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☆ Ukrainian orphans taste freedom after fleeing Russian occupation
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Stefaniia Bern | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"There was no ping pong in occupation, children don't even play soccer in the stadiums. Last month, their father finally died of AIDS, the same illness that killed their mother a decade ago, leaving them orphans. Moscow says it has gathered hundreds of thousands of orphans and vulnerable children there, taking them to Russia for their safety. Children whose parents die are the most urgent cases, because the Russian-installed occupation authorities will swiftly impose legal guardianship, said Save Ukraine's founder, Mykola Kuleba. Once they have Ukrainian passports sorted, they will go stay with their late father's ex-wife, now a refugee in Slovakia.

Persons: Ilona Pavliuk, Maksym, Ilona, didn't, tugging absentmindedly, haven't, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Mykola Kuleba, Peter Graff, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, KYIV, Valera, International Criminal Court, Save, Ukraine, Dnipro, Thomson Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Belarus, Vladyslav, Nova Kakhovka, Pishchane, Dnipro, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Hague, Save Ukraine, Slovakia, Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine dam blast a result of Russian invasion -UK minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Stefaniia Bern | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On a visit to Ukraine, Cleverly reaffirmed London's support for how Kyiv defends itself against the Russian invasion and said Britain would continue to help provide Ukraine with the weaponry it needs. Speaking to Reuters in Hrebelky, east of Kyiv, Cleverly said he had heard reports of an explosion at the Kakhovka dam in a Russian controlled-part of southern Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia traded blame, saying it was an intentional attack by the other's forces. "But it’s worth remembering that the only reason this is an issue at all is because of Russia’s unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine." He met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday to discuss how Britain could continue to best support Ukraine "from the battlefield to banking guarantees".

Persons: Development Affairs James, James, I’ve, ”, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Dmytro Kuleba, Elizabeth Piper, Timothy Heritage, Bernadette Baum Organizations: State, Foreign, Commonwealth, Development Affairs, Halo Trust, REUTERS, Ukraine Says Britain, British, Kyiv, Reuters, Ukraine, Stefaniia, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Hrebelky, Kyiv region, U.S, Britain, Kyiv, Russian, Russia, Russia's, Belgorod, United States, Stefaniia Bern

☆ Traitor next door? Fear stalks Kherson after Russian occupation ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Nonetheless, her garden walls in the Ukrainian city of Kherson are covered with graffiti marking her out as a Russian collaborator. Fear and suspicion stalk the streets of Kherson, a southern port that was occupied by Russian troops for over eight months before they were driven out by Ukrainian forces in November. More than 5,300 collaboration cases have been registered across the country, according to the prosecutor general's website. Cases of collaboration can point to the tough choices people have to make when trying to survive under occupation. He left the business to his workers, who had to register with the Russians and take Russian passports, and fears they could be prosecuted once the occupation ends.

☆ Ukraine fencers unite behind federation's boycott call
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Members of Ukraine's fencing team attend a training session at the Olympic training base, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoMarch 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine's fencers have welcomed their federation's decision to boycott international competitions featuring Russians and Belarusians, amid a row over whether athletes from the two latter countries should be allowed at next year's Olympics. The move prompted Ukraine's fencing federation (NFFU) to say it would boycott all events in which Russians and Belarusians were included, a message reinforced this week by NFFU president Mykhailo Illiashev. "We aren't giving up," said Ukrainian fencing coach and former Olympian Olha Leleiko. And, along with our friends, we will look for competitions in which Russian athletes do not participate."

[1/7] FILE PHOTO-Dmytro Zilko, a soldier and a patient of the clinic exercises on a new prosthesis with rehabilitation specialist Maria in a prosthetics clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 9, 2023. "Unfortunately, the number of patients has increased significantly," said Andrii Ovcharenko, who works with a team of medics and technicians at the "Without Limits" prosthetics clinic, one of almost 80 now operating in Ukraine. On a recent morning, Ovcharenko's Kyiv clinic assessed two soldiers for artificial legs and adjusted the new limb of a third. U.S. Army General Mark Milley estimated in November at least 100,000 Russian military casualties - killed or wounded, with "probably" the same for Ukraine. It plans to expand, depending on how the war unfolds but is not sure where to open new clinics.

It has also denied that its military commanders are aware of sexual violence by soldiers. When Reuters asked for the identities of both soldiers, prosecutors provided only the name of the younger man. Russia has also accused Ukrainian forces of war crimes, including the execution of 10 prisoners of war. A U.N. human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine has said that most of the dozens of sexual violence accusations pointed at the Russian military. So far, Ukrainian prosecutors have convicted 26 Russians of war crimes - some prisoners of war, some in absentia - of which one was for rape.

The four members of the Brotherhood Battalion later buried in Kyiv were Yurii Horovets, 34, Taras Karpiuk, 38, Maksym Mykhailov, 32 and Bohdan Liagov, 19. Ukrainian authorities did not comment on the raid then, and have subsequently denied involvement in attacks claimed by Ukrainian-based groups on Russian soil. "Our aim is to bring the war over to Russian territory. "When we are on Russian territory, we act autonomously," he added. Ukraine's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its relationship with the Brotherhood Battalion, called "Bratstvo" in Ukrainian, and the armed forces.

They were eventually forced to retreat, and in early April media images of the carnage they left behind shocked the world. The bodies of civilians littered pavements and roads, some with hands tied behind their backs. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of war crimes in Bucha, an allegation the Kremlin denies. You try to understand what that person is thinking; if that person can actually feel," she said in her home in Bucha. The mayor of Bucha has said more than 400 civilians were killed there by Russian forces, including dozens whose bodies lay untended for weeks on and alongside Yablunska, or Apple Street.

BUCHA, Ukraine/VILNIUS, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The brightly painted nails were what gave the identity of the body away. A year on from the full-scale invasion, her family and friends have parted ways, their lives upended by the conflict. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of war crimes in Bucha, an allegation the Kremlin denies. February 24 is the day when life was taken away from all Ukrainians, but we are trying to get it back." Additional reporting by Yiming Woo in Bucha; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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.

Kurpas expressed hope that the school year would run until the summer, but the wider situation is bleak: nearly half of Ukraine's power grid has been wrecked and Kyiv has said it expects further attacks. The official said that about 85% of Kyiv's pre-war school staff remained in the city, compared with 60% of pupils. As a result, schools have been working in hybrid mode both in person and online since the start of the academic year. [1/8] Students attend a lesson of English language in a classroom at a school, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 2, 2022. A small private school in north Kyiv has even established a heated and powered "hub" for parents who want to find refuge from cold, dark homes.

However, the patterns suggest that sexual violence “maybe even more frequent” in territories that were occupied for longer periods, he added, without providing evidence. Widespread or systematic sexual violence could amount to crimes against humanity, which are generally seen as more serious, legal specialists said. Moscow, which has said it is conducting a “special military operation" in Ukraine, has denied committing war crimes or targeting civilians. Evidence that sexual violence was planned could indicate it was part of a systematic attack or that some level of command was aware, said Kim Thuy Seelinger, an advisor to the ICC on sexual violence in conflict and a research associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s office said it has opened dozens of criminal cases involving sexual violence by members of the Russian armed forces against women, children and men.

REUTERS/Gleb GaranichHORENKA, Ukraine, Nov 21 (Reuters) - As they head into a cold winter, residents of a bombed-out Ukrainian village say they appreciate a warm bath in a mural painted by graffiti artist Banksy. The dirt of the Russian Federation...," Tetiana Reznychenko, 43, told Reuters as snow fell around her. The mural is one of one of seven that Banksy has confirmed painting in Ukraine. Reznychenko said she had given Banksy's team a mug of instant coffee in her apartment, as it was cold when the artist came to paint the mural. She has a wood stove in her apartment but no electricity, heating or running water as winter sets in.

[1/5] The first train from Kyiv to Kherson arrives after Russia's military retreat from the city, at the main train station in Kherson, Ukraine November 19, 2022. Ukrainian forces liberated Kherson from Russian occupation on Nov. 11 in what amounted to another major battlefield setback for Moscow. It had been the only regional capital captured by Russian forces since the Feb. 24 invasion. The event included a performance by Ukrainian rock singer Oleh Skrypka, with passengers in the crowd, including Ukrainian soldiers, singing along. The southeastern city of Mariupol, which was heavily damaged earlier this year and is still occupied by Russian forces, is among the other destinations.

☆ Ukrainian adventurer draws on camping skills to prepare for harsh winter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Stefaniia Bern | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian infrastructure has been hammered by Russian air strikes in recent weeks amid the full-scale Kremlin invasion launched on Feb. 24. Much of the equipment was gifted by her son, who is serving as a medic in the Ukrainian military. "I never intended to use a camping tent in Kyiv," she told Reuters from inside her living room in the Ukrainian capital, laughing as she demonstrated how to set up the accessory. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko recently told Ukrainian media the city was preparing for the prospect of total outages of power, heating, and running water. Reporting by Stefaniia Bern; writing by Dan Peleschuk; editing by Tom Balmforth and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Local residents queue for water after about 80 percent of the inhabitants of the Ukrainian capital were left without water supply according to the mayor, after a Russian missile attack, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 31, 2022. Shmyhal said hundreds of settlements lost power across Ukraine, despite the air force saying its air defences had knocked out 44 of 50 the missiles fired by Russia. Long queues formed for water in some parts of Kyiv after Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 80% of residents were left without water and local authorities said 350,000 homes in the capital were without electricity. In Kyiv, residents queuing for water were defiant. It says it has been hitting military and energy facilities, but many residential buildings have been damaged.

☆ Ukraine says world must stop Russia getting missiles from Iran
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Stefaniia Bern | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and cities since Oct. 10, using missiles and what Kyiv says are Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drones. Tehran denies supplying Shahed-136 drones to Moscow and the Kremlin denies its forces have used Iranian drones to attack Ukraine. "Ukraine currently doesn’t have effective air defence systems against ballistic missiles. Iran will likely supply those (to Russia), unless the world finds a way to stop it," Ihnat said. Ukraine has been aided by the delivery of sophisticated air defence systems from allies including the first of four IRIS-T air defence systems from Germany.

"Russia understood that Ukraine has a powerful energy system, and therefore ... attacked distribution substations, which connected (different) regions," Podolyak said. He also ruled out retaliatory strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. Power has been restored to more than 4,000 towns and villages since the strikes, Shmyhal said, but warned of difficult times ahead. "We are planning to make more candles and order more materials because of these blackouts," she said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Stefaniia Bern, Max Hunder, Jonathan Landay; writing by Matthias Williams.

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