Tag: Kherson

A gloomy mood hangs over Ukraine’s soldiers as war with Russia grinds on

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A gloomy mood hangs over Ukraine’s soldiers nearly two years after Russia invaded their country.

Despite a disappointing counteroffensive this summer and signs of wavering financial support from allies, Ukrainian soldiers say they remain fiercely determined to win. But as winter approaches, they worry that Russia is better equipped for battle and are frustrated about being on the defensive again in a grueling war. Some doubt the judgment of their leaders.

Discontent among Ukrainian soldiers — once extremely rare and expressed only in private — is now more common and out in the open.

In the southern city of Kherson, where Ukraine is staging attacks against well-armed Russian troops on the other side of the Dnieper River, soldiers are asking why these difficult amphibious operations were not launched months ago in warmer weather.

“I don’t understand,” said a commander of the 11th National Guard Brigade’s anti-drone unit who is known on the battlefield as Boxer. “Now it’s harder and colder.”

“It’s not just my feeling, many units share it,” said Boxer, who spoke on condition that only his battlefield name would be used.

Russia, which illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, controls about one-fifth of Ukraine. After 22 months of war the two countries are essentially in a stalemate along the 1,000 kilometre-longf front line.

Russian Forces aim to push deeper into eastern Ukraine this winter, analysts say, so that Russian President Vladimir Putin can cite this momentum as he campaigns for reelection, an outcome that is all but certain. Emboldened by recent gains on the battlefield, Putin said last week that he remains fully committed to the war and criticized Ukraine for “sacrificing” troops to demonstrate success to Western sponsors.

In the United States, which has already spent some $111 billion defending Ukraine, President Joe Biden is advocating for an additional $50 billion in aid. But Republican lawmakers are balking at more support — just as some lawmakers in Europe are on the fence about providing another $50 billion to Ukraine, after failing to deliver on promised ammunition.

“The reason the Ukrainians are gloomy is that, they now sense, not only have they not done well this year … they know that the Russians’ game is improving,” said Richard Barrons, a former British Army General. “They see what’s happening in Congress, and they see what happened in the EU.”

Ukraine may be on the defensive this winter, but its military leaders say they have no intention of letting up the fight.

“If we won’t have a single bullet, we will kill them with shovels,” said Serhii, a Commander in the 59th Brigade that is active in the eastern city of Avdiivka and who spoke on condition that only his first name be used. “Surely, everyone is tired of war, physically and mentally. But imagine if we stop — what happens next?”

The fatigue and frustration on the battlefield are mirrored in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, where disagreements among leaders have recently spilled out into the open.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month publicly disputed the assessment by Ukraine’s Military Chief, Valery Zaluzhny, that the war had reached a stalemate. And the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has repeatedly lashed out at Mr. Zelenskyy, saying he holds too much power.

Disquiet in the halls of power appears to have filtered down to the Military’s rank and file, who increasingly have misgivings about inefficiency and faulty decision-making within the bureaucracy they depend on to keep them well-armed for the fight.

In the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia, where momentum has slowed since the summertime counteroffensive, drones have become a crucial tool of war. They enable soldiers to keep an eye on — and hold back — Russian forces while they conduct dangerous and painstaking operations to clear minefields and consolidate territorial gains. But fighters there complain that the military has been too slow in training drone operators.

It took seven months to obtain the paperwork needed from multiple government agencies to train 75 men, said Konstantin Denisov, a Ukrainian soldier.

“We wasted time for nothing,” he said. Commanders elsewhere complain of not enough troops, or delays in getting drones repaired, disrupting combat missions.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov insists Ukraine has enough soldiers and weaponry to power the next phase of the fight.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov rides in an APC during a visit to the front-line city of Kupiansk, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on Nov. 30, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
AP

“We are capable and able to protect our people and we will be doing it,” he told the Associated Press. “We have a plan and we are sticking to that plan.”

The limited momentum Ukraine’s forces had during their summertime counteroffensive has slowed — from the forests in the northeast, to the urban centers in the east, to the slushy farmland in the South.

With Russia hoping to take the initiative this winter, Ukraine is mainly focused on standing its ground, according to interviews with a half dozen military commanders along the vast front line.

Despite wet, muddy ground that makes it harder to move tanks and other heavy weaponry around, the Russian army has bolstered its forces in the eastern Donetsk region, where it has recently stepped up offensive maneuvers.

“The main goal for the winter is to lose as few people as possible,” said Parker, the Ukrainian Commander of a Mechanized Battalion near Bakhmut who asked to go by his battlefield name to speak freely. Bakhmut is a city in eastern Ukraine that Russian forces took after months of heavy fighting.

“We have to be clear,” Mr. Parker said. “It’s not possible in the winter to liberate Donetsk or Bakhmut, because they have too many (fighters).”

Analysts say Ukraine may even be forced to cede patches of previously reclaimed territory this winter, though Russia is likely to pay a heavy price.

“If Russia keeps on attacking, the most likely outcome is that they’ll make some very marginal territorial gains, but suffer enormous casualties in doing so,” said Ben Barry, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

Some Ukrainian commanders across the front line say they lack the fighters and firepower needed to keep Russia’s seemingly endless waves of infantrymen at arm’s length as they fortify defenses to protect soldiers. That places ever more importance on attack drones — a weapon, they say, that Russia is currently better equipped with.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian 10th Mountain Assault Brigade “Edelweiss”, Ukrainian soldiers pass by a volunteer bus burning after a Russian drone hit it near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. A gloomy mood hangs over Ukraine’s soldiers nearly two years after Russia invaded their country. Ukrainian soldiers remain fiercely determined to win, despite a disappointing counteroffensive this summer and signs of wavering financial support from allies.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian 10th Mountain Assault Brigade “Edelweiss”, Ukrainian soldiers pass by a volunteer bus burning after a Russian drone hit it near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. A gloomy mood hangs over Ukraine’s soldiers nearly two years after Russia invaded their country. Ukrainian soldiers remain fiercely determined to win, despite a disappointing counteroffensive this summer and signs of wavering financial support from allies.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Indeed, while Ukrainian soldiers have proven to be resourceful and innovative on the battlefield, Moscow has dramatically scaled up its Defense Industry in the past year, manufacturing armored vehicles and artillery rounds at a pace Ukraine cannot match.

“Yes they’re ahead of us in terms of supply,” said Boxer, the Commander in Kherson, who credited Russian drones with having longer range and more advanced software. “It allows the drone to go up 2,000 meters, avoid jammers,” he said, whereas Ukrainian drones “can fly only 500 meters.”

This poses a problem for his troops, who have been limited in their ability to strike Russian targets on the other side of the Dnieper River. To eventually deploy heavy weaponry, such as tanks, Ukraine first needs to push Russian forces back to erect pontoon bridges. Until they get more drones, this won’t be possible, said Boxer.

“We wait for weapons we were supposed to receive months ago,” he said.

A woman stands with a tape on her mouth reading “Do not be silent” during a rally of relatives and friends of Ukrainian military prisoners of war, specifically captives from the defence of Mariupol dubbed “Azovstal defenders”, hold placards during a rally calling for their quick exchange with Russian prisoners of war, at Saint Sophia Square in Kyiv, on December 17, 2023, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

A woman stands with a tape on her mouth reading “Do not be silent” during a rally of relatives and friends of Ukrainian military prisoners of war, specifically captives from the defence of Mariupol dubbed “Azovstal defenders”, hold placards during a rally calling for their quick exchange with Russian prisoners of war, at Saint Sophia Square in Kyiv, on December 17, 2023, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

To sustain the fight, Ukraine will also have to mobilize more men.

In the Northeastern cities of Kupiansk and Lyman, Russian forces have deployed a large force with the goal of recapturing lost territory.

“They are simply weakening our positions and strongholds, injuring our soldiers, thereby forcing them to leave the battlefield,” said Dolphin, a Commander in the northeast who would only be quoted using his battlefield name.

Mr. Dolphin says he has been unable to sufficiently re-staff. “I can say for my unit, we are prepared 60%,” he said.

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Ukraine’s dam collapse is both fast-moving disaster and slow-moving ecological catastrophe

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The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam was a fast-moving disaster that is swiftly evolving into a long-term environmental catastrophe affecting drinking water, food supplies and ecosystems reaching into the Black Sea.

The short-term dangers can be seen from outer space — tens of thousands of parcels of land flooded, and more to come. Experts say the long-term consequences will be generational.

For every flooded home and farm, there are fields upon fields of newly planted grains, fruits and vegetables whose irrigation canals are drying up. Thousands of fish were left gasping on mud flats. Fledgling water birds lost their nests and their food sources. Countless trees and plants were drowned.

If water is life, then the draining of the Kakhovka reservoir creates an uncertain future for the region of southern Ukraine that was an arid plain until the damming of the Dnieper River 70 years ago. The Kakhovka Dam was the last in a system of six Soviet-era dams on the river, which flows from Belarus to the Black Sea.

Then the Dnieper became part of the front line after Russia’s invasion last year.

“All this territory formed its own particular ecosystem, with the reservoir included,” said Kateryna Filiuta, an expert in protected habitats for the Ukraine Nature Conservation Group.

THE SHORT TERM

Ihor Medunov is very much part of that ecosystem. His work as a hunting and fishing guide effectively ended with the start of the war, but he stayed on his little island compound with his four dogs because it seemed safer than the alternative. Still, for months the knowledge that Russian forces controlled the dam downstream worried him.

The six dams along the Dnieper were designed to operate in tandem, adjusting to each other as water levels rose and fell from one season to the next. When Russian forces seized the Kakhovka Dam, the whole system fell into neglect.

Whether deliberately or simply carelessly, the Russian forces allowed water levels to fluctuate uncontrollably. They dropped dangerously low in winter and then rose to historic peaks when snowmelt and spring rains pooled in the reservoir. Until Monday, the waters were lapping into Mr. Medunov’s living room.

Now, with the destruction of the dam, he is watching his livelihood literally ebb away. The waves that stood at his doorstep a week ago are now a muddy walk away.

“The water is leaving before our eyes,” he told The Associated Press. “Everything that was in my house, what we worked for all our lives, it’s all gone. First it drowned, then, when the water left, it rotted.”

Since the dam’s collapse Tuesday, the rushing waters have uprooted landmines, torn through caches of weapons and ammunition, and carried 150 tons of machine oil to the Black Sea. Entire towns were submerged to the rooflines, and thousands of animals died in a large national park now under Russian occupation.

Rainbow-colored slicks already coat the murky, placid waters around flooded Kherson, the capital of southern Ukraine’s province of the same name. Abandoned homes reek from rot as cars, first-floor rooms and basements remain submerged. Enormous slicks seen in aerial footage stretch across the river from the city’s port and industrial facilities, demonstrating the scale of the Dnieper’s new pollution problem.

Ukraine’s Agriculture Ministry estimated 10,000 hectares (24,000 acres) of farmland were underwater in the territory of Kherson province controlled by Ukraine, and “many times more than that” in territory occupied by Russia.

Farmers are already feeling the pain of the disappearing reservoir. Dmytro Neveselyi, mayor of the village of Maryinske, said everyone in the community of 18,000 people will be affected within days.

“Today and tomorrow, we’ll be able to provide the population with drinking water,” he said. After that, who knows. “The canal that supplied our water reservoir has also stopped flowing.”

THE LONG TERM

The waters slowly began to recede on Friday, only to reveal the environmental catastrophe looming.

The reservoir, which had a capacity of 18 cubic kilometers (14.5 million acre-feet), was the last stop along hundreds of kilometers of river that passed through Ukraine’s industrial and agricultural heartlands. For decades, its flow carried the runoff of chemicals and pesticides that settled in the mud at the bottom.

Ukrainian authorities are testing the level of toxins in the muck, which risks turning into poisonous dust with the arrival of summer, said Eugene Simonov, an environmental scientist with the Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Working Group, a non-profit organization of activists and researchers.

The extent of the long-term damage depends on the movement of the front lines in an unpredictable war. Can the dam and reservoir be restored if fighting continues there? Should the region be allowed to become arid plain once again?

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrij Melnyk called the destruction of the dam “the worst environmental catastrophe in Europe since the Chernobyl disaster.”

The fish and waterfowl that had come to depend on the reservoir “will lose the majority of their spawning grounds and feeding grounds,” Mr. Simonov said.

Downstream from the dam are about 50 protected areas, including three national parks, said Mr. Simonov, who co-authored a paper in October warning of the potentially disastrous consequences, both upstream and downstream, if the Kakhovka Dam came to harm.

It will take a decade for the flora and fauna populations to return and adjust to their new reality, according to Ms. Filiuta. And possibly longer for the millions of Ukrainians who lived there.

In Maryinske, the farming community, they are combing archives for records of old wells, which they’ll unearth, clean and analyze to see if the water is still potable.

“Because a territory without water will become a desert,” the mayor said.

Further afield, all of Ukraine will have to grapple with whether to restore the reservoir or think differently about the region’s future, its water supply, and a large swath of territory that is suddenly vulnerable to invasive species — just as it was vulnerable to the invasion that caused the disaster to begin with.

“The worst consequences will probably not affect us directly, not me, not you, but rather our future generations, because this man-made disaster is not transparent,” Ms. Filiuta said. “The consequences to come will be for our children or grandchildren, just as we are the ones now experiencing the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, not our ancestors.”

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View Q&A: Crisis caused by Kakhovka dam destruction is still evolving

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As the vast and far-reaching consequences of the Kakhovka dam destruction become clearer, Euronews View spoke to Vsevolod Prokofiev, Save the Children’s Media Manager in Ukraine, who was among the first responders to the affected areas.

The true scale of the flooding caused by the breach of the southernmost dam on the Dnipro River reservoir cascade on Tuesday is slowly becoming clear.

Officials said more than 6,000 people have been evacuated by Thursday from dozens of flooded cities, towns and villages on both sides of the Dnipro River, which has become part of the front line since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February last year.

Some 40,000 in total need to leave, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The collapse of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam and the emptying of its reservoir — which the locals sometimes refer to as the Kakhovka Sea due to its immense size —has added to the misery that the region has suffered for more than a year from artillery and missile attacks.

The city of Kherson, which was liberated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on 11 November 2022, was again shelled by the Russian troops on Thursday amid ongoing evacuations, compounding the terror felt by both the local population and Ukrainians who fled from other areas of the country in search of safety elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has been slammed for the destruction of the dam after Western intelligence sources claimed the Russian forces committed a deliberate attack.

A number of EU officials, including European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen, condemned the act as a “war crime” and “an outrageous attack on civilian infrastructure”. Moscow has, in turn, laid the blame on Kyiv.

Since the dam’s collapse and the resulting flooding, domestic and international humanitarian aid organisations have been working tirelessly together with local authorities to help those in imminent need of assistance.

Euronews View spoke with Vsevolod Prokofiev, Save the Children’s Media Manager in Ukraine, who was among the first responders to the affected areas.

Euronews View: You are currently a part of the effort to help those who have been affected by the destruction of the dam. Could you tell us a little bit more about what you encountered on the ground there?

Vsevolod Prokofiev: The situation on the ground is changing rapidly. It’s quite unpredictable. The flood wave seems to be no longer arriving, but still, vast areas are flooded — about 30% of the right bank of the Kherson region, as pointed out by local administrations. 

We have seen around 2,000 people get evacuated, and more than 100 children among them. Most of them are residents of Kherson city itself. 

But what we see with the displacement is that people are not willing to move too far.

They are definitely tired of the displacement because many of them had to flee when the war unravelled in February last year, and now they are not ready for another long-term movement.

They tend to move to different accommodations inside Kherson city or to the nearest villages where they have friends or relatives or are just able to find spare housing.

They are not even going to the neighbouring oblasts like Mykolaiv. We have seen only like 100 people or 50 families arriving there and not many children at all. 

So the whole picture of displacement is that it’s been very, very difficult, and people tend to stay where they are, just moving to a safer place within one town.

Euronews View: Could you describe the scale of the devastation that you’re witnessing?

Vsevolod Prokofiev: It’s hard for me to draw comparisons, but in the most flooded areas, you would see houses literally completely covered with water and only the roof sticking out.

So basically, we have seen pictures and videos popping up on social media that people, families with children, at some point were rescued from the rooftops of their houses.

We also heard from families that were alarmed by their neighbours early in the morning, basically rushed from their beds, picked up only a few belongings picked up only basic documents like IDs for them and their children, and fled to safer places because the water had already started coming to their homes. 

And that is not only including those detached houses that were submerged by the water completely, but the multi-story buildings as well that in some locations have almost entire first stories covered in water.

Euronews View: Speaking of Kherson, the city has been the epicentre of very intense and destructive fighting followed by constant attacks by the Russian troops. And. now this happened. How do people who live in Kherson perceive this disaster?

Vsevolod Prokofiev: It is quite a peculiar thing about not only this particular situation with flooding in constant shelling going on only in Kherson and its neighbourhood, but people are being very resilient. They are helping one another. 

It is almost every time a collective effort of local volunteers, international organisations, and people themselves to be able to rescue themselves, their neighbours, and their friends. 

One family I talked to personally told me they were able to escape only because an unknown girl offered them a ride in her car. That’s how they moved out of the flat.

People have experienced gruesome crimes, these gruesome events, starting with shelling, active fighting and now this dam catastrophe, but they are holding up; they’re not losing strength. 

They’re not losing hope that the situation is going to become better very soon. Many of them expect in a week or so when the water goes down to return to their original homes.

And this is when we will probably see this crisis with the dam destruction unravel in a slightly different way because we will see people’s housing or conditions therein and whether people are able to return or will they need to stay in a different place. 

Will they be basically displaced once again, will they need assistance with renting accommodation, livelihood, food and water? 

Euronews View: What kind of needs are you and other humanitarian aid organisations registering and responding to at the moment?

Vsevolod Prokofiev: We are right now in a village just 20 kilometres away from Kherson. 

It is not yet directly affected by floods, but people are very worried about the fact that water might come or the after-effects of this whole flood. 

And the big thing is that there is no major water pipeline because almost 90% of all housing and essential facilities here are literally completely destroyed, and so people are surviving only with food brought by volunteers and humanitarian workers.

The same situation is with water. The very best they might get is 12 litres per household for an entire week. 

So now we are bringing a truck full of water able to cover each and every household here, and this is the refillable option. We will now hand out bottles, people will empty them, and bring them back to the local administrations. We will then recollect them, refill and bring them back out again.

Aside from water delivery, we are also doing cash registration. So basically, those people who have been displaced by this flood, we are about to give them cash assistance to cover basic needs like for water and also a separate payment for accommodation purposes. 

So if they are going to be displaced long term so they could afford one or two months of rent for their new place. 

We are in constant communication with our humanitarian colleagues and local administrations, and as the situation is changing rapidly, the response might expand as well. 

Euronews View: What are some of the more hidden dangers of the flooding that came after the destruction of the dam that the people might not be aware of outside of Ukraine or outside of that region?

Vsevolod Prokofiev: Well, the hidden dangers are quite obvious, and people here, the locals, know them very well. 

Number one, I’ve just talked to the father of two children, who told me that the water basically washed away all courtyards. 

Not only the ones used by people but for cattle as well, so everything that was under the ground is now being brought up to the surface. 

Once the water levels subside, this debris will stay on the ground and potentially become a source of infection and of diseases. People are very worried about this here. 

Another problem is the mines and unexploded ordinance. Water is bringing them up with the flood, so already highly contaminated areas are becoming even more dangerous. 

Also, the most vulnerable communities that are at the bank of the river — the humanitarian access there with evacuation efforts and humanitarian aid like food and water are impaired. 

We were going to visit one village on the bank of the river, and the road there is currently washed away and filled with mines brought by water, so we were not able to reach it.

The lack of drinking water is another potential threat because we see now the Kakhovka reservoir rapidly swallowing. 

So at some point, there might just not be enough water for pump stations to be able to transport it to the cities, and we know that a lot of towns and villages in the Dnipro region, the Zaporzhizhia region and the Kherson region, they drew water precisely from this reservoir. 

So essentially, mass water shortages are another major concern.

At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at [email protected] to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversation.

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Ukraine accuses Russia of destroying major dam near Kherson, warns of widespread flooding

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The wall of a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine that Moscow controls collapsed on June 6 after a reported explosion, sending water gushing downriver and prompting dire warnings of ecological damage as officials from both sides in the war ordered residents to evacuate.

Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the dam and hydroelectric power station, while Russian officials blamed Ukrainian military strikes in the contested area.

The fallout could have far-reaching consequences: flooding homes, streets and businesses downstream; depleting water levels upstream that help cool Europe’s largest nuclear power plant; and draining supplies of drinking water to the south in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed.

The dam break added a stunning new dimension to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, now in its 16th month. Ukrainian forces were widely seen to be moving forward with a long-anticipated counteroffensive in patches along more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of frontline in the east and south of Ukraine.

It was not immediately clear whether either side benefits from the damage to the dam, since both Russian-controlled and Ukrainian-held lands are at risk of flooding. The damage could also potentially hinder Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south, while at the same time Russia depends on the dam to supply water to the Crimea region it annexed illegally in 2014.

A general view of the Nova Kakhovka dam that was breached in Kherson region, on Ukraine June 6, 2023 in this screen grab taken from a video obtained by Reuters.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Amid official outrage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he convened an urgent meeting of the National Security Council. He alleged that Russian forces set off a blast inside the dam structure at 2.50 a.m. (2350 GMT) and said some 80 settlements were in danger.

Ukraine’s nuclear operator Energoatom said in a Telegram statement that the damage to the dam “could have negative consequences” for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is Europe’s biggest, but wrote that for now the situation is “controllable.”

The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement there was “no immediate risk to the safety of the plant,” which requires water for its cooling system.

It said that IAEA staff on site have been told the dam level is falling by 5 centimeters (2 inches) an hour. At that rate, the supply from the reservoir should last a few days, it said.

The plant also has alternative sources of water, including a large cooling pond than can provide water “for some months,” the statement said.

Ukrainian authorities have previously warned that the dam’s failure could unleash 18 million cubic meters (4.8 billion gallons) of water and flood Kherson and dozens of other areas where hundreds of thousands of people live.

The World Data Center for Geoinformatics and Sustainable Development, a Ukrainian nongovernmental organization, estimated that nearly 100 villages and towns would be flooded. It also reckoned that the water level would start dropping only after five-seven days.

A total collapse in the dam would wash away much of the broad river’s left bank, according to the Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Working Group, an organization of environmental activists and experts documenting the war’s environmental effects.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that “a global ecological disaster is playing out now, online, and thousands of animals and ecosystems will be destroyed in the next few hours.”

Villages ordered to evacuate

Videos posted online began testifying to the spillover. One showed floodwaters inundating a long roadway; another showed a beaver scurrying for high ground from rising waters.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry called for residents of 10 villages on the Dnipro’s right bank and parts of the city of Kherson downriver to gather essential documents and pets, turn off appliances, and leave, while cautioning against possible disinformation.

The Russian-installed mayor of occupied Nova Kakhovka, Vladimir Leontyev, said it was being evacuated as water poured into the city.

Damaged buildings are seen as the Nova Kakhovka dam was breached in Kherson region, Ukraine on June 6, 2023 in this screen grab taken from a video obtained by Reuters

Damaged buildings are seen as the Nova Kakhovka dam was breached in Kherson region, Ukraine on June 6, 2023 in this screen grab taken from a video obtained by Reuters
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Ukraine controls five of the six dams along the Dnipro, which runs from its northern border with Belarus down to the Black Sea and is crucial for the entire country’s drinking water and power supply.

Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, said in a video posted to Telegram shortly before 7 a.m. that “the Russian army has committed yet another act of terror,” and warned that water will reach “critical levels” within five hours.

Ukraine’s state hydro power generating company wrote in a statement that “The station cannot be restored.” Ukrhydroenergo also claimed that Russia blew up the station from inside the engine room.

Leontyev, the Russian-appointed mayor, said Tuesday that numerous Ukrainian strikes on the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant destroyed its valves, and “water from the Kakhovka reservoir began to uncontrollably flow downstream.” Leontyev added that damage to the station was beyond repair, and it would have to be rebuilt.

Ukraine and Russia have previously accused each other of targeting the dam with attacks, and last October Mr. Zelensky predicted that Russia would destroy the dam in order to cause a flood.

Authorities, experts and residents have for months expressed concerns about water flows through — and over — the Kakhovka dam.

In February, water levels were so low that many feared a meltdown at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, whose cooling systems are supplied with water from the Kakhovka reservoir held up by the dam.

By mid-May, after heavy rains and snow melt, water levels rose beyond normal levels, flooding nearby villages. Satellite images showed water washing over damaged sluice gates.



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NATO’s Stoltenberg says alliance must ensure Ukraine ‘prevails’

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NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday, his first since the Russian invasion, during which he reaffirmed NATO’s commitment to Ukrainian victory. This comes as several countries pledged more aid to the embattled country. Follow our blog to see how the day’s events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

This live blog is no longer being updated. For more of our coverage on the war in Ukraine, please click here.

4:14am: G7 nations considering near-total ban of exports to Russia 

Group of Seven (G7) countries are considering near-total ban of exports to Russia, Kyodo news agency reported on Friday, citing Japanese government sources.

4:00am: China is not inflaming Ukraine situation, says Chinese FM

China is not inflaming the situation in Ukraine, and advocates a peaceful resolution of international disputes through dialogue and diplomacy, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Friday.

China has no intention to engage in a major power competition, Qin said at the Lanting Forum in Shanghai, adding that it opposes attempts to build walls and barriers to interrupt international supply chains.

1:15am: German defence minister: Now is not time to discuss Ukraine NATO membership

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius rejected a quick decision on Ukraine’s membership at NATO, the Western alliance that has supported Ukraine throughout its war with Russia, with member states supplying it with weapons.

Kyiv wants the military alliance to offer it membership.

“The door is open a crack, but this is not the time to decide now,” Pistorius said late on Thursday on ZDF’s Maybrit Illner program, adding that Ukraine was aware of the decision-making situation.

12:40am: Ukraine’s Zelensky urges Mexico to help deliver his peace plan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday urged Mexico to help make the case in Latin America for his peace plan for Ukraine, even as tensions persist within the country’s ruling party about offering support to Kyiv.

Mexico’s government has said it wants to remain neutral in Ukraine’s war with Russia.

Some Ukraine supporters have criticized leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for finding fault with European arms shipments to Kyiv.

11:48pm: Russia warplane accidentally fires into city near Ukraine

A Russian warplane accidentally fired a weapon into the city of Belgorod near Ukraine late on Thursday, causing an explosion and damaging buildings, Tass cited the defence ministry as saying.

Local authorities reported a large blast in the city, which lies just across the border from Ukraine. The regional governor said two women had been injured.

“As a Sukhoi Su-34 air force plane was flying over the city of Belgorod there was an accidental discharge of aviation ammunition,” Tass cited the defence ministry as saying.

It did not say what kind of weapon was involved.

11:05pm: Lavrov thanks Cuba for ‘full understanding’ on Ukraine invasion

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday thanked Cuba for its “full understanding” over the war in Ukraine as he began a visit to the island nation during his tour of Latin American allies.

“We appreciate that from the start of the special military operation, our Cuban friends… have clearly shown their position and expressed their full understanding in their evaluations of the reasons that led to the current situation,” said Lavrov during a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez, according to the Russian foreign ministry’s Telegram account.

Lavrov, who also met Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and his predecessor Raul Castro on Thursday, blasted US sanctions against Cuba as “illegal and illegitimate.”

10:19pm: Russia reports explosion near Ukraine border

Russian authorities reported Thursday an explosion in the city of Belgorod near the border with Ukraine, saying the blast left a huge crater in the city centre. 

“An explosion took place. According to preliminary information, there are no victims,” Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, said on the Telegram messaging app. He added that a crater some 20 metres wide (65 feet) had appeared in the city centre.

10:04pm: France and US to continue engaging China on Ukraine talks

French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden “agreed on the importance of continuing to engage” China in helping to end the war in Ukraine, the French presidency said Thursday after talks by phone between the leaders.

In a statement, Macron’s office said Macron had briefed Biden about “the results obtained” during his visit in the first week of April to Beijing where the French leader spent several hours in talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The French statement added: “China had a role to play in contributing, in the medium term, in ending the conflict in accordance with the principles and aims of the United Nations charter.

“The two heads of state agreed on the importance of continuing to engage Chinese authorities on this basis.” 

8:40pm: Kyiv terminates Russian embassy’s land lease

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko on Thursday said the city had terminated the Russian Embassy’s deal to lease land in the capital and wanted the property to be returned to the Ukrainian state.

Ukraine broke off relations with Russia after the February 2022 invasion. There are no Russian diplomats in the embassy building, which lies to the west of the city centre.

“Today, Kyiv city council terminated the land lease agreement with the embassy of the aggressor-state – Russia,” Klitschko wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“It also appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding the return of the property of the ‘diplomatic establishment’ of the Russian barbarians to the Ukrainian state,” he said.

7:42pm: Russia’s Lavrov to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on Monday, Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said.

The diplomat said earlier this week that Lavrov and Guterres would discuss the Black Sea grain deal.

7:25pm: Russia’s concerns over grain deal still unaddressed, Lavrov says

Almost nothing has been done to address Russia’s concerns over the Black Sea grain deal, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, the latest in a series of downbeat comments by top Moscow officials about the pact that enabled Ukraine to resume exports.

Russia has repeatedly said it will not renew the deal beyond May 18 unless the West agrees to lift a host of restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance which it says are hindering its own agricultural exports.

“Here, practically nothing has been done,” Lavrov told reporters in Havana during an official visit. Footage of the news conference was broadcast by the Russian foreign ministry.

5:24pm: Ukraine servicemen accused of treason over unauthorised mission

A number of Ukrainian servicemen have been accused of treason for giving away information during an unauthorised mission that enabled Russia to attack a military airfield, Ukraine’s SBU security agency said on Thursday.

The SBU said in a statement that the servicemen had attempted, “without coordination with the relevant state authorities”, to seize a Russian plane last July after its pilot said he would defect.

During the “special operation”, they revealed details about the location of Ukrainian air force personnel and aircraft that made it possible for Russia to carry out a successful missile strike on the Kanatove airfield in central Ukraine, it said.

A Ukrainian commander was killed, 17 other personnel were wounded, two fighter jets were destroyed and the airstrip, buildings and equipment suffered significant damage, the SBU said in the statement posted on the Telegram messaging app.

4:31pm: Hungary demands ‘progressive’ EU aid for Ukraine grain transit

Hungarian Agriculture Minister Istvan Nagy called on Thursday for the European Union to provide “progressive” aid to help Ukrainian grain transit through central European countries, as he held talks with his Ukrainian counterpart in Budapest.

“We are calling for the introduction of progressive EU transit aid to ensure that Ukrainian grain, which has caused significant market difficulties, can reach its traditional markets,” Nagy said in a Facebook post.


2:20pm: Poland calls for additional ban on Ukraine food imports

Milk, poultry and other food products should be included on a list of Ukrainian imports to be temporarily banned by the European Union, the Polish agriculture minister said on Thursday.

“We discussed our proposals, our list is much wider – milk, poultry meat, honey,” Robert Telus told a news conference.

European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis discussed the plans on Wednesday with ministers from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, as well as with Ukrainian counterparts.

1:39pm: Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO, alliance chief says in rare visit to Kyiv

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on a visit to Kyiv Thursday that the alliance’s priority was to ensure Ukraine “prevails” in the war against Russia and that a membership plan for Kyiv will be discussed at a summit in July. 

“Let me be clear: Ukraine’s rightful place is in the euro-Atlantic family. Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO. And over time, our support will help you to make this possible,” Stoltenberg told reporters during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

He pledged continued military support for Ukraine, saying that, so far, NATO allies had trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops and provided 65 billion euros ($71.31 billion) of military aid alone.

“Ukraine’s future is in the Euro-Atlantic family, Ukraine’s future is in NATO, all allies agree on that,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Kyiv. He said “the issue of membership” will be “high on the agenda” at the NATO summit in Vilnius this summer.

1:32pm: Ukraine’s Zelensky says it is time for NATO to invite Ukraine into alliance

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday it was time for NATO to take the political decision to invite Ukraine to join the military alliance, and that Kyiv wanted to know when it would become a member. The Ukrainian leader told a joint news conference in Kyiv with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg that a NATO summit in Vilnius in July could be “historic”, and that he had been invited to attend.

“I am grateful for the invitation to visit the summit, but it is also important for Ukraine to receive the  corresponding invitation,” he told reporters. “There is not a single objective barrier to the political decision to invite Ukraine into the alliance and now, when most people in NATO countries and the majority of Ukrainians support NATO accession, is the time for the corresponding decisions”.

12:41pm: Nord Stream pipeline leaks no longer dangerous to ships, Danish agency says

The Danish Energy Agency said on Thursday it no longer regards it as dangerous for vessels to operate near the areas of the Nord Stream pipeline leaks, and that it had recommended that the country’s maritime authority lift its sailing restrictions.

11:53am: Switzerland adds Wagner Group and RIA to list of Russia sanctions

Switzerland will add the private military Wagner Group and news agency RIA to its list of sanctions against Russia, the Swiss Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) said on Thursday.

The changes take effect from 6 pm (1600 GMT) on Thursday, it added.

10:30am: Battle for Bakhmut rages on as both sides enter an attrition phase

The battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has intensified in recent weeks, with reports of heavy fighting and casualties on both sides in what is now the longest and bloodiest standoff of the war.

Since last summer, Russian troops have been fighting to capture the city, with Kyiv’s forces holding out despite Moscow’s frequent claims of advancements. Russia has stepped up its offensive with better cooperation between the regular army and Wagner paramilitary troops. 


 

10:22am: NATO chief makes first visit to Kyiv since Russian invasion

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday, his first since the Russian invasion, Ukrainian media and a NATO official said. The Kyiv Independent newspaper published images of Stoltenberg in front of a memorial for fallen soldiers in central Kyiv.

The photographs showed Stoltenberg with his head down in front of the memorial. Many Western officials travelling to Kyiv do not announce their trips in advance for security reasons. “The NATO Secretary General is in Ukraine. We will release more information as soon as possible,” a NATO official said.

Stoltenberg’s visit comes 14 months into Russia’s invasion and ahead of an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive. NATO has pledged to stand by Ukraine as it fights Russia. 

Earlier this month, Stoltenberg invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to a NATO summit in July. He also said Russian President Vladimir Putin had “wanted to slam NATO’s door shut” but “failed”.

10:18am: Hungary bans import of honey, certain meat products from Ukraine

Hungary has banned the import of certain meat products and honey in addition to grains from Ukraine until June 30, the prime minister’s chief of staff said on Thursday.

The ban on imports of major cereals and agricultural products “includes a total of twenty five products, the most important of which are cereals rapeseed and sunflower seeds, flour, oil, honey and certain meat products,” Gergely Gulyas told a news conference.

9:45am: Flash over Kyiv probably meteorite, says Ukraine space agency

A mysterious flash over Kyiv that spread confusion and fears of a Russian missile attack was likely a meteorite, a Ukrainian space official told AFP Thursday.

“We cannot identify what it was exactly, but our assumption is that it was a meteorite,” Igor Korniyenko, the deputy head of a control centre at Ukraine’s national space agency.

9:36am: Denmark, Netherlands to give Ukraine 14 Leopard tanks

Denmark said Thursday that it and the Netherlands had agreed to buy and donate 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, as more heavy weapons are being pledged to Kyiv.

“The Netherlands and Denmark today announce our intention to jointly acquire, refurbish and donate 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks for Ukraine following our successful collaboration with Germany on the supply of at least 100 Leopard 1A5 tanks,” the Danish defence ministry said in a statement, adding that the tanks would be supplied from “early 2024”.

6:30am: US to coordinate with South Korea on additional Ukraine support 

The United States will continue to coordinate closely with South Korea on more support for Ukraine, calling its key Asian ally “a stalwart partner” in defending Ukraine’s sovereignty, a US State Department spokesperson said.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said the country might go beyond humanitarian or financial aid for Ukraine under certain circumstances, signalling a shift in his stance against arming Ukraine for the first time.

South Korea’s decision on whether to send military aid to Kyiv depends on Russia’s actions, Seoul’s presidential office said Thursday, adding that a possible large-scale civilian attack could tip the balance.

Seoul has a long-standing policy against providing weapons to countries in active conflict, which it has repeatedly said makes it difficult to supply arms directly to Ukraine.

5:58am: US-made Patriot air defence systems arrive in Ukraine

American-made Patriot missiles have arrived in Ukraine, the country’s defence minister said Wednesday, providing Kyiv with a long-sought new shield against the Russian airstrikes that have devastated cities and civilian infrastructure.

The US agreed in October to send the surface-to-air systems, which can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles such as those that Russia has used to bombard residential areas and the Ukrainian power grid.

“Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure,” Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet.


 

  • Key developments of Wednesday, April 18

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Tuesday for like-minded countries to “join forces” against Western sanctions “blackmail,” as the longtime diplomat continued his tour of Latin America.

Ukraine received its first Patriot air defense systems as well as a comprehensive aid package from the US. 

South Korea said it might extend its support for Ukraine beyond humanitarian and economic aid if it comes under a large-scale civilian attack, President Yoon Suk Yeol said, signalling a shift in his stance against arming Ukraine for the first time.

 

© France Médias Monde graphic studio

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)



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UN adopts resolution calling on Russia to end hostilities and leave Ukraine

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The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly voted in favour of a resolution calling on Russia to end its hostilities in Ukraine and withdraw its forces. Although the resolution is non-binding, the vote serves as a barometer of world opinion and comes on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of its southern neighbour. Follow our blog to see how the day’s events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).

This live blog is no longer being updated. For more of our coverage on the war in Ukraine, please click here.

03:02am: Russia claims Ukraine preparing ‘invasion’ of Transnistria

Russia on Thursday claimed Ukraine was ramping up efforts to invade Transnistria, Moldova’s Moscow-backed separatist region, and pledged a “response”.

The Russian defence ministry’s statement was released on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.

Since the launch of the full-scale assault against Ukraine a year ago, the Kremlin has been accused of raising tensions in Transnistria to destabilise Ukraine and Moldova.

“The Kyiv regime has stepped up preparations for the invasion of the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic,” the statement said.

02:43am: China calls for cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia

China called on Russia and Ukraine to hold peace talks as soon as possible and warned that nuclear weapons must not be used in the conflict, in a 12-point policy paper released Friday on the war’s first anniversary.

“All parties should support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible,” Beijing’s foreign ministry said, stressing that “nuclear weapons must not be used and nuclear wars must not be fought”

It also called on Russia and Ukraine to avoid attacking civilians.

“Parties to the conflict should strictly abide by international humanitarian law, avoid attacking civilians or civilian facilities,” Beijing’s foreign ministry said.

China also urges steps to ensure the export of grain, after disruptions caused global food prices to spike.

The peace proposal mainly elaborated on long-held Chinese positions, including referring to the need that all countries’ “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity be effectively guaranteed.”

It also called an end to the “Cold War mentality” — it’s standard term for what it regards as US hegemony and interference in other countries.

01:11am: Military situation in Ukraine’s south is dangerous, says Zelensky

The military situation in Ukraine’s south is quite dangerous in some places while conditions in the east are very difficult, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address early on Friday.

Speaking on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, Zelensky said pro-Moscow forces had again shelled the southern city of Kherson, this time cutting off heat for 40,000 people.

“As for the south – in some places the situation is quite dangerous but our troops have the means to respond to the occupiers,” he said, summarising events on the various fronts.

“In the east – it’s very difficult, painful. But we are doing everything to withstand it,” he continued, in reference to repeated attacks by Russian forces seeking to capture theeastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

10:33pm: Hungary to send delegation to Sweden, Finland over NATO bids

Hungary plans to send a delegation to Sweden and Finland to resolve “political disputes” that have raised doubts among some Hungarian lawmakers of whether to support the two Nordic nations’ applications to join NATO, a senior Hungarian lawmaker said Thursday.

Mate Kocsis, the head of the nationalist Fidesz party’s parliamentary caucus, said some ruling party lawmakers resented that “politicians from these countries have insulted Hungary in a crude, unfounded and often vulgar manner in recent years, and now they are asking for a favour.”

A parliamentary delegation will travel to Sweden and Finland seeking to clarify their positions, he said.

Hungary is the only NATO member country besides Turkey that has not yet approved Sweden and Finland’s bids to join the Western military alliance. The northern European neighbors dropped their long-standing military neutrality and sought NATO membership in May in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

10:26pm: US to impose ‘sweeping’ sanctions on Russia over Ukraine war

The United States will announce “sweeping” new sanctions against Russia, the White House said Thursday.

The sanctions will target “key sectors that generate revenue for Putin”, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

The sanctions will include Russian banks, technology and defense sectors, and will impact both people and companies involved in the conflict, Jean-Pierre said.

10:07pm: UN adopts resolution calling on Russia to end Ukraine hostilities

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday voted in favour of a resolution calling for Russia to end its hostilities in Ukraine and withdraw its forces. Although the resolution is non-binding, it marks further isolation of Russia.

The resolution was adopted with 141 votes in favor and 32 abstentions. Six countries joined Russia to vote no.

Just a day after China’s top diplomat visited Moscow and pledged a deeper partnership with Russia, Beijing abstained on the vote – the fourth time it has done so on such action since the Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 last year.

The other 15 countries that either voted against or abstained were Belarus, Bolivia, Cambodia, Cuba, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Laos, Mali, Nicaragua, North Korea, St. Vincent, Syria, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

7:09pm: Eiffel Tower in Paris lit up in yellow and blue in solidarity with Ukraine

The Eiffel Tower in Paris was on Thursday lit up in yellow and blue – the colours of the Ukrainian flag – in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of its southern neighbour.

The top of the tower was bathed in blue, and the bottom in yellow, with the tower’s habitual white spotlight rotating at its top.

“Glory to Ukraine!” tweeted Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo in Ukrainian.

Hidalgo had asked for the show of support, which comes as France, like other western countries, is boosting arms deliveries to Kyiv. The French defence ministry said last week that the first batch of AMX-10 armoured vehicles President Emmanuel Macron promised would be delivered within days.

6:53pm: Poland expels Belarus diplomat in tit-for-tat move

Poland’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday it is set to expel a Belarusian diplomat amid swelling tensions over the imprisonment of a prominent ethnic Polish journalist in Belarus.

The defense attache at the Embassy of Belarus will to leave Warsaw very soon, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina told Polish new agency PAP. Jasina said the action was taken in response to Belarus recently expelling a Polish border guard liaison officer and two employees of Poland’s consulate in Grodno.

Bilateral relations between the neighboring nations are already strained by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s support for Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine. The ties between Belarus and Poland hit a new low this month when a court in Minsk handed an eight-year prison term to Andrzej Poczobut, a well-known correspondent for Polish media, for harming Belarus’ national security and “inciting discord.”

In 2020, Poczobut reported extensively on massive anti-government protests that broke out following Lukashenko’s disputed reelection in a vote that the opposition and Western countries regard as fraudulent.

6:13pm UN vote on Russian invasion will demonstrate support for Ukraine

The United Nations is expected to vote Thursday on a resolution demanding Russia withdraw troops from Ukraine one year after invading the country.

While non-binding, the vote is important as it will lay out the extent of support for Kyiv around the world.

Kyiv hopes to garner the support of at least as many nations as in October, when 143 countries voted to condemn Russia’s declared annexation of several Ukrainian territorie. Close attention will be paid to China, India and more than 30 other countries which abstained during previous UN votes in support of Ukraine.

The resolution, sponsored by Kyiv’s close allies, endorses Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, calls for an immediate end to fighting, and demands Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw” its forces from the country.

5:11pm: Spain may increase Leopard tank deliveries to Ukraine to 10

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday during a visit to Kyiv that it may increase the number of Leopard 2A4 tanks to be sent to Ukraine to 10 from the six promised earlier and will also discuss potential aircraft deliveries with NATO and EU partners.

The German-made fighting vehicles are part of over 50 2A4s Spain had mothballed in reserve, and they require repairs and refitting.

“As the defence minister told parliament yesterday, we will send six Leopard 2A4s. We intend to see in the coming weeks and months whether we can increase the total to 10,” Sanchez told reporters after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the eve of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

4:02pm: Fear that Russia will try to ‘mark’ one year anniversary of Ukraine invasion

On the eve of the one-year-anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, there is fear and apprehension in the air in Ukraine, FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg reported from Kyiv.

“According to military spokespeople in the south, and other sources, there is activity in the Black Sea, suggesting that the Russians may be preparing another large-scale missile attack,” FRANCE 24’s Cragg added.

“Quite a lot of people have left Kyiv for a few days to not be here on the anniversary of the invasion, they’re taking precaution, and some have taken their children out of the city. I have the impression here in Kyiv that there are fewer people on the streets today. There are fewer traffic jams so there certainly a certain degree of apprehension.”

To watch the full report, click on the player below.

 


 

3:59pm: Zelensky has seen no Chinese peace plan but would welcome a meeting

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday he had not seen any Chinese peace plan but that “we would like to meet with China”.

3:15pm: Italy calls for G7’s Russia sanctions to be enforced by all of G20

The sanctions introduced by G7 nations against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine should be applied by all G20 countries as well, Italy’s Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Thursday.

Giorgetti made the statement on the sidelines of a summit of G20 finance leaders in Bengaluru.

The minister explained, “Otherwise Russia circumvents the sanctions system and the effects risk falling short of our expectations.”

3:10pm: G7 pledges $39bn for Ukraine in 2023

The Group of Seven (G7) nations on Thursday announced that it has increased its economic support for Ukraine to $39 billion this year, and urged an IMF programme for the country by the end of March, according to a statement released by Japan, the bloc’s current president.

3:06pm: Shelling by Ukraine kills three ambulance workers, says Russia-installed official

Three ambulance workers trying to evacuate people from their homes in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine were killed by Ukrainian shelling on Thursday, a Russian-installed official in the region said.

The medical team had mobilised to rescue the civilians after a first wave of Ukrainian shelling, when Kyiv’s forces started shelling again and they rescue workers were caught in the crossfire, Russian news agency TASS reported. It also stated that a number of other medical workers had been injured in the same attack.

Dmitry Gartsev, the Russian-installed head of the local health ministry, said on his Telegram channel that doctors were currently fighting to save the life of a fourth ambulance worker. The Russian-reported fatalities could not be immediately verified.

1:16pm: Russia says key Crimea bridge damaged in blast reopens

Moscow on Thursday announced the full reopening to car traffic of a key Crimea bridge damaged by a blast in October.

“All lanes of the Crimean bridge are fully open to car traffic 39 days ahead of schedule,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said, quoted by his press service.

Moscow blamed Kyiv for the attack which killed three people on the bridge linking the Moscow-annexed Crimea peninsula to mainland Russia, but Kyiv has denied the charges.

Khusnullin said that “work was carried out round-the-clock” by around 500 people to complete the repairs.

The Russian government had the bridge to be repaired by July 2023. Repairs on the railway part of the bridge (also called the Kerch bridge) are still ongoing, Khusnullin said.

The Kerch bridge also serves as a vital transport link for carrying military equipment to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

1:14pm: Ukraine ‘will prevail’, Zelensky says ahead of invasion anniversary

Ukraine “will prevail” over invading Russian forces, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, a day before the first anniversary of Moscow’s assault on his country.

“We have not broken down, we have overcome many ordeals and we will prevail. We will hold to account all those who brought this evil, this war to our land,” Zelensky said on social media.

12:01pm: Ukraine boycotts OSCE gathering in protest over Russian presence

A meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s parliamentary assembly has begun without the Ukrainian delegation, which described the planned presence of Russian lawmakers as “an affront.”

The two-day meeting of the normally low-profile assembly has been overshadowed by controversy over the Russians’ attendance.

The Austrians said that, as host nation, they were obliged to grant visas to representatives from all 57 OSCE member states. Ukraine said it wouldn’t attend if Russia was present, as did Lithuania.

The Vienna-based OSCE was created during the Cold War as a platform for dialogue between East and West. The group has a wide-ranging mission, including peace, human rights, arms control and other security issues.

“I do sympathize with the fact that some members find it unbearable to sit in the same room as the aggressors,” the parliamentary assembly’s president, Margareta Cederfelt, told the opening session. “But for those present today, this is your opportunity to stand up for Ukraine and to confront the lies from the aggressors.”

A Slovak delegate read out a statement from the Ukrainian delegation, which said that “the presence of these warmongers in Vienna is an affront to everything that the OSCE stands for… They are not here for genuine dialogue nor for cooperation, they are here to spread their propaganda.”

11:11am: Finland says it will send three Leopard tanks to Ukraine

Finland will send three Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, the Finnish defence ministry said on Thursday.

10:47am: Czech Republic approves further military aid for Ukraine

The Czech government has approved a further military aid shipment to Ukraine and will continue to send equipment from stocks, Defence Minister Jana Cernochova has said.

Cernochova did not disclose any specific equipment being shipped but said the country, from its army reserves, has so far sent 38 tanks, 55 armoured vehicles, four aircraft and 13 self-propelled howitzers, alongside larger shipments from the private sector.

10:34am: Putin pledges to boost Russian weapon production and ‘strengthen’ armed forces

President Vladimir Putin has called Russia’s army a guarantor of national stability, and promised to boost arms production nearly a year after the start of the Ukraine offensive.

“A modern, efficient army and navy are a guarantee of the country’s security and sovereignty, a guarantee of its stable development and its future,” Putin said in a video address on the occasion of the annual “Defender of the Fatherland Day” holiday in Russia. “That’s why, as before, we will pay priority attention to strengthening our defence capabilities,” he added on the eve of the first anniversary of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.

Putin said Russia will “conduct the balanced and high-quality development of all components of the armed forces” in particular by equipping troops with “new strike systems, reconnaissance and communication equipment, drones and artillery systems”.

“Now our industry is rapidly increasing the production of an entire range of conventional weapons,” he said in the video released by the Kremlin.

The president also hailed Russian soldiers, who are fighting “heroically” in Ukraine and “defending our people in our historical lands”. Russia’s “unbreakable unity is the key to our victory,” he said.

9:04am: Sweden open to sending Leopards to Ukraine, defence minister says

Sweden is open to sending some of its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine as the Nordic country prepares to present another package of aid to help the country fight off the Russian invasion, its defence minister told local news agency TT.

The latest military and civilian aid package from Sweden to Ukraine includes armoured infantry fighting vehicles, which Defence Minister Pal Jonson told the news agency would be the country’s main contribution to Ukraine in terms of equipment for ground warfare.

Sweden is also preparing to send Ukraine the advanced Archer artillery system to Ukraine, but support in the Swedish parliament has been growing to additionally contribute some of the country’s around 120 Leopard tanks.

“We are open to that and we are in close dialogue with above all Germany about it,” Jonson was quoted by TT as saying.

8:13am: Prigozhin says Wagner Group now receiving ammunition for Ukraine war

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, has said that his troops had begun receiving additional supplies of ammunition after a public row with Russia’s top army brass.

“Today at 6am, it was announced that the shipment of ammunition has started,” Prigozhin said in a statement on Telegram. “Most likely, the ball is now rolling. So far, it’s all on paper, but, as we were told, the principal documents have already been signed.”

Prigozhin’s Wagner Group has spearheaded Russia’s months-long battle for the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

In recent days, a long-standing feud with Russia’s military bosses escalated dramatically, with Prigozhin claiming that officials were denying Wagner ammunition out of personal animus to him.

8:11am: Russia possibly preparing for offensive in eastern Ukraine’s Vuhledar, says UK intelligence

Russian forces are possibly preparing for another offensive around the town of Vuhledar in the eastern Donbas region, with the town experiencing heavy shelling, Britain said in an intelligence bulletin on Thursday.

Britain added that fighting has also continued in the eastern city of Bakhmut over the last two days.


8:11am: Spain’s PM in Kyiv for talks with Zelensky ahead of Ukraine war anniversary

Spain‘s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez travelled to Kyiv on Thursday in a show of support a day before the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Returning to Kyiv today, one year since the start of the war,” Sanchez tweeted along with a video of him stepping off the train in the Ukrainian capital. “We will stand with Ukraine and its people until peace returns to Europe,” he tweeted in Spanish and Ukrainian.


4:53am: Russia accuses Ukraine of planning to invade Moldova’s breakaway region

Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukraine on Thursday of planning to invade Moldova‘s breakaway Transnistria region after a false flag operation, the RIA news agency reported.

The ministry said Ukraine planned to stage an attack by purportedly Russian forces from Transnistria as a pretext for the invasion, according to RIA.

4:00am: Biden says no sign Russia mulling nuke use after treaty suspension

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday offered fresh criticism of Russia’s suspension of a key nuclear treaty, but stressed there was no indication Moscow was moving closer to actually using an atomic weapon.

“It’s a big mistake to do that, not very responsible,” Biden told ABC News in Poland on the sidelines of a meeting with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and eastern European leaders in Warsaw.

“But I don’t read into that that he’s thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that,” the US president added, noting that he had seen “no evidence” of any change in posture on nuclear arms use by Moscow.

2:04am: US considers release of intelligence on China’s potential arms transfer to Russia

The Biden administration is considering releasing intelligence it believes shows that China is weighing whether to supply weapons to support Russia‘s war in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

 

Ukraine, one year on
Ukraine, one year on © Studio graphique France Médias Monde

 

 

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)



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