4 posts
11 mins ago
The Russian ship destroyed in Berdyansk was the "Saratov", they say in Ukraine
By Andrew Carey
Smoke rises in this satellite photo after an attack the Ukrainian navy says sank a large Russian landing ship in the port city of Berdyansk, Ukraine, on March 24.
(Photo: Planet Labs PBC/AP)
The Ukrainian armed forces have named the Russian landing ship "Saratov" which they say they attacked and destroyed in Berdyansk, in a statement on Friday.
In previous reports, the ship was named as the "Orsk".
"In the Azov operational zone, according to updated information, a large landing ship "Saratov" was destroyed during the attack on the occupied port of Berdyansk," the statement said.
The statement identified the other two large landing ships — the "Caesar Kunikov" and the "Novocherkassk" — that were also reportedly destroyed during the attack.
Ukraine strikes "high-value" Russian targets: warship Orsk burns in Berdyansk port
"Other enemy losses are being cleared up," the statement said.
The Ukrainian armed forces claimed to have destroyed the large Russian landing ship in the port of Berdyansk in southern Ukraine on Thursday.
The port, which had recently been occupied by Russian forces with several Russian warships docked, was rocked by a series of loud explosions shortly after dawn.
Social media videos showed pier fires and a series of secondary explosions that echoed through the city.
Several Russian ships had been offloading military equipment at Berdyansk in recent days, Russian media reported from the port.
15 mins ago
Authorities estimate that some 300 people were killed in the Russian airstrike on the Mariupol theater
By Andrew Carey, Olga Voitovych
The Mariupol city council says it believes, based on eyewitness reports, that around 300 people were killed in a Russian attack on a theater in the city nine days ago.
The building was used as one of the main shelters in Mariupol, which has been under heavy bombardment since the early days of the Russian assault on Ukraine.
The theater was hit by a Russian airstrike on March 16, but information on the full scope of the attack has been slow to emerge due to the almost complete disruption of essential services in the city, including communication networks.
Announcing the update on its Telegram channel, the city council said:
"Unfortunately, we start the day with bad news. There is an information, based on eyewitnesses, that about 300 people died in the Mariupol Drama Theater as a result of a bombing by Russian aircraft. We still do not want to believe this horror. Still We want to believe that everyone managed to escape. But the words of those who were inside the building at the time of this terrorist act say otherwise."
Earlier this week, Petro Andriushchenko, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, put the number of survivors of the attack at around 200.
Victims in Mariupol: they thought they would be safe in the theater, but then it was bombed
But it is still unclear how many people were inside the building at the time of the attack.
Early estimates place the figure between 800 and 1,300.
Aerial footage from before the attack showed the Russian word "children" painted in large letters on the ground outside the front and back of the theater building.
"The occupant knew where he was hitting. He knew what the consequences could be and, anyway, the bombs fell on this place," continues the council statement on Friday.
No word yet on possible victims after a separate attack on an art school building in Mariupol that was also used as a shelter.
The school was attacked five days ago.
Authorities estimate that there were around 400 refugees there.
17 mins ago
US and EU announce working group to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Joe Biden make a statement on Russia at the residence of the US chief of mission in Brussels on March 25, 2019. 2022. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday announced a joint task force in an effort to wean Europe off its reliance on Russian oil and gas.
The panel, chaired by representatives from the White House and the European Commission, will aim to find alternative supplies of liquefied natural gas and reduce overall demand for natural gas.
The United States will work to supply Europe with at least 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas in 2022, in partnership with other nations, the White House said.
A bit of context
: Europe's dependence on Russian oil and gas has proven to be a major sticking point in Western efforts to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
While the US banned imports of Russian energy, Europe found it much more difficult to cut off its supplies.
The group will also work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing methane emissions and using clean energy.
21 mins ago
FIRST ON CNN: Major infrastructure in downtown Izyum is destroyed, new satellite images show
By Paul P. Murphy
A satellite image shows a crater in a field in the center of Izyum.
On one side of the crater are the burned remains of a school, on the other side is a soccer field.
(Maxar Technologies)
Heavy fighting around Izyum has left much of the city destroyed, city officials say, with new satellite images revealing the extent of the devastation in the eastern Ukrainian city.
The images were taken this Thursday by Maxar Technologies.
They show a huge crater about 12 meters wide in a field in the central area of the city.
The burned remains of a school lie on one side of the crater, with a soccer field on the other.
Part of a hospital across the street is also seen destroyed.
A large boiler house and several residential buildings around it were destroyed.
The city has been caught in the crossfire as Russia tries to link advances made in the Kharkiv region of northern Ukraine with its stronghold in the country's far east.
Council deputy Max Strelnyk told CNN Thursday that the city had been "completely destroyed" by Russian aircraft and artillery, even as fierce battles continued inside Izyum for control of the ground.
A Russian self-propelled artillery convoy is seen moving south towards Izyum.
(Maxar Technologies)
To the north of the school on the satellite images, a large boiler building and all nearby residential buildings appear destroyed.
There do not appear to be any identifiable military targets in this part of central Izyum.
A tank convoy moving north towards Izyum.
5 kilometers northwest of Izyum, a Russian self-propelled artillery convoy is seen moving towards the city.
Russian troops now control sectors of the city on the northern bank of the Seversky Donets River, which divides Izyum in half, Strelnyk said.
The Ukrainians control the sectors of the city on the south bank of the river.
Three miles northeast of the city, Russian self-propelled artillery is also seen positioned in a field, their turrets pointed toward the center of Izyum.
Russian self-propelled artillery in a field, with their turrets pointing towards the center of Izyum.
Another image shows two vehicle bridges across the Seversky Donets River have been partially destroyed, in what appears to be an intended attack to stop a Russian advance across the river.
A pontoon bridge over the Seversky Donets River.
But the Russians have found a way around it and are now advancing on the city from the south.
To avoid blown up bridges, the Russians have erected two pontoon bridges over the Seversky Donets River to encircle the city.
A mile from those bridges, on the south bank of the river, a tank convoy is seen moving along a highway towards the Ukrainian-controlled sectors of Izyum.
war in ukraine