Ukraine wiped out a mass drone attack launched by Russia overnight, the country’s military said — just a day after it claimed to have destroyed six Russian military planes.
“At night the Russian occupiers attacked Ukraine once again, using 17 attack drones. The Ukrainian air defence forces destroyed all of them,” the Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook.
It comes after Kyiv attacked Russia’s Morozovsk military air base in the Rostov region, destroying six Russian warplanes, in one of its biggest drone attacks of the war, intelligence sources said.
Elsewhere, three civilians were killed in a Russian attack on the frontline village of Guliaipole in Ukraine‘s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region on Sunday morning, the local governor said.
“Two men and a woman died under the rubble of their own house, which was hit by a Russian shell,” Ivan Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app.
He said Russians shelled the village with a Grad self-propelled multiple rocket launcher, which also injured one person.
Key Points
-
Ukrainian military says it destroys all 17 Russian attack drones overnight
-
Ukraine could run out of air defence missiles, Zelensky warns
-
Russia carrying out ‘illegal chemical attacks’ on Ukrainian troops
-
Ukraine claims it destroyed Russian warplanes in one of its biggest drone attacks of the war
-
Top Ukrainian military chief’s stark warning to western allies about Putin
Ukrainian drones attack Zaporizhzhia nuclear station -TASS cites plant
12:09 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Sunday, damaging a truck parked near the station’s canteen, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing the plant authorities.
Russian officials again try to link the Moscow concert attack with Ukraine despite Kyiv’s denials
11:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian authorities on Friday again tried to link the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall to Ukraine, saying one of the detained suspects had photos on his phone depicting troops in camouflage uniforms with the Ukrainian flag.
Story continues
Ever since the March 22 mass shooting and fire at the Crocus City Hall concert venue that killed 145 people, Russian officials have sought to blame Ukraine for the massacre, even though Kyiv has denied any involvement and an affiliate of the Islamic State claimed responsibility.
Authorities, including President Vladimir Putin, have provided no evidence for the link as they sought to shift the narrative from the failure by security services to prevent the attack.
Russian officials again try to link the Moscow concert attack with Ukraine despite Kyiv’s denials
Ukraine military chief’s chilling warning to the West about Russia’s threat
11:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia is ready to “swallow” Europe whole, a top Ukrainian commander has warned — less than two months after he led a costly evacuation from a key city on the eastern frontline.
Speaking to The Independent from an undisclosed location in Donetsk, deputy commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade, Maksym Zhorin, issued a troubling warning to Kyiv’s Western partners.
The West, he said, must urgently prepare. “Create serious defence systems that could counteract Russia because it will undoubtedly open its mouth and try to swallow the rest of Europe,” he warned.
Ukraine military chief’s chilling warning to the West about Russia’s threat
Royals targeted in Russia’s disinformation war with fake story about King Charles selling Highgrove
10:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Russian disinformation network has made a series of false claims about the British royal family in its ongoing information war with Ukraine.
Among the incorrect allegations being made by pro-Kremlin campaigners is the suggestion circulating on fake news sites that King Charles has sold his royal residence Highgrove House to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for £20m.
The bizarre report was initially made in a YouTube video that featured someone who claimed to be the estate agent behind the made-up sale. However, security experts told The Times the character, named Sam Murphy, appeared to be AI-generated.
Russia spreads fake news that King Charles sold Highgrove House to Ukraine
Ukraine energy system stable, no major power imports expected, ministry says
10:11 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The Ukrainian energy system, severely damaged by Russian missile attacks in recent weeks, is now almost completely stabilised and the energy ministry said on Sunday no major imports were expected.
Ukraine‘s electricity imports reached a record high at the end of March after a string of Russian missile strikes on critical infrastructure caused blackouts in many parts of the country.
Since March 22, Russian forces have been attacking Ukrainian thermal and hydropower stations as well as main networks on an almost daily basis, which has led to the blackouts.
“Ukraine‘s energy system is stable and balanced,” the ministry said in a statement.
It said power exports were expected at 115 megawatt hours (MWh) on Sunday while imports could total 1,179 Mwh.
National grid company chief Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytskyi told Reuters last week that Russian attacks had caused significant damage to the power system, but a total collapse was unlikely.
(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Ukrainian man who helped Russia target missile strike on pizzeria jailed for life
09:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Ukrainian man has been jailed for life for helping Russia target a missile strike on a pizzeria in the eastern city of Kramatorsk last year.
The 27 June attack on Ria Pizza killed 13 people, including novelist Victoria Amelina, and wounded 61. The attack also destroyed several nearby structures.
“A local resident was sentenced to life imprisonment for guiding the occupiers’ missile attack on the pizzeria in Kramatorsk,” the office of the war-torn country’s prosecutor general said on Wednesday.
Ukrainian man who helped Russia target missile strike on pizzeria jailed for life
Ukrainian military says it destroys all 17 Russian attack drones overnight
09:03 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukraine‘s forces destroyed all 17 attack drones launched by Russia overnight, the Ukrainian military said on Sunday.
“At night the Russian occupiers attacked Ukraine once again, using 17 attack drones. The Ukrainian air defence forces destroyed all of them,” the Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Three civilians killed in Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia region, Kyiv says
08:44 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Three civilians were killed in a Russian attack on the frontline village of Guliaipole in Ukraine‘s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region on Sunday morning, the local governor said.
“Two men and a woman died under the rubble of their own house, which was hit by a Russian shell,” Ivan Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app.
Fedorov said one more person was injured.
He said Russians shelled the village with a Grad self-propelled multiple rocket launcher.
Reuters could not independently verify the report.
The frontline Zaporizhzhia region is under constant Russian bombardment by rockets, drones and cannons.
Pro-Russian candidate wins Slovakia presidential election
08:00 , Vishwam Sankaran
Pro-Russian candidate Peter Pellegrini has been elected as Slovakia’s new president.
Mr Pellegrini’s election cements pro-Russian prime minister Robert Fico’s hold over the country.
Mr Fico’s coalition, which includes a party headed by Mr Pellegrini, has already halted Slovak official shipments of weapons for Ukraine.
The prime minister has also spoken about western influence in the war leading to Slavic nations killing each other.
However, Mr Pellegrini has held a more moderate stance than the prime minister.
“I will be a president who will support the government in its efforts for improving people’s lives. I will do everything for Slovakia to forever remain on the side of peace and not the side of war,” he said.
More on the presidential election results here
Russia-friendly populist wins Slovakia presidential election
Russia and West join forces to tackle trade in ‘blood diamonds’ despite feud over Moscow’s diamonds
07:30 , Alexander Butler
Russia and West join forces to tackle trade in ‘blood diamonds’ despite feud over Moscow’s diamonds
In Ukraine if Black Tulip can’t bring the bodies of loved ones home, no one can
06:30 , Alexander Butler
In Ukraine if Black Tulip can’t bring the bodies of loved ones home, no one can
At 75, is timid, hesitant Nato now showing its age?
05:30 , Alexander Butler
At 75, is timid, hesitant Nato now showing its age?
Russia’s use of prohibited chemical weapons is now ‘systemic,’ Ukraine says
04:30 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine says Russia’s use of weapons with prohibited chemicals has become “systemic.”
The command of Ukraine’s Support Forces has recorded 371 uses of munitions containing prohibited chemicals over the past month, many of which included grenades delivered via drones.
The Support Forces’ report noted that Russian troops used weapons banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention 1412 times over the past year.
“Such actions on the part of the Russian Federation are taking on systemic pattern, and this tendency only grows,” the report noted.
Thousands in Russia’s Orenburg forced to evacuate as ‘critical’ flooding causes dam burst
03:30 , Alexander Butler
Burst dam forces thousands in Russia’s Orenburg to evacuate
Ukrainian forces still control eastern town of Chasiv Yar, top general says
02:30 , Alexander Butler
Ukrainian forces are still in control of the town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine despite attempts by Russian troops to break through their defences, Commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Saturday.
Russia‘s RIA news agency on Friday cited an official as saying Russian forces had entered the suburbs of the town, which Moscow sees as an important staging point for Kyiv’s troops. Ukrainian military said the report was untrue. “Chasiv Yar remains under our control, and all enemy attempts to break through to the settlement have failed,” Syrskyi said on the Telegram messaging app on Saturday.
A rapid Russian advance on Chasiv Yar, a heavily fortified town with a pre-war population of 12,200 situated west of the ruined Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut, would be a grim setback for Kyiv.
Russian forces are inching forward in eastern Ukraine after capturing the bastion town of Avdiivka in February. Kyiv’s soldiers are trying to dig in, facing long-term shortages of artillery shells with U.S. aid stuck in Congress.
Finland to keep border with Russia closed until further notice
01:30 , Alexander Butler
Finland to keep border with Russia closed until further notice
Russian officials again try to link the Moscow concert attack with Ukraine despite Kyiv’s denials
Sunday 7 April 2024 00:30 , Alexander Butler
Russian officials again try to link the Moscow concert attack with Ukraine despite Kyiv’s denials
UK needs wartime defence spending in face of most dangerous time since Cold War, ex-civil service chief warns
Saturday 6 April 2024 23:30 , Alexander Butler
Britain must spend more on defence, warns former top civil servant
Ukraine could run out of air defence missiles, Zelensky warns
Saturday 6 April 2024 23:10 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine could run out of air defence missiles if Russia keeps up its intense long-range bombing campaign, Volodymyr Zelensky warned.
The Ukrainian leader’s starkest warning to date of the deteriorating situation faced by his country’s air defences follows weeks of Russian strikes on the energy infrastructure, towns and cities using a vast arsenal of missiles and drones.
“If they keep hitting [Ukraine] every day the way they have for the last month, we might run out of missiles, and the partners know it,” Zelenskiy said on Ukrainian television.
Ukraine military chief’s chilling warning to the West about Russia’s threat
Saturday 6 April 2024 22:30 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine military chief’s chilling warning to the West about Russia’s threat
US Secretary of State Blinken insists ‘Ukraine will become a member of Nat
Saturday 6 April 2024 21:30 , Alexander Butler
US Secretary of State Blinken insists ‘Ukraine will become a member of Nato’
At 75, is timid, hesitant Nato now showing its age?
Saturday 6 April 2024 20:30 , Alexander Butler
At 75, is timid, hesitant Nato now showing its age?
Royals targeted in Russia’s disinformation war with fake story about King Charles selling Highgrove
Saturday 6 April 2024 19:30 , Alexander Butler
Russia spreads fake news that King Charles sold Highgrove House to Ukraine
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed as Russia launches ‘double tap’ drone attack on Kharkiv
Saturday 6 April 2024 18:30 , Alexander Butler
‘Pure barbarity’: Rescuers killed in Russian ‘double tap’ drone attack on Kharkiv
Ukrainian man who helped Russia target missile strike on pizzeria jailed for life
Saturday 6 April 2024 18:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukrainian man who helped Russia target missile strike on pizzeria jailed for life
Russia trying to sabotage European railways, Czech minister warns
Saturday 6 April 2024 17:26 , Alexander Butler
Russia has made thousands of attempts to disrupt European rail networks in efforts to destabilise the EU and sabotage infrastructure, a Czech minister claimed.
Czech transport minister Martin Kupka told the Financial Times Moscow was suspected of having made “thousands of attempts to weaken our systems”.
The hacking campaign included attacks on signalling systems and on the networks of the Czech national railway operator Äeské dráhy, Kupka said.
US warns China of ‘significant consequences’ over Russia support
Saturday 6 April 2024 17:00 , Alexander Butler
The United States has warned of “significant consequences” if Chinese companies provide support for Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
The US Treasury said: “Secretary Yellen emphasised that companies, including those in the PRC, must not provide material support for Russia’s war against Ukraine and the significant consequences if they do so.”
China’s trade with Russia has more than doubled since 2020 from $108bn to $240bn last year, with business people flocking across the border to explore opportunities following western sanctions.
Beijing maintains it does not provide lethal support to Russia and that it is the west that is “adding fuel to the fire” of the conflict.
Ukraine military chief’s chilling warning to the West about Russia’s threat
Saturday 6 April 2024 16:23 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine military chief’s chilling warning to the West about Russia’s threat
Russia carrying out ‘illegal chemical attacks’ on Ukrainian troops, soldiers claim
Saturday 6 April 2024 15:31 , Alexander Butler
The Russian army is carrying out a systematic campaign of illegal chemical attacks on Ukrainian troops, soldiers have claimed.
A Ukrainian commander said their positions have been coming under daily attacks by drones dropping tear gas and other chemicals.
The use of such gas, known as CS and commonly used by riot police, is banned during wartime under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Ihor, the commander of a Ukrainian reconnaissance team who is deployed near the front-line city of Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast, told the Daily Telegraph: “Nearly every position in our area of the front was getting one or two gas grenades dropped on them a day.”
Tajikistan rejects Russian claim that Ukraine is recruiting its citizens
Saturday 6 April 2024 15:17 , Alexander Butler
Tajikistan’s foreign ministry on rejected a claim by a top Russian security official that Ukraine’s embassy in the Tajik capital was recruiting mercenaries to fight against Russia.
“We note that this assertion by the Russian official has no basis to it,” Russian news agencies quoted Tajik Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shokhin Samadi as saying.
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a top ally of President Vladimir Putin, said on Wednesday, without providing evidence, that “Ukrainian special services” were behind last month’s deadly concert shooting near Moscow and that the Ukrainian embassy in Tajikistan was recruiting fighters, state media reported.
Ukraine has denied having anything to do with the attack that killed at least 144 people, and the United States has said Islamic State militants bore sole responsibility.
UK needs wartime defence spending in face of most dangerous time since Cold War, ex-civil service chief warns
Saturday 6 April 2024 14:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Britain must ramp up its defence and aid spending and bolster its diplomatic and intelligence networks amid “the most dangerous period” since the Cold War, the UK’s formerly top civil servant has warned.
Writing in The Independent, former cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill urged the government to nearly double Britain’s defence spending to reach 4 per cent of GDP, and to restore the international aid budget to 0.7 per cent of national income, which was slashed by Boris Johnson in 2021.
And warning of the threat should Vladimir Putin prevail in his war on Ukraine, he called for Kyiv’s allies “to “upgrade defence industrial capacity to wartime levels”, “run our own factories 24/7” and buy weaponry and munitions for Ukraine, whether or not Congress funds the US to do so.
Britain must spend more on defence, warns former top civil servant
Finland to keep border with Russia closed until further notice
Saturday 6 April 2024 14:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Finland will extend the closure of its border crossing points with Russia beyond the current April 14 deadline “until further notice” due to a high risk of organized migration orchestrated by Moscow, the Finnish government said on Thursday.
The Finnish Interior Ministry said in a statement that the Nordic country’s national security and public order would come under serious threat if the estimated hundreds of third-country nationals were to continue to attempt to enter from Russia without proper documentation.
“Based on information provided by public authorities, the risk that instrumentalized migration (by Russia) will resume and expand as seen previously remains likely,” the ministry said.
Finland to keep border with Russia closed until further notice
Russia calls for investigation into ‘dangerous’ Transdniestria drone attack
Saturday 6 April 2024 13:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia on Saturday condemned as a provocation a drone attack on a military facility of pro-Russian separatists in Moldova’s breakaway Transdniestria region and called for an investigation.
A kamikaze drone hit a facility belonging to the separatist authority’s defence ministry six km (four miles) from the border with Ukraine, the region’s security ministry said on Friday.
Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sparked fears that Moscow might seek to sweep west through southern Ukraine all the way to Transdniestria, linking up with its garrison there. Those fears faded as Kyiv’s troops beat back Russian forces to the eastern side of the Dnipro river.
The nearest front lines lie around 200 km (125 miles) from eastern Moldova.
“We regard this incident as yet another provocation aimed at exacerbating the already tense situation around Transdniestria,” Russia‘s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
“We expect a thorough investigation into all the circumstances of what happened. We trust that those behind this reckless action will fully realize its dangerous consequences.”
Russian missile strike on Kharkiv kills six and wounds 11
Saturday 6 April 2024 12:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian forces attacked Ukraine with drones and missiles overnight, killing at least six people and wounding 11 more in Kharkiv, Ukraine‘s second largest city, local officials reported.
Governor of the Kharkiv region Oleh Syniehubov said missile strikes on the city damaged residential buildings, a petrol station, a kindergarten, a cafe, a shop and cars.
Overall, Russia fired 32 Iranian-made Shahed drones and six missiles at Ukraine overnight, according to the air force commander.
Ukrainian air defence forces shot down three cruise missiles and 28 drones, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk said in a statement.
“Russian killers continue to terrorise Ukrainians and attack Kharkiv and other peaceful cities,” he said.
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Russian officials again try to link the Moscow concert attack with Ukraine despite Kyiv’s denials
Saturday 6 April 2024 12:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian authorities on Friday again tried to link the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall to Ukraine, saying one of the detained suspects had photos on his phone depicting troops in camouflage uniforms with the Ukrainian flag.
Ever since the March 22 mass shooting and fire at the Crocus City Hall concert venue that killed 145 people, Russian officials have sought to blame Ukraine for the massacre, even though Kyiv has denied any involvement and an affiliate of the Islamic State claimed responsibility.
Authorities, including President Vladimir Putin, have provided no evidence for the link as they sought to shift the narrative from the failure by security services to prevent the attack.
Russian officials again try to link the Moscow concert attack with Ukraine despite Kyiv’s denials
Ukrainian man who helped Russia target missile strike on pizzeria jailed for life
Saturday 6 April 2024 11:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Ukrainian man has been jailed for life for helping Russia target a missile strike on a pizzeria in the eastern city of Kramatorsk last year.
“A local resident was sentenced to life imprisonment for guiding the occupiers’ missile attack on the pizzeria in Kramatorsk,” the office of the war-torn country’s prosecutor general said on Wednesday.
The 27 June attack on Ria Pizza killed 13 people, including novelist Victoria Amelina, and wounded 61. The attack also destroyed several nearby structures.
Ukrainian man who helped Russia target missile strike on pizzeria jailed for life
Ukrainian forces still control eastern town of Chasiv Yar, top general says
Saturday 6 April 2024 10:50 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukrainian forces are still in control of the town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine despite attempts by Russian troops to break through their defences, Commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Saturday.
Russia‘s RIA news agency on Friday cited an official as saying Russian forces had entered the suburbs of the town, which Moscow sees as an important staging point for Kyiv’s troops. Ukrainian military said the report was untrue. “Chasiv Yar remains under our control, and all enemy attempts to break through to the settlement have failed,” Syrskyi said on the Telegram messaging app on Saturday.
A rapid Russian advance on Chasiv Yar, a heavily fortified town with a pre-war population of 12,200 situated west of the ruined Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut, would be a grim setback for Kyiv.
Russian forces are inching forward in eastern Ukraine after capturing the bastion town of Avdiivka in February. Kyiv’s soldiers are trying to dig in, facing long-term shortages of artillery shells with U.S. aid stuck in Congress.
Avdiivka fightback thwarted by Western weapon delays, military chief warns
Saturday 6 April 2024 10:06 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
During his interview, the first with Western media since the fall of the city, Maksym Zhorin was blunt about the reality of the eastern frontline while Western weapons supplies are delayed or simply being withheld — and he was frank about the future of European security.
A US military package worth roughly $60 billion has been in limbo in Washington for seven months, victim to squabbling politicians, while European partners have failed to send more than half of the million artillery shells they promised to Kyiv by this year, unable to agree on how to finance their production.
Hours after Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg announced a long-term proposal for a €100 billion military package to Ukraine this week — a step in the right direction for Kyiv — Mr Zhorin said that the pledge will help but it is, like all Western aid, coming too late.
Read more here.
Thousands in Russia’s Orenburg forced to evacuate as ‘critical’ flooding causes dam burst
Saturday 6 April 2024 09:29 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Thousands of people living in Russia’s Orenburg region have been forced to evacuate after severe flooding caused a dam to burst in the Ural river.
“Don’t wait for the situation to become threatening! Leave! You need to evacuate as quickly as possible,” the region’s mayor Sergei Salmin told residents, Reuters reported.
The situation in the city, about 1,500 km (930 miles) east of Moscow, is “critical” and some 300 houses have already been submerged, according to the mayor.
Burst dam forces thousands in Russia’s Orenburg to evacuate
‘Prepare for your own war’: Top Ukrainian military chief’s stark warning to western allies about Putin
Saturday 6 April 2024 09:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia is ready to “swallow” Europe whole, a top Ukrainian commander has warned — less than two months after he led a costly evacuation from a key city on the eastern frontline.
Speaking to The Independent from an undisclosed location in Donetsk, deputy commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade, Maksym Zhorin, issued a troubling warning to Kyiv’s Western partners.
The West, he said, must urgently prepare. “Create serious defence systems that could counteract Russia because it will undoubtedly open its mouth and try to swallow the rest of Europe,” he warned.
Top Ukrainian military chief sends warning to western allies about Russia
Russian descent vehicle lands in Kazakhstan with three astronauts
Saturday 6 April 2024 08:51 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Russian descent vehicle landed in Kazakhstan on Saturday, returning from the International Space station with astronauts from Russia, Belarus and the United States, live footage broadcast by Russia’s Roscosmos space agency showed.
Russian Oleg Novitsky and Belarusian Marina Vasilevskaya departed for the ISS last month on a Soyuz spacecraft. They returned to Earth on Saturday along with U.S. astronaut Loral O’Hara, who had been aboard the orbital station since September.
Four dead and 20 injured after Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia hit by Russian missiles
Saturday 6 April 2024 08:00 , Tara Cobham
Russia fired five missiles on Ukraine’s southern city of Zaporizhzhia on Friday, killing at least four people, injuring 20 and damaging residential buildings and industrial facilities, the regional governor said.
Two journalists covering the aftermath of the strikes were among those wounded in the city, which is near the frontline in the war with Russian forces.
«What marks today’s strikes: first, there were two missile strikes, and then, about 40 minutes later, there were other strikes at the same place — just as rescuers, police started working,» Ivan Fedorov said on national TV.
The local prosecutor’s office said 20 people were wounded. They included a nine-year old boy. Four were in hospital in grave condition.
Fedorov said at least three apartment blocks, 10 private houses, shops and an unidentified industrial facility were damaged.
Emergency crews encountered the body of a victim lying next to a pool of blood. At least two cars in the street were engulfed in flames.
Images shared by Fedorov and the interior ministry, captured shattered windows of a cafe and a small shop.
Ukraine’s air force issued a ballistic missile raid alert for the region, part of which is occupied by Russia. Moscow has recently stepped up usage of ballistic missiles that are harder to intercept.
Emergency workers carry an injured woman at the site of a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia on Friday (REUTERS)
Zelensky marks second anniversary of Russian troops leaving Chernihiv
Saturday 6 April 2024 07:00 , Jane Dalton
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky inspected new fortifications for servicemen near the Belarusian border in the Chernihiv region, on the second anniversary of the Russian army fleeing the Chernihiv, Sumy and Kyiv regions.
Zelensky meets military leaders (via Reuters)
He posted on social media: “The Chernihiv region, like all of our border areas, is subjected to constant Russian humiliation: airstrikes and terror.
“The border areas of the Chernihiv region are home to 15,000 people who are constantly subjected to strikes.
“Over the course of the past year, Russian terrorists fired 15,000 shells at them.
“They have no mercy. They try to get each person here and destroy all life.
“Everyone who defends our people in the Chernihiv region, our communities across Ukraine, and everyone in the world who supports Ukraine is a true defender of life. I am grateful to all such people.”
MSF condemns missile attack on its office
Saturday 6 April 2024 06:40 , Vishwam Sankaran
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has condemned a missile attack on its office building in Pokrovsk yesterday in Donetsk oblast.
The building was completely destroyed, injuring five, including MSF’s security staff, the humanitarian organisation said.
“This act of violence against a humanitarian organisation cannot be brushed off as just another casualty of war,” Vincenzo Porpiglia, emergency coordinator for MSF in Ukraine, said.
MSF said it has suspended its medical humanitarian activities in the Donetsk region temporarily.
“Attacks on any facility where humanitarian staff work not only jeopardise the safety of our staff, but also hinder the provision of lifesaving care to those in need,” Mr Porpiglia said.
Russia’s use of prohibited chemical weapons is now ‘systemic,’ Ukraine says
Saturday 6 April 2024 06:00 , Vishwam Sankaran
Ukraine says Russia’s use of weapons with prohibited chemicals has become “systemic.”
The command of Ukraine’s Support Forces has recorded 371 uses of munitions containing prohibited chemicals over the past month, many of which included grenades delivered via drones.
The Support Forces’ report noted that Russian troops used weapons banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention 1412 times over the past year.
“Such actions on the part of the Russian Federation are taking on systemic pattern, and this tendency only grows,” the report noted.
Six killed and 10 injured in latest Russian attack on Kharkiv
Saturday 6 April 2024 05:40 , Vishwam Sankaran
Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast earlier today has left 6 dead and at least 10 injured, according to the city’s mayor Ihor Terekhov.
The attack began at midnight, destroying several buildings and dormitories, private vehicles, as well as local businesses, Kyiv Independent reported.
The city has been under a constant near-daily barrage of missile attacks from Russian troops since the invasion began in February 2022.
Government estimates suggest over 20,000 buildings have been destroyed in Kharkiv since Russia’s invasion began.
In pictures: Attack on Zaporizhia
Saturday 6 April 2024 05:30 , Jane Dalton
Emergency workers carry an injured woman at the site of a Russian missile strike (Reuters)
Police officers help an injured woman (via Reuters)
Smoke rises after a Russian missile strike (Reuters)
