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☆ Ukraine's female soldiers are fighting on two fronts — against Russians, and sexism within their ranks
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said last October that almost 43,000 women are currently serving in the military, a 40% increase since 2021, before Russia's full-scale invasion. Female combatants in Ukraine say the war is changing societal perceptions of a woman's strength, capabilities and worth, but change doesn't happen overnight. "At anything else, military women are no different from men ... [and] the more women there are who perform their duties well, the better the attitude towards military women becomes. Ukraine's defense ministry is also keen to highlight efforts it has made to level the playing field for female recruits. It's a far cry from 2021 when Ukrainian female troops were photographed practising for a parade wearing high heels with onlookers calling the policy sexist and idiotic.

Persons: Tsybukh, Olena Bilozerska, I'm, Bilozerska, Bilozeska, Olena, Metin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, —, It's, Drahaniuk, Yuliia Organizations: Ukrainian, Assault Brigade, Anadolu, Getty, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, CNBC, Medical Battalion, Anadolu Agency, Ukraine, Ministry of Defense Locations: Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Russia, Crimea, Donbas, Ukraine's, Donetsk, Ukrainian, Lviv, Soviet, Kyiv, Yuliia

☆ After Retreat, Ukraine Digs in to Repel New Russian Attacks in East
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

The Latest Photos From Ukraine View All 91 Images"The Ukrainian military has established itself on new lines of defence and is successfully repelling attempts by the Russian invaders to develop an offensive," Brigadier-General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi wrote on Telegram messenger. The capture of Avdiivka pushes Ukrainian forces further from the Russian-held bastion city of Donetsk, an important logistics hub used by Moscow to support its operations across partially-occupied eastern Ukraine, a region known as the Donbas. Serhiy Zgurets, director of the Kyiv-based Defence Express consultancy, predicted Russian forces would try to "straighten out" the front line around Mariinka and launch a fresh push around the town of Vuhledar, which is held by Kyiv. Pavel Mogila, commander of an armoured unit in a Russian militia force fighting for Ukraine, said they helped evacuate forces from the city using three vehicles. Moscow unilaterally declared it had annexed the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in 2022 despite not fully controlling any of them.

Persons: Pavel Polityuk, Tom Balmforth, Avdiivka's, Republicans scupper, rearm, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Dmytro Lykhoviy, Avdiivka, Serhiy Zgurets, Zgurets, Chasiv Yar, Vladimir Putin, Maksym Zhoryn, Pavel Mogila, Taran, Oleh, Putin, Yuliia Dysa, Peter Graff Organizations: Tom Balmforth KYIV, Kremlin, U.S, Republicans, Ukrainian, Defence Express, Kyiv, Third Assault Brigade, 110th Brigade Locations: Avdiivka, Russia, Bakhmut, Mariinka, Kyiv, Russian, Donetsk, Moscow, Ukraine, Vuhledar, Chasiv, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia

☆ Russian Missile Hits Apartments in Kharkiv Region, Killing Two - Police
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

(Reuters) - A Russian missile struck an apartment block in a village in Ukraine's northern Kharkiv region on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding at least four, police said, adding that four others might be buried under the rubble. The region and its capital suffer frequent Russian attacks. Police said that the S-300 missile system was likely used during the strike on the village of Velykyi Burluk, destroying eight of 16 flats in the building. Among the (wounded) victims – three men and a woman," police said. The Latest Photos From Ukraine View All 91 ImagesPhotos You Should See View All 22 Images(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Persons: Yuliia Dysa, Nick Macfie Organizations: Reuters, Police Locations: Russian, Ukraine's, Kharkiv, Velykyi

☆ Russia Uses Zircon Hypersonic Missile in Ukraine for First Time, Researchers Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - A preliminary analysis concluded that Russia hit Kyiv last week with the hypersonic Zircon missile, its first use in the nearly two-year-old war, the head of a Kyiv research institute said on Monday, presenting a new challenge to Ukraine's air defences. Oleksandr Ruvin, director of the Kyiv Scientific-Research Institute for Forensic Examinations, said on his Telegram channel that his institute completed a preliminary analysis of missile fragments from a Russian attack on Feb. 7. "In this case, we see elements that are characteristic of the 3M22 Zircon missile. Photos You Should See View All 22 ImagesRussia previously said it completed testing of the Zircon missile in June 2022, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the Zircon as part of a new generation of unrivalled arms systems. Russia conducts regular air strikes on Ukraine using an array of different long-range missiles and drones.

Persons: Oleksandr Ruvin, Vladimir Putin, Yuliia Dysa, Gareth Jones, Tom Balmforth, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Reuters, Kyiv Scientific, Research Institute, Forensic, Military Locations: Russia, Russian, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine Must Find Innovative Ways to Fight, New Commander Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Max HunderKYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's armed forces must adapt and find innovative ways to fight to achieve victory over Russian invaders, Kyiv's new armed forces chief said on Friday, in his first public remarks since taking command. Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, previously commander of ground forces, was promoted on Thursday to overall command of Ukraine's 800,000-strong armed forces, the biggest shakeup of top brass since the war began, coming at a challenging time. The cautious, pragmatic tone was notably short of the soaring rhetoric used by Ukrainian politicians throughout the war. The Latest Photos From Ukraine View All 91 ImagesDefence Minister Rustem Umerov said he had introduced Syrskyi to the General Staff, and promised "all possible support for the actions and decisions of the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine". In his announcement yesterday, Zelenskiy said Syrskyi would present his new team with the aim of "resetting" the military.

Persons: Max Hunder, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Syrskyi, Rustem Umerov, Umerov, Zelenskiy, Yuliia Dysa, Toby Chopra, Peter Graff Organizations: Max Hunder KYIV, General Staff, Armed Forces, Facebook Locations: Ukraine, United States, Avdiivka, Moscow, Bakhmut

☆ Zelenskiy Says EU Aid Approval Will Boost Ukraine's Economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday the EU's approval of an aid package to Ukraine would strengthen long-term economic and financial stability as the war with Russia approaches its third year. "It is very important that the decision was made by all 27 leaders, which once again proves strong EU unity," Zelenskiy said on the X social media platform. "Continued EU financial support for Ukraine will strengthen long-term economic and financial stability, which is no less important than military assistance and sanctions pressure on Russia," he said. Ukraine expects to receive the first tranche of 4.5 billion euros ($4.9 billion) from the EU facility in March, the economy ministry said. The Latest Photos From Ukraine View All 91 ImagesUkraine critically depends on financial support from its Western allies.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Serhiy Marchenko, Olena Harmash, Jon Boyle Organizations: Finance, Kyiv, European Union Locations: Ukraine, Russia

☆ Ukraine Says It Hits Airfield in Russia-Occupied Crimea
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - The Ukrainian military claimed on Wednesday to have struck a military air base in Russian-occupied Crimea, while Moscow said it had thwarted the attack by shooting down missiles but some debris had hit a military installation. In a post on Telegram, Ukraine's Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk thanked the military for conducting the operation, hitting Belbek airfield on the southwestern tip of the Crimea Peninsula near Russia's main naval base at Sevastopol. "Ukrainian aviators will definitely return to their home airfield," he said, posting a video from social media of the purported strike. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, Moscow thwarted an attack on Crimea and shot down 20 Ukrainian missiles - 17 over the Black Sea and three more over the peninsula. The ministry said fragments of Ukrainian missiles fell on the territory of a military unit in Lyubimovka, which is near the Belbek military air base.

Persons: Mykola Oleshchuk, Yuliia Dysa Organizations: Reuters, Ukrainian, Ukraine's Air Force, Russian Defence Ministry Locations: Crimea, Moscow, Russia's, Sevastopol, Ukrainian, Lyubimovka

☆ Russia and Ukraine Say They Have Completed a Prisoner Exchange
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine said on Wednesday they had completed a prisoner exchange, the first since the crash last week of a Russian military transport plane that Moscow says was carrying 65 Ukrainian soldiers ahead of a similar swap. The Russian Defence Ministry said each side had got 195 soldiers back and that its own soldiers would be flown to Moscow to receive medical and psychological treatment. In return, exactly 195 prisoners from the armed forces of Ukraine were handed over," the defence ministry said in a statement. Russia says Ukraine shot down the plane carrying prisoners for last week's swap with a ground-to-air missile and that all 74 people on board were killed. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied that it downed the plane, and has demanded proof of who was on board.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Andrew Osborn, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Russian Defence Ministry, United Arab Emirates, United, Reuters Moscow Locations: MOSCOW, KYIV, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, Kyiv, Mariupol, Kherson, Snake, United Arab Emirates

☆ Explainer-Embattled Ukraine Moves to Tighten Army Mobilisation Rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

(Reuters) - Ukraine's government has submitted an amended draft bill that would tighten the rules on army mobilisation for debate in parliament. Ukraine began mobilising civilians after declaring martial law in February 2022 when Russia invaded. MOBILISATION AGEThe amended bill proposes lowering the age people can be mobilised for combat duty to 25 from 27. Receiving consular services for things like passports would require citizens to present their military registration documents. The Defence Ministry introduced this change to make military registration fair and equal for all.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Zelenskiy, Yuliia Dysa, Tom Balmforth Organizations: Reuters, Army, Convicts, Defence Ministry Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Ukraine's ex-president says he was blocked from leaving country
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine's ex-President Petro Poroshenko said he had been stopped from leaving the country on Friday morning in what he described as a politically motivated bid to disrupt his work. The Ukrainian parliament's deputy speaker, Oleksandr Korniyenko, later confirmed he had cancelled Poroshenko's permission to leave the country. Poroshenko said he had planned to travel to Poland to help negotiate an end to a truckers' blockade and then to the United States to build support for Ukraine's war effort. "This is an anti-Ukrainian diversion," Poroshenko wrote. "It is not just the hampering of my entire team's diplomatic work, but unfortunately a blow to Ukraine's defence capabilities."

Persons: Petro Poroshenko, Gleb Garanich, Poroshenko, Oleksandr Korniyenko, Korniyenko, Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, Zelenskiy, Reportig, Dan Peleschuk, Max Hunder, Andrew Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Solidarity, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Poland, Ukrainian, Russian, United States

☆ Ukraine Says One Killed as Russia Launched 25 Drones Overnight
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Dec. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

KYIV (Reuters) - Russia launched 25 drone attacks on Ukraine overnight, killing one person and damaging a warehouse and farm equipment, the Ukrainian military said on Friday, adding that it had downed 18 of the drones, all but two of them in southern Ukraine. One civilian was killed and another injured in attacks on the southern Kherson region, where a culture centre was damaged, Ukraine's Southern Military Command said on the Telegram messenger app. In the neighbouring region of Mykolaiv, a warehouse, a hangar and agricultural machinery were damaged, it said. The Ukrainian Air Force said the drones had been launched from southwestern Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea, as well as two missiles from the occupied part of Kherson region. (Reporting by Dan Peleschuk, Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gareth Jones)

Persons: Dan Peleschuk, Yuliia, Tom Hogue, Gareth Jones Organizations: Southern Military Command, Ukrainian Air Force Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Russian, Crimea

☆ Ukraine's president visits troops on northeastern frontline
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy listens to Commander of the Ground Forces colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi as he visits a position of Ukrainian servicemen in the town of Kupiansk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine November 30, 2023. Ukrainian Presidential Press... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreKYIV, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has visited troops near the Kupiansk sector of the frontline in the country's northeast, he announced on social media on Thursday. Zelenskiy posted a video of him visiting a command post in the area alongside one of Ukraine's top generals. The president thanked the troops for their sacrifices. Moscow has made some small, incremental gains in the area since September, but the front lines have not moved significantly.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Zelenskiy, Max Hunder, Yuliia, Alex Richardson Organizations: Ground Forces, Presidential Press, Thomson Locations: Kupiansk, Ukraine, Kharkiv region, KYIV, Moscow

☆ Snowstorm kills eight in Ukraine and Moldova, hundreds of towns lose power
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said five people had died in southern Odesa region and suggested there might be others elsewhere. Schools were closed in both southern Ukraine and in Moldova. [1/5]Emergency workers release a van which is stuck in snow during a heavy snow storm in Odesa region, Ukraine in this handout picture released November 27, 2023. Central Kyiv and southern Odesa and Mykolaiv regions were the hardest hit by the power cuts, with 40,000 homes initially affected in Kyiv region, authorities said. Eight people suffered hypothermia and five were injured by falling trees in Odesa region, the emergency service said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ihor Klymenko, Dan Peleschuk, Dysa, Alexander Tanas, Tom Balmforth, Bernadette Baum, William Maclean, Tomasz Janowski, Ron Popeski Organizations: Schools, Press, State Emergency Service of Ukraine, REUTERS Acquire, Sunday, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, Moscow, Odesa, Odesa region, Central Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Ukraine's, Odessa, Chisinau

☆ Ukraine troops face 'difficult defence' in east as bitter cold sets in - Zelenskiy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A view shows a hospital heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Selydove, Donetsk region, Ukraine November 21, 2023. REUTERS/Alina Smutko/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 22 (Reuters) - Ukrainian troops face "difficult" defensive operations on parts of the eastern front with bitter winter cold setting in, but forces in the south are still conducting offensive actions, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday. Russian troops launched offensives on different sections of the front line in Ukraine's east this autumn, trying to advance on the devastated town of Avdiivka and in the northeast between the towns of Lyman and Kupiansk. After one such lull the day before, the head of the "Tavria" military command said on Wednesday that Russian troops had "dramatically increased" the number of assaults and airstrikes. Ukrainian forces continued the offensive on the southeastern Melitopol front, he added.

Persons: Alina Smutko, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Kupiansk, Zelenskiy, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Yuliia, Tom Balmforth, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Lyman, Kyiv, Staff, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Selydove, Donetsk region, Ukraine's, Avdiivka, Lyman, Bakhmut, Donetsk, Russia, Kyiv, Dnipro

[1/6] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with President of the European Council Charles Michel, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine November 21, 2023. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European Council chief Charles Michel warned on Tuesday that a European Union meeting next month to decide whether to begin formal accession talks for Kyiv would be difficult. I think this is the decision which will help Ukraine to believe that there is justice...," Zelenskiy told reporters. "All these are big challenges for everyone and already not only for Ukraine, but a challenge for preserving the unity of the European Union," he said. "It will be a difficult meeting but I do not intend to give up," Michel said, adding that the world needed a strong European Union to ensure stability and prosperity.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Charles Michel, Michel, Maia Sandu, Zelenskiy, Michel's, Sandu, Boris Pistorius, Tom Balmforth, Yuliia Dysa, Dan Peleschuk, Alexandra Hudson, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: European, Presidential Press Service, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Union, Zelenskiy, Moldovan, European Union, Kyiv, ACT AS ONE, EU, German, IRIS, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Moldova, Russia, Moscow, Soviet Moldova, Brussels, Soviet Moscow, Crimea

☆ Ukraine says Russian troops focusing on Bakhmut in the east
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The officials said Ukraine's troops had also achieved some success after crossing to the east bank of the Dnipro River in southern Kherson region. Russia has concentrated on Ukraine's eastern regions after failing to move on Kyiv in the early days after the February 2022 invasion. Volodymyr Fityo, a spokesperson for Ukrainian ground forces, said Russian troops focused attacks on Klishchiivka, a nearby village on heights retaken by Ukrainian forces in September. Russian accounts said Moscow's forces had beaten back more than 30 Ukrainian attacks in and around Bakhmut in the past week. Two drivers were killed when Russian forces shelled a private transport company parking lot in Kherson, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Persons: Volodymyr Fityo, Fityo, Serhiy Zgurets, Zgurets, Maksym Morozov, Espreso, Andriy Kovaliov, Oleksandr Prokudin, Serhiy Lysak, Dan Peleschuk, Yuliia, Ron Popeski, Stephen Coates Organizations: Kherson Regional, Administration, Handout, REUTERS, Rights, Russian Defence Ministry, Reuters, Interior Ministry, Thomson Locations: Kherson, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Dnipro, Russia, Kyiv, Donetsk, Ukrainian, Russian, Klishchiivka, Kupiansk, Ukraine's, Avdiivka, Kherson region, Dnipropetrovsk, Nikopol

☆ See the best evening gowns at the 2023 Miss Universe competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Alex Rees | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Benjamin Askinas/Courtesy Miss Universe Miss Bolivia, Estefany Rivero. Benjamin Askinas/Courtesy Miss Universe Miss Brazil, Maria Brechane. Benjamin Askinas/Courtesy Miss Universe Miss Bulgaria, Yuliia Pavlikova. Benjamin Askinas/Courtesy Miss Universe Miss Slovakia, Kinga Puhová Benjamin Askinas/Courtesy Miss Universe Miss South Africa, Bryoni Govender. The 2023 Miss Universe pageant also marks longtime Miss Universe Organization President Paula Shugart’s last year.

☆ Zelenskiy says Ukraine, US will hold military industry conference next month
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group ahead of a two-day NATO Defense Ministers Council at the alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 11, 2023. Olivier Matthys/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine and the United States will hold a military industry conference in December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday. "During my visit to Washington, President Biden and I agreed on specific steps we can take together. In October, Ukraine set up a joint defence venture with German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG (RHMG.DE) to service and repair Western weapons. In September, it hosted an international defence industry forum with more than 250 Western weapons producers.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Olivier Matthys, Kiyv, Zelenskiy, Biden, Yuliia Dysa, Louise Heavens, Heavens Organizations: Ukraine Defense Contact, NATO Defense, Ukrainian, Rheinmetall AG, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Brussels, Belgium, United States, Kyiv, Washington

The Ukrainian military retook the city and the area around it on the western bank of the Dnipro in November 2022. Kovalyov said Ukrainian troops were conducting sabotage and reconnaissance actions to discover and disrupt logistics for Russian ammunition and food supplies. He said the Russian military were mounting heavy resistance and had brought in reinforcements. The Ukrainian military said in its daily update that fighting was raging along the entire frontline from the south to the east, reporting 72 combat clashes in the last 24 hours. Vitalyi Barabash, head of Avdiivka's military administration, said on television that Russian forces were making a big push towards the town's industrial zone near a vast coke plant, and bringing in reinforcements.

Persons: Andriy Kovalyov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Kovalyov, Natalia Humeniuk, Vitalyi Barabash, Yuliia Dysa, Olena Harmash, Tom Balmforth, Gareth Jones, Andrew Heavens, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Ukrainian Marines, Russia, Ukrainian Armed Forces, YouTube, Ukrainian, ., Thomson Locations: KYIV, Kherson, Dnipro, Crimea, Russia, Ukraine, speedboats, Ukrainian, . Russian, Kyiv, Avdiivka, Moscow, Bakhmut, Donetsk

☆ Ukraine Says It Has Destroyed 15 Russian Naval Vessels in Black Sea During War
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's military said on Friday its operations had resulted in the destruction of a total of 15 Russian naval vessels in the Black Sea since the start of Russia's invasion and that 12 other vessels had been damaged. Ukraine has stepped up its attacks in the Black Sea and on Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed in 2014. Ukraine's military said its operations carried out in the Black Sea so far have included strikes on the Russian Black Sea Navy headquarters in Sevastopol and the shipyard in Kerch, which damaged a vessel that had not yet joined the fleet. In April 2022, shortly after the start of the war, Ukraine's forces said it hit the Moskva missile cruiser, flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, with domestically produced a Neptune anti-ship missile. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recently said Kyiv had managed to shift the balance of power in the Black Sea, seizing the initiative from Moscow which regards Crimea as strategically vital to its interests.

Persons: Dmytro Pletenchuk, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Yuliia Dysa, Gareth Jones Organizations: Kyiv, Reuters, Russian Black Sea Navy Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Russia, Kyiv, Novorossiysk, Russian, Sevastopol, Kerch, Moscow

File photo: Ukrainian sappers dig up a rocket of multiple launch system in a field, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kherson region, Ukraine November 9, 2023. REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Ukrainian troops have crossed the vast River Dnipro into occupied areas of Kherson region and are operating in small groups, Russia conceded on Wednesday, saying it had dispatched more troops to stop them. A Ukrainian military spokesperson added on Wednesday that Ukrainian troops were trying to push Russian forces back from the eastern bank of the river, which serves as a formidable natural barrier on the battlefield. COUNTEROFFENSIVE 'DEVELOPING'Russia has largely held Kyiv's counteroffensive at bay in the southeast, but an advance in occupied Kherson region could spread their defences thinner and ratchet up pressure. Russian troops seized Kherson region in the early days of their invasion, but retreated a year ago from the city of Kherson and other positions on the western side of the river.

Persons: Viacheslav, Vladimir Saldo, Natalia Humeniuk, Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, Andriy Yermak, Yermak, Tom Balmforth, Olena Harmash, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kherson region, Dnipro, Kherson, Russia, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Russian, Moscow, Krynky, United States

☆ Ukraine says agreed with Britain discounts on insurance for Black Sea exports
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Cayman Islands-flagged bulk carrier Puma leaves the sea port of Odesa, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Ukraine September 15, 2023. This will make the Black Sea corridor more accessible to a wider range of exporters," Shmyhal said during the government meeting, video of which was posted on the Telegram messaging platform. Ukraine's government expects a harvest of 79 million tons of grain and oilseeds in 2023, with its 2023/24 exportable surplus totalling about 50 million tons. Ukrainian grain exports have fallen to 9.8 million metric tons as of Nov. 6 in the 2023/24 July-June marketing season from 14.3 million tons a season earlier. Ukraine has traditionally shipped most of its exports through its deep water Black Sea ports.

Persons: Stringer, Denys Shmyhal, Shmyhal, Mykola Solsky, Solsky, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Pavel Polityuk, Sharon Singleton, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Puma, REUTERS, Rights, Kyiv, United Nations, Ukrainian, Thomson Locations: Cayman, Odesa, Ukraine, Britain, Russia, Liberia, Ukrainian

☆ Ukrainian troops have secured foothold in the south, senior official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 14 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces have secured a foothold on the east bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff said on Tuesday. Andriy Yermak's remarks were the first official acknowledgement that Ukrainian troops were established on the Dnipro's east bank in Kherson region. They have since shelled Kherson and other towns from new positions on the east bank. As Ukraine's four-month-old counteroffensive secures only incremental gains, Ukrainian officials have been cautious in describing the activities of their forces on the east bank. A military spokesperson this month said "not bad results" had been achieved on the east bank in forcing Russian troops to reposition.

Persons: Stringer, Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, Andriy Yermak's, Yermak, Ron Popeski, Angus MacSwan, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Ukraine's Defense Forces, Hudson Institute, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Dnipro, Ukraine, Prymorske, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson region, United States, Crimea, Kherson, Moscow, Russia

☆ Ukrainian politician suspected of treason says he has been detained
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky is seen during a parliament session in Kyiv, Ukraine November 13, 2019. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 14 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian lawmaker who was formally notified this week that he was suspected of treason for allegedly cooperating with Russia's military intelligence said on Wednesday a Kyiv court had ordered him detained for 60 days. Oleksandr Dubinsky, who is on a U.S. sanctions list, was told on Monday he was also suspected of spreading misinformation about Ukraine's political leadership, officials said. Ukraine's security service, the SBU, on Monday said on Telegram that a politician was under suspicion of treason, but did not name the suspect. "Dubinsky received a (notice of) suspicion of state treason.

Persons: Oleksandr Dubinsky, Gleb Garanich, Dubinsky, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Oleksiy Honcharenko, Honcharenko, SBU, Trump's, Joe Biden, Yuliia Dysa, Lidia Kelly, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, People, European Union, NATO, State, Bureau, Thomson Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukrainian, United States, U.S, Russian, Lincoln

☆ Ukraine says Russian missile hits civilian vessel in Black Sea, kills one
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - A Russian missile damaged a Liberia-flagged civilian vessel entering a Black Sea port in Odesa region, killing one and injuring four people, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday. After pulling out of the U.N.-brokered deal that guaranteed safe shipments of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, Russia has been repeatedly attacking Ukrainian port infrastructure. It added that one person was killed, three crew members, citizens of the Philippines, and one port employee were injured. The vessel was supposed to transport iron ore to China, Ukraine Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said. Kubrakov added that Russia carried out 21 targeted attacks on port infrastructure after withdrawing from the deal.

Persons: Oleksandr Kubrakov, Kubrakov, Yoruk Isik, Yuliia Dysa, Jonathan Saul, Andrew Cawthorne, Alistair Bell, Ron Popeski Organizations: Facebook, Bosphorus Observer, Reuters, United, Kyiv, Thomson Locations: Russian, Liberia, Odesa, Russia, Philippines, China, Ukraine, Ukrainian, United Nations, Turkey

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