|
Post by Admin on Jun 22, 2023 20:01:39 GMT
Russian-backed officials in southern Ukraine have accused Kyiv of using British-supplied long-range missiles to strike a bridge connecting Kherson province with the Crimean peninsula.
The strike on the Chonhar Bridge, one of the few links between mainland Ukraine and Crimea, came two days after Moscow threatened to attack Kyiv’s “decision-making centres” if western-supplied missiles were used against Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
A series of photos and videos circulating on Telegram on Thursday showed a large crater on the bridge, with debris littering the roads. There were no casualties reported.
Vladimir Saldo, the Russia-appointed Kherson governor, suggested the bridge was targeted by Storm Shadow missiles, long-range cruise missiles that Britain confirmed it had provided to Ukraine last month.
Russian investigators said four missiles had been fired by Ukrainian forces at the bridge, the RIA news agency reported. It quoted a spokesperson for military investigators as saying that markings found on the remains of one of the missiles suggested it had been made in France.
Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, said on Tuesday that the potential use of US-made Himars and the Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Crimea would mark the west’s “full involvement in the conflict and would entail immediate strikes upon decision-making centres in Ukrainian territory”.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jun 26, 2023 3:11:43 GMT
Russian media published video said to show a military convoy made up of Chechen "Akhmat" special forces entering Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, as the city continued to be controlled by fighters from the Wagner paramilitary group.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted Saturday to the situation in Russia, where the mercenary Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, seized control of the Russian military headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don.
Zelenskyy said in a Twitter post, “For a long time, Russia used propaganda to mask its weakness and the stupidity of its government. And now there is so much chaos that no lie can hide it.”
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted a message to the international community, urging it to abandon what he called “false neutrality” concerning Russia and supply Ukraine with the weaponry it needs to defend itself against the Russian incursion.
The White House said it is monitoring the standoff between top Russian military officials and the Wagner force and will be consulting with allies and partners on developments, National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge told VOA Friday.
The British Defense Ministry said Saturday the loyalty of Russia’s security forces and “especially the Russian National Guard” will be key factors in how the extraordinary events playing out in Russia will eventually unfold.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jun 30, 2023 5:36:36 GMT
The former vice president made an unannounced trip to the country, becoming the first GOP presidential candidate to meet with the Ukrainian leader during the campaign.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jul 3, 2023 17:57:18 GMT
Tributes have been paid to the award-winning Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina.
The war crimes researcher died from injuries caused by the Russian missile strike on a pizza restaurant in the city of Kramatorsk on Tuesday.
She is the thirteenth person to have died in the attack.
Kramatorsk is under Ukrainian control but is close to Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jul 3, 2023 18:54:15 GMT
The transfer of 96 non-operational Leopard 1 tanks, currently in Italy and designated to be sent to Germany to be modernized and delivered to Ukraine has been blocked by Switzerland over the country's neutrality policy, according to a communiqué seen by European Pravda.
The tanks were initially built in Switzerland, but the country's law does not currently allow the delivery of Swiss weapons to combat zones, even when supplied by an intermediary country.
The National Council, the lower house of the Swiss parliament, has voted against an amendment allowing the re-export of Swiss-made weaponry to third countries, such as Ukraine, the news agency Swissinfo reported on June 2.
The discussion about the transfer continues, and several more proposals are pending in the parliament.
Members of the Council of States, the parliament's upper house, recommended easing the restrictions on arms re-exports on May 12.
The move would have opened new possibilities for re-exporting Swiss arms to Ukraine's military, but the debate keeps stalling.
In an address to Switzerland's parliament on June 15, President Volodymyr Zelensky brought up the ongoing debate in the Swiss parliament on the re-export of the Swiss weapons arsenal, reminding Ukraine's own need for military aid.
"I would like to call on you to remember one fact: We are asking for arms deliveries so that Ukrainian soil can become a territory of peace again."
After Zelensky's speech, Brigitte Häberli-Koller, the president of the parliament's upper house, said: "Even a neutral state has the right, indeed the duty, to stand up for its fundamental values such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights."
Members of the right-wing Swiss People's Party left the room during the speech, saying it violates the country's tradition of neutrality.
|
|