G7 summit: Zelensky and Fumio Kishida lay wreaths at Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima
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Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, was rocked by several explosions early today after Russia fired more than 40 missiles and drones in its biggest attack since the war began in February last year.
“A missile shot down near Kiev,” the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said on Telegram. “Air defense working!”
Monday morning’s attack involved a combination of missiles and drones, surpassing the largest bombardment of 36 aerial weapons launched on Kiev the previous night, which killed one person and wounded several others.
All targets were shot down, Ukrainian air defenses claimed. So far, no major damage or casualties have been reported, according to officials.
On Sunday, Ukraine’s military said it had shot down 58 of 59 drones targeting various parts of Ukraine, in what the air force described as a record assault by Iranian-made “kamikaze” drones.
Elsewhere on the front lines of the war, Kiev signaled that its forces were ready to launch a long-promised counteroffensive to retake territory taken by Russia in its full-scale invasion.
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No casualties were reported in Russia’s biggest airstrike in the war so far
There was no major damage or casualties in Kiev, the officials said, in what is the largest Russian airstrike in Ukraine so far involving more than 40 Iranian-made Shahed missiles and drones.
“Another difficult night for the capital,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
Officials said the Russian missile barrage is aimed at putting civilians in psychological distress.
“With these constant attacks, the enemy seeks to keep the civilian population in deep psychological tension,” Serhiy Popko, head of the city’s military administration, told a Telegram messaging channel.
Monday morning’s attack tops the largest drone strike of 36 aerial targets launched in Kiev the previous night, which killed one person and wounded several others.
Arpan Rai29 May 2023 04:23
Russia fires 67 cruise missiles and drones overnight, all shot down
Russian forces fired air-based cruise missiles and Iranian-made Shahed drones overnight into Ukraine from almost all directions, including the Caspian Sea area in the southeast, Ukraine’s top military commander said today .
“67 air targets were destroyed by the forces and means of the air command in cooperation with the air defense of other components of the defense forces of Ukraine: 37 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles, 29 attacks Shahed- 136/131 and 1 Reconnaissance UAV of operational-tactical level,” said Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“The enemy fired up to 40 X-101/X-555 air cruise missiles from nine Tu-95ms strategic aircraft from the Caspian Sea area.
The enemy attacked from the north and south with Iranian Shahed-136/131 UAVs. About 35 attack drones in total,” the official said on Telegram.
All targets were destroyed, the official said.
Arpan RaiMay 29, 2023 06:55
Foreign investors withdrew $36 billion after selling businesses in Russia
Foreign investors pulled some $36bn (£29bn) out of Russia after exiting the country and selling their businesses between March 2022 and March 2023, according to data from the Central Bank, the Moscow state news agency RIA.
This comes a week after Russia’s central bank downplayed the impact of foreign company exits, saying around 200 sales deals had been finalized in the March 2022-2023 period.
It said 20 per cent of these deals involved large asset sales, exceeding $100m (£80m).
Several of the world’s biggest companies have abandoned or scaled back their operations in Russia after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
Arpan RaiMay 29, 2023 06:25
Wagner chief says prisoner swap with Ukraine was ‘very smooth’
The head of Russia’s private mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said last week’s regular exchange of prisoners of war with Ukraine was carried out peacefully.
“Maybe I don’t know something or guess something, but on May 25, a periodic exchange of prisoners took place in a very peaceful way as never before. The Wagner PMC [Private Military Company] group, which has always dealt with exchanges, arrived at a point that was agreed in advance,” the head of mercenaries told Telegram in a statement.
He added: “A group of Ukrainians drove up there, took prisoners, exchanged and in fact you saw it all on the screen.”
It was an “absolutely standard exchange” involving Wagner troops, Russian Guard forces and Russian defense ministry soldiers, where the prisoners were transferred from Ukraine.
After the exchange, the freed Russian troops were sent to their subordinate structure, he said.
Wagner had released footage of a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, just hours after he claimed to have begun his withdrawal from Bakhmut last week.
Arpan Rai29 May 2023 05:54
Kiev “will survive the Russists,” says Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky thanked his air defense forces, ground forces, mobile force group and anti-aircraft missile soldiers in his late-night address to Ukrainians as he pledged to end Russian attacks.
“Throughout its history, Kiev has seen various pettiness from the invaders. It has survived them all and will survive the Russists. None of them will be here. Kiev and all our cities, all our Ukraine, will put an end to history from the despotism of Moscow, which has been bringing slavery to many different peoples for a long time,” he said in his evening speech.
He added: “Neither Shaheds nor any other medium of terror that humiliatingly seeks around the world will save him. Because the strength is in the people, it is in the cities, it is in the life, and when the life, the people and the cities more important for culture are neglected, Russia will only face defeat.”
Arpan Rai29 May 2023 05:21
Several explosions as Russia fires drones and missiles for second night in a row
The Ukrainian capital Kiev was rocked by several explosions early today after Russia fired more than 40 missiles and drones at the besieged country, marking the second consecutive overnight attack.
This is Russia’s 15th airstrike in Kiev this month.
“A missile shot down near Kiev,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. “Air defense working!”
Explosions were heard in several districts of Kyiv, including the historic Podil district, where debris from the attack fell on a house and damaged a roof, the mayor said.
Monday’s attack appeared to involve a combination of missiles and drones, following the largest drone strike in Kiev the night before, which killed one person and wounded several others.
Arpan RaiMay 29, 2023 04:00
Russia fired more than 40 drones and missiles, all destroyed – Kiev military
The air defense forces of Ukraine shot down more than 40 Russian air targets moving towards Kiev in the early hours of today, the military administration of the city of Kiev reported on Telegram.
The massive munitions bombardment included drones and missiles, the military administration said.
Arpan Rai29 May 2023 03:46
Russia’s ambassador to the UK openly defends attacks on Ukraine by shifting blame
Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, openly defended the country’s attacks on Ukraine during a new appearance with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday (May 28).
When the reporter talked about the recent devastation of a missile hitting a hospital, the ambassador looked agitated.
“The problem is that the shooting has been going on for nine years,” he said, blaming “US weapons” for the mass destruction and denying Russian war crimes.
Instead, Kelin said he had “documentation” of crimes committed by Ukrainian troops since the invasion began.
Russia’s ambassador to the UK openly defends attacks on Ukraine by shifting blame
Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, openly defended the country’s attacks on Ukraine during a new appearance with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday (May 28). When the reporter talked about the recent devastation of a missile hitting a hospital, the ambassador looked agitated. “The problem is that the shooting has been going on for nine years,” he said, blaming “US weapons” for the mass destruction and denying Russian war crimes. Instead, Kelin said he had “documentation” of crimes committed by Ukrainian troops since the invasion began. Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
Joe MiddletonMay 29, 2023 03:00
The facade of Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine is crumbling, this week proves it
From nuclear threats to incursions into Russian territory, the Russian president has a lot on his mind, writes Chris Stevenson
Joe MiddletonMay 29, 2023 02:45
In wartime Russia, a farm-to-table evangelist finds refuge in a village
Robyn Dixon talks to Boris Akimov, a member of a post-Soviet generation who left the city for a more rural life, and whose business has thrived as Western sanctions led to an agricultural boom.
Joe MiddletonMay 29, 2023 01:45
