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At least one person has died in the latest Russian "massive attacks" with drones against the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, as denounced this morning by the mayor of the city, Vitali Klitschko, in a message published on the Telegram platform. The fatal victim is a 41-year-old man. The head of Kiev's military administration, Serhiy Popko, says it is the biggest drone attack on the capital since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24 last year. Ukraine's air defenses say they have shot down 52 of the 54 Iranian-made unmanned vehicles launched by Kremlin troops into the country overnight from Saturday to Sunday. Military authorities claim that Shahed-136/131 drones were launched from Russia's Bryansk and Krasnodar regions against military installations and critical infrastructure in central areas of the country, particularly in the Kiev region.
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Fatalism spreads in Belgorod, Russia's prelude to Ukraine
Agence France Presse journalist Ekaterina Anisimova has been in Belgorod, the Russian region bordering Ukraine. There he saw how the feeling that spreads among its inhabitants is fatalism. Here is a summary of his account:
After considering leaving Belgorod, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border, Marina Saprykina finally decided to stay, despite frequent attacks and the recent incursion of armed men. "We're used to it," he says.
Last Monday, Belgorod was the scene of the most massive incursion of gunmen from Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2022, an intrusion accompanied by shelling and drones. Residents of several border towns fled and the Russian military and security forces said they repelled the attackers on Tuesday.
In the capital of the same name, about 40 kilometers from the border, there were no signs of panic. "The news is really disturbing, we are worried," Saprykina said. The attacks "take place every day. But even though it's scary, we've gotten used to it," added the 34-year-old sales manager.
Viktor Krouglov, 24, an employee of an online sales site, was also hesitant to leave Belgorod. "But if this is your destination, no matter where you go, it will happen," he says.
Fatalism seems to be the dominant sentiment in this city. Although some residents are mildly worried, there are no visible signs of panic. There is no military presence in the city centre, not even a reinforced police presence.
Behind Rimma Valieva, an 84-year-old retired teacher who worries above all about her dog's panic over explosions and flying military helicopters, a white arrow inscribed on the façade of a building indicates the nearest bomb shelter, a reminder of the reality of the conflict. (Afp)
ACT.28 MAY 2023 - 17: 48
The Country
Russian support for war dwindled by high number of casualties, according to analysis of networks and Internet
Russian support for the war in Ukraine has worsened since late February due to the high number of Russian casualties in eastern Ukraine, according to a study by the company FilterLabs Ai, reports The New York Times.
FilterLabs works by collecting data from small local Internet forums, social media companies, and messaging apps to determine audience sentiment. It also looks for platforms where Russians feel freer than in polls to express honest opinions, Jonathan Teubner, chief executive of FilterLabs, told the newspaper.
"U.S. officials have highlighted the huge number of Russian forces killed and wounded in Bakhmut (Ukraine) in recent months, which they estimate at more than 100,000," the newspaper stresses, noting that, despite this, support for the war remains strong in Russia.
This support, however, "began to decline slightly in early March, to rebound around Victory Day celebrations, May 9," according to the FilterLabs analysis. Unnamed U.S. officials quoted by The New York Times say that "while it is difficult to track Russian public opinion, they also believe that cracks in support for the war have begun to appear in recent months.
"Pro-Kremlin media appear to be attempting to counter the growing concern, publishing more optimistic articles about the Russian casualty toll, according to FilterLabs. But these state-controlled media seem to have a limited effect on public opinion so far this year," the paper quoted the company's founder as saying.
ACT.28 MAY 2023 - 17: 08
The Country
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg on December 5. / JEROME DELAY / AP
South Africa opens investigation into delivery of war materiel to Russia
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the creation of a committee to investigate US allegations that his country delivered war materiel to Russia last December. The US ambassador in Pretoria, Reuben Brigety, said on May 11 that a Russian ship docked at the Simonstown naval base (Cape Town), where it collected weapons allegedly provided by the South African Government, which was initially denied by the Ramaphosa Executive. The accusations have sparked a diplomatic crisis between the two countries and called into question Pretoria's neutrality in invading Ukraine. South Africa abstained on all resolutions condemning the war passed by the United Nations. "The president has decided to launch an investigation because of the seriousness of the allegations, the public interest they have generated and the impact of the matter on South Africa's diplomatic relations," the government said in a statement. The committee will consist of a judge, a lawyer known for her activism in anti-corruption cases and a former education minister. The deadline for concluding their investigations will be six weeks. (Reuters)
ACT.28 MAY 2023 - 12: 45
The Country
Yevgeny Prigozhin, with two of his men, last Thursday in Bakhmut (Ukraine). /REUTERS
Prigozhin warns his censorship of Russian state media will provoke a revolt
Yevgeny Progozhin, the leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, warned today that the Kremlin's ban on reporting on him in Russian state media could provoke a popular revolt in the country in the coming months. The owner of the mercenary militia, who has played a key role in the battle of Bakhmut, one of the fiercest of the conflict. He has stood out in recent months for his harsh criticism of the Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry for their handling of the war. "What is forbidden is always more attractive," said the paramilitary leader. "That high-level bureaucrats are trying to shut everyone's mouth so they don't talk about Wagner will just give people another push. Wagner is an awl, a stiletto that you cannot hide." The censorship of information about him and his group will provoke a violent reaction from the Russian people, according to the paramilitary leader. (Reuters)
ACT.28 MAY 2023 - 17: 12
The Country
Russia says it has repelled a drone attack on a Krasnodar refinery
Emergency services in Krasnodar, the Russian region bordering Crimea (annexed by Russia in 2014), say anti-aircraft systems in the area have repelled a drone attack targeting a refinery in the town of Ilsky on Sunday. "Several unmanned aerial vehicles have tried to approach the refinery. All of them were neutralized and the infrastructure of the plant has not been damaged, "say those same sources. The Ilsky refinery, near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, with a production capacity of 6.6 million tons of fuel a year, has been attacked several times this month. (Reuters)
ACT.28 MAY 2023 - 11: 31
Cristian Segura
Almost four hours of shelling; 14 attacks in Kiev in May
The wave of drone bomb attacks that Kiev has suffered this morning is the largest perpetrated by Russia since the beginning of the invasion. The Ukrainian Air Force has managed to shoot down 52 of the 54 Iranian-made Shahed drones used by the invader against Ukrainian territory. 40 of these aircraft were shot down in Kiev. In the capital, one person was killed and several wounded by the debris of missiles that fell on civilian buildings, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The bombing took place between two and five in the morning. There are already 14 bombings that Moscow has launched against Kiev so far in May.
The special envoy of EL PAÍS has witnessed in the capital of Ukraine how the anti-aircraft guns have acted to shoot down several drones in the direction of the Holosivski district, where the only victim of this offensive died. The surge has been such that from the houses the noise of the Shahed's engines could be identified. At a glance you can see the destruction of these drones through the air defense systems on and you can hear perfectly the sound of the explosions.
ACT.28 MAY 2023 - 10: 58
Zelenskiy thanks Germany, Finland, Canada and Iceland for latest arms shipments
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked allies Germany, Finland, Canada and Iceland for the latest arms shipments in the usual daily message to the population, published late Saturday. "The support will help Ukrainian air defenses and its overall defense capability against Russia's terror," he said.
He also thanked Japan for this week's announcement of a new package of sanctions against Russia. (DPA/EP)
ACT.28 MAY 2023 - 07: 47
At least one killed in Russian drone strike on Kiev
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko has denounced the death of at least one person in the latest Russian "massive attacks" with drones against the Ukrainian capital. The fatal victim is a 41-year-old man, while a 35-year-old woman has had to be hospitalized for an explosion that occurred near a gas station, details the councilor in a message published this morning on the Telegram platform.
Klitschko said Ukrainian air defenses had managed to destroy 20 drones launched by Russian troops and asked residents in the city to stay in shelters.
The head of Kiev's military administration, Serhiy Popko, says it is the biggest drone attack on the capital since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24 last year.
Ukraine's air defenses say they have shot down 52 of the 54 Iranian-made unmanned vehicles launched by Kremlin troops into the country overnight from Saturday to Sunday. Military authorities maintain that Shahed-136/131 drones were launched from Russia's Bryansk and Krasnodar regions against military installations and critical infrastructure in central areas of the country, particularly in the Kiev region. (Agencies)
ACT.28 MAY 2023 - 07: 39
GUERRA DE RUSIA EN UCRANIA
Amberes, la capital europea de los diamantes, tiembla ante el pulso de las sanciones contra Rusia
Silvia Ayuso
Más de cinco siglos al frente del comercio mundial de los diamantes dan para muchas lecciones sobre cómo sobrevivir a guerras, conflictos políticos y crisis de todo tipo. Aun así, la ciudad belga de Amberes, el principal centro en Europa y el mundo de compraventa de las codiciadas piedras preciosas, contiene estos días el aliento. Lo que los comerciantes habían logrado eludir hasta ahora, sanciones internacionales contra los diamantes de Rusia por la guerra de Ucrania, vuelve a estar sobre la mesa de los gobernantes mundiales. “Los diamantes rusos no son para siempre”, proclamó el presidente del Consejo Europeo (y ex primer ministro belga), Charles Michel, en la cumbre del G-7 en Hiroshima. Y en Amberes, hasta las piedras más brillantes palidecieron.
ACT.28 MAYO 2023 - 07:14
La tenista Elina Svitolina gana en Estrasburgo y dona el premio a los niños de Ucrania
La tenista ucrania Elina Svitolina ha conquistado este sábado el torneo WTA de Estrasburgo al superar (6-2, 6-3) a la rusa Anna Blinkova, su primer título desde que volvió a las pistas tras ser madre. Svitolina, campeona de la cita gala también en 2020, se reencontró con su mejor versión desde que en abril pusiera fin a su ausencia por maternidad. La ucrania, casada con el tenista francés Gael Monfils, no tardó en sumar el 17º título de su palmarés a pesar de un año de inactividad. La ucrania, que paró su carrera el año pasado por la invasión rusa de su país, ha anunciado en la entrega del trofeo que el premio económico irá destinado a ayuda humanitaria para los niños de Ucrania. (EP)
ACT.27 MAYO 2023 - 22:40
El País
El Ministerio de Defensa de Ucrania publica el vídeo de una graduación escolar
El Ministerio de Defensa de Ucrania ha publicado en Twitter un vídeo de un acto de graduación en un colegio de Járkov, la segunda ciudad del país, destrozado por los bombardeos rusos.
ACT.27 MAYO 2023 - 21:29
Rusia redobla los ataques aéreos en prevención de la inminente contraofensiva
Rusia ha redoblado sus ataques aéreos y refuerza sus líneas en los distintos frentes para frenar la anunciada e inminente contraofensiva de las Fuerza Armadas de Ucrania. Aviones de asalto y bombarderos rusos atacaron las posiciones enemigas el este y el sur de Ucrania, ha informado este sábado el portavoz del Ministerio de Defensa de Rusia, teniente general Ígor Konashénkov, al ofrecer su parte diario.
In the sectors of Liman and Donetsk (east), aviation together with artillery fire and the actions of ground troops caused more than 320 fatalities in the Ukrainian ranks, he said. Russian planes also attacked Ukrainian positions south of the city of Donetsk and in the Zaporizhia region, killing the enemy "up to 120 people," according to Konashenkov. The general stressed that during the past day the Russian air defense shot down two Storm Shadow cruise missiles, 19 HIMARS rockets, two HARM anti-radar missiles and 12 drones.
According to Mikhail Podoliak, adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Ukrainian counteroffensive has been underway for several days "with certain military operations."
In an interview published Friday on YouTube with exiled Russian journalist Yulia Latínina, the Ukrainian adviser explained that these military operations are aimed at undermining the defensive capacity of Russian lines, attacking their command posts and logistics chains. However, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, disavowed Podoliak, saying the spring counteroffensive announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not yet begun.
The counteroffensive can start "tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or a week from now," Danilov said in an interview with the BBC, adding that "it would be strange" for him to point to a date for one or the other event. "We have a mission of great responsibility to our country. And we know we have no right to be wrong," he said. (EFE)
ACT.27 MAY 2023 - 20: 20
What has happened in the last few hours
On the 458th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, these are the main news at 20.00 this Saturday, May 27.
Ukrainian intelligence believes Russia could simulate a nuclear accident at the Zaporizhia power plant. The intelligence services of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry believe that Russian forces "are preparing a massive provocation and imitation of an accident at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in the coming hours," they warned in a tweet. According to these services, Russia plans to attack the territory of the atomic plant and then announce "the leakage of radioactive substances." Then, the Twitter thread continues, "obviously, they will blame Ukraine."
Russia is forcing hundreds of German officials to leave the country starting in June. Hundreds of German officials, including diplomats and German teachers, are due to leave Russia from next Thursday. The reason is a decision by Moscow to strongly limit the maximum number of employees of German diplomatic representations and cultural organizations in Russia, in retaliation for the expulsion of Russian diplomats allegedly involved in espionage work.
Kiev says it is prepared to launch the counteroffensive. Oleksiy Danilov, one of Ukraine's top security officials, said in an interview with the BBC on Saturday that they are prepared to launch the counteroffensive against Russian troops. He did not name a specific date, but said an assault to retake territory from President Vladimir Putin's occupation forces could begin "tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or within a week." Danilov has warned that the Government of Ukraine "has no right to make a mistake" in the decision because it is a "historic opportunity" that they cannot "miss".
Russia denounces an attack with two drones that has caused damage to an oil pipeline. An attack with two drones has caused an explosion in the Russian region of Pskov, less than 10 kilometers from the border with Belarus, which has caused damage to an administrative building of an oil pipeline, denounced this Saturday the local governor Mikhail Vedernikov in a message published on the Telegram platform. The attack has caused no casualties.
ACT.27 MAY 2023 - 20: 00
The Country
Kiev warns that Russians are regrouping in Bakhmut
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Saturday on Telegram that Russian forces are still attacking the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, but that their "overall offensive activity has decreased. This trend, Maliar said, is because "troops are being replaced and regrouped. The enemy is trying to strengthen its own capabilities."
According to the number two of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, neither this Friday nor during the day of this Saturday there have been "active battles there [in Bakhmut] neither in the city nor on the flanks. Instead, the enemy is actively bombing the outskirts of the city and the approaches to it." These bombings are being carried out through "air strikes and intensive artillery fire".
Last weekend, the head of the Wagner mercenary company, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced the total takeover of Bakhmut, a city in which the contenders have been fiercely fighting for months. However, Kiev has since maintained that its troops control vital areas on the outskirts of the city.
Maliar reiterated in his Telegram message that his forces retain positions in their possession in the city, which has been virtually razed by fighting and shelling: "We firmly hold the previously occupied dominant heights north and south of Bakhmut." The Ukrainian forces, said the deputy defense minister, "have suspended their advance yesterday and today [for this Friday and Saturday] to carry out other tasks."
ACT.27 MAY 2023 - 19: 33
The Country
Russia has launched 108 attacks on the city of Zaporizhia in 24 hours, according to Kiev
A 73-year-old woman has been killed and two others wounded in new Russian shelling in Zaporizhia, which has hit 16 areas of the city in southeastern Ukraine and its surroundings, Yurii Malashko, the head of Ukraine's local military administration, said on his Telegram channel. Malashko said that in the past 24 hours, Russia has launched 108 attacks on the city and nearby villages.
In them, he continued, Russian forces have "used artillery, multiple launch rocket systems and drones."
The deceased elderly woman died "in her own yard" in the town of Novodanilivka, deplored the Ukrainian official, while in another village in the area, Gulyaipol, two women were injured. "So far there have been 15 new destructions of civilian targets," Malashko said.
"The enemy will be held accountable for every war crime, for every fate broken and life cut short. Ukrainians are strong and unshakable, victory is ours," the Kiev official said.
ACT.27 MAY 2023 - 19: 34
The Country
The Institute for War Studies believes Russia and China want the West to force Ukraine to accept a ceasefire.
The US think tank Institute for War Studies (IWS) believes that "it is likely" that Russia is "reviving its information campaign" to discourage the West from continuing to send aid to Ukraine and pressure Western countries, with China's help, to force Kiev to accept a ceasefire.
In a Twitter thread, this center assures that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed on Friday "the openness of the Russian side to dialogue" in a conversation with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. However, this statement "does not indicate that Russia is interested in continuing negotiations with Ukraine," given that "the Kremlin has not established any serious basis for negotiations or abandoned its maximalist goals of forcing the Ukrainian government to capitulate."
On the contrary, "it is likely that the Kremlin is trying to escalate its false claims about its willingness to negotiate with Ukraine amid the arrival of China's Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui in Moscow on May 26 to discuss a negotiated solution to Russia's war in Ukraine."
The Washington Post reported that Li had urged European officials to end the war in Ukraine before it escalated during his tour of Europe this week. One diplomat, "probably European," the tweet said, said "that China's main interests are to ensure Russian victory and to ensure that Russia does not use nuclear weapons."
The Institute for War Studies then concludes that this action by Beijing's envoy "probably indicates that China may be trying to pressure the West to get Ukraine to accept a ceasefire."
ACT.27 MAY 2023 - 17: 37