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☆ Russia mounts 'desperate resistance' near Bakhmut, Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, June 16 (Reuters) - Advancing Ukrainian troops are facing "desperate resistance" from Russian forces around the eastern city of Bakhmut, a senior Ukrainian commander said on Friday. Realising this, the enemy units put up desperate resistance," Syrskyi said on the Telegram messaging app. The Ukrainian military said last week it had started to push Russian forces back in and around Bakhmut. Syrskyi reiterated that the Ukrainian forces were also advancing in the south. Russia has not officially acknowledged the Ukrainian advances, and says Ukrainian troops have suffered heavy casualties, but Reuters has confirmed the liberation of at least two villages in the east.

Persons: Oleksandr Syrskyi, Syrskyi, Olena Harmash, Timothy Organizations: Russian, Military, Reuters, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine's Donetsk, Kyiv

☆ Ukraine says it has retaken 100 square kilometres of land in counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, June 15 (Reuters) - Ukraine has regained control of over 100 square kilometres, or 38 square miles, of territory in its counteroffensive against Russian forces, a senior Ukrainian military commander said on Thursday. "We are ready to continue fighting to liberate our territory even with our bare hands," Brigadier-General Oleksii Hromov told a media briefing. Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has not officially acknowledged the Ukrainian advances. Each side says the other has suffered heavy losses since the counteroffensive started, and Moscow and Kyiv rarely comment on their own losses. Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Writing by Anna Pruchnicka, Editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Oleksii Hromov, Pavel Polityuk, Anna Pruchnicka, Timothy Organizations: Russian, Reuters, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mala Tokmachka, Velyka, Russia, Moscow, Kyiv

☆ Ukraine warns of floating mines and disease after Kakhovka dam collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Local residents stand in water on a flooded street, after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kherson, Ukraine June 6, 2023. REUTERS/Alina SmutkoSummary Kakhovka dam on Dnipro river was destroyed on TuesdayUkrainian deputy prime minister visits flooded KhersonHe warns of floating mines, disease and chemicalsKHERSON, Ukraine, June 7 (Reuters) - A senior Ukrainian official warned of the danger posed by floating mines unearthed by flooding and the spread of disease and hazardous chemicals on Wednesday as he inspected damage caused by the collapse of the Kakhovka dam. Russia said Ukraine sabotaged the dam to distract attention from a new counteroffensive it said was "faltering". "Water is disturbing mines that were laid earlier, causing them to explode," Kubrakov, dressed casually in a grey t-shirt, told reporters. EVACUATIONUkrainian authorities have evacuated people from 24 flooded settlements and at least 20 settlements are flooded on territory occupied by Russian forces, he said.

Persons: Alina Smutko, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Kubrakov, Oleksandr Prokudin, Max Hunder, Timothy Organizations: REUTERS, Ukrainian, Regional, United Nations, International Committee, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kherson, Dnipro, KHERSON, Russia, Moscow, Kyiv, Russian, Mykolaiv

☆ Nova Kakhova: Critical dam in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine near Kherson destroyed sparking region-wide evacuations
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Helen Regan Jonny Hallam Josh Pennington Olga Voitovych Irene Nasser | Helen Regan | Jonny Hallam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“The Russians will be responsible for the possible deprivation of drinking water for people in the south of Kherson region and in Crimea, the possible destruction of some settlements and the biosphere,” he said. As of 10:00 a.m. local time, 742 people have been evacuated from the Kherson region, the ministry said. “We are helping citizens in the liberated west-bank part of the Kherson region. Around 16,000 people on the west bank of Kherson region are in a “critical zone,” Oleksandr Prokudin, the Ukraine-appointed head of the Kherson region military administration, said. It also supplies water for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which lies upstream and is also under Russian control.

Persons: Moscow’s, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ”, Andriy Yermak, Charles Michel, Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelensky, Russia’s, Ihor, Oleksandr Prokudin, Nova Kakhovka, Vladimir Leontiev, ” Leontiev, Andrey Alekseenko, ” Alekseenko, Alekseenko, ‘, Natalia Humeniuk, Energoatom Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, European, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ukraine, Internal, Ukraine’s National Police, Ukraine’s Ministry, Internal Affairs, Novosti, Emergency, International Atomic Energy, Maxar Technologies Locations: Ukraine, ”, Nova, Dnipro, Kherson, Ukraine’s Kherson, Russia, Ukrainian, Kherson region, Crimea, Moscow, Kyiv, Salt, Utah

☆ Ukraine minister in 'disbelief' at closed Kyiv bomb shelters
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, June 4 (Reuters) - A senior Ukrainian government official expressed "disbelief" on Sunday after learning that nearly half of Kyiv bomb shelters inspected during an initial audit were closed or unfit for use. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ordered an inspection of all Ukrainian shelters on Friday, a day after three people were killed in Kyiv when they were unable to access one during a Russian air strike. "I greeted with disbelief that fact that half were open and considered ready," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "Yesterday, when we selectively checked the shelters in the Obolon district with our mayor, the absolute majority of the shelters were closed." Thursday's deaths caused a public outcry and a promise of a harsh response by Zelenskiy, which appeared aimed at Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, who has clashed with the president before.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Oleksandr Kamyshin, Kamyshin, Vitali Klitschko, Klitschko, Dan Peleschuk, Nick Macfie Organizations: Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Kyiv, Obolon, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Ukraine says Russia eases Bakhmut attacks, Kyiv talks up counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Separately, senior Ukrainian officials indicated their forces were ready to launch a long-promised counteroffensive to recapture territory taken by Russia since the start of the war. In a statement on Telegram, Ukraine Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Russian forces were continuing to attack but that overall offensive activity had decreased. Kyiv is expected to soon launch a highly anticipated counteroffensive to retake Russian-occupied territory. Ukraine's top general, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, posted a sleekly produced video on Saturday showing Ukrainian troops swearing an oath and preparing for battle. Reporting by Dan Peleschuk and David Ljunggren; Editing by Conor Humphries and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.”

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Ukraine says closer to encircling Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FIGHTING* Ukrainian forces have partly encircled Bakhmut along the flanks and still control a part of the city, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said. * Russia claimed on Saturday to have fully captured Bakhmut, which would mark an end to the longest and bloodiest battle of the 15-month war and Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated troops and Wagner. * A Russian-installed official in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region said Kyiv had struck the Russian-held port city of Berdyansk with British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles. * Leaders of the world's richest democracies at the summit said they would not back down from supporting Ukraine. * INSIGHT-How Russians end up in a far-right militia fighting in Ukraine.

☆ Wagner Chief Says Bakhmut Is Taken; Ukraine Rejects Claim
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The head of Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group said his mercenaries had captured Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, a claim the Ukrainian military denied even as their soldiers have been forced into an ever shrinking patch of land inside the ruined city. Senior Ukrainian military officials acknowledged that the situation inside the city was “critical,” with soldiers facing an unrelenting barrage of artillery fire and powerful aerial bombardments. Nevertheless, they said, the Ukrainian forces were still engaged in combat operations. The Russian Ministry of Defense and the Kremlin released a statement confirming the city had been “liberated,” hours after the declaration by the Wagner chief, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, that the fight for the city was over. After nearly a year of fighting, Bakhmut has taken on an outsize importance: a symbol of Ukrainian defiance and of Russian leaders’ determination to blast their way to a small victory in a little-known corner of eastern Ukraine.

☆ Russia seeking to disrupt Ukraine's preparations for counterattack, Kyiv says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, May 19 (Reuters) - Russia has shifted the focus of its missile strikes on Ukraine to try to disrupt preparations for a Ukrainian counterattack, a senior Ukrainian military intelligence official said. After months of attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Russian forces are now increasingly targeting military facilities and supplies, said Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Head of the Defence Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate. He also said Russian aviation was now targeting areas on or near the front line more often than before. Russia, whose air strikes have also often hit residential areas across Ukraine, did not immediately comment on Skibitskyi's remarks. Soldiers near the front line said this week that Russian forces were pounding supply lines to try to halt the Ukrainian advances.

Here is a look at the F-16, why Ukraine wants it and why the Biden administration is hesitant to supply it. It has flown in American conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, the Persian Gulf and on homeland defense missions in U.S. airspace. There are approximately 3,000 currently in active military service worldwide, including hundreds in the U.S. Air Force and Navy. Without modern fighter jets, “no air defense system will be perfect,” President Volodymyr Zelensky told European leaders gathered at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, this week. He also said it would be unlikely for Britain, with its “special relationship” with America, to push ahead with trying to provide F-16s if the Biden administration was not at least somewhat on board.

☆ The Latest Rift Among Ukraine’s Allies Is Whether to Send F-16s
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Lara Jakes | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A fresh push by Britain and the Netherlands to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter planes has exposed the latest fault line among Western allies who have wrangled repeatedly over sending powerful weapons of war, once again pitting a reluctant United States against some of its closest European partners. Several European allies are prepared to give their F-16s to Ukraine. But the Biden administration, which must approve any transfers of the American-made planes, remains unconvinced that Ukraine needs the expensive jets, which are a staple of many modern military arsenals. So deep is Washington’s skepticism that Kyiv’s pilots are currently not even allowed to train on the F-16s that are owned by European states, according to a senior Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity to frankly discuss the sensitive diplomatic issue. American reluctance to allow training would severely limit a proposed new European coalition to help Ukraine obtain and fly F-16s — whether in the current conflict or to protect against any future aggressions by Moscow after the West turns its focus from the 15-month war.

"If, because of your petty jealousy, you do not want to give the Russian people the victory of taking Bakhmut, that's your problem," Prigozhin added in the video. A senior Ukrainian official said Russia was bringing Wagner mercenary fighters from along the front line to Bakhmut to capture it by Victory Day. In another sign of disarray on the Russian side, former Russian deputy defence minister Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev joined Wagner as a deputy commander, Russian pro-war social media channels reported. Earlier, Prigozhin was pictured surrounded by corpses he said were his men, shouting abuse at Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Moscow accused Ukraine of firing drones at the Kremlin in the early hours of Wednesday in an attempt to kill Putin.

The Kremlin said Russia reserved the right to retaliate, and hardliners demanded swift retribution against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in comments sent to Reuters: "Ukraine has nothing to do with drone attacks on the Kremlin. Another video circulating on Russian social media appeared to show a plume of smoke over the Kremlin after the purported attack. Russia marks the occasion with a huge military parade on Red Square, for which seating has already been erected. Ukraine typically declines to claim responsibility for attacks on Russia or Russian-annexed Crimea, though Kyiv officials have frequently celebrated such attacks with cryptic or mocking remarks.

☆ Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch reportedly had calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy weeks before Tucker Carlson was fired
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch had calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Semafor reported. The separate phone calls reportedly happened weeks before Fox News host Tucker Carlson was fired. There is no clear link between the Murdochs' calls with Zelenskyy and Carlson's firing from Fox News. Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch had separate phone calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy weeks before Tucker Carlson, who has been critical of Ukraine and Zelenskyy, was fired from Fox News, Semafor reported. The Washington Post reported that during a Fox newsroom meeting, Rupert Murdoch"loudly" challenged Carlson about one of his segments on the Ukraine war.

Kyiv and the West accuse Russian forces of committing war crimes in occupied Ukrainian territory, which Moscow denies. Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk are the four regions that Putin proclaimed annexed last September following what Ukraine said were sham referendums. Russian forces only partly control the four regions. HEAVY ARTILLERYFighting has raged in and around Bakhmut in Donetsk region for months, with Ukrainian forces holding out despite regular claims by Russia to have taken the city. "Any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences," they said.

SummarySummary Companies Three EU states have banned Ukrainian grain, food importsRomania looks set to follow suitUkraine also trying to salvage Black Sea grain dealWARSAW, April 18 (Reuters) - Poland agreed on Tuesday to lift a ban on the transit of Ukrainian grain and food products, but Ukraine said a wartime deal allowing it to safely ship grain from Black Sea ports was still under threat. Failure to resume exports into eastern European countries or secure an extension of the Black Sea grain deal would trap large amounts of grain in Ukraine, hitting its exports and causing further economic problems for Kyiv as it battles Russian troops. Large quantities of Ukrainian grain have been trapped by bottlenecks in eastern and central Europe as low global prices and demand mean grain cannot easily be sold on. BLACK SEA GRAIN DEAL IN DOUBTUkraine, which relies on grain and food sales for a significant slice of its gross domestic product, also has concerns about the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered between Moscow and Kyiv by Turkey and the United Nations last July. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss the Ukraine Black Sea grain export deal with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York next week, Russia's U.N. envoy said on Tuesday.

☆ Ukraine brings home 130 military in Easter prisoner exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, April 16 (Reuters) - One hundred and thirty Ukrainian prisoners of war have been released and returned home in a "great Easter exchange", a senior Ukrainian presidential official said on Sunday, the day of Orthodox Easter. Ukrainian and Russian forces have held regular prisoner exchanges during Moscow's invasion, now in its 14th month. Yermak said those returning home included military, border guards, national guard members, sailors and employees of the state border guard. The exchange was the second large prisoner swap in the past week. On Monday, Russia and Ukraine said they carried out a major prisoner swap with 106 Russian prisoners of war being freed in exchange for 100 Ukrainians.

☆ Russia's Wagner claims it controls most of Bakhmut; Kyiv says forces holding firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File PhotoApril 11 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group on Tuesday said his forces controlled more than 80% of the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after some of war's heaviest and bloodiest fighting. Senior Ukrainian military officials did not address the claims directly, but said their forces were holding firm against fierce attacks in what once was a city of 70,000 and keeping Russian forces in check. The Russian-installed head of Donetsk region, one of four areas declared annexed by Moscow last September, said Russian forces had backed Ukrainian defenders into a corner. But Russian forces, she said, "are generally losing to us in street battles so they are simply destroying all buildings and structures". Russian forces have made only incremental gains in their advance through eastern Ukraine.

☆ Ukraine says six killed, eight wounded in Russian shelling in east of country
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, April 2 (Reuters) - Six civilians were killed and eight wounded in Russian shelling of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine on Sunday morning, a senior Ukrainian official said. "Russians have carried out massive shelling of the town of Kostiantynivka," Andriy Yermak, head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, said on the Telegram messaging app. He said 16 apartment buildings, eight private houses, a kindergarten and an administrative building were damaged. Yermak added photos showing the partial destruction of buildings and craters from explosions. Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Frances Kerry and Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: IMF approves $15.6 billion Ukraine loan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 1 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said its executive board had approved a four-year $15.6 billion loan programme for Ukraine, part of a global $115 billion package to support the country's economy as it battles Russia's 13-month-old invasion. * A senior Ukrainian official ruled out any ceasefire in Russia's war on his country that would involve Russian forces remaining on territory they now occupy in Ukraine. * Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia faced "existential threats" to its security and development from "unfriendly states" as he presented President Vladimir Putin with an updated foreign policy doctrine. * U.S. Secretary of State Blinken will push back on Russia's attempts to "weaponise energy" and rally support for a Ukrainian counteroffensive when he meets NATO foreign ministers in Brussels next week, an official said. * Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Russia, which has decided to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, could if necessary put intercontinental nuclear missiles there too.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: IMF approves $15.6 bln Ukraine loan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

☆ Ukraine says allies' concerns hamper talks on war compensation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine says receiving compensation from Russia is vital for its future. If it doesn't do it voluntarily, (let's) fill a (compensation) fund with Russian money, foreign exchange reserves, Russian assets," Mudra told Reuters in an interview this week. She did not identify the countries that had expressed such concerns but said Ukraine was trying to allay their fears. Despite the obstacles ahead, Mudra said Ukraine hoped that an international mechanism for compensating Ukraine would be established within a year. "This is the first - and an extremely important - step in the creation of this compensation mechanism," Mudra said.

☆ Drone crash shows Putin ready to expand conflict zone - Ukrainian official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, speaks with Reuters during an interview, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 8, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File PhotoKYIV, March 15 (Reuters) - An incident involving a U.S. spy drone and a Russian fighter jet is a signal that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to expand the Ukraine-Russia conflict zone, a senior Ukrainian security official said on Wednesday. The U.S. military said on Tuesday a Russian fighter plane had clipped the propeller of a spy drone and made it crash into the Black Sea. Moscow denied the aircraft had collided and said the drone had crashed after "sharp manoeuvres". The Ukrainian presidency and government did not immediately offer any official comment on the incident but Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, voiced concern on Twitter.

☆ Black Sea grain talks continue as Russia seeks 60-day renewal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Vessels are seen as they await inspection under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, in the southern anchorage of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey December 11, 2022. Since Russia and Ukraine signed the U.N.-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative in Turkey on July 22, millions of tonnes of grain and other food products have been exported from Ukrainian ports, helping lower global food prices from record highs. Russia on Monday suggested allowing the deal to be renewed for 60 days, half the term of the previous renewal. It was not immediately clear how the deal could be extended for half of the previous duration of 120 days. The United Nations would not be drawn on confirming whether the deal would continue for 60 days or 120 days.

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