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☆ Zelensky sacks bodyguard chief after foiled assassination plot
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the head of the the agency responsible for his protection after two of its officers were detained over an alleged assassination plot against him. The sacking of State Guard Service (UDO) chief Serhii Rud was revealed in a decree published on the presidential website. According to Ukrainian state media Ukrinform, Rud was appointed to be Zelensky’s top bodyguard in October 2019. Earlier this week it emerged that Ukraine had detained two security officials allegedly involved in a Russian plot to assassinate Zelensky. The prosecutor’s office said one of the suspects received two drones and ammunition from Russia’s state security service (FSB), which they intended to transfer to another accomplice to carry out an explosion.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, UDO, Serhii Rud, Rud, Zelensky, ”, General’s, Vasyl Maliuk, Kyrylo Organizations: CNN, State Guard Service, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Defence Intelligence Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Oleksandr Pielieshenko: Olympic weightlifter from Ukraine dies fighting in war with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Kevin Dotson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Weightlifter Oleksandr Pielieshenko, who competed for Ukraine at the 2016 Rio Olympics, has died while fighting in his country’s war with Russia, according to statements from the Ukraine Olympic Committee and the Ukraine Weightlifting Federation posted Monday. The 30-year-old Pielieshenko was a two-time European gold medalist, winning the 85kg weight class at the 2016 and 2017 European Weightlifting Championships. “We express our deepest condolences to the family and everyone who knew Oleksandr!” the Ukraine Weightlifting Federation said Monday in its statement. CNN has reached out to the Ukraine Olympic Committee and the Ukraine Weightlifting Federation for more information. Ukrainian national weightlifting coach Viktor Slobodianiuk said in a social media post: “War takes the best… Honored Master of Sports of Ukraine, two-time European champion, Olympic weightlifting contestant Oleksandr Pielieshenko heroically died defending Ukraine from invaders.

Persons: Oleksandr Pielieshenko, “, Ukraine Oleksandr Pielieshenko, ”, Oleksandr, Bright, Viktor Slobodianiuk Organizations: CNN, Ukraine Olympic Committee, Ukraine Weightlifting, Olympic, Armed Forces, Ukraine Weightlifting Federation, Sports Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian

☆ 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

☆ Paris 2024: Ukrainian athletes urged to avoid Russians and Belarusians at Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Radina Gigova | Svitlana Vlasova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Ukrainian athletes have been urged by the country’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) to avoid contact with Russians and Belarusians during the 2024 Olympics in Paris so that possible “provocative actions” can be prevented. Ukrainian athletes are also asked “not to communicate or discuss on social media with individual neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus” and not to share or respond to their content. Ukrainian athletes are also urged to refrain from “participating in press conferences, live broadcasts, interviews and other promotional events with individual neutral athletes of the Russian Federation and Belarus before and after the competition,” according to the recommendations. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in December that Russian and Belarusian athletes will only be eligible to compete as individual neutral athletes at this year’s Paris Games. Teams of Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be considered, while athletes who actively support the war against Ukraine will also be ineligible.

Persons: ”, “, Dmytro Kuleba, ” Kuleba, Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin Organizations: CNN, country’s, Olympic Committee, Ministry of Youth, Sports, Belarus ”, Russian Federation, Paris, Games, IOC Locations: Paris, Russia, Belarus, Belarusian, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine’s ‘Harry Potter castle’ goes up in flames as Russian missile attack kills 5
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Radina Gigova | Olga Voitovych | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —At least five people were killed and more than 30 injured in a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa on Monday, Ukrainian authorities say. Ukrainian authorities believe Russia used an Iskander ballistic missile and cluster munitions to carry out the attack. He added that “the investigation has grounds to believe” the Russian military used cluster munitions with the intention of inflicting large number of casualties. The use, transfer, and production of cluster munitions is prohibited by an international treaty known as the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Russia claims interceptMeanwhile, Russian officials say air defenses in Crimea succeeded in intercepting a major missile and drone attack by Ukraine.

Persons: Harry Potter, ”, Andriy Kostin, United States –, Sergey Aksyonov Organizations: CNN, Cluster Munitions, Kremlin, Army Tactical Missile Systems Locations: Russian, Odesa, Scottish, Russia, United States, Ukraine, Crimea

☆ Pope sparks anger after saying Ukraine should have the ‘courage of the white flag’ and negotiate
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Radina Gigova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Pope Francis has sparked anger after saying Ukraine should have the “courage of the white flag” and negotiate to end the war with Russia. In an interview with Swiss broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) published on Saturday, Francis was asked whether he thinks negotiations would “legitimize the stronger party.”“That is one interpretation,” he replied. We shall never raise any other flags,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a post on social media Sunday. People wave Ukrainian flags at St.Peter's square as Pope Francis addresses the crowd on Sunday. “How about, for balance, encouraging Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine,” Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Sunday in a post on X.

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, ”, Dmytro Kuleba, “, Alberto Pizzoli, Sviatoslav, unconquered, ” Father Sviatoslav, Matteo Bruni, Pope, Francis’s, Putin, Radosław Sikorski, Edgars Rinkēvičs, Alexandra Valkenburg Organizations: CNN, Radio Télévision Suisse, Getty, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Greek Catholic Church, Press, Vatican News, EU Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Swiss, Kyiv, “, AFP, New York, Ukrainian, “ Ukraine

☆ Ukrainian Armed Forces announce withdrawal from key town of Avdiivka
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukrainian Armed Forces have announced they are withdrawing from the key town of Avdiivka. He said Ukrainian soldiers “did everything possible to destroy the best Russian military units and inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment” in the area. Russia too had suffered immense losses in its offensive on Avdiivka, but Moscow appears to have calculated its numerical advantage made those losses worth it to take the symbolic victory. Lying just a few kilometers north of Donetsk airport, Avdiivka was captured by Russian forces in early 2015 after months of periodically heavy fighting. Its capture would have added value to Moscow, with Russia’s presidential election just a few weeks away.

Persons: Oleksandr Syrskyi, “, ”, Rustem Umerov, Avdiivka, Moscow’s crosshairs Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukraine’s Defense, Russian Locations: Avdiivka, Donetsk, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia

☆ How Ukraine seized the upper hand against Russia in the battle for the Black Sea
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Tim Lister | Victoria Butenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Ukraine has virtually no navy of its own, but technological innovation, audacity and Russian incompetence have given it the upper hand in much of the Black Sea. Rather than fold, the Ukrainians declared a unilateral “Black Sea Humanitarian Corridor” for merchant shipping and stepped up its use of maritime drones and missile attacks against Russia’s Black Sea fleet. One-third of the Black Sea fleet has been disabled or destroyed, and the remaining ships rarely venture into the western half of the sea. In August, Russia withdrew some of the Black Sea fleet from its headquarters in Sevastopol to relatively safer ports on the Russian coast. Russia is unlikely to be able to tilt the balance in the Black Sea back in its favor.

Persons: Caesar Kunikov, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Yoruk Isik, Russia’s, Zelensky, Dmytro Pletenchuk, ” Pletenchuk, ’ Organizations: CNN, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Reuters, Agriculture, UN, Initiative, NATO, Economy Ministry, Black Sea Initiative, Ukrainian, Russia, Maritime Autonomous Guard, Defense Intelligence, Drones, Both Defense Intelligence, Security Service, ’ AK, Black, Russian, Odesa, Montreux Convention – Locations: Crimea, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukrainian, Sevastopol, Washington, Novorossiysk, Sochi, ”, MAGURA, Krasnodar, Kerch, France, Snake, Odesa, Turkey, Black, Montreux, Moscow

☆ How Ukrainian drones powered by jet skis sunk Russian warship
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Joseph Ataman | Frederik Pleitgen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Near Odesa, Ukraine CNN —All it took was six sea drones, powered by jet skis, to fell a Russian guided missile ship last week, according to a rare interview with the secretive Ukrainian unit behind the attack. But the sinking of the Ivanovets is another victory in Ukraine’s campaign against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Controlled from afar via a Starlink connection, the drones can also be pre-programmed for the long journeys across the Black Sea. Ukrainian drone pilots drove six drones into the Russian warship, causing it to sink. At a demonstration of the drones on the Black Sea, CNN saw one drone – identical to those used against the Ivanovets – pull off tight turns at speed on autopilot.

Persons: GUR, Russians “, Kyrylo Budanov, “, Peter Rudden, ”, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, –, ‘, wasn’t, IVAN Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, CNN, Armed Forces, Fleet Locations: Odesa, Ukraine, Russian, Crimean, Crimea, Russia, Donuzlav, Saint Petersburg, Russians, Moskva, Ukrainian

CNN —Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it has discovered a mass corruption scheme in the purchase of weapons by the country’s military amounting to nearly $40 million (1.5 billion Ukrainian hryvnia). Ukraine’s Defense Ministry paid nearly all of the funds to arms supplier Lviv Arsenal, but the SBU said the ammunition was never received. We have no place for corrupt officials.” Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klymenkov said in a statement Saturday. Ukraine has been dogged by corruption scandals involving its defense ministry in recent years. In December, a senior Ukrainian defense ministry official was detained over allegations he had embezzled 1.5 billion hryvnia ($40 million) in a separate case involving an artillery shells contract.

Persons: SBU, Yurii Zbitnev, –, ”, Dmytro Klymenkov, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Oleksii Reznikov, Washington Organizations: CNN, Ukraine’s Security, Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Lviv Arsenal, European Union, Ministry of Defence, Defense, Officials Locations: Balkans, Ukraine, Ukrainian, United States, Kyiv

CNN —More than 20,000 trucks from Poland and Ukraine are blocked at three major border crossings as striking Polish drivers protest an EU deal that allows Ukrainian trucks unlimited access to the bloc. On Monday, Polish carriers began blocking the movement of trucks along the three largest border crossing points between the two countries: Korczowa-Krakowiec, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska and Dorohusk-Yahodyn, Ukrainian state media Ukrinform reported. Truck drivers from Ukraine have been exempt from seeking permits to cross the Polish border since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Polish drivers claim that Russian and Belarusian entities have been setting up Polish outfits, according to Reuters. According to the Ukrainian national broadcaster Suspilne, the organizers of the protest said they plan to let one truck per hour to go through the border.

Persons: Rava, Ukrinform, Serhii, ”, Poland Vasyl Zvarych, Suspilne Organizations: CNN, Ukraine’s Ministry of Restoration, Reuters, NATO, International Transport Association of, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry, EU, Ukraine’s, Ukrainian, Suspilne Locations: Poland, Ukraine, Polish, Russia, Europe, International Transport Association of Ukraine

☆ Ukraine says it killed Kremlin-backed politician in car bombing in occupied Luhansk
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Christian Edwards | Gul Tuysuz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Kyiv CNN —Ukraine said it was responsible for the assassination of a Russia-backed official with a car bomb in the occupied eastern city of Luhansk on Wednesday. Both Ukrainian and Russian authorities reported Filiponenko had been killed in a car bombing early Wednesday morning. Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence posted Filiponenko’s address and warned others: “All addresses of traitors and places of their service to terrorist Russia in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine are known! Defense Intelligence of Ukraine states that all war criminals and collaborators will receive a fair retribution!”There have been several assassination attempts against Russian-backed officials in occupied Ukraine. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, in the south of Ukraine, have been occupied by Russian forces since shortly after the full-scale invasion began in 2022.

Persons: Mikhail Filiponenko, Filiponenko, Russia ”, ”, Russian Liberal Democratic Party Filiponenko Mikhail Yuryevich, ” Filiponenko, “ Filiponenko, Stanislav Krasilnikov, LPR, Igor Kornet, Zaporizhzhia, Vladimir Putin’s Organizations: CNN —, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Russia’s, Russian Liberal Democratic Party, Defense Intelligence, Russian, CNN Locations: CNN — Ukraine, Russia, Luhansk, Luhansk People’s Republic, Russian, Kherson, Ukraine, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Moscow, Vladimir Putin’s United Russia

☆ Analysis: The number one takeaway from President Joe Biden's Oval Office address
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“I know these conflicts can seem far away, and it’s natural to ask – why does this matter to America?” Biden said. Biden’s decision to combine aid requests for Israel and Ukraine will trigger a fierce political clash in Washington. Hell no.”Polls show that Americans do not necessarily buy Biden’s position that the threats to Ukraine and Israel are the same. Biden’s address, with the familiar backdrop of US and presidential flags in the Oval Office felt like a throwback to an earlier age — when presidents would interrupt primetime on the handful of TV channels at a moment of national crisis. Like President Harry S. Truman, Biden’s trips to the bully pulpit are marked more for simple truculence than linguistic eloquence.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Biden, ” Biden, “, beseeched, ”, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Biden –, Trump, he’d, Putin, “ Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Sergei Lavrov, Israel, MAGA, Kevin McCarthy, CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez, –, Ohio Republican Sen, J.D, Vance, ” Vance, John F, Kennedy, Harry S, Truman Organizations: CNN, America, Trump Republicans, Hamas, Republican House, GOP, Ohio Republican, Trump, CBS Locations: America, Israel, Ukraine, Gaza, Russian, Russia, Washington, Afghanistan, Beijing, North Korea, Iran, Chicago, China, Ohio

☆ Boy killed in Kharkiv was asleep when Russian missile hit, Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Radina Gigova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A 10-year-old boy who was killed by Russia’s strike on the city of Kharkiv on Friday was apparently asleep when missiles hit residential buildings, Ukrainian officials said. He was murdered this morning in Kharkiv by a Russian missile. “The Iskander is a Russian ballistic missile that can reach Kharkiv, Ukraine’s border city, in just a few seconds,” it added. This photo posted by Ukraine's Defense Ministry purports to show the body of a 10-year-old boy killed in Russia's strike on Kharkiv on October 6. Friday’s attack on Kharkiv comes a day after a devastating Russian missile strike on the village of Hroza on Thursday, in which another child was killed, along with at least 51 more people.

Persons: Russia’s, Oleh Syniehubov, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ”, Olena Zelenska, Dmitro Kuleba Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Kharkiv, Ukraine's Defense, Ukrainian Defense, General’s, RF, Russian Federation, Ukrainian Locations: Kharkiv, “, Russian, Ukraine’s, Russia, Ukraine, Hroza

The night-time assault is part of a coordinated Ukrainian offensive push near the beleaguered eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, to which CNN obtained exclusive access. “Sometimes there are a lot of them,” Groove says, searching the area with his drone, trying to scope out Russian forces. They chase a few Russian vehicles, dropping bombs on them as they go. Ukrainian drone pilots are able to see their targets through their controllers, even at night, with the help of night vision. German-made Leopard 2 tanks, American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles among others were sent to the area to support Ukrainian forces as they stormed Russian positions.

Persons: They’ve, ”, “, ” Ukraine’s, Mykhailo Fedorov, ‘ Flint ’, Wagner Organizations: Eastern, Eastern Ukraine CNN —, CNN, Ministry for Digital Transformation, Digital Transformation, Russia, “, US, American Bradley, Southern Locations: Eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Kyiv, Russian, Ukraine, zeroing, East Kyiv, Melitopol, Berdiansk, American, Crimea, South, “, Russia

Ukraine’s military claimed on Monday that it had killed the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in a strike on Crimea — a blow that, if confirmed, would be among the most damaging suffered by the Russian Navy since the sinking of the fleet’s flagship last year. Citing “new information about the losses of the enemy as a result of the special operation,” Ukraine’s special operations forces said in a statement that the strike on Friday killed 34 officers, including the fleet commander, and wounded 105 others. It did not name the naval leader, but the commander of the Black Sea Fleet is Adm. Viktor Sokolov, one of the most senior officers in Russia’s Navy. The attack came during a meeting of Russian commanders, Ukraine’s military said, and badly damaged a headquarters of the Russian fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea. The chief of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, also told Voice of America on Saturday that the strike had badly wounded two senior Russian generals — Col. Gen. Aleksandr Romanchuk and Lieut.

Persons: ”, Viktor Sokolov, Kyrylo Budanov, — Col, Gen, Aleksandr Romanchuk, Oleg Tsekov Organizations: Russian Navy, Black, Russia’s Navy, Russian, America, Russia’s Defense Ministry Locations: Crimea, Sevastopol, Russian

And at least 10 people were injured in overnight missile attacks on the city of Cherkasy in central Ukraine. Last year, Russia began a series of intense attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in October. Ukrenergo said the overnight missile attacks resulted in damage to power facilities in western and central regions and caused blackouts in several areas. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 36 of 43 missiles launched by Russia on Thursday, Ukraine’s army chief said. On Thursday, Zelensky travels to meet Biden, who is seeking to hear a “battlefield perspective,” the White House said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Joe Biden, Vitalii Klitschko, Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s, “, ”, Ihor Klymenko, Kyiv City Military Administration Serhii Popko, Vladyslav Sodel, Sergei Supinsky, Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Biden, John Kirby Organizations: Ukraine CNN —, White House, Internal, Kyiv City Military Administration, Russia, Reuters Firefighters, Getty, United Nations General Assembly, UN, National Security Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukraine CNN — Ukraine, Kherson, Kharkiv, Russia, Cherkasy, “, Vladyslav, AFP, New York, Ukrainian

Away from the front, Ukraine’s war has become a numbers game: who can acquire, make and resupply more tanks, bullets, and, most of all, artillery shells. All in all, Kyiv needs some 1.5 million artillery shells annually, according to the CEO of one of Europe’s largest arms manufacturers, Rheinmetall. By July, the US had supplied more than two million artillery rounds to Ukraine since the 2022 invasion, the Pentagon said. But in February 2023, Europe-wide production of artillery ammunition had a maximum capacity of 300,000 shells annually, Estonian defense officials estimated. The best-case scenario of an increase to making 2.1 million shells annually is still years away from being realized.

Persons: Oleksandra Ustinova, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, Armin Papperger, Papperger, William LaPlante, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Nammo, LaPlante, Tuuli Duneton, Morten Brandtzæg, “, ” Brandtzæg, you’re, Jérôme, Creuillot, it’s, Jonathan Caverley, hasn’t, Ignacio Marin, Caverley, Josep Borrell Organizations: CNN, Artillery, Rheinmetall, Pentagon, European, NATO, Defense, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Estonian, US Naval War College, EU Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Estonian, United Kingdom, Europe, Brussels, “, Kyiv, ”, Norway, France

☆ Ukraine Says It Is Ready for Arrival of Wagner Troops in Belarus
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Megan Specia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As Belarus has ratcheted up its messaging about plans to offer refuge — and possibly work — to Wagner group mercenaries after a failed rebellion in Russia, Ukrainian forces say they are ready for any potential threat from their neighbor to the north. In recent days, Ukrainian officials have tried to tamp down concerns while heralding their preparations, with President Volodymyr Zelensky nodding to plans for reinforcing the border in his overnight address into Saturday and top commanders emphasizing that no current threat had been found. Mr. Zelensky indicated that Ukrainian intelligence was monitoring the situation closely, adding, “We very carefully analyze every fact and any prospects in all directions.” Ukraine’s top generals were “instructed to strengthen the northern direction — to guarantee peace,” he said. This week, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, the Kremlin-aligned autocratic leader of Belarus, invited members of the Wagner group who had participated in a rebellion against Russian forces to relocate to an “abandoned” military base in his country. New satellite imagery from Thursday and Friday, analyzed by The New York Times, shows that more than 250 tents, enough to house thousands of troops, have been erected in the past five days at an unused base.

Persons: —, Wagner, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Ukraine’s, “, ”, Aleksandr G, Lukashenko Organizations: The New York Times Locations: Belarus, Russia, Ukrainian

CNN —Russian missiles struck the busy city center of the east Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk and a nearby village on Tuesday, killing at least two people and injuring dozens, according to local officials. An eyewitness to the aftermath of the strike in Kramatorsk city described up to a dozen people being pulled from the rubble. A restaurant heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike in central Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine June 27, 2023. The attack happened at around 7:30pm local time, Pavlo Kyrylenko, Head of Donetsk region military administration, said on Ukrainian state TV. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday visited the frontlines of the Donetsk region, later announcing that Ukrainian forces had advanced “in all directions.

Persons: “, Ihor Klymenko, Andriy, Andriy Yermak, Zelensky, Pavlo Kyrylenko, Wagner, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Internal, Reuters, Monday Locations: Russian, Kramatorsk, “ Russia, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Bilenke, Donetsk

☆ Kakhovka dam collapse has made Black Sea a ‘garbage dump and animal cemetery,’ Ukraine warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Floodwaters are receding following the collapse of the Kakhovka dam, but debris washed along the Dnipro river is turning Odesa’s Black Sea coastline into “a garbage dump and animal cemetery,” according to Ukrainian authorities. “The Dnipro river flows into the Black Sea, bearing many signs of the devastation caused by Russians,” the ministry said. The collapse of the dam in southern Ukraine on June 6 is one of the biggest industrial and ecological disasters in Europe for decades. Several Western officials have blamed the collapse of the Russian-occupied dam on Moscow. Call for international supportThe developments came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for international support to help rescue victims of the dam collapse in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

Persons: ”, it’s, Oleksandr Prokudin, Prokudin, ” Prokudin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, ” Zelensky, “, Justin Trudeau Organizations: CNN, Ukraine’s Ministry, Internal Affairs, “, Russian Foreign, Armed Forces of, State Emergency Service, Ukraine Saturday, Canadian Locations: Dnipro, ”, Ukraine, Europe, Russian, Moscow, Kherson, Ukrainian, Kherson region, “ Russia, Mykolaiv, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk, Nikopol, Afanasivka, Canada

☆ Ukraine’s Top Commander Signals Counteroffensive Could Be Imminent
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Marc Santora | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine’s top military commander signaled on Saturday morning that the nation’s forces were ready to launch their long-anticipated counteroffensive following months of preparations, including recently stepped-up attacks on logistical targets as well as feints and disinformation intended to keep Russian forces on edge. “It’s time to get back what’s ours,” Ukraine’s supreme military commander, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, wrote in a statement. But General Zaluzhnyi offered no indication of where and when Ukrainian forces might try to break Russia’s hold on occupied territory. Other senior Ukrainian officials also suggested that the counteroffensive was imminent. Oleksiy Danilov, the head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, told the BBC in an interview released on Saturday that Kyiv’s forces were “ready” and that a large-scale assault could come “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week.”

☆ As Putin Bides His Time, Ukraine Faces a Ticking Clock
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Paul Sonne | Andrew E. Kramer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Both armies have tanks, artillery and tens of thousands of soldiers ready to face off on the battlefields of Ukraine in a long-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia. But one thing clearly sets the two sides apart: time. If the Ukrainians fall short of expectations, they risk an erosion of Western support. As a result, there is a sense in Ukraine that its war effort faces a ticking clock. “In countries that are our partners, our friends, the expectation of the counteroffensive is overestimated, overheated, I would say,” Ukraine’s defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, said in an interview this past week in Kyiv, the capital.

☆ Secret ‘Mission’ for Peace in Ukraine May Show Limits of Pope’s Influence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jason Horowitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

ROME — A secret mission revealed days ago by Pope Francis to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine is so secret that Russia and Ukraine claim to know nothing about it. The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it had no idea what the pope was talking about. “Ukraine doesn’t know about it,” Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash, said in an interview Wednesday, adding that he had scheduled a meeting for Thursday with the pope’s foreign minister. “I will for sure ask him what it is.”Later Wednesday evening, the pope’s second-in-command and chief diplomat, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, told reporters, “to my knowledge, they were and are aware” of the peace plan, saying that the denial by the governments “surprises me.”The apparent bewilderment of the war’s parties, and confusion around the existence of a plan contributed to the sense that the pope’s influence as a geopolitical player and peacemaker — already chastened in countries like Cuba, South Sudan and Myanmar — did not extend to Ukraine.

The death toll from Russia’s deadly, early-morning missile strikes across Ukraine on Friday has risen to 14, officials said, after two more bodies were pulled from the rubble of a residential building in the city of Uman. “As of 11:50 a.m., the body of one more dead person was removed from the rubble of a residential building,” Ukraine’s state emergency service said on the Telegram messaging app. The press office of Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs later said another body had been found. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Twitter earlier that one apartment building in Uman had been “destroyed” and many others damaged before dawn on Friday. “More lives tragically lost as Russia’s missiles hit another apartment building.

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