Russia bombs Kharkiv: heaviest attack in weeks

The fighting in the Ukraine war continues.

In the east of the country, Russia is bombing the city of Kharkov.

The news ticker on Tuesday, August 16th.

• Putin announces goals:

  Russia wants to take Donbass completely

• Zaporizhia nuclear plant:

  Federal government is concerned

• Editor

  's note: You can read all the news about the Ukraine conflict in this news ticker.

  Some of the information comes from warring factions in the Ukraine war and cannot be checked directly and independently.

Update from Tuesday, August 16, 6:30 a.m.:

As Ihor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv, announced on Telegram, Russian troops are said to have fired on five districts of the city of millions last night – including residential areas.

So far, however, no fatalities have been reported.

"Such a radius of impact of missiles on the city has not been observed for a long time," Terekhov wrote.

While "in some cases" infrastructure and some roads have been destroyed, no information is yet available on the number of people injured.

+

There was heavy bombardment in Kharkiv last night.

(archive photo)

© Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Imago

Ukraine war news: Latvia delivers four helicopters to Ukraine

+++ 10.30 p.m .:

Ukraine has received four helicopters from EU and NATO member state Latvia as military aid for the war against Russia.

The Ministry of Defense in Riga announced that two Mi-17 and Mi-2 helicopters had been delivered to the Ukrainian Air Force, some of which had been dismantled.

"Now that Ukrainian soldiers are conducting counterattacks in many places, our donated helicopters will help conduct military operations and save lives," Defense Minister Artis Pabriks was quoted as saying.

"Western countries' support for Ukraine must not end until it has liberated its entire territory from the Russian occupying power."

The Ukraine War in Pictures - Destruction, Resistance and Hope

The Ukraine War in Pictures - Destruction, Resistance and Hope

+++ 8.30 p.m .:

The Ukrainian parliament has again extended the martial law and general mobilization in force since February 24 by 90 days.

This was announced by Parliament President Ruslan Stefanchuk after a session.

Martial law and mobilization, including the ban on leaving the country for draft-age men between the ages of 18 and 60, now apply up to and including November 21.

Martial law gives the military extended rights and restricts civil liberties such as the right to demonstrate.

News about the Ukraine war: Putin announces goals

+++ 18:45:

Vladimir Putin has again

reaffirmed the goal of complete capture of the Donbass.

The Russian army is fulfilling its tasks in the "Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics", the Russian President told international guests at a military forum near Moscow in the "Patriot" park.

While Ukraine accuses Russia of the most serious war crimes and a bloody occupation policy, Putin claimed that "the soil of the Donbass is being liberated step by step" from Ukrainian nationalists. 

+++ 17.15:

One person was killed in Russian rocket attacks on the Kharkiv region.

This was confirmed by Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the oblast, according to a report by the

news portal .

The armed forces had shelled a residential area.

There were also numerous injuries.

+++ 4.30 p.m .:

Relatives of Russian soldiers are said to be leaving the city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine.

This is reported by the

news portal with reference to the city's mayor Ivan Fedorov.

However, Fedorov did not provide any evidence for his claim.

The reason for the departure is unclear.

However, the city has been under Russian control for months.

News about the Ukraine war: Federal government concerned about Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

+++ 3.45 p.m .:

The federal government has again expressed concern about attacks on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.

These attacks testified to a "new quality in this war," said Deputy Government Spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann on Monday in Berlin.

According to the local mayor, the situation around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is becoming increasingly dangerous.

The risk of a nuclear catastrophe at Europe's largest nuclear power plant "is growing every day," the mayor of Enerhodar, where the nuclear power plant is located,

told the

The Russian army is shelling "the infrastructure that ensures the safe operation of the power plant," added Dmytro Orlov.

The Russian army has occupied the nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine since March, and it has come under repeated fire in recent days.

Kyiv and Moscow blame each other for the attacks.

The rocket fire raises fears of a nuclear catastrophe.

Hoffmann pointed out that the foreign ministers of the G7 states had already declared their support for the efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to secure the nuclear power plant last Wednesday.

The G7 had also asked Russian troops to leave the nuclear power plant.

However, she "is not aware of anything at the moment" about reactions from Moscow to this appeal, said the government spokeswoman.

+++ 3:00 p.m .:

According to the Russian military, 100 “foreign mercenaries” are said to have been killed in the Kharkiv region in the last 24 hours.

In addition, 50 others were injured, said Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense in Moscow.

This does not correspond to the statements made by the governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleh Synyehubov: he spoke of Russian rocket attacks on civilian buildings and industrial sites.

He gave no information about possible victims.

None of the above information is independently verifiable.

+++ 2:00 p.m .:

The Chnihiw region will probably be shelled intensively at noon.

According to a report by the

news portal, Russian troops are said to be responsible.

The governor of the Chernihiv region, Vyacheslav Khaus, reported that Russian forces shelled settlements near Novhorod-Siverskiy.

+++ 1:00 p.m .:

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has dismissed several regional heads of the security service.

The security service is part of the secret service SBU.

The three oblasts of Kiev, Ternopil, Lviv and the capital Kiev were affected by the layoffs, as the news portal

reported.

Zelenskyi signed a decree for this.

The head of the SBU in Lviv Oblast was later appointed head of the agency in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast.

+++ 12.00 p.m .:

Both armies continue to fight in the Donetsk region.

Russian forces attacked other Ukrainian military positions in the morning.

The Ukrainian general staff announced that Russian advances around the towns of Bakhmut and Soledar had been fended off.

North of the city of Donetsk, Russian attacks on the villages of Pisky and Pervomaiske failed.

The Russian troops also fired artillery at positions of the Ukrainian army along the front, according to a report by the Ukrainian General Staff.

In addition, the Russian Air Force had flown a good half a dozen airstrikes.

The above information cannot be independently verified.

News about the Ukraine war: Explosive situation around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

+++ 11.15 a.m .:

There have been fights in the Zaporizhia region for weeks.

In particular, the location of the nuclear power plant there makes the situation explosive.

Recently, a nuclear catastrophe was feared.

Now there is apparently movement in the negotiations.

Russian occupiers are said to have proposed a "ceasefire" in the contested area.

"The leadership of the United Nations and the chief diplomat of the EU should not be talking about demilitarization, but about introducing a ceasefire," Vladimir Rogov, a representative of the Russian occupation authorities, told Russia's state-run 

news agency .

For days, the warring parties have been accusing each other of who is responsible for the attacks on the nuclear power plant.

+++ 10.30 a.m .:

Russia’s armed forces apparently increased the shelling in large parts of Ukraine on Monday night.

The news portal

reported in the morning, referring to local reports, that there were attacks in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy and Mykolaiv regions.

In Mykolaiv there were attacks on a school and a hotel.

None of the above information can be independently verified.

+++ 9.45 a.m .:

The Russian government’s plans for a referendum in the Donetsk region are well advanced.

As the British Ministry of Defense announced in a situation report on the Ukraine war, however, the time for a vote is still unclear.

Meanwhile, Donetsk Oblast is not completely under Russian control.

The Kremlin sees this as a setback for the “maximalist goals in Ukraine”, according to the ministry.

The information from London is based on an assessment by the British secret service and cannot be independently verified.

+++ 8.45 a.m .:

In the city of Melitopol (Zaporischschja Oblast, southern Ukraine), Russian troops are apparently conducting search operations.

The goal is to find soldiers who will cooperate with the Ukrainian armed forces, the

news portal reported , referring to the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov.

His statements cannot be independently verified.

News about the Ukraine war: Attack on factory at night

+++ 8 a.m.:

According to the mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, there was a rocket attack on a factory on Monday night.

He reported this on Telegram.

So far it is unclear whether and how many injured and dead there are.

The news portal

reported that Russian troops are said to be responsible for the rocket attacks on the factory.

This cannot be verified independently.

News about the Ukraine war: Russian troops are advancing in the Donbass

+++ 07.30 a.m .:

According to the Ukrainian general staff, the Russian army has gained ground in the small town of Bakhmut in the Donbass, which has been under attack for days.

The Kiev situation report spoke of a “partial success” for Russia.

Attacks were repelled in other places, such as at Pisky outside of Donetsk.

With strong positions near Pisky, the Ukrainian army has prevented pro-Russian Donetsk separatists from repairing the city's devastated airfield and putting it to military use since 2014.

Almost all locations along the eastern front line were under Russian fire.

According to Western military observers, the attack in Donbass is progressing more slowly than it was a few weeks ago.

News about the Ukraine war: Zelenskyj threatens Russian troops in the battle for the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

First report from Monday, August 15, 6:00 a.m.:

Kiev – As Ivan Fyodorov, Mayor of Melitopol, reports on Telegram, Ukrainian partisans have severely damaged a railway bridge near the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol.

"With the exception of a station in the east-west direction," no more Russian trains to Melitopol would get through on the Crimean side, Fyodorov wrote.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy threatened to target Russian troops firing at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant or at Ukrainian forces from there.

This is reported by

.

Meanwhile, 42 countries have asked Russia to withdraw its troops from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant so that Ukrainian authorities can resume work and the UN nuclear regulatory agency can conduct a review process.

In recent days, Kyiv and Moscow have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the area around Europe's largest nuclear power plant.

(nak/tu with dpa/AFP)

Rubric list image: © Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Imago