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☆ Ukraine reports small gains in early stages of counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It does not provide similar detail about fighting on the southern front where the main counteroffensive is expected. However, some prominent Russian military bloggers indicated that Ukrainian forces had taken Blahodatne and Neskuchne, although they said fighting for Makarivka was continuing. It is almost certainly far too early to draw conclusions about the fate of the counteroffensive from early skirmishes that may be more about testing Russian defences than pursuing a major advance. "When we see large, armoured formations join the assault, then I think we’ll know the main attack has really begun." But Yevgeny Prigozhin, the increasing recalcitrant and voluble leader of the Wagner militia, which captured Bakhmut from Ukrainian forces after almost a year of attritional fighting, said on Sunday he would refuse to sign.

Persons: Read, Makarivka, Ben Hodges, Vladimir Putin's, Ramzan Kadyrov, Akhmat, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Bakhmut, Sergei Shoigu, Pavel Polityuk, Tom Balmforth, Anna Pruchnicka, Lidia Kelly, Kevin Liffey, Peter Graff Organizations: Ukrainian, Reuters, Brigade, Marines, Washington -, Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, KYIV, Kyiv, Storozheve, Azov, Crimea, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Bilohorivka, Moscow, U.S, Europe, Washington, Russia, Chechnya, Caucasus, Maryinka, Gdansk, Melbourne

☆ Chechen force signs contract with Russia's defence ministry that Prigozhin refused
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 12 (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry said on Monday it has signed a contract with the Akhmat group of Chechen special forces, a day after Russia's powerful mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin refused to do so. The contract the defence ministry signed on Monday was with the Akhmat paramilitary group that has often been called the private army of Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of Russia's Chechnya region. Unlike Prigozhin, Kadyrov has recently refrained from criticising the defence ministry. "I think this is a very good thing," Alaudinov was quoted as saying by the defence ministry's website after signing the deal. Russia's deputy chief of the general staff, Colonel General Alexei Kim, said after signing the agreement with the Chechens that he hoped other volunteer units would follow suit.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, Prigozhin, Wagner, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov, Kadyrov's, Apty Alaudinov, Alaudinov, Alexei Kim, Lidia Kelly, Mark Trevelyan, Peter Graff Organizations: Russia's Defence, Prigozhin, Thomson Locations: Chechen, Moscow, Ukraine, Chechnya, Maryinka, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Melbourne

☆ Ukraine says heavy battles ongoing after first counteroffensive gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On Sunday, Ukraine said its troops had made advances on three villages in Donetsk: Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka. Some prominent Russian military bloggers indicated that while Ukrainian forces took Blahodatne and Neskuchne, fighting for Makarivka was going on. While staying largely silent over the past week about its counteroffensive, Ukraine's military has reported daily battlefield successes. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that Kyiv wanted to discuss details of the "aircraft coalition" with its allies at the next meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group on June 15 in Brussels. "At this stage, we are talking about training of pilots ... and our technicians and engineers," Ukraine's Military Media Centre quoted Reznikov as saying.

Persons: Hanna Maliar, Makarivka, Vladimir Putin, Oleksii Reznikov, Reznikov, Pavel Polityuk, Anna Pruchnicka, Lidia Kelly, Robert Birsel, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Brigade, Marines, Reuters, Ukrainian, Ukrainian Defence, Kyiv, Ukraine Defence Contact Group, U.S, Military Media, Thomson Locations: Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Donetsk, Bilohorivka, Luhansk, Storozheve, Ukraine, Blahodatne, Donetsk Region, Russian, Brussels, Zelenskiy, Kyiv, Gdansk, Melbourne

☆ Zelenskiy: Counteroffensive actions taking place in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"Counter-offensive and defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine, but I will not say in detail what stage they are at," Zelenskiy said, listing Ukraine's top military brass by name. Russian forces, it said, "continue to suffer heavy losses which they are trying to conceal". Ukrainian military spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi reported new gains near Bakhmut. SOME PROGRESS: BRITISH MINISTRY"In some areas, Ukrainian forces have likely made good progress and penetrated the first line of Russian defences. Ukrainian military analyst Oleksiy Hetman told NV Radio the events of recent days were only initial steps.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Zelenskiy, Justin Trudeau, Oleksander Syrskyi, Serhiy Cherevatyi, We're, We've, Cherevatyi, Ukraine's, Oleksiy, Tom Balmforth, Felix Hoske, Alex Richardson, Andrew Cawthorne, Mike Harrison, Ron Popeski, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Kremlin, Sporting, Canadian, Russia's Defence Ministry, Saturday, Ukrainian, Reuters, Britain's Ministry of Defence, Kyiv, Europe's, Radio, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Donetsk, Moscow, Bakhmut, Maryinka, Crimea, Ukrainian

☆ Russian invasion increases challenges, risks for Ukraine coal mines
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Vitalii Hnidyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Some coal mines operate despite Russian invasionMine operators face many challenges and risksSome miners have gone to fight, energy sector targetedEAST UKRAINE, June 9 (Reuters) - Russia's invasion has thrown up huge challenges for Ukraine's coal mines, from the danger posed by air strikes to the departure of miners for the front to fight. But pits are still producing coal in parts of eastern Ukraine that are not occupied by Russia, an act of defiance that the miners see as vital to the war effort. "But nevertheless ... we plan to increase coal production at our enterprise, even in relation to the past (before the war)." Other problems caused by the war included difficulties with supplies of equipment, missile strikes and the damage caused by Russian attacks. "Despite the shelling, we continued to work, because we understand that the enterprise will not work without (our) work.

Persons: Viktor Kuznetsov, Kuznetsov, Andrii, Yurkov, Vitalii Hnidyi, Timothy Heritage, Christina Fincher Organizations: Russian, EAST UKRAINE, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Donetsk, Maryinka

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Kyiv defends against heavy air raid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On Monday, the Ukrainian military hailed advances made in its first successful counterattack against Russian forces besieging the eastern city of Bakhmut. * A top Chinese envoy, Li Hui, was due to begin a tour of Ukraine, Russia and other European countries on Monday in a trip Beijing says is aimed at discussing a "political settlement" to the crisis. * Zelenskiy, in his evening video address, said he was returning home with new military help and newer, more powerful weapons. French President Emmanuel Macron told TF1 television France was open to training Ukrainian fighter jet pilots. * Russia's Defence Ministry said on Monday that it had downed a long-range Storm Shadow missile supplied to Ukraine by Britain.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: France, Germany step up military aid to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

France said it will send dozens of armoured vehicles and light tanks, including the AMX-10RCs fighting vehicles, to Ukraine in the coming weeks. During the past 24 hours, Russian forces launched air strikes, along with missile, drone and heavy rocket attacks, on targets in Ukraine, it said. The Ukrainian air force also counted 17 striks on areas where Russian personnel and military equipment were concentrated. * A top Chinese envoy will begin a tour of Ukraine, Russia and other European cities on Monday in a trip Beijing says is aimed at discussing a "political settlement" to the Ukraine crisis. Li Hui, China's special representative for Eurasian affairs and former ambassador to Russia, will also visit Poland, France, Germany on the multi-day trip.

CNN —Two senior Russian military officers have been killed in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday, the latest high-profile losses for Moscow in a grinding war with its western neighbor. The ministry said the two officers – Col. Vyacheslav Makarov and Col. Yevgeny Brovko – were in killed in action while leading Russian troops in the Donetsk region. “The commander of the 4th motorized rifle brigade, Colonel Vyacheslav Makarov, being at the forefront, personally led the battle,” a Russian Defense Ministry briefing read. The Donetsk region of Ukraine includes the city of Bakhmut, which has seen some of the fiercest and most relentless fighting of the war. The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukraine has made “massive attempts to break through the defense of our troops to the north and south of Artemovsk,” referring to Bakhmut by its Russian name.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: New drone attack on southern Russia refinery
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 5 (Reuters) - A drone attack on the Ilsky oil refinery in southern Russia, the second in as many days, has caused a fire, TASS news agency reported on Friday, citing emergency services. FIGHTING* Ukrainian military command said in its Friday morning report that 18 out 24 drones launched by Russian forces had been shot down. * Nearly 50 Russian attacks were repelled along the main sectors of the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Thursday evening. * Record high water levels could overwhelm a major dam in southern Ukraine and damage parts of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, a Russian official told TASS news agency. DIPLOMACY/POLITICS* Technical personnel from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Nations will meet on Friday to discuss a deal that allows the exports of Ukrainian grains on the Black Sea, the Turkish Defence Minister said.

☆ Ukrainian defenders oust Russian forces from some positions in Bakhmut - Ukraine general
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, May 1 (Reuters) - Ukrainian counterattacks have ousted Russian forces from some positions in the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut, but the situation remains "difficult", a top Ukrainian general said in comments released Monday. "The situation is quite difficult," said Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of ground forces, in a statement on Telegram. "At the same time, in certain parts of the city, the enemy was counterattacked by our units and left some positions." He added that new Russian units, including paratroopers and fighters from the Wagner mercenary group, were being "constantly thrown into battle" despite taking heavy losses. Russian forces have steadily made incremental gains in Bakhmut, but a Ukrainian military spokesman said on Sunday it was still possible to supply the defenders with food, ammunition and medicine.

☆ Ukraine says it controls key supply route into Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian soldiers are seen at their artillery position on Donetsk frontline as the Russia-Ukraine war continues in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on April 24, 2023. Ukraine remains in control of a key supply route into Bakhmut, a military spokesperson said on Saturday, as the head of Russia's mercenary Wagner Group threatened to withdraw some of his troops from the eastern city if Moscow did not send more ammunition. Kyiv has pledged to defend Bakhmut, which Russia sees as a stepping stone to attacking other cities. "It would have had been five times fewer if we had more ammunition," Prigozhin said in an audio statement published on the Telegram messaging app of his press service on Saturday evening. "We need to stop deceiving the population and telling them that everything is fine," Prigozhin said in the interview.

☆ Kyiv denies Wagner Bakhmut claim, Russia says forces advancing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The claim by Russian entrepreneur Yevgeny Prigozhin that his Wagner mercenary group had seized more than 80% of Bakhmut was untrue, it said. And Russian forces, it said, had struck Ukrainian army reserves trying to break through. Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military command, dismissed Prigozhin's latest 80% claim in a comment to Reuters. Analyst Konrad Muzyka, director of the Rochan military consultancy in Poland, said his calculations bore out the Russian claim of 80%. Russian forces, it said, had tried unsuccessfully to move on two villages to the northwest.

☆ Ukraine battles rage, Kyiv reported to rethink counter-offensive after leak
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The head of the Moscow-controlled part of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, said Russian forces now held 75% of the city. As the battles ground on, U.S. media outlet CNN reported that Ukraine was forced to amend some military plans ahead of its long-anticipated counter-offensive because of the leak of dozens of secret documents. HOT ON THE EASTERN FRONTA Ukrainian counter-offensive has long been expected after months of attritional warfare in the east. Elsewhere, Russia's defence ministry said its forces destroyed a depot with 70,000 tonnes of fuel near Zaporizhzhia, and Ukraine reported widespread Russian shelling in northern regions. In a rare coordination between the warring parties, Russia and Ukraine carried out another prisoner swap, with 106 Russian captives freed in exchange for 100 Ukrainians.

☆ Ukraine battles on in Bakhmut as Finland joins NATO
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] An Ukrainian serviceman sits atop an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, near the bombed-out eastern city of Bakhmut, in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine, April 2, 2023. "From a legal point of view, Bakhmut has been taken," said Prigozhin, who has previously made premature claims. "Bakhmut is Ukrainian and they have not captured anything and are very far from doing that," Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern military command, told Reuters. Western pressure on Russia may increase with Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia, joining NATO on Tuesday. "In the event that the forces and resources of other NATO members are deployed in Finland, we will take additional steps to reliably ensure Russia's military security," he told RIA.

☆ Ukraine's Zelenskiy: Situation in Bakhmut 'especially hot'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERSApril 2 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that the military situation around the city of Bakhmut, besieged by Russian forces for months, was "especially hot". Especially Bakhmut," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. Russian forces have for months been trying to encircle and capture Bakhmut, a town of 70,000 before the Russian invasion launched over a year ago. Prominent Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said fighting had engulfed the city centre. Ukrainian forces had repelled 25 enemy attacks, but Russian forces had captured the AZOM metal plant, which Ukrainian troops had defended for days.

☆ Ukraine holds defense as battles rage in Donetsk region, top commander says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A tank moves on a road as Russia-Ukraine war continues in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine on February 08, 2023. Ukraine's forces hold defense along the frontline in Donetsk, including of the besieged town of Bakhmut, with the fiercest battles raging for the cities of Vuhledar and Maryinka, Kyiv's top military commander said on Saturday. "Fierce fighting continues in the area of Vuhledar and Maryinka," Zaluzhnyi said in a Telegram message after a call with U.S. General Mark Milley. He added that Ukraine continues to hold Bakhmut, tying to "stabilize" the frontline around the town. Wagner's head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said it could take two years for Moscow to control the whole of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine.

☆ Ukraine holds defence as battles rage in Donetsk region, top commander says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Nick Starkov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LVIV, Ukraine, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Ukraine's forces hold defence along the frontline in Donetsk, including of the besieged town of Bakhmut, with the fiercest battles raging for the cities of Vuhledar and Maryinka, Kyiv's top military commander said on Saturday. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, said Russia carries out some 50 attacks daily in Donetsk, a region in Ukraine's southeast that Moscow has been trying to occupy fully. "Fierce fighting continues in the area of Vuhledar and Maryinka," Zaluzhnyi said in a Telegram message after a call with U.S. General Mark Milley. He added that Ukraine continues to hold Bakhmut, tying to "stabilise" the frontline around the town. Wagner's head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said it could take two years for Moscow to control the whole of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine.

☆ Russia advances in eastern Ukraine, strike on apartments kills civilians
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Fierce fighting was unabated in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops are trying to gain ground near the strategic logistics hub of Lyman, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Wednesday evening. The Russian forces were trying to make gains that they could show on the anniversary of their Feb 24, 2022 invasion, Zelenskiy said. At least 44 people were killed in January when a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the city of Dnipro. In April 2022, Ukraine said 57 people died when a Russian missile hit the train station in Kramatorsk. Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian forces of war crimes and targeting civilians, charges Russia rejects.

Asked if the United States would provide the jets, Biden told reporters at the White House on Monday, "No." The Russian state news agency TASS quoted him as saying Russian forces were making advances there, but "not clear-cut, that is, here there is a battle for literally every meter." Ukraine still controls Maryinka and Vuhledar, where Russian attacks were less intense on Monday, according to Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov. In central Zaporizhzhia region and in southern Kherson region, Russian forces shelled more than 40 settlements. Zelenskiy is urging the West to hasten delivery of its promised weapons so Ukraine can go on the offensive.

☆ Russian attacks grind on in eastern Ukraine as Bakhmut is 'destroyed'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

An aerial view of Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles with the Russian troops, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. Zelenskyy said the situation "remains very difficult" in several frontline cities in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. "The occupiers actually destroyed Bakhmut, another Donbas city that the Russian army turned into burnt ruins." He said Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks in Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk. Taking Bakhmut would rupture Ukraine's supply lines and open a route for Russian forces to press on toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, key Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk.

[1/34] A Ukrainian serviceman fires a mortar on a front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine November 16, 2022. "After a trip to the ... Kherson region, one thing became clear - our people there need a lot of help. Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces had repelled about 100 attacks in Donetsk, with no letup in the fighting. Ukraine's military said Russian forces had fired shells at a series of towns in eastern and southern Ukraine. Also hit by artillery fire were towns further west in Donetsk and in Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine, including Vuhledar and Hulyaipole.

[1/34] A Ukrainian serviceman fires a mortar on a front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine November 16, 2022. "After a trip to the... Kherson region, one thing became clear - our people there need a lot of help. Investigators in liberated areas of Kherson region have uncovered 63 bodies bearing signs of torture after the Russian forces left, Ukraine's interior minister was quoted as saying. Ukraine's military said Russian forces had fired shells at a series of towns in eastern and southern Ukraine. Also hit by artillery fire were towns further west in Donetsk and in Zaporizhzhia region in central Ukraine, including Vuhledar and Hulyaipole.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest news: Russia resumes participation in grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Russian defence ministry said it had received written guarantees from Kyiv not to use the Black Sea grain corridor for military operations against Russia. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was important to stand up to "crazy Russian aggression that destabilises international trade." * Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he and Zelenskiy discussed sending grain to African countries. * The U.N. coordinator for the grain deal said he expects loaded ships to depart Ukrainian ports on Thursday. * The British government said it had sanctioned four Russian steel and petrochemical tycoons in relation to the war in Ukraine.

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