Drone footage shows the scale of destruction in Odesa after the Russian attack
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Drone footage has been seen purportedly showing a car packed with explosives at the Kakhovka dam when it collapsed earlier this month.
Two Ukrainian military officials told The Associated Press that Russian troops were in the same area inside the dam where Ukraine claims the explosion took place.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The Russian-controlled Kakhovka Dam collapsed earlier this month, triggering a flood that has killed at least 52 people.
Ukraine has blamed Russia for the dam collapse, and the Ukrainian military has claimed it was Russia’s attempt to prevent Ukrainian troops from crossing the Dnipro to attack occupation forces.
Meanwhile, Russia has blamed Kiev for sabotaging the dam by cutting off Crimea’s water supply and distracting from its supposed faltering counter-offensive.
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UK plans to maintain Russian sanctions until Ukraine is compensated
Britain introduced legislation on Monday that would allow it to maintain sanctions against Russia until Moscow pays compensation to Ukraine, Britain’s Foreign Office said.
Martha MchardyJune 19, 2023 1:16 p.m
Russian spy chief points to ‘suspicious’ nuclear activity by Ukraine
One of Russia’s top spymasters said on Monday that he expected the UN nuclear watchdog and the European Union to look into Ukraine’s nuclear activity, which he said could indicate that Kiev was working on a “dirty bomb”.
Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, provided no documentary evidence to support his claims.
Ukraine’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kiev has said in the past that it takes its nuclear power responsibilities very seriously while accusing Russia of recklessness when it comes to its occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
Naryshkin said in a statement that his service had information that a batch of “irradiated fuel” had been secretly sent from the Rivne nuclear power plant in western Ukraine to be disposed of at a facility in spent fuel storage in Txornóbil.
He said the action, which Reuters could not independently verify, was “suspicious” and could only be explained by Kiev’s intention to create a “dirty bomb”, combining radioactive material with conventional explosives.
Russia has previously accused Ukraine, without providing evidence, of planning to use a “dirty bomb”, amid fears on both sides that fighting around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which Russian forces captured just days after invading Ukraine at the beginning of last year, they could bring. to a disaster
Martha MchardyJune 19, 2023 11:48 am
Dead fish cover the bottom of the dry Kakhovka reservoir after the dam collapse
Dead fish cover the bottom of the dry Kakhovka reservoir after the recent catastrophic destruction of the Kakhovka dam near Kherson
(AP)
A photographer takes a photo of dead fish in the dry Kakhovka reservoir
(AP)
Martha MchardyJune 19, 2023 11:43 am
“We will rebuild everything” in Ukraine, says Zelensky
“We will rebuild everything” in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Mr Zelensky said in a tweet on Tuesday: “Not a single ruin will remain in Ukraine. We will rebuild everything, we will restore everything and we know exactly what steps need to be taken in what timeframe and with what resources also to defeat Russian aggression with our reconstruction.
“When the ruins disappear, not only does the aggressor disappear, but the very idea of aggression. And it will happen.”
Martha MchardyJune 19, 2023 11:04 am
A clear Ukrainian counteroffensive “is making good progress,” says Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak told Volodymyr Zelensky that it was clear that the Ukrainian counter-offensive was “progressing well” when the two leaders spoke this morning.
Both will speak at a conference in London this week on Ukraine’s recovery.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Rishi Sunak
(Getty Images)
A Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister “paid tribute to the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers on the front line”.
“He told President Zelensky that the UK was firmly behind Ukraine as it continued to push back the invading Russian forces,” the spokesman said.
“Small steps forward would bring success, the Prime Minister added.”
Martha MchardyJune 19, 2023 10:59 am
Watch: Ukrainian soldiers rescue drowning Russian troops after Kakhovka dam collapse
Ukrainian special forces rescued a number of Russian soldiers from flooding after the Kakhovka dam was destroyed.
Footage shows boats picking up the four men, who were trapped “up to their necks” when water flooded their trench.
“Russian soldiers were already weakened and on the verge of death,” wrote the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, sharing the images on social networks.
Other Russians occupying the area began firing on the ship from nearby positions during the rescue, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.
The rescued soldiers were brought back to the base in Ukraine and added to the POW “exchange pool”.
Ukrainian soldiers rescue drowning Russian troops after Kakhovka dam collapse
Ukrainian special forces rescued a number of Russian soldiers from flooding after the Kakhovka dam was destroyed. Footage shows boats picking up the four men, who were trapped “up to their necks” when water flooded their trench. “Russian soldiers were already weakened and on the verge of death,” wrote the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, sharing the images on social networks. Other Russians occupying the area began firing on the ship from nearby positions during the rescue, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry. The rescued soldiers were brought back to the base in Ukraine and added to the POW “exchange pool”.
Martha MchardyJune 19, 2023 10:56 am
Ukraine says eight villages recovered from Russian forces in two weeks
Ukraine confirmed on Monday that it had pushed Russian forces out of an eighth village in its two-week counteroffensive on a heavily fortified part of the front line on the most direct route to the country’s Azov Sea coast.
An official stationed in Russia said on Sunday that Ukraine had taken control of the village, Piatykhatky, in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. He later said Moscow had kicked them out and on Monday morning said Ukraine was striking again.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces had not only retaken Piatykhatky, but had advanced up to seven km (4.3 miles) into Russian lines in two weeks, capturing 113 square km (44 square miles) of land.
“In the course of two weeks of offensive operations in the directions of Berdiansk and Melitopol, eight settlements were liberated,” Maliar told Telegram, referring to two cities on the Russian-occupied coast.
The reported capture of the villages reflects incremental gains for Ukraine that highlight the challenge of breaking through the lines Moscow has spent months strengthening. Piatykhatky is important, however, as it is about 90 km from the coast.
Martha MchardyJune 19, 2023 10:51 am
The Kremlin says it will stay in touch with the African peacekeeping mission
The Kremlin said on Monday it would continue to talk to a group of African countries seeking to mediate the conflict with Ukraine, notably at a Russia-Africa summit next month.
President Vladimir Putin on Saturday gave the seven-nation African delegation that had come to see him in St Petersburg a list of reasons why he believed many of his proposals were wrong, pouring cold water on a plan he had already rejected largely Kiev.
Martha MchardyJune 19, 2023 10:50 am
Kremlin says it declined UN aid in flood zone over ‘security issues’
The Kremlin said Monday that Russia’s decision to decline UN aid to Russian-held areas of Ukraine flooded by the Kakhovka dam breach was motivated by security concerns and “other nuances.”
The United Nations said on Sunday that Moscow had declined its offers of aid as the death toll rose and dirty water forced the closure of beaches in southern Ukraine.
The collapse of the Moscow-controlled dam on June 6 caused flooding in southern Ukraine and Russian-controlled parts of the Kherson region, destroying homes and farmland and cutting off supplies to residents.
Martha MchardyJune 19, 2023 10:49 am
Jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny appeared in a Russian court on Monday to face new extremism charges that could extend his prison term by decades.
The hearing took place at the IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo, about 235 km (145 miles) east of Moscow, where Navalny is already serving an 11-and-a-half-year sentence.
His supporters accuse Russian authorities of trying to jail him to silence his criticism of President Vladimir Putin, which the Kremlin denies.
An entry in the court file last month showed the new charges relate to six different articles of the Russian criminal code, including inciting and financing extremist activities and creating an extremist organization.
Russia has banned Navalny’s campaign organization as part of a crackdown on dissent that began long before the conflict in Ukraine and has intensified in the nearly 16 months since it began. Last week one of its regional campaign leaders was jailed for seven and a half years.
In a tweet posted on his account by his followers last month, Navalny responded with typical irony to the new charges.
“Well Alexei, now you’ve got a real problem… The Attorney General’s office has officially provided me with 3,828 pages detailing every crime I’ve committed while already incarcerated.”
(AP)
It was not immediately clear what specific actions or incidents the new charges related to.
One refers to the “rehabilitation of Nazism,” a possible reference to Navalny’s statements of support for Ukraine, whose government Russia accuses of embodying Nazi ideology. Ukraine and its Western allies dismiss this accusation as unfounded.
In April, investigators formally linked Navalny’s supporters to the killing of Vladlen Tatarsky, a popular military blogger and supporter of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, who was killed by a bomb in St. Petersburg.
Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) said Ukrainian intelligence had organized the attack with the help of Navalny’s supporters.
This appeared to be a reference to the fact that a suspect arrested for the killing once registered to take part in an anti-Kremlin voting scheme promoted by Navalny’s movement.
Navalny’s allies denied any connection to the assassination. Ukraine attributed it to “domestic terrorism”.
Martha MchardyJune 19, 2023 10:25 am
