Russia-Ukraine war – live: Putin orders more drones as eight killed in missile attack on Donetsk

At least eight people have died after two Russian missiles hit a residential building in east Ukraine, on the same day Vladimir Putin has ordered the state-owned defence conglomerate to produce more attack drones.

Five people, including four civilians and one emergency official, were killed after the rockets hit an apartment complex in the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region on Monday, Ukrainian interior minister Ihor Klymenko said.

At least 31 more have been injured, as videos from outside the building show emergency services rescuing people trapped under the rubble and treating the wounded.

Writing on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky vowed “Russia will be held accountable for everything it has done in this terrible war”.

It came as the UK’s Foreign Office told The Independent it was reviewing its sanctions on Russia after a dramatic intervention from Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska condemning loopholes that allow Moscow to fund its invasion.

Speaking to Independent TV from Kyiv’s presidential compound, Ms Zelenska called for an urgent crackdown on such trade to strangle Moscow’s funds.

Key Points

• Independent TV: Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska’s interview with Bel Trew

• Ukraine and Russia confirm Kyiv hits Chonhar bridge to Crimea

• Russian retaliation threat sees up to 70 air assault weapons used overnight

• Volodymyr Zelensky condemns Russian attack on blood transfusion centre

• Russia attacks eastern Ukraine over 9,000 times in recent days, deputy defence minister says

• Russian missile strikes on apartment buildings kill five in east Ukraine, Kyiv says

Russian informant detained over Zelensky assassination plot, Kyiv says

Monday 7 August 2023 14:44 , Eleanor Noyce

A Russian informant has been detained over a plot to assassinate Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv has said.

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said it has detained a Russian informant “who was preparing a Russian airstrike in the Mykolaiv region during the visit of the President of Ukraine.”

The alleged informant “on the eve of the recent trip of the President of Ukraine to Mykolaiv region, was gathering intelligence about the planned visit,” the service said, referencing a trip Zelensky made to the region in July.

In a statement, the SBU said that the individual “tried to establish the time and list of locations of the approximate route of the Head of State in the territory of the region”, but agents had obtained information about the “subversive activities of the suspect” and subsequently introduced additional security measures.

Monitoring the communications of the woman - who has not been named, but is understood to be a resident of Ochakov in southern Ukraine - the service established that she had been tasked with locating electronic warfare systems and warehouses with ammunition of the armed forces.

The individual allegedly travelled around the district and filmed the locations of Ukrainian objects.

Exclusive: Ukraine’s children ‘losing the will to live’, First Lady says

Monday 7 August 2023 21:30 , Maanya Sachdeva

From inside the heavily-guarded Ukraine presidential compound in Kyiv, First Lady Olena Zelenska has spoken in a rare and wide ranging interview with The Independent’s Chief International Correspondent Bel Trew.

During their discussion Mrs Zelenska blasted countries for circumventing Russian sanctions, saying the conflict in her nation will drag on “endlessly until Russia‘s ability to wage war is stopped.”

She also warned Ukraine’s children are “losing the will to live” in an emotional plea for help, as she spoke of the struggle to retrieve the children disappeared into Russia.

Watch the full interview here:

Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska’s interview with Bel Trew

Exclusive: Foreign Office to act over Ukraine first lady’s plea on sanctions

Monday 7 August 2023 21:11 , Andy Gregory

The government is reviewing its sanctions on Russia after a dramatic intervention from Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska condemning loopholes that allow Moscow to fund its invasion.

The Foreign Office has expressed its fury over sanctions-busting efforts by Russian allies to use a third country to continue trading with Moscow despite the hefty economic measures imposed since Russian president Vladimir Putin launched his invasion.

The government is weighing how it can act and hopes to move imminently, The Independent can reveal, after Ukraine’s first lady made the plea in an interview with Independent TV, which you can watch here.

My colleagues Kate Devlin and Bel Trew have the full story here:

Foreign Office fury at sanctions-busting by Russian allies – after Zelenska’s plea

US Justice Department helping Ukraine in war crimes investigations

Monday 7 August 2023 21:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

The US Justice Department is cooperating with the International Criminal Court and supporting Ukrainian prosecutors carrying out war crime investigations, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday as he reaffirmed his department’s aid more than a year after the Russian invasion.

Congress recently allowed for new US flexibility in assisting the court with investigations into foreign nationals related to Ukraine, and the Justice Department will be a key part of the United States’ cooperation, Garland highlighted.

“We are not waiting for the hostilities to end before pursuing justice and accountability,” he said in a speech to the American Bar Association in Denver.

“We are working closely with our international partners to gather evidence and build cases so that we are ready when the time comes to hold the perpetrators accountable,” he added.

He appointed a prosecutor to serve at a center opened last month in The Hague to support nations building cases against senior Russian leaders for the crime of aggression.

International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression will not issue indictments or arrest warrants for suspects but will instead support investigations already underway in Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

The Justice Department is giving wide-ranging assistance to Ukraine, from training on prosecuting environmental crimes to help developing a secure electronic case-management system for more than 90,000 suspected atrocity crimes.

Garland also touted the $500 million seized assets and over three dozen indictments the department has handed down to enforce sanctions.

“Ukraine must do three things simultaneously: it must fight a war; it must investigate war crimes; and it must ensure that a just society comes out on the other side of the war,” he said.

The Justice Department is “honored to stand with them.”

Ukraine says Russian missile strikes on apartment buildings kill five in east

Monday 7 August 2023 20:12 , Maanya Sachdeva

Two Russian missile strikes killed five people and injured 31 when they hit residential buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Monday.

Videos and pictures released by Ukrainian officials showed people sorting through the rubble including a badly damaged five-story apartment building. An ambulance was on the scene treating the wounded.

According to Klymenko, four civilians died in the first attack and Donetsk emergency official was killed during the second attack.

Search and rescue operations were ongoing, Klymenko said.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine‘s presidential administration, later reported two more victims of Russian strikes in Kruhliakivka village in Kupiansk district.

Russia blasts peace talks in Saudi Arabia as ‘pointless’

Monday 7 August 2023 20:07 , Maanya Sachdeva

Russia‘s foreign ministry on Monday criticised efforts by international officials meeting in Saudi Arabia to find a peaceful settlement for the war in Ukraine, saying the talks don’t have “the slightest added value” because Moscow - unlike Kyiv - was not invited.

Senior officials from around 40 countries gathered on Sunday in Jeddah for a two-day meeting that aims to agree on key principles about how to end the conflict that has raged for more than 17 months.

But without Russia‘s participation and without taking into account Moscow’s interests, the meeting was pointless, a Russian Foreign Ministry statement said.

It repeated previous assurances that Russia is open to a diplomatic solution on its terms that ends the war and is ready to respond to serious proposals.

But Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, ruled out Moscow’s previous demands that would give Russia time to dig in deeper in the parts of Ukraine it has occupied.

He said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Russian forces must fully withdraw from the occupied areas and there would be no Kyiv compromise on that.

Restaurant frequented by journalists was ‘target of Donetsk attacks'

Monday 7 August 2023 19:35 , Maanya Sachdeva

A Ukrainian journalist, Denys Kazansky has shared more footage from outside the residential building that was hit by Russian rockets in the eastern city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk.

He claimed “Corleone”, a restaurant on the ground floor of the apartment complex, “was the target” since it was frequented by journalists and volunteers.

Two dead after Russian missiles hit residential building in east Ukraine, Kyiv says

Monday 7 August 2023 19:09 , Maanya Sachdeva

Two people were killed in two Russian missile strikes on a residential building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine‘s presidential administration, said on Monday.

“As of now, it is known about two dead people - a woman and a man. The four wounded were taken away by an ambulance. Rescuers and medics are working,” Yermak said in his Telegram channel.

‘There are victims’: Russian missiles ‘hit residential building’ in Donetsk

Monday 7 August 2023 18:51 , Maanya Sachdeva

Two Russian missile strikes hit a residential building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.

He wrote on his Telegram channel: “Two missile strikes. An ordinary residential building was hit. Unfortunately, there are victims.

“Rescuers and all necessary services are on the scene. The rescue of people continues.”

Kyiv troops ‘hold initiative’ over Putin’s forces on frontline

Monday 7 August 2023 18:26 , Maanya Sachdeva

Ukrainian troops are creating conditions to advance forward step-by-step and have the initiative on the battlefield, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief said on Monday.

Kyiv’s defensive lines are stable with troops repelling Russian attempts to counter-attack and distract Ukrainian forces from other parts of the front, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

“Heavy fighting is underway, and step-by-step, Ukrainian troops are continuing to create the conditions to advance. The initiative is on our side,” Zaluzhnyi said after a telephone call with US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley.

Ukraine launched a counteroffensive at the start of the summer, attempting to retake swathes of territory captured by Russia in the south and east of the country.

Officials have brushed aside criticism that they are advancing slowly, saying they are trying to avoid high casualties as they attack well-fortified Russian lines that are strewn with landmines.

ICYMI: Ukraine: Moment camera operator runs for safety during shelling in Donetsk

Monday 7 August 2023 17:31 , Eleanor Noyce

Point-of-view footage shows the moment a camera operator had to run for cover during what a Russian official said was Ukrainian shelling on Russian-controlled Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, 5 August.

The camera was following firefighters as they approached a university building in the city, which was burning after what Russian-installed mayor Alexei Kulemzin called a Ukrainian attack.

Moments later, a loud blast is heard and the camera operator runs away whilst crouching down.

Kulemzin said initial reports indicated the cause of the fire was an attack by Ukrainian forces using cluster munitions - this has not been independently verified.

Ukraine: Moment camera operator runs for safety during shelling in Donetsk

Ukraine says Jeddah talks 'huge blow' to Russia, new meeting agreed

Monday 7 August 2023 17:05 , Eleanor Noyce

A senior Ukrainian official said on Monday that the weekend’s talks in Saudi Arabia about the war in Ukraine dealt a “huge blow” to Russia, and that the participants agreed to hold another meeting of political advisers within about six weeks.

More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States, and European countries, but not Russia, took part in the talks that were seen as an attempt by Kyiv to build a broader coalition of powers to support its vision of peace.

“We will hold another meeting within a month, month-and-a-half and we will move towards (holding) a summit,” presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak told reporters at a briefing in Kyiv.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has promoted a set of 10 principles that Kyiv wants to serve as the basis for peace to end the full-scale war launched by Moscow in February 2022.

The principles include the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the return of all Ukrainian territory to its control.

Yermak said all the countries present at the talks in Jeddah fully supported Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity, and that only peace initiatives put forward by Ukraine were discussed at the meeting.

Ukrainian troops creating conditions to advance - commander-in-chief

Monday 7 August 2023 16:45 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukrainian troops are creating conditions to advance forward step-by-step and have the initiative on the battlefield, Ukraine‘s commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on Monday.

Zaluzhnyi also said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that the Ukrainian defence was stable with troops repelling Russian attempts to counter-attack and distract Ukrainian forces from other areas of the front.

China tells Russia it will uphold 'impartial' position on Ukraine

Monday 7 August 2023 16:30 , Eleanor Noyce

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone conversation on Monday that China would uphold an independent and impartial position on Ukraine as it strives to find a political settlement to the issue.

Wang’s comments to Lavrov were announced in a Foreign Ministry statement on Monday that said China would be an “objective and rational voice” at any international multilateral forums and “actively promote peace talks”. The statement came after the ministry said earlier on Monday that international talks in Saudi Arabia at the weekend on finding a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis had helped “to consolidate international consensus”.

More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States and European countries, but not Russia, took part in the Jeddah talks that ended on Sunday.

China sent its Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs and former ambassador to Russia, Li Hui, who in May toured six European capitals to try to find common ground for an eventual political settlement of the conflict, now in its 18th month.

Beijing has refused to condemn Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine it launched in February 2022. It has offered its own peace plan, which received a lukewarm response in both Russia and Ukraine, while the United States and NATO were sceptical.

Russia blasts Saudi Arabia talks on ending war in Ukraine after Moscow gets no invitation to attend

Monday 7 August 2023 16:15 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Monday chided efforts by international officials meeting in Saudi Arabia to find a peaceful settlement for the war in Ukraine, saying the talks don’t have “the slightest added value” because Moscow — unlike Kyiv — wasn’t invited.

Senior officials from around 40 countries gathered Sunday in Jeddah for a two-day meeting that aims to agree on key principles about how to end the conflict that has raged for more than 17 months.

Read more:

Russia blasts Saudi Arabia talks on ending war in Ukraine after Moscow gets no invitation to attend

Ex-FBI agent accused of working for Russian oligarch may change plea

Monday 7 August 2023 16:05 , Eleanor Noyce

A former FBI agent accused by U.S. prosecutors of working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska may change his plea in relation to criminal charges of evading U.S. sanctions and money laundering, court records showed on Monday.

Charles McGonigal had previously pleaded not guilty. A change of plea hearing before U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rearden in Manhattan has been scheduled for 15 August.

McGonigal’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, which brought the case, declined to comment.

Prosecutors in January said McGonigal, who led the FBI’s counterintelligence division in New York before retiring in 2018, received concealed payments from Deripaska in exchange for investigating a rival oligarch and unsuccessfully pushed in 2019 to lift U.S. sanctions on Deripaska.

The charges against McGonigal came as U.S. prosecutors ramped up efforts to enforce sanctions on Russian officials and police their alleged enablers in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Deripaska, the founder of Russian aluminum company Rusal , was among two dozen Russian oligarchs and government officials blacklisted by Washington in 2018 in reaction to Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

He and the Kremlin have denied any election interference.

Japan raises concerns over Iran's nuclear enrichment and drone supplies to Russia for Ukraine war

Monday 7 August 2023 16:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Japan expressed concern on Monday over Iran‘s advancing uranium enrichment program and the Middle East country’s suspected supplying of combat drones to Moscow for Russia‘s war on Ukraine.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi raised the two issues during talks with his visiting Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, the foreign ministry in Tokyo said. A statement from the ministry said Hayashi appealed for Iran to act constructively in the matter but did not elaborate.

Read more:

Japan raises concerns over Iran's nuclear enrichment and drone supplies to Russia for Ukraine war

Ukraine says Jeddah peace talks 'huge blow' to Russia, new meeting agreed

Monday 7 August 2023 15:49 , Eleanor Noyce

The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff said on Monday that talks about the Ukraine war in Saudi Arabia at the weekend dealt a “huge blow” to Russia, and that the participants agreed to hold another meeting of political advisers within about six weeks.

Andriy Yermak told a briefing in Kyiv that no other peace initiatives were discussed at the meeting in Jeddah apart from Ukraine‘s, and that all countries present at the talks had fully supported Ukrainian independence and territorial integrity.

China's foreign minister Wang Yi holds call with Russian counterpart - ministry

Monday 7 August 2023 15:45 , Eleanor Noyce

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the phone, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.

On the Ukraine crisis, Wang told Lavrov that China will uphold an independent and impartial position, actively promote peace talks and strive to find a political settlement to the issue, according to the statement.

Russian leftist dissident critical of war designated a "terrorist"

Monday 7 August 2023 15:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Prominent Russian sociologist and leftist political activist Boris Kagarlitsky was designated a “terrorist” on Monday, weeks after being arrested under an article that forbids public calls for terrorist activities using the Internet.

Since starting the war in February 2022, Russia has made it a crime to “discredit” its armed forces and cracked down on those who oppose what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Kagarlitsky, 64, known as a dissident since Soviet times, has repeatedly spoken out against the war in a magazine he edited and on his YouTube channel.

Kagarlitsky, who teaches at the private Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences, had already been designated a “foreign agent” since 2018, and on Monday he appeared on a list of registered “terrorists” on the website of Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service.

He was detained last month by the FSB security service and remanded in custody for two months in the city of Syktyvkar, 1,000 km (620 miles) northeast of Moscow.

Polish Border Guard asks for 1,000 more soldiers on Belarus frontier

Monday 7 August 2023 15:10 , Eleanor Noyce

Poland’s Border Guard has asked the defence ministry to send another 1,000 troops to the border with Belarus, the deputy interior minister said on Monday, amid an increase in attempts to illegally cross the frontier.

The head of the Border Guard, Tomasz Praga, said this year 19,000 people had tried to cross the Polish-Belarusian border illegally, up from 16,000 last year.

“The general (Praga) asked to move another 1,000 soldiers to the Polish-Belarusian border,” Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik said.

Poland has built a face on the border with Belarus, equipped with electronic protection.

In recent weeks, soldiers from the Wagner mercenary group have appeared near the border, which, according to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, is aimed at destabilising the situation on NATO’s eastern flank.

End of war only possible if Kyiv lays down arms, Russia says

Monday 7 August 2023 15:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

Russia has said the end of the war in Ukraine is only possible if Kyiv “stopped the hostilities and terrorist attacks” and western countries ceased supplying arms, according to a report.

Moscow was commenting on the two-day talks held in Jeddah over the weekend, when over 40 countries came together to discuss the peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict.

According to The Guardian, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “The original foundations of Ukraine’s sovereignty – its neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear status – must be confirmed.”

Russia also called on Ukraine to cede its occupied territories to Moscow, as per AFP.

Ukraine MP says key German lawmakers reach consensus on long-range missile supply

Monday 7 August 2023 14:45 , Eleanor Noyce

A senior Ukrainian lawmaker said on Monday that key parliamentary factions in Germany had “reached a consensus” to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles with a range of 500 km (310 miles) but that an official decision was yet to come.

Germany’s defence minister said last week Berlin does not plan to supply the missiles for now and that the weapons are not the most urgent priority. A ministry spokesperson told Reuters on Monday that Berlin’s position had not changed.

However Yehor Chernev, a lawmaker who heads Ukraine‘s delegation at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, said: “My friends in the Bundestag just told me that key parliamentary factions have reached consensus regarding the transfer to Ukraine of long-range Taurus missiles.”

“We’ve worked for a long time with German parliamentarians to form a support group and now finally the ice has broken. We await an official decision,” he wrote on Facebook.

Ukraine is hoping to secure long-range weapons from the West to strike back at Russia which has used an array of missiles fired from hundreds of kilometres away to wreak damage on its infrastructure.

‘Intense defensive and offensive operations underway’ on front line, Zelensky says

Monday 7 August 2023 14:30 , Maanya Sachdeva

Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky has said “intense defensive and offensive operations are underway” on the front line, as the war enters a pivotal, new phase on the 530th day since Russia launched a “special military operation in the country”.

Zelensky shared updates from his daily conference call with ministers on the situation in Ukraine, where at least three people were killed after Moscow launched a multi-wave overnight assault in retaliation for attacks on its naval vessels in the Black Grain sea last week.

Writing on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Zelensky said: “We heard a report from Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny on the situation at the front. Intense defensive and offensive operations are underway.”

He also reported “we understand the enemy’s immediate plans”, noting that he had received data from Russia that was provided by the Main Intelligence Directorate and the Foreign Intelligence Service.

What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know

Monday 7 August 2023 14:00 , Eleanor Noyce

In a rare interview the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, has spoken to Independent TV about her work rebuilding Ukraine in the middle of war, the pressures on her family and concerns for the future of her country.

From the presidential palace, she told The Independent’s Bel Trew about the need to reconstruct cities despite the fighting raging on, about building cutting-edge facilities to treat the country’s’ war-wounded and fighting stigma on trauma around the country.

Watch the full interview on Independent TV, across mobile and connected TV from Monday 7 August.

What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know

Ukraine: Moment camera operator runs for safety during shelling in Donetsk

Monday 7 August 2023 13:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Point-of-view footage shows the moment a camera operator had to run for cover during what a Russian official said was Ukrainian shelling on Russian-controlled Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, 5 August.

The camera was following firefighters as they approached a university building in the city, which was burning after what Russian-installed mayor Alexei Kulemzin called a Ukrainian attack.

Moments later, a loud blast is heard and the camera operator runs away whilst crouching down.

Kulemzin said initial reports indicated the cause of the fire was an attack by Ukrainian forces using cluster munitions - this has not been independently verified.

Watch:

Ukraine: Moment camera operator runs for safety during shelling in Donetsk

Russia attacks eastern Ukraine over 9,000 times in recent days, deputy defence minister says

Monday 7 August 2023 13:06 , Eleanor Noyce

Kyiv has pushed back Putin’s forces around Bakhmut despite “continuous” artillery fire, Ukraine has said.

Hanna Maliar, the deputy minister of defence of Ukraine, said that Russia has attacked eastern Ukraine over 9,000 times in recent days.

“The enemy spent almost half a million rounds of ammunition in the East last week alone”, Ms Maliar said, adding that “our fighters continued offensive operations on the Bakhmut front under such continuous artillery fire.”

The news comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that advanced air defence systems, including the US-built Patriot and Germany’s IRIS-T, were proving “highly effective” and had “already yielded significant results.”

Zelensky said Ukraine had shot down a significant part of Moscow’s attacks over the past week, which included 65 missiles of various kinds and 178 assault drones, including 87 Shaheds - despite waves of Russian air strikes that Kyiv says targeted residential buildings and civilians, leaving some dead.

Kyiv struck and damaged the Chonhar road bridge linking mainland Ukraine to Russian-occupied Crimea and a smaller bridge linking the town of Henichesk with the peninsula’s northeast coast on Sunday, Moscow-appointed officials and Ukraine’s armed forces said.

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

Monday 7 August 2023 13:00 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine has been raging for one year now as the conflict continues to record devastating casualties and force the mass displacement of millions of blameless Ukrainians.

Vladimir Putin began the war by claiming Russia’s neighbour needed to be “demilitarised and de-Nazified”, a baseless pretext on which to launch a landgrab against an independent state that happens to have a Jewish president in Volodymyr Zelensky.

Read more:

Here’s why Putin really invaded Ukraine

ICYMI: Russia’s war with Ukraine has generated its own fog, and mis- and disinformation are everywhere

Monday 7 August 2023 12:30 , Eleanor Noyce

On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. And far from the fighting, a related and just as disorienting miasma afflicts those who seek to understand what’s happening in the vast war.

Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians’ understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that can’t be confirmed — and stay quiet about defeats.

Jim Heintz has more:

Russia's war with Ukraine has generated its own fog, and mis- and disinformation are everywhere

In pictures: Serhiy Prytula crowdfunds for Ukrainian military

Monday 7 August 2023 12:06 , Eleanor Noyce

Serhiy Prytula, a former stand-up comedian whose crowdfunding campaigns for the Ukrainian military have made him a national hero, has been pictured alongside volunteers loading equipment for the army.

Crouching beside Ukrainian-made kamikaze drones on a runway, TV star Serhiy Prytula appears keen to taunt Moscow with a crowdfunded fleet that experts have linked with recent strikes inside Russia.

Jeddah talks were successful contribution to Ukraine peace - Berlin

Monday 7 August 2023 11:44 , Eleanor Noyce

A conference hosted by Saudi Arabia to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine was a successful meeting because it showed the willingness of the international community to work towards ending the war, a German government spokesperson said on Monday.

“Germany will also continue to engage actively including in this process,” the spokesperson said at a regular news conference in Berlin.

Russian tourism to Crimea halves

Monday 7 August 2023 11:34 , Eleanor Noyce

The number of Russian tourists travelling to Crimea has decreased by close to half within weeks as Ukraine has intensified its attacks on the peninsula.

According to Russian daily newspaper Kommersant, hotel bookings fell by 45 per cent in comparison with the beginning of the month, with hotel occupancy decreasing to between 50 and 60 per cent.

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Monday 7 August 2023 11:15 , Eleanor Noyce

Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage.

The Kremlin, in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin’s spurious war to “de-Nazify” Russia’s neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

ICYMI: Former MP killed while defending Ukraine

Monday 7 August 2023 11:01 , Eleanor Noyce

A former member of Ukraine’s parliament was killed in combat at the Zaporizhzhian region, the government confirmed yesterday.

Serhiy Slabenko who served the parliament from 2002 to 2006 and then served as a deputy of the Volyn Regional Council was killed in action on 4 August.

He is survived by his wife, son, and daughter. His body will be brought home today.

ICYMI: Ukraine replaces Soviet coat of arms with trident on towering Kyiv landmark

Monday 7 August 2023 10:50 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine has replaced the Soviet emblem that once adorned one of the nation’s most recognizable landmarks with the country’s coat of arms.

The symbolic move is part of a wider shift throughout Ukraine to reclaim the country’s cultural identity from the Soviet past amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.

Read more:

Ukraine replaces Soviet coat of arms with trident on towering Kyiv landmark

Ukraine says 22 soldiers return in latest prisoner swap with Russia

Monday 7 August 2023 10:40 , Eleanor Noyce

Russia and Ukraine carried out the latest in a series of prisoner exchanges on Monday, with 22 Ukrainian soldiers returning home, a senior Ukrainian official said.

Andriy Yermak, the head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, said the released servicemen included two officers, sergeants and privates who fought in different parts of the front. Some of them were wounded.

A video posted on Telegram showed soldiers wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags posing for pictures and shouting “Glory to Ukraine“. “Today we have returned 22 Ukrainian fighters home from captivity,” Yermak said, adding the oldest of them was 54 years old and the youngest 23.

There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Yermak gave no other details on the exchange.

Russia and Ukraine have periodically exchanged groups of prisoners in the course of the war, now in its 18th month.

Ukraine grain exports total 2.56 million metric tonnes so far 2023/24 -ministry

Monday 7 August 2023 10:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Ukraine‘s grain exports have risen to 2.56 million metric tonnes so far in the 2023/24 July-June season from 2 million tonnes at the same time of the season last year, Agriculture Ministry data showed on Monday.

Exports have been affected since Russia quit a United Nations-backed grain deal last month but the ministry’s data did not give a breakdown on exports since the deal collapsed.

The total volume of grain exports this season included 1.27 million tonnes of corn, 977,000 tons of wheat and 329,000 tons of barley.

That compared with exports of 1.3 million tonnes of corn, 467,000 tonnes of wheat and 180,000 tonnes of barley as of 6 August 2022, the data showed.

Exports for the entire 2022/23 season were almost 49 million tons, exceeding the previous season’s 48.4 million tons.

Most of the volume was exported via deep Black Sea ports under the deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July to tackle a global food crisis worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and blockade of Ukrainian ports.

Russia left the deal on 17 July after saying its demands to ease sanctions on its own grain and fertiliser exports had not been met. Moscow also complained that not enough grain had reached poor countries.

A major grain grower and exporter, Ukraine‘s grain output dropped to about 53 million tonnes in clean weight in calendar 2022, down from a record 86 million tons in 2021.

The ministry has said the crop could fall to around 46 million tonnes of grain in 2023.

Germany expands investment guarantees in Ukraine - econ ministry

Monday 7 August 2023 10:24 , Eleanor Noyce

Germany on Monday announced that its guarantees for German companies investing in Ukraine would be expanded beyond property damage.

From now on, the guarantees will also cover conversion and transfer risks for interest payments on quasi-equity loans often used by German companies to fund Ukrainian subsidiaries, a statement from the economy ministry said.

Fourteen companies are currently making use of the guarantees covering a total maximum liability of 280 million euros ($307.24 million), the ministry said, adding that it had received further applications and would process them swiftly.

China says Jeddah talks on Ukraine helped to 'consolidate international consensus'

Monday 7 August 2023 10:10 , Eleanor Noyce

China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that recent international talks in Saudi Arabia on resolving the Ukraine crisis helped “consolidate international consensus”.

China’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs, Li Hui, “had extensive contact and communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis...listened to all sides’ opinions and proposals, and further consolidated international consensus,” the foreign ministry said in a written statement.

More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States, and European countries, but not Russia, took part in the Jeddah talks that ended on Sunday.

Watch: Moment camera operator runs for safety during shelling in Donetsk

Monday 7 August 2023 10:00 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine says three killed in Russian shelling of Kherson and Kharkiv region

Monday 7 August 2023 09:46 , Tara Cobham

A woman was killed early on Monday when Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, while two other people were killed in Russian shelling of border areas of the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, officials said.

Both the city of Kherson and parts of the Kharkiv region are directly adjacent to the front line. The Ukrainian military has reported increased Russian attacks in the Kharkiv region in recent days.

"A difficult night for Kherson ... The Russian army continued to shell Kherson residents' homes in the central part of the city," governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram messaging app.

Prokudin said the shelling had started around midnight and lasted for several hours.

Separately, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said on Telegram that two civilians had been killed and three others wounded during Russian shelling of border areas of Kharkiv region on Monday morning.

The details of the Ukrainian reports could not be independently verified.

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Monday 7 August 2023 08:55 , Tara Cobham

Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage.

The Kremlin, in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin’s spurious war to “de-Nazify” Russia’s neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries.

Moscow is more likely to downplay its own (rarely offered) numbers – putting the official number at around 6,000 – and accuse its enemies of dishonestly briefing against it whenever outside estimates are offered that imply significant Russian losses.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Ukraine says Western weapons seeing ‘significant results’

Monday 7 August 2023 08:13 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine is seeing "significant results" from U.S. and German air defence systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, despite waves of Russian air strikes that Kyiv says targeted civilians and residential buildings.

In his nightly video address on Sunday, Zelenskiy said advanced air defence systems, including the US-built Patriot and Germany's IRIS-T, were proving "highly effective" and had "already yielded significant results."

Zelenskiy said Ukraine had shot down a significant part of Russia's attacks over the past week, which included 65 missiles of various kinds and 178 assault drones, including 87 Shaheds.

Ukraine's military said later that Russia had launched 30 missiles and 48 air strikes.

"Unfortunately, there are casualties and wounded among the civilian population. Residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure suffered destruction," the military said in a statement.

Ukraine and Russia confirm Kyiv hits Chonhar bridge to Crimea

Monday 7 August 2023 07:57 , Chris Stevenson

Ukraine struck and damaged the Chonhar road bridge linking mainland Ukraine to Russian-occupied Crimea and a smaller bridge linking the town of Henichesk with the peninsula's northeast coast on Sunday, Moscow-appointed officials and Ukraine's armed forces said.

"The enemy launched a missile strike in the area of the Chonhar bridge in the north of Crimea," Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea, wrote on Telegram. "One hit, part of the missile was hit by air defence." The road surface was damaged, traffic diverted and repairs had begun, he said.

Acting Kherson regional governor Vladimir Saldo -- another Moscow appointee -- said without providing evidence that the strike on the Chonhar bridge, one of three road links between Crimea and mainland Ukraine, involved an Anglo-French Storm Shadow missile.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine Strategic Communications Directorate said the strike damaged the road surface of the bridge, which lies on a route used by the Russian military to move between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine under its control. Ukraine struck the same bridge in June.

The directorate said Ukrainian strikes had also left the smaller Henichesk bridge sagging but provided no further details. Reuters could not immediately verify the condition of either bridge nor the munitions used.

Saldo said Ukrainian shelling wounded a civilian driver and damaged a gas pipeline running alongside the bridge serving Henichesk, the temporary administrative centre of the Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region, leaving more than 20,000 people without gas. He said a village school was also damaged.

The attacks are making it increasingly hard to get on and off the peninsula, which Russia illegally annexedfrom Ukraine in 2014 and which is of military importance to Moscow as well as a popular tourist destination for Russians.

Russian air defence takes down drone near Kaluga region bordering Moscow

Monday 7 August 2023 07:30 , Shweta Sharma

Russia’s air defence system destroyed a drone resembling an aircraft over the Ferzikovskyi district in the Kaluga region, Vladislav Shapsha, governor of the region, said on the Telegram messaging app on Monday.

The Kaluga region shares a border with the Moscow region to its north. Mr Shapsha emphasised that this incident had no adverse effects on individuals or infrastructure.

“There has been no impact on people or infrastructure,” he said.

The origin of the launched drones remains unclear, and as of now, there has been no immediate response from Ukraine. It is worth noting that Kyiv rarely takes public responsibility for attacks conducted within Russia or on territories controlled by Russia in Ukraine.

Although Russian authorities have attributed the recent surge in drone attacks within Russia to Kyiv, there hasn’t been any confirmation or official statement from Ukraine regarding this matter.

Ukraine says woman killed in Russian shelling of Kherson

Monday 7 August 2023 07:10 , Shweta Sharma

A woman was killed early Monday due to shelling by Russian forces in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, according to statements from regional officials.

“A difficult night for Kherson... The Russian army continued to shell Kherson residents’ homes in the central part of the city,” governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram messaging app.

The shelling commenced around midnight and persisted for several hours.

In November, Ukraine regained control of Kherson city and portions of the Kherson region following months of Russian occupation. However, Russian forces consistently subjected the city and its surroundings to shelling from across the Dnipro river.

This month, another tragic incident occurred as a doctor lost their life, and a nurse sustained injuries due to Russian shelling targeting a Kherson hospital.

Blood transfusion centre in Kharkiv hit by Russian attack as three killed

Monday 7 August 2023 07:00 , Shweta Sharma

Three people have been killed and a blood transfusion centre in Ukraine destroyed, as Russia unleashed a missile and drone barrage in retaliation to attacks on its naval vessels in the Black Sea earlier this week.

Kyiv’s Air Force said on Sunday that Moscow had launched a multi-wave overnight attack on Ukraine, with 70 air-assault weapons, including cruise and hypersonic missiles as well as Iranian-made drones.

“We managed to shoot down a significant number of these,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said, in his nightly address.

Three killed in Ukraine as Russian bomb hits blood transfusion centre in Kharkiv

Ukraine: Moment camera operator runs for safety during shelling in Donetsk

Monday 7 August 2023 06:30 , Shweta Sharma

Six killed in overnight strikes across Ukraine

Monday 7 August 2023 05:48 , Shweta Sharma

Overnight strikes on Ukraine have now resulted in six reported deaths, with three additional fatalities attributed to the 70 missile and drone attacks conducted during the night.

Among the casualties, there was a woman in her 80s in Donetsk and two individuals in Kharkiv, as mentioned in our previous report at 10.53 am.

The governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, reported that two people were killed in the villages of Torske and Niu-York due to Russian attacks.

Furthermore, in the Kharkiv region, a 58-year-old woman lost her life, along with the two deaths previously mentioned.

Additionally, four other people sustained injuries in the Kharkiv region as a result of the strikes.

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Monday 7 August 2023 05:18 , Shweta Sharma

Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage.

The Kremlin, in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin’s spurious war to “de-Nazify” Russia’s neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries.

Moscow is more likely to downplay its own (rarely offered) numbers – putting the official number at around 6,000 – and accuse its enemies of dishonestly briefing against it whenever outside estimates are offered that imply significant Russian losses.

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Former MP killed while defending Ukraine

Monday 7 August 2023 04:52 , Shweta Sharma

A former member of Ukraine’s parliament was killed in combat at the Zaporizhzhian region, the government confirmed yesterday.

Serhiy Slabenko who served the parliament from 2002 to 2006 and then served as a deputy of the Volyn Regional Council was killed in action on 4 August.

He is survived by his wife, son, and daughter. His body will be brought home today.

Ukraine pace talks in Saudi Arabia ends with no concrete resolution to war

Monday 7 August 2023 04:26 , Shweta Sharma

Jeddah-hosted talks for peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine war concluded yesterday with no concrete resolution to invasion as Moscow did not take part in the meeting.

The participants from at least 40 countries agreed on the importance of continuing consultations to pave the way for peace, according to a closing statement released by Saudi Arabia.

Countries, including China, India, the United States, and European countries, but not Russia, took part in the talks.

While a senior Ukrainian official called that talks productive Moscow called the meeting a doomed attempt to swing the Global South behind Kyiv.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he wants a global summit to take place based on those principles later this year.

Speaking about the Jeddah talks, Mr Zelensky’s head of staff Andriy Yermak said in a statement: “We had very productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built.”

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by state media as saying the meeting was “a reflection of the West’s attempt to continue futile, doomed efforts” to mobilise the Global South behind Mr Zelensky’s position.

Ukraine eager to see F-16 in action as soon as possible, Zelensky says

Monday 7 August 2023 04:01 , Shweta Sharma

Volodymyr Zelensky said they are eager to see America’s F-16 fighter jets soaring in the skies as soon as possible as both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks.

The president added that he is seeing “significant results” from US and German air defence systems.

Russia reported it had shot down a drone heading for Moscow in the third such attack in a week, while officials on both sides said Ukraine had struck two bridges linking Crimea to the mainland.

In his nightly video address on Sunday, Mr Zelensky said advanced air defence systems, including the US-built Patriot and Germany’s IRIS-T, were proving “highly effective” and had “already yielded significant results.”

Icymi: Blood transfusion centre hit by Russian missiles

Monday 7 August 2023 03:01 , Holly Bancroft

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of committing another war crime against Ukraine after a blood transfusion centre was hit by missiles.

The president said there are fatalities and injuries after the strike in the town of Kupiansk. Kupiansk is a railway hub that is less than 10 miles from the frontline.

Zelensky says Ukraine needs ‘complete protection against terror’ as he calls for more air defence supplies

Monday 7 August 2023 01:22 , Holly Bancroft

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the country needs “complete protection against terror” as he calls on allies to supply air defence systems and missiles.

Speaking in a video posted on Twitter, he said: “The reponsible position of each partner in supplying air defence systems and missiles is very important. Complete protection against terror is needed here.”

China reportedly backs further Ukraine peace talks

Sunday 6 August 2023 23:58 , Holly Bancroft

China is reportedly in support of a third round of talks to find a framework for peace in Ukraine.

According to European officials, China has apparently signalled that it is willing to attend further international talks on resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

The progress happened at a Saudia Arabian forum this weekend, which focused on a 10-point peace plan proposed by Kyiv.

Although no concrete developments were made at the talks, the presence of Chinese representatives was seen as a win for Ukraine.

One European diplomat told the Financial Times that the “mere presence of China shows Russia is more and more isolated”.

Dozens of countries, including Brazil, Turkey, the US and the EU, attended the forum.

Germany has delivered only 10% of Leopard 1 tanks promised - reports

Sunday 6 August 2023 22:49 , Holly Bancroft

Germany has delivered only around 10 per cent of the Leopard 1 tanks that it promised to Ukraine, German newspaper Die Welt has reported.

In May the country agreed to a 2.7 billion-euro military aid package with Ukraine.

Die Welt, who has tracked the delivery of the military aid, reported that in the last two months Germany has sent Ukraine just 10 out of the 110 promised Leopard 1 tanks and 12 of 18 Gepard anti-aircraft tanks.

Pictured: Ukrainian president Zelensky attends celebration of air force

Sunday 6 August 2023 22:02 , Holly Bancroft

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a celebration of the Day of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, amid Russia's continued attack on the country.

Road bridge to Crimea destroyed by Ukrainian missile, Moscow-appointed head of Crimea says

Sunday 6 August 2023 20:35 , Holly Bancroft

A road bridge linking mainland Ukraine to Crimea was damaged by a Ukrainian missile strike, the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea has said.

Acting governor of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, another Moscow-appointee, was reported by Russian media as saying that the strike on the bridge involved an Anglo-French Storm Shadow missile. He did not provide any evidence for his claim however.

In June Ukraine struck the same bridge, which lies on a route used by the Russian military to move between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine that are under Russian control.

Saldo also said that another road link to the region, a small bridge across the Tonky Strait, has been shelled.

A gas pipeline which serves the area has also been damaged, he said, leaving more than 20,000 people without gas.

The attacks are making it increasingly hard to get on and off the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.

Reporting by agencies.

Overnight airstrikes kill three in Ukraine as Moscow airport halts flights after foiled drone attack

Sunday 6 August 2023 19:30 , Matt Drake

Three people have died during a night of air strikes and intense shelling across Ukraine, officials said Sunday, while Moscow‘s second-largest airport briefly suspended flights following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital.

Two people were killed and four more were injured following a Russian air strike in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, said the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a guided bomb had hit a blood transfusion center in the area’s Kupyan district late on August 5.

“This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. “Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life.”

Overnight airstrikes kill three in Ukraine as Moscow airport halts flights after foiled drone attack

Lukashenko opponents unite, plan 'New Belarus' passports

Sunday 6 August 2023 18:30 , Matt Drake

Exiled opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko met in Poland on Sunday, on the eve of the third anniversary of their unsuccessful post-election protests, to display unity and plan strategy including the issuance of “New Belarus” passports.

Set up in August 2022 by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the self-declared government-in exile has opened more than 20 alternative embassies and information centres abroad.

Tsikhanouskaya, 40, a former English teacher who fled after running against Lukashenko in a 2020 vote critics called rigged, said the opposition would seek international recognition for the alternative passports.

Speaking at a hotel in Warsaw to several hundred activists, including independent media and civic groups, Tsikhanouskaya urged opposition forces abroad to unite and support the creation of a “New Belarus” movement.

Ukraine calls Jeddah talks productive, Russia calls them doomed

Sunday 6 August 2023 17:30 , Matt Drake

A senior Ukrainian official said on Sunday that talks in Saudi Arabia to make headway towards a peaceful settlement of the war with Russia had been productive, but Moscow called the meeting a doomed attempt to swing the Global South behind Kyiv.

More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States, and European countries, but not Russia, are taking part in the Jeddah talks that are expected to end on Sunday without any written concluding statement.

Ukraine and its allies have said the talks are an attempt to secure broad international support for principles that Kyiv wants to be the basis for peace, including the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the return of all Ukrainian territory to its control.

President Volodymir Zelenskiy has said he wants a global summit to take place based on those principles later this year.

Eighteen months after Russia invaded Ukraine, any prospect of direct peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow appears remote.

Sunday 6 August 2023 16:58 , Matt Drake

Moscow unleashed a massive missile and drone barrage on western Ukraine Sunday, following through on its promise to retaliate for a Ukrainian attack on a Russian tanker.Russian and Ukrainian shelling across the country overnight killed in at least six people, officials said.Separately, Moscow’s second-largest airport briefly suspended flights early Sunday following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital.Ukraine‘s air force said Russia launched 70 attack drones and missiles, including cruise missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea and Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs.Serhiy Tyurin, deputy head of Ukraine’s Khmelnytsky region military administration, said three waves of missiles hit the Starokostiantyniv area, damaging several buildings and igniting a fire at a warehouse. The strike may have been intended for the city’s airfield, officials said.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the facilities of aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich in the Zaporizhzhia region had also come under attack.

Around 20,000 without gas in Kherson region following attacks, Russian official claims

Sunday 6 August 2023 16:30 , Matt Drake

Ukraine has been accused of launching a missile strike on several bridges linking mainland Ukraine to Crimea, the RIA news agency reported.

Kherson regional governor Vladimir Saldo said in his Telegram channel that another of the road links, a small bridge across the Tonky Strait linking the town of Henichesk with the narrow Arabat Spit on Crimea's northeast coast, had been shelled and that a civilian driver had been wounded. It was not clear whether traffic on the bridge had been suspended.

He said a gas pipeline running alongside the bridge serving Henichesk, the temporary administrative centre of the Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region, had also been damaged, leaving more than 20,000 people without gas.

The attacks are making it increasingly hard to get on and off the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014 and is of military importance to Moscow as well as a popular tourist destination for Russians.

Multiple explosions hit road bridges between Crimea and occupied Ukraine - according to reports

Sunday 6 August 2023 15:33 , Matt Drake

The Chonhar bridge that links Ukraine to Crimea was damaged by a Ukrainian missile strike on Sunday, the RIA news agency reported.

Ukraine previously struck the same bridge, one of a handful of links between Crimea and mainland Ukraine, in June.

According to the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, multiple explosions have been reported on critical road bridges.

Also hit was the Arabat Spit which is on Crimea's east coast and also the city of Henichesk, CNN reported.

Pictures of damage to unversity hit in Donetsk strike

Sunday 6 August 2023 14:45 , Sam Rkaina

Flames engulfed a university building’s wooden roof in Donetsk following Ukrainian shelling on Saturday, said an emergency official in the Russia-controlled city in eastern Ukraine.

“As a result of the latest attack on Donetsk, the first building of the University of Economics and Trade is on fire,” Alexei Kulemzin, the Russia-installed mayor, said on Telegram.

“We are using 12 water tanks, three ladders and 100 firefighters,” said Alexei Kostrubitsky, the Russia-installed emergency minister for the region that Moscow calls the Donetsk People’s Republic.

Moscow airport halts flights after foiled drone attack

Sunday 6 August 2023 14:15 , Sam Rkaina

Moscow’s second-largest airport briefly suspended flights following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital.

Two people were killed and four more were injured following a Russian air strike in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, said the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a guided bomb had hit a blood transfusion center in the area’s Kupyan district late on August 5.

“This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. “Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life.”

A woman in her eighties was also killed by Ukrainian shelling in Russian-held Donetsk, the city’s Moscow-appointed mayor Alexei Kulemzin said Sunday. Moscow’s Vnukovo airport located 15 kilometers (nine miles) southwest of the Russian capital briefly suspended flights Sunday morning after a drone was shot down in the airspace around the city.

The drone was destroyed by air defense systems in the Podolsk region of the Moscow suburbs, the Russian defense ministry said.

Authorities in Ukraine, which generally avoids commenting on attacks on Russian soil, didn’t say whether it launched the raid.

Flights were last halted at the airport on July 30, when two drones crashed into the Moscow City business district after being jammed by Russian air defenses.

Russia can ensure security in Black Sea, says deputy foreign ministry

Sunday 6 August 2023 13:50 , Sam Rkaina

Russia has military and technical capabilities to eliminate threats to security in the Black Sea, the TASS news agency quoted Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Sunday.

Ryabkov, who blamed the United States and Britain for the escalation of tensions, spoke days after Ukrainian sea drones attacked a Russian warship near the Russian port of Novorossiysk and a Russian tanker near Crimea.

Ukraine two months into gruelling counteroffensive

Sunday 6 August 2023 13:47 , Bel Trew in Ukraine

Ukraine is two months into a gruelling counteroffensive to try to push out Russian forces occupying almost a fifth of its territory in the south and east.

Progress has been slower than previous assaults as Russian forces have spent the last year building up entrenched defence lines.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that while Ukraine had recaptured half the territory that Russia had initially seized, this counteroffensive was in its early days and would take shape over “several months”.

Ukraine said on Friday Kyiv was working to take land near the shattered eastern city of Bakhmut.

This weekend’s intense bombardment came after Moscow vowed to “retaliate ” after a Ukrainian sea drone hit a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea and a major Russian sea port on Friday.

Both attacks reportedly halted marine traffic and vehicles using Russia’s Kerch Bridge which connects the Russian mainland to occupied Crimea.

Msoow’s Vnukovo airport, located around 15km southwest of Moscow, suspended flights briefly on Sunday morning after Russia claimed it shot down a drone in the airspace around the city.

Ukraine has not commented on the alleged targeting of Vnukovo airport. An official with Ukraine’s Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that it was behind the earlier attack on the sea tanker, which was transporting fuel for Russian forces.

Ukraine’s air force said on Telegram its air defence had destroyed 30 out of 40 cruise missiles and all 27 of the Shahed drones that Russia launched overnight Saturday. It also said Russia launched three Kinzhal hypersonic missiles but did not disclose any further information on them.

Russian occupied territory in Ukraine, Moscow-appointed authorities said a woman in her 80s was killed by Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk where a university building was also set alight.

Three killed in Russian revenge attacks

Sunday 6 August 2023 13:45 , Bel Trew in Ukraine

At least three people have been killed and a blood transfusion centre bombed in Ukraine, as Russia unleashed a wave of intense drone and missile strikes after vowing to retaliate for a Ukrainian hit on Russian tankers in the Black Sea.

Moscow’s second-largest airport also briefly suspended flights Sunday morning following what the Kremlin said was a foiled Ukrainian drone attack. The Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed publicly whether they were behind either raid.

For most of the weekend, air sirens blared across Kyiv, and regions, from the south to the west, as Russia launched one of its heaviest and most widespread aerial bombardments in weeks.

The Ukrainian air force said Sunday that in total Russian forces had launched 70 Iranian-made Shahed drones, as well as cruise and hypersonic missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea.

Russian shelling in the northern region of Kharkiv also killed three people.

Russia says Western bid to get Global South to back Ukraine is doomed

Sunday 6 August 2023 13:19 , Sam Rkaina

Moscow has said that weekend talks in Saudi Arabia including the U.S., China and India aiming to establish principles for a peaceful end to Russia’s war in Ukraine were a doomed Western attempt to align the Global South behind Kyiv.

Senior officials from some 40 countries were attending the two-day meeting, part of a push by Ukraine to build support beyond its core Western backers among countries that have been reluctant to take sides in the conflict. Russia was not invited.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by the state news agency TASS calling the meeting “a reflection of the West’s attempt to continue futile, doomed efforts to mobilise the international community, and more precisely, the Global South, even if not entirely, in support of the so-called Zelenskyi formula, which is doomed and untenable from the outset”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday he hoped the initiative would lead to a peace summit of leaders from around the world this autumn to endorse principles for a settlement based on his own 10-point formula.

At its heart is a withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Russia can ensure security in Black Sea, says deputy foreign ministry

Sunday 6 August 2023 12:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia has military and technical capabilities to eliminate threats to security in the Black Sea, the TASS news agency quoted Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Sunday.

Ryabkov, who blamed the United States and Britain for the escalation of tensions, spoke days after Ukrainian sea drones attacked a Russian warship near the Russian port of Novorossiysk and a Russian tanker near Crimea.

What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know

Sunday 6 August 2023 11:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

In a rare interview the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, has spoken to Independent TV about her work rebuilding Ukraine in the middle of war, the pressures on her family and concerns for the future of her country.

From the presidential palace, she told The Independent’s Bel Trew about the need to reconstruct cities despite the fighting raging on, about building cutting-edge facilities to treat the country’s’ war-wounded and fighting stigma on trauma around the country.

Watch the full interview on Independent TV, across mobile and connected TV from Monday 7 August.

What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know

Three killed in a night of attacks across Ukraine

Sunday 6 August 2023 11:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Three people have died during a night of air strikes and intense shelling across Ukraine, officials said on Sunday, as Kyiv’s military exchanged fire with Russian occupation forces.

Two people were killed and four more were injured following a Russian air strike in Ukraine‘s Kharkiv region, said the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a guided bomb had hit a blood transfusion centre in the area’s Kupyan district late on Saturday.

“This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression,” Mr Zelensky wrote on social media. “Defeating terrorists is a matter of honour for everyone who values life.”

A woman in her 80s was also killed by Ukrainian shelling in the Russian-held Donetsk, the city’s Moscow-appointed mayor Alexei Kulemzin said on Sunday.

The attack also set alight the main building of the M Tugan-Baranovsky University of Economics and Trade, said the Moscow-installed head of the illegally annexed Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin.

Ukraine emblem raised to replace Soviet symbol on Kyiv's Motherland Monument

Sunday 6 August 2023 10:45 , Sam Rkaina

Russian retaliation threat sees up to 70 air assault weapons used overnight

Sunday 6 August 2023 10:29 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia launched a multi-wave overnight attack on Ukraine with 70 air-assault weapons including cruise and hypersonic missiles as well as Iranian-made drones, Kyiv’s Air Force said on Sunday, and at least 10 missiles appear to got through air defences.

Local media said a worker at a grain silo had been wounded in the overnight attack, which appeared to be focused on an area of western Ukraine, far from the front line.

“In total, in several waves of attacks, from the evening of Aug. 5 to the morning of Aug. 6, 2023, the enemy used 70 means of air assault weapons,” the Air Force said. “Information about Kinzhals is classified,” the Ukrainian military noted.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said people had been killed and wounded in an earlier hit to a blood transfusion centre in the town of Kupiansk, a railway hub fewer than 10 miles from the front in the eastern Kharkiv region.

Rescue workers were extinguishing a fire at the scene, he said on Saturday evening, describing the strike as a “war crime.” He did not say how many casualties there were.

Moscow mayor says hostile drone destroyed by air defences

Sunday 6 August 2023 10:14 , Sam Rkaina

A hostile drone was destroyed by air defences as it approached Moscow on Sunday, city mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Sobyanin wrote on messaging app Telegram that the drone approached Moscow around 11am (8am GMT).

Russia accused Ukraine of two drone attacks on its capital last week.

Moscow’s Vnukovo airport suspends flights

Sunday 6 August 2023 10:06 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Moscow’s Vnukovo airport suspended flights on Sunday, citing unspecified reasons outside of its control, the TASS news agency reported.

Vnukovo previously carried out similar suspensions when the Russian capital was attacked by drones last week.

Moment camera operator runs for safety during shelling in Donetsk

Sunday 6 August 2023 09:45 , Sam Rkaina

Russia used 70 air-assault weapons in overnight attack

Sunday 6 August 2023 09:20 , Sam Rkaina

Russia launched a multi-wave overnight attack on Ukraine, using 70 air-assault weapons, including cruise and hypersonic missiles and Iranian-made drones, Kyiv’s Air Force said on Sunday.

The Air Force - which is celebrated in a holiday on Sunday - said on the Telegram messaging channel that Ukraine’s air defence destroyed 30 out of 40 cruise missiles and all 27 of the Shahed drones that Russia launched overnight.

“In total, in several waves of attacks, from the evening of Aug. 5 to the morning of Aug. 6, 2023, the enemy used 70 means of air assault weapons,” the Air Force said.

It also said Russia launched three Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, but would not disclose further information on them.

It was not immediately clear whether there was any damage from the overnight attack or what happened to the 10 cruise missiles that were not shot down.

Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told the national Ukrainian broadcaster that one of the key targets for Russia’s overnight attack was the Khmelnytskiy region.

“Now, it is the Starokostiantyniv airfield that haunts the enemy,” Ihnat said.

Russia had earlier targeted the Starokostiantyniv military airfield in the Khmelnytskiy region at the end of July.

Russia's war with Ukraine has generated its own fog, and mis- and disinformation are everywhere

Sunday 6 August 2023 08:45 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. And far from the fighting, a related and just as disorienting miasma afflicts those who seek to understand what’s happening in the vast war.

Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians’ understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that can’t be confirmed — and stay quiet about defeats.

None of this is unique to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Any nation at war bends the truth — to boost morale on the home front, to rally support from its allies, to try to persuade its detractors to change their stance.

But Europe’s largest land war in decades — and the biggest one since the dawn of the digital age — is taking place in a superheated information space. And modern communications technology, theoretically a force for improving public knowledge, tends to multiply the confusion because deceptions and falsehoods reach audiences instantly.

Russia's war with Ukraine has generated its own fog, and mis- and disinformation are everywhere

Inside Russia’s torture chambers as investigators warn Kherson cells ‘tip of iceberg’

Sunday 6 August 2023 08:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Harrowing new accounts of Ukrainians being tortured during Russia’s eight-month occupation of Kherson are “just the tip of the iceberg”, an international team investigating the alleged war crimes has warned.

The acts described by those detained in dozens of makeshift detention centres – including the use of sexual violence as a common tactic among Russian guards, and genital electrocution – are “evocative of genocide”, the team of lawyers and prosecutors said this week.

The UN’s special rapporteur on torture, Dr Alice Jill Edwards, told The Independent that similarities in the accounts of victims across several different regions of Ukraine “expose a deeper concern that torture and intimidation are a policy and strategy of the Russian state”.

Inside Russia’s torture chambers as investigators warn Kherson ‘tip of iceberg’

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Sunday 6 August 2023 08:05 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage.

The Kremlin, in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin’s spurious war to “de-Nazify” Russia’s neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries.

Moscow is more likely to downplay its own (rarely offered) numbers – putting the official number at around 6,000 – and accuse its enemies of dishonestly briefing against it whenever outside estimates are offered that imply significant Russian losses.

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Russia destroys two drones over Bryansk region -local governor

Sunday 6 August 2023 07:39 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Russia‘s air defence system destroyed two aircraft-type drones over the Karachevskyi district in the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, governor of the Russian region that borders Ukraine, said on Sunday.

“There were no damages or casualties,” Bogomaz said on the Telegram channel.

It was not clear who launched the drones, and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russia-controlled territory in Ukraine.

Russian authorities say the Bryansk region - which borders both Ukraine and Belarus - has seen multiple attacks by Ukrainian forces and pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups in the 17 months since Russia launched its invasion on Ukraine.

Half of 30,000 Russian paratroopers fighting in Ukraine likely killed or wounded, says UK MoD

Sunday 6 August 2023 07:01 , Arpan Rai

At least 50 per cent of the 30,000 Russian paratroopers deployed in Ukraine last year have been killed or wounded, according to the figures shared by top Russian General, the British Ministry of Defence said today.

It pointed to the annual celebrations of Russia’s Airborne Forces (VDV) Day earlier this week on Wednesday which the ministry says were overshadowed by an “apparently unsanctioned disclosure of the scope of the casualties the elite force has suffered in Ukraine”.

“In a recorded address for VDV Day, the VDV’s Commander-in-Chief General Colonel Mikhail Teplinsky said that 8500 paratroopers had been wounded and later returned to duty or had refused to leave the front line at all,” the British MoD said in its latest intelligence update.

It added that the video was quickly deleted from the Russian MoD’s official channels and that General Teplinsky did not comment on how many troops had been killed or were too seriously wounded to return to duty.

“However, extrapolating Teplinksy’s figures endorses the assessment that at least 50 per cent of the 30,000 paratroopers who deployed to Ukraine in 2022 have been killed or wounded,” the ministry claimed.

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Sunday 6 August 2023 06:47 , Arpan Rai

Establishing accurate data on the number of military casualties sustained since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 is difficult for two reasons. The severity of the fighting on the ground and the fact that both sides are inclined to keep their cards close to their chests to avoid damaging morale – especially at a time when the war is entering a pivotal new stage.

The Kremlin, in particular, is unlikely to admit to high fatality rates among its troops because to do so would amount to a confession that Vladimir Putin’s spurious war to “de-Nazify” Russia’s neighbour state is not going according to plan and, in fact, represents a monumental miscalculation on the part of its leader, who is already under pressure at home over the attempted uprising by Wagner Group mercenaries.

Moscow is more likely to downplay its own (rarely offered) numbers – putting the official number at around 6,000 – and accuse its enemies of dishonestly briefing against it whenever outside estimates are offered that imply significant Russian losses.

How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?

Zelensky condemns Russian attack on blood transfusion centre

Sunday 6 August 2023 05:45 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned a Russian attack in the Kharkiv region which targeted a blood transfusion centre, leaving several dead and injured.

“Russia’s guided air bomb against a blood transfusion centre in Ukraine. This evening, the Kupiansk community in Kharkiv region. Dead and wounded are reported. My condolences! Our rescuers are extinguishing the fire,” Mr Zelensky said without mentioning the exact death toll.

“This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression. Beasts that destroy everything that simply allows to live. Defeating terrorists is a matter of honour for everyone who values life,” he said.

Inside Russia’s torture chambers as investigators warn Kherson cells ‘tip of iceberg’

Sunday 6 August 2023 05:05 , Arpan Rai

An international team investigating the alleged war crimes has warned that the harrowing new accounts of Ukrainians being tortured during Russia’s eight-month occupation of Kherson are “just the tip of the iceberg”.

The acts described by those detained in dozens of makeshift detention centres – including the use of sexual violence as a common tactic among Russian guards, and genital electrocution – are “evocative of genocide”, the team of lawyers and prosecutors said this week.

The UN’s special rapporteur on torture, Dr Alice Jill Edwards, told The Independent that similarities in the accounts of victims across several different regions of Ukraine “expose a deeper concern that torture and intimidation are a policy and strategy of the Russian state”.

Andy Gregory reports:

Inside Russia’s torture chambers as investigators warn Kherson ‘tip of iceberg’

Russia vows to punish Ukraine for attack near Crimean Bridge

Sunday 6 August 2023 04:37 , Arpan Rai

Russia has vowed to punish Ukraine for using a sea drone to attack a civilian tanker near the Kerch Strait in what it said was a “terrorist act” that threatened the lives of the crew and risked “a large-scale environmental disaster”.

“The Kyiv regime, meeting no condemnation from Western countries and international organisations, is actively applying new terrorist methods, this time in the waters of the Black Sea,” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

“There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished.”

Earlier yesterday, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev suggested Moscow would launch more strikes against Ukrainian ports in response to Kyiv’s attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea, and threatened to hand Ukraine “an ecological catastrophe”.

Officials on both sides confirmed a Ukrainian sea drone full of explosives had struck a Russian fuel tanker overnight on Friday near a bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea, the second such attack in 24 hours.

Blinken discusses Black Sea grain initiative with Turkish foreign minister, says State Department

Sunday 6 August 2023 04:04 , Arpan Rai

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a call yesterday with Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan, discussed the Black Sea grain initiative, peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Sweden’s entry into Nato, the State Department said.

In a statement, Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the State Department, conveyed that Secretary Blinken expressed gratitude to Turkey for its prominent role in the Black Sea Grain Initiative. He also highlighted the pressing necessity to confront the Kremlin’s inhuman use of food as a weapon of war.

The “Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports” endorsed by the United Nations, was signed in July 2022 in Istanbul. This initiative aims to reestablish Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, even amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

“The secretary also thanked Turkiye for its commitment to send Sweden’s Nato accession protocol to the Turkish parliament for ratification,” Mr Miller added.

Russia official blames Ukraine cluster shells for Donetsk fire

Sunday 6 August 2023 03:42 , Arpan Rai

A university building in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine was up in flames late last night following Ukrainian shelling, the Russian-installed mayor of the city said.

“As a result of the latest attack on Donetsk, the first building of the university of economics and trade is on fire,” Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-installed mayor said on Telegram.

He said preliminary information indicated the cause of the fire was an attack by Ukrainian forces using cluster munitions. Reuters could not verify the details of his account.

Ukraine, which received supplies of cluster munitions from the United States last month, has vowed to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers.

Russia's war with Ukraine has generated its own fog, and mis- and disinformation are everywhere

Sunday 6 August 2023 03:00 , Joe Middleton

On the battlefields of Ukraine, the fog of war plagues soldiers. And far from the fighting, a related and just as disorienting miasma afflicts those who seek to understand what’s happening in the vast war.

Disinformation, misinformation and absent information all cloud civilians’ understanding. Officials from each side denounce devious plots being prepared by the enemy, which never materialize. They claim victories that can’t be confirmed — and stay quiet about defeats.

None of this is unique to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Any nation at war bends the truth — to boost morale on the home front, to rally support from its allies, to try to persuade its detractors to change their stance.

Russia's war with Ukraine has generated its own fog, and mis- and disinformation are everywhere