.7mm Kord machine gun, 7.62 mm PKTM machine gun
    • Armour: 44S-sv-Sh steel
    • Engine: 12Н360 diesel double turbocharger
    • Top speed: 50mph
    • Weight: 55 tonnes
    • Length: 35ft
    • Width: 11ft
    • Height: 11ft
    • Crew: 3

    According to Russian media reports, the Kremlin ordered 2,300 of the tanks to be manufactured by 2020, but the date was later pushed back to 2025.

    In December 2021, the Interfax news agency reported state conglomerate Rostec had started production of 40 tanks and anticipated they’d be ready by this year.

    Nato has already been equipping the Ukrainian army with dozens of state-of-the-art battle tanks, which could soon come face-to-face with the T-14.

    Among its many new systems, T-14 developers UralVagonZavod claimed one of its most advanced capabilities was being able to screen itself from enemy radar and infrared heat-seeking target finders. 

    A cloaking device is reportedly buried deep behind a shield inside the heavily armoured body, which disrupts the infrared signature that would pinpoint its location for enemy forces.

    The manufacturer’s head of special equipment Vyacheslav Khalitov said: ‘We essentially made the invisible tank.’

    This week, Ukrainian forces crossed the Dnipro River for the first time since the invasion last year in preparation for a counter attack.

    Speculation has been growing over when the Ukrainian army would launch its counter offensive to try and push back Russian troops.

  • Two former Wagner leaders from Russia have admitted to killing men and children in Ukraine

    Two former Wagner leaders from Russia have admitted to killing men and children in Ukraine

    Two Russian individuals who identify themselves as former Wagner Group leaders have admitted to a human rights advocate that they murdered children and people in Ukraine.

    The allegations were made in video interviews with Gulagu.net, a human rights organization that works to end corruption and abuse in Russia.

    Former Russian prisoners Azamat Uldarov and Alexey Savichev, who both received pardons from Russian presidential decrees last year, according to Gulagu.net, discuss their conduct in Ukraine during Russia’s invasion in the videos that have been broadcast online.

    CNN cannot independently verify their claims or identities in the videos but has obtained Russian penal documents showing they were released on presidential pardon in September and August of 2022.

    Uldarov, who appears to have been drinking, details how he shot and killed a five- or six-year-old girl.

    “(It was) a management decision. I wasn’t allowed to let anyone out alive, because my command was to kill anything in my way,” he said.

    According to Gulagu.net, the testimonies were given to founder and Russian dissident Vladimir Osechkin over the span of a week. It said Uldarov and Savichev were in Russia when they spoke.

    “I want Russia and other nations to know the truth. I don’t want war and bloodshed. You see I’m holding a cigarette in this hand. I followed orders with this hand and killed children,” Uldarov said, describing his motivation for the interview.

    The Wagner Group is a Russian private mercenary organization fighting in Ukraine, headed by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin.

    It has recruited tens of thousands of fighters from Russian jails, offering freedom and cash after a six-month tour. It’s estimated by Western intelligence officials and prison advocacy groups that between 40,000 and 50,000 men were recruited.

    Uldarov said in the eastern Ukrainian cities of Soledar and Bakhmut – which have seen some of the fiercest fighting – Wagner mercenaries “were given the command to annihilate everyone.”

    “There is a superior over all the commanders – it’s Prigozhin, who told us not to let anyone get out of there and annihilate everyone,” he added. CNN has previously reported on former Wagner fighters making similar claims.

    At one point in the interview, Savichev described how they “got the order to execute any men who were 15 years or older.”

    He also talked about getting orders to ‘sweep’ a house. “It doesn’t matter whether there is a civilian there or not. The house needs to be swept. I didn’t give a f**k who was inside,” he said.

    “Whether a hut or a house, the point was to make sure that there wasn’t a single living person left inside,” he said. “You can condemn me for this. I will not object. It’s your right. But I wanted to live, too.”

    Savichev said Wagner fighters who did not follow orders were killed.

    In February, CNN spoke to two former Wagner fighters who described how recruited Wagner convicts are pushed to the front lines in a human wave, reminiscent of World War I charges. Deserters, or those who refuse orders are killed and there was no evacuation of the wounded, they said.

    Wagner Group chief Prigozhin, when asked about the men and the contents of the 1.17 hour-long video, said he had not yet had the “technical ability to watch the entire video.”

    However, he added, in his response on Telegram: “Regarding the execution of children, of course, no one ever shoots civilians or children, absolutely no one needs this. We came there to save them from the regime they were under.”

    Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said in a tweet Monday that the group must be held accountable.

    “Russian terrorists confessed to numerous murders of Ukrainian children in Bakhmut and Soledar. Confession is not enough. There must be a punishment. Tough and fair. And it will definitely be. How many more crimes like these have been committed?” he said.

    In January, US Treasury Department designated Wagner Group as a significant transnational criminal organization, and imposed a slew of fresh sanctions on a transnational network that supports it.

    The US Department of State concurrently announced a number of sanctions meant to “target a range of Wagner’s key infrastructure – including an aviation firm used by Wagner, a Wagner propaganda organization, and Wagner front companies,” according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

  • Russians allegedly employing outlawed “butterfly mines” to kill and injure Ukrainians

    Russians allegedly employing outlawed “butterfly mines” to kill and injure Ukrainians

    According to pictures of the miniature explosives strewn throughout a town, Russian forces appear to be using them to harm and kill Ukrainians.

    Although they resemble toys, the explosives, which are prohibited by international law, have the potential to be fatal when used.

    They typically fall in large numbers from rockets, mortars, or aircraft without exploding. When pressure is applied, they can explode with as little as 5 kg.

    In photos provided to The Sun by the Halo Trust, a mine clearing organization originally supported by Princess Diana, several mines can be seen strewn over the Ukrainian town of Hrakove, which lies close to Kharkiv.

    The bombs, officially called PFM-1 mines, can be spotted hidden in the grass, scattered on park benches and lying by the side of the road.

    Because of their plastic shape and small size, it’s feared children will pick them up thinking they’re toys.

    Members of the Halo Trust are now desperately working to clear the area, a process which will probably take years to complete.

    Russia using deadly banned ?Butterfly Mines? to maim & kill Ukrainians
    Tape has been left around a rock to highlight a ‘butterfly mine’ lurking in the grass (Picture: Halo Trust)

    Ukrainian authorities say a number of people, including five children, have already lost limbs to the explosives, also known as petal mines because of their shape.

    It’s understood Russian forces dropped the mines in the area last year to cover their retreat.

    Banderivka – not her real name – is a deminer from Lviv. She said: ‘Soldiers and civilians are still getting injured by these mines. The Russians sometimes cover them up as they retreat so we don’t even see them.’

    ‘When you see one, you know there around another 700 of them around you.’

    Bomb disposal remove deadly banned ‘butterfly mines’ in Izyum and Balaklia

    ‘The worst thing about them is kids are drawn to them – they look like a plastic toy on the ground – and sometimes they pick them up.’

    She said Ukrainian troops often use low-tech solutions to clear the mines, such as shooting them or throwing something at them.

    Benderivka urged the West to put pressure on Russia to stop using devices like the butterfly mine.

    Ukraine signed up to the Ottawa Treaty banning the mines and Russia declared war said it would scrap its stockpile – something Russia has been unwilling to do.

    The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of using the explosives in the breakaway region of Donetsk, something Kyiv has denied.

    Most of the bombs, many decades old, were manufactured in the former Soviet Union making it hard to determine who dropped them.

    A village in southern Ukraine called Mykolaiv that was once home to thousands of people had to be evacuated after the mines were left scattered around the area, according to the Halo Trust. Only 150 people remain.

    Paul McCann, the Halo Trust’s communications director, said the butterfly mines remain explosive for a long time.

    Live ones are still being found in Afghanistan, he explained, putting innocent civilians at risk years after the war ended.

    He told the Sun his colleagues at the NGO often say: ‘One day of fighting amounts to a month of mine clearance.’

    Clearing the explosives across Ukraine will cost about £30 billion, according to the World Bank.

    But Paul said if the international community comes together to cover some of the costs, they can use drones and remote armoured vehicles to get the job done safely.

  • Vladimir Kara-Murza, sentenced to 25 years in prison for criticizing conflict in Ukraine

    Vladimir Kara-Murza, sentenced to 25 years in prison for criticizing conflict in Ukraine

    According to the Russian state news agency TASS, Vladimir Kara-Murza, a well-known human rights activist and Kremlin skeptic, has been given a 25-year prison term for publicly criticizing Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

    An interview with CNN in which Kara-Murza condemned the “regime of murderers” under Russian President Vladimir Putin led to his initial detention one year ago.

    Treason, disseminating untrue information about the Russian army, and aiding the actions of an undesirable group were among the crimes for which he was on trial. After its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, Russia made criticizing the military illegal. According to the court, he would spend his prison time “in a strict regime correctional colony.”

    Kara-Murza will appeal the sentence, his lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov, told CNN on Monday.

    The activist’s detention has been decried by international human rights organizations and prompted sanctions by the Biden administration last month.

    Monday’s sentencing draws further attention on Putin’s brutal crackdown against freedom of expression, which has intensified since he invaded Ukraine last February.

    Kara-Murza has long been critical of Putin and has survived two poisonings.

    In March 2022, he spoke before the Arizona House of Representatives against the war, and in an interview with CNN in April 2022, the political dissident condemned Putin’s regime for targeting critics. He was arrested shortly afterwards for “failing to obey the orders of law enforcement,” according to his wife.

    The sentencing will likely draw further international condemnation of Putin. Last week, Hugh Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that the dissident was facing prison time for “no more than raising his voice and elevating the voices of others in Russia who disagree with the Kremlin, its war in Ukraine, and its escalating repression within Russia.”

    The British government criticized what it called the “politically motivated” sentencing. “Vladimir Kara-Murza bravely denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for what it was – a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter. Russia’s lack of commitment to protecting fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, is alarming,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Monday.

    The charge of treason in Russia was broadened in 2012 to include consultations or any other assistance to a foreign state or international or foreign organizations. It was used against Kara-Murza over his condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    In March, the United States imposed sanctions on a number of Russian individuals connected to what the Treasury Department called Kara-Murza’s “arbitrary detention” and called for his “immediate and unconditional release.”

    In the final hearing of his trial last week, Kara-Murza said he was “proud” of his political views.

    “I’m in jail for my political views; for speaking out against the war in Ukraine, for many years of struggle against Putin’s dictatorship, for facilitating the adoption of personal international sanctions under the Magnitsky Act against human rights violators. Not only do I not repent of any of this, I am proud of it,” Kara-Murza said.

    The original Magnitsky Act, signed into law in December 2012, blocks entry into the US and freezes the assets of certain Russian government officials and businessmen accused of human rights violations. The law was subsequently expanded to give global scope to the Russia-focused legislation.

    Kara-Murza said he blamed himself for not being able to convince enough of his “compatriots” and politicians of democratic countries of the danger that the current regime in the Kremlin poses for Russia and the world.

    He also expressed that he hoped “that the day will come when the darkness over our country will dissipate.”
    “Even today, even in the darkness surrounding us, even sitting in this cage, I love my country and believe in our people,” he added. “I believe that we can walk this path.”

  • Ukraine getting ready to retaliate against Russia

    Ukraine getting ready to retaliate against Russia

    Weather the storm, wear out the adversary, and then respond.

    Since the winter, prominent US and NATO officials have repeated the Ukrainian military’s catchphrase, which has been in use for months.

    So much for that notion.
    However, can it be put into action, and if so, how, when, and where?
    When they scan the 1,000-kilometer front line for Russian weak spots, the Ukrainians may not even be aware of this as of yet, just as they did when they abruptly launched their surprise onslaught in Kharkiv’s northeast in September.

    But they are aware it will be a crucial chapter in the conflict. Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, said in an interview last month that Russia and Ukraine will fight “a decisive battle this spring, and this battle will be the final one before this war ends.”

    That suggests the Ukrainians may take their time to maximize capabilities. Predictions are a fool’s errand; there will be plenty of bluff and disinformation about intentions in the coming weeks. But preparations are well underway.

    The essential preconditions for a Ukrainian counteroffensive include the completion of training and integration of new units, degrading the Russian rear, a resilient logistics chain and real-time intelligence.

    The “intelligence picture will inform things like where there might be weaknesses in Russian defensive deployments, as well as locations of Russian HQ, logistics, and reserve force locations,” said Mick Ryan, formerly a general in the Australian army who was recently in Ukraine.

    Ukraine is standing up several new corps, each of which would comprise several thousand troops. “Included in these will not only be new Western tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, wheeled vehicles and other equipment but also a lot of engineering equipment,” Ryan told CNN.

    These units may be nearly ready.

    “Ukrainian sources have already telegraphed that they’re forming or have formed six to nine new brigades for counteroffensives,” said Kateryna Stepanenko at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington DC.

    Ryan says such ambitious offensives consume large amounts of fuel, munitions, food, medical supplies and spare equipment. The logistics chain – which may be hampered by poor weather more than armor – is critically important.

    Senior US and Ukrainian officers carried out “table-top” simulations last month. The Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, said: “The Ukrainians are moving things around on these maps to determine what is their best course of action, and they determine the advantages and disadvantages of the risks associated.”

    One clue – though it may be well-camouflaged – will be operations to strike logistics hubs, rear bases and ammunition stores deep behind the Russians’ front lines, both with long-range Western weapons, such as HIMARS, and sabotage operations. There’s already been an uptick in such attacks in southern Zaporizhzhia and Crimea.

    Ryan, who writes the Futura Doctrina newsletter, said: “We could reasonably expect offensive action probably of different scales in at least two (and possibly more) locations in the east and south,” not least to confuse the Russians about where the main thrust will occur.

    The south represents the greater dividend: an opportunity to split the Russian land corridor to occupied Crimea and reclaim some of Ukraine’s best farmland. Apart from Mariupol, much of the south has suffered less destruction than the cities of eastern Ukraine.

    A successful strike southwards would make Russia’s defense of parts of Kherson it still holds untenable. It could also pave the way for Ukraine to recover control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and the canal that supplies fresh water to Crimea.

    But Stepanenko agrees it would be a mistake solely to focus on one area. Offensives in the east and south could be mutually supporting, posing the Russians additional logistics and deployment challenges.

    A counterattack in the Bakhmut area by a well-prepared force might signal the beginning of offensive action. Last week, the commander of Ukrainian land forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, was in the Bakhmut area and said: “Our task is to destroy as many enemies as possible and create the conditions for us to launch an offensive.”

    The Ukrainians are showing off the stream of Western hardware that’s begun to arrive to enhance their ground forces. They’ve been sending tank crews for training on Leopard 2s and Challenger tanks in Germany and the UK, respectively.

    Their missile defenses are steadily improving, and with the deployment of Patriot batteries will improve further. The first group of Ukrainian soldiers to train on the Patriots are now back in Europe.

    But integrating units will be critical.

    “Ukraine needs to increase its capabilities for combined arms warfare ahead of their counteroffensive. This requires a high degree of coordination between various Ukrainian brigades and integrating fires to support maneuver,” said Stepanenko at ISW.

    Such warfare has not traditionally been part of the Ukrainian playbook and is not learned overnight. While the sweep through Kharkiv last September was a triumph and exploited Russian deficiencies in the area, the slog to regain Kherson was far more costly in personnel and materiel.

    Over the last few months, the Ukrainians have been receiving equipment vital for any offensive action: demolition munitions, mine clearance hardware, mobile bridging capabilities and MRAPs – mine resistant vehicles.

    In addition, more than 4,000 Ukrainian soldiers have completed combined arms training in Germany, including two brigades equipped with US-supplied Bradley Fighting Vehicles and US-made Stryker vehicles.

    Two motorized infantry battalions consisting of 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers are still being trained in Germany.

    Training to use engineering equipment supplied by the US is also going to be essential. The latest package of US aid announced in March included armored vehicle-launched bridges, which would accompany advancing units — as well as demolition munitions.

    “This is important because the fight to come will need the Ukrainians to engage in combined arms obstacle-crossing to break into and penetrate Russian defenses, which include mines, anti-tank ditches, dragons’ teeth and the enhancement of natural obstacles,” Ryan said.

    He says “there is no military endeavor that is more difficult to plan, orchestrate and execute.”

    Western aid has sought to address Ukraine’s key capability gap in mobile firepower.

    “Armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles will help ensure Ukrainian mechanized infantry can deploy safely to the combat zone,” Stepanenko said.

    Western tanks will act as the “tip of the spear” but the question is whether sufficient numbers have arrived to make a decisive difference. Open-source information suggests that fewer than 100 Western main battle tanks are in Ukraine.

    Russia is of course acutely aware that Ukraine is planning fresh offensives. It has used the last several months to construct multiple layers of defense, especially in the south.

    Ryan says that in addition the Russians likely have mobile counter-attack forces ready. Intelligence gathering and long-range strikes to degrade such units is an important element in Ukrainian planning.

    Military historian Stephen Biddle writes that “shallow forward defenses can be ruptured with well-organized combined arms attacks, but deep defenses with meaningful reserves behind them still pose much harder problems for attackers.”

    But Biddle also makes the point that the “best single predictor of outcomes in real warfare has … been the balance of skill and motivation on the two sides,” and this may augur well for the Ukrainians.

    The Ukrainian armed forces have proved themselves agile, adaptable and innovative; most units have demonstrated high morale in the face of superior force. Over the past year, Western militaries have provided training in almost every facet of conflict, from tank warfare to logistics and leadership.

    By contrast, Russia’s fall mobilization has not moved the needle much on the battlefield, and reports of dissent and poor leadership in a very top-down system suggest that the size of Russian capabilities may not be matched by performance.

    Which brings us back to the exhaustion factor. For three months, Russian forces – including some of their best divisions – have been trying to break down Ukrainian defenses in four main zones. Apart from incremental gains in the Bakhmut area, they have made virtually no progress.

    The quandary for the Russian high command is when and whether to tilt from offense to defense.

    “At some point, [their offensives] are likely to culminate,” Ryan said. “They will need to decide whether they assume a more defensive posture in the coming weeks in order to absorb or respond to any Ukrainian offensives.”

    Many constellations have to align if a Ukrainian counteroffensive is to succeed.

    “They will want not only to surprise the Russians with the time and location of their main and supporting thrusts, but will want to generate an operational tempo that overwhelms the Russian ability to respond quickly or at the right time with the right force,” Ryan said.

    Success in the early stages would generate momentum. “The Ukrainians only have to make one penetration of the Russian tactical defensive lines to then flow through a torrent of exploitation forces,” which “in turn could force large-scale Russian realignments and withdrawals of its forces,” Ryan added.

    That’s what the United States hopes for. “What Ukraine wants to do at the first possible moment is to establish or create momentum and establish conditions on the battlefield that continue to be in its favor,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in February.

    The Ukrainians know that having received armor and other equipment worth tens of billions of dollars, and training for thousands of their troops, they need to show results to sustain the faith and support of the coalition. Next year, the US goes into election mode, with all the distractions that is likely to bring – something not lost on Moscow as it seeks to draw out the conflict.

    The Ukrainians will want to have everything tried and tested, rehearsed and rehearsed again, before committing themselves to what will likely be a pivotal episode in the conflict.

  • A conductor for the Kiev Opera killed in combat in Ukraine

    A conductor for the Kiev Opera killed in combat in Ukraine

    A conductor for one of Ukraine’s premier opera houses was killed on the front lines while defending his nation from the Russian invasion, and he has since been acclaimed as a hero.

    According to the Ukrainian National Academic Brass Orchestra, Kostyantyn Starovytskyi passed away while engaged in combat on the Kramatorsk front in the Donbas region.

    The 40-year-old bassoonist, who was also a conductor and producer, was nominated for multiple honors for his work on Gaetano Donizetti’s comedic opera Rita for the 150-year-old Kyiv Opera.

    In the early days following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February of last year, Starovytskyi—better known to his friends and coworkers as Kostey—traded his instrument for a weapon.

    According to the news site Ukrainian Pravda, he was initially involved in defending his home city of Brovary before serving in Kharkiv.

    The website said Anhelina Karpenko, a singer, wrote in tribute: ‘Once we worked on a production together. Kostey was conducting, and I was singing.

    ‘We dreamt about the stage, and found an amazing team. Now he will play his music with the heavenly orchestra.’

    In a Facebook post, the Kyiv Opera wrote: ‘Another irreparable loss for Ukrainian culture, for our theater, in particular.

    ‘Kostyantyn Starovytskyi, our colleague, who was in the orchestra at the Kyiv Opera, and later the conductor-producer of Donizetti’s opera “Rita” and one of the directors and authors of the Ukrainian translation of Rossini’s opera “The Marriage Contract”, died while defending the country.

    ‘Glory to the Hero! Eternal memory! Glory to Ukraine!’

    Starovytskyi’s young daughter Yeva, wife Snizhana and elderly mother Liudmyla survive him. A farewell ceremony was held in Brovary, east of Kyiv, this morning.

    The war against Vladimir Putin’s Russia has been devastating for culture in Ukraine.

    Just a week after the invasion last year, missiles and rockets hit the opera house and concert hall in Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, killing at least 10 people and injuring 35.

    Most notoriously, Russian bombs destroyed a theatre in Mariupol where civilians were sheltering on March 16 2022, killing as many as 600 people according to the Associated Press.

    A New York Times investigation from December found 339 Ukrainian cultural sites that had ‘sustained significant damage’ in the war.

    However, artists have also been at the forefront of showing defiance against the invaders.

    In March last year, a small band was filmed performing in front of the barricades protecting the Kyiv Opera House.

    Another video, in which violin players from around the world virtually join a Ukrainian musician in a bomb shelter to play the folk song ‘Verbovaya Doschechka’, went viral soon afterwards.\

  • Putin’s army construct 45-mile “mega trench” in Ukraine’s frontline

    Putin’s army construct 45-mile “mega trench” in Ukraine’s frontline

    The trenches indicate Russian leaders are concerned about a significant Ukrainian counteroffensive.

    Russian forces have constructed a sizable defensive trench in Ukraine far behind the frontline, which is a stark indication of their dwindling confidence.

    According to the independent Crimean Centre for Investigative Journalism‘s analysis of openly accessible satellite photos, the defensive lines extend constantly across 45 miles of the seized Ukrainian countryside.

    It passes through Zaporizhzhia’s southern section, more than 50 miles into Russian-controlled territory and hundreds of kilometers from the most active fighting in the Bakhmut region, in the east.

    The western end of the ‘megatrench’ begins near Melitopol, which is the seat of a puppet government used by Putin to rule the occupied half of the region.

    Putin's 45-mile-long 'mega trench': Russian troops dig huge defensive fortification visible from space metro graphics Credit Google / metro.co.uk
    The ‘mega trench’ stretches continuousy across 45 miles of countryside
    45-miles-long 'Mega-trench' fortification line, dug by Russian troops in the occupied territory of??Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine
    It appears on images from the EU-funded Sentinel-2 satellite (Picture: E2W)

    Melitopol is also seen as the ‘gateway to Crimea’, the peninsula which was illegally seized by Russia in 2014.

    The appearance of the trench hints suggests Russian commanders fears a Ukrainian counteroffensive could recapture most or all of its lost territories in the south.

    This would be a major blow to Putin as he would be reduced to fighting for slivers of new eastern land to tack onto parts of the Donetsk and Donbas regions which were already held by pro-Russian separatists before the 2022 invasion.

    Digging appears to have begun in September and ramped up massively in the following weeks, with fortifications completed by early April.

    This coincides with a period of retreat of Russian forces, who had advanced to Kyiv in the first stages of the war but were later pushed back and forced to abandon positions in central and northern Ukraine.

    The images showing the trenches were obtained from the Sentinel-2, one of several satellites from the EU’s Copernicus space programme whose data is available freely online.

    Natalya Gumenyuk, spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern defence forces, said: ‘Well, at least they [the Russians] will win at something.

    ‘There will be no second victories. Let them be record holders from the trenches.’

    Reports suggest the Russian military, which is struggling to recruit reinforcements, was forced to complete the trenches using hired civilian workers from Kyrgyzstan who complain they have been underpaid.

    The lines were identified with defences seen in Russian propaganda footage which bizarrely brags about how the men had to dig ‘with sapper shovels like in the Second World War’.

    Trench warfare has largely died out due to advances in modern tactics as it is associated with high-casualty offences for little strategic gain.

    It has been virtually unheard of in the 21st century outside of eastern Ukraine, which was the site of a ‘frozen conflict’ between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists for years before Putin’s invasion and is now dominated by bloody stalemates.

    Putin poured tens of billions of roubles into proxy forces and mercenary groups fighting to keep the separatists in control of Donetsk and Donbas.

  • Russian woman accused of terrorism over the killing of a war blogger in court

    Russian woman accused of terrorism over the killing of a war blogger in court

    In connection with the explosion that killed war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky on Sunday, a Russian lady has appeared in court and been charged with terrorism.

    It is alleged that Daria Trepova gave the pro-Kremlin writer the explosive that caused his death and the injuries of 32 other people at a St. Petersburg cafe.

    She was taken into custody yesterday after being taken into custody by the FSB and Investigative Committee.

    Prior to her arrest, there were rumors that she had been “on the run,” and pro-state media outlet Shoot reported that when she was arrested, her first words were “I was set up.”
    Just being used of me.

    Footage from a street in Russia’s second-largest city allegedly shows Trepova, 26, carrying a box towards the cafe where the explosion later happened.

    Tatarsky, who had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of the most prominent bloggers reporting on the conflict in Ukraine, is said to have been handed a gold bust by a woman.

    Russian news reports suggest the statuette depicted Tatarsky himself, and hid the bomb inside.

    Authorities said 10 of the 32 people who were injured in the blast are in a critical condition.

    Suspected Daria Trepova entering cafe with a box

    Darya Trepova, suspected of bringing explosives to the cafe where war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky (real name Maxim Fomin) was killed in an explosion the day before, speaks on camera during her arrest in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, in this still image taken from video released April 3, 2023. Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. WATERMARK FROM SOURCE.
    Darya Trepova and her partner have maintained she was ‘set up’ (Picture: Reuters)

    Talking to Russian site SVTV News, Trepova’s husband Dmitry Rylov acknowledged she was against the war in Ukraine but said ‘she would never kill’ and that she was ‘framed’.

    He is reported to have said: ‘I am 100% sure that she would never have agreed to such a thing if she had known.’

    A video appearing to show Trepova confessing was released by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, but the circumstances in which it was filmed are unknown.

    Suspect Daria Trepova, 26, with husband Dmitry
    Trepova with her husband Dmitry Rylov (Picture: Social media/e2w)

    Her flat has been searched and some reports say her mother was arrested.

    A second suspect was earlier named as Maria Yarun, 40, who was born in Ukraine and is said to be in hospital in St Petersburg.

    St Petersburg restaurant explosion kills military blogger

    Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, previously appeared in a video vowing the destruction of Ukraine, which has faced devastation since Vladimir Putin’s troops invaded last February.

    ‘We’ll conquer everyone, we’ll kill everyone’, he boasted. ‘We’ll loot whoever we need to, and everything will be just as we like it.’

  • Victim of the Novichok poisoning in Salisbury who lost a partner intends to sue Russia

    Victim of the Novichok poisoning in Salisbury who lost a partner intends to sue Russia

    A Salisbury poisoned victim intends to file a lawsuit against Russia for his partner’s passing and the destruction of his property.

    Five years have passed since Charlie Rowley and his partner Dawn Sturgess became gravely ill as a result of exposure to Novichok, a deadly nerve toxin of military grade created by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

    Now, Mr. Rowley has disclosed to The Sun that he is considering suing the Russian government for Ms. Sturgess‘ subsequent death and the destruction of his home as a result of the poisoning.

    The substance was concealed in a perfume bottle and found in a charity shop before being gifted to Ms Sturgess by Mr Rowley.

    Undated handout photo issued by Metropolitan Police of Dawn Sturgess, who died after being exposed to nerve agent novichok.
    Ms Sturgess died after being exposed to the toxic nerve agent Novichok in 2018 (Picture: PA)

    It is thought to have been left behind by Kremlin agents Anatoliy Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin four months prior to the couple falling ill.

    The UK government believes Mr Chepiga and Mr Mishkin used the nerve agent in a state-sanctioned assassination attempt against former Russian intelligence official Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. 

    Ms Sturgess died just over a week after being exposed to the substance, while Mr Rowley suffered multiple strokes and nerve damage.

    It took more than a year for the affected sites in Salisbury to be completely cleared of the highly toxic chemical.

    During this time, Mr Rowley’s home was torn down and more than 450 of his belongings destroyed.

    Among them was his phone, which contained ‘all my photos and memories’ of Ms Sturgess, his partner of 18 months, Mr Rowley said. 

    He added: ‘I still stay in touch with Dawn’s family. That’s very important to me. I loved her deeply.’

    His statements come following the news that a public hearing into Ms Sturgess’s death will be pushed back until next year, with intelligence concerns cited.

    For Mr Rowley, it has been a difficult wait. 

    He said: ‘I’d like to find a way of bringing them to account. I feel they probably had a huge pay-off as they did something and are reaping the rewards for it, yet they’ve left a trail of destruction behind them.’

  • Actor from Russia slits his wrists on stage in opposition to war in Ukraine

    Actor from Russia slits his wrists on stage in opposition to war in Ukraine

    In retaliation for the theater sacking its director for opposing the war in Ukraine, a Russian actor slit his wrists in front of spectators.

    Actor Artur Shuvalov informed the audience in Ulan-Ude, eastern Siberia, that the producers of the play had been “harassing” him and withholding his salary because he had backed the former director Sergei Levitsky.

    With a sudden grab of a knife from his pocket, Artur—who is reportedly fighting cancer—announced that his wife, who was also an actor in the program, had also been dismissed.

    Proclaiming the theatre’s management team were ‘responsible’ for his death, he started slicing the knife across his wrists, MailOnline reports.

    He said: ‘Throughout the year they have tried to fire me from the theatre, humiliate me, deprive me of work and money.

    ‘Today they signed a statement, they fired my wife Svetlana Polyanskaya.

    ‘I don’t want to put up with it. But I have no more strength and no more choice.’

    He added: ‘I don’t want to hear that artists are “representatives of the oldest professions”.

    (Picture: Telegram)
    Artur told the audience he was being ‘harassed’ by the theatre (Picture: Telegram)

    ‘And I believe that our audience is worthy of smart direction, and not as our artistic director says.

    ‘Please forgive me again. I’m tired. I have no more choice. I want to say just one thing: Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Dyachenko [artistic director], Natalya Nikolaevna Svetozarova [theater director], these people are to blame for my death.’

    The audience watched in horror as other members of the cast rushed to try and help the actor.

    Artur was taken to hospital and is said to be in a stable condition.

    Since the start of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has imposed censorship laws against ‘discrediting Russian armed forces’.

    A number of leading arts figures lost their jobs after criticising the war.

  • Hackers claim to have identified the Russian commander who allegedly “bombed 700 people

    Hackers claim to have identified the Russian commander who allegedly “bombed 700 people

    Hacktivists in Ukraine claim to have identified the Russian who gave the order to bomb the drama theater in Mariupol, which resulted in up to 700 fatalities.

    Colonel Sergey Atroshchenko, 41, a commander of the assault aviation regiment who was labeled a “war criminal,” was identified as the senior officer.

    When the structure was struck on March 16 of last year, about 1,000 people—mostly women and children—were utilizing it as a shelter.

    At least four people were killed, 16 were wounded, and at least one stillbirth are believed to have resulted from Atroshchenko’s jets bombing the Mariupol maternity facility.

    After the colonel refused to cooperate with the hacktivist’s investigation, they released intimate pictures of him and his wife Liliya, 40.

    The report said: ‘The hacktivists noticed that Lilya likes to send “photo surprises” to her husband.’

    Believing she was communicating with her husband’s air force colleagues, she also agreed to pose with other wives at her husband’s air base in Primorsko-Akhtarsk, close to the Sea of Azov.

    Ukrainian official Pyotr Andryushchenko, advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, said: ‘The number one killer of Mariupol residents has been established.

    ‘The one who gave orders and controlled the bombing of the drama theatre, maternity hospital and the children’s hospital.’

    The information was sent to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, in Netherlands, and intelligence community InformNapalm.

    Russia denied it was responsible for the carnage at the Mariupol theatre, claiming it was blown up by Ukraine’s Azov Battalion.

    But this has been refuted by several investigations.

    The theatre strike was classed as a war crime by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Amnesty International.

  • Russian father imprisoned after daughter displayed “No to War” placard

    Russian father imprisoned after daughter displayed “No to War” placard

    A Russian man will spend two years in prison after his daughter made a “No to War” poster at school.

    Pupils at the Tula-area school were asked to produce artwork that was influenced by Russian soldiers.

    13-year-old Masha Moskalyova created a drawing of Kremlin rockets directed at a mother and a kid, along with the words “Glory to Ukraine” and “No to War.”

    She was taken inside the school and interrogated by her single father, Alexei Moskalyov.

    Authorities later found he had posted his support for Ukraine online and he was ordered to pay a £350 fine.

    But, the 54-year-old claims, he then faced further interrogated by the FSB – Putin’s fearsome counterintelligence service.

    Masha was taken to a ‘rehabilitation centre’, part of the state orphanage system, and Alexei barred from seeing her as criminal proceedings then began.

    Legal action against him continued culminating in today’s sentence.

    Masha Moskalyova from Tula region was persecuted for her anti-war drawing
    Masha Moskalyova was persecuted for her anti-war drawing (Picture: OVD Info/east2west news)
    Olga Podolskaya, an independent local deputy, poses in front of a juvenile social-rehabilitation centre where reportedly Maria Moskalyova, the 13-year-old girl who drew a picture critical of Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine at school in April last year, was moved after investigations had begun into her father Alexei Moskalyov's Ukraine posts discrediting the Russian army, in the town of Yefremov in the Tula region on March 23, 2023. - In the Russian town of Yefremov, residents say they are shocked by the case of a father separated from his 13-year-old daughter because of her drawing criticising Moscow's offensive. (Photo by Natalia KOLESNIKOVA / AFP) (Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images)
    Olga Podolskaya, an independent local deputy, in front of a social-rehabilitation centre where the schoolgirl is reportedly being held (Picture: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP)

    Alexei was found to have ‘repeatedly discredited the army’ and ordered to spend two years in a harsh penal colony.

    But there was one issue, the single father wasn’t there to hear the sentence.

    Court officials revealed he had ‘escaped’ the night before the court session, with his whereabouts unknown.

    ‘The verdict was announced today, but the defendant was not present because he escaped last night,’ said court spokeswoman Olga Dyachuk.

    Russian citizen Alexei Moskalyov, who is accused of discrediting the country's armed forces in the course of Russia-Ukraine military conflict, stands in a defendants' dock during a court hearing in the town of Yefremov in the Tula region, Russia, March 27, 2023. Press Service of Tula Region Judicial System/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT.
    Alexei Moskalyov stands in a defendants’ dock during a court hearing on March 27 (Picture: Reuters)
    Alexei Moskalyov, right, is escorted from a courtroom in Yefremov, Tula region, some 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 27, 2023. A court in Russia on Tuesday convicted a single father over social media posts criticizing the war in Ukraine and sentenced him to two years in prison ??? a case brought to the attention of authorities by his daughter's drawings against the invasion at school, according to the man's lawyer and local activists. The 54-year-old Moskalyov, a single father of a 13-year-old daughter, was accused of repeatedly discrediting the Russian army, a criminal offense in accordance to a law Russian authorities adopted shortly after sending troops into Ukraine. (AP Photo)
    His whereabouts are unknown (Picture: AP)

    There was applause from his supporters in the court.

    This marks the first time since the Soviet era that a child has been separated from a parent based on political views.

    A day earlier in the witness box in Efremov, Tula region Alexei had said: ‘Those who are in the court are 90 per cent against the war in Ukraine.’

    A petition signed by almost 150,000 called Masha’s treatment ‘monstrous’ and cites experts saying there are ‘no legal grounds’ to incarcerate her in a Tula region ‘rehabilitation’ centre.

    The girl’s fate will later be decided by the social services authorities.

    His lawyer described the sentence – which mirrored the demand by the prosecutors – as ‘harsh’.

    Even the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose men are fighting for Putin in Ukraine, offered his support and criticised the local authorities.

    https://youtu.be/FBX_lI822P4
  • Russia accuses Ukraine over explosive drone 50-foot hole in the town

    Russia accuses Ukraine over explosive drone 50-foot hole in the town

    Video has shown the destruction caused when a drone carrying explosives struck the center of a Russian town.

    After flying over Kireyevsk in the central Tula region and damaging residences and injuring three people, the drone created a sizable crater.

    According to a law enforcement source cited by the Russian news agency TASS, Ukrainian soldiers used the drone.

    On Sunday, the device struck Kireyevsk, which is located around 180 kilometers from the border between Russia and Ukraine.

    Kyiv has yet to comment, but has previously rebuffed claims by the Kremlin that Ukrainian drones have flown into its territory and caused damage to civilian infrastructure.

    The footage, which appears to have been captured on a mobile phone, pans around the crater, reported to measure 15 meters (50 ft) in diameter and five meters deep (16 ft), showing how properties have been reduced to rubble.

    A person can be heard saying ‘There is nothing left of the house, everything is smashed.

    ‘And the crater is so f******g huge, this is awful’.

    This handout photo released by Ostorozhno Novosti reportedly shows a crater of about 15 meters (50 feet) in diameter and five meters deep (16 feet), after an explosion that according to Russian authorities was caused by a Ukrainian drone in Kireyevsk, Tula region, Russia, Sunday, March 26, 2023. (Ostorozhno Novosti via AP)
    The crater after a drone reportedly hit the Russian town of Kireyevsk (Picture: AP)
    An investigator works at the accident scene following what Russia's Defence Ministry said to be the explosion of a halted Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the town of Kireyevsk in the Tula region, Russia, March 27, 2023. REUTERS/REUTERS PHOTOGRAPHER
    An investigator pictured in the town of Kireyevsk (Picture: REUTERS)

    A voice adds: ‘The main thing is we are alive’ before speculation that the explosion ‘must have been a drone’.

    The blast lays bare the carnage caused by Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine – as the Kremlin today said it had plans to base submarines with ‘super torpedoes’ in the Pacific Ocean by early next year.

    Moscow said it had produced the first set of Poseidon missiles – said to be a cross between a torpedo and a drone, launched from a nuclear submarine – in January.

    The decision was made in response to the West increasing military support for Ukraine, Mr Putin said.

    Service members inspect the accident scene following what Russia's Defence Ministry said to be the explosion of a halted Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the town of Kireyevsk in the Tula region, Russia, March 27, 2023. REUTERS/REUTERS PHOTOGRAPHER
    The drone explosion reduced homes to rubble and left two people injured (Picture: REUTERS)

    NATO on Sunday criticised the Russian president for what it branded his ‘dangerous and irresponsible’ nuclear rhetoric.

    It follows Mr Putin’s announcement on Saturday that tactical nuclear weapons would be stationed in Belarus – which has been taken ‘hostage’ by its ally, according to a top Ukrainian security official.

    Mr Putin likened the move to the US stationing weapons in Europe and vowed Russia would not violate its nuclear non-proliferation promises.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, on February 17, 2023. (Photo by Vladimir Astapkovich / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by VLADIMIR ASTAPKOVICH/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
    Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pictured with Vladimir Putin in February (Picture: AFP)

    But a NATO spokesperson said Russia’s reference to NATO nuclear sharing was ‘totally misleading’, adding: ‘NATO allies act with full respect to their international commitments’.

    The announcement is said to represent one of Russia’s most pronounced nuclear signals since the invasion began in February last year, with Kyiv calling for a UN Security Council meeting in response.

    Ukraine’s foreign ministry called on the international community to take ‘decisive action’.

    ‘Russia once again confirms its chronic inability to be a responsible steward of nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence and prevention of war, not as a tool of threats and intimidation,’ it said.

    Russia-Ukraine war: Everything you need to know

    Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the country has suffered widespread damages and loss of life amid a major bombing campaign.

    Millions of people have fled the country, with thousands of British people opening up their homes to Ukrainian refugees.

    During the course of the war, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has remained in Kyiv, despite the Ukrainian capital being subjected to a barrage of bombing.

    Zelensky has continuously pushed for aid and support from world leaders, as well as pressing for fast-tracked NATO membership.

    Meanwhile, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has been widely condemned for his attack on Ukraine.

    His actions have been met by harsh economic sanctions, bans from competing in major sporting events, and countries moving away from using Russian oil.

    • When did Russia invade Ukraine? A war timeline of important events
    • How can I house a Ukrainian refugee or family?
    • Where to buy a Ukraine ribbon pin
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    However, a senior advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Mr Putin’s statement was ‘too predictable’.

    ‘Making a statement about tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, he admits that he is afraid of losing & all he can do is scare with tactics,’ Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

    But in Washington, the Republican chair of the US House of Representatives foreign affairs committee, Michael McCaul, said he regarded Russia’s plans to store tactical weapons in Belarus as ‘disturbing’.

    And the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons warned: ‘In the context of the war in Ukraine, the likelihood of miscalculation or misinterpretation is extremely high.

    ‘Sharing nuclear weapons makes the situation much worse and risks catastrophic humanitarian consequences,’ it said on Twitter.

  • Conflict between the US and Russia in the Black Sea is “inevitable” – Ukraine

    Conflict between the US and Russia in the Black Sea is “inevitable” – Ukraine

    According to Ukraine’s foreign minister, incidents like the downing of an American drone over the Black Sea will continue until Russia vacates Crimea.

    Yesterday, a $32 million American “Reaper” drone collided with a Russian fighter jet, sending the unmanned surveillance plane plunging into the Black Sea.

    The action, which marked the first time an American aircraft had been shot down by a Russian fighter since the Cold War’s height, raised concerns that tensions between the two countries may worsen.

    Yet despite the ‘deplorable state’ of relations between the two nations, a Kremlin spokesperson today announced that Russia would not rule out ‘constructive dialogue’ with the US.

    Sorry, this video isn’t available any more.

    Asked if the incident could inflame tensions with Washington, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated the Russian Defense Ministry’s statement that Russian jets didn’t use their weapons or impact the U.S. drone.

    Peskov described U.S.-Russia relations as being at their lowest point, but added that ‘Russia has never rejected constructive dialogue, and it’s not rejecting it now.’

    U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the drone was flying in international airspace and over international waters when the encounter with the Russian fighter took place Tuesday.

    He stressed that the drone’s presence over the Black Sea was not an uncommon occurrence.

    ‘It is also not uncommon for the Russians to try to intercept them,’ Kirby said, adding that such an encounter ‘does increase the risk of miscalculations, misunderstandings.’

    Speaking to the BBC, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he did not expect to see any serious diplomatic escalation.

    Describing it as a ‘routine incident’, Mr Kuleba said: ‘As long as Russia controls Crimea, these kinds of incidents will be inevitable and the Black Sea will not be a safe place.

    Ukraine’s foreign minister said such skirmishes are ‘inevitable’ while Russia remains in Crimea (Picture: Getty)

    ‘So the only way to prevent such incidents is actually to kick Russia out of Crimea.’

    While encounters between Russian and Nato aircraft are not unusual- before the invasion of Ukraine, Nato planes were involved in an annual average of 400 intercepts with their Russian counterparts-  the war has heightened the significance and potential hazards of such incidents.

    US military officials said the encounter happened on Tuesday morning and lasted for around 30-40 minutes.

    Several times before the collision, Russian jets dumped fuel on the drone in a ‘reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner’, before flying underneath the craft and clipping its propeller, causing it to become ‘unflyable.’

    The MQ-9 Reaper drone has not yet been recovered from the Black Sea and it is unclear whether it will be.

    The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, tweeted on Wednesday that the drone incident was ‘a signal from Putin that he is ready to expand the conflict zone, with drawing other parties in.’

    At the Pentagon, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the intercept by the Russian jet was part of a ‘pattern of aggressive, risky and unsafe actions by Russian pilots in international airspace.’ 

    Russian President Putin Attends Summit Of The Commonwealth Of Independent States
    Vladimir Putin’s spokeman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was open to ‘constructive’ dialogue with the US (Picture: Getty)

    He said Russia must operate its aircraft in a safe manner. 

    ‘Make no mistake, the United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows, he added.’

    After being summoned to speak to officials in Washington, Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov said Moscow saw the drone incident as ‘a provocation’.

    Mr Antonov added that from the Kremlin’s point of view, ‘the unacceptable activity of the US military in the close proximity to our borders is a cause for concern.’

    When asked by the BBC if the US and its allies might become more cautious following the incident, Mr Kuleba said: ‘The mood is not to escalate but nor is the mood to lean under the pressure – the physical or rhetorical pressure – of Russia.’

    ‘If the West wants to demonstrate its weakness, it should certainly demonstrate its cautiousness after an incident like this, but I don’t have a feeling that this is the mood in capitals,’ he replied.

  • Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia finally embrace their family as they return

    Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia finally embrace their family as they return

    A number of Ukrainian children who had been held captive in Russian facilities have been released.

    After Russian forces seized control of their cities, the 17 children were sent to Crimea.

    They claimed that if they expressed sympathy for Ukraine, they would be thrashed with iron rods and informed that their families had abandoned them.

    The children’s release, which was coordinated by the NGO rescue Ukraine, was applauded by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

    What’s going over there with the deportation of children, she added, “It is a dreadful reminder of the darkest days in our history.”
    This is a crime of war.

    More than 16,000 Ukrainian youngsters have been taken since the Kremlin’s invasion.

    The International Criminal Court has accused Russia of attempting to ‘re-educate’ the children, which included threatening violence as punishment.

    One teenager said he was told: ‘We will take you to a boarding school, you will sit there and understand everything.

    Inessa meets her son Vitaly after the bus delivering him and more than a dozen other children back from Russian-held territory arrived in Kyiv on March 22, 2023. - More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the February 24, 2022 invasion, according to Kyiv, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes. (Photo by SERGEI CHUZAVKOV / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI CHUZAVKOV/AFP via Getty Images)
    Inessa meets her son Vitaly after the bus delivering him and more than a dozen other children back (Picture: Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP)
    Denys Zaporozhchenko (R) and his ten-year-old son react after the bus delivering him and and more than a dozen other children back from Russian-held territory arrived in Kyiv on March 22, 2023. - More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the February 24, 2022 invasion, according to Kyiv, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes. (Photo by Sergei CHUZAVKOV / AFP) (Photo by SERGEI CHUZAVKOV/AFP via Getty Images)
    Denys Zaporozhchenko and his ten-year-old son embrace each other (Picture: Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP)

    ‘One girl was hit on the back, she ad a big bruise on her back from where the rod was.

    ‘We were sat in the hall, and there someone shouted, “Glory to Ukraine!”

    ‘They were taken away. But I don’t know what happened to him.’

    Taisa, 15, ddescribed the intense political indoctrination.

    She said: ‘If we didn’t sing the (Russian) national anthem, they made us write an explanatory note. Over the New Year, we were shown Putin’s speech.’

    Children were seen running into their parents arms after arriving into Kyiv.

    Denys Zaporozhchenko embraced three of his children who were among the 17 who returned.

    The dad last saw his children in October in Kherson – when they left to go to the Russian summer camp.

    He sent his children to Crimea as he expected tough fighting in the region, thinking it seemed the lesser evil.

    He told AFP: ‘Russian officials promised to send them to these camps for a week or two.

    ‘By the time we realised we shouldn’t have let them go, it was too late.’

    His 11-year-old daughter Yana, said: ‘Everything was like in normal camps’ but camp officials ‘made us sing and dance when inspectors came’ from Moscow.’

    One mum, Inesda Vertosh, said her son is not ready to talk about his experience in the camp.

    ‘He looks at me and says “Mom, I don’t want to tell you about it, you wouldn’t sleep at night”.’

    Myroslava Kharchenko, a lawyer working with Save Ukraine, said families were often pressured.

    She said: ‘(Russian officials) told parents that they have one hour to think, and that if Ukrainians get there before, they will bring American mercenaries who will beat and rape the children.’

    Russia insists they are saving Ukrainian children from the horrors of war.

    A week ago, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin, accusing him of committing war crimes in Ukraine.

    The warrant seeks to haul him before a tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, for allegedly trafficking Ukrainian children from occupied territories into Russia.

    Reports by the UN and multiple human rights agencies have detailed a ‘vast network’ of detention facilities and convoys in which civilians are systematically forced out of their homes by invading Russian soldiers.

    Allegations include children, the elderly and people with disabilities being separated from their families, as well as detainees being beaten, electrocuted and threatened with execution.

  • Finally Russia confesses that Ukraine had destroyed one of its ships

    Finally Russia confesses that Ukraine had destroyed one of its ships

    A year after the initial incident, a Russian admiral has officially acknowledged that Ukraine sunk one of its ships in a missile strike.

    In the occupied city of Berdyansk in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine started an attack on a captured Russian harbour exactly one year ago.

    The attack damaged the Novocherkassk and Caesar Kunikov in addition to destroying the Russian landing ship Saratov.

    Around a dozen sailors were killed in the attack across all three landing ships, along with an unknown number of elite marines.

    Ukrainian Ministry of Defence shared a video of the missile strike that hit Saratov landing ship
    The Ukrainian MoD shared a video a missile strike that hit Saratov landing ship- but Russia refused to acknowledge it until now (Picture: Ukriaine Ministry of Defence)

    After previously refusing to acknowledge the attack or the damage it wrought, a Russian Black Sea admiral today admitted that Ukraine had managed to sink the vessel, although he refused to concede the total number of lost men.

    The admission came at a sombre memorial ceremony involving grieving relatives presided over by senior Black Sea Fleet commander Rear Admiral Felix Menkov.

    ‘A year ago, in combat, we lost the amphibious force ship Saratov,’ said Menkov.

    ‘[We] lost the crew of the Saratov, Novocherkassk, Caesar Kunikov landing ships,

    ‘Today is the first mournful anniversary.

    ‘We gathered to commemorate our comrades, to remember them.’

    He fought back emotion as he said: ‘Our children and grandchildren should be raised with such role models of love and service to the Fatherland.’

    Russia admits one year late the loss of Saratov landing ship, and sailors from two other vessels during a mourning ceremony in Sevastopol, Crimea
    A Russian admiral finally acknowledged the attack on the anniversary of the Saratov’s sinking (Picture: East2West)

    A plaque names a dozen Russian servicemen who died in the strike, but it is unclear if this was the full toll.

    It also makes clear that elite marines were among those who died.

    At the time of the attack, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, released a video of the strike on his Telegram which showed missiles hitting the Saratov, which had been set ablaze.

    ‘The large amphibious ships Orsk, Cesar Kunnikov, Novocherkask were damaged, Saratov was destroyed,’ the Commander wrote.

    ‘The myth of the invulnerability of the Russian fleet was destroyed by well-targeted strikes of the AFU. This once again proved an irrefutable fact: the enemy will not rest on Ukrainian land: neither on land nor on water.

    Nine were killed on the day of the strike, and three perished from wounds later.

    The strike on the Saratov came exactly one month into the bloody war unleashed by Vladimir Putin, but until now the regime had refused to acknowledge the loss.

    It was three weeks before the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship – the cruiser Moskva – was destroyed by the Ukrainians.

  • Russians overheard finding a downed US drone by amateur radio operators

    Russians overheard finding a downed US drone by amateur radio operators

    It appears that amateur radio hobbyists have audio recordings of the Russian military attempting to recover a US espionage drone.

    After the MQ-9 Reaper drone was shot down last Tuesday during an encounter with two Russian airplanes, they were keeping an eye on the public airwaves, according to the New York Times.

    The radio intercept began around eight hours after the Black Sea collision, which was the first physical conflict between Russia and the US since the start of the invasion of Ukraine.

    The clips reveal conversations between multiple Russian ships and aircraft over a four-hour period, discussing attempts to recover the drone’s engine casing, nose, wing and gas tank.

    ‘At this moment, we have brought up three parts of the frame,’ one unit code-named Apelsin (Orange) was heard saying. ‘Now I am proceeding toward the helicopter to search for more.’

    There is a series of transmissions about the vessels’ declining fuel reserves and concerns about whether they will have enough to make it back to shore.

    They then return to the Port of Sevastopol and one crew member indicates he passed an area called Striletska Bay.

    jet
    The clips reveal conversations between multiple Russian ships and aircraft over a four-hour period (Picture: US European Command/Zuma/Shutterstock)
    mq-9 reaper
    An MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle shown on November 7, 2020.
    map
    The MQ-9 Reaper drone was found 60km off the coast of Sevastopol

    This provides an insight into the units operating near the crash site, and indicates Russia’s continued use of open, unencrypted radio channels for operational communications in Ukraine.

    A source close to the Russian defense ministry claimed Kremlin forces had found the downed drone at a depth of up to 2,953ft in the Black Sea.

    While there is no indication sensitive US information was recovered, the intercepts contain special military words which are difficult to understand.

    Pentagon officials said any sensitive information was wiped from the drone’s software.

    ‘Whatever is left of that floating will probably be flight control surfaces, that kind of thing — probably nothing of real intrinsic value to them in terms of re-engineering or anything like that,’ National Security Council spokesman John F. Kirby told CNN. 

    ‘We’re not overly concerned about whatever they might get their hands on,’ he added.

    Fizik research vessel pictured in Russia
    Telegram channels indicate special purpose vessels Fizik (pictured in a file photo) and Professor Vodyanitskiy both sailed to or near the suspected location of the wreckage.

    Russia’s Ministry of Defense confirmed on Friday two fighter pilots had been honored with state awards for preventing the US drone from entering Russian airspace.

    They claimed there was no physical contact between the aircrafts, and that ‘quick maneuvering’ caused the drone to fall into ‘unguided flight with a loss of altitude’.

    But this contradicted US claims that a Russian jet rammed the drone and damaged its propeller.

    Moscow did not officially acknowledge a salvage operation, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the military would decide whether to attempt a recovery.

    ‘This is the prerogative of the military. If they deem it necessary to do that in the Black Sea for our interests and for our security, they will deal with that,’ Pescov said at a news briefing in Moscow last week. 

    The US has since resumed surveillance drone flights over the Black Sea region, officials said. 

  • Russia warns the Britain about a nuclear exchange

    Russia warns the Britain about a nuclear exchange

    Russian retaliation would result from British intentions to send depleted uranium (DU) munitions to Ukraine, the Kremlin has warned.

    “Another step has been taken, and there are fewer and fewer left,” the defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, told reporters.

    Naturally, Russia is able to respond to this.

    Shoigu’s response, when asked if this meant that a nuclear war was imminent, was, “It was not by chance that I told you about steps.
    There are getting less and less.

    Now, it was made public that armour-piercing rounds with DU were included in the Challenger 2 battle tanks that are being shipped from Britain to Ukraine.

    Defence Minister Baroness Goldie said today: ‘Alongside our granting of a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, we will be providing ammunition including armour piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium.

    ‘Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armoured vehicles.’

    DU shells were used by US and British troops in Iraq in 1991 and 2003, as well as in the Balkans during the 1990s.

    File photo dated 20/11/2017 of a Challenger II Main Battle Tank at Royal Tank Regiment HQ, Tidworth, Wiltshire. Western allies are meeting to discuss further military support for Ukraine amid intense pressure on Germany to authorise the release of its Leopard 2 battle tanks to bolster Kyiv's forces in their fight against Russia. Issue date: Friday January 20, 2023. PA Photo. Defence ministers and military chiefs from around 50 nations are expected to take part in the talks convened by US defence secretary Lloyd Austin at Ramstein the main US airbase in Europe in Germany. See PA story POLITICS Ukraine. Photo credit should read: Ben Birchall/PA Wire
    A Challenger II Main Battle Tank at Royal Tank Regiment HQ, Tidworth, Wiltshire (Picture: PA)
    Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrives to attend the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at The Grand Kremlin Palace, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 21, 2023. (Alexey Maishev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
    Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said: ‘Another step has been taken, and there are fewer and fewer left.’ (Picture: AP)

    It is a particular health risk around impact sites, where dust can get into people’s lungs and vital organs.

    DU is used in weapons because it can penetrate tanks and armour more easily due to its density and other physical properties.

    In response to Russia’s warning, a MoD spokesman said this evening: ‘The British Army has used depleted uranium in its armour piercing shells for decades. It is a standard component and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities.

    ‘Russia knows this, but is deliberately trying to disinform.’

    Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a welcome ceremony before Russia - China talks in narrow format at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. Sputnik/Sergei Karpukhin/Pool via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.
    Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met today (Picture: Reuters)

    CND General Secretary Kate Hudson said the offer of DU-laden tanks will ‘not help the people of Ukraine.

    She added: ‘Like in Iraq, the addition of depleted uranium ammunition into this conflict will only increase the long-term suffering of the civilians caught up in this conflict.

    ‘DU shells have already been implicated in thousands of unnecessary deaths from cancer and other serious illnesses.

    ‘CND has repeatedly called for the UK government to place an immediate moratorium on the use of depleted uranium weapons and to fund long-term studies into their health and environmental impacts.

    ‘Sending them into yet another war zone will not help the people of Ukraine.’

    The news comes as the secretary general of Nato has said there were ‘signs’ indicating Russia has asked for lethal aid from China.

    Launching his annual report for 2022, Jens Stoltenberg said: ‘We haven’t seen proof that China is delivering lethal weapons to Russia.

    ‘But we have seen some signs that this has been requested from Russia and it is something that is being considered in Beijing by the Chinese authorities.’

    Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Russia for his high-profile visit yesterday, and met President Vladimir Putin soon afterwards.

    Few details have been released on what the two leaders will discuss, but a 12-point peace plan for the war in Ukraine was published by China less than a month ago.

    Mr Stoltenberg, who was speaking at the Nato headquarters in Brussels, said: ‘Our message has been that China should not provide lethal aid to Russia.

    ‘That would be to support an illegal war, and only prolong the war, and support the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia.’

  • Putin says relations with Africa a prime concern to Moscow

    Putin says relations with Africa a prime concern to Moscow

    Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that he places “priority” on his connections with African nations during his search for worldwide allies in the face of Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine

    “I want to emphasise that our country has always given and will continue to give priority to co-operation with African states,” Mr Putin said on Monday at a conference on Russian-African relations in Moscow.

    He said Russia will supply food to needy countries in Africa free of charge if an agreement on Ukrainian grain exports is not renewed.

    “We are ready to supply the whole volume sent during the past time to African countries particularly requiring it from Russia free of charge to these countries,” he said, according to the Russian news agency Tass.

    He said Russia will share its technologies with African nations and continue helping them produce electricity.

    Russia has been expanding its influence in Africa in recent years and Mr Putin said he believes the continent will continue increasing its authority and role in the “emerging multipolar world order”.

    The conference is being attended by more than 40 delegations from African countries, according to Kremlin’s press service.

    Mr Putin is scheduled to host African leaders in June for the Russia-Africa summit – the second of its kind.

  • Sending Ukrainian children to Russia is a war crime – UN

    Sending Ukrainian children to Russia is a war crime – UN

    Investigators claim that the forcible abduction of Ukrainian children by Russian troops into Russia constitutes a war crime.

    The United Nations Commission of Investigation on Ukraine stated in a recent report that there is proof of human rights violations related to the expulsion of more than 16,000 Ukrainian children to Russia.

    According to the report, kidnapping children without their will is a clear violation of international humanitarian law.

    It also brought attention to other forms of war crimes, such as assaults on civilians and energy-related infrastructures, as well as wrongful detention, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual assault.

    The report also notes Moscow’s policy of granting citizenship to Ukrainian children – and placing them in foster families – has created ‘a framework in which some of the children may end up remaining permanently’ in Russia.

    In some cases, children have been forced to wear dirty clothes while being transferred, as well as being screamed at and called names.

    Those with learning and behavioural difficulties were also found not to have received adequate care and medication.

    Russia has committed a ‘wide range’ of war crimes in Ukraine, UN inquiry finds

    Parents and children say they have faced significant obstacles establishing contact once separated, with investigators adding younger children unable to do so of their own initiative ‘might lose contact with [their families] indefinitely’.

    Investigators are currently attempting to ascertain whether the bombardment of the city of Mariupol last May amounted to a crime against humanity.

    But they have faced challenges with making their inquiries due to a lack of access to the Donetsk region.

    In conducting the research, the UN Commission interviewed just under 600 people in almost 60 areas, inspecting ‘sites of destruction, graves, places of detention and torture, as well as weapon remnants [and] a large number of documents and reports’.

    They recommended ‘all violations and crimes be investigated and those responsible be held accountable, either at the national or the international level’.

    The Commission added they had documented a small number of violations committed on the Ukrainian side, including two incidents in which Russian prisoners of war were shot, wounded or tortured.\

  • Zelensky plans to meet China over a said ‘peace plan’

    Zelensky plans to meet China over a said ‘peace plan’

    To discuss ideas for putting an end to the conflict in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky intends to meet with his counterpart in China.

    The Ukrainian president said he was willing to take some of Beijing’s 12-point “peace plan” into consideration when speaking on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

    In reference to China’s efforts to mediate peace, he stated at a news conference in Kyiv, “It’s a significant indication that they are preparing to take part in this theme.”

    ‘So far, I see this as a signal – I don’t know what will happen later.’

    LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Women who belong to the Women Fight 4 UA (Womenfight4ua) a voluntary organization that supports Ukraine wear fake blood on their faces and hold up placards outside the Russian Embassy as Ukrainian community organizations mark the one year of Russia's war against Ukraine with a candlelight march from Holland Park on February 24, 2023 in London, England. The British people have stood with Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on February 24, 2022. (Photo by John Keeble/Getty Images)
    Women who belong to the Women Fight 4 UA, a voluntary organization that supports Ukraine, outside the Russian Embassy in London on Friday (Picture: Getty)

    Zelensky, who stressed Russia-allied China did not offer a concrete plan but some ‘thoughts’, also warned Beijing against providing Moscow with arms.

    ‘I very much want to believe that China will not deliver weapons to Russia, and for me this is very important. This is point number one,’ he added, striking a receptive tone.

    But any plan that did not include a full withdrawal of Russian troop would not be acceptable to the Ukrainian government.

    Zelensky said he planned to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping but did confirm if and when such a meeting has been scheduled for.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Chinese Communist Party's foreign policy chief Wang Yi during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (Anton Novoderezhkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
    Vladimir Putin greets Chinese Communist Party’s foreign policy chief Wang Yi during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow (Picture: AP)

    ‘I plan to meet Xi Jinping and believe this will be beneficial for our countries and for security in the world,’ the leader said.

    Meanwhile, he rejected ever holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    China has refrained from condemning its ally Russia or referring to its intervention in Ukraine as an ‘invasion’.

    Chinese officials have also criticised looming Western sanctions on Russia.

    ‘All parties must stay rational and exercise restraint, avoid fanning the flames and aggravating tensions, and prevent the crisis from deteriorating further or even spiralling out of control,’ the ministry said in its paper.

    But NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Tallinn that China does not have ‘much credibility’ as it has failed to condemn the war.

  • Ukraine’s foreign military vow to fight until the end

    Ukraine’s foreign military vow to fight until the end

    The only sound in the night sky is the low hum of a pick-up truck with its headlights off.
    From the exhaust, fumes gurgle into the chilly air.
    Only the vehicle’s rear lights are visible; any other light source may be disastrous this close to the frontlines.

    Russian drones hover above, scanning the skies for any indication of life.

    The goal of Thursday’s early-morning mission is to reach one of the most devastated and shattered sections of the 1,500-mile frontline in eastern Ukraine, the crucial town of Vuhledar, which Russian forces have been attempting to conquer for months.

    “Ready!” barks an American voice. A British soldier, balaclava covering his face, perhaps in anticipation of a minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit) journey on the back of the truck, replies “yep,” and leaps onto the vehicle.

    On the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine, CNN was given exclusive access for two days with Ukraine’s International Legion – a band of foreign fighters who have bolstered the Ukrainian armed forces in the fight for their homeland.

    One of them hails from North Carolina, via New York. The American voice belongs to Jason Mann, who goes by ‘Doc.’ A bearded, six-foot former United States Marine with tours in Afghanistan and Iraq under his belt, Mann leads a unit called ‘Phalanx.’

    Recent arrivals to his unit include two Canadians and a Brit, who go by calls signs like ‘Scrappy’ and ‘Terminator’ (the latter of whom got his name after taking a brick to the eye on a mission, leaving it bloodshot).

    The aim of this early morning mission into Vuhledar is to familiarize ‘Scrappy’ — newly arrived from the UK a matter of weeks ago — with the terrain in this strategically critical town, known as the “gift of coal.”

    “A lot of activity is going to be happening (in Vuhledar) over the next week,” predicts Mann. “We need to get him a little bit familiar with the area just in case we run out fast.”

    Moscow has piled ammunition and troops into capturing Vuhledar in recent months. It has reduced the city to a shell of itself. Ferocious fighting has left the town, once of 15,000 people, largely void of any life.

    A Russian victory here would help it keep Donetsk connected with Russian-occupied Crimea and allow the Russians to begin a northern “hook” as part of their anticipated spring offensive.

    But Russian troops have suffered painful and bloody failures around Vuhledar, causing a near mutiny among troops in November. Drone video from Ukrainian units stationed around the town have shown Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers rolling over mines, dumping their troops and then running them over, as Ukrainian artillery targets them.

    Now Mann and his unit expect a renewed Russian effort to take the city and finally declare victory here as the war’s February 24 anniversary draws closer.

    The previous days mud has turned rock hard, and the pick-up rattles over it. Speed is essential to accessing Vuhledar, as the convoy crosses huge, exposed fields. Small leafless tree lines offer scant protection from Russian artillery.

    On arriving to the tiny strategic town, it becomes clear that the months of fighting have left an apocalyptic level of destruction. Tall Soviet apartment blocks offer some cover from the near constant Russian shelling.

    But at this early hour, the city is eerily calm. “This isn’t an early morning war,” Mann quips.

    The previous day, a near constant barrage of artillery had hammered the city.

    To venture safely further into Vuhledar, you pass through the apartment buildings.

    We step through a squeaky swinging door, into almost ghostly silent courtyard. A rust swing set hangs limp, every building show the scars of a pounding. Windows are blown out, chunks of walls are missing, bricks and debris litter the ground, pock-marked with craters.

    “Now you can see why I don’t like being on this side,” Mann says.

    A couple are wandering the streets with shopping bags. The appearance of life seemed incongruous to the surrounding. To our guides though, it was suspicious.

    The risk of shelling grows as the sun rises; it looks like a beautiful day – perfect for artillery, and time for us to leave.

    Back in a small village a small distance back from Vulhedar, a family house has been transformed into a military billet and small arsenal. Towns like these have sprung up across Ukraine, tiny military eco-systems.

    Roving battery units fire vibrating shells at regular intervals across the village towards Russian positions without warning. A tiny litter of newly born puppies barely flinch.

    Mann says his experience in Iraq and Afghanistan hardly prepared him for the kind of warfare seen in Ukraine.

    “You know, fighting in a trench that’s not something that someone’s done in a long time. Like even World War Two is not really fought in trenches to this degree. Artillery is something we didn’t have to deal with in Iraq and Afghanistan apart from just a random rocket or grenade coming in. And that’s something you can’t fight against. You just have to hunker down and get lucky.”

    While the exact number of foreign fighters in Ukraine is unclear and has fluctuated since the start of the war, Mann estimates that the current figure is in the low thousands.

    He has seen most of the war. Mann arrived in early March 2022, and shows no sign of losing his commitment to the Ukrainian war effort.

    “I’m 100% solid. There’s nothing wrong with my resolve, there’s nothing wrong with how I feel about the situation, I’m definitely in the right place,” Mann told CNN, from a bunker-come-arsenal underneath the unit’s sleeping quarters.

    He is a Columbia university alumnus and former software engineer at Google. Before that chapter of his life, he was a Marine, serving tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. The world of big tech was there for the taking, but Mann says he felt called to fight for freedom.

    “This is redefining the global order as we speak. This is democracy versus autocracy. Do we want to let autocracy control more people’s lives in the future or prevent it from doing that ever again?” he says.

    The Legion is attached to the Ukrainian 72nd brigade and work regularly with Ukrainian regulars, with the help of interpreters. Just days before CNN’s arrival, the Legion lost a Ukrainian reconnaissance man on a mission. He was caught up in a mortar attack, and buried on Friday.

    Mann’s boss, a New Zealander who goes by the name ‘Turtle,’ says their fallen comrade’s courage needed no translation.

    “He was such a nice guy. But didn’t speak a lick of English. Most of the time, he did his talking via Google Translate. But there’s a few really good things I remember about him. He was also very good with wife and his kids, always talking to them every night,” the New Zealander says.

    “There were a lot of times we would go out and fight in the trenches, but no matter how scared he was, he never said no,” he says.

    Time travel or not, death lurks at every corner in war, and for this unit, this isn’t their war; their families are safe thousands of miles away, and they could choose to rip up their rolling Ukrainian army contracts and go home at anytime.

    But the men we meet are committed to Ukraine’s fight, none more so than Mann.

    He sees his decision to join up as a moral imperative — he says that the start of Russia’s invasion on February 24 was just “one of those moments in your life when you don’t really have a choice.”

    Asked if he had any regrets – his curt reply had a hint of the assured former Marine.

    “No regrets.”

  • Untitled post 429962

    Ukraine war: Russia controls most of destroyed salt mine town, Soledar, says UK

    Smoke rises from strikes on the frontline city of Soledar
    Image caption, Ukraine’s president has said there is “almost no life left” after fighting in Soledar (picture taken 5 January)

    By Kathryn Armstrong

    BBC News

    Russia is “likely” to now be in control most of the salt-mining town of Soledar in Ukraine’s east after a months-long battle with Ukrainian forces, the UK’s Ministry of Defence says.

    Russian troops and the mercenary Wagner Group have made advances in the past four days, the UK says.

    Soledar is near Bakhmut, where Ukraine is also locked in a bloody battle.

    President Zelensky said there was “almost no life” in Soledar, with “no whole walls left”.

    He also said “the whole land near Soledar is covered with the corpses of the occupiers”.

    “This is what madness looks like,” he added.

    Soledar – which had a population of around 10,000 before the war – may be seen mainly as a stepping stone to capturing Bakhmut, and its strategic value is questionable.

    But a US official said last week that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group’s founder, wants control of the large salt and gypsum mines in the area.

    The UK said part of the fighting had focused on entrances to the 200km-long disused tunnels and that both Russia and Ukraine “are likely concerned that they could be used for infiltration behind their lines”.

    Mr Prigozhin has confirmed his interest in the mines, calling them “the icing on the cake” in the strategic importance of the Bakhmut area.

    He described them as a “network of underground cities” that can hold “a big group of people at a depth of 80-100 metres”, and can also allow tanks and other military vehicles to move freely.

    However, Britain believes Russia is “unlikely” to take Bakhmut itself immediately due to Ukraine’s “stable defence lines”.

    Meanwhile, a senior military official from the US Department of Defense said on Monday there was a “good portion” of Soledar in Russian hands.

    Fighting around Bakhmut has been going on for months, and the US official described the most recent exchanges as “savage”.

    Two British nationals have gone missing in the region and were last seen heading to Soledar.

    Andrew Bagshaw (L) and Christopher Parry (R) have been reported as missing in Ukraine
    Image caption, UK nationals Andrew Bagshaw (L) and Christopher Parry (R) were doing voluntary work, police said, but have not been heard of since Friday

    In his nightly address, Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his thanks to soldiers defending Soledar, saying their resilience “won additional time and additional strength for Ukraine”.

    According to a Facebook post by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, soldiers on Monday repelled attacks near 13 population centres – including Soledar and Bakhmut.

    Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern forces, said in a television interview that Soledar had been struck 86 times by artillery over the past 24 hours.

    He claimed Wagner’s best fighters were being deployed and that Russia was using World War One-style tactics, while suffering heavy losses.

    “This is basically not a 21st Century war,” he said.

    • What is Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries?
    • Defying Russia in the city ‘at end of the world’

    Despite the long and intense battle, Oleh Zhdanov – a highly respected military analyst in Ukraine – believes that neither Soledar nor Bakhmut are especially important from an operational point of view.

    Mr Zhdanov said in an interview on Monday with the Ukrainian newspaper Gazeta that Russia “is trying to prove to the whole world that its army is capable of winning”.

    Russia has suffered several setbacks in Ukraine since its invasion nearly a year ago – including losing control of the only regional capital it had managed to capture.

    Meanwhile, the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think-tank, has said that Mr Prigozhin “will continue to use both confirmed and fabricated Wagner Group success in Soledar and Bakhmut to promote the Wagner Group as the only Russian force in Ukraine capable of securing tangible gains”.

    Control map of Bakhmut area
  • Putin avoids Russia blame game for now after Ukraine attack

    Putin avoids Russia blame game for now after Ukraine attack

    It was New Year’s Eve, one of the most cherished holidays in Russia. The recruits in President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine – hundreds of them mobilized just months ago – were billeted in makeshift barracks, a vocational school in the occupied city of Makiivka, in the Donetsk region. Next door was a large ammunition depot.

    The soldiers missed their wives, their families, so they turned on their cellphones and called home. Suddenly, HIMARS rockets, satellite-guided precision weapons that the United States has supplied to Ukraine, hit the school, almost completely destroying it, and igniting the cache of ammunition.

    That, at least officially, is how the Russian military is explaining the deadliest known attack on Russian forces in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022. The Defense Ministry blamed the troops themselves, claiming the “main cause” of the attack was the use of cellphones “contrary to the ban.” Russian troops are banned from using personal cell phones in the field, since their signals have been geolocated to hone in on and kill other Russian forces.

    But that explanation, and details of the attack that have surfaced, have ignited an extraordinarily public national blame game among Russians.

    It started with the death toll. The Russian Defense Ministry initially said 63 soldiers were killed, then increased that number to 89. Ukraine claimed it was approximately 400. But even Russian pro-war bloggers, an increasingly influential element in how Russian civilians get their information about what really is happening in Ukraine, dismissed the official count, estimating that hundreds of troops had died. The true number is not yet known.

    One of those bloggers, Semyon Pegov, who uses the online handle “War Gonzo” and was recently awarded a medal by Vladimir Putin, also rejected the military’s claim about cell phones, calling it a “blatant attempt to smear blame.”

    “Grey Zone,” another blogger, called the cell phone explanation a “99% lie,” an attempt to evade responsibility. He said it was more likely an intelligence failure.

    Russian lawmakers chimed in, demanding an investigation into just who had ordered so many troops to be temporarily quartered in one, unprotected building. Sergey Mironov, a prominent politician and party leader, said there should be “personal criminal liability” for any officers or other military personnel who made that decision. And, implying the military had a lax approach to the war, he warned, “It’s time to realize it won’t be the same as it used to be.”

    “This is a battle for the future of Russia,” Mironov said. “We must win it!”

    Mironov’s comments touched a nerve. Hardliners like him think Putin’s September “partial mobilization” of reservists, calling up 300,000 men, failed to go far enough. They want a full mobilization that would put the entire country on a war footing. And they want revenge on Ukraine.

    No one so far, however – at least publicly – is blaming Vladimir Putin for the deaths. Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of state-run international network RT and a regular on domestic Russian TV talk shows, said she hoped “the responsible officials will be held accountable” and their names released. But she also hinted the attack could fuel public discontent: “It is high time to understand that impunity does not lead to social harmony. Impunity leads to more crimes and, as a consequence, public dissent.”

    Many of the soldiers who perished at Makiivka came from Samara, a city on the Volga River in southwestern Russia, and the families of those killed are mourning their loved ones, bringing red carnations to a rare public memorial service, as priests led people in prayer and a choir sang the liturgy for the young men who had recently been sent to the front.

    The Defence Ministry’s admission that significant number of mobilized troops had died in the attack, as well as the open debate among military bloggers, are signs the Kremlin is taking the attack in Makiivka very seriously. After all, the Putin government has the means to shut down reporting on events it does not want the public to know.

    Even in this “open” discussion, several commentators have raised the possibility that “informants” may have tipped off the enemy, a go-to conspiracy theory that Russia’s state-run propaganda outlets often promote. Then there is the usual complaint after almost any tragedy in Russia, blaming it on “khalatnost:” negligence.

    But the finger of blame, so far, is pointed only at military leaders, no higher. President Putin has made no public comment about the Makiivka attack, a strong indication that he intends to remain as far away as possible from an obvious debacle.

    Source: CNN

  • Ukraine war: Civilians flee Kherson as Russian attacks intensify

    A person boards an evacuation train at Kherson station (18 December)
    Image caption, Authorities are encouraging residents to leave Kherson, which was liberated from Russian control in November

    Thirteen-year-old Nika Selivanova made a heart shape with both her hands, waving goodbye to her best friend Inna who was pressed up against the glass partition that divided the entrance hall of Kherson’s train station from the waiting area.

    Moments earlier, they’d hugged, tears welling up in their eyes. Inna had kissed Asia, a tan dachshund dog wrapped up in a warm blanket, carried by Nika in her arms.

    The girls didn’t know when they might see each other again.

    Nika’s family was leaving Kherson, not sure of where they would end up eventually. For now, they were heading to the western city of Khmelnytskyi, hoping they would get some help there.

    The past few days in Kherson had simply been too much for Nika’s mother ElenaUkraine war: Civilians flee Kherson as Russian attacks intensify.

    “Before, they [Russian forces] shelled us seven to 10 times a day, now it’s 70-80 times, all day long. It’s too scary.” Elena said. “I love Ukraine and my dear city. But we have to go.”

    Elena and her three daughters are among more than 400 people who have left Kherson since Christmas Day, after a sharp increase in the intensity of the bombardment of the city by the Russian military.

    On Tuesday, a hospital maternity ward was shelled. No-one was hurt but it has further escalated fear among people.

    Elena left by train, in an evacuation facilitated by the Ukrainian government.

    Cars evacuating Kherson on Christmas morning
    Image caption, These cars were driving out of Kherson on Christmas morning

    Hundreds of people are leaving on their own, a queue of cars building up at the checkpoint leading out of Kherson, filled with terrified civilians.

    Iryna Antonenko was in tears when we walked up to her car to speak to her.

    ‘We can’t take it anymore. The shelling is so intense. We stayed this whole time and thought it would pass and that we would be lucky. But a strike hit the house next to ours, and my father’s home was also shelled,” she said.

    She planned to travel to Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine where she has family.

    Cars burn on a street after a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack of Ukraine, in Kherson, Ukraine (December 24, 2022)
    Image caption, This image shows the aftermath of one of many strikes which hit Kherson on 24 December

    Just last month, there had been jubilant scenes in Kherson. Taken by Russian forces on the second day of the invasion, the city was liberated on 11 November.

    Close to the spot where masses had gathered waving Ukrainian flags to celebrate being freed from Russian control, a mortar attack on Christmas Eve left eleven dead, and dozens injured.

    Among the dead were a social worker, a butcher and a woman selling mobile Sim cards – ordinary people working at or visiting the city’s central market.

    That day, Kherson was hit by mortars 41 times, according to the Ukrainian government.

    The Russians are firing from the left (east) bank of the Dnipro river, where they withdrew to; the waterway has become a de facto frontline in the south of Ukraine.

    A map showing the areas of Ukraine held by Russia

    Kherson is a strategically important region, often called the gateway to Crimea. Many analysts say that Russia has now been forced into a defensive position here.

    It’s hard to see what it hopes to gain from the pounding of Kherson. In addition to mortar shells, we have also seen incendiary munitions being used – fiery sparks raining down on the city, intended to set fire to targets.

    It’s also unclear if the Ukrainian military is attempting to take back control of areas on the left bank of the river.

    Here in the city, there’s barely ever a break from the constant sound of mortar shell attacks.

    Serhii Breshun, 56, was killed when he was asleep. His home collapsed on him after a shell hit it.

    Serhii's mother holds his passport with his photo in
    Image caption, Serhii’s passport was retrieved from the ruins of his home

    The day after he died, we met his mother, 82-year-old Tamara, who had come to search for his passport in the rubble. She needed the document to get his body released from the morgue.

    “I must have had a sense that something would go wrong that day. Because I spoke to him [over the phone] and urged him to leave the house. He didn’t and that was it. Our lives have been ruined,” she wept.

    We’d barely finished talking to her, and there were more loud explosions.

    The elderly mother’s lone pursuit to give her son a dignified farewell is a dangerous one, because no part of Kherson is safe.

    Tamara (older woman and mother of Serhii) is seen in Kherson
    Image caption, Tamara, 82, must now bury her son

    Surviving here, whether out in a street or inside a home, is a matter of chance.

    Thirty-nine-year-old Red Cross volunteer Viktoria Yaryshko was killed in a mortar shell explosion just outside the organisation’s base in Kherson, a few feet away from safety.

    Her mother Liudmyla Berezhna showed us the medal of honour Viktoria was given.

    “I’m very happy she helped a lot of people. She was so kind. But it’s also painful for me. I must recover and raise her two children. I tell them they should be proud of their mother because she is a hero,” she said.

    Viktoria Yaryshko in her Red Cross uniform
    Image caption, Viktoria was a Red Cross volunteer and the mother of two children

    Viktoria had been living in the underground shelter of the Red Cross with her two children – 17-year-old Alyonushka and 12-year-old Sasha. They continue to live there, feeling comfort and protection amidst a group of volunteers who’ve become family.

    ‘When someone so close dies, it is difficult. But if we give up and stop, then her death would have been in vain. We work to make sure people live. Everything else is secondary,” said Dmitro Rakitskyi, Viktoria’s friend and another volunteer.

    But it’s hard to do that knowing your own family could be in danger every minute.

    When a few moments later, more bombs go off, Dmitro paces up and down trying to call his wife, tension visible on his face. He has two children.

    “They don’t want to leave. They worry about me, and I worry about them. That’s how we live,” he said.

    Red Cross volunteer Dmitro sits in his car, wearing protective gear
    Image caption, Dmitro, a friend of Viktoria’s, knows he and his family remain at risk in Kherson

    “What makes me most angry is that they [Russian forces] always hit civilian infrastructure. Houses, apartment blocks, boiler rooms. It’s impossible to understand the logic behind these attacks,” Dmitro said.

    “We almost never have power or water. It comes briefly sometimes and is gone again because of shelling. It’s very scary at night. We still have gas though, and are able to stay warm,” one resident, Larysa Revtova, said.

    Tens of thousands of civilians are still living in Kherson, but at least twice this week the regional administration has urged them to leave.

    It is a city haunted by relentless and indiscriminate attacks.

    Additional reporting by Imogen Anderson, Mariana Matveichuk, Daria Sipigina and Sanjay Ganguly.

  • Ukraine war: Drone attack on Russian bomber base leaves 3 dead 

    A Ukrainian drone attack on Engels bomber base in south Russia has left three people dead, Moscow says. 

    Air defences reportedly shot down the drone but falling debris caused the casualties in the overnight attack. 

    Russia accuses Ukraine of carrying out a similar attack on the airfield, home to strategic bombers, on 5 December. The base lies about 500km (310 miles) north-east of the border with Ukraine.

    The Ukrainian military has not officially commented on those attacks.

    Russia’s defence ministry says its air defences shot down the Ukrainian drone flying at low altitude at about 01:35 local time on Monday (22:35 GMT Sunday).

    Three Russian servicemen died of injuries caused by drone debris, it adds.

    Earlier, social media users posted videos where what sound like blasts and air sirens can be heard at the Engels airfield.

    The governor of Saratov region said there was “no threat to residents” of the town of Engels itself.

    In the previous reported attack on 5 December on the airfield and another air base in the Ryazan region, three servicemen were also killed by debris from a downed Ukrainian drone, Moscow said at the time. Two aircraft were lightly damaged.

    The Ukrainian military made no comment on the reported attacks. 

    The Engels air base has been repeatedly used by Russia to carry out missile strikes on various targets in Ukraine since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February.

    The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of attacking its territory before, but the alleged attacks in December are deeper into Russia than previous ones. 

    A number of military experts in Ukraine and the West have described the reported strikes as embarrassing for the Russian military.

    Source: BBC

  • Russia: Large fire rages through Moscow shopping mall

    One of the largest shopping malls near the Russian capital was engulfed in flames on Friday with authorities saying they were looking into the possibility of an arson attack.

    The fire spread across an area of around 7,000 square meters (75,000 square feet) at the Mega shopping mall in the town of Khimki on the outskirts of Moscow and just seven kilometers (four miles) from the capital’s Sheremetyevo Airport.

    Videos shared on social media showed thick black smoke rising from a large blaze while others showed people running away through the parking lot.

    Russian authorities reported that one person had died and that the conflagration had caused part of the structure to collapse, hampering the efforts of rescue workers.

    “Due to the collapse of the roof, the fire spread instantly to a large area,” the region’s emergency services said on Telegram. More than 70 firefighters and 20 fire trucks were on site tackling the blaze.

    Firefighters battle a fire that hit a hypermarket of the OBI home improvement and gardening retailer at the Mega Khimki shopping mall

    The mall is one of the biggest in the Moscow regionImage: Sergei Savostyanov/Tass/dpa/picture alliance

    News agencies had first cited emergency services saying that the incident was likely due to “arson,” but state news agencies later said that failure to stick to safety regulations was the suspected cause.

    The Mega mall had hosted numerous western chains before many of them pulled out of Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

    Firefighters battle a fire that hit a hypermarket of the OBI home improvement and gardening retailer at the Mega Khimki shopping mall

    The roof of the mall collapsed causing the fire to spread furtherImage: Sergei Savostyanov/Tass/dpa/picture alliance

  • Ukraine war: Fighting set to slow for winter months, says US intelligence

    The fighting in Ukraine has been slowing down and this will likely continue in the coming winter months, US intelligence agencies believe.

    However, there has been no evidence of fading resistance on the part of Ukrainian forces, US director of intelligence Avril Haines said.

    She said both sides would try to “refit, resupply and reconstitute” for any counter-offensive in the spring.

    The war in Ukraine is now in its ninth month, but Russia has lost more than half the land it seized.

    Ms Haines told a defence forum in California that most of the fighting is currently around the Bakhmut and Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

    “We’re seeing a kind of a reduced tempo already of the conflict… and we expect that’s likely to be what we see in the coming months,” she said.

    She said both Ukraine and Russian militaries would be looking to to prepare for any counter-offensive after the winter.

    “But we actually have a fair amount of scepticism as to whether or not the Russians will be, in fact, prepared to do that,” she said.

    “I think more optimistically for the Ukrainians in that time frame.”

    Ms Haines said US intelligence believes Russian President Vladimir Putin does not have a full picture at this stage of just how challenged his military are.

    “We see shortages of ammunition, for morale, supply issues, logistics, a whole series of concerns that they’re facing.”

    US Director of National Intelligence testifying before a Senate committee in March this yearGetty Images
    US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said Ukraine showed no evidence of fading resistance

    Meanwhile on Saturday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky described a price cap set by his Western allies on Russian oil exports as “weak” and said it was not “serious” enough to damage to the Russian economy.

    The cap, due to come into force on Monday, is aimed at stopping countries paying more than $60 (£48) for a barrel of seaborne Russian crude oil.

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow had prepared for the move but would not sell its oil under the cap.

    At a virtual meeting on Sunday, a group of the world’s top oil-producing countries is expected to stick to its oil output targets.

    At their last ministerial session in October, the Opec+ group – made up of countries including Russia and the United Arab Emirates – agreed to reduce output by two million barrels per day from November in a bid to help boost oil prices.

    The move angered the United States and other Western nations with Washington accusing the group of siding with Russia.

    Since October, oil prices have declined due to slower global growth and higher interest rates. Opec sources say the group is likely to approve a policy rollover.

    Meanwhile, Ukraine’s security service said the government in Kyiv is imposing sanctions against 10 senior Orthodox Church figures it accuses of having supported Russia’s invasion.

    The sanctions, which will freeze their assets for five years, are the latest moves by the Ukrainian government against religious groups seen as potentially subversive.

     

    Source: BBC

  • Ukraine war: New images show Russian army base built in occupied Mariupol

    Russia is consolidating its military presence in the captured port city of Mariupol by constructing a large army base, satellite photos released from the Earth observation company Maxar appear to show.

    The new, U-shaped compound sits near the centre of the city. On its roof, the red, white and blue star of the Russian army can be seen, with letters reading “Russian army, for the people of Mariupol”.

    The newly constructed Russian military base in MariupolMaxar
    The newly constructed Russian military base in Mariupol suggests Russia is seeking to dig in in the city

    Moscow’s forces laid siege to the city for almost three months earlier this year, and constant artillery barrages left much of it in ruins.

    Ukrainian officials estimated last month that some 25,000 civilians were killed in the strikes, while the UN said it had confirmed the deaths of 1,348 civilians, but said the true death toll was “likely thousands higher”.

    Images of the city’s graveyard appear to show it being extended. Russian troops have reportedly been removing dead bodies from destroyed buildings in recent months and taking them away for burial. Last month, an analysis of images obtained by BBC Panorama suggested 1,500 new graves have been dug at the cemetery.

    Mariupol cemetery in MarchMaxar
    Photos of the Mariupol cemetery taken in March 2022
    Mariupol cemetery in NovemberMaxar
    Images of the cemetery taken in November show new graves being dug in the right foreground and the left foreground

    A large protective screen has also been erected around the remains of the city’s theatre, where hundreds of people are believed to have died after Russian forces targeted it in a missile strike on 18 March. The attack – which Amnesty International called “clear war crime” by Russia – left the site in ruins.

    The remains of the Mariupol theatre after a missile strike in MarchMaxar
    The remains of the Mariupol theatre after a missile strike in March
    The screen around the theatre in the new imagesMaxar
    In new images, a large screen can be seen around the theatre

    Ukrainian officials estimate that up to 90% of the city’s infrastructure was left in ruins by the Russian bombardment, and the new images suggest that Moscow has started to demolish many of the residential buildings that were left beyond repair.

    Residential buildings after being targeted by Russian strikes in MarchMaxar
    Residential buildings after being targeted by Russian strikes in March
    New images show the damaged buildings have been destroyed in anticipation of reconstructionMaxar
    The new images show the damaged buildings have been demolished in anticipation of reconstruction

    Other images show huge amounts of building supplies at the city metro station. During the Russian bombardment of Mariupol, many civilians could be seen waiting outside the station for food and other necessities.

    Building supplies at the city metro stationMaxar
    An image showing building supplies at Mariupol’s metro station
    People lining outside the metro station in MarchMaxar
    The metro station in March

    The images come amid reports that Russia is slowly building up its defensive positions in Mariupol, as Ukrainian counteroffensives in the south and east increasingly put the city under threat.

    Last month, UK defence officials said the Russian military was using two plants in occupied Mariupol to produce large numbers of “dragon’s teeth” – concrete blocks designed to slow advancing enemy armour and other vehicles.

    The city is strategically important for Russia, forming part of its “land bridge” linking Russia to annexed Crimea.

     

  • Ukraine war: Price cap on Russian oil will hit Putin immediately – US

    A cap on the price of Russian oil will restrict Russia’s revenues for the “illegal war in Ukraine,” the US says.

    The cap, approved by Western allies on Friday, is aimed at stopping countries paying more than $60 (£48) for a barrel of seaborne Russian crude oil.

    The measure – due to come into force on Monday – intensifies Western pressure on Russia over the invasion.

    Ukraine said the Western-proposed cap should be halved. Russia said it would not supply to countries enforcing it.

    The price cap was put forward in September by the G7 group of industrialised nations (the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the EU) in a bid to hit Moscow’s ability to finance the war in Ukraine.

    In a joint statement, the G7, the European Union and Australia said the decision was taken to “prevent Russia from profiting from its war of aggression against Ukraine”.

    US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the price cap would also further constrain Russian President Vladimir Putin’s finances and “limit the revenues he’s using to fund his brutal invasion”, while avoiding disrupting global supplies which could send petrol prices soaring around the world.

    “With Russia’s economy already contracting and its budget increasingly stretched thin, the price cap will immediately cut into Putin’s most important source of revenue,” she said in a statement.

    UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the UK would not waver in its support and would continue to look for new ways to “clamp down on Putin’s funding streams”.

    The agreement of a price cap comes just days before an EU-wide ban on Russian crude oil imported by sea comes into force, also on 5 December.

    The price cap – which is meant to affect oil exports worldwide – is meant to complement that.

    Countries which sign up to the G7-led policy will only be permitted to purchase oil and petroleum products transported via sea that are sold at or below the price cap.

    Ukraine’s Western allies also plan to deny insurance to tankers delivering Russian oil to countries that do not stick to the price cap. This will make it hard for Russia to sell oil above that price.

    Senior Russian politician Leonid Slutsky told Tass news agency the EU was jeopardising its own energy security with the cap.

    Though the measures will most certainly be felt by Russia, the blow will be partially softened by its move to sell its oil to other markets such as India and China – which are currently the largest single buyers of Russian crude oil.

    Graphic showing the percentage of total oil imports coming from Russia to selected European countries.

    Before the war, in 2021, more than half of Russia’s oil exports went to Europe, according to the International Energy Association. Germany was the largest importer, followed by the Netherlands and Poland.

    But since the war, EU countries have been desperately trying to decrease their dependency. The US has already banned Russian crude oil, while the UK plans to phase it out by the end of the year.

  • Zambian student found dead in battle in Ukraine after being held captive in Russia

    The Zambian government announced on Monday that a 23-year-old student from Zambia who was imprisoned in Russia after being found guilty and was presently residing in a prison on the outskirts of Moscow had been discovered dead in battle in Ukraine. Zambian officials have asked Russia for an explanation.

    Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda “died on 22 September 2022 in Ukraine,” Foreign Minister Stanley Kakubo said in a statement, “on the frontline of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

    Zambia said it had asked Russia to explain “the circumstances under which a Zambian citizen, who is serving a prison sentence in Moscow, could have been recruited to fight in Ukraine and lost his life.

    The boss of the paramilitary group Wagner, Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is reputed to be close to Vladimir Putin, is accused by Ukraine of sending thousands of fighters to the front, recruited directly from Russian prisons in exchange for the promise of a salary and an amnesty.

    Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda had been convicted of breaking Russian law in April 2020, according to the Zambian government, which did not give further details.

    The student of nuclear engineering at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI), had been sentenced to nine years and six months in prison. He was serving his sentence in a medium-security prison on the outskirts of Moscow.

    The Zambian Foreign Minister said he was “deeply saddened by the untimely death of Mr Nyirenda in such circumstances”, adding that his remains had been taken to the Russian border town of Rostov for repatriation.

     

    Source: African News

  • What is going on in Kherson?

    We stated in the previous hour that Ukraine had hit a critical bridge near Kherson, so here’s a rundown of what’s going on in the south.

    Ukrainian forces have increased pressure on Russian positions in the occupied zone, focusing on resupply routes across the Dnieper.

    Ukraine has long trailed a full-scale counteroffensive on the region, hoping to take back control. The city of Kherson was one of the first urban areas captured by Moscow’s forces and remains the largest city under Russian occupation. It is a key target for both sides due to its key industries and major river port.

    The region of Kherson has been illegally annexed by Russia, and Vladimir Putin imposed martial law there earlier this week in an attempt to assert Russian authority.

    In recent weeks, Ukraine has targeted key crossings along the Dnieper river to cut off Russian resupplies.

    The Antonivskyi Bridge – the main route from Crimea to Russian-held territories in southern Ukraine – was struck late last night.

    Russian authorities have set up ferry crossings and pontoon bridges to ferry supplies to Kherson after the bridge was made inoperable.

     

  • Kyiv advised to conserve electricity after Russian missile attack

    Residents of Kyiv have been asked to reduce their evening electricity use after a Russian missile strike knocked out a power plant near the capital.

    Power was restored earlier in Ukraine, according to officials, after Russian missiles struck the electricity infrastructure.

    But Ukraine’s state energy operator Ukrenergo has still called for the reduction between 17:00 and 23:00 (15:00 – 21:00 GMT), warning of possible power cuts.

    The request was not confined to Kyiv.

    The deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said the populations of Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv should also save electricity.

    “If this advice is ignored, we will have difficulties and it will be necessary to take out the candles,” he warned on Telegram.

    Ukrenergo has urged residents to save electricity in the evening by not using energy-guzzling appliances, switching off unnecessary lighting, and doing their washing at night.

    However, the BBC’s Paul Adams reports that Kyiv streets are already darker than usual at night, but “life very much goes on”.

    The energy warning comes as more heavy fighting is reported north of Russian-held Kherson.

     

    Kirill Stremousov, a Russian-appointed leader in the southern region, said Ukrainian shelling was coming from the Dudchany area, on the west bank of the Dnieper river (called Dnipro by Ukrainians).

    Advancing Ukrainian forces have repeatedly bombarded bridges over the river, aiming to cut off Russian troops in Kherson city.

    Russian-installed officials in the city have urged Moscow to help transfer Kherson families to Russian cities as Ukrainian shelling intensifies.

    President Vladimir Putin has declared Kherson and three other Ukrainian regions to be part of Russia – a move condemned internationally, after hastily-organized so-called referendums in the regions.

    Meanwhile, Ukrainian prosecutors have accused Russian soldiers of shooting and killing the chief conductor of the Kherson Music and Drama Theatre, Yuri Kerpatenko, in his home. It is widely reported in Ukrainian media, but there are few details. He is said to have refused to cooperate with the occupation authorities.

    Russian oil depot fire

    For two days running the governor of Belgorod, a Russian city 40km (25 miles) north of Ukraine, has reported Ukrainian cross-border shelling. One shell caused a major fire at an oil depot near the city on Saturday, Vyacheslav Gladkov said, adding later that firefighters had extinguished it.

    Ukrainian shelling set fire to an electricity substation in Belgorod on Friday, he reported on Telegram. In that case, too the fire was contained. Kyiv has not commented on the Russian claims, but there have been explosions in the Belgorod region previously, which Russia blamed on Ukrainian shelling.

    Oil depot fire near Belgorod - pic from Governor Gladkov (Telegram)
    IMAGE SOURCE,VVGLADKOV/TELEGRAM Image caption, Oil depot fire near Belgorod – pic from Governor Gladkov (Telegram)

    On Friday President Putin said he saw no need for further massive missile strikes against Ukraine “for now”, on the scale of last Monday’s, which hit Kyiv and other cities, killing at least 20 civilians. Mr Putin said those strikes were retaliation for the attack that damaged Russia’s huge Kerch bridge – a key strategic link to annexed Crimea.

    Another focus of fighting in the south is Zaporizhzhia – Ukrainian officials in the city say it was hit by more Russian missiles and Iranian-made Shahed “kamikaze” drones overnight. There was damage to energy facilities and industrial infrastructure there.

    The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest – lies just south of the city, under Russian control, and repeated shelling in the area has raised fears of a nuclear disaster.

    The US has announced $725m (£649m) of further military aid for Ukraine, including ammunition for Himars rocket systems, artillery rounds, anti-tank weapons and Humvee armoured vehicles. The US has provided more than $17bn of military aid since Russia’s 24 February invasion – by far the largest contribution among Ukraine’s Western allies.

    On Ukraine’s northern border, Belarus says a new Russian military contingent has arrived – part of what it describes as a regional border protection force. Belarus has hosted Russian forces involved in the war in Ukraine, including those who launched an abortive assault on Kyiv. But so far it has not sent its own troops across the border.