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☆ Thousands of Ukrainians have been sent to Russian prisons. Ukraine says they’re being held as bargaining chips
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

The Ukrainian government says there are thousands of people like Dima, civilians arrested by Russia who have been held in arbitrary detention for years. In the early weeks of the war, Russian troops took over their home, parking their tank in the garden and stealing anything of value. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia opened a second pre-trial detention facility in Simferopol, SIZO No. Detained civilians, however, are stuck in limbo. Mariana Checheliuk's photos were among those displayed by relatives of detained civilians at a recent protest in Kyiv.

Persons: Ukraine CNN — “, ”, Vasyl Khyliuk, Dmytro Khyliuk, Dima, –, Ivana Kottasova, Dmytro Lubinets, Lubinets, ” Achille Després, Cross, it’s, Vasyl, ” Vasyl, Halyna, “, Dmytro Khyliuk’s, Russia —, Khyliuk, Anastasiia, MIHR, Pantielieieva, CNN “ We’ve, ” Pantielieieva, Yulia Khrypun, Serhii, ’, Serhii Khrypun, Yulia, ” Yulia, Mariana Checheliuk, Mariana, Natalia Checheliuk, ” Natalia, ’ ” Natalia, Alexander Ermochenko, Mariana –, Mila, Natalia, Volodymyr, Zelensky, Mariana Checheliuk's Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Ukrainian Independent, Agency, Kyiv, CNN, Russian Federation, International Committee, Ukrainian, Organization for Security, Getty, Media Initiative, Human Rights, Penal, Russian Investigative Committee, Russian Prison Service, ICRC, Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Russian Federal Security Service, Russian National Guard, Directorate, General Staff, Serhii, Crimean Human Rights, Maxar Technologies, Volunteers, Russia, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Security Service of Ukraine, Ukraine’s, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Information Bureau, Ministry, “, Headquarters Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Dima, Ukrainian, Kozarovychi, Russia, Geneva, Europe, Novozybkov, Russia’s Bryansk, Russia’s Vladimir, Mordovia, Russian, Moscow, Bryansk, Nove, Tokmak, Melitopol, Olenivka, Kursk, Crimea, Kamensk, Russia’s Rostov, Yulia Khrypun Russia, Chonhar, Kherson, Crimean, Crimean Tatars, Simferopol, SIZO, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, ‘, Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, Bezimenne, Donetsk People’s Republic, Azovstal, Donetsk, Taganrog, Kamyshin, Russia’s Volgograd, Qatar

☆ ‘Eventually, one gets used to anything:’ How Ukrainians have learned to live with war
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Dnipro, Ukraine CNN —The residential block in Dnipro looked like someone had taken a huge bite out of it. Their presence was a sign of how Ukrainians have become used to the realities of living through a war. Tsyplionkova said she considered leaving Dnipro after the war started but found she simply couldn’t go: this is her city. Lydmila Lashko, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional organization of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, says two years of war have forced Ukrainians to get used to its brutal realities. “But eventually one gets used to everything.”Some 4.8 million Ukrainians are officially registered as internally displaced people, according to data from Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy.

Persons: Yevhenia Tsyplionkova, Tsyplionkova, “, Ivana Kottasová, CNN Tsyplionkova, ”, Lydmila Lashko, ” Lashko, Lashko, They’ve, Zhanna Vedmedieva, ” Vedmedieva, Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksandr Savchenko, Ivana Kottasova, Yulia Murashkina, Murashkina, Ihor Omelchenko, wasn’t, Omelchenko, ” Omelchenko, Vedmedieva Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Russian, Ukrainian Railways, CNN, Ukrainian Red Cross Society, Dnipro, Ukraine’s Ministry of Social, Donetsk People’s, United Nations Human Rights Locations: Dnipro, Ukraine, Iranian, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian, Demydiv, Kyiv, Donetsk, Kreminna, Severodonetsk, Luhansk, Russia, Russian, Dmytrivka, Novomykhailivka, Donetsk People’s Republic, Mariinka, France, Havriushyna

☆ Russian military blogger Igor Girkin sentenced to four years in prison on extremism charges
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Igor Girkin, a prominent Russian pro-war blogger who criticized President Vladimir Putin’s handling of the war on Ukraine, has been found guilty on extremism charges and sentenced to four years in prison by a Moscow court. Moscow City Court convicted Girkin, also known under his pseudonym, Strelkov, of inciting extremism – a charge he denied. Girkin was an influential blogger and critic of Putin. The court in 2022 found Girkin guilty of mass murder for his role in the incident and he was sentenced in absentia to life in prison. According to the court, Girkin participated in the conflicts in Chechnya, Transnistria and Bosnia.

Persons: Igor Girkin, Vladimir Putin’s, Girkin, Strelkov, Putin, Wagner, Natalia Kolesnikova, ” Organizations: CNN, Court, Federal Security Service, Malaysia Airlines Flight, Getty, Angry Patriots Club, Reuters, Donetsk People’s, DPR Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, Crimea, Donbas, Russia, AFP, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, Netherlands, Chechnya, Transnistria, Bosnia

☆ At least 18 killed and 13 injured in Ukrainian strikes on Russian-controlled Donetsk
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Darya Tarasova | Teele Rebane | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —At least 18 people were killed and 13 were injured by shelling near a market in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, officials say. He cautioned that the number of dead and injured was still being updated. Donetsk is one of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow said in 2022 it would recognize as Russian territory – an annexation process which is illegal under international law. The region, which is partially but not fully controlled by Russian forces, is on the frontline of fighting in the east. Earlier this month, 11 people including five children were killed in Russian S-300 missile strikes in the region, according to the local military administration; after which, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “Russia must feel - and always feel - that none of these strikes will be without consequences for the terrorist state.”

Persons: Denis Pushilin, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Organizations: CNN, Sunday, Russian Locations: Russian, Donetsk, Ukraine, Donetsk People’s Republic, Moscow, Russia

CNN —Russia has foiled at least 20 Ukrainian drone attacks over the past day, including on the capital, Moscow, officials said Sunday, a day after it launched its largest drone attack against the Ukrainian capital. According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, 11 drones were destroyed over the territories of Moscow, Tula, Kaluga and Bryansk oblasts over Saturday night, adding later on Sunday that nine more were also destroyed over the same regions. A municipal service worker sweeps up debris on the playground of a drone-damaged preschool in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 25, 2023. Global Images Ukraine/Global Images Ukraine/Getty ImagesThe attacks follow Russia’s largest drone attack against Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv since the start of its full-scale invasion, according to local officials. A Telegram post from Ukraine’s Air Force said it had intercepted 71 Shahed drones across six regions of Ukraine, with the vast majority in Kyiv region.

Persons: Sergey Sobyanin, Alexey Dyumin, Denis Pushilin, ” Pushilin Organizations: CNN, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Moscow, Donetsk People’s, DPR, Ukraine’s Air Force, Kyiv Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Moscow, Tula, Kaluga, Bryansk, Russian, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, Azov, a.m, Solomianskyi, Kyiv, Ukraine

☆ Russia parades Ukrainian war prisoners as ‘volunteers’ for its army in apparent violation of international law
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Anna Chernova | Yulia Kesaieva | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A group of former Ukrainian servicemen, including prisoners of war, have “volunteered” to fight on the front lines for Russia, Moscow’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti has claimed, in a potential violation of international law. The Washington-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), citing Russian state media, said in late October that Russia had “recruited” 70 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) from various penal colonies. Coercing POWs to serve in the Russian forces would be a violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which have been adopted by all nations, according to the International Red Cross. “Russian authorities have likely coerced Ukrainian prisoners of war into joining a ‘volunteer’ formation that will fight in Ukraine, which would constitute an apparent violation of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War,” the ISW said. Russia and Ukraine remain locked in battle as the war enters a third winter with neither country’s forces establishing the upper hand.

Persons: ”, –, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, ” Khmelnitsky, “, Volodymyr Zelensky, Valery Zaluzhny Organizations: CNN, Novosti, RIA Novosti, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Donetsk People’s, Cross, Geneva Convention Locations: Russia, Moscow’s, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, Ukraine’s, The Washington, Russian, Geneva

☆ Ukrainian family of nine was shot dead in their sleep in Russian-occupied Donetsk
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Yulia Kesaieva | Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Images from the Ukrainian Donetsk Region Prosecutor’s Office showed a horrific murder scene of multiple family members shot while in their beds, still tucked in each others arms, with blood spatters visible on the walls. Volnovakha has been occupied by Russian forces since March 2022 following Moscow’s brutal invasion of its neighbor the month before. The Ukrainian Donetsk Region Prosecutor’s Office said armed men in “military uniform demanded that the family living there vacate the house to accommodate a Russian army unit” earlier this month. Days later, gunmen returned and “shot all nine members of the family, who were already asleep at that time,” the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said. This month, Ukrainian forces have held out against a renewed Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, as Moscow’s forces pummel residential areas.

Persons: Volnovakha, “, ” Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Ukrainian, Ukrainian Donetsk Region Prosecutor’s, Russian, Russian Federation, Donetsk People’s Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Russian, Volnovakha, Ukrainian Donetsk Region, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic

“They just come and say ‘vote.’ So people vote,” Baska told CNN. “Here, when you buy a SIM card for your phone, you immediately get an SMS from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and United Russia Party,” Baska said. The text messages carry pro-Kremlin messaging, informing voters that “about 90% of voters are ready to vote for Yedianaya Rossiya (United Russia),” or that “United Russia is helping Zaporizhzhia region,” she added. Guerrilla activity by Ukrainian partisans has taken place but is more difficult to achieve now, Baska told CNN. ‘Nothing to do with democracy’Few residents in Melitopol are interested in the bogus elections taking place, Baska told CNN.

Persons: ”, Alexander Ermochenko, ” Baska, Yedianaya Rossiya, ’, Vladimir Putin’s, “, Jens Stoltenberg, Baska, Melitopol, …, Republic Denis Pushilin, Yuriy Sobolevskyi, ” Sobolevskyi Organizations: CNN, Communist, National Resistance Center, Ministry of Internal Affairs, United Russia Party, Kremlin, “, NRC, Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of, NATO, Yale Humanitarian Research, United Russia, Russian, Russian Guard Locations: Melitopol, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, United Russia, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Luhansk, Kyiv, of Europe, ”, Mariupol, Crimea, Republic

Special forces landed on the western shore of Crimea, near the settlements of Olenivka and Mayak, in a joint operation with the country’s Navy, according to Ukrainian Defense Intelligence. Russian-appointed authorities in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula which has been illegally occupied by Moscow’s forces since 2014, have not responded to the claims. The Ukrainians said Wednesday they had destroyed an S-400 missile defense battery in the area. Ukrainian Defense Intelligence released several videos purporting to show Ukrainian inflatables close to the Crimean coast in the darkness. The Russian Defense Ministry released cockpit video showing a jet fighter using cannon fire against the boats.

Persons: Wargonzo Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, Russian, country’s Navy, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Telegram, Donetsk People’s, 105th Regiment, DPR, Russian Defense Ministry Locations: Crimea, Kyiv, Olenivka, Ukrainian, Russian, Cape, Cape Tarkhankut, Odesa, ”, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, Crimean

CNN —The US has not seen indications that a missile downed the airplane Russian authorities say was carrying Wagner founder Yevgheny Prigozhin, according to four US officials. Another source familiar with the western intelligence echoed the US officials, saying there was no indication a missile was launched. Ryder also said that the Pentagon “doesn’t have any information to indicate right now” that the plane Prigozhin was on was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. Some US officials were not altogether surprised when the news broke on Russian state media about the plane crash. The officials did not say that US had confirmation that Prigozhin was on the plane.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgheny Prigozhin, it’s, Patrick Ryder, Defense Department’s, Prigozhin, “ I’m, ” Ryder, Ryder, Vladimir Putin, I’m, Joe Biden, “, Putin, ”, ” Putin, Bill Burns, Antony Blinken, ” Burns, ” Blinken Organizations: CNN, Officials, Embraer, Pentagon, Defense, Russia’s, Wednesday, Donetsk People’s, ”, Biden, Kremlin, CIA, “, NATO Locations: Moscow, Russian, Russia, FlightRadar24, St . Petersburg, Tver, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, Kremlin

CNN —The United Nations has said that Russian accounts of a rocket attack on a camp holding Ukrainian prisoners of war in July 2022 are not supported by the evidence. More than 50 Ukrainian prisoners were killed in the strike that year on a detention center in the town of Olenivka. An extensive CNN investigation published in August last year demonstrated that the Russian narrative that the camp had been hit by a Ukrainian HIMARS rocket did not stand up to scrutiny – a finding now supported by the findings by the UN Human Rights Commissioner (OHCHR). There is almost no chance that a HIMARS rocket caused the damage to the warehouse where the prisoners were being held.”Experts consulted by CNN discounted a HIMARS strike on Olenivka – but could not say definitively what killed and wounded so many prisoners. “Our office has met with the families of the victims and heard their pleas for truth and justice – and indeed, they have a right to truth, justice and reparations.

Persons: Andrey Lazarev, Igor Konashenkov, “, Volker Türk, –, ” Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UN Human Rights, Donetsk People’s, US, Russian Defense Ministry’s Zvezda, Russian Defense Ministry, ”, UN, Russian Federation, United, UN Human Locations: Olenivka, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, United Nations, Ukraine

CNN —Igor Girkin, a prominent Russian military blogger and former official in the separatist so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in Ukraine, has been arrested in Moscow, according to a message attributed to his wife and posted on his Telegram account and in Russian news reports. Girkin, also known by the nom de guerre Igor Strelkov, was reportedly taken from his apartment by Russian security officials Friday morning. Russian state news agency TASS said Reginskaya informed them about the extremism charge, and that law-enforcement agencies confirmed Girkin’s detention. Girkin is a former colonel in Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and served as defense minister in the DPR in eastern Ukraine. According to the court, Girkin participated in the conflicts in Chechnya, Transnistria and Bosnia.

Persons: Igor Girkin, Girkin, Igor Strelkov, ”, Miroslava, “, ” Reginskaya, Reginskaya Organizations: CNN, Donetsk People’s, Investigative, Federal Security Service, DPR, Malaysia Airlines Flight Locations: Russian, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, Ukraine, Moscow, Chechnya, Transnistria, Bosnia

The Russian-backed leader of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said on Telegram that “a fire occurred at a military training ground.” Askenov said residents of four surrounding villages – more than 2,000 people – were being evacuated. Smoke and flames billow over a military training ground following an explosion in the Kirovske district, Crimea, on July 19, 2023. Kyiv has not commented on Wednesday’s explosions at the Crimea training ground. Ukraine’s attack on the Crimea bridge dealt a logistical and symbolic blow to Moscow’s faltering military campaign. The $3.7 billion-dollar corridor, which is 12 miles long, is a critical artery for supplying the peninsula with both its daily needs and supplies for the Russian military, in addition to fuel and goods for civilians.

Persons: Sergey Aksyonov, ” Askenov, Vladimir Putin, Odesa, Volodymyr Zelensky, Hennadii Trukhanov, ”, Denis Pushilin Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Russian Grey Zone Telegram, Ukrainian, Shadow, Atesh, Ukrainian Air Force, Russian Defense Ministry, Monday, Russian, Presidential Press Service, Reuters Odesa, Facebook, Donetsk People’s, DPR, Ukraine’s Security Locations: Crimea, Stary Krym, Crimea’s Kirorvsky, Russian, Kirovske district, Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, Odesa, Iran, Moscow, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic

CNN —Russian tour operators are pleading with vacationers to Crimea not to make decisions “based on emotions,” as Ukraine’s strike on the Crimea bridge on Monday played havoc on travel between the occupied Ukrainian peninsula and Russia. Hundreds of cars were waiting Tuesday to cross the bridge both to and from Crimea, and Russian-backed officials were encouraging drivers to travel along the land route through occupied southern Ukraine. Or we shift their reservations in Crimea to later dates.”Road traffic over the Crimea bridge resumed overnight over one of the bridge’s four lanes, but there is heavy traffic. TASS reported that bus services from Rostov, in southern Russia, to Crimea had been restored – via southern Ukraine, rather than over the Crimea bridge. A tourist from the Russian city of Rostov told the Russian tourism website Tourdom about her experience driving to Crimea.

Persons: “, ” Elena Bazhenova, ”, ” Bazhenova, Multitour, ” Kizey, Viktor Korotaev, ” Denis Pushilin, ” Ilya Umansky Organizations: CNN, Russian Union of Tourist Industry, Tourists, AP Rail, Novosti, TASS, Russian Union of Travel Industry, Crimean Locations: Russian, Crimea, Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, Kerch, Russia’s Krasnodar, –, Krasnodar Territory, Moscow, Ukraine’s Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mariupol, Donetsk People’s Republic, Chonhar, Ukraine’s Kherson, Rostov, Alushta

In a series of Telegram posts on Friday, Prigozhin accused Russian forces of striking a Wagner military camp. “A huge amount of our fighters were killed,” he said, in a radical escalation of a longstanding feud with Russia’s military leaders. In a later Telegram post, Prigozhin said that his criticism of the Russian military leadership was a “march of justice” and not a coup. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Putin is aware of the situation and “all necessary measures are being taken,” according to state media RIA Novosti. In the interview, he claimed the ministry misled Russian President Putin entirely.

Persons: CNN —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, ”, ” Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin “, “, Dmitry Peskov, Putin, Russia’s, Sergey Surovikin, Prigozhin’s, Igor Strelkov, Tatyana Stanovaya, Mykhailo Podolyak, ’ Prigozhin, , Shoigu – Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Prigozhin's Press Service, –, Russian, Federal Security Service, PMC, Novosti, Social, State, Russia, Russian Ministry of Defense, Security, Defense, Twitter, Internet Research Agency, of Defense, Ministry of Defense, NATO Locations: Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, Donetsk People’s Republic, “, Putin’s Russia, St . Petersburg, NATO, Crimea

☆ Fact Check-No evidence photo of man in military fatigues and a Union Jack patch is a ‘NATO mercenary’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A photo of four men in military fatigues, including one who has a British Union Jack patch on his arm, has been falsely claimed online to be proof that NATO mercenaries are fighting in Ukraine. It’s captioned: “A group of NATO mercenaries in British uniforms were captured yesterday in Zaporozhye region, Russia. It’s also not unusual for Ukrainian soldiers to be seen in British military gear. Reuters also reported in 2022 that Ukrainian fighters were purchasing British military surplus here. The photo dates to May 2022 and shows Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Persons: British Union Jack, It’s, fatigues, Jens Stoltenberg, Read Organizations: NATO, Twitter, Facebook, Reuters, RIA, Donetsk People’s, UN Locations: British Union, Ukraine, Zaporozhye region, Russia, ”, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic

☆ Ukraine’s counteroffensive has been brutal and slow. But Kyiv has many cards left to play
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

And this is likely why we are seeing a slow – and at times incremental – start to this first phase of open operations. It has also been grueling, with Ukrainian losses reported around Mala Tokmachka, and now intense fighting near Pyatykhatky. Some estimates suggest only a quarter of Ukraine’s fresh units, bolstered by NATO training and supplies, are now in the fight. Ukrainian forces firing an S60 anti-aircraft canon placed on a truck on Juune 19, 2023. Kyiv needs to cement a change in the frontlines to validate the huge investment in its forces made by NATO.

Persons: –, Wojciech Grzedzinski, Rykove, recalibrations, Vladimir Putin, Velyka, Blahodatne, Brigade perilously, Igor Strelkov, Melitopol –, Kreminna, Ukraine’s, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Zalyuzhnyi, gridlock Organizations: CNN, 73rd Naval Special Operations Center, NATO, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Moscow, Kyiv, Brigade, Donetsk People’s Republic Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Rykove, Kherson, Bakhmut, Crimea, Russia, Kyiv, Moscow, Volnovakha, Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, Orikhiv, Mala Tokmachka, Pyatykhatky, Donetsk, Zherebyanki, Kamyanske, Dnipro, Melitopol, Azov, Kupyansk, Kharkiv, Russian

☆ Russian soldiers 'forced me to dig my own grave': US lawmakers hear accounts of Russian war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A 57-year-old Ukrainian woman from Kherson testified to US lawmakers that Russian forces beat her, threatened to rape her and forced her to dig her own grave. Lyubov’s story was one of two powerful and horrific testimonies shared with House Foreign Affairs Committee members at a hearing about Russian war crimes Wednesday. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, who also testified at the hearing, said his office registered around 80,000 incidents of potential war crimes, and to date has convicted 31 Russians for war crimes in Ukrainian courts. “These are more than war crimes. Roman was able to make his way back to Ukraine with the help of volunteers from the country, the representative said.

The Kremlin and Russia’s defence ministry didn’t respond to Reuters’ questions, including about alleged torture and unlawful detentions. Ukraine’s top war crimes prosecutor, Yuriy Belousov, said authorities have identified ten sites in the Kherson region used by Russian forces for unlawful detentions. Belousov added that hundreds of bodies of civilians had been found in other areas that Russian forces had withdrawn from. Some of the thousands of alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces could be escalated to overseas tribunals if they are deemed sufficiently serious. The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened an investigation into alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

☆ Dozens of Russian soldiers feared dead in Ukrainian strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A “significant number” of Russian soldiers were killed on New Year’s Eve when Ukrainian forces shelled a building housing conscripts in an occupied area of the country, according to officials. “A significant number of dead and wounded,” Bezsonov said in a Telegram post Sunday night. NBC News was unable to verify claims from either side, and Russian and Ukrainian officials were not immediately available for comment. Russian forces have also been pummeling cities across Ukraine in recent days, launching missile and drone attacks on key civilian infrastructure. People stand next to the site of a Russian attack in Kyiv on Monday.

CNN —Multiple explosions have been reported in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine, in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and in annexed Crimea – including at a Russian military barracks. Federov last month said Russia had turned Melitopol into “one giant military base.”“The Russian military is settling in local houses they seized, schools and kindergartens. The Ukrainian military has not yet confirmed or commented on the attack. The unofficial Crimean media portal “Krymskyi veter” said an explosion at a Russian military barracks in Sovietske had set the barracks on fire and there were dead and wounded. “In total, Russian terrorists used 15 Shahed drones against Odesa,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his daily address on Saturday.

☆ MH17 verdict: 2 Russians, 1 Ukrainian convicted of murders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A Dutch court on Thursday convicted two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian separatist in absentia of the murders of 298 people who died in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine. None of the defendants appeared for the trial that began in March 2020 and if they are convicted, it’s unlikely they will serve any sentence anytime soon. “The truth on the table — that is the most important thing,” said Anton Kotte, who lost his son, daughter-in-law and his 6-year-old grandson when MH17 was shot down. The most senior defendant convicted is Igor Girkin, a 51-year-old former colonel in Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB. Oleg Pulatovis the only one of the suspects who was acquited represented by defense lawyers at the trial.

CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens on Wednesday, a move that threatens to escalate his faltering invasion of Ukraine following a string of defeats that caused recriminations in Moscow. US President Joe Biden condemned the mobilization and the Kremlin’s planned votes, during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. “Putin claims he had to act because Russia was threatened, but no one threatened Russia – and no one other than Russia sought conflict,” Biden added. A billboard promoting contract army service, with the slogan "Serving Russia is a real job," in St. Petersburg. On Tuesday, Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, amended the law on military service, toughening the punishment for violation of military service duties – such as desertion and evasion from service – according to state news agency TASS.

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