🔄 Click here to see the most recent posts
5 posts
44 mins ago
Ukrainian officials say Russia is escalating 'terror' in occupied south
By Tim Lister, Oleksandra Ochman
Russian servicemen look at the Russian national flag in downtown Melitopol, amid ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine, on June 14, 2022. (Photo by YURI KADOBNOV/AFP via Getty Images)
As the conflict in southern Ukraine gathers pace, Ukrainian officials say the humanitarian situation in the occupied areas is deteriorating and Russian "terror" against civilians is intensifying.
This Monday, Yurii Sobolevsky, first deputy head of the Kherson Regional Administration, declared that "teachers, doctors, public service workers, heads of residential communities" were in the crosshairs.
"Today it is very difficult to calculate the system of who are the first to be in danger, because the categories of detainees are constantly expanding. Cases of arrests of people due to a tip-off by collaborators are more and more frequent," he said.
"The magnitude of the humanitarian catastrophe will only grow... In Kherson itself, the situation is much easier than in the small towns and cities, but in general, the living conditions are already unbearable."
Russia advances in Donbas while Ukraine strikes in other areas to defend its territory
As the occupied areas are virtually cut off from the outside world, it is difficult to assess the demand as well as the ability of civilians to leave those areas.
Sobolevsky acknowledged the difficulty faced by residents of occupied areas under pressure to collaborate.
"The line between actions taken in conditions of dire need and cooperation with the enemy is quite blurred," he said.
"People honestly don't want to cross it, but quite rightly many don't understand exactly where it is."
Sobolevsky told the inhabitants of Kherson that the "armed forces are close".
The Ukrainian military has recently intensified attacks on Russian rear positions in Kherson and has made modest progress with an offensive from the north.
A senior Ukrainian official said on Monday that several high-ranking Russian officials had been killed in two heavy attacks in the Kherson region over the weekend.
"Although our guys will work with surgical precision, there is still a risk of collateral damage to civilian infrastructure and, above all, a risk to the life and health of civilians," he said.
"Leaving or staying is the decision and responsibility of each person," Sobolevsky warned.
"Some decide in principle to wait for the Armed Forces in their native walls, and this is also a form of protest and courage."
Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, which is also occupied, said that the situation in the city is getting more and more difficult.
"The occupants do not allow people to leave or enter the city," he said.
Fedorov, who is no longer in Melitopol, said that after a relatively quiet period, Russian forces "are getting angry" and some are deserting.
"The collaborators have not come out [in public] since the military base was destroyed," he said.
"The main collaborating officers have not shown themselves in public for a week."
Fedorov said that organized evacuations are impossible as the Russians did not approve humanitarian convoys, but added that people using their own vehicles continue to arrive in Zaporizhia.
"As of today, between 150 and 200 people are evacuated from our temporarily occupied city every day."
48 mins ago
Ukraine says it has gained ground in the south after heavy fighting
By Tim Lister, Julia Kesaieva
Both sides of the conflict in Ukraine have reported fighting north of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region, with Russia's state news agency TASS saying a key village in the area has been captured.
In Kherson:
The Ukrainian military reported advances in the southern region of Kherson, with several videos showing Ukrainian units among the remains of Russian armor.
In Donetsk
: The Army General Staff said heavy Russian fire had broken out on several settlements north of Sloviansk, where invading forces have been trying to break through for weeks.
Air raids on Bohorodychne
: The Ukrainian military said an air raid had taken place near the village of Bohorodychne, on the south side of the Siverskiy Donets River, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Sloviansk.
The Russian state news agency TASS quoted a source close to the Luhansk People's Militia as saying Bohorodychne had been taken, saying "the organization for the offensive on (Sloviansk) continues."
The Ukrainian army said its soldiers "successfully repelled the enemy assault in the direction of Krasnopillia", which is five kilometers from Bohorodychne.
Partially destroyed buildings after a bombing in Donetsk, this Sunday.
(Photo: Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
He also said there were "signs of enemy units preparing to intensify combat operations in the Kramatorsk and Bakhmut directions," two other major urban areas.
"Army and assault aviation became more active."
Separately, the Donetsk region's regional military administration said "the shelling does not stop," naming seven cities that had been hit.
He said dozens of buildings were damaged.
West of the city of Donetsk, the Ukrainians said "another offensive attempt by the occupiers in the direction of Mariinka has completely failed."
Away from Donetsk, the General Staff said shelling and tank fire had hit half a dozen settlements around Kharkiv in the northeast.
The southern front has become more active in recent days.
On Monday, a Ukrainian unit (the 60th Infantry Brigade) posted a video from the Ivanivka settlement, north of Kherson, in which one of the soldiers said: "We received the order to take this position, so we did it." And we continue to maintain it."
What happened over the weekend?
Ukrainian forces attacked at least two Russian garrisons behind the front lines in Kherson.
"The destruction of enemy command posts at various levels and of ammunition depots is being carried out," the General Staff said on Monday.
And the army's Operational Command in the south gave more details about one of the attacks, saying that a pair of attack planes had hit a command post in the city of Kherson.
He claimed that 38 Russian personnel had been killed and that 10 pieces of equipment, including howitzers and a man-portable anti-aircraft missile complex, had been destroyed, as well as two ammunition stores.
Geolocated videos from Kherson over the weekend showed two major fires in and near the city.
50 mins ago
Death toll rises to 18 in remains of Donetsk apartment building
By Julia Kesaieva
Rescue personnel and firefighters search for survivors after a building was partially destroyed by an attack in the town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region on Saturday.
(Photo: Narciso Contreras/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Ukrainian emergency services reported Monday that the death toll from a Russian rocket hit an apartment building in Donetsk has risen to 18.
The State Emergency Service said six people had been rescued from the rubble of the building in Chasiv Yar, which was hit on Saturday night.
He said two people were still under the rubble and were in contact with rescuers.
51 mins ago
Kharkiv hit by three missiles, no casualties: Ukrainian emergency service
By Julia Kesaieva
The city of Kharkiv was attacked by missiles by Russian forces three times on Monday, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.
The service said there were no injuries, but an 86-year-old woman was pulled from under the rubble of a six-story residential building.
The service said two more missiles hit a courtyard near a warehouse, as well as a school building in the city's Slobidskyi district.
52 mins ago
Ukraine criticizes Canada's decision to return Nord Steam 1 turbine to Germany
By Anastasia Graham-Yooll in
Ukrainian officials have expressed "deep disappointment" at the Canadian government's decision to return a repaired turbine that is part of the Russian gas pipeline to Europe.
The Ukrainian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Energy denounced that the return of the turbine "bends the sanctions regime to the whims of Russia", and urged the Canadian government to reconsider.
"This dangerous precedent goes against the rule of law and has only one consequence: it will reinforce Moscow's sense of impunity," the ministries said in a statement.
Because it is important?
The turbine, part of the compression station on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that supplies Russian gas to Europe below the Baltic Sea, had been shipped to manufacturer Siemens in Canada for maintenance.
Ukraine argued that returning it would go against sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion.
But Russia's Gazprom cut gas supplies to Germany by 40% in June, citing delays in returning the turbine.
The divestiture of the Nord Stream-1 turbine will allow Russia to continue to use energy as a hybrid warfare tool against Europe," the ministries said.
The Energy Ministry suggested that Ukraine may "completely replace" the Nord Stream 1 pipeline with its own capacity to transport natural gas to Europe.
war in ukraine