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6 mins ago
Putin revives Stalin-era "Mother Heroine" award for women with more than 10 children
By Ulyana Pavlova
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a decree reviving the Soviet-era "Mother Heroine" award for women with more than 10 children, in a bid to ease Russia's demographic crisis.
Originally, the award was introduced by Joseph Stalin after World War II, when the Soviet population fell by the tens of millions.
The award ceased to exist with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
A payment of 1 million rubles ($16,500) will be given to Russian mothers when their 10th child turns a year old, if all 10 have survived.
According to the latest Rosstat statistics released this summer, the Russian population shrank by an average of 86,000 people a month between January and May, a record.
In addition, Russia is suffering heavy losses among troops in Ukraine, but the true number of casualties has not been revealed.
In an attempt to ease Russia's demographic crisis, the Kremlin has also focused on promoting traditional values.
8 mins ago
Ukrainian army says it has repelled Russian assaults in the east
By Vasco Cotovio, Oleksandra Ochman
Ukraine repelled assaults by Russian forces across the front lines in the eastern Donetsk region, the army's General Staff said on Thursday.
"[Russia] led an offensive in the Mykolaivka-Vyimka direction, was unsuccessful and withdrew," the General Staff said of Moscow's push into the key city of Kramatorsk.
The bulk of the fighting is concentrated around the town of Bakhmut, which has come under heavy Russian artillery fire, he said.
"The occupiers launched an offensive in the directions of Volodymyrivka-Soledar, Pokrovske-Bakhmutske, Pokrovske-Bakhmut, Klynove-Bakhmut, Semihiria-Zaitseve, Semihiria-Kodema and Holmivskyi-Zaitseve," the General Staff said.
"The invaders did not achieve positive results in any of the offensive directions and withdrew with losses."
Russian forces also had limited success west of the city of Donetsk, near Avdiivka, he added.
South front.
Russian forces maintained a defensive posture in southern Ukraine, specifically around the Kherson region, the General Staff said.
"The enemy continues to focus its efforts on establishing full control over the territories of Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts, holding temporarily captured areas of Kherson Oblast and parts of Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Mykolaiv Oblasts, creating favorable conditions for resuming the offensive in certain directions, as well as blocking Ukraine's maritime communications in the Black Sea," he said.
11 mins ago
UN nuclear watchdog is ready to visit Zaporizhia NPP, says Ukrainian Foreign Minister
By Oleksandra Ochman
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said a team of international experts is prepared to visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear plant after a call with the head of the nuclear watchdog.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, "is ready to lead an IAEA delegation to the Zaporizhia NPP," Kuleba said in a tweet.
"I stressed the urgency of the mission to address nuclear security threats caused by Russia's hostilities," he added.
In our call, IAEA Director General @rafaelmgrossi informed me that, responding to Ukraine's invitation, he is ready to lead an IAEA delegation to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
I emphasized the mission's urgency to address nuclear security threats caused by Russia's hostilities.
– Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 18, 2022
A bit of context.
The IAEA has requested access to the plant in southeastern Ukraine as fighting around the facility has intensified in recent weeks.
Both Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of threatening nuclear terrorism, especially around the plant, which Russia has controlled since March.
The European Union and 42 countries have this week urged Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from the plant, while the IAEA has warned that attacks on the facility pose a risk of radiation leakage.
14 mins ago
At least seven killed in a Russian missile attack on an apartment building in Kharkiv
By Tim Lister, Petro Zadorozhnyy
Ukraine claims Russian forces struck a three-story residential building in the Saltivka neighborhood with a missile, local authorities said on Thursday.
(Photo: Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synehubov/Telegram)
Seven people were killed and 20 others wounded in a Russian missile attack on an apartment building in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv early Thursday, Ukrainian authorities said.
The emergency services indicated that the fire in the three-storey building in the Saltivka district took two hours to control.
"There is no justification for this type of attack in Saltivka, in a residential building. It is not a military target. This is an act of intimidation, of genocide," Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.
According to the mayor's office, at least four missiles fell on the city in the early hours of Thursday.
One of them hit a residence in the Slobidsky district, killing one person and wounding 18 others, according to Ukrainian authorities.
war in ukraine
