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CNN —Ukrainian prosecutors have launched an investigation into an alleged Russian execution of a Ukrainian soldier found dead with a sword inscribed with “for Kursk” in his body, in an apparent act of revenge for Kyiv’s recent incursion into the Russian border region. His office later confirmed it had opened a criminal investigation into the alleged execution. “Footage of an alleged execution by sword of an unarmed Ukrainian serviceman with taped hands is spreading on the web,” he wrote on X. Thursday’s image comes as Russia is stepping up its efforts to expel Ukrainian forces from Kursk. The Kremlin has not commented on the alleged execution.

Persons: “, Andriy Kostin, ”, ” Kostin, Benjamin Strick, Dmytro Lubinets, Kostin, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Centre, Information Resilience, Geneva Convention Locations: Ukrainian, Kursk, Russian, Russia, Novohrodivka, Ukraine’s, Donetsk, Geneva, Moscow, Pokrovsk, Ukraine, Hrodivka

☆ About half of the North Korean missiles Russia fired at Ukraine flew off course and exploded in the air, official says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewAbout half of the North Korean missiles Russia has fired at Ukraine have failed, Ukraine's top prosecutor said, per new reporting. State prosecutors have been examining the debris of 21 out of 50 North Korean missiles fired at Ukraine by Russia between December and February. AdvertisementBeyond the missiles, North Korean rockets have also been called into question. Last summer, the Ukrainians got their hands on North Korean rockets that troops characterized as "very unreliable," noting they sometimes "do crazy things." AdvertisementOne of the North Korean missiles sent to Russia appears to be KN-23s, known in North Korea as the short-range Hwasong 11.

Persons: —, Andriy Kostin, Yuriy Belousov, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Kostin Organizations: Service, North Korean, Business, Korean, Reuters, North Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Korean, North, Pyongyang, North Korea, Korea, Russian, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kirovohrad

☆ 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

☆ Russia Strikes Civilian Center in Odesa, Killing Five
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Constant Méheut | John Ismay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian officials said a Russian airstrike on Monday evening killed five people and wounded about 30 others in Odesa, a southern Ukrainian city that has been a regular target of Russian missiles and drones trying to destroy its port infrastructure. Videos and photos showed lifeless and bloodied bodies of civilians lying on a seafront promenade not known to be close to any strategic site like military buildings or grain storehouses. Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday accused Russia of using cluster munitions — a controversial and widely banned weapon that can often cause indiscriminate harm to civilians — in the attack. Andriy Kostin, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, said in a statement that Russia had fired an Iskander ballistic missile with a cluster warhead. “The investigators have a reason to believe that the decision to use such a weapon was taken by the Russian military officers deliberately to kill as many Ukrainian civilians as possible,” Mr. Kostin said.

Persons: Andriy Kostin, Mr, Kostin Organizations: Russian Locations: Russian, Odesa, Ukrainian, Russia

☆ Ukraine war: Two babies among 10 killed as Russia hits Odesa apartment block
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Maria Kostenko | Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Her husband and daughter survived the drone attack, her sister told CNN. According to Saturday’s daily address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a toddler named Mark was also killed - he was two, set to turn three on Sunday. 18 apartments have been destroyed,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday. At least four have been declared killed after the drone strike hit a residential building in Odesa. Ukraine has been asking its western allies for more military aid as Russia’s war against Ukraine enters its third year.

Persons: Oleh Kiper, Anna, Volodymyr Zelensky, Mark, Andriy Kostin, Zelensky, Oleksandr Gimanov, ”, Joe Biden’s Organizations: CNN, Getty, Ukraine, Republican, Pentagon Locations: Russian, Ukrainian, Odesa, Ukraine, AFP, Russia

☆ Two-year-old boy and baby among 7 killed as Russia hits Odesa apartment block
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Maria Kostenko | Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

A two-year-old boy, who officials said was named Timofii, was discovered under rubble on a ground floor after the strike, Odesa City Municipality said on Telegram. He was killed the day before his third birthday, Oleh Kiper, the head of Odesa region military administration, said in a TV interview. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack showed the need to further strengthen the country’s air defense capacities. 18 apartments have been destroyed,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday. At least four have been declared killed after the drone strike hit a residential building in Odesa.

Persons: CNN —, Anna, Oleh Kiper, Andriy Kostin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksandr Gimanov, ”, Zelensky, Joe Biden’s Organizations: CNN, Getty, Ukraine, Republican, Pentagon Locations: Russian, Ukrainian, Odesa, Odesa City, Ukraine, AFP, Russia

☆ Russia's use of North Korean missiles in Ukraine could be a 'cash cow' for Kim Jong Un, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewRussia's use of North Korean ballistic missiles in Ukraine could boost missile sales for Kim Jong Un's government, a military analyst told The Wall Street Journal. Last week, South Korea's ambassador to the UN accused North Korea of using Ukraine as a "test site" for its nuclear-capable missiles. "This is the cash cow," Dalton said, adding that now "North Korea will be able to command a premium for these systems in ways it wasn't before." Fragments of what may be North Korean missiles used by Russia in an attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine, on January 6, 2024. "If Ukraine, for example, proves more successful in shooting down North Korean missiles compared to Russian ones, then we can assume that North Korean technology is not as advanced," he said.

Persons: —, Kim Jong, Joonkook Hwang, John Kirby, Toby Dalton, Dalton, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Pardo, Bruce Bechtol, Bechtol, Yoo Sang, Andriy Kostin Organizations: Service, Wall Street, Business, UN, National Security, Nuclear, Carnegie Endowment, Getty, King's College London, Federation of American Scientists, Angelo State University in, country's Intelligence Service, CNN, Suspilne, Meduza Locations: Korean, Ukraine, South, Korea, Russia, North Korea, Kharkiv, Iran, Angelo State University in Texas, South Korea, Japan

☆ Russia's use of North Korean missiles in Ukraine will help the US figure out how effective they really are
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia fired North Korean missiles at Ukraine on December 30, January 2 and 4, per South Korea. AdvertisementRussia's use of North Korean missiles in Ukraine will help us figure out how effective they actually are on the battlefield, military analysts said. North Korea has been testing a wide range of ballistic and cruise missiles since 2017, launching 68 missiles in 2022, according to the North Korea Missile Test Tracker maintained by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. "If Ukraine, for example, proves more successful in shooting down North Korean missiles compared to Russian ones, then we can assume that North Korean technology is not as advanced," he said. Ukraine has already started analyzing what it believes to be debris from a North Korean missile.

Persons: —, Joonkook Hwang, John Kirby, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Pardo, James Martin, David Albright, Fabian Hinz, Andriy Kostin Organizations: North Korean, Service, Korean, UN, National Security, Center for Strategic, International Studies, North Korea Missile, James, James Martin Center, Nonproliferation Studies, for Science, International Security, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Newsweek, Suspilne, Meduza Locations: Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, Korea, North Korea, Japan, Washington, Korean, Ukrainian, Kharkiv

☆ War crimes investigators establish office in Ukraine after Russia charged with abducting more than 19,000 children
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

ICC investigators are gathering evidence of alleged Russian war crimes, including child abduction. The office is a "pivotal" move toward "restoring justice," Ukraine's top prosecutor said. Ukrainian officials accuse Russia of having deported or forcibly displaced more than 19,500 children, a claim bolstered by independent investigations. Russia has admitted taking minors from Ukraine — and having them adopted by Russian families — but insists it has done so for their own safety. A. Khan, was in Kyiv to mark the opening of the new office following the signing of a cooperation agreement in March, under which Ukraine will share evidence it has gathered of possible Russian war crimes.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Krim, Andriy Kostin, Kostin, cdavis@insider.com Organizations: ICC, Service, Criminal Court, Ukraine — Locations: Kyiv, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Ukraine, Geneva, Ukraine's

☆ Putin's comment on funding Wagner shows link to Ukraine -prosecutor
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Anthony Deutsch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Putin said last week that Wagner and its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had received almost $2 billion from Russia in the past year. Among more than 93,000 incidents of potential war crimes Kostin's office was investigating were many atrocities Wagner forces committed, Kostin said. They are "among the most severe crimes against our civilians and our prisoners of war," Kostin said. Kostin appealed to allies, including the U.S. and Britain, to classify Wagner as a terrorist organisation so it can be prosecuted and its assets frozen. "Prigozhin is already a suspect in criminal proceedings in Ukraine, but the main thing is to stop the activity of such groups," he said.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Wagner, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Andriy Kostin, Kostin, Putin's, Anthony Deutsch, Josie Kao Organizations: HAGUE, International Centre, U.S, Thomson Locations: Russia, The Hague, Geneva, Ukraine, Latin America, Africa, Britain

☆ Exclusive: Ukraine brings first charges for deporting Kherson orphans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Anthony Deutsch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On Friday, the charges were filed in Ukraine, a pre-trial stage when prosecutors determine there is sufficient evidence to suspect a person of committing a criminal offence. They may have been illegally adopted by Russian citizens, or taken to Russian institutions, she said. The bulk of the orphans were taken on Oct. 21, 2022 under the supervision of the lead, Russian suspect. "We want to hold accountable all the war criminals, all the people that committed horrible international crimes against our Ukrainian children." Ukrainian prosecutors shared a video allegedly showing one of the suspects helping to load the children onto a bus marked with the pro-Russian symbol "Z".

Persons: Ukraine's, Vladimir Putin, Maria Lvova, Karim Khan, Andriy Kostin, General's, Usenko, Anthony Deutsch, Andrii Pryimachenko, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: HAGUE, Reuters, Hague, Court, Kherson Children's, ICC, Russian, Children's, Wednesday, Kherson Regional Children's, Criminal Court, Kherson Region Children's, Russian Ministry of Health, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Russian, Kherson, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Crimea, Ukrainian, Vyshhorod, Geneva, Kherson Region, Ukraine's, Kyiv

CNN —An African delegation on a peace mission to Ukraine headed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was greeted with explosions and forced to shelter in bunkers amid air strikes on the capital Kyiv. The African leaders are expected to travel to Russia Saturday to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin. “Russia’s missile attack took place just as African leaders arrived in the capital,” Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said Friday. He has also come under fire after the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, said South Africa supplied arms to Russia in December last year. He added that the future of this agreement would be discussed at his meeting with the African leaders on Saturday.

Persons: Cyril Ramaphosa, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, “, ” Andriy Yermak, “ Putin, ”, Joe Biden, Antonio Guterres, ” Yermak, ” Ramaphosa, Macky Sall, Hichilema, Azali Assoumani, Andriy Kostin, Valentyn Ogirenko, Andrzej Duda, Ramaphosa, Reuben Brigety, Vincent Magwenya, Putin, Moscow, ” Putin Organizations: CNN, South, UN, Russia, Ukraine's, Reuters, Polish Border Guard, United Nations General Assembly Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, ”, Senegal, Zambia, Comoros, Egypt, Congo, Uganda, Africa, Bucha, Poland’s, Warsaw, Poland, South Africa, America, Latin America

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov holds a press conference during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at U.N. headquarters on September 24, 2022 in New York City. Stephanie Keith | Getty ImagesUNITED NATIONS — When Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov takes the helm of the United Nations Security Council on Monday it will be against a backdrop of mounting allegations of Russian war crimes reported across Ukraine. Since then, the war has claimed the lives of more than 8,500 civilians, led to nearly 14,000 injuries and displaced more than 8 million people, according to United Nations' own estimates. Lvova-Belova told the Security Council on April 5 that the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia was part of a humanitarian campaign. In some cases, the commission found that Ukrainian forces committed war crimes against Russian troops, though those incidents were less frequent.

☆ Data company Palantir to help Ukraine prosecute alleged Russian war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | Thomson Reuters | Jeffrey Dastin Is A Technology Correspondent For Reuters Based In San Francisco | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 22 (Reuters) - Ukraine plans to deploy software from U.S. data analytics provider Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR.N) to help it prosecute alleged war crimes committed by Russia, the company told Reuters. Palantir, which has supplied Ukraine with systems to help it target Russian tanks and support refugees, is now working with the prosecutor general's office to help investigators across Europe pool and process data, the company said. Moscow has denied attacking civilians or perpetrating war crimes. Any successful war crimes prosecution will require Ukraine to navigate overlapping court jurisdictions and furnish evidence despite often restricted access to suspects or crime scenes. A U.N.-mandated investigative body last month accused Russia of war crimes, though its chair said it had not found evidence of genocide, which is being investigated by Ukraine.

☆ Ukraine-Russia War: Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Helene Cooper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

As she told her story with the help of an interpreter, some members of the House committee grew visibly emotional. At one point, the turret of an armored vehicle was pointed at them, Ms. Bobrovska said. Ms. Bobrovska said he and other Ukrainian children were visited by Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, who informed them that they would be adopted. Roman eventually managed to return to Ukraine with the help of volunteers, Ms. Bobrovska said, but she did not detail how, citing safety concerns. The prosecutor general of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, addressed the Republican-led House committee after the survivors’ testimony to urge increased international pressure on Russia to return the children.

☆ 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.

Humanity will prevail," Zelenskiy said, leading a ceremony at which the Ukrainian flag was raised in Bucha. Zelenskiy described Bucha as a "symbol of the atrocities" of Russian occupying forces. Fighting rages on in the east and south of Ukraine, where Russian forces hold swathes of territory captured after they invaded on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian forces have dug in and held out for now in the city of Bakhmut and are expected to launch a counteroffensive soon. This is part of Russia's planned strategy to destroy Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation," he said.

☆ Factbox: Who are the Ukrainian children at the heart of Putin arrest warrant?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KYIV, March 19 (Reuters) - In its arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, the International Criminal Court accused the Russian president of the war crime of unlawful deportation of people, in particular children, and their unlawful transfer from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. The ICC issued a separate warrant on the same charge for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children's rights. - Ukraine has so far managed to return 308 children, officials said. - Iryna Vereshchuk, minister for reintegration of temporarily occupied territories, issued a public appeal on Saturday to Russian officials asking for lists of all Ukrainian orphans and all Ukrainian children whose parents were stripped of parental rights who are currently in occupied Ukrainian areas or were illegally transferred to Russia. The report said Yale University researchers had identified at least 43 camps and other facilities where Ukrainian children have been held that were part of a "large-scale systematic network" operated by Moscow.

☆ Reactions to ICC's arrest warrant for Putin citing Ukraine war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Roman Baluk/File PhotoMarch 17 (Reuters) - Following are reactions to the news on Friday that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes." RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN MARIA ZAKHAROVA"The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view. Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and bears no obligations under it." I welcome the decision of the International Criminal Court."

☆ Ukraine military names man allegedly shot by Russian invaders in video
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a Facebook post, the 30th Mechanized Brigade named the man as Tymofiy Shadura. - or Glory to Ukraine - before multiple shots are heard coming from an unseen shooter or shooters. "According to preliminary information, the deceased is a serviceman of the 30th separate mechanized brigade, Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura," the brigade's Facebook post said. "The command of the 30th separate mechanized brigade and the Hero's brothers express their sincere condolences to his relatives and friends. Ukrainian and Western authorities say there is evidence for thousands of war crimes committed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February, 2022.

☆ Ukraine investigates alleged Russian shooting of prisoner of war
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

- or Glory to Ukraine - before multiple shots are heard coming from an unseen shooter or shooters. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, noting that the video had appeared on Monday, said it showed Russian occupiers brutally killing a soldier. "The murder of a captive is the latest Russian war crime," Yermak wrote in a tweet. Ukrainian and Western authorities say there is evidence for thousands of war crimes committed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. "Before his death, (the man) reminded all of us of the meaning of the words 'Glory to Ukraine!," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Telegram.

☆ ICC's top prosecutor in Ukraine to probe Russian attacks on power grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Mike Collett-White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and ICC Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan QC meet, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 28, 2023. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said. Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's Prosecutor General who accompanied Khan to the bomb site, praised the cooperation between his offices and those of the ICC. Kostin's office said that tens of thousands of Russian attacks had been launched on infrastructure and civilians which had no military justification.

☆ U.S. unveils $2 billion in aid for Ukraine, sanctions and tariff hikes on Russia a year after invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON – The United States authorized $2 billion in aid to Ukraine on the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion Friday, and ramped up sanctions and tariffs on Moscow as it tries to bolster Kyiv's war effort. President Joe Biden met virtually with leaders of the G-7 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday morning to mark the occasion, one year after the group first met to discuss aid. The Biden administration also announced it would sanction more than 200 individuals and entities tied to the Russian war effort, including by targeting the country's metals and mining sector. Biden has been adamant about showing the U.S.'s support for Ukraine as the war drags on into its second year. Earlier this month, Ukraine's prosecutor general, Andriy Kostin, said that regional authorities have logged more than 65,000 Russian war crimes since Moscow invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago.

☆ Russian forces have relocated at least 6,000 Ukrainian children to camps since start of war, new report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — Russian forces have moved at least 6,000 Ukrainian children to camps and facilities across Russia for forced adoptions and military training, according to a new report. The allegations detailed in the 35-page report, such as the abduction or detention of children, may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity. Earlier this month, Ukraine's prosecutor general, Andriy Kostin, said that regional authorities have logged more than 65,000 Russian war crimes since Moscow invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago. Kostin said his teams have also documented more than 14,000 Ukrainian children forced into adoption in Russia. At the time, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the conduct may breach international humanitarian agreements and constitute war crimes.

A far-right faction of House Republicans is pushing against continued US aid to Ukraine. Those concerns ratcheted up amid House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's tumultuous journey to secure the gavel last month. Kyiv, for its part, has kept a close eye on Congress' dynamics since the GOP won a narrow House majority in the November midterms. "This GOP House majority will demand more oversight, transparency, and accountability to ensure assistance to Ukraine is used as intended," McCaul said in a statement. "Most Europeans don't think that suddenly the US is going to cut support to Ukraine," Araud said, adding that nobody anticipates Washington will "dump Ukraine."

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