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☆ Ukraine detains officials over destruction of famous plane at start of war
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A Ukrainian service member walks in a front of the Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane, the world's biggest aircraft, destroyed by Russian troops as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at an airfield in the settlement of Hostomel, in Kyiv region, Ukraine April 3, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb GaranichKYIV, March 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine handed suspicion notices on Friday to three former top managers of aircraft manufacturer Antonov for obstructing the country's military and allowing Russia to destroy the iconic giant "Mriya" cargo plane at the start of the full-scale war. The Ukrainian-made "Mriya", which is Ukrainian for "dream", weighs some 705 tonnes and has a wingspan of 290 feet. The cargo plane was originally built in the late 1980s to transport a Soviet space shuttle. "Our state will definitely build a new plane, because the Dream, like Ukraine, cannot be destroyed," Malyuk said.

[1/5] Grain farmer Oleksandr Klepach points at trenches in his field, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Snihurivka, southeast Ukraine, February 20, 2023. Agricultural companies, which plant most of Ukraine's fields, are short 40 billion hryvnia ($1.08 billion) to carry out spring work, the Agrarian Council said. Grains have traditionally dominated Ukraine's fields, but lower-cost and higher-priced oilseeds are gaining popularity during war. Ukraine was the world's fourth-largest corn exporter before Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and the biggest sunflower oil exporter. Companies lacking demining certification are charging farmers up to $3,000 per hectare to clear fields, Ukrainian media reported on Tuesday.

KHERSON, Ukraine, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Vladyslav Antoniuk felt euphoric three months ago when he returned to his home city Kherson, the day Ukrainian troops rolled back in and jubilant residents waved blue and yellow flags in the main square to celebrate. Russian soldiers, who retreated just across the Dnipro River, have not been pushed back further and are pummelling the city daily with artillery. On Wednesday, Russian shells hit a bus stop in the city centre, killing six people and wounding a dozen. He said his administration evacuates about 100 people from the city daily on trains and buses on a voluntary basis. Reporting by Rod Nickel in Kherson, Ukraine Editing by Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"We withstand all threats, shelling, cluster bombs, cruise missiles, kamikaze drones, blackouts and cold ... And we will do everything to gain victory this year." "Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko 1 2 3 4 5Igor, walking through Moscow, said Russia must win: "We're looking forward to it ending successfully. Despite strong support for Ukraine in the West, big developing nations, above all China and India, have kept clear of imposing sanctions on Moscow. Learn more about the Ukraine war.

☆ Ukrainian agent accused of spying for Putin was found with stacks of foreign cash and Russian SIM cards, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A lieutenant colonel in Ukraine's intelligence service was charged with being a Russian spy. Security services said they found stacks of cash and Russian SIM cards in his home. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said it detained a lieutenant colonel from its own agency, and discovered stacks of foreign cash and SIM cards issued by Russian carriers when searching his home. The lieutenant colonel's arrest comes as Ukraine's key security services continue to wrestle with the task of eliminating Russian moles among their ranks. "Ukraine made a major mistake in not following the lead of the Baltic nations following independence in reforming the security services from ground zero," he said, per The Guardian.

☆ Ukrainian authorities detain alleged spy in security service
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Investigators have detained a Ukrainian security official on suspicion of spying for Russia, authorities said on Thursday, part of an effort by Kyiv to weed out moles nearly a year into a war with Russia. The official - a lieutenant colonel in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) which joined the operation - had revealed the location of military checkpoints and other "secret information", the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) said. A search turned up mobile phones, Russian SIM cards, cash and other evidence proving "longstanding ties" to Russian state and law enforcement structures, the SBI added. "Today the service works as a single team and is doing the maximum for Ukraine's victory," said SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk in a separate statement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy fired the previous SBU director, a childhood friend, last July citing collaboration with Russia by officials in the powerful agency.

☆ Senior Ukrainian officials depart in corruption crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office quit Tuesday, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to launch a staff shake-up amid high-level corruption allegations during the war with Russia. Media reports have linked at least one official departure to a scandal involving the purchase of food for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Bulent Kilic / AFP via Getty Images fileZelenskyy vowed to drive out corrupt officials in comments on Sunday, when a deputy minister was dismissed for being part of a network embezzling budget funds. Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry later identified the dismissed official as Vasyl Lozynsky, a deputy minister there. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s focus on the war would not stop his government from tackling corruption.

☆ Zelenskiy promises to swiftly confront Ukraine corruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Maria Starkova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Zelenskiy's pledge came amidst allegations of senior-level corruption, including a report of dubious practices in military procurement despite officials promoting national unity to confront the invasion. Ukraine has had a long history of rampant corruption and shaky governance, with Transparency International ranking the country's corruption at 122 of 180 countries, not much better than Russia in 2021. "This week will be the time for appropriate decisions," Zelenskiy said. The renewed focus on corruption involved also Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov after a newspaper reported that the military had allegedly secured food at highly inflated prices. Reporting by Maria Starkova; Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russian flags banned at Australian Open tennis after Ukraine complaint
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 16, 2023 General view of the first round match between Germany's Jule Niemeier and Poland's Iga Swiatek REUTERS/Carl RecineMELBOURNE, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Russian and Belarusian flags have been banned from the Melbourne Park precinct during the Australian Open after a complaint from the Ukraine ambassador to the country. "I strongly condemn the public display of the Russian flag during the game of the Ukrainian tennis player Kateryna Baindl at the Australian Open today," he wrote on Twitter. Tennis Australia responded on Tuesday by banning the flags of the two countries. "Flags from Russia and Belarus are banned onsite at the Australian Open," Tennis Australia said in a statement. Russian and Belarusian players were banned from Wimbledon last year but are able to compete as individual athletes without national affiliation at the Australian Open.

☆ Shelling booms around Bakhmut in 'Christmas ceasefire'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Herbert Villaraga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Plumes of smoke rise from a Russian strike during a 36-hour ceasefire over Orthodox Christmas declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, from the frontline Donbas city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, January 7, 2023. Moscow said on Saturday its forces in Ukraine would maintain a 36-hour ceasefire declared by President Vladimir Putin until midnight, despite Ukraine rejecting the offer. "When Putin says there's a ceasefire, it's actually the other way round: there's no ceasefire. "Volunteers were injured, and one local Bakhmut volunteer lost a limb and was evacuated. Olha, who declined to give her surname, poured scorn on the idea of any Christmas respite from Russia's onslaught.

☆ Christmas joy and anger for rival Orthodox churches in historic Kyiv monastery
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

It has become a focus of a bitter conflict between Ukraine's Orthodox communities, triggered by Russia's invasion. Members of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Ukraine's largest, piled into the cathedral's ornate interior on Saturday, to hear the first ever Ukrainian-language service in the cathedral. Ukraine's Orthodox Church, in its various iterations, has been subordinate to Moscow since the 17th century. The war, now in its eleventh month, has led many Ukrainians to rally round the OCU, which they see as more pro-Ukrainian than its rival, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). That decision infuriated Russia's Orthodox Church, as Istanbul had previously recognised the UOC, then under Moscow's rule, as the legitimate Ukrainian church.

The visit by a team from Global Rights Compliance, an international legal practice headquartered in The Hague, has not previously been reported. More than 50,000 alleged incidents of international crimes have been reported by Ukraine's prosecutor general since Russia's full-scale invasion. Widespread or systematic sexual violence could amount to crimes against humanity, generally seen as more serious, legal specialists said. He added that more than half said they had been subjected to various forms of sexual violence. UNIQUE CHALLENGESElderfield said sexual violence was not always given the prominence it should have in national and international investigations.

However the talks aim to remove remaining obstacles in the initiative extended last week and ease global food shortages by unblocking Ukrainian and Russian exports, they added. Putin said on Wednesday that Russian officials would work to unblock Russian fertilisers stuck in European ports and to resume ammonia exports. The export of Russian ammonia would be via an existing pipeline to the Black Sea. Neither Russia nor Ukraine have released official figures on how many prisoners of war they have taken since Russia invaded in February. On Oct. 29, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy said that since March, Russia had freed a total of 1,031 prisoners.

☆ War Drives a Rift Between Two Ukrainian Brothers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Matthew Luxmoore | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

KHARKIV, Ukraine—The missile shattered the stained glass windows of Father Vasyl Ivanchuk’s church in early March, peppering the walls with shrapnel and smashing golden candelabra. Father Vasyl sent photos of the damage to his brother Iosif, a priest at a parish near Moscow, denouncing the latest Russian strike.

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